Judas Contract

by Katharra

Just your typical day in Salem.....

2. Part 2

"Eric!"

Eric Brady stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of someone calling his name. He didn't entirely wish to face that it was, because he knew that voice. And he knew what she would want.

"Yes, Nicole?" He still had his back to her, not wanting to face her.

So instead, she walked around to face him. "I have an assignment for you. There's a shoot that I need you to photograph."

Eric huffed as he rolled his eyes. "And let me guess, you're the model?"

Nicole's smile beamed all over her face. "Well yeah. I am Bella's most bella." She chuckled at her joke. Eric didn't bat an eyelash. "Oh come on Eric. We've worked together tons. What's one more time going to matter?"

"Because I know you, Nicole." Eric's voice began to rise. "Because I know what you're capable of."

Nicole took a step back, frowning. "What, you don't trust me?"

Eric threw his hands in the air in disgust. "NO! I never will, Nicole, you hear me? You have no right anymore to talk to me like we're friends. I'll do the shoot, but if you try one little thing…"

"Hey, I'm a professional!" Nicole protested.

Eric laughed. "Oh yeah. You're a professional all right. Professional actress."

And with that, he stormed down the hall.

Nicole smirked to herself. "You just wait Eric. I have you right where I want you."

The ground shook violently. A sudden jerk nearly threw Hope from her bed above Shawn.

"What the hell?" Shawn muttered as he slowly rose out of bed.

"Is it an earthquake?" Hope wondered aloud.

The world seemed to sway forward for a moment, as anything not firmly fixed to the floor went tumbling towards the cell door. Shawn and Hope clung to the posts of the bed, when it suddenly stopped.

Both nervously rose to their feet, looking about them. "What was that?" Shawn asked.

Hope cautiously stepped towards the door. Thoughts began to pour into her head. A low rumbling that groaned beneath her feet confirmed her suspicions.

"Ohmigod. We're on a boat!"

A loud creaking noise averted their attention to the large iron door at the end of the corridor. In walked the familiar frames of the husky guards, escorting what appeared to be three new prisoners. Two men escorted the prisoners, just as they had with Shawn and Hope. Only these prisoners were chained, and they appeared to be stumbling as they walked. When they got closer, Hope could see that they were all men, and they were badly beaten. Hope stared wide-eyed at the spectacle, wondering what these men could possibly have done, what all of them could have done to deserve to be here? Not a word was spoken, not even pleas of bargaining. Hope could sense the dread emotion of the men as they came in. They seemed to be expecting their death at any moment.

The men were divided among three other cells, unchained, and left. Still the men did not speak.

"Are you okay?" Hope called as softly as she could, partly in fear of what the guards might do to her for speaking with them.

One man lifted his head ever so slightly to look at her, another lay on his bed, and the last sat on his bed casually, one leg pulled up to his chin, the other lazily drooping off the side of the bed.

The thought began to dawn on Hope that perhaps these men did not speak English. "Do you speak English?"

"Probably not." Came a voice down the hall. It belonged to that of the last prisoner brought in. The man looked to be in rough shape. He had dirty blonde hair, knotted in places as though it hadn't been washed in weeks. His face was caked with blood and dirt, and bruises covered his cheeks and eyes. He was wearing a soiled white shirt, and leather pants that were tucked into knee-high tanned leather boots. He looked like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. The accent revealed him to be Australian.

But what of the other men? The two looked quite dark in features, perhaps South American. 'What an odd combination of people,' Hope thought.

"What's your name love?" The man asked.

"Hope. This is my son, Shawn." Shawn half waved to the man. "And you are?"

"Name's Jake. Jake Robertson. Now here's the obvious question, what's a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?"

Hope's face fell slightly. "To tell the truth, I'm not entirely sure. One minute we were having coffee, the next minute these thugs is kidnaping us and dragged into here. Could you please tell me, where 'here' is?"

Jake chuckled somewhat. "The ocean, love. My guess is we be heading for the Mediterranean. They'll take us to the prison in Malta. Once we get there, who knows what happens then? Folks say you never get out of that prison."

"Prison?" Hope was aghast. "But we've done nothing wrong, we were kidnapped…."

"Ma'am, hate to tell you this, but it doesn't matter how you got here. Cuz once they got you, there ain't a way in hell you're ever gonna get out."

"Susan, could you please check my messages?" Victor spoke through the intercom. He sat at his desk, pondering the latest newspaper. Still no clues; not from the police, or from his own men. He had an awful feeling about this, but would never dare to speak of it to Bo. His son was under enough stress already.

"Only one, sir. It's from your son, Philip. He wanted to know the whereabouts of his mother."

Victor's eyebrows furrowed. "His mother? Well did he try her office?"

"Apparently yes. But she left sometime this afternoon."

Victor thanked Susan for the information and sat quietly for a moment. Perhaps she had a headache or an appointment that he wasn't aware of. This was somewhat strange, but the marriage appeared to be hitting a rocky patch, and these days he wasn't sure where Kate went. She didn't come to him anymore.

Especially now. This was an unprecedented move on Kate's part. The knot in his stomach seemed to tense a little bit more.

"What's this for?" Hope asked the guard as he handed her a cotton gray workout suit another that was handed to Shawn D. The guard was silent as usual.

"You know you guys really don't make the best talkers in the world." She muttered to herself. She turned to face Shawn as he held the garments in front of him. "I guess they want us to work out." He shrugged.

Hope held the sweatshirt up against her chest. "Hope it's in my size."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Mom…."

"They're gonna let us see the sun 'fore they rid of us." Jake said from his cell.

Hope stopped dressing long enough to turn in Jake's direction. "Just who exactly is 'they'? You talk like you know everything about them."

"'They' are among the most powerful crime families in the world. You done them wrong, they's likely to do what they're doing now. Either that or they just shoot you."

"So why this long wait? Why don't they just get it over with?" Hope threw her hands in the air in desperation.

"Cuz you's obviously know something. Otherwise they wouldn't have bothered."

Hope grabbed the bars and shook her head. "But we don't. This is some terrible mistake, we don't…"

A voice boomed from the end of the corridor. "Get your gear on. We're moving out in three minutes."

"Bo, how are you holding up? Is there anything we can do honey?" Julie placed her hand on his shoulder, trying to offer some sort of comfort.

Bo grasped her hand and looked up at her. Julie's face fell at the sight of his eyes. He looked as though he hadn't slept in a week. "I'm okay Julie. Well, you and Doug must be in about the same shape as I am."

"It feels that way Bo. It seems like I just got my little girl, and now I've lost her again."

Bo offered a grim smile in response. "I know how you feel."

"Um, Mr. Brady, has there been any word on Shawn and Hope?" Bo looked up into the wide eyes of Belle Black and Marlena. He shook his head silently. "I hope that they're all right."

Bo nodded. He took Belle's hand and grasped it tightly. He glanced around at all the people that were in the pub with him. All of his family and friends were there, anxious for some word on Hope and his son. Anxious for him to rescue them. He felt so frustrated, he might scream. But instead, he kept his emotions concealed and his head low.

"I want to thank you all for coming. But I should really get back to the search. I don't want to miss a thing, you never know…"

"Of course, son. You get back, and make sure ta call us, should anything arise." Shawn hugged Bo tightly as he got up to leave.

"I remember why I hate running." Shawn D panted as he ran beside his mother. They were in two rows of ten others, all wearing the same outfit, surrounded by guards. Hope was quick to notice that she was the only female.

There was a mean chill to the wind. The sun was completely obscured by the clouds, giving everything around it a gray texture and feeling. Hope did realize however, that the boat they were in, was a huge vessel, larger than any freighter she'd ever seen. It was now anchored to the bank of some sort of canal, or river. They definitely weren't in the Mediterranean. There were still large chunks of ice floating in the river. They had jogged up a path from the boat to a small pedestrian bridge above the river. But the biggest question of all was where the hell were they?

"Mom, where are we going?"

Hope glanced in his direction. "I don't know, just keep running."

Up ahead, one of the prisoners appeared to stumble. The whole lot of them quit running. Shawn and Hope glanced around them nervously. Hope squinted to see who it was, and stepped back quickly when she realized that it was Jake. The guards to the front stooped down to help him up.

And the world erupted before their eyes. Jake grabbed the nearest guard to him, slamming his knee into the guard's gut as he took his gun from his hands. The guard grunted as he went down in a heap on the bridge. Jake began firing wildly at anything that moved. Gunfire flew all around them as Hope and Shawn scrambled to get on the ground, covering their ears. The guards began firing back.

It was the perfect environment for an escape attempt. The prisoners started tackling guards left and right, running for their lives as they went. Some made it; most fell into a bloody heap on the ground.

The guard behind Shawn fired two shots, one that took Jake square in the chest. Jake covered the gaping wound in his sternum with his left hand, while his right hand frantically held the trigger down on his gun. He was going down, slowly, but still trying to kill as many guards as he could. More shots pelted his body, jerking him forward and back. The fire in his eyes was beginning to sizzle. It was more than Shawn could bear.

He kicked the guard behind him, as hard as he could. It took the guard by surprise, but hardly took him down. The guard grabbed Shawn from behind, roughly hoisting him up on his feet. Hope jumped on the guard, trying to get him to free her son. The threesome swung around, the guard squeezing onto Shawn as hard as he could, Hope punching the guard from behind, her little hands doing no damage whatsoever against his kevlar vest.

A blast shook the entire bridge and sent the three crashing into the railing. Shawn broke the wood railing and slipped through. Hope screamed as she realized her son was dangling on the edge of the bridge. The guard had a firm grip on his arm, attempting to bring him back up. Another blast blew the guard off his feet and onto his stomach. Shawn screamed as the guard's grip slipped, and now was being held by his shirtsleeve. Hope grasped for her son, but he was too far from her reach.

"Shawn, hang on!"

Shawn's eyes were wide with fear. Hope screamed hysterically as Shawn slipped a little further. She realized then, that the seam at his shoulder was coming apart. It would only be moments now before he plummeted into the ice cold water, 15 meters below.

"Mom! I'm going to fall!" Shawn flung his right arm about, trying to find something to hang on to, but to no avail.

"Shawn please, hang on!" Hope begged, tears streaming from her eyes.

Shawn managed to call for his mother one more time, before the final thread came loose. He screamed as fell back first, into the waters beneath them. The guard sat up, holding onto the arm of the shirt.

Hope went into hysterics. A guard attempted to hold her as she screamed his name over and over. "For God's sake, someone go after him! He's still alive, PLEASE!"

At the water's edge, a small rescue boat was deployed to the search, with four armed guards inside.

On the bridge, Hope silently prayed.

The pain was immense. His back felt as though someone hit him with a two-by-four. Then the cold shock came. All muscles tensed up, and his breathing was reduced to frantic gasps for air. His head bobbed up and down in the water, but never allowed for a clear image of his surroundings. But he was moving, and fast. The current was strong, and he wasn't sure if he could fight himself from going under. He attempted to swim, trying to get to an edge. If he could, perhaps he would escape, find a rescue team for his mom. That is, if he survived. The thought dawned on him that this could his final glimpse of the world, and from it sparked a determination to live. He's survived worse than this. And besides, he was a moderately good swimmer. But the cold was another question altogether.

"What do you mean she's left town?!" Victor's question came out like a thundering roar.

"Well, ah, you see sir…" The butler stammered.

"Quit stalling and get to the damn point!"

"She left a message. She's resigned her position at Titan, and has decided to start anew with her life. She'll be back later to collect her things for good."

"The hell she will! I want you to tell me who she left with."

The butler looked around nervously. Victor took a step in closer. "I said, who?"

"Well, I believe, and I could be wrong about this, that it could have been Mr. Nicholas Alamain."

Victor's eyebrows raised questioningly. "You're going to tell me where they went." He demanded.

Night was coming quickly. Hope shivered in the cold. The rescue team had built up to three rescue teams. All were combing the river up and down, their flashlights scanning the water's surface. Hope huddled in her blanket. She adamantly refused to go inside the boat. So she stood at the water's edge, crying and praying for a miracle.

The captors were playing this out to their advantage. There was no need to place guards on her now. She wouldn't move an inch until some news on her son was revealed.

Shawn sputtered for air as he climbed the wall of mud that surrounded the river. He knew he had to hurry, he could hear the motors of the boats coming towards him. His back ached with a pain that limited his walking ability. He shivered uncontrollably, his whole body racked with spasms. He ran into the woods, occasionally tripping on the branches and fallen trees beneath his feet. He was well out of the boat's range now, but he had to find some sort of shelter. He was probably suffering from hypothermia already.

He walked for what felt like hours. His arms hugged his chest, trying to warm up his ice-cold hands. His walking was reduced to stumbling; his breathing became more and more labored. His hair was frozen at the ends, and his lips were turning a bluish color.

Every step became more difficult as his feet turned to frozen lead. His vision blurred periodically; he could feel sleep begging for him. But he kept pressing forward.

And then a light saved him. It was the heart-warming light of a fire. He leaned against a tree for support, as his legs felt like they might give out on him any second. He stumbled towards the cottage, feeling like he might pass out. He fell against the door, attempted to knock, but found that his arms were no longer listening to his brain. So he kicked it instead.

The door opened quickly, and he fell inside. Strong arms caught him, as he began falling for the floor. He looked up into the concerned eyes of a middle-aged man and woman. Blackness was taking over his vision, and he barely managed to utter a final statement before passing out.

"Help me."

The exotic beach was in actuality a basement room with spray painted linoleum. Eric didn't know who made these photo shoot sets, but he sure wished they would hire someone new, someone with at least an inkling of what a real beach looked like. He shook his head at the thought while adjusting the lens in his camera. 'And let me guess,' he thought, 'Nicole's going to come walking out in some skimpy g-string outfit.'

"Were you just thinking about me, Eric?"

Eric spun around to see Nicole in white terry cloth robe. 'Well, not quite a g-string' he thought.

"Where do you want me?"

Eric choked on his breath. "Pardon?"

Nicole looked at him oddly. "Where do you want me to stand? Geeze, what were you thinking?"

Eric shook his head. "Nothing. Stand over there." He pointed to a spot by a fake palm tree.

Seductively, Nicole slinked out of her robe to reveal a black push-up bra, and a tiny black bikini thong underneath. Eric was stunned momentarily, and then rolled his eyes.

"Yep, you sure are a professional."

Nicole looked over her body with a worried face. "What, is something wrong?"

Eric huffed. "Yes Nicole, this whole thing is wrong. You've done this before, and I'm not going to let you do it again."

"Eric, I'm not doing this for you. Please, don't flatter yourself. You see, it's all the other men in the world that want to see this." She gestured to her body.

"Really, and what about your husband?"

Nicole shrugged nonchalantly. "Believe me sweetheart, he gets off on it."

Eric laughed and muttered something that sounded like 'tramp' under his breath.

Nicole became enraged. Grabbing Eric by the shoulders, she swung him around and caught him with a mean slap to the cheek.

"How dare you call me a tramp!"

Eric rubbed his cheek reflexively. "Well you know what they say, if the shoe fits…"

Nicole burst into tears. "You know at one time, Eric Brady, you felt something for me."

Eric stared at her in disbelief. "I believe that we've had this conversation before. The same one where you insist you left for the sake of my feelings. Well, you can cut the crap now Nicole. Because I don't give a damn."

Nicole looked up at him, eyes wide with a genuine fear. "You don't care for me at all?"

Eric shook his head. "Nope, can't say that I do."

She suddenly grinned. "Not one tiny, eensy, weensy, bit?"

Eric became confused. "I already said no."

And that's when the top came off. "Not even for this?"

Eric stared, and then realized he was staring, and quickly turned away. "Okay, I'm leaving."

"Not if I can help it." She grabbed him roughly, and kissed him passionately. To his amazement and disgust, he didn't hold back. "You were in love with me Eric. Feelings like that don't just disappear. You still are in love with me, I can sense that."
Eric gasped for air. "You don't know what you're talking about. I'm in love with…"

She put her finger to his mouth. "Shhh. Don't even bring her into this. This is about you and I."

"Nicole, I can't…"

Nicole ripped his shirt open. "Oh yes you can." She giggled.

Hope lay in her bed, clutching Shawn D's jacket to her chest, hot tears streaming down her cheek, spilling onto the jacket. She cried his name over and over again, praying for a miracle.

"Anna, we don't know where he came from. He could be a convict of some kind."

Anna touched her husband's arm ever so lightly. "You saw the look in his eyes, Tom. I know when I see genuine fear. Something or someone is after him out there. If we tell anyone about him, we could be putting his life in danger. I won't have that young man's life on my hands."

"We should at least take him to a hospital, you can see he's got hypothermia."

Anna shook her head. "No, they'll look for him there. Why don't you call Dr. Brownoff? I'm sure he would make an exception for this house call."

Slowly, Tom nodded. He stared at the boy lying in the guest bed. He shivered uncontrollably, even under all the heated blankets they had placed on top of him. They changed his soaking wet clothes with new ones, although all Tom's clothes were too big for him. He hadn't opened his eyes since they brought him in, but the color was beginning to return to his face. Tom could only guess that that was a good sign. But if his wife was right, and there was something out there that was after him, then chances were, and it would come after them too.

There was no denying that Tom felt a chill run down his spine every time he looked at the boy, and what his presence in this house could bring down on them.

Victor sat silently in his desk. One hand rested against his mouth. His exterior was a perfect calm compared to his interior. He fought to control his rage. So, Kate and Nicholas ran off together on a perfect vacation. What they definitely would not expect, would be his presence, right there with them. Victor was not the type of man to just give up. He much more preferred the revenge method.

He glanced at a picture of Kate and Victor, together, smiling, loving, and supposedly telling the truth to one another. He stood up slowly, still staring at the photograph. He threw it at the wall, and calmly watched the glass shatter into a million tiny pieces.

'No more lies.' He told himself.

The doctor listened quietly to the young man's heart. His temperature had risen, but was now rising on an extreme level. The throes of a fever had set in. But his heart rate appeared to be strong. Rapid, but strong.

He took off his stethoscope, and stared at the teen. His head shook back and forth, his mouth muttering nameless words. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

Dr. Brownoff looked up at Tom and Anna. "Has he awoken at all?"

The couple shook their heads.

The doctor pondered this unusual case. "So, no ID, and he hasn't spoken at all?"

Anna glanced nervously at the doctor. "He just started getting a fever about an hour ago. He's said some things, but nothing that I could really make out. He did ask for our help when he first got here."

"I hate to tell you two this, because I know that you think you're acting on his best interests, but you must alert the police. He could be missing; he could be an escaped convict for all we know. But these types of cases must be reported. And if you won't, then I will."

Tom and Anna shared a look, both knowing what the other one was thinking. Slowly, Anna nodded her head.

"Dad!" Shawn cried out. He sat up suddenly in the bed.

The doctor grabbed him by the shoulders when Shawn tried to get out of the bed. He eased him back down into a laying position, but the boy continued to thrash in a feverish state. The doctor talked to him in as calm a manner as he could muster, and he seemed to relax somewhat.

The boy fixated his eyes on the doctor. "Where?"

"You're safe. I'm a doctor; I'm treating you for hypothermia. Can you tell me your name?"

Shawn looked puzzled. "Shawn. Is my mom here?"

The doctor glanced up at Anna who shrugged back. "No. We haven't seen her. Do you know what day it is?"

Shawn seemed to concentrate hard on the question, finally shaking his head. "No. Where are we?"

"You're close to Port Hastings."

"Huh?"

The doctor was beginning to look just as confused as Shawn was. "Nova Scotia."

Shawn bolted upright in bed again. "What?!?"

The doctor eased him back down again. "Where are you originally from?"

Shawn's eyes started to get heavy. He tried to fight the oncoming sleep, but could feel himself slipping as the seconds ticked by. "Salem."

The other inhabitants in the room all glanced at each other.

Shawn closed his eyes. "Could you please call my dad?"

"Sure." Anna came and sat on his bed, placing a hand on his heated forehead. "What's his name?"

"Bo." Shawn was slipping into unconsciousness. "Bo Brady."

Nicole had Eric stripped out of his shirt, as she was only in her bikini, and both were lying on the floor of the beach shoot. Eric came up for air, as Nicole grasped his biceps tightly.

"Don't stop Eric." She begged.

Eric pushed a piece of hair out of her eyes. "I have to Nicole, because there's something I want to give you."

Nicole smiled sweetly. "Why Eric, how kind of you. I can't wait to see it."

"Oh, it's not something you can see. It's something that must be felt. Close your eyes."

Nicole did as commanded, smiling from ear to ear as she did. "Don't make me wait too long, honey."

"By the way," Eric grabbed a glass of water that was resting on the table near by. "I'm not your honey." And with that, he dumped the contents of the glass on Nicole's near-naked body.

Nicole shrieked and jumped to her feet. "How dare you!"

"Oh, I dare."

Nicole glowered at Eric. "I swear, I will have your head!"

Eric rolled his eyes. "You know what Nicole? Don't bother. I quit."

Nicole's eyes widened. "You can't quit!"

Eric buttoned his shirt back up, and swung on his leather jacket as he headed for the door. "Watch me. See you around Nicole."

Behind him, a wet, topless Nicole silently fumed.

The phone jolted Shawn Brady from his fitful sleep. He hadn't got much of it since the day that Hope and Shawn D were kidnapped. Muttering quietly to himself, he struggled to turn the table lamp on that lay above the phone. 'Who the hell calls this damn early in the morning?' he thought.

"Hallo? Yes, okay. YOU WHAT?" Shawn screamed into the phone. Caroline jumped up to a sitting position in bed. She tapped Shawn on the arm, hoping to get some response as to who was on the phone. He clutched her hand tightly in return. Caroline bit her lip as she realized it must be something about Hope and Shawn D.

Shawn looked like a pound of agony had been lifted off his chest. "Oh thank God. Look, tell me exactly where you are." Shawn scribbled furiously on a pad of paper. "Okay. Stay where you are, we're on our way."

Shawn hung up the phone quickly. Caroline had tears in her eyes as she looked at him imploringly. "Shawn's been found. He's in Nova Scotia. He's in bad shape they said." Caroline put a hand to her mouth in an attempt to stifle her gasps. "I've got to call Bo."

Bo and Roman jumped into the awaiting helicopter. Roman placed the headset on and turned to his brother. "How long ago was the call placed?"

"About two hours ago." Bo shouted.

"Did they give any word on Hope?"

Bo shook his head. "No. But chances are, if Shawn's escaped, Hope must be close by."

Roman knew his little brother's instincts were rarely wrong. He could only pray that they would get there in time.

Shawn's breathing was labored. He was barely conscious, slipping in and out constantly. One minute he'd be ice-cold, the next he'd be kicking the covers off. Anna placed cool, sopping wet cloths on his head, but nothing seemed to bring his fever down. "Dr. Brownoff, should we be taking him to the hospital?"

Dr. Brownoff frowned at his patient's distress. "I've placed a call in to the authorities; they should be here any minute. Did you call his family?"

Anna nodded, not once taking her eyes off Shawn.

"Good. I'm not sure if I want to move him just yet. I want to keep him here until the police are through. Any word on when the parents are supposed to get here?"

Tom shook his head. There was a rap at the door. Tom looked down the stairs. "I guess that would be the cops." He bounded down the steps towards the door.

When he opened the door, he barely had time to scream a warning. What appeared to be a swat team barged in the door, firing their guns and hitting Tom square in the chest.

Above, Anna shrieked in horror at the sounds of gunfire in her home. Dr. Brownoff quickly shut the door of the bedroom, locking it. He grabbed Anna and hauled her to the side of the bed, ducking below. Shawn woke up, terrified of the all-too-familiar sounds that were no doubt meant for him. Panting with the effort, he attempted to sit up in bed, but found it more difficult than he anticipated. He cried out in surprise as someone's hand suddenly grabbed his arm. Dr. Brownoff carried Shawn off the bed and down to the ground with him and Anna.

But they forgot about the window behind them. It burst open, and a man in black army gear swung through, dangling by a rope. He stared down on the three people lying before him. He hoisted Shawn up, holding his back to his chest. Shawn no longer had the strength to fight. Anna and the doctor held their hands up in the air, tears rolling down Anna's cheek, Dr. Brownoff visibly shaking.

Two shots and they were gone forever.

Shawn screamed, then passed out.

Hope awoke suddenly, jarred by the sound of the iron door creaking open. She jumped to her feet, grasping the cell bars, straining to see who was coming down the hall. She gasped as she realized that one of the guards was carrying a body in his arms. Hope could feel the hot sting of tears falling down her cheek as she prayed that he was okay.

One guard opened the cell door, while the other carried Shawn D in, gently placing him on the bottom bunk. Hope could barely wait long enough to check on her son. As soon as he was lowered, she was there, stroking his forehead, and kissing his cheek. She could feel the heat rising from him, and knew he had a horrible fever.

"Thank God you're okay."

Shawn stirred slightly, and found himself staring into the eyes of his mom. "Mom?"

Hope nodded.

Shawn closed his eyes tightly, and for a moment, Hope thought he might be in some sort of pain. "They killed them."

Hope frowned. "Killed who?"

A single tear fell from Shawn's eye. "The people that were taking care of me. They shot them."

Hope hugged her son tightly, both crying quietly.

Bo, Roman and John stormed through the front entry way to the cabin, guns in front of them. Adrenaline pumping, they cautiously stepped into the house, eyes darting in all directions for any sign of a hostile.

"Bo," John tapped Bo lightly on the shoulder.

Bo spun around to John's direction. There lying on the floor was a man, mid-thirties, with a gaping hole in his sternum. Bo's eyes widened; he unconsciously switched off the safety on his gun. John was bent down inspecting the man; Roman was already headed for the stairs. Bo felt flutters in his stomach at the thought of what might else lay in this cabin.

"Bo!"

Roman's sudden yell made Bo jump. He glanced at John who was up on his feet and heading for the stairs.

Bo ran into the room where Roman was standing. Bo grimaced at the sight of two more bodies, one a woman, the other what appeared to be a doctor of some sort. The bed looked as though it had been slept in.

A cold chill sent shivers through Bo. He looked to the window, or where a window should have been. Glass littered the floor, all too reminiscent of his father's pub. Bo placed one hand on his forehead.

"We're too late." He lamented.

Greta fumbled with her keys, trying to balance the paper bag filled with groceries on one arm, and her purse and keys on the other. She momentarily lost her balance, tripping towards the door. To her fear, the door was open. Cautiously, Greta stepped through the threshold, clutching her groceries in front of her like it was her shield.

And suddenly, her face lit up. To her immense amusement, she found the apartment littered with tall taper candles and dark red rose petals. There was the soft hum of a violin on her stereo, and on the dinning table was a meticulously made dinner, waiting for her.

"Oh my…" She sighed. She dropped the groceries off at the counter, set her purse down beside them, and took off her coat slowly, when someone began helping her. She turned her head to look into the eyes of Eric, helping her with her coat.

"Eric," she smiled up at him, "what's this all about?"

"This my dear," he tenderly stroked her chin, "is about you getting the love you deserve."

She shook her head. "But I don't deserve this."

Eric's face fell. "You're right."

Greta looked very confused, and a bit offended. That was definitely not the answer she was looking for.

Eric touched her cheek. "You deserve so much more."

He stooped down to one knee, taking her left hand in his. Greta caught her breath. Eric reached into his pocket, and came out with a tiny black box. "Greta, you've changed my life completely. I never thought that I could feel so devoted and enveloped all at once." He opened the box to reveal a gold band with a diamond solitaire. Greta's eyes began to water. "Will you be my wife?"

Greta burst into tears. Too choked to say anything, she simply nodded. Eric jumped to his feet, threw his arms around her waist and kissed her for what felt like a million years. When they parted, Greta stared teary-eyed into his smiling face, and for the first time in her life, felt safe.

Eric glanced towards the table. "Um, I hope you don't mind."

Greta became concerned. "What is it Eric?"

Eric fidgeted. "Well you see, the first attempt at dinner didn't work out so good, so I had to order out from that little Italian diner down the street."

Greta laughed hysterically. "Well at least we already know who's going to do the cooking."

Hope stroked Shawn D's forehead. His fever was raging, perspiration making his hair wet, and his hands clammy. Hope struggled to remain calm, despite the hundreds of emotions that she felt. She wanted to cry, lament over this dilemma that they were in, and at the same time, her rage wanted to kill every guard she saw.

"Bo, please save us." She turned towards Shawn D. "Our son needs you."

The boat lurched forward. Hope's eyes widened with terror. They were preparing to leave again.

"Damn it Roman. We were so close."

Roman nodded. He could feel the frustration rising off of Bo. "I know bro. We'll get them back," he grasped Bo by the shoulder, "I promise you that."

They both glanced towards the house. The RCMP had the entire perimeter taped off as they were combing every inch for clues. John's helicopter sat in the clearing just down the road, having returned from its sweep.

A voice hollered his name in the distance. Bo and Roman spun around to face John, running up to them.

"The pilot and I saw a freighter of some kind, sitting in the straight. I think it's pulling out."

Roman and Bo shared a confused look. "What the hell would a freighter be doing out here?"

The three men exchanged hopeful faces. Bo nodded to himself. "She's there. I know it. Lets go!"

Nicole strolled into the living room, slugging down the last of her martini as she went. She stopped at the bar, eyeing the luscious looking liquor before her, thinking what her next choice should be.

"You know, we should start charging you for those drinks."

Nicole spun around and found Lucas sitting on the couch. "Oh, it's you."

Lucas stood up. "Not too happy to see me?" His tone conveyed a sense of disgust. Nicole eyed him warily. "What's the matter Nicole? Cat got your tongue? Or would that be Eric who got it?"

Nicole felt her blood chill. "What's your problem Lucas?"

Lucas strolled up to meet her eye for eye. "My problem is my wife running around like a whore behind my back!"

"What?"

Lucas grinned. "You heard what I said. How was your photo shoot?"

Nicole gasped. "How did, who told you?"

Lucas laughed. "Who told me? Why did I need to be told anything? I was the one who made sure that the set was just the way you wanted it. By the way Nicole, did you like the water that I left for you?"

Nicole blew up. "You set me up you little bastard!"

"That's not all I'm doing. You can say 'bye-bye' to all your little luxuries, because as of now, you're no longer an inhabitant of this house."

Nicole was flabbergasted. Lucas grabbed her by the arm and led her to the door. Holding it open for her, he motioned for her to exit. "Sayonara, sweet cakes." He slapped her butt as she walked out, then slammed the door.

The helicopter flew above the freighter, high tailing it down the straight, towards the ocean. "What's our plan Bo?" John yelled into the headset.

Bo shrugged back, loading his gun. "Shoot anything that moves?"

John nodded thoughtfully. "Sounds like a good plan."

"I'll take her down as far as I can, but you're going to have to drop the last couple of feet." The pilot shouted to the threesome. "After that, it's up to you how you get out. I'll have the Coast Guard send out a boat when you go."

Bo motioned for the pilot to take the helicopter down. The men readied themselves for the sharp drop they were about to make. Bo went first. He jumped out, and more or less landed on his feet. The other two followed in similar suit. The harsh ringing of a machine gun made them run for cover. The helicopter swerved violently then tapered off for land's direction.

The three crouched behind an oil container, occasionally firing their handguns in the machine gun's direction. John fired three shots, and the machine gun stopped firing. He motioned for Bo and Roman to get inside the boat.

For a second, Hope could have sworn that she heard gunfire on top. She listened hard, but the noise had stopped. She was slumped against the bedside table, wool blanket wrapped around her. She brushed the hair out of her face, then rested her head against her hand.

She heard the noise again. Hope jumped to her feet. This time she was sure that it was indeed gun shots. She ran to the cell door, straining to hear where exactly it was coming from. The other cellmates were also looking groggily about them, hearing the same noise as Hope.

"Bo!!!" Hope screamed. She hopped on her feet up and down, shouting his name over and over. It was him; it had to be him.

"Mom?" Hope ran towards Shawn D. He was sitting up in bed, dazedly staring at his mother jumping around.

Hope hugged him tightly. "We're being rescued. Can you walk? We might have to make a run for it."

Shawn stared at her, still trying to understand what she was telling him. Walk, he thought he knew that word. Slowly, he swung the covers off his body, and attempted to get out of bed. Hope held him by the shoulders, guiding him up to a standing position. She suddenly realized how much taller he was than she.

A guard burst down through the corridor, gun firing blindly in front of him. Hope and Shawn made a dive for the floor, covering their heads. More sets of shots rang out, and the guard slowly fell to the ground. Hope and Shawn carefully lifted their heads. A man in a dark leather jacket cautiously walked down the corridor.

Hope jumped up. "Bo!" She screamed.

Bo came running for her. They kissed each other frantically through the bars. Bo stopped, and looked at the lock. "I don't have a key," then he looked down at his gun. "Stand back."

Hope grabbed Shawn and the two ran to the other side of the cell. Bo fired at the lock twice, then kicked the door open. He ran inside, clutching Hope's face and kissing her over and over again. Hope squeezed him tight; smiling like there was no tomorrow. Bo turned towards Shawn, hugging him tightly.

Bo stepped back, holding Shawn's head in his hands, staring at him. "Are you two alright?"

"Shawn's got a horrible fever. We should get him to a hospital."

Bo nodded, then hugged both of them again. "Sorry I took so long guys."

Kate slept with a smile on her face. The silk pillow and silk sheets gently caressed her naked body. She assumed that this is what bliss truly is. She turned over, to feel Nicholas sleeping beside her. But he wasn't there. Kate patted the pillow a few more times, to make sure that she wasn't imagining things. She reached for the table lamp.

And let out a blood-curdling scream.

The side of the bed where Nicholas should have been was covered with blood. She looked at her hands and screamed again. There was blood all over her hands as well. She began to shake, calling out Nicholas's name, but getting no response. She stood up, and cried out when something sharp pierced her foot. There lying on the floor was an eight-inch knife, covered to the hilt with blood. Kate picked up the knife.

The door burst open, Kate screamed. Men with guns stood in the darkened doorway. Kate held out the knife, about to protect her from anything these men might try.

"Police, put down your weapon!"

Kate began to cry as she suddenly realized that she had been set up. But where was Nicholas?

Hope slept for the first time in what felt like ages, her head resting in Bo's lap. His head was slumped up against the wall, his mouth open in a snoring mode. Julie chuckled at the sight of the two. The whole family was in the hospital, having both Hope and Shawn checked out. Hope was fine, somewhat malnourished and dehydrated, but mostly exhausted. Shawn was placed in observation for the night, or until his fever broke.

Doug placed a blanket over the sleeping couple. "They make quite the pair, don't they?"

Julie nodded.

"They got no luck whatsoever, but they still make a cute couple." Julie laughed out loud at Doug's last comment.

Belle stared at the sleeping figure of Shawn. He looked terrible, but there was still something to him that she just couldn't put her finger on. She sat in the chair beside his bed, content to watch him sleep peacefully. She barely slept the whole time he was missing. She couldn't deny that he meant something to her, something very special.

A yawn reminded her that she needed sleep too. As she stood to leave, she stopped, and thoughtfully gazed down at this young man who seemed to have some weird power over her emotions. Without thinking, she leaned down and kissed him on his forehead. "Just hurry up and get better." She whispered into his ear.

Outside the room, Marlena smiled to herself.

Victor watched the morning news with a grim look on his face. There was a scene of her being whisked away in the police car; blood caked on her face and hands. She was crying miserably, begging for someone to listen to her pleas of innocence.

"And to think it was all for you." Victor glared at the young man tied up behind him. Nicholas mumbled under his gag, eyes imploring Victor's mercy. "All this misery, just for you. I hope you're happy now."

Victor left the dungeon room, locking the door behind him, but leaving the t.v. on, so Nicholas might watch his lover being handcuffed before his eyes.

THE END