IMPOSTER - PART TWENTY TWO

PREVIOUSLY

A very faint rumbling which sounded out of the stillness of the perfect August night caused every nerve in Todd's body to react as he heard it. He knew that sound. He remembered that sound from another time -- a time when he had also been hunted down like an animal. Just great! They sent out a helicopter!

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"What is it?" Tea felt his body tense and his entire mood had changed. Now she understood him in a way she never had before, and his changes had become a part of her.
He looked down at her -- his long lashes lowered -- veiling an apparent wistfulness. Why the hell does it have to be this way? Can't we ever get a break so that we can have a shot at a married life? This is all a cruel joke, and I'm not laughing, Tea.
Before he could reply, Tea suddenly became aware of the distant sound, and her eyes flashed at him with alarm.
"Oh my God...a helicopter!" she cried out, gripping his arms with panic that his time with her was only borrowed time. I don't want you to leave me, Todd! No!! Not now...I can't take it!
Todd saw her panic and wanted to lash out at the forces which controlled his existence. They have always butted into my life when I didn't want them to!
"Shhh...," he murmured with compassion for her distress and stroked her long, now disheveled hair. "I knew they would come sooner or later, Tea...I think we both did if we're honest." As he said these words, his mind was already beginning to think ahead and formulate strategies that he could use to elude the police. HIs survival instinct pushed its way out into the open, and all his energy was suddenly redirected to one purpose -- getting way.
Tea watched him closely and saw the well-known tactical ability of her husband materialize. Something about his eyes revealed the level of his thinking. He's already planning how he's going to escape!
"Oh, no, you're not!" she halted his thoughts with her vehement outcry. "Todd Manning! You are not going to cut out on me!"
At another time he would have dismissed her feelings as being those of an overwrought female, but she was his now, and everything he did from this point on involved her.
"What do you suggest I do? Turn myself in?" he said with a trace of amusement in his voice, but the idea of doing that was completely out of the question to him.
Tea's hands tightened again around his arms, and she plunged into what she hoped was a convincing argument. "Why not, Todd? You had DID, remember? Your alter, Pete, is the one who tried to rape me and forced me to leave with him -- not you!
"Except for one thing, Tea," he shook his head knowingly, "and otherwise, I'd agree with you and say, "why not?" too. I'm Todd Manning, and as long as this town continues to see me as a monster, there will be no way I can waltz into Sykes' department now without getting crucified. Besides...I'm sure the FBI has been called in by now."
Tea twisted her body to try to move out of his arms. "Then, I'm going with you!"
"No...you're not." He held onto her and spoke in a commanding tone which made her tingle again in appreciation of his aggressiveness.
"Don't get macho with me, Manning!" she glared back at him, but a slight change in her eyes betrayed her -- revealing that her anger was faked. Something in the way he had said it made her know that he knew exactly what he was doing. After all this time of trying to force him into her idea of what he should be, she had learned a valuable lesson in the past twenty-four hours. I'm not going to try to change you into something you're not anymore.
"Okay...I'm not," she consented to him, and before she could speak again, his mouth swooped down on hers in a rush of infectious emotion. HIs lips moved into hers confidently as he was now completely familiar with every sensual detail of her. Before he knew it, he found he was being drawn in once more to her electrifying charm, and he had to fight with himself just to release her.
"Thank you," he said in a tremulous voice, and he slowly pulled away from her as if he was pulling away from another side of himself. It reminded him of the time he had said goodbye to Starr in the stables and the wrenching pain that settled into his soul.
He lifted himself up and grabbed his clothes to put on. His arms slid into the sleeves of the silk shirt and he mechanically put on the leather vest and pants which were a reminder of his greatest enemy -- the alter, Pete. Glancing over at his wife, he saw her admiring him again as he was getting dressed.
"Is it the new me?" he said pointing to his outfit and feebly trying to joke a little during the awkward silence between them.
Her eyes glinted and she smiled half-heartedly. "No, but you look good, Todd -- you always have to me."
He handed her clothes to her and she rose up from the blanket to begin dressing. Her heart was numb with pain and she shakily tried to go through the motions of what she had to do. As she began buttoning up her blouse, her fingers started to tremble and she saw a wet spot appear on the material. I'm losing it! I can't let him see me like this -- not before he has to go and survive out there. He needs me to be strong! I'm a basket case!
Strong, slender fingers covered her own fingers and gently moved hers over and finished buttoning for her. Her head was bent down and she felt the wetness of her tears on her lashes. One of his fingers touched her chin -- tilting it upwards until she knew her face was level with his, but her eyelids were still lowered in sadness and shame that she couldn't be braver for him.
"Look at me, Tea," he said with so much fervor that her eyes opened immediately to the still haunting gaze of a man who would never be a stranger to her again.
"Where ever I am, you're going to know I'm alright...by this," he said and his hand touched her heart lightly. "We're connected, Tea, and you'll know what's happening by how you feel in here."
For a moment she felt such a peace descend over her -- as if there was nothing in the world that could interfere with their love for each other. Then a different sound echoed against the stark stillness around them, and she froze again and gaped at him with eyes full of awareness of what the sound meant.
"Dogs...oh, God...Todd!" and she saw him cock his head in a listening attitude -- his eyes shifting immediately into dead seriousness. This was another noise that had possessed his dreams many nights, and he would wake up in a cold sweat. Well, they certainly have called out everything they have. Good ole' Sykes! And the helicopter! Must be the FBI!
Desperation seemed to have the opposite effect on Todd Manning as it did for most people. He realized how all the cards were stacked against him, but it had always been this way -- all down the line of his life. The one thing he knew to be overriding in his makeup was his ability to survive and the past had born this out. A few brief seconds had passed and already he knew what he would do. I won't tell you, Tea, because I don't want you to be compromised by your love for me and your need to stand by the law.

Viki Carpenter parked the Continental not far from the Lamborghini and looked over at Sam Rappaport for affirmation of what they would do. She knew she would do what she had to do regardless, but somehow, she wanted to include him as a partner in this decision. He had been a willing participant, and she had understood that him being there was not just about finding Todd. He was there for her, too, and this thought sent quite a warm feeling through her.
"Sam, I..."
"Don't say another word!" Sam's normally pleasant expression had altered and his tone and manner were all business. "Let's go!"
Viki's face lit up and her eyes conveyed her thanks to him. What a fine man he is!
As they got out of the car, both of them looked upward as the air reverberated with the echo of the helicopter which seemed to be getting ominously closer. "Come on!" Sam yelled out and grabbed her hand to help her cross over a mound of earth. He surveyed the outstretch of land and tried to think where they might be, and then across the spectrum of terrain, he saw an enclave of trees. Pointing to them, he said, "What do you think?"
Viki looked over at where he was pointing and nodded at him. "Let's go!"

Maloney had given the order for his team to head out to the main road, and from there, he had taken a few moments to reassess just where this sly Mr. Manning would have gone. If they were headed out of there in his car, they would have turned right to go in the opposite direction of Llanview. But how far did you go down this main road, Mr. Manning? Your sister was in pursuit of you, right? Then, I'll bet my next paycheck that you slipped into one of those side roads not far from here. Looking down the road, he counted off the side roads which he could see.
Let's see...one, two, three...FOUR! That's the ticket! It's Number Four, Maloney! Years of getting into the mind of fugitives had always served him well, and his innate radar sense had kicked in.
Several waiting vans loaded up the team and dogs and sped down the highway toward the road which Maloney had targeted. Pulling into the road, the vans rolled in lumberous fashion further down the road. "Pull off here!" Maloney ordered, and the lead van slowed and parked to the side of the lush green landscape. The other van followed -- parking right behind it. Maloney jumped off the back of the van with his slick, coal-black hunters and signaled the group of men again. The veteran dog trainer felt the familiar tugging against the leashes and a nasty smile played on his mouth. I know you're here, Manning! I feel it!

"Todd, where are you going to go?" Tea's face had become tight with worry -- her large, brown eyes even more round and anxious.
"I can't tell you, Delga.. Mrs. Manning," he said and both his arms extended toward her and encircled her waist -- pulling her to him possessively. Once more he seemed to inhale her with his eyes, and his hands ran up and down her back -- lingering seductively below her waist. Damn! This is like slow, agonizing torture to leave you now! But you're mine...all mine...and I can leave you knowing that we're okay now.
Tea eyed him warily and pursed her lips. "So you're protecting me, is that it? I'm a lawyer, Todd. I can work around all that!"
"Trust me, Tea!" he said softly, but firmly, and he bent his head down to taste her one more time before he became a man on the run again. His mouth took hers in a full kiss, rich with passion and love that was meant to seal their new intimacy and show her that he would never really leave her alone for good.
She wanted to throw her arms around him and cry out loud, but she knew he didn't need that. Mustering every bit of strength she had, her arms snaked arund his middle and glided along his spine. "I want you back home with me, Mr. Manning! We have a lot of catching up to do, so make it snappy!"
His eyes sparkled and deepened with his understanding of what she was attempting to do for him. The air suddenly filled with a thunderous noise looming closer than before, and he lifted her hands from his body and turned in the direction he would go -- toward the mountains. He flashed her the golden smile that she had seen at the docks of the Llantano river one fateful night, but this time, she knew the smile was reserved just for her.
"I'll be home for dinner before you know it, Mrs. Manning," he said -- tossing the statement out to her and winking. This is tearing me up, Tea! But I won't let you know that!
She released him with a last sigh of lost hope that they could somehow stay in this special place -- the place where they had finally become lovers -- and make time stand still.
"I love you, Todd Manning!" she threw back at him and blew him a kiss through the haze of her tears and prayed silently that the saints would watch over him and bring him back to her.
He flung his long, tangled hair over his shoulder and turned to wave at her as he began to distance himself from her with every painful step.
"I know!" he called back to her, and she almost laughed in the midst of her despair. Yes, you should know! God speed, querido!
She watched as his form got smaller and smaller and she saw him half turning to wave at her one more time. I'll haunt you forever if you don't come back to me, Todd!
"Tea!" a male voice called out from behind her, and she spun around to see two familiar figures making their way toward her. Tea stared at them as if they were two spectral figures from another dimension. Sam and Viki!!

~ TO BE CONTINUED ~

Bonnie Raitt/Paul Brady/Dillon O'Brian