Chapter 19

Abandoned bakery, Furtado, Portugal

Two floors down, Robert entered into another room, looking for Luke. He turned and came face to face with Cesar Faison. Both men held guns on one another, circling around.

"You're looking a little worse for wear these days, Faison," commented Robert. Faison's face was covered in ribboned scars.

"Oh this?" Faison gestured to his face. "Yes, I keep having these problems with explosions on my boats."

"Can't imagine why," commented Robert snidely. "So you're the lunatic at the helm of Viranon?"

"You say lunacy, I say exciting business venture."

"Fine. We'll have to agree to disagree. Why set up Holly so elaborately?"

"Ah yes, Holly. Your wife? Your ex-wife? Who knows? One almost needs a scorecard to keep track of your love life, Robert. I guess I may as well satisfy your curiosity, since you will soon be dead. Again." pronounced Faison. "There are two main reasons why Holly has been so integral to my plan. The first is that since you seem to have lost interest in my beautiful Anna, I needed some way to get your attention. The other is that Holly has never been appropriately punished for her role in my beloved mother's death."

"What? You really are crazy! Holly didn't have anything to do with Nanny's death. You shot her. I remember, I was there."

"Ah, but that is not the way I remember it at all. What I remember is that my poor mother was so deluded in her affection for that wench, she was willing to sacrifice herself. Holly Sutton never merited that sort of love. So once I have finished with you, I will take my time with my just revenge on her as well."

Out in another hallway, Holly heard voices coming from what sounded like down below. She carefully opened a door and found a catwalk extending out from it. Holly began crawling along it, hidden behind the short walls of the catwalk.

"...once I have finished with you, I will have my just revenge on her as well." Holly heard Faison's voice clearly. As always, it made her skin crawl. She never understood how a wonderful woman like Nanny MacTavish could produce a hideous child like Faison. The phrase 'nurture versus nature' popped into her head unbidden.

"Give me a good reason why I shouldn't shoot you right now?" demanded Robert.

"Because I would shoot you back. And besides," intoned Faison solemnly, "the fog is rolling in."

Something tugged at neurons in the back of Robert's mind, like an itch. The phrase had been implanted so long ago, that it didn't hold much power anymore, but unfortunately it was enough to momentarily unruffle Robert. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. Faison, watching his reactions like a hawk, seized the moment to snatch Robert's gun away from him.

Robert cursed himself as he realized what had happened. He glared at Faison, who was grinning evilly at him. "Sometimes it's almost too easy. Now, we're going to go outside." He motioned to the door with his gun. "Hands up, if you please." Robert reluctantly acquiesed and began walking to the out of doors.

Up on the catwalk, Holly began to scramble backwards, desperate to make her way outside.

On their way out, Faison expounded at length about his glee at finally having his ultimate revenge on Robert. After a little bit, Robert started tuning him out, trying to focus his thoughts on a plan of escape. He jolted back abruptly to Faison's voice when he half-heard something about a needle full of virus. Faison had walked them out of the building, out to some sort of canal or levee-like structure. The canal seemed to be out of use, only a low trickle of water flowed through it, and rocks were scattered around it. Robert slipped a little as they walked over the slippery bottom.

"That's right. My endowment to the sciences has paid off richly. My team of scientists has managed to produce the strongest, most virulent virus known to humanity. The strain contained in this needle," he pulled it out of his pocket and showed it to Robert, "should have effects almost instantaneously. And this time, there's no antidote." Robert tried valiantly not to gulp.

"You, Scorpio, will be the test subject. It's also highly contagious. That's why we're outside - more protection for me. The best part of this will be when you take your dying breaths in Holly's arms, you're almost certain to infect her as well." Faison noticed Robert's brow furrow. "Oh yes, your beloved should be along any minute now."

As if on cue, Holly came running over the embankment. In the distraction caused by her arrival, Faison managed to get Robert into a headlock and held the needle full of lethal virus to his jugular.

"Oh, Mrs. Mcfarlane," he taunted, "how nice of you to join us. It's always so much more fulfilling to kill someone when a loved one is around to witness it." Holly pulled up some feet away.

Robert spoke up: "Holly, get away. Go get Luke and get yourselves away from here. Whatever's in this bloody needle is lethal."

Holly had no intention of leaving, especially when she spotted one of the Crylium goons coming over the other side of the embankment. At that same moment, Robert made his move and attempted to free himself. Holly saw the thug heading over to help Faison. She desperately wished she had taken the gun from Luke. She looked around frantically, hoping to find a large stick or something with which to enter the fight. Her eyes fell on a medium-sized rock. She grabbed it, crouched down and delivered it down the canal. The rock slid along rapidly, and knocked the goon right off his feet, sending him flying.

A few feet away, Robert and Faison were locked in a struggle, as Luke had put it, to the death. Both were grappling for the advantage. Holly gasped as they fell to the ground and rolled down the canal. She closed her eyes as she heard a gutteral moan.

When Holly opened her eyes again, afraid of what she might witness, her heart sang to see Robert scrambling away from Faison's body. The color was rapidly draining from Faison's face, and his body was beginning to twitch. Holly noticed that the large needle sticking straight out of his thigh. She heaved an enormous sigh of relief.

Robert motioned with one of the guns towards Faison, and spoke to the Crylium goon: "You'd best be out of here, mate. Take the opportunity while you can." Robert backed up and ran up the hill towards Holly. He took her by the hand, pulled her closer to the building and then wrapped her in his arms. They held each other for what seemed like forever.