"Looks like she was right," Morell murmured. "I almost wish she wasn't."
Kenny gritted his teeth, and had to hold himself back from charging in there. "You're not the only one. If anything happens to her."
"She's made it this far," Jimmy interjected. "Let's move in. You've got you warrants."
Morell nodded. "We've got to wait. I want to make sure that they're all in there. She's wired, and has a glock. Have some faith in your deputy."
"Oh I do. She's been under a ton of stress latel, Morell, and I'm worried that she may have reached her breaking point."
1515151515
"Dad," Max said carefully, not giving anything away. "I didn't know that you would be here. Caro? Is there something you didn't tell me?"
"There is a lot she told us though," Richard said joining them. "And you're going to tell us the rest, Darling."
Max bit her lip, as Richard grabbed her forearms and jerked her forward. Feeling his breath in her face. "Why would I do that?"
"Because if you don't, you'll end up like your son," William said coldly. "And I might just knock off your sister for good measure."
"Why Dad? He was just a baby," Max practically whispered, needing to know. "I'll tell you anything you want, but . . . why?"
William smiled indulgently at his younger daughter. "I had it all planned out, and I was actually going to take both of your offspring while you were visiting. Those two lunatics were more then happy to help, especially after I gave them all that money. I was going to sell them to the Robinsons. Linwood set that part up, and then save them for you later."
"Why?"
"For the money of course. The firm is going under, and when I convinced you to marry Richard, we would receive enough cash to fix it," William said simply. "And then you would have been where you belonged."
Max shook her head in disbelief, despite knowing it was true before walking in the door. "How could you? He was your grandson!"
Richard dragged her into the living room, and tossed her on the empty couch. "Shut your mouth. We're going to ask the questions now."
"Go to hell," Max spat back at him, wondering why the FBI wasn't bursting through the doors yet. "I hate you for this."
"Oh, you'll answer," William replied, putting a gun to Caroline's head. "Or you'll watch your sister die."
Max bit her lip. "Fine."
"Who else is involved in this?" Richard demanded. "And what did you tell them?"
"No one," Max replied quietly, trying not to picture Caroline dying in front of her. "I did this on my own."
"What about your husband?" Michael chimed in. "I assume the rumors of your marital troubles are unfounded?"
"No," Max stressed. "He doesn't know, he just thinks I lost my mind."
"I don't believe you," Hannah gasped. "All you've done is lie to us since you've been here! I defended you! You tried to destroy our family, and you couldn't be bothered to tell us that you're pregnant!"
1515151515
"She's pregnant?" Jimmy asked. "Did you know that?"
Kenny shook his head, dumbfounded. "Pregnant? Max isn't pregnant."
"Her family seems to think that she is," Morell interjected. "Are you sure?"
"Uh, yeah. She would of told me that," Kenny replied, stunned by her Mom's announcement. "She isn't pregnant."
"She was sick this afternoon," Jimmy argued. "That's usually a sign of pregnancy."
"She has a concussion," Kenny stressed, not wanting to believe that she would keep something like this from him. "She would of said something, Jimmy, and wouldn't have walked into this situation if she was. she can be reckless, but...she wouldn't of."
"We'll be sure to ask her when she comes out," Morell replied. "Until then, stand by."
1515151515
"I'm what?" Max cried. "Mom! Who said I was pregnant? That's the first I've heard of it. I'm not pregnant, Mom."
"Really? That's not what your doctor said last night in the ER," William countered, as Max sat back in shock. "You're almost four months along. I would hate to kill another one of my grandchildren because you won't cooperate with me."
"You're all insane," Max whispered, looking at them. "Do you hear yourselves?"
"Here is how this is going to work. You're going to sign the divorce and custody papers. Right now. You're going to marry Richard, and we'll never talk about this again," William said. "I want no argument from you, Maxine, or Caroline dies."
Help, she thought, Kenny, Jimmy, Morell? Where are you? Aren't you supposed to sweep in about now? They're going to shoot Caro, and probably me at some point. Help.
"Okay," she whispered. " Just let her go, Dad. She doesn't have anything to do with any of this. Don't hurt her."
"Sign," he demanded, tossing the pile at her. "Do it."
Max gritted her teeth, hating herself, as she scribbled across the line. "There. Are you happy now?"
"Very," William smiled. "Get up. We're going to take a trip down to the courthouse to file these before you change your mind."
Max shot a desperate look at Caroline, who Michael was holding against his chest. "Mom? Mom, please?"
"We're going to be such a happy family, Maxie."
1515151515
"Go," Morell commanded. "Go. We can't wait anymore."
Kenny kept a wary eye on the house, and processed the idea that Max might actually be pregnant. How couldn't she know, he thought, and four months? That's a hell of a long time. Four months ago . . . maybe right before she went to Boston the first time? Or that first night back after Josh was gone? Watching the FBI storm into the house he prayed that he would have the chance to ask her.
"She'll come out of this all right. She's a fighter," Jimmy said quietly. "Morell will make sure of it."
Kenny nodded silently, as he wondered how he let Max talk him into this in the first place.
141414141414
"What was that?" William asked, as the front door crashed open. "What the hell is this?"
Max jerked herself free, as the Morell and his men thundered into Caro's living room. Stumbling backward toward her sister, her only thought was to get her out of here unscathed.
"Freeze FBI," Morell shouted. "Everyone on the floor!"
Richard raised his gun, and whirled around. "You bitch! You lying bitch!"
"I said freeze," Morell shouted. "No one has to get hurt here."
"You don't know what you're doing," William sneered.
"All of you drop your weapons," Michael called calmly, raising a knife to Caroline's throat. "Or I will kill her."
"Don't listen to him," Caroline screamed. "He's going to do it either way!"
Good call, Caro, Max thought, as she pulled herself to her feet. William waved his weapon through the air. "I don't think a dead bystander looks good in your FBI file, Agent."
"Neither does letting a family of serial killers walk out," Morell countered. "We can talk here, William. What do you need?"
"Get the hell out of here, and let my family and I deal with this. That's what I want. Your interference is uncalled for."
"I could do that for you," Morell said calmly. "But you'll have to do something for me. Let Caroline walk out of here, as a show of good faith, and I'll get my people out of here."
"We also need transportation out of here," William continued. "And I don't want anyone to follow us. If we do, she dies."
Max swallowed, as her father pointed at her. He's going to kill me, she thought wildly, as Morell shot her glance. She nodded, not looking at him, because there was no way in hell that she was letting Caroline go in her place.
141414141414
"Shit," Kenny said quietly, hearing the scene playing out in front of him. "Jimmy, we gotta do something."
"No we don't," he replied, even though he felt the same way. "If we go bursting in there the whole thing will to hell. Shots will be fired, and there is a good chance that someone will be killed."
"So you just want to wait?"
"No, but that's what we're going to do."
14141414141414
Michael released Caroline, and pushed her away. "Go, get out here. You were never good for anything."
She stumbled away, trembling the whole time. Looking up at her sister she whispered. "I'm so sorry, Maxie. I didn't want this to happen, they made me. They said . . ."
"It's okay," Max replied softly, fighting back her tears. I'm going to die. "Caro, go on. Get out of here."
"You won't get a second chance," Morell added. "Go now. Don't look back."
With one last look at her sister, Caroline ran from the house into the darkening day.
"Now, get us our car," William demanded. "And get the hell out of my house."
Morell glanced over at Max, and she nodded at him. "I'll be fine, Morell. Just give him what he wants."
Her husband is going to kill me, Morell thought, if that happens. "I promise you safe passage if you let Maxine walk out of this house unharmed right now."
"Why should we believe that? We'll have nothing that'll stop you from shooting us dead," Richard sneered. "She stays."
"I want everyone cleared out of here," William repeated. "And that car here in an hour. If not Maxine dies. No exceptions, no tricks. Time is running starting now."
Morell paused before addressing his team. "Move out. I'll call when your car is ready."
Max watched them go silently, thankful that Caro was okay. But what is going to happen to me?
141414141414
"You just left her?" Kenny snapped at Morell, as they filed out. "How could you just leave her in there like that? It wasn't supposed to happen like this!"
"Richard had his gun pointed at her the whole time," Morell said quietly. "If we tried that, she'd be dead. This buys all of us some time, but we have to move out of sight. We'll give them what they want, but they won't get away. I won't let that happen."
"How so?" Kenny countered. "That's my wife in there!"
"Please," Caroline cut in. "Please. You have to get Maxie out there. Don't let them hurt her."
"That's why we're going to do everything by the book," Morell replied. "She is a smart and capable woman, and have faith in that. We'll get her out. I promise you that."
141414141414
William snatched the ringing phone from the table. "Hello?"
"Your car is here," Morell said. "And my men are standing back. You're free to leave now."
"I don't want to see any FBI agents following us, or you know what will happen."
"I lived up to my end of the bargain," Morell said. "How about you let Maxine go now? You don't need her."
"I don't think so. She stays with us."
Morell glanced at the SWAT team that fell into position around him. "How are you going to guarantee her safety to me then, William? I can't in good faith that you walk out of here if you have any intention of harming her."
"You don't have a choice. If you don't let us leave, her brain will be splattered on the wall behind me. Now what is your choice."
Morell nodded to his SWAT team as they clicked the safeties off on their weapons. "You're free to go."
Kenny couldn't tear his gaze away from the house in front of him, and wanted to rip Max's family apart for what they had done. Watching the front door, he hoped that Morell could pull this off, and it killed him he couldn't do anything to help her. Hang in there, Max, he thought, as the door opened. Don't give up yet.
"Back away," Richard yelled, poking the gun against her back, and them he hissed in her ear. "Keep walking, Sweetheart."
Max bit her tongue not wanting to make the whole thing worse. I'm never going home again, she thought. I'll never hold Em again, never see her grow, miss her first day of school, her friends, boyfriends . . . I'll miss her whole life. I'm sorry, Sweetie, so sorry. I wanted to be there for you, but your Dad will take such good care of you. He loves you. She stumbled down the walk toward the car, and wonder if there was anything that she could do to possibly stall them so that Morell could do what he needed to do. There has to be a SWAT team around here somewhere, she mused, as she felt her father shove her to walk faster.
"Don't look at them," he demanded. "You'll never see any of these people again."
Gathering her internal strength, she knew that she had one shot. Eyeing the crack on the sidewalk in front of her, Max took a deep breath and fell to the ground, knocking William and Richard with her.
"Son of a bitch!" William yelled, as his weapon went flying, and Max's foot connected with his chin.
Scrambling to her feet, she elbowed Richard in the nose, as his gun disappeared into a bush, as Michael lunged at her. Ducking out of the way, she saw Caroline running like a bat out of hell toward Michael, and shoving him down on top of Richard.
"Bastard!" Caroline screamed. "I hate you! I hate you!"
"I'm not to fond of either of you," Hannah cried as the FBI moved in and she raised her gun at her two daughters. "You destroyed this family!"
"Drop it!" Morell yelled, raising his own weapon. "Drop it!"
Richard, William and Michael scrambled to their and began to run, as Hannah pulled the trigger. William grabbed his wife, and pulled her with him as shots rang out all around them. Max yanked Caroline down on the ground with her, and whispered. "Don't move, Caro. Just stay down. Caro? Caro? Can you hear me? Caro?"
"Max," she heard someone calling her name, and felt a hand on her shoulder. "Honey, are you all right?"
She shook her head, and rolled Caro over on her back. "Caroline?"
Kenny dropped down next to her, as the blood poured out of Caroline's chest. "Shit."
"Caro, don't do this! No," Max cried, feeling the hysterics begin to build. "Please, Caro hold on. You'll be fine."
"Ambulance is here," Morell called. "It was standing by."
Kenny glanced up at the paramedics, and pulled Max back slightly. "Let them look at her, Honey. They're going to help her. Ssh."
"Caro," Max whimpered, oblivious to the other four being dragged off in handcuffs.
"BP is falling," the paramedic yelled. "We gotta go!"
"Can I go with her?" Max blurted out. "She's my sister."
"Come quickly," he replied, glancing over at her. "Now."
"Go," Kenny said quickly. "I'll see you there."
She shot him a fleeting glance as the ambulance shot off down the street, sirens and lights blazing in the night.
141414141414
"We've got several confessions on tape, and they're all ready to turn on each other," Morell said, nodding toward Kenny and Jimmy. "As much as I'd like to stay professional , I can't. These are some twisted individuals. I don't want to tack on another murder charge either."
"I couldn't believe it when she, Caroline, ran off like that and tackled Michael," Jimmy said shaking his head. "They are definitely sisters."
"Let's just hope that they're both alright," Morell said pausing. "Did that pregnancy ever get confirmed?"
Kenny shook his head. "Not yet."
"Do you think that she is?" Jimmy asked carefully. "She certainly didn't."
Kenny shrugged. "I don't know. Neither of us were thinking about having any more kids just yet. We were having enough trouble keeping ourselves afloat lately. If she is though . . . It'll be a nice surprise."
Jimmy nodded toward the hospital, as they pulled up. "Well lets go find out."
141414141414
Max pulled her legs up to her chest in the waiting room, and prayed that Caroline would be okay. She has to be . . . we just started to be sisters again. Chewing her lip, she couldn't believe that she attacked Michael like that. Come on, Caro, pull through this. Do it for Samantha and Nathan. They need you to much for you to die.
"Max," she heard, as she glanced up and saw the three men watching her. "We've been looking for you. How is she?"
"I don't know," Max replied hoarsely. "She's been in surgery for a long time."
Kenny sat down next to her, and just wanted to hold her. He looked at her disheveled hair, dirt streaked face, grass stained and bloodied white skirt, as he picked a leaf out of her hair. "Did anyone take a look at you? To make sure that you're still in one piece?"
"I'm fine."
"What about your, uh, baby?" Jimmy asked. "Are you pregnant?"
Max shook her head. "I don't know. It's possible I guess, but I would know if I was. Wouldn't I?"
"It was kind of a shock the first time," Kenny replied.
Max sighed, as she contemplated the idea seriously for the first time. It's not such a horrible thought, she rationalized, and Kenny wants a big family. "Yeah, it was. I guess I should at least have it checked out . . . after I find out about Caro."
"Excuse me," the doctor said, entering the waiting room. "You're Caroline Richardson's sister?"
Max nodded, feeling her heart jump into her throat. "Yes. Is she okay?"
The doctor smiled reassuringly, "She was very lucky, although she'll be sore for awhile. We patched up the internal bleeding, and she's resting now."
"Can I see her?"
"She's still in recovery," the doctor replied. "But she'll be up soon, and I'll let you know when that is. You look a little banged up yourself. Did anyone examine you?"
Max shook her head. "No, I was more concerned about Caroline.
"Well, I'd like to take a look at you now," he said with the smile. "If that is okay with you?"
Max nodded, as Kenny pulled her to her feet. "Sure. Um, one thing though? I might be pregnant, but I don't know. It has been the subject of a lot of speculation tonight."
"We'll check on that as well," the doctor assured her. "Follow me."
Morell nodded in the direction that Max disappeared in. "I'm going to go check on her family, and see what we can get out of them tonight. I'll check back in later."
"Thanks for your help," Jimmy replied, holding his hand out. "I mean that."
"Always a pleasure, and she did one hell of a job for this. I'm glad that the sister is going to be fine too," Morell said with a grin. "And I want to know about the baby."
141414141414
Max pulled on the donated gray sweats and white t-shirt quickly, and looked at the discarded clothes on the floor. I've ruined two outfits in two days she thought, feeling somewhat better after she had gotten the blood and dirt off of herself. I've got to go and see Caro . . . and Kenny. I know that he's worried about me.
"Are you ready?" Dr. Franklin called. "Your sister is in her room now."
Max nodded gratefully. "Yeah. Is she awake?"
"No not yet. She'll sleep through the night, and I suggest that you do the same thing."
Max sighed, and despite her exhaustion, and she didn't want to leave Caro here alone. "Can I see her now? Please?'
"Right this way," Dr. Franklin said, leading her down a hall. "Would you like me to send your friends in as well?"
Max thought of Kenny and Jimmy sitting in the waiting room, and nodded. "Could you give me a few minutes though alone with her? I know those two . . . and I just want to be with her for a little while before they come charging in."
He smiled at her request. "I can do that for you. Room 586, on your left."
"Thanks," Max replied, pushing the door open. "For everything."
Oh Caro, she thought, looking at the still and pale figure on the bed, what were you thinking jumping Michael like that? You were always the one who did everything right, the perfect daughter. I never thought that you would do something so impulsive like that. I guess I should of thought about it though after you told me you were a computer hacker. And a good one at that. Plopping down in the chair next to the bed, she watched Caro's chest rise and fall.
"I know you can't hear me," Max said softly. "I love yo,u Caro. I know we haven't been all that close in the last few years, or ever really. These past two weeks, even though they've been a little odd, were the first time in a long time that we felt like sisters to me. And I missed that. Maybe we can try again later? When this has all settled down?"
Max lapsed into silence, and wondered what happened to the children they used to be.