Chapter 20

"Drop your weapons. Now." Moretti ordered in a calm, silky voice.

Sabrina and Jill stared at him in disbelief, mouths hanging open in shock.

"How-?" Jill started to say. She was cut off by the sharp retort of Moretti's gun. She and Sabrina shrieked as the bullet struck the ground a few inches away from her foot, sending up a trail of dust. They looked back up at Moretti in fear.

He gave them a twisted smile.

"I said drop your weapons. The next time I won't miss."

Sabrina decided to take a chance. She pushed Jill behind her and raised her hands in the air, her gun dangling harmlessly off of her thumb.

"Hey, look. You don't want to do this. You've had your revenge, there's no need to get yourself in any deeper. The police are already on their way." she said slowly.

Moretti stared at her and suddenly began to laugh. He bent over, shaking with hearty laughter, to rest his hands against his knees. Sabrina and Jill shared an uncomfortable look. The sound made the hairs on the back of their neck stand up. It was chilling and unsettling. The laughter of a psychopath.

Finally, Moretti threw his head back and wiped his eyes. "Maybe you need help understanding." he said through his laughter. He raised his gun and turned.

"No!" Sabrina shouted, as she realized in horror what he was going to do. Moretti ignored her and fired one shot inside the car where Kelly was lying.

Sabrina cried out and rushed him in blind fury, but he fended off her attack on one arm and shoved her backwards. She sprawled on her back on the grimy floor. Before she could get back to her feet and hurl herself at him again, Jill lunged forward and grabbed her tightly around her waist. Sabrina cursed loudly and struggled against her, but Jill's standing position gave her leverage and she held her fast. Now wasn't the time for rash actions.

Moretti laughed again at the anguished look on both girl's faces.

"I didn't shoot her." he said. Sabrina stopped struggling and she and Jill looked at him in confusion. Moretti reached inside the car through the window and grabbed a handful of Kelly's hair. He pulled her until her body was slumped against the door, her head and shoulders hanging out of the open window. She was still unconscious, but clearly not dead. Their relief didn't last long.

"See?" he said. He jammed the barrel of the gun into the top of Kelly's head and smirked. "Still alive. How long she stays that way is your decision, ladies. Now, drop your weapons." he ordered pleasantly.

Sabrina and Jill gently laid their weapons on the ground in front of them and rose to their feet, stepping backwards, away from their weapons. They couldn't risk angering him with Kelly's life at stake.

"What do you want from us?" Jill asked coldly.

Moretti smiled. "I don't want anything from you."

"Then why are you doing this?" Jill pressed. If she could just keep him talking, she could buy her and Sabrina some time until help arrived. The shipyards were out of the way and every minute she could stall could mean the difference between life and death.

"Because, Ms. Munroe, you know too much." he answered simply.

Jill and Sabrina shared a puzzled look.

Moretti threw back his head and let out a barking laugh.

"I thought you were detectives. You didn't figure it out?" he sneered at them. He clicked his tongue in disapproval.

Sabrina's eyes suddenly widened in realization.

"You did it. You weren't the one survivor. You killed them all." she said in wonder.

Moretti moved the gun away from Kelly's head to clap sarcastically.

"Oh, very good." he sneered. He leveled his weapon back at Kelly. "Yes, I was the one that ordered my brother killed. You see, I had to, Ms. Duncan. He was a threat. The others? Just unfortunate bystanders, I'm afraid."

"And Peralta?" Jill asked in a shaky voice. Her mind was reeling. The past month of their lives had all been an elaborate set up for this mad man.

Moretti grinned as he looked over at Peralta's body.

"He was a threat too. My original plan was to get rid of my brother and frame Peralta for his murder. Two birds with one stone, you see." He shook his head. "But L.A.P.D. proved themselves to be completely incompetent. That's where you fine people came in." he explained, making a sweeping gesture of the three girls with his gun.

"When I found out Tony wasn't dead, I pretended to be him and hired you to finish the job of pinning it on Peralta. But it didn't quite work out as planned. I didn't expect you to discover as much as you did and shine light on my-" He paused thoughtfully. "-operations. After awhile I had to disappear. I wasn't sure how long it would take before you found me out."

He shrugged. "Oh well, regardless of how it happens, tonight I go to bed a carefree man. No more threats."

"You're going to kill us, then?" Sabrina asked angrily.

Moretti smiled at her. "Well, I certainly wanted to kill somebody."

Keeping his gun aimed at Kelly, he backed up to where he had been standing earlier. For the first time, Sabrina and Jill noticed two large suitcases on the ground. Moretti grinned at them, lifted them both in one hand and carried them back towards the girls. Their faces went chalk white as they realized what the suitcases contained.

"Bombs?" Jill guessed weakly.

"Oh, so smart, Jill." he said in a patronizing voice. "I was planning on cleaning up the city a bit for you. Most of the L.A. drug lords in one place." Moretti clucked his tongue in disapproval. "Not good for security. My sources-" He paused and chuckled, noticing Sabrina and Jill turn to other quizzically. "Forgive me. Young Christian and Fred Daniels told me they would all be here so I came prepared."

Sabrina and Jill looked floored. They had been fed lies this entire time. They felt like they had been kicked in the stomach. He had been the ultimate puppetmaster, unseen and unsuspected, making them and Peralta both do and think exactly what he wanted them to. Nothing was as it seemed. Moretti noticed the looks on their faces.

"Yes, I know. What a tangled web I weave." He sighed loudly in exaggerated annoyance. "But it seems you ladies have fouled up my plans yet again. And for that you must be punished."

"Punished how?" Sabrina asked, narrowing her eyes.

Moretti smiled and slid both suitcases towards the two girls with his foot. They scrambled out of the way, not wanting to jar the dangerous contents.

"I haven't decided. But either way, we're taking a trip, ladies."

He jerked open the car door and let Kelly tumble out. Jill grabbed Sabrina's arm to keep her from rushing forward. Kelly hit the ground and lay motionless, half of her body still inside the car. The impact from crashing down the wall had reopened the gash on her head and blood was trickling freely down her face. Sabrina swallowed hard and forced herself to wait for Moretti's instructions, keeping her eyes on her friend.

"Wake her up." Moretti ordered.

Sabrina and Jill looked at each other anxiously and stepped forward.

"One!" Moretti shouted suddenly. The girls froze in mid-step, terrified of his reaction.

"One of you." he clarified calmly. The girls shared another look and Jill stepped forward, her hands held out in a gesture of surrender.

With Moretti looking down at her, she knelt by Kelly's side and gently pulled her legs out of the car so that her entire body lay on the floor.

"Hurry up." Moretti snapped.

Jill glared at him and turned back to her unconscious friend.

"Kell? C'mon, wake up." she whispered, leaning in close and wiping at the blood on her face. Kelly remained unresponsive. Jill glanced up nervously at Moretti and shook Kelly's shoulders gently. "Open your eyes, Kell." she pleaded.

Moretti sighed and looked at his watch.

"I don't want any dead weight, stand aside." he said in a bored tone, aiming his gun at Kelly. Jill's face twisted in horror.

"No!" she shouted desperately. She threw her body over Kelly's in an attempt to block the bullet.

Moretti laughed, clearly amused by the girl's willingness to die for each other. "You have thirty seconds, Ms. Munroe." he said pleasantly.

Jill let the air out of her lungs in a shaky breath and quickly rose to her knees and shook Kelly more forcefully. Sabrina paced anxiously a few yards away, her hands to her temples, moaning in desperation but unable to look away. This had to be some kind of horrible nightmare.

Jill gently cupped Kelly's face in both hands. "Please, Kelly." she moaned. She slapped her cheeks lightly.

"This is taking too long. Ten seconds." Moretti interrupted with a smile. This was by far the most amusing form of torture he had ever devised. He began loudly counting backwards from ten.

"Ten. Nine. Eight."

Jill panicked and grabbed her friend by the front of her shirt, shaking her roughly. "Kell, please!" she pleaded desperately.

"Seven. Six."

"Oh God, wake up, Kell!" Jill yelled. She slapped her hard, extreme pressure causing her to act irrationally.

"Five. Four."

"Kelly!" Jill screamed shrilly in her face.

As Moretti reached two, Kelly's eyes fluttered open and her features immediately twisted into a grimace of pain.

Jill let the breath she had been holding whoosh out of her lungs in relief. Without thinking, she dropped Kelly back to the floor.

"There! She's awake, don't shoot her!" she yelled up at Moretti. The frightened tears that had been welling up in her eyes now rolled down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them away with a trembling hand.

Kelly glanced around her surroundings in dazed confusion. What had happened? Why was Moretti here? She met Sabrina's eye. Her friend looked jumpy and anxious. Sabrina put a finger to her lips and silently motioned for her to stay still. Though she had been unconscious for the past several minutes, she immediately picked up on the tension in the room. They were in trouble.

"Oh, good." Moretti sneered, clearly disappointed. "Rise and shine, Ms. Garrett. Get up." he ordered, giving her a light kick on her leg.

With Jill's help, Kelly painfully rose to her feet. Jill pulled Kelly's arm over her shoulder to help her stand.

"Go join your friend." Moretti ordered, waving his gun at Sabrina. Jill helped Kelly limp over to Sabrina, supporting most of her weight on her shoulder. Sabrina stepped forward and wrapped her arm around Kelly's waist to ease Jill's discomfort.

Moretti cocked his head. "Isn't that nice." he cooed. Sabrina and Jill glared darkly at him.

He grinned at them as he fished into his pocket. A moment later he pulled out a lighter. He flicked on the flame and waved it in front of the girls, giving them a chance to realize what he was going to do. When their expressions registered understanding, he knelt down and held the little flame to the broken wood of the smashed crates.

The fire would spread to the suitcases and the entire building would explode within minutes.

"This way, ladies" Moretti said cheerfully. He led them out of the warehouse and into a dimly lit alley about fifty yards away. A sleek black car was waiting, nearly invisible in the shadows. Sabrina recognized it and sucked in a breath. The man had been controlling them the entire time, and she still couldn't believe it.

Moretti kept his gun trained on them as he opened the back door.

"Get in." he ordered. The girls hesitated a moment and then slowly made their way towards the car, Kelly slowing them down considerably. Moretti frowned as a thought came to him. "Stop." he said, holding up a hand. The girls obeyed.

Moretti keyed open his trunk and took out a length of rope. He uncoiled it and dug in his pocket. A moment later he produced a small pocket knife, which he used to cut the rope into three sections.

Sabrina sighed in defeat. She had been hoping he would leave them unrestrained in the backseat.

Moretti stode over to where the girl's were standing and took Jill by the arm. She went without protest, leaving Sabrina to lower Kelly to the ground. He dragged her several feet from her friends and roughly twisted her arms behind her back.

He turned to Sabrina and Kelly. "If you so much as move, I'll kill her." he threatened, waving his gun in Jill's face. Sabrina gritted her teeth in helpless frustration. She was too far away to make a move without him hurting Jill and Kelly wouldn't be able to help her. She looked away and clenched her fists in anger.

Jill winced as he lashed her wrists tightly behind her. Done with her, he shoved her towards the car and motioned for her to get inside. She obeyed, sitting down but keeping the door open.

Jill watched him from inside the car as he grabbed Sabrina and yanked her out from under Kelly, letting Kelly collapse to the ground. Moretti eyed the injured young woman with a cruel smile on his face as she tried to raise herself off of the ground. She could barely walk and was cradling her left knee. She was hardly a threat and wouldn't require restraining, he thought to himself as he sneered down at her.

But just in case...

He quickly decided that her left knee was the source of her pain. Holding Sabrina firmly, he suddenly lunged forward and stomped down hard on Kelly's injured knee, grinding his heel down into the bone. Kelly screamed in agony and folded to the ground, moaning and writhing in pain.

Sabrina thrashed against him, cursing loudly in outrage but Moretti overpowered her.

"I'll do it again if you don't stop." he whispered in her ear. Sabrina immediately stopped her struggle, her shoulders heaving in fury.

He smiled as he watched Kelly twist and thrash pitifully on the ground. She wasn't going anywhere now. He could save time on tying her hands.

Moretti gave Sabrina the same treatment he had given Jill, flipping her around and tying her wrists tightly together. As Moretti tied Sabrina's hands, Jill retained her composure and her keen eye watched for an opportunity to escape. Kelly was lying directly behind Moretti, clutching her knee in agony. Suddenly, she rose up on one elbow, her face pale and contorted in pain and her breaths short and ragged. She glared at Moretti, a dangerous glint in her eyes, an expression Jill had never seen before.

Kelly had lost her temper and was about to do something stupid.

Jill sucked in a breath. She had been about to stop Kelly, when opportunity had suddenly presented itself. Her eyes darted around frantically, searching for the correct angle. There was still a chance for them, but she had to act before Kelly did.

Moretti's gun was in his hand as he tied Sabrina's wrists together, but his finger wasn't on the trigger.

That was all Jill needed.

She waited until Kelly had moved to where she needed her to be and then sprang from her seat, her shoulder lowered.

She struck Moretti hard, the momentum of her weight knocking him sideways. He buckled into Sabrina with a cry of surprise, sending both of them against the grimy brick wall of the building in front of them. He took a quick step backwards to regain his balance and the back of his knees hit Kelly just as Jill hoped he would. He topped backwards over her, taking Sabrina and Kelly both to the floor with him in a tangled pile. Moretti quickly got to his feet. He cursed and shoved Sabrina out of his way as he flipped his gun into position and aimed it at Kelly's head. In his rage he was going to kill the closest person to him.

Jill leaped into action once more, again lowering her shoulder and charging at full speed. She slammed into him hard, knocking the gun out of his hand before he could pull the trigger. They both went sprawling to the floor in a heap, Moretti grunting in pain as his body took the brunt of their fall.

Moretti bellowed in rage and furiously wrestled Jill off of him. He scrambled to his feet and delivered a vicious slap to her face. Unable to defend herself with her hands behind her, Jill shut her eyes tight and braced herself as the blow knocked her sideways. Moretti rushed forward again and aimed a kick at Jill's side. She gasped in pain and rolled several times with the force of his kick. Not satisfied yet, he grabbed the front of her shirt and jerked her off the floor. Her head snapped backwards as his fist connected solidly with her jaw. With his only focus on beating the life out of Jill, Moretti hadn't noticed that Sabrina had gotten herself free and was now in possession of his gun.

She fired a shot in the air. Moretti froze, his fist poised in mid-punch. Jill cautiously opened her eyes and sighed in relief.

"You touch her again and I'll splatter the wall with your brains." Sabrina shouted angrily.

Moretti laughed his disbelief at the sudden role reversal the previous minute had dealt him. He released Jill and stood erect, raising his hands above his head.

"Jill!" Kelly whispered. She motioned for Jill to come to her and Jill obeyed, shuffling towards her on her knees, still dazed from Moretti's assault. Kelly quickly untied her friends hands. As soon as she was free, Jill whirled around and threw her arms around her, elated that they were in control again. They could hear police sirens in the distance. It was all over now.

Sabrina kept the gun trained on Moretti as Kelly untied Jill's hands.

"Turn around." she ordered. Moretti obeyed, still laughing his psychotic laughter that made Sabrina so uncomfortable.

"Get on your knees." she said coldly. She was angry and wanted him to feel the same fear that her and her two friends had felt.

But, Moretti was too far gone to feel fear. His laughter grew louder and more uncontrolled. Sabrina looked at him uneasily. Was he losing his mind?

"Put your hands behind your back." she said. She turned to Kelly and gestured for her to throw her the rope.

As she crouched down to tie his hands, Moretti surprised her with a swift elbow to her stomach. She gasped in pain and doubled over, lowering her weapon in the process.

Moretti took advantage of the split second opportunity and leaped to his feet. While Sabrina fumbled with the gun, he sprinted down the alley, apparently headed back to the burning warehouse, his laughter echoing through the dark alley.

Sabrina cursed loudly and gave chase, hollering incoherently at Moretti in her anger. When it became obvious he wasn't going to stop, she leveled the gun and fired. She missed, the bullet lodging itself into the wall of a distant warehouse. She cursed and skidded to a halt, wanting to be completely sure of her accuracy. With Moretti in her sights, she squeezed the trigger again.

The empty click of the chamber seemed to resonate in her ears as loudly as if the gun had been fired. She had wasted her last bullet. Infuriated, she flung the useless weapon to the side with a cry of rage and resumed her chase with renewed vigor.

Jill yanked Kelly to her feet and the two trailed behind, trying to keep them in sight.

The two girls watched in horror as Moretti headed back to the burning warehouse. He knew he was finished. The police were on their way, and he had arrogantly confessed the entirety of his crimes to them. He was going to the warehouse to let the explosion kill him, saving him from paying for his crimes. He was committing suicide, they realized.

And Sabrina was right behind him.

"Jill, stop her!" Kelly choked out.

Jill recovered from her shock at Kelly's shout and dashed down the sidewalk after her friend.

"Sabrina! Stop! No!" she yelled shrilly as she willed her legs to move faster. She was faster than Sabrina was, but her friend had a good ten second head start.

"Sabrina!" Jill hollered. She was wasting her voice, Sabrina wasn't going to stop. Jill lowered her head and pumped her arms harder, forcing her body to move even faster. She was gaining on Sabrina, but it would be at least half a minute before she caught up. And by then they would already be inside the doomed building.

Moretti continued onward, with Sabrina in close pursuit and slowly shortening the distance between them. The building was going to explode and she didn't want him inside when it did. She was not about to let him take the easy way out. He would stand trial and pay for what he had done.

Moretti bounded up the long rickety staircase to the catwalk that would lead to the open door, Sabrina trailing close behind him.

"You coward!" she screamed at him in fury. Moretti, with his longer legs, managed the staircase better than she did and gained several feet on her. She watched him disappear inside the building. With a grim look of determination on her face she vaulted up the last few remaining stairs and decidedly moved toward the open door after him.

Kelly watched anxiously from a distance as her two friends disappeared from her view. She tried to follow, but the pain forced her to stop and lean against the rail fence that bordered the property. She strained her eyes to see if she could spot any movement that would indicate her friends were alright. Clenching her teeth against the pain in her knee, she pulled herself along the railing with her good arm.

She threw her hands over her ears instinctively as a deafening explosion blasted through the night sky, lighting up the shipyard like a temporary sun. Kelly fell to the floor, shielding her head as pieces of debris rained down on her from the blast. Once it had calmed, she looked up in dread. The roaring blaze could be seen for miles she was sure, and a thick cloud of dust was slowly settling itself within a mile radius of the explosion. Kelly lay frozen for several moments, staring in horror at the shadowy expanse of beach and scorched warehouses that were being illuminated by the fire.

Sabrina and Jill.

Fighting a wave of hysteria, Kelly pulled herself up and began limping towards the fire as quickly as she could. She had yelled for Jill to go after Sabrina. Jill's death would be completely on her. She quickly pushed that thought away.

They had to have gotten out, she told herself over and over. She refused to let herself believe that they hadn't. It was unfathomable.

She screamed in frustration as her injured leg gave out again, spilling her to the floor.

Cursing loudly, she jerked herself up using the fence and continued her slow and painful journey. The gnawing dread wouldn't go away until she knew for sure the fate of her two best friends.

She mentally prepared herself for whatever it was she would find.