"So what do you think?" Mildred asked nervously as her eyes darted from Laura, to Daniel, then back to Laura. She had just finished outlining her plan and was anxious to see Laura's reaction to it. It was after all, a tad risky.
"I don't think you could have thought of a crazier plan Mildred." Laura finally said, her eyes boring firmly into Mildred. She could see that although her words were somewhat discouraging, her expression showed that she was torn with consideration of the plan.
"It will work Miss Holt." Mildred encouraged. "It may be our only hope for the boss and Murphy!"
That hit a nerve. Turning to Daniel, Laura wrung her hands in frustration.
"What do you think?" She asked him.
Daniel would have been a little shocked at their camaraderie had they been in a different situation. They had never hated each other per se, but to the same token they had never been the best of friends either. The reason being the fact that they were both vying for the same man's affection. It had bothered Daniel before this point, and maybe even scared him a little that his son was living the life that Daniel had attempted so many years ago. Even though he was disgusted at himself for it, he was even a little jealous of his son for achieving his dream, while Daniel's went unfulfilled.
Because of that, he may have treated Laura badly and attempted to whisk his son away from her to fulfill the loneliness that had been in his heart since Annie died. He realized now how wrong he'd been. Harry needed Laura, just like he'd needed Annie and who was he to subject his own son to the kind of hell he'd gone through? It wasn't Laura's fault any more than it was Harry's. The fault, and the blame, lay on Dale Silver's shoulders....and it was time that justice be served.
"I think it's risky." Daniel said slowly, "but it's our only chance right now. We have to move quickly if this is to work though. Chances are Silver's goons are watching us. If that's the case, and they've seen Mildred, we may already be too late. It is imperative that they not learn of your existence Mildred. You play a very important role here."
Mildred nodded soberly. The weight of her task weighed heavily
on her shoulders. Usually she would have been thrilled to hear
someone tell her how important she was to a case. This time, the
circumstances were far too grave to take any pride in a huge role.
The boss' life and Laura's friend
Murphy's lives were both at stake. Instead of being excited, Mildred
only felt fear. Fear that she would be inadequate. She couldn't
fail...not this time.
Laura sensed Mildred's insecurities and smiled. It was her turn to be the one to show support.
"I believe in you Mildred." She told her. "You've showed amazing progress and talent when it comes to the agency. When this is over, you'll have your full license, I can guarantee you."
"I wish I could take pride in that Miss Holt." Mildred said sadly, "but that only adds more pressure. If I fail...."
"Win or lose Mildred, you've earned it." Laura interrupted. A weak smile formed on Mildred's face.
"At the moment Miss Holt, my license is the last thing I care about."
"Are we ready then?" Daniel asked. The two women nodded. Daniel laughed slightly as a thought occurred to him. "You know if we succeed, Harry will never let you forget how reckless a plan this was, right?"
Laura laughed as well, the first real laugh she'd had in a long time.
"You're right, he would!" She agreed. "I can't wait to rescue him and hear it!"
****
Pacing the floor of the bar, Dale Silver waited impatiently for his men to arrive so he could tie up all the loose ends. Things were going incredibly well for him and the last thing Silver wanted to do was jinx it by leaving himself vulnerable in any way.
Finally, the door of the storage room opened and Carl Wentworth walked in, followed by Al Craylick, Frank Doyle and Paul Stevens, four men who had served him faithfully throughout the ordeal. It was time they received their due.
"You wanted to see us?" Carl asked him. Silver winced at the grating tone in his voice. It was a good thing he was discharging them today. That voiced had irritated him from the beginning.
"Yes, I wanted to thank you four properly." Silver replied smoothly. Al grinned and stepped forward.
"That means we get our money now, is that it?" He asked. Silver smiled at them and reached into his pocket.
Only then, did the four men notice the truly soulless glint in his eyes that lurked behind his calm, calculating facade.
"Something like that." Silver replied. Pulling his hand out of his pocket, he methodically shot all four of them dead before they had any time to react.
Sighing, Silver realized that without his henchmen, he would have the unsavoury task of dumping the bodies himself. Nobody could say he wouldn't miss them...
With a smirk, Silver set the gun down on the table, fully aware that he would need it later.
"Sorry guys." He said to the dead men that littered his bar floor. "But a politician can't leave any loose ends. I won't be blackmailed later on. Don't worry. Steele, Chalmers, that associate and any others who know about me will soon join all of you."
He let a small laugh escape his lips as he began the degrading task of removing the bodies from the floor and into the dumpster.
This sort of manual labor was something he tried to avoid at all costs. Not that he was squeamish or anything; far from it actually. He just didn't like to do his own dirty work such as killing or removing dead bodies. It made him feel like he'd let himself down somehow.
If he did kill, he preferred to do it indirectly. The poison he'd given Annie O'Neil, was a perfect example of that.
Still, sometimes the situation called for it and Silver never shied away from something necessary, not even something so bloody. Steele, Murphy and the others couldn't be allowed to live. The risk was simply too great.
He'd get what he wanted, then double cross them all. He was no stranger to it. Checking his watch, he noticed that it was almost time for Chalmers to arrive.
Picking up the gun once more, he replaced it in his coat and headed downstairs to the room where Steele and Murphy were being kept. He had to be there when Chalmers knocked on the door as instructed to do so in the note. It was almost finished...
****
Laura clutched the agency gun inside her purse and took a deep breath. <Are you insane Holt?> Her inner monologue told her. <This is suicide, you're going to get yourself killed!>
The voice inside her head wasn't her own though. Oddly enough, it was Mr. Steele's.
<It would be worth it,> her own head voice replied. <I have to save him...no matter what the cost.>
Raising her fist in determination, she knocked on the metal door. This would work....this had to work.
The man that opened the door was surprisingly handsome despite his age. Laura momentarily forgot he was the enemy. It wasn't until he spoke that she was reminded.
"Chalmers was supposed to come." Silver stated simply. "You aren't Chalmers."
"Very perceptive." Laura replied, trying to control
the nervous tremor in her voice. At the last minute, the plan
had been altered slightly at Laura's request. She and Daniel had
switched roles, despite Daniel's protests. In Laura's opinion
it was better this way. "Daniel couldn't face you. It was
all too overwhelming for him. He sent me instead."
Silver narrowed his eyes suspiciously and began to close the door in her face.
"I said no tricks dear." Was his cold reply. "The rules were that Chalmers bring me the video tape. For all I know, Daniel could be at the police station right now."
"Wait!" Laura exclaimed, placing her foot in the door to stop it from closing. "Do you really think Daniel's that stupid? He read that the note said no cops. Plus, your men are probably watching our every move! If you want the tape, you'll let me in you got that?"
Silver smiled at the woman in appreciation as she practically forced herself through the door. She had spunk. She almost seemed like Annie all those years ago. Sometimes, he regretted that she had to die. Other times, most times, he didn't think about it. It was easier not to think about any of it.
"As long as you have what I want, I suppose it doesn't
matter who brings it to me." He smiled as he watched her
walk slowly into the basement. She was scared, he could tell.
She was trying to hide it under a mask of false bravado. That
only made Silver appreciate her even more. Maybe he'd leave
her alive and keep her for himself. It might be interesting to
see if he could break her.
Laura took in her surroundings with a calculating sweep of
her eyes. Near the door were two metal pipes about twenty feet
apart from each other that went from the floor to the roof. Other
than that, the place was barren save for the one or two vents
in the roof at the far side of the room and the
chairs with Mr. Steele and Murphy tied to them near the pipes.
Laura felt her breath quicken as her eyes caught sight of them.
"What the hell are you doing here Laura?" Murphy exclaimed as soon as the shadow came into view.
Harry couldn't speak, his mouth was too dry with fear. This was exactly the kind of stupid stunt he feared she'd pull. He was torn with wanting to be angry with her, and wanting to pull her into his arms, kiss her, and protect her from danger.
"I'm delivering what the note said." Laura replied to Murphy calmly. She would deal with their wrath later. Right now, her plan was to stall Silver.
"Good, then let me have it please." Silver requested, almost politely. Laura had to keep reminding herself that this man wasn't as classy and refined as he seemed. He was a stone cold killer.
"Release Mr. Steele and Murphy first please." Laura replied, equally as cordially.
"Do you really expect me to do that?" Silver asked her, as if the answer to that question were already obvious.
"The deal was them, for the video tape." Laura told him reasonably. She briefly wondered if Silver could see how badly her hands were shaking. "You have the upper hand here, in case you haven't noticed. If I give you the tape, what's to keep you from killing all of us and walking away?"
Silver looked to Mr. Steele and Murphy who both sat, watching in fear and anxiousness.
"I have to do something." Harry whispered to Murphy. "She could be killed."
"What can you do Steele?" Murphy hissed in return. "In case you haven't noticed we're a little tied up at the moment...pardon the bad pun."
"I don't know Murphy." Steele admitted. "But she's all I have in the world. I can't lose her."
"You have my word that they will be released unharmed after I receive what I want." Silver told Laura, with a charming smile. Laura found herself wanting to believe that he would do as he told her, but remembered that this was a man who was obviously quite out of his mind.
"No good." Laura said firmly. "Release them, then I'll give you the tape."
Silver was getting impatient. Lovely as this girl was, this whole exchange was beginning to bore him. If this was what she was always like, maybe keeping her was a bad idea. Cocking his gun and brandishing it in front of Laura, he spoke.
"What's to stop me from killing you right now then taking the tape anyway?"
"No!" Harry yelled, out of instinct. Time seemed to stop for him as he caught site of the gun pointed at Laura. He felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him and he couldn't breathe. Looking at Murphy, he saw the man had gone stark white. "Laura, please. Get out of here!"
Laura ignored him. The last thing she needed was to acknowledge the fear she heard in his voice. It mirrored her own as she stared down the barrel of the gun. <Why am I doing this?>
"You can't kill me." She told Silver. She hoped he wouldn't be able to tell that her next words were all lies. "Then you'd never get the tape. You see, I don't have it. Daniel does. He's hiding somewhere outside watching the door. You'd never find him, so I wouldn't advise you waste time trying. You know how many wood crates there are in that ally. Anyway, if you release them, and he watches them walk out the door, that's his cue to give the tape to me. If not, then you never get it. It's up to you."
He gritted his teeth in frustration. This woman was clever. He had underestimated her intelligence and that wasn't usually a mistake he made often.
Harry watched his exchange in growing admiration for Laura. Even though this was without a doubt the most dangerous thing she had ever done, she was clearly the one in control of the situation. <Isn't she always?> A voice in his head asked him.
Laura checked her watch and sighed in slight relief. <The police should be here soon. Only a few more minutes. Keep stalling him...>
"Laura please." She heard Murphy say. "Forget about whatever you're up to...we're not worth getting killed for! Just give him the tape!"
"He speaks wisely," Silver stated, cocking the gun in hopes of calling her bluff. Laura clenched her fists stubbornly, refusing to back down. "Perhaps it would be in your best interests to listen to him."
"Leave her be, Silver." Harry warned, his voice trembling with pent up fear and anger. "You hurt her, and by God I swear to you I will..."
"You will sit there and watch, unable to do a blessed thing." Silver said impatiently.
"You shouldn't be here Laura." Harry continued, praying she'd inherit some common sense and take off. "Leave us here and go."
"Mr. Steele please." Laura pleaded. "I know what I'm doing here."
"Laura, this is the only time you'll hear me say this, but Steele's right!" Murphy added, briefly hoping that Steele didn't have any recording devices with him that would allow those words to haunt him in the future.
Silver looked from Murphy Michaels to the woman before him in contemplation. Perhaps Murphy could be of use after all. He was dead weight to Daniel Chalmers, who most likely didn't have any ties with him. Silver could also see that Laura cared a great deal for both men. Losing one of them would be unacceptable to her.
Crossing over to where Steele and Murphy sat, Silver held the cocked gun to Murphy's head and smiled.
"I'm getting weary of this little exchange. I'm sure I could hold the same ransom for one hostage, rather than two. The only question is, which one do I kill to make my point?"
"No!" Laura cried out desperately, as Silver placed the gun to Murphy's temple. It was an instinctive reaction and she didn't realize that it gave Silver far more power than he had before. Now he knew just how to hurt her the most.
"Yes," he mused to himself. "Daniel wants his son alive. This man is a wild card and in my opinion completely expendable. However, if you give me the tape now, we can forget all of this unpleasantness." He smiled a gentle smile but Laura didn't miss the blackness that lurked within his eyes. "What do you say, do we have a deal?"
Time seemed to be passing in slow motion for Harry. He knew for a fact, simply by observing Silver's actions that he had no intention of letting any of them go. Laura cared for Murphy a great deal and to play on her feelings for him was pretty much sealing all their doom. She couldn't let Murphy die, it wasn't in her nature. She'd give in and give him the tape and they'd all be doomed.
Laura looked to Murphy and felt her hands start to shake. This wasn't the way the plan was supposed to go! Daniel was not even here! His job, after all was to drive around the streets of London and distract any of Silver's men that were tailing him while Mildred went to the police.
Originally, Laura was supposed to distract the henchmen. Plans
had changed however. Laura wasn't entirely lying when she said
Daniel couldn't face Silver. There were obviously too many bitter
feelings between the two men for the exchange to go smoothly.
It had taken a lot of convincing, but
eventually Laura had Daniel see the logic behind him not going.
Thankfully, they had established a sufficient level of trust,
that Daniel believed Laura would keep his son alive to the best
of her ability.
At a certain time, Mildred was to arrive outside with the police and wait for Laura to give Silver the fake video tape. They were to walk away from the bar and by the time Silver figured out that he had been swindled, the police would be waiting right outside to take him to jail!
What Laura hadn't foreseen, was Silver guessing how unimportant to Daniel Murphy truly was. She had no choice, but to give him the fake video tape now and take her chances. <Please Mildred, I need you here.> Laura thought desperately.
"Alright Silver." She finally said with a resigned sigh. "I'll give you the tape."
"I thought you said Daniel had it." Silver said, smug in the knowledge that he had called her bluff.
"I lied." Laura replied. Her only hope now, was that Silver would keep his word and let them go directly afterward. It was a slim hope as it was. "I have the tape with me."
Taking a deep breath, she fished the fake tape from her purse and stepped forward to hand it to Silver.
"Oh God, Laura." Harry whispered under his breath. His hands began to tremble the closer she came to the madman.
Silver grinned in a maniacal, triumphant fashion as he took the tape from Laura. Instead of releasing her hand however, he kept it clenched tightly in his grasp, never losing his smile.
"My you have pretty features." He whispered softly. Laura fought the impulse to spit in his face.
"You have what you wanted." She said in a low, flat tone. "Now keep your end of the bargain and let them go."
"In time." Silver stated smoothly. "First I have to make sure you aren't trying to trick me." With that, he slapped a handcuff on her wrist in one swift motion and attached it to a metal pipe that ran through the roof to the floor a few feet from where Murphy was.
"You bastard!" Harry yelled, upon witnessing the rough treatment of Laura. He'd had quite a few enemies in his lifetime. They sort of came with his line of work. None of which, however, that Harry could actually see murdering with his bare hands. With Silver, Harry was no longer sure what he was capable of. Frankly the feeling frightened him.
"Do not worry Mr. Steele." Silver told him. "I'll be right back. I have a TV/VCR set-up upstairs. As soon as I view the tape and make sure it's the right one, you'll be released. I promise you."
"Why do I not believe you?" Murphy spat.
"Don't go anywhere kiddies." Silver said in a singsong tone as he headed upstairs to the main part of the bar. As soon as they were alone, the room erupted.
Both Murphy and Harry began shouting questions and accusations at Laura, criticizing her for doing something so dangerous and putting herself in so much danger.
Laura had enough to worry about without them yelling at a time like this. At least for once they were agreeing about something though.
"Would you two stop it now?" She finally yelled. "We have to get out of here somehow!"
"Easier said than done." Harry muttered, suddenly growing curious upon seeing her panicked expression.
"The tape is a fake!" Laura hastily replied. "Daniel destroyed the real one years ago. As soon as he sees that, we're in a lot of trouble! Mildred should be outside with the police soon. Her instructions aren't to come in here though, so it's up to us to get out somehow....soon!"
"Laura, this has got to be the most..."
"We don't have time for this!" Laura interrupted. "Feel free to yell at me later Mr. Steele, but right now you have to do something!"
Harry looked frantically around the room in search of a means of escape. Spotting the pipe that Laura wasn't chained to, he got an idea. It could work, but it had to work fast.
Making his way to the pipe as best as he could Harry swung his back around with every ounce of energy he had until he heard the wood chair connect with the metal pipe with a loud smack. Harry heard the wood splinter and break, praying that Silver hadn't heard it from upstairs. Luckily, the tight ropes loosened slightly. He'd broken the leg off the chair, thereby managing to free himself.
Tossing the chair aside, he ran to the door and attempted to open it so as to signal Mildred and the police if they were out there. He was about to open it, when he thought he heard something from behind.
"It's OK," Laura started to tell Harry. "We're going to be OK!"
"No," Silver's voice interrupted. Harry turned to face him and his gun. "You're really not." He motioned for Harry to stay where he was. Laura felt hope leave her.
"You tricked me." Silver told Laura angrily. Unexpectedly, he whipped the video tape at her, missing her by mere inches. Laura flinched. "I consider myself a reasonable man Ms. Holt. You've tried my patience though and right now I'm at my wits end. I feel you've left me with no choice. The only way to get what I want now...is for someone to die. I think it should be you."
****