Chapter 20

The next morning Natalie woke to the shrill ring of the telephone. She groaned and rolled over, trying to go back to sleep.

"Hello?" John rasped, also awakened by the ringing phone.

"Hey, John. It's Bo. Is Natalie around?" He sounded serious...almost grim.

"Yeah, Hang on..." There was a pause while John handed Natalie the phone

"Natalie, its your uncle Bo" John told her quietly.

Natalie groaned again and sat up taking the phone. "What's up Uncle Bo?"

"Hey, Sorry to call you so early but Crossroads burned to the ground this morning and I thought you might want to come down and be with your mom." Bo said solemnly. The fire had happened early in the morning, around 2 am. When he had called Vicki to tell her she had flown back immediately. Her reaction to the news was devastating. Crossroads had been where she had met Ben, where they had had a lot of their best memories. To lose all that had really hit her hard. That was why he had called both Natalie and Jessica.

"Oh my god!" Natalie was completely shocked. "What happened?... Mom's home?"

"Yeah I called her when I heard the call over the radio. She is at the station with me right now. I called Jess down too. I think she really needs you girls."

Natalie looked at John and said to Bo, "We'll come right down." That said she hung up the phone and just sat there on the bed for several moments, stunned.

Then she turned to John and said, "There was a fire at Crossroads last night. It burned to the ground."

Ever the cop, "Arson?"

"Bo didn't say. But he called Mom when he first heard. She came right back to Llanview. I guess she is real shaken up. He wants me to come down there and be with her." Natalie got up from the bed and went to the bathroom to shower and dress.

John got up and dressed too. When Natalie came out of the bathroom he used it and then they left to go into town.

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Carlo laughed as he read the paper this morning. Crossroads burned to the ground. Natalie was progressing even better than he had hoped. The injections kept her totally under his spell... so to speak.

Soon, maybe even tonight, it would be time for the grand finale of his plan.

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When Natalie got back to John's that night she was emotionally exhausted. Dealing with her mom and also with Jess had been hard. Vicki had been almost inconsolable with the loss of her last tie to Ben. Even now thinking back on it Natalie got tears in her eyes. Whoever had done this really knew how to hurt Vicki.

Natalie sat on the couch for a long time thinking about what had been happening to her family lately. First she had been kidnapped, by Carlo Hesser no less. That man was a nightmare and she knew he was up to something. She just wished she knew what it was. Every time she thought about him she got this feeling that she was forgetting something, something important, but every time she tried to concentrate on the feeling it went away.

Then there was BE secrets being leaked and now this, crossroads burning down. It was like someone was after the entire family, which thinking about it made sense considering Carlo was still out there. But how would he have leaked BE secrets, its not like they were just out there for him to grab, everything that had been leaked had been in Asa's personal file cabinet.

It was something she would talk to John about when he got home. He had probably thought of Carlo already but she would feel better talking about it with him. Maybe she should call Bo and tell him her theory, but she hesitated to do that for 2 reasons, one he had probably already thought of that and two she had no proof. Well, John would be home soon...

With that thought she lay down on the couch to wait for him. It wasn't long before the emotional toll of the day took hold and she fell asleep.

She was still asleep when John got home more than an hour later. He smiled as he looked down at her, she looked so much at peace lying there. He hated to wake her up after what was obviously a really hard day.

Sitting down in the chair next to the couch he watched her sleep for a long while before a thought came to him. She had been planning to get the rest of her clothes from Llanfair today, he could go get them for her while she slept he thought with a smile. Save her the trouble, and another dose of upset Vicki and Jessica. He knew that she loved her family but he also knew she needed a break from all the family drama too.

Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, he got up and quietly left the apartment. On his way out he nodded to the police officer that he had watching Natalie. He believed he could keep her safe from Carlo or any other threat but he knew that it was better to be over prepared than not enough....

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Natalie woke once again to the ringing of a phone, this time it was her cell phone. She looked around blurrily wondering if John had made it home yet. She didn't see him in the apartment so she figured the answer was no.

"Hello?"

There was some strange music playing when she put the phone to her ear and it made her head fuzzy, "Hello?" she asked again, this time more softly and slightly dream like.

The music continued and Natalie blacked out, her body not her own anymore but doing the biding of a man that would use her to destroy all that she held dear.

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Carlo hung up the phone and smiled evilly. As soon as John had left the building he had killed the guard that had been watching the place so he could get Natalie alone. So much planning, so much time and energy put into this one moment. In mere minutes he would have his revenge. The Buchanan empire would fall and the Buchanan's would finally feel the pain he had suffered at their hand!

He looked around, the night black and ominous. Fog blanketed the ground giving everything a feel of mystery. Such a suiting feeling for such a time. The tree at which he stood was big and impressive with its limbs hanging at odd angles. The wind made the branches move and the leaves rattle, giving the tree the appearance of reaching for something, making it that much more intimidating. Almost as intimidating as the man standing under it, just waiting for his little pawn to show up.

Bo Buchanan's house stood in front of him, large and regal. Not like the Buchanan mansion or even Llanfair but the building had its own feel. More family friendly yet impressive and well made. The fence around the property made it stand out even more from the rest of the houses in the neighborhood. Inside was his revenge. Come the morning he would be gone and the Buchanan's would have nothing. Such a perfect plan....

Natalie's arrival interrupted his inner musings. Watching as she got out of her car mechanically he noticed with great pleasure that she was carrying exactly what she was supposed to be. That Natalie was to be the instrument of the destruction of the Buchanan's and the knife the tool was perfect, just perfect.

When Natalie walked up to the house and used her key to open the locked door he followed, not wanting to miss a moment of his revenge.