Chapter 9:

The sun melted away and dusk crawled in, seeping through the city. Shadows dripped down the buildings, stretching across the docks and onto the oily water. A sinister breeze swept over the floor, pushing litter listlessly and churning the water into an eerie night time serenade.

Jason kept his position behind the stairwell, immediately hidden from view, holding his sniper rifle ready at his side. He flexed his fingers around the grip, his eyes unblinking as Alexis stood in the lonely pool of light cast by the last working street lamp. She looked furtively over her shoulder in his direction, then snapped her attention back over the water. A boat approached the docks slowly, settling into anchor without haste.

Hours ago Alexis had hung up the phone and told Jason what Manny wanted. They agreed that meeting him on his terms was out of the question, and Jason organized this sting without losing much time. He had snipers positioned around the dock, waiting for a signal from him to initiate their orders. Alexis was bait, appearing to have followed Manny's cliché "come alone" instructions.

All Manny wanted to do was talk. He even promised to bring Alexis's girls for her to see them together 'one last time'. Jason knew better than to take him at his word. In fact, he didn't think the criminal mastermind was even going to show up, sending a decoy in his place. Why organize a meeting with Alexis like this? Leaving so much open for attack? There was more to this arrangement than Jason could see, but with everything happening in so short a time he couldn't work it out.

A duo of black clothed men disembarked from the boat, a small cutter with classic sail riggings, and approached the DA. Jason felt his body tensing, all his muscles bristling as he crouched into a ready position, a tiger about to spring. He barely breathed, free hand half raised to signal the snipers. Four more men flanked the boat as Manny, dressed sharply in a grey suit, appeared. Jason couldn't make out his features, but his presence was unmistakable. Jason was hard pressed to keep from opening fire right then, striking Manny down with one shot to the head. He even went as far as to raise his gun and aiming through the scope. He held this position, however, as two final people emerged from the boat.

Sam stood proudly, her lithe frame contoured against the white of the ship's hull, her arms bound behind her back. Kristina was at her side, huddling near her, her small arms also secured behind her. Jason felt his throat constrict, his anger rising at the sight. He snarled, lowering himself carefully. Now he had to wait. He couldn't afford the guards reacting to their boss being killed by attacking the prisoners.

Manny sauntered up to Alexis casually, waving his hand as if she were his best friend. He stopped a few feet from her, the four men from the boat bringing Kristina and Sam up behind him. He was grinning, Jason could see, and as the dim light from the lamp spilled over his face Jason could also see that he was hurt. His nose was swollen and slightly crooked, the bridge between his eyes split open and scabbing over. He also had a reasonably sized gash on his cheek. Jason's eyes shifted to Sam, who was watching Alexis keenly.

For a moment Jason forgot where he was. The danger and intensity slipped away. All he could see was Sam in that dress, as black as the night yet somehow able to stand out completely. She looked okay, to his relief, besides an ugly bruise on the side of her head. Cleaned up it didn't look half as bad as it had in the video. He noticed she had no shoes on, and it hurt him. Her small, frail, beautiful feet. Scowling, Jason came back to the docks, leveling his gun at Manny, the mobster's head centered perfectly between the cross hairs.

"So where is Jason hiding?" Manny asked Alexis frankly, casting a look around. He stretched his arm out and hooked it around Sam's shoulder, pulling her close: into Jason's sight line, "Why don't we just have him come out, huh?" He raised his voice that time, looking over at the stair well as if he could see Jason through the shroud of darkness.

Without any other choice, Jason stood from his hiding place, tossing his gun to the floor. It clattered and the guards turned to look at him, three red beams appearing on his dark shirt. He walked with his hands raised submissively but his face displayed something entirely different. Manny grew serious, knowing better than to underestimate the infamous Enforcer.

"Make sure he doesn't have any other weapons on him," he ordered the man closest to him, who nodded curtly and made his way, gun leveled, to Jason. Sam watched him go, looking over at the man she loved with her first display of fear that evening.

"Jason!"

Manny tightened his hold on her shoulder, speaking into her ear menacingly, "Relax, Sweetness." She drew in a deep breath and resisted the urge to head butt him. Violence against him was her best defense, but right now she doubted she could get away with it unscathed.

"Alright Manny," Alexis said in her best Lawyer voice, "I'm here. Jason is here, as you seem to have expected. What do you want?"

Manny grinned. "I thought you would never ask." He released Sam and took Kristina into his arms, whispering to her soothingly. She whimpered and began to cry, feet away from her mother but unable to get to her. Alexis felt her heart ripping in two, her attempt at looking collected shattered completely. Her legs gave out but she somehow supported herself, tears blurring her vision.

"Please, don't hurt her! We're willing to do whatever you want, please. Just put her down…" Sam watched, stricken, as the woman she so frequently referred to as bull-headed begged for her daughter's life. Manny, however, was unaffected. Well, at least not moved in the way Alexis was hoping.

"She's fine with Uncle Manny, right Angel?" He stroked Kristina's face, wiping away tears only to have them quickly replaced. He chuckled, holding her close and letting her bury her face against his chest, "She's fine. I told you I wouldn't hurt her."

Jason stood with the red beams of rifles on his chest, watching the exchange between Alexis and Manny carefully. He shifted his gaze to one of the roof tops, instantly regretting it. One of the men, masked by darkness, had seen this flit of his eyes and followed them, immediately spying the sniper rifle leaning out to get a better shot at Manny, almost entirely concealed in shadows. If he hadn't been looking for it he would have missed it completely.

"Sniper!" He yelled, instinctively jerking his gun around and opening fire at the roof top. Manny hugged Kristina to him, a reaction to make sure she didn't get away, and dove for cover. Sam took this opportunity to dive in the other direction, hitting the ground and rolling as guns exploded all around them. Someone was on top of her before she recovered from the shock of hitting the ground, covering her with his heavy body, one armed craned backwards with gun blazing.

"Jason!" His arm tightened around her in response. She huddled against him, longing to hold him but unable to because of the restraints, "Oh my God, Jason!" She cried, a bullet ricocheting off the wooden plank of the dock just above her head. She ducked against him. They were completely exposed, with no cover anywhere in reach. Jason was an excellent shot, however, and with only two men shooting at him at that moment, the rest tracking down the snipers shooting from the roof top, he was able to get to his feet and, helping Sam up while making sure she was always behind him, take the two shooters out.

"Alexis!" Jason called, taking Sam by the elbow and charging to where Alexis was cowering on the floor, hands over her head like she was in a cold war desk drill. Jason put his hand on her shoulder, watching the cross fire carefully, always on the look out for one of Manny's remaining men to notice them. Alexis looked up at him, terrified, then seemed to remember where she was.

"Oh God, Kristina!" She almost leapt to her feet, but Jason's hand kept her in place. All three looked around for Manny and Kristina, but he was gone. Jason's snipers succeeded in felling the remaining bodyguards from Manny. When the chaos of bullets died down Jason saw Manny's cutter moving away from the docks, engines at full throttle without sails. Alexis struggled to her feet, screaming for him to get back. Jason caught her around the waist, fearing that she might actually throw herself in the water, "Jason, you have to stop him! He has Kristina! Jason! No!"

Sam watched, her eyes stinging. Someone came up behind her, one of Jason's men, and freed her from the tight ropes that bound her wrists. She thanked him with a mumble and moved over to Jason and Alexis.

"I'm sorry, Alexis… I should have thought to get Kristina… I was right there…" Alexis looked at Sam, her eyes moving through numerous emotions before settling on one Sam hadn't expected to see. The lawyer threw her arms around her eldest daughter, kissing her cheek, hugging her tightly and then crying against her shoulder.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" She pulled back slightly, taking Sam's face in her hands and looking her over, "did he hurt you? Oh, God, I was so worried." She pulled Sam into another hug, and Sam returned it lovingly. She looked over Alexis's shoulder to Jason, who was watching stoically.

Sam broke the hug off and looked out across the water.

"He still has Kristina, but I don't think he's done playing his game. He'll contact you again, Alexis..." She said, looking over at Jason. He stepped to meet her, almost hesitantly. They both knew what they wanted to do, but neither felt it was appropriate with this result. Alexis interpreted their looks and forced a vague smile.

"If we got you back we'll get her… I just… just have to believe that. Why don't you say hi to Jason?"

That was all she needed. Sam ran the short distance to Jason and leapt into his arms, kissing him passionately as he caught her. He supported her, her feet barely on the floor, returning the kiss a thousand times over. Tears fell down Sam's face, but for the first time they weren't borne of fear or anger, but happiness. Relief. She never wanted to go through that again. Jason ran his hand through her hair, setting her back down on the dock. Their lips parted but they stayed close, breathing each other in.

"Jason…"

"I'm so sorry, Sam." She closed her eyes and tried to calm her heart. She noticed that Jason's hands, which were grasping hers now, were shaking. She looked at him in surprise, and his blue eyes stared back, glistening with severe emotional excess. He swallowed hard before he could speak again, "I couldn't protect you…"

"You couldn't have known. I love you so much." She kissed him again and they were lost to the world around them.

Alexis watched, dropping her eyes after a moment and blushing slightly. She looked back out at the water, Manny's boat shrinking in the distance.

What now?