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| IMPOSTER BY MARIQUA |
CHAPTER 64 |
Down…down…down…Slider's mind dropped into a labyrinth of darkness with interconnecting tunnels that seemed to lead in a thousand different directions. Each tunnel revealed an inner sanctum replete with intellectual discoveries, but he was no longer searching for anything intellectual. A fog floated along with him and separated into a thin mist as his mind continued on its journey. What am I looking for? Moving through the mist he pushed past all the wealthy stores knowledge and kept going. He would never have done this before. This was new…this was different.
Standing in the distance was a woman with dark hair and slanted eyes. She beckoned to him with her hand, and her eyes implored him to draw closer to her. Before he could reach her, a man's figure moved in front of her -- blocking Slider' view of her and causing immediate irritation in him. The figure seemed to overwhelm her with his presence, and Slider squinted to see the face of this man. Before he could reach her, the man turned around and his eyes seemed to send out fiery daggers of warning. Suddenly the warning changed into sarcastic amusement.
"Too late, Slider…you've waited too long as usual…you let her slip away from you, and now she's mine…all mine…"
"No!" Slider grabbed the man's shoulders and tried to pull him away so that he could still see her, but the man with the long, flowing hair never budged, and he continued to grin at Slider wickedly.
"Sherry!" he called out to her urgently, but the man held her prisoner and kept him from getting to her. His long, arms draped around her -- covering her like some dark, all consuming cloak, and he gave Slider one last gloating look as they both vanished.
"Stop Nick…Sherry, don't go…don't go! He's not real…he's an alter! Don't let him, Z…don't let him take her!"
He woke up and wondered immediately if he had called out loud in his sleep. Sweat drizzled down his neck and glistened on his chest as the morning rays of the day began to lighten the room. This dream…the same as the night before…
Slider threw the sheet off his body and padded to the window. Monday…today's is my meeting with Z's wife.
Looking down at his hands, he noticed that they were still shaking from the effect of the dream. Turmoil had now taken up permanent residence in his soul -- ever since the moment when he had seen Sherry at the elevator.
Somehow he had managed to get up from the floor and remember what he had gone out to get for Nick. His mind and body seemed to be on automatic pilot as he had found his way to a drugstore and then hurried back to his home to face a man whose behavior had now taken on terrible, demonic dimensions in Slider's agitated state. He hadn't known how he had done it either, and he doubted if he would ever really know. They were politely civil to each other -- each masking a closely guarded secret.
Now the weekend has ended…I haven't seen Sherry at all.
It was early, and he knew that Nick was still sound asleep. That was good because he didn't want another encounter with him right now. Instead, he was trying to focus all his energies on what he knew he would have to do.
Revenge. It was a word that was basically foreign to him, and he had never wanted to embrace it as much as he did now. Tea.Manning…I thought that you might be detrimental to getting Z back…maybe not…
Viki Carpenter picked up the ringing phone and settled down into the sofa. Whoever it was, she would get rid of them. She'd purposefully not answered the phone most of the weekend because she didn't want anything to interfere with her solitude.
"Viki?"
Sam's soothing voice was a welcome relief and she hugged her arms together with pleasure.
"Sam…I'm so glad you called."
"I'm sorry I didn't get to see you home after the service. I wanted to. Will needed me to help him with some project for school. I suppose I should have come anyway."
"No…no, Sam…you did what any parent should do. I would have done the same if it were Jessica."
"Well, at least you're not alone."
"Actually, I am. Jessie went over to her father's last night. She'll be back here later today. I really more or less insisted that she go. I needed the time alone."
Sam's voice broke slightly as he spoke again. "I know that you need time to think, Viki, and I'm going to give you all the time you need."
"What's this, Sam?" Viki's shrewd mind saw through his concern. "I detect something going on with you. What is it?"
A few noises filtered through his half consciousness, and Nick turned on the sofa preparing to immerse himself in sleep again. He knew it was early, and these noises usually didn't happen until later. Forget about it…go back to sleep…
A little while later, another noise disturbed his dreams, and his eyes opened halfway to see Slider at the front door -- all dressed up in a light gray suit and carrying his briefcase. A second later, Slider turned back to look at him, and Nick's eyes shut quickly. He felt the stare from across the room, and only when he heard the door open, did he let his eyelids lift again.
You're going to the office early…and you look like you've got an important appointment…
Another man stirred in his bed and wiped his eyes. Someone had better call me today…I'm tired of this waiting around…I've got the best detective support in the country at my disposal…what the hell's the matter?
The cell phone rang by his bed and he whipped it up to his ear. This had better be it…
"I don't give a damn how early it is, just tell me!" he exploded,
"It's confirmed….she's in Chicago right now."
"Well, it's about damn time! Where?"
"At the Fountainbleau…under an assumed name…Danielle Morris. There's a problem, though."
"Oh? And what might that be?"
"Sykes and his crew. They're one step ahead of us."
"Well, we're just going to have to speed it up, aren't we?" Del snarled and then paused. "Okay…get the guys ready. We're on our way."
At a quarter to twelve, Slider looked at the desk clock again and tried to calm his nerves. What had happened over the weekend had altered his whole perception of what he felt would have been the general tone of this meeting. This was a different ballgame now -- one to be played out with every bit of finesse and experience that he possessed. Tea Manning showing up at this time now seemed almost providential, and he began to see how he could use what he knew to his advantage…and that is what it would take to master Nick and send him back into Todd forever…the winning advantage.
He didn't even see her walk in since he was so caught up in his private thoughts. Once again, a whiff of exotic perfume alerted him to her presence.
"Mr. Paxton? I'm a little early, but I know how hard it can be to get a good table this time of day."
His eyes looked up and approvingly traveled over her as she stood before him in a smartly tailored, sleeveless lemon yellow linen dress belted around the middle. Tea's hair fell forward on her shoulders, and her appearance was casual but stunning.
Slider rose immediately. "I thought we were on a first-name basis," he smiled easily.
"Of course we are!" she countered and the tension dissolved between them.
"Do you like Chinese?" he began again and reached for his jacket which was slung over his chair.
"Love it! I'm sure you know a few good places in this town, don't you?"
"A few," Slider grinned.
Slider sat in the restaurant and looked around at the lunch crowd. "I guess we were lucky to get a table. Good idea about getting here early."
Tea smiled and nodded. "I hate being late for anything. I'm a stickler for that kind of thing…other people aren't."
"I guess I'm the opposite. I get in trouble about it, too."
As they chatted away easily, Slider looked at her even more closely, and he saw so many things about her that he didn't notice the first time. She was very meticulous and proper in some ways, but he sensed that underneath she was anything but this. The way she walked into the restaurant had been as if she knew she was attractive, but she didn't come across as overly vain.
There were moments when she had a teasing look in her eyes as if she liked to have fun with people. Just as he had judged when he first laid eyes on her, she was very quick and sharp…Nick said you were a lawyer…
"I'm a lawyer, Slider…did you know that?" she asked him as if she had read his mind.
"I think I had heard it..somewhere," Slider said somewhat uncomfortably.
"It took me a long time to get there, and I earned it, believe me. I wanted to get to the very top no matter what. Well, I got there…oh boy, did I evermore get there."
"You're referring to marrying Todd."
"Yes…I am. I don't know if you knew this, but Todd paid me a cool five million to be his wife."
"Really?"
"Yes…really. It's a very long story, but the gist of it is that I married for money, but it didn't end up that way."
Tea's warm eyes brightened a little as she took a bite of sweet and sour pork. "That's why I am determined to find out more about him. You see…I didn't know much about his past at all. He was a very private man in many ways."
Slider felt as if he were getting warmer as he thought about all the implications of what she was saying. She loved you, Z…still loves you. Do you love her? Nick doesn't love her…he talks about her as if she was a stranger…why?
"Slider?"
Tea was also observing Slider as she talked on -- pretending that she was absorbed in her own chatter. You could be more talkative about him…you knew him…but you're strangely quiet.
"I'm sorry, Tea," Slider apologized for his lack of attention. "I had a rough weekend."
"Nothing serious I hope?"
He wanted to tell her. On some level he trusted her in the same way that he would trust Z. I could tell her that he is not the man she married anymore, but she'd never believe me. I want to betray Nick…it would be so simple, and she could do it all for me…
Who do I fight for? Do I fight for you, Z? I love you as my brother, but now everything has changed.
"Well, that was certainly good!" Tea pressed her lips together to wipe them with her napkin.
"Would you like some coffee and dessert?" Slider asked as she leaned back in her chair.
"Yes…that would be nice…and there's something else I want with it."
Slider's eyebrows raised quizzically as she crossed her legs and surveyed him critically.
"What's that?
"I want to know what you're not telling me about my husband."
