Who's the Real Todd? Chapter 49

Pete walked into the house, he glanced up the stairs, shook his head and went to find a beer. He unscrewed the top and took a long chug and walked out to the back terrace. In his mind, he replayed the night events. Perhaps the most satisfying thing had been getting their rapt attention in the end. The power he had felt commanding them to tell all and knowing they were helpless to do anything else. He started chuckling.

       Todd had had enough. The sound of Pete's laughter was the breaking point. He began to scream as the horror of what he had done ripped through him. He collapsed to his knees with the bottle still in his hand. He was back in charge but dying inside. With another scream, he hurled the bottle as far away from him as he could. His scream echoed through the clearing. He hated himself. There was still something inside him that he had calmly allowed Pete full rein tonight. He had told himself that they deserved it, that he was just letting Pete show them what they had done to everyone in their experiments. He had been lying to himself. He had watched it all play out in front of him and could have stopped Pete, but he hadn't. He had opened that cold place in himself and purposely hurt those men. Tonight he had become the monster.

         He felt sick inside, everything was wrong now. How could he face Blair knowing what he had done? His stomach lurched and Todd pushed himself to his feet and made it to the edge of the terrace before losing the beer Pete had just drunk.

         She watched as he stumbled to the edge of the terrace. His scream had awakened her and she had rushed to find him. Blair knew deep in her heart he had done something. Something so bad, he was now suffering for it. She wanted to go to him. She hated when he was suffering. If she went out there now she was afraid he'd push her away. Even as she told herself to stay put, she watched him sink to the ground and begin to cry. Her own tears started to fall, and she knew rejection or not, she wasn't going to leave him out there alone.

          Todd's despair was palpable, he didn't deserve Blair or any of this happiness. He should be put away where he couldn't hurt anyone again. His actions tonight proved that he wasn't any better than Carlo or Kipling.

         "Todd you have to stop this. If you're as bad as you think you are, you wouldn't be sick about it. Pete doesn't rule you. What we, and I mean all of us, did tonight was horrific. We did it. We hurt two men willingly and yes, a part of us relished it. It was wrong, but we've been pushed for so long, we finally pushed back." Samuel had been trying to get through to him, but he didn't want to listen.

        Pete stood next to Samuel, bewildered by Todd's reaction. He had been shocked to find himself back inside without any warning and then more shocked by Todd's scream. He had started to ask Todd what had happened and realized that he couldn't, Todd had somehow shut off his voice. He had been stunned. Samuel and Ms.Perkins had looked at him in alarm and Pete had felt insubstantial for a moment. Then the world righted and he was whole once more but still without a voice. Pete felt afraid for the first time in his life, and where before he had always wanted to be separated from the rest of the alters, now he felt if he left them, he would fade away.

         Samuel tried again to get through to Todd and knew it was hopeless. Todd was separating himself from them. It was almost unreal. When Pete had started to fade, Samuel had thought that Todd was integrating with him. He had been fearful that Todd had decided he liked the feeling of power he had felt over Kipling and Hesser. Then Pete had returned but was still unable to communicate. Now even though the rest of them still had their voices, Todd was shutting them out. There was nothing they could do to help him. He watched helplessly joined by Ms. Perkins and Pete.

        Todd felt like he had that first night years ago. His mother had left and he was alone in his room. His father had just come in and grabbed him holding him in the air, almost strangling him. He had yelled at him and told him it was his fault for his mother leaving. He remembered thinking then, that his father was right, he was an evil little boy and that was why his mother had left. Todd laughed even as his tears continued to fall. God, his father had been right. He was evil and his mother had been right to leave. He should leave for Blair's sake, he should leave now and never come back. His heart was hurting at the thought of giving her up after just finding her. He had to go. Now that he knew just how bad he was, he couldn't stay with her. If he had hurt her before in his ignorance, what could he do to her now that he understood what he was really capable of?

          Todd's breath caught as he heard her walking towards him. "Stop Blair. Don't come any closer. I shouldn't have come back here. After what I did, you should stay as far away from me as possible. I'm leaving. Don't come looking for me." he took off running around the side of the house and got in his car and left.

          Blair stood there stunned. She had only seen him like that one other time and it had been after he had found out Jack was his. Then, she had thought he had left because of her lie, only to find out later it was because he had given their son away. She had thought that was the worst thing he could have done. My god, surely he hadn't done worse than that. She was stupid, he had just roared out of her life and she didn't even know why. She ran into the house and called John. She had to find out what went down. If she knew what happened, she might be able to find him.  He wasn't going to just leave her, not again, she wouldn't let him.

           She had tried his cell continuously, but it kept going to voicemail.  "Damn it, Todd, answer!" She was frantic. He had looked so haunted when he had run away. Where could he have gone? Blair had contacted Vicki and told her Todd had left unexpectedly. Vicki had wanted to know what had happened and Blair wasn't able to tell her much. She explained that Todd had gone out and when he returned he was very upset about something but had refused to talk and just left. "Vicki if he contacts you, please let me know."

          Blair called John next but was informed that he had left for Philadelphia. The talk around the station was that something big had occurred. Blair felt sick, whatever had sent John to Philadelphia had something to do with Kipling. She prayed Todd hadn't killed anyone.

          The phone rang and Blair jumped, she didn't recognize the number and decided to just let the answering machine take the call. Then she heard his voice. "I guess I'm glad you didn't answer. I had to let you know I still love you no matter what. You didn't do anything wrong, I just can't be with you right now. You're going to find out what I did and I can't bear the look on your face when you do."

          Blair grabbed the phone. "Todd talk to me. I don't care about anything but getting you home. Please come home, I love you, nothing could make me change my mind about that. God Todd, you have to believe me! I'll help you work through whatever is hurting you."

         "It's no good Blair. I'm bad news. I'll just hurt you in the end." his voice caught. "Don't look for me.... Goodbye, Blair."

        "Toddddd!" she was crying, collapsing into the chair hugging the phone. They had been so happy two days before. She was so scared for him. Something in his voice had sounded so resigned. He truly believed he was a danger to her. The phone rang again."Todd is that you?"

         "Blair, this is John, I wanted to talk to Todd but I guess he's not there. Do you know when he'll be home?"

          "John I don't know. He's disappeared, I've been calling all his haunts and contacts and no one has heard or seen him. I'm worried John. Are you back from Philadelphia?"

          "When did you see him last, Blair? It wasn't last night by any chance, was it?"

           "No, John, He left this morning. He was out on the terrace early and he looked like he was upset about something but when I went to talk to him he said he had to leave. There was something in his voice. It scared me, John. This, on top of what he wrote in that suicide note, I'm afraid of what he's thinking."

          "Blair, can he see? Does he have the implant?"

          "Yes John, he does have the implant. He can see, he took off in his car. John, why are you calling to talk to Todd? What has happened?"

          "We got Carlo and Kipling this morning. They were almost hand delivered. The station got a call early this morning from an unknown source, giving the whereabouts of Hesser's hideout and Kipling's secret lab. My officers tell me that Hesser's compound is up on Llantano Mountain, not too far from Dragonheart. They hit the compound around the same time I hit Kipling's home. Just before entering Kipling's lower level, I found out Hesser's men were at the compound, but Hesser was missing. When we got down to Kipling's Lab we found out why. Hesser and Kipling were in Kipling's Lab. It was bizarre. Both men had been injured. and were sitting in wheelchairs. They were arguing when we arrived, blaming each other for the condition they were in. It's like they weren't even aware how strange that was. Hesser claimed Kipling had abducted him and injured him. Kipling said Hesser was lying and that he was the one who had done the injuring. They are adamant about it. Then as soon as they heard my name, they both started talking at once. We had to separate them so I could hear their stories.

          That's why I wanted to speak to Todd, they both confessed that they had a hand in Todd's experience and also Manning's. My men have found a tape revealing everything Carlo did or had done to Todd following his accident eight years ago. I wanted to tell him it was over. It concerns me that he left you this morning of all mornings. Blair, someone had a hand in turning over Hesser and Kipling to us. Is it possible Todd knew what was going down? You, yourself, said he could see. Could he have orchestrated this?"

          "John, do you really expect me to answer that? Todd was here this morning when you say all this went down. Is he smart enough to have thought of something like that? Yes, but you said Hesser and Kipling were alive when you found them. Do you think, after everything he's been through, that if he found them they would still be alive." Blair was praying John would go with her on her thoughts. He had seen what had been happening to Todd. It wasn't logical to assume he would let them live. It made more sense that Todd would have killed them if given a chance.

       "You're right Blair. If I was in Todd's shoes and found out where these guys were, I'm not sure I wouldn't want them dead too. Whoever did this, wanted them caught and punished. Right now, we're going with the statements of both men that each was hurt by the other. With the evidence of the tape, and the confessions of both Hesser and Kipling concerning the experimentation on both Todds, as well as the hired hits on both Todds, I'm sure they're both going to prison for the rest of their lives."

        "John, you said both men were injured. How?" Blair inquired.

        "Kipling's artificial hand was forcibly removed according to the EMTs and his other arm was broken in two places and his real hand was crushed. Hesser sustained multiple fractures to both of his legs. They were only partially set. According to the EMTs, they have to be rebroken and set properly. Both men will be spending a number of their initial days in the prison hospitals. Both men also appeared to have been in contact with the implants which we found them holding when we arrived. The whole scene was bizarre. Someone got revenge in a very unusual way that's all I can say.


         Let me know if you hear from Todd. If he doesn't contact you soon, I'll help you look for him. You're right about one thing, He's been close to the edge for too long. Something might have happened to push him off that edge."

        Blair put the phone down. She knew what Todd had done, the minute John mentioned that Carlo and Kipling had been in contact with the implants. My God, she thought, somehow Todd had put Kipling and Hesser through the same thing he and Jake had gone through. He had tortured them. That was what was eating him up inside. No wonder he felt she would hate him. He had done the one thing he hated more than anything. He had subjected someone to torture. Now that it was over and he had done it, he must have felt like he had given in to his own dark side. Her poor Todd, he was out there somewhere, once more being haunted by the father he thought he had conquered. She made her mind up, she would find him and bring him back and prove to him once and for all he belonged with her.


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Who's the Real Todd? Chapter 48

        Jake followed Pete back to the penthouse garage and parked his car, then he joined Pete in his car with Carlo in the back seat. They headed out of town. Within the hour, they pulled up to the boundary around the Kipling Neuroscience Research Facility. Jake pointed the way to Kipling's house and once again they parked the car out of sight and prepared for the second part of the night's activities.

         Kipling was such a megalomaniac that he felt he was untouchable and didn't think to put outside surveillance equipment to use. Luckily he had no patients there in the middle of the night. It made their plan much simpler because they didn't have to worry about gassing innocent people. With the help of the blueprints and the pictures sent by his reporter, Pete quickly found the ventilation system for the whole house, including the one that led to the downstairs labs. Handing over the canisters of gas to Jake, Pete said. "Here's where we separate for a short time. Here is the blueprint that tells you where you can find Kipling. He's all yours for the next forty minutes. Make sure you bring him to the downstairs lab within the hour. We'll meet you there."

       Jake left with his gas mask and the canisters and headed to get the man who had tortured him for years and fed him hallucinogenic drugs almost as long.

        Pete watched Jake leave. He had given him a man they both hated, but Jake had suffered more because Kipling had kept him on a leash long after he had let Samuel go. It was only right that Jake had the first crack at Kipling.

        He pulled the unconscious Carlo from the car and dragged his body up into the forest surrounding Kipling's home finding an outcropping of boulders. He laid Hesser down on the ground, in front of the outcropping, and strategically placed his legs directly in front of one of the bigger boulders. Pete quietly walked back to the car to get the tire iron. He returned to the spot and began to carefully separate the boulder till it was rocking precipitously ready to roll from its foundation of rocks around it. With one final tap, he stood back and stoically watched the boulder begin to descend picking up speed as it rolled down toward Carlo's legs. Pete saw Carlo rousing from the gas and gazed in silence as Carlo's head turned toward the sound of the boulder unable to see because of the sack over his head. Then in the dead silence of the forest at night, the sound of bones crushing under the boulder could be heard echoing for just a minute. If you listened closely a muffled scream followed the event. Pete returned the tire iron to his car and grabbed the tarp from the trunk.

         He walked to where Carlo once again lay limply on the ground, the shock of the broken legs knocking him out. Pete reached down and felt the legs noting the different fractures. Carlo would be laid up for months and require multiple surgeries to fix those legs. He laid a tarp over his shoulder and heaved Carlo up and made his way back to the house. Jake had left the door open for him and he entered and found the nearest examination room. He laid Carlo down and went about undressing him. Finding the bandages he began wrapping Carlo from the neck down, and when he got to the legs he temporarily attempted to set them doing the same kind of job on Carlo as had been done on him. With minimal setting, he wrapped the legs. He removed the hood and taking some gauze, he took off the tape from around Hesser's eyes and wrapped them instead with two thin layers of gauze and went in search of the wheelchair he had ridden in so many times.

          Todd and Samuel had been watching from the very beginning, Todd hadn't flinched when Pete had sent the boulder rolling but Samuel had turned away. Todd looked over at his brother and said. "You don't have to watch. Ms. Perkins is keeping Tom away, go be with them. It's not going to get any better Samuel. They deserved this and so much more. We're only going to give them a taste of what they put us through. If that's wrong or bothers your moral sensibilities then you should go."

          Samuel looked at Todd and remembered all he had seen and heard about Todd's young life and then he remembered those agonizing days years ago when he and Todd had shared the same pain. Todd had seen it all from a very tender age. It had fractured him and created his brothers but through it all, it had also strengthened him. When he looked at Todd again. He saw what he had missed the first time. Todd was not cold or uncaring about what was happening. It was tearing him up inside because he hated the feeling of rage that was pushing Pete, but he was helpless too because that rage was a part of him. Something inside him yearned for release, that dark monster known as Peter Manning. Samuel realized then why Todd was watching. Todd was providing Pete the means for revenge, but he was also tempering it so that Pete didn't lose control. If Pete lost control, Carlo would die and Peter Manning would finally win. Samuel no longer shuddered. Todd needed his help. Samuel went to Todd and laid a hand on his shoulder and stood side by side watching and giving him the strength to keep Pete from going too far.

         Pete found the chair he was looking for, he wheeled it into the room and then found some orderly scrubs. Donning the scrubs and some gloves he went to the room's computer and put in the details of one Carlo Hesser, patient. Hitting a button, he watched a small name tag emerge and taking it he wrapped it securely around Hesser's wrist. Next, he located the muzzle as he called it. It was designed to keep patients from biting their tongues during Electro Convulsive Therapy and made a very effective gag at the same time. After putting the muzzle on Hesser, he removed all vestiges of glue left behind by the duct tape and then he carefully lifted Hesser and set him in the wheelchair to prepare him for his trip to the lab. Pete strapped him in, making sure he couldn't move. Then Pete gathered his hair back in a ponytail and donned a surgical mask. Only one last thing to do. He located the medicine cabinet and found the drug he was looking for, 'Sodium Pentathol', he took a syringe and extracted some and then injected it into Carlo. Now they were ready. It was time for Carlo's treatment.

         Jake had set off the canisters and waited the allotted time for the gas to take effect. He entered the house and left the door opened for Pete and Hesser and went in search of Ivan. It only took moments to find him passed out in his study. Jake transferred him to a rolling chair and wheeled him down the hall to an examination room. He and Pete had talked in detail about the treatments and some of the things they remembered. Jake undressed Kipling and wrapped him in gauze the way he himself had been wrapped. He looked at Kipling's two arms remembering what had occurred in the study.

        He had stood steps away from a doctor he thought he could trust. Now all the pain from the headaches, and then the remembrances and nightmares flooded back. Jake had laid Kipling down on the floor and pulled each arm away from his body until he was spread-eagled on the floor. Jake had carefully rolled back Kipling's sleeve from his artificial hand and studied how it was attached. It was a marvelous piece of machinery that had been surgically attached. Jake knelt down on Kipling's arm to anchor it and with his bare hands he ripped the artificial hand off. There was a little blood, probably the equivalent of a cut finger, Jake staunched the wound and laid the arm across Kipling's chest and moved his attention to the other arm. Jake then searched the room for something heavy, he located the wine cart and removed the decanters from the top. He then loaded the cart down with books till he was sure it would provide enough weight to inflict some damage. He had started it rolling, and hadn't stopped until he had heard the cracking of the bones as he had rolled over the arm and hand. He returned the books to their proper places on the shelves and set the decanters back on the cart, and placed it back against the wall. After making sure everything was where it belonged in the room. He walked back over to Kipling. He used the broken arm to pick up Kipling and deposited him in the rolling chair.

        Jake began wrapping the injured arms up. If he was right, Kipling would be without the use of his arms for quite a while, especially the broken one. He grabbed the orderly scrubs and got into them and walked over to the computer and put in the information for the patient known as Ivan Kipling. Once the name tag came out he wrapped it around Kipling's broken arm and grabbed the syringe with the pentathol and injected it into Kipling. He grabbed the muzzle and gagged Kipling effectively and wrapped his eyes so that he would be able to see but not clearly.

          After retrieving a wheelchair, he transferred Kipling to it and strapped him in. Then he took the time to clean up all traces of anyone being in the treatment room. Jake then wheeled the rolling chair back down to Kipling's study and returned to the treatment room. On the computer, he changed the date and time to specify that Patient Kipling had been delivered to the facility the previous day and had been scheduled for treatment on the current day. He carefully put Kipling's clothes in a standard clinic bag and hung them on the back of his wheelchair. It was almost time to go to the treatment room but Jake did a quick inspection to make sure everything appeared in its place. He picked up the artificial hand and dropped it into the duffel bag and putting the bag over his shoulder he began to wheel Kipling out of the room.

        The hallway became very familiar and he knew he was nearing the elevator. Pressing the button he waited, Kipling was starting to rouse as the doors opened. Jake wheeled his patient inside and pushed the button for the laboratory level. "Just you take it easy Mr. Kipling, you're alright, it's just time for your treatment." His hand tightened roughly on Kipling's shoulder."

         When the doors opened, Jake wheeled his patient out. Kipling was semi- conscious and slightly agitated. "There, there Mr. Kipling, you really must relax, you know how these treatments go, they're for your own good." he strolled past the Painting and entered the lab. He set Kipling close to the machine. Locking the wheelchair in place as he began setting up everything. He walked over to the far wall and studied the array of implants behind the glass doors. He found the key to the cabinet and started to remove all the implants. He placed all but two sets in the duffel bag. He then took one complete set of implants and place it on the tray close to Kipling's head. He hooked up Kipling to the machine and waited. "Mr. Kipling, Doctor Hesser should be here shortly. Now you really shouldn't get too agitated. That will only make things worse. Mr. Kipling, you understand you need this treatment. You're out of control and something must be done to bring you to your senses. You can't continue the way you've been going, you going to hurt someone and we can't allow you to do that. This treatment is really for your own good. It will exorcise all your demons. You should try to remain as calm as possible. We only want to help." Jake glanced at his watch, Pete and Hesser would be arriving soon and the third and final phase of the night would get started.

        Kipling struggled to think clearly, he was in a lab that seemed vaguely familiar and his body felt strange, disconnected. He couldn't move. He couldn't focus no matter how hard he tried, his eyesight was fuzzy. The nurse was saying he was here for treatments, he didn't understand. His arms were on fire, and the nurse seemed to be waiting for Doctor Hesser to arrive. He tried to talk and realized he couldn't, something was stopping him. He moaned from the pain and the nurse turned toward him again.

       "I understand you're in some pain Mr. Kipling, but unfortunately painkillers will interfere with the treatment. Ahh, I believe I hear Doctor Hesser coming." Jake stepped out of the room and watched as Pete wheeled the bandaged Hesser toward him.

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       Pete rolled Carlo down the corridor towards the elevator. It appeared that Carlo was stirring once more, only this time every movement or bump of the wheelchair caused him to whimper in pain. " Mr. Hesser, good, you're waking up. We're on our way to your treatment session so you needn't worry. I'll take good care of you. We haven't met, my name is Pete, but I assure you, you're in good hands. Dr. Kipling told me you've been having a serious problem with leadership issues and I'm told his new treatment gets to the heart of your troubles. You mustn't fret we'll have you back on your feet and restore your confidence in no time. Maybe an in depth look into your past will be just the ticket for recovery." Pete rolled Carlo onto the elevator letting Carlo get a vague view of his orderly. They began their descent.

       His head was all fuzzy, everything was confusing. Carlo didn't remember being in an accident, but he felt incredible pain radiating from his legs. Nothing was making sense. What did the orderly mean by his treatment session and Kipling? Something was very wrong. He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts, but that just made him sick. His vision wasn't clear, but there was something about the hallway the orderly was taking him down that was very familiar, maybe he was just going to see the Doctor.

       "You really shouldn't try moving Mr. Hesser, you'll only hurt yourself. Now you just relax and let Pete take care of you. It'll be for the best in the long run. Here we are. It looks like the Doctor is all ready for you. " Pete wheeled Carlo in and took him straight to the second machine in the room. He saw that Jake had Kipling all hooked up and the implants were standing ready. He looked into Carlo's eyes, he knew Carlo was getting anxious by the sweat forming on his brow, he leaned over and whispered. "Now Carlo this might hurt just a little but you'll feel so much better when it's over." He hooked up the sensors to Carlo's head the way they had been hooked to his. Pete reached for the implants resting on the tray and turned to Jake, " Doctor, as soon as you're ready, your patient is all set."

        Jake used his best Dr. Kipling voice and replied. "You may begin the procedure, Pete"

       "Carlo I need you to give me your attention. That's right Carlo, look here.'

         Carlo felt compelled to do as he was told and looked up at the orderly standing in front of him. He felt the orderly put some gel on his head and set something in the gel, then he noticed as if through a fog something placed on his upper arm and watched it begin to slowly move up his arm with an unusual gait. Carlo began quivering as the thing began clamoring over his neck, and he felt little claws digging into his scalp. He wanted to scream. Was he having a nightmare? This couldn't possibly be for real." Carlo began to moan as the thing neared the area at the top of his head and suddenly he felt something sharp enter his scalp. He screamed but because of the muzzle, no one heard him. An electrical current ran through him and then he heard Dr. Kipling say.

       "Carlo, I need you to go back and remember the night you brought Todd Manning to me. Remember Carlo."

        He had no choice, unbidden his memory came forth and from the corner of his eye, he saw a black hand reach for a lever. God no! Suddenly the image of Todd Manning and all the events pertaining to him were being played in his mind, and then sliced ever so finely away, and with each slice, Carlo convulsed in pain. He had no control, the doctor had asked for the scenes and one by one Carlo was forced to relive it and then it was ripped away.

         Jake had tried to keep his eyes on the machine where he saw data being fed in as Carlo was remembering. As Carlo's memories of Manning ran out he was nearly unconscious. Pete leaned over and whispered. "You did great Carlo. You were a good boy. You're going to be just fine. Now you need to do one more thing for Dr. Kipling, do you think you can do it?"
Carlo nodded still under the drug, "When you're asked about it, you need to tell everything that you did to Todd Manning, to John McBain. You can do that, can't you Carlo?" once again Carlo nodded. "Yes, I know you can Carlo, you're such a good boy.  Now you just rest.  Your treatment session is over, go to sleep.  Pete took good care of you didn't he?" As Carlo drifted off. Pete took out his pocket knife and his father's lighter and heated up the edge, then he carefully extracted the little implant and dropped it into his pocket.

         Pete closed the knife and walked over behind Kipling. In his best Hesser voice, he said. "Good Morning Mr. Kipling I'm so sorry for the delay, another patient required my services first. Now we really must talk about your penchant for hurting people. Mr. Kipling, I need you to give your full attention to your nurse.  He's the one you need to watch at all times.  This is very important if you lose him you will lose yourself." As Kipling kept his eyes on Jake, Pete picked up the second implant and using the gel, he set it down on the back of Kipling's neck Immediately the implant dug in just over the crucial brain stem and Pete watched Ivan arch in pain as the implant began searching for any information it could find.

          With a simple push of a button, Pete began transferring the information Carlo had provided. He watched as the data flowed and the implant on the back of Kipling's neck began to overload with the information being fed to it. Suddenly the implant began to whirr and Jake and Pete watched fascinated as a thin wire snaked out from the underside of the implant and began to insert its needle-like tip into Kipling's brain. Jake watched in horror as he realized that was how he had been fed all of Manning's memories. Of course, it had all taken place inside his brain properly, but he found himself getting sick to his stomach. As the information came to an end the wire withdrew back into the implant.

         During the whole procedure, Kipling had been captured by the images flooding his brain, he screamed as much as he could because they were being burned into his brain. Like a stylus, the wire had fed current after current through the neurons in his brain. He had wanted to tear his head off because it was like millions of little ants were working their way through his brain making new tunnels where there hadn't been any. He had been immobile and it had been agony. Kipling collapsed in the chair tears of blood running down his cheeks.

         Once again, Pete leaned down and whispered. " Yes, you did admirably Mr. Kipling and you'll never forget what you have learned, will you. Now listen to my voice, Mr. Kipling. You will be unable to see anything else until you unburden your story to Detective McBain. You must unburden or the images will burn until you will cease to see anything at all. It is my hope you have learned the error of your ways and will offer yourself to the law so you can begin to redeem yourself. You will do this because you must, isn't that right Mr. Kipling. It is as necessary as breathing and until you've redeemed yourself you will be alone trapped forever in your mind. Be sure and let the Detective know that it was Carlo Hesser that taught you the error of your ways. Now you may sleep Mr. Kipling everything will be over soon." Pete removed the implant and put it in Carlo's hand, in turn, he dropped the implant that had been used on Carlo into Kipling's broken hand.

           He left Kipling's artificial hand attached to the lever that had started Carlo's machine. Looking over at Jake, he wiped down the room and picked up anything that didn't belong in the room. Then he went to the computer and hacked into the Llanview Police phone line and had the computer leave a 911 call providing information to Detective John McBain as to the whereabouts of Hesser's hideout and Kipling's secret lab. He and Jake removed the muzzles and the bandages from around Hesser and Kipling's eyes and dropped the bandages into the duffel bag, Pete took the muzzles and sanitized them. Then he handed them to Jake to put back into the examination rooms. He left the data on the machine for John to find and walked out leaving Kipling and Hesser bound to their chairs.

            They gathered up the used up canisters that could be seen and locked the door to Kipling's home behind them. Pete turned to Jake, " Do you have everything you brought, gloves, clothing, etc." Jake nodded and he climbed into the car. Pete glanced back only briefly and got in and drove back to Llanview. He dropped Jake off to get his car and said. "Go home and live your life, be happy with Tea. This is over." he watched as Jake left and then he headed home. Before going to Dragonheart, Pete had stopped at the Sun and opened the vault with Blair's portraits. He had sat quietly staring at the woman he had begun to fall in love with. He was no good for her. Best to leave her to Todd. What he had done tonight was proof that she was safer with Todd. He had felt Todd's control slip a couple of times and had known for a brief moment that he had been channeling Peter when he had been playing with both men. He had felt that perverse thrill when he knew he had broken both men. Pete went to the back of the vault and found the drawer hidden there. He put the implants in the drawer and walked out carrying the bag. He headed down to the dock and disposed of all the items having to do with the raids. After emptying the bag, he dropped it close to a sleeping bum and headed home.


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Who's the Real Todd? Chapter 47

Todd finished dressing, closing the clasp on his watch, and taking the band-aid off the ring. He had to get the supplies he and Pete would need to complete next part of his plan. He thought back to the early morning shower Pete and Blair had shared before he had taken back over from Pete. It had been hot to view and he was surprised at Pete, he had always considered him a little cold but there was nothing cold about the way he made love to Blair. It had actually shocked him that Pete harbored those kinds of feelings for Blair.

"You think you're the only one of us who can love her. Think again Pal, I can feel for her too. I find the sexiness about her and her tendency for trouble intriguing. It makes me hot. She's a girl after my own heart. By the way, thanks for not stepping back in right away, she capped off the evening nicely. I can see why you don't want to share." Pete laughed wickedly and wandered away leaving Todd with his own thoughts.

Todd laughed "You bastard." Todd wandered downstairs and found Blair in the breakfast room off the kitchen. "What are your plans for today?"

"I need to go into Capricorn today. Everything is a mess because Christian is MIA. I've already had a call from Carlotta wondering if I've heard anything from him. There was a call from Larry on the answering machine. He was checking on you and said he had information on Christian. A reporter from the Banner wanted an update and I stalled him. When are we going to let them know you're alright?" Blair looked across the table at him.

"I need about 48 hours, Blair, maybe less. I'll call Larry and find out about Christian and have John contact Carlotta. We'll bring her into the loop but getting her into Christian's room at the hospital can't happen since everyone believes the patient is me. You, Starr and probably Vicki should go to the hospital to keep Hesser from getting suspicious. If all goes well, this will be over soon and everything can begin to get back to normal. Don't worry I won't go out, I'll use my contacts to procure anything I need." He sat there and scooped up some eggs and kept eating.

An hour later Todd called Larry. "Hi Doc, what's the word on Vega?"

"Just as you suspected, more implants. I've been on the phone with Michael and we've decided he's going to bring his team here to work on Christian. Todd, we have to find out if possible, how many people were used by Carlo and Kipling. Christian's implants are just beginning to show signs of corroding. There could be people out there working for the government, working on borrowed time." Larry said. "John's been alerted to the situation and we've informed Christian. He's finally talking since he's seen what Carlo and Kipling put into him. John's already had several people in to get his statement. I've noticed a couple of people on the staff who have been making inquiries into the state of our patient and their names have been given to John. He's investigating and is checking for connections to Kipling. Have you had any problems with your wound?"

" I'm fine Doc. Blair and Starr and Vicki might be coming into the hospital to check on me just so that Carlo and Kipling's stooges can report they're visiting me. Can you help them out with that?" asked Todd


" We'll put on a good show Todd, I must say since Blair brought me in on this, my days have continued to be eye-openers."

"I'm glad we could enliven your days Doc. I can't really say the same, but then you know what I've been through." Todd had a knee jerk reaction to Larry's statement and then he kicked himself.

"Whoa Todd I didn't mean to say that everything you've been through was just for my entertainment." Larry was alarmed, he knew what Todd was going through and had been through, the last thing he had meant to do was make light of Todd's experience.

"Relax Doc, I'm fine. I know you weren't denigrating my experience. You're an alright guy. If it weren't for you the implants would still be in me and killing me. I'm just a little raw right now, what with the vision loss and everything. Don't mind me." Todd knew he had lost his cool and now he had to try and smooth it over with Larry

Larry heard something in Todd's voice that told him Todd was near the end of his rope when it came to Carlo and Kipling. He knew Todd was volatile and he had been holding it in for quite some time. Would he be able to keep hold of his anger a little longer or was he planning something?

Todd shook himself, he had gotten a little ragged with Larry and pulled himself back in. He couldn't afford to give himself away this close to having his plan work out. He owed Carlo and Kipling and nothing was going to stop him at this juncture. Todd signed off his call with Larry and made a call to one of his underground contacts. He needed something only they could provide. The shipment would be delivered the next day and his plans could go forward from there.

The next call he made was to Jake. "Are you ready to get some of your own back....Good... we go out tomorrow night. I'll call you, expect a late night....If all goes as planned this will be over by the weekend. This is between us, keep Tea out of it."

Todd contacted his reporter and got the location in Kipling's house that led to the hidden lab. Todd advised him to find a way to take the next night off and be out of Kipling's house, he would receive a call when it was safe for him to get his final story. Todd closed down his laptop and leaned back in his chair. It was happening and he knew he would have to lie once again to Blair. It was for her own good and that of the kids. If the plan fell through, at least she and Tea would be in the clear. Jake understood the ramifications of the actions they were about to undertake and it was possible it could blow up in their faces but somehow Todd had a good feeling about it. This time he and Jake were going to come out on top.

Blair arrived home with the boys in tow. Todd was overjoyed to see them and knew it was only the one night for right now, but it felt good to have them there. While Blair had Jack take their overnight bags up to the High Tech suite. Todd took Sam into his office and had a man to man talk with him.

"Sam, what I have to tell you is very important and you need to keep it a secret for now. Do you think you can help me out?" Sam nodded. "Very well there is something you need to know. Remember when I introduced myself as Samuel. Well, Samuel is just one of my names. I have another name and it's one you're very familiar with, my name is also Todd Manning just like your dad. Is that alright with you?" Sam nodded again. "Good, I'm glad to hear that, but you should know that some bad men are out to hurt me if they find out I'm Todd Manning, so I need you to still call me Samuel. You're part of a group of people that know my real name but can't tell it. This is really important and you have to keep it secret. Now have you ever made a solemn promise." Sam shook his head no. "Okay this is how you do it, we take our index fingers and we lick them then we press them together real hard and we swear not to tell anyone that I'm Todd Manning." Sam solemnly licked his finger and Todd did the same and pressing them together, Sam swore to keep the secret.

Todd remembered the last time he had made that vow. He had needed help long ago and two beautiful children had helped him, they had turned out to be his niece and nephew but he hadn't known it at the time. He hadn't thought about CJ and Sarah in such a long time. They would be adults by now, it was hard to think of them that way, in his mind, he would always see the two of them at his wedding with Blair. CJ had ushered and little Sarah had been the flower girl and having them there had been the icing on the cake. Todd came out of his daydreaming and realized Sam was waiting patiently for him. "Sorry Sam, got lost in some thoughts."

"That's ok, my dad's been doing that a lot too. He's got another name too and I have to keep it a secret, so I can't tell you but I know you won't mind. What happened there?" Sam pointed to the stain on the floor.

"I had a mishap the other day and the stain won't come out. You remember I told you some bad men want to hurt me. Well, the other day they tried to do just that and I got hurt a little bit. I'm alright as you can see but we're not letting people know that. I'm pretending to be hurt badly so the bad men will leave me alone for a while." He wasn't sure why he told Sam the truth, but now that he had, he had to trust the little guy to keep it quiet.

Sam's eyes widened and he said. "Bad men came here and hurt you? Did you get them?"

"As a matter of fact Sam, I did. At least that bad man, but there are more, so I'm being really careful since you and Jack and your Mom are here with me. Will you help me protect your Mom and brother, I could use some help?" Sam nodded again. "Great, I feel a lot better knowing I have some help. I'm counting on you to let me know if you see any strange men around the grounds okay."

"Okay." said Sam solemnly.

"Listen, enough with all the serious talk let's go find out what Jack is up to." he hoisted Sam up into his arms and headed upstairs. They found Jack thoroughly involved with the games console in the suite and soon all three were playing.

Jack had been playing for some time when he realized that his dad wasn't just watching but actually playing. He stopped and stared at his dad. "You can see!"

Todd looked over at his son and smiled. "Yes, but I have some help. I have a special device which is helping me. It's experimental and doesn't work for everyone. This is just between us Jack. It doesn't leave this room or house okay. Whoa Sam, you just beat us." Todd turned the conversation away from his eyes and both he and Jack congratulated Sam on his gaming skills. The little boy just beamed. Todd looked at Jack and knew he had been going through some pretty tough stuff since Gigi Morasco's death. He was meeting with Jake, and after everything was settled with Carlo and Kipling, he intended to have it out with Jake about Jack.

A short time later Starr and Hope arrived. Sam took charge of Hope and they went to play in the playroom while Jack went back to his games. Todd walked downstairs with Starr. He had taken her arm because it had gotten to be a habit and they went into the living room to talk. Blair saw his hand on Starr's elbow and flashed him a quizzical look. He looked at her and then saw her eyes move down to his hand on Starr and he realized what he had done. He released Starr and moved to sit with Blair.

Starr hadn't seen the look and instead marveled at her dad's ability to maneuver around the house. "Dad, that's really good. You're getting around in here almost as well as if you could see."

Todd looked at her and cleared this throat. " Well actually I need to tell you something." he looked at her and then just said it. " I can see you, but it's not what you think. I'm not cured physically, I'm being aided by a device. As long as I have the device, I have my sight back. Your mom and I decided to not alert the media. Hesser believes I'm incapacitated and we want him to keep believing that for the time being. You, your brothers, your mom and John McBain are the only ones that know what the device enables me to do. Until this thing with Hesser is finished it's best for all of you if the truth stays hidden. Now tell me what happened when you two went to the hospital."

Blair and Starr told him about their visit with Larry and about the reporters snooping around the hospital frustrated by the lack of any word. Blair let him know Christian was still under Carlo's control although willing to talk because of the implants being shown to him. "It was scary Todd, he was Christian but he was so cold. I hardly recognized my friend. Those implants are monstrous and Kipling and Carlo need to be incarcerated for life. Larry was telling us that even after Chris's implants are removed, he might still have some residual effects because of the training and memories that went into making him an assassin. I don't know how Carlotta is going to take this latest turn of events."

"From my own experiences with the implants, nothing is going to be easy for Christian and John informed me that Christian was responsible for two deaths. He'll have to face some time in jail probably, even though there are mitigating circumstances. I won't offer testimony against him but I can't offer testimony for him either. He almost killed me." his hand went to his side rubbing unconsciously, the memory still fresh in his mind of how close he came to dying.

Starr had only heard a portion of the story but seeing her father's serious face and looking where he had been shot it was clear it had been too close for comfort. The only thing her mom had told her was that her father hadn't been seriously injured and not to believe the newspaper account. Now she wondered what her mother had left out.

"Enough of all this serious talk, I have my family here and I want a real family night. I say we have another movie night. Jack and Sam's common room is more than a high-tech computer room it also is equipped to be a Movie viewing room. You and Hope can stay tonight too, Starr. Your suite is stocked with extra clothes for both you and Hope. What do you say? We'll call for pizza and for one night we'll forget about Hesser." Todd was almost pleading and didn't even realize it.

Blair reached over and took his hands in hers gently rubbing them giving him comfort. She knew something had been troubling him when she got home with the boys but he shook it off when he played with the boys. The talk about Christian had brought him back down to earth. She knew he was planning something, Pete had been out for a reason last night. Whatever he was plotting was dangerous.

Todd had been watching Starr and was startled when Blair had taken his hands but he found it strangely comforting and didn't pull them free instead he intertwined his fingers with hers and waited for Starr's reply.

"Sure Dad, why not. James is working and we haven't seen you and spent time here since you got home from your honeymoon. Besides, to reporters, it will look like we gathered here out of comfort. But Mom, what about Capricorn?" Starr asked.

"Capricorn is closed due to a family emergency. It was the easiest way to cope with the loss of Christian and the fact that your dad is supposed to be so injured. Go find out what kind of Pizza everyone wants and let's get this night started." Blair said. Starr got up and went looking for the boys and Hope. Blair turned to Todd. "It's going to be alright. Let's enjoy the night," she leaned in and gently kissed him, feeling him respond and pulling her close for a much deeper and satisfying one.

Blair was asleep, as Pete rolled out of bed again. He had about a half an hour before he was meeting Jake. He walked downstairs gathering up the duffel bag Todd had packed. He had everything he needed to get Hesser and Kipling both. He turned around and looked back up the stairs where Blair was sleeping only to find her staring down at him.

"You be careful, Pete, and come home, all of you," Blair said down to him.

He was stunned, no one had ever expressed concern for his welfare, she was a vision. Only one thought came to mind at that moment. Dropping the bag, he took the stairs two at a time until he reached her, swept her into his arms and kissed her with a savagery that took her breath away. He smiled sardonically and said "That, sweetheart, will definitely give me a reason to return." he left abruptly, as she stared after him.

Pete roared out of the driveway heading for his rendezvous with Jake. "Damn Todd, she's quite a woman. How much did you tell her?"

"I didn't tell her anything, Pete, she just knows me. We've got a mission to think about, get your thoughts off my wife and back onto the matter at hand." Todd knew what Pete meant and his heart swelled with pride that Blair had let him go tonight. It reminded him of the early days when she had helped him without question.

Pete pulled off the road about a quarter of a mile from Hesser's hideout. He hid the car so no one could see it from the road. Sitting on the hood he waited for Jake to arrive, then jumped off as Jake got there. "You ready?"

"What do you think? What's the plan?" Jake was dressed in black the same as Pete, what they were going to attempt required stealth. Pete pulled out Samuel's drawing of the property. The perimeter was marked, along with the distance between air vents around the cabin and the cabin itself. Pete also had another set of pictures and a blueprint for Ivan Kipling's house. He packed those away till it was time for their use.

Gathering up the needed equipment for this raid, he and Jake went the quarter of a mile to the entrance to Carlo's property. Pulling out a can of hairspray Pete sprayed in front of him until the laser beams appeared before them, then together he and Jake placed the mirrors so they could get through without alerting Carlo. He pointed out the two cameras Carlo had placed at the front of the cabin and pulled out a couple of cassette tapes. On the count of three, he and Jake replaced the recording tapes with tapes that played a constant loop back to those watching inside. That completed, Pete gave Jake several canisters of sleeping gas and directed Jake how to set them off and then they began dropping them into the air vents around the cabin. Pete tossed the last canister into the entrance of the cabin and waited the appropriate minutes required for the gas to take effect. He donned a mask in case of any lingering fumes, passing one to Jake, and entered the cabin heading for the fireplace. Pulling out the badge he had taken a couple of nights before, he scanned it and watched the fireplace move revealing the elevator. Using it one more time, the elevator opened and he and Jake descended into Carlo's hideout. Exiting the elevator he and Jake moved passed the sleeping bodies of Carlo's men as they lay in various positions on the floor.

They began a methodical check of rooms until they found him. Pete pulled out the duct tape and began binding him up especially his eyes and mouth and then threw a hood over his head and tightened it. Pete put a tape on with Carlo's voice saying he didn't want to be disturbed on his desk. It would go off when one of his guards came and asked him if he was alright. He locked the door and pulled it shut behind him. Then because of his injured side, Pete helped Jake hoist Carlo on his shoulders in a fireman's hold and they departed the cabin. Changing out the tapes in the cameras with the original ones they headed back to the road where they set Carlo down and removed the mirrors allowing the perimeter to return to normal with one exception. They had Carlo. The next phase was underway.


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Who's the Real Todd? Chapter 44

The morning after the Sun hit the stands with Samuel Toddman's story, it had become national news. It seemed Samuel had been more well known in the art world than he had realized. Todd was stunned when letters of sympathy began arriving from patrons of the arts. He had always figured Samuel's fame had really been just a fluke because his two main purchasers had been Manning and Hesser. But it seemed more people knew of his paintings than he had realized. The next day a crate had arrived at the house with his portraits from Tomas's Gallery. He had opened it with some help from Blair and separated them. He was looking for 'Sunset' when Blair took a quick gasp of breath next to him. Although he couldn't see it properly, he knew it was 'Sunset'. He recognized the colors in the painting, and Samuel had also given him a heads up too.

He reached for the portrait and set it aside, rubbing his fingers gently over the face in the portrait. In his mind's eye, he saw that day once again.

Blair reached for his hand. "It's lovely Todd, Samuel put so many of our memories on canvas. I hate that you have to give it to Hesser."

"It's a means to an end, Blair. If I'm going to find Hesser I have to do it with this portrait. I know he won't have it delivered directly to his hiding place, but it'll get us close. I believe after he thinks no one is watching the portrait, he's going to go to it. That's when we'll get him." I need to put it in a new frame, though." he stopped, planning on calling one of his hi-tech friends to help him install a tracker wire in the frame. "Blair, how's the design for the ring coming along," he brought her hand up and kissed it." I know you're not too happy to be making this ring, but it means I can regain my sight. After all this, the awful mechanism can actually be useful for something good."

Blair gave him a small hug and said. "I know how much this means to you, Todd, and I've just about got the mold ready for the pour. Should get the ring poured by tomorrow and we'll be able to mount the implant tomorrow night. I'm really quite proud of the design, it's a very masculine ring. No one would suspect that it's more than a ring. Keeping the implants separated while I worked with the smaller one has made it easier for me to just view them as electronic devices. The jeweler who will be putting the device into my ring will be here tomorrow when I call him."

"Good. I also received a call from Kelly, our guy is in, and getting pictures of Kipling's house as we speak. As soon as we get his uploads, I'll have a good idea where the lab is. I know that with everything going on with Bo and his son, that John is our best connection to the force right now. We need to call and find out if his forensic team has been able to make any headway with Jake's implants. If they can find a way to read the information stored on them we'll have more proof for the judge." Todd looked back over to the Painting he couldn't make out. "Samuel deserves to get his sight back. Of all of us, he's got to be feeling the loss the most. He should be able to come out and paint. Vicki's portrait is in limbo right now. This has to come to an end."

Just then the phone rang, Todd answered, "Hello."

"My dear Mr. Toddman, I can't tell you how sorry I was to hear about your accident. I must commend you on the way you're getting around. I had no idea you had lost your sight when I visited the other day, but now I understand why you are unable to complete the portrait I wanted. Really Mr. Toddman, you are quite extraordinary." said Carlo. He was in fact very impressed that Samuel had kept his blindness from him.

Todd frowned. He should have known that Carlo would get in touch as soon as the papers had come out. " Mr. Hesser, how nice of you to call, I do apologize for the deception, but surely you can understand I'm still adjusting to it. I'm glad you called, the portrait I promised you, in place of the one you commissioned, arrived this morning. I'm sure we can work out a good time and place for you to receive her." Why was it he felt Carlo had a specific reason for calling that had nothing to do with the paintings? Was it possible Carlo didn't believe the account in the paper? "Is there anything else I can do for you, Mr. Hesser?"

"Nothing at all Mr. Toddman, I just wanted to call and offer my sympathy for your current situation. The article says you had the accident on your honeymoon, that had to be most distressful for Mrs. Toddman, I trust the charming Blair is holding up alright?" inquired Carlo

Todd's hand tightened around the phone. He had to take a breath to keep himself from saying something angry into the phone. Carlo's obsession with Blair was beginning to get on his last nerve. Speaking through gritted teeth he said." My wife is just fine, Mr. Hesser." he almost choked on the words, if he didn't end the conversation soon the phone would end up a tangled mess. "Mr. Hesser, I'm afraid I have to cut this conversation short. Perhaps you would like to tell me where to have the portrait delivered." Todd prayed he'd get an answer.

"That won't be necessary, I'll have a colleague of mine pick it up shortly, Mr. Toddman." Carlo hung up.

Todd put the phone down wondering when Carlo would send his colleague and had a sudden premonition that there might be trouble headed his way. He had been wondering if Carlo had figured things out and now something was telling him it was a very real possibility. If Carlo knew he was Todd then he needed to get Blair out of the house for a while. " Blair, where is the small implant?"

Blair looked at Todd and asked. "It's in your desk in your office. Why?" She had seen how angry he had been getting while talking to Carlo and wondered what he was thinking of doing. "Todd, you're not going to put it on and go looking for Carlo, are you? What if you were to lose it? Please be patient. By tomorrow, you'll have the ring."

Todd glanced in the direction of her voice and said. "You're right, but I wasn't going to do anything foolish. I was just curious where you had put it."

Blair walked to him and took his arm. "If you promise to behave yourself and not mess with those things, I believe you. Now I need to go finish that mold so the ring will be ready. I should only be gone a couple of hours. Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine, you go. I'm anxious to see what you designed for me?" Todd took her hand and kissed it and she kissed his cheek in return and then left to go take care of the ring. Todd waited till he heard the front door close, then headed for his bedroom where his gun and the second implant were stored. He prayed he had enough time. No telling when Carlo's colleague would show up

Todd went straight to his safe and opened it, he felt for the gun, drawing it out and tucking it into his belt. Then he found the container, he opened it and took the jar holding the second implant and pocketed it. Just then he heard the door downstairs open. "Blair is that you? Did you forget something?" No answer, and then he heard the footsteps on the stairs. Whoever was coming up would be on the landing soon. He had to get downstairs to the second implant, and the stairs to the Kitchen were at the end of the second story wing, just past the Key West suite. He had to draw the intruder downstairs somehow. If only for a few minutes. He walked to the bed and found the stereo console beside the bed that turned music on throughout the house. He quickly turned on the music in the living room and prayed it would distract the intruder long enough for him to exit the suite.

Christian stopped on the stairs wondering who had turned on the music in the living room. He turned around and began descending the stairs to check it out. He stood just under the stairway looking around. No one was in the living room. Then he heard movement coming from above him. Damn, Samuel had somehow realized he was here. Chris turned and made for the stairs again.

Todd had stood at the edge of the hallway watching the blob descend and turned to his right to go find the stairs to the kitchen. The hallway was dark but Todd made his way down it easily. He stopped briefly in the Key West suite to flick a switch that turned on the ocean and bird sounds in the room. As he stepped out into the hall he heard the intruder coming back up the stairs. He knew he wouldn't make it to the stairs before the intruder reached the landing so he slipped into the Movieland suite. Keeping the door cracked and he watched down the hall as the Blob moved toward the Key West Suite.

As soon as the blob entered the suite, Todd figured he probably had only minutes to get down through the kitchen and across the living room to the downstairs wing where his office was. Todd's heart was racing and he prayed it would be strong enough to get him through this. He thought back to the time he had chased Nora all around the beach house. Now he understood the terror she must have felt. He was as helpless as she had been if he couldn't get to that second implant. He edged back out into the hall and made it the rest of the way to the stairs. It was a good bet the intruder would search both suites before coming back downstairs but as the intruder could see, it wouldn't take him long.

Christian found himself in the suite and knew he would have to search. Obviously, Samuel, although blind, knew the way around his own home. It didn't take him long to search that suite, so he moved to the next one. After doing a cursory search of the second suite upon exiting, he noticed the stairs at the end of the hallway. Christian smiled, Samuel wanted to play hide and seek. He kind of liked the idea.  When Poseidon had called with his latest assignment, a perverse thrill had run through him, he was finally going to get back at the man. Poseidon thought Samuel was really Todd, how interesting. Chris didn't question why there were two Todds, he did what he was told and Poseidon had decided Samuel or Todd needed to be removed. A part of him felt sorry for Blair. She was his friend and partner but right now he had to put that aside.  After he completed his job, he'd be there for her. Like always, they found ways to comfort one another. Descending the stairs he said. "Samuel, you're just delaying the inevitable."

Todd paused as he heard Christian's voice. Damn, he had hoped he had been wrong about Chris for Blair's sake. He turned briefly to look in the direction of Chris's voice and accidentally knocked over a vase. At the crash, he knew Chris would be in the living room in seconds. Suddenly a bullet ripped past his ear and hit the wall in the hallway. Todd dodged out of sight and found the door to his office. He entered and shut the door behind him and locked it. He stumbled past his chair, almost falling down, sitting and reaching for his desk. He turned on the phone and keyed his connection to John. Leaving the line open he began searching the desk, he had to find that implant. He heard John's "hello" and said. "John, intruder at Dragonheart. I'm running out of time. If you don't make it. Tell Blair I loved her." He reached into his top drawer and found the jar. His hands shook as he opened it and dropped the implant into his hand. The electrical shock was brief and instantly his vision cleared just in time to see the door to his office crash open.

Christian stood in the doorway, staring at Samuel behind his desk. Chris was impressed, he showed no fear. Chris moved quietly into the room and noticed that Samuel didn't follow his movement. So it was true, he was blind. Chris had him good and trapped. "Tsk, Tsk, that wasn't very nice leading me all over the house, although I must say, what I've seen so far is stunning. You should have stayed in Paris.  My employer thinks you're not Samuel but Todd Manning.  I can't believe Blair married you.  I thought she had gotten you out of her system. I guess I was wrong. Now we can do this one of two ways. I can kill you quick or you can sit there and I'll make it look like you committed suicide because of the blindness. Taking the suicide route will let you dictate a note for Blair. What's it going to be, Samuel or should I be calling you Todd?" Chris found his target's lack of focus a little unnerving, but he waited for a reply.

Todd focused just to the left of Chris to give him a false sense of security. Then he said. "Chris, I'm disappointed. I thought you were stronger than this. How can you let Hesser manipulate you this way? Didn't you already go to prison once for him? I thought you cared about Blair, how can you just kill me?" The longer he could stall Chris the better his chances.

"I do care for Blair, and if you're Todd, I think you're all wrong for her. But don't worry about her, I'll be able to help her over her hurt after you are gone. I've done it before. So do you want this quick or like a  suicide."

Todd carefully pulled himself closer to the desk. "I think I'll take the suicide. But I can't see to write. How am I going to leave a note." while he sat behind his desk he wrapped the implant around his finger securely and surreptitiously pulled the gun out from his belt and held it, pointing it at Christian praying he wouldn't have to use it. Chris had been looking around for a means to write the note, not paying attention because he felt Todd wasn't a threat.

"Here's an idea. Todd, just dictate to your computer. Don't worry I'll give you time. It should sound sincere to Blair." Christian leaned against the wall with his gun in hand and watched as Todd groped for the computer key that would allow him to dictate his thoughts.

Todd began, knowing the police had to be getting close. "Blair, forgive me, I can't continue in this darkness any longer. I thought I could for your sake but it takes too much out of me and I'm tired Blair. I know I promised to never leave you again. But I can't see you and it's killing me. I'll always love you. Tell the kids my love for them never faltered. Good-bye." Even as he was finishing, he saw Christian's gun raise and knew he had to take his chance now. He flung himself out of the chair as Christian fired, his shot just missing. Todd quickly crawled to the desk "Chris, you don't have to do this, do you really believe they won't know it wasn't murder? Think."

"It doesn't matter Samuel. Murder, suicide, you'll be dead either way. I'm not worried.   They won't know who did it and that's all that Poseidon requires of me." He raised his arm to fire once again.

Todd took his shot at the same time, rolling as he did so, hoping Christian's shot would miss. He felt something hit and knew he hadn't escape fully but then there was silence and no more shots. Todd collapsed, breathing deeply, and feeling the blood run down his side. He heard movement and brought the gun around looking into the face of John in his doorway. He dropped the gun and struggled to keep conscious.

John took in the scene in front of him and went to Todd. Checking him over he called for an EMT. "Lie still, it doesn't look too serious." He then went over to the other man on the floor and turned him over. Christian had been grazed enough to knock him out, but he was beginning to come around. John handcuffed him, snagged his gun, and went back to Todd. "Relax Todd, he's not dead, only grazed. Your wound is going to require stitches, though. Hang in there, the EMTs are on the way. For a guy who can't see that was a heck of a shot." Todd just looked at him and passed out.

He came to while someone was bandaging his ribs. "Damn that smarts".

"Easy Mr. Toddman, you're going to be fine but the bullet took a pretty good gash out of your side. I expect you'll be sore for awhile." The EMT flashed a light in his eyes and he had to close them it was so bright.

 The implant on his finger twitched and Todd knew it was responding to the light, his other hand reached into his pocket hoping the jar hadn't broken. Thankfully, the jar was still intact. Todd was sure he couldn't have taken a bad memory at that moment. 

"I would suggest you let us take you to the hospital but Detective McBain was pretty adamant that we fix you up here." said the EMT.

"No, that's quite alright, the detective is correct and since the police have already been notified, could you write up your report to indicate you were called out here because I injured myself on the stone wall on my terrace when I stumbled. I don't want to alarm my wife. Gentlemen, please, it could have happened that way since my sight is bad. There is no reason she needs to know the true reason for your visit." Todd waited, staring at a space in between the two EMTs.

They looked at each other and nodded. "Sure Mr.Toddman, the detective explained the need for secrecy. We'll write the report the way you asked, just be sure you keep the gash covered and change the bandage in two days. You should be good as new in a few more days." they gathered their equipment and left his home.

Todd looked around and realized he was in his suite. He gingerly sat upon the edge of the bed as John walked in. "How's Christian?"

"He's got a massive headache but isn't very talkative. I'm amazed you kept him from shooting you right away," said John.

"That was all Christian's doing, I think he felt he had me dead to rights, why not play with me a little bit. He figured I couldn't see, so I was no threat to him. He wasn't very observant because of it, or he would have realized I had called you."

John looked at Todd, studying him. The man had somehow gotten Christian to talk instead of shooting him. He had heard much of the conversation and had been amazed at how calm Todd had sounded. He and his men had just been turning into the driveway when a shot had rung out and John had thought they were too late, only to be surprised to hear voices continuing. They had just entered the house when two more shots rang out, then silence. John had been certain Todd was dead but instead, he walked into the office and found a gun leveled at him in Todd's hand and the intruder lying face down not far from him. Somehow Todd had managed to get off a shot of his own toward Christian that actually connected.

Christian was exceedingly lucky. The EMTs said he would have been dead if the bullet had hit his head direct, instead of just creasing his skull. While the EMTs had been working on Todd, Natalie had shown up and was getting whatever evidence she could get from Todd's office. She had been shaken to find out Christian had tried to kill Todd.

Todd stood up carefully feeling a little woozy. "Blair's going to kill me. It won't take her long to realize I knew something was going down."

"Just how did you know, Todd?" John inquired.

"It was just a feeling I got while I was talking to Hesser. Something told me, Hesser had figured out I was no longer in the dark about myself. The cat's out of the bag now. Hesser suspects I might be Todd, but at least you've got Christian. He needs protection John, he'll be a target now too." Todd ran his fingers through his hair deep in thought. " Damn, I got this close to finding Hesser and now he might go back into hiding. I need to get an article out in the paper. Something about an unknown intruder who only managed to wound me before disappearing. If Carlo believes his killer failed but didn't get caught, he might consider himself safe and make another try to get me and the painting."

"Todd, I can't let you continue to make yourself a target. What is this painting you're talking about?" asked John

"Hesser wants one of Samuel's portraits of Blair. It arrived this morning. Carlo's obsessed with Blair. I think he'll still want the portrait. Let's go downstairs, I was going to call one of my contacts to see about wiring the frame of the portrait with some sort of tracer. Perhaps you know someone instead." He headed to the door and turned back when John didn't move. John was standing there still looking at him. "What's the matter, John?"

"You move around this house exceedingly well for a blind man," John remarked. "Not to mention, that shot you took at Christian was spot on. Explain Todd."

Todd knew he had gotten careless but at least he had done it in front of John. "Yes, well you see there's a reason for that." Todd reached into his pocket and drew out the jar. "You recognize this don't you, and you are aware that it is part of a set."

John nodded. "I've seen something similar. It looks like one of the implants that Manning delivered to me. Where's its other half?"

Todd raised his hand. "This is the other implant."

John's eyebrow went up when he realized Todd had the implant wrapped around his finger but what really bothered him was that it seemed to be moving just a little bit. "What the ..that thing is moving."

Todd looked down at it. "Um yes, it does that when it's close to the other implant. It does something else too. As long as I'm touching it and both implants are close together, I'm able to see again. I'm not sure why but it's like I'm still connected to them somehow. If they get separated by more than 25 feet, they no longer work and I'm blind again. When I put out that call to you I was still searching for this one" he looked at his hand. "If I hadn't found it when I did, I know the outcome would have been different. Christian had no idea I could see him, that's why I was able to elude the first bullet in the office. Unfortunately in eluding the first bullet I put myself in an equally vulnerable position. When I took my shot at Christian, I was rolling hoping to avoid his shot. You saw how that turned out."

"Wait a minute, the implants that Manning gave me didn't move, why are yours still working."

"Michael said the power source that operated them is still functioning and they are still sending and receiving data. I don't know John. I only know they help me see. I can tell from the look on your face you don't believe me. Here, take this one and hold it in the palm of your hand and exit this room you'll see what I'm talking about. I'll stand by the bed, you'll be able to see me from the hall." Todd had taken off the implant and it was wiggling from his fingertips.

John's curiosity got the better of him and he held out his palm and Todd dropped the implant into it. Then Todd turned and walked back toward the bed but this time he took his time almost falling when his leg came in contact with the edge before he was ready for it. John realized Todd's vision had been affected by just taking off the implant. John took the implant and walked out of the suite and suddenly it became inert. He held it close and examined it, pushing it around on his palm, but it was just a small piece of machinery lying in his hand. Todd had sat down on the bed, his eyes unfocused, looking toward the door. John walked back into the room and the little implant again began wriggling. It seemed to want to crawl off his palm so he closed his hand around it and walked over to Todd. "Amazing!" He held it out to Todd and watched as Todd held his hand out in John's general direction. Todd was telling the truth, he couldn't see. John dropped the implant into his hand and watched Todd's face as he refocused and looked directly at John once more.

"You're right John, it's amazing. but it has its drawbacks. The implants have to stay close together for me to see and if anything happens to either one of them I'm out of luck and blind again." Todd pocketed the jar again and wrapped the smaller implant around his finger. "I need to put the smaller implant away before Blair gets back home. Is Christian still downstairs?"

"No, they took him to the hospital, Natalie's downstairs finishing up. She was upset about Christian. You're right Todd, Christian's a marked man unless we can figure out where Carlo is first." John headed out followed by Todd and they made their way down to Todd's office.


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