A Grand Design
Chapter Eleven
'Oh, God!' A wave of fear coursed through her as
she considered what might happen to both of them if Stefano's men found them. John
was at her side before Marlena could even call his name out loud.
Looking out the window, he saw them too. Six
of them--all Dimera's people. He could tell from the bulk in their upper
bodies. Stefano was bringing out the heavy hitters, using his best and
unquestionably strongest men to track down the traitor. John swallowed hard,
suddenly realizing just what he'd done to himself, that Stefano hated him like
no other now. The man would not rest until his goons had dragged John back to
the compound where he would face unimaginable varieties of torture. He
shuddered inside at the thought, then quickly snapped out of it to deal with
more immediate concerns.
John looked out again. They were on the other
side of the U-shaped building, going from room to room, doing a systematic
search. It wouldn't take long.
"What are we going to do now, John?"
his companion said in a panic.
"Damn, they're fast!" Grabbing her
hand, he tugged her away from the window. "Come on, we have to get out of
here, now. Right now!"
She nodded, and then gathered her few belongings
together, shivering slightly when she heard the now familiar clicking sound of
a bullet filled clip being inserted into a handgun. Once again, John was
prepared to shoot his way out of a bad situation. This time, she was glad for
the measure of protection it offered, but more than a little frightened all at
the same time.
In a few seconds, they were climbing out the
bathroom window, thankful it was a first floor room they'd rented, and racing
toward the Range Rover. John was looking over his shoulder, hoping no one had
made them. It was quiet with no movement behind them. So far so good.
In only three minutes, they were behind the
outbuilding and hiding in the stashed vehicle, breathing hard from the exertion
and the adrenaline rush. John waited a few moments, wondering whether he should
take the chance that Dimera's people would find no evidence of his presence at
the Inn.
The answer came in a burst of gunfire. Based
on the noise and the number of flashes, the room they'd stayed in was being riddled
with bullets. Then there was a tremendous explosion, in which the entire east
section of the Inn was obliterated. Stefano wasn't messing around this time.
Cupping her face in her hands, Marlena watched
in horror. "Oh, my God!"
John looked at her for only a second, his head
cocked slightly to one side, as if to make a silent apology for ever appearing
in her life. There was no time for more. She swallowed the fear and nodded her
understanding.
He started the Range Rover's powerful engine as
quietly as possible, prepared to leave the scene as soon as it seemed clear to
move. They drove off while alarms blared, smoke and flames billowed, and
confusion reigned, hoping that no one in a position to stop them had seen them
go.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The three law enforcement agents leaped off
their beds at the staccato sound of gunfire. It seemed like it was emanating
from the other end of the Inn. The noise was made by rapid firing automatic
weapons--probably Uzi's or AK-47's.
By the time they all had pants on, they had
just made it to the window to see the explosion at it's beginning. It
effectively blinded them for a minute, their eyes having been accustomed to the
darkness.
Racing out the door of his room and toward the
site of the fire, Bo thought he caught a glimpse of something moving in the
distance. He pointed, "Shane... look! Over there... is that what I think
it is?"
By the time the other man did as requested,
there was nothing to see. "What, Bo? What am I supposed to be looking at?"
"It's gone, never mind." Maybe it
was just dancing shadows, a trick of the smoke and flames in the darkness.
"For a second, I thought I saw... I don't know... a truck or something. I
was hoping it was..."
Shane guessed. "The Ranger Rover... with
Marlena and Black?"
He let out another sigh. "Yea... just
wishful thinking I guess."
Patting his friend on the back, Shane
sympathized, "It's understandable Bo... now, let's go find out what in
blazes just happened."
"Stefano happened, Shane. He's out for blood
and he wants Black to know it."
"I think the detective from the States is
right," Jacques said, coming up behind them--wondering if there was any
way to stop Dimera from exacting revenge. "That was a warning of things to
come. Stefano will hold nothing back." At some point, whether in police
custody or not, he would have the man killed in a way that would send a clear
message to anyone who ever thought about crossing him. One way or another,
Black was bound to suffer for his betrayal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although Stefano Dimera clearly enjoyed being
in the presence of fine things, the opulence of his surroundings meant nothing
at this particular moment. He paid no attention to the rich burgundy leather of
the chair in which he sat, to the other expensive furnishings, draperies and
art work painstakingly collected through the years, nor to the sounds of his
favorite aria coming from the top of the line stereo system.
He was focused on only one objective.
Vengeance.
"What do you mean he wasn't there?"
he bellowed at his subordinate.
"They were gone by the time we made it to
their room. They must have seen us coming. We destroyed it. "
"How did they get past you? There were
half a dozen men."
"I don't know, Sir... "
"Don't come back to me until you have him
with you. And I want them alive, both of them! And mark my words, if you fail
me, I will come after you, all of you and kill you myself!" Betrayal was
an act of treachery that could not go unpunished, on principle alone, but this
was personal. Black would suffer like no other for his breach of his mentor's
trust. Not only did he know too much, he had cost Stefano a woman he coveted
and was now in the presence of another woman he secretly wanted to possess.
His underling was sufficiently fearful,
"Yes, Sir, Mr. Dimera, Sir, we'll find them and bring them both to
you."
Dimera slammed the telephone into its base,
shouting out to the silence of the night.
"IMBECILES!!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They'd been racing up and down snowy mountain
roads for at least fifteen minutes when she finally worked up the nerve to ask
him a question. "John..." and then he looked at her and she stopped
short, suddenly not wanting to hear what she knew he would say.
"What is it, Marlena?"
She made the query anyway, "Who was that
back there?"
"I think you know the answer to that
question," he said, returning his attention to the next curve in the road.
An accident now would not be a good thing.
"Stefano."
"Give the lady a prize... yep, that was
Dimera's handiwork, or his design anyway. He's sending out a message."
"What kind of a message?"
"He wants me bad. He doesn't care who
gets in the way or what he has to do, he's going to get me and he's going to
take me to one of his compounds."
What he didn't say in combination with the
haunted expression on his face told her a lot about what he believed would
happen after that. "Oh, John.."
"I know.... I'm sorry. I wish
that..." He was going to tell her he wished he never dragged her into his
mess, but he couldn't say that, because she meant something to him now.
"What, John... what do you wish?"
"I wish there was a good way to get you
out of this, get you to a safe place."
"Is that an apology?"
"Yea, I guess it is. I'm so sorry,
Marlena. I'm sorry I ever got you all caught up in this. I was desperate and I
didn't know where else to turn. This is going to sound crazy, but that day...
on the Champ-Elysees, you seemed so....nice, and when I got hit, I just sort of
knew you would help me."
His smile indicated embarrassment. "Thank
you, John. I'm glad I could help you and I'm glad I'm here with you now, but I
can't say that I'm not scared."
"You saved my life, lady and as long as I
live I'll never forget that. I won't let anybody hurt you, I swear it!"
She shuddered at the intensity of his
statement, and the steely blue of his eyes. He meant it, he would die to
protect her if necessary. "I believe you."
"Good. Now, in case something happens, I
want you to know where we're going. We're heading into the Alps. I have a
little place up there, real secluded. Dimera doesn't know about it. It's a
cabin and it's tucked back in so you can't see it at all from the road, and the
garage is built into the ground, so the truck won't be visible from the air.
We'll have some time to rest up there, to make a better plan for getting
away."
He looked at her and she was shivering all of
a sudden. "I'm sorry.. I was... I didn't mean..."
"No, it's okay.. I was just thinking about
my children. I miss them so...."
"Oh, man.... I forgot all about that.
Listen, Marlena.... you can go, any time, I mean it. I'll find a way to get you
to the airport and put you on a plane home to the States. You're not my....
hostage anymore."
"No, I'm not."
The sexual tension between them was palpable,
but neither had the courage to make a move. It wasn't the time. That would have
to come later, when they were safe, from the ravages of the storm and the
relentless pursuit of a vengeful Stefano Dimera. Not to mention the
International law enforcement community that was trying to apprehend him in
order to obtain valuable information that would lead to the arrest and
conviction of his former employer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The innkeeper's wife was trembling with the
shock of what had happened only an hour ago. Her husband held her in an attempt
to settle her nerves, Shane Donovan was striving to remain calm and Bo, who had
already lost the battle, was pacing as the couple answered their questions in broken
English, mixed with the occasional French expletive.
Are you sure this is the woman?" Shane
asked again, holding the photograph in front of her.
The response was a nod of the head from both
of them. Jacques presented another photo, saying, "And this man.... are
you positive she was with him?"
"Well, I cannot be sure," said the
innkeeper, hesitating to look at the photograph again. "He had no beard,
but the shape of his face is the same... and his hair was dark and long like
this... yes, yes I'm sure it was him," he said with increasing confidence.
Shane turned to look at Bo and then back at
the couple. "Thank you, thank you so much. You've helped a lot."
"For what it is worth, Mister Donovan,
this woman.... she did not seem... how you say... frightened. She was more
determined. She said her husband was feeling ill and was waiting in the vehicle
while she registered for them."
"Do you mean to say that it didn't appear
that she was his hostage?"
The man nodded, his eyes indicating that he
was thinking and considering exactly how to describe her behavior. "Yes,
she was acting more like a wife who was worried about her husband and wanted to
get back to him, than someone who was afraid for her safety."
That assessment simultaneously raised three
pairs of eyebrows and left a puzzled expression on all their faces. It was an
unexpected twist in the tale.
Sandra
H. Bondelier
2000