If Love Is All We Have, Chapter Nine
"No Matter What"
~Prague~
Chandler woke up in his bed two days later, his head pounding, and his body aching. He struggled to recall what had happened to him. He remembered saying goodbye to Monica. And meeting with one of Frank's clients...something had gone wrong. He sat up slowly, groaning loudly as the pounding in his head was amplified with every movement. Suddenly, the door to his bedroom opened.
"Chandler, you're awake," Frank said, entering the room.
"Yeah. What, uh, what happened?"
"Well, I was hoping you could tell me. Thomas says that Monica left you?"
"Yeah. She decided she didn't love me anymore," Chandler lied, hoping that that was what Thomas had told Frank as well.
"So I hear. So, what happened with the shipment?"
"Oh. Uh, I'm not sure," Chandler shook his head.
"Hmm. Well, we'll talk about it later. Get some sleep, we've got a lot to do tomorrow."
As Frank left, Chandler sighed heavily, and fell back down onto the bed. But he found that he couldn't sleep in that bed without Monica. He figured that if he was going to stay here, he'd have to move back to his old room.
He could still smell her on the sheets.
It made him want to cry.
***
Monica arrived in Prague twenty four hours later. She checked into a local hotel, using her new fake name. She bought a map of Prague, and that's when the realization hit: She had no idea where the compound was. They had blindfolded her on the way in, and the morning she left, she was too upset to take notice.She sighed heavily, and decided to just explore. Maybe she would see something she recognized.She left the hotel, and made her way toward the centre of town. She wandered to an outdoor cafe, situated in the town square, near a large, astrological clock. She looked at her map, and found that the clock was a famous landmark. She wondered if the compound was a famous landmark. It was very large, and seemed pretty old. She scanned the map, all the while wondering if she would ever be able to find Chandler again.
***
Chandler fiddled with the pen in his hand, and thought about the plan that Thomas had just shared with him. The plan that would get Chandler out, and off to London.
"I dunno, Thomas, it seems pretty risky. You sure this guy isn't working for Frank?"
"Yeah, he's like, a friend of Francesco's sister or something," Thomas said.
"Hmm. Lemme think about it, okay?"
"Okay. But remember, it's gonna take time to set up."
"Yeah," Chandler said. Frank would kill him for sure if they were found out. But maybe it was worth the risk. He'd do almost anything to see Monica again.
***
Monica had been in Prague for a week, and had no luck finding the compound. She was beginning to give up all hope of finding this place. She looked around, and noticed that she had wandered up a large hill, and she was now overlooking the city. She kept walking, and saw a small, white church sitting in a small clearing. She wandered toward the church, and gazed at the frescos that lined the stone walls. As she wandered around the church, she thought about the strange twist her life had taken. Just a few short months ago, she was a normal woman, living an average life, in the middle of New York City. Now she found herself in the middle of Europe, poking around like Nancy Drew, trying to find the love of her life, hoping that she wouldn't be killed. She was shaken from her thoughts when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw another clearing, at the bottom of the hill, behind the church. She squinted, trying to make out what it was. Her eyes widened, when she figured out what she was looking at:
A Japanese Tea Garden.
*
Monica made her way down the hill, toward the compound. By the time she reached the large wall, it was getting dark out. She made her way around to the front of the compound, and watched as the guards at the gate changed posts. She bit her bottom lip, trying to figure out how she was going to get onto the grounds. She backtracked, studying the walls carefully. She decided that the only way to get in was to climb the wall. Since the wall was made of stone, it shouldn't be too difficult to scale. Monica's small hands and feet were able to grip onto the protruding stoned relatively easily, and Monica made her way up the large wall within minutes. She pulled herself over the wall, and scaled carefully down the other side. She found herself in the Tea Garden. She crossed the garden quickly, and walked toward the main house. She suddenly realized that she had come this far, and had no plan at all for getting to Chandler, much less getting him out. She noticed a light coming from one of the rooms on the other end of the house. She made her way to the window, and saw that she was peering into Frank's office. Inside, she saw Frank, Francesco, Thomas, a few men she recognized as Frank's bodyguards, and Chandler. They were talking, but Monica couldn't hear what they were talking about.
*
"I can't stay, Frank, I have to try to find Monica," Chandler said slowly.
"If you leave, I will track you down, and kill both of you," Frank smirked.
"I'll go straight to the police when I leave here. No, you know what, I'll go straight to the Embassy. Or to InterPol. You want to follow me, that's fine. I'll tell them everything I know."
"You son of a bitch," Frank growled.
"I told you you couldn't trust him, Frank," Francesco seethed.
"He doesn't belong here, Frank," Thomas added.
"Well, then he doesn't have to stay. I have another son," Frank looked at Thomas. "Thomas, son, I'll need you to prove your loyalty. You understand, I can't have you pulling something like this," Frank said, pointing at Chandler. Frank looked at Francesco, and nodded silently. Francesco pulled out a gun, and handed it to Thomas.
Frank turned to Thomas, as he wrapped his shaking fingers around the gun.
"Take care of it, Thomas," Frank growled, before taking a seat behind his desk.
*
Monica watched, as Francesco pulled out a gun, and handed it to Thomas. Seconds later, Thomas was pointing the gun at Chandler.
"No, he wouldn't shoot him," Monica whispered to herself.
Monica watched, her heart pounding, and her head spinning, as Thomas stood on front of Chandler for what felt like hours. He and Chandler stared at each other, Chandler obviously pleading with him silently. Monica silently willed Thomas to put the gun down. He didn't. And the next thing Monica knew, the gun was going off. One, two, three, four, five. Five shots rang out, filling the silence of the night with shock and horror. She felt like she was watching the entire scene in slow motion. She saw Thomas' face as he pulled the trigger. She saw Chandler's body contort, as each bullet hit him in the chest. And she watched as Chandler hit the ground, his eyes closed, and pools of blood grew around him.
The shock and horror caused Monica to fall backwards. She lost her footing, and fell, slamming her head on the stone wall on her way down.
***
if you want to know what happens, you have to tell me what you think so far.
;-)
"No Matter What"
~Prague~
Chandler woke up in his bed two days later, his head pounding, and his body aching. He struggled to recall what had happened to him. He remembered saying goodbye to Monica. And meeting with one of Frank's clients...something had gone wrong. He sat up slowly, groaning loudly as the pounding in his head was amplified with every movement. Suddenly, the door to his bedroom opened.
"Chandler, you're awake," Frank said, entering the room.
"Yeah. What, uh, what happened?"
"Well, I was hoping you could tell me. Thomas says that Monica left you?"
"Yeah. She decided she didn't love me anymore," Chandler lied, hoping that that was what Thomas had told Frank as well.
"So I hear. So, what happened with the shipment?"
"Oh. Uh, I'm not sure," Chandler shook his head.
"Hmm. Well, we'll talk about it later. Get some sleep, we've got a lot to do tomorrow."
As Frank left, Chandler sighed heavily, and fell back down onto the bed. But he found that he couldn't sleep in that bed without Monica. He figured that if he was going to stay here, he'd have to move back to his old room.
He could still smell her on the sheets.
It made him want to cry.
***
Monica arrived in Prague twenty four hours later. She checked into a local hotel, using her new fake name. She bought a map of Prague, and that's when the realization hit: She had no idea where the compound was. They had blindfolded her on the way in, and the morning she left, she was too upset to take notice.She sighed heavily, and decided to just explore. Maybe she would see something she recognized.She left the hotel, and made her way toward the centre of town. She wandered to an outdoor cafe, situated in the town square, near a large, astrological clock. She looked at her map, and found that the clock was a famous landmark. She wondered if the compound was a famous landmark. It was very large, and seemed pretty old. She scanned the map, all the while wondering if she would ever be able to find Chandler again.
***
Chandler fiddled with the pen in his hand, and thought about the plan that Thomas had just shared with him. The plan that would get Chandler out, and off to London.
"I dunno, Thomas, it seems pretty risky. You sure this guy isn't working for Frank?"
"Yeah, he's like, a friend of Francesco's sister or something," Thomas said.
"Hmm. Lemme think about it, okay?"
"Okay. But remember, it's gonna take time to set up."
"Yeah," Chandler said. Frank would kill him for sure if they were found out. But maybe it was worth the risk. He'd do almost anything to see Monica again.
***
Monica had been in Prague for a week, and had no luck finding the compound. She was beginning to give up all hope of finding this place. She looked around, and noticed that she had wandered up a large hill, and she was now overlooking the city. She kept walking, and saw a small, white church sitting in a small clearing. She wandered toward the church, and gazed at the frescos that lined the stone walls. As she wandered around the church, she thought about the strange twist her life had taken. Just a few short months ago, she was a normal woman, living an average life, in the middle of New York City. Now she found herself in the middle of Europe, poking around like Nancy Drew, trying to find the love of her life, hoping that she wouldn't be killed. She was shaken from her thoughts when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw another clearing, at the bottom of the hill, behind the church. She squinted, trying to make out what it was. Her eyes widened, when she figured out what she was looking at:
A Japanese Tea Garden.
*
Monica made her way down the hill, toward the compound. By the time she reached the large wall, it was getting dark out. She made her way around to the front of the compound, and watched as the guards at the gate changed posts. She bit her bottom lip, trying to figure out how she was going to get onto the grounds. She backtracked, studying the walls carefully. She decided that the only way to get in was to climb the wall. Since the wall was made of stone, it shouldn't be too difficult to scale. Monica's small hands and feet were able to grip onto the protruding stoned relatively easily, and Monica made her way up the large wall within minutes. She pulled herself over the wall, and scaled carefully down the other side. She found herself in the Tea Garden. She crossed the garden quickly, and walked toward the main house. She suddenly realized that she had come this far, and had no plan at all for getting to Chandler, much less getting him out. She noticed a light coming from one of the rooms on the other end of the house. She made her way to the window, and saw that she was peering into Frank's office. Inside, she saw Frank, Francesco, Thomas, a few men she recognized as Frank's bodyguards, and Chandler. They were talking, but Monica couldn't hear what they were talking about.
*
"I can't stay, Frank, I have to try to find Monica," Chandler said slowly.
"If you leave, I will track you down, and kill both of you," Frank smirked.
"I'll go straight to the police when I leave here. No, you know what, I'll go straight to the Embassy. Or to InterPol. You want to follow me, that's fine. I'll tell them everything I know."
"You son of a bitch," Frank growled.
"I told you you couldn't trust him, Frank," Francesco seethed.
"He doesn't belong here, Frank," Thomas added.
"Well, then he doesn't have to stay. I have another son," Frank looked at Thomas. "Thomas, son, I'll need you to prove your loyalty. You understand, I can't have you pulling something like this," Frank said, pointing at Chandler. Frank looked at Francesco, and nodded silently. Francesco pulled out a gun, and handed it to Thomas.
Frank turned to Thomas, as he wrapped his shaking fingers around the gun.
"Take care of it, Thomas," Frank growled, before taking a seat behind his desk.
*
Monica watched, as Francesco pulled out a gun, and handed it to Thomas. Seconds later, Thomas was pointing the gun at Chandler.
"No, he wouldn't shoot him," Monica whispered to herself.
Monica watched, her heart pounding, and her head spinning, as Thomas stood on front of Chandler for what felt like hours. He and Chandler stared at each other, Chandler obviously pleading with him silently. Monica silently willed Thomas to put the gun down. He didn't. And the next thing Monica knew, the gun was going off. One, two, three, four, five. Five shots rang out, filling the silence of the night with shock and horror. She felt like she was watching the entire scene in slow motion. She saw Thomas' face as he pulled the trigger. She saw Chandler's body contort, as each bullet hit him in the chest. And she watched as Chandler hit the ground, his eyes closed, and pools of blood grew around him.
The shock and horror caused Monica to fall backwards. She lost her footing, and fell, slamming her head on the stone wall on her way down.
***
if you want to know what happens, you have to tell me what you think so far.
;-)