I hope it doesn't become boring to hear me say how much I enjoy and appreciate and thank you for all your great reviews. It makes writing this so much more fun when I know that someone out there cares and likes what I'm doing.

So, here is the next chapter, a shorter one. There are two to follow and they will be longer. I hope you enjoy this! I tried to do my best!

Jack holds up his hands in surrender.

„You don't want to do that."

His voice is calm.

Sam is making no sound. Jack can see that the man is hurting her. He assumes that it is Nick. The door to the corridor is ajar. He tries to remember if he locked it. Terror is clenching the muscles in his stomach.

His gaze finds Nick's eyes. They are clouded. There is madness in them.

"What do you want?"

"I want Eleanor back!" Nick's whisper is sounding like a scream.

"Eleanor is not here."

"I now that, stupid. But you will help me get her back, right?"

"I will help you, but you have to let Samantha go first, Nick."

"No. No, it's her fault. It's her fault that Eleanor went away. She has to answer for that."

He presses the gun deeper into the soft skin under her jaw. Sam starts to choke.

Jack tries desperately to stay calm and rational. He cannot find much sense in what Nick is saying.

"It is not Samantha's fault. Eleanor went away on her own a long time ago. It is nobody's fault. You have to let Samantha go and I will help you, I will help you."

"No, no, you're wrong," Nick whispers, looking into a void of dark memories. "She did not go away on her own. I want someone to answer for that."

"Who made her go away, Nick?"

Tears are running down his face.

"I don't know, I don't remember. I had to bury her. In the glade behind the rose garden. She loved that place." He starts to cry.

"Samantha did not kill her, Nick. You can let her go."

"She made Eleanor go away. Don't tell me to let her go. Don't tell me that."

The gun is digging even deeper into Sam's throat. Jack, despairing, can not watch that any more. He tries to imagine what is going on inside Nick's head.

"Samantha did not kill Eleanor. She is innocent. I know who killed her. I know who took Eleanor away from you. Let me answer for it."

Nick stops crying. He looks at Jack with cold eyes.

"I know who did this to you. I will answer for it."

"You bastard," he says. He pushes Sam away. She falls to the floor. He trains his gun on Jack.

"Get down!"

"Its okay, Nick, I will answer for it."

"Get down!"

Jack slowly gets down on his knees.

"Jack," he hears Sam whisper somewhere, a thousand miles away.

I want Samantha.

Nick steps up behind Jack. He puts a hand under his jaw and presses the muzzle of the gun against his right temple.

"Okay, Nick. Now let her go. You don't need her any more."

Nick gives Sam a sign with his hand.

"Get out!"

But Sam stays. There is no way in hell she is going to leave this room.

"Come on. Get out. You're not her. I don't need you any more."

Jack tries to move his head but Nick has locked him in his grip. He catches a glimpse of her out of the corner of his eyes.

"Sam, please…"

She looks at him. She has a pretty good idea what happened to Eleanor. The same that almost happened to her.

"You know, Nick," she says, "You where hurt terribly when Eleanor died. The man who did that to you deserves to be punished. But I think you know who it was. You know it was not Jack, don't you?"

Nick's gaze flicks to her.

"You know it was not Jack. Who was it, Nick? Look at it. Who killed Eleanor?"

Nick's eyes seem to look inward.

"You can see him. Who was it?"

"What do you mean?"

"You were there when Eleanor was killed, weren't you?"

"Yes," he says, uncertainty in his voice.

"So you know who killed her. You saw him. Tell me who it was," she demands.

There is a long silence.

"I can't see him," Nick whispers.

ooo

The night clerk in the hotel lobby is awakened by a gunshot and almost falls off his chair. He scans the lobby with his eyes. At the foot of the stairs lies the police officer, unconscious.

"Fuck!" the clerk exclaims and grabs the telephone.

ooo

It is very quiet in the room. The acid smell of gunpowder is hanging in the air. Outside a lone bird begins to sing.

Jack's face is sprinkled with blood. He wipes his brow and gets it on his hands.

Sam is crouched on the floor, hands pressed to her mouth. Nick has fallen down on the other side of the bed. She can not see his body.

Jack rises to his feet. He wipes his hand on the towel he is wearing. Walking over to Sam he kneels in front of her and touches her arms. She leashes out at him, hitting him hard.

"You bastard," she screams, "You could have been killed. What were you trying to do? Don't do that to me. Don't ever do that to me again!"

Jack tries to ward off the blows. He is totally numb. He can not read the true meaning behind her words. He only feels her anger. And he left the door unlocked.

Sam gets a hold of herself. She presses one hand to her mouth, putting the other one on his chest. There is distress in his face.

"It's okay, Jack. It's okay. I'm sorry."

They stay like that until Sonia crashes through the door, her gun drawn.

TBC