"I'm sorry, Sherry…did I do something wrong?" Slider asked hesitantly as
her eyes darkened with a strangely shy look behind them.
Wrong? Yeah, you could call it that! "Wrong" because this was out of the
blue…I wasn't ready…
Her cheeks were still a bright pink, and her doe-like eyes seemed to glaze
over with thought. "No…no…its just me and being up so late. I think I'm
getting a little tired. Don't worry…I'll be back to speed in the morning."
Nodding to him, she opened the door in what she felt was an awkward way.
"Let me know if he has any problems at all."
"Yeah…sure. Get some rest. Good night, Sherry."
The door closed and Sherry's face caved into the agony she was feeling. Oh
God, that was so close…I'm going to spoil everything…
Somewhere in his mind, Slider registered something that was new and
different. Why had she looked like that? She had seemed almost
embarrassed by his display of gratefulness. Kissing her had been something
so spur-of-the-moment that he hadn't really even thought about it. The
crushing weight of bearing the burden of his friend's injuries had been
lifted by her willingness to step right in and help, and he had just wanted
to express something of his relief to her. Never would he have imagined that
she would react the way she did. Not Sherry!
Slowly, he turned and his mind once more rewound to the last few minutes with
her. All he could seem to see was her dark eyes staring wildly back at him -
as if he had slapped her hard across the face.
A scream so unearthly that it sounded inhuman pierced his thoughts, and his
eyes were caught up by the scene before him. Flinging his arms out like some
kind of crazed animal, Nick's body flailed erratically against the sofa.
Slider rushed over to his side and grabbed his arms with all the strength he
had.
"Nick!!"
Tea spoke hesitantly into the phone, "Miguel? It's me…Tea. Si. I have to
ask you to help me…what?…my loss?…yes, it was sudden…no, this is why I am
calling…you can't say anything, comprende?…where can I meet you?…good…I'll
be there…gracias Miguel."
There! That's done and I know Miguel hates the authorities as much as Todd
does. He'll say nothing. One more stop to make before I rendezvous with
him.
The room was completely dark with only a few bits of distant light peeking
through some miniblinds. A steady breathing sound came from the large man
lying face down against jumbo pillows seemingly fast asleep. His lips moved
imperceptibly as he almost smiled in a dreamlike state. In seconds the smile
turned to a downward frown as the blaring ringing of a phone disturbed his
slumber.
Irritated and groggy, his hand reached for the phone. "What now?! "
"Sorry to wake you sir…got a hot tip just minutes ago. Remember I told you
Tea Manning was admitted to the hospital? She's skipped out…just disappeared
into thin air, and Delgado is raising all kinds of Cain over at that place."
"Well, what do you expect me to do Edwards? She's free to go anywhere she
wants…apparently she recovered pretty quickly."
"It's funny that she wouldn't even tell her own brother, don't you think?
Makes me wonder if she's got some information she doesn't want to share with
anyone."
Sykes blinked rapidly as his mind began to function again. Or maybe she's
going to stir up some trouble for this Department and me. "Okay…you've got
a point. Maybe we should get someone to track her down and see what she's up
to…and Edwards…don't call me again unless it's an emergency!"
Burying his head down into the pillow and tensing the back muscles on his
broad back, he tried unsuccessfully not to think about what had transpired on
this night. It wasn't enough that he had had to pore over the infamous
report. Now he had Tea Delgado Manning on the loose and in all probability
snooping around. Or maybe she just went somewhere to mourn her now dead,
deranged husband in peace? Nothing surprised him anymore about what this
night's events could lead to. Tomorrow… all I want to do is get some sleep
and think about it all tomorrow…
Riding down in the elevator, Sherry relived her moment of embarrassment with
Slider and tried to figure out just how much she must have been blushing
after his surprise kiss. Never had he as much as really touched her in all
the years they'd known each other. Sure, there'd been a lot of intimate
discussions and casual, teasing repartee, but Slider had always kept his
respectful distance from her. After the first year of knowing him, she had
come to accept it from him. If anything, it had been her willingness to just
be near him. With her medical knowledge and his psychology, they're talks
had never been boring, but beyond that, they had just enjoyed each other's
company.
This will change everything! I can see him now analyzing what I did…pulling
all the people knowledge he has at his fingertips to figure this out. But
maybe he won't…maybe he'll just believe what I said and leave it at that.
Forcing his own strength to master the frantic, hyper movements of the man
rolling back and forth on the sofa, Slider once more spoke out amidst the
horrible noise.
"Nick! It's me…Slider! You're okay!"
The eyes flashed open almost like a mechanical toy and looked at him with
sudden, powerful awareness. "Sure I'm okay…it's just Toddy having one of
his nightmares. You can relax now."
"Well, he wasn't the only one affected was he?" Slider said dispassionately
as Nick leaned back on the sofa - weakened physically by his exertions.
"Ten points for you, Dr. Shrink! You're just aching to get inside his
brain aren't you? Well, what if he doesn't have one? What if there never
really was a Todd at all?"
You'd like to think so, but you need him like you need the air to breathe.
The garden's somber quiet was peaceful, and the deep, floral beauty of the
garden delicately balanced out the strong brick tones of Llanfair's exterior.
It had always been Viki's retreat into another world, which helped to soothe
her frayed nerves. A clap of thunder in the night sky made her racing heart
race faster, and she tried to disassemble the thoughts forming and building
like solid blocks in her mind. Years ago he had written about someone just
like her. There was no mistake. She was a journalist and knew how to pick
apart components of a story. His written words had penetrated down into
some hidden chasm of her soul that she had never even known existed until
now.
A sound whipped her back into reality, and she froze as she heard a slight
rustling in the thick rhododendrons out beyond the terrace. Another crackle
of thunder resonated against the night air and for a second a brief flash of
lightning illuminated the shrouded darkness of the grounds at a distance.
Someone is out there! She turned quickly to rush inside and lock the open
French doors, but she heard another noise behind her, which brought her
movements to a standstill. The voice was one she knew and one she felt
herself embracing with every emotion she possessed.
"Viki!"
Turning slowly back she saw the clear figure of him against the dark backdrop
of the overgrown hedges. Strands of his white-blond hair were blown forward
closer to his face - highlighting his tanned skin. His jacket seemed as if
it had been slung over his arms haphazardly, and the buttons undone on his
shirt revealed the top of a white tee shirt. Staring at him, she saw
distress and a wildness in his eyes as if he had come from some dangerous
place. Nothing outside of her made any sense suddenly except for his
presence and the look he gave her, and she braced herself inwardly to meet
the force of his stare. You're here…you're back!
Walking over to a chair, Slider sat down easily and looked coolly at the
persona he was all too familiar with from the past. Nick was as formidable
a man as he had been as a boy, but now his current status in Todd's world
suddenly made him that much more threatening. There was knowledge there --
knowledge and power combined, which exuded from every pore. The menace
behind his words was subtle and well directed -- just enough to cause Slider
to refortify all of what he had learned and begin to think of what he would
do to handle him.
The extent of what he knew about Nick was cloaked in secrecy. What he did
know was probably more than anyone knew. He suspected that Nick had been
silent for years on all that had happened. Slider also realized that as much
as he still distrusted him, there was a mesmerizing aura about him that drew
him in. That had also been the same with Todd, as he had known him back
then. So much lurked beneath the surface. So much that no one had ever
been able to fully understand. I'm probably one of the few people ever in
your life to want to, Z.
There's a big difference now. I wasn't able to help you like I wanted to.
You were too complicated…too entangled in surviving the horrors of your past.
Then Nick came along, and all hell broke loose. I wasn't equipped then…I
am now.
"You didn't answer my question. Too hard for you now, right? You just don't
have all those pertinent facts keyed in, do you? I'll give you a fact…you
may have already heard it somewhere, but it's a juicy little tidbit… Toddy
and I have a wife."
~ TO BE CONTINUED ~
