Todd's Saga 19: Brotherly Hate

        Todd walked into his room.  He was exhausted. Clint had been shaken by all that he had heard in the car and after eating a little something, he had gone to bed. He promised to help keep Todd’s whereabouts a secret and had agreed to help with Victor.  Todd frowned; Victor was tied up in the room next to him. Now he had to decide how to handle him and his other problem.  Damn it, Baker, Blair was right.  You were playing both sides. He pushed his hair out of his eyes. Okay, think, you have Victor and Clint, but now Baker is a liability.  What are you going to do about him?  Todd reached into his pocket and pulled out the burner phone he used for his conversations with Baker.  He had a voice message.

Mr. Manning, there have been developments. Just as I located those parties you were interested in, they disappeared.  Right now, everyone is under the impression your brother helped Buchanan, but it won’t be long before they look elsewhere.  I fear Alison Perkins and her brother might soon figure out there is a spy in their midst and turn their sights on me. As I am fully aware what that would entail, I feel the need to cut my ties with them.  Since I have no knowledge of your brother’s or Buchanan’s current location, I find I must use the only thing I have.  I can give them your general location or you can deposit a million dollars in my account. My apologies, but this is just business.  The million or you’ll find them searching for you again.  You have until nine tomorrow morning to complete the transaction.  It is, of course, your choice.  You’ve been a lucrative client, and now I hope you’ll be a smart one.  

Todd threw the phone against the wall and watched it shatter.  He had no choice but to trust Baker one last time.  One thing Todd knew: the man was in it for the money.  He was greedy and a coward, but he wasn’t stupid.  If he betrayed Todd to Alison, he knew Todd would have him tracked down and disposed of.  “You’ll get your million, but you better run far away, because if I see you again, I’ll kill you myself.”

He sat down on the edge of the bed and picked up a second phone.  So much had happened since he had left Key West, he needed to hear her voice.

****
Blair was just reaching across to turn off the lamp by her bed when she heard the ring come from inside the nightstand drawer.  She got worried as she looked at the clock. “Todd, what’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing. I just had to talk to you. With everything that’s been going on the last couple of days…” Todd paused.   “I wish you were here, that‘s all.”

         Blair breathed a sigh of relief.  “I wish I was there too.  Are you alright?  You sound upset.  Just what have you been up to the last couple of days?  Philippa said you had to go out of town.”

        “I did.  I decided to check out the compound after we talked about Baker.  Wait, before you read me the riot act, I was careful.  They had no idea I was there.”

        Blair sat up in alarm.  “Todd, are you telling me that you went inside the compound?” 

        “Yeah, but like I said, they didn’t know I was there.  They had their hands full with the police at the time…. Blair, I found them.”

        “Found them?... Todd, you found Clint and Victor?“

        “Yes.”

        “Oh, what are you going to do?  How can we get them out of there?  Please tell me you’re not going back into the compound.” Blair leaned back against her pillows.  Worried that Todd might do something foolish, she began rubbing circles over her tummy and the baby within.   

        “That’s not the problem.  You don’t understand.  I didn’t just find them but I got them out.  The problem is Victor.  He’s under their control and I had to hogtie and bring him with me and Clint just to make it out of the compound.  Clint’s been through the wringer too.  But he knows everything we know now.  He’s willing to stay hidden until we can get Alison and her brother.  Blair…” Todd stopped and ran his hand through his hair.

        “What, Todd?”

         “I want you to promise me, you’ll stay close to home.  There’s no telling what the organization will do now.  Baker notified me and said they think Victor got Clint out. So they’ll be waiting to see if Clint or Victor or both show up in Llanview.  I’m going to try and get through to Victor, but I need to know you and the kids are safe.”

        “Todd, if I come there you wouldn’t have to worry about me.  I can bring the boys with me and we’d all be together.  Maybe I could help you with Victor.”

         “Damn it, Blair, don’t you get it?  It’s too dangerous here!  They really did a number on Victor and he’s now a good little soldier for the organization.  I don’t even know if I’m going to be able to get him to see reason.   I’m not even sure I can trust Clint.  I know what Baker’s treatments did to me.  There’s no telling what they did to Clint.  Just stay home. Please!”

          Blair heard the worry and the frustration in Todd’s voice.  “Okay.  I’ll stay...as long as you need me to.”

        “Blair...I love you.” 

        “I love you too. Always.” Blair put the phone back into the drawer and wiped away the tear that dropped on her cheek.  Todd hated telling her to stay away and it was tearing him apart.

        Todd slumped back against his pillows. His heart was beating so fast. For one minute he had almost accepted her offer to come and stay, but he had stirred up a hornet’s nest.  Louisiana was the last place he wanted her to be.  He picked up her gown lying next to him.  “Just stay safe Blair and I’ll get this resolved soon.  I  promise.”  

****

Victor lay on the bed.  He tried to shake off the last blow Todd had given him.  He kept trying to process the story he had overheard in the car, with what he knew about Todd, and it was giving him a headache.  Todd had shown the tattoo to Clint and then told his story.  Clint had been quiet for most of the ride as Todd had informed him of the threats to Vicki and Natalie as well as Todd’s whole family, including Tea and Dani.  At first, Clint had been skeptical until Todd had pushed up Clint’s sleeve and pointed out the needle marks indicating he had been drugged, and more than once. At the mention of needle marks, Victor had been forced to pay attention. When the car came to a halt, he feigned unconsciousness and let Clint and Todd remove him from the car. The next thing he had felt was the bed they laid him on.  He had almost given himself away out of surprise.  A soft bed was the last thing he expected.

He made his mistake when Todd went to release his hands from the tape.  Instead of lying quietly, his anger had gotten the better of him and he had gone for Todd’s throat.  But Todd had been too quick for him and backhanded him so hard he had almost blacked out again.  He recalled Todd’s words.

“Damn it, Victor, you’re not making this easy.  You’ve left me no choice but to do this.”

By this, Todd had meant cuffing him to the headboard.  Now as he lay there, he heard movement in the room next to his and then a shower going. He opened his eyes and looked around.  He wasn’t sure where he was, but the surroundings were anything but what he expected of Todd.  The room surrounding him was loaded with antique furniture.  Even the bed he rested on was an antique four-poster. He felt like he had stepped back in time.  Where the hell am I?

Soon there was silence coming from the room next door and the only sound Victor heard was his stomach growling.  Just then there was movement at the door and he watched as it opened.  

        Todd entered the room and turned on the light.  He glanced over at the bed and saw Victor wince and close his eyes.  “Oops sorry, Brother, forgot about your head.  But I’m sure you’re going to live.  You're too stubborn and hardheaded to die.”

       Victor opened his eyes and glared at Todd.  “Did you come to kill me?  I mean, I’m an easy target all tied up, or do you just like to catch people off guard and gun them down?”

       “Look who’s talking?  You tried to poison me and then you strangled me.  If Jack hadn’t found me I’d be dead right now.” Todd looked at him in disgust. “Why did I bother?”  He headed back to the door. 

        Victor was puzzled. “Hey wait. Why did you come in here, if it wasn’t to kill me?”

        Todd stopped and turned to face his brother. “I thought, just maybe, we could clear the air.  I don’t want to kill you, Victor.  Oh, don’t get me wrong, I despise you, but it’s not me that wants you dead.  You know that damn organization you’re working for?  Well, they’re the ones that ordered me to kill you.  Believe me, I was tempted after what you did to me.  Still, Tea loves you and for her sake, I wouldn’t put her through that again.”

        Victor saw red and he was filled with anger. “You’re lying.  Tea’s dead and Dani too.  They died in a car accident, I saw the paper.  You know that, you bastard!  Hell, you were the one driving.  You escaped unharmed but not them.  I know why our mother hated you.  You’re a curse, and anyone who gets close to you suffers.”

        Todd was stunned.  The organization had gotten to Victor by making him believe Tea and Dani were dead.  “Victor, I swear on my daughter’s life, Tea and Dani are fine.  Whatever you saw or read, it was all a lie.”

          Victor began to struggle, trying to free his hands from the headboard.  “I’ll kill you.  Even now you’re lying just to soften me up.  I know what I read.  I even saw the news report.  You’ll say anything to not be responsible for their deaths.  Uncuff me and see how long you can keep lying.”

          “Victor, I’m not lying.  Papers can be faked and news reports can be staged.  Think man.  Don’t you see the ones lying to you are the heads of the organization?  Alison Perkins has done a number on you the same way she worked on Clint.”

          Victor stilled.  He looked at Todd coldly. “Prove it.  If Tea is alive, you prove it.  If what you say is true get her on the phone.”  He saw Todd’s hesitation.  “You can’t, can you? Because you’re lying.  It’s all you know how to do.”

         It was Todd’s turn to get angry. “You don’t understand.  To Llanview and everyone there, I’m dead.  I have to stay dead until I can unmask this damn organization and find out why they wanted you and me so bad.  If you would just help me, we could get Alison and her brother and you could go home to Tea.” Todd stood waiting to see if Victor would listen to reason.

       “You can go to hell.  Without Tea and Dani, I’ve got no one but the organization.  They were right. They told me you would use my weakness against me the next time you saw me.  I don’t care how long you keep me here.  I’ll never reveal their secrets.”

        “You’re wrong Victor.  You still have Jack and Sam, Viki, and most importantly, Tea and Dani.  I’ll find some way to prove to you that Tea is alive.  I just can’t do it right this minute. You should try to sleep.  Unfortunately, I’m going to have to gag you.  It wouldn’t be very good if the housekeeper were to hear you.  I’ll bring you some food in the morning.”  He pulled the duck tape out of his pocket and slapped it over Victor’s mouth.  Then he wrapped some around each ankle and finished tying Victor to the bed.  “Sorry, I can’t take the chance you wouldn’t try and knock something over with your feet.”  Todd frowned as he surveyed his brother struggling even more.  He knew how it felt to be tied down and helpless but he was out of options.  Victor had all but stated he would do anything to get away and back to the organization.  Todd couldn’t let that happen.  He turned off the light and left the room.

         Okay, Manning.  Now what?  Can you trust Tea?  Todd looked at his watch.  It was too late to do anything else that night.  He wandered back into his room and flopped on the bed.  Shortly thereafter he fell into a restless slumber.






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