Conspiracy

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:


Chapter 28 (The Bomb Explodes)

The sirens that filled the sky were like the wailing of a child, but they held the commanding force of a ruler. Jade's ears were ringing as she sat alongside Sikowitz, who was racing in line with several patrol cars; his vehicle was second only behind Detective Mark's vehicle.

"Jade, I'm not going to ask you to sit alone in the squad car, but if you go in there-you need to remain close by the officers." Jade's eyes widened and she tried to respond positively, but her throat was closed off from fear. "You've never been to a potential crime scene before. I don't think you should see it, but given your career choice, you're going to see it eventually. Nobody is ever prepared for what they're going to walk in, that's the first rule to remember."

"O-Okay." She remembered hearing it before. The only crime scene she'd seen was the photograph of Trina laying on the floor after her assault. The entire Vega home was a crime scene, yes, but not in the same way. "I hope we get there in time."

"That's all anybody can do." His hands tensed around the steering wheel and his eyes slanted. It was the most serious she'd seen the man, and that alone was frightening. "If any officer ever tells you they're not afraid, they're lying. You don't know what you're going to walk into, you don't know who is lying in wait or how dangerous the situation is going to be…an officer of the law can be the most prepared person for any situation, and still, they are never fully prepared."

"I understand."

The video footage was still vivid as the morning sky in her mind. They ran through years of torture, pain, and anguish. Several nights ended with Robbie crying alone in bed, and as the years progressed his grief turned to anger and he was becoming increasingly violent.

Some days he would strike the walls, kick over furniture. Some days he used Robbie as a diary, telling his thoughts as though Rex was the only one to hear. He hated his mother, he hated David and Rebecca. There was plenty of footage with Lanie ordering David and Rebecca around, talking about Holly and the girls, and there was plenty of footage where Lanie would not only strike them but she'd go on to strike her own son and accuse him for the hell she apparently endured.

She at one time confessed to a murder, saying to Robbie how she poisoned 'that man' and set his car up to look like he died in an auto accident, and how easily she could do it to him.

All this negative footage aside, it was the very last thing that stirred the police up.

"I don't know what to do anymore!" Robbie slammed his fist into a wrought-iron fence and screamed out. "I want to do the right thing, but I don't know what that is. I can't stand her, I can't fucking stand her. I'm losing my cousin, everyone hates me because of her."

He walked across another cage and stopped before it; it was a batting cage. "Here's where Mr. Richardson is always at." The camera shifted to a metal bat on the ground, and Robbie's hand moved into view to grab the item. "This is his bat, isn't it? He forgot it?"

The camera bounced multiple times, then stabilized with Robbie in front. The boy's eyes had dark circles around them, and his lips were twisted into a grin. "A little batting practice."

He fired up the balls and started to swing the bat, and each swing was steadily growing in power. By the time he was done, he was breathing heavily and gripping the bat so hard that his knuckles were white. Robbie crouched in front of the puppet and chuckled dryly.

"I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to turn this stupid camera in. All the evidence against my mother for what she did to that family. I guess it's right. I don't know, I've been so confused for so long but my head is clear now."

"She has to die."

Robbie swept his hand through his hair and groaned. "Beck hates me. We grew up together and he hates me. Andre doesn't trust me either for some reason, and of course I'm sure Jade wants nothing to do with me." Robbie grabbed Rex by the head and screamed at the top of his lungs. "It's not my fault. It's not fucking my fault! My mother is a psychopath, she's deranged, she only cares about herself. She's hurt so many, why should I take the blame for what she's done? Why, why, why?"

Rex fell to the side, and the next thing the camera saw was a foot swinging into it. "I'm going to take this bat, Mr. Richardson's bat. I'm going to turn this camera in to that investigator-I know Sikowitz is a P.I. Then I'm going to use this bat and take it to my mother…poetic justice. I can't do this anymore. I'm dead if I do and I'm dead if I don't. It's me or that bitch, what else can she take from me? Nothing! I won't let her!"

"We're here." Jade shook herself and turned her attention to Robbie's home. The front door was wide open, so she knew something was wrong. "Now you can do what you want, I would prefer you stay in the car. If you come inside, you are required to stay next to and behind the officers, understood?"

"Understood." She opened the door and stepped out slowly. Several officers surrounded her, and Sikowitz soon joined behind her. They all had weapons drawn and were approaching the door slowly. "I wasn't expecting a shield, but I'm not surprised."

She felt like an extra burden, and she likely was, but this was important.

Once inside, they saw the grisly scene. Bloody hand prints were on the walls and furniture, and a trail was leading into the hallway. Her eyes welled up with tears as she pictured the scene unfolding with Robbie attacking his mother.

"God Sikowitz, I can't…" The blood smelled like sulfur, and the scene was worse than any horror movie she'd ever seen in her life. Then, this was real.

As they approached the hallway, they could hear a gurgling noise. It was faint, due to the sounds of glass shattering and furniture being smashed. "He's demolishing the place."

"That means he's still inside the home," Mark replied, "Jade stay back and don't become a liability." He turned to the others and straightened his back. "The suspect is still inside, and he is presumed armed and dangerous, you know what you have to do."

She let out a gasp and cupped her hands over her mouth while trying to stifle a scream. "They're going to kill him. If he resists, they're going to kill him." She followed the officers, now behind them, into the master bedroom.

Lanie was positioned with her knees to the ground and her torso over the back edge of the bed. Her arms, legs, head, and her entire back was soaked in blood. The woman's body was quivering, and Jade could hear a noise coming from her. "She's still alive," she whispered to Sikowitz, "Lanie's still alive."

Unfortunately they were not alone in the room. Robbie was standing next to his mother. The bloodied bat was raised above his head, his chest was heaving erratically and his jaw was locked tight while his mouth was wide enough to reveal him grinding his teeth.

"Drop the weapon!" Mike ordered. All officers trained their guns on Robbie, ready to fire. "Drop the bat and do not resist. Do it now!" Robbie turned his head and brought his eyebrows together. "Drop the bat."

He wasn't relenting. Jade didn't want to see him gunned down before her eyes, and she knew every officer in the room was ready. "Do it, Robbie." She screamed his name at the top of her lungs. To her great joy, he looked at her and softened his expression.

"J-Jade? What're you doing here?" He lowered the bat to the ground. Jade pushed herself in front of the officers, earning an angry order from Sikowitz telling her to get behind them.

"He won't hurt me." Jade reached her hand out and steadied her breathing. "Robbie, they're going to shoot you if you don't comply. You don't need to do this. Please. Put the bat down."

"Jade, I can't. I-I, my life's over."

"It doesn't have to be. You can get help. It doesn't have to end here. If you do this, you're only letting your mother win." His eyes grew and he looked down to the woman. She was still breathing, but it was clear to her that Lanie was unconscious. "If you were to kill her, you only become her. If you die here, you let her win. Think about it, Robbie. You don't need this."

"Beck hates me. Everything I know…it's a lie. Nobody wants me around, nobody ever will."

"That isn't true." She pressed her lips together and looked back to the officers. They were glaring at her, and still had their weapons trained onto Robbie. She took a deep breath and looked back to her friend. "Look, Beck's just stressed out. He's going through a lot, we all are, but that doesn't mean he won't eventually come back around. You two have history, there's no denying that, and I think he knows it."

"What'll happen here, Jade?"

"Well, you'll have to talk to these officers, maybe you can work something out. Who knows? Still, your life shouldn't end because of that woman…"

The skin around his face tensed for a long moment as he appeared to contemplate his next action. Sikowitz spoke up, telling him to consider very carefully what he was going to do.

"Please Robbie. Please. Just put the bat down…" She drew out a long exhale and took a small step forward. When she saw Robbie's hand tense around the handle of the bat, she stopped and stepped back. "Robbie. Please, I can't ask you again and I can't make you put it down…but if you stop now, you'll be in a lot less trouble than you will if you continue."

She turned her eyes to the destruction around the room. Everything Lanie owned was in pieces, scattered about the room as though a bomb had been set off. "You've made your point clear to your mother, I think she knows she messed up with you."

"She deserves to die, Jade."

"Maybe so." Jade extended her hands, keeping her palms facing upwards. Robbie glanced at them and furrowed his brow. "Look, I'm reaching out to you. I have nothing. Beck and I do care about you. This? This isn't your fault, and you know it more than anyone. Lanie does deserve to be punished for her crimes, but not like this. This isn't how. Do you think Tori and Trina want to see you go away for killing your mother?"

"They hardly know me. Once they knew I was involved…"

"This isn't justice, Robbie. This is murder. You're no better than her if you go through with it." Fresh tears were running down her face like rivers, and her heart was racing faster than she'd felt it before. She was doing all she could to make him realize the gravity of the situation, but was terrified he may be too far gone. "Robbie, please. I know Beck doesn't want this. Above all else."

"What am I supposed to do, Jade? Tell me! I've been lost for so long, I've been controlled by her for so long."

"Then let her face her crimes. Let her stand trial, let her stands pay the price. Let the courts decide what to do with her, and then above all else, let God be her judge, Robbie. Let it happen, and let yourself live. You can. You can receive the help you need, you can live your life. Beck and I will help you, but all you need to do; all I'm asking you to do, is put the bat down."

"I'm sorry, Jade, I really am."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "If you resist arrest, they will shoot you. I will see a good friend of mine, someone I look at like family because of your ties to Beck, gunned down. Then I have to be the one to tell him. Robbie, the last thing I want, the very last thing I want is to watch you die. I'm standing here, my arms out to you, to my friend. Put down the bat, please."

Robbie raised his eyes to the ceiling and dropped his shoulders with a heavy sigh. After several agonizing seconds, his grip on the handle loosened and the bat fell to the ground.

Jade smiled and lowered her arms as the officers ran around her. Robbie dropped to his knees and put his hands to the back of his head. Then the officers pushed him to the ground and pulled his hands behind his back, cuffing him.

A hand fell on her shoulder and she flinched when she saw her mentor beside her. She started to apologize for getting in the way, but he cut her off. "You did a good thing. We don't want anybody to die here. That's the last thing an officer wants to see."

She nodded and wiped away the tears on her eyes. An EMT ran over to Lanie, checking her pulse, then confirmed the woman was alive but barely breathing.

An hour later the true nature of Lanie's injuries came to light. She suffered blunt trauma in multiple areas and a fractured skull. She had multiple broken bones and a collapsed lung.

Once the doctors got her stabilized, she was classified as being in a comatose state. This was both good and bad; they could investigate her without fear of retaliation, but they didn't know when she would wake up or when she could face trial.

At the very least, should she wake up, Robbie would only have to deal with the charge of attempted murder. Jade prayed Lanie didn't pass, because that would mean she had to see her friend go away for murder.


Well, at the very least Lanie won't be an issue for a while. Unfortunately due to comprehension laws and competencies, they can't charge Lanie for anything while she's in a coma. David and Rebecca can be charged. Perhaps Robbie will be able to get some help. He's at least free from Lanie.