From: AKulsum@aol.com Date: Fri, 15 Nov 1996 00:03:55 -0500 Message-ID: <961115000355_1782734196@emout08.mail.aol.com> Subject: road 8/9 "The Road Taken" pt. VIII Sam got the money from the bank, but that didn't leave Al breathing any easier. Finally, in a last ditch effort, he decided to go talk to Katrina to see if she could shed any light on the situation. Sam went to deliver the money, telling Al to come back as soon as possible while at the same time assuring him that he would be all right in his absence at the same time. Sam drove to the delivery site, which was where Katrina's body was originally found. The only thing he had changed was that he had the money; why would that change the location of the murder? He remembered Al telling him that Katrina had tried to run from them by not telling them where she was going, but leaping had landed him in enough bad situations to realize that that wouldn't even slow them down. He reached the street where he was to meet the thugs, for lack of a better word, and got out. They were waiting on the corner for him and he walked slowly up to them, carrying the money in a bag in plain sight. Tony took it from him and smiled a toothy smile. Charles stepped up and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Nice, doll. Now we'll just count it and then you are free to go on your way." They waited in tense silence as the money was counted, and then Sam was driving away, just like that. Ziggy had messed up again, he figured. Ah well, at least he'd be able to leap out of here now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------- Al sat in front of Katrina as she thought about what she could have possibly left out. She seemed very worried. "It's okay," Al assured her, "you're probably still swiss-cheesed, but your life is on the line here. Either yours or Sam's and I'd hate to lose him." He paused. "Or you." She smiled up at him. "I can't remember." "Just think back to what happened the last time you spoke with them. It'll come back to you." "I....they had come to my home when Ben was at work. I told them that they had cheated me and that I wasn't going to pay. And then they.....hit me." She flinched and Al frowned. "Anything else?" She frowned. "No, I yelled at them and the neighbors heard me and came over. They left out the back. And that's all." "What else? There has to be more." He bit down hard on his cigar in frusration. "Well, that was the last time I saw them. I did confess it all to Ben when he got home, though. He was angry, but he said he would forgive me." "You told Ben?" Al confirmed. "Yes....I was scared and I had to do something. I didn't know what else to do." Al looked at her carefully. "I think I just figured it out. Okay, I've got to go see Sam." He stopped and rested his hand briefly on hers, then removed it quickly, as if he wanted her to know that he forgave her, but he couldn't quite find the words. "I don't think I'll see you again. Sam will probably leap before I can get back." "Oh yes you will. I'm going to go back and find you," she replied confidently. He stopped on his way out of the room. "What did you say?" She hesitated a moment. "I said that I wanted to go back for you," she said. He looked at her a moment longer and then walked out. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------- Sam made it back to the apartment with no problems, except for the fact that he hadn't leaped out yet. He went into the living room and stood in front of the couch and waited. Nothing happened. Sighing, he went to call Susan to assure her that he was all right. He thumbed through Katrina's address book and found Susan and Jeff's number and dialed. There was no answer. *Must be out,* Sam thought to himself and hung up the phone. It was then that he heard the noise. It sounded as if the front door was rattling. He looked out into the night and noted that a strong wind had come out of nowhere, indicating an arriving storm. He shook his head and went back into the living room. It was the gunshot, really, that got his attention as Tony shot through the lock and burst into the house. His companion came up from behind him and pushed Sam roughly onto the sofa. "Sam, whatever you do don't....uh-oh," Al finished lamely as he saw that he was too late. "What's going on?" Sam asked shakily. "Uh, Katrina told Ben about these two gentlemen here. Police records indicate that he has spoken with them since he was put in jail. I think he told them that she was going to call the police on them." "What's going on?" the man snarled, slapping him. "I'll tell you what's going on. You were going to rat on us and now you have. Did you really think we'd let you off with just returning the money when you threatened to do that?" "Sam, do something!" Al screamed. "Run, something!" Before Sam could act on his instincts or even respond to Al, Tony came up from behind him and held him still while his friend dealt him several solid blows to the gut. "Kick him, Sam! They'll kill you," Al tried again. He flailed out helplessly, but the man dodged his foot easily. "Sweetheart, you have made your first mistake. And your last." He turned to Tony. "You wanna go get her valuables? We'll make this look like a robbery." He gave Sam one more blow, to the face, that sent him reeling as Tony abruptly released him and left the room. "You just made your first mistake, too," Sam gasped out and rose shakily to his feet. He could feel the agony in his stomach and the pounding of his head as blood flowed from his nose. He started to assume his standard position. "Sam, no!" Al yelled at him. "You can barely stand straight...he'll have you in no time flat and I guarantee he's got a gun." He looked around the room frantically, finally resting upon something that could actually be of some use. "Here, Sam, grab this!" Al motioned to a heavy vase on the coffee table and Sam hoisted it up, throwing it at the enemy even as he reached into his coat for a gun. It shattered with perfect accuracy over his head and he collapsed. Sam wasn't even certain he was still alive, but he wasn't given any time to check. "Sam, Tony had to have heard that. Get behind the door.....get his gun." "I can't kill him, Al!" Al stared at him in amazement. "You _do_ have to stop him, though. The guy's a big as an ox and you don't look like you've got the strength to incapacitate a fly. Now, get the gun and get ready!" Sam concentrated on the sound of Al's voice as he fumbled for the gun from the now undoubtedly dead man. He barely had the chance to stumble out of the line of fire when Tony shot from the adjoining room, his gun out and ready. Sam shot him in the leg. He started to get up nonetheless, and Sam dealt him as solid a punch to the nose he could manage, and the man finally collapsed. Behind him, he heard Al sigh in relief. That was the last thing he heard before he leaped.