Final Chapter
(Well, this is it, after two years, here is the final chapter. Finally. Apologies in advance for the dubious quality, but I felt I needed to finish this story. There is an epilogue to come after this, but for now, thanks to all of you for following this particular tale. I'm actually hoping to write a sequel. *Ellen*)
Nicole had pretty much given up as well by now. After what felt like hours of throwing stuff around in desperate search of an escape route, she'd come to see it really was futile.
Other than that locked and heavy steel door, there was no way out.
'I told you, Nicki.' Amy's voice was depressingly resigned, as if their fate was sealed. And if they didn't think of something fast, it probably was. 'I told you we couldn't get out of here.'
'Not helping right now, Amy!' She snapped, then threw another box in the corner with a cry of frustration. 'If we can buy some time, Robert might…'
'Nicki, this room is soundproof, I told you.' Amy protested. 'Robert McCall could be in this building, and he still wouldn't know we're here.'
That was it-Nicole had had enough of this defeatist attitude.
'Do you want to die here?!' She shouted angrily, as Amy's eyes widened, completely startled. 'You wanna let this maniac win? Because I don't! I'm done with people hurting me. Now for God's sakes, Amy, think. And stop feeling sorry for yourself!'
There was a long pause, and to her surprise, Amy actually smiled slightly, her expression one of open admiration.
'You're right.' She conceded. 'Self-pity's not gonna get us anywhere. Also, remind me never to piss you off again-you're pretty scary when you're angry.'
A smile flickered across Nicole's lips, but quickly vanished when they heard a noise at the door.
David was back.
Sure enough, the door swung open, and he strode in, and instinctively, the two girls gravitated towards each other, for comfort, for solace, for support.
It can't end like this, Nicole thought.
Then she noticed that their captor looked even more nervous than before. 'Your English friend and some other man are nosing around here.' He told her. 'I'm afraid your time's up, ladies. I need to take my leave.'
As he turned to close the door, Nicole knew she needed to act. They were going to die anyway, if she did nothing, but if Robert was in this building somewhere, there was a ghost of a chance.
The moment David's back was turned, Nicole charged, hitting him as hard as she could with one of the many boxes lying strewn around. As he stumbled, she raced for the door screaming:
'Robert! Robert!'
In what felt like eons, and an instant simultaneously, there was shouting, and running footsteps, and then the crack of gunfire. Nicole was flung back against the wall with the force of it, and then Amy was screaming. Mickey dragged David against the wall, disarming him easily, shouting expletives as he did so.
Robert was kneeling by her side on the floor in seconds; Nicole was dimly aware that she was shot in her side somewhere, but she felt oddly peaceful, like the pain wasn't really touching her. She smiled serenely up into Robert's face; the older man looked like he was close to tears, not quite managing to suppress the grief and concern on his face.
Mickey, having put David temporarily out of action with a well-executed punch to the face, came rushing over, stripping off his jacket, pressing it to Nicole's wound.
'Rebecca's gone to call an ambulance.' He said it casually, but even Nicole didn't miss the note of urgency in his voice. 'It'll be here real soon. You just hang in there, alright? Stay with us.'
Nicole just continued to smile; it felt as if she was floating away now, the pain belonging to someone else, her body going numb.
'I knew you'd come.' She addressed Robert, but the statement was meant for both he and Mickey.
'Of course.' Robert's voice was thick, as if he had an obstruction in his throat. 'Don't try to talk now, the ambulance is coming.'
'Amy…' She managed to choke out, and her friend materialized by her side, tears streaming down her face.
'I'm here.' She sobbed. 'I'm here, Nicki. It's ok now. They saved us. Mister McCall saved us.'
One last smile. 'Yeah'. She murmured. 'That's what he does.
And darkness took her…
/
Robert felt like he hadn't slept in days, though he'd only been here a matter of hours. He hated hospitals, hated their antiseptic odour, hated the shadow of death that hung over them.
And now, that shadow of death seemed positively oppressive.
Only metres away, in the emergency room, Nicole was fighting for her life. The gunshot wound had looked very bad, and the doctors were not yet sure of the extent of the damage. Right now, they were merely concentrating on keeping her alive.
Poor, innocent Nicole, once again shot and injured in a situation that really didn't concern her. Only this time, this was no relatively minor shoulder wound.
David Phillips had been arrested, was currently being charged with attempted murder, while Amy's money was again being transferred to her bank account, though it had taken every shred of self-control Robert possessed not to shoot him then and there. Amy was unharmed, and while it would be easy to direct his anger at her now, he knew that to do so would be childish. This was not really her fault, either.
Besides, he strongly suspected Amy felt guilty enough as it was, judging by the way she sat, only feet away from him, restlessly wringing her hands, her eyes red.
Further up the corridor, Mickey paced impatiently up and down, now without his jacket, the garment ruined, covered in Nicole's blood. Robert had told him he didn't need to be here as well, but Mickey wouldn't hear of it.
Jefferson had been on the scene to arrest Phillips, so he was up to speed on everything as well, as was Rebecca, obviously, who had shown sincere distress at Nicole's injuries. Mr. Farino would be informed at a later time.
Robert had called Scott himself to tell him, wincing at the genuine emotion and upset in his son's voice. He had wanted to come here as well, but Robert had reminded him that he had practice to attend, and besides, there would be no news for a while. He promised Scott faithfully that he would call him as soon as there was.
For now, they could only wait…
/
He didn't know when he'd dozed off, but Robert was nudged back to wakefulness by a hand at this elbow. His hand immediately reached for the gun in his pocket as his eyes popped open, then the same hand just as quickly retreated when he saw a surgeon in bloodied scrubs standing over him.
'Robert McCall?' The man said uncertainly, and McCall relaxed, albeit marginally.
'Yes.' He replied, and the surgeon went on, 'Nicole has been asking for you.'
Right away, Robert was completely alert. 'She's awake?' He questioned, and the other man nodded slowly.
'Barely.' He told him cautiously. 'She's been drifting in and out of consciousness for a while, since we patched her up. We managed to stem the bleeding and we've given her a transfusion. There was some damage to her spleen and some nerve damage which may bother her for some time, but thankfully, nothing we couldn't deal with. The blood loss was our biggest concern, and she's gonna be sore for a while…but she's gonna be okay.'
'Oh, thank God.' Robert wasn't normally one for religious platitudes, but here, he could make an exception. Next to him, Amy was making similar sounds of gratitude, and there was relief written all over Kostmayer's face.
'May I see her?' It wasn't quite a request, not quite a demand, and after a moment's hesitation, the surgeon nodded.
'Well, she has been asking for you.' He replied. 'But don't stay long. She's still very weak, and probably won't be awake long.'…
/
Nicole looked tiny and pale, lying in bed, tubes and wires poking out of her in all directions.
But, Robert told himself firmly. She is alive. That is all that matters.
She smiled wanly, as he approached. 'Guess I look pretty awful, huh?' She croaked, in an attempt at humour.
'Impossible.' Robert assured her, trying to smile as well, but not quite getting there. The strength of his emotions unnerved him. How had he become so fond of this child? More importantly, how had he let it happen?
And how was he supposed to deter Scott from pursuing her?
And why was he suddenly so determined that he wasn't going to try?
'How are you feeling?' He asked, shaking all questions aside for now. They could be dealt with later.
'Great.' Nicole really smiled this time. 'Now, if I could just go the rest of my life without some psycho trying to kill me, I'd be even better!'
It was like whistling past a graveyard, this kind of gallows humour, but Robert chuckled nonetheless, the chuckle quickly dying in his throat as he again processed the enormity of what had happened.
'You were very brave, you know.' He told her solemnly, and Nicole scoffed. 'Or very stupid.' She retorted, then repeated her statement of hours before:
'I knew you'd come.'
And Robert McCall would be damned if that bloody lump wasn't forming in his throat once again.
'I'm only sorry I was too late.' He replied, praying his voice wouldn't crack. If she was being strong about this, he would be stronger.
Her hand reached out to touch his. 'Robert, if you'd been too late, I'd be dead.' She responded, then, as if she'd just thought of it, she added, 'Tell Mickey I'm sorry about his jacket. And tell Amy…'
'You can tell them yourself, later.' Robert interjected. 'When you feel strong enough to receive visitors properly. I'm sure Scott will want to see you as well.'
Nicole's head jerked up at the mention of Scott's name, and her eyes locked with Robert's, as if searching for approval. Robert simply nodded significantly, and her smile widened.
'For now, you need to get some rest.' Robert concluded, the authoritative air once again returning to his voice. 'I'll be back to see you soon.'
'Thank you.' Her voice turned him back from the door he'd been about to exit through. 'I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you now.'
Robert McCall smiled, and this time, there was no effort required. 'You're alive, Nicole.' He replied. 'That is all the repayment I need.'…
(Epilogue to come-and I promise that won't take another two years! Please R&R! *Ellen*)
