A/N:  I tell you—all of you who posted for Chapter 15 were unbelievably and amazingly kind!  If I knew you, I'd take each and every one of you out to lunch!  Or, uh, because I'm your stereotypical college student—broke (another reason why it would be stupid to sue me *DISCLAIMER* I own nothing on this page except for the story itself…characters ain't mine!)  Anyways, back to my previous thought…because I'm broke and because there were so many beautiful comments I'd have to take you all out for a cup of coffee instead of lunch.  Unless of course you don't like coffee…then it would be a cup of water.  *Sigh*  Ahem.  BECAUSE that would never happen in a million years you'll have to settle for my sincere thanks and appreciation for each and every one of you. 

For real….thanks.  You all are awesome.

And now….

Dealing: Chapter 16

************

A chilling scream pierced the darkness.

Nick head snapped up and he swiftly spun his body in the direction of the echo.  Then his eyes immediately flicked to his Tahoe, where what he saw, or rather didn't see, put his heart high up in his throat.

Sara was gone.

Scanning the area, he was hit with the chilling realization.  Sara had taken off in the direction of what seemed to be Claire's voice.

Adrenaline surged through his limbs as his feet took off from under him, propelling him forward into the dark woods.

 "Sara!"  He called frantically. 

Nick had never run so fast.

***********

Sara found it hard to run in the rain soaked ground, her feet sinking in at odd angles.  Luckily the rain let up, allowing her eyes to see clearer than before. 

She barely felt the branches and twigs tearing at her flesh as she raced through the black woods.  Sara's brain worked furiously, thoughts racing.  Where is Claire?  Is she hurt?  Will I find her in time?  Faster.  She had to run faster. 

This is all too familiar, Sara recognized in the midst of her panic.  I've done this before.

Sara reached for her gun holstered on her belt, making sure she had a weapon of defense.  Just in case, she thought. 

Then it hit her.  This was the situation she had been dreaming about; the nightmare that followed the lab explosion.  But this was not a dream.  It was real; it was happening right now. 

Every limb ached with pain and exhaustion, yet Sara didn't even notice, she was numb to her body.  She pressed on, trying not to trip over the fallen tree stumps and limbs in her way, suddenly unaware of her direction.  Frantically she called out, "Claire!" 

Her call was answered with a fierce blow to her stomach.  The force of the tree limb across her torso immediately brought Sara to her knees, gasping for air.  The pain surged through her body like a jolt of electricity.  Struggling on the muddy ground, Sara was all of a sudden very aware of the shadowy figure standing over her. 

"Get up!"  He called, kicking at her rib cage.  Sara dizzily tried to push herself up with one arm, the other one reaching for her gun holster.  The man wasted no time in taking his advantage after seeing Sara grasp for her gun.  He swung the broken wood at her again, this time propelling her backwards with a crack to her shoulder.

No, this isn't happening, her mind cried, her hand instinctively brought up to her injured arm.  Her vision blurred.  A piercing ring vibrated in her ears.  Weakly, she tried to sit up but was yanked backwards by her hair.  She gasped in pain as her head was viciously jerked in an unnatural way. 

"Stand up!"  He ordered, grabbing at her to raise her wobbly body.  Then he immediately reached down and un-strapped her gun from its holster.  As he was doing this, Sara's vision began to refocus, the ring in her ears fading out.  That's when she saw the tiny body, hands and feet tied, lying on the ground before her. 

"Claire…"  She choked out, coughing on the blood trickling down her throat.  Claire struggled, eyes wide, her mouth muzzled with a torn piece of clothing.  A sudden burst of strength rushed through Sara as she watched the helpless child thrash about.  Raising her knee in front of her, she kicked her leg backwards, aiming in between the man's legs.  Sure enough, she hit her target with a powerful punt, sending him reeling backwards, doubled over in pain.  Sara took this chance to get to Claire, dropping to her knees and, despite her overwhelming pain, crawling to her.  Groaning with every move of her muscles, Sara finally reached the young girl. 

Claire watched silently, tears streaming down her swollen face, as Sara worked to free her feet from the bonds.  As soon as the tie loosened its grip on her, Claire scrambled to her feet, and stared down at Sara horrifyingly, silently crying.

"Go…"  Sara called.  When Claire didn't budge she spoke louder. "Go!"

Claire hesitated one last time before turning and taking off into the darkness, free from her captor. 

Now, if only she could get her strength, if only she could just stand up…

Sara rose halfway off the ground before she felt the impact of a fist slam into her head.  With such a powerful force Sara was hurled to the ground, landing on her already injured arm.  The impact knocked the wind from her, leaving her breathless on the ground, vulnerable to her attacker. 

He paced back and forth furiously, cursing, jerking Sara with him as he moved.  She struggled with what little strength she had, which she found was close to none.  Her body was practically lifeless in the arms of McMasters.  Even so, had she any strength within her, her options were very bleak.  Sara's cold, steel gun which now had been turned and trained on her skin reminded her of that fact.  The very gun which she had used as means of protection for years had ironically turned into the very thing that threatened to end her life at any moment now.  Firmly gripping the steel, his finger unnervingly caressing the trigger, McMasters grew more unstable by the minute.

His actions revealed his plans had crumbled and was, at that moment, frantically trying to revise a new one.

Just then, Nick came surging out of the darkness before them.

"Whoa, whoa!"  McMasters yelled, all of a sudden caught off guard, his voice portraying frantic desperation.  "Don't you move an inch, buddy!  You stay right there!"  McMasters commanded, waving his gun forward, pressing Sara against his body with one strong arm.  Nick abruptly stopped, breathing heavily, and held his hands up.  The image before him left him in awe and he immediately felt the sensation of vomit rising in his throat.  His wide eyes traveled fearfully up and down a battered and bruised Sara.  Thick red blood trickled from her lips, the shortness of her breath revealing internal damage. 

Within seconds the sound of officers rushing forward was heard.  When McMasters saw the uniformed men he brought the gun up to Sara's temple. 

"Hold it!  I swear you'll be cleaning up her guts for days if you move any closer!  I mean it!" 

The officers froze.  McMasters did a 180 turn, scanning the area, making sure he had control of the situation before him, keeping the cold steel trained against Sara's skin.  Then he looked down quickly, swearing loudly.  Bringing the gun to his head to scratch his temple, it was apparent he was thinking of his next maneuver.  Sara felt the quickness to his breathing, heard the hysteria it revealed.  She glanced at Nick who was watching her with intense eyes, eyes that exposed every fear and anxiety he was feeling at that moment.

Having three years experience working as a law enforcement officer, proper procedure for handling a hostage situation ran through Nick's head like a mantra.  No sudden movements.  Allow the assailant to feel as if you are willing to cooperate with him.  But would police procedures really save Sara's life?  If Nick tried to take him down in a quick move and failed, Sara would surely be killed.  McMasters wouldn't hesitate to add another murder onto his record—he had nothing else to lose at that point.  Yet, if Nick followed McMasters' instructions Sara could still get harmed, could still die. 

McMasters let out a heavy sigh and then brought the gun back to Sara's head. 

"Okay, this is what we are going to do.  All you officers are going to slowly set your weapons down on the ground.  I want to be able to see your hands the whole time…"  He spoke through gritted teeth.  The officers did as he said, placing their guns before them, holding their hands up as they rose upright.  "That goes for you too, buddy.  I want to see your gun on the ground now." 

Nick half-heartedly cooperated. 

"Great…okay, everyone except you," He nodded towards Nick.  "Take ten steps backwards."  

The officers complied, slowly moving backwards in a robotic motion. 

As McMasters took in another quick breath of air, letting it out loudly to reveal his anxiety, Nick watched him with burning eyes, knowing from the moment he saw the man it was the one Sara had pinned all along as the murderer.  Randy McMasters.

"McMasters…"  Nick hoarsely uttered, his voice so low Sara hardly recognized it.

"Well, it seems you know who I am, how only appropriate it would be if you were to tell me your name."  He replied with a cold grin, nudging the gun into Sara's side who grimaced in discomfort and fear. 

"Nick."  He gravely answered, his eyes trained on the man before him.  "Nick Stokes."

"Mr. Stokes," He repeated.  "Well, Mr. Stokes I have a question for you.  Do you know this lady I have right here next to me?  Do you know Ms. Sara?" 

Nick met Sara's eyes, which glistened with sad tears.  She looked right at him, and then mouthed the words 'I'm sorry.' 

Nick mutely nodded in response to McMasters' previous question.

"Oh, good.  Now then, if I were to pull this trigger right here—,"

Nick instinctively took a quick step forward.

"Eh eh eh.  You stay right there."  McMasters ordered, motioning Nick to step back by waving his gun at him.  Bringing the gun back to Sara, he spoke, "Now, as I was saying, if I were to pull this trigger, would you at all care?  Would you care if Ms. Sara, here, gets shot?"

"Of course I would."  Nick said quickly, quietly.

"What's that?  I can't quite hear you."  He spoke, his voice cold and measured.

"Of course I would."  Nick repeated, this time noticeably louder.

"Great!  So, I take it you wouldn't want to compromise her safety in any way.  Well then, may I make a suggestion, Mr. Stokes?  That you cooperate in every way and not do anything sneaky and stupid.  Because we wouldn't want you to get your friend here accidentally get killed, right?"

Nick nodded once again. 

"So what do you want then?"  Nick spoke, his voice low and grave. 

"It's quite simple, really.  I want my daughter."

"Your daughter?"

"Yes, my daughter.  I want Claire.  Get her back to me.  And I want you to provide me with a vehicle to leave.  That Cadillac of mine, it…well, it bit the dust about fifteen minutes ago and now I'm left without transportation.  That will be your job.  Bring me back my daughter and bring me a car." 

"I don't know if I can do that."

"Hmm…well, I don't know if I can keep her alive, then."  He shrugged, yanking Sara's hair with his free hand, pressing the gun further into Sara's temple.  She let out a quiet squeak, trying to pull away from his tight grasp which only made McMasters grip her harder. 

"Okay, okay.  I'll get you a vehicle…"  Nick rapidly interjected. 

"And Claire."

Nick hesitated.

"No!"  Sara screamed, wrenching away.  "You can't have her!"

"Now, now Sara."  McMasters spoke condescendingly, easily whipping her limp form back.  "Are you trying to get in the way of a father and his daughter?  Because, as I'm sure you know, the last time someone tried to do that I had to set them straight.  And I must say the result was quite messy."  His words turned into a maniacal laugh, and then as if considering what he just said, his expression became reminiscent, sad…yet malicious at the same time.  It was a face of a madman.

"You're no father."  She hissed, her voice full of venom.

"Hey, I've had about enough of you…do you want me to shoot you?  Huh?  Is that what you want?  'Cause you're just begging for it right now, Ms. Sara."  He spoke directly into her ear, spit flinging from his lips onto her cheeks.  She craned her head away, wincing.

Nick could barely breathe anymore.  If he didn't think he'd run the risk of harming Sara in the process, he would have unloaded twelve rounds into the man's skull by now.

Sara's eyes suddenly were consumed with heated fire.  She gritted her teeth and cried angrily.

"If you're going to shoot me, you better do it now, you worthless piece of trash."  Sara cried through clenched teeth.  "Cause that's the only way you'll ever get to Claire.  Over my dead body." 

Nick watched her with absolute astonishment, unable to hide the shocked expression on his face. 

"Sara…"  His voice pleaded, full of caution.

"Go ahead, McMasters.  Shoot me…go ahead…"  She crazily spoke.

McMasters grabbed her hair again and jammed the gun barrel right under her chin.

"Is that what you want?  You want to die, Sara?"  His face was so close to her head, his nostrils flaring with each word.

Nick stared, eyes wide with fear.

"Do it…shoot me!"

"Sara!"  Nick yelled at her.

"Your friend is crazy!"  McMasters called, pushing the gun further into the tense muscles under Sara's chin. 

"You'll never have her!"

"Sara!"

"I'll do it.  I swear to you I'll pull the trigger!"

"Never!  She was never yours!" 

Nick heart felt as if it would leap right out from his chest.  He clenched is fingers in and out of balled fists at his sides, trying to decipher the best moment to do it—to just reach for his gun before him.  "Sara!  Stop it!"  He ordered.

The fury in McMasters eyes seemed to burn into Sara's soul as his attention was fixed on her sudden lunacy.  He gripped the gun, finger steady on the trigger, pushing tighter…tighter…

"You took away her mother.  How could she ever love you?"  Sara spoke to him, her voice full of hatred.

McMasters jaw tightened and his eyes grew wide with madness as he absorbed Sara's words.

That was the last straw.

Click.

Click.  Click.

The hammer clicked harmlessly on an empty chamber. 

Sara flinched with each click, even though she knew what the result would be. 

Nothing.

Her gun was not loaded.  She had forgotten to load it before she stepped out of her vehicle, and remembered this fact just moments before she began taunting McMasters.

When McMasters realized the gun was empty, his eyes glazed over.  Sara stumbled away from him as he slowly lowered the gun and let it drop to the ground with a hopeless thud. 

When Nick saw McMasters was shooting blanks he seized the moment as did all the other officers.  Rushing forward they lunged for their weapons.

In the chaos and hysteria of the moment, McMasters, almost knowing his fate, took the opportunity to harm Sara as much as possible.  His eyes immediately flicked over to Sara who was, at that moment, desperately trying to get away.  His expression burned with rage.  In the split second it took him to charge her, they were on the ground in a tangled mess.

"Whoa, whoa.  Don't shoot!!"  Nick frantically called to the other officers, waving his hand back, trying to focus on the two bodies to see who was who in the dark shadows. 

"Don't sh—,"

But it was too late.  Nick spoke too late.

The unmistakable roar of a gunshot echoed through the thick darkness. 

***************

A/N:  Would I like to see a review from you?  Ummm….YES!  Please let me know what you thought…ANY question?  ANY comments?  Post 'em!  Thanks! 

To Be Continued…