.

DOPPELGANGER

Chapter Five

The Jake Lyons Karate School had not changed much since the last time Trent saw it, speeding away on his Harley in a flight of passion away from Lyons' stream of insults behind him. At the time he had thought he was doing his brother Tommy a favor. In reality, he only made his strained relationship with his little brother worse.

As Trent sat in his Corvette a ways away from the school so as not to be seen, he could see the infamous figure of Jake inside, pounding away at the same futile lessons he had been teaching his students since Trent last set foot inside there three years ago. Seeing Sydney park her car in the parking lot, Trent followed behind, parking normally without letting on about his hiding as he joined the two women on the sidewalk.

"Ready?" he asked the two ladies.

"Ready or not," Sydney flashed a smile and gave Trent a firm nod.

Trent led the way up to the school and opened the door, holding it long enough for Katheryn to catch it before he continued inside.

It didn't take long for the esteemed karate master to see his guests, his loud booming voice suddenly breaking away into a deafening silence that engulfed the entire room. Fifteen students surrounding the fighting ring stood still as they watched what appeared to be a white sheet pass over their instructor's face.

"Sensei?" the closest student piped up to Jake Lyons.

Lyons ignored him and pushed through the wall of students after crawling out from under the ring, coming toe to toe with his so-called nemesis Trent Malloy.

Off to the side, Katheryn and Sydney waited, both women eyeing the two or three muscle men in the various corners of the room.

"So, Malloy. Have you come to finish me off again? I thought I told you last time never to set foot in my presence again."

Trent cracked a smile. "Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you."

"So?! What gives, Trent Malloy?" He gave the two women a wink. "I see you needed backup this time."

"We have a few questions," Trent explained.

"Okay," Lyons replied, crossing his arms firmly. "What about? The price of good quality karate lessons? You need some?!" Jake Lyons' laugh rippled into laughter across the room.

"Hardly," Trent scoffed as soon as the chuckles had died down. "Scott Harris. You know him?"

Lyons' took a step back, his eye brows arching in curiosity. "Yeah. He's no longer with me though. So you don't have to bother."

"We know he's not here," Sydney spoke up. "We were wondering if you knew where he lives though."

"Or perhaps you know some information about him," Katheryn finished.

Lyons was the one to crack a smile this time. "Look, as far as I know he's a con man now. But he's managed to avoid getting caught. So what is it you're trying to do? Is he in trouble now?"

"No," Trent shook his head. "We're just a little curious is all."

"Right," Lyons rolled his eyes. "You know, I think it's great and all that you became a PI. You've always been the snoopy type. Sticking your nose in other people's affairs. Scott may not have been my closest buddy, but he damn well wasn't an enemy. So I'd appreciate it if you'd lay off of him if you don't have a reason to be talking to him! Got it?"

A silence hung in the air like the anticipation of thunder after lightening as Trent searched deep into his nemesis' eyes. Turning to Kath he whispered, "Let's go," and followed the two women out of the dojo, glancing once behind him to observe the smirk on Lyons' reddening face.

Kath wasn't pleased with Trent, he observed as she grabbed his arm, stopping him in front of their cars. "Trent! Why did you back down like that?!"

"Kath, nothing I was going to say was going to help things!"

"But what if we just blew our only chance at helping this Scott fellow out?"

Trent kicked his prized car's shimmering tire and draped a scoff inside his laughter. "This is ridiculous, Kath! Helping Scott?! That's really what you want to do?! He's not our problem! And we don't have any reason to arrest him! You need to let this go. We're done!"

Katheryn's heart sank and shred into a hundred pieces inside her chest as she watched Trent angrily drive away, his tires screeching as he left in such a hurry. It left her shocked, as if she had just seen one of her best friends give up on his entire purpose in life. Somehow she couldn't believe that Trent would ever let something like this affect him. Not Trent Malloy. It didn't make sense.

Kath held back the tears as long as she could until she felt Sydney's hand gently turn her around.

Sydney gave Kath's shoulders a squeeze and looked in her eyes. "He's not himself. Something else is bothering him. You can't take it personally."

"Then how am I supposed to take it?" Katheryn begged through the blinding tears.

Sydney shrugged. "Why don't we go home and watch some TV? There's a few Family Matters reruns airing tonight. You love that. Right?!"

Katheryn gave a limp nod. Sydney wasn't wrong. She knew it would help lift her spirits. She just hoped it could help her forget that everyone she loved had abandoned her.

"Psst! Rico! You there! Wake up! We ain't got much time."

Carlos rolled over onto his other side, the cot he slept on sending a sharp and nagging throb through his back as he tried to ignore what sounded like raspy whispers above him. His subconscious mind quickly dismissed it as a dream and told him to continue to embrace whatever amount of sleep he was granted. But the voices kept coming until they were mingled with another distant noise that reminding him distinctly of the licking flames of a fire. He came awake then, a distant whiff of smoke finally reaching his nose.

Looking up the rather primitive, old west barred window above him, Carlos spotted two young men most likely not older than himself glaring at him from the perch, their faces pressed between the bars. One of them was waving the handle of a pistol of him while the other continued to urge him to hurry up. Finally he was awake and realized the dream was very much real.

"Who are you?!" Carlos asked as he reluctantly accepted the weapon and looked it over. It was quite different from his own weapon of choice that was stashed away in his vehicle still…hopefully.

"Oh don't play dumb with us, Rico! This was your plan after all. Now get a move on," the first young man urged as he anxiously examined their surroundings. "Now you just get ready. We'll have you out of there in no time."

And instantly they were gone, leaving Carlos in a heap of confusion as he continued to stare at the gun in his hands.

Katheryn was feeling rather lonely despite Sydney's wonderful company that evening. The Family Matters marathon was almost over, yet she could hardly tell what the episodes had been about. Most of it was glazed over into one long memory as she said goodnight to Sydney and aimed right for the shower. She shed all of her clothes and stepped underneath the soothing hot stream of water, letting all her cares flow away done the drain. Flashes of Trent's harsh words scathed through her mind like a sharp knife. Imaginary scenarios of Carlos' demise followed closely behind. She could see him lying on the ground with a bullet in his back after trying to make an escape. She also saw Trent suddenly calling her and saying it was over. Thunder Investigations was done. The dojo was for sale. And he was hitting the road for good. Lastly, she saw Molly's face stained with tears. It was literally the last state she could remember her in. She couldn't imagine her any other way since she had talked to her very little since she had moved to New York. All these images flashed in and out of her mind until she had finally had enough.

Katheryn turned off the water angrily and held her face in her wet hands, sobs coming to the surface that she had held inside for too long. While still in the privacy of the bathroom, Kath leaned her entire body against the shower wall and gently slid down until she was sitting on the floor of the tub. Again she covered her face and let the tears come. She wished she could make it all right. One thing she knew she was good at was solving problems. But with Trent upset at her, Carlos in harm's way, and Molly running from her own feelings, Katheryn was left feeling helpless as if all she could do was sit back and watch her world crumble into pieces. It was relieving actually, knowing where her true feelings lay. This grief wasn't in her heart for no reason. It was because her friends meant the absolute world to her. They were her world.

"Katheryn?" Sydney's gentle voice caused Katheryn to stir to her feet quickly. She peeked her head outside the shower curtain with a faint smile. "Is everything okay?"

Kath nodded her tear stained face and smiled falsely again. "Yeah. I'll be right out. Sorry to keep your bathroom occupied."

"Oh, it's no problem. Really. Take all the time you need. But…I thought I heard you crying. Sorry if I'm prying too much."

Katheryn bowed her head and wiped at her swollen eyes. But it was hard to erase the evidence when her whole body was still soaked. "Um, yeah. I'm just upset about what happened with Trent today. That's all. I'll be fine. I promise."

Sydney noticed the hint of pain in the young investigator's eyes and took a step back. "Okay. But if you want to talk about it…"

As Sydney lingered at the door, Katheryn reassured her with a tip of her head. They both nodded mutually to one another before Kath retreated back behind the curtain to let one final sob out once she was sure Sydney had left. Then she whispered a prayer for her friends before finally drying off and slipping into some comfortable clothes…shorts and an over-sized t-shirt for bed.

As Katheryn lay snuggled beneath the comforting bedding, listening to a brief chime of activity outside on the streets, she closed her eyes and made an attempt to think positive. Whatever that meant. Her writer's imagination suddenly painted visions of Carlos returning home, the two of them embracing each other as Trent smiled from the sidelines. Molly was there too, looking at Trent for that strength only his touch could give. Then Kath's eyes opened and her smile faded. Hopefully it wouldn't be just a dream for long.

"Hey now! Easy!" Carlos barked at the goons trailing in front of him. They seemed to be leading a way out of the small town and were a bit too fast for the out of shape former cop to keep up with.

They passed a few cars alongside the street, one of them happening to be his own, Carlos noted, wishing he could pick the lock and be out of there before the sheriff missed him. It was only a matter of time before they figured out he had escaped. The outcome didn't look very promising.

Several yards later, Carlos' companions stopped running and turned to him as if they were waiting for him to say something.

Carlos was busy catching his breath when he noticed the guys' curious looks and cracked a smile. "What? What are you guys looking at me for?!"

One of the young men tried his best not to laugh too loud as he sauntered over and slapped Carlos on the back. "That's funny, Rico. Really funny. But we just got through busting your ass out of jail. That sheriff will be on our tail any minute now. You think you could step up to the plate and follow through with the plan?"

"What plan?!"

"Rico!? Seriously? Don't do this to us man!"

"I wish you guys would stop calling me Rico. You've got the wrong guy! My name is Carlos Sandoval. I'm here on business out of Dallas." He pointed behind him, a smile still teasing his lips. "That's my car back there. I'll prove it to you." But he knew these guys weren't stupid. At the same time, if they didn't believe him, would they turn on their own leader? Or who they thought was their leader?

Suddenly a blaring siren erupted from around the corner that they had just abandoned. The other two guys panicked, urging Carlos forward with a curse or two in their speech as they all continued with the escape plan.

"You know, I have no idea where the hideout is," the first guy said to Carlos through his gasps for air. "You were supposed to pick up with the escape plan from here. What-did you get amnesia or some fool disease like that?"

Carlos chuckled despite his high-speed running that was stealing most of his oxygen at the moment. "Well, yeah. I guess something like that. All I know is…" The sheriff's car suddenly exploded, sending shattering cinders and flames into the air, lighting up the night sky into a sparkling spectacle and sending all three escapees collapsing to the ground. Carlos groaned as he lifted his bleeding forehead off the pavement, "…you've got the wrong man."