Chapter 9: Dial 'Plan B' For Murder
"You!" John screamed heatedly.
"Yes, me." Bart made his way into the living room, calmly taking in the appearance of the irritated guests. "You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily did you?"
"Yeah, actually we did." Lucas snorted. "We were suppose to tie you up but we must've forgotten when we discovered Rolf's body was missing-"
"Which one of you hid to erase the evidence of the crime."
Bo growled low in his throat. "That's not true Bart and you know it."
"Do I Mr. Brady? Do I?" Bart continued to eye the guests suspiciously. "You know all I know is, you come here tonight with your fancy shmancy cars and SUVs, your sparkling dresses and sharp tuxes and expect my pal ol' Rolfski to bow at your feet and entertain you. It's people like you who sucked the life out of him all these years, people like you who treated him like dirt, people like you who drove him to do what he attempted to do tonight-"
"Oh come on," Brady spat. "You gotta be kidding me. For years, years on end, Stefano DiMiera and his bumbling buffoons for men working for him tortured my father. They took away his past, took away whom he was. He never had one moment's peace of mind because of that sad excuse for a human being. Rolf and Stefano made my father's life and the lives of my family and friends hell for years. So don't you come in here and tell us we should give a flying f*ck what happened to Dr. Rolf, cause we don't and we never will."
It was silent in the room for a long while, the only sounds of the storm rumbling away and Belle's labored breaths as she tried to breathe through a contraction.
"Bart, Bart, Bart, Bart, its no use." Rolf could be heard from the entrance of the living room as he softly sauntered inside and took a seat on the couch ignoring the surprised gasps and growls of the guests.
Belle couldn't believe her eyes. "You're.you're he-you're alive?"
"Yes, I am alive."
"But.but." Belle began to sob and Shawn held her close, 'shh'ing her and lulling her to quiet.
"Someone settle her down so I can explain."
Chloe huffed. "And why the hell should we give you a chance to explain?"
Rolf ignored Chloe's question and continued. "I vas never dead."
"Oh, really?" Sami bit out sarcastically.
"No, I vas trying to get money from you all tonight so I figured I could blackmail you with the knowledge of your secrets. But when I saw that you all were reluctant to fork ova za dough, I moved onto plan B."
"Plan B?" John asked, while arching a suspicious eyebrow.
"Yes, John Black. Plan B: my murder."
Brady ran a hand through his hair, not quite understanding all of this. "But how did you."
"Pull it off? Die in front of your eyes? It vas simple." He stood up from his place on the couch and slowly removed his blazer, holding up the coat for all to see. Belle sobbed hysterically. "You see? Fake blood. Bart, show them ze knife."
Bart pulled a sharp steak knife from his back pocket and flicked it a few times causing it to wobble back and forth. He even ran it along his skin without drawing blood, proving that the knife was indeed a fake.
Hope wrinkled her brow in confusion. "Wha-Why do you have a fake knife in your back pocket?"
Laughing, Bart abruptly stopped, finding the many aggravated eyes waiting impatiently for his answer. "I was actually planning on taking one of you hostage until somebody paid up."
"Sonuvabitch," Brady muttered. "So, what else?"
"Vell," Rolf spoke. "Vhen the lights vent out, that vas our doing. Bart came over and planted the knife in my back."
Chloe sighed in frustration. "But Brady felt your neck for a pulse and he didn't feel anything. You were dead."
"That's where you are wrong, opera diva Chloe Black. Vhen Bart stuck me with the knife, he also injected a syringe of a drug that altered my biological processes, causing them to slow to an almost nonexistence. It slowed my breathing, my pulse, and rendered me incapacitated, making it look as if I vere dead, vhen in fact I vas very much alive."
John took a deep breath into his nose, and eyed the doctor suspiciously. "Your body was missing."
"The drug wore off," Rolf answered simply. "I decided to get going in case you all decided to do something vith my body. Not only that, it added a fortunate wrinkle to my plan, making you believe that some outside person had moved my body."
Silence enveloped the room as the guests tried to make some sense of it all, tried to understand that this night had been a farce, a joke, a dirty trick. Silently, Brady stood and balled his fists and John joined his son walking over to a suddenly meek Rolf and Bart.
Rolf swallowed harshly. "Vhat are you going to do to us?" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 30 mins later.
Bart and Rolf were tied up to chairs across from each other, the chess table in between them. "This stinks," Bart muttered.
Belle let out a growl in her throat and panted. "I.think.it's coming! Ughhhh.ohh."
The room was in chaos as they tried to prepare for the birth of Belle and Shawn baby. "What do we need!?" John asked the anxious group as they spread blankets over the couch and set Belle back down on top of it.
Brady roughly ran a hand through his hair and paced the living room nervously. "Umm.I saw in-in a movie once.boiling water."
"Boiling water?" Chloe sneered.
"For what?" John was panicked.
"I don't know!" Brady shouted.
Marlena turned from her daughter for a moment to calm the group. "For the instruments, to sterilize them." She turned back to her daughter who writhed in agony.
Hope sighed. "Well what else?"
"Umm." Brady tried to think but with the nervous pacing of the group combined with Belle's desperate cries of 'Get it out now!' it was all just too much. "I don't know.umm.tongs.salad tongs I think. And.and rubber dish gloves.and scissors."
"Salad tongs!?" Belle was livid. "Brady, are you crazy!?"
Brady ignored his sister and tried to remember that damn movie. What else had they gotten? "Umm.and a pot, a pot or a pan of some kind."
"That it?" John asked expectantly.
Brady nodded hesitantly. "Umm.yep. That sounds about right."
"Good!" John shouted a little louder than necessary, his nerves on end. "Lucas, Sami and I'll go get everything."
As they left to the kitchen, Bo entered. His sleeves were rolled up and his eyes were determined as he looked at Belle. "I've washed my hands so don't touch," he warned the group.
"Good thing you're here, Bo," Marlena smiled warmly.
"Well, being a cop for I don't know how many years, I've had a lot of experience with this. Where are my instruments?"
Brady nodded. "My dad, Sami and Lucas went to get them."
"Gloves?" Bo asked expectantly.
"Check." Brady smiled proudly.
"Scissors?"
"Check."
"Boiling water?"
"Check."
"Salad tongs?"
"Check."
Belle made a face from her place on the couch and snorted in disbelief.
"Ha," Brady grinned at his angry sister. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 20 mins later.
"Push, Belle push honey," Shawn encouraged his wife. The group was gathered around the couch as they watched the amazing experience of childbirth. It brought back fond memories for each couple as goosebumps traveled up their arms and settled warmly in their hearts.
"Ugh, I'm trying Shawn. I'm trying!"
Bo shifted his weight and steadied himself on the couch. "I see the head."
Bart's face crumpled as he got a good view of what Bo was seeing from the chair he was tied to. "Whoa momma, I see it too."
Bo gritted his teeth. "Someone turn that b&stard's chair around."
Brady glowered at Bart's comment, wanting to punch a hole through his face. "Gladly." He roughly turned Bart's and Rolf's chairs around so that they now got a good view of the wall. Contentedly, he rejoined his wife as she wistfully watched Belle push her child out of her womb.
"Oh Brady," Chloe sighed as her eyes welled with happy tears.
"I know, Chloe. I know," he breathed overcome with emotion. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 15 minutes later.
The group gathered around the couch and watched the young family get acquainted with each other. Belle had given birth to a baby boy. They looked so perfect, Belle, Shawn and their baby cuddled on the couch. Brady couldn't believe his little sister was a mom. How surreal was this? "Hey, Belle, what's the little tyke's name?"
Belle looked at Shawn for confirmation and he nodded in return. "Zander Cooper Brady." Brady crumpled his face in disappointment. "Zander? What the hell kind of name is that?"
"Seriously." Lucas agreed.
Belle gave her brother a death glare. "Brady," she warned.
Brady smiled. "I'm just kidding with you Belle. Zander is a.beautiful name. Really."
"Just shut up," Belle laughed.
"Yeah, quit while you're ahead, Brady," Chloe put her arm around her hubby's waist.
Softly, Brady kissed Chloe's temple and walked with her to the terrace window. "Look at that everybody, the sun's coming up. Looks like we can get out of here and get Belle to the hospital. The roads are bound to be fine by now."
A few murmurs of 'yes' and 'good, good' were quietly spoken. As much as all of them hated this place, and they did hate this place rest assured, funnily enough, they were finding it heartbreaking to leave it. Before this night, there were Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and family picnics and lunches at the Brady Pub. They had spent time together before, yes, but never for this long in such a long while. They were never forced into a situation when they were stuck with each other, not since they were kids living at home. This night had bonded them all somehow. And they were reluctant to return to the humdrum routine of their daily lives: paying bills, grocery shopping, working. This night had been completely ridiculous but it had also been fun. This night had been painstakingly long, but it had also been fulfilling, as is the case when Belle gave birth to her son. This night had been memorable and they would never forget it. Never.
Belle was helped off the couch and carried to the door. The exhausted group shuffled out of the living room, passed the foyer and out the door except for two rebellious stragglers: Brady and Chloe.
As they neared the foyer, their arms wrapped protectively around each other, Rolf called to them from his chair facing the wall. "So, you're just going to leave us here?"
Brady looked over his shoulder at the two immobile men. "Uh, yeah. That would be the plan. I will say one thing for you though, Rolf. You sure know how to throw a party. We had a good time. a bloody good time actually." And with that, the two lovers walked out of the room, passed the foyer and through the door being sure to shut it tightly behind them.
THE END.Epilogue is coming up.
"You!" John screamed heatedly.
"Yes, me." Bart made his way into the living room, calmly taking in the appearance of the irritated guests. "You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily did you?"
"Yeah, actually we did." Lucas snorted. "We were suppose to tie you up but we must've forgotten when we discovered Rolf's body was missing-"
"Which one of you hid to erase the evidence of the crime."
Bo growled low in his throat. "That's not true Bart and you know it."
"Do I Mr. Brady? Do I?" Bart continued to eye the guests suspiciously. "You know all I know is, you come here tonight with your fancy shmancy cars and SUVs, your sparkling dresses and sharp tuxes and expect my pal ol' Rolfski to bow at your feet and entertain you. It's people like you who sucked the life out of him all these years, people like you who treated him like dirt, people like you who drove him to do what he attempted to do tonight-"
"Oh come on," Brady spat. "You gotta be kidding me. For years, years on end, Stefano DiMiera and his bumbling buffoons for men working for him tortured my father. They took away his past, took away whom he was. He never had one moment's peace of mind because of that sad excuse for a human being. Rolf and Stefano made my father's life and the lives of my family and friends hell for years. So don't you come in here and tell us we should give a flying f*ck what happened to Dr. Rolf, cause we don't and we never will."
It was silent in the room for a long while, the only sounds of the storm rumbling away and Belle's labored breaths as she tried to breathe through a contraction.
"Bart, Bart, Bart, Bart, its no use." Rolf could be heard from the entrance of the living room as he softly sauntered inside and took a seat on the couch ignoring the surprised gasps and growls of the guests.
Belle couldn't believe her eyes. "You're.you're he-you're alive?"
"Yes, I am alive."
"But.but." Belle began to sob and Shawn held her close, 'shh'ing her and lulling her to quiet.
"Someone settle her down so I can explain."
Chloe huffed. "And why the hell should we give you a chance to explain?"
Rolf ignored Chloe's question and continued. "I vas never dead."
"Oh, really?" Sami bit out sarcastically.
"No, I vas trying to get money from you all tonight so I figured I could blackmail you with the knowledge of your secrets. But when I saw that you all were reluctant to fork ova za dough, I moved onto plan B."
"Plan B?" John asked, while arching a suspicious eyebrow.
"Yes, John Black. Plan B: my murder."
Brady ran a hand through his hair, not quite understanding all of this. "But how did you."
"Pull it off? Die in front of your eyes? It vas simple." He stood up from his place on the couch and slowly removed his blazer, holding up the coat for all to see. Belle sobbed hysterically. "You see? Fake blood. Bart, show them ze knife."
Bart pulled a sharp steak knife from his back pocket and flicked it a few times causing it to wobble back and forth. He even ran it along his skin without drawing blood, proving that the knife was indeed a fake.
Hope wrinkled her brow in confusion. "Wha-Why do you have a fake knife in your back pocket?"
Laughing, Bart abruptly stopped, finding the many aggravated eyes waiting impatiently for his answer. "I was actually planning on taking one of you hostage until somebody paid up."
"Sonuvabitch," Brady muttered. "So, what else?"
"Vell," Rolf spoke. "Vhen the lights vent out, that vas our doing. Bart came over and planted the knife in my back."
Chloe sighed in frustration. "But Brady felt your neck for a pulse and he didn't feel anything. You were dead."
"That's where you are wrong, opera diva Chloe Black. Vhen Bart stuck me with the knife, he also injected a syringe of a drug that altered my biological processes, causing them to slow to an almost nonexistence. It slowed my breathing, my pulse, and rendered me incapacitated, making it look as if I vere dead, vhen in fact I vas very much alive."
John took a deep breath into his nose, and eyed the doctor suspiciously. "Your body was missing."
"The drug wore off," Rolf answered simply. "I decided to get going in case you all decided to do something vith my body. Not only that, it added a fortunate wrinkle to my plan, making you believe that some outside person had moved my body."
Silence enveloped the room as the guests tried to make some sense of it all, tried to understand that this night had been a farce, a joke, a dirty trick. Silently, Brady stood and balled his fists and John joined his son walking over to a suddenly meek Rolf and Bart.
Rolf swallowed harshly. "Vhat are you going to do to us?" ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 30 mins later.
Bart and Rolf were tied up to chairs across from each other, the chess table in between them. "This stinks," Bart muttered.
Belle let out a growl in her throat and panted. "I.think.it's coming! Ughhhh.ohh."
The room was in chaos as they tried to prepare for the birth of Belle and Shawn baby. "What do we need!?" John asked the anxious group as they spread blankets over the couch and set Belle back down on top of it.
Brady roughly ran a hand through his hair and paced the living room nervously. "Umm.I saw in-in a movie once.boiling water."
"Boiling water?" Chloe sneered.
"For what?" John was panicked.
"I don't know!" Brady shouted.
Marlena turned from her daughter for a moment to calm the group. "For the instruments, to sterilize them." She turned back to her daughter who writhed in agony.
Hope sighed. "Well what else?"
"Umm." Brady tried to think but with the nervous pacing of the group combined with Belle's desperate cries of 'Get it out now!' it was all just too much. "I don't know.umm.tongs.salad tongs I think. And.and rubber dish gloves.and scissors."
"Salad tongs!?" Belle was livid. "Brady, are you crazy!?"
Brady ignored his sister and tried to remember that damn movie. What else had they gotten? "Umm.and a pot, a pot or a pan of some kind."
"That it?" John asked expectantly.
Brady nodded hesitantly. "Umm.yep. That sounds about right."
"Good!" John shouted a little louder than necessary, his nerves on end. "Lucas, Sami and I'll go get everything."
As they left to the kitchen, Bo entered. His sleeves were rolled up and his eyes were determined as he looked at Belle. "I've washed my hands so don't touch," he warned the group.
"Good thing you're here, Bo," Marlena smiled warmly.
"Well, being a cop for I don't know how many years, I've had a lot of experience with this. Where are my instruments?"
Brady nodded. "My dad, Sami and Lucas went to get them."
"Gloves?" Bo asked expectantly.
"Check." Brady smiled proudly.
"Scissors?"
"Check."
"Boiling water?"
"Check."
"Salad tongs?"
"Check."
Belle made a face from her place on the couch and snorted in disbelief.
"Ha," Brady grinned at his angry sister. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 20 mins later.
"Push, Belle push honey," Shawn encouraged his wife. The group was gathered around the couch as they watched the amazing experience of childbirth. It brought back fond memories for each couple as goosebumps traveled up their arms and settled warmly in their hearts.
"Ugh, I'm trying Shawn. I'm trying!"
Bo shifted his weight and steadied himself on the couch. "I see the head."
Bart's face crumpled as he got a good view of what Bo was seeing from the chair he was tied to. "Whoa momma, I see it too."
Bo gritted his teeth. "Someone turn that b&stard's chair around."
Brady glowered at Bart's comment, wanting to punch a hole through his face. "Gladly." He roughly turned Bart's and Rolf's chairs around so that they now got a good view of the wall. Contentedly, he rejoined his wife as she wistfully watched Belle push her child out of her womb.
"Oh Brady," Chloe sighed as her eyes welled with happy tears.
"I know, Chloe. I know," he breathed overcome with emotion. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 15 minutes later.
The group gathered around the couch and watched the young family get acquainted with each other. Belle had given birth to a baby boy. They looked so perfect, Belle, Shawn and their baby cuddled on the couch. Brady couldn't believe his little sister was a mom. How surreal was this? "Hey, Belle, what's the little tyke's name?"
Belle looked at Shawn for confirmation and he nodded in return. "Zander Cooper Brady." Brady crumpled his face in disappointment. "Zander? What the hell kind of name is that?"
"Seriously." Lucas agreed.
Belle gave her brother a death glare. "Brady," she warned.
Brady smiled. "I'm just kidding with you Belle. Zander is a.beautiful name. Really."
"Just shut up," Belle laughed.
"Yeah, quit while you're ahead, Brady," Chloe put her arm around her hubby's waist.
Softly, Brady kissed Chloe's temple and walked with her to the terrace window. "Look at that everybody, the sun's coming up. Looks like we can get out of here and get Belle to the hospital. The roads are bound to be fine by now."
A few murmurs of 'yes' and 'good, good' were quietly spoken. As much as all of them hated this place, and they did hate this place rest assured, funnily enough, they were finding it heartbreaking to leave it. Before this night, there were Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners and family picnics and lunches at the Brady Pub. They had spent time together before, yes, but never for this long in such a long while. They were never forced into a situation when they were stuck with each other, not since they were kids living at home. This night had bonded them all somehow. And they were reluctant to return to the humdrum routine of their daily lives: paying bills, grocery shopping, working. This night had been completely ridiculous but it had also been fun. This night had been painstakingly long, but it had also been fulfilling, as is the case when Belle gave birth to her son. This night had been memorable and they would never forget it. Never.
Belle was helped off the couch and carried to the door. The exhausted group shuffled out of the living room, passed the foyer and out the door except for two rebellious stragglers: Brady and Chloe.
As they neared the foyer, their arms wrapped protectively around each other, Rolf called to them from his chair facing the wall. "So, you're just going to leave us here?"
Brady looked over his shoulder at the two immobile men. "Uh, yeah. That would be the plan. I will say one thing for you though, Rolf. You sure know how to throw a party. We had a good time. a bloody good time actually." And with that, the two lovers walked out of the room, passed the foyer and through the door being sure to shut it tightly behind them.
THE END.Epilogue is coming up.