Disclaimer: Whitey is mine, so is the Francis here. All the rest I merely borrow without returning.
Babble: Please let me know what you think. It's not that hard to hit a little blue button and say it sucks right?
Gratitude: Thanks to all of you who have replied during the course of this dark little fic. There's more to come if you're interested. Although some of you may be mad at me after this chapter.
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Her Greatest Mistake
Chapter 9
~P.C.P.D.~
"It was a .38," Whitey repeated shoving his coke bottle glasses higher up on his nose.
Taggert looked at Garcia who just shrugged, Whitey was well known for his eccentricities. "What was a .38?"
"Pay attention LT," Whitey snapped. "Audrey Hardy was shot with a .38, I found the spent shell casing in the yard. I'm sure the one I'll get from the hospital will match it."
Taggert was too tired to bristle at the LT that Whitey called him, that Whitey always called him, and instead focused on the report. "I didn't know you were on the Hardy shooting. In fact I was trying to reach you to request your help on the Ro…"
"As soon as my tech told me Audrey Hardy was shot, I headed straight for the scene," Whitey interrupted him.
Taggert took a long sip from the strong coffee in an effort to hold his patience, he also used the time to study the excitable doctor. Whitey may never be mistaken for a neat freak, although he was normally meticulous in his appearance. But this morning his tie was askew, and he had grass stains on his pants, indicating that he hadn't put on his protective coveralls before heading for the scene. That was strange behavior for Whitey. Also, there was the fact that he was standing in one place by the desk. Whitey never stood still. He fidgeted, rocked, tapped his foot, or did something, but now he was eerily still, and that was very unsettling. "Why did you head for the scene?"
"I owe it to her to catch the ass that tried to kill her," he pulled his glasses off and began to polish them. "I played poker with Steve Hardy once a week for over 30 years. My wife plays bridge with Audrey every week, I have known her for close to forty years," he shoved the glasses back on his face. "She deserves the best and that is what she is going to get. No favors needed, no bribes, you will have your reports as quickly as I can get them typed up."
Taggert frowned down at the files Garcia had given back to him. He had wanted Whitey to work on the Rogers beating, he was the best after all, and since Rogers was one of Corinthos' he needed the best. But now, he put Audrey's file on top of the other one. "That's good to hear Whitey. Do you have your preliminary ready?"
Detective Alex Garcia leaned back against the desk in surprise and waited for the report. For once Taggert was putting something else above his vendetta for Corinthos. Maybe there was hope for him after all.
"As you know the only room that was disturbed in the house was the second floor sewing room. The window in that room, had its latch broken, and it was the only unlocked window in the house. The latch has apparently been broken for quite some time. There was no sign of forced entry, so other than her letting the perp in the house, he probably gained entry from there," Whitey's voice had taken on a lecture quality and to Taggert's relief he was beginning to fidget.
"What does your gut say?" Taggert interrupted him to ask. "Did she let him in?"
"No. Indications are that she was in bed, the covers were turned down, and the bed had been occupied. She probably heard a noise and went to investigate." How many times had he lectured her on the rules of living alone? That if she heard a noise she was supposed to phone the police and lock herself in her designated safe place, like a closet or a bathroom. She had always listened, and agreed, but why hadn't she done that? He banished those questions and continued on.
"There is some damage in the sewing room, things were overturned, paintings ripped from the wall. There are, some blood smears on the floor beside the bed, on the comforter and also on some yarn that was on the bed too. I took samples from each and sent it to the lab for typing. I also found several partial prints, a lot of them probably belonging to Audrey, but there was this one," his voice rose in excitement. "Directly across from the sewing room door, there was some blood on the wall, and in the middle of the blood there is a crystal clear thumb print. I am running it through N.C.I.C. right now to see if there is a match on file."
Taggert was impressed, Whitey had found out a lot in a short amount of time. That was one of the reasons he had wanted him on the Rogers' beating. He looked into Whitey's shiny face and couldn't make the request. "As soon as something hits let me know, even if I'm off duty, page me."
"I will," Whitey took a step away, before pausing to look back at him. "I'm glad you're on this case Taggert, I know you won't stop until you find out who did this to her."
Taggert was stunned, both by the fact Whitey had paid him a compliment and called him by his name, before he could think of anything to say the short man was gone.
"You made the right choice Marcus," Garcia took a sip of his coffee.
"You sound surprised," Taggert shot back defensively.
"Sometimes you let your desire to nail Corinthos blind you to everything else," Garcia commented.
Taggert could see the truth of those words. Monica Quartermaine had blasted him earlier for what he had done to her years ago, in trying to use her to nail her son and by extension Corinthos. He had also lost Hannah over his obsession with Corinthos. When she saw him go after Corinthos, when he was in ICU recovering from a bullet wound, it had sent their relationship in a tailspin that it had never recovered from. "Contrary to popular opinion, I'm not a monster," he moved the other folder on top again. "Now about Rogers."
"Calvert Rogers of 1414 Seaview Terrace is a licensed security specialist, who is permitted to carry a concealed weapon of a .38 on his person at all time," Officer Johnson interrupted Taggert with the news.
"Thanks Officer," Taggert nodded at him in dismissal.
"There's more," Johnson offered. "In 1998 Rogers was involved in a shooting with that weapon, it was deemed justifiable, but we have a record on the gun."
Taggert grinned. "Good work Johnson," he waited until the officer left before turning to Garcia. "You know what that means?"
"Yeah it means that forensics should have a copy of the type of grooves formed on a bullet, that would come from that gun, in their files. We'll have a leg up if any shootings by a .38 come in," Garcia answered.
"Let's hit forensics, then Corinthos," suddenly energized Taggert got to his feet, shoving the folder on the Hardy shooting in his drawer.
"I thought you were supposed to stay away from Corinthos," Garcia fell into step beside him.
"I'm primary on the murder of Rogers, as such I'm allowed to question his employer," Taggert's eyes were gleaming at the prospect. "Not even the commissioner can argue with that."
~Penthouse~
"It's okay Emily," Carly told the girl trying to calm her down. "You're safe here."
Sonny kept his eyes on Jason, so far he hadn't shown any reaction to what Emily had said. He couldn't help but be worried about both Emily and him.
"Emily," Jason's voice was thick and he cleared his throat and tried again. "Emily," he waited until he got her attention before going on. "You did good. I know that was hard for you, but you were great."
Johnny was amazed at Jason's control, less than two hours before he had watched Jason lose it after seeing a piece of glass, and now, after hearing what may have been Elizabeth's last moments, he was a rock. He shook his head and watched him whisper to Emily until her tears stopped.
"Do you want to rest, or are you ready to go on?" Jason asked after the tears stopped.
Emily looked into his calm face and amazingly he smiled slightly at her in encouragement. She took a deep breath and resolved to get through this. "I'd like to finish."
"Alright just tell me what happened with Lucky, just concentrate on him," he coached her hoping to keep her mind from Elizabeth.
"I hit him with the stool and broke it on is back, he staggered and let go of her and she fell…" her voice trailed off.
"What about Lucky?" Sonny asked quickly to focus her.
"He fell to the side, there was blood on the side of his head, I didn't really pay attention, I crouched by Elizabeth, trying to get her to wake up," her eyes were lost in the memory again.
"Elizabeth," Emily begged. "Please wake up," her hand shook as she reached over to check for a pulse and couldn't find one. "No," training took over and she began CPR, she counted aloud rhythmically and compressed her chest at the same time. "One and two and three and four and breathe, breathe," she had made it through three cycles when she realized Lucky wasn't laying on the floor in front of her anymore.
She kept the compressions going and turned her head to look for him, at the same time his fist landed on her jaw, sending her to the floor. Pain exploded in her mouth, and she tried to find her feet. She made it to her knees before Lucky stopped her by kicking her in the ribs and propelling her into the couch.
"It's all your fault," Lucky yelled at her. "All your fault," he delivered another kick and Emily screamed. "Shut up," he pulled back to kick her again.
Emily fought the pain and managed to catch his foot before it connected and she shoved it back as hard as she could. Lucky staggered backward, tripping over Elizabeth and falling to the floor.
Using the drape on the couch, she pulled herself up from the floor. She turned to face him just as he launched himself at her. He hit her around the ribs, propelling them back into the unyielding couch. She screamed in pain the same time she heard a crack and felt the back of the couch break, sending them backwards onto the floor.
"I hurt so much, I couldn't move right away, but Lucky didn't even seem to feel the impact. He kept screaming, yet at the same time he was sobbing, it sounded like the wail of an injured animal. Before I could move he broke the easel on my head," she reached up and touched the side of her head. "It didn't knock me out right away so he grabbed a part of it and kept hitting me until I finally blacked out."
Carly felt ill, she had seen things in her life that no one should ever see, she'd had bad things happen to her before. But listening to Emily's now detached voice tell her how her best friend had beaten her into unconsciousness, was one of the worse things she had ever heard.
"What's the next thing you can remember?" Jason's hands were clenched tightly in anger, but his voice remained calm.
"I woke up and it was dark, it was hard to figure out why. I hurt and every time I moved I felt dizzy, ill, I finally realized that he had put the couch over me," she was beginning to feel very drained, she didn't even have the energy to cry anymore. "I crawled out from under the couch, and looked around. I was alone, Lucky and Elizabeth were gone."
"Was the drape gone from the couch?"
Johnny's question earned a glare from Sonny, but Emily answered it automatically. "Yes, it was gone."
"I couldn't really think, I just knew I had to leave. I was heading for the door, when Lucky came back, he was alone." She was quiet for a bit, what happened next was hard for her to understand much less explain. "He seemed to recognize me, but then again he didn't. He had blood on his hands and clothes, much more than there had been. He called me Elizabeth, then Emily, he even called me," she focused on her brother again, "Jason."
"What happened then?"
"Thinking I was Jason seemed to set him off, and he attacked me again. He kept screaming that Elizabeth was his, that they were permanent, that he was going to kill you," she pointed at Jason, "but meaning me. I couldn't fight anymore, I just curled up in a ball and tried to get through it. I'm sorry I didn't do any more."
"Emily," Sonny touched her arm lightly getting her attention. "You did do something, you survived and that was the most important thing you could do."
"But Elizabeth…"
"Emily you did the right thing. You protected yourself, Lucky was out of control, and if you had fought back he could have killed you. You did nothing wrong," his eyes were serious. Guilt was one emotion he didn't want her to feel, at least not over surviving Lucky's attack.
"I guess," it was getting harder and harder to think clearly. The pain and fatigue were setting in again. She just wanted to sleep, but then again she didn't, if she did sleep the dreams would come back. "He got tired of hitting me, and started destroying the studio. Then suddenly he was by me again, talking to me, but I couldn't understand him, it was so loud in my head. I guess I didn't answer when I was supposed to, because he hit me again," she sighed tiredly. "When he left he asked if I wanted ribs from Eli's."
Jason just shook his head. He was used to dealing with criminals, to people who loved to be cruel to others, but this was beyond him. "Is that all Emily?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't figure it all out in time to save her," she took his hand. "Now that I know, I can't believe I missed the signs. I was so stupid, I didn't figure it out until it was too late to save her from him."
"It's okay Emily," he squeezed her hand. "I know you may not believe me, but I know she's not dead."
"But…" Emily looked confused.
"Emily," Johnny moved so he was sitting beside Jason. "Let me explain some things to you. You said Lucky was choking her and he stopped when you hit him, and she stopped struggling at the same time right?"
"Yes, she went limp the same time I hit him."
"Okay I know this may be hard for you to grasp, because what you saw scared you pretty bad, but that doesn't mean that she's dead," he saw the confusion and denial in her eyes and hurried on. "One time when I was in Florida, someone choked me, and apparently I went down, just like you said Elizabeth did. I wasn't breathing, my friends couldn't find a pulse, my eyes were open and fixed. My friends thought I was dead. To this day I don't understand the medical aspect of what happened to me, but apparently the lack of oxygen getting to my brain, caused my heart rate, and pulse to slow to an almost unreadable amount. In fact without hooking me up to a machine, you wouldn't know my heart was still beating. I was like that, "dead," for about 15 minutes when I just suddenly sat up. I damn near gave Francis a heart attack when I did," he saw her slight smile and knew that the joke had been worth it. "It seems my body shut down all unnecessary functions until the oxygen got the blood moving again."
"Do you mean that?" her eyes moved from his face to Jason's. "Is he telling the truth?"
"Yes he is Emily," Jason nodded.
"Elizabeth is a fighter isn't she?" Johnny asked.
"Yes."
"So she wouldn't give up on living would she?"
"No, she'd fight," her breath was coming quicker, because she was starting to hope again.
"And your brother here is pretty smart right?" Johnny gestured to Jason.
"Yes," again she nodded.
"Well he believes that she is still alive, that Lucky just moved her," he debated with himself for a minute before going on. "I'm not going to lie to you Emily. I don't know for sure if she is alive, but your brother believes she is, and that's enough for me."
"Do you really Jason?" she asked quickly searching his eyes for the truth, knowing he wouldn't lie to her, not about this.
Jason saw the hope warring with loss in her eyes. He didn't want to see her hurt worse, but he couldn't lie to her either. "I believe that she's alive."
"Then I will too," she sagged back against the couch in relief.
Sonny was torn between being glad that Emily looked better after hearing Jason's vow, and concern over what would happen to her if Jason were wrong. He frowned at the door when someone knocked on it.
Johnny quickly got up and moved to the door the same time Pete opened it. "It's Francis," he announced and quickly stepped aside.
Francis walked past him and slowly entered the room, his eyes searching the occupants, to see if it was safe to relax.
Johnny frowned when he saw his friend's face, he didn't look well at all. "Are you okay?"
Francis jerked his head towards Emily. "Help me to the kitchen," he said quietly, reaching for Johnny's arm.
Johnny moved quickly when he saw the blood dripping from his hand. He slipped an arm around his waist, and took most of Francis' weight trying to muscle him into the kitchen and out of sight.
Jason saw what was happening and pulled Emily into a hug so she wouldn't see him. "Why don't you go upstairs and get some rest."
"I am tired," she admitted.
"And you're in pain too aren't you?" Jason asked the question although he could already see the answer in her eyes.
"I don't want to take anything," she averted her eyes and lowered her voice. "I'm scared about taking pills, you know after what happened before."
"Emily, the doctor wanted you to have the medicine, if you want we'll hold onto the pills and give them to you only when you need them," he tried to reassure her. "I don't want you in pain."
"Okay," she let him help her to her feet. "I know you don't like him, but I would like to see Zander. I need to see him."
Jason looked over at Sonny who shrugged. They wanted to keep things quiet, and Zander tended to be an out of control hothead. He saw her face and realized that whether he liked it or not, she seemed to love him. She was already shaky and seeing him could help her.
"Just think about it," Emily went on quietly. "He won't say anything if I tell him not too. Also I didn't go home last night, sooner or later the Q's will start checking for me, and they'll check with Zander first."
Jason nodded. "Just rest, we'll handle the Quartermaines."
"Carly you want to help her upstairs and get her medicine?" Sonny asked.
She nodded and helped Emily move to the stairs, using her body to shield Emily's view of the hall leading to the kitchen.
Johnny and Francis stepped back in the room as soon as they disappeared from view. Jason hurried to them, to support Francis on the other side, and helped move him to the table.
"I called Doc. Wilson, he's on his way," Johnny answered the question before Sonny could ask it.
"You hit anywhere but the shoulder?" Jason asked removing the jacket slowly from Francis, trying to get to the wound.
"No," he grimaced when Jason pulled his shirt from the exposed skin. "Jesus that hurts. I forgot how much I hated getting shot."
"Here," Sonny shoved a glass of whiskey in his hand. "Drink up and tell us what happened."
Francis slugged back a shot of the whiskey, and swallowed an oath as it burned a fire trail down his throat, similar to the fire in his shoulder. "Lucky was waiting for me when I left the studio, before I knew it he had a gun to my head, and was forcing me to drive."
Jason kept dressing the wound, checking for an exit hole. It was easier for him when he kept busy. After hearing Emily's story he needed to do something and checking bullet wounds was something he knew how to do very well.
"Lucky's lost it."
"Tell me about it," Johnny snorted and handed Jason some towels to use as compresses.
"No. I mean he has really lost it," he tilted his head to look up at Jason. "He has completely lost touch with reality. The part of him that had any sort of control is gone, its like he's had a complete psychotic break. Part of the time when we were in the car he was talking to Elizabeth, and apparently she was talking back to him. He is completely fixated on her, and on you Jason."
"Hold that tight," Jason stepped back after placing Francis' hand on the compress. "How so?"
"He's convinced that you took Elizabeth away from him," he remembered the madness he had seen in those otherwise lifeless blue eyes. "At times he seemed to be having memories of conversations he'd had with Elizabeth, they concerned you. Other times he seemed to be talking to you," he took another gulp of whiskey. "When he first got in, he said we were going to see Elizabeth, that she was waiting for him, I went along with him, because I wanted to find her. I bided my time and tried to keep him talking, but he was sliding more and more out of control. Finally I couldn't wait anymore, I had an idea where we were going, so I made my move."
"Is Lucky dead?" Jason hoped not. He had never taken pleasure in killing, to him it was a job, hopefully only done only in self-defense, if not as a last resort. But he wanted to kill Lucky. No he wanted to do more than that. He wanted Lucky to suffer first. He wasn't real comfortable with the realization that he had this type of hate inside of him.
"No he's not dead. I drove the car off the road and we struggled over the gun. I got shot then I blacked out. When I came to, both Lucky and the gun were gone. I was going to call but my phone was damaged so I just came here, I forgot about Emily being here."
"How long ago did this happen?" Sonny questioned, trying to process the fact that he had almost lost two guards, to the same kid, within a few hours of each other.
"I don't know, 20 minutes, not much more than a half an hour ago," Francis blinked heavily. The lack of sleep, blood loss, and whiskey were beginning to take effect on him, making him drowsy.
"Francis," Jason's voice caught his attention. "You said you thought you knew where you were going. Where was that?"
"Yeah, we were heading out of town, near that old boxcar of yours," his words were slurred.
Pete opened the door. "The doctor is here."
Sonny waved him in then moved to the wet bar with Johnny and Jason. "I told Cal to check the boxcar, Mike found him on Elm Street near the docks. The last time I talked to him he was at the docks, there's a good chance he never got to the boxcar, before Lucky found him."
"So it hasn't been checked at all?" Jason asked hope surging in him. "It would make sense for him to take her there, its isolated, not a lot of people know about it and it is familiar to him."
"Why don't you two check it out?" Sonny sighed. "I'll wait here. Taggert's bound to show before too long."
"Give me a minute Johnny," Jason waited for him to move away before turning to Sonny again. "I need a gun."
Sonny frowned, Jason with a gun could be a bad thing.
"You know I couldn't take the chance of flying with mine."
"I don't know Jason," Sonny hedged.
"Look you've already assigned me a watch dog," he jerked his head to Johnny. "But you know Lucky isn't thinking rationally, I need to be prepared."
Sonny moved to the desk, unlocked the bottom drawer and removed a lock box, he unlocked it and pulled out a gun, handing it to Jason. "You know Emily needs you, and Elizabeth is probably counting on you. So you need to use your head."
Jason nodded and tucked the gun into his boot, knowing it was too hot to wear his jacket to conceal it. "About the Quartermaines, I know sooner or later she'll have to deal with them but for now, if they show…"
"I'll handle them," Sonny interrupted.
"About Zander," he sighed then went with his gut. "If you think you can convince him to keep his mouth shut, tell him. She wants to see him, and I don't want her upset." He looked over at the doctor. "You might want to keep him on alert."
"If you find her, we'll be ready," Sonny held out his hand and held his breath, wondering if Jason would take it.
"When I find her," Jason corrected and after a minute he reached out and shook his hand, then turned around and walked out the door.
~Cottage~
"Nikolas you have called your mom, you have left messages on both Elizabeth and Lucky's machines, you have checked both their rooms at Kelly's, face it they are out of town." Gia spoke as she got out of the jag.
"I know. But I am still going to get the spare key to the studio and then check it, maybe there's some information there as to where they went," he shut his door and waited for her to join him before heading for the door. "I have to do something."
"I know," she slipped her hand in his and stifled a yawn. "You wouldn't be Nikolas if you didn't. So we'll go to the studio."
"Thanks Sparky," he paused by the door to kiss her.
"Later," she pushed on his chest, then looked at the door. "Why is the door open?"
Nikolas pulled her behind him when he saw a smear on the door near the doorknob. He reached out and pushed on the door opening it slowly. "Lucky," he cried in relief when he spotted his brother sitting on the couch. "I've been looking everywhere for you and Elizabeth."
"Everything is just so loud," Lucky whispered.
"What Lucky?" Nikolas moved into the room and down the steps to the living area.
"The voices in my head, their so loud. Elizabeth makes them quiet where is she?" Lucky looked around and then called for her, "Elizabeth."
Gia frowned at Nikolas, Lucky was making less sense then normal.
Nikolas moved closer to the couch, close enough to see the blood on Lucky's clothes and head. "What happened to you?" He reached out to touch his arm in concern.
Lucky jerked away from him and shot to his feet. "Nikolas," he cried in recognition. "I've been waiting for you. Is Elizabeth with you?"
"No. I thought she was with you?" Nikolas didn't like that look in his brother's eyes. Uneasiness coursed through him. "Lucky where is Elizabeth?"
"I can't find her. I can hear her but I can't find her," his voice broke. "Why is she hiding from me?"
Nikolas caught movement out of the corner of his eye and held out his hand to stop Gia's approach. He didn't want her anywhere near Lucky, not when he was acting like this. "Why would she hide from you?"
"I don't know," Lucky rubbed at his head and then stared at his bloody hand. He was so tired of seeing blood. "Maybe because she's afraid I'll hurt her again."
Nikolas' stomach dropped at those words, uneasiness turned to concern and fear. Fear both for Elizabeth and his brother. "But you would never hurt Elizabeth."
"I don't mean to. I don't want too," his attention remained on his hands.
"Please don't hurt me anymore. Why are you always hurting me?"
"I won't hit you anymore Elizabeth, just please come back," he scrubbed his hands on his jeans trying to wipe the blood off. "See no more blood."
"Who's blood is it Lucky?" Nikolas moved closer to his brother.
"Elizabeth's," he looked up at his brother then. "I don't mean to lose control and hurt her. But sometimes when I see her, I hate her so much, and I was just want to hurt her. But at the same time I love her."
"God," Gia covered her mouth in shock. She had never liked Elizabeth but she couldn't help but feel for her. It sounded like Lucky had put her through hell. She could see the pain in Nikolas' face and knew she had to be strong for him.
"Do you know where she is now?" Nikolas had to believe she was okay.
"Don't you hear her crying?" Lucky asked grabbing his throbbing head with his right hand.
Nikolas froze in his tracks when he saw the gun in Lucky's hand, a gun that was now pointed at his head.
~Boxcar~
Jason headed down the familiar path leading to the boxcar, what could have been considered his first home. To him it was just a place where he could be free, where the Quartermaines couldn't get near him. Finding it had been a stroke of luck, he could open the doors on both sides of the car and let the wind blow through.
Memories of Robin were in that boxcar too, memories of a happier time between them. A time when he was first learning what love was. There were also memories of Elizabeth there. The first one was of a wide-eyed girl who was a little afraid of him, but willing to speak up to defend Lucky. It was difficult for him to recall how she was that day, because that girl seemed to disappear the same time Lucky "died."
As they drew near the boxcar his footsteps slowed. The doors were closed and even from a distance he could see sunlight glinting off a chain and padlock that were on the door.
Elizabeth had fought for him to live inside that boxcar, after he had been shot. She had ignored what he told her to do, what Sonny told her to do, she was determined only to make sure that he lived. He could remember her face, when she held his hand while Bobbie had worked on him, she even matched her breathing with his. The whole time her eyes were begging him to be okay. Now it was her turn to be okay, his turn to return the favor to find and help her.
"Is this always locked?" Johnny broke the silence.
"No the railroad doesn't lock it until September," Jason frowned at the lock. "Someone else locked it."
"Well it's a good thing that I have a key," Johnny pulled out his lock picks and moved closer to the door to pick the lock. He dropped one of the picks and reached down to pick it up only to freeze mid-motion when he saw the ground.
The once green grass had been compressed, probably because of heavy foot traffic, but that wasn't the part that worried him. There was a large stain in the grass that he recognized as blood. Slowly he raised his eyes to the boxcar and saw the trail the blood had made. It started midway up the door, right by the handle, where the door met the car, and worked its way down to gather on the ground. Even the padlock had blood on it.
Jason saw his hesitation and focused on the door. "Move Johnny."
"Jason we don't know what's in there for sure," Johnny turned to face him.
"Move," Jason snapped pulling the gun out of his boot and pointing it towards him. "Now."
"There's no need to rush just let me unlock…"
Jason cocked the trigger and Johnny moved quickly. Jason moved forward and placed the barrel of the gun on the top of the padlock and pulled the trigger. The force of the bullet drove the padlock down, freeing the lock from its hold.
"The door." Johnny finished lamely.
Jason tucked the gun back in his boot, pulled the rest of the padlock and chain off, before reaching up to slide open the door.
Johnny's hand covered his on the handle before he could open it. "Let me look first," Johnny said.
"She's not dead."
"Fine then there's no reason for me not to look first," Johnny repeated tightening his hold, when Jason started to slide the door back.
"I told you…" Jason's voice trailed off when an odor escaped the boxcar causing his eyes to sting.
Johnny swallowed a groan when he recognized the smell, the smell of death.
Jason closed his eyes briefly then shoved hard at the door, sending it open and an off-balanced Johnny to the ground. He jumped in the boxcar, and his eyes filled with horror when he saw the inside of the car. "Oh my god, Elizabeth."
"Oh crap," Johnny heard the pain in Jason's voice and realized they had been too late to save her.
~Cottage~
Nikolas took his eyes off the gun long enough to look at Gia. "Go," he mouthed the words to her, but she shook her head, refusing to leave him. He jerked his head to the door, and again she shook her head.
"It's all Jason's fault," Lucky snapped suddenly drawing their focus back on him.
"How do you mean?" Nikolas asked.
"We were fine until he came back. He came back and suddenly what I wanted didn't matter to her anymore," Lucky cried feeling angry all over again. "He tried to take her from me, but I wouldn't let him. I wouldn't let him take her, and I wouldn't let her go."
"She tried to go?" Nikolas asked moving closer to the table by the couch. He thought if he knocked the lamp off the table maybe it would distract Lucky long enough that he could get the gun away from him.
"She was going to leave me," Lucky yelled. "I heard her say she was in love with him, but I knew that was just a lie. I forgave her for that. But then she tried to leave. NO ONE LEAVES, I told I'd kill her before I let her go," he paused. "So that's what I did."
Gia gasped at the words drawing Lucky's attention to her.
"Killing her to keep her with you," Jason shook his head. "Now that's just pathetic, even for you Lucky."
"You shut up Jason," Lucky yelled pointing the gun at him.
Gia's eyes went wide when she saw the gun pointed at her.
"Lucky put the gun down," Nikolas ordered.
"How does it feel to know that Elizabeth would rather be dead then with you?" Jason asked.
Lucky turned and kept the gun pointed at Jason. "That's not true Jason, Elizabeth loves me, not you, only me."
"Run Gia," Nikolas hissed as soon as the gun was moved from her, to him.
"But you…" she started.
"Get help," Nikolas snapped never taking his eyes off of Lucky's shaking hand.
"That's not true Lucky, you heard her yourself. That night in the park, you heard her say she was in love with me, that she was only with you out of obligation." Jason corrected, crossing his arms over his chest. "Out of pity."
"Not pity," Lucky cried moving the gun again so it was next to his head, which had started to pound again. Flashes of memory were coming to him, memories of hiding in the bushes and listening to them talk, memories of her kissing Jason, of her saying she loved him.
"Yes she felt pity for you and love for me," Jason grinned. "Well that's not all she felt for me. She was damn hot for me too."
"Shut up Jason."
"Lucky, Jason's not here," Nikolas moved closer.
"She tried to remain faithful Lucky, she really did. But eventually she just had to know what it was like," Jason taunted.
"Lucky why don't you give me the gun," Nikolas reached his hand out slowly so he didn't startle him.
"I love Lucky and I always will, but I am in love with you."
"Why Elizabeth?" Lucky's voice broke and the hand holding the gun dropped to his side.
"I am in love with you."
"That's it Lucky just let the gun go," Nikolas encouraged softly moving even closer.
"Finally she just had to know what it would be like to be with a real man," Jason laughed.
"I am in love with you."
Jason's laughter, mixed with her words and echoed in his head, until the roaring became so loud that he just couldn't take it. "No," he screamed bringing the gun up and firing it at the man laughing at him.
Nikolas saw him raise the gun and lunged for Lucky at the same time. He knocked the hand holding the gun away so the bullet went wide. His lunge propelled them back into the fireplace and they both collapsed heavily, he caught his head on the side of the hearth stunning him momentarily.
A minute was all Lucky needed to turn on him. He began to flail wildly trying to land punches. Nikolas jerked his head back, and felt the wind as Lucky's fist just missed him. He fought back, bringing his elbow up and catching Lucky under the chin, forcing his head back into the fireplace and knocking him unconscious.
Nikolas slumped to the side for a minute trying to catch his breath and lower his heart rate, before pushing to his feet and heading for the phone. He had only taken a step when he saw her lying on the landing. "Gia," her name was ripped out of him as he ran to her side.
"N-nikolas," she gasped his name.
"God Gia," he dropped to the floor beside her, his eyes locked on a dark red stain that was rapidly growing on her white shirt.
"Are you okay?" her hand clutched at his.
"I'm okay. I'll get you an ambulance," he forced his attention to her face and saw her paleness, and a thin trickle of blood that was forming on the corner of her mouth. "Baby why didn't you run?"
"I couldn't leave you," she gripped his hand when he went to move away. "Don't leave."
"I need to get help."
"Too late," she could feel herself slipping away and she didn't want to be alone. "Stay with me."
"Always," Nikolas promised tears slipping down his face. "There's nowhere else I ever want to be."
She coughed slightly. "Come closer, I want to see you."
He bent close to her face, her hand in his. "You got to fight baby."
"It doesn't hurt anymore Nikolas," she focused on his face. The face of the only man she had ever loved. She raised her other hand to touch it, "I'm glad you're with me."
"We'll be together forever," he managed. "You're my princess."
She smiled at that. "I do love you Nikolas, with everything I have."
"I love you too."
"Kiss me goodbye," she asked softly, she could feel her strength going.
He wiped the tears from his face and pressed his lips on hers. Her lips moved softly under his for a minute, he could feel her breath against his mouth, and then she went still. He let out a sob and kept his mouth on hers for a minute longer before pulling back to look at her face. As soon as he moved her head fell limply to the side. "Gia," he gathered her lifeless body in his arms and began to rock. "I love you."