Conspiracy

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 25 (Taste of Freedom)

While Gary was busy processing David, Jade had gone to the Vega home. She had to check on Holly and hoped to be there until Gary could come. When she arrived, she called her Dad so that he could wait with them. Considering the man knew Holly once, and Holly had known who he was, it was a safe arrangement.

"So you're telling me what?" Holly was seated at the kitchen table, gripping her mug firmly in her hands. Jade told the woman the news about David, but of course, she was still processing it. "David's been arrested?" Shock spread over Holly's face, and her eyes held a note of disbelief. "I can be with my husband?"

"There was enough to arrest him, yes." She wanted to suggest that she and Gary take a trip as well, perhaps to visit his family. Her reasoning was that Lanie was still at large, and while she didn't seem to be making any moves, she was unpredictable. The woman didn't know where to find Gary's family, and they likely needed a little good news as well. "Lanie's still at large, however."

Holly frowned and slowly brought the cup to her lips. Jade folded her right hand over her left and exhaled slowly. "There isn't really anything to arrest her on that implicates her for her involvement in your abduction."

"Oh." The woman's shoulders dropped and her face fell for a bit. Unfortunately Rebecca's statement implementing Lanie as the role of leader in all of this was circumstantial. "So, you're not able to get her?"

"No, it's just not easy." If they could, there was a chance to implicate her for other crimes. "Rebecca turned herself in, and David's off the streets. If you want my opinion, you and Gary should consider taking a trip of your own." Holly raised her eyebrows and leaned back slowly. "Rediscover each other, rekindle what you had and relax. See family and be safe. When you return, when your daughters return, you should be safe. Hopefully the investigation will be complete."

"I don't know. If…If I leave with him, will the girls be able to write to me?"

"If they knew where you were, yes." Jade glanced to the door, eagerly waiting for her dad. "My dad has a cabin in the Caribbean, I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you and Gary a chance to stay there for a while."

Hell, she already suggested the idea to him. He was reluctant at first, but turned a sympathetic ear to his old friends and said he'd be willing if they accepted.

Holly set the cup down and brought her hand up to her chin, scratching beneath it. "It's a thought. I'm not sure though, but I'll talk to Gary." The man likely had a shit ton of vacation days saved up, considering he was a workaholic that never stopped working.

"Though I think maybe visiting his parents would also be a good idea. They need some good news too, I'm sure."

"But to show up without the girls? Everyone would be upset." Holly brought her hand up to her chin and reclined in her chair. "I'll talk to Gary about it." Holly fell silent and her eyes began to well up with tears. She moved her trembling hands over her mouth and closed her eyes. "Oh god."

Jade leaned forward and reached out, patting the woman's shoulder. "It's okay. You can let it out." A good cry seemed long overdue, especially from this woman who fought to be strong for so long. "What's on your mind?"

"Everything. I just…I can't believe-I can't process that this is really happening." Jade smiled at her and watched the tears flow as waterfalls down her cheeks. "It's been so long, I never thought. Why?" Holly coughed and brought a napkin to her face. "Why was an investigation so fast now when no one could save us before?"

"Because there wasn't a way." Jade pulled away from her and exhaled gently. "The pieces weren't in place. Denise didn't know you were a victim, Lanie was threatening harm to you if she tried to do anything. The minute she found out the truth, she was able to work to tear down the power that kept people under control. Your husband couldn't fight back for obvious reasons…he didn't want something to happen to you or to your daughters. For so long, nobody could do anything."

"So what you're saying is…" Holly chuckled and pressed the napkin firmly under her left eyelid. "Denise was the strongest card to play?"

"Yeah, and we only got to her through Andre." David couldn't have known when Trina brought that kid home from school to work on a project, that he was the son of the one person that could tear everything apart. Without that, without Denise, Jade wasn't sure how well their investigation would succeed.

"Then Beck-Rebecca's son…he learned his mom was doing something really bad. He told her he didn't care about her anymore. Rebecca turned herself in." Holly's eyes widened and her lips parted to let a single sob fall out with a shudder. "She's cooperating with the police. Gary's team is willing to help, and with Gary's promotion, he was able to finally arrest David. After all this time, he was able to do just that."

"I guess your boyfriend's not taking too well his mom's involvement? Does he know that she was the one that-"

"Abducted you and the girls?" Holly closed her eyes and hugged her waist. Jade dropped her gaze and thought on the subject. She was uncertain whether she'd reveal that to Beck or not. She couldn't actually tell him anything about the investigation, so it was one of those details he likely wouldn't be allowed to learn, but even if he could, she would rather spare him that grief.

"No," she whispered, "He can't know that anyway. It could derail the investigation, or at least cause some problems." It would be likely that the crimes would reveal themselves in the pending trial, and it was very likely the media was going to play this out. Beck may choose not to even bother with the trial for the stress of having his mother there.

The doorbell rang, pulling them both from their new quiet state. Holly got up to answer and Jade smiled when she saw her dad in the doorway. Holly recognized him in an instant and seemed surprised. "Henry West? Here to pick up your daughter?"

"She actually asked that I be here," Henry remarked. Holly turned her head and Jade shrugged.

"Well I thought it would be more comforting." She stood up and motioned to her father while maintaining eye contact with the woman. "Plus, he's an old friend of yours, right?" Henry ran his hand over the back of his neck and shook his head.

"Gary's friend, more. I hardly spoke to Holly. But if you think my being a familiar face will help with anything?"

Holly turned back to him and shrugged. "It's nice to see someone that doesn't want to hurt me or my children. Once in a while, at least. Come in, Henry."

"Thank you." Henry made his way into the home and looked around. "How are your children doing?" Holly shut the door and leaned back against the wall. Her arms slid across her chest and her body started to relax.

"They're good. Better now." She bowed her head and chuckled. "Everything's going to be better now." Her left arm fell to her side and her right hand moved up over her left shoulder. She closed her eyes and moved her head back against the wall. "Still. It doesn't feel real."

"I'm afraid I don't really know much. I know Jade told me what happened to you was a result of something Lanie did. I always wondered why those girls hated you so much."

"With Lanie?" Holly opened her eyes and scoffed. "It was never one thing, but a number of things. Even I don't know, all I care about is getting out of here. So much of my life, of my girls' lives, lost…"

"I know it isn't much, but I am sorry for what you went through." He made his way to the table and Holly sighed. "I wish I had known sooner."

"Yeah. That's actually what Denise said too. She…was receiving threats and didn't come looking for me because she thought Lanie would do something to me or my family-she didn't realize that already happened." Holly's eyes drifted to Jade, and upon reaching her, Jade straightened herself and sat proudly. "I guess I underestimated Sikowitz's plan. I thought hiring a teenager was stupid, something that wouldn't even help…but it did."

"It's not over yet," Jade admitted, "There's still Lanie. She's close to losing her position, her power's waned, so we can most likely get a search warrant. We still need a judge that doesn't have history with her." Henry snapped his fingers and Jade glanced over to her father.

"I can help with that." She furrowed her brow and Henry started to grin. "You know when I go play billiards down at the pool hall on Saturdays? One of the guys that plays there is a judge. I…may have mentioned Lanie's name, and he went on to say some negative things about her. The man didn't like her at all, so I think if you went for him, you'd have no problems getting a warrant."

The statement shocked her, though she wasn't sure if it was appropriate to ask why the man didn't care for Lanie. "Does Lanie have that many enemies or something?" She heard Holly chortle and saw her father shrug.

"I don't know. The man blamed her for his son going into debt or something. I want to suppose they dated, but she's been married for a long time, hasn't she?"

"She's a bitch," Holly muttered, "She doesn't care who she walks on." Henry frowned and nodded once. She took a deep breath and pushed her hands forward on the table, then pat her left with her right. The air grew still and calm, and no one dared to speak for the longest time.

Jade watched Holly, wanting to see if she could figure what was on the woman's mind. Holly's chest was moving slowly and her right hand was now up and fidgeting with the ends of her hair. She was gazing at the walls of the home with tension in her features and a somber gaze.

"I never thought I'd be happy to leave this place." She bowed her head and let out a vain, sorrowful chuckle. "I'd love to see it burn to the ground. So many things happened-how does it get any better?"

Henry answered, to Jade's amazement. "It doesn't." Holly looked up at him, her lower lip pushed forward and seemed to tremble for just a moment. "I'm a psychologist, and I always tell my clients…" Henry's eyes closed and he slowly shook his head. "You can never go back and change the past."

There was a light knock at the door and everyone looked with baited breath as it slid open. When Jade saw Gary on the other end, his hand on the knob and his eager eyes searching for Holly, she felt a rush of pride shoot from her heart.

Holly straightened her posture and blew out a heavy breath. Henry smiled at her and made eye contact with the surprised man at the door. "But regardless of the past," he continued, "You move forward. You grow, you become strong again, and you rebuild."

"It's done," Gary said. "David's in holding, he can't hurt you anymore-can't hurt the girls anymore." A sudden, sobbing gasp fell from the woman's lips and she made her way to him. Her arms slid around his neck and she set her head on his shoulder as he hugged her close. "Lanie's still out there, but they're saying they might have something on her."

"I don't care anymore," Holly whimpered, "I don't care about her." Jade leaned forward over the table and clasped her hands together while watching the couple. She felt someone's arm around her shoulders and looked up to see her father looking to her with pride. A smile spread across her face and she glanced back to the couple. "Just take me away from here, Gary."

"I've been waiting for you to say that."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything." The woman's body trembled as her sobs echoed into the air. Gary tightened his embrace on her and moved his left hand up to Holly's hair, sliding his fingers slowly through them.

"Don't apologize for anything. If anyone's to blame-"

"Neither of you should blame yourself," Henry remarked. The man cleared his throat as Holly and Gary looked to him. "Wasn't your fault. Everything that happened to you? Jealousy, greed, hatred, lust…it all comes from the people who hurt you."

"You two should take a trip," Jade suggested once more. Holly's hands slid down to Gary's chest and her lips slid into a tiny smile. Gary's eyebrows rose and he looked to his wife with loving eyes. "Just spend some time together, be ready for your girls to come home from their trip as well."

"We can be a family again," Holly said softly, "All of us?"

"I mean it'll take some time to heal but I think you can. Dad's probably willing to offer some counseling services too." She shot a sly grin towards her dad and he chuckled.

"Well." Henry rubbed his neck and smiled at his old friends. "It's the least I can do, I suppose. "My daughter's right, you should spend some time together-and some time away from this place." He approached them and maintained eye contact. "Let the investigators handle the rest."

Gary bowed his head, then turned to Holly. "It's hard to believe we even reached this point." He kissed the top of her head and she came to rest under his chin, sighing and relaxing the muscles in her body. "I have vacation days that I've never used up. Holly, you name the place, and I'll be more than happy to take you there."

Holly's brow furrowed and she turned her head up to her husband. "But when the girls come back, I want to take another vacation. All of us. Maybe then, we can see your family?"

"I think that sounds like a plan. I've not been able to keep in touch with them much. I've talked to them a few times over the years, though, I think they'd be happy to see you and the girls again."

Jade brought her right hand up and perched her chin on top of it. She was a little surprised to hear Gary say that, but yet, she understood if he felt he couldn't find a way to explain the situation he was in.

His relatives would have an answer now, that was certain. Once the trials began, it was likely that the media was going to catch on.

"Come on," she said while pushing herself away from the table. She walked around it, sliding her hand along the glossy surface one last time. She approached the couple and reached up, setting her hands on their backs. "We should leave this place. If there's anything left here that you want out, maybe have someone retrieve things for you?"

Holly sniffed and turned away from the room. "I'll worry about it later," she said.

I don't think we'll prolong this by showing the trials. Things will wrap fast probably but once Lanie's dealt with we might be seeing the end soon after. Anyhow, what are your thoughts through this chapter? Will their going on a trip be a good idea? I'm kind of stuck between whether or not they see Gary's parents now or later. The case itself is high profile, which means it will likely be nationally aired, so regardless of when they see his parents-the parents will clearly know. Holly's parents are long gone, obviously.