Well, here's the last
chapter. I hope everyone enjoyed this, and if you're interested I
have another fic like this that's almost finished I might post.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed!
Megan
Carter and Benton entered Carter's apartment followed by Deadrick, who kept his gun trained on their backs. He forced them to sit on the couch in the living room. Moments later, the man Carter had feared for the past few days entered the room with a gun of his own trained on them.
"Well, well, well. How nice to finally meet you Dr. Carter. You don't remember me do you? Infact, I don't think you remember much of anything right now. Oh, Dr. Benton. Glad you could join us. Deadrick, go find some rope, duct tape, whatever and tie Benton here up. I don't think Dr. Carter's up to fighting. Are you?" Vollmer said with a sly smile. Carter had turned deathly pale, beads of sweat were forming on his forehead, and he had started trembling.
Deadrick returned with a length of rope and proceeded to tie Benton's hands behind his back, and his ankles to the leg of the couch so he couldn't go anywhere. When he was done he turned to Vollmer for further instructions. Jason put an envelope into his hands.
"I don't think you're needed anymore Deadrick. All the money's there."
"Of course." Deadrick turned to Carter and Benton. "This is where I make my exit. Enjoy the rest of your lives," Jack said with an evil grin as he left the apartment.
"What the hell do you want from us," Benton demanded.
"For such a smart person, sometimes you can be awfully dense," Vollmer said, as he started pacing back and forth. "You don't remember my wife, do you Dr. Carter? I have a problem with that. I think a person should remember everyone they kill. I do."
"I didn't kill your wife," Carter whispered.
"How do you know? You don't even remember!"
Carter involuntarily flinched as Jason's voice raised in pitch. This was starting to feel like one of his dreams. He promised himself he wouldn't fall apart. It was his fault Benton was dragged into this, he was going to get him out of it. If only he had his memory back!
"I'm sure I did everything possible to save her. I'm very sor..."
"Don't patronize me! Your words mean nothing! Anna was my life! She meant everything to me then you come along and kill her. I did everything for her. Even changed my name and cleaned up my act. I'm a firm believer in doing to people what they have done to you. I thought Lucy was your wife. It would of been perfect. You think your car accident was an accident? It was planned from the day Anna died. I had someone follow you two as you left the hospital. They radioed me your location, and the rest you can figure out."
Carter felt the anger rising up in him, replacing the fear. This man wasn't some supernatural demon that had appeared to him in his dreams. He was a psychopath, plain and simple. He had intentionally caused the accident! It was Vollmer's fault he and Lucy were injured. It was his fault he had had to live with no memory for the past few days. It was also his fault he had been terrified every waking moment of falling asleep into some nightmare that was even more terrifying.
"You son of a bitch!" Carter yelled, shocking Benton. "You caused this! It's your..." Carter was cut short by a vicious backhand to the face.
Benton started fighting harder against the restraints. He felt so helpless. He just couldn't sit here and watch this guy hurt Carter again!
"Shut up!" Vollmer yelled. "It's your fault. All yours! And now my sweet Anna is gone."
Anna. That name. He'd heard if before, but where? It sounded so familiar. He was so close to remembering. The more he thought about the name, the more he felt a sense of loss. The image of a beautiful smiling blonde entered his mind. She was wearing a dress and sitting at a table at some sort of party. A banquet.
"I'm remembering something," he whispered to Benton.
"It's about time!" Vollmer exclaimed.
"What do you remember, Carter?" Peter asked him. He could feel Vollmer becoming increasingly agitated, but tried to ignore him.
"Anna. She was blonde and I remember her at some sort of banquet."
"That's Anna del Amico. Pedes resident. You..."
"We worked closely together. She left for Philadelphia a few months ago," Carter finished for him. "I remember." Carter turned to Vollmer who had been glaring at him the whole time. "I remember your wife," he simply stated. "I couldn't do anything to save her. She was a goner by the time the paramedics brought her in."
Carter realized the moment Vollmer's face turned red with anger it had been the wrong thing to say. Before he could react, Jason grabbed him by the front of the shirt and slammed him against the wall opposite the couch. He gasped as he felt Jason's elbow press into his ribs.
"Leave him alone!" Peter yelled. He felt the rope digging into his wrists as he struggled, but didn't care. He had to get to Carter.
"You killed her!" Jason shouted. To emphasize his point, Vollmer again slammed him into another wall.
"I did everything I could." Carter felt himself connect with another wall. He could feel what was left of his strength slip away, and be replaced with pain. Carter could feel consciousness slowly ebbing away.
Benton couldn't watch this anymore. He knew if he didn't do something soon Vollmer was going to kill Carter. He could feel the rope around his wrists start to give. Just a little more. Suddenly, a crash coming from the front door broke the silence, and footsteps could be heard. Peter was shocked when Officer Dalton came charging into the room, gun pointed at Vollmer's chest. He watched in horror as Jason put his arm around Carter's throat and held him infront, using him as a human shield.
"Let him go!" Pete yelled, his gun steady in his hand.
Vollmer just grinned. "Glad you could join the fun. I'd put your gun down if I were you. I could snap his neck like a twig. You know what I'm capable of."
Peter watched the exchange. His fear for Carter doubled when he realized Dalton had come alone. There was no way he was going to be able to do this without help. He looked at Vollmer, and saw he was grinning. He looked so sure of himself. Benton then looked to Pete. He could read him like an open book. Just by looking at his face he could tell he was torn between putting the gun down, or taking a shot. Don't play the hero kid, Peter thought. There's no way you'll be able to hit Vollmer without also risking hitting Carter.
"I'm not putting down the gun," Pete said firmly. It was obvious he had made up his mind and wasn't budging. Vollmer's smile slipped a little, but he regained it as another thought entered his mind.
"Guess you'll have the shoot Dr. Carter first then. Or if you'd prefer, I'll kill him for you."
Much to his disappointment, Vollmer didn't get any reaction from Dalton. He decided to change tactics.
"You know your partner can't be trusted. He's a very weak man. A little money was all it took and he was willing to sacrifice two, and now three lives."
"You can call him what you want, but he's not my partner. He was assigned to me to make sure I behaved. Now that he's not here, I'll do whatever I please."
Carter couldn't take it anymore. It was extremely hard to breathe. Every breath he took felt like fire all though his chest. He was starting not to care if Pete shot him to get to Vollmer. It might be less painful than this. Carter looked at Dalton and saw his eyes focus on something behind them.
Peter saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and was amazed to see another police officer coming up behind Vollmer. Back up had arrived after all. Apparently Vollmer hadn't realized there was a door on the other side of the room as well. The officer had his gun trained on Vollmers back. What if he fired and the bullet went through Vollmer, and into Carter?
Vollmer was fed up with this. If this rookie cop was going to shoot him after all, why not take Carter down with him? He prepared to make his move.
The cop behind Vollmer saw his muscles tense, and in a split second he made his decision.
The sound of a gunshot echoed as Vollmer fell to the ground, taking Carter with him.
"Carter!" Peter yelled. Pete holstered his gun and untied Peter from the couch. In an instant all three of them were gathered around the two crumpled bodies on the floor. Not sure if one or both of them were still alive.
Peter reached out and felt for a pulse on Carter. He heaved a sigh of relief as he felt a faint pulse. He glanced over at the officer who had shot Vollmer, and saw him shake his head after having felt Vollmer for a pulse and not finding one.
"Carter? Come on man. Can you hear me?" It felt as if he'd been saying that far too much these past few days. He gently tapped Carter on the face to try and rouse him. Peter was alarmed to see a bluish tinge to Carter's lips. He had probably passed out from lack of oxygen. He was also dismayed the see a bruise forming around Carter's neck from the pressure of Vollmer's arm.
Slowly, Carter drifted back to consciousness. The first thing he felt was the pain in his chest and back, and a tightness around his throat. He also felt something warm and wet soaking through his shirt. Alarmed, his eyes flew open to look directly into Benton's concerned ones. Immediately he tried to sit up, but Benton pushed him back down.
"Stay put Carter. Just relax," Peter soothed.
"Am I bleeding?" he croaked.
The question alarmed Benton at first until he realized when Vollmer had been shot, he had taken Carter down with him and they had landed side by side. Some of Vollmer's blood had gotten onto Carter's clothes.
"You're okay Carter. It's not your blood."
Realization slowly dawned on Carter.
"He's dead?" he hesitantly asked.
"Yeah. He was shot in the back." Benton looked up and saw the officer who had shot Vollmer dragging the body away from Carter, and covering it with a blanked from the couch. Pete also came over and knelt by Carter.
"The paramedics are on the way," he told them. "After they check you both out, we're gonna have a lot of questions that will need to be answered about tonight."
Carter started to sit up on his own again, but Benton started to protest.
"I'm alright," Carter insisted. "I just want to sit up."
Peter gently helped Carter sit up, and kept a hand on his back for support as he saw Carter start to waver, but regain his balance. Once he was certain Carter was alright, he turned to Dalton.
"How'd you know where to find us?"
"I got a call from Dr. Greene who said he'd been trying to get a hold of you and couldn't. He wanted me to go to your place to check on you guys. When I got there the house was empty except for your guard McGuinty tied up on the bathroom floor."
"So he didn't leave after all," Carter said.
"Apparently not. He said he was knocked unconscious, then woke up in the washroom. I was on my way back to the station when I saw my partner driving a squad car with you two in it. I guess he didn't see me. I followed you guys here, and I think the rest you can figure out."
"Why did you wait so long to come in after us?" Pete was angry Dalton had waited so long and Carter had ended up hurt because of it.
"I was waiting for back up to arrive, but when I heard Vollmer start yelling I couldn't wait any longer."
"What about your partner?" Carter inquired.
"He's been taken into custody. He was caught red handed with the cash. Couldn't explain fast enough why he was carrying that much cash in an envelope. Not that it mattered. I had already seen him kidnap you two."
The coroner had arrived and was preparing to have Vollmer's body removed. A team of paramedics was also just coming in the door, and was heading for Carter, as he seemed to be the one hurt.
Peter stayed with him as the paramedics carried out their exam. They insisted on taking him to the hospital just to be on the safe side. As Carter and Benton left the apartment, Carter looked one last time at Vollmer's body as it was lifted into the body bag and felt a strange sense of relief that the man who had tormented him was finally gone.
The End
Copyright Megan, 2000
Megan
Carter and Benton entered Carter's apartment followed by Deadrick, who kept his gun trained on their backs. He forced them to sit on the couch in the living room. Moments later, the man Carter had feared for the past few days entered the room with a gun of his own trained on them.
"Well, well, well. How nice to finally meet you Dr. Carter. You don't remember me do you? Infact, I don't think you remember much of anything right now. Oh, Dr. Benton. Glad you could join us. Deadrick, go find some rope, duct tape, whatever and tie Benton here up. I don't think Dr. Carter's up to fighting. Are you?" Vollmer said with a sly smile. Carter had turned deathly pale, beads of sweat were forming on his forehead, and he had started trembling.
Deadrick returned with a length of rope and proceeded to tie Benton's hands behind his back, and his ankles to the leg of the couch so he couldn't go anywhere. When he was done he turned to Vollmer for further instructions. Jason put an envelope into his hands.
"I don't think you're needed anymore Deadrick. All the money's there."
"Of course." Deadrick turned to Carter and Benton. "This is where I make my exit. Enjoy the rest of your lives," Jack said with an evil grin as he left the apartment.
"What the hell do you want from us," Benton demanded.
"For such a smart person, sometimes you can be awfully dense," Vollmer said, as he started pacing back and forth. "You don't remember my wife, do you Dr. Carter? I have a problem with that. I think a person should remember everyone they kill. I do."
"I didn't kill your wife," Carter whispered.
"How do you know? You don't even remember!"
Carter involuntarily flinched as Jason's voice raised in pitch. This was starting to feel like one of his dreams. He promised himself he wouldn't fall apart. It was his fault Benton was dragged into this, he was going to get him out of it. If only he had his memory back!
"I'm sure I did everything possible to save her. I'm very sor..."
"Don't patronize me! Your words mean nothing! Anna was my life! She meant everything to me then you come along and kill her. I did everything for her. Even changed my name and cleaned up my act. I'm a firm believer in doing to people what they have done to you. I thought Lucy was your wife. It would of been perfect. You think your car accident was an accident? It was planned from the day Anna died. I had someone follow you two as you left the hospital. They radioed me your location, and the rest you can figure out."
Carter felt the anger rising up in him, replacing the fear. This man wasn't some supernatural demon that had appeared to him in his dreams. He was a psychopath, plain and simple. He had intentionally caused the accident! It was Vollmer's fault he and Lucy were injured. It was his fault he had had to live with no memory for the past few days. It was also his fault he had been terrified every waking moment of falling asleep into some nightmare that was even more terrifying.
"You son of a bitch!" Carter yelled, shocking Benton. "You caused this! It's your..." Carter was cut short by a vicious backhand to the face.
Benton started fighting harder against the restraints. He felt so helpless. He just couldn't sit here and watch this guy hurt Carter again!
"Shut up!" Vollmer yelled. "It's your fault. All yours! And now my sweet Anna is gone."
Anna. That name. He'd heard if before, but where? It sounded so familiar. He was so close to remembering. The more he thought about the name, the more he felt a sense of loss. The image of a beautiful smiling blonde entered his mind. She was wearing a dress and sitting at a table at some sort of party. A banquet.
"I'm remembering something," he whispered to Benton.
"It's about time!" Vollmer exclaimed.
"What do you remember, Carter?" Peter asked him. He could feel Vollmer becoming increasingly agitated, but tried to ignore him.
"Anna. She was blonde and I remember her at some sort of banquet."
"That's Anna del Amico. Pedes resident. You..."
"We worked closely together. She left for Philadelphia a few months ago," Carter finished for him. "I remember." Carter turned to Vollmer who had been glaring at him the whole time. "I remember your wife," he simply stated. "I couldn't do anything to save her. She was a goner by the time the paramedics brought her in."
Carter realized the moment Vollmer's face turned red with anger it had been the wrong thing to say. Before he could react, Jason grabbed him by the front of the shirt and slammed him against the wall opposite the couch. He gasped as he felt Jason's elbow press into his ribs.
"Leave him alone!" Peter yelled. He felt the rope digging into his wrists as he struggled, but didn't care. He had to get to Carter.
"You killed her!" Jason shouted. To emphasize his point, Vollmer again slammed him into another wall.
"I did everything I could." Carter felt himself connect with another wall. He could feel what was left of his strength slip away, and be replaced with pain. Carter could feel consciousness slowly ebbing away.
Benton couldn't watch this anymore. He knew if he didn't do something soon Vollmer was going to kill Carter. He could feel the rope around his wrists start to give. Just a little more. Suddenly, a crash coming from the front door broke the silence, and footsteps could be heard. Peter was shocked when Officer Dalton came charging into the room, gun pointed at Vollmer's chest. He watched in horror as Jason put his arm around Carter's throat and held him infront, using him as a human shield.
"Let him go!" Pete yelled, his gun steady in his hand.
Vollmer just grinned. "Glad you could join the fun. I'd put your gun down if I were you. I could snap his neck like a twig. You know what I'm capable of."
Peter watched the exchange. His fear for Carter doubled when he realized Dalton had come alone. There was no way he was going to be able to do this without help. He looked at Vollmer, and saw he was grinning. He looked so sure of himself. Benton then looked to Pete. He could read him like an open book. Just by looking at his face he could tell he was torn between putting the gun down, or taking a shot. Don't play the hero kid, Peter thought. There's no way you'll be able to hit Vollmer without also risking hitting Carter.
"I'm not putting down the gun," Pete said firmly. It was obvious he had made up his mind and wasn't budging. Vollmer's smile slipped a little, but he regained it as another thought entered his mind.
"Guess you'll have the shoot Dr. Carter first then. Or if you'd prefer, I'll kill him for you."
Much to his disappointment, Vollmer didn't get any reaction from Dalton. He decided to change tactics.
"You know your partner can't be trusted. He's a very weak man. A little money was all it took and he was willing to sacrifice two, and now three lives."
"You can call him what you want, but he's not my partner. He was assigned to me to make sure I behaved. Now that he's not here, I'll do whatever I please."
Carter couldn't take it anymore. It was extremely hard to breathe. Every breath he took felt like fire all though his chest. He was starting not to care if Pete shot him to get to Vollmer. It might be less painful than this. Carter looked at Dalton and saw his eyes focus on something behind them.
Peter saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and was amazed to see another police officer coming up behind Vollmer. Back up had arrived after all. Apparently Vollmer hadn't realized there was a door on the other side of the room as well. The officer had his gun trained on Vollmers back. What if he fired and the bullet went through Vollmer, and into Carter?
Vollmer was fed up with this. If this rookie cop was going to shoot him after all, why not take Carter down with him? He prepared to make his move.
The cop behind Vollmer saw his muscles tense, and in a split second he made his decision.
The sound of a gunshot echoed as Vollmer fell to the ground, taking Carter with him.
"Carter!" Peter yelled. Pete holstered his gun and untied Peter from the couch. In an instant all three of them were gathered around the two crumpled bodies on the floor. Not sure if one or both of them were still alive.
Peter reached out and felt for a pulse on Carter. He heaved a sigh of relief as he felt a faint pulse. He glanced over at the officer who had shot Vollmer, and saw him shake his head after having felt Vollmer for a pulse and not finding one.
"Carter? Come on man. Can you hear me?" It felt as if he'd been saying that far too much these past few days. He gently tapped Carter on the face to try and rouse him. Peter was alarmed to see a bluish tinge to Carter's lips. He had probably passed out from lack of oxygen. He was also dismayed the see a bruise forming around Carter's neck from the pressure of Vollmer's arm.
Slowly, Carter drifted back to consciousness. The first thing he felt was the pain in his chest and back, and a tightness around his throat. He also felt something warm and wet soaking through his shirt. Alarmed, his eyes flew open to look directly into Benton's concerned ones. Immediately he tried to sit up, but Benton pushed him back down.
"Stay put Carter. Just relax," Peter soothed.
"Am I bleeding?" he croaked.
The question alarmed Benton at first until he realized when Vollmer had been shot, he had taken Carter down with him and they had landed side by side. Some of Vollmer's blood had gotten onto Carter's clothes.
"You're okay Carter. It's not your blood."
Realization slowly dawned on Carter.
"He's dead?" he hesitantly asked.
"Yeah. He was shot in the back." Benton looked up and saw the officer who had shot Vollmer dragging the body away from Carter, and covering it with a blanked from the couch. Pete also came over and knelt by Carter.
"The paramedics are on the way," he told them. "After they check you both out, we're gonna have a lot of questions that will need to be answered about tonight."
Carter started to sit up on his own again, but Benton started to protest.
"I'm alright," Carter insisted. "I just want to sit up."
Peter gently helped Carter sit up, and kept a hand on his back for support as he saw Carter start to waver, but regain his balance. Once he was certain Carter was alright, he turned to Dalton.
"How'd you know where to find us?"
"I got a call from Dr. Greene who said he'd been trying to get a hold of you and couldn't. He wanted me to go to your place to check on you guys. When I got there the house was empty except for your guard McGuinty tied up on the bathroom floor."
"So he didn't leave after all," Carter said.
"Apparently not. He said he was knocked unconscious, then woke up in the washroom. I was on my way back to the station when I saw my partner driving a squad car with you two in it. I guess he didn't see me. I followed you guys here, and I think the rest you can figure out."
"Why did you wait so long to come in after us?" Pete was angry Dalton had waited so long and Carter had ended up hurt because of it.
"I was waiting for back up to arrive, but when I heard Vollmer start yelling I couldn't wait any longer."
"What about your partner?" Carter inquired.
"He's been taken into custody. He was caught red handed with the cash. Couldn't explain fast enough why he was carrying that much cash in an envelope. Not that it mattered. I had already seen him kidnap you two."
The coroner had arrived and was preparing to have Vollmer's body removed. A team of paramedics was also just coming in the door, and was heading for Carter, as he seemed to be the one hurt.
Peter stayed with him as the paramedics carried out their exam. They insisted on taking him to the hospital just to be on the safe side. As Carter and Benton left the apartment, Carter looked one last time at Vollmer's body as it was lifted into the body bag and felt a strange sense of relief that the man who had tormented him was finally gone.
The End
Copyright Megan, 2000