Chapter 10: Confessions

BlueTiger321: So now Josh is finally alone with Korra, but we all know that it won't last for long. Let's see what happens.

Down the street Josh drove his Hog with Korra sitting right behind him. The woman was slightly surprised to see that the man whom she thought was still a chauffeur could drive only a mini bike. Going that fast through the chilly streets of Aspen was enough to make her cling to the man's chest both for support and for the need of human contact in her difficult time. Josh looked down and smiled to see the woman wrap himself in her arms and was hoping that he was able to look her in the eye as she did so, but he knew that he would get his chance soon enough.

When the two of them finally entered through the Hotel Danbury's lobby, Josh thought to himself to begin a game with Korra.

"Race you to the top," he said.

The man headed up the steps two at a time but then tripped when he was halfway there. Korra went along with the game and made her way up one step at a time. But the man was not pleased with seeing that the woman he fell in love with was going to beat him, so he childishly stuck out his arm to trip Korra just before she got to the top.

"Come here!" said Josh.

Korra tripped and grunted while Josh continued to hold her down and make his way up to the top step. When he got up he jumped triumphantly and held up his arms saying, "Yeah! I won!"

The woman merely allowed herself to get up to the stairs and said nothing while she let the man revel in his victory. They eventually made their way into the hotel suite where they walked into the bedroom and headed to the bed on the left, and right on top of the blanket sat the briefcase.

"Look familiar?" said Josh.

Korra gasped with relief in her voice. There was the briefcase with all the money she had set up to pay the ransom, she thought, and could finally deliver it in exchange for Mako.

"I don't believe it," she said. "You really have it."

"Of course, I have it," said Josh. "When Josh Kirkpatrick drives a woman to the airport, he makes sure she gets all her luggage. That's my whole philosophy."

Korra let out a good laugh and was thankful for Josh doing what he did. "This is incredible. You mean to say you drove two thousand miles just for me?"

"Uh," Josh said, "I didn't really have a lot to do. And I know how frustrating it can be to lose a bag."

Another laugh came out of Korra. Although Josh accidentally caused her much grief, she knew that his heart was in the right place, and she would thank him for that. "That it so sweet, Josh," she said, and then leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.

Josh was surprised and touched the spot where Korra kissed him while she continued staring at the briefcase. Immediately, he thought, he felt the future of him and her spending the rest of their lives together. His mouth then turned to a smile as he thought about how he was going to convey his feelings for Korra and make that dream a reality.

Meanwhile, Tarrlok and Harley entered the hotel lobby. After keeping a watchful eye on Josh, they decided that it was now time to strike and get what they deserved.

The two looked up the staircase with sinister expressions on their faces. They were going to get back the briefcase no matter what it took, even if it resorted to drastic measures.

Josh sat on the bed in his suite with a hopeful look in his eyes. He spoke with a sincere voice meant for the one person he had fallen in love with ever since he first met her.

"Look, Korra," he said, "I know this may seem a little sudden, but I've given it a lot of thought. You're the woman I've been waiting for my whole life, and I'm not ashamed to admit it." He held up his hand as if to halt an interruption. "Please… Let me finish." Taking in a deep breath, Josh continued: "I'm crazy about you. I've never felt this way about anybody." A chuckle escaped his lips before he said his next words. "Listen to me. I feel like a schoolboy again, a schoolboy who desperately wants to make sweet, sweet love to you."

What Josh was really doing was rehearsing what he was about to say to Korra. He finished off by holding his hands in the air and forming his lips together as if to practice the kiss he intended to give to the woman. The words, he thought, were perfect and there would be no way that Korra would be able to say no after hearing them.

Just then, the door to the bathroom was opened and out stepped Korra, forcing Josh to stand up and look at her.

"Oh," said Korra as she walked into the bedroom, "I thought I heard you talking to someone."

Josh walked up to her and held her by the arms. "Korra, I—I—" He was so nervous that he forgot what he was going to say, so he did his best but ended up saying the wrong thing. "I desperately want to make love to a schoolboy."

Korra was shocked by the words and began backing away from him. "Maybe I should be going," she said.

"No, no!" Josh said to stop her. He stuttered and tried to set things straight. "No, I—that's not what I meant." Bringing up his hand, he then slapped himself in the forehead for his mistake.

Both of them shared a laugh at that until Josh finally gathered up his courage and confessed his true feelings.

"Um… what I meant was, um…" said Josh. Still finding it hard to say the right words, he did his best to say what he really felt. "God. I—I like you, Korra."

The woman smiled to see that the man showed such interest in her, but she would eventually have to tell him that it was for naught.

"I like you a lot," said Josh. "I want to ask you a question straight out, flat out, and I want you to give me an honest answer. What do you think the chances are of a guy like you and a girl like me… ending up together?"

The question was heard and Korra did her best to tell him the truth without hurting his feelings. "Well, Josh, that's difficult to say. We really don't—"

"Hit me with it!" Josh interjected. "Just give it to me straight! I came a long way just to see you, Korra. Just—the least you can do is level with me. What are my chances?"

"Not good," she replied.

Josh paused for a moment and was left in shock. Here he was confessing to the woman that he loved her with all his heart and soul and she just told him that there was the possibility that they would never be together. Even though he was surprised and a little hurt by the answer, he felt there had to be some explanation for it.

"You mean not good like one out of a hundred?" asked Josh.

"I'd say," replied Korra, "more like one out of a million."

Josh nodded in understanding and misinterpreted it. He said, "So you're telling me there's a chance." He smiled and shouted out, "Yeah!"

The man nodded with approval while the woman stared at him and thought him to be delusional.

"I read ya," said Josh.

All of a sudden, a knock came at the door. Josh went over to answer. When he opened it he saw Tarrlok standing there with his hands behind his back, making Josh to believe that he was hotel staff.

"Hi," said Josh. "We have plenty of towels. Thanks."

Korra walked over and was surprised to see the man standing there. "Tarrlok!" she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been looking for you, Korra," replied Tarrlok. "I have some news about your husband."

A stunned look came to Josh's face when he heard those words. All this time he had fallen in love with a married woman and she never had the idea to tell him, especially after the conversation they just had.

Josh looked at Korra and exclaimed, "Husband? Wait a minute! What was all that one-in-a-million talk?"

Tarrlok had enough playing games, so he said, "Aren't you going to invite me in?" He held out his hands and revealed a nine-millimeter handgun that he aimed at Josh.

Martin walked back into the hotel lobby after his escapade in the Stinson's bathroom. After his date with Korra didn't go the way he thought it would he decided that it was time to head back and tell his friend what he did, because all he wanted was to make peace and put an end to the love triangle. He was halfway up the stairs when someone halted him.

"Hey, Martin, you never called!" said a familiar voice.

The man turned around and saw the woman at the gas station look up at him. Martin was left surprised to see her again, especially after the horrible first impression he made on her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Sheva put her hands together and smirked as she was going to confess her true purpose for being in Aspen.

Josh, Korra and Tarrlok all stood in the bedroom. Tarrlok held the gun at Josh while the two of them were afraid for their lives, and Korra was the most shocked to see the man she knew so well behave like this.

"Excuse me, gunman, who are you?" asked Josh.

"Don't play dumb with me, asshole!" said Tarrlok. "I'm the rightful owner of that briefcase that you've been carrying around!"

"Oh. Well, then…" Josh said and nodded in understanding.

Hearing that statement put anger in Korra as she finally figured that Tarrlok wanting the briefcase meant that he kidnapped Mako. "Tarrlok," she said, "my family trusted you!"

"Shut up!" Tarrlok shouted.

Korra did as she was ordered and Josh tried to reason with the man in order to save his and Korra's life. "Listen, Mr. Samsonite," he said, thinking the briefcase's logo was Tarrlok's last name, "about the briefcase—my friend Martin and I have every intention of fully reimbursing you."

Tarrlok was confused by the statement and said, "What?" He then headed for the briefcase but then thought against it since there was the possibility that the two would try to ambush him. He then pointed the gun at Korra. "You open it up. Open it up!" he said demandingly.

"Go ahead, open it up," Josh said to Korra. "Do what he says. Hurry."

Korra slowly made her way over to the briefcase while Tarrlok kept the gun pointed at her. When the briefcase was opened, both Korra and Tarrlok were stunned to find what was inside it while Josh stood with a smile on his face. Instead of millions of dollars inside the briefcase, all that was there was a pile of loose paper.

Tarrlok picked up the papers and said, "What is this? What is this? Where's all the money?" He tried rifling through the pile to see if any bills were left, but he ended up finding more paper.

"That's as good as money, sir: those are IOUs," said Josh. "Go ahead and add it up. Every cent's accounted for." He went to the briefcase to pick up an IOU while Tarrlok kept the gun on him. "Look. See this? That's a car. Two hundred and seventy-five thou… Might want to hang on to that one."

Josh put the IOU back while Tarrlok shook his head in disbelief. Rage immediately went through his head to see that the man spent all his money after all the effort he put into his plan to get it. The worst part was hearing that Josh had the intention of paying him back but knew that there was no way it was going to happen since there was more money in that briefcase than he would make in a lifetime.

"You're a dead man," said Tarrlok. "YOU'RE A DEAD MAN!"

Martin got up to the doors that led to his suite after his chat with Sheva. A sigh came out of him as he dreaded of what he would have to do when he got inside, especially since it involved his friend. But he knew that there was no turning back; the fate of their friendship hanged in the balance and he had to fix it right away. Unlocking the door and stepping inside, he shut the door behind him to begin what he knew was going to take a lot of effort.

"Josh," he called and threw his keys into a bowl, "I'm home!" He then took off his jacket and headed for the bedroom. "Look, we've got to have a serious talk. I've got a confession to make."

Walking into the bedroom, Martin saw Josh and Korra lying on the bed on the right, but what he didn't see was that they were tied to each other by a set of handcuffs that looped around the curtain holder. Both of them shared a look of fear as they saw Martin enter with Tarrlok stepping up behind him.

"Oh, good. You found her," said Martin. He turned to walk out and said, "I'll leave you two alone."

But Martin froze on the spot when he saw Tarrlok hold the gun at his face.

"No," said Tarrlok. "Stay." He then proceeded to push Martin on the bed where Josh and Korra sat.

All three of them were now being held as hostages. Out of a fit of rage, Josh picked up a pillow with his free hand and threw it on the floor.

A few minutes had passed as Tarrlok was on the phone with his gun still aimed at his hostages. After his plan to extort money from the Stinsons had failed and he was revealed to have kidnapped Korra's husband, he had no choice but to flee the country. But he also knew that he could not leave any witnesses.

"Yes, I'd like a one-way ticket to Amsterdam departing as soon as possible, please," Tarrlok said on the phone.

Meanwhile, Josh and Martin could barely look each other in the eye as they were both filled with rage at what was said and done. Josh wanted nothing more than to be with Korra and his friend betrayed him by stealing her away. But Martin knew that he had a good reason for his actions—and he would tell his former friend why.

Korra was still confused by their relationship, so she asked, "How do you two know each other?"

"We used to be best friends," replied Josh.

"Yeah," said Martin, "until he turned into a backstabber."

"Me a backstabber?" Josh leaned in as far as he could so he could show how furious he was. "You got a lot of nerve. You knew I was crazy about her!"

Martin also leaned in and retorted, "And you knew I was crazy about Jenni Anderson, and that didn't stop you, did it?"

All Josh replied with was a gasp. Remembering back to the conversation he had about Martin's ex-girlfriend, he knew that it would eventually come to the time that he would have to reveal to him that she cheated on Martin with Josh—but he never wanted it to be like that. Still, he tried his best to have no idea what Martin was talking about.

"What do you mean?" said Josh.

"'What do you mean'?" Martin mimicked mockingly. "Don't deny it, Josh. Jenni told me the whole sleazy story, Mr. French Tickler."

Josh saw that Martin didn't buy his deniability, so he looked away in shame.

Tarrlok was still on the phone finishing up his conversation with the airport. "Okay, what time does it—what time does that leave?" he said. "Thank you. Wait a second. Can I have a vegetarian meal?"

Back on the bed, the two former friends continued their argument with Korra having to endure it with displeasure. She knew that it was a mistake made by the two men but she was hoping they would set their minds on what was happening to them right then and there.

"I guess we both learned a little something about each other today, didn't we?" said Martin.

"Yeah, you said it, pal," said Josh. "Maybe we're not as good of friends as we thought we were."

"I guess not."

"I mean, if one beautiful girl can rip us apart like this, then maybe our friendship isn't worth a damn. Maybe we should call it quits right now."

Martin was glad to hear those words, so he looked Josh in the eye and said, "You just tell me where to sign, bud."

"Right on my ass after you kiss it!" exclaimed Josh.

"Kiss it?" yelled Martin. "You kiss mine!" He then turned over and pointed to his rear. "Both cheeks! Both lips! Right here!" Then he proceeded to make kissing noises.

Josh was so enraged by it that he started thrashing his legs out to kick Josh but tried his best not to hit Korra.

Korra stepped in to mediate and said, "Stop it!"

The shouting was getting so annoying that Tarrlok hung up the phone when he was finished talking and aimed his gun at them.

Martin continued with his taunts. "Put it right—"

"Shut up!" shouted Tarrlok.

Everyone was silent and remained still as the man aimed the gun at them. It was time for him to make sure that none of them would tell anybody about what he did or where he was going.

"Now, which one of you losers wants to get it first?" said Tarrlok.

Martin breathed heavily at the thought of dying and he looked up with fear in his eyes. But then, he looked over to his right when he heard Josh speak.

"Over here," Josh said with shame in his voice. His attention was turned to Korra since he knew it was his fault that he interfered with the ransom. "I was the one that got you into this whole mess." Josh leaned forward and said while blinking, "Come on and shoot me."

"No! Wait! Wait!" shouted Martin. He then stood up from the bed while Tarrlok kept the gun on him. "No, no, do me first." It was then that he tried to repent with his friend before dying. "I stole your girl, Josh. I deserve it."

"No, you don't," said Josh.

"Yes, I do," said Martin.

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't!"

"Yes, I do!" Martin then tried what he could to rub it in Josh's face. "Today was one of the greatest days of my life. Korra and I went skiing, we made a snowman… She touched my leg."

Josh was getting annoyed by Martin's flaunting, so he said, "Okay, kill him!"

Tarrlok obliged, so he aimed the gun at Martin and fired two shots. Martin grunted when he felt each bullet hit his body and then fell to the bed where he lied motionless.

Both Josh and Korra looked on in horror as they saw the poor man die right before their eyes. But Josh felt a great sadness fill his body as he said, "Oh no!" He started to regret ever wanting his friend to die, and he felt so horrible for never making the effort to reconcile with him. Korra buried her face into Josh's shoulder and wept while he looked up at Tarrlok while hot tears stung his eyes.

"You killed my best friend, you bastard!" cried Josh.

Tarrlok said, "If it's any consolation, you're about to be reunited." He aimed the gun and got ready to fire.

Just then, Martin rose from the bed and pulled out a Smith & Wesson from his shirt. He aimed it and fired off all six shots at Tarrlok, but each bullet missed the target and went into the wall with the last one shattering a vase. Martin kept pulling the trigger but kept hearing clicking sounds as he had emptied the chamber.

Josh and Korra saw the entire thing and were left stunned by how the man suddenly rose after being shot.

"Martin! You're alive!" Josh said with glee. "And you're a horrible shot."

A smile came to Tarrlok's face as he said, "Lucky me." He aimed the gun back at Josh and was about to fire.

All of a sudden, the doors to the hotel suite burst open as Brad Garrison and his men rushed inside with their guns drawn and headed immediately for the bedroom.

"Police! Open up! Nobody move!" shouted Brad. "Everybody freeze! Get those hands up!"

Martin thought that it meant him, so he dropped the gun and raised his hands.

"Not you, dummy!" said Chris Redfield.

"Get the gun," said Brad.

Tarrlok stood where he was and made no attempt to flee as he saw that he was outnumbered. He knew that he failed and he was about to pay for his crimes, so all he could do was raise his hands in submission and accept his fate.

From within the crowd of police officers, someone made her way forward with her weapon drawn and then showed her ID tag. "Special Officer Sheva Alomar, FBI," she said.

Josh recognized the woman from the bar and was left confused at what was going on. "Hey!" he said. "Who? But—huh?"

"Mr. Mystery, thank you very much," said Sheva. "We couldn't have done it without you."

Martin lowered his hands and smiled as he congratulated himself for the good deed he did. Not only was he able to save his friend but he helped the FBI in capturing a dangerous criminal—and he felt that was its own reward.

"We've been following you guys all the way from Providence," said Sheva.

"What's going on, Martin?" said Josh. He then looked at his friend like he was some kind of double agent. "Your name is Martin, isn't it?"

"Yeah," explained Martin and pointed to Sheva, "she grabbed me in the lobby, explained what was up." He then ripped open his shirt to reveal he wore body armour underneath it. "Then they slapped this bulletproof vest on me and gave me a gun."

"But what if he shot you in the face?" asked Josh.

Martin gave a perplexed look at Sheva and wanted to know if that scenario were to happen. "What if he shot me in the face?"

"That's a risk we were willing to take," replied Sheva.

Josh was still confused about the whole thing. All this time the FBI followed him and Martin across the country and waited for the right moment to reveal themselves and save their lives, but there was still one question nagging at the back of his mind.

"How come I didn't get a gun?" Josh said out of jealousy. He turned to Korra and said, "Did you get a gun?"

Korra merely rolled her eyes at the question.

Outside the hotel police stood and barricaded it from the public, and out came Tarrlok and Harley handcuffed as they were arrested and charged with kidnapping, extortion, assault with a deadly weapon, and attempted murder. Both of them were angered that their plan was foiled by two men who were innocently caught up in it. The police led them over to a cruiser where they were forced into the backseat. Once they were seated, the cruiser drove out of the hotel parking lot with its sirens blazing.

Off to the side Alfred Pennyworth spoke to the police to consult about the damages made to the hotel suite and Korra spoke to Brad and Sheva about what happened about the ransom and kidnapping.

Josh and Martin stood in front of everyone and took in the scene before them. Never had they ever imagined something as unbelievable as a kidnapping and ransom to happen and for them to get involved in it. Even though their interference was unintentional, they were able to help work things out in what little way they could. But Josh was particularly glad that his friend was able to save his life and would be forever grateful.

"You were right, Josh: she was definitely worth the trip," said Martin.

"Yeah," Josh said in agreement. "She's something, ain't she, Martin? I'm glad we were able to help her out."

Suddenly, another police cruiser drove up to the hotel and stopped right next to Korra. The driver's side backdoor opened up and out stepped a twenty-seven-year-old man. His black hair was cut short and his amber eyes shined in the moonlight. He was dressed in a long grey coat with black pants, grey boots, black fingerless gloves and a red scarf wrapped around his neck. He kept the blanket wrapped around himself as he walked towards Korra as he appeared to be in pain. When the door was closed shut, Korra turned around to see the man and was surprised. She immediately embraced the man.

"Mako!" she said.

The man, now revealed to be Korra's husband Mako, let in a deep breath as her arms squeezed against his aching body. "Easy, easy," he said.

"You're okay," Korra said in a happy voice. But then she saw that she was causing him unintentional pain and knew it was probably from Tarrlok keeping him under hostile conditions. "I'm sorry."

"Okay, I'm just a little sore."

"Oh, sweetie."

"Oh, baby, I missed your loving."

Josh and Martin saw the woman reunite with her husband, but Josh looked stunned at the sight. His travel to Aspen was for naught as he finally saw the woman he thought was his true love with the one man who stood in his way.

"Honey," said Korra, "there's someone I want to introduce you to. He's the kindest, gentlest man I've ever met. Will you meet him?"

"Sure," said Mako.

All of a sudden, Brad looked up and shouted, "He's got a gun!"

Josh had a look of insanity on his face when he pulled out a Smith & Wesson and opened fire on Mako, which put fear in Martin for seeing his friend act in such a terrible way. Korra could do nothing but watch as her husband took each bullet in the chest.

"DIE!" shouted Josh. He reveled in the pleasure of watching the man have the last of his life drift away.

"Josh?" said Korra. "Josh!"

Josh was brought back to reality when Korra called out to him. He stared at the ground while his fantasy was still fresh in his mind until he faced the couple, saying, "Huh?"

"I said this is my husband Mako," said Korra.

Josh, swallowing his pride, smiled and shook hands with the man. "Oh," he said. "Hi, Mako."

"Hi," Mako said in return.

"I'm so happy for you," Josh said in a fake happy tone.

"Thank you." He looked at Josh and Martin and continued to speak. "Thank you both very much." Mako felt his hand being crushed by Josh but didn't notice the angered look on the man's face. "I owe you both a debt of gratitude."

Josh squeezed as hard as he could while he stared furiously at Mako. He tried to be the bigger man by accepting the appreciations from the couple, but the realization that he and Korra would never be together was so great for him that he lashed out at her husband. It was then that Mako got his hand free.

"Thank you," Mako said again.

The couple smiled blissfully at each other and walked away, happy that the nightmare was finally over and they could live their lives together in peace. Josh and Martin stayed behind and watched them leave with Josh sneering at Mako.

BlueTiger321: Hooray! Korra and Mako are back together!

Korra: I've missed you so much!

Mako: I've missed you too! *kisses Korra on the lips*

Josh: Oh, great! We do all the work and he gets the girl? That's real fair!

Martin: Well, at least we're still friends, right?

Josh: Yeah, I guess so.

BlueTiger321: Well, folks, it's not over yet. Next up is the epilogue that will contain the unbelievable ending. So, until next time…

Everyone: Read and review!