CHAPTER 25

Preston's heart began to beat faster and faster as Ferreira pointed his gun at him and Nigel. However, as panic stricken as he was, he knew he'd have to ignore his fear if he was going to get Nigel and himself out of this horrible predicament alive!

Although Ferreira looked quite irate when he came through the door, Preston sensed he was rather surprised to see him there with Nigel. But then it dawned on him why; the thug had obviously believed Nigel was alone and that he'd be able to use him as a bargaining tool to obtain his freedom! Realising that enraged Preston who grabbed hold of the gun that Cate had given him and shakily aimed it at the thug!

Ferreira looked positively shocked to see the weapon, although he showed no fear and his anger soon resurfaced. The brute waived his pistol at the two young men, but there was no way Preston was going to let him get near Nigel. Thinking quickly, he placed himself in front of his terrified brother, causing the brute to move to the centre of the room to try and get Nigel in his sight again.

"You keep away from me and my brother!" Preston yelled at the top of his voice, trying not to shake too much.

"Ah….so you're the real Preston Bailey; are you! Well you're bigger than him, that's for sure" Ferreira said, looking Preston in the eye as he kept Nigel hidden behind him "but I bet you're just as weak as him and neither of you has the guts to shoot me, or anyone else!" He began to move around again to try and unnerve Preston and to get a clear shot at Nigel.

"Drop your gun you…you….bastard!" Preston shouted; his voice sounding quite furious.

"Don't be such an idiot, you're not going to shoot me; you're a coward, just like your scrawny little brother!" Ferreira yelled back, as he moved around a bit more.

"I..I…ca…can….assure you, I..I will shoot you! You're nothing but...but a monstrous bully and I won't allow you to hurt him again!" Preston said, as he tried to stop his hands from shaking.

"Oh, pretty please… let me hurt him" Ferreira said sarcastically "it was such a pleasure watching Skinny Pete torture him today; he cried like a baby….just like he did all those years ago….oh yes it was an absolute joy watching Pete have his wicked way with him! Ha ha ha" he laughed, clearly enjoying watching Preston look so horrified.

Preston's heart almost came out of his mouth hearing Ferreira say those despicable things. However, despite the fact he couldn't hide how he felt, he still managed to yell "Stay back!"

Realising that Preston's aim looked completely off, Ferreira took a chance and suddenly leapt forward, shoved him to the floor and hit the gun out of his hand! The gun flew into the air, but just as the brute tried to retrieve it, Preston kicked him behind his knee which instantly caused the thug to fall to the ground as well. Looking quite surprised, Ferreira shook his head and cursed, but he was soon on his feet again. Grabbing hold of Preston's shirt, the thug yanked him off the floor and flung him against the wall, hoping he'd be out cold long enough to enable him to get hold of Nigel. However, Preston was pumped so full of adrenaline he managed to leapt back in seconds and put himself in front of Nigel again.

Bluffing confidence, having been quite surprised that Preston had fought back so strongly, Ferreira laughed and shouted to the agents outside the door "if you don't let me go I'll kill the kid and shoot his dim-witted brother!"

Cate and Derek had heard the scuffle going on inside the room and wondered how on earth they could have been so stupid to have left the brothers alone…..and then let Ferreira get past them! Fearing for the lives of the young men, Cate moved towards the door and was about to shout back when to everyone's absolute horror, a loud bang was heard from inside the room! Believing that one of the brothers must have been shot Cate and Derek looked at each other both feeling quite stunned. A second later, however, the door very slowly opened causing the agents to step back and aim their guns at whoever was there.

Hearts in their mouths, hoping it wasn't Ferreira holding one of the brothers as a human shield, they were totally shocked to see Preston stood there looking like he was about to faint! Cate took his arm and Derek, keeping his gun out in front of him, rushed into the room wondering what horrors he'd find.

Expecting the worst, he quickly looked around where he saw, much to his surprise, Ferreira lying in the middle of the floor in a pool of blood! He couldn't tell if the brute was alive or dead but, truthfully, he didn't care; he simply picked up the thug's revolver and slowly turned around to look at Nigel. Hoping he'd still be alive, having heard the fight just a minute ago, Derek was totally shocked by the scene that greeted him! Yes, Nigel was certainly alive; but he was sitting in the wheelchair, leaning slightly to the right, with a blank expression on his face….holding a gun!

Feeling relieved after the initial shock and keeping one eye on Ferreira, Derek moved slowly towards his friend, put his muscular right arm around Nigel's back and carefully removed the gun with his left hand.

"It's OK buddy, it's over….we'll soon get you out of here" Derek said, keeping his arm around his young friend and shouting "get the paramedics in here now!" Within a minute they arrived and one of them immediately checked Ferreira, whilst the other attended to Nigel by temporarily bandaging up some of his wounds and checking his vital signs. Nigel could barely speak, he was in such pain, but he managed to tell the medic enough to enable him to safely sedate him and get him back to the hospital.

Unbeknown to her, Sydney had arrived in Rio about twenty minutes after Cate had located the bunker. She'd been flown to Brazil in a jet which Cate's boss had organised when she'd indicated to him that she might need the relic hunter's help.

Immediately upon arrival Sydney had made her way to the police station where several Interpol agents were busy questioning the gang. Having hoped that Cate and Derek would be there to meet her, Sydney had been shocked to discover that they'd already left to look for Nigel.

Although she was delighted that they'd gone after him; she couldn't help but wish she'd been able to go with them. However, as it was, she'd no choice but to wait with her friend, Richard, the agent who'd documented and removed the physical evidence from the mansion, as neither he, nor anyone else knew where Cate and Derek had actually gone. Feeling so frustrated at the timing of the mission, she'd been unable to sit still; although Richard did his best to calm her down. In that regard, all he could think of was to explain what had happened to the evidence he'd obtained; particularly the box she'd wanted separated from the others.

If it hadn't been for the fact she was so concerned about Nigel, she'd have definitely wanted to hear more. However, having tried hard to concentrate on what Richard was saying, she'd only managed to take in a few details such as the destination of the evidence. Apparently the box, and everything else such as tapes, photographs, counterfeit money and stolen works of art, had been sent to Interpol's head office, along with anything else that was particularly incriminating to the gang and could be used in the courts.

Having waited for two hours, Richard received the call he'd been waiting for and immediately advised Sydney that Cate, Derek and Preston had either shot or apprehended the entire gang and were now at the hospital with Nigel! With her heart in her mouth Sydney had wasted no time in getting over there, feeling desperate to know how the young man she loved so much was doing.

At the hospital Doctor Menzie had personally waited outside for Nigel to arrive; as he'd been forewarned of his serious condition. However, regardless of the fact he'd been pre-warned, having looked closely at the young man, whom he'd become very fond of over the past month or so, he was totally shocked by his appearance. The fact was, Nigel's face had barely been touched, although it certainly revealed how much pain he was in. What was really shocking though, and made him feel quite emotional, was the terrible injuries that had been inflicted on the rest of his small body!

He examined Nigel straightaway and discovered, to his dismay, that his patient's ribs needed immediate attention and his toe required re-taping. There were four serious puncture wounds on his stomach and several on his arms, chest and shoulders. He had multiple bruises over his entire body and what looked like cigarette burns on his feet!

With the help of two nurses, Doctor Menzie stitched up his serious wounds and taped up his ribs, which caused him to recall that awful night, right after the raid, when Nigel was first brought to the hospital. Thinking about that incident, and the further concerns that had been brought to his attention later on; he felt it prudent to check for signs of sexual assault and immediately undertook that.

Arriving at the hospital feeling very tense indeed, Sydney rushed to the reception desk and explained in some detail who she was and who she'd come to visit. The receptionist remembered her immediately and advised that Nigel was still being examined and that she'd have to wait a little while for that to be completed. That, of course, was not something she wanted to hear but she understood and desperately hoped he'd be alright.

Wandering into the waiting room to sit and calm her nerves, she was glad to see Preston sitting there, although he didn't notice her enter and looked quite distressed "Hey Preston, are you OK?….How's Nigel?" she asked, hoping he'd not received some bad news!

The moment he saw her he leapt up from his seat "Oh Sydney, thank God!" he said, as he threw his arms around her. They hugged each other tightly for almost a minute; neither one of them wanting to let go at first, although she was nervously anticipating a rather upsetting reply.

Preston looked at her and blinked back the tears "I…I'm sure Doctor Menzie will be able to make him better….the paramedics seemed to think so anyway….but he was in such an awful state when we found him! We'll know more when the doctor finishes examining him but…but...oh Sydney…he was in agony; it was terrible! Just terrible!"

Sydney held his hand and tried not to go to pieces herself "how the hell did those brutes manage to get hold of Nigel in the first place Preston?" she asked, realising he was feeling deeply troubled by the whole situation, but needed to talk, or do something while they waited for the doctor.

Trying to keep his emotions in check he then went on to describe the circumstances leading up to Nigel abduction and about the antagonistic note that had been left.

Sydney was furious "how on earth could it have been so easy for Maria and those men to get on to the top floor! Roger Tombs and Interpol had so many security measures in place!" Sydney said, wondering if Preston knew anything more.

"It wasn't that easy really; I found out about 20 minutes ago that it was a young man who works here as a part-time orderly that provided them with a wheelchair and uniforms…" Preston said, being quickly interrupted by Sydney.

"I hope he rots in hell!" she said, looking really angry.

"Actually Sydney we'd all been suspicious of him when we found out he was a new employee and that he'd gone missing….but he turned himself in about half an hour ago. You see he'd called his mother, who's a nurse here, to explain what happened and she told him the gang were now safely behind bars. It turned out that Ferreira had threatened to kill him and his mother if he didn't help them" Preston said, hoping he'd been clear.

"He could have just made that up so that he could come back home!" Sydney said, wishing she could get her hands on the boy!

"Look Sydney, they know now he was only working here to put himself through college and he's never had anything to do with gangs, drugs or crime before, so the agents believe he's telling the truth!" Preston said, understanding Sydney's concerns.

"Oh….I suppose…..well, under the circumstances….that's quite logical" Sydney said, rather grudgingly; after all it was HER Nigel that had actually suffered "look is there any chance that the kid told Ferreira that Ian Worthingham and Nigel Bailey are one and the same person? I know Cate's trying to discover how that piece of information got into the brute's hands!"

"No, I'm afraid not, as neither the boy nor his mother knew anything about Nigel's past, or that he'd called himself Ian in front of Ferreira….no, he was just chosen by the gang because he was an orderly who nobody would notice taking a wheelchair out of storage…. of course, Interpol are still interviewing all manner of people to try and find that out….but as far as I know nothing's come to light as yet" Preston said, wishing he didn't have to think about all that right now.

"Oh I see….I guess knowing won't change anything anyway….but they better have revealed it under threat of death and not for money!" Sydney replied, squeezing both of her hands into a fist and indicating what she'd do if she found out someone had maliciously given Ferreira those particular details.

Doctor Menzie arrived just as Sydney put her arms down by her side and seemed surprised to see her there "Oh! Hello Sydney!..…Nice to see you again….oh but I'm so sorry you've come back to Rio under such terrible circumstances" he said, looking rather serious.

"Hi doctor….Nigel's alright isn't he?" she asked, her heart sinking as she waited for him to tell her something awful.

The doctor looked at her and then at Preston "well yes….physically he'll start to feel a lot better in about a week or so, but because he was so badly tortured, I can't guarantee how he'll react psychologically when he wakes up."

"Tortured!" Sydney yelled; horrified to hear that as although she knew he'd been beaten, Preston had omitted, for obvious reasons, to tell her that "what the hell did they do to him!?"

"Oh" the doctor said, looking at Preston and immediately realising why he'd been unable to explain that "I'm afraid from what Preston's told me, they repeated the horrors they'd inflicted upon him when he was a little boy!"

Sydney turned pale remembering what she'd been told about that "was….was he…."

"No, thank the Lord….. I've checked; he wasn't raped this time!" Doctor Menzie said, immediately knowing what she was thinking.

"Oh thank goodness!" Sydney said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Are you sure doctor?….Really sure?" Preston asked, giving the doctor a pleading look.

"Yes, yes I'm sure! I was very thorough!" Doctor Menzie said, understanding how surprised Preston was; because he was too.

"Um….can we go and see him…please doctor" Preston asked quite nervously.

"Well he's asleep right now and I want him to stay that way for as long as possible; so you'll have to be very quiet. Actually, Preston, you're looking rather tired yourself….so you'd better not stay too long…you definitely need to get some rest!

"OK doctor" Preston said; trying not to yawn and hoping his brother wouldn't look too horrific.

Entering Nigel's room they were both surprised to see that his face looked just fine, apart from the dark circles under his eyes. Of course, underneath the sheets Preston knew it was an entirely different story, as he'd, obviously, seen some of the horrible wounds when he was in the bunker. Pulling up the sheet very carefully to see if his brother's injuries looked any better, Sydney couldn't help looking as well. However, regardless of the fact she'd been told he'd been tortured; she was still truly shocked and deeply upset by what she saw. Preston put the sheet back over his brother and stroked his head "Doctor Menzie's done a good job there. Thank goodness Derek forced Manuel to tell him were Ferreira was hiding, otherwise….well, God knows what else that swine would have done to him!" he said, looking really upset.

"Yes" Sydney replied, feeling very miserable seeing Nigel lying there in such a state "I was so worried when you and Derek called me; I knew I shouldn't have left him while that thug was still on the loose!"

"You had no choice Sydney; you were more or less forced to go home….but he did miss you….I must admit" Preston said, stroking Nigel's head again and holding back yet another yawn.

"So what was it actually like in the bunker Preston?" she asked, wondering how he'd coped when he found Nigel in such a bad way.

"Oh it was pretty stuffy down there, but the brute still had his luxuries. There were several rooms, but when I saw Nigel in one of them….oh my God…it was horrible, just horrible!" he said, going on to describe how they discovered Nigel with Skinny Pete and how Ferreira barged in to try and take him and Nigel hostage.

"Well at least Cate and Derek stopped him! You know I hate guns, but I think he got what he deserved when they shot him!" Sydney said, looking over at Nigel and wondering what it would be like in the future to be married to him.

"Oh well um….you know Sydney, it wasn't actually either of them who shot Ferreira, no it was…well…. it was Nigel!" Preston said, describing how that occurred.

Sydney was dumbstruck as she realised how harrowing that would have been for Nigel, regardless of how much he hated Ferreira "I guess he knew he had no choice Preston….but that'll probably play on his mind for a long time….damn it…I wish Derek had done it!"

"Me too Sydney…but I'm still glad he had the strength to do it; otherwise we might both be dead!" Preston said, looking at Nigel and realising how much he loved his brother and wanted him to be free of pain and suffering.

Once he'd finished his account of the rescue he suddenly realised that Sydney had misunderstood one rather important point. Feeling he'd no option but to clear that up he nervously turned to her "Um Sydney, now don't get upset but...um…well Ferreira...he um… isn't…um….actually dead…he's…well….somewhere in this hospital being attended to!"

"What! I thought….. why isn't he in a prison hospital!?" she yelled, forgetting that she'd been told to speak quietly.

"Hush Sydney!….you'll wake him" Preston said, quickly putting his finger to his lips and checking on his brother "Ferreira was apparently brought here because he was bleeding to death…..but to be honest, I almost wish he had! That monster put him through absolute hell, not once, but three times! He deserves to die!"

"I absolutely agree! But…..you know Nigel will probably be relieved" Sydney said, trying to control her anger "I'll tell you this, I'm going to make sure the brute's out of here the instant he can be moved!" Sydney said, looking really furious.

Preston nodded in agreement; feeling just as angry.

"Preston, why don't you go back to the hotel….you know, have a shower and a couple of hours sleep; you look completely exhausted?" Sydney said, suddenly realising that nobody was actually taking care of him and he'd been through hell "Nigel's going to need you when he wakes up, so you'd better get some rest while you can."

"I.. I can't actually remember when I last slept properly, I've even had a couple of nightmares about Podge being taken again. Oh my goodness! I hope I don't get them as bad as Nigel because he's likely to get them even more now!...You're right though, I could certainly do with some rest….. Oh, but before I go there's um… something I really need to talk to you about" Preston said, looking a bit unsure.

"What is it? Can't it wait until you're a little more rested?" Sydney asked, hoping to get a little private time with Nigel but suddenly noticing how on edge Preston was.

"Well actually I'd prefer to tell you now, if you…um don't mind" Preston said; wondering what she'd think about what he was about to say "I've…um…. well, I've been thinking about this for um…. well…. ever since you went back to America really. I…I think I should um…. take him back to England with me…..you know; when he's fit to travel."

"Oh!" she responded, looking a little surprised.

"Sydney, I want to do what's best for him and I think that means ensuring he has a complete break from anything that's even remotely stressful; including relic hunting….just for a while anyway. Of course, he's going to need people around him who'll understand his moods; which is why, Sydney….. I'd um... really like you to come to London with us."

"Oh!" she said, instantly realising that Trinity would be fine if it was just a few days, but she knew Nigel's mental and emotional healing was going to take months! However, she said nothing as she knew Preston needed to get this off his chest.

"Yes Sydney…..as I said, Podge missed you terribly when you went back to work, so it would be wonderful for him to have you around to help him get back to normal...and from what doctor Menzie just said, I think he's going to need a lot of help with that."

"But are you actually sure he wants to go home to England? Don't you think he might prefer to convalesce in America?" she asked, hoping he'd seriously consider that.

"I haven't actually asked him….it's just something I feel would be best for him; but I actually genuinely think he'll want to go home though" Preston said, beginning to yawn again.

Sydney could see how sincere Preston was, but before she could get a word in he continued.

"Look I've telephoned a company in England to arrange for a new security system to be installed at the house and for several alterations to be made as well…I just want to make sure he'll feel safe and comfortable. But um… well my one worry is that you might have to replace him at Trinity…. you know…. if he takes a long time to convalesce…..I don't want either of you to lose your jobs….well apart from the relic hunting bit. I have to admit Nigel made me feel quite uneasy when he told me about some of the things he got up to on those hunts….and I actually witnessed some of his recklessness! Oh…and let's be honest, yours too; when I joined you on a few!.…So um….what do you think?" Preston asked, very seriously

"Oh Preston, Nigel's irreplaceable in every respect, so there's no way he'll lose his job….I'd never let that happen! But you know if he comes home with me I could organise a nurse to take care of him when I'm at work…and I won't go on any hunts until he's fully recovered and can look after himself. Of course, when he returns to Trinity I can arrange for him to have light duties…..and until then I could get a temporary teaching assistant" Sydney said, hoping that would alleviate Preston's fears, although she was convinced that the powers that be at Trinity would want Nigel to be taken care of by his own family. Naturally, though she too wanted what was best for him….but she hated the thought of not seeing him again for goodness knows how long!

"Sydney….I really do think he'll make a quicker recovery if he's at home, but particularly if you're with him. You see, just recently he's been calling out for nana and Nathan when he's had nightmares. Nana's what he calls our housekeeper, Mrs Jackson….and Nathan; he's our handyman and chauffeur. They're the two people he'd always turn to at home when he was sick or unhappy or, if I'm truthful, when I'd given him a good hiding! Mrs Jackson's been with the family since I was born and Nathan since Nigel was very young. They know him better than anyone, including you Sydney…but he did call out in the night for you, me and Derek sometimes, so it would be so great to have you with us" Preston said, noticing Sydney smile at that.

Avoiding letting him know that she couldn't really come, she looked at Nigel sleeping "I'd hoped his nightmares would have gone away, but when I called him recently he said he was still having them every now and again" Sydney said, recalling that conversation.

"Yes that's true, they'd actually got a lot better; in fact, there were nights when he didn't wake me at all…but now might be a different story!...You know Sydney…..if he tells me he doesn't want to come home with me; then I'll come to America with him. I don't care if he protests…..I have to look after him properly this time!" Preston said, sensing Sydney might be holding back something and making it clear he was not going to let his brother out of his sight, no matter what Nigel decided to do.

"Oh…that's great! Look, if you come to America you can both stay at my house; there's no room at Nigel's for a long term guest, but I have a large spare room you can share" she said, suddenly noticing a guilty look on Preston's face again.

"Damn! That's another thing….I should never have allowed him to live in that tiny apartment; he's used to a completely different lifestyle at home. Of course, in a few months, when he gets his full inheritance, he'll be able to buy a house, but I should have provided him with a more suitable place to live years ago! I'm such a dreadful brother!" Preston said, looking quite distraught.

"No you're not! Well not any more.…. Look Preston….you and Nigel weren't on good terms for a long time; but you still helped him out financially over the years. You even paid for him to go to boarding school and university. He explained all that when we went up Corcovado Mountain and I can tell you this…. his apartment's beautiful….and even if it is small, he's hardly ever there; I'm always dragging him off on relic hunts" Sydney said, trying to make him feel better; although the mention of relic hunting was probably not a good idea!

"OK his apartment might be alright, but as for the financial help…. I always told him they were loans" Preston said, wanting to be truthful about that "our parent's wanted him to have the best education possible and that meant Oxford. I paid for that and everything else….but actually our lawyer had money set aside specifically for his education….I just didn't ask him for it. To be honest I was as jealous as hell that he went to Oxford, but at the time I was so insecure about my parenting skills, I wanted something to brag about to our parents' friends….they were very impressed that I sent him there!"

"Do you begrudge what you did for him now?" Sydney asked, believing she knew the answer.

"No….not for a second! I'm totally relieved that I helped him now, if I'd deprived him of the education he deserved, I'd never have forgiven myself; not ever and um… neither would Mrs Jackson or Nathan. Sydney I'm so proud of him; look what he's been through in his life; yet he's not got a mean bone in his body. Anyone else would have become twisted and resentful, but not Podge!" Preston said, looking over at Nigel, hoping he was still fast asleep.

"Come on Preston; stop feeling so guilty about everything and try to relax; you know he's very grateful you sent him to Oxford and you also know it has to be Nigel's decision about where he goes to recover; not yours or mine. You just start thinking about yourself for a change before you become ill, OK?..… Hotel….now!"

Preston smiled at her "OK you're right, but I'm in room 602 if you need me for anything. You have my mobile number if he wakes up...and Sydney….thanks" he said, as he walked out the door.

Sydney moved her chair closer to Nigel, gently stretched her arm over his body and leaned forward to get a better look at his face. She really was delighted to see he was as handsome as ever but she still thought it was odd that the brutes had so viciously beaten his body, but left his face untouched. She always thought he looked quite childlike when he was asleep and this was no exception; although every now and again he'd flinch or moan, which meant he was probably dreaming or feeling some pain.

She'd missed Nigel terribly when she returned to work but, of course, knowing how much she relied on him, everyone at Trinity expected her to feel that way. She'd covered up her feelings quite well by explaining how difficult it was preparing the classrooms and grading papers alone; but they'd no idea how she really felt.

However, unbeknown to her, Karen was beginning to notice other little things that were a little odd…like Sydney staring at Nigel's empty desk, looking like what she could only describe as 'lovelorn'!

Thank you so much for the reviews!

In the next chapter, find out the shocking truth about how Ferreira discovered Nigel's true identity!