Chapter 17:
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David and Megan had shadowed Fenton up the rickety stairs, but had been unable to get a clear shot at him without hitting Alan. When he reached the landing on the second floor, Fenton laughed cruelly in his old friend's ear. "Not doing you a hell of a lot of good having that kid in the FBI now, is it?" He was breathing hard after dragging Alan with him up the stairs. The two men were almost equal in height, and Alan was actually a little heavier. Now, as they paused at the top of the staircase, Alan sensed that it was really so that Fenton could catch his breath. The ordinarily kindly man was overtaken by a sense of rage as he listened to Fenton bad-mouth Don, and pained betrayal as he began to fully comprehend that Fenton had intended to kill his other son, and his own sons as well. Alan looked down the stairs at Megan and David, who still had their guns trained on Fenton, but were unable to shoot. Drawing a deep breath, Alan made a quick decision. He didn't care what the consequences were. He didn't care if he broke his back, or got hit by a stray bullet, or even if he ended up dead himself. Taking Fenton by surprise, he threw his body forward as hard as he could, hurtling himself down the stairs, breaking Fenton's hold on him. Alan bellowed as he tumbled head-over-heels. "NOW, DAVID, NOW!"
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The ambulance had come and gone for Martinez by the time Oswald reached the house. "Joe! What happened here? Are you okay?" he asked. "What's going on here?" he demanded, more then a little confused by Don's somewhat alarming phone call.
"I don't know," Joe wailed. He had been sitting at the kitchen table again, because he didn't know what else to do, but now he stood up and flailed his arms. "Nobody will tell me anything, except Don insists his father is not in with my father. He just told me to wait here for you, and then for both us to stay put. I don't know, maybe he's in on it, too!"
"Where's Frank?", Oswald asked, looking around. "How did you end up...woah, woah, woah, what did you say? You think Alan's in this with Fenton AND that Don's a bad cop? Geez, dude, take a chill pill -- no way in hell. No. Way. In. Hell."
"That's what Don said," Joe replied. "He said I was… Never mind. Anyway, I…" he paused and forced himself to remember that Frank trusted Oswald. He had to trust someone -- surely not everyone, everywhere was owned by his father. Finally, when it looked as if Oswald was going to say something again, Joe opened his mouth and spilled. "I think they all went to Uncle Jeff's old house. I'm pretty sure Frank -- and maybe Charlie -- were being held there, and I'm scared! Oswald, Dad and his goons are going to kill him!"
Oswald gaped at Joe for a minute and hefted Don's keys in his hand. "That's the house near the Eppes' place, right? It's only five miles from here. Why the hell are we standing around talking?"
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As the minutes ticked by and noises filtered down to the basement, Frank prayed silently that someone would remember that there was a basement. Just please, remember to check, he pleaded silently and desperately. In the end, he knew that Jason was probably right. He knew that nobody would look for him. Besides, from the sound of the gunfire and the yelling up there, nobody would be left alive, anyway.
Jason startled him out of his thoughts when he clamped a hand over his mouth. "Shut up," Jason hissed. "Someone's coming."
Frank struggled against the hand, but it was no use. He hadn't eaten for nearly two days, and he was too weak to accomplish much. Great, he thought. Please, please let somebody find me...
Something rammed against the door leading to the basement, and Jason starting pulling Frank towards the stairs, screaming up them as they drew closer.
"Stay back! Don't you dare open that door!", he yelled, nearly tearing Frank's head off his shoulders. "I've got a hostage! I've got a hostage!"
He raised his gun and fired a round through the door, not caring if he hit anyone or not. The ramming stopped, and there was complete silence. "I've got a hostage!", he screamed again, sure he would be heard this time. "I want Eppes. I'll only talk to Agent Eppes."
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After Alan had flung himself down the stairs, both Megan and David had a clear shot at Fenton. Both firing at once, David got him in one leg, while Megan nailed the other. He had thudded to the floor like a sackfull of potatoes.
When the dust settled, Alan was,
amazingly, fine. He definitely had some new bruises for his
collection, and would no doubt feel his headlong hurtle the next day,
but he was up and pawing at Megan before David had finished reading
Fenton his rights.
"Where's Charlie? Is he all right? Frank's
here, did you find Frank?"
Megan placed a hand on his arm to settle him down. "Don and Colby are with Charlie…" She glanced at David, then back to Alan. "Did you say Frank is here?"
David, cuffing Fenton to the banister, ignored the man's yells and simply raised his voice over them. "What? I thought LAPD mapped the house before we got here! Where the hell is he?"
Alan tried to push past Megan to get back to the kitchen and both of his sons. "Basement," he answered, distracted. "We were all there, but that goon of Fenton's separated us. He convinced Frank he was letting Charlie and I go, so that Frank would talk…let me at my son, dammit!"
With Fenton secure, Megan and David gave up on restraining Alan, and instead followed him back down the stairs. Don was just coming in the front door of the house, and Alan flew at him. "Don!" he shouted, running to his son and grabbing him in a bear hug. "Where's Charlie? Are you okay? They won't tell me anything."
Don extricated himself from his father's arm and looked at him barely containing his anger. "He's a mess, Dad. He was shot in the kitchen, and his arm is broken…they're loading him in the ambulance now. I was going, and SWAT pulled me back in here." He glared at an officer lingering nearby, fully encased in combat gear and obviously waiting for him. "What the hell is the matter with you? The place is crawling with cops, let me go with my brother!"
"Oh, my God," breathed Alan, looking uncertainly from Don to the front door. He needed to be in two places at once.
Don saw his dilemma and made the decision for him. "Go, Dad. They haven't left yet, and you should get checked out yourself. Go!" Alan gave him one last frantic look, then exploded past him and out the front door. Don watched him leave, then took on the SWAT Commander again. "I asked you what the hell you're doing!"
The officer shifted. He felt for the guy, but you'd never know it from his matter-of-fact report. "Hostage situation, sir. We were going to search the basement when someone fired through the door and threatened to harm a hostage. At this point we cannot verify that there even is a hostage, but the man is demanding to talk to you. 'Eppes' – he used your name."
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Frank felt the cool basement floor as he pressed closer to the ground, shaking under Jason's gun. The man was keeping a close eye on him and on the stairs, pacing like a caged animal. He tried to glance occasionally toward the windows, but they were difficult to see from his position, and his attention was divided already.
"Dammit," Jason cursed as he paced. "I told Fenton that kid was bad news. You better pray to whatever God you have that they let me talk to Eppes, Frank. Nobody else is going to believe me. I don't know why Don even believed you."
Frank winced at the man's words. Don hadn't believed him – he'd believed Charlie. He was pretty sure Don hated his guts.
Jason squatted down next to Frank, facing the stairs, his back to the windows, while he entered the numbers into his cell and pushed 'send'. When Don answered on the first ring, Jason spit out his deal in a hurry. "I've got the kid. Fenton's kid. Guarantee me safe passage out of here, and I'll sweeten the deal, Eppes." He rubbed his hand over his mouth nervously. "One of your people is a traitor."
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A/N: There is one slight problem with this chapter – it's Jason's phone number. Let's say he has Don's from Fenton's and Don gets his from this phone call. I couldn't make anything else work.
KUDOS TO FRAIDYCAT, THIS CHAPTER WAS A TOUGHIE!
Can you believe I'm almost at 100 reviews? That will be the most of any story I've done so far, and it's all thanks to FraidyCat – and to you guys. So, review please?
Thnx, Jason