{Author's notes: I apologize deeply for not having this up sooner...however, I've had to do about 15 million rewrites on this part until I got something that I was finally even remotely happy with. I only hope that it was worth the wait.}
Chapter Twelve: A Difficult Lesson to Learn -
Saying nothing, the Professor simply stood up and applauded enthusiastically. Stunned, Leah dropped her aim slightly and glanced at Danny, who was as clueless as she was as to what was happening in front of them. Had the Professor gone mad?"Bravo, Higgins." the Professor said as he stopped clapping. "It's rare that someone is actually able to pull the wool over my eyes. I would have never assumed that I would have another rat in my organization besides McCoy." He laughed. "However, unfortunately for you, my confession is only good if the party that hears it is able to testify."
A gunshot suddenly rang out and Danny immediately wondered why Leah had seemingly fired her gun prematurely. However, as the sound of a woman screaming entered his ears, the tall, brown-haired man noticed for the first time that the Professor was now holding a smoking pistol in one hand. Connecting that fact with the scream, the ex-Marine barely got his hands out in time to catch Leah before she fell to the ground completely.
"Leah!" the terrified Danny exclaimed as he knelt down and cradled the woman's torso in his arms. Blood was seeping from a wound in her abdomen, right below her heart. Some of it stained Danny's own shirt as he leaned over her. The petite, brown and blonde haired cop struggled for breath and consciousness.
"You've got to stop him, Danny." she managed to say quietly as she looked into the Montecito employee's eyes. "Please…"
Seeing her eyelids slowly close, Danny instinctively reached for a pulse along the woman's neck. There was one, but, to McCoy's dismay, it was extremely weak. He had to get her some help fast!
"Just hang on a little bit more, Leah," he whispered as he gently layed her down on the brick patio. Danny gently brushed her hair out of her face as he did so. Immediately, the tall, brown-haired man stood up and faced the smirking Professor again. His eyes narrowed in fury as he charged forward. "You son of a bitch! You're going to pay for that!"
Danny let out a cry of anger as he attempted to punch the older man with all of his might. However, the Professor was one step ahead of McCoy and easily dodged the blow. As McCoy wobbled forward upon not striking anybody, the Professor rammed the younger man's stomach with the butt of the pistol.
"I told you already, Danny." the Professor calmly smirked as McCoy winced and grabbed his abdomen, which apparently hadn't had time to recover from the fight with Ed yet. "It'll be you that pays for my crimes!" The curly haired man sent the ex-Marine sprawling forward as he hit the back of the younger man's head with the pistol.
Shaking off the hit to the back of the head, Danny opened his eyes to see the barely alive Leah still laying where he had left her, but a pool of blood had now gathered at her side. Although he had no medical degree, McCoy knew that that wasn't a good sign to say the least. His determination to beat the Professor and get out of here was reawakened, and the tall man rolled over on to his back. However, that was the precise opening that the Professor needed to plunge a syringe full of some sort of drug into Danny's arm.
"When you wake up from this, you'll find yourself in the custody of the Nevada State police department," the smiling Professor said, "And I'll be as far away from Vegas as you can imagine."
"You'll never get away with this." an angry Danny shook his head as the Professor gently took the syringe out of his arm. McCoy wanted to fight back, but he was already starting to feel woozy from the drug. He put a hand to his temple, which elicited a laugh from the Professor, who was standing again.
"Yes! By all means, try to fight it, Danny." the older man chuckled as Danny could feel his eyelids get heavier. "Much like our conflict, it's a losing battle!"
"The only loser around here is you!" a cold voice commented as someone hit the Professor from the behind, sending the other man falling forward.
Barely conscious, Danny wondered what had happened and looked to see a familiar looking man with a piercing look in his blue eyes and a ball bat in his hands placing himself in between Danny and the Professor.
"Ed?" Danny asked, trying to clear his now blurring vision. "Is it really…"
"It's going to be all right, kid." Ed nodded, glancing at his protégé, who finally slipped into unconsciousness. "Just enjoy your nap."
Taking his eyes off of Danny, Ed dropped the bat momentarily and yanked the Professor, who was still recovering, to his feet with both hands. As he turned him forcibly around, Deline could see a shocked and almost frightened look on the other man's face.
"Looks like you need the lesson, Professor." Ed commented quietly before punching the other man in the jaw. "Don't ever mess with my employees," He landed another punch to the jaw, sending the Professor to the ground. "Unless you want to me to take it personally!"
It was then that Ed noticed Leah for the first time. A look of sorrow and anger filled the older man's face as he noticed the pool of blood gathering around her abdomen. Still staring at her, he slowly bent down and picked up his ball bat again. As he turned back to the Professor, nothing could be seen in Ed's eyes, except a pure and uncontrolled fury that few had ever survived.
"What are you going to do, Ed?" the Professor asked a bit nervous. He shook his head as he gulped deeply. "You can't kill me!"
"Why not?" Ed asked quietly with a sadistic smile as he motioned to his bat. "I have the means." He nodded to Leah and to Danny. "I have the motive. And since you so kindly took out the only possible witnesses, I have the opportunity." A chuckle escaped the gray-haired man. "You know, I've been in this situation with a couple of other guys before, Professor. Do you know what saved their sorry asses?"
Saying nothing, the terrified Professor slowly shook his head again.
"Danny." Ed replied simply, nodding to his protégé. "Just as I was right about to kill those guys, the kid managed to talk me out of it." Another laugh escaped Ed as he raised the bat above his head. "Unfortunately for you, it doesn't look like that's going to happen this time."
To be continued...