Laura's Revenge
part twelve:
"Survival of the Ambush"
After Freddie arrived and met Gloria's friend, Grace, they had some playful banter, before the nurse practically kicked them out, but, not before Gloria argued with and even sassed her. Once they were alone, the nurse warned Gloria that if her behavior didn't improve, she would have no choice, but, to tell her father. Upon arriving to the hospital the very next day and being informed of her bad behavior, John chastised Gloria about her behavior and warned that if she was to behave like that again, she would find it difficult to sit down for a while. At first, she thought he was kidding, but, after seeing his warning glare, she quickly heeded his warning. John also got to meet her friend Grace and it wasn't too long until he saw that Gloria had the mark of the werewolf. As his guilt was eating him alive, John was hit with another shocker when a woman named Sidney came up to him and informed him that she was his long lost daughter. Now, the one question that reamains is: How will Gloria handle this? Find out!
(Flashback to part eleven)
"Yes, but, not only am I visiting, I am also reuniting with a long lost relative and I was told that he was here." the woman looked at the ground, clearly showing she was nervous.
"Oh, who might that someone be?" John was curious.
"My biological father. His name is...John." the woman said in a very somber tone.
"John who?" John looked a bit alarmed.
"John Bradley. I'm his daughter, Sidney." the woman replied.
John looked as if he was hit by a stun gun, as he never knew that he had fathered another child. He knew that he lost his virginity to Sharon when they had that drunken one-night stand back in the day and that surely this Sidney gal couldn't be Sharon's. She just couldn't be Sharon's child with him, because, he only remembered doing it once with Sharon and three times with Elaina.
"I hope he accepts me into his life." Sidney looked sad.
"Sidney, you don't have to look further." John lifted Sidney's chin with his index finger, so, that way they could make eye contact.
"What do you mean?" Sidney's eyes glazed over.
"You found him." John smiled.
"D-Dad?" Sidney asked.
(Now)
Silence filled the hallway. All that was going on was John and Sidney taking a long moment to let everything sink in. Sidney was indeed happy that she found her biological father and John, in turn, was happy that he had more flesh and blood out there. However, he didn't remember impregnating anyone else ecept Sharon and Elaina, but, right now, that didn't matter. All that mattered was that they found each other. John and Sidney hugged each other very tightly.
"Dad, do you accept me?" Sidney asked, as she put her face in his chest.
"That's a stupid question. Of course, I do. I'd be a rat bastard if I didn't." John gave her a kiss on the head.
"Thank you." Sidney's voice started breaking.
"If I may ask, who is or was your mother? I don't mean to sound like an idiot, but, I don't remember impregnating anyone except my ex girlfriend and my current wife aaaand I just said that out loud! I'm such a moron." John did a facepalm after saying that.
"Dad, my mother was Connie Esposito. She did invitro fertilization." Sidney started.
"Connie." John suddenly remembered his second ex-girlfriend, as he slowly released Sidney from his grip.
"She has passed away since then." Sidney pushed a piece of her hair out of her face.
"How did you find out about me?" John asked.
"She told me about a few months before she passed after years and practically my childhood and early adulthood of not telling me. Apparently, you two didn't part on good terms and she raised me to believe that her husband Lorenzo Damico was my father when she knew that he wasn't." Sidney added.
"No, we didn't part on good terms. I ended the relationship after I caught her cheating on me with Lorenzo during our vacation in the Bahamas. That's all so long ago that I don't really condemn her for not telling you about me until way later. When she did the invitro fertilization, she must've picked up my sperm, as I was a sperm donor for a short amount of time." John had a solemn and somber tone to his voice.
"I'm sorry mom cheated on you. Really I am, dad. I just never understood why she let me believe that Lorenzo was my dad, but, like you said, the past is the past. Well, I'm glad I finally found you." Sidney put her arm around him.
"Sid, I do need to tell you that you have a lot of half-siblings. One of them is in the room you were going to. Her name is Gloria. You will love her and I am sure she will love you. She is my child with Capt. Sharon Raydor." John put his arm around her.
"Wow! I'm really excited to meet her, but, out of curiosity, why is she here?" Sidney was curious.
"Well, Sid, that's another part of me you don't know about. You see, Gloria, Sharon, myself, and Gloria's crush, Freddie Smirnov are all targets of this evil man named Victor Lyman. He wants us dead for the following reasons: Gloria, because, she was the adopted child of Dr. James Moran who had dealings with Lyman and double crossed him, resulting in his murder and the murder of his daughter Lindy and granddaughter Luna. Gloria is the only survivor and he wants her dead, because, he doesn't want any survivors. She was raped and nearly killed yesterday by his men. He wants Sharon dead, because, Sharon put him behind bars quite a few times and he escaped quite a few times. He wants Freddie dead, because, Freddie's father, Dr. Eli Smirnov had dealings with him and like Moran, he double crossed him and ratted him to authorities, after Freddie urged him to do so. Lyman put two and two together, killed Eli, and is hunting for Freddie." John stopped to take a breather.
"Oh my God! How terrible! I'm so sorry for Gloria and Freddie about their losses and what happened to Gloria. Why does he want you dead?" Sidney put her hand on her chest.
"I was getting to that. He wants me dead, because, a year ago, I went to visit my step-daughter Jane and my step granddaughter Wendy in order to reconnect. Well, a man named Razor and his men were in the midst of a gang war and I witnessed two murders. They tried to whack me off, but, I overpowered his men. However, that didn't stop him and his other men from sexually assaulting and blinding Jane and murdering Wendy. Being a veteran with PTSD, I became a vigilante and swore to avenge Wendy and Jane by hunting Razor and his men down and making them pay. Well, I did and it was deemed a justifiable homicide. Victory was lived short when Jane was killed in a vehicular accident with a friend. No doubt Lyman had anything to do with it. Anyways, he goes under the alias of Charlie Morrow, but, that's strange, because, I had an army buddy named Charlie Morrow. We're not friends anymore, because, he backstabbed me in Vietnam and went rogue. I have no doubt that he is in cahoots with Vic Lyman and serial killer Phillip Stroh just to get back at me. I had to make my wife Elaina and my daughters Mandy and Sara leave to Coachella where he couldn't find them. My father will be joining them as well as my sister. My kid brother is with my wife and daughters. My other daughter Olivia stayed back with me, but, Lyman continued to stalk us and no doubt Charlie did, too. Well, the other day, upon finding out that her boyfriend was killed by Lyman's men, Olivia vowed revenge and just as we were crossing the street, she pushed me out of the way and got hit and severely injured to the point of being in a coma. Now, I don't know whether or not she will make it." John brushed away the tears that streamed down his face, "Now, Freddie is next and we are trying to be as careful as we can. You might hate this, but, I don't think it is a wise idea for you to stick around us, because, you could have a target on your back at any moment!".
"Dad, I'm a grown girl. If I could fight off creeps in high school, I can fight off Lyman's men. Plus, I went through years of searching for you and I am not going to leave. I'll be fine." Sidney tried to reassure him.
"Look, Sid, I don't want anything to happen to you." John sounded as if he was pleading.
"Dad, I'll be fine. I appreciate your concern, but, I will be fine." Sidney patted him on the shoulder and gave him her "trust me" look.
"OK, but, please be careful and mindful of your surroundings. I'll keep you on a tighter leash, though." John sternly reminded her.
"OK dad. Now, can I meet my sister?" Sidney sounded like a teenager waiting to see her gift.
"Yes, but, first, I need to tell you a little something. You ever heard of "The Wolf Man"?" John changed the subject.
"Is that the one with David Naughton and Jenny Agutter?" Sidney asked.
"No, that's "An American Werewolf in London." John shook his head.
"Isn't that a song by Warren Zevon?" Sidney tilted her head to the side for a brief moment.
"No, that's the song "Werewolves of London". Good one, though! No, in "The Wolf Man", Bela Lugosi bites Lon Chaney Jr and he turns into a werewolf. Same thing happens to David Naughton in "An AMerican Werewolf in London". Anyways, Claude Rains plays Lon Chaney's father and he ends up killing him." John explained.
"OK, but, I fail to see what Claude Rains, Bela Lugosi, David Naughton, and Lon Chaney Jr have to with you." Sidney was completely thrown off.
"Imagine those werewolf attacks in the real world, because, it happened to me long ago. Since then, I have lived with this curse and I passed it on to Gloria just yesterday when she needed blood due to an injury that caused her to lose a lot of blood. Little did I know at the time that I gave her my contaminated blood and now, she will turn into the beast at the next full moon just as I will. What happens next, we will be completely unaware of until the next day when we have to live with it, because, the realization of you living with the curse forever will set in. I have the mark of the beast on my chest and now, so does she. I know it is a lot to take in, Sid, but, believe me, it is real." John rubbed the back of his head.
"Dad, you should know the dif-" Sidney was cut off.
"Take a good look at my chest." John opened his shirt revealing the scars and the pentagram.
"Oh my God. You're-You're-What happened?" Sidney was in complete shock and awe when she saw the keloid scars and the said pentagram.
"Well, it was a long time ago. Before I went into Vietnam to be exact. I was out walking with a friend of mine when we stumbled into an area that looked like the woods. Of course, we were warned to not go into the woods, because, it was the night of the full moon and whoever went into the woods never made it out. Alive that is. Like the stupid juvenile fools we were, we decided to go into the woods just to see for ourselves. As we got in, we started hearing howling and growling all over, yet we could never see the source behind it. That's when the fear of God was put into us, because, we started running here, there, and everywhere in search of the exit, but, we got lost and soon after, we got separated as fog came in and made it diffcicult for us. As soon as the fog cleared up, we were reunited, but, the monster found us and tore my friend to shreds. Like a coward, I ran away, only to turn back and try to save my friend who was already dead and practically stripped to the bone. That's when the thing pounced on me and mutilated me to the point of my guts hanging out. I managed to stagger out of the woods until I passed out and woke up five weeks later in a hospital room. I had the hospital keep it hush hush from everyone in my inner circle after they told me about my friend's death. However, despite the five weeks of being in a coma, I had recovered rather quickly. To me, I thought it was the "good old Bradley genes" your grandfather still brags about from time to time, but, I found out soon after that it was the fact that I had the curse of the werewolf inside of me and I would live with it forever. At first, I wanted to kill myself, but, after a while, I decided to live with it and here I am." John could remember the whole ordeal as if it were yesterday, despite the fact that it had been many years ago.
"Wow, dad. I-I'm so sorry that happened to you. I bet that attack still traumatizes you. Does um does Gloria know?" Sidney felt sorry for her father.
"It did for a while until I experienced the first full moon transformation and after a while, it just didn't bother me. Yes, Gloria does know. I informed her after I realized that I gave her my contaminated blood. If you are not careful, it might pass on to you." John nodded.
"Never know. Well, anyways, I would like to meet Gloria." Sidney patted him on the shoulder.
"Follow me." John motioned for her to follow him.
They headed straight to Gloria's door and knocked on it.
"Come in." Gloria said.
John and Sidney walked in and shut the door.
"Hey dad. Who's um who's she?" Gloria turned her attention to Sidney and din't know whether to feel threatened or not.
"Gloria, she is your long lost half-sister from another mother. Her name is Sidney Bradley. Sid, this is Gloria." John introduced the two.
"It's nice to meet you, Gloria." Sidney got closer to Gloria's bed and extended her hand for a handshake.
"It's nice to meet you, too, Sidney and I'm glad to have another relative. I mean we aren't blood, but-" Gloria was cut off when Sidney put her finger on Gloria's lips.
"Gloria, we are blood through dad and we are family. No matter what." Sidney smiled as she took her finger off Gloria's lips.
"Thank you, Sid. I-I truly appreciate that you accept dad and me." Gloria smiled.
"You're glad? I'm honored that you two accept you." Sidney hugged Gloria.
John, Freddie, and Grace smiled as the two sisters held each other in a hug.
Two Weeks Later...
Gloria had been discharged from the hospital as her condition continued to improve. She took Grace and Sidney's advice and purchased mace and a taser in order to prevent a creep like Lyle from raping her ever again. However, she started to notice little strange things such as her eyes providing night vision and changing colors, her ears were very sensitive to loud noises, nose was sensitive, a craving for meat, hair growing uncontrollably all over her body, nails turning into claws and much much more weird stuff. She wrote it all off as her menstrual cycle going crazy and that it'd be over within days. However, Sidney, John, Freddie, and Sharon were worrying about her and fretting the night of the full moon which was approaching. Due to being an open minded skeptic, Grace wasn't as worried as she should be and just wrote it off as Gloria and John's imaginations.
As Gloria was approaching her front door, her senses started tingling, as she thought she heard the faint sound of footsteps. She looked all around and so far, there seemed to be no sign of anyone. Believing that she wasn't being followed, she went inside her house and bolted the door shut. Just as she set her bags down, she tripped and fell over her lamp that had been knocked down, indicating that there might be one or more than one person in her house. Upon seeing that her house had been somewhat trashed, she stood up and grabbed her loaded glock.
"Hello? Is someone here? Show yourself! I have a weapon and I am not afraid to use it!" Gloria called out.
Suddenly, there was movement from behind the curtains.
"Come out of there! Come out of there or I'll give you six and I'm not kidding!" Gloria pointed her gun at the curtains.
Nothing.
"One!" Gloria started counting.
Still nothing.
"Two!" Gloria moved her finger to the trigger.
Then, out of nowhere, a man came running at her from the opposite direction, about to shoot her. Acting fast, she shot the guy dead, before turning to her right and shooting a knife wielding guy dead via double tapping. A third guy came up behind her and tackled her to the ground in an attempt to grab her gun. The guy punched her in the side a few times, nearly managing to break her stitches. Despite the pain she was feeling, Gloria kicked, punched, and just fought as hard as she could, even resorting to scratching, biting, and kicking the guy in the man area. The guy screamed in pain, crawled away from her, and stood up really fast, before making a move for his gun. However, it was the sound of a car pulling up that caused him to flee, only after Gloria shot him in the shoulder. Once the perp was gone, Gloria just laid on the floor, heaving and trying to gather her thoughts. The time for thinking came to an abrupt end when there was a knock at the front door.
"C-Come in." Gloria managed to catch her breath.
Soon the door opened and in came Sidney who immediately rushed to Gloria's aid.
"Gloria, you alright? What the hell happened?" Sidney knelt down beside Gloria.
"Well, whaddya think, Sid? My house is trashed, there's two dead guys in here, I have defensive wounds, and the third guy escaped through my slider door. You put two and two together and figure it out." Gloria told her in a very blunt way.
"That doesn't matter at the moment. All that matters is that you're safe." Sidney helped her sit up.
"How-How did you catch wind of this?" Gloria clutched her side.
"I just happened to be in the neighborhood driving by and I heard a struggle and decided to pull up to see what happened. A neighbor told me the rest. I assured the neighbors that we would take it from here. I also texted Grace and Freddie. They should be here any minute." Sidney took off her jacket and put it on Gloria, as a form of comfort.
"Thanks." Gloria held onto the sleeves of the jacket and sighed.
Soon, there was another knock at the door.
"It's open." Sidney said.
The door opened and in came Sharon, who had just been informed of the incident by Freddie.
"Gloria, oh my lord. Are you alright?" Sharon came over to where the girls were sitting and put her hand on Gloria's knee.
"Yeah, I'm fine, mom. Sid, you didn't inform my mother?" Gloria turned to Sidney.
"I was about to, but, my stupid phone went dead. Fred must've informed Capt. Raydor." Sidney replied.
"Sid, is she alright?" Sharon looked up at Sidney.
"She's fine now, Sharon. A little shook up, but, fine." Sidney nodded.
"Good. Gloria, what happened?" Sharon looked around the house and was horrified at what she saw.
"I was ambushed. Not doubt that Lyman was behind it." Gloria winced and groaned.
"You OK? Did any of these perps hurt you?" Sharon asked.
"I shot the two laying around. I fought the third one and he hit my incision site. I think the stitches are broken. I could be wrong, but, I have a bad feeling that they are." Gloria's breathing eased up a bit.
Before Sharon could respond, Gloria's phone started to ring.
"Who's calling you?" Sidney asked.
"Dad. Wait, you didn't inform dad?" Gloria looked confused.
"My phone went dead, before I could." Sidney reminded her.
"Hello?" Gloria answered the phone.
"Gloria, are you alright? My father senses are telling me otherwise and my stomach is in knots!" John sounded alarmed, as if he knew something.
"Uh.." Gloria paused.
Sidney and Sharon nodded, as if telling her, "Go ahead and tell him what happened!".
"Oh, uh, everything's fine. Not much has happened." Gloria lied.
Sidney and Sharon did a facepalm and let out annoyed sighs.
"Are you lying, Gloria?" John asked in a very firm way.
"No, dad. I'm really fine." Gloria tried her best to reassure her father, despite knowing that he knew better.
"Yeah, you're fibbing. I'm coming right now." John clearly didn't believe that his daughter was alright and hung up the phone.
"Ah great. Just who I didn't want to alarm." Gloria let out an anooyed grunt.
"Gloria, your father needs to know." Sharon told her.
"Yeah, dad needs to know if you are or aren't alright." Sidney gave her a look.
Before Gloria could respond, there was another knock at the door.
"It's open." Sidney called out.
The door opened, again and this time John came running in, with his gun pointed.
"It's alright, dad, they're dead. The third one got away with a grazed arm, as I shot him just as Sid arrived." Gloria told him.
"Gloria, thank God, you're alright." John put his gun away, went over to where Sharon and the girls were, hugged and kissed Gloria, clearly showing that he was relieved that she was safe.
"Yes, thank the good lord she is." Sharon nodded.
"Gloria, what-what happened?" John looked around and was completely shocked and horrified by the appearance of the house.
"Like I said, I was ambushed. I shot those two dirtbags over there and over there. The third one punched me in my side where my incision site is and we struggled for a bit until he heard Sidney pulling up and decided that he would knock me off. Well, I shot him in the arm and he retreated through my broken slider door. Other than that, I am totally fine." Gloria relayed the whole ordeal as it happened.
"Dad, if I may ask, how did you come here so fast?" Sidney was curious.
"Well, I don't live too far from here." John pointed out.
"True." Gloria nodded.
"Plus, my father instincts kicked in and I could tell that despite Gloria trying to act like everything was ok, I knew better. After all, father knows best." John added.
"Well, we're all relieved to see that Gloria is alright and safe." Sharon stood up.
"Yes, we are and truth be told, you were very brave to fight these dirtbags off singlehandedly. However, I don't think it is wise for you to be alone." John put his arm around Gloria.
Sharon took out her phone and texted Andy and the others.
"Dad, I think I'll be fine now." Gloria brushed off his concerns.
"Gloria, it's late at night and you were just ambushed. Look, either you come to one of our houses tonight and stay one or maybe a few nights or one of us will stay the night here and stand guard." John folded his arms and gave her a firm look.
"No thanks, dad. I'll be fine." Gloria shook her head.
"That wasn't up for discussion or debate, Gloria. You either choose one or the other." John's firm look remained unchanged, clearly showing that he wasn't about to let her continue the rest of the night alone and that she needed someone to protect her, despite her tough exterior.
"Why do I have to choose either of them? Doesn't he know that I am old enough to be on my own. I mean I don't want-No, scratch that! I shouldn't have to depend on someone to protect me. I shouldn't be a scared little child." Gloria thought.
"Gloria, which will it be? I mean I myself don't think it is a wise choice to be alone for the remainder of the night. You don't know what'll be next." John was waiting for an answer.
"Gloria, dad has a point. Nobody likes to be alone, well, some don't and plus, after being ambushed and nearly killed, it really isn't a wise idea for anyone to not have company and some sort of protection." Sidney agreed with John.
"Her, too? Sheesh! I'm not a child." Gloria said to herself in her mind.
"Hello, earth to Gloria." Sidney tapped Gloria on the shoulder.
Gloria screamed, as she was completely startled, dazed, and caught off guard.
"So, which is it?" John asked the still unanswered question.
"I'm still thinking." Gloria held her hand up.
'What's to think about? It's not that hard of a choice or is it?' John thought.
"I called the coroner and they are going to pick up these bodies. In the meantime, I'm going to go home and get a good nights rest, so, that way in the morning, my team and I could get to work on Lyman and his whereabouts, see if these dead guys are any affiliation to him or just simply burglars who stumbled into Gloria's house and were caught off guard by her, and we'll try to track down the one who got away." Sharon put her phone back into her purse.
"Uh mom, we're already planning on doing that. You and your team don't really-" Gloria was cut off.
"No, Gloria, my team and I are going to do the work from here on out. Like I said before, revenge won't get any of you anywhere and plus, it is risky." Sharon waved her finger.
"Sharon, we've talked about this and we're not about to be-" John was interrupted.
"John, this goes for all of you, including Freddie and possibly Grace. None of you are to tamper with or even go on your little sprees and interrogate those who might be suspects, including the ones who raped you and Gloria and their affiliates. My team and I will handle it from here. Period." Sharon sounded more stern than ever before.
"Capt. Raydor, it's really no biggie. We can handle it." Sidney added.
"Yeah, you never fought us this hard before." Gloria folded her arms.
"Why is this time any different than the others?" John asked.
"Look, the reason I am making a fuss is, because you, John and Gloria, you two have been raped and tortured. Plus, Gloria was nearly killed with that stab wound and she survived two ambushes already. The reason she survived the first one was, because she wasn't present when Dr. Moran, Lindy Moran, and her daughter Luna were murdered. Yes, she had an attempt on her life in that alley where you found her, John, and I just don't think it is a wise choice for you three plus Freddie and Grace to make your presence known." Sharon had worry and concern in her voice.
"So, what do you suggest?" Sidney asked.
"I suggest that you guys stay on the down low for a while. You know, do stuff on your spare time, while being careful at the same time." Sharon suggested.
"Stay on the down low?! But, we want to catch those bastards!" Gloria protested.
"I know you do, Gloria. We all do, but, I jus-" Sharon was interrupted.
"Mom, with all due respect, I think you're just trying to get us out of the way, so, that way you and your team can have full control and drag on the case. If you think you're going to steer us away from it, you're sorely mistaken." Gloria was trying to make a point, but, ended up sounding like a petulant teenager.
"Gloria, I'm not trying to do anything to that degree. Believe me, honey, I would never underestimate any of you. I just want you guys to be safe. That's all. No harm meant." Sharon tried to reassure her daughter.
"You want us to be safe?! We're not children and we're not babies! We're grown adults and we are not going to hide like scared little children." Gloria's tone went from sounding petulant to sounding sassy.
"Gloria, Capt. Raydor does have a point. I mean she is looking out for us." Sidney agreed with Sharon, though, reluctantly.
Gloria shot daggers at Sidney, as if saying, "Keep out of this!".
"Gloria, what Sidney said is true. I am only looking out for you guys. I don't want those I hold near and dear to me to end up hurt or killed, because, you know, third time is not the charm." Sharon added.
"Oh, Vaffanculo!" Gloria muttered under her breath.
"What was that? What did you say?!" Sharon went from sounding like a caring mother to a mother who could've sworn she heard her child say a "bad" word.
"Vaffanculo! (Fuck you!)." Gloria slightly raised her voice.
John, knowing what Gloria said in Italian, slapped her on the back of the head really hard.
"Ahia!" Gloria yelped and sported a pained expression on her face.
Sharon and Sidney were taken aback by this and just looked on.
"Chiedi scusa a tua madre. Adesso! (Apologize to your mother. Now!)" John spoke his Italian tongue.
"Non una possibilita! (Not a chance!)." Gloria replied in Italian.
"Vuoi avere quella "discussione" di cui abbiamo parlato?! (Do you want to have that "disccusion" we talked about?)." John gave her a warning look.
"No papa, per favore! Qualunque cosa, ma quella! (No dad, please! Anything, but that!)." Gloria immediately shook her head and threw her hands up in a pleading motion.
"Then apologize." John reverted back to his English tongue.
"Fine. I'm sorry mom." Gloria sighed and turned to Sharon.
"I accept your apology, although, I do not speak Italian and I don't know what word you said." Sharon patted her on the shoulder.
"It's for the best that you don't know." Sidney told her, indicating that she apparently knew what Gloria said.
"You ever seen "The Godfather"?" John asked.
"Yes, I have. Why?" Sharon was a bit thrown off.
"I said to you what Carlo said to Connie." Gloria raised her eyebrow.
"It's been so long since I have seen that film. However, whatever he said to her that you said to me, don't do that again or else." Sharon warned.
"Oh, believe you me, she won't be saying that word to you or any of us again, if she knows what is in store for her the next time she uses that word to us." John had a sinister grin on his face.
"What's that?" Sharon and Sidney asked at the same time.
John gave them a look and raised his eyebrows.
"But that's only for children, John." Sharon was suddenly getting the hint.
John gave another look and tapped his nose.
"Dad, did you have that done to you when you were a kid?" Sidney was curious.
"You bet." John nodded and made a pained expression just remembering those days.
"I suppose the same goes for me, too? Right?" Sidney was afraid of the answer.
John nodded and gave her a thumbs up.
Sidney also made a pained expression and rubbed her backside, as just the hint of the said "discussion" made her back end hurt.
"I also do the headslap, too and neither you, Gloria, nor my other kids are immune to it, either." John gave a firm reminder to Sid and Gloria.
Sidney and Gloria rubbed the back of their heads, as the threat made the back of their heads hurt and Gloria's was hurting from being slapped for the first time.
Sharon just couldn't help, but laugh at Sidney and Gloria's reactions to their dad's seemingly idle threats that didn't sound too idle and sounded more legit.
Later on...
After the dead bodies were collected by the coroner and Sharon headed home, Sidney and John still remained at Gloria's house, waiting for her to decide who she wanted to stay with her or whose house she was going to stay at for the night. Gloria was apparently still thinking about her options.
"Gloria, could you by some time make your decision?" John tapped his foot.
"OK, I choose you, dad." Gloria finally and reluctantly made her choice, showing that she was willing to say anything in order to get her dad off her back.
"Pfft! Daddy's girl! Favoritism." Sidney said under her breath.
"I heard that, Sid." Gloria gave her the "really" look.
"You were supposed to." Sidney teased.
"Yeah, I heard it too." John folded his arms and smirked.
Sidney turned around, closed her eyes very tightly, and gritted her teeth.
"What're you doing or waiting for?" John had a weird look on his face.
"Aren't you going to slap me on the back of the head?" Sidney was waiting for it to happen.
"Sid, I only do it when you least expect it." John told her.
"Phew! That's a relief. Well, it is getting late and I best be going. I'll come back first thing in the morning and check up on you two. Please, answer the door when I knock and please answer the phone when I call." Sidney sounded as if she was begging and pleading.
"Sid, we always have our phones on us and plus, I always answer the door." Gloria opened her drawer.
"Good." Sidney breathed a sigh of relief.
"With a loaded gun." Gloria loaded her gun back up and cocked it.
"Even better. Well, goodnight you two. I'll drop by tomorrow." Sidney said, before leaving.
"By the way, dad, thanks for staying." Gloria said, after making sure that Sidney was gone.
"You're welome, but why were you fighting it?" John was surprised at Gloria's change in demeanor.
"You think I wanted to say that in front of Sid?! I know I told you that you could stay the night in front of her, but do you think I wanted to reveal that I actually am a little frightened and relieved that you made the offer, again in front of her?" Gloria gave him a look.
John couldn't help, but laugh at what Gloria said and patted her on the shoulder.
"Well, I have extra rooms, so you can take your pick." Gloria told him.
"I'll take whichever one is available." John said.
"Follow me." Gloria went up the stairs and motioned for her dad to follow her.
As soon as they got upstairs, John took the master bedroom that once belonged to Gloria's adoptive father, the late Dr. James Moran. He unpacked his bag, grabbed a change of clothes, and hopped into the shower, while Gloria went inside her bedroom and loaded her second gun, before sliding it back under her pillow. When John finally got out of the shower, he stopped by Gloria's room and peeked in.
"Goodnight." John said, before walking into Gloria's room and giving her a kiss on the head.
"Night, dad." Gloria gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Love you." John walked out of the room.
"Love you, too." Gloria replied, before turning in for the night.
The Next Day
Gloria got out of bed and staggered into the dining room when she smelled cooking. John, sensing his daughter's presence, turned around and greeted her with a smile.
"Good morning." John greeted.
"Morning, dad. You're up early." Gloria sat down, still half awake and half asleep.
"Always am. Decided to fix us some food. Sid texted and said she'd be over." John got out some plates and silverware.
"Whatever you're fixing smells really good. However, you didn't have to fix anything. I wouldn't have minded fixing stuff." Gloria was glad her dad fixed breakfast, although she felt that he really didn't have to and that it was her place to fix food. In a way, she was right, because usually the woman fixed the food.
"No, it was my pleasure and plus, after your ambush last night, you needed a rest. Plus, I am the father of the situation and fathers must keep their kids well fed, right?" John brought Gloria her plate, then grabbed two clothes pins and a towel, and put it around her like a bib. Man, he was really being a dad today!
"Uh, what's this for?" Gloria was thrown off and a bit embarrassed by the bib thing. What was she? A baby?
"So you don't get food on yourself. I do the same to myself and my other kids all the time. Your grandfather did it to my siblings and me all the time." John did the same thing to himself, before sitting down at the table.
"Shouldn't Sid be here by now?" Gloria looked at her clock.
"Yeah, I wonder what's keeping her." John looked at his phone.
At Sidney's house
Sidney had just stepped out of the shower and wrapped her hair in a towel when she heard a noise.
"Hello? Is someone there?" Sidney asked.
No answer.
Sidney, believing it was nothing, grabbed another towel and wrapped it around herself. Pretty soon, footsteps could be heard. This alerted her to the point of grabbing her wooden bath brush and slowly walking out of her bathroom and into the hallway. Once she got halfway to the top of her staircase, a masked assailant grabbed her from behind. Scared, Sidney started beating the guy with her wooden bath brush in order to hopefully drive him away. However, the guy quickly overpowered her and tried to get her towel off, but she kneed him in the man area, before he could possibly rape her. Enraged, the guy started beating her about the face and stomach. She cried out in pain, before gaining superhuman strength and managing to push the guy down the stairs. With the guy temporarily incapacitated, Sidney ran into her bedroom, shut the door, then opened her closet door in an attempt to block her bedroom door from being opened. The guy got up, ran to her bedroom door, and managed to get it open. He was unable to get himself all the way in, so, he put his hand inside and felt around. Sidney used this opportunity to bite down real hard on the man's hand, before grabbing her hairspray and spraying it into his eyes. The guy screamed and stumbled backwards, before deciding that he bit more than he could chew and left. He was heading down the stairs when he stopped and looked up the stairs.
"Tell your sister Gloria and your dad John that I say, 'Hello!', Sidney." the guy said, before leaving.
Once he left, Sidney breathed a sigh of relief that the whole ordeal was over. Afterward, she changed into her clothes, put her hair in a ponytail, and dressed her wounds, before heading straight for Gloria's house.
'How will I hide these from Gloria and dad? They don't need to see me like this! However, how the hell did that dude know my name and what does he want with Gloria and dad?!' Sidney thought.
Back at Gloria's house
John and Gloria had just finished saying grace and were about to start eating when there was a knock at the front door. John got up from the table and went to the door.
"I hope that's Sid." Gloria said, before taking a sip of her coffee.
"It has to be her." John opened the door and looked back at Gloria for a moment.
Sidney quickly turned around. Clearly, she didn't want her dad or sister to see her that way, but she knew they were going to see the bruises and gashes eventually.
"Hi, Sidney, I-What's the matter? Huh? What's the matter?" John was surprised to see Sidney with her back to him. He gently turned her around, saw the bruises, and bit down on his fist in order to prevent himself from screaming.
"Dad, it was-" Sidney was cut off.
"Don't pull a Connie Corleone move on me, Sid. It wasn't your fault! Who did this to you?" John knew what she was about to say and decided to stop her before she could.
"It was a masked assailant and-Look dad, I'd much rather talk about it inside." Sidney said, before walking inside.
John nodded his head in understandment, shut the door, and went back to the table.
"Sidney, oh my God! Who-Who did that to you?!" Gloria noticed Sidney's bruises and gashes, as her older sister sat down.
"It was a masked dude. I think it was one of the guys who ambushed you last night." Sidney was still shook up by the whole thing.
"What makes you think that?" John and Gloria asked at the same exact time.
"Well, for starters he beat me about the face just right after I get out of the shower. Then, once he is done attacking me, he tells me, "Tell your sister Gloria and your dad John that I say, 'Hello!'.", before he left." Sidney said, in a matter-of-fact way.
"Goddamn! These ambushes aren't coincidences. Someone's targeting us and now more than ever." John had an intense look in his eyes.
"Why do you think?" Sidney asked.
"Because, we've gained allies in you and Gloria's friend Grace. Lyman and his goons won't stop until we are all whacked. He plans to hit Freddie." John's look remained unchanged.
Sidney shook her head in disgust.
"I suggest that you go back home, pack a few things, and stay the night with both of us." John suggested.
"You'd be safer here." Gloria added.
"Way ahead of you two. I have a couple of bags of my stuff in my car." Sidney replied.
"That's good. You can take Lindy's former bedroom." Gloria pointed upstairs.
"Thank you." Sidney put her arm around Gloria.
"Have Freddie and Grace touched base with you, yet?" John turned to Gloria.
"No, they haven't. I've called about three times and they haven't replied." Gloria sounded concerned.
In an alley somewhere
Grace was walking and minding her own business when a masked man grabbed her from behind and started frisking her. Knowing that it could be someone who was after Gloria and remembering that she indeed took self defense lessons, she put up one hell of a fight with the guy.
"Come on, baby! Don't do what Lindy did! Poor dear. You don't want to end up like that bitch, do you?!" the man said in a very sinister way.
Upon learning that this guy could possibly be Lindy Moran's murderer and incensed at how the guy called her a 'bitch', Grace kneed the guy in the balls, before grabbing an empty beer bottle and smashing it over his head, knocking him out instantly. She then used this time to run off to a far away location. Once she was far enough away, she grabbed her phone and dialed Gloria's number.
"Come on! Come on! Pick up the phone!" Grace was heaving.
Back at Gloria's house
Gloria had just taken Sidney to Lindy's old bedroom and was about to go down the stairs when her phone began ringing. Much to her relief it was Grace.
"Hey, Grace." Gloria answered the phone.
"G-Gloria...you're-you're not go-going to believe what just happpened to me!" Grace was hysterical.
"Whoa! Whoa! Grace, calm down. Calm...down." Gloria said into the phone.
"Gloria, I was attacked by some creep!" Grace tried her best to calm herself.
"Are you serious? Sid was just attacked a few moments ago. Wh-Where are you?" Gloria got a little louder.
"What's going on?" Sidney walked up to Gloria.
Gloria turned around and held her hand up in the 'hold on' gesture.
"Gloria, I'm in an alley. Not too far away from you. I was just minding my own business and this bastard attacked me. You won't believe what he said." Grace took a deep breath.
"What did he say?" Gloria was eager and angry at the same time.
Grace winced at the way Gloria asked the question and started having second thoughts.
"What did he say?!" Gloria started to sound impatient.
Grace still didn't answer her.
"Grace, what the hell did he say?!" Gloria demanded an answer.
"He said to me..." Grace gulped hard and took another deep breath, "Come on, b-baby! Don't do what Lindy did! Poor dear. You don't want to end up like that bitch, do you?!".
Gloria's eyes widened, making her look like a Deer in the headlights. She could not believe what she just heard. Despite the fact that Lindy was her adoptive sister, Gloria was still offended by how Grace and possibly Sidney's attacker labeled her late adoptive sister. Instinctively, she pounded her fist in the wall.
"Gloria?" Grace said.
"You just wait there. You just wait there! I'll meet you." Gloria hung up the phone and started to go toward her bedroom, "Son of a bitch! SON OF A BITCH!".
"What? What's the matter, Gloria?" Sidney asked.
Gloria ignored her and pounded her fist again, before going into her bedroom, putting her blue jeans jacket on and loading up her gun. She then exited her bedroom and headed downstairs.
"Gloria, what's wrong?" John asked, as his younger daughter furiously passed by him.
"I'll be right back. I have to go meet up with Grace. I'll explain everything later." Gloria left before anyone could even question her.
"She had better be careful." Sidney whispered to herself.
Half way where Grace was
After what seemed like a long walk, Gloria and Grace finally met up with each other. Gloria was horrified when she saw Grace slightly bruised with defense wounds.
"Grace, did you see the guy's face?!" Gloria asked, persistently.
"No, he had a ski mask on. I only saw his eyes." Grace said.
Before Gloria could say anything else, two masked thugs came up to them and started frisking both girls. Her werewolf instincts starting to kick in, Gloria sprouted her claws for the first time and scratched the thug that was frisking her. This only made the thug madder as he pinned her down to the ground and made an attempt to rip off her clothes. Gloria then sprouted her fangs and bit down on the creep's neck and kneed him in the stomach and balls, causing him to scream, as blood started gushing out of his neck and onto her face. Meanwhile, Grace was getting overpowered by the other thug, as she clearly didn't have Gloria's energy and strength. Seeing that her friend might get sexually assaulted, Gloria released the thug from her teeth and threw him aside, before going to the other thug and biting down on his neck after scratching him a few times. She managed to bite off a chunk of skin from his neck and spat it out, before applying a pressure point on him.
"I really think you and your little friend should go while you're still in one piece!" Gloria's eyes changed color for a brief moment.
"I totally agree!" the thug groaned.
She pushed him aside and watched as they ran off like cats that were being chased by dogs. Gloria regained her normal appearance and helped Grace up. Grace screamed when she saw blood on Gloria's face and hands.
"Gloria, you have b-blood on your face and hands!" Grace looked like a deer in the headlights.
"I know." Gloria casually brushed it off and showed a little pride that she was able to draw blood. She even licked some of the blood that was on her lips. Eww!
Grace cringed and made a disgusted noise.
"Well, let's go." Gloria led the way back home.
Back at Gloria's house
John and Sidney were wondering what got Gloria riled up and why she stormed out of the house. Little did they know that Grace had been ambushed on her way over there and that she and Gloria were ambushed after they met up half way. Just as Sidney was about to dial Gloria's number on her phone, footsteps were heard and pretty soon the door started to open. Gloria and Grace came in and were both heaving. Sidney and John came over to the girls.
"Gloria, Grace, what happened?" Sidney asked.
"Oh, well, we-" Gloria was cut off.
"What's the matter? Huh? What's the matter?" John put his hand on Gloria's shoulder and turned her into his direction. Upon seeing the blood on her face and hands, fearing the worst, he put his fist in his mouth in order to prevent himself from screaming.
"Dad, before you say and/or do anything, Grace was ambushed while she was on her way over and when I met up with her half way, we were ambushed. However, we fought like hell against the thugs and I bit down on their necks and scratched them a little. Then, they ran off like cats with tails between their legs and well, here we are." Gloria explained everything in a nutshell.
"I still cannot believe she bit them and licked the blood off her lips." Grace cringed, again.
"Thank God you two are safe though!" Sidney hugged both girls.
John didn't say a word, as he knew that Gloria's lycanthropy was really starting to show its tell-tale signs. He knew, because he had the same thing happen to him way back when, as he was once nearly mugged, but he managed to subdue the mugger with his muscular strength and beginning stages of lycanthropy. He also knew that the moon was going to be full in a few days and when Gloria started her first transformation, he would also transform. Preparation was definitely in order.
"Grace, how about you stay the night tonight?" Sidney suggested.
"Way ahead of you, Sid, because, I once left some of my belongings here, so, that way I could have a change of clothes and stuff here and wouldn't have to pack a bag." Grace told her.
"Good, because, I am also staying the night. These ambushes are too coincidental. Has Freddie touched base with you?" Sidney brushed hair out of her eyes.
"No, he hasn't." Grace shook her head.
Gloria didn't say anything, as she looked worried and a little pale. To her, it was one thing worrying about Sidney and Grace, but it was a whole nother thing worrying about Freddie. She started to have sweat trickle down the side of her head and her heart jumped into her throat.
"Gloria, you OK?" Sidney noticed Gloria's sudden change of demeanor.
"Wha-What do you mean?" Gloria looked troubled and dazed at the same time.
"The minute Grace said that Freddie hadn't touched base with her, you sort of changed your whole appearance." Sidney folded her arms.
"How do you figure?" Gloria's voice sounded a bit shaky.
"You're more pale than a ghost." Sidney bluntly pointed out.
"I'm just worried about him. That's all." Gloria reassured her.
"You weren't that pale about Grace." Sidney gave her a look.
"Well, Grace was uh nearby and uh...uh...uh...Freddie isn't. What is this? 20 questions?" Gloria's heart started racing. She knew that Sidney was on to her, but she wasn't about to reveal just anything.
Sidney chuckled and rolled her eyes, as she decided to just drop the subject.
"Thank God you two are here and safe." John walked over to the female trio.
"I know. I just them that these ambushes are too coincidental." Sidney turned to her dad.
"Coincidental? More coordinated. Whoever attacked Gloria last night, most likely attacked you this morning and attacked Grace just a few moments ago, before sending two more to attack both Gloria and Grace. It's too closely connected." John started putting two and two together.
"There's definitely someone after us and they won't stop until they kill us one-by-one." Gloria added.
"That's scary!" Grace shuddered.
"Why do you think I told you not to hang around with me while this was going on?!" Gloria sounded a bit frosty in her tone.
"I thought you were joking and plus, I learned self defense." Grace shrugged.
"Why the hell would I joke about something like this?! Plus, you're still a girl and even a strong girl can get overpowered by a dude!" Gloria shot her a glare.
"What're you snapping at me for?" Grace raised an eyebrow.
"Well, what you said was kinda stupid." Gloria sounded a bit dense.
"I was just saying-" Grace was cut off.
"I know what you were saying." Gloria rolled her eyes.
"Sheesh! What a grouch!" Grace sounded like Ed Norton from "The Honeymooners".
Gloria stared at her, before breaking down with laughter, which was soon followed by Grace, John, and Sidney. None of them had, had a laugh like this in a while. One could say that they needed it.
Later on
While John, Sidney, Grace, and Gloria were preparing for dinner, over at Freddie's place, Freddie was desperately trying to find his phone, as he had apparently misplaced it earlier. Once he finally found his phone and was about to reply to the text messages he got from Sidney, John, Gloria, and Grace, footsteps were heard outside of his house. This caught his attention almost immediately. He put his phone down, grabbed a baseball bat, and headed outside to confront whoever was out there.
"Hello? Who's out here?!" Freddie held his baseball bat up.
No answer.
"Whoever you are, show yourself! I have a blunt instrument here and I am not afraid to bash heads in. Now, reveal yourself!" Freddie spoke louder.
Still no answer.
"Alright." Freddie walked back into his house, opened his drawer, grabbed his gun, and walked back outside, "Come out from behind the bushes! Come out or you'll get six!".
Just then, two masked men came up from behind him and wrestled him to the ground. Freddie managed to kick them away, only for the first assailant to pounce onto him and try to reach for his gun. Not wanting to let the perp win, Freddie hit him in the face with the butt of the gun, before using his foot to push the guy into his metal garbage cans. The guy grabbed a knife and started to come at Freddie when he stood up, pointed his gun at the dude, and shot him in the arm. Stunned, the guy ran off, leaving his friend there. The other perp ran toward Freddie and used a taser on him. Freddie screamed in pain as the electricity ran through his body, before head butting the guy about three times. The guy returned the attack with about three kicks to Freddie's gut, before grabbing his knife and slashing Freddie in the right shoulder. Just as he was about to use his knife again, this time to plunge it into Freddie's stomach, Freddie shot him in the chest. Though it did not kill him instantly, the guy staggered away. Relieved that the ordeal was finally over, Freddie sighed, before grabbing a bag to pack some things and grabbing his phone to call Gloria.
At Gloria's house
Gloria was pacing back and forth, worried about Freddie when her phone rang and speak of the devil, it was Freddie. Relieved, she immediately answered the phone. He told her his situation and that he was coming to her place to stay the night. Once she got off the phone with him, she informed John, Sidney, and Grace of the situation and they came into agreement that there was indeed something going on and someone was definitely targeting them. Grace voiced the idea of informing Sharon and her team to which Gloria added that they needed to take matters into their own hands if her mother and her team were going to be dragging their feet any longer.
As soon as Freddie showed up, they voiced their ideas to him, which he agreed that they give Sharon an ultimatum; Either speed up their investigation or he, Grace, and the Bradleys were going to do things their way. Plus, John added that where he came from, nobody backed down.
"I'd say that we would be better off doing things our way and not even consulting with mom and her team." Gloria had a sudden change of heart.
"What do you mean?" John turned to her.
"Well, are we going to wait until Lyman has us all killed? I'd say that we take matters into our own hands." Gloria stood her ground.
"No, let's consult Capt. Raydor and her team first." Grace shook her head.
Gloria shot her another death glare.
"Well, they haven't hit all of us, yet. They still have Mr. Bradley to hit." Grace pointed out.
John's eyes bugged out for a moment, before he gave her his "thanks a lot!" look.
"Sorry, Mr. Bradley." Grace chuckled a bit.
Gloria slapped her upside her head and did the Moe Howard eye poke to her.
"Ow!" Grace rubbed her eyes with one hand and the back of her head with the other.
"Well, let's go down to the station and inform her of all of this and then go from there." Sidney merely suggested.
John and company looked off to the side for a brief moment, before they all nodded their heads in agreement and turned in for the night.
The very next day
John and company were up, bright eyed, and bushy tailed. They skipped breakfast and headed straight for the major crimes division. They were all bound and determined to get whoever was targetting them and Lyman, before it was too late. John had yet to be targetted and attacked by any more masked assailants, even though, with his strength, he'd overpower them very quickly.
Meanwhile, at the department, Sharon was inside the murder room, going over what they had about Lyman and some of his henchmen. So far, she and her team found that Lyman's goons had prior arrests and wrap sheets out the wazoo. As soon as they all split up, Sharon headed back to her office and just as she opened the door, an arm grabbed her and yanked her inside.
Uh oh!
To Be Continued...
