PREVIOUSLY

“Shut up!” shouted Sykes. Suddenly, he released Téa, sending her crashing at Todd’s feet. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out another weapon. He brandished both guns at his captives. A malevolent grin lit up his twisted features. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time,” he gloated. “I’m afraid the time has come for all of you to die.”

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Todd stared at the weapons in Sykes’ hands, wondering if each moment would be his last. He could feel the sweat dripping down his forehead and into his eyes, but with his hands cuffed behind him, he couldn’t wipe it away. Unseen by their tormentor, he was working frantically to free himself. Téa didn’t know it, but he had saved the handcuff key that she had used to unlock his restraints the night of the escape. Sykes had given it to her saying, “You never know when it will come in handy.” Little did he know how true those words were proving to be. Before the commotion when the Llanview cops were over-powered by the renegade group from Chicago, Todd had succeeded in extracting the tiny key from the billfold of his wallet, which he carried in his back pocket. Now he was struggling to fit it into one of the minuscule keyholes, without Sykes being tipped off about what he was up to. He had hoped to catch the detective by surprise, dealing him a knockout blow, but the icy look in the man’s eyes led Todd to believe they had run out of time.

Sykes chuckled coldly, brandishing the guns. “Yes, this couldn’t have turned out better if I’d planned it myself,” he mused. “You see, tonight I’m going to kill two birds with one stone….metaphorically speaking, of course.” He glanced down briefly to where Téa cowered on the floor at Todd’s feet. She was trembling, but her jaw was set defiantly as she glared at him. “Make that three birds,” said Sykes, barely above a whisper. Téa felt her blood run cold. Todd stepped around her, getting between Téa and the weapons.

“Leave her alone, Syko,” he growled. “It’s me you want dead.” He could hear Téa protesting, but he didn’t respond. He watched Sykes carefully for a moment of opportunity. With two weapons aimed at him, chances were good that he was going to end up taking a bullet. But with any luck, he could catch Sykes off guard and give Téa a chance to escape.

“Get back, Manning!” ordered Sykes. “Do what I say or I’ll kill her first and make you watch!” Todd stepped back against the wall. He didn’t want to provoke their captor when every moment they could buy was precious. Sykes turned his attention to Bo. He gestured with the second gun he held in his hand. “See this, Commissioner? This is an unregistered handgun I took off a perp. It’s also your ticket to hell. You see, Manning here is going to be carrying a concealed weapon. Unfortunately, he’s going to get a shot off before I can take him out. Don’t worry though, Bo. I’ll make sure you get a full policeman’s funeral with all the honors due to an officer fallen in the line of duty. It will be my first task as the newly appointed Commissioner of Police. And of course your assailant won’t survive you by more than a heartbeat.” He grinned malevolently at his captives. “Too bad, Counselor,” he sneered at Téa. “You’re going to be caught in the crossfire.”

Scowling, Téa climbed slowly to her feet. Her insides were like jelly, but she tried not to show it. Where were her brother and the FBI? Surely that last session of gloating and threats by Sykes was enough to bring them to the rescue. IF the hidden microphones were working and IF they could get past John’s accomplices who were waiting for him outside. So much could go wrong!

“You used to be smarter than this, John,” said Bo in an even voice. “Four of my officers just saw you holding Counselor Delgado hostage. Surely you don’t think you can get away with this phony story. There are too many witnesses to the fact that Manning is unarmed and restrained. No one will buy it.”

“Oh, I’m not worried about that, Bo. You see, the men will be given a choice: keep their mouths shut or end up with a bullet between the eyes. It’s amazing how the threat of death can cause a sudden case of laryngitis.” He pulled back the hammer on the revolver, pointing it at Bo. “In any case, it won’t be your problem anymore, Commissioner.”

Todd gritted his teeth in frustration. As many times as he had told himself that he wanted Bo out of the way, that he wanted revenge on the man who had arrested him so often, to his surprise he found himself wanting to save him. In a flash he remembered Bo knocking two months off his jail sentence and refusing to arrest him without a warrant. Although he would never admit it publicly, Todd knew that Bo wasn’t the heartless bastard he had claimed him to be. He didn’t want to see the commissioner die because he had put aside his own distaste and tried to help clear the name of someone he had reason to hate.

Clearly they were out of time. The FBI had obviously been held up somehow, and Sykes was ready to carry out his sick plan. Although he hadn’t stopped trying, Todd had been unable to unlock the handcuffs. Since he couldn’t over-power the detective with his hands restrained, he opted for a distraction. He didn’t like leaving Téa unprotected, but he couldn’t think of anything else. When Sykes turned his eyes to Bo, preparing to fire, Todd suddenly sprinted for the back exit, roughly bumping the detective’s shoulder as he ran by. Sykes had squeezed off a round, and a bullet thudded into the log just to the left of Bo’s head. Sykes whipped around in surprise, firing at Todd’s fleeing back. The fugitive disappeared around the corner just as a huge splinter of wood peeled free from a log, marking where the bullet had buried itself in the threshold of the door.

“Damn!” shouted Sykes in frustration. He turned around, pointing a gun at each of his remaining captives. He hesitated, obviously unsure of his next move given that his main quarry had just flown the coop. But it was clear that his carefully concocted story would fall flat without the presence of the man who was to take the blame for the whole tragedy. With a scream of anger and frustration, he turned on his heel and bolted after Todd, tucking the extra gun into the pocket of his blazer.

“Todd!” screamed Téa, running after Sykes. Suddenly, her feet were no longer on the floor. Bo held her tightly around the waist, frustrating her efforts to follow the evil detective.

“You can’t go, Téa!” shouted Bo, holding on tightly as she screamed and squirmed in his embrace. She beat on his arms mercilessly.

“Let me go!” she sobbed. “He’s going to kill Todd!”

“There’s nothing you can do to help him, Téa!” said Bo, shouting in her ear. “He did this to save us. Now let’s get out of here and try to get some help before it’s too late.” He carried her to the front door with Téa still clawing at him and struggling to free herself. Since Sykes’ accomplices were right outside, Bo knew it was death to go rushing out. He spoke aloud, hoping to be heard through the FBI’s hidden microphones. “Now would be a real good time to intervene, gentlemen!” he shouted. The door to the cabin flew open, causing both Téa and Bo to fall back.

“Whatever you say, Commissioner,” said Del Delgado as he rushed into the room with a couple of agents at his heels.

“Thank God!” shouted Téa, looking with relief at her brother. “Is Todd OK?”

“Where is he?” asked Del, observing the room with a look of confusion on his face. “We couldn’t tell what happened. We were busy dealing with the lowlife dirty cops outside and we heard the shots.”

“Oh my God!” shouted Téa. “Del, you have to help him! Todd ran out of here and John is right behind him. He’ll kill him!” This time it was her brother who restrained Téa. He held her back while he barked some orders into a hand-held radio.

“Don’t worry, Téa. I’ve got my best men out looking for them.” He tried to look unconcerned, but in his heart Del knew that Todd was in grave danger.

Chicago Detectives Quilici and Hamley were pushed roughly into the room, along with the three other unidentified thugs who had helped Sykes foil his former colleagues. All were shoved to their knees by the attending agents, their hands cuffed behind them. Bo’s weapon was returned to him by one of the freed Llanview cops. The commissioner made a great show of chambering a round in front of Quilici’s face before sticking the end of the weapon against his head. The heavy-set detective was sweating like a pig. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t splatter this room with your brains,” drawled Bo. Quilici said nothing, his eyes on the floor. The other prisoners stared at the scene, their eyes wide. Bo withdrew the pistol, snorting in disgust as he replaced it in his holster. “You’re really some piece of work, you know that?” he sneered. “Playing with the hopes of a dying old lady…and for what? Money? Loyalty?” He turned his attention to Detective Hamley. “And you! We found out about that bribery scam, Hamley. You’re going down, and for a long time, too.” He gestured to a couple of his men. “Get this scum out of here before I lose it,” he said turning around. The culprits were hustled from the room.

Téa and her brother had their heads together listening to a report from one of the agents searching the woods. “Keep searching!” Del ordered, clearly frustrated. “They haven’t been gone that long. They’ve got to be nearby.” Téa blinked to hold back the tears. She had never been more frightened in her life. She was even more scared than she had been a few minutes before when it was her own life on the line.

“You’ve got to do something!” she shouted. Noticing Bill Doyle enter the cabin, she rushed to his side. “Did you see Todd? Is he all right?”

Doyle shook his head, his eyes sad. “We haven’t located Todd or Syko…er…Sykes,” he said. “Any further orders, Commissioner?” Bo was just opening his mouth to answer when the distinct sound of a gunshot could be heard some distance away.

“Todd!!” screamed Téa, running for the door. This time, her companions let her go, following closely on her heels.

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Todd ran through the woods surrounding the cabin, dodging this way and that to give himself as much cover as possible behind the tall trees. He could clearly hear the footsteps following along behind him, crunching in the thick carpet of fallen leaves. A part of him was gratified that his plan had worked. Obviously Sykes had chosen to chase after him and abandon Bo and Téa. Hopefully, the FBI had shown up by now and the two of them were safe. But there was no denying that Todd was scared to death. He had underestimated the extent of Sykes’ animosity towards him. The man was even prepared to do cold-blooded murder in order to get revenge for his bruised ego. There wasn’t a doubt in Todd’s mind that the tall detective really had gone psycho at last. His only chance to come out of this alive was to run fast and buy himself enough time for the FBI to ride to the rescue. It was a very dark night, and he used it to his advantage, sticking to the shadows and ducking low. But the footsteps behind him were relentless.

A low roar below and to his right told him he had reached the creek that ran behind the cabin. He had noticed it earlier in the day when he had taken a walk while the agents were wiring the house. Usually, it was just a scenic babbling brook, but the recent rains had increased the run-off to the point that the water was rushing swiftly over the tumbled rocks. Since his hands were still in the cuffs, Todd knew that a fall into the river would be fatal. He turned at the top of the ravine and ran uphill, parallel to the stream. He was exposed now, and he hoped the darkness would shield him from the eyes of his pursuer. Finally, he had to take a breather, and he hunched down behind a fallen trunk, trying to control his breathing and listening for his hunter. He palmed the handcuff key and renewed his efforts to free his hands.

He didn’t hear anything. No footsteps, no breathing, nothing. All he could hear was the deep roar of the water cascading over the rocks below. He sensed a presence a split second before a heavy blow to the head sent him sprawling into the mud and dead leaves along the edge of the stream. He rolled over and over, coming up on his knees and stopping cold as the muzzle of an automatic pistol was pressed to his forehead. Sykes laughed diabolically.

“It’ll be a cold day in hell before you can get the best of me, Manning,” he chuckled.

Todd’s head was spinning from the blow from the gun, but he knew his life depended on getting Sykes to talk, rather than shoot.

“Oh yeah?” he taunted. “Well get out your little snowsuit, Syko, because hell is about to freeze over.” Sykes snorted derisively.

“I don’t think so, Manning,” he said in a deadly cold voice. “But you’ll soon be in a position to do an on site weather report.” Although it was dark, Todd could see a triumphant glint in Sykes’ clear eyes.

Swallowing hard, Todd hid his fear. “Give it up, man. Yeah, you can kill me, but is it worth it? You’ll spend the rest of your life in jail. And you’ll never have Delgado. She hates your guts.” In the silence, Todd could hear the FBI agents closing in on them. He knew Sykes was aware of them, too.

A sliver of white teeth flashed in the darkness. Todd shuddered at the coldness of Sykes’ grin. “Well, Todd, at least I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that I rid the world of you and caused Téa immeasurable pain all in one infinitely gratifying moment.” Todd gulped. This was it. “Oh, and don’t worry about me. With my Washington connections, I’m sure I’ll find a way to fix this. You die with the stigma of being a child murderer on your head, and I’ll walk away smelling like a rose.” An almost imperceptible tightening of the detective’s stance warned Todd in time and he threw himself to the side just as Sykes pulled the trigger. He felt the bullet whiz past his head, stirring his hair with its hot breath.

Todd rolled over, kicking out to trip Sykes. The detective went down before he could get off another shot, and Todd continued rolling over and over until he reached the edge of the ravine. He didn’t hesitate a moment, knowing that his only chance at salvation was to get as far away from his assailant as he could. With a final grunt, he pushed himself over the edge and disappeared.

Sykes scrambled to his feet, clutching his gun and cursing under his breath. He could hear bodies crashing through the underbrush. The gunshot had given away their location. He only had seconds to finish Manning before they were discovered. He rushed to the edge of the river, staring into the darkness below. He couldn’t see or hear a thing, but he knew the drop to the water was steep. No doubt Todd had been unable to stop his slide and had been swept away by the rapid current. With his hands bound, there was no doubt of the outcome. They would be fishing his battered, waterlogged body from the Llantano River in a few days. Sykes relaxed a bit. It wasn’t the way he had planned it, but he would take what he could get. And this way, no one could accuse him of murder. “Bye bye, Manning,” he muttered. “See you in hell.”

Without warning, a hand reached out from the darkness, clutching Sykes’ ankle in a vice-like grip. “It’s a date, Syko,” growled a familiar voice. “But you’re getting there first.” Before he could react, Sykes’ feet were pulled out from under him and he felt himself falling into the empty black void. He landed on a rock outcropping several feet below. A sickening sound of crunching bone accompanied the blinding pain as his legs twisted under him at an odd angle. Before he could draw breath, Todd was on him, pummeling his enemy’s face with his fists. The handcuffs that were dangling from one wrist gouged the flesh of his head and neck. Sykes fought with everything he had, punching, biting, head butting, but he was badly injured, and no match for a man who had the advantage of white-hot rage driving him on. In desperation, the detective reached for his gun, which had fallen just at the tip of his fingers, but he wasn’t quick enough. Todd got there first and grabbed the weapon. He shoved it in Sykes face.

“Don’t do it, Manning!” shouted Bo as several flashlight beams flooded the scene with illumination. “We’ve got him now. He’s not going to hurt you or Téa ever again. Give me the gun and let us take over.” Todd didn’t react, staring into the hated detective’s clear blue eyes with unadulterated loathing. He moved the gun closer to his captive’s head, putting the muzzle right next to his ear.

“C’mon, Bro,” coaxed Del. The look on Todd’s face frightened him. He was way beyond reasoning. “He’s down. We’ll take over. Téa needs you.” Del gave a signal behind his back and Téa appeared at the edge of the precipice. She sank to her knees, weak with relief.

“Oh, Querido, you’re all right,” she sobbed. “I thought that shot…” Her voice seemed to penetrate Todd’s anger-induced trance. He pulled away from Sykes slightly, still holding the gun on him. He glanced up at the woman he loved.

“Téa? Is that you?” he asked, seeming confused. She was about to answer when a shrill cry pierced the night. Sykes was whimpering.

“You…you bastard!” he shouted, starting to panic. “I…I can’t feel my legs! Oh God! Oh God! I’m paralyzed! Help me! Help me, somebody!” His upper body thrashed around, but the light beams revealed the truth. Below the waist, his long frame lay at an unnatural angle, the legs twisted like a pretzel. Not the tiniest movement could be detected. Del and Bo exchanged a glance.

“Broken back?” asked Bo in a low voice.

“Yeah,” breathed Del in a voice totally devoid of sympathy.

“Help me!” whimpered Sykes, tears beginning to flow from the corners of his eyes. He looked up at the circle of faces watching him from the top of the ravine, then moved his eyes to the man who was sitting by his side on the narrow rock ledge. Todd still held the gun, but as the two men made eye contact, a slow, utterly freezing smile played along his lips. He slowly lowered the gun to his lap.

“Paralyzed?” Todd asked, toying with his prey. “So you can’t feel this?” He cruelly jerked one of Sykes broken limbs to the side. To his surprise, the hated detective didn’t grimace or move. He just whimpered slightly, more tears slipping from beneath his lids.

“Todd, please come up,” begged Téa. She didn’t like seeing her lover in his cruel, taunting mode.

Todd chuckled. “Oh, Syko,” he teased, using a high-pitched singsong voice. “Did we hurt our little back when we went boom-boom?” Without warning, he lunged forward, shoving the muzzle of the gun in the middle of the fallen man’s forehead. Sykes grimaced, shutting his eyes tightly. The watching cops tensed, realizing that Todd was dangerously close to the end of his rope. “I’m gonna do you a favor, man. I’m gonna spare you a life of living as half a man. Good-bye, Detective.”

“No!” shouted Sykes and half a dozen other voices. “Please, Manning, I don’t want to die,” begged the injured man.

“And why should I let you live? You were going to kill me, and that I can understand, but you almost killed the woman I love and that is something I will never forgive.”

Sykes stared into Todd’s eyes, realizing he didn’t have a prayer. “I…I can clear your name,” he volunteered, grasping at his only chance.

“Oh really? So breaking your back suddenly jarred your memory?”

“No….Yes!” said Sykes quickly as he saw Todd’s finger tighten on the trigger.

“No time like the present, Detective. Tell all the nice people about how you set me up.”

Sykes swallowed hard. “I…I found out about your recovered memory. You know, the night of your fourteenth birthday.” Todd’s hard expression didn’t waver.

“Go on.”

“I wanted to get rid of you and…and hurt you the way that would torture you the most.” Sykes closed his eyes and let out a low moan.

“Manning, c’mon,” said Bo, looking at his underling with a mixture of concern and loathing. “He needs medical attention. We can do this later.”

“No. I want to hear it now,” said Todd. The look in his eyes allowed no argument. “You were saying, Syko?”

“I had some contacts in Chicago. Quilici was always looking for extra cash and Hamley owed me for a favor I did for him. They dug up the old lady, your housekeeper.” Todd nodded, gesturing impatiently with the gun. “She was in a bad way…dying and her only living relative locked up in Joliet. I made a deal with her.”

“So say it, Sykes. Tell them all what you did to me…how you took my worst memory and turned it into a one way ticket to hell.”

“Hattie Brown agreed to give false testimony if I arranged an early release for her grandson.” A loud exhalation of breaths could be heard from the spectators. The truth was out. A shadow of anger passed over the wounded man’s face. “I wanted you to rot in jail where you belong, Manning. Téa would see what a piece of filth you really were and she’d come back to me.” Téa shook her head, unable to understand the depth of obsession that possessed her one-time paramour. “But…but even after you were arrested, she wouldn’t listen to me. She…she wanted you even when there was undeniable evidence that you weren’t fit to breathe the same air as other people…” Sykes looked flabbergasted, still unable to comprehend his rejection. “I had to get rid of you then, Manning. It was the only way.” A long moment passed, as the two men remained with their heads inches apart, staring into each other’s eyes, both consumed with an almost incomprehensible rage. Finally, Todd sat back as he looked coldly at the other man.

“Did you all hear that?” he asked no one in particular.

“I not only heard it, I got it on tape,” said Del, holding up a small tape recorder. He pressed a button and Sykes’ voice could be heard confessing to bribing Hattie Brown. “You’re clear, man…free. He’ll be punished. So come on up here and let’s all go home.” Todd looked at his captive, considering. Very slowly, he pulled the gun away from Sykes’ head. After what seemed like several minutes, he reached up and handed the gun to Bo.

“Yeah, that’s right, you jerk. I’m going to let you live,” he said to Sykes, who was looking surprised. “But don’t think I’m doing you any favor. You see, I’ve reserved the same fate for you that you planned for me. You’re going to prison, Syko, and from the looks of it, you’re gonna be in a wheelchair.” He grinned, his eyes sparkling with an icy glitter. “You do know what that means, don’t ya? You’ll be an easy mark for any con that wants your food, your blanket, your commissary tickets…and even the weaker perverts can get over on a guy who can’t fight back.” Todd chuckled as he saw the fear deep within the other man’s eyes. “Yeah, your own little taste of hell on earth, before someone decides to put you out of your misery and comes at you with a shank…after you’ve out-lived your usefulness.” Todd slowly climbed to his feet, looking down on the fallen detective with utter contempt. “Cheer up. When things get really bad, you can always think about me: filthy rich, successful owner of a media empire, and with the woman I love…” Todd glanced up at Téa, drinking in her sweet, calming presence. “With the woman I love at my side for the rest of my life.” Téa held out a hand to him, and he grasped it, feeling the warmth, the love.

Sykes lay on the cold rock—defeated, paralyzed and completely reviled by his one-time colleagues. Todd glanced at him once more, letting him know that he was no longer of consequence. He turned his back on the fallen man, reaching for the bank to hoist himself up. Téa bent down to help him. The other cops milled about, mumbling to each other in low voices, amazed by the strange developments. Bo stepped away, using his police radio to order a medivac helicopter for the injured detective. Sykes watched as the world began to go on as though he didn’t exist. He saw Téa reach down and caress Todd’s chin, her face totally suffused with love. Feeling the bitter bile rising in his throat, he ignored his useless legs and slowly moved his hand toward the pocket of his blazer.

Smiling at Téa, Todd pulled himself halfway up the embankment, ignoring the pair of handcuffs that were still hanging from one wrist. He was just moving one leg up, when all hell broke loose. Vaguely aware of the loud bang of the gunshot behind him, Todd lurched forward as the bullet slammed into his body. Téa screamed, dropping to her knees next to his fallen form. He just had strength to lift his head and find her face. Their eyes locked, the awesome connection between them still strong, but growing weaker….and weaker. It was all there…the love…the regret…what could have been and what would never be.

“No….no….” whimpered Téa a second before another shot rang out.

TO BE CONTINUED

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