Trifecta

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Going on a date tonight, so I'm putting this chapter up a little earlier. Enjoy!

Chapter 12 (One Step Closer)

"So you're staying in a hotel instead of your mother's?" Freddie wasn't too surprised to hear Sam's choice, though he knew she didn't have a lot of money to spend. "I guess that's better though, less stress."

"Not even Melanie would stay with mom." Freddie nodded and looked up to the sky as his grip tightened around the cell phone. How could he forget Sam's twin sister, he remembered that 'date' like it was yesterday. "So what are you doing today?"

"Nothing too interesting." That wasn't saying much, considering he'd gotten an envelope addressed to him just this morning. It was threatening in nature, warning him to stop pursuing this thing with Nora if he valued his own life.

"Is there something you're not telling me, Benson?" He glanced to the letter in his hand, studying the bottom of the letter. It was computer typed and printed, and this left small dots at the end, implying one of the older styles of printers that left their 'serial' on the page. Only one place still had a printer like this, and that was the library close to the older part of Seattle.

"I just don't want to worry you."

"If you want me to give you a chance and to trust you, now isn't the time to start keeping things from me." He lowered the letter and winced at the serious nature of her voice. "What's going on? Now I know Gibby said you're still looking into the whole thing with Nora…"

"I am. I haven't found proof, but I think he and Nevel may be involved…" There was a long pause, so he decided to further his explanation. "I did some looking around and found letters between the two, but no mention of Nora. Just a 'mutual friend'."

"Wait, how did you find those letters? They wouldn't just give you those if they were incriminating, would they? I mean, Gibby maybe…"

"Remember the thing with the snake?"

"Yeah?"

"Nevel's got a pet snake he calls Fuzzles. His mother let me in the house, while Gibby's girlfriend let me in his place, so I did some investigating." There was another pause, followed by a much louder response from Sam.

"You did what!" He pulled the phone from his ear and drew out a heavy sigh. "Are you insane? I mean I know I went to find Nora when she kidnapped Dice, but that's a little different. You're going into someone else's house, snooping around their personal shit and putting yourself in danger? For what? Proof that they may have had something to do with Nora's escape? Freddie, please, let the police handle it! Don't put yourself at risk if Gibby or Nevel actually are up to no good."

"That's just it, the police can't act on a hunch. Gibby and Nevel might not have anything to do with her and could just be acting really strange. I have to know, so I'm following my gut until I know for sure."

"Freddie. That's dangerous. What are you trying to prove? Nora's out again, I saw the news before I came up to Seattle. She's dangerous…If she's walking around out there…"

"Then as long as Gibby and Nevel aren't involved with her, I'll be fine. Can't say the police are doing a good job at apprehending her, though. I wonder how she escaped this time."

"The news reporter said the transport vehicle went down a different path. The car got picked up by some crane in a junkyard, moved to a roof. The guard that was with Nora was found dead, Freddie. Nora's psychotic." His eyes widened and he faltered in his breath.

The words of the girl in the witness protection program echoed in his mind. Nora was out, she was deadly, and she wouldn't stop until she got what she wanted. "Then she's not working alone." It would explain the letter he received, but now he had more questions than answers. "If she's after us still…Maybe you should stay with your mom."

"I'd rather take my chances with Nora, to be honest."

"Sam, it's dangerous for you to be alone here. I know you can handle yourself just fine, but if Nora's really not working alone-" He stopped and looked over his shoulder. So far Nora would have been out for a week and a half, and has made no moves. Either that meant she'd given up, which was unlikely, or she had plans.

"No. Sam, Nevel was arguing with someone on the phone that day I was at his house. He was talking about making a plane and finding a way to keep it off military radar-if they're really working with Nora, and she's made no moves yet, then what if they're planning on attacking Carly first?"

"With you in Seattle, wouldn't you be the easier target? Nora would probably think I'm still in LA." This was true, unless Gibby was truly working with Nora, in which case he would know where Sam was. "Carly's in Italy, on an Air Force base with her father. She'd be the most difficult person to attain out of all of us."

"That's what Spencer said, but then why has Nora made no move yet?" Sam was the first person she went after when she escaped last time, so could she have tried for LA?

His blood ran cold thinking about Sam's roommate and friends still back there. "Sam, do you think she would go after your friends again to lure you out?"

"She does that, I'll drop-kick her myself. I'm not afraid of her, I just don't want anything to happen to…Carly…" Freddie smirked at Sam's obvious avoidance of her concern. He knew she was concerned about him too, it just pained him that even now she was afraid to let her feelings show.

"Ever so guarded, I see."

"No, not at all."

He looked up as he approached the library. It was in a ghetto neighborhood, more precisely close to the neighborhood Sam's mother lived. He presumed no connection.

The library was surrounded by weeds and thicket, its outer walls were cracked and crumbling, and several of the windows were broken. "Hey Sam, you remember that old library close to where you used to live?" Freddie heard a water faucet turn on, followed by a long groan.

"Don't remind me. I hated that place. The only people that ever went there were sickos, creeps and gang members. Someone was assaulted there one day, right in front of the staff, and nobody did a damn thing to help."

His stomach churned and a whistle left his lips. "Sounds more like a house of terrors than a library."

"Yeah. Tell me you're not over there."

"I would, but then I'd be lying."

"Freddie! Why the hell are you even there?"

"Just looking for someone."

His eyebrows rose when he heard a splashing sound. Almost immediately he pictured Sam dipping herself into a bathtub, and his cheeks began to turn bright red. "Since I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this craziness, just be careful. If you're at that library, don't talk to anybody-not even the staff. Trust no one down there…people will steal your wallet faster than you can say 'hello'." Freddie reached back and planted his palm against his back pocket.

"I'll definitely consider that."

"Alright."

"Are you taking a bath?" He scrunched his nose and listened to her chuckle.

"I haven't had a Jacuzzi in such a long time, so yes. That means I need to hang up pretty soon here." There was another splash followed by a contented sigh. Freddie rolled his eyes and smiled at the image coming to mind.

"I'll let you get to that, then. Enjoy it."

"Oh god…this feels so nice." The phone clicked off and Freddie shook his head. He pushed his phone into his pocket and started for the library, half expecting to find either Gibby, Nevel or Nora herself inside.

Placing his hand on the doorknob, he felt a stickiness that made his stomach churn with disgust. "Great. This place is going to be a pigsty like Gibby's apartment, isn't it? I'll put money on it." Times like these he wished he remembered to carry around lotion.

He pushed the door forward slowly, holding his breath as anxiety washed through him. Expecting one of three people to jump out at him, he braced himself for danger.

When he stepped inside, he found himself horribly disappointed. The small library was empty. The dusty bookshelves on the left were cracked and books were hanging loosely from the shelves, abandoned and unused for god only knew how long.

The computers on the right sat in rows like tombstones in a graveyard. Only one was turned on, implying recent use. "I can't imagine Nevel using this place," he whispered aloud. "That boy has more issues with germs than I do. Nora either, her own home was cleaner than mom's place." Nevel wouldn't have to print from here either. Gibby, on the other hand, Freddie would have thought against him being here had he not seen the man's apartment himself.

He started for the computer and glimpsed at the screen. There was a warning message implying that the system had been idle for thirty minutes and would shut off automatically.

There was a word document open on the start menu, but it had been minimized. As he started to reach for the mouse, he heard a familiar voice shouting at him. "You need to use the computer, get a library card!"

His heart stopped and it took him a moment to recognize the sharp tone. Turning towards the library desk, he saw a woman in a floral patterned dress and short blonde hair. There was a fire in her eyes just like that as Sam's. "Ms. Puckett?"

"What?" The woman put her hands on her hips and squinted at him. "Oh hey, you're that Beacon kid Samantha dated a while back."

"Benson…"

"Whatever. How is she doing? She a tiger in the sack like her old mam?" Freddie put his hand to his stomach and groaned as the woman laughed. "I haven't seen her or Melanie in what feels years, they probably think I'm in prison now."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm a little surprised you're not." Pam narrowed her eyes as Freddie walked up to the counter. "Has anyone used that computer recently?"

"It's on, ain't it?"

"Yes, but, that's not…what I…meant." He ran his hand through his hair and laughed sheepishly as Pam shrugged. The scent of alcohol came to his nostrils and his stomach churned once more. "Um, why are you working here anyway?"

"Volunteer. Community service. Probation officer says I gots to contribute to society somehow. Tell me how my daughters are. Last I checked, both of them have restraining orders out on me."

"Damn. Why?"

"Because Melanie helped Sam move away and I went nuts, brandished a kitchen knife and whatever…they said I was going to kill them, I only wanted to scare them a little." Freddie shook his head and crossed his arms. He could see why Sam wouldn't want to bring that up, and he certainly wasn't going to ask her about it unless she did bring it up. "Is my little Sammy back in Seattle yet?"

"Nope." There was a very slim chance that he'd ever tell Pam one of her daughters was here, not with what he'd just heard. Sam probably wouldn't want her mother knowing she was in town.

"That's a shame. I was hoping we could talk about what happened."

"Yeah…" He scratched the back of his neck and looked towards the computer. "Do you know who was on that last?"

"Only one person been in here all day. I think it was that weird kid that hung around your group-I never can remember his name."

"Gibby?"

"Oh yeah!" Pam snapped her fingers and flashed a toothy grin. "I don't know why I was thinking of Gibralter…" His eyebrows meshed together and a slight chuckle fell from his lips. Pam's hands slid to her waist and Freddie felt an uncomfortable stare on him. "I should thank you."

"Okay?"

"No really." She flashed a snarky grin and tilted her head to the right. "For making my little Sammy realize she's going to be just like mommy." His chest tightened and he turned fully towards her.

"Excuse me?"

"You, you're the last person she dated, the one that let her know there's always someone better than her." Pam laughed and crossed her arms. "That little girl was never going to find someone, she just needed to realize that. The only use she's ever going to have is growing up single, alone, and desperate just like her old lady."

"No." Bile rose up in his throat, burning him. "I won't let that happen." Pam's grin faded and her eyebrow arched up.

"Huh. You act like you actually give a shit about that little snot. She has no value, if she and Melanie had any sense in their heads they would know the only person that's ever going to be here for them is their momma and they should stay with me, take care of me."

Anger and malice began to swirl around his heart, and a growl escaped his lips. "Sam will never be like you, she's a better person than that."

"She came from nothing, just like her mother, and she'll grow up to nothing. She'll give birth to nothing and have no man that ever sticks by her side or-"

"She isn't you."

"Then why the fuck did you dump her for that Carl chick?"

"Carly," he deadpanned, "Her name was Carly." He crossed her arms and Pam rolled her eyes.

"Whatever her name, it is your fucking fault my daughter took off!"

"Oh?" He uncrossed his arms and started for the doors. "Well good, I'm glad I did something right for a change! She and Melanie both are probably better off."

Leaving the library, he was overcome with a feeling of guilt. Normally he wouldn't be so rash, and especially wouldn't say something like that to someone else's parent, no matter how true it was. Unfortunately his disgust and anger in the woman got the best of him.

"Jesus, now I see why Sam was always so fucking irritable." It was beside the point, he now had a good reason to believe at least Gibby truly was with Nora. This would mean Nevel was connected.

However if the letter in his hands was any indicator, the thought that they may be after Carly first could be incorrect. "What are the odds they come after me first?" He now had information that could lead police in investigating themselves, in which case, destroy their little union. They'd be afraid of that, and surely, he would be their first target.

In that instant a rustling sound heard behind him created a shiver that shot down his spine. The air around him was swept away and despite the clear sky, he felt a dark and ominous cloud creeping above him.

If he let that fear keep him from following this, then he may as well let Nora take him now. "I will find a way to stop them, whatever they're up to. Even if it's the last thing I do. My investigation continues, Nora. Hear me? I'm not stopping!"

She wouldn't get the girls, not while he was still standing. "You want to get Sam? You want to get Carly? You'll have to kill me first. I'll figure out what your plans are, I'll take it to the cops, and your little plan will be kaput before you even get off ground."

So it's getting to the nitty-gritty here. I will say Sam, and Carly, while they may be targeted, neither of them are the end goal result. Stick around and see what's going to go down.