Randomly got the idea for this little oneshot. Hope you enjoy!
As I watch Molly and Evan walk away, I am filled with happiness. Evan, my godfather, the man who's always there for me. He always has been. When my parents died, he took me in. When Pete left, he made sure that Molly and I were okay. He's been like a favourite uncle to Molly.
Molly. My baby, my little girl. Only, she's not so little anymore. She's nearly a teenager today. I can't believe the eleven years have passed by so quickly. I hope I am being a better mother to her than mine was to me. I guess only time will tell.
I turn, thinking about the stack of reports on my desk. Today's fiasco won't help my paperwork. I'll have to explain what happened with Layton. The problem is, I'm not really sure at all. He knew who I was. I am certain I have never seen that man before in my life. Is he stalking me? And then he started singing that song. "I'm happy, hope you're happy too."
That song sounds familiar to me, but I cannot think of why. I'm finally at my car and I sit down in the driver's seat, when that line of the song runs through my head again. Where have I heard it before? I decide to sing the line, see if anything more comes back to me.
"I'm happy, hope you're happy too..." No. There's nothing after that line. But what was with the boom that Layton had said? He had sung the song and then acted like something blew up. I know...I remember an explosion in my past, but where was it? What was it?
I start my car, and turn to look for others before I pull out. Fear fills my entire body as I am shocked by Layton sitting in my back seat, Sam Tyler's files pushed onto the floor, his muddy boots all over them. He points his gun in my face.
"Relax, Alex. Just drive," he whispers, cocking the gun.
I turn back around, my body coursing with adrenaline. Though worry flows through my veins, I can't help but to wonder how he knows which car is mine. It is completely silent in the car, Layton only speaking to give directions. He keeps his gun on me, I can feel it digging into my back.
As I drive, I think about what happened earlier. When I heard the gunshot, I thought Molly was dead. In that split second, I felt the world crashing around me, harder even than when Pete left me. Molly is my baby, my only daughter, the only relative I've ever had that seemed to love me. I carried her for nine months, loved her from the moment I knew she was there. How could I possibly cope with losing her?
Seeing her walk out from under the pier was the best moment of my entire life. My little girl was safe. She was unharmed. She was my only concern as the police officers ran past us, looking for Layton.
"Pull over," his voice says from the back. I do as he says, ever aware of the gun poking into my spine.
"Get out."
I get out, and he immediately puts his arm on my shoulder, his hand continuing to keep the gun at my waist. Finally I summon the courage to speak as he pushes me along the dock.
"How do you know me?" I ask. I have to know. I've never met this man before. "What do you want?"
"Shut up!" he says. "Now you, you're going to be my ticket out of this mess Alex Drake, yeah? MOVE!" He shoves me violently towards a gangway of a barge. I am trying my hardest not to cry, but it is difficult. If Layton kills me, how will Molly cope? My parents died when I was a little girl and it has affected me since. How will it affect her? What will happen to my baby?
And Evan. He's almost sixty-five now. How can he raise another orphan?
No. Layton won't kill me. Even if I'm shot, I have to fight. I will fight against the life seeping out of me to stay with Molly. I will not leave her orphaned. I cannot.
Layton gets out his mobile and dials a number. He's pointing the gun at my head now, all the while talking to someone on the other end.
"Yeah, Layton. Well, you're gonna have to listen, cause I've got a piece of your past standing right here in front of me. Tim and Caroline Price's daughter."
"How did you know my parents?" This was all too weird. How the hell did he know about my entire life?
"And I'm gonna tell her the truth," he says, pushing me down the gangway, "why her parents died."
He pushes me again. "GO!" I get down into the barge and he follows. He points me to an old mattress with his gun. I go sit down on it, hoping that maybe after he gets off the phone, I can calm him down.
"Well that's your choice," he says, snapping his phone shut.
He walks back toward me, and I know that I am in deep trouble if I cannot talk my way out of this. Maybe if I can at least stall him, someone will figure out I'm missing. They'll find my car parked just down the way from here. And if he does shoot, they'll find me faster.
"What can my parents possibly have to do with this?" I ask. "They've been dead a long time!"
"I had an empire, yeah? Back in the day, I had connections, I had dealers on every street corner..."
"And things went wrong. Do you want to talk about that?" I am desperate now. He is pulling sunglasses out of his pocket. This is not going well. I continue to talk, trying to stall him, to stall the inevitable shard of lead that will drill its way into my body.
"You...you feel trapped. I mean, I can understand that." Empathy. I have to empathise with him, to make him see that if he works with me, I can help him.
He's not stopping. Maybe if I tell him what he wants to hear...
"Those officers were itching for a fatality outcome." Even as I speak, he points the gun.
The bullet is flying towards me, but slowly. I can see every inch it covers. It is not heading for my chest. It is much too high. He shot at my head. Even as I watch it approach, I know my chances of survival are slim. But I can't leave my daughter. My Molly. My baby.
There is a splitting pain in my head, and everything changes to black as I feel myself falling.
"This is it, Alex. This is how it ends."
Rant