Sweet Revenge
by Allyson
Book 1, chapter 21 - 30
Chapter 21
“What the heck was that?” Spence says as he hears a loud thud in the storage room.
He gets to the door of the storage room and opens it. He finds an entire box of wires all over the floor and Gabi was laying in the middle of it all.
“Gabi, are you okay?” he says as he runs over.
“I…I think so,” she says as she struggles to sit up. Intense pain shoots through her right shoulder.
“My shoulder…I think I broke it,” she says with tears in her eyes.
“Gabi, you stay right here. I will go get some help,” Spence says.
“No…wait. I…I got these wires down for a reason,” Gabi says through her tears.
“I know Gabi,” Spence says. Gabi looks up at him with fear in her eyes. “I picked up the phone to answer it when you did and I heard the conversation,” he says.
“Please don’t tell Ricardo,” Gabi begs as she bursts into tears again.
“I won’t tell him Gabi. I will help you,” Spence says. “I haven’t told anyone this, but I have been suspicious of Maria since she came back. Something is not right,” he confides.
“Thank you so much. I will call Meg later and let her know what is going on. I was going to get her to meet me at the back door around 10:30 tomorrow morning so I could give her the wire.” she says.
“That’s fine. I will do it,” he reassures her. “Now, I better get you some help.”
“Okay, don’t be gone long,” Gabi says as she wipes tears off her face.
Spence leaves the room and Gabi tries to figure out how she can explain to Ricardo why she was in the room. Then, she spots the box of files on the top shelf that she was supposed to take down a few days ago, but she never got to them.
“That’s it!” she says to herself.
“Gabi, are you okay?” Ricardo says as he bursts into the room with Spence and a paramedic behind him.
“I don’t know. My shoulder hurts a lot,” she wails.
“Let me take a look at that Miss,” says the paramedic.
“What were you trying to do?” Ricardo asks.
“I was trying to get those files down,” she says looking up. “I was trying to get to them, but the stool went out on me and I grabbed for the wires and I fell to the floor. Ouch!” she yells as the paramedic touches her shoulder.
“Well, I’d say you broke it. We need to take you to the hospital to get x-rays to see how bad it’s broken,” the paramedic says.
A second paramedic enters and they gently put Gabi on a backboard and prepare her for transport to the ambulance.
“I will come with you, okay honey?” Ricardo says as he pushes a strand of her hair back from her forehead.
“Okay,” she says softly as she breathes a sigh of relief.
Chapter 22
In the Shockwave parking lot
“Did you see where he went?” Sara asks.
“I think I saw him go towards the beach. Are you up for a walk?” she asks.
“Sure,” Sara says.
They head towards the beach and sure enough Tim is a ways up the beach ahead of them. All of the sudden he turns around. Meg and Sara have nowhere to go. They were caught.
“Meg, Sara, is that yall?” he yells out.
“Crap, he caught us!” Sara whispers.
“Yeah, its us,” Meg says as she walks towards Tim.
“You following me or something?” he asks.
“I wanted to ask you the same thing and the answer is…yes,” Meg admits.
“Why were you following me?” he asks.
“We wanted to find out why you were following us,” says Sara.
“Why I was following you…I was not following you. I was just…hanging out,” Tim says.
“Oh come on Tim. That is a bunch of bull and you know it,” Meg says angrily.
“Well, you can’t prove anything,” Tim protests.
“We will, you better believe it Timmy boy,” Sara says.
“Bye ladies!” he says and walks away with a smirk on his face.
“Oh, he gets on my nerves so much,” Meg says.
“I know Meg and I am determined to find out why he was watching us,” Sara says as she watches him walk down the beach.
Chapter 23
7:30pm that evening
Gabi’s Hospital Room
“How do you feel, Hon?” Ricardo asks.
“Sore, but okay. Do I have to stay overnight?” Gabi asks.
“Yes, they just want you to stay overnight to make sure everything is okay with the surgery,” he says. “Spence is going to take to me to my car so I can run home and get your things. Do you think you will be okay for a little while?”
“I’ll be okay, just don’t be too long,” she says groggily.
“Okay. Love you,” he says and plants a soft kiss on her lips.
“Love you too,” she says.
Ricardo leaves the room and Gabi reaches for the phone and calls the Cummings home.
“Hey Meg. Its me,” Gabi says.
“Hi Gabi! Were you able to do what we discussed?” Meg asks.
“Well, kind of. I got you the wire and Spence is going to give it to you,” Gabi says.
“Wait, did you just say Spence?” Meg asks.
“Yeah, everything is fine. He agreed to help me. I sort of had an…accident,” Gabi says.
“Accident! Are you okay?” Meg asks worriedly.
“I’m fine. I was getting the wires for you and the stool I was on gave out and I landed on my shoulder and broke it,” Gabi says.
“Oh, your poor thing! I feel so bad! Is there anything I can do? Do you have to stay in the hospital for any length of time?” Meg asks.
“I just have to stay overnight and thanks for the offer, but I am well taken care of by my man. He is such a sweetie!” Gabi says happily.
“That’s great!” Meg says with a giggle.
“Okay, about the wire, Spence is going to meet you at the back door around 10:30am,” Gabi says.
“Oh thanks Gabi! That is perfect! Thank you so much. Please let me know if there is anything Sara and I can do for you at all,” Meg says with concern.
“Thanks. I will let you know Meg. I am going to go. I am still kind of sleepy from the anesthesia,” Gabi says with a yawn.
“Okay. Take care Gabi. Bye,” Meg says.
“Thanks. Bye Meg,” Gabi says.
Gabi hangs up the phone and breathes a sigh of relief before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.
Chapter 24
The Deep
Tess walks into The Deep. She scans the crowd looking for Tim. She spots him at the bar.
“Hi Tim,” Tess says.
“Hi, I was wondering when you were going to get here,” Tim says.
“Oh, I was walking on the beach and doing some thinking,” Tess says.
“Tess, is something wrong?” Tim asks worriedly.
“No, I just…I guess I am worried our little scam won’t work and I can’t stand the thought of getting caught and being separated from my son,” Tess says.
“Tess, don’t worry. Everything will be fine. I promise. Nothing or no one will get in our way,” Tim says.
“But, what about Meg and Sara? Don’t you think they may know something?” Tess asks.
“They may. I have been keeping an eye on them today off and on and they don’t seem to really know anything. They do know I have been following them around and they only found that out because I caught them following me,” Tim says.
“Tim, hello! Did it dawn on you that maybe they followed you because they know something is up and knowing you were following them as well made it even more evident? Come on, use your brain!” Tess says loudly.
“Tess, calm down. Okay, that does make sense. I think maybe we can do something to keep them from finding out stuff,” Tim says.
“Now, your talking. Now, about my idea about hiding Meg…” Tess says.
“Tess, for the umpteenth time, NO!” Tim yells.
“Tim, keep your voice down,” Tess hisses.
“I can’t believe you keep bringing that up. You know I won’t do that,” Tim says.
“Fine! Do you have a better idea?” Tess says.
“Um, I’m thinking,” Tim says.
“Oh, Tim Truman! You get on my nerves! I am out of here!” Tess says.
She gets up and stalks out of The Deep.
“Women!” Tim mumbles to himself.
Chapter 25
Ben’s House, Benjy’s room
“Okay Benjy! Time for bed,” Maria says coming into Benjy’s room.
“Do I have to mommy?” Benjy asks.
“Yes, you do. Go tell daddy good night. He’s downstairs in the living room,” Maria says.
“Ok.” Benjy says.
He runs down stairs to the living room. Ben is sitting on the couch watching TV.
“Daddy!” Benjy says jumping into Ben’s lap.
“Well Hi Son. Its time for you to go to bed now isn’t it?” Ben asks.
“Yes, it is. Night daddy,” Benjy says giving Ben a hug.
Ben gives Benjy a hug. “Night Benjy,” Ben says.
Benjy runs back upstairs to his room.
“Did you tell daddy goodnight?” Maria asks.
“Yes, I did. Mommy, can you read me Harold and The Purple Crayon?” Benjy asks.
“Sure. Why don’t you go get it?” Maria says.
“Ok.” Benjy says.
Benjy goes over to his bookcase and picks out his book.
He brings it back to bed and Maria tucks him in.
“Are you ready?” Maria says.
“Yes, mommy!” Benjy says.
Maria begins to read and soon Benjy falls asleep.
Maria slips out of the room quietly.
She starts to go downstairs when she hears the phone ring. Ben answers.
“Hi honey!” Ben says.
Maria realizes he is talking to Meg. She goes into Ben’s room and turns on the speakerphone.
“Gabi came through for us,” Meg says.
“That’s great. When are you getting the wire?” Ben asks.
“Spence is getting it to me around 10:30am tomorrow. I am supposed to meet him behind the station,” Meg says.
“A wire? For who?” Maria thinks to herself as she listens to the conversation.
“So, you think you will be here around quarter to 11?” Ben says.
“I should be, as long as Spence is on time,” Meg says.
“I am looking forward to seeing you,” Ben says.
Maria rolls her eyes.
“I am looking forward to seeing you too. We are going to solve this mystery tomorrow, I hope,” Meg says.
“Meg, we will. Till tomorrow. Love you!” Ben says.
“Love you too! Night!” Meg says.
“Have sweet Ben dreams!” Ben says.
“Oh, you are so full of it!” Meg says with a giggle. “I have sweet Ben dreams every night anyway!”
“Oh brother!” Maria thinks to herself.
“As do I, of you! Bye love!” Ben says.
“Bye!” Meg says.
They hang up. Maria turns the speakerphone off.
“What the heck is the wire business all about?” she thinks to herself. Then she looks at her watch. “Oh, great I need to meet up with Tess,” she says aloud. She goes to her room and gets her coat. Ben is still downstairs.
“Where are you going Maria?” Ben asks.
“Oh, just for a short walk. I just want some fresh air,” Maria says.
“Everything okay?” Ben asks concerned.
“Yeah, I just have a lot on my mind,” Maria says.
“Okay. Well, be careful,” Ben says.
“I will. Bye,” Maria says.
“Bye,” Ben says and he goes back to watching his show.
Maria looks back at him and then she turns around and heads out the door.
Chapter 26
Under the pier
Maria walks under the pier.
“Tess, are you here?” she asks.
“Yes, I’m here,” said a voice in the dark.
“Well come here so I can see you,” Maria says.
“Okay, I’m here,” Tess says as she comes into the light.
“What’s wrong with you?” Maria says noticing that Tess looks upset.
“Tim Truman is a moron!” Tess says.
“What did he do now?” Maria asks.
“First of all, they know he was watching them. Second of all, he still will not go along with my idea. I say we do this without him,” Tess says.
“He really is a moron! I agree we need to do this on our own. But, first I need to tell you something interesting. I overheard a phone call,” Maria says.
“Between who?” Tess asks.
“It was between Meg and Ben. I sort of listened in on the speakerphone. Meg mentioned getting a wire from the police station, but she never said why. Apparently Ben will be the one wearing it,” Maria says.
“Okay, that’s it. I am really sick of that little Kansas twit. We need to make our move now. What time is she coming to Ben’s tomorrow?” Tess says.
“I think she said around 11am. What do you have in mind?” Maria asks.
“Its time for Operation HMFB!” Tess says.
“HMFB?” Maria asks.
“Yes, Operation Hide Meg From Ben!” Tess says.
Chapter 27
The next morning
Ben’s House
“Benjy, I know you don’t like doctor’s appointments, but you need to go,” Ben says trying to be patient.
“But, I don’t want a shot!” Benjy says clinging to Ben.
“Sweetie, you need to get your shots so you can stay a healthy little boy. I tell you what, I will get you some ice cream afterwards if you are a brave little boy,” Maria says.
“Okay mommy,” says Benjy, not able to resist the temptation of ice cream.
He loosens his grip on Ben and grasps Maria’s hand.
“Good boy,” Ben says. “I will see you a little later.
“Bye daddy,” Benjy says.
Benjy and Maria go out the door. Ben turns around and goes to the living room so he can get prepared for what he and Meg were going to do.
The Police Station
Meg drives around to the back of the station and sees a small narrow door on the side.
“This must be the door,” she says out loud.
She gets out of her car and goes to the door and knocks. Spence opens the door.
“Hi Meg,” Spence says.
“Hi Spence. Is this it?” Meg asks looking at the small package.
“Yep, this is it. Please be careful with it. If it was ever leaked out that I let you borrow this, I would get in major trouble,” Spence says.
“I will take good care of it. I promise,” Meg says. “Thanks Spence.”
“Your welcome. Bye,” Spence says.
“Bye,” Meg says.
Meg goes back to her car and heads to Ben’s.
Chapter 28
Ben’s House
Meg walks up to Ben’s door and rings the door bell.
“Come in,” Ben says.
Meg opens the door and finds Ben sitting on the sofa.
“Hi,” she says.
“Hi beautiful,” he says. “Are you ready to help me get that wire on?”
“I sure am,” she says with a smile.
She goes over to the sofa and she opens the package. She tells Ben to take his shirt off.
“Well, if you insist!” he says.
“You are so silly,” she says with a giggle.
She clips the wire box to the back of his pants and her hands brush his lower back. Ben giggles.
“I never knew you were ticklish there,” she laughs.
“Oh, you’d be surprised,” he says.
He turns around and catches her by surprise and starts to tickle her. She starts laughing hysterically. He stops tickling her long enough to bend in and kiss her. That’s when she gets a good look at his eyes.
"Oh my god!" Meg says with wide eyes.
"Hello Megan darling," Derek says with an evil smile on his face.
"Get off of me you bastard!" Meg screams.
Derek grabs her wrists and she struggles with him and manages to knee him in the groin. She gets off the sofa and tries to get away.
"I don't think so missy," Derek growls.
He grabs the back of her shirt and pulls her backwards.
"Nooooo!" Meg screams at the top of her lungs.
She starts struggling with him, but she loses her balance and falls sideways and hits the side of her face on the coffee table. She blacks out and lands on the floor.
“Well, that was easy,” Derek says.
He picks up the now unconscious Meg and covers her in a blanket and carries her and her stuff out of the house.
30 minutes later.
Ben is on his way home with Benjy and Maria in the car.
“Why did Benjy have to run off when Maria took him to get ice cream?” he thinks to himself. “Meg is going to kill me.”
He pulls into the driveway and notices that Meg’s car is not there.
“I wonder where she is?” he thinks to himself.
He parks the car and heads to the house while Maria gets Benjy out of the car.
As he walks up the pathway to the house, he sees a set of keys lying on the ground.
“I wonder where these came from,” he says outloud.
“Where what came from?” says Maria from behind him.
“These keys,” he says picking them up to show her.
Her heart almost skips a beat when she realizes he is holding Derek’s keys.
“Um, I don’t know,” she says and she quickly walks past Ben with Benjy and goes to unlock the door.
Ben stares in confusion at Maria as she walks into the house. “Why did she get so worked up about a set of keys?” he wonders to himself. “And who the heck do they belong to?”
Chapter 29
A dimly lit room
Meg opens her eyes and squints to adjust to the light. She struggles to a sitting position only to be hit by a shot of pain in her head.
“Oooh! Where am I?” she says outloud.
She starts to take in her surroundings, as well as the mattress she is sitting on, when the events of the morning hit her.
“No!” she cries. “Oh my god, I have go to get out of here!”
With her hands on the wall, she slowly stands up. Then the door opens and Derek enters with a cup and a bottle of medicine.
“Oh, I see you are awake. How’s your head?” he asks tenderly.
“Get away from me, you jerk!” she screams as she continues to hold onto the wall.
“Now, why would I do a silly thing like that?” he says with a grin. “Here, these are for you headache,” he says taking two white pills out of the bottle of medicine.
“What are they?” Meg asks.
“Oh, they are just Tylenol,” he says.
“Why don’t I believe you?” she says with wide eyes.
“Oh you should!” he walks over to her and hands her the two pills.
She throws them across the room.
“I won’t take them,” Meg yells.
“Oh, yes you will!” he says as he pulls her towards him. She breaks out of his grip and tries to get away, but dizziness overcomes her and Derek has to catch her.
He sits her down on the mattress and puts two more pills in her hand.
“Take them now,” he growls. “Or I will have to put them down your throat myself.”
Too scared to protest, Meg takes the pills and takes a sip of water from the cup. Then without hesitating, she throws the cup of water into Derek’s face. She gets off the mattress and runs for the door, but Derek catches and throws her down on the mattress.
“Okay, this is the last time I plan on having to catch you,” he yells. He leaves the room and locks the door behind him.
Meg gets off the mattress and tries to catch the door before it closes, but its no use.
“Why did this have to happen to me?” she says as her eyes fill with tears as she leans against the door. “Ben, you have to find me. Please hear me! Please…”
Chapter 30
A little later in the afternoon at Ben’s house
Ben opens the front door to try and catch Maria before she leaves, but she is already out of the driveway.
“I wonder where she is going in such a hurry,” he thinks to himself as he closes the door. “She is acting very strange.”
Ben turns around and decides to try to get Meg on the phone again. He tries her cell phone and her house, but there is no answer.
“I wonder where Meg is,” he says out loud.
“Why are you looking for Meg, daddy?” Benjy asks as he walks into the room.
“Hi son. I was supposed to talk with her earlier. By the way, did you put your toys away like I asked you to?” he asks
“No…do I have to?” Benjy asks.
“Yes, you do. Now, go back upstairs and put them away. You do want dessert with your dinner don’t you?” Ben asks.
“I do! I want mint chocolate chip ice cream!” Benjy says excitedly.
“You can have some if you clean up your toys,” Ben says.
“Yay!” Benjy yells and he runs over and gives Ben a hug and then runs up the steps.
“Walk son,” Ben says.
Benjy slows down to a quick walk.
“That is much better Benjy,” Ben says with a smile.
Then he thinks about the fact that Benjy just mentioned ice cream.
“Why did that just strike a chord?” he thinks to himself. Then it hits him. “Oh, the Shockwave, of course.”
He picks up the phone and calls the Shockwave. Sara answers the phone.
“The Shockwave. Sara speaking,” Sara says.
“Hi Sara. It’s Ben. Is Meg there by any chance?”
“No, I haven’t seen her. She was supposed to come by your house around 11am wasn’t she?”
“Yeah, well I had to leave unexpectedly and she was not here when I got back.”
“That’s strange, and you have not heard from her.”
“No, I take it you haven’t heard from her either.”
“No, I haven’t. Hold on a sec. Let me see if mom has heard from her.”
Sara goes over and asks her mom if she heard from Meg. Then she gets back on the phone.
“Mom says she hasn’t heard from her either. Ben, I am worried. What if something went wrong?”
“Sara, try not to worry. I am sure there is an explanation.”
At that same moment, Ben catches a glimpse of something sticking out from under the couch. He pulls it out and to his dismay, he realizes that that something is a wire.
“Sara, I think she was here while I was gone.”
“Wait, what do you mean?”
“I just found a wire under my couch and it looks like it is broken.”
“A wire…wait…you don’t think that is the one that Meg got do you.”
“It may be.”
“Ben, something must have gone terribly wrong.”
“The keys…they must belong to whoever…”
“What keys? What are you talking about?”
“Sara, I’ve got to go. I have to go find Maria. She knows who those keys belong to.”
“Ben, wait…”