Diamond in the Rough: Chapter 78

"Okay, fine, help me up, will ya?"  Blair said in a whisper, putting her hand out.

"Fine."  Tina said, and she reached toward Blair to help her off the ground.  

Blair brushed herself off. "I can't let anything happen to them."

Tina forgot her antagonistic feelings toward Blair when she saw her face, stricken with worry and streaked with tears.  "Your make up is running.  Now, get it together," she said.

Blair wiped under her eyes.  "Oh yeah?  Well, at least I know how to put it on in the first place.  Your base is off."

Tina smiled.  "You're all right, see?  Still able to stand up to me.  I can tell you, from what I know of Mitch Laurence, we're going to need every bit of spunk you can muster."

"Have any brilliant ideas?"  Blair responded sharply, but couldn't help looking to the ceiling.  "He has them.  My babies.  Todd."  Her voice broke into shards.

Tina found her hand on Blair's shoulder.  "Come on.  Stay with me.  We can do this."

"Oh yeah?  How?  And . . . wait a minute.  Why are you here?  How do I know you're not in cahoots with Mitch?"  Blair went to the drawer, opened it and pulled out a kitchen knife.  "Stay away."

"It's a long story, but I have nothing to do with Mitch being here.  It was purely an accident, and right now, I don't think we have time for gossip."

"Why are you here?"

"Well.  If you must know, even though it's not important anymore, at least not right now.  Your aunt has something of mine.  And I planned to get it back."

***

"Laurence, let the kids go."  Todd said.

"Stop asking.  It's not happening.  In fact, it's time to let you in on what the rest of this day will be about."

Todd remained stoic, calm.  He would not let Mitch see even the smallest crack in his armor.  In the back of his thoughts, memories of his mother's drawings flashed through his mind, and of her words, written on paper, explaining the truth. . ."Go ahead, then."

"Through time, you've always disrespected me, Manning."

"You have to deserve that for it to matter."

"You really had no reason to dishonor me, initially.  At least, not that you remembered."

Todd didn't respond.  

Mitch continued, "You tried to kill me, remember?  You almost strangled the life out of me, way back when we first crossed paths.  I mean, when we first crossed paths that you hadn't blocked out of your memory."

Todd squinted.  "You raped my sister.  I figured, what excuse was there for you to live?"

"Funny, you saw plenty of reason for you to live after you raped Marty Saybrooke."

"I'm not sure you know enough about me to even say whether I did or not."  Todd answered.  He noticed Jack, looking at his shoes, and Starr staring from him to Mitch as they spoke.  "You don't know me.  You don't know what I thought, or felt, or whether I thought I should live or die any time throughout my life."

"Hmf.  I know more about you than you think."

"Maybe.  But it's not any reason to show you respect.  I know what you did, or what you didn't do.  I remember all of it, now.  How does someone like you deserve respect?  What you overlooked alone makes you slime."

Laurence looked at Todd, and nodded.  "I suppose you're right, now.  But you didn't always know that.  This is current information.  You didn't always know."

"No, I didn't always.  And you still never deserved the respect you claim you should have gotten."

"Then we agree.  You've disrespected me.  Tried to kill me."

"You did the same.  Even worse.  I was a little boy.  You let that monster exercise his demons on me and my mother, for years.  You knew exactly what he was doing to us in that damn house of horrors he had.  You looked the other way.  For money.  My money, to be exact.  So I figure you owe me.  And that's why the kids have to be set free."

"I owe you nothing.  In fact, you don't deserve to raise this little boy," he said, raising Ray into the air, and the baby opened his eyes and smiled.  "He's quite a precious piece of life.  Raised by you, he'll be a sniveling, hulk of nothing, like his father.  He doesn't deserve that."

"You do owe me.  You knew he beat us, you knew he. . . hurt us.  You knew everything that was going on in that hell hole I grew up in.  Everything."  He heard Starr gasp, but didn't look at her, for fear seeing her emotion would make him lose his resolve.  Jack felt lightheaded.  A solitary tear made its way out of his left eye.

Mitch ignored Todd, turning his attention even moreso to Ray.  "What do you say, Big Man?  You certainly deserve better."

"You owe me for all that and the money you took to stay quiet.  Even a freak like you can see that.  Let the kids go, and we'll finish this ourselves."

"Stop, please, Dad," Starr said, holding back tears.  "Please."

"All right, Manning," he said, placing the baby on Starr's lap.

She said, "He's going to fall.  Please, let me fold my legs under me."

Mitch obliged, and picked the baby back up.  Starr folded her legs under her on the chair, and then he placed the baby into the little area between her knees.  On his way away from her, he touched her cheek, and she moved her head violently away.

"Don't touch her!"  Todd lost his composure.  Gaining it back, he attempted reason: "This is about you and I, and you know that."

"Yes, yes it is, but it has wings.  The plan is simple.  I want your fortune, you will give it to me."

"I already agreed to that.  You let my family go, you can have it all.  Everything.  None of us will speak of it again.  Period."

Mitch threw his head back and laughed.  "You expect me to believe that?  Todd Manning, letting go?  Hah!  Aside from the fact that you'll want me to rot in prison for everything I've done.  No, it's not going that way.  Jail is not to my liking.  I am sure you can relate. I want the fortune, and I want a safeguard."

Todd said, "No deal.  No safeguards.  All the money, everything I own, and our silence.  I'm different, now.  I'm not who you think.  I can let go, I have, believe me.  I will.  No problem.  They're all that matters at this point."

"I'm not stupid," he said, and his voice had become so menacing, coupled with a drain of all humor from his face.  "Though I actually almost believe you.  But no, there will be a safeguard, or I will start killing everyone in this house.  You, of course, will be the last to go."

Todd did not want to concede.  "No.  It's not going to be like that."

"You don't have a choice.  You have no say!  I'll start killing, is that what you want?  I can make it happen.  I'll be free, I will start a new life, a new church.  I am the Messenger and you shall heed!"  His voice was loud, and booming.  Starr broke into tears again, and Baby Ray, typically a happy baby, began to cry.

Todd, realizing that all rationality was gone from Laurence's mind, stared blankly at him, while indiscriminately trying to loosen his hand from the tape.  Mitch said, "One of your sons, Mr. Manning, will be my safeguard, and the only thing you will be able to do is choose which one."

***

"Are you sure this will work?"  Blair said.

"I think so.  You have to admit, I know him best."

"Not something to be really proud of, Tina, but I guess."

"So, let's mess you up a bit."

"What?"

"Make it look like we had a fight."

Blair rolled her eyes.  "Do we have time for this?"

"You want him to buy it, or not?"

"Why don't we just call the police?"

"By the time they get in the front door, he'll have Todd, Starr and Jack and anyone else there dead.  Is that what you want?"

"No," Blair whispered through tears.  "No, all right, hit me."

Tina hauled back and swung, connecting with Blair's jaw.  Her lip, broken open, began to bleed.  "Why you bitch!"  She said, and lunged for her sister-in-law, and Tina reminded her, "Come on, it's got to look real!"

Blair pulled herself together, and said, "I'll get you for that," pointing at Tina.

"Later.  You won't want to if this works."  Tina said, "Put your hands behind you."  Blair did, and Tina, using a roll of masking tape from the kitchen, bound her hands.  "There."

"That's a little tight."

"Get over it.  Now, remember the plan, right?"

"All right.  How are you going to get him out of the room where everyone is?  And how am I going to get Todd free if my hands are tied?"

"Easy!"  Tina said, clipping a small cut into the tape.  "Just pull and it will rip."

"You know way too much about this, Tina.  Did you go to crime college or something?  You're not as . . . well . . ."

"Stupid as you remembered?"

"You said it, not me."

"I guess my time overseas taught me a few things.  Okay.  You got the rest of it?"

"I think so."

"Where's the gun?"

"In the safe.  But my hands are already tied.  Forget what I said about college."

"Show me the safe.  Come on, we don't have time!"

They walked into the living room, Blair showed Tina the safe, but broke the tape to open it herself.  Handing Tina the gun, she said, "So help me no one in my family had better get hurt, Tina, or I'll kill you myself."  She saw that Tina had another gun in her bag.  "Wait, you have two?  I should have one!"

"How can you have one?  I've got you hostage.  You'll get it when it matters.  Blair, look at me a minute.  I could have gotten away, just now.  His car was there with the keys.  Instead, I came back.  I . . . don't want my brother to lose his family.  Not again.  Now, no one is going to get hurt.  I want to help.  It might not seem like it, but . . . I do.  Now let's go.  Let me wrap those hands again."

Blair looked at Tina with surprise and a bit of emotion.  She put her hands out.  When finished, Tina led Blair up the staircase at gunpoint, and they rounded the corner to the room from which they could hear Mitch bellowing.  Tina paused outside the door.  She knocked quietly.

Mitch turned abruptly.  "What the Hell is that?"

Jack said, "It was knocking.  On the door."

With Mitch distracted, Todd frantically worked more on loosening one hand from the tape.  Mitch directed his attention to the door.  Moving behind it, he held his gun in a ready position.  He decided to wait it out, and the knock came again.  Suddenly, they all heard a female voice.  "Mitch?  It's me."

Todd rolled his eyes instantly, recognizing Tina's voice, and Mitch, infuriated, said, "Tina?" in an exasperated tone.  He ripped the door open, revealing Blair, hands bound behind her, and a pistol pointed at Blair's head.  Blair's jawbone was bruised and her lip was swollen and bleeding.  She was either acting like an Oscar Winner or was terrified.

Blair's eyes went straight to Todd's, and his to hers.  After a few moments of searching each other's,  Jack saw his father's shoulders relax, which told him all he needed to know.  Mitch grabbed Blair by the arm and Tina, destined to make a decent showing, shouted, "And don't try anything!  You know why I'm here, and if I don't get it, there will be a problem."  Mitch proceeded to shove Blair to the ground between Jack and Todd's chairs.  Tina held one of her guns on Blair.

Mitch, stunned by Tina's actions, said, "What makes you think you're in charge of anything here?  You'll be the first one to go.  Promise."  He held his gun at his side, finger on the trigger.

Tina looked into his dead eyes and said, "Not if you knew what I know," in her sing-song tone, moving the pistol up next to her face, as if pointing it to the ceiling and batting her eyes.  Todd suddenly recognized the gun as Dorian's, from the safe.

"Nothing you know interests me," Mitch said, raising the gun and pointing it directly into her face.

Todd watched each movement and word his sister was making.  She's either still the dimmest bulb or she knows something that would be a game changer. . . but, Tina?  Manning, when it comes to your family . . .

"I don't know about that.  Does the Bhadra Diamond sound familiar?"  Todd saw Mitch's expression change, to almost one of awe, and Tina, smiling and cocking her head, blew on the end of the pistol, and said, "Thought so."

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