"Definitely arson," Taggert said bounding through the double doors of the station. "The fire marshal says it's so obvious that it's like the arsonist WANTED us to figure it out."
Mac, followed him quickly, flipping through the report that had just been put in his hands. He grimaced at the findings. "Think it's just a copycat?...Somebody wanting to recreate the whole Lucky Spencer NONdemise?"
Taggert ran a hand over his goatee tiredly as he entered Mac's office. He'd been up for hours. "Not unless that little girl is out there alive somewhere."
His voice cracked a little as fatigue set in. At least that's what he told himself. There was no time to cry.
"From the looks of that building...unless she was never there......" He let his words trail off. Two kidnappings was too much to hope for. Also, there was no way anyone had survived that fire. And absolutely no possible way anyone had survived that final blast.
"Do you want me to contact the family?" Mac asked, slumping down at his desk. He wasn't sure his lieutenant was going to make it through the next few minutes, let alone a call to Audrey Hardy, the Webbers or the Spencers.
"No, I got it." Taggert said, standing up. Feeling it was his duty to make the calls, no matter how difficult it was going to be.
He stopped as his hand clenched the cool door knob of his bosses' door. "You know...I was really sorta tough on that girl the last time I saw her...She had just wrecked that car of hers and I just wanted her to take a good look at things and see that there were still things worth liv -
Taggert cut himself off and quickly glanced at his shoes. "I'll go make those calls now."
~~~~~~~~~~
"Where Lizabet?" LuLu asked as her eldest brother hoisted her on to the couch.
Elizabeth had promised that they would spend this afternoon catching up. She'd even take her shopping for some new sparkly barrettes like the ones she always wore.
Nikolas glanced backwards towards his maternal grandmother, silently asking for advice. When he turned back, his little sister stared at him wide eyed and innocent. She was such a child. So full of hope and wonder. How was she supposed to understand this again? He didn't even understand it.
"LuLu, honey," Leslie called, walking towards her couch. Knowing that her grandsons prolonged silence meant he needed help. "Why don't you come with me into the kitchen? I need help making my chocolate chip cookies."
LuLu looked from Nikolas to her grandmother, old enough to know that something was wrong. Yet, not quite old enough to understand that life could be cruel not just once, but many, many times. She pressed a silent kiss to her brother's cheek before taking her grandmother's hand. "I'll make some cookies for Nikky."
Nikolas smiled and ran a hand over his sisters silky hair. "Thank you honey."
As she disappeared into the kitchen, he let go. Let go of the pain inside, and let memories of the look that he'd seen in his brother's eyes just a few hours ago take hold once again. He couldn't help the tears that fell or the way his lip began to tremble.
What right did he have to cry? After all he'd done to Lucky and Elizabeth. After all the pain he'd inflicted upon them with his lies and half truths. What right did he have to mourn her or what his family had finally succeeded in doing: destroying Lucky.
They hadn't been able to do it by kidnapping him and stealing almost a year of his life, but now they'd succeeded. They had accomplished in one night what they couldn't in 8 months. They'd finally broken him.
Nikolas rubbed the side of his neck, where he was sure the evidence of his brother's fury was now visible.
He had lost count of all the times his grandmother had tortured the people he loved and gotten away with it. His family had never been held accountable for their actions.
This would not be one of those times.
~~~~~~~~~
Laura placed the phone back in it's cradle. Not making the call she knew she should have. Stephan was probably worried sick, but somehow she didn't care. In fact it was more than not caring.
There was something just under the surface she couldn't name. A feeling she couldn't quite place, but it left a bitter, nasty taste in her mouth. Much like the one she had felt while lying in bed at Wyndemere the night before.
She swallowed and ran a hand through her long tresses as she looked towards the stairs. Her son needed her.
He wouldn't ask for it. He wouldn't ask for anything. Yet she knew that he shouldn't be alone right now. Even if that's all he'd been telling them since Nikolas had left.
Alone, alone, alone. He'd repeated the word over and over again like a broken record. Whether it meant he wanted to be alone, or he simply felt alone, she couldn't tell. Her son was in immeasurable pain and it broke her heart to think about it.
Laura's thoughts propelled her up the stairs and towards his room. She stopped just outside the door, listening for a moment for any sounds. None came. No sobbing, not even the sounds of breath. She rose her hand to knock, knowing he'd immediately banish her.
"Lucky," she called out, wrapping softly against the wood. "Lucky, it's mom...can I come in? Please?...Nobody's here but us."
Still no sound. Not a peep.
"Lucky, please," she pleaded. Her voice shaking with emotion. "We don't have to talk, honey....I just want to see you. I just wanna know that you're ok."
'Know that he's ok?' She thought to herself, almost laughing at the idiocy of such a comment. It would be a long time before her son was "ok" again. She knew that first hand.
She thought about turning around. Heading back downstairs to the kitchen to make him some soup, but he didn't need anymore damned soup. He needed to let someone in. Laura sighed as she realized that the only person he wanted to see, he would never see again. She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned the knob at her hand.
The curtain billowed out in front of the open window, letting in a breeze that swept across the completely made bed. Everything was in it's place. Except for Lucky.
~~~~~~~~~
The dress was just as he remembered it. Ice blue and soft to the touch. He exhaled as he smoothed the cool satin against his cheek. Reveling in the feeling of it sliding along his flesh. God, she'd looked so beautiful that night. A living, breathing angel.
Lucky sunk down to the carpet beneath him, taking the dress with him and laying it in his lap like a precious baby. Even though it was nothing but a useless piece of material. A pale comparison of what it had been that night. Or the first time he'd seen her in it at Wyndams.
Just an empty piece of fabric that mirrored his empty heart. Just an empty reminder of her.
Nothing was as soft as she had been.
***Thank you for my dress Lucky. I love it.***
He shakily grasped the piece of material to his face again, smothering himself in it. His heart aching as he inhaled against it. Searching for her sent. For anything. Any hint of what she had been.
***You have my heart Lucky. That's a permanent lock.***
His muscles felt old and lifeless as he stood, gathering the dress tightly in his fingers and holding it to his chest as he climbed atop her bed. He had to be near her. Had to find her somewhere in this room.
If he could just sleep here. If he could just touch her things, lay on this bed, hear her laugh, feel her hair against his cheek, remember what it was like to make love to her in this room for the very first time, if he could just....
***Everything I am is in love with you...my mind, my soul, my body, my spirit...***
He stretched out against the plush quilt and smoothed the dress out next to him. Lying it down as gently as if she were in it. He glided a hand along the material and touched his cheek to it once again. He couldn't help the tears. Couldn't stop from getting it wet.
***and that'll never change.***
Lucky curled his legs up to his chest and shut his eyes tightly against the images. Against the endless stream of her voice that played over and over in his head. Every word she'd ever said to him. Every silly story she'd ever shared about her childhood. Every time she'd said his name in that way that only she could say it. He'd never hear it again. Never like that. Never that way. Never so sweetly. Never while his body lay sheltered in hers.
He mumbled against the damp fabric beneath his mouth. "I can't do this Elizabeth...I can't do this."
~~~~~~~~~
Elizabeth ran a shaky hand through her tangled strands, and fought to gain control over the panic that had gripped her for what seemed like days. Yet it couldn't be days. It could only be hours. Right? Hadn't she been at Jake's just a few hours ago? God how long had she been asleep?
The pounding in her head that she had awoken with, went on tirelessly. It did nothing to help her make sense of her surroundings or answer all her questions. She couldn't make sense of anything. Her thoughts, her fear. A fear like none other she had ever felt before.
She urged her legs forward towards the massive metallic door in front of her, knowing before even laying her hands on it that it wouldn't budge. It would either be to heavy, or she would be too weak. At that moment she felt as if her limbs weren't even attached to her body.
Elizabeth, placed her small fingers in between the door jam, pulling against it with as much strength as she could muster. She mumbled curses and swears as her fingers slipped from their bearings time and time again and her voice gave way to pitiful whimpers.
She realized it was just as she thought...it wasn't about to give. The panic that seized her earlier returned with a vengeance, making it hard to breathe, making it impossible to decrease the size of the lump in her constricted throat.
'Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry,' her mind repeated, as her blurry eyes did quick scans of the entire room. Jumping from silver wall to silver wall. 'You can't give into the panic....it's not going to help anything.'
Elizabeth took a deep breath and bit her lip against the tears. She moved slowly towards the bed, sitting as soon as she could. Her legs were so damn heavy. There was something seriously wrong here.
Not just the obvious, but something was physically wrong with her. 'Drugs?' She thought, curling and uncurling her fingers. It seemed an effort to move any of her extremities and her head continued to pound mercilessly. 'Someone drugged me.....whoever has me here....where-.....whoever...who would....'
Her thoughts ran in convoluted circles. Nothing made sense. And nothing followed any clear or logical path. She ran her hands up and down her forearms and whispered aloud to herself. Maybe hearing the sound of her own voice would help her to understand her own thoughts.
"Ok...calm down...Lucky will co-...ugh, God, Lucky doesn't even know where yo -....Ok...What would Lucky tell you to do? What would he do in this situation? What would......." Her voice trailed off as something inside her head clicked into place.
What the Hell? It couldn't be could it?
Elizabeth looked up towards the ceiling, and back down again, scanning the entire surface area of the room. The CD's, the computer, the chess game set up to the side of her.....
On impulse, she pushed herself up from the bed and walked towards the nightstand that sat beside the headboard. Pulling open the drawer, she gasped when she looked at the bottom of it.
It was just as she had suspected. Scratches. Engraved markings on the bottom of the drawer. Markings that Lucky had told her about in passing once. A tally of the days. A calendar of sorts that he made for himself when he'd still had hope that he'd get out of the Hell that he was in.
Elizabeth's head shot up at the sound of the voice coming from the now open door.
"Ah, I can see you've already found things to amuse you, my dear."
~~~~~~~~~~
Lucky woke with a start. Sweat glistening on his forehead as he relived the nightmare once again. He blinked hard against the dim light, trying to figure out where he was.
Elizabeth's room, and it *wasn't* a nightmare. It was as real now as it had been a few hours ago. Elizabeth was gone. Dead. And the wrinkled dress beside him was just a stupid reminder to prove it.
Just a stupid, empty, useless reminder. Just a balled up wad of fabric as he hurled it against the wall now, watching as it unfolded and slid down the wall in one swift motion.
He was kicking and throwing things around in the room before he realized what he was doing. Before he realized that things that belonged to her might matter to him someday. Might be some sort of comfort when the blind rage that encompassed his whole body now began to dissipate. He didn't think. He only acted.
Only threw the dumb earless teddy bear across the room. Only swept her stereo off of the desk and onto the floor in a loud crash. None of it mattered. None of it meant a damn thing without her here.
Lucky stalked across the room like a man possessed, things she'd treasured, things that had brought him joy, only angering him now. He couldn't breathe. Couldn't be in a world that didn't include her. He grasped the back of the picture frame that stood on her nightstand, and turned it around quickly. One last look before he smashed it to smithereens.
Yet as he stood, poised to throw it - he couldn't. At that moment he couldn't move. He stood, rooted to the ground. Frozen in shock by the sight before him. The only sound, his breathless panting.
His hands shook as he slowly removed the white slip of paper that covered Elizabeth's face and unfolded it. Somehow, he already knew what it was going to say. Already knew that life was about to drop out from under him once again.
~~~It was fun while it lasted Lucky. The depth of your emotion never fails to impress or entertain me. However, the game is just beginning! Find your beloved Elizabeth, Lucky. She's waiting....and so am I.
Sincerely, Guess who :)
P.S. The expression on your face at that fire was truly priceless, my dear.
Chapter 52
Luke's eyes popped open and his head shot up from the couch as a loud burst through the door shook him from sleep. "Lucky!?" He asked, sitting up. His son barreled through the front room, heading straight up the stairs without a moments hesitation.
"Lucky!?" He called again, his voice having no effect whatsoever in slowing him down.
Luke took off after him, taking the stairs two at a time himself. "What the Hell is going on Lucky?!.....Lucky?!"
He stopped at his son's bedroom door and watched for a moment as Lucky dragged his emergency backpack from his closet. He threw it down on the bed and feverishly began digging through his drawers. Clothes flew everywhere. Socks, underwear, shirts. They all made it into the satchel by pure luck. Their owner not caring about his aim or the amount that he tossed in, only how quickly he could get it packed.
Luke walked over to him slowly, timidly. It was the way you approached someone who was having a bad dream. Wanting to wake him, but not wanting to rile him any further.
He seemed as if he were in some sort of haze as he moved between his bed and his closet at lightening speed. There was a strange look in his eyes. A look that Luke had never seen before. It was a brightness that been missing for days now. A light he thought he'd see in his son's eyes again.
Yet that wasn't all it was. It was more complicated. It seemed a cross between relief and.....what? Horror?
"Lucky!" Luke shouted, stepping closer and jerking his son by the arm. He had to get him to stop long enough to answer a question or two. "Hey! Cowboy! Look at me......What the heck is goin' on here?"
His eyes were glassy with unshed tears, wild with energy. He licked his lips and took a deep, shaky breath. They emerged as new and as awe inspiring as the first words he had ever spoken. "She's alive Dad."
The three words caused his father's grip to loosen around his arm. His fingers lay there limp, stunned. One man's eyes searched the other's for some semblance of sense, or meaning in a world that had been rendered completely senseless.
Luke had to question it. He couldn't just let his son go down this road if the road led to nothing but more pain and emptiness.
If he had taken this path and not found his son, he would have ended it all.
"Lucky...I know you wha - "
"No!" Lucky said, pulling his arm completely free. Seeing his father's doubt. "Dad, she's alive! She is!"
His son knew something. Something no one else did. His voice said it. His eyes said it.
Luke's eyes widened as he suddenly realized that he knew what the look he'd seen in son's eyes just a moment ago meant. He remembered feeling it himself. He remembered that cold December night. The glow of his laptop on his desk at the club.The disbelief. The utter joy. The horror.
Dear God, it was happening again.
"Lucky..." Luke started slowly, watching as his son began breathing again. It seemed as if he hadn't allowed himself a breath in ages. "What do you know?"
His hand shook as he reached into his pocket, producing a white slip of paper. Crumpled from the confines of his jeans, spotted with his tears. He handed it to his father as if he were the last surviving knight and he'd finally found the Holy Grail.
Luke read the black, typed print on the page. He could have sworn he felt the evil radiate from it. This was all Helena. It had to be. He couldn't afford to think that Satan's other henchmen had come back from Hell.
But what the Hell had that phone call meant? Someone had wanted him to think that his son was in danger. Yet it was obvious now that the fire hadn't been intended for Lucky at all. They had waited until they knew he'd be out of the building. Waited until Elizabeth was alone.
He was shaken from his reverie as Lucky snatched the paper out of his hand and shoved it back into his pocket. He immediately returned to action, unzipping the side pocket of the backpack and grabbing his wallet. He shuffled through his phony ID cards at a furious rate.
"Lucky, I'm coming with you."
"No, you're not."
Luke glared into his son's eyes, knowing he was completely serious. As far as Lucky was concerned, he was doing this on his own. He also knew that there was no way he was letting his son face Helena again without him. No way. No how. Even if their relationship was destroyed by it.
He wouldn't lose him again.
"Lucky!...I can be ready in 20 minutes. I'll be back from the club fas - "
"Did you hear me Dad?! I said, No.....I'm doing this."
"Lucky! Let go of the damn pride, will you?! Helena's playing hardball now!"
Lucky threw his wallet down on the comforter and all action stopped. The color seemed to drain right out of his face.
"You think I don't know that?" Lucky asked, tilting his head to the side. A lone tear beginning it's descent down his cheek. "She's got my life -"
He choked back a sob that hadn't been there a moment ago. Hadn't threatened to consume him until now. "She's got Elizabeth in her hands....................I have to get her back. I have to Dad."
Luke walked towards him slowly, and placed a gentle hand on his son's shoulder. He felt him start to shake, and felt him reign it all back in a matter of seconds. He wished he'd let it go, but he knew that he couldn't do it now. He wouldn't be able to until this was all over. He and his son were totally different in a lot of ways, but completely the same in many others.
"Cowboy, there is no doubt in my mind that you could handle Helena Cassidine any time of any day. You *have* handled her.......But you've never had to deal with her when Elizabeth is involved....This isn't just a threat anymore Lucky. There's no way you can handle this on your own and keep your head on straight. You're too close to it..................Do you understand what I'm trying to say to you?"
Lucky stared at his father for a long moment, knowing he was right. Knowing he needed help and knowing he'd do anything to save Elizabeth. Nothing in life meant anything without her anyway. Not even pride.
He nodded his head in silent approval.
"Ok, son............20 minutes." ~~~~~~~~~~ Laura hung up the phone and gazed at the cradle where she'd placed it down for a long moment, trying to collect her thoughts. Form a coherent sentence.
"Lasha? What is it?" Stephan asked, concern lacing his features as he moved closer to her from across the foyer. "Is it LuLu? Lucky?"
"It was Luke," she whispered. Her eyes wide in disbelief.
Stephan looked down and tried to hide his scowl. "Really? Why would he be calling you here?"
Laura ignored the comment. Luke had called numerous times in the past to check on his daughter. Sometimes even when he knew darn well that she'd be asleep.
She had no time to think of Stephan's wounded male ego. "It's Elizabeth....they think she's alive."
"What?" Stephan asked, desperately trying to mask the wave of anger that rose in his stomach. He used a tone of complete surprise "Are you certain? How can that be?"
Laura shook her head, the news just now beginning to take root in her heart. "Luke didn't have time for all the details.....but there was apparently some kind of note......I think he and Lucky are going to -...Oh God! I have to get home!" She said, the announcement causing Stephan to look up suddenly.
"What?...Why? Laura you just got here....Mrs. Landsbury is making your favorite dinner and - "
"Stephan!" Laura cried, an incredulous smile pulling at her lips. "My son just found out that his girlfriend is alive! I have to get home"
Stephan's mind reeled. Damn Helena. This hadn't been the plan.
'When has your mother ever done anything according to plan?' He thought silently. 'What ever made you feel you could trust her in the first place.......Damnit she was supposed to wait. She was supposed to wait until you had Laura perfectly ensconced in Wyndemere. Until she had no desire to go back to her old life. That house. Spencer.....Damn you mother.'
He'd have to take action on his own now. If Helena had decided to follow a plan of her own. So would he. He had no choice.
Stephan was shaken from his thoughts as Laura lifted her purse and headed towards the door. He grabbed her arm.
"I'm afraid I can't let you leave Wyndemere Lasha...I'm sorry." ~~~~~~~~~~ "Where are you Dad?" Lucky asked, pacing the living room floor. He checked his synchronized watch for the 20th time in the last 10 minutes.
As if the heavens had heard him, the door swung open. Lucky rushed frantically towards the landing. His feet immediately came to a pause when his eyes made contact with the brown one's crossing the threshold. It hadn't been heaven afterall.
The two of them stood face to face for just a moment. Only a moment before Lucky stepped backwards off the landing, his eyes never leaving Nikolas'.
"There a reason you're here?" He asked dryly.
Nikolas swallowed. He knew he was pressing his luck. He had the bruises around his neck to prove it. But he had to take the chance. He already missed Liz like crazy, his brother had to be dying inside.
"I just came by to see...to see if there was anything - anything at all that I could do. LuLu's still at Leslie's house....but I wanted to know if there was anything I could do here...for Laura..........for you."
Lucky, smirked. "You wanted to know if there was anything you could do for me?.....Hmm.....let me think." He said dropping his backpack onto the couch and walking around it.
"Well Nikolas, you know.......the last time I really needed your help....You know, that time when I died? Yeah, well....the whole time I was dead I was kinda hoping that you'd look out for Elizabeth..................I'm sorry man, but," he said making a clicking sound with his tongue. "You kinda took advantage of that. I really don't know what I'd need from you now."
Nikolas rubbed his hands together and nodded. "Ok...that's fair. I know you're hurting right now, and that's - "
"You don't know SHIT!" Lucky shouted, coming towards his brother and stopping just inches from his face. The two men stood nose to nose, the only thing separating them, tension thick enough to suffocate any living-breathing thing.
Lucky took a deep breath and lowered his voice to an icy tone. "I'm not gonna let them hurt her. Do you understand me Nikolas? Your family...Faison...whoever the Hell has her......they're not gonna touch her. She's not gonna come back like me. She's not gonna come back afraid of people. Afraid of trusting. Afraid of loving. Afraid of every damn person she comes in contact with, do you hear me? I'll see all of them dead first."
Nikolas eyes widened. What the Hell was he talking about? She wasn't coming back at all! God, something inside his brother had finally snapped. "Lucky," he said quietly, as if her were speaking to a 4 year old who had just witnessed something terribly traumatic. "Elizabeth.......she's not coming back. I know you wa - "
"Shut up." Lucky stated, backing away from him. "Shut up...ok, Nikolas? You don't have a clue what's going............................" Lucky's voice trailed off as he looked back up into his brother's perplexed eyes. Maybe he did have a clue.
"You knew," he stated, his eyes turning instantly glassy. "You knew, didn't you?....Was it your idea? Did you take her from me?"
"What?...Lucky, what are you talking about?!"
"Elizabeth damnit!" Lucky yelled. "She's alive and you knew all along didn't you!? You and your uncle, and your grandmother....They're both in on it with you!"
Nikolas sucked in a breath. "Oh my God......Lucky, are you saying what I think you're saying?..........Elizabeth - ?"
"Oh, don't play dumb Nikolas............come on. I mean really...it's the perfect plan right........you want her. So, you just take her."
"Lucky....what the Hell..."
"Come on...it fits with your family's M.O. right?"
Good Lord, were they back to this? What in the world was happening? It was like someone had taken them and dropped them off right in the middle of the spring of 1998. Nikolas felt his lip begin to tremble and the tears slide down his cheeks before he could call them back. "Lucky.....I swear to you I didn't know....God, I didn't know...."
Lucky sniffled, and swiped the back of his hand over his cheeks. "Get out."
"Lucky - "
"Get out," he said again picking his backpack up. His hands shaking.
He felt his brother coming towards him. He didn't want Nikolas to touch him. Didn't want anything from him anymore. He'd already taken so much.
Before Nikolas' hand could grasp his shoulder, Lucky spun around. A 44 magnum poised and aimed in his hand.
Nikolas froze. An mind-numbing chill running up his spine.
Lucky licked his lips and steadied the gun in both hands. "I'm gonna ask you one more time to get out of my house."
The frontdoor creaked open behind Nikolas. He heard it. He never turned to see who it was.
Luke walked in slowly, taking in his sons appearance. His eyes, filled with that same look again. That same wild desperation. Fear.
He approached Nikolas from behind and placed a firm hand on his shoulder, squeezing it slightly in reassurance. "Get out of here Nikolas," he said sternly.
Nikolas nodded and turned slowly, not wanting to walk away. Only wanting to comfort a little brother that he'd already lost too much time with. He made a wish for both of them as he glanced into his his brother's eyes one last time before walking out the door.
Luke heard the door shut behind him and approached his son with no fear. Lucky didn't want to shoot anybody. He just wanted it to end. All he wanted was for all the lies and deceit and hurt to stop.
"Son...give me the gun," he said quietly reaching out for it.
Lucky looked up into his fathers eyes and handed it to him. He tried to hide it. He tried to bite back the pain in his throat that had threatened earlier, but he couldn't. He couldn't fight anything anymore. He could only cry.
~~~~~~~~~
"It won't be long now dear," Helena smiled passing a hand over Elizabeth's tangled hair.
Liz jerked away, sitting down upon the still very made bed. She had yet to use anything in this room. Including the bed.
She bit down hard upon her lip, refusing to let Helena goad her into speaking. Into responding to anything she did.
"Elizabeth dear, it is really unbecoming of a lady to behave in such a way. It really boggles my mind when I think of the fascination that both my grandson and Lucky Spencer have for you. I mean, they are both very attractive, intelligent men and yet they chose *you* to squabble over..............Well, I guess I'll never completely understand the male species," she chuckled lightly.
"Still, refusing to speak my dear?" Helena asked at her silence. She walked over to the remote control that sat on the table to Liz's right. She picked it up and aimed it at the wall in front of her. A section of the wall slid to the side, revealing a television screen. "Well, maybe this will get you to open your pretty little mouth."
Elizabeth's eyes darted around furiously to each corner of the picture, taking in everything. Her mouth dropped open in horror as she realized what was happening. Luke had just walked in the door, and Lucky.........Lucky was holding a gun on.....on Nikolas.
Her lips began to tremble. "Wh - what have you done to them?" She whispered, looking up the old woman who was so completely amused with herself.
"Oh, dear Miss Webber you give me far too much credit. You see, you did most of the work. All I had to do was take Lucky out of the picture for a few months and you succeeded in getting a prince to fall madly in love with you. Thus, when Lucky returned the seed had already been planted. Nikolas wanted you, and Lucky wanted you back. It's really a very simple equation..........But you see, the best part is: this is only the beginning."
Liz tried and failed to run her hand through her mangled hair. "If I've been so damn instrumental in your plan......what am I doing here?"
"Ahh...good question. You're almost as inquisitive as your boyfriend was. Although, lucky for you I'm not going to make you play chess to get your answers. I'm not nearly as good at it as my dear friend Faison was, and I'm afraid it's far too time consuming. At any rate, dear....the answer is simple: You're bait."
Liz shook her head. The drugs had begun to wear off, but her mind was still reeling. "For Lucky?"
Helena giggled like a child who'd just gotten a very entertaining new toy. "Oh, no...My scope is quite larger than that dear.....................Now," she added, pointing to the vanity that she'd placed in the steel room. "Why don't you take one of those lovely brushes to that hair of yours...........I'm sure we'll be having company very soon."
She couldn't. She couldn't do anything but watch as Helena left, and the screen darkened again. Her last image of Lucky crying in his fathers arms.
