Battle the Dark: Chapter 44

The gates at Statesville made a noise that he remembered well from his time there.  Over the past eight years, when he was playing at being Todd Manning, Zeus had encountered prison, and even came close to being executed.  Being there did not put him at ease.  He sat, on the visitor's side of the glass, and waited.


A few moments passed, and through the door came Carlo, in an orange jump suit.  He sat at the inmate's side of the glass, and said, "I see you've come to pay respects to your father."


"I have, that is, if you are my father.  Are you?"


"You do realize that your actions put me in this place again."


"Your actions did that, not mine."


Carlo's eyes became slits, then opened again.  "You dare to taunt me?"


"I'm not taunting.  I came here for one reason.  Are you my father?"


"You believe I'd tell you?  You believe I'd ever tell you, or ever care what you do or where you are?  You are nothing to me, nothing!  I have washed my hands of you, and should have when you became a sniveling mess over one Todd Manning.  You'll have to find out on your own, whether or not you are my son.  I have no interest in being your father.  You disgust me.  You are the sorriest excuse for a human being, in my eyes."  He got up and walked to the door, and knocked, waiting for the guard.


Zeus sat for a moment, and said, "I was hoping you'd say that, since I'd never want to be seen any other way in those evil eyes of yours.  You've actually made my day.  Goodbye, Father."  And he turned and left.


Carlo looked after him with a strange expression.  It was one of regret and admiration along with anger.


***

Todd and Blair had put the younger kids to bed, and were getting ready to turn in.  Sitting by the window and watching some of the last lights in the city go out, they stood, by the wall of glass, his arm protectively around her.  Jack didn't really want to disturb them, so he made it halfway down the staircase, and then started to turn and retreat, when Todd said, "Son, come here.  What is it?"


Jack walked a few stairs down and sat, on the staircase.  He put his elbows on his knees, and his chin resting on his palms.  "Nothin, really."


Todd flashed a smile to Blair.  She said, "I'm going up now.  Todd, I'll run the bath."


He leaned over and hiding it from Jack, he gently bit her on her jawbone.  "I'll be there soon." She exited, looking back at him, and when passing Jack on the staircase, she gently pulled the front of her camisole down to reveal her cleavage.  He stared after her for a few moments, and then cleared his throat.  "You want to talk to me, huh?"


"Yeah."


"All right."


"Can you stay there, with your back to me?  It's really hard for me to say it."


"Sure."


"First, the easy part is I'm sorry for saying those things to Sam.  I...wasn't myself."


"I accept.  Your mother does too, I'm sure."


"I already apologized to her."


"All right."  He waited.  He wanted to give the boy space.


"Next, is a little harder.  I...well I screwed up bad while you were gone."


"How bad?  Crashed my SUV?  Broke my tablet?"


"No.  Nothing like that.  I drank.  A lot."


Todd said, "Can I turn around?  Please?  It's hard for me to do this without seeing you.  If it gets hard for you again, I promise I'll turn my back to you."


"All right."


He jumped a stair, and grimaced at the pain in his side.  "Whoa, not yet." He sat beside Jack.  "Okay, you drank a lot.  What did you learn from it?"


"It didn't help me."


"No, I'd say it didn't.  It caused you to really hurt your brother.  If I had not come back, do you realize what he would have dealt with for the rest of his life?"


"I do now.  I didn't then."


"It was a mistake, but that means that you learn from it, and you don't repeat it."


"I know.  I apologized to him, too.  He said it was okay, because Ray told him that I was wrong.  I wasn't old enough to know things.  In a way, maybe Ray is right."


"Maybe."


"Dad, something else."


"Okay, shoot."


"I keep having nightmares."


"About?"


"What you went through.  One reason I told Sam was because it was bothering me so much.  Like haunting."


"I understand that," he said, clearing his throat.


"I dreamed of it so much, I couldn't sleep anymore.  So, I drank to get tired."


"Did that work?"


"Not really.  I had to drink so much that I would pass out.  Other times, I'd be sitting there, thinking, and the pictures of it would just come into my head.  When I imagined what it would be like without you, I wanted to die.  Really."


He put his arm around him, "You don't have to worry about that.  Did you talk to Ray about this?"


"Yeah.  A lot.  I wasn't really going to kill myself, I just didn't want to be in a world without you and Mom.  And the things I imagined, they might have been worse than the real stuff, that's what Ray said."


Todd did not let on that his therapist was wrong about that; instead, he said, "Probably so.  Just like a movie, you watch it and when you cover your eyes, you conjure up something worse, right?"  For his son's sake, it was best he did not know.  There were times for truth and times for lies.


"Okay.  I feel better then.  Dad, when you were captive, did you think of us?"


Todd teared up, "Every day.  I even heard your voice when I needed it most."


"Really?  What did I say?"


Todd paused and said, "You said, 'badass.'"


"That's totally cool."


"It is.  It's the coolest having you as my son."  He brought his head toward him, and kissed the top of it, fighting back emotion.


"Well, thanks, Dad.  I just wanted to be up front with you, that's all."  He got up and turned to walk the stairs, at the top, he turned back.  "Dad?"  Todd acknowledged him with a nod, "I love you.  I'm glad you're a badass."


Todd closed his eyes, and though he usually responded to his children when they spoke, he couldn't without breaking down.  He wiped his eyes with his thumbs, and Blair walked down the steps, sitting behind him, a step higher.  She wrapped her arms around him and said, "You're that boy's everything."


He could not speak.  Tears were coming faster, and it was the first bout of painful and difficult emotion he had faced since coming home.  


She hugged his head to her, from behind him, and kissed his scar.  "It's all right.  It will take time.  You know this.  It's different, sure, but it will take time."  He brushed the tears from under his eyes again, but they continued to come.  She said, "Jack will be all right."


He finally composed himself.  "I know he will.  He has you for a mother," his voice cracked and he leaned back against her.  She was careful not to bump or brush his wounds.  Instead, she took his face in her hands, and turned it up, so that she could kiss his mouth upside down.  He wrapped his good arm around her neck and pulled her closer.


The kiss ended and she said, "You don't have to do anything, Todd.  We can just soak, talk, just lie there, or sleep.  No expectations."


"What if I have them?"  He said, tweaking the little space between her eyebrows that he liked to poke fun of.


"That's a different story," she said.  "But there's nothing I want more than to make you feel loved and safe tonight.  Whatever that takes."


He stood up, and held out his hand.  She took it, and he put his arm around her waist.  She did the same, and they climbed the stairs together. 


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Battle the Dark: Chapter 43

"It's been quite an experience, this whole last few months.  Somethin' to write home about, eh?" Sister Rebecca Katherine said, standing by Timothy, as he put the finishing touches on his stew.


"Ah, yes, Creena, certainly has.  I've made a decision.  I want to practice law again."


"That's wonderful brother.  Do ya believe my prayers worked to save Todd?"


"I knew you were going to ask me.  I just knew it."


"You're not the religious kind, this I know.  We've had this talk before."


"We have," he said, dishing up the stew,  "so why again?"


"It's summer, why are we eating stew?"


"Come, now, what does that matter?"


"And why does the fact that we had that discussion before matter, then?"


He rolled his eyes.  "All right, your prayers could have helped."


"Thank ya, brother.  I appreciate it.  Love it when you say you're wrong."


"You're a pain in my arse, dearie."


"Well, that makes two of us."  They began to eat.  She said, "And I heard you called me motormouth."


"Aren't ya?"


"Perhaps.  One thing I must say to ya, how do you explain the likes of Michael Leona, if there is no such thing as good and evil, eh?"


"Now when did I say there was no such thing as good and evil?"


"You said, 'there's no God, then there's no devil.'  That is the same."


"Sister, you are paining me."  They ate some more.  


She said, "Did you see their faces when they saw each other again?  Even Todd, so sick and dying, that was worth all of our troubles."


"Aye.  I've never had that in my life, dear heart."


"And neither have I, brother.  But, I can understand it, just by knowing them.  Puts a whole new face on the world."


"I'll admit that.  A whole new face."  


They ate in silence a few more minutes, before she said, "You like the states?"


"Yes.  I am glad you brought me here, Creena.  It's good to be around family."


"It is, surely.  Tomorrow, I go back to St. Anne's.  There is a special ceremony.  My staff thinks I am a heroine.  Goodness gracious, only doing what I know God would want."


He thought a moment.  "Sister, if there is a God, He is definitely pleased with you."


***


Jessica walked through the door of Devon's room to find he was not there.  The balloons she carried lilted in the breeze from the ventillation system and she searched around, puzzled.  He came up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist.  "Hello, my dear.  Who are those balloons for?"


"For you," she said, "And in light of everything, I have decided to forgive and forget completely."


"Completely."


"Yes, no bringing up anything from the past."


"Then we have a problem."


"What?"


"That means we'll have to say "I love you" over and over again, every day.  Otherwise, we'd be bringing the past up."


"I think that is a workable agreement."


"I do also."  He went in for a kiss, and they stood, embracing as Viki walked in.  


"I wanted to tell you both that Todd and Blair are back.  They're with their children, at home.  Todd's slowly making a full recovery."  Viki said.


"See, all's well that ends well."  Devon said.


"I guess so."


He took her hand and they left the hospital, and passing by some patients, she handed the balloons to an elderly woman.


***


John greeted Natalie, at their apartment, with a lingering kiss.  "I missed you."


She said, "I missed you, too, and I am not the only one."


"Liam.  Is he awake?"


"No, but he will be soon."


"I can't wait to see him, and hold him."  She saw distress in his eyes.


"Something's wrong.  What is it?  Uncle Todd?  Is he all right?"


"He is," he nodded.  "He'll be fine, he'll need more time to heal, physically and emotionally from what he's been through.  Something is wrong with the world.  A world that somehow creates people, like the ones I met during this case.  One or two in particular.  Not sure where that kind of sick comes from.  Some of The Men of 21 got away.  They're still out there, and there's no telling what kind of men they are."


"And you will find them all and put them away."  She could see it was haunting him.  "Do you want to talk about it?"


"I will, just not now.  Just knowing you'll be there, when I need to, that makes it all okay."


"I'll be there, you just try and keep me away."  She said, kissing his mouth softly. 


"We're lucky."


"Yes, we are.  We're blessed."


"Yes, we're blessed."


***


Zeus entered Ray's office and sat.  Ray said, "What's new on your end?"  


Zeus placed a copy of The Sun on his desk.  "Nothing really.  Did you read that paper?  My information helped get Todd free.  He's calling me a hero."


"I did.  I read that.  So, what's your feeling on it?"


"I don't know.  The Sun heralding me as a hero?  It sort of...I think it was too much."


"You feel guilty that Todd appreciated you."


"I guess.  I took the man's life, for a long time."


"He knows.  But he also sees it for what it was.  You do realize that?"


"I do."


"And?"


"It's weird.  A good weird."  His eyes teared.  "And, there's one other thing."


"What's that?"


"Tea.  She accepted my call yesterday."


"I thought I asked if anything was new?"


He smiled, "I know.  It's not saying we're going to be together, but for her to accept my call, and listen to me, I mean really listen..." his voice trailed off.


"I can see this means a lot to you.  Have you considered asking her to come to therapy?"


"No, not yet, I mean until now, I had no reason."


"And now?"


"Now, maybe.  There might be hope."  He looked down to his shoes.  


Ray said, "Zeus, why is it so hard to accept praise?  You did the right thing.  You acted and you helped.  Those things can't go unnoticed."


"They can never outdo or overshadow the other things I did."


"But there were forces that were beyond your control."


"Because I was weak."


"I think we'll work on that.  This belief you have.  We will work on this over time."


"All right."  He got up and walked to the window.  "I feel, like I am alone in the world, all the time."


"Some people are, and they are by choice. "


"I'm not choosing.  I miss my kids.  I want to know them, as me.  Especially Sam.  He's growing up without me.  I know Todd is a great father to him, and Blair is his mother, no question about it, but I miss him.  I wish I could..."


"I think in light of everything, there's no doubt in my mind that over time, you will be able to have a relationship with him.  When you're healed, fully, I don't see Todd or Blair refusing you that."  He picked up The Sun.  "Maybe, first, you work on loving yourself, accepting your faults, whatever they are, and developing your own relationship with you.  Once you get that going, I think Tea might come around.  And, I do believe, as long as you're well again, Tea will let you be in the new baby's life."


"It's a dream.  It feels so far off."


"As your therapist, I can only tell you that it's not.  Let me call her this week and see if she will come in for work with you.  It's a start, right?  She can only say no."


"Right, okay.  Sure.  Call her.  And tell her....well, you know what to say."


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Battle the Dark: Chapter 42

A week passed.  It was a blustery but bright Saturday morning.  Addie took Sam by the hand and lead him across the street to the park.  She had the carrier in her other hand, and Ray was napping.  Sam was quiet, and headed to his favorite bench.  Parking himself there, he sat, looking at his baseball glove, and throwing the ball into the pocket of it, over and over.  Addie watched him from her place across the way, and he was pensive and silent.   Having insisted on looking for Todd, she had agreed to bringing him out to the park for the last three Saturdays, and he had come home dejected but hopeful.  "Maybe next time," he would say.

It was full-blown summer, and many kids were in the park, on the swings, jungle gyms and poles, running playing and finding their own fun.  Sam just sat, waiting, and Addie, sitting on the bench across, took out her crocheting, and was working on a new blanket for Ray.

Behind him, Blair approached, hair sparkling in the sun.  She carefully placed her hand over his eyes, and said, "Guess who?"

"Mommy!"  He cried, and she ran around the front of the bench and put her arms out.  He flew into them, happily smothering her face with kisses and hugging her.  He said, "Mommy, you're back."

"I missed you, Little Man.  I missed you so much."

"I missed you, too, Mom.  Everyone did."  He went back to his glove.

"So," she said, still crouching in front of him, "Why are you here in the park today?  I thought I'd find you at home."

"It's Saturday, Mom.  I'm waiting for Dad."

Addie, still sitting on the bench across, stopped her handiwork and watched.  Blair, cautious with her words, said, "He'll be here if he can, right?"

"Yep."

She stood up.  "Well," she said, "Look who's here?"

She put her hand out, and before Sam had a chance to turn around, Todd had taken her hand, and was coming around the bench to stand beside her.  And once again, she saw the Santa-surprise face: the wide-eyes, the open mouth in the shape of an 'O,' and a huge gasp of breath.  "Dad!  You came!"

Todd smiled, his beautiful way of doing so, and his hair, longer still, shone in the sun like gold.  Blair slipped her arm through his, as Sam jumped up on the bench and hugged Todd around his neck and kissed his cheeks.  Addie, stunned by this display, was covering her mouth and crying with joy.  She said softly, "Todd," and wildly began texting on her cell phone.

"Yep, I'd never stay away if I could be here, you know that, right, Sam?"

"Yep.  I told everyone.  Jack, he said no, you weren't coming back.  He said that some guy was going to cut you and Mommy up."

Todd shot Blair a look, at which she said, "It's a long story, Daddy."

"Well, do I look cut up to you?"

"Kind of, right here," he touched onto Todd's arm, where a small edge of one of his wounds peeked under the sleeve of his tight-fitting henley t-shirt.  

"Nah," he said, "That's nothing.  Nothing to worry about."

He hugged Sam close again, closing his eyes to relish the feeling of being home and being free.  With his hand, he took Blair's, and she dabbed at her eye.  From across the street, he heard a scream, "Dad!" and looked to see Starr, in the lead, with Jack, running behind her, and soon passing her out.  

Jack got there first, but Starr, pushing by him, flung herself at her father.  "I missed you Dad, I love you!" she hugged him and cried.  Blair, watching from the bench, shed a few tears also, and he continued to reconnect with her eyes, every few minutes, to share the moment with her fully.  

Starr let go and Todd walked to Jack, and grabbed him, pulling him into his chest and hugging him.  Jack's head went over his shoulder now, naturally, and he roughed his hair.  Pulling back, Jack said, "I'm glad you're home, Dad."

"Me, too, Jack," then to Addie, "where's my littlest boy?"

She brought the carrier forward.  "Here he is," Addie said, and Todd kissed her cheek before unfastening the little belt that held him into his seat.  Ray stirred, and opened his eyes, looking right into Todd's hazel beauties.  

"Hey, you, how ya been?  I promised, didn't I?  Well, I want to keep them, as much as I can."  He said, bringing the baby over his shoulder and sniffing in the sweet smell of him.  He sighed,and Blair, standing back up, put her arm through his again, and rested her head on his other shoudler watching them in their father-son dance.  She cradled her baby's head for a moment, and watched as his little eyes were stuck on Todd's, as he talked into his youngest son's face.  He lifted him toward the sun, and the baby smiled.

He looked around.  "Well," he said, putting Ray back onto his shoulder, "time for the Mannings to go back home.  Lunch awaits.  I got all the favorites for all of you.  Then it's movie time."

"Yay, I like movie time."  Sam said.

"I don't.  We always get sucky kid movies."  Jack said.

"We can get another one later," his father answered.

"Two?"

"Jack, don't push it, really." Todd said.

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Battle the Dark: Chapter 41

On the way to the hospital, in a taxi, Sister Rebecca Katherine cried silent tears, as her brother, Timothy, sitting next to her, and Shaun, next to him, squeezed into the back seat.    John sat in the front with the driver, and Patrick found another way.


John said, "In all the events of the day, I'd have to say the most surprising was Patrick Thornhart insisting on accompanying Todd to the hospital in the ambulance."


Shaun said, "You'd have to know the history I guess, to us, it's not that strange."


"I suppose."


The nun's lips were still whispering quiet prayers.   Timothy said, softly, "Creena.  It will be all right."


She shook her head no, without interrupting her prayers, closed her eyes and squeezed a few tears onto her cheeks.  Timothy said to the others, "She doesn't get like this often.  But when she does, there is a reason."


John said, "Let's hope that when we get there, Manning's not dead.  I am not sure Blair and the kids could survive this one.  The FBI has the list you gave me, Timothy, and they are aware that most of The Men of 21 got away."


They pulled up in front of Beaumont, and exited the cab.  Timothy put his arm out to his sister, and she took, it, never deviating from her prayers.  Her lips were uttering them magically, as if under a trance.  She continued, but walked along toward the door.


When they arrived, the ambulances were both driving up, and the one with Todd was to unload first.  John stood by the door of it, holding his breath.  Patrick jumped out first, and said, "We lost him on the way, but he's back.  Barely."


John looked at Todd, who seemed smaller than he remembered him, and much more pale.  Gray, to be exact.  His shirt, which had been ripped free, was in tatters on the floor of the vehicle, and his scars, of which there were many, showed to all.  The fresh ones were like things John had never seen; he couldn't describe them, or imagine how they happened.  He swallowed and said, "He'll make it.  He has to."


The other ambulance door opened, and they could hear every moment, Blair screaming, not yelling, Todd's name.  From the pavement where they stood, they could see her, sitting up, shrieking, her hand reaching out, battling the techs and pulling at her oxygen mask.  Sister Rebecca Katherine, broke free of Timothy, and walked directly to the ambulance, stepping up the back bumper and into the cab of the vehicle, and looked into Blair's face, and shouted, "Stop this, now Blair!"


Blair, confused at first, broke down and the nun held her close.  Smoothing her hair, she said, "You can't help him this way.  You must stop, or they won't let you see him, dearie.  He might leave this world, but if he does, he must be with you when that time comes."


Hearing this, Blair pulled herself together, completely, and apologized to the techs, as they lowered the gurney to the road.  As they wheeled her in, she said to the first doctor she could find, "Please, I'll sign any papers, just please, let me off this gurney so I can see my husband, please?  I waive all assistance, I'm fine, I just need to be with him, please."


The nun said, "Doctor, there's a young man who just came in, in very bad condition, and he may pass on.  She needs to be with him.  I can vouch for the fact that nothing physically detrimental has happened to her that cannot wait for a few more hours."


John flashed his badge.  "Please, if you can oblige.  The man was missing for a week, kidnapped, and he may not have much time."


Blair, calming herself more, said, "I am all right, I promise to be seen in a few minutes, I just need to see him, please."  Her voice was soft, airy and tranquil.  Shaun and Timothy looked at each other, surprised.


Patrick said, "Doctor, please?"


The doctor said,  "It's highly irregular, but if this is what she wants, she can sign a waiver.  I'll get one."


Blair, not listening any longer, ripped the oxygen tubes off her face and out of her nose, and got off the gurney, running to the Emergency Room entrance.  The rest followed.  "Where is he, please?  The man you just brought in.  Todd Manning?"


"Are you his wife?"  the nurse asked.


"Yes,"  she said, fingering her diamond.  Her voice broke, "Yes, I'm Mrs. Todd Manning."


"Come with me," the nurse began and Blair followed, and everything and everyone else vanished from her vision.  She attempted to listen to the nurse's words, and follow her, but in her state of mind, she was only getting bits and pieces:  low vitals; has not eaten in days; severe dehydration; needs a transfusion immediately; we're doing all we can.


We're doing all we can.  Why did she repeat that to herself, over and over, and why did it sound so bad?


***


In the emergency room waiting area, the nun had finished her rosary, and was sitting, quiet and pensive, between her brother and Shaun.  Patrick sat with John, across the way from them, and spoke quietly.  "John, what about Margaret?  Is she still in Llanview?"


John did not know what to say, or how to broach the subject cautiously enough, so he said, "You've been gone a while.  Things change."


"I had heard you and Margaret were together.  I am not interested in that gossip.  Just how she is now, and where."


"She's been through a lot, and I am sorry to say that she has had a breakdown.  Cole, your son, has had a child with Manning's daughter..."


Patrick interrupted, "That must have gone over extremely well."


"Remember, Todd was not here, until almost a year ago.  He was being held captive.  It was the impostor that dealt with it, and not well, I'm afraid.  Cole ended up in jail for killing someone who tried to hurt Starr and the baby."


Patrick sank back against the chair.  "My son is in prison, and my...Margaret is in an institution?"


"Yes, I'm sorry.  There's more, but this is not the time or place."


"I must go to her and help her," he said.


"You're about the only one I think can.  I'll help you any way I can.  She has loved you, always, you know that."


Patrick turned away, and sank down, covering his eyes with his hand, then he stood.  "I'm going for some air, I'll be back," and he exited the room.


Sister Rebecca Katherine said, "Todd's gotten the blessings of the angels.  That is all we can do, but hope and pray.  If he chooses to give up this journey, it won't be long now."


John, who was busy attending to texts and calls from the U.S. announced, "We need to take the prisoner home.  He's being extradited to the United States for incarceration and trial for the new offenses."


"I'll go," Shaun said, "I want to be with the kids, too, they might need me.  I'm going to text Starr that we found Todd, and he's not in the best of shape.  They deserve to know."


"I'll offer transport to Thornhart as well.  He may want to get back to his family, and do what he can for them."  John offered.


"Of course."  Sister agreed.


"Timothy, you have full citizenship in the U.S., so your return is not in question.  You both can come back whenever you like, but I suspect Blair may need you before this is over."


Just then, they looked up to see Blair, walking as if she were lost, and John got up to go to her.  She fell against him, and said, "I think he's dying.  John, he's trying, but I don't know if he can fight it.  They said his organs had started to shut down."  


She looked off into the distance, and John, handing her to the nun, proceeded with his task.  "Blair, I'll be a phone call away.  If you need me, for anything," and he left Sister Rebecca Katherine to explain his absence.  Blair didn't seem to notice his departure.  She was in a trance-like state.


Sister said, "Why did you leave him, precious, did they ask you to go?"


"Yes.  They said for me to come here and wait, and they would come and get us."


They waited, and for the duration, it was silent.  


Finally, they spied a nurse, coming toward them, with a doctor as well.  "Mrs. Manning?"  She looked up, and stood, along with the Brodericks, leaning her hands on each one of them for strength. 


"Yes, I'm Mrs. Manning."


"Mrs. Manning, your husband needs blood, and his blood type is rare.  We're searching all local hospitals for this type, and the sooner we find some, the better our reports will be.  Until then, he is in critical condition.  It's really up to him, now.  It's a fight he has to be ready to undertake."


"I see," she fought hysteria.  Sister Rebecca Katherine read this, and took her hand.  "Can I see him, please?"


"Yes, you can.  Meanwhile, do you by any chance have the same blood type as your husband?"


She flashed back to an earlier time, when he needed blood and the only person available to help was Marty Saybrooke.  She shook her head no.  Finishing the memory, she ended her flashback with him, escaping the hospital, and she, dressed in the police guard's hat as a distraction.  She broke down, and sat, with both of the Brodericks at her side.


After she cried a while, the nun said, "Blair, go to him.  Encourage him to stay with you.  That is what he needs."


She looked up, and her eyes were rimmed in red.  Her face was flushed, her hair was matted with dirt and tears and sweat.  But, she still looked beautiful.  "I don't know if I can watch him go.  Not from this earth, not now."


Sister said, quietly, "Do you want him to have to go alone?"


Blair straightened her blazer, which was covered in dirt, and said, "No.  He can't be alone.  You're right."  The nun took her arm, and walked her back to the emergency area, and to his cubicle.  "Do you want me to stay nearby?"


"Yes, would you, Sister? Please?"  Her voice was meek and small.  In between the distress and tears, the nun also read extreme exhaustion.


"Yes I will.  I'll be here."  She pulled a chair outside the cubicle and waited.  "Go ahead, dear."


Blair opened the curtain and went back in to Todd's bedside.  She looked at all of the marks he had on his skin, so many of which were new and fresh, and cried, running her fingers lightly over each one, as if memorizing.  She said, "Todd?  Todd?  Can you hear me?"


He opened his eyes, "Blair?"


"Yes," she smiled while crying, "Yes, it's me."


"My one true babe."


"Yes."  She was barely able to keep from breaking down, and that was not what she wanted for him.


"I'm tired, Blair.  And I am still cold."


"All right," she said, climbing over wires to put herself on top of him, and covering them both with the blanket.  "Is that better?"


"Yeah.  Blair?"


"Yes?"


"The kids.  Blair, I love them so much."


"I know you do," her crying bled through her talking.  "I know that.  You can tell them yourself.  Soon."


"You have to, you will, won't you?"


"Always, Todd.  But, I won't let you off the hook.  Can you do something for me, now?"


"I'll try, babe,"  he said, weakly.  


"Will you fight for us, Todd, one more time?  Will you?"


"Yes.  Always, Blair.  I am.  I'm fighting now.  I'm just not sure I am strong enough."  She put her arm around his chest, and found his chest hair, and touched it, soft through her fingers.  He said, "Don't go. Please."


"I won't.  I won't ever go.  You don't go either, Todd."


His hand found her hair, and he smoothed it slowly, and said, "I fought it and won."


"What?  What did you fight?"


"The darkness, Blair.  I battled the dark, and I won."


She knew what he meant, but it also meant he had faced all of the abuse he suffered and didn't escape it.  "I'm so proud of you, Todd.  So proud.  Now one more fight, okay?  Just this fight.  Stay with us, please.  Your children need you, and so do I,"  she said, sniffling.


"You're safe now.  Leona's dead, no more Slice and Dice.  I saw to that."


"Yes, I know.  You're a wonderful father.  You take good care of us, Todd."


"I found out everything, Blair.  Everything."


She waited, quietly.  She was not sure, this time, what he meant.


"I know the truth, about it all.  The whole eight years.  I know what he did to me."


She swallowed.  At that moment, she suspected that she knew, too.  "We can talk about this later."


"Later?  Now is later."


"No, it's not.  You're the only one, Todd, who ever loved me like this."


"Tired."


"No, Todd."


"I love you, Blair."


"I love you, too, always," she said, and his hand slipped off her hair.


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Battle the Dark: Chapter 40

Chaos ensued, with the knocking on the door of the man in the bathroom, the commotion among the members of the Men of 21, the scattering of the RA21 troops, and the entrance of John, Timothy and Shaun, and all resulted in a dangerous mess.  More guns were pulled; they could hear the clicks of their safetys unlocking and the sounds of cocking weapons.  Blair whispered, "What should we do?"  They were within feet of the entrance, against the wall in a small alcove.


"I say add two more guns to the heap," the nun said.  "John is going to need us."


"I said, American FBI, drop your weapons." His voice echoed, and Blair wanted to applaud.


A gun went off, and both women jumped.  Rushing toward the entrance of the meeting area, with their guns drawn, they ran directly into Carlo Hesser, who was attempting to escape through the catacombs.  Blair pointed her 9mm glock and said, "Not so fast.  Stay right there, you freak, where I can shoot you stone dead, fucker."


Carlo halted.  "Ah, such demure language from the esteemed Mrs. Manning.  Perhaps we can discuss this?"  He raised his hands.


From inside the room, McBain boomed, and the three of them could hear, "Now, all of you, hands on the wall.  Let's go.  You're all under arrest."


Shaun said, "What about Hesser?"


"Shit, he got away."  John said, "Go after him, and be careful, the little guy is a conniver."


Blair raised her voice, "He didn't get anywhere!"


John, from inside the meeting room, could hear her voice echoing, clearly.  "Blair?"


"Yeah, it's me.  And Sister.  Let me do what I have to do, John."  She turned back to Carlo.  
"Discuss what?  You tormented my husband, for years, kept him from us, tortured him, in all sorts of ways.  What should we discuss?"  She said, clicking her gun into place, "Unless it's your funeral?"


John, still frisking and disarming the remaining few men, called back to her, "Blair, don't do anything you'll regret."


"Oh, I won't regret it."  And she aimed for his forehead.


"Blair, wait," Shaun said, stepping onto the scene.  "Don't do this, he's unarmed, and he's going to jail.  It's over.  You don't have to..."


A voice in the near distance said, "Ya gotta stop this violence now, it has to stop here.  Hesser, you don't deserve this, but I agree Blair, this is not what ya need to be attending to."  It was Patrick Thorhart, and over his shoulder, hanging unconscious, was Todd.  "This man here," he said, setting him down, "needs the attention you're wasting on this excuse for a human being."  Thornhart and Shaun both pulled guns on Carlo, and held them there, as Blair handed hers off to Sister Rebecca Katherine, who now had two pointed at the head of leader of The Men of 21, one in each hand.


"Todd!"  Her cry echoed through the tunnels.  She raced to his side, crying, and pressed her hand to his forehead.  Her cool touch alerted him, and he groggily opened his eyes.  "Blair," he said, reaching for her.  He wanted to be sure she was real.  She softly embraced him, and he lost himself in the scent of her hair.


"Yes, it's me.  Oh my God, you're alive."


"I'm here.  I'm..."  He was out again. 


"My God, John!  John, please?"


John entered the corridor, as the last one of the few remaining men was taken out through the entrance way.  The police backup had finally arrived, and the Irish Police assisted in cuffing and carting off Carlo, who stopped in front of Todd and Blair.  "This is not over, Mrs. Manning, and it never will be.  If he lives, this vendetta will.  But from the looks of things, I wouldn't count on either," and the police pulled Hesser away, and took him through the rocky corridors.  


John put his gun back where it belonged, and went to Blair.  "Manning, Manning, you all right?  Can you hear me?"  John was already calling for paramedics.  "He's in shock, lost a lot of blood?"  He looked up, and his eyes met those of Patrick Thornhart, who nodded.  "Thornhart.  You're alive?"


"I guess I must be.  He's in bad shape.  He's been stabbed, brutalized, starved, dehydrated.  I tried to give him water, he's thrown most of it up.  He knew me, though, he was lucid, at least for a bit before he went out."


"How long has he been unconscious?"  John asked, trying for a pulse.


"Over an hour.  Maybe longer.  We had quite a journey, avoiding both subversive groups.  I was a member of the RA21.  I came here today to stop them."


"Stop what?"


Sister Rebecca Katherine stepped forward, "They wanted to blow us all up.  Blair threw the bomb into the well."


"Yes.  I knew about the attack they planned.  Around here, detective, it works best if you do things yourself.  The police are not very reliable."  Thornhart said.


"I can tell that.  I called them an hour ago."  John added.  "Let's get him out of here, into the theater, so the EMTs have an easier time.  How long will they be?"


"Did you say he was an American, yeah?"


"Yes, I did."


"It won't be long, then."  


Patrick bent and hoisted Todd over his shoulder again, and Blair, through her tears, said, "Patrick, thank you."


"Ah, Blair, I know what he meant to ya, and what he still means to ya."  He carried him, and all followed behind.  


In the theater, Patrick placed Todd down carefully on the floor, ready for the paramedics to attend to him.  Blair, holding his hand and sitting by him, sobbed and prayed and Sister Rebecca Katherine, moved herself away from the group and went to her knees, again holding her beads and praying profusely.


"Todd, please open your eyes, please."


He did as she asked.  His beautiful, hazel eyes, though not as bright as always, looked into her green ones.  "Blair.  Don't leave."


"I'm not leaving.  You're where I belong.  You know that."


"Thornhart," he croaked out.


Patrick came to his other side.  "What do you want Manning?  It wasn't enough for ya that I carried you all day?"  His voice was tender, unmatched to his snide words.


"I was wrong about you, back then.  I was in pain, my life, seemed gone.  I owe you, for what you did to try and save me today."


"Try and save you, you're here.  You made it.  There's your pretty wife, right with you."


Todd's face showed that he did not believe he had long.  "No, listen, not long.  I'm sorry for the....sorry for the trouble I caused you in the past.  I was wrong.  Blair,"  he turned his head to her.


"I'm right here, right here."


"I'm sorry."


"No, no, there's nothing to be sorry for."


"I can't.  I can't stay."


"No. No, Todd, you can't talk that way."


"I'm cold.  I'm cold and I'm...it's dark."


"Yes it is dark, we're all in the dark. Todd."  She brushed her tears off her face quickly, "You have to stop talking like this.  The boys need you.  Starr does, I do too."


He winced, and closed his eyes, then opened them, with a single tear cascading down each side of his face.  "Blair.  I love you.  I'm sorry it took me so long, to just love you, the way I should have from the start."


"No, stop, now.  That's over with.  We've been there and done all of that.  We've got a long time to make up for all of that.  Don't quit on me!"


"I love you."  He said, again, his eyes shutting.  "Blair," he was quiet.


"Nooo!" Her cry echoed through the entire theater.  The paramedics, finally arriving, raced down the aisle of the old theater; the nun was still praying, more urgently; Blair was crying, as Shaun took her away from his side; and Patrick, turning from the group, buried his forehead in his hand.  


John, approaching Timothy, said, "This can't happen.  Not now.  The guy just struggled through eight years, and then another five days of utter torment.  This can't happen."  Timothy, who was without words, put a hand on John's shoulder, and could not speak.  Blair, inconsolable, threw herself against the wall, and, sliding down, collapsed in a heap.  "No, Todd, no, please."


"Get him to the hospital, stat."  The paramedic shouted, and they lifted him to the gurney.  He took his walkie talkie and said into it, "Have emergency ready, severe dehydration, blood loss, will need tranfusion, mutiple lacerations and odd cuts/scrapes all over the body.  He's in shock, possible DOA."


Blair screamed, "He's not dead, John, tell me he's not dead!"  And he crouched to her level, taking her, like crumpled fabric, into his arms.  She was shaking uncontrollably, and within a few moments, she began shivering.  


John said, "She's going into shock, paramedic?"


One of the paramedics went to attend to Blair, and they readied her for transport.  She, on the gurney, waiting for another ambulance muttering nonsensical things, and Todd, in the back of one already, were separated once more, as the vehicles sped, one after the other, to Beaumont Hospital.  


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Battle the Dark: Chapter 39

Patrick and Todd struggled to get the latter to his feet.  Todd cried out, swore, and heaved.  Throwing up some of the water he just took from Patrick, he looked up at him, dangling in the other man's arms, "You might have to go on without me.  Can you see us doing this all the way through these tunnels?"


"Stop with the doomsday, I thought you may have gotten past that, spoiled American, to the core."


"Well, what do you expect us to do?"  He hung out of Patrick's arms like a discarded toy.


"I'll carry ya, if I must.  But if ya stop complaining and try..."


Todd became quiet, having passed out again.  Patrick, running out of patience and ideas, set him back down on the rock ledge.  Getting more water into the two empties that were discarded around the rock room, he packed them into his sack, loading his gun and putting it in the front of  his pants.  Then, he went back to Todd, and hoisted him over his shoulder, like a very large sack of potatoes.  "You're getting fat, Manning," he said to no one, and proceeded out of the rock cage.


Taking it in stride, Thornhart, with Todd over his shoulder, pushed through the tunnels toward the exit.  He knew, from experience, he did not have far to go, possibly another forty-five minutes.  Positive he could accomplish it, he turned a small corner, and heard voices.


"The boss wants Manning.  He's going to set him free tonight."


"At the meeting place?"


"It's supposed to be our entertainment."


"So we are going to get him, now, why?"


"I guess he wants to play with him a bit first, or try one last time to extract information."


The voices died off, as the two must have entered the meeting room.  Patrick, who had been holding his breath, was grateful for two things:  A silent, passed out Manning, and the fact that they were not going to the cage now, or they would have discovered them.  Pushing forward, he struggled on, headed for the exit into the theater.


***


"All right, we're in the left tunnel now, Blair, it won't be long.  We will find him," the nun said, trudging along.  Blair's feet ached, but she imagined how her Todd must be aching, and pushed it away.


"Sister, how much longer?"


"There's a little alcove soon.   Sort of a large open area.  Then the tunnels go on a bit.  A few more rooms, and the end.  There might be another well.  A bit further down."


"All right."  She kept her goal, of seeing Todd's stunning hazel eyes again, with life in them, in her mind.  "I won't desert you, Todd, never again."


The nun heard, "He knows that, dear."


"I just have to keep saying it."


They heard voices again, and ducked inside a small side nook and hid.  "I told you, we're supposed to go get him now."


"Look, I have to use the restroom. If you can't wait for that..."


"Hurry up, will you?  Hesser's waiting.  He wants Manning now."


Blair almost screamed, but Sister Rebecca Katherine covered her mouth quickly enough to stop her.  Her eyes were wide with fear.


Sister brought her finger to her own mouth, to silence her.  Blair nodded.  The nun took her hand away, as the men, stopping inside the meeting area, did their business.  When they exited and continued on, Blair mouthed, "Todd's that way!"


The sister nodded, and they kept on.  Until, they heard whispering voices again, and ran back, ducking into the meeting area.  They prayed no one would come in.


"Where do you expect to place the firebomb, ay?"


"Wherever it will do the most damage.  They'll be here in a few minutes, any time after that."


"All right," the men traipsed by.


Blair and Sister Rebecca Katherine followed the men with the firebomb, who were following the men sent to get Todd.  At a certain point in the channels, there was a three way split.  "That one leads to another room, with no other trails beyond.  This one in the center, I believe leads to the well.  And this, to the right, leads deeper in to the catacombs."


"The question is which one?"


Abruptly, Blair and the nun were face to face with the two men sent to get Todd.  They had proceeded to the left and found the room empty.   In their surprise, Blair flashed a smile at them and said, "Is there a ladies room nearby?"


Thrown off guard, the men were faulty to react, but one pulled his gun, as Blair, drawing her gun out of her waistband, shot him through the head, and held the gun on the other.  


"Jesus have mercy!"  The nun cried, "Bridgette, my Lord!"


"Can it, sister, and get your piece out!"


The nun pulled her .22 from her apron and with a quizzical look, said, "Hands up, buster."


Blair said, "Where's Todd?"


The man, hands up, stood, dumbfounded.  "I don't know a Todd."


"I heard you talking about him."  She cocked the gun and re-aimed.  "Now where is he?"


"He's gone.  He escaped.  He killed his keeper."


The Slice and Dice.  He didn't get the best of you, babe.  He couldn't.  Not Todd Manning.  How did I ever doubt that?


"Move over there."  She signaled to him to get into the meeting room and into the bathroom.  She knocked him over the head with the gun, while Sister Rebecca Katherine tied his hands with her spare rosary, and gagged him with a piece of her wimple.  She locked him into the bathroom.  


"That'll only hold him until they get here.  Seems there is some kind of meeting."  Blair said.


"We haven't got much time, let's go!"  The nun said, rushing along, and taking Blair by the hand.  Blair wondered to herself how the older woman was remaining so energetic and strong.  
"Reflecting back on what just happened, dear, you certainly know how to use your wiles."


"I suppose that is all I knew, most of my life.  I first landed Todd that way."


"I don't doubtcha.  But now, it's a whole different thing with ya both, anyone can see."


"We have to find him.  Shouldn't we go back?  To the exit? They said he was not in his holding cell?"


"What if they are lying?  No, dear, we cannot take a chance.  We must go see for ourselves.  We should go to the right, to the deeper catacombs.  That is most likely where he is being held."  Sister said.


"We can't be sure, but let's hurry."  And, racing a long a few feet, they again heard voices.  Blair could see the well, that the nun described, off to the side in another small rock compartment.  They pushed themselves into the area by it, and waited, listening.  "Light it, now, and drop it here.  The Men of 21 are just arriving.  By the time the fuse is burned out, they all would have perished."


"Will we have time to run out?"


"I've made the fuse long enough, we should have time to get back out.  They heard the scratching sound of a match, and realized how primitive their materials were.  The men ran by them not even noticing, and Sister Rebecca Katherine said, "I am stuck!  My foot is jammed in between this damn well and the wall.  Good Lord, forgive my language.  Quickly, throw it in the well, Blair!"


Blair, in a panic, listened and grabbed the explosive mass, with the long fuse lit and squirming, and threw it down into the shaft.  It was a long time before they heard it hit the water below.  They paused, waiting for a tremor or explosion, but it never came.  The men of the RA21 group were long gone; Blair and Sister Rebecca Katherine breathed a sigh of relief.  Blair helped the nun untwist her foot from the rock hold, and the two pushed forward.  Within another half hour of walking, they, both tired and filthy, rested against a rock ledge, as they reached the end of the tunnels.  "We chose the wrong way,"  Blair said.


"No, in the light of things, the Good Lord sent us the right way.  If we hadn't found those explosives, all of us would have been buried alive in here, dear."


"You're the silver lining, I'll say, Sister."


"I try my best.  Now, back we go?"


"Yes, back we go.  One tunnel left.  The other side of the well."


"Yes, and when I stuck my foot, I noticed that we might be able to cut through.  A small passageway."


"All right."


They went back to investigate, and Blair was of the belief that Todd had gotten away, somehow, but something inside her was still gnawing at her.  They moved through the channels, looking into each cubbyhole and passageway, without a sign of life.  Seeing the entrance to the meeting area sending light into the rock halls, they stood still, listening.  Blair's heart jumped when she heard the men talking, and it was about Todd.  They had found the man she shot, and the other, they had knocked out, tied up, gagged and put into the bathroom, was obviously still not talking.  They were close enough to hear the men.


"Manning's loose.  If he's gotten away from the likes of Leona, I say we cut our losses.  He's probably miles from here already."



"Hesser promised us his execution, at midnight.  Where is Hesser?  I'm starting not to respect that man, or to trust him."


"He's not here, as if he abandoned ship."


"Cut our losses, I said it before, I'll say it again.  We need to get out of here before Manning brings the Feds down on us."


Within a few moments, some of the men headed back out to the theater.  Others remained, talking, but all expressing their desire to desert Carlo, and the mission, and find safety.  


Blair recognized the next voice, as the reactions in the room signaled the arrival of another member.  "Gentlemen, please, what seems to be the trouble."  It was Hesser.


"Manning, he's foiled your plan.  Leona's dead, Manning's gone."


Carlo did not speak, and Blair knew he was seething.  She could picture his face in disgrace in front of the group.  "Todd Manning," his voice was poison. 


The nun and Blair both jolted to a halt when they heard a familiar voice, "Freeze, American police, FBI."  It was John McBain.


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