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ART OF THE DARK

BY SHADY & CABBIE ESQ.

CHAPTER

13
PART TWO





Dean comes back inside, after smoking another cigarette. He shakes off the cold, as he tosses his coat on the couch; and he glances over at the bedroom door. Still closed...still quiet. Tea hadn't made a sound for hours, and neither had the babies. Dean chews on his lip, wanting to check on them...but is still afraid to. So he shuffles over to the window, peeking out at another chilly, gray day. He checks his watch...and sighs, realizing that he's going to have to leave soon, for today's 'dress rehearsal' and last-minute strategy meeting.

Then he starts replaying the kiss in his mind, for the millionth time that morning. He still can't quite believe it happened...that his deepest desire had somehow gotten past his reason and self-control, and had forced itself out into the open. He shakes his head at that, half-regretting it again. Not the kiss itself, which had been...wonderful...but the fact that their...relationship...had now become a hundred times more complicated.

Complicated...messy... he thinks, wondering again...why the hell he couldn't control himself better. Tea made it perfectly clear that she still loved her husband...she'd only said it about ten times. She really should've stopped there...but NO... She just had to keep going, she just HAD to say that she cared about him...the same way he cared about her. He sighs again, harshly, as he walks back over to the couch and sits down.

What if she just wants to go home...what if all she REALLY wants is to go back to him? What're you gonna do then? Let her go? Or go twenty paces with the guy?

Dean slaps his hands over his face at that thought, and falls back hard against the cushion. "I am such...a fucking...IDIOT!!" he yells at himself, his hands muffling the frustrated growling noises coming out of him.

After a moment, he hears a soft voice, coming from the bedroom. He looks over, listening...recognizing the twins' fussing noises. He sighs, and turns his gaze back to the fireplace, watching the smoke from the burnt-out fire, curling up into the chimney. He braces for Tea's emergence with the boys, and for the undoubtedly cold shoulder he's going to get.

But minutes pass, and the babies keep fussing. He turns and looks at the door again, wondering why; and after another minute or so, he gets up and walks over, putting an ear to the door. The boys are crying louder...but he doesn't hear Tea at all. He furrows his brow, concerned...then knocks on the door, softly.

"Tea? You okay in there?" he asks, but she doesn't answer. Dean's brow knits tighter...then he starts to panic. Oh, shit... he thinks, as he grabs the knob and turns, throwing the door open. He looks at the bed...empty...then he looks toward the crib. He sees the twins...and Tea, lying on the floor next to them.

He runs over, and lifts her head up. "Tea? Tea, can you hear me??" he says, panicking, horrible thoughts rushing through his head...god, she took something...pills or something...oh, fuck, why didn't I see this coming...??

"Don't die...please don't die..." he mutters, shaking her a little, as he tries to find a pulse in her neck. "Oh, come on, Tea, don't you fuckin' do this to me now...goddammit---"

Tea suddenly interrupts his ranting with a groan. She instinctively swats his hand away; and Dean sighs hard, with a head rush of relief.

"Jesus...are you alright?" he asks...but she doesn't respond. She merely sniffs and tries to curl up in a ball. Dean stares at her for a moment, slowly realizing that she's just...sound asleep. So tired that she can't even hear her own kids crying right next to her. He wags his eyebrows at that...then he looks over at the boys, getting unhappier by the second. He looks between them and Tea, wondering what to do. Then he takes one of Tea's arms and wraps it around his neck. She stirs a little as he scoops her up, and carries her over to the bed.

"Save...me..." she mumbles to herself, still asleep.

Dean looks down at her at that. "What?" he whispers, as she unconsciously rests her head on his shoulder.

"They tried to rape me...but he...he scared them...he saved me...carried me away..."

His eyes widen, as he realizes she's talking about him... about that awful night, in that awful place. He tries to set her down, but she won't let go of him; and he finds it hard to breathe all of a sudden, with her face touching his.

"Tea...go back to sleep, okay?"

She makes a face in her sleep, reacting to the boys' crying. "My babies...I...gotta protect them..."

"They're fine...don't worry, I got 'em, it's okay. Go back to sleep," he replies, as he starts to peel her arm off of his neck.

"Mmm..." she murmurs, getting more distressed. "...no, but...Todd he's...he's so angry...he'll find us...he'll hurt them...like he hurt...Starr..."

The words catch his attention. Like he hurt Starr...oh, christ...that's it. Todd had done something to the little girl, something that scared the shit out of Tea...and THAT'S why she was so desperate to leave. He shakes his head at that, then whispers to Tea:

"Hey...listen to me...everything's fine, okay? Nobody's gonna hurt you guys here," and it seems to calm her. Tea breathes deeply, allowing him to put her down on the bed. When she feels the soft bedding, she grabs for a pillow and hugs it, settling in. Dean pulls a blanket up over her and sits down on the edge...watching her for a moment, to make sure she goes back to sleep.

Then, without even thinking about it, he leans down and kisses her on top of her head, affectionately smoothing her hair, before he stands up. He lingers on her for another moment, sleeping sound and peaceful...then he turns his attention to the crying kids. He shushes them as he leans down and picks up one, then the other, with some difficulty...balancing a baby on each shoulder, making a face at the stereo crying in his ears as he walks out with them.

***

Tea opens her eyes some time later...and she makes a face at the silence. She picks her head up, listening; but everything is still. She sits up, yawning, immediately looking at the crib...worrying as she throws the covers off and walks over, knowing it's been hours and hours since she fed them last.

But the kids are fine. She hears them breathing, sees their chests working away, their eyes and fingers twitching occasionally. She reaches in and touches them both, checking for...well, just checking. Nice and warm...not too warm...just...fine. She makes another face, wondering how they've managed to sleep all this time without a bottle or a change.

She rubs the back of her knotted neck, as she walks out into the living room. Dean's gone...his coat and bag missing from the chair. She shuffles over to the door and opens it, getting a blast of cold air in the face as she looks around. She closes the door and turns to see the twins' seats on the couch. She does a take at that, slowly realizing that Dean had had the boys out here with him at some point. Then she looks over toward the kitchen, and sees two bottles on the counter, half-full...and a piece of paper, folded and standing up on its edges.

Tea walks over to it, biting her lip as she looks at the bottles...chastising herself for having the gall to sleep. Then she sighs, picking up the paper which has 'Tea' written on it. She unfolds it, and reads to herself:

Tea---

I fed the kids---tried my best to change them, but I don't think I've ever changed a diaper in my life. Sorry if I did it wrong.

And I'm sorry about last night---but we really need to talk when I get back.

D


Last night... she thinks, remembering everything all of a sudden...everything she said, everything he said. She touches her lips, remembering the feel of his there...how good it felt...

...and how terrible she felt afterwards. She'd gone into the bedroom and sat with the boys, crying until she passed out, apparently. Guilt rushes through her, and she crushes the paper in her hand, ashamed of herself all over again.

She walks back into the bedroom and falls on the mattress, eyes locked to the ceiling.

"...day after tomorrow, I'm gonna be providing cover and security for a crew pulling the biggest bank job London's seen in years..."

Tea shuts her eyes at that memory, and at realizing that her time has run out. She'd used it all up...the time, the space she thought she so desperately needed. After tomorrow, she wouldn't be able to hide here anymore. She and the boys would have to leave...with nothing accomplished, no conclusions reached, no decisions made. She chastises herself again, for her laziness...her indecisiveness. For being a bad mother, a lousy wife...and for letting things go this far.

She rolls onto her side, facing the crib...staring through the netting at the boys. The desire to go home consumes her all of a sudden, the desire to see Todd again, to be with him...to repair the damage. She closes her eyes for a moment, letting a few tears leak out as she remembers that morning, when they all sat on the floor of the penthouse and were just...

...happy. Seems so long ago... she thinks, as she opens her eyes again. She thinks of Starr...wonders if she's all right. If Todd has tried to talk things over with her, explain to her...apologize. Tea sniffs as she sits up, wiping her face...her last words to him running through her head as she gets up.

"Get outta here, Todd. Just go ... let her calm down and...and then we'll deal with it."

But they didn't deal with it. Instead, they both fell back into the old pattern of retreat-and-avoid. She looks down at her sleeping boys...so trusting...trusting her to take care of them. Trusting Todd, too...trusting them both to get their shit together and be the good parents they promised they would be. But try as they might, they just couldn't seem to hold it together. Something always wormed its way in, pushing and pushing until they broke apart. The same old something...

...fear. Her fears had manifested themselves as the demon...the black-coated monster haunting her dreams, driving her to kidnap her own kids. She sort-of laughs to herself at that, realizing now, and only now, what Todd must've been feeling when he ran with Starr all those times. Fear controlled his actions then, just like it was controlling hers now. Splinters of memory and dreams flood her mind, all at once, in a painful rush...

"...here I am, my babies. Here I am. Papa loves you ... don't be afraid, don't be afraid to sleep..."

"...get outta here, Todd..."

"...she got into my things...MY THINGS...they're mine!! I OWN THEM!!! THEY ... ARE ... MINE!!!"

"...NO!! Leave us ALONE!!!"

"...don't bother calling for her...she can't stop me. Now open this door!!!"

"...MOM!!!! MOMMY!!!! HELP US!!!"

"...THEY...ARE...MINE!!!!"


Tea sees bloodstains on trees, the broken bodies of her sons...Todd leaving them behind, blood dripping from his hands...and herself, trapped, screaming...helpless to stop it from happening. She lets out a hard breath, covering her eyes...knowing that these images, these fears, would never leave her. The demon would be present throughout their lives, lurking under the surface, just waiting for Todd to fall asleep on the watch. It is the constant, the cost of loving him...so the only question is...what will she do?

Do ...
she thinks...the word that implies action. Just repeating the word in her mind, seems to alleviate that awful sense of hopelessness...powerlessness. What will I do...DO something...yes...I CAN do something. She starts pacing around, suddenly restless with new energy. Would she allow fear to dictate her actions for the rest of her life...and her childrens' lives? Would she rather live without Todd? Would that really be protecting them? Would that really be the best thing for all of them?

"No..." she whispers, to herself, realizing the futility of running, hiding. All those times she tried to stop Todd from doing the same thing, she never really understood what it was he was going through. Now, though...now she knows...and it awakens her motivation. Her life, their lives, had been like a runaway carriage barreling right for a cliff. Neither of them had been brave enough to do what needed to be done; and though it might very well be too late now, Tea suddenly feels as if she's finally gotten the courage to reach out and grab the reins.

She stops at the crib again, looking in on her baby boys...and she smiles, knowing what she has to...needs to do.

*******************

RJ speeds along in Todd's car, hauling ass back the way he came, swearing at the top of his lungs.

"GOD...DAMMIT!!! STUPID-ASS...LYING SONOFABITCH!!!"

He goes on like this for some time, then resorts to just plain growling, as he tires. He catches a glimpse of the speedometer, reading eighty-five...and finally eases up on the gas a little. His breathing slows along with the car; and after a few moments, he feels his cheeks and his blood cooling a bit...but not much.

He'd come that close...thatclose...to pulling the trigger and blowing Todd right out of the universe. And it surprises him a little, knowing that he wouldn't have felt that badly about doing it. In fact, as he continues to drive along, he wishes he'd at least beaten up on him some more. In RJ's mind, Todd deserved it just for having the gall to lie about Roseanne...not to mention what he deserved for actually sleeping with the skanky little witch. He shakes his head, still mind-boggled by THAT...how could he even THINK about doing that? Especially with HER!! And then to just EXPECT me to go along with busting her out, without even mentioning it...ohhhh...MAN......the new string of thoughts starts RJ's blood boiling all over again, bringing a nasty headache along with it.

A gas station appears as he comes over a rise in the road...and he pulls in, shutting the car off abruptly, hitting the back of the seat as it lurches. He rubs the knotted muscles between his eyes, and suddenly worries for Tea and her kids, more than ever now. And he shakes his head again, with a whole new understanding of her logic...that may not be so skewed after all. His cell phone starts ringing then, making him jump a bit. Then he sighs, reluctantly answering.

"What?" he says, quietly...but still clearly annoyed.

"Gannon? That you, mate?"

RJ sits up straight, recognizing the accented voice. "Oh, shit...hey, man...sorry."

The man on the other end laughs a little. "Havin' a bad day, are ya?"

"Yeah...you could say that."

A pause, then a sigh on the other end. "Well, I hate to do this to ya...but it's gonna get worse."

RJ rolls his eyes. "Why...what'd you find out?"

"Well...nothin'. That's the problem. I HAD a good line on a few blokes who were supposed to be workin' that job...I was about to go find them, see if they knew where your man was. But just today, poof...bastards've up and vanished on me."

RJ lets out a hard sigh at that. "So what do you think that means?"

"Probably what YOU think it means."

"Job's about to go."

"That would be my guess, yeah."

"Shhhhit..." RJ hisses, dropping the phone for a second, thinking...then he picks it back up.

"So you have NO idea where Shelton could be hiding?"

"Nah, sorry, mate, I checked...he's not in any of the places *I* know of. And if he's out in the country, there's no way I'd find him in time."

A long silence passes...then the man speaks again. "Sorry, Gannon...I don't think there's anything else I can do for ya on that one."

RJ sighs again. "That's alright. Thanks, man...thanks for letting me know."

"Still comin' across?"

"OH, yeah...yeah, I'm DEFINITELY still coming, so y'know...you're not off the hook yet."

The man laughs. "Well, ring me when you know what's what, yeah?"

"Yeah, alright," RJ replies, about to hang up...then he thinks of something. "Hey, wait..."

"Yeah?"

"How long before the job goes, you think?" he asks, listening to the man's sighing as he thinks.

"Not long...less than a day, I'm sure."

RJ shuts his eyes at that, nodding. "Yeah...that's what I thought. Alright...later, man."

"Ta," the man replies, then hangs up...leaving RJ sitting in the car, tapping the phone on the steering wheel...thinking at a furious pace. If the bank job was only hours away, finding Shelton---and finding out where he'd stashed Tea---was going to be nearly impossible. And on top of that, Shelton would probably be leaving the country by tomorrow...and Tea would probably leave with him. The thought brings up another surge of frustration; and RJ gets out of the car, slamming the door...storming away, cursing again. His only options become very clear in his mind as he walks: either get on a plane and try to find them alone, with no idea where to look...or...

He stops, dropping his head back. Please, god, no...don't make me do it... he prays, but has the sinking feeling that the other option...is the ONLY option. Roseanne SAID she had the location, and even though RJ doesn't trust her---he knows he can't take the chance that she's actually telling the truth. God...DAMMIT...motherFUCK... he curses to himself, as he lets out one long, loud growl of frustration. Then he takes the phone out of his pocket, and dials.

Todd's timeless appearance as the dark, shadowy creature walking along a deserted road at night is suddenly dated by the modern sound of a cell phone's computerized, tinny ringing. Suddenly, he's a guy whose car got stolen...instead of a ghost haunting the open fields. He stops walking, digging in the coat pocket with one hand, and rubbing his sore jaw with the other.

"You better be on your way back here," he says immediately, knowing who it is.

"Oh, man, fuck you...just FUCK...YOU. You're lucky I didn't cap your stupid ass," RJ fires back.

Todd laughs a little, more out of uncertainty than anything else. "You're NOT leaving me here," he says, but it's actually a question...and he makes a worried face at the long pause.

"RJ...answer me, goddammit! GET BACK HERE!!! You can't just take off in MY fucking car and LEAVE ME HERE!!!"

"Keep runnin' your mouth, man...and that's EXACTLY what I'll do."

Todd's shoulders sink at that...knowing he's stuck. VERY stuck. So he bites his lip, waiting, hearing RJ sigh on the other end.

"Look, just tell me...do you think she REALLY knows where Tea is?"

"Yes...I do."

RJ wags his eyebrows at that, leaning up against the car. "Well, tell me THIS...do you even have the VAGUEST idea HOW you're gonna get her outta there?"

Todd sighs at that. "Yeah...check the back."

RJ makes a face, turning his head toward the back of the car. "Hold on," he says, checking the backseat...nothing. Then he reaches under the steering wheel, pops the rear door, and walks around. Todd shifts around as he waits, listening to rustling noises on the other end.

RJ makes a more concerned face when he notices the floor of the SUV, covered with a dark, army-style blanket. He swallows hard before lifting it up...then his eyes nearly pop out of his head when he does.

"Fuuuuuck..." he whispers.

"Think that's enough?" Todd replies, flexing his sore jaw.

"Jesus...where'd you GET this shit? Wait, nevermind...I don't wanna know," RJ says, touching the dark steel of one of the guns lying there under the blanket. He sees another small case, and opens it up to find a slew of darts, neatly arranged inside.

"Hold on...darts?" he asks, quickly putting the case away and throwing the blanket back over the floor.

"Well, yeah...they're loaded with Ketamine or one of those other drugs vets use. SHOULD be, anyway."

RJ closes the trunk door and leans back, rubbing his face roughly. A long silence passes between them, before Todd asks quietly:

"So...you gonna help me with this, or what?"

RJ sighs, shaking his head. "I know what I SHOULD do. I should hang up this phone, drive my ass to the airport and get on the first plane...go look for 'em myself...and leave your stupid, crazy ass behind."

Todd shuts his eyes at that. "RJ, please...I love Tea. You have to believe that...and I love my kids. Roseanne's a troll who deserves to die, absolutely. But she KNOWS where they are, I know she does. She's our ONLY chance of finding them...I'm TELLING YOU," he replies, calmly...then holds his breath over the long pause.

RJ sighs again, finally. "Well, I still don't believe it...but my source in London's hit a wall, so...it looks like Rosie IS the only option we have now."

Todd shuts his eyes again, this time out of relief. "So you're coming back, then?"

"Looks that way...but let's get one thing straight right now. I'm doing this...for TEA. NOT FOR YOU...and I really don't care WHAT you think of that...or me. WE...are NOT FRIENDS...not anymore. You fucked that up royally, so don't even THINK of giving me shit. I will put the hurt on you so bad you'll WISH I'd killed you."

With that, RJ hangs up, not even giving Todd the chance to say anything. Then he gets in the truck and pulls out, turning around and going back...hoping to god the whole way, that he's not making the biggest mistake of his life.

***********

2002 Copyright by Shady & Cabbie Esq.




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