This is it...three pretty intense chapters coming up and Noble's plans are finally revealed. I think maybe one person may have guessed what the plans were but they wouldn't say, LOL! We'll see if they were right.

Chapter 18

Noble strolled around the perimeter of the room, smirking smugly at the couple who sat across from each other at one of the few remaining cafe tables in the abandoned space and were securely bound to heavy, wooden frame chairs. Jamie was still unconscious when they had arrived at the old bar, making him easier to move. The wife, on the other hand, had come to just before. She'd tried to put up a fight and had almost been successful in kicking him where it would definitely hurt him the most if not for his quick refexes. Relentlessly uncooperative, he had to resort to tossing her over his shoulder in fireman's carry and tie her to the chair before he could move on to his next party guest. But she simmered down once she saw him dragging her dear husband in from the car and it had not been long after that Jamie came to from his forced nap, frightened and angry to see Eddie with a grinning Noble standing right behind her.

"Must be strange to be back here, huh, Jimmy?" Noble grimaced apologetically as if suddenly remembering he had the name wrong. "Sorry, think I'll stick to Jimmy if you don't mind. Jamie just doesn't seem right."

Jamie did recognize where they were...it was were it all began for him with Noble and with no clue as to details of their history together, Eddie had no way of understanding what was going on or what Noble was alluding to most of the time. Ignoring the throbbing ache of his head, Jamie's jaw clenched as anger bubbled just below the surface, anger that was aimed not only at Noble, but at himself as well. He was cursing himself for falling into his trap and dragging Eddie down with him. Jamie looked over at his wife, his eyes narrowing in on the light bruise on her right cheek as he tried to silently convey to her that everything would be alright, even when his own confidence was beginning to waiver.

"You might not recognize it now," Noble carried on, unfazed by the daggers Jamie was sending his way, "it's been a couple different things since you and I were here, I looked it up - hipster coffee shop, sushi place and some other forgettable business ventures." Noble came to stop in between the pair and casually crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Yup, this place must be cursed," he sighed before focusing on Eddie. "Hey, did you know that the last time I was here with your new husband, he was helping me get even with the dealer that sold me some bad drugs? I really thought he was a pal. He saved my life and then stood by my side while I exacted a little revenge on the schmuck. You know, I guess if you really think about it, this whole mess with you," Noble said, turning to point at Jamie, "never would have happened if that bastard hadn't sold me the bad mash. Guess I should have done a lot more than just send him to the hospital, huh?"

Jamie was sick and tired of the games and couldn't reign in the anger any longer. "What the hell do you want, Noble?!" he barked.

Noble tsked at the reaction. He'd done a hell of a job of putting this all together and Reagan was sure as hell going to hear him out. "I don't think you're in any position to be making demands, Jimmy. But since you asked so nicely, I wanted to take you on a trip down memory lane, buddy."

Jamie's stomach dropped as he considered each aspect of that assignment and all of the things he had endured and seen as a result. But none of it involved his wife and he would do anything he could to get her out of this, even if it meant that he went along with whatever Noble had planned. "This has nothing to do with Eddie. Just let her go, alright?" he pleaded.

"Jamie!" Eddie snapped in return. She knew what he was up to, she could see it in his eyes, but she didn't want him to sacrifice himself for her safety. She couldn't bear to see him hurt because of her and she was afraid that if Sanfino let her go she might never see Jamie again.

"See, I really don't believe you. You turned out to be nothing but a liar. You took advantage -"

"You weren't innocent!" Jamie bellowed.

"Yeah, so you said before. What'd you call me? A criminal?" Noble snarled, the last word bitterly rolling off his tongue. "Like I was saying, you took advantage of me. I welcomed you into my family - my inner circle - and I lost everything because of what you did. You deserve to pay for that," he said as he moved behind Eddie, putting his hands on her shoulders as he faced Jamie head on. Eddie attempted to shrug Noble off of her, but his hands remained in place as Jamie seethed inwardly.

"I saved your life twice you freaking idiot!" Jamie spat back as he struggled in the chair. He didn't want to hear Noble talking about himself as the poor victim anymore, he'd done it years ago and he was still doing it now. And he sure as hell didn't want him touching Eddie either.

"And with Eddie here," Noble continued, ignoring the outburst as he pulled the chair she was bound to back a few feet, "I think you're more inclined to listen to what I have to say and follow my directions."

Noble came around and blocked Jamie's view of his wife. "You're right though, it would be horrible to see her hurt through no fault of her own." Noble reached out and grasped the long locks of hair at back of her head tightly, forcing her to look up at him.

"Let go!" Eddie demanded as she tried twisting out of his grasp, but Noble's grip only increased, holding her firmly in place.

"Get your hands off her!" Jamie screamed from the other side of the table.

"She's feisty, huh?" Noble chortled, thinking that this was going to be a lot more fun than he expected.

"Noble, I swear to god!" Jamie hissed, his face now bright red as his struggles with the bindings around his ankles and wrists increased.

"That why you married her?" Noble taunted as he finally released Eddie and stepped back to get a view of them both.

Eddie's eyes grew glassy from anger and fear and she avoided Jamie's gaze in an effort to hide those emotions from him. He was already feeling responsible for this and he felt an increasing obligation to keep Noble away from her; the last thing she wanted to do was to add to that.

"Well, I mean I know why you married her. I got a close up view of your domestic bliss, after all."

"Shut your mouth, Noble!" Jamie roared.

Noble chuckled at the rage he had so easily elicited from his prisoner. "Bianca would be really disappointed if she could see you now. Guess it was my fault that never happened for you two. But you screwed up and you eventually put bro code before your fling with her...made me think you really cared." Noble paused to check his wristwatch. This was all fun, but he really had to get things rolling. "Enough of this. I got places to take you...to our next stop on this little trip down memory lane!" he declared as he rummaged around in his bag, dropping it on the floor when he found a clear plastic bag inside.

Jamie's heart was ready to burst out of his chest his chest as a clear image flashed across his mind of a dealer who once also sat right here tied to a chair. "What are you doing?"

"Come on, Jimmy," Noble smiled sadistically as he carefully laid out a filled hypodermic needle and a small pouch of the special blend he'd thrown together with his purchase from Richie. "Think real hard to the last time you were here," he pressed, hoping Jamie would remember the incident with the dealer on his own.

Eddie stared wide-eyed at the drugs on the table, there was no doubt that's what they were, but even without knowing exactly what they were, she was terrified of what Sanfino planned to do with them. "What is that? Jamie?"

Jamie could only focus on the items on display, his mouth running dry at what he now knew Noble was planning to do.

"Do you want to tell her or should I?" Noble asked, but quickly chose to forge on with a resounding clap of his hands. "You know what? Let me, you're looking like it's all coming back to you right now."

"Y-you can't be serious," Jamie sputtered nervously.

"Oh, but I am, my friend," came the rapid reply.

Eddie was done being left out of the conversation, especially after seeing the sheer panic on Jamie's face. "What's going on?" she demanded.

Noble turned to give Eddie his full and complete attention. "See, when Jimmy and I were last here, I was teaching my other buddy, Richie, a lesson...gave him a taste of his own medicine, you might say."

Eddie glanced between the items on the table and Jamie who was starting to sweat. "What is that?" she asked, but Jamie was lost in a memory and did not answer her right away.

"Richie! You look like crap," Noble commented, getting a cheap thrill just from seeing the dealer already drenched in a cold sweat.

"I'm so sorry, man! Please, let me make it up to you!" the terrified man pleaded.

"Oh. Yeah. You're gonna," Noble promised as he glanced at his new friend. He wouldn't be here if Jimmy hadn't gotten him some help that night.

Jamie's stomach twisted into knots as he remembered Lieutenant Arbogast's instructions - observe but don't get involved. He found that impossible to understand with the mindset of a police officer.

"Please," Richie begged remorsefully.

Noble ignored the pleas for leniency, crossing his arms as he eyed man who'd sent his life into a tailspin. "Yeah, because of you, I spent two nights in the hospital and then got sent up for 30 days in rehab," he explained calmly but the anger was beginning to rise to the surface.

"I got that stuff from my usual guy. I had no idea -" Richie tried explaining.

"Because of you, my life didn't just fall off the rails, man," Noble continued as he grabbed a chair, bracing himself against it as he stared the dealer down. "It went down the embankment, through the orphanage and into the gas tanks. I mean, I ought to kill you," he declared with wild, maniacal eyes.

"Please," came another plea as Richie began to tremble in earnest.

All of a sudden, the crazed expression was replaced with a serene self-righteousness as Noble bore into Richie's eyes. "But step nine of the twelve steps instructs us to make amends. So let's you and me make amends, huh?" he proposed with a smirk that sent a chill down his captive's spine.

It was at that moment, when Noble glanced in his direction with a glimmer in his eye like he was just catching up with an old friend and not planning some sick sort of revenge, that Jamie realized Noble might not be better than any other member of the family that OCCB was looking to put away. Whatever he planned to do to make amends with the dealer, Noble seemed to have no qualms about hurting this man. Jamie just didn't know how far he would take this and that had him preparing himself for the possibility that he may be a witness to a murder here tonight.

"No," Richie cried.

"Yeah. It's on me," Noble smiled.

"No," Richie repeated and turned to Jamie, silently begging him to intervene somehow.

All Jamie could do in return was to look on as if unaffected. He was disturbed by the terror in the man's eyes and had to look away, hating that there was nothing he could do to help him. But his job - as much as he hated it right now - was to observe and when he refocused on Noble, he found him unfolding a one hundred dollar bill and depositing a white powder he had stashed within onto the glass table, separating it into three neat lines like a practiced user.

Satisfied with the job he'd done, Noble sat back, waiting for the show to begin.

And it was a show as Richie struggled against Noble's demands 'to take his medicine' and his efforts to physically shove his face into the drugs on the table until Noble reminded him of the damage his goons would cause if he didn't obey. Soon after Richie snorted the first line, Noble sat back, satisfied when the other man was riding the first high. But Noble was far from done.

Jamie had to force himself to stand still. He had been shifting nervously from one foot to the other, looking very much like the rookie he was and so uncomfortable with what he was witnessing that he had to remind himself of the task at hand. "What's in it?" he asked with a curious tone so that he could report back.

"Oh, it's, uh, crystal meth," Noble shrugged nonchalantly, "and some smack to, uh, counter the meth...and a heaping helping of pure LSD so the whole thing will be a lasting memory."

Jamie forced a smile as Noble laughed in his direction, feeling as if Noble was seeking his approval for the show he was putting on.

End Flashback

"Meth, heroine and LSD," Jamie whispered, but it was loud enough for both Eddie and Noble to hear. He broke out into a cold sweat much like Richie had as his focus remained on the items sitting on the tabletop.

"See! I knew you'd remember!" Noble said gleefully as Eddie looked on in horror.