Chapter Six
"What's your game, Lisa?" Lee challenged, obviously too ill to sit up as Lauren's second personality stopped short of reaching him.
"Nice try, Lee," she said, as he tried to rise, but fell back helplessly. "But I'm well aware of the properties of the drug I gave you. You're weak, but you've still got some fight left in you," she stated with a smirk.
Lee stared at her, keeping his face even and without emotion. She had indeed seen through his attempts to look too weak to fight her off. He only wished he had incapacitated Lauren when she was tending him, but then he hadn't gotten the information he needed yet. Even now, he needed Lisa to confirm what her alternate personality had told him.
"What do you want from me, Lisa? Information? Because you're not going to get it," he challenged, baiting her to answer both his and ONI's questions regarding how she benefited from her previous husbands' deaths.
Lisa laughed. It was the cynical, over-confident laugh of maniac if he'd ever heard it.
"You think I'm stealing Top Secret information from my husbands?" She laughed again. "Oh, that's rich, Lee," she taunted, though he avoided reacting. She reined in her cynicism and continued. "Lauren told you the truth; I couldn't care less about what little important secrets you men think you have," she spat out.
"Then it's the life insurance," he probed, methodically working to get to the motive behind her murders.
Lisa stepped back, moving further away from his reach and silently calculating when the drug would completely incapacitate him. "The insurance is nice; sets me up to continue to play my game, but I assure you, I have plenty of cash even without it."
"If it's not the money, then what?" Lee probed, working hard not to give her a clue that his strength was draining away far more quickly now.
She laughed again, this time it sent a chill up his back. It was pure evil; there were no two ways about it.
"I'll let you in on a little secret, Lee," she said in husky whisper. "There is no Lisa… there never was," she revealed with another laugh. Lee's brow tightened at her revelation, trying to process her words as the roller coaster ride of accepting her multiple personalities was suddenly brought into question. "Oh Lee, you still don't get it, do you?" she let that question hang in the air a moment before proceeding. "I don't have split personality," she declared. "Let me prove it to you," she said, dropping her hand holding the knife down to her side and instantly taking on the soft lines of Lauren's persona. "Lee, darling," she said reaching her free hand out to him before dropping it to her side and laughing again. She changed back and forth between her two personas to prove her point, before settling back to something in between "sweet, loving Lauren" and "homicidal Lisa". "Oh my, you've been so much fun," she mused sickly. "Your PTSD afforded so much opportunity for drama, and playing with your mind was such a rush," she declared, referring to her many acts designed to throw him back into flashbacks.
Lee's eyes tightened as she continued.
"Oh, and I give you high marks for your performance in bed," she taunted. "I was almost sorry to bring it all to an end."
Lee studied her face and her quick transformation from Lauren to Lisa, then nodded in understanding. He had been duped big-time. She'd been playing with him, deceiving him into believing that she had a split personality, though he had no idea why except to play more mind games with him. She was a black widow for sure; a murderess that seemed to enjoy her sick games immensely. The thought made his blood boil.
"You stalk your husbands," he challenged with piercing eyes, "Seduce them into marrying you; and live in blissful marriage, only to murder them for some sick pleasure?"
Lauren smiled, not an ounce of regret in her eyes.
"You killed three husbands just for the sport of it?!" he accused angrily, finally understanding her motivation.
"Oh no, that's where you're wrong. Not three husbands, Lee… why you'll be number eight," she stated flatly, as the realization of Lauren's crimes began to sink in. The room almost spun with the realization of her unexpected confession. She noticed his shock and chuckled. "I know, I know. I don't fit the psychological profile of what do they call it?" she asked, searching for the right words playfully, "…a serial killer," she said, finishing her own rhetorical question.
"You've gotten away with murder seven times?" he asked incredulously, his mind having a hard time wrapping around this new revelation, especially in such a physically compromised position.
"The trick is never using the same method twice," she announced proudly. "Well, I am on my third alias, but you would be surprised how easy it is to reinvent yourself when you have the right funds and know the right people. I admit, keeping my alias for you was dangerous, but you provided such a temptation for me and I was already bored with Rod anyway. You know what they say? Out with the old; in with the new," she recited callously.
She stopped and looked at her watch and smiled knowingly.
"Almost time, Lee," she said playing with the large hunting knife, running her finger across the broad side of it appreciatively.
"Just how are you going to explain knife wounds on my drugged body," he challenged.
"I won't have to explain a thing, Lee," she said with another cynical smile. "You see, the drug I used on you is quite different from anything I've used in the past. In fact, it will make perfect sense here in the woods."
Lee swallowed hard, his throat tight and swollen, and he was sorely tired of conversing with a psychotic murderer.
"What are you talking about, Lauren?" he demanded angrily, wishing she'd get to the point.
"You, my dear, have been given a synthetic drug that simulates a very toxic snake bite with incredible accuracy."
Lee's forehead tightened in disbelief, his symptoms suddenly making sense.
"A coral snake to be exact," she continued, obviously proud of her perceived genius. "So, you see, the woods are the perfect location for your accidental death."
Lee was struggling to comprehend the absolute lack of humanity in the woman before him, when suddenly, without warning, she stepped forward and lunged at him with the knife. His reflexes were slow, his arms moving sluggishly, if not ineffectively, in an effort to protect himself. His legs, however, were more than sluggish, and barely moved upon command. Lauren's attack, however, suddenly ended as she stepped back and laughed.
"Right on time," she declared victoriously with another glance at her watch. "Paralysis has set in."
VTTBOTS
"Are you sure, Jamie?" Admiral Nelson inquired as Seaview's doctor and Dr. Erickson, ONI's toxicologist, both nodded an affirmative. The two men had burst into the room still wearing their white lab coats, interrupting Harry's transmission as Patterson reported. He had given the Ratings new orders to backtrack along the dirt road, in an effort to make sure their bases were covered should the right fork come up empty before ending the transmission and turning to inquire more.
"Absolutely, Admiral. We spent several hours going round and round with poisons, before Dr. Erickson made the discovery. It's a synthetic venom, not natural; that's what threw us off, but we've isolated the active ingredients and we know what we're looking at."
"The properties most closely resemble that of a coral snake," Dr. Erickson chimed in. "They're from the elapid family of snakes, which include the black mambas and cobras and their venom is extremely toxic."
"But the drug was found in trace amounts?" Harry questioned, seeking to ascertain the danger.
"Agreed, but after Kowalski and Patterson's report of how ill Lee appeared only a few hours ago… we're surmising she gave him a full dose," Jamieson replied, remembering well that Lauren Crane was suspected of murdering three husbands. After witnessing the cruel game she played, when she thought Lee was suffering from PTSD, it wasn't far-fetched to believe that she was capable of far worse.
"Which means..."
"That depending on the amount she gave him, Lee's life could be in serious jeopardy at this very moment," Jamie replied.
"A coral snake's bite can cause relatively minor discomfort for up to several hours; but if left untreated, the victim finds themselves in tremendous pain. But of even more concern, is the fact that the snake possesses a powerful neurotoxin that relaxes breathing muscles, eventually requiring artificial means to prevent respiratory failure. The bite can be fatal if not treated," Dr. Erickson noted solemnly.
"Treatment?" Harry inquired, not wasting any time and already making mental notes of what orders he needed to issue next.
"Antivenin in large amounts," Jamie replied readily. "We made the necessary calls to a local hospital; it should be delivered here within a half-hour."
"Very well," Harry said, reaching for the phone as he spoke. "Get everything you need together, Jamie; and be ready to go as soon as that antivenin is delivered."
"Aye Sir," Jamieson replied, turning with Dr. Erickson to tend to the medical supplies necessary to treat a dangerously ill Captain Crane.
Harry was already dialing even as the two doctors turned to leave.
One phone call to ONI's Director would put everything in motion; but first, he needed to make contact with Lee's best hope of survival on the front lines; Chip Morton.
VTTBOTS
"You're a sick mental case," Lee breathed out at Lauren's glee regarding the paralysis that was overtaking his legs; making his lower extremities unresponsive; and yet, not shielding him from the pain of his broken leg.
"Not by a long shot, Lee. I know exactly what I'm doing," she countered, lowering the knife toward his leg. The move was menacing, but he could do little to defend himself as she lowered the blade, amused with herself as she used it to slice through his pant leg. "Now, if you were bitten by a snake, the coroner would expect to see fang marks," she pondered, enjoying the fact that she intentionally made him believe she was going to attack. She smiled knowingly and reached into her inside jacket pocket to pull out a small box. She opened it and carefully pulled out the decapitated head of a dead coral snake. "You know the interesting thing about snakes?" she asked rather whimsically. "Even after the head is severed, the snake's bite reflex is still active and is able to strike up until an hour later," she mused with an amused shake of her head. "Now this one has been dead for a good deal longer than that, but as you can see, it died trying to attack again," she continued, referring to the two fangs that were extended and exposed in the snake's wide-open mouth, as if trying to avenge its death with one last strike.
It didn't take a rocket scientist to guess what she was going to do next as she plunged the fangs into his exposed calf, producing a cry of pain as she mercilessly ground the fangs in his calf, making sure she drew blood.
Lee recovered from the attack, but was breathing hard as she carefully replaced the black and yellow striped snake's head back into her box.
"Now, there's still venom residue on the snake's fangs; that will produce enough evidence of the source of your demise. It won't be quite as dramatic as a live snake bite, but your skin will turn red and swell enough for the coroner to put two and two together and declare your death an unfortunate run-in with a snake."
"You seemed to have thought of everything," he breathed out with an accompanying hard to manage swallow, as she smiled and sat down on the bed near his increasingly unresponsive legs. She picked up the knife and continued playing with it, obviously buying time as she waited for the venom to continue to deteriorate his condition.
"I always do, Lee, but I have to admit, this was my most elaborate and clever plan yet. I'm not sure how I'm going to top your death," she said with a sigh. "That's the high you know; planning a murder so well you can walk away scot-free and above suspicion eight times. It's a high like you've never known," she finished, as a shot of adrenaline surged through her body at the evil thought.
Lee swallowed again; the symptoms of the venom were impossible to ignore and the illness was draining his strength. He was fully aware that his condition was more than a bit precarious, and that he'd need medical attention soon. He was also acutely aware that he had backup out there somewhere, but years of undercover experience told him that he couldn't count on it. He had to do what he could to survive on his own.
It was becoming harder to think now, as he quickly ran through his options. He knew he had very few left, and so, he decided to use the only hand he had left to play.
"It seems you got tired of me pretty fast, since your last three husbands all lasted six months or more," he stated, baiting her into the conversation.
"I was successful in isolating the others from their family and friends," she explained, reaching over and checking the progress on his calf, "but I could tell with how excited you were to go back to work…"
She interrupted herself in mid-sentence and looked at Lee, studying him for a moment before she spoke again.
"How did you know how long my previous marriages lasted? I only talked about Rod."
"You've told me all your secrets… don't you want to hear mine before I die?" he breathed out with enough raw emotion to get her attention, as she leaned slightly forward, sensing that what he had to say was vitally important to her.
VTTBOTS
"Morton," Chip said, answering the call from the NIMR issued SAT phone.
"Chip, this is Nelson. What's your status?"
"We're just making it back onto the main road. We've investigated a few roads leading to small cabins in the area. So far, we've come up with nothing, most are vacation cabins and not in use. Sheriff Perkins tells me that there aren't too many more cabins this far in, we'll be reaching the National Forest boundaries soon."
"Keep at it, Lee's going to need medical treatment ASAP."
"Sir?"
"Jamieson has identified the chemicals in Lee's sample; snake venom. If his illness at the gas station is any indication, we believe she's given him the full dose. He'll need medical treatment right away. Once you find him, get him someplace where we can put down the chopper."
"Aye Sir, we'll find him," Chip assured before signing off, blowing an incredulous breath out and still not believing the turn of events this mission had taken.
"Landing a helicopter at night, in the middle of the forest?" Perkins repeated incredulously, over-hearing most of the conversation.
"We'll worry about that later, right now the important thing is finding them," Chip replied, barely keeping his concern in check as Perkins reached for the mic on his radio.
"Unit 3, this is Unit 1. Ramirez, how is that side road panning out?"
"No signs of life back here. We've already turned around."
"Okay, get back on the main road, things have gone from bad to worse. If they're right about his condition, Commander Crane is going to need a Medevac."
"We're making our way there now; Unit 3 out."
"Ten-four," Perkins replied, hanging up the mic as Chip scanned the dark forest looking for any signs of life.
"So how many more side roads before we hit the National Forest?"
"Only a few more," the Sheriff replied, biting his lip in thought. "Roll down your window, Chip."
Chip raised an eyebrow, but obeyed the strange request despite the chill the dark forest produced as they traveled down the dirt road.
"Keep looking for any light shining through the trees, and if we're lucky, maybe we'll smell a fireplace or woodstove in use," Perkins explained.
Chip nodded, more than willing to endure the cold if it brought them closer to finding Lee.
VTTBOTS
For the first time, Lee thought he saw Lauren flinch as she realized that perhaps she wasn't in total control of the situation.
"What do you mean, 'secrets'?"
"Don't you think it's strange that a man with PTSD hasn't freaked out yet at being drugged, assaulted, and deceived into believing his wife has a split personality? Only to find out that the love of his life is a serial killer?" he added, ticking off all the disturbing high-points of the day's revelations.
Lauren's cheek twitched, it was apparent that she'd been so into playing her game that she didn't noticed that he hadn't had a traumatic flashback.
"You're trying to confuse me; it won't work. You practically killed Patterson yourself," she tested, remembering how easy it had been to push him over the edge before. "He was devoured by a shark in front of your eyes while you were too frozen in fear to save him!"
"Patterson is alive and well. We made up the whole thing, Lauren, just to get to you," he revealed harshly, upping the intensity a little and watching her cool resolve of earlier fade as anger and confusion set in.
"We?" she asked in a one-word question.
"Did you really think you could marry and kill three military men without someone taking notice?" he taunted. "ONI was onto you after Rod died."
"ONI?"
"Naval Intelligence," he answered breathily, getting sicker by the moment and needing to play this hand before his body gave out on him.
"What do they have to do with it?" she questioned, trying to act like she wasn't the least bit concerned, even though he could tell she was visibly shaken.
"He didn't tell you, did he?" Lee asked with a small grin of realization.
"Tell me what?" she demanded, standing and stepping away from the bed to pace with the knife still in her hand.
"Tell me," he taunted, "just how was Rod injured when you first met?"
"Training accident aboard a destroyer…"
Lee smiled, the final evidence he needed that Rod hadn't spilt any top secret information, since he hadn't even told her he was an operative.
"Wrong!" he countered loudly, "It looks like Rod had his secrets too. You didn't know that he was an ONI Operative, did you? An agent? An undercover spy in the intelligence community?" he questioned, goading her into what he hoped would be a confrontation to bring her close enough to overpower her while he still had some strength left.
"Rod loved me," she countered angrily, her abilities somewhat shaken by the revelation, in a character reveal of just how vain and over-confident she was.
"Maybe so, but something in him didn't quite trust you."
Lauren lowered her eyes, then raised them again as Lee's words began to sink in.
"And what about you? Are you ONI as well?"
"I was just in the right place at the right time and ONI needed my help to bring in a suspected Black Widow," he answered, careful to protect his identity. "But I had full disclosure of the suspected murders of your three husbands. I only married you to trap a murderer," he stated bluntly, adding insult to injury to her bruised ego.
"Liar! You loved me, I know you did!" she yelled arrogantly.
"I used you!" he yelled, "just like you used Rod and the others!" He knew she was nearing her breaking point, her over-confidence was her weakness; her arrogance the perfect target.
She swallowed hard, turning slightly and taking in the shocking revelation, before seemingly regaining her composure.
"You used me, I see that now; but, something went wrong didn't it, Lee?" she stated, turning slowly and regaining the cold hard eyes of a serial killer. "I mean, where are they?" she chuckled without humor, swaying her hands out in front of her. "You're in here dying in the middle of the forest, and there's no one to help you, is there?"
"It's over, Lauren. Even if I don't pull through, they'll know you did it."
"Then it won't matter if I slice you into a thousand pieces!" she yelled and lunged for him with the large hunting knife, raised high and poised to strike.