A/N: quick note about this chapter, most of the flashback dialogue I didn't write, it is as it appeared in the episode that I based this on. I have to give credit to those who wrote that episode. So kudos to those writer's whoever you are, sorry I don't know the names. I wrote most of the other stuff though.
Look, I know where the diamonds are. Why don't you let them go and let me show you?" Judson's voice reverberated around Gabe's head as the entire event that put Gavin Merrill in their lives began to play through his mind.
"Empty heroism, I love it. But I'm not buying it. Show me or they die one at a time." He could feel the shirt become tight around his neck as Gavin tightened his fist in Gabe's clothes.
"We're close." He could feel the hope that she was right as though it'd all happened just yesterday. He knew that it'd really been months ago that they'd encountered Merrill, but his mind seemed to be erasing the reality he knew and trusted for new territory that he knew could never have been. "This is the spot."
"You give me the diamonds, you'll never see me again." Gabe hadn't trusted Merrill's words then, and he still didn't trust him, no matter how many drugs Gavin pumped into him.
"Don't do it, Mac, ya give him what he wants and he's got no reason to keep us alive."
"You shut you're mouth." His shirt was once again becoming tighter against his neck. He could still feel the moisture on his neck and ear from Gavin's harsh whisper. What had Merrill done to him. Every time he opened his eyes he was at the ship yards being held at gun point by Merrill. He could still feel the heat from whatever had been in that syringe Merrill used running through his veins and settling in his brain.
"Take it easy. You get the diamonds. We go home. Then they're your problem."
"Six million dollars doesn't sound like much of a problem to me." Gabe wanted to pull away from the man who was almost strangling him but he couldn't. He'd tried, but Gavin just pulled the shirt tighter and shoved the gun harder into his chest.
"Let him go." He remembered thinking at the time that he was going to be shot when Mac came back at Gavin with her own gun. Once again Gavin's gun was shoved harshly into his chest, and he couldn't help but think that it was going to leave a mark. Images of circular bruises swirled about his numbing mind as the voices continued to play. Bright blues and purples filled his vision as Gavin's voice filled his ears.
"First the diamonds."
"You know how good a shot I am."
"So am I. You value your friend's life. The diamonds." A gentle shake from somewhere other than the dreamy nightmare he was trapped in, stirred him. Closing his eyes he tried to remember where he was, what was happening. But there was nothing. He couldn't remember beyond waking up three days ago. Where were Mac and Judson? Maybe that was who was trying to wake him up? Maybe he was in a hospital and they were trying to get him to wake up. Slowly he let his eye lids open. He wanted to know where he was, and see the familiar faces of his friends.
A gentle shake from somewhere other than the dreamy nightmare he was trapped in, stirred him. Closing his eyes he tried to remember where he was, what was happening. But there was nothing. He couldn't remember beyond waking up three days ago. Where were Mac and Judson? Maybe that was who was trying to wake him up? Maybe he was in a hospital and they were trying to get him to wake up. Slowly he let his eye lids open. He wanted to know where he was, and see the familiar faces of his friends."Where . . ." he breathed making an attempt to sit up, but the swirling pain in his head told him to stop. Carefully laying himself back down, he stared at the ceiling. It wasn't the typical hospital ceiling. Slowly moving his head to one side and then the next he knew that he was nowhere near a hospital. "What happened?"
"I gave you something to help your memory along," the familiar voice of Gavin Merrill said from beside the bed or whatever it was that he was on. "You had me a little worried, Erik. I wasn't sure that you'd wake up. You've been out for six hours"
"Gabe." He stared hard at Gavin. He wasn't sure what kind of game Merrill was trying to play with him, but he knew his name and it wasn't Erik. "My name's Gabriel Patterson, not Erik."
"We'll see about that, Erik." Gabe could feel the slight pressure of a needle breaking the skin; followed by the cold rush of fluids being poured into his veins.
"Judson?" Tears welled in his hazel eyes as scorching pain, that seemed somehow recognizable to him, coursed through his body once again opting to settle in his brain. "Mac?" The smug smile that was smeared across Gavin's face began to fade into deep gray and black tones. "Where?" He couldn't think anymore. The heat from whatever he'd been given was consuming him, sending him back to whatever that place was he'd woken up from.
"You already talked to them," he said, leaning closer to Gabe's ear. "They know that you're not coming back." Smiling Gavin stood and walked from the confused mess of a young man. Soon Gabriel Patterson wouldn't exist and Erik Merrill would.
"Look I know where the diamonds are. Why don't you let them go and let me show you?" Judson's voice said. Gabe knew that he'd been there before, he'd lived it once before. But this was different. He was more numb to what was happening. The tightening of his shirt felt more like someone where tugging on it than someone trying keep him from escaping them.
"Empty heroism, I love it. But I'm not buying it. Show me or they die one at a time."
"We're close." He could've sworn that her voice had been smoother, calmer. She had tried to control the situation, hadn't she? No. She was in control. She had the gun. She had him. Gavin was out of control. Or was it Judson? He searched through his mind trying to find the right answers, the true timeline, but it was gone; almost as if it had been deleted. And now his mind was reliving the same event over and over. He knew that he'd been there and known what had happened, but the pain was too much and he couldn't remember anymore.
"This is the spot." It was Merrill's voice, instead of . . .who said that? Who was the true speaker of those words? Why was the grip on him and his clothes different? Strong hands had hold of him, but instead of his friends looking at him it was Gavin Merrill.
"You give me the diamonds you'll never see me again." Now the grip on him made sense. It was Judson's grip and his voice that was now humming into his ear. Something wasn't right. Judson would never do this to him.
"Don't do it, Gavin, ya give them what they want and they've got no reason to keep us alive." That couldn't have come out right. No, it came out right. This was how it happened. Judson Cross and Mackenzie Previn had kidnapped him to get some rocks. He could feel his mind start to clear, a little.
"You shut your mouth," Judson's voice was harsh in his ear. Suddenly the numbness subsided and he could feel just how tight the grip on his shirt was.
"Take it easy. You get the diamonds. We go home. Then they're your problem."
"Yeah, well six million dollars doesn't sound like much of a problem to me," Mackenzie said from somewhere behind where he and Judson stood.
"Let him go." Gavin aimed a small revolver at him and Judson.
"First the diamonds," Judson spat at Gavin, his breath hot on Gabe's skin.
"You know how good a shot I am."
"So am I," Mac stepped up behind Judson and Gabe, pressing the barrel of her weapon into Gabe's temple, a slick smile distorting her beautiful face. "You value his life."
"The diamonds." Judson's voice was as demanding as his grip.
It was then that a shot rang through the murky memory. It had come from Gavin's gun. He was relieved when Mackenzie crumpled to the concrete ground in a pool of blood. But why was he relieved? Wasn't she his friend? If she were his friend then why would she try to kill him? Why would she put a gun to his head if Gavin were the bad guy? Why would Gavin want to save him if he were the bad guy? He didn't know. He couldn't tell what was true. He couldn't find the real memory. It had to still be there. It couldn't really be gone, could it?
No. This was the true memory, this was what really happened.