Chapter 7: Revelations
Mimi smiled brightly at Kevin, who sat beside her in the passenger seat of her family car. The special surprise Kevin had planned proved to be everything it promised. They were now on their way back to Kevin's, where Mimi would drop him off and head home. Mimi's mind was still reeling from the events of tonight; the look of fury on Philip's face, her heated argument with Brady, later seeing Brady leave the dance with Chloe. Mimi truly hated to see her best friend's older brother fall into the same trap as Philip had, but Brady proved to her tonight that he obviously had no intention of listening to reason, so she wouldn't dwell on it.
"I had a great time tonight Meems. Well, despite the outburst from a certain spoiled rich boy," Kevin said. Mimi laughed, keeping her eyes one the road. True, Philip had once been a dear friend, but he just wasn't the same guy after Chloe.
"I happen to think it was his most entertaining outburst yet," Mimi commented.
"You think it's really over this time?" Kevin asked, referring to Philip and Chloe.
"With those two, you never know," Mimi answered dryly, turning the wheel and setting the car on a track towards the river. "Philip is... very persuasive when he finds something he wants. And he always gets what he wants," Mimi stated. Neither one of them noticed the black Sadan emerge from the darkness and begin to follow them.
"Yeah, I've noticed..." Kevin murmured. As the bridge overlooking the river came into view, Mimi straightened, the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. A creepy "I Know I'm Being Watched" feeling engulfed her, sending a cold chill down her spine.
"What the hell..." no sooner had the words left her mouth then both of them felt the abrupt jolt of the black Sadan intentionally ramming the back bumper of the Lockhart family car. Mimi immediately had to fight for control of the wheel after the unsuspected invasion. Her car swerved onto the bridge, barely missing the oncoming car that most of Salem would later discover to be Bo and Hope. The Sadan missed Bo and Hope easily, using the momentarily empty lane to pull ahead, running alongside Mimi and Kevin. "Oh God!" Mimi swore as the intruder swerved towards them, smashing into Mimi's side. It was clear the driver's intent was to drive Mimi and Kevin off the road and into the icy depths below. Mimi hit the gas pedal, trying in vain to escape the inevitable. Kevin grasped her arm tightly as the Sadan rammed their car a second time, sending the weaker and off guard car spiraling into the railing. Unfortunately for the Sadan, the once unpopulated left lane didn't stay that way long as another car came out of no where, it's more then likely drunken occupants not noticing the scene until it was too late. The newest car slammed into the Sadan, toppling Kevin and Mimi's car over the side and into the river below, leaving the Sadan to teeter dangerously on the edge. The last thing Mimi or Kevin saw was the rush of the black water. Then, there was nothing.
The Sadan too would suffer the same fate as the Lockhart car, the shifting weight of it's solitary occupant as he prepared to jump causing the wavering vehicle to give in to gravity and plummet forward. The teenage occupants of the third car which sealed Kevin and Mimi's fate fled their car, followed by Bo and Hope and two other residents of Salem who stood witness to the accident. All the onlookers watched in deafening silence as the two cars sank below the icy black surface of the river. Bo, pulling himself out of the shocked trance and kicking into "cop mode", tossed Hope his cell phone to call for back-up and immediately discarded his jacket, diving headfirst into the cold water to try and save whomever it may be in the quickly sinking vehicles. No one noticed the dark, shadowy figure pull itself out of the current and onto the bank, disappearing into the safety of the woods...
Kate Roberts stoked the fire nervously, glancing at the clock above the mantle for the millionth time. Nicole had arrived home well over an hour ago, signifying the end of the school dance. Philip should have been home just after, but had yet to show up. Surprisingly enough, though, Kate and Nicole had been able to be civil to one another now that Victor was gone. Of course, they still hated each other, always mindful of the others every move, but somehow neither felt very threatened now that they didn't have to fight over Victor. After watching the news report, Nicole quickly retreated up to her room, leaving a worried Kate to wait alone downstairs for her youngest son.
"Where are you Philip?" Kate whispered, replacing the fire poker in it's stand. Soon after she seated herself in the chair next to the television, which had been left on by Nicole, Kate heard the sound of the door slam shut. Kate stood, hurrying out of the living room in the hopes that it was Philip. Sure enough, when she reached the foyer, their stood her youngest son, removing a soaking wet jacket.
"Philip!" Kate cried in surprise at her son's appearance. "You're soaking wet! Son, what happened?"
"Miscalculation," Philip muttered, shaking slightly from the environment change; extreme, numbing cold to the warmth of his home.
"Philip, you're shaking! Come on, we need to get you out of those wet clothes."
"I'm fine mother. I can take care of myself," Philip stated, shaking her off and walking, well, rather sloshing his way to the stairs. He descended 10 minutes later, dressed in fresh dry clothes, his long locks still damp. He was suddenly starving, intent on making his way into the kitchen when his mother stopped him in the living room.
"Philip, please, tell me what's going on. Why did you come home so late, and soaking wet?" Kate demanded.
"Later mom," Philip said firmly, brushing his mother aside and continuing to the kitchen, but to no avail.
"Philip! You're starting to worry me son. Please, talk to me," Kate pleaded. Before Philip could push the pleas aside, they both noticed the television report switch from some boring documentary to a special bulletin.
"This is Janet Newton reporting to you live from the Hudson. As you can very well see behind me, the little town of Salem is again in a total uproar. Two local teenagers, Miriam Lockhart and Kevin Lambert, died late this evening after their car was run off the road and into the river below. Sources say the two were on their way home from a date after the dance at our local high school. Resident Officer Bo Brady and his wife, Hope Williams Brady were a witness to the terrible event after spotting Ms. Lockhart's car swerve dangerously onto the bridge, followed by a black Sadan. There is no doubt the incident was intentional. After being sideswiped, Ms. Lockhart's car plummeted down into the icy water below. According to a live witness report, a car full of local teenagers slammed into the black Sadan, sending it down into the river alongside the Lockhart car. All the teens from that car have been reported as completely uninjured, although one arrest has been made; the driver, Hawk Smithson was found to be under the influence of alcohol. The bodies of Miriam Lockhart and Kevin Lambert have been pulled from the submerged car, but both we're pronounced dead on the scene. No body has been found in the car responsible, which gives the option that the assailant may still be alive and at large. The Salem P.D. is asking that everyone proceed with extreme caution until either a body is found, or an arrest is made. Stay tuned for more updates..." at this point, Philip clicked off the television.
"You shouldn't listen to such things mother. They'll upset you," Philip stated, completely emotionless.
"Philip?" Kate questioned softly, afraid to ask him her next question. "Where... where were you tonight?"
"Went for a little swim," Philip answered nonchalantly. He walked to the fireplace, no longer craving food.
"Philip... you didn't... did you?" Philip remained quiet for a moment, staring blankly without actually seeing the flames as they consumed the wooden logs placed within it's confines. "Philip! Answer me, damn it!"
"No one will miss them. They got in my way," Philip replied calmly. Kate gasped, bringing a hand up to her mouth.
"Philip no!" Kate breathed in disbelief. She shook her head, a very unwanted sense of realization washing over her. "And Victor?"
"Yes, him too. And Jan, and Jason. They all got in my way. They keep me from what's rightfully mine!" Philip stated. Kate turned away from her son, disbelief written all over her face.
"When you asked me to cover for that hour you weren't with him, I thought you... I thought you'd think the police would blame you," Kate breathed. "How... why Philip? Why would you do this?"
"I told you already, they were keeping me from Chloe!" Philip growled, pure anger etching both his face and voice.
"Chloe?! You're going on a killing spree, all because of that disgusting little whore?!" Kate yelled. Philip turned in a flash, tightly gripping his mother's arm.
"Don't you EVER say that about Chloe again!" Philip screamed, tightening his grip on his mother's arm and causing her to wince in pain. "If you ever even think about saying something like that again, I swear you'll be swimming with the fishes along with the rest!" Philip growled. One emotion showed plainly on his face; pure madness.
"You're crazy," Kate managed despite the pain radiating through her arm. "You need help Philip." Philip dropped her arm in disgust.
"The only thing I need is Chloe," Philip stated, turning back to the fireplace.
"No Philip, you... you need real help. Help that I can't give you. But, you'll get it Philip. I've done everything I could to take care of Lucas. I promise you I'll take care of everything. I have to get you out of town, far away before everyone discovers what you've done," Kate explained. She turned away to grab her cell phone laying on the table, leaving her back open to her disturbed son. Philip's eyes narrowed, his gaze landing on the stand beside the fire place. He reached out, taking the fire poker from it's stand.
"I'm tired of you cleaning up my messes mother," Philip said, lifting the fire poker. Before Kate had time to react, Philip struck her hard in the back, sending her, her cell phone, and a few objects on the table to the floor. He kicked her in the stomach, forcing her to roll onto her painfully throbbing back. "I can take care of myself," Philip stated calmly, lifting the poker with it's deadly point facing down. Kate could only watch in complete horror as the poker made it's decent, seemingly in increasingly slow motion. Philip plunged the sharp poker violently down into his mother's abdomen, silently enjoying the sharp gasp of shocking pain he received in reply.
"Philip..." Kate managed, bringing her hands weakly up to grasp the intruding poker with her last bit of fleeting energy. The searing pain faded to a cold numb as her eyes fluttered close and her last breathes became ragged and shallow.
"Oh my God!" Nicole exclaimed from the doorway. She'd heard yelling from her room, and decided to investigate. God how she wished she hadn't! Philip grinned with delight as he caught sight of her, sending her running for the front door in fear. He was quicker, bounding out of the living room after her in time to slam the door in her face.
"Stay awhile, Nicky baby. The fun's just beginning," Philip said with a sly grin. Nicole ducked under his arm, making a break for the backdoor. She didn't even make it through the living room before he caught her by the waist, lifting the kicking and screaming woman with ease. "Ya ever hear the expression "Play with fire, get burned"?" Philip asked. Nicole's eyes went wide at his intent. She made one last ditch effort to escape, managing to scratch Philip's face. But it only served to fuel his madness. Philip picked her up, one hand grasping the back of her neck tightly and the other gripping her legs, lifting her up into a horizontal position. "That wasn't very nice Nicky," Philip spat. With that, Philip brought his arms back, hurling Nicole headfirst into the blazing flames and delighting in her shrill scream. Fortunately for Nicole, the force of Philip's throw was enough to cause her head to hit the hard brick wall in the back of the fireplace, sending her into a state of unaware unconsciousness before the flames could begin to quickly consume her body. Philip didn't get to admire his handiwork for long, as he thought he heard someone in the kitchen. He raced forward in time to catch Henderson, fleeing via the backdoor. "What the hell is this, a bloody peep show?!" Philip cried, catching Henderson by the collar before he could escape.
"M...ma... Master Philip," Henderson squeaked. "Pu... please..."
"Yeah yeah, don't hurt me. You already proved that I can't trust you. Sorry guy, shoulda taken my offer of another week off," Philip said nonchalantly. He dragged Henderson into the living room, finding satisfaction in the fact that his incident with Nicole would set the entire house ablaze as the fire had already begun to spread. Philip picked up a vase, slamming Henderson in the back of the head. Poor Henderson, far too frightened to fight, dropped like a ton of bricks, leaving Philip to walk unharmed, save a scratch across his face, out the front door and far away from the second Kiriakis mansion to be set ablaze in a fit of fury. Philip was long gone by the time the fire department reached the mansion...
"It doesn't look good for him," Bo commented. After dealing with the car accident, he and his brother Roman made their way to the Kiriakis mansion. The fire department reached the place quicker then suspected. The flames were all extinguished, and only the living room, hallway, and kitchen suffered fire damage. Kate and Nicole's bodies had been taken from the house and were on their way to the morgue, although Nicole's was burned almost beyond recognition. Henderson was on his way to Salem University Hospital; the fire department reached him in time to save his life, but it appeared he would suffer the same comatose fate as Lucas before him. If he ever did wake, it wouldn't be to much of a life; disfiguring scars would probably be the least of poor Henderson's worries. "You'd think the Kiriakis family would avoid mansions. I'm starting to wonder about these ritual Kiriakis bond fires," Bo said wearily. He was worn out from his late night dive, but he refused to go home except for dry clothing when he received word about the fire at the Kiriakis mansion.
"Well, the department has no choice now. We have more then enough grounds to issue a severe city wide curfew," Roman stated bleakly. "Contact the school board, I want all after school activities and trips cancelled. Cancel any public events and put out an order for the curfew to be set at 7:30," Roman stated. No matter how extreme a time, this was getting bloody ridiculous!
"Right. I'm on it," Bo said, moving off the crowded scene to follow his orders. Roman surveyed the mansion, noting that from the outside, everything still looked normal and in order.
"I'm going to find the sick bastard that did this. And when I do, I'm going to make damn sure he suffers a life of straight jackets, solitary confinement, and experimentally high levels of electricity," Roman vowed aloud to no one but himself. It wasn't hard to figure out that Philip was the only household member that couldn't be found. As high a suspect as Brady had been the past week, this little stunt seemed to point only to the youngest Kiriakis. Roman had no clue where he could be, but he was going to find the little prick one way or another. Roman barked out a few more orders before pushing through the media to his car. He was sure Philip wouldn't be there, but the Black family penthouse seemed as good a place to start as any...