Sorry I'm late. With the beginning of December the preparations for Christmas come and I'm exhausted.
Logan stayed asleep for almost two days. During that time, Lawrence refused to leave his side. Even though Carlos had wanted to stay too, there was no way Lawrence would let him, sending him home despite his protest. However, he still came in the mornings.
Dak would also spend time there everytime he had a break, and he even had linch with Lawrence as they talked and watched Logan sleep. They were eating and watching the news, when they heard a soft groan. They quickly left their meals and went next to the bed, where Logan was just waking up.
"Hey" said Lawrence. "Look who's up".
"Dad" said Logan with a hoarse voice. He tried to sit.
"Don't" said Dak, stopping him. "Don't push yourself".
"How are you feeling?" asked Lawrence.
"Sore" he replied. "I feel like I've been hit by a bus".
"Close enough" mumbled Dak. "Do you remember what happened to you?"
Logan nodded. "Yeah, I was shot by the Hunter. Not my best memory, but, as we know, I've seen worse".
"I'm sorry, Logan" said Dak. "I should have known he would come".
Logan shook his head. "It's ok. It could have been worse, you know? We both could have died". He looked at the clock. "Two pm? How long have I been out?"
"Two days" replied Lawrence. "They had to give you some heavy drugs to make you heal without too much pain".
"Wow" said Logan. "No wonder I feel kind of relaxed". He looked around. "I thought Carlos would be here".
"He was in the morning" said Lawrence. "He wanted to stay, but I sent him to school. My guess is he'll be here after class".
"He will" said Dak. "And one he knows you're awake, he'll never want to leave again until you're released".
"That's true" agreed Logan, chuckling.
Lawrence got up. "Well, I'll go get a nurse to check on you"
"Oh, don't bother" said Dak, grabbing his plate and heading to the door. "My break's over anyway. I'll see if I can find Dr Wainwright".
After Dak got out, Logan caught a glimpse of Lawrence's food. "That looks good".
"You want some?" he asked.
Logan shrugged. "No, I feel full, even though I haven't eaten in two days".
Lawrence stared at him, and pointed at his IV and the serum he had. "That could be the reason".
Logan looked at the serum bag. "Oh, right".
POLICE STATION
"Your determination is enviable".
Gabriel sighed. He looked away from the "murder board" to see Brooke standing at the door of his office. "I owe it to the victims". He placed a picture of Logan in the list of people who had been attacked. "Each one of them".
Brooke walked in. "Any news on him?"
"Besides having survived? No" he replied. "I think he'll wake up today".
"That's good" she said. "What about the belt I gave you?"
Gabriel nodded. He went to his desk and took out an envelope from the drawer. "The resultsvcame this morning. I figured you'd want to know about this too". He took out the papers.
"So?" asked Brooke.
Gabriel read the file and raised an eyebrow. "Well, you were right about one thing".
Brooke frowned. "What?"
"The belt was indeed used to kill Jett. We got our murder weapon"
"But?"
"But the blood you found wasn't the Hunter's. It belonged to Jett".
"Dammit" she cursed. "Well, at least we got something. Are you sure there wasn't anything else?"
"Positive" he replied. "The Hunter left no marks at all".
Brooke nodded. "Ok, so what now? We wait until he strikes again? Because Logan's attempted murder was on the news, he must know by now he failed".
Gabriel shook his head. "No, no. That's not going to happen"
"How are you so sure?" she challenged.
"Becaused I said so" he said. "I'll have the Mitchell house well protected as soon as Logan's released. I'm not taking any chances of him being at risk".
"That's good to hear" said Brooke. "It's your duty to protect your witnesses. After all, the Hunter's going to kill anyone who can put him in jeopardy..."
"Stop right there" Gabriel interrupted.
"What? What did I say now?" she complained.
"Nothing!" he said. "It's just... Wait, that's it!"
Brooke stared at him. "What? What is it?"
"The Hunter will attack anyone who's onto him, right?" he said. "Let's make him believe that".
Brooke frowned. "I'm not sure I'm following".
Gabriel smirked. "Oh, you will. I have a plan".
HOSPITAL
After a nurse checked on Logan and changed his serum bag before leaving again, Kelly entered the room. She looked relieved that Logan was awake.
"Someone's looking good today" she commented.
Logan chuckled. "Well, what can I say. I got a two-days long beauty sleep".
They laughed.
"It's nice to see you in a good mood" she said.
"So, Kelly" said Lawrence. "How were his tests".
"Well" she replied, turning to Logan. "Yoy are a very lucky man".
"Really?" said Logan. "Why's that?"
"The bullet missed your stomach" she explained. "It only grazed your spleen, but we manged to stop the bleeding and repair the damage before it got any worse".
"So I'm not going to have any difficulties?" he asked.
"You won't" she smiled.
"Thank you very much, Kelly" said Lawrence. "We really appreciate it".
"It's always my pleasure" she said. She looked at him carefully. "But you don't look so good. You should go home, get some rest".
Lawrence shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea..."
"Dad, it's alright" said Logan. "I'll be fine".
"That's what you said two days ago" argued Lawrence.
"It"s ok, Lawrence" said Kelly. "It's safe here. And there are two officers outside this room".
"What about the windows?" he asked. "You know what happened with James".
"I do" said Kelly. "They have been locked. Gabriel orchestrated all of this. Look".
She took Lawrence to the window, opened the curtain and pointed to another building across the street. "Do you see that small figure on that window?"
Lawrence looked carefully. Indeed, he could see there was something there. "I see... Wait that's a person! Who is it?"
Kelly closed the curtain. "It's a sniper".
"Whoa" said Logan. "Are you serious?"
"Yes" she replied. "Gabriel wanted to make sure you're completely safe. He won't take any risks anymore".
She turned to a speechless Lawrence, who was staring at her. "I guess that's enough for you, isn't it?"
Lawrence sighed. "Ok, ok. I'll go take a shower and maybe sleep for a bit, but I'll be back, ok?"
"Ok" said Logan, as his father kissed his forehead and got out of the room.
"Your dad can be really stubborn sometimes" joked Kelly.
"Tell me about it" he answered, chuckling. "Could you pass me my phine before you leave?"
"Sure" she took the phone from a table, gave it to Logan and left.
Logan started playing with it, as he sang quietly one of his favorite tunes.
"Here it comes again, driving me nuts..."
Suddenly, he heatd the door open.
Logan didn't look up. "Dad did you forget..."
It wasn't Lawrence. When Logan looked up, he saw a blonde woman at the door smiling at him.
His surprised expression quickly turmed into a big smile. "Dr Evans!"
Marlena walked in. "Hello, Logan. I'm so glad you're alright".
"You heard what happened to me?" he asked.
Marlena nodded. "My town isn't that far. It was Dr Wainwright who gave me the news, so after I cleared my schedules, I decided to come and pay you a little visit".
"Wow" said Logan. "Thanks".
Marlena looked around. "So, is your dad here?"
"No" he replied. "He went home to rest, but I think he'll be back soon".
"Oh, that's ok" said Marlena, as she sat next to the bed. "Then I guess we can talk".
"About what?" he asked.
Marlena smiled. "Anything you want".
POLICE STATION
"What?! Are you nuts?!" said Brooke. "What the hell is your problem? You said you wouldn't take any risk of anyone being in danger again!"
"Hey, it's a good plan!" defended Gabriel. "The Huntet will believe it. He'll try to attack, and when he does, he'll fall into our trap!"
"What if it goes wrong?" argued Brooke. "What if someone gets hurt? You know that boy wants revenge more than anything and he'll say yes in a heartbeat. He has family to look after! What if he dies?"
"That's not going to happen" he said. "I won't let it. I'll be there to help him".
Brooke groaned. "That"s not the point, dammit! You're putting a TEENAGER against a serial killer! I just don't see how the hell that's a good plan!"
"Calm down" said Gabriel. "I trust him. He's perfect for this. This plan's going to work. All I need is for him to say yes"
"He will" said Brooke, rolling her eyes. "He will say yes and you know it".
Gabriel sighed. "Listen, it's going to be fine". The Hunter's victims were all close to him and he will probably try to reach him at some point. We need to make him believe the time has come and that's why Kendall Knight is perfect for the job".
"What job?"
Both he and Brooke turned around. Kendall was at the door, with a big frown on his face.
HOSPITAL
Logan shrugged. "I am not sure".
"About what?" asked Marlena.
He sighed. "Remember when we had our last session, and I asked you why you cared so much about me?"
Marlena nodded. "I do. You feared I'd feel offended, which I didn't, and told you my story".
She looked at him carefully. "Is that what you wanted to talk about?"
"More or less" admitted Logan. "Is it bad if it gave me curiosity?"
"Of course not" she replied, smiling. "My grief ended a long time ago. And I have no problem telling you about it because, like I said, you remind me a lot of my grandson".
As Logan accomodated himself, Marlena sat straighter and took a deep breath.
"I have a daughter called Samantha Brady. She's famous in my town for unfortunate reasons I'd rather not mention. One day, she met a man called Lucas Horton. Together, they had a son, and she named him Will. Unfortunately, they ended up hating each other, especially when Lucas found out he was the father two years later. The hook-ups and break-ups of his parents broke Will's heart, and he spent his childhood in the middle of custody battles and obsessing over them being together. Eventually, that went away as he grew up".
"I'm sorry to hear that" said Logan sincerely.
Marlena nodded. "Anyway. He grew up, and had a relatively normal life. He had his girlfriends, his heartbreaks, and his friends. He was espegially close to this boy named Chad DiMera. They were almost like brothers. Seeing them made me think his life wouldn't be more than a failed exam or something like that. Boy, how wrong I was".
Logan stared at her with curiosity. "What happened?"
Marlena sighed. "One day, he came to my apartment crying. He had met another boy, named Jackson Kiriakis, also known as Sonny, months before. That night, he started having doubts about his sexuality. Sonny and I helped and supported him, and then finally came out to his parents and friends. His friend Chad was supportive too, and defended him from people who weren't ok with him".
"Just like me and Dak" thought Logan.
"Will and Sonny developed a closer friendship" she continued. "They eventually started a relationship. But it didn"t last. Will fathered his ex-girlfriend's child before they started dating, and when it was revealed, they distanced for a while. I was so glad when they got back together. And his little girl was born a few months later. Sonny even delivered her, for what I heard". She chuckled. "They got a happy life and eventually got married, until the mother of his child went to prison. They did everything they could to provide for their daughter. But, I don't know how, their marriage started falling apart. And..." She sighed. "You know the rest of it".
"I'm so sorry it turned out that way" said Logan.
"It's ok" she said. Her phone buzzed and she checked it. "I must meet Dr Wainwright".
She got up. "You take good care of yourself, ok?"
Logan looked at her and smiled. "Ok".
POLICE STATION
"What the hell, Gabriel?"
Gabriel had filled Kendall in about his plan, and Kendall was certainly not thrilled about it.
"It's a good plan, Kendall" he defended. "And don't worry, everything's well calculated so you and especially Katie aren't in jeopardy".
Kendall huffed. "I can't believe... Are you kidding me? Couldn't you come up with with something better than that?"
"There isn't time!" exclaimed Gabriel. "The Hunter's out for blood and we must make him believe he'll get it tonight. Dammit, we gotta do this!"
"I hate to say this, but Gabriel's right" said Brooke. "The Hunter has done a lot of harm, to all of us. This is our chance to make him go down for good!".
Kendall groaned. He did not want to do it. But Gabriel was right. The nightmare had to end one and for all.
He slowly nodded. "Fine".
HOSPITAL
"Hey" said Carlos as he walked in.
Logan smiled at him. "So my dad was right. You did come here after school".
Carlos chuckled, and put some books and papers on the table. "I brought you your homework".
"Thanks" he replied. "You know, Dr Evans visited me a while ago".
"She did?" said Carlos. "How nice of her!"
"I know" said Logan. He turned om the TV. "Oh, look, Kendall's on the news!"
"What?"
Indeed, Kendall was by Gabriel's side in a press conference. It was his turn to speak.
"We found the weapon used in the last murder, and it's now under our custody. We also have a new primary suspect whose identity can't still be revealed until we get confirmation, and that's practically what we're working on tonight. Thanks to our investigation, we might have that information sorted out by tomorrow morning. Thank you".
Neither Carlos nor Logan noticed Kendall had lied.
"Logan?"
Both boys had been so absorbed by Kendall's statement that they hadn't heaed the door open. When they turned around, their expressions went shocked.
At the door was another woman. A woman they had thought they'd never see again. Especially Logan. His blank face said it all.
"Mom".
There's a reason for Marlena's story. You'll see it soon.
On the next THE HUNTER:
Gabriel's plan is put on motion!
Logan grills his mother.
Brooke broadcast live the operation.
The Hunter's identity is finally revealed!