Chapter 34
Louis Koo – Brad Chung aka LeoDarren looked at them in shock as he began to ball his fists together “You!!” he growled as he took a step towards Reina only to be staring down the barrel of her gun.
“What? Scared finally?” Reina asked with widened eyes “You know what your problem is? You have too much love for that precious darling of yours. You’re so damn blinded by love that you can’t even think straight!” she spat.
She pointed the gun to his forehead and pushed him back. Darren took a few steps back while Chris walked over to Erin “Such a shame…” he sighed.
Darren saw her fingers twitching as he let out a laugh. The two turned to him curiously “What’s so funny?” Reina asked.
“You thought I was stupid enough to bring Erin here and fall into your little trap? Tsk, tsk, tsk…naïve little Reina…” he shook his head while he continued to laugh.
Chris was distracted as Erin snapped her eyes open and kicked him with a circular motion. Her foot came in contact with his face as he fell back. Reina pointed the gun back at Erin, who kicked her wrist upward making the gun jumped out of her hands. Darren took his chance as he pushed Reina away while Erin caught the gun in her hand. She pointed it to Chris’s hand, which was reaching for his own gun “You want to see who’s faster?” Erin dared him.
Reina got up as she walked over next to Chris, who stood motionless. Erin’s lips curled up into a smile as Darren retrieved his place next to her “You scared me there, I thought you weren’t going to wake up in time.” Darren said.
Erin shook her head with her eyes still glaring at the two shocked people “Maybe you used a little too much medicine.” She nodded to Chris “Toss the gun over here.” She ordered.
He had no choice but to do as she said as he rolled the gun over to Darren. He picked it up and looked at it. He turned to Erin “Heroes don’t use guns…only pathetic psychos would depend on weapons.” With that he emptied the bullets and dissembled the gun with one hand.
Erin smiled as she retrieved her gun and did the same “This one’s for Mia.” She and Darren slapped their hands together before attacking Reina and Chris together. Erin concentrated on each punch and kick that Reina was throwing out. Its as if she knew what the next move was each time she dodged it. At one point, she caught a hold of Reina’s hand and twisted her until she was on her knees “Not so cool without your gun huh?” she quipped.
Darren had no patience for Chris as he aimed every punch to take him out. But Chris was also trained as he quickened his pace and punches. Darren received a good punch in the jaw as he twisted in two circles before getting a hold of himself. He straightened his jaw and cleared any cricks he had in his neck. He held up his punching fists “That was good… but not that good!” he attacked Chris with a vengeance as he ignored the punch Chris threw at his stomach. He held in the pain and gave the smaller guy a good spin kick across the face.
Reina spun her legs in a circular motion almost parallel to the floor as Erin jumped over it with ease. She was a feet away from Darren as she nodded to him “Let borrow your hand!” She reached for his hand as they crossed their entwined hands and he pushed her up into the air while she kicked Chris across the jaw and he easily fell painfully.
“Your left.” Darren nodded as Erin kicked her leg back hitting Reina in the stomach. She tumbled back where Chris was. The two were bruised and bleeding. Darren smiled slyly “Looks like we have the last laugh.” He imitated Chris and Reina’s laugh earlier.
But it was Reina who had the last laugh as she shook her head at them “You think you won? Even if you kill us, you’ll never find Mia!! I want you all to feel the pain of losing a love one!! Like how you took my Andrew away from me...” her eyes darkened.
Darren’s lips tightened as he stepped over to her and grabbed her by the arm “Where is she!!! Let her go or I’ll kill you!!!”
It only made her laugh more hysterically “Go ahead…kill me!” her eyes bulged out “You’ll never find her!” she snickered sarcastically “How does it feel Darren? To be useless? To know that your lovely Mia is dying and you have no way of helping her?” her eyes snapped at Erin, who remained calm as she glared at Chris “Jessie died in your place! I wanted to kill you!! Why can’t you just DIE??!!” Reina growled with hatred.
Erin narrowed her eyes “I almost fell for your psychological card, trying to get me to blame myself for everyone’s problems…Jessie, Doug, Darren, Brad, Mia, Michael, Nora and Darwin. They’re all part of your little game of chess to get to me. If it wasn’t for Mia, I think I would have turned myself into you a long time ago.”
Reina’s eyes hardened as Erin slowly picked up her little mind scheme. She was mad that it didn’t work and was even more furious that she was figuring her out “It doesn’t change the fact that Mia will die the most painful death. The difference with you people are...you have fears. I don't. I'm not afraid of death...but as long as I'm still breathing, your lives will never be peaceful.” she vowed.
Darren stumbled back on the floor, a dazed expression taking over quickly “No…no…” he mumbled over and over.
Erin searched her mind as she thought of what Reina would do. She stepped closer to Reina as she read it in her eyes “You’re playing with her fear of heights aren’t you? You want her to die in fear…” Reina dodged her glare and soon Erin knew she had it “You sick bitch!!” Erin reached for her cell phone while Reina and Chris took their chance to escape. She snapped her head up to catch their shadows disappearing into the hallway “Darren!! They’re getting away.” She raced after them and it took a minute for Darren to comprehend.
She chased them down the dark hall until she finally lost them. She turned the corner to one of the rooms but didn’t see anyone. Must be another passage “Did you find them?” Darren asked as he caught up with her.
Erin shook her head “They got away. But we’ll get Ted to call the forces and hunt them down. They can’t get to far.” She rushed back to where they came from “There must be another way out.” But it was useless, they were underground. She called Brad’s phone and he answered after one ring “Brad…Yeah…I’m okay. Calm down.” She coaxed “You have to find Mia. Go to the Two IFC building. Get to the roof top, I am almost positive Mia is there.”
Darren grew more impatient as he began banging on the wall “Get me out!!!! Mia!! I have to save her!!” he cried over and over. He leaned himself against the wall and suddenly, it twisted diagonally inside. He got up as he turned to Erin beaming.
“Come on.” She nodded as they raced through the little exit. It led to the never ending staircase. A tiny wooden door sat above their heads as Darren used his elbow to break it open. They moved out when the door gave way, When they reached the ground, Erin noticed they stood in the middle of the cemetery. She quickly called for Ted “Hey, it’s me. I’m okay. I want you to shut down all exports on the harbor and send the alert out to the airports. They got away.” She said flatly.
**********
Doug and Brad sped through the tiny streets as they finally hit center of downtown. The two looked up at the building, which was so high, the tip was covered in clouds. They left their car on the street and rushed into the building. They were quickly stopped by security “We have to save someone!” Brad cried.
The security guard looked at him with suspicion “Who are you saving?”
“Why the hell would that matter?” Brad argued. But Doug was already on his way to the elevator. He quickly left it open and waved to Brad. He made a sprint to the elevators before the guard could question them further. The door closed in the nick of time. The ride up was endless but they finally reached the very roof top. The thick metal doors opened and they were met with the most intricate design of red laser beams. They crossed each other at three levels.
“Shit! What the hell is this?” Doug shook his head in disbelief.
Brad looked at the designs and at four corners were huge black boxes that aimed to them. Four ropes led over the ledge from the black boxes, it seemed to be holding onto something. He turned to Doug and pointed “See those? I bet you there’s some kind of weapon inside. If we even touch the beams, it will shoot at us.” He pulled off his jacket and tossed it to his left. Instantly, four darts sprung out from the boxes and shot through the jacket.
“Crap!” Doug cursed.
“I think I can make it.” Brad began to analyze the laser “I can do it.”
“It’s too dangerous!” Doug shook his head “Why don’t we just knock the dart box down?” he pulled out a gun and aimed at one of them as he let go of the trigger.
“NO!” Brad cried but it was too late, it fell over the ledge and along with it was one of the ropes. He took a hold of Doug’s gunned hand and pushed it down “Each rope is leading over that ledge, it could be Mia. If we knock them down, she’ll fall.”
Doug nodded as he put the gun away “Be careful.” He warned Brad.
Brad turned to Doug solemnly. “If I get a hold of that rope” he pointed to the one closest to the ledge “shoot down the rest of the boxes.”
“Okay.” Doug nodded while he watched Brad manipulate his body to mold away from each laser. Each one grazed his arm and legs by a hair. He was halfway through when he felt the sweat dripping from his head. Naturally, he raised an arm to wipe it but it was a wrong move when he suddenly realized the darts to his left shot out to his leg “Brad!!”
Brad remained calm as the dart sunk into his skin, but he had to remove it to keep on moving. He curled his arm around and pulled out the dart. His wound was quickly bleeding as he continued on through the lasers. Brad was almost at arms length when he missed a laser beam and accidentally grazed through it. He saw the dart coming towards his face as he dove away towards the rope and quickly reached for it “Now!” he cried to Doug who had his gun ready and shot at the remaining three boxes.
But it wasn’t over yet, Brad’s feet slid against the pavement as he rolled the rope around his arms. His feet pushed against the ledge while Doug raced over to help him with the rope “Why is it so heavy?” he cried.
Brad’s face was red from the pressure against his arm and feet “I don’t know.” He managed to spit out. He turned to Doug who was perspiring fast “On three. One… two… three!” they yanked at the rope but it barely gave way.
Suddenly the elevator doors opened and facing them were a team of security guards with their batons ready to attack Doug and Brad. But the minute they saw, they quickly rushed to their rescue. With the needed help, they were able to pull up the heavy object with ease. Indeed it was Mia, she was unconscious while her hands were red from the ropes. Her feet had a 500 weight tied to it. They quickly untied her as Doug carried her with ease. Brad limped as he joined his teammate to the elevators.
Brad knew Darren would want to hear the good news as he gave him a call during the ride in the ambulance “We got her.” He said the minute Darren picked up.
“Thank God!” Darren sighed as he kneeled down to the grass. He looked over at Erin “They found her!” he cried happily as he jumped up. She was grinning ear to ear when he practically jumped on her with a hug. They laughed together like children.
Erin pulled away as she couldn’t help but beam brightly “Okay, we need to find the others.”
“Erin! Darren!!” the familiar voice of Joe broke into their moment as they turned to greet the head.
“Brad and Doug found Mia!” Erin blurted out.
“I wanted to tell them!” Darren placed his hand on his hips while Erin shrugged apologetically.
“It doesn’t matter who tells whom.” Joe smiled “I’m glad to see you two working together again.” He turned to Eric, Matt and Dennis “Okay team. We have to split up. There are four innocent lives here. They must be here in the mortuary.”
“Yes, sir!” the team split in groups of two. Erin headed for the mortuary with Darren following her heels. Eric and Matt took the east side of the cemetery while Dennis and Joe took the right. They looked for strange signs of burial.
Chapter 35
Louis Koo – Brad Chung aka LeoErin and Darren walked into the mortuary as they took a look around the rooms. Somehow the caretaker had disappeared into thin air, they couldn’t even ask him for help if they wanted to. They traced each room with a coffin inside, hoping to discover some clue. Darren walked around the tiny chapel with a beautiful white marble coffin. He paused at the side when he spotted a red stain on the carpet “Erin, take a look at this.” He called.
She rushed over and bent down on her knees to look at it “Blood?” she glanced up and her eyes met with a bamboo tube sticking out of the side of the coffin “What’s this?” she pointed.
Darren placed a hand over the end of the tube “There’s air!” Erin stood up as the two used their full strength to open the coffin cover. Darren turned to Erin with a victory grin “There’s a prize in every box of cereal.”
Erin smiled “If only Mia could hear you now.” Together they helped Michael out of the coffin. He was weakened with the little air but the tube kept him alive for days. The blood was from his tongue that he bit to spit through the tube in hopes that someone would see. He would be proud to know his faith in the team will never defer.
Outside, the other team members were successful in finding Darwin, who was buried alive again under a maple tree with the same bamboo tube sticking out slightly from the ground. It was Eric and Matt that discovered Nora’s body. It looked like she was buried hastily, a foot was poking out of the tiny mountain of dirt. When they pushed the dirt aside, the smell of rotting human flesh was too much for Eric as he covered his mouth. Matt turned to him with a worried expression “You okay?”
Eric nodded but was holding one hand on the stomach and one hand over his mouth. When he could not take it, he turned and puked onto the ground. Erin and Brad rushed over after they placed Michael down next to Darwin with Dennis and Joe watching them. “Did you find her?” Erin asked.
She glanced at Eric who was looking more pale by the minute, Darren turned to her “It looks like someone just lost their dinner.” But the odor was disgusting as he too had to cover his nose “Damn!”
Matt and Erin flinched but they were able to take the smell “Looks like she’s been dead for days.” Matt pointed to her missing hand “I think we found the little gift they sent you.”
Erin nodded “It’s not Mia’s.” she turned to Darren who looked relieved.
“No one found Julie?” Matt asked, when he remembered the final missing person.
Erin said shortly “We’ll wait for Michael to explain that.”
Darren turned to her with crossed arms “How do you always manage to put the pieces together?”
She laughed, “I read one too many psychology books.” She joked openly. They were just happy to see everything back to normal “Such a shame…Nora.” Her face saddened at the thought of Brad finding out.
Matt turned to her with a nod “I’m sure he’ll understand. How’s Ted doing?”
“I don’t know.” Erin reached for her cell phone as it suddenly rang “Speak of the devil.” She smiled while answering “Ted?”
“Yeah…great news!” He sound excited.
“You got them?” Erin asked.
He laughed “You read my mind. We found them disguised at the airport trying to get a ticket out to Europe.”
Erin smiled as she gave the guys the thumbs up sign “Meet us at Yan Sum Hospital. Bye.” She hung up and together they escorted the two unconscious guys while Nora’s body was covered and taken to the hospital morgue.
They were rushed into the emergency room with Brad and Doug already there waiting. The two quickly got up to meet their team “Did you find everyone?” Brad asked.
The four guys turned to Erin as she turned away “Why do I have to explain?”
Darren tilted his head with a smile “Because Eric will throw up again. And it’s certainly not our place to tell Brad.”
Eric gave Darren an ugly face “Watch it or I’ll puke on you!” he threatened.
Erin couldn’t look at Brad in the eyes “We found Michael and Darwin. But…Nora is… dead.” She said hesitantly. She peeked up at him to see his reaction. Brad looked shock and his brows ruffled “It was her hand that they sent to our apartment.” She explained.
Doug nodded understandingly “No wonder Mia’s hands were still there! I was wondering who’s it was.” Darren shook his head at him and he finally got the point as he looked up at Brad “Sorry, man.”
Erin’s eyes wandered down and she saw his leg was patched up “Brad…are you okay?” she pointed to his leg.
He returned to reality from her concerned voice “I’m okay. Just a dart. Those two really had this planned.” Brad shook his head “Too bad they got away.”
“Not quite.” Ted answered with a broad smile “We caught them at the airport. They’re in custody now. Don’t worry, with the charges we have, they’ll be in jail for life.”
“How’s Mia?” Darren asked suddenly.
Erin grinned “He’s been waiting forever to ask that one.”
The team laughed while Doug and Brad exchanged knowing glances. Brad looked solemn “It’s been over an hour, the doctors are not out yet. At first I wasn’t worried, but it’s taking to long to recover her.”
Darren’s smile slowly faded “You think something’s wrong?”
Doug shook his head “I hope not. I guess we just have to be patient.”
Together they waited patiently at first. A doctor came out and gave them news on Michael and Darwin. They were dehydrated but nothing serious that they could not heal on their own. But after another hour, Mia’s doctor still had not come out yet. Darren grew more nervous as he began to pace the floors in the waiting room. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit it. Joe looked at him sternly “Don’t smoke in the hospital.”
“I’m nervous!” Darren snapped.
Erin turned to Joe with a smile as she got up and shook Darren’s arm “They’re going to kick you out if you don’t put it out. If you have to smoke, I’ll join you outside. Brad will call us once they hear something.”
Darren was listening to the voice of logic as he nodded slowly “Okay.” He walked outside and quickly finished another cigarette. Erin stood by the bench as she watched the patients being rolled in wheel chairs and escorted around the tiny park. Darren was even more restless but he managed to ask her “What are you thinking of?”
She looked back at him with raised brows “Nothing. I’m saying a prayer for Mia.”
It seemed to calm him down as he crush the butt onto the cemented ground. He walked over to where she stood “I’m sorry, Erin.”
“About what?” She asked with a smile.
“About blaming you for Mia’s disappearance. It’s not your fault, they’ve been planning this for ages. I was a little harsh on you. I should have trusted your loyalty with Mia. You would never do anything to deliberately hurt us.” He was apologetic.
Erin smiled “To be honest, it did hurt. And I did blame myself a lot.” She let out a sigh as she turned her head to the sky “I just wished you would have warned me before knocking me out unconscious.”
Darren laughed “Sorry about that. I was just so excited about my plan…”
“It’s understandable.” She said quickly. Suddenly her eyes moved behind his shoulder when she noticed Brad coming “Good news?”
Brad shrugged “I don’t know yet. Joe told the doctor to wait until you both come back.” Before he even finished, Darren was rushing back into the hospital. Erin and Brad were quick to follow.
Joe nodded at the three when they rushed back, he pointed to a distinguished man to the left “This is Dr. Cheung, the hospital’s neurosurgeon.”
The elder man with the gray/white hair nodded to the group “Nice to meet all of you. The reason why this evaluation on Miss Lam is taking so long is because we found a substance, which was injected into her brain. At this point, we do not know what it is, but it is sitting right above her right cerebrum.” The man patted on his own head exactly where he was talking about “I have never seen a case like this before in my entire 30 years of practice. I do not want to make hasty judgments yet, but I want you all to be prepared.” He looked at them solemnly “She is currently in a coma.” After he said this, Erin lips began to quiver while Brad placed his hand gently over her shoulder. Darren was in total shock “There is a 20% possibility that she will wake up.”
Doug was on his feet as he looked at the doctor earnestly “Are you sure?”
The man shook his head “It is my opinion from the past experiences on comas. There have been very few that have awakened. Even when they wake up, there is a chance they are immobilized.”
Darren backed up against a chair as he sat down with a thump “20%…” he muttered to himself. It was bad enough he lost her once, now he may lose her forever? What was he going to do? Nothing was more real than that very moment.
“Can we see her?” Matt asked the question everyone wanted to but forgot.
The doctor smiled “The more the better. She will need her loved ones support. Maybe a miracle will happen. My last advice to all of you is to not give up. If you want her to live past this, never give up.”
Joe got up to shake the man’s hand “Thank you. We won’t give up.” After the surgeon left, he turned to Darren “Why don’t you take a moment with Mia?”
Darren looked up blankly as he nodded and began walking to the exit like a zombie. He asked the nurse who took him to Mia’s room. She was in a little glass box like room, he had to put on a gurney just to stand outside the window of her room. They didn’t want any contamination to the patients. He touched the window separating him from being in the same room with her. His eyes grazed around her face, its been etched into his soul since the day he met her.
Suddenly, his brows furrowed angrily “Why?” he asked calmly, his eyes welled up with tears “WHY??!!” he cried as he banged his fist against the glass while sobbing her name “MIA!!…Mia…” Darren’s head leaned onto the glass as it streaked with his face oil. Slowly, his body began to slip to the ground and he fell to his knees.
Erin and Brad witnessed the whole scene as they watched him slowly giving up. Erin took a step towards the door while Brad pulled her back “Give him some time alone.”
She wiped the tear that escaped her eyes and nodded. Instead the two headed off to Michael’s room. They opened the door and unexpectedly found Julie sitting beside Michael. Their fingers entwined but the minute she saw Brad and Erin, she quickly let go of Michael’s hand “How did you get out?” Brad asked.
Julie got up as she looked away and raced for the door. Erin blocked her as she pushed the girl back “You’re not going anywhere until you explain everything!!” she cried angrily. Her face red from crying.
Brad turned to Erin “What’s wrong?” he asked.
Erin pointed at Julie with much hatred “Ask her. She’s the third kidnapper.”
Chapter 36
Louis Koo – Brad Chung aka LeoJoe and the rest were walking down the hall towards Michael’s room when they heard voices yelling. They quickly rushed inside and found Erin pointing to Julie “What’s going on?” Joe asked. He turned to Julie “How did you escape?”
“She didn’t have to, she’s one of them!” Erin spat angrily.
“Michael’s waking.” Doug pointed it out.
Erin spun around at Michael, whose eyes fluttered open “Erin…” he muttered. Then his eyes moved behind her to the shameful girl being cornered by the agents. He reached a weak hand up “Julie…” he whispered hoarsely.
Her eyes saddened as she slowly walked over to him. She took a hold of his hand while Erin stared at them in shock “You knew all this time?” she asked Michael.
Julie began shaking her head vehemently “No…he didn’t! He just recently found out.”
The others looked at the three of them strangely “I think there is something that needs to be explained.” Eric pointed it out.
Erin wiped her face angrily as she turned to Eric “If it wasn’t for the necklace you gave Mia that night, I would have never guessed the unexpected.” She snapped her head to Julie “And I wouldn’t have caught you in a lie. She said the necklace was from California when Eric said it can only be found in Egypt.” She turned to the team “She is the real Julie Lee, Michael’s fiancé who supposedly died four years ago. The same sister to Dave, Naja and Reina. Am I right?” she asked Julie.
The girl slowly nodded “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to hurt anyone.” She said genuinely.
“It’s a little late for that.” Brad snapped after hearing the truth “You knew all this time and you set each of them up. You’re as cold hearted as Reina and Chris.”
Michael shook his head as he sat up with the help of Julie’s hands “Don’t…don’t yell at her. She’s not to be blamed.” He came to her defense “She didn’t kill anyone.” He turned to Julie “Tell them…please.”
Julie face was stained with tears as she nodded, his hand squeezed hers for support “Yes, I am the Julie Lee. After the accident, I was taken to a hospital where I slowly recovered. Chris even paid for my plastic surgery so no one would recognize me, especially Michael. My parents found out it was the Wu’s that planned the supposed accident. They kept me far from Michael, but by the 10th time he tried to come by and ask for my burial ground. They knew it was time for me to leave. Chris is Andrew’s brother, who traced down Reina for me and we were united. Chris has been in love with me since I could last remember, he took me to Egypt. It was a country he was very familiar with, but soon I grew bored and restless. I wanted to return home. When I came back, I heard of Andrew’s death and Ga Jei was taken to an insane asylum. I was shocked, how could two normally good people have such sad conclusions?”
“Good?” Doug shook his head “Have you seen what they did to Mia? How about Nora?? She can’t even die in one piece. And Jessie, she killed her without any remorse.” his eyes reddened when reminded of his sad story.
Dennis shook his head “We all fell for her innocent act. Remember?” he reminded his team.
“She can be quite convincing when she wants to be.” Julie said sadly “She and Chris convinced me to revenge against the P.R.A. and Michael. I was upset at the moment, but I swear I didn’t kill anyone!” she said honestly.
Eric was curious “It’s obvious why you guys would go after Michael and Mia…but why Nora?”
Julie looked at Michael sadly “Her father was the one hired to run me over with the car.” They were shocked by the news “I know it wasn’t her that tried to kill me, but Chris said she should pay for what her father did to me. I tried to warn her…I really did. I told her not to come to the meeting…but there was no meeting. Ga Jei was waiting in the limo for us. Nora insisted on coming and so she became a part of the plan.”
“And you witnessed the brutal killing and never spoke up?” Brad asked in horror “Explain why you are on the good team again?”
Michael understood why everyone was mad but he understood Julie more than anyone in the room “She didn’t know they were going to kill Nora.”
Julie sighed “I didn’t know but I heard it. If she didn’t try to escape, Chris wouldn’t have gotten upset and accidentally killed her. I saw it and panicked. But he assured me it was an accident and no one would find out. I didn’t know that they had cut her hand off and sent it to the agents until I overheard Ga Jei and Chris laughing about it. After that, I knew I had to get out and warn someone.”
“She called me.” Matt spoke up for the first time they entered the room.
“She did?” Brad asked with surprise “You didn’t tell us.”
“I know.” He nodded “The more people that know, the more Julie would be in danger. Yesterday, I helped her escape without Chris or Reina’s consent.”
“You did good.” Joe looked please “It’s better to save an innocent life then to lose it.” He turned to Michael “Why don’t you rest. I will speak to the head of the police department to clear her files. If we do discover that you are guilty of any murders, I will escort you personally to the police.” Joe warned.
Julie looked surprised but she was smiling happily “I promise you, I will not go anywhere until this case is closed.” She turned to Michael as the two hugged.
Erin turned away as she walked out of the room unexpectedly. Brad excused himself as he chased after her “Erin!” he called after her.
She turned to him while pointed to Michael’s room “Mia’s in there fighting for her life while she gets off free! Yes, she may be innocent, but she knew about this whole plan! How could she not be punished??”
Brad understood her being upset “It’s too late…things have happened. The only way to deal with it is facing reality. What is the most important thing right now? Mia.” He said flatly “She would be disappointed to hear you right now.”
“I can’t…I cannot stop being angry about this! Even until today…I think if I was not distracted, Mia would not be easily kidnapped. She would be living happy with Darren right now.” Erin shook her head sadly “Every time I look at him…it reminds me. I will constantly be reminded that I was the one that was not doing my job! And now I will be paying for it for the rest of my life…because my friend is in that room tied up in 100 different tubes just to keep her alive!! Disappointed is an understatement!” her tears were streaming from her face by now as she turned and ran down the hall and out of the hospital.
Brad stood still as her words slowly sunk in. Ted had heard the whole thing as he walked up behind Brad and placed a hand on his shoulder “Just give her some space. She’s not going to listen to anyone.”
Brad lowered his head “Sometimes I think you know her better than me.”
Ted shook his head “But she chose to be with you.” He gave his watch a glance “Joe said for us to go back and get some information out of Chris and Reina.”
He finally turned to face Ted “Can I beat him up?”
“Sure, I’ll hold the phone book.” Ted chuckled along with Brad as they walked to the exit. When they got to the police department, Ted and Brad were taken to a white room with only one bulb of light hovering over a table.
Chris was handcuffed and his chin was leaning on the table, he looked bored. Reina sat quietly next to him. The minute Brad and Ted walked into the room, Chris looked up with a smirk on his face “How’s Mia?”
The question made Brad boil inside as he suddenly reached out and grabbed onto Chris’s jail uniform shirt “You fucker!! What did you do to her?!!!” it only made Chris’s laugh grow louder and Brad eventually pushed him back into the seat.
Ted sat down silently as he stared at Reina, who did not meet eyes with him “You think by staying quiet will help you? I can tell you both that your sentence will be for life.”
Reina moved her eyes up, her brows arched “Oh?” she asked calmly “I’m not telling you anything.” She moved up further to Brad “Why don’t you ask your little girlfriend? She’s so smart…I’m sure she’s figured it all out by now.”
Brad snickered “Julie told us everything.”
Reina and Chris exchanged glances “How?” Chris asked with concern “She didn’t do anything!! Don’t hurt her!!”
Ted rolled his eyes “Take a reality pill, man. She doesn’t love you…it’s always been Michael. If you were smart, you would have killed Michael first. Julie would die to save him.”
“NO!!” Chris cried while he stood up “NO!! She loves me!! Not that jerk!! He was in on her murder!! It was all his plan!!” he was out of control.
Brad watched as Chris began banging his head against the table “Pathetic!” he snorted. He turned to Reina “Why did you have to do all this? If it’s because of Andrew, you should be after me. I was the one that shot that fire which killed him.”
Reina’s eyes were cold as ice “I know.” She gritted her teeth “I want nothing more than to see you suffer. Originally, I wanted to kidnap Erin…cut her in pieces and deliver her body parts to you each day until I run out. But Mia…tsk, tsk, tsk…she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“But you didn’t intend to kill her…or Michael and how about Darwin?” Ted observed carefully.
Her lips slowly curled up into a sly grin “No…but I wanted them tortured until they died.” Her smile faded “But you guys still manage to find them!! Damn you!!” she yelled at Brad, the veins in her neck popping out.
“What is it that you injected in her brain?!” Brad demanded.
Reina tilted her head back while she laughed amusingly and Chris soon joined in too. When she calmed herself, she turned to them “A little potion that I made up. Rat poison, window cleaners…and ink from a pen. Who knew mixing all that would cause a stroke.” She laughed and looked at them with wide eyes “If you ever want to make some fall over and faint, use that potion!” she laughed humorously.
Chris laughed while he imitated Mia “It was so fast…it was like-” he made a plopping sound when his head hit the table in a second.
“You two are sick.” Ted narrowed his eyes.
“We know!!” Reina blurted out as they began laughing uncontrollably.
Brad could not take it as he got up and walked out of the room leaving the laughing hyenas with Ted. He pounded his fist against the wall angrily. He knew they would not be hurting as much as Darren or Erin. The team would have a great loss to another agent because of their psychotic ideas. He wanted nothing more than to hold Erin and tell her it was going to be alright. But he knew he couldn’t, that was what frustrated him.
Ted walked out while he nodded to the guards in uniforms “You can take them back now.” He noticed Brad looked flustered “No one wanted it to happen. I think Erin needs you more now than ever.”
“I don’t know where she is.” Brad shook his head sadly “Sometimes she disappears and I have no way of contacting her because she wants to be alone.”
Ted smiled warmly “Let me give you a little hint…”
**********
Erin breathed in the fresh air, yet it’s magical wonders wasn’t doing anything for her. She was flustered and angry at herself. She curled her legs into a ball as she hugged her knees together “I had no idea you liked the beach?” Brad spoke up when he found her after searching three beaches.
She didn’t look up as she asked “Ted told you?”
Brad seated himself next to her with a smile “It is relaxing.”
“Not today.” she said sadly. He sighed as he reached his arm around her and hugged her tightly “You need to stop blaming yourself. Even Darren is no longer mad. You two did great teamwork.” He reminded her.
“But it doesn’t make the situation any better.” Erin pointed out. Her eyes glued to the setting sun “What if she never wakes up?” she whispered the unthinkable.
“She will.” Brad replied firmly “Mia is a strong soul, she can survive anything.” He leaned down and kissed her on the top of her head “We can’t lose faith.” He heard her sniffing the tears back while her head bobbed up and down. She trembled from the sobs and the cold night air.
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