Fanfic: B&S episode 608: part 2/4
Season 6 - Episode 8 - THIS IS MY LIFE
By Marea67
About: Brothers & Sisters (general)
Rate: Can’t go higher than PG-13, as this is American Television, but I may add a few ‘deleted scenes’ here and there. ;)
Disclaimer: Just escaping from reality here, not created for financial gain
Summary: It is my very own season 6, you guys! Go with it! ;) Don’t complain! If YOU can do better, post your own story! (I dare you!)
Warning: I was in an cut-throat mood when I wrote this chapter. :S
***** Part 2/4 *****
In Kevin’s office Alex hears every word and he’s furious. Whoever that bitch is, how does she dare to claim that Kevin is not good enough for Scotty? If anyone should thank God for a wonderful partner it is Scotty.... Fortunately, judging by Scotty’s face, he seems to know that too.
Alex quietly looks around in Kevin’s office for anything that he can use as a weapon. Anything he can use to kill or at least hurt that woman, who’s holding a gun on Kevin and Scotty. But a preliminary check doesn’t show more than some elastic bands and a letter-opener that is hardly sharp enough to open a letter.
He feels helpless, something that hasn’t happened to him in quite a while. Through the slightly open door, he can see Kevin trying to get free. Alex assesses that Kevin will succeed eventually, but it will take time. Scotty is tied up as well, but he seems to hardly move his hands, which tells Alex that Scotty believes that he won’t be able to get free.
He looks at his options. He can fight her himself, but somehow charging in there with no weapon seems rather pointless and stupid against someone who is holding a gun. He can’t escape without being heard. His eyes notice the phone on Kevin’s desk, buried under a stack of mail. That’s it... He could call someone .... But who? Who would believe him?
*****
“I have a suggestion...” Kitty laughs. “I know your feet are killing you, but... how about this? I need some baby’s pyjamas and I want something cute to hang over the crib. Once we have those... We go to Café 429 and I’ll buy us lunch? ... Think about it, mom.... Saturday is red velvet cup-cakes-day....” She singsongs.
Nora laughs at her enthusiasm. She hardly recognizes Kitty or the way she moves around as if she’s just 20 years old.
“I don’t know which makes me more tired. Your energy or walking around this store.”
“The worst is behind me, mom. No more morning-sickness and such...”
“Well, I remember that.” Nora agrees. “Isn’t it wonderful to be able to eat your breakfast and actually keep it in your stomach?”
“Heavenly... Mom, I’m so happy with this baby. And with the fact that Seth now approves of our child as well. It makes everything so much easier...”
“And Evan?”
“He was a bit jealous, but we’ve been going through the photo-albums I made when I had cancer and he was so impressed with the millions of pictures of him. I think he finally understood that, no matter how happy I am with this baby, he’s still my little boy too.”
There’s a sudden sadness on Kitty’s face and Nora looks at her.
“What’s wrong?”
“There were also quite a lot of pictures of Robert and Evan. Much more than I thought. It did bring back some of the anguish I felt after his heart-attack...”
“I’m glad that Robert didn’t take his problems, and the marriage-troubles that followed, out on his relationship with Evan...” Nora nods.
“Yes. I was a bit surprised by that too. I guess, that I experienced those days so differently than they really were...” Kitty says, in thoughts.
*****
Olivia holds Daniel tightly and Mateo can see that she’s afraid.
“Listen Olivia, you and Daniel need to get out of here.”
“How?” She asks. Mateo looks around. The storage room is not that big, so he’s quickly done assessing the place. He grins.
He climbs on one of the lower shelves, then he motions Olivia to come as well. Olivia puts Daniel on the floor. He can’t go far anyway in this small place.
“Look. Last year I broke into this restaurant, through that window over there. It used to be easy to open, but I guess that has changed.
The alley behind the restaurant is small and most people just pass it by. Almost no one comes here unless you know what you’re looking for, like I did. You can fit through it.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve grown too big, but not you and Daniel. You climb out and I then I’ll give Daniel.”
“What do I do then?”
“Once you’re out, you go to the right. Moving to the left, will take you back to the front of Café 429, where the crazy woman could see you. Go to the right and it will take you to the street behind 429 and you’ll be safe. Call the police from there.”
“How? Michelle has our phones...”
“Ask someone on the street to help you. Stay on the street, where everyone can see you. Don’t go anywhere with anyone. Don’t trust anyone.” Mateo advices. Olivia nods. Mateo unlatches the window and helps Olivia up.
Olivia crawls out into the small alley. She only narrowly fits through. She turns to Mateo.
“I’m scared.” Her lip trembles and Mateo caresses her face.
“You need to be strong, Olivia.” He picks up Daniel and hands him over. “You need to be the big sister. Daniel needs you....”
“You’re right.” She says and she stops trembling the moment she holds Daniel in her arms, she shushes him to be quiet. “And you? She’s gonna kill you if she finds out Daniel is gone.”
“Just be safe. I can take care of myself.” Mateo answers and he pushes her away and closes the window, finally allowing himself to be afraid for his own life...
*****
“Seriously? The beach? Jonathan....”
“Oh, come on, Saulie, when was the last time you felt sand between your toes? Or that cold water from the ocean around your ankles?” Jonathan teases and Saul has to think long and hard.
“I knew it. Come on. Off with those shoes and socks.” Jonathan orders. Saul mumbles some protest, but Jonathan’s enthusiasm is contagious and the beach does look beautiful and inviting. So he complies and he lets Jonathan lead the way to the waterline, where they walk quietly beside each other for at least 10 minutes.
Eventually Jonathan stops and it gives Saul the time to look at the seemingly infinite size of the ocean. Jonathan sits down and Saul follows his example.
“Isn’t she pretty? The ocean.” Jonathan asks. “When I just found that I had HIV, I came here often...My favourite place to hide...
I would sit here in the sand for hours, just staring at the ocean, wondering what I had done wrong in my life that God punished me this way.... I thought I was going to die within a year... After all, that is what we heard all around us... We were still so uneducated.
I didn’t know any better than if you’re diagnosed with HIV, then you get AIDS, wither away and then death will follow shortly and inevitably... I knew so little and it was so many years ago...” Jonathan’s face is so sad, that Saul puts an arm around him and Jonathan looks up at him and smiles.
“I felt very alone and unloved and unwanted. I started to see how empty my life had become. My drinking had made me lose my job and my friends, but it was the thought of losing my life that really got to me. And it wasn’t until I came out officially and that I was honest about who I was and what I carried with me in my body, that I became whole.
I lost a lot of people around me and that hurt me very much, but at the same time I gathered another group of people... Those are the ones that I call my friends.... I had many fake friends when I was this popular news-anchor, who’d always be ready to party, but it were those who stuck with me when the party was over, that became important to me.
And, I believe that you should broaden your friendship-circle too. I love your family, I do, but they are not the only people on this planet. You still have issues with being out, you’re still not comfortable in your own skin... and you throw yourself in your work to hide it... That’s the way I see it anyway.”
Saul feels like he should protest, but he can’t. He quietly thinks over Jonathan’s words.
“Maybe I do spend more time at Café 429 than I should... It’s not just the fact that it feels comfortable to be there, where everybody knows that I’m gay, but no one talks about it or judges me over it.
But I also feel responsible towards my family. I‘ve made so many mistakes in my life, Jonathan. I lied to Nora about William. I tried so hard to protect her, but I failed and when she found out, she was even more hurt, not only because of what William had done, but also because of my part in it.
I feel like it’s my fault that we lost the family company. Sarah told me to kill the Golden Plum deal, but I didn’t. Blinded as I was by my own so-called importance.... After that I shouldn’t have let Tommy fight Holly alone, but I did... I shouldn’t have allowed Ryan to come working for Ojai, but I let it happen, because I felt I owed that to his mother.”
“But, Saul,...”
“I know. It’s not just my fault, others like Sarah, Tommy and Ryan and Holly were also responsible for their part, but ‘knowing’ it is not the same as being able to live with it.” Saul lets his head rest on Jonathan’s shoulder.
“When Scotty started to talk about having his own restaurant, I got excited. It felt like a clean slate, something that wasn’t weighed down with secrets. Unlike how William acted as if Nora wasn’t a part of Ojai and didn’t need to be consulted, Scotty and Kevin went together over every little detail.
Kevin and Scotty still work closely together and closely with me. No nasty surprises, no cheques for things I am not supposed to know about, no pretend-‘meetings’ I have to lie about. I love to be at Café 429 because Kevin and Scotty treat me like an equal partner and not the person to keep all the dirty laundry from being found.
And I absolute loathe the way that Tommy treated Scotty in particular. Scotty did something out of the kindness of his heart and he really needed Tommy. But Tommy just proved to be, yet again, a disappointment and I feel responsible for that. I want to make the burden on Scotty as little as possible...”
Jonathan had quietly listened to Saul and he nods that he understands.
“Good. Let’s go back to Café 429 then and you’ll talk to Scotty and do what you must do, but after that, you’re going home with me. You won’t stay all night..”
“Deal.” Saul promises.
*****
“Sir? There’s a man here who insists on talking to you.” Max is annoyed over Dave’s call. Can’t people take orders anymore?
“I’m officially not here. I’m focussing on a missing prisoner and I don’t want to be distracted by 10 million phone-calls. I told you that.”
“Yes, sir, but... He says his name is Alex Grodin, your missing prisoner?” Dave answers calmly. “He says it’s a matter of life and death.”
“Put a phone-trace on him?”
“The moment you take his call..”
“Put him through....” Max takes a deep breath. “Alex?”
“Max.... I didn’t know who else to call?” Max frowns, he’s not sure what he had expected Alex’s first words to be, but this was not the start he had in mind. “Kevin is in trouble.”
“What have you done?”
“Nothing. It isn’t me. Some crazy lady, holding a gun, forced a few kids into the storage room. Scotty had to tie up Kevin, so he’d be out of the way. And now she’s arguing with Scotty, who is trying to keep her calm? Her name is Michelle and she claims that the child Kevin and Scotty have is hers?”
Max freezes. Sure, he had heard the story about her and how she kept the child away from Kevin and Scotty. He had heard about it when he talked to Kevin about the Stanton-case...
“Do you believe that Kevin or Scotty are in danger?” He asks, hoping that Alex won’t hang up and run again.
“Why else would I call you? You think I’m so stupid that I don’t remember that you can trace this call to Kevin’s office at Café 429, where I am right now? I can’t run, I can’t watch this go on either. I am worried about Kevin, because she clearly hates him. She seems drunk too. ”
“What?”
“Don’t know, but I saw her take some pill and swallow them down with gin... Bad combo I believe. There are moments when she seems to be sleeping on her feet and there are moments when she’s clearly awake.
Max, there’s no way in hell that either of them will give the boy back. This is going to end bad, one way or another.” Alex says and Max agrees quietly.
“I don’t know what I find more unsettling. Your being logic or your being insane.” He says worriedly.
“Scary, isn’t it?” Alex’s laugh doesn’t make Max feel better.
“Are you still on your meds?”
“Stole enough of them. I’m right here, Max, not in some dream-place where I still believe that Kevin could be mine... But I am worried about Kevin. That woman hates him and I don’t think that she’d have any trouble with putting a bullet in him.”
“Not everybody is a killer like you, Alex.”
“I agree. But I also believe her lines are very blurred and that she could kill him...”
*****
“I think, I found a solution to everyone’s problems.” Joe says. Paige looks up from her homework and Gabe from his book. Even Cooper manages to ignore his cartoons for a few seconds.
“I wasn’t aware of the fact that we have problems.” Sarah replies.
“I’m sure that, once I’m gone, Luc will be back in no time.”
“Where will you go?” Sarah asks amused, knowing very well that she’s about the only of Joe’s friends who can help him.
“I’ve spoken to my aunt Marie.”
“The one who lives in Arizona?” Sarah doesn’t quite understand it.
“Yes. And she’s more than willing to help me. She used to be a nurse, knows what she’s doing and has a room for me, where I can sleep. And… It will be good for me to have a change of scenery as well.”
“How will you get there? Am I supposed to drive you there?”
“No, a friend will pick me up. The only thing is that … Cooper and Paige will have to stay with you and we won’t see each other for a while.” He looks at his kids.
“You’re leaving?” Cooper asks.
“Yes, Coop, I have to. I’ve already leaned too much on your mother and Luc as it is.”
“I don’t want you to go away.”
“Coop,…”
“No!” Cooper runs away and Sarah stops Paige from going after her brother.
“Let him deal with it on his own for a few minutes.” She says. Paige turns to Joe.
“What about Gabe?”
“He’ll come with me.”
“Dad, I can’t just simply leave… I have school and everything.” Gabe protests.
“Sorry, son, but I have to start taking charge, now that your mother is dead.”
“It’s not fair!” Gabe yells.
“I agree. It’s not.. But there you have it. I’m sorry.” Joe says and Gabe shakes his head.
“There has to be another way.” Gabe answers and he leaves the room too.
“Joe, you don’t have to leave…” Sarah says.
“I know that, but I have to. I’ve been thinking about the pros and cons on this decision for days now and I have to move forward with it. I need to take charge again.”
“Isn’t it a bit too early? Can’t you wait until you’re able to walk again?”
Joe shakes his head.
“There’s too much of Paula in our house, there’s too much of you and me still here in this house. I don’t belong in either place anymore. Getting away from it all, will maybe help me to take some emotional distance as well.”
Sarah nods that she understands, but Paige still can’t believe what is going on.
“You can’t leave and just uproot Gabe’s life like this. He’s just back to being Gabe again.”
“I’m sorry, P.”
“No, you’re not. You only think of yourself.” Paige answers and she leaves as well.
*****
“Jason? Jase, have you seen my wallet?” Chad asks.
“No. Where did you use it last?” Jason asks in return.
“I think I may have left it at the hotel... In my dressing-room. Shit!”
“Are you sure you left it there?”
“Has to be it. I had to pay for something... and I put in the inside pocket of the jacket I was wearing, but ... that was the one I wore while shooting the movie and I put it in my dressing-room before I left, but I didn’t take out my wallet. That sucks. Now I have to go to the hotel and pick it up.”
“I’ll go. I found a few things that belong to Daniel. I will drive by the hotel, pick up your wallet and go to Café 429 from there. Alright?”
“You’re amazing! Here is the key-card to access the 5th floor. It is still locked for strangers...”
Jason takes the card and puts it in his pocket. Chad grins.
“Don’t let the ghosts get to you.”
“Hah-hah.... I’m sure that there was a perfectly logical explanation for what happened, I just haven’t found it yet.”
“Ghosts I tell you.”
“Well, if there are any, you’ll owe me big time for going into such a dangerous place.”
“I’ll pay you tonight..” Chad teases.
“I’m counting on it.” Jason laughs in returns.
*****
“Sir, we have another incoming phone-call. Do you know if Mr Walker has a daughter?” Dave asks and Max puts down his own phone.
“Yes, he does, a foster-child. Why?”
“We have a young girl calling in a hostage situation. At Café 429.”
“Put her through…..”
“Yes, sir,… the call came through to the central desk. and it seems to be genuine? She’s very distressed. Her name is Olivia.”
“Yes, now I remember. Alright.”
Max’s grip tightens on the phone.
“Olivia? This is Max Carter. I am the police-officer who came to talk to your father after the shooting Bill Stanton? We spoke to each other briefly?”
“I remember.” She sobs.
“Where are you now, honey?”
“On the street, behind Café 429. I borrowed someone’s phone.” He can hear how she tries not to cry.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“We came back from a sleep-over at …. Never mind…. We got out of the car and Scotty opened the door to the restaurant and then she was suddenly there. Holding a gun. She said she’d kill us if we didn’t do what she wanted. She locked us up….
“She locked who up?” Max interrupts.
“Me and Daniel and Mateo. Mateo is staying with us, because his grandmother is in the hospital… He got me out the window where he broke in last year and gave me Daniel so he and I could escape.” She rattles on and then she starts to cry again. “Michelle is going to kill him if she finds out that Daniel is gone.”
“Alright, sweetie, listen, stay where you are. I’m on my way over there.” Max is indeed putting on his coat. “Don’t go anywhere with anybody. You do remember what I look like?... Yes? Good. I’ll see you in a bit. Stay calm.” He hangs up and Dave looks at him. “I’m going over there. If I had any doubts about Alex, I no longer have them. This is serious.”
*****
End of part 2/4
**** COMMERCIAL BREAK****
By Marea67
About: Brothers & Sisters (general)
Rate: Can’t go higher than PG-13, as this is American Television, but I may add a few ‘deleted scenes’ here and there. ;)
Disclaimer: Just escaping from reality here, not created for financial gain
Summary: It is my very own season 6, you guys! Go with it! ;) Don’t complain! If YOU can do better, post your own story! (I dare you!)
Warning: I was in an cut-throat mood when I wrote this chapter. :S
***** Part 2/4 *****
In Kevin’s office Alex hears every word and he’s furious. Whoever that bitch is, how does she dare to claim that Kevin is not good enough for Scotty? If anyone should thank God for a wonderful partner it is Scotty.... Fortunately, judging by Scotty’s face, he seems to know that too.
Alex quietly looks around in Kevin’s office for anything that he can use as a weapon. Anything he can use to kill or at least hurt that woman, who’s holding a gun on Kevin and Scotty. But a preliminary check doesn’t show more than some elastic bands and a letter-opener that is hardly sharp enough to open a letter.
He feels helpless, something that hasn’t happened to him in quite a while. Through the slightly open door, he can see Kevin trying to get free. Alex assesses that Kevin will succeed eventually, but it will take time. Scotty is tied up as well, but he seems to hardly move his hands, which tells Alex that Scotty believes that he won’t be able to get free.
He looks at his options. He can fight her himself, but somehow charging in there with no weapon seems rather pointless and stupid against someone who is holding a gun. He can’t escape without being heard. His eyes notice the phone on Kevin’s desk, buried under a stack of mail. That’s it... He could call someone .... But who? Who would believe him?
*****
“I have a suggestion...” Kitty laughs. “I know your feet are killing you, but... how about this? I need some baby’s pyjamas and I want something cute to hang over the crib. Once we have those... We go to Café 429 and I’ll buy us lunch? ... Think about it, mom.... Saturday is red velvet cup-cakes-day....” She singsongs.
Nora laughs at her enthusiasm. She hardly recognizes Kitty or the way she moves around as if she’s just 20 years old.
“I don’t know which makes me more tired. Your energy or walking around this store.”
“The worst is behind me, mom. No more morning-sickness and such...”
“Well, I remember that.” Nora agrees. “Isn’t it wonderful to be able to eat your breakfast and actually keep it in your stomach?”
“Heavenly... Mom, I’m so happy with this baby. And with the fact that Seth now approves of our child as well. It makes everything so much easier...”
“And Evan?”
“He was a bit jealous, but we’ve been going through the photo-albums I made when I had cancer and he was so impressed with the millions of pictures of him. I think he finally understood that, no matter how happy I am with this baby, he’s still my little boy too.”
There’s a sudden sadness on Kitty’s face and Nora looks at her.
“What’s wrong?”
“There were also quite a lot of pictures of Robert and Evan. Much more than I thought. It did bring back some of the anguish I felt after his heart-attack...”
“I’m glad that Robert didn’t take his problems, and the marriage-troubles that followed, out on his relationship with Evan...” Nora nods.
“Yes. I was a bit surprised by that too. I guess, that I experienced those days so differently than they really were...” Kitty says, in thoughts.
*****
Olivia holds Daniel tightly and Mateo can see that she’s afraid.
“Listen Olivia, you and Daniel need to get out of here.”
“How?” She asks. Mateo looks around. The storage room is not that big, so he’s quickly done assessing the place. He grins.
He climbs on one of the lower shelves, then he motions Olivia to come as well. Olivia puts Daniel on the floor. He can’t go far anyway in this small place.
“Look. Last year I broke into this restaurant, through that window over there. It used to be easy to open, but I guess that has changed.
The alley behind the restaurant is small and most people just pass it by. Almost no one comes here unless you know what you’re looking for, like I did. You can fit through it.”
“What about you?”
“I’ve grown too big, but not you and Daniel. You climb out and I then I’ll give Daniel.”
“What do I do then?”
“Once you’re out, you go to the right. Moving to the left, will take you back to the front of Café 429, where the crazy woman could see you. Go to the right and it will take you to the street behind 429 and you’ll be safe. Call the police from there.”
“How? Michelle has our phones...”
“Ask someone on the street to help you. Stay on the street, where everyone can see you. Don’t go anywhere with anyone. Don’t trust anyone.” Mateo advices. Olivia nods. Mateo unlatches the window and helps Olivia up.
Olivia crawls out into the small alley. She only narrowly fits through. She turns to Mateo.
“I’m scared.” Her lip trembles and Mateo caresses her face.
“You need to be strong, Olivia.” He picks up Daniel and hands him over. “You need to be the big sister. Daniel needs you....”
“You’re right.” She says and she stops trembling the moment she holds Daniel in her arms, she shushes him to be quiet. “And you? She’s gonna kill you if she finds out Daniel is gone.”
“Just be safe. I can take care of myself.” Mateo answers and he pushes her away and closes the window, finally allowing himself to be afraid for his own life...
*****
“Seriously? The beach? Jonathan....”
“Oh, come on, Saulie, when was the last time you felt sand between your toes? Or that cold water from the ocean around your ankles?” Jonathan teases and Saul has to think long and hard.
“I knew it. Come on. Off with those shoes and socks.” Jonathan orders. Saul mumbles some protest, but Jonathan’s enthusiasm is contagious and the beach does look beautiful and inviting. So he complies and he lets Jonathan lead the way to the waterline, where they walk quietly beside each other for at least 10 minutes.
Eventually Jonathan stops and it gives Saul the time to look at the seemingly infinite size of the ocean. Jonathan sits down and Saul follows his example.
“Isn’t she pretty? The ocean.” Jonathan asks. “When I just found that I had HIV, I came here often...My favourite place to hide...
I would sit here in the sand for hours, just staring at the ocean, wondering what I had done wrong in my life that God punished me this way.... I thought I was going to die within a year... After all, that is what we heard all around us... We were still so uneducated.
I didn’t know any better than if you’re diagnosed with HIV, then you get AIDS, wither away and then death will follow shortly and inevitably... I knew so little and it was so many years ago...” Jonathan’s face is so sad, that Saul puts an arm around him and Jonathan looks up at him and smiles.
“I felt very alone and unloved and unwanted. I started to see how empty my life had become. My drinking had made me lose my job and my friends, but it was the thought of losing my life that really got to me. And it wasn’t until I came out officially and that I was honest about who I was and what I carried with me in my body, that I became whole.
I lost a lot of people around me and that hurt me very much, but at the same time I gathered another group of people... Those are the ones that I call my friends.... I had many fake friends when I was this popular news-anchor, who’d always be ready to party, but it were those who stuck with me when the party was over, that became important to me.
And, I believe that you should broaden your friendship-circle too. I love your family, I do, but they are not the only people on this planet. You still have issues with being out, you’re still not comfortable in your own skin... and you throw yourself in your work to hide it... That’s the way I see it anyway.”
Saul feels like he should protest, but he can’t. He quietly thinks over Jonathan’s words.
“Maybe I do spend more time at Café 429 than I should... It’s not just the fact that it feels comfortable to be there, where everybody knows that I’m gay, but no one talks about it or judges me over it.
But I also feel responsible towards my family. I‘ve made so many mistakes in my life, Jonathan. I lied to Nora about William. I tried so hard to protect her, but I failed and when she found out, she was even more hurt, not only because of what William had done, but also because of my part in it.
I feel like it’s my fault that we lost the family company. Sarah told me to kill the Golden Plum deal, but I didn’t. Blinded as I was by my own so-called importance.... After that I shouldn’t have let Tommy fight Holly alone, but I did... I shouldn’t have allowed Ryan to come working for Ojai, but I let it happen, because I felt I owed that to his mother.”
“But, Saul,...”
“I know. It’s not just my fault, others like Sarah, Tommy and Ryan and Holly were also responsible for their part, but ‘knowing’ it is not the same as being able to live with it.” Saul lets his head rest on Jonathan’s shoulder.
“When Scotty started to talk about having his own restaurant, I got excited. It felt like a clean slate, something that wasn’t weighed down with secrets. Unlike how William acted as if Nora wasn’t a part of Ojai and didn’t need to be consulted, Scotty and Kevin went together over every little detail.
Kevin and Scotty still work closely together and closely with me. No nasty surprises, no cheques for things I am not supposed to know about, no pretend-‘meetings’ I have to lie about. I love to be at Café 429 because Kevin and Scotty treat me like an equal partner and not the person to keep all the dirty laundry from being found.
And I absolute loathe the way that Tommy treated Scotty in particular. Scotty did something out of the kindness of his heart and he really needed Tommy. But Tommy just proved to be, yet again, a disappointment and I feel responsible for that. I want to make the burden on Scotty as little as possible...”
Jonathan had quietly listened to Saul and he nods that he understands.
“Good. Let’s go back to Café 429 then and you’ll talk to Scotty and do what you must do, but after that, you’re going home with me. You won’t stay all night..”
“Deal.” Saul promises.
*****
“Sir? There’s a man here who insists on talking to you.” Max is annoyed over Dave’s call. Can’t people take orders anymore?
“I’m officially not here. I’m focussing on a missing prisoner and I don’t want to be distracted by 10 million phone-calls. I told you that.”
“Yes, sir, but... He says his name is Alex Grodin, your missing prisoner?” Dave answers calmly. “He says it’s a matter of life and death.”
“Put a phone-trace on him?”
“The moment you take his call..”
“Put him through....” Max takes a deep breath. “Alex?”
“Max.... I didn’t know who else to call?” Max frowns, he’s not sure what he had expected Alex’s first words to be, but this was not the start he had in mind. “Kevin is in trouble.”
“What have you done?”
“Nothing. It isn’t me. Some crazy lady, holding a gun, forced a few kids into the storage room. Scotty had to tie up Kevin, so he’d be out of the way. And now she’s arguing with Scotty, who is trying to keep her calm? Her name is Michelle and she claims that the child Kevin and Scotty have is hers?”
Max freezes. Sure, he had heard the story about her and how she kept the child away from Kevin and Scotty. He had heard about it when he talked to Kevin about the Stanton-case...
“Do you believe that Kevin or Scotty are in danger?” He asks, hoping that Alex won’t hang up and run again.
“Why else would I call you? You think I’m so stupid that I don’t remember that you can trace this call to Kevin’s office at Café 429, where I am right now? I can’t run, I can’t watch this go on either. I am worried about Kevin, because she clearly hates him. She seems drunk too. ”
“What?”
“Don’t know, but I saw her take some pill and swallow them down with gin... Bad combo I believe. There are moments when she seems to be sleeping on her feet and there are moments when she’s clearly awake.
Max, there’s no way in hell that either of them will give the boy back. This is going to end bad, one way or another.” Alex says and Max agrees quietly.
“I don’t know what I find more unsettling. Your being logic or your being insane.” He says worriedly.
“Scary, isn’t it?” Alex’s laugh doesn’t make Max feel better.
“Are you still on your meds?”
“Stole enough of them. I’m right here, Max, not in some dream-place where I still believe that Kevin could be mine... But I am worried about Kevin. That woman hates him and I don’t think that she’d have any trouble with putting a bullet in him.”
“Not everybody is a killer like you, Alex.”
“I agree. But I also believe her lines are very blurred and that she could kill him...”
*****
“I think, I found a solution to everyone’s problems.” Joe says. Paige looks up from her homework and Gabe from his book. Even Cooper manages to ignore his cartoons for a few seconds.
“I wasn’t aware of the fact that we have problems.” Sarah replies.
“I’m sure that, once I’m gone, Luc will be back in no time.”
“Where will you go?” Sarah asks amused, knowing very well that she’s about the only of Joe’s friends who can help him.
“I’ve spoken to my aunt Marie.”
“The one who lives in Arizona?” Sarah doesn’t quite understand it.
“Yes. And she’s more than willing to help me. She used to be a nurse, knows what she’s doing and has a room for me, where I can sleep. And… It will be good for me to have a change of scenery as well.”
“How will you get there? Am I supposed to drive you there?”
“No, a friend will pick me up. The only thing is that … Cooper and Paige will have to stay with you and we won’t see each other for a while.” He looks at his kids.
“You’re leaving?” Cooper asks.
“Yes, Coop, I have to. I’ve already leaned too much on your mother and Luc as it is.”
“I don’t want you to go away.”
“Coop,…”
“No!” Cooper runs away and Sarah stops Paige from going after her brother.
“Let him deal with it on his own for a few minutes.” She says. Paige turns to Joe.
“What about Gabe?”
“He’ll come with me.”
“Dad, I can’t just simply leave… I have school and everything.” Gabe protests.
“Sorry, son, but I have to start taking charge, now that your mother is dead.”
“It’s not fair!” Gabe yells.
“I agree. It’s not.. But there you have it. I’m sorry.” Joe says and Gabe shakes his head.
“There has to be another way.” Gabe answers and he leaves the room too.
“Joe, you don’t have to leave…” Sarah says.
“I know that, but I have to. I’ve been thinking about the pros and cons on this decision for days now and I have to move forward with it. I need to take charge again.”
“Isn’t it a bit too early? Can’t you wait until you’re able to walk again?”
Joe shakes his head.
“There’s too much of Paula in our house, there’s too much of you and me still here in this house. I don’t belong in either place anymore. Getting away from it all, will maybe help me to take some emotional distance as well.”
Sarah nods that she understands, but Paige still can’t believe what is going on.
“You can’t leave and just uproot Gabe’s life like this. He’s just back to being Gabe again.”
“I’m sorry, P.”
“No, you’re not. You only think of yourself.” Paige answers and she leaves as well.
*****
“Jason? Jase, have you seen my wallet?” Chad asks.
“No. Where did you use it last?” Jason asks in return.
“I think I may have left it at the hotel... In my dressing-room. Shit!”
“Are you sure you left it there?”
“Has to be it. I had to pay for something... and I put in the inside pocket of the jacket I was wearing, but ... that was the one I wore while shooting the movie and I put it in my dressing-room before I left, but I didn’t take out my wallet. That sucks. Now I have to go to the hotel and pick it up.”
“I’ll go. I found a few things that belong to Daniel. I will drive by the hotel, pick up your wallet and go to Café 429 from there. Alright?”
“You’re amazing! Here is the key-card to access the 5th floor. It is still locked for strangers...”
Jason takes the card and puts it in his pocket. Chad grins.
“Don’t let the ghosts get to you.”
“Hah-hah.... I’m sure that there was a perfectly logical explanation for what happened, I just haven’t found it yet.”
“Ghosts I tell you.”
“Well, if there are any, you’ll owe me big time for going into such a dangerous place.”
“I’ll pay you tonight..” Chad teases.
“I’m counting on it.” Jason laughs in returns.
*****
“Sir, we have another incoming phone-call. Do you know if Mr Walker has a daughter?” Dave asks and Max puts down his own phone.
“Yes, he does, a foster-child. Why?”
“We have a young girl calling in a hostage situation. At Café 429.”
“Put her through…..”
“Yes, sir,… the call came through to the central desk. and it seems to be genuine? She’s very distressed. Her name is Olivia.”
“Yes, now I remember. Alright.”
Max’s grip tightens on the phone.
“Olivia? This is Max Carter. I am the police-officer who came to talk to your father after the shooting Bill Stanton? We spoke to each other briefly?”
“I remember.” She sobs.
“Where are you now, honey?”
“On the street, behind Café 429. I borrowed someone’s phone.” He can hear how she tries not to cry.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
“We came back from a sleep-over at …. Never mind…. We got out of the car and Scotty opened the door to the restaurant and then she was suddenly there. Holding a gun. She said she’d kill us if we didn’t do what she wanted. She locked us up….
“She locked who up?” Max interrupts.
“Me and Daniel and Mateo. Mateo is staying with us, because his grandmother is in the hospital… He got me out the window where he broke in last year and gave me Daniel so he and I could escape.” She rattles on and then she starts to cry again. “Michelle is going to kill him if she finds out that Daniel is gone.”
“Alright, sweetie, listen, stay where you are. I’m on my way over there.” Max is indeed putting on his coat. “Don’t go anywhere with anybody. You do remember what I look like?... Yes? Good. I’ll see you in a bit. Stay calm.” He hangs up and Dave looks at him. “I’m going over there. If I had any doubts about Alex, I no longer have them. This is serious.”
*****
End of part 2/4
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