Chapter 174- Moment of Truth

Blasted Parks!

Aitchison thought to himself as he climbed the final steps to the rooftop of Drake's warehouse. Why couldn't he have just stayed the sniveling pawn they all thought he would be when they helped release him from jail over a year ago! Served Dylan right that he met his fate tonight too. Grant would have been finished as well if Duncan's Mountie issued pistol hadn't jammed. He opened the cylinder and looked, trying to diagnose the problem. It appeared the round in the first chamber was faulty. Aitchison changed the bullet out for a new one and re-holstered the weapon. Hoping it would be effective now if he needed to use it.

No matter, Aitchison decided. He'd go back and finish off Grant one way or another, but first, he needed to warn the others to leave as soon as possible. The gunshot no doubt alerted anyone else involved in Grant's little plan, and they would be descending on the compound soon.

He walked to the edge of the rooftop and saw Harry Fortin already directing his men to their trucks in order to leave. The man may not look smart, but he had a criminal's mind and that went far in Aitchison's book. There was no need to draw the men's attention to him, so he kept silent and took a moment to formulate his plan.

There were drums filled with oil that lined the floors of the warehouse. If he hurried, Grant may still be unconscious from where he hit his head. Aitchison would tie him up and then set fire to some of the wooden pallets nearby. Giving him just enough time to escape before the fuel inside would catch and cause a massive explosion. The blaze, no doubt, helping to rid him of the evidence he would leave behind in Parks and Grant.

Sure, Eldred Drake would be unhappy about one of his buildings being a casualty of tonight's clean up, but this is what he got for letting his son think with other parts of his body before using his head when it came to Mrs. Grant. Scorched rubble almost always guaranteed no loose ends.

"Hands in the air, Aitchison."

Well, it seemed as though the sergeant didn't stay down as long as he needed to. Aitchison was just going to have to finish this a different way. He raised his hands slowly overhead. "Easy there, Grant. Don't need any trouble."

"We're a little past that, don't you think?"

Aitchison noted the steeliness in Nathan's voice. "I don't know what you think happened. I heard a gunshot and came to investigate. Only to find Parks injured and a man in a cowboy hat running from the scene. I took off after him, and thought he came up here, but he must have gone a different way."

"Stop! Just stop!"

"We have no time for this, Grant." Aitchison still had his back turned to Nathan. The trucks below them sputtered to life and started to drive off. "I'm guessing the man who shot your brother-in-law is with those men down there, and they are getting away. If we hurry…"

"It's no use. I know everything."

"Everything?" Aitchison smirked. In the dust kicked up by the tires of the lorries, he saw a shape coming through the darkness and he quickly formulated a new plan. "You think you know everything?"

"I know enough. And more importantly, I have grounds to arrest you, and the evidence to put you away for good." Nathan hoped he sounded convincing enough. He didn't know if Charlotte was able to secure the last pieces that tied the whole Schneider gang together, but he had faith in her and her abilities. If the list existed, she would find it. He said it time and again, she'd make an excellent Mountie.

"Arrest me?" Aitchison kept his hands raised but twisted his torso to look over his shoulder at Nathan. Noting the gun pointed directly at his back. "Why on earth would you arrest me?"

"You know why." Nathan had no desire to have this conversation. He needed to apprehend Aitchison before the man weaseled himself into the shadows once and for all. He knew the officer was delaying. Calculating. "The only part that is still blurry to me is the why, or maybe more so how. How could you do it? How could you turn your back on everything you swore to uphold as being a Mountie. To faithfully, diligently, and impartially serve and protect the people of this country. You took that power and used it against them in despicable ways."

From the corner of Aitchison's eye, he could see she'd moved closer in her search for her husband. Perfect, he thought. Right where he wanted her. "You got it all figured out, huh? You know then that it was me who released Park's from prison last year. The one who directed him to take his daughter out of your care. The one who, after seeing who made up your strength at the Mountie Ball in Calgary, determined that the only way to remove it was to take it away one piece at a time. Including your precious Mountie friend."

"Warren?" Nathan didn't mean to say his name aloud. He didn't even realize he had, until he caught the evil sneer developing on Aitchison's face.

"An unforeseen casualty, I assure you. But that's what happens when you get in the way of us."

Nathan's mind played a montage of every report and letter he read surrounding Warren's death. As Gabe said when he first found out that Beck was associated with the Schneider gang- they cover their tracks and are notorious for never leaving loose ends. Warren had been a loose end. It all made sense now. "You killed him? You killed Constable Tremblay?"

A sarcastic laugh came from deep within Aitchison's chest. "And to think- the great Sergeant Grant- Order of Merit recipient- didn't figure that one out. Yes. Of course I killed him. There was no telling what Gagnon told him after he was arrested. I took care of them both. Then staged the scene so it looked as though it was a botched escape and that Gagnon and Tremblay had taken care of each other before I even came upon them."

"You…"

Aitchison cut Nathan off from continuing. "The thing is- that's not it. Have you ever wondered how exactly Beck McEntire ended up finding out where his fiancé had run off to?"

Nathan thought back to the day he found out Charlotte was kidnapped by Beck and their discovery of the newspaper clipping he left behind in his room at The Queen of Hearts. "McEntire found an article from the Valley Voice that had Charlotte's name and picture."

"And you never stopped to wonder how a copy of your local newspaper found its way into a small town, that far south, like Potter's Creek?" Aitchison watched the emotions play over Nathan's face. Seeing exactly what he was hoping for, he continued. "That's right, I gave it to him. I knew that's all I would have to do. Provide McEntire the place where she was hiding and he would take care of the rest, for that, I was certain. Beck was always good for taking care of the dirtier details and your wife fits that description."

"My wife is not a dirty detail!" Nathan's anger welled inside him and spilled over. He shook with the intensity of it. For all they planned about tonight, this, these details- they were too much to process all at once.

"No? Are you sure about that?" Aitchison let out a sinister laugh. "Think about it. Would we be on this roof tonight if it wasn't for her? Would your precious Allie have been taken away from you if it wasn't for her? Would you have been shot…" Suddenly, Aitchison drew a pistol from his pocket and pointed it in Nathan's direction. "If it wasn't for her?"

Nathan froze. His own drawn weapon dropped slightly in his stupor. The sight of a loaded gun barrel pointed at him brought him right back to when he faced off with Beck. Memories assaulted him from all sides as he remembered the foggy mountainside two years ago. He saw Charlotte struggle against Beck as he held her against her will. His wife's cries of anguish rang in his ears, the hurt in her face haunted him. The pain that spread through his shoulder and body when Beck's bullet found its mark. The darkness. So much darkness.

He tried to keep the memories at bay, but they battered him until movement out of the corner of his eye roused Nathan's senses. Looking over the edge of the roof, he saw her then. His red beacon of hope.

Charlotte.

Unfortunately, Aitchison too noticed his reaction. "The first time I met you was at the hotel restaurant in Calgary, I knew how to strike back for foiling our plans and killing Beck. It wasn't the uncalculated and zealous pursuit to get back what we lost; it was to remove your strength from within. So, before I kill you…" Aitchison's grip tightened on his gun and he shifted, pointing the weapon down towards Charlotte. "I'm going to kill her."

A scream followed the shot fired into the night, just as Nathan charged the other Mountie, knocking them both to the floor. The impact sent both men's pistols spilling across the rooftop. Aitchison grabbed Nathan's arm to detain him, but Nathan threw a punch with his free hand and connected above Aitchison's left eye. The Assistant Commissioner kicked Nathan's legs out from underneath him, causing Grant to fall back. Aitchison went for Nathan's throat and dug his thumbs into his windpipe. They struggled back and forth. Finally, Nathan was able to use his arms in defense, bringing them around, striking his elbows across his assaulter's arms to free him once more.

Both men sprang to coiled crouches, circling one another. Eyes fastened in a stare of deadly enmity just waiting for someone to make the first move. Aitchison's look darted to one of the revolvers that was a few feet away. Nathan followed his gaze. The Assistant Commissioner leapt from his crouch, like the strike of a rattlesnake. Nathan rose to meet him. The momentum of their collision drove Nathan backwards right over the edge of the building. Aitchison's body followed, tumbling over the top of him. Nathan lurched forward and was able to grab hold of the eaves along the roofline and save himself from following the officer to the ground. He heard Aitchison's blood curdling scream, a bone-crushing thump, and then nothing.

Nathan held tight for what seemed like an eternity. His fingers digging into the edge of the roof as his boots struggled for grip along the brick facade. He was slipping, his grasp wasn't strong enough to hold the weight of his body for so long. He needed a better hold to pull himself back up. In one final attempt, he swung his body searching for a solid hold over the roof's edge but found nothing. The momentum of his action threw him off balance and he began to fall back. At the last possible moment though, his fingers came into contact with skin.

Skin he swore he knew better than his own.

"I gotcha!" Charlotte's body leaned over the side of the building. Her grip dug deep into his arm and held him tight. "I promise I won't let go."

"Charlotte!"

"I'm here." Her own body hung precariously over the edge as she clung desperately to him. She was breathless and wide-eyed, yet Nathan clearly saw the sense of calm conviction that she held. It gave him the assurance he needed, she would do as she promised and never let go. Her unwavering determination ignited a flicker of hope within him.

Charlotte smiled at him, knowing he was reading her so clearly. "What is it you've told me a time or two before, Sarge? Use me as a lifeline. Reach out, take hold, and don't let go."