Title: Paying Old Debts
Author: Cheryl W.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fastlane or anything in conjunction with Fastlane nor am I making a profit from this story. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Well, here it is. The last chapter. I really hope you like it!!
Replies to reviews at bottom
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Chapter 13
A roller coaster motion jarred Van from the depths of unconsciousness. Once again, agony was his welcoming party back into the land of the living. Only one thought broke through his fuzzy mind: Cade. Determined to know the man's fate and consequently, his own, Van pried open his eyes. Wincing at the light that seemed to take the pain in his head to a whole new unheard of level, he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Blinking hard to shift things into focus, he let his brain assimilate the sight before him. A fishing rod, that was what lay inches from his face and beyond that was a yellow life preserver.
With horror, Van knew where he was, why he felt like he was bouncing on a road under construction. He wasn't in a car bound for the desert...it was worse than that. Much worse. He was in a boat, bounding over the rough waves of the ocean. 'No!', silently screamed through his mind. This was the one fate he didn't want, the one fate he feared the most. And Cade knew that.
Van's eyes sought out Cade. He found the man standing only a few feet from him, deftly steering the boat, wind ripping through his hair, his jaw clenched tightly. When he began to move in an attempt to get off the floor where he lay, Van noticed for the first time that his hands were bound in front him with fishing line. In desperation, he tried to slide his hands from the line but the tackle only dug deeper into the flesh of his wrists.
Sensing motion behind him, Cade spared a look down at Van. "That line's strong enough to haul in a marlin, Van." Van's eyes shot up to Cade's in defiance. Seeing Van's determination he jeered, "But you want to feel like you've got an out, you keep struggling like you are."
Having decided for himself that he wasn't going to free his hands, Van gave up on the endeavor and instead tried to push himself to a sitting position. The action caused two sharp pains to flame through him: one generated from his head and the other from his leg. A moan escaped him and he looked down at his thigh. Blood still seeped from the fresh wound and his pant leg was already blood stained down to his knee.
Pushing past the pain, Van maneuvered himself to a seated position but dizziness swamped him and he wearily leaned his shoulder against the back wall of the boat. He watched Cade as the man captained the boat, his eyes again watching the boat's path. With a truthfulness he didn't appreciate, Van knew that he was at Cade's mercy. Bound and hurt as he was, he couldn't put up enough of a struggle to prevent Cade from taking his revenge. "How did you get out of the warehouse?" he asked, his voice rough with pain.
Without turning around, Cade answered, loudly enough to be heard over the wind, "Underground tunnel. Runs right under the warehouse."
"Which is why you chose that warehouse." Van stated more than guessed.
"Always leave yourself an out. I taught you that." Cade swung his look again to Van. "You got an out from this, Van?"
Van did not answer and Cade again turned his attention to his driving.
Uncertain how long he had been unconscious, Van could not even hazard a guess at how close they were to their destination. All he knew was it was already too damn close. Memories slammed into his mind...memories of the others that had met the fate that Cade had in store for him. He would never forget their deaths...how brutally and inhumanly they had died. Out of all the ways he envisioned dying, this was the death he feared the most. With clarity born from the knowledge that his own mortality was about to flicker out, he knew why he had stood silent for so many years. Why he had never tried to take on his personal reaper. Fear. Gut wrenching fear that Cade would treat him to this type of death.
And that fear did not abate even when he put on that cop badge, because he knew, first hand, that a badge could not protect him against Cade's evil. Just like he knew bars could not hold the man, not with his money and connections. It was truly a sick twist of fate that had brought him back into Roberts' life. A twist even the conniving Cade Roberts had not seen coming. Sometimes fate sucked.
Now fate was sending Van to his death, the worst kind of death. For a moment, fear washed out every other thought he had and he swore to himself that he would do anything, anything to be spared, no matter the cost. But at that pledge, he closed his eyes in shame. Some costs were too high to pay. It was true that Cade had stolen some of his soul but if he begged him now, if he bartered for his life...Cade would own his soul, wholly and forever.
That thought was like a slap to Van's face, breaking him free of the fear that would have destroyed him from the inside out. With grim determination, he squashed his debilitating fear and reopened his eyes to glare at Cade's back. If he was going to die today, he'ld go out fighting. The truth was, Cade had already lost to him...Cade just didn't know it yet.
'It sucks that I won't be around to gloat,' Van told himself with regret but then he put that feeling also aside. All he had was the here and the now. He would get no more out of this life. It all wound down to a final boat ride, a farewell gaze of the sea and then he'd feel the bite of sharks' teeth tearing through his flesh. He wondered if he would have the fortitude to stifle his screams, to deny Cade at least some joy. But he held little hope at achieving that goal ..none of the others had died quietly...or quickly enough. Van could never forget their screams. And he had just stood by and watched them die, both the deserving and undeserving alike. Now, as he faced that same death, he knew no one deserved this fate.
Cade's jeering broke him from his thoughts, "Aren't you going to tell me I won't get away with this? That killing a cop will get me the death sentence?"
Van's eyes met Cade's. "You don't care about consequences, Cade. You never have."
Surprise was written on Cade's face and he said nothing but turned again to his driving.
Van let his options play out in his head. It only took a blinking of an eye because he had but one option. He couldn't get to his feet without Cade taking notice. And Cade stood just out of reach for him to make a lunge for his legs. Bastard never miscalculated his adversary's options. No, Van knew he had but one moment to make a move...his last move if he failed. When the boat stopped, when Cade hauled him to his feet, that was the opening he had to overtake Cade. In spite of that fact, Van wasn't laying odds in his favor to come out of the struggle as the victor but it was the only play to make. He would not die without a fight, Raymond Ray had instilled that in him.
At that thought, Van almost laughed aloud. Since Cade had reentered his life, he had thought of death as a welcome escape. It struck him funny that now, when death was almost certain, it seemed inconceivable that anyone would welcome death's cold touch. 'Watch what you wish for..' ran through his head a smirk pulling onto his face. 'Figures, I'm gonna die with a damn cliché running through my head.'
The boat slowed and came to a stop and Van's smirk was replaced with a bitter set of his jaw. "Well, this is the spot. I can't see any sharks but then again, I never did until I served up their dinner, remember?" Cade said, as he shut off the boat and turned to face Van, his gun pulled and trained on the injured man as he leaned nonchalantly against the side of the boat. "Time's up, Van. Any last words...you want to offer me a trade for your life...or how about you just start begging now."
Hatred brimmed in Van at Cade's taunts. "You know if I was really your son, I woulda offed myself in grade school. Ray Ray might not be up for father of the year but he's not a sick bastard like you. You're not father material, Cade. You never were."
Van's words were barely out before Cade kicked him in the stomach like he was trying for a field goal...from the other end zone. The air whooshed from Van and he began to topple to his side. He didn't get in a breath before another quarterback kick slammed into his chest.
"You ungrateful prick!" Cade yelled, landing yet another kick to Van's stomach and enjoying the cry of pain from the cop. "I offered you the lifestyle...twice.. and twice you betrayed me...betrayed my trust! I never gave anyone, anyone the breaks I gave you! You think Ray Ray would have been so forgiving! The bastard didn't even care that I was forcing you to work for me! He didn't care about you Van...he never did...never will. It's always all about him! Me, I risked my standing within the organization to keep you alive..to give you this second chance!"
Gasping in breath, Van turned his head up to Cade, his eyes burning with defiance. "I never wanted a second chance," he forced out from his tortured lungs, "and I sure as hell never wanted your love. If that's all you're offering now, I'll take the sharks."
For the first time, ever, Van saw pain flicker in Cade's eyes. The bastard had a heart to hurt after all. Van had no time to dwell on that revelation as Cade brutally grabbed his arm and his hair and dragged him to his feet. Having not steeled himself for the task of standing, Van's injured leg crumbled under him. Cade's ruthless grip alone kept Van upright, leaning against the side of the boat.
Leaning in close, Cade's eyes met Van's and whatever weakness Van had perceived a moment ago had been swept away by sadistic fury. "You prefer the sharks to me? I like that, Van." Then he smiled and Van cringed. Somehow he had always feared that his last looks upon this life would include one of Cade's smiles and now it seemed he had been right. But sooner than usual, Cade's smile fell away and the pained look reentered his eyes. "This will pay your debt... in full," and before Van could make his planned move, Cade pushed him backwards to tumble head first into the water.
Gripped with terror, Van had vainly tried to catch onto something that would prevent him from landing into the feeding trough for sharks. But his bound hands could not find a purchase on the smooth fiberglass of the boat side. His impact with the water felt like the first nail in his coffin, as salt water choked him and he did a forward roll under water to thrust his head out of the water. Immediately he tried to propel himself up the side of the boat to latch onto the edge where Cade stood all the while treading water only with his feet as his bound hands offered little help.
Adrenalin born of terror blessed him with the scaling abilities of spiderman but even as he gripped the edge of the boat, Cade put a hand to his head and ruthlessly shoved him back into the water. Again Van went under and came up coughing up water. Cade now propped a leg on the edge of the boat and looked down at Van without regret, pity or compassion. "Did you know, it only takes one drop of blood to attract a shark? And you..well you got more than one drop coming pouring out of you, Van."
Van again tried to repeat his earlier feat but he did not make it high enough to grip the edge and slid down the fiberglass back into the water.
Cade's eyes focused on something behind Van. "Begging me for mercy won't get you anywhere. Maybe you should beg him for mercy instead." And he jerked his head to something he spied behind Van.
Panicked , Van jerked around as quick as he could and fear the like he had never experienced before engulfed him. A grey fin was cutting through the water ten yards away...heading straight for him. Gulping in air, Van dove under the boat, praying that he could come up on the other side of the boat, scale the side and be in the boat before Cade could stop him.
Every second Van expected to feel shark teeth tear into his flesh but he made it to the other side of the boat and broke the surface. Making a jump for the edge of the boat, his fingertips gripped the side but lost their purchase, sending him crashing back into the water. As quickly as he could he resurfaced and tried again to climb into the boat but Cade was suddenly there, shoving him back into the water mid jump. "There's more coming Van. I count three so far but some go deeper and you can't see their fin. In fact, there's probably one under you right now."
Van's heart pounded harshly in his chest. This was it. He was going to die a horrible death and Cade was going to stand there and watch it like a movie. Van wanted to beg Cade not to do this, to spare him this fate because he gave a damn about him, maybe just a little. But he did not even open his mouth to begin the plea. Cade only got pleasure out of hearing others plead. Van would not give him that satisfaction. Instead he began to back away from the boat and the sharks that smelled his blood, but with his hands tied he could not even try to swim away, and, as useless as that action would be, at least it would have given him a few more moments of life, moments where he still fought against his fate. Like this, he could not offer any struggle. No, all he could do was make peace with God and pray for a quick death.
Then a fin broke the surface three yards from him. Suddenly, the rest of the world faded to Van. The only thing he knew was the feel of the water, the pounding of his heart, his dread of the attack and the terror that filled his soul. The fin cut swiftly through the water and one thought screamed through Van. "I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
Suddenly, the fin was almost close enough to touch. He steeled himself for his fate. Then a gunshot rang out and blood tainted the water in front of him and the fin slowly disappeared from sight. For the first time, Van took notice that Cade's boat was no longer stationary but swiftly cutting through the water and he could see out of the corner of his eye that another boat approached. But his full attention was drawn to the two fins that came toward him.
"Van!" Deaq yelled as Billie drew their boat behind Van. "Van grab my hand!" he ordered, leaning as far over the boat as he could without toppling into the water himself, his one handed grip on the railing anchoring him to the boat. His fingers brushed Van's head but he could not snag onto Van's clothing.
Turning his back on the approaching sharks was one of the hardest things Van had ever done. And it took complete faith in Deaq to accomplish. But he did it, he turned around and reached his bound hands out to Deaq's outstretched hand.
Instantly, Deaq latched onto Van's hand and drew him up to the boat and began to lift him from the water but with Van's hands bound together he could not get the leverage he needed to pull Van into the boat. "Billie, help!!" he screamed, his eyes riveted to the fins that drew closer to Van.
Before Deaq's call was complete, Billie was beside him, leaning over the side as dangerously as Deaq. She gripped Van's upper arm and pulled with all her might even as Deaq did the same. Finally they got Van onto the boat but their momentum sent all three cops tumbling to the floor of the boat.
Van lay on the boat floor, his cheek resting on the now wet surface, unable to move. All he could do was draw in deep breaths and try to comprehend his survival. His friends' voices seemed far away.
"Deaq! He's hurt..his leg!"
"Damn it! We didn't get here in time!"
Vaguely, Van was aware that he was gently being rolled onto his back. He offered no fight or reaction. It was as if he and his body were no longer one. He doubted it would do his bidding even if he had the initiative to offer up a command.
Deaq felt panic as he rolled Van over and his partner's body was limp and unresponsive in his hands. Van's head rolled to the side to rest on the boat floor, his eyes open but glassy. Pulling out his pocketknife, Deaq cut the fishing line that wound around Van's bloody wrists. Gently but quickly, he unwrapped the brutal line from the abused flesh and tossed the offensive coil onto the floor. "Van?" he beckoned, brushing Van's wet hair out of his eyes and putting his hand on the side of Van's neck. "Can you hear me, Van?"
Meanwhile, Billie tried to determine the source of the blood that ran in diluted rivers off of Van unto the boat. Due to the large amount of blood loss that marred Van's pant leg, she could not visually locate the wound. Running her fingers down Van's leg, she came into contact with the wound.
A shaft of pain shot up Van's leg and a cry of pain erupted from him. Deaq desperately latched onto Van's renewed level of consciousness. Taking Van's face in his hands and turning his partner's head so their eye met, he entreated, "Come on, Van. Talk to me!" But Van's eyes did not register recognition. "Damn it! He's slipping into shock!" Deaq's sought out Billie's.
Looking up from Van's wound, Billie snarled, "The sharks didn't do this. Roberts used his damn ice pick again!" Scanning the boat, she spied a first aid kit stored in the side panel behind her. Pulling it free, she hastily opened it and began unwrapping bandages and applying them to the savage wound, all the while numbering the ways she wanted to torture Cade Roberts.
Deaq was torn between the need to get behind the wheel of the boat and get Van to a hospital as fast as possible and the need to get Van to fend off the shock that was settling over him. If Van truly went into shock... Deaq knew no hospital would be close enough to save him.
Refocusing on Van's pale face and unresponsive eyes, Deaq leaned over his partner and gave Van's head a small gentle shake. When that garnered no response, he resorted to taunts, praying for results. "I thought you California beach boys were tough! Guess you're all "In my room" and "Help me Rhonda". I told you listening to that music had made you soft!" He shook Van's head slightly back and forth, "Start talking Van!" Deaq ordered, his desperation evident in his voice. "Start defending your favorite boy band or I'm...I'm going start singing 'Once in my life'."
Van blinked and slowly Deaq saw recognition spark back into his friend's eyes. "Don't," Van breathed out so softly that Deaq had to put his ear close to Van's lips to hear the words. "Please... don't....torture ....me...by...singing...Deaq."
Laughter broke from Deaq and he couldn't refrain from giving Van a hug before he pulled back and met Van's slightly rejuvenated eyes. "You scare me like that again and ...." he faltered as his worry still could not be dissipated, "Just don't scare me like that again, ever, partner. Feel me?"
"I ..feel..you," Van replied, as a tremor coursed through him.
Seeing Van's shiver, Deaq removed his coat and tightly wrapped it around Van. "Hang on, partner. I'll get you to the hospital before you can name all the Beach Boy songs."
Deaq's eyes flickered to Billie who was tying off the bandage around Van's leg. An understanding passed between them and Billie nodded her head and moved up to Van's head. She soothingly talked to Van as she began to wind a cloth bandage around one of his lacerated wrists. Having been relieved of his post beside Van, Deaq stood up, crossed over to the steering wheel and brought the engine to life. Immediately the boat surged forward, slicing through the calm water with ease.
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"I can not believe we're back here again," Deaq sighed, scanning the hospital waiting room. "I half expect some candy striper to hand me a flyer 'bout frequent visitor discounts."
Billie snorted at that. "Discounts? In a hospital? Now I know you're totally creased!" and she looked to Deaq, a smile turning up her lips.
"Creased?" Deaq mockingly exclaimed, "I'm way beyond creased or bent or ...anything."
"He's O.K., Deaq," she quietly and sincerely reassured.
Deaq did not meet her eyes but instead looked down the hallway to the door he knew Van was behind. "That was too damn close, Billie. If we were a few seconds later..."
"But we weren't," Billie cut in firmly. "We can't afford to dwell on what ifs.. .not in this job, Deaq."
"I know. You're right." Deaq sighed and turned to his boss. "But sometimes the what ifs keep me awake at night. And this one...it'll keep me awake for a long time to come."
For a moment Billie said nothing then she nodded her head in agreement, "I know...me too." At Deaq's surprised expression she smiled and confessed, "I could really use a cigarette."
Being the ever helpful subordinate, Deaq offered with a smirk, "I could run to a mini market and grab you a pack."
"Don't help me," she threatened but her eyes twinkled with humor. Before she could threaten Deaq with some horrible fate, her beeper went off. Pulling it free from her belt she saw the number that flashed and turned to Deaq. "It's the Feds."
"OHHH," Deaq laughed, "Bet they are pissed!"
"You think?" Billie sarcastically replied but a smile soon sprang to her lips. "I'll go outside and give them a call."
As she began to walk down the hallway, Deaq called out, "Keep my name outta it, Billie." She didn't even humor him with a reaction but kept walking.
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Deaq slipped in between the curtains used to cordon off each patient in the emergency exam room. He smiled at Van, who was lying on a bed, his leg heavily bandaged. "Hey partner,"
Van smiled, "Hey, Deaq."
To Deaq's surprise, Van said no more. Claiming a seat on the bed beside Van's uninjured leg, Deaq at first did not know what to say. So much had happened...and not happened. Then the words burst from him, his anguish unhidden, "Van, I know it doesn't mean a thing, but I'm sorry! I didn't have your back! I shoulda shut the whole idea down from the starting line! Letting you stay under with Roberts...it was a mistake...a mistake that came so close to ending your life.." here he looked away and hung his head.
Deaq's emotions struck Van. Hard. He wasn't expecting Deaq to shoulder any of the guilt...guilt that Van knew rested solely in his lap. And somehow, he didn't expect Deaq to care about him as much as his emotional state proclaimed he did. Van snapped Deaq's arm, causing his partner to flinch in startled pain and swing his irked gaze to Van. "You're apologizing for no reason, dude. Unless you're apologizing for saving my life out there?" a twinkle entering Van's eyes.
But Deaq would not be cajoled, "You wouldna needed saving if I didn't let Roberts take off with you."
"Deaq, there was nothing you could have done! It was my plan and I knew the risks...all of them. It was a price I was willing to pay to see this thing play out."
"But I wasn't, Van! I'm not ready to lose you, Van....not like I did Dre! Again there you are not thinking..."
Deaq's scolding, produced a smirk on Van's face and he finished, "yeah, I know...'you're my partner, you're suppose to know where I am...if I'm OK...or if I'm just an idiot.'"
Anger tried to settle on Deaq but instead he chuckled. "Ah, man. Stop quoting me!"
This only egged Van on and he gave his best impersonation of Deaq with, "Hey, I'm not saying..I'm just saying."
Deaq pointed a menacing finger at Van but he couldn't wipe the smile from his face, "Shut up or I'll make you eat a maraschino cherry!"
"Forget it, dude! You will never get that past my sealed lips!" Van laughed back, waving his hands in a 'no way' gesture.
"Sealed lips?!" Deaq sputtered, "You can't keep your lips sealed for more than two seconds!"
"Whoa, Dr Phil. You're the one that always wants to analyze my every word. And guess what, I have to talk for your favorite past time to actually work."
"Favorite past time?! You're..."but Billie drew back the curtain at that moment and gave them both a look they had not received from anyone except their mothers.
"You two trying to get booted out of here or are you trying for a transfer to the psycho ward, Van?" The harshness of the barb was destroyed by the accompanying smile she wore.
Both men pointed to the other and said at the same time, "He started it," which sent all three officers into a fit of laughter that rang through the exam room. Billie eyes assessed Van's health even as she asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Like an extra in "Jaws" who didn't get paid enough," Van quirked but at Billie's raised eyebrow, he sighed and truthfully answered, "I feel like crap but I'm alive and that's good enough for me."
Smiling, Billie nodded her head but Van knew she wasn't saying something she should. He didn't have to make more than one guess, "You got the 411 on Cade, right? I can handle it, Billie," his serious tone and steady gaze telling her that he would not be sheltered from the bad news she seemed to be hiding from him.
Billie felt Deaq and Van's eyes riveted to her. It was time to lay out the bad news. Fearing that Van's reaction would be detrimental to his fragile health, she pointedly watched his every feature as she ripped the victory from their hands. "Cade Roberts was picked up by the Coast Guard and turned over to the Feds."
That news should have gotten a whoop of jubilation from Van and Deaq but both knew this was just the good news before the absolutely sucky news.
"Alright, now tell us the second part," Deaq prodded, hitting Billie with his intense look. "You know the part that's gonna piss me off and make me go Scarface right here and now."
Billie focused on Van, took a deep breath and let the words out slowly, "Roberts is walking."
"What the hell!" Deaq exclaimed, surging to his feet and facing off with Billie. "We got him pegged at '2' warehouses with swag and we personally saw him try his damnest to kill, Van. Roberts can't walk!"
"But he is," Billie's voice could have cut glass. Sighting again on Van she was surprised that no rage reflected in his face but instead a sad look flickered in his eyes. And somehow that scared her to her core. Putting a hand on Van's shoulder, she promised, her voice full of deadly intent, "Don't worry. We'll bring him down using another angle. This is not over."
"Hell, no, it ain't over. I promised to put that man in a cage or a casket and I'm gonna see it done," Deaq venomously swore.
Van's eyes flickered to Deaq and he knew his partner would do it too. For him. Because they were partners...because they were even friends. A sad smile pulled onto Van's face and he gave a small snort of laughter, "My plan worked. My plans always work."
"What plan? He's walking, Van." Billie gently reiterated.
Meeting Billie's look head on, Van stated, "He was always gonna walk, Billie. I knew that from the jump off."
Deaq looked to Van with admiration in his eyes. "And you played your game expecting that."
Van's smile turned into a smirk, "I guess it's time to bring you guys up to speed."
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The door to Cade's house stood open and Van did not meet any of Cade's staff as he walked with a decided limp down the hallway toward Cade's study. The Feds had not been kidding when they told Billie they had picked up everyone associated with Cade for questioning. They still hadn't come to grips with the cold hard truth: Cade Roberts was beyond their grasp.
On the threshold of the study, Van casually leaned on the door frame, satisfaction spreading through him at the almost dejected looking Cade sitting in his leather chair behind his desk, one hand tightly gripping an alcohol filled tumbler, while his eyes stayed focused down to a paper on the desk. "It's looking a little lonely at the top, Cade," Van quirked.
Cade's head snapped up and he tried to put on the mask of unflappable control he always wore. "How was your swim?" he retorted, malice eroding any façade he wanted to convey.
"It was a bite...almost," Van sallied back, a twinkle sparkling in his eyes as his lips turned up in a smirk. "You shoulda stuck around for the finale."
"Sorry I missed that...your finale, that is." Cade drained his glass and poured another generous helping. "Drink?" he offered raising the decanter to Van.
"Sure," Van accepted and he walked over to stand in front of Cade's desk, without a limp or a flicker of pain. Cade had gotten enough satisfaction at seeing him in pain. He would get no more.
Having filled a glass for his guest, Cade handed the tumbler to Van and nodded to a chair.
"I'll stand," Van declined and took a swallow of the liquor.
Cade leaned back into his chair and looked hard at Van. "So you played your hand and lost. What now? You want to beg for your friends' lives again."
"Nope." Van sat the glass down and let his gaze sear boldly into the man he hated most in the world. "My debt's clear, remember? You threw me into the water...with sharks if my memory serves me...and said, and I quote 'This will pay your debt... in full.' I'm free...you set me free, dude."
In fury, Cade sat upright and hissed, "You think you're free...you think your debt's off the books?!
Van smirked, "I am ..and it is." Then Van leaned over the desk and invaded Cade's personal space. "You better start worrying about paying off your own debt, Cade."
Cade derogatorily snorted, "To you?!"
"No," and a smile lit up Van's face, "to your boss. I bet he's gonna be pissed when he learns you've been stealing from him."
But Cade had a ready response, "If you're talking about the content of my personal warehouse...it's all well documented, Van." Cade laughed, enjoying the fact that he was once again slipping through Van's noose. The kid would never learn: the student never beat the master. "I cover myself, Van. Everything in there looks like I brought it in by my own ties. Hell, I once offered to give my boss a tour of my warehouse...he declined, though. Sorry, kid. You can't win against me. That's the lesson you've never learned." But Cade's tone had begun to lack conviction when Van's smile only grew wider at his words.
Van did not pull back from his face to face with Cade but instead inched closer and whispered conspiratorially, "I know how careful you are but there's one thing in there you can't explain away..it's too unique for your boss to not recognize as his property."
At first confusion marred Cade's face but in instant later Van knew the light bulb had gone on. "The liquor bottles laced with the drugs," Cade breathed.
"See, I knew you'd catch on," Van taunted. "And just in case your boss has a busy schedule this week and doesn't have time to properly research the contents of your private stash...I sent him a copy of the inventory...and I highlighted item number 198 which is, if you couldn't already guess, the case of liquor bottles I gave back to you. You know, render onto Caesar what is Caesar's. "
With gratification, Van watched Cade's eyes darken in fear and disbelief. But those emotions gave way to unquenchable fury in a blinking of an eye. With a cry of rage, Cade began to surge to his feet, pulling the ice pick from his pocket as he went.
More quickly than Cade could imagine, Van's hand wrapped around the back of his neck and yanked his head down to impact harshly with the desktop. And whatever vain hope Cade had of using the ice pick to land a blow was obliterated as Van caught his wrist and twisted it backwards until he heard the bone crack and the ice pick fell from Cade's hand.
A cry of pain had erupted from Cade at the breaking of his bone and it infuriated him. To show Van weakness, to let the man know he had forced that cry from him. With a bellow of rage, Cade tried to escape Van's hold while his uninjured hand blindly reached for Van.
"You're pathetic," Van spat out and released the man as quickly as he had seized him.
Instantly Cade came to his feet, blood now running down his cheek from a gash on his forehead and his breath loud in the room as the two men faced off.
"Come on," Van challenged and beckoned Cade to him with a wave of his fingers. Cade did not hesitate and Van backed up a step or two to stand in the center of the room as Cade came to stand before him. "This is what you've wanted all along...to know if I had it in me to be your successor...or, and this is what kept you awake at night, just maybe, maybe I woulda turned out to be the one to replace you. And it woulda been me taking you on a last ride to the ocean or the desert."
"I was wrong about you from the start," Cade growled as he and Van circled one another like predators. "You're too soft for the livestyle...too gutless."
"I beat the livestyle. I beat you, Cade, in your own game," Van threw back, knowing it would put Cade into motion. With that knowledge Van easily ducked Cade's roundhouse punch and landed his own uppercut solidly to Cade's jaw.
Stumbling backward at the blow, Cade shook his head, trying to get his vision to come into focus again. When it snapped back into place, he charged for Van and felt satisfaction as his fist connected with Van's cheek, sending the younger man back a step or two. He pursued Van, ready to exploit the man's weakened state but Van surprised him by bringing the fight back to him with a punch to the stomach followed by a powerful punch to Cade's right eye.
Cade hit the ground like a sack of grain, stunned to find himself down and sluggish in his motions to regain his feet.
"Get up," Van growled and watched as Cade wavered as he climbed to his feet. But when Cade made the final motion to stand upright, Van had seen Cade's hand snake into his jacket after his gun. Cade didn't believe in playing fair: ever. Before Cade's fingers could even touch his gun, Van had stalked menacingly over to Cade and in one fluid motion, his hand latched onto Cade's throat, and he slammed the man flat out on the floor.
Distracted by surprise and pain, Cade's hand had fallen away from it's intended path. Van tightened his grip on Cade's throat and calmly pulled Cade's gun from his holster and tossed it across the room. Gasping for breath, Cade wrapped his uninjured hand wrapped around Van's wrist in a vain effort to dislodge the choke hold.
Van leaned over Cade, increasing his crushing hold on the man's windpipe as he meet his reaper's eyes head on. "You lose, Cade. The student becomes the teacher. Actually, I owe you some gratitude...you made me into the cop I am today...in fact, I would have never become a cop without your influence. Doesn't fate suck?"
Cade tried to speak but he could hardly draw in enough breath to breathe and his strength was faltering as a void was starting to edge his vision. His hand dropped limply from it's grasp on Van's wrist and he stopped trying to roll clear from Van. He was helpless against Van...against the void that was starting to claim him. And terror clawed at his soul.
Realizing that Cade was on the edge of unconsciousness, Van pulled his hand away from Cade's throat like it was a flame. He watched with relief as Cade drew in a gasping breath. Cade's blood would not be on his hands. No, Cade's fate would be of his own making...he would have to pay the consequences of his debt to the mafia. And Van knew that debt would claim Cade's life.
For the last time, Cade's eyes met Van's and Van could see the shame of defeat hung heavily on Cade. "Goodbye, Cade," Van quietly bade before climbing to his feet and walking for the door. He did not turn around and Cade, for once, did not offer any parting insults. No markers lay between them anymore. All debts were paid in full.
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Deaq paced in front of Cade's door while Billie sat on the porch step. Van had argued long and hard with his friends but he had finally made them see that he had to finish this thing with Cade himself, regardless of how close to death he looked. But when he made another condition, namely that he face Cade alone, he had nearly lost the whole battle. It was only the truth of his words that swayed the odds again to his favor. "I want my soul back, all of it. And that fight's just between Cade and me. Billie, I know you understand that." Reluctantly Billie had nodded her head and Deaq had sighed in defeat but offered up a condition of his own. "Fine but we're going to be right outside and if I hear anything, I mean anything I don't like, I'm coming to make good on my promise to put Roberts away...one way or another."
"Fair enough," Van relented and he and Deaq tapped their fists together.
But now Deaq was consumed with the fear that Van would not walk out of Cade's house alive. That thought pushed his promise to Van right out of his mind and he stalked for the door, intent on finding Van. He almost plowed into his partner, who came limping out of the door.
Deaq clasped Van by the shoulders and questioned, "You alright, Van?" as he noted the blood on his partner's cheek and his pale face.
But Van did not answer Deaq's question but quietly requested, "Let's get outta here."
Billie, who had surged to her feet at Van's appearance, tried to read Van to know the details of his parting with Roberts. "Can Roberts hurt you yet?" she quietly asked, uncertain of what kind of answer she expected or what her own actions would be to his reply. She would not allow that bastard another opportunity to hurt Van...ever again.
"He won't get the chance," Van quietly said and his eyes rested on something behind Deaq. With a nod of his head he turned his friends' attention to the three Italian men walking toward them. Billie and Deaq stepped down off the porch to give the three men a clear path for the door. Van stood by the threshold of the door. The first man did not stop before Van but gave the cop a slight nod before entering the house. The two men that followed didn't even acknowledge the three cops. They were trained dogs, they knew their objective: To make sure all debts got paid...in full.
Without a word, Billie, Deaq and Van walked to their car, got in and drove away.
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Van watched the waves crash onto the beach and took in a deep breath of sea air. Only a few people were populating this section of the beach and he was grateful for the solitude. He needed time to sort things out in his head. The sound of Deaq's voice caught him off guard and his eyes snapped up to see his partner at his side.
"Didn't expect to find you here," Deaq quietly greeted as he claimed a seat in the sand beside Van, focusing his look on his partner.
"So why'd you look here?" Van retorted, half frustrated to be found and half glad for the company.
"'Cause I ran outta places to look," came Deaq's truthful reply, which earned him Van's startled look.
Van was touched that Deaq had come looking for him. It wasn't like they were partners right now, not with Van out on sick leave. For a moment he simply stared at Deaq, expecting the man to begin to talk shop, to prove that all that held them together was the job. But Deaq's next words were not spoken partner to partner but friend to friend and Van knew that without a doubt. And for that reason alone, he allowed Deaq access into his thoughts.
Gently, Deaq prodded, "So tell me, why here?"
Pulling his look from his friend, Van's eyes again sought out the ocean that was endlessly laid out before him. His words were barely audible. "Because I don't want him to steal this from me....he's stolen enough things I can't get back. I won't let him steal any more."
Deaq nodded his head in understanding. "Feel that."
Silence fell between them but it was a comforting silence as they both watched the surfers in the water.
"The Feds aren't sure if they want to prosecute me or give me a citation of achievement," Van said, turning to face Deaq with a smile turning up his lips. "With the two warehouse busts, they've made their quota for the next three years."
To this Deaq carefully added, "And with Roberts dead, the Feds have a shot at keeping his old region clean...at least for awhile." He watched Van closely, wondering what kind of reaction he would get at the mention of Roberts but Van did not shy away from Deaq's scrutiny nor the topic of Roberts.
"The mafia probably had someone already set up to manage Club 9 even as the bullet hit Cade's skull. Cade was just a small piece of the machine...who dreamed of being at the helm." Van turned his look again to the ocean, suddenly glad to have Deaq with him. Cade was dead but his memory...that would take a long time to fade.
Deaq was trying to think of what to say to Van, to somehow take away the haunted look that still lingered in his eyes. But Van's next words caught him totally unaware.
"And don't ever dis the Beach Boys," and Van sighted his look on Deaq, trying to keep the smile off of his face. "They are all time and everyone with any hearing knows that."
"Get real," Deaq scoffed and broke into a high pitched mockery of 'Be true to your school.'
Van laughed, "Alright, I gotta say that one's kinda weak. But then there's.." and he began singing 'California girls.'
But Deaq interrupted with another parody, this time of 'In the warmth of the sun.'
In retaliation, Van loudly belted out the chorus for "409".
Without warning, a voice behind them broke into their fight with one name, "Elvis Presley."
Both looked straight up to see Billie standing directly behind them, wearing a swimsuit and holding a surf board.
"What?" Deaq and Van said together in confusion.
She came around to stand directly in front of them and shrugged her shoulders as if to say she was only stating a truth everyone knew. "Elvis is all time, hands down."
Van's protest was instantaneous. "He's not a boy band!"
To this Billie gave a condescending smile, "Because he didn't need a crutch."
"A crutch?" Deaq repeated in outrage. "You saying all members of a boy band can't fly solo like Elvis did?"
"Yup."
Van was quick to dispute her claim. "Oh you are so wrong and we could spend all day proving it! Right Deaq?
"Straight up, dog!" Deaq agreed.
With a smug smile, Billie gave the knock out, "111 gold, platinum and multi-platinum records." She relished their stunned looks and concluded with, "I'm not saying...I'm just saying," and then she walked to the water's edge and paddled out on her surf board like it was second nature to her.
Van and Deaq turned to one another to confer. "She knows no one's beat that," Van hissed.
"I think that proves her point, Van," Deaq sarcastically came back with.
"Yeah, but we're supposed to be proving our point."
"But our point just got decimated by a truckload of gold, platinum and multi platinum records."
Incredulously Van demanded, "So, that's it?! You're giving up?!"
Realizing that his partner was not going to let this go, Deaq climbed to his feet, "Hey, she wouldn't be here if you didn't go AWOL and make us track you down."
Van began to climb to his feet and Deaq quickly offered his aid but it didn't even earn him a reprieve from their discussion. "You didn't have to tell her where I was. This coulda stayed just between you, me and the Beach boys. But no, you gotta tell her I'm at the beach and, boom, she dives into a bathing suit, grabs a surf board and comes down here and screws everything up by saying "Elvis Presley." I mean who can top "Elvis Presley?!"
"No one, Van. That's her point," Deaq said as he began to walk away from Van toward the water. "You know, I think the water's calling me. Maybe surfing ain't so bad after all...especially since you can't follow me out there 'cause of your injuries."
Undeterred by Deaq's words or retreat, Van followed his partner right up to the surf. But when he made to enter the water, Deaq swung around and put his hand on Van's chest, halting the man's progress. "Here I gotta draw the line, Van. Now go over there and work on your tan."
"I already got the perfect tan."
"Well then get a perfecter tan." And Deaq turned Van around and gave him a gentle shove back to the beach, safely out of the range of the surf. "And stay outta trouble."
But Van spun around and offered up a parting taunt,"Watch it, Deaq. You almost sound like you care,"
"Fool that I am, I do care. I knew we shoulda kept it clean and simple.." Deaq replied, shaking his head in mock disappointment.
Van smiled, "And not become friends."
"Stop quoting me!"
"Make me!"
With one quick motion, Deaq bent down, scooped up a handful of water and sent it splashing into Van's face.
"Ohh, you will pay for that, dude" Van laughed as the water ran down his face and he began to approach Deaq.
"Van... you can't get your leg wet...Van stop right there." Deaq warned as he stepped backwards further and further into the ocean.
Van watched in glee as a wave came up behind Deaq and sent the man down into the sand. But the next second Van found himself back pedaling hard to not get soaked by that same wave.
Coming out of the water sputtering, Deaq accused, "You set me up!"
"And you "fell" for it!" Van quirked but soon began to back away as his friend came determinedly out of the water. "I'm injured, Deaq. Remember?"
Billie watched the antics of Deaq and Van from her vantage point on her surf board. So many times in the past weeks, she had begun to lose hope that there would be a happy ending to the tale. And how close she and Deaq had come to losing Van...twice...she didn't want to think about...ever again.
She smiled as Deaq, using a sand bucket he confiscated from a little boy, dumped water over Van's head. "Those two are such children," she said aloud. Then, with a smile on her face, she began to paddle for shore, fighting back a sigh, 'The things one does for one's family.'
The End.
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A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO TOOK THE TIME TO READ THIS STORY!! AND TO THOSE WHO LEFT ME A REVIEW.....YOU ARE THE BEST!!!! WITHOUT YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT THIS STORY WOULD HAVE TANKED OUT AT CHAPTER ONE! THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION TO FASTLANE, VAN, DEAQ AND BILLIE... MAY THEY WILL NEVER SLOW DOWN IN OUR MEMORIES
DKM: I have to admit, I loved writing the action in last chapter and this chapter. I love being sadistic!!! And it was pure fun making Cade more evil with each revealed secret. I know you didn't want anything too bad to happen to Van in this chapter...well, he lived..that's a good point right? As for another story in the works, sadly no, I don't. This may be my swan song and that kinda has me blue. This was so fun writing and getting your reviews was a pure delight. I'm gonna miss talking to you!!!! You've reviewed this story from chapter 1 and I always looked forward to hearing your thoughts...you kept me writing, though my writer's block, confusing plot and loose ends. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You truly made a difference in my life by being a good friend who always encouraged me and stayed loyal and amused me greatly with every word in her reviews. Good luck with art school, life and all your stories!
Bjp: Queen of cliff hangers? I love that!! And what a compliment you gave me!!! ("I'm sorry you weren't writing for the show...maybe it would still (be on).") Writing for tv...now that's been my dream since I discovered writing stories. I'll never get there but the belief you have in me...that's probably a sweeter victory than getting the writing job, anyway. Thank you so much for your loyalty to this story and to me. I soaked up every word you wrote. Best of luck in life!
Valentine Blue: Sexy Van in angst...I love the picture myself. Yummy!! I'm really pleased with myself that I had you on the edge of your seat...no wait, on the floor (grins evilly).
And the fact that you want this an episode ... you got me blushing! But it would be great seeing Van take all this abuse and getting Deaq and Billie to show how much he means to them. Gosh..I'm such a sap. (As if you couldn't tell that already?!?!) Well, it's time to say goodbye! Thank you so much for you reviews. Have a great life!
Fan4fastln: Yes, I know. I kept you on the edge of your seat for 2 weeks. That was very cruel of me and I apologize! Glad you thought Van was still acting in character last chapter..I always worry when I take a character to their "limit" if I've taken them maybe too far. And yes, winding this puppy down was hard ...harder than I thought and in hind sight, I should have split this chapter up but ...it was too late, I had already said one more chapter to go. Sorry but I do not have plans to write another Fastlane story. This will have to be my tribute to the show unless I get rehooked down the road. But it was truly sad to finish it and yet I felt happy to have wrapped it up. Thank you for all your reviews ...beginning in chapter 1!! I'll miss them! Hope you get the best out of life!
Almarates: As good as you thought last chapter was, I'm crossing my fingers that this one tops it?! Well, now that it's all said and done, how'd I do? Hope to hear from you. Thank you for reviewing this story from the start. I really appreciated your encouragement! Every writer needs someone there to prod them and you were that for me. Thank you. I wish you the best!
Leann: Poor Van did become more friendly with sharks than I EVER want to be. (Did I tell you how terrified I am of being a victim of a shark attack?!?!) Now that things have ended, I wanted to thank you so much for all your reviews! You reviewed from Chapter 1 and I appreciate your loyalty! It really meant a lot to me! Good luck in life!
Sheba-jcf: thank you for breaking your own code and reviewing! I know, I'm not one to review a lot either. Sometimes I just don't have anything original to say. I'm really pleased that you liked the storyline and thought I portrayed the characters well. I wanted it to be like the show...no AU here. As for writing on ffnet, yes, sometimes you have great ideas but getting them down..that's the real tricky thing. But keep at it! There is nothing quite like writing and getting a chance to hear reviews...that's outta this world. Glad I could offer some inspiration! Good luck in writing and life!
Electricgurl: Well, you got your wish...Cade was "offed". And I couldn't allow Van to do it but I also couldn't let Van walk away without inflicting some serious pain on Cade. I hope that satisfied your blood lust as it did mine. I truly hope this last chapter did the story justice. Thank you for each review you gave! Have a great life!
Fairy-mills: I'm so glad you liked my previous chapters enough to compare them with an episode of the show! Hope this "season finale" worked for you. Love to hear from you. Best wishes for your future!
Sirith: Computer virus?!? Yikes! I hate that!! It always makes me realize how obsessed I am with the internet. (I know, me obsessed, that's a real shocker!) Thank you for thinking I have talent. I hope you liked this ending?! And I'm always hopeful that more fastlane fics will emerge. I still need my fix of Van! Thank you so much for your review and I wish you the best in this life!
Well, that's my swan song. Hope you liked the story and I'll love to hear any comments you'd like to make. I will miss you all and I'll miss thinking of new ways to torture yummy Van. I wish everyone the best this life has to offer and I pray NOONE gets into trouble like Van does! (Myself included!)
Cheryl W.
Author: Cheryl W.
Disclaimer: I don't own Fastlane or anything in conjunction with Fastlane nor am I making a profit from this story. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Notes: Well, here it is. The last chapter. I really hope you like it!!
Replies to reviews at bottom
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Chapter 13
A roller coaster motion jarred Van from the depths of unconsciousness. Once again, agony was his welcoming party back into the land of the living. Only one thought broke through his fuzzy mind: Cade. Determined to know the man's fate and consequently, his own, Van pried open his eyes. Wincing at the light that seemed to take the pain in his head to a whole new unheard of level, he tried to make sense of what he was seeing. Blinking hard to shift things into focus, he let his brain assimilate the sight before him. A fishing rod, that was what lay inches from his face and beyond that was a yellow life preserver.
With horror, Van knew where he was, why he felt like he was bouncing on a road under construction. He wasn't in a car bound for the desert...it was worse than that. Much worse. He was in a boat, bounding over the rough waves of the ocean. 'No!', silently screamed through his mind. This was the one fate he didn't want, the one fate he feared the most. And Cade knew that.
Van's eyes sought out Cade. He found the man standing only a few feet from him, deftly steering the boat, wind ripping through his hair, his jaw clenched tightly. When he began to move in an attempt to get off the floor where he lay, Van noticed for the first time that his hands were bound in front him with fishing line. In desperation, he tried to slide his hands from the line but the tackle only dug deeper into the flesh of his wrists.
Sensing motion behind him, Cade spared a look down at Van. "That line's strong enough to haul in a marlin, Van." Van's eyes shot up to Cade's in defiance. Seeing Van's determination he jeered, "But you want to feel like you've got an out, you keep struggling like you are."
Having decided for himself that he wasn't going to free his hands, Van gave up on the endeavor and instead tried to push himself to a sitting position. The action caused two sharp pains to flame through him: one generated from his head and the other from his leg. A moan escaped him and he looked down at his thigh. Blood still seeped from the fresh wound and his pant leg was already blood stained down to his knee.
Pushing past the pain, Van maneuvered himself to a seated position but dizziness swamped him and he wearily leaned his shoulder against the back wall of the boat. He watched Cade as the man captained the boat, his eyes again watching the boat's path. With a truthfulness he didn't appreciate, Van knew that he was at Cade's mercy. Bound and hurt as he was, he couldn't put up enough of a struggle to prevent Cade from taking his revenge. "How did you get out of the warehouse?" he asked, his voice rough with pain.
Without turning around, Cade answered, loudly enough to be heard over the wind, "Underground tunnel. Runs right under the warehouse."
"Which is why you chose that warehouse." Van stated more than guessed.
"Always leave yourself an out. I taught you that." Cade swung his look again to Van. "You got an out from this, Van?"
Van did not answer and Cade again turned his attention to his driving.
Uncertain how long he had been unconscious, Van could not even hazard a guess at how close they were to their destination. All he knew was it was already too damn close. Memories slammed into his mind...memories of the others that had met the fate that Cade had in store for him. He would never forget their deaths...how brutally and inhumanly they had died. Out of all the ways he envisioned dying, this was the death he feared the most. With clarity born from the knowledge that his own mortality was about to flicker out, he knew why he had stood silent for so many years. Why he had never tried to take on his personal reaper. Fear. Gut wrenching fear that Cade would treat him to this type of death.
And that fear did not abate even when he put on that cop badge, because he knew, first hand, that a badge could not protect him against Cade's evil. Just like he knew bars could not hold the man, not with his money and connections. It was truly a sick twist of fate that had brought him back into Roberts' life. A twist even the conniving Cade Roberts had not seen coming. Sometimes fate sucked.
Now fate was sending Van to his death, the worst kind of death. For a moment, fear washed out every other thought he had and he swore to himself that he would do anything, anything to be spared, no matter the cost. But at that pledge, he closed his eyes in shame. Some costs were too high to pay. It was true that Cade had stolen some of his soul but if he begged him now, if he bartered for his life...Cade would own his soul, wholly and forever.
That thought was like a slap to Van's face, breaking him free of the fear that would have destroyed him from the inside out. With grim determination, he squashed his debilitating fear and reopened his eyes to glare at Cade's back. If he was going to die today, he'ld go out fighting. The truth was, Cade had already lost to him...Cade just didn't know it yet.
'It sucks that I won't be around to gloat,' Van told himself with regret but then he put that feeling also aside. All he had was the here and the now. He would get no more out of this life. It all wound down to a final boat ride, a farewell gaze of the sea and then he'd feel the bite of sharks' teeth tearing through his flesh. He wondered if he would have the fortitude to stifle his screams, to deny Cade at least some joy. But he held little hope at achieving that goal ..none of the others had died quietly...or quickly enough. Van could never forget their screams. And he had just stood by and watched them die, both the deserving and undeserving alike. Now, as he faced that same death, he knew no one deserved this fate.
Cade's jeering broke him from his thoughts, "Aren't you going to tell me I won't get away with this? That killing a cop will get me the death sentence?"
Van's eyes met Cade's. "You don't care about consequences, Cade. You never have."
Surprise was written on Cade's face and he said nothing but turned again to his driving.
Van let his options play out in his head. It only took a blinking of an eye because he had but one option. He couldn't get to his feet without Cade taking notice. And Cade stood just out of reach for him to make a lunge for his legs. Bastard never miscalculated his adversary's options. No, Van knew he had but one moment to make a move...his last move if he failed. When the boat stopped, when Cade hauled him to his feet, that was the opening he had to overtake Cade. In spite of that fact, Van wasn't laying odds in his favor to come out of the struggle as the victor but it was the only play to make. He would not die without a fight, Raymond Ray had instilled that in him.
At that thought, Van almost laughed aloud. Since Cade had reentered his life, he had thought of death as a welcome escape. It struck him funny that now, when death was almost certain, it seemed inconceivable that anyone would welcome death's cold touch. 'Watch what you wish for..' ran through his head a smirk pulling onto his face. 'Figures, I'm gonna die with a damn cliché running through my head.'
The boat slowed and came to a stop and Van's smirk was replaced with a bitter set of his jaw. "Well, this is the spot. I can't see any sharks but then again, I never did until I served up their dinner, remember?" Cade said, as he shut off the boat and turned to face Van, his gun pulled and trained on the injured man as he leaned nonchalantly against the side of the boat. "Time's up, Van. Any last words...you want to offer me a trade for your life...or how about you just start begging now."
Hatred brimmed in Van at Cade's taunts. "You know if I was really your son, I woulda offed myself in grade school. Ray Ray might not be up for father of the year but he's not a sick bastard like you. You're not father material, Cade. You never were."
Van's words were barely out before Cade kicked him in the stomach like he was trying for a field goal...from the other end zone. The air whooshed from Van and he began to topple to his side. He didn't get in a breath before another quarterback kick slammed into his chest.
"You ungrateful prick!" Cade yelled, landing yet another kick to Van's stomach and enjoying the cry of pain from the cop. "I offered you the lifestyle...twice.. and twice you betrayed me...betrayed my trust! I never gave anyone, anyone the breaks I gave you! You think Ray Ray would have been so forgiving! The bastard didn't even care that I was forcing you to work for me! He didn't care about you Van...he never did...never will. It's always all about him! Me, I risked my standing within the organization to keep you alive..to give you this second chance!"
Gasping in breath, Van turned his head up to Cade, his eyes burning with defiance. "I never wanted a second chance," he forced out from his tortured lungs, "and I sure as hell never wanted your love. If that's all you're offering now, I'll take the sharks."
For the first time, ever, Van saw pain flicker in Cade's eyes. The bastard had a heart to hurt after all. Van had no time to dwell on that revelation as Cade brutally grabbed his arm and his hair and dragged him to his feet. Having not steeled himself for the task of standing, Van's injured leg crumbled under him. Cade's ruthless grip alone kept Van upright, leaning against the side of the boat.
Leaning in close, Cade's eyes met Van's and whatever weakness Van had perceived a moment ago had been swept away by sadistic fury. "You prefer the sharks to me? I like that, Van." Then he smiled and Van cringed. Somehow he had always feared that his last looks upon this life would include one of Cade's smiles and now it seemed he had been right. But sooner than usual, Cade's smile fell away and the pained look reentered his eyes. "This will pay your debt... in full," and before Van could make his planned move, Cade pushed him backwards to tumble head first into the water.
Gripped with terror, Van had vainly tried to catch onto something that would prevent him from landing into the feeding trough for sharks. But his bound hands could not find a purchase on the smooth fiberglass of the boat side. His impact with the water felt like the first nail in his coffin, as salt water choked him and he did a forward roll under water to thrust his head out of the water. Immediately he tried to propel himself up the side of the boat to latch onto the edge where Cade stood all the while treading water only with his feet as his bound hands offered little help.
Adrenalin born of terror blessed him with the scaling abilities of spiderman but even as he gripped the edge of the boat, Cade put a hand to his head and ruthlessly shoved him back into the water. Again Van went under and came up coughing up water. Cade now propped a leg on the edge of the boat and looked down at Van without regret, pity or compassion. "Did you know, it only takes one drop of blood to attract a shark? And you..well you got more than one drop coming pouring out of you, Van."
Van again tried to repeat his earlier feat but he did not make it high enough to grip the edge and slid down the fiberglass back into the water.
Cade's eyes focused on something behind Van. "Begging me for mercy won't get you anywhere. Maybe you should beg him for mercy instead." And he jerked his head to something he spied behind Van.
Panicked , Van jerked around as quick as he could and fear the like he had never experienced before engulfed him. A grey fin was cutting through the water ten yards away...heading straight for him. Gulping in air, Van dove under the boat, praying that he could come up on the other side of the boat, scale the side and be in the boat before Cade could stop him.
Every second Van expected to feel shark teeth tear into his flesh but he made it to the other side of the boat and broke the surface. Making a jump for the edge of the boat, his fingertips gripped the side but lost their purchase, sending him crashing back into the water. As quickly as he could he resurfaced and tried again to climb into the boat but Cade was suddenly there, shoving him back into the water mid jump. "There's more coming Van. I count three so far but some go deeper and you can't see their fin. In fact, there's probably one under you right now."
Van's heart pounded harshly in his chest. This was it. He was going to die a horrible death and Cade was going to stand there and watch it like a movie. Van wanted to beg Cade not to do this, to spare him this fate because he gave a damn about him, maybe just a little. But he did not even open his mouth to begin the plea. Cade only got pleasure out of hearing others plead. Van would not give him that satisfaction. Instead he began to back away from the boat and the sharks that smelled his blood, but with his hands tied he could not even try to swim away, and, as useless as that action would be, at least it would have given him a few more moments of life, moments where he still fought against his fate. Like this, he could not offer any struggle. No, all he could do was make peace with God and pray for a quick death.
Then a fin broke the surface three yards from him. Suddenly, the rest of the world faded to Van. The only thing he knew was the feel of the water, the pounding of his heart, his dread of the attack and the terror that filled his soul. The fin cut swiftly through the water and one thought screamed through Van. "I don't want to die! I don't want to die!"
Suddenly, the fin was almost close enough to touch. He steeled himself for his fate. Then a gunshot rang out and blood tainted the water in front of him and the fin slowly disappeared from sight. For the first time, Van took notice that Cade's boat was no longer stationary but swiftly cutting through the water and he could see out of the corner of his eye that another boat approached. But his full attention was drawn to the two fins that came toward him.
"Van!" Deaq yelled as Billie drew their boat behind Van. "Van grab my hand!" he ordered, leaning as far over the boat as he could without toppling into the water himself, his one handed grip on the railing anchoring him to the boat. His fingers brushed Van's head but he could not snag onto Van's clothing.
Turning his back on the approaching sharks was one of the hardest things Van had ever done. And it took complete faith in Deaq to accomplish. But he did it, he turned around and reached his bound hands out to Deaq's outstretched hand.
Instantly, Deaq latched onto Van's hand and drew him up to the boat and began to lift him from the water but with Van's hands bound together he could not get the leverage he needed to pull Van into the boat. "Billie, help!!" he screamed, his eyes riveted to the fins that drew closer to Van.
Before Deaq's call was complete, Billie was beside him, leaning over the side as dangerously as Deaq. She gripped Van's upper arm and pulled with all her might even as Deaq did the same. Finally they got Van onto the boat but their momentum sent all three cops tumbling to the floor of the boat.
Van lay on the boat floor, his cheek resting on the now wet surface, unable to move. All he could do was draw in deep breaths and try to comprehend his survival. His friends' voices seemed far away.
"Deaq! He's hurt..his leg!"
"Damn it! We didn't get here in time!"
Vaguely, Van was aware that he was gently being rolled onto his back. He offered no fight or reaction. It was as if he and his body were no longer one. He doubted it would do his bidding even if he had the initiative to offer up a command.
Deaq felt panic as he rolled Van over and his partner's body was limp and unresponsive in his hands. Van's head rolled to the side to rest on the boat floor, his eyes open but glassy. Pulling out his pocketknife, Deaq cut the fishing line that wound around Van's bloody wrists. Gently but quickly, he unwrapped the brutal line from the abused flesh and tossed the offensive coil onto the floor. "Van?" he beckoned, brushing Van's wet hair out of his eyes and putting his hand on the side of Van's neck. "Can you hear me, Van?"
Meanwhile, Billie tried to determine the source of the blood that ran in diluted rivers off of Van unto the boat. Due to the large amount of blood loss that marred Van's pant leg, she could not visually locate the wound. Running her fingers down Van's leg, she came into contact with the wound.
A shaft of pain shot up Van's leg and a cry of pain erupted from him. Deaq desperately latched onto Van's renewed level of consciousness. Taking Van's face in his hands and turning his partner's head so their eye met, he entreated, "Come on, Van. Talk to me!" But Van's eyes did not register recognition. "Damn it! He's slipping into shock!" Deaq's sought out Billie's.
Looking up from Van's wound, Billie snarled, "The sharks didn't do this. Roberts used his damn ice pick again!" Scanning the boat, she spied a first aid kit stored in the side panel behind her. Pulling it free, she hastily opened it and began unwrapping bandages and applying them to the savage wound, all the while numbering the ways she wanted to torture Cade Roberts.
Deaq was torn between the need to get behind the wheel of the boat and get Van to a hospital as fast as possible and the need to get Van to fend off the shock that was settling over him. If Van truly went into shock... Deaq knew no hospital would be close enough to save him.
Refocusing on Van's pale face and unresponsive eyes, Deaq leaned over his partner and gave Van's head a small gentle shake. When that garnered no response, he resorted to taunts, praying for results. "I thought you California beach boys were tough! Guess you're all "In my room" and "Help me Rhonda". I told you listening to that music had made you soft!" He shook Van's head slightly back and forth, "Start talking Van!" Deaq ordered, his desperation evident in his voice. "Start defending your favorite boy band or I'm...I'm going start singing 'Once in my life'."
Van blinked and slowly Deaq saw recognition spark back into his friend's eyes. "Don't," Van breathed out so softly that Deaq had to put his ear close to Van's lips to hear the words. "Please... don't....torture ....me...by...singing...Deaq."
Laughter broke from Deaq and he couldn't refrain from giving Van a hug before he pulled back and met Van's slightly rejuvenated eyes. "You scare me like that again and ...." he faltered as his worry still could not be dissipated, "Just don't scare me like that again, ever, partner. Feel me?"
"I ..feel..you," Van replied, as a tremor coursed through him.
Seeing Van's shiver, Deaq removed his coat and tightly wrapped it around Van. "Hang on, partner. I'll get you to the hospital before you can name all the Beach Boy songs."
Deaq's eyes flickered to Billie who was tying off the bandage around Van's leg. An understanding passed between them and Billie nodded her head and moved up to Van's head. She soothingly talked to Van as she began to wind a cloth bandage around one of his lacerated wrists. Having been relieved of his post beside Van, Deaq stood up, crossed over to the steering wheel and brought the engine to life. Immediately the boat surged forward, slicing through the calm water with ease.
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"I can not believe we're back here again," Deaq sighed, scanning the hospital waiting room. "I half expect some candy striper to hand me a flyer 'bout frequent visitor discounts."
Billie snorted at that. "Discounts? In a hospital? Now I know you're totally creased!" and she looked to Deaq, a smile turning up her lips.
"Creased?" Deaq mockingly exclaimed, "I'm way beyond creased or bent or ...anything."
"He's O.K., Deaq," she quietly and sincerely reassured.
Deaq did not meet her eyes but instead looked down the hallway to the door he knew Van was behind. "That was too damn close, Billie. If we were a few seconds later..."
"But we weren't," Billie cut in firmly. "We can't afford to dwell on what ifs.. .not in this job, Deaq."
"I know. You're right." Deaq sighed and turned to his boss. "But sometimes the what ifs keep me awake at night. And this one...it'll keep me awake for a long time to come."
For a moment Billie said nothing then she nodded her head in agreement, "I know...me too." At Deaq's surprised expression she smiled and confessed, "I could really use a cigarette."
Being the ever helpful subordinate, Deaq offered with a smirk, "I could run to a mini market and grab you a pack."
"Don't help me," she threatened but her eyes twinkled with humor. Before she could threaten Deaq with some horrible fate, her beeper went off. Pulling it free from her belt she saw the number that flashed and turned to Deaq. "It's the Feds."
"OHHH," Deaq laughed, "Bet they are pissed!"
"You think?" Billie sarcastically replied but a smile soon sprang to her lips. "I'll go outside and give them a call."
As she began to walk down the hallway, Deaq called out, "Keep my name outta it, Billie." She didn't even humor him with a reaction but kept walking.
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Deaq slipped in between the curtains used to cordon off each patient in the emergency exam room. He smiled at Van, who was lying on a bed, his leg heavily bandaged. "Hey partner,"
Van smiled, "Hey, Deaq."
To Deaq's surprise, Van said no more. Claiming a seat on the bed beside Van's uninjured leg, Deaq at first did not know what to say. So much had happened...and not happened. Then the words burst from him, his anguish unhidden, "Van, I know it doesn't mean a thing, but I'm sorry! I didn't have your back! I shoulda shut the whole idea down from the starting line! Letting you stay under with Roberts...it was a mistake...a mistake that came so close to ending your life.." here he looked away and hung his head.
Deaq's emotions struck Van. Hard. He wasn't expecting Deaq to shoulder any of the guilt...guilt that Van knew rested solely in his lap. And somehow, he didn't expect Deaq to care about him as much as his emotional state proclaimed he did. Van snapped Deaq's arm, causing his partner to flinch in startled pain and swing his irked gaze to Van. "You're apologizing for no reason, dude. Unless you're apologizing for saving my life out there?" a twinkle entering Van's eyes.
But Deaq would not be cajoled, "You wouldna needed saving if I didn't let Roberts take off with you."
"Deaq, there was nothing you could have done! It was my plan and I knew the risks...all of them. It was a price I was willing to pay to see this thing play out."
"But I wasn't, Van! I'm not ready to lose you, Van....not like I did Dre! Again there you are not thinking..."
Deaq's scolding, produced a smirk on Van's face and he finished, "yeah, I know...'you're my partner, you're suppose to know where I am...if I'm OK...or if I'm just an idiot.'"
Anger tried to settle on Deaq but instead he chuckled. "Ah, man. Stop quoting me!"
This only egged Van on and he gave his best impersonation of Deaq with, "Hey, I'm not saying..I'm just saying."
Deaq pointed a menacing finger at Van but he couldn't wipe the smile from his face, "Shut up or I'll make you eat a maraschino cherry!"
"Forget it, dude! You will never get that past my sealed lips!" Van laughed back, waving his hands in a 'no way' gesture.
"Sealed lips?!" Deaq sputtered, "You can't keep your lips sealed for more than two seconds!"
"Whoa, Dr Phil. You're the one that always wants to analyze my every word. And guess what, I have to talk for your favorite past time to actually work."
"Favorite past time?! You're..."but Billie drew back the curtain at that moment and gave them both a look they had not received from anyone except their mothers.
"You two trying to get booted out of here or are you trying for a transfer to the psycho ward, Van?" The harshness of the barb was destroyed by the accompanying smile she wore.
Both men pointed to the other and said at the same time, "He started it," which sent all three officers into a fit of laughter that rang through the exam room. Billie eyes assessed Van's health even as she asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Like an extra in "Jaws" who didn't get paid enough," Van quirked but at Billie's raised eyebrow, he sighed and truthfully answered, "I feel like crap but I'm alive and that's good enough for me."
Smiling, Billie nodded her head but Van knew she wasn't saying something she should. He didn't have to make more than one guess, "You got the 411 on Cade, right? I can handle it, Billie," his serious tone and steady gaze telling her that he would not be sheltered from the bad news she seemed to be hiding from him.
Billie felt Deaq and Van's eyes riveted to her. It was time to lay out the bad news. Fearing that Van's reaction would be detrimental to his fragile health, she pointedly watched his every feature as she ripped the victory from their hands. "Cade Roberts was picked up by the Coast Guard and turned over to the Feds."
That news should have gotten a whoop of jubilation from Van and Deaq but both knew this was just the good news before the absolutely sucky news.
"Alright, now tell us the second part," Deaq prodded, hitting Billie with his intense look. "You know the part that's gonna piss me off and make me go Scarface right here and now."
Billie focused on Van, took a deep breath and let the words out slowly, "Roberts is walking."
"What the hell!" Deaq exclaimed, surging to his feet and facing off with Billie. "We got him pegged at '2' warehouses with swag and we personally saw him try his damnest to kill, Van. Roberts can't walk!"
"But he is," Billie's voice could have cut glass. Sighting again on Van she was surprised that no rage reflected in his face but instead a sad look flickered in his eyes. And somehow that scared her to her core. Putting a hand on Van's shoulder, she promised, her voice full of deadly intent, "Don't worry. We'll bring him down using another angle. This is not over."
"Hell, no, it ain't over. I promised to put that man in a cage or a casket and I'm gonna see it done," Deaq venomously swore.
Van's eyes flickered to Deaq and he knew his partner would do it too. For him. Because they were partners...because they were even friends. A sad smile pulled onto Van's face and he gave a small snort of laughter, "My plan worked. My plans always work."
"What plan? He's walking, Van." Billie gently reiterated.
Meeting Billie's look head on, Van stated, "He was always gonna walk, Billie. I knew that from the jump off."
Deaq looked to Van with admiration in his eyes. "And you played your game expecting that."
Van's smile turned into a smirk, "I guess it's time to bring you guys up to speed."
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The door to Cade's house stood open and Van did not meet any of Cade's staff as he walked with a decided limp down the hallway toward Cade's study. The Feds had not been kidding when they told Billie they had picked up everyone associated with Cade for questioning. They still hadn't come to grips with the cold hard truth: Cade Roberts was beyond their grasp.
On the threshold of the study, Van casually leaned on the door frame, satisfaction spreading through him at the almost dejected looking Cade sitting in his leather chair behind his desk, one hand tightly gripping an alcohol filled tumbler, while his eyes stayed focused down to a paper on the desk. "It's looking a little lonely at the top, Cade," Van quirked.
Cade's head snapped up and he tried to put on the mask of unflappable control he always wore. "How was your swim?" he retorted, malice eroding any façade he wanted to convey.
"It was a bite...almost," Van sallied back, a twinkle sparkling in his eyes as his lips turned up in a smirk. "You shoulda stuck around for the finale."
"Sorry I missed that...your finale, that is." Cade drained his glass and poured another generous helping. "Drink?" he offered raising the decanter to Van.
"Sure," Van accepted and he walked over to stand in front of Cade's desk, without a limp or a flicker of pain. Cade had gotten enough satisfaction at seeing him in pain. He would get no more.
Having filled a glass for his guest, Cade handed the tumbler to Van and nodded to a chair.
"I'll stand," Van declined and took a swallow of the liquor.
Cade leaned back into his chair and looked hard at Van. "So you played your hand and lost. What now? You want to beg for your friends' lives again."
"Nope." Van sat the glass down and let his gaze sear boldly into the man he hated most in the world. "My debt's clear, remember? You threw me into the water...with sharks if my memory serves me...and said, and I quote 'This will pay your debt... in full.' I'm free...you set me free, dude."
In fury, Cade sat upright and hissed, "You think you're free...you think your debt's off the books?!
Van smirked, "I am ..and it is." Then Van leaned over the desk and invaded Cade's personal space. "You better start worrying about paying off your own debt, Cade."
Cade derogatorily snorted, "To you?!"
"No," and a smile lit up Van's face, "to your boss. I bet he's gonna be pissed when he learns you've been stealing from him."
But Cade had a ready response, "If you're talking about the content of my personal warehouse...it's all well documented, Van." Cade laughed, enjoying the fact that he was once again slipping through Van's noose. The kid would never learn: the student never beat the master. "I cover myself, Van. Everything in there looks like I brought it in by my own ties. Hell, I once offered to give my boss a tour of my warehouse...he declined, though. Sorry, kid. You can't win against me. That's the lesson you've never learned." But Cade's tone had begun to lack conviction when Van's smile only grew wider at his words.
Van did not pull back from his face to face with Cade but instead inched closer and whispered conspiratorially, "I know how careful you are but there's one thing in there you can't explain away..it's too unique for your boss to not recognize as his property."
At first confusion marred Cade's face but in instant later Van knew the light bulb had gone on. "The liquor bottles laced with the drugs," Cade breathed.
"See, I knew you'd catch on," Van taunted. "And just in case your boss has a busy schedule this week and doesn't have time to properly research the contents of your private stash...I sent him a copy of the inventory...and I highlighted item number 198 which is, if you couldn't already guess, the case of liquor bottles I gave back to you. You know, render onto Caesar what is Caesar's. "
With gratification, Van watched Cade's eyes darken in fear and disbelief. But those emotions gave way to unquenchable fury in a blinking of an eye. With a cry of rage, Cade began to surge to his feet, pulling the ice pick from his pocket as he went.
More quickly than Cade could imagine, Van's hand wrapped around the back of his neck and yanked his head down to impact harshly with the desktop. And whatever vain hope Cade had of using the ice pick to land a blow was obliterated as Van caught his wrist and twisted it backwards until he heard the bone crack and the ice pick fell from Cade's hand.
A cry of pain had erupted from Cade at the breaking of his bone and it infuriated him. To show Van weakness, to let the man know he had forced that cry from him. With a bellow of rage, Cade tried to escape Van's hold while his uninjured hand blindly reached for Van.
"You're pathetic," Van spat out and released the man as quickly as he had seized him.
Instantly Cade came to his feet, blood now running down his cheek from a gash on his forehead and his breath loud in the room as the two men faced off.
"Come on," Van challenged and beckoned Cade to him with a wave of his fingers. Cade did not hesitate and Van backed up a step or two to stand in the center of the room as Cade came to stand before him. "This is what you've wanted all along...to know if I had it in me to be your successor...or, and this is what kept you awake at night, just maybe, maybe I woulda turned out to be the one to replace you. And it woulda been me taking you on a last ride to the ocean or the desert."
"I was wrong about you from the start," Cade growled as he and Van circled one another like predators. "You're too soft for the livestyle...too gutless."
"I beat the livestyle. I beat you, Cade, in your own game," Van threw back, knowing it would put Cade into motion. With that knowledge Van easily ducked Cade's roundhouse punch and landed his own uppercut solidly to Cade's jaw.
Stumbling backward at the blow, Cade shook his head, trying to get his vision to come into focus again. When it snapped back into place, he charged for Van and felt satisfaction as his fist connected with Van's cheek, sending the younger man back a step or two. He pursued Van, ready to exploit the man's weakened state but Van surprised him by bringing the fight back to him with a punch to the stomach followed by a powerful punch to Cade's right eye.
Cade hit the ground like a sack of grain, stunned to find himself down and sluggish in his motions to regain his feet.
"Get up," Van growled and watched as Cade wavered as he climbed to his feet. But when Cade made the final motion to stand upright, Van had seen Cade's hand snake into his jacket after his gun. Cade didn't believe in playing fair: ever. Before Cade's fingers could even touch his gun, Van had stalked menacingly over to Cade and in one fluid motion, his hand latched onto Cade's throat, and he slammed the man flat out on the floor.
Distracted by surprise and pain, Cade's hand had fallen away from it's intended path. Van tightened his grip on Cade's throat and calmly pulled Cade's gun from his holster and tossed it across the room. Gasping for breath, Cade wrapped his uninjured hand wrapped around Van's wrist in a vain effort to dislodge the choke hold.
Van leaned over Cade, increasing his crushing hold on the man's windpipe as he meet his reaper's eyes head on. "You lose, Cade. The student becomes the teacher. Actually, I owe you some gratitude...you made me into the cop I am today...in fact, I would have never become a cop without your influence. Doesn't fate suck?"
Cade tried to speak but he could hardly draw in enough breath to breathe and his strength was faltering as a void was starting to edge his vision. His hand dropped limply from it's grasp on Van's wrist and he stopped trying to roll clear from Van. He was helpless against Van...against the void that was starting to claim him. And terror clawed at his soul.
Realizing that Cade was on the edge of unconsciousness, Van pulled his hand away from Cade's throat like it was a flame. He watched with relief as Cade drew in a gasping breath. Cade's blood would not be on his hands. No, Cade's fate would be of his own making...he would have to pay the consequences of his debt to the mafia. And Van knew that debt would claim Cade's life.
For the last time, Cade's eyes met Van's and Van could see the shame of defeat hung heavily on Cade. "Goodbye, Cade," Van quietly bade before climbing to his feet and walking for the door. He did not turn around and Cade, for once, did not offer any parting insults. No markers lay between them anymore. All debts were paid in full.
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Deaq paced in front of Cade's door while Billie sat on the porch step. Van had argued long and hard with his friends but he had finally made them see that he had to finish this thing with Cade himself, regardless of how close to death he looked. But when he made another condition, namely that he face Cade alone, he had nearly lost the whole battle. It was only the truth of his words that swayed the odds again to his favor. "I want my soul back, all of it. And that fight's just between Cade and me. Billie, I know you understand that." Reluctantly Billie had nodded her head and Deaq had sighed in defeat but offered up a condition of his own. "Fine but we're going to be right outside and if I hear anything, I mean anything I don't like, I'm coming to make good on my promise to put Roberts away...one way or another."
"Fair enough," Van relented and he and Deaq tapped their fists together.
But now Deaq was consumed with the fear that Van would not walk out of Cade's house alive. That thought pushed his promise to Van right out of his mind and he stalked for the door, intent on finding Van. He almost plowed into his partner, who came limping out of the door.
Deaq clasped Van by the shoulders and questioned, "You alright, Van?" as he noted the blood on his partner's cheek and his pale face.
But Van did not answer Deaq's question but quietly requested, "Let's get outta here."
Billie, who had surged to her feet at Van's appearance, tried to read Van to know the details of his parting with Roberts. "Can Roberts hurt you yet?" she quietly asked, uncertain of what kind of answer she expected or what her own actions would be to his reply. She would not allow that bastard another opportunity to hurt Van...ever again.
"He won't get the chance," Van quietly said and his eyes rested on something behind Deaq. With a nod of his head he turned his friends' attention to the three Italian men walking toward them. Billie and Deaq stepped down off the porch to give the three men a clear path for the door. Van stood by the threshold of the door. The first man did not stop before Van but gave the cop a slight nod before entering the house. The two men that followed didn't even acknowledge the three cops. They were trained dogs, they knew their objective: To make sure all debts got paid...in full.
Without a word, Billie, Deaq and Van walked to their car, got in and drove away.
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Van watched the waves crash onto the beach and took in a deep breath of sea air. Only a few people were populating this section of the beach and he was grateful for the solitude. He needed time to sort things out in his head. The sound of Deaq's voice caught him off guard and his eyes snapped up to see his partner at his side.
"Didn't expect to find you here," Deaq quietly greeted as he claimed a seat in the sand beside Van, focusing his look on his partner.
"So why'd you look here?" Van retorted, half frustrated to be found and half glad for the company.
"'Cause I ran outta places to look," came Deaq's truthful reply, which earned him Van's startled look.
Van was touched that Deaq had come looking for him. It wasn't like they were partners right now, not with Van out on sick leave. For a moment he simply stared at Deaq, expecting the man to begin to talk shop, to prove that all that held them together was the job. But Deaq's next words were not spoken partner to partner but friend to friend and Van knew that without a doubt. And for that reason alone, he allowed Deaq access into his thoughts.
Gently, Deaq prodded, "So tell me, why here?"
Pulling his look from his friend, Van's eyes again sought out the ocean that was endlessly laid out before him. His words were barely audible. "Because I don't want him to steal this from me....he's stolen enough things I can't get back. I won't let him steal any more."
Deaq nodded his head in understanding. "Feel that."
Silence fell between them but it was a comforting silence as they both watched the surfers in the water.
"The Feds aren't sure if they want to prosecute me or give me a citation of achievement," Van said, turning to face Deaq with a smile turning up his lips. "With the two warehouse busts, they've made their quota for the next three years."
To this Deaq carefully added, "And with Roberts dead, the Feds have a shot at keeping his old region clean...at least for awhile." He watched Van closely, wondering what kind of reaction he would get at the mention of Roberts but Van did not shy away from Deaq's scrutiny nor the topic of Roberts.
"The mafia probably had someone already set up to manage Club 9 even as the bullet hit Cade's skull. Cade was just a small piece of the machine...who dreamed of being at the helm." Van turned his look again to the ocean, suddenly glad to have Deaq with him. Cade was dead but his memory...that would take a long time to fade.
Deaq was trying to think of what to say to Van, to somehow take away the haunted look that still lingered in his eyes. But Van's next words caught him totally unaware.
"And don't ever dis the Beach Boys," and Van sighted his look on Deaq, trying to keep the smile off of his face. "They are all time and everyone with any hearing knows that."
"Get real," Deaq scoffed and broke into a high pitched mockery of 'Be true to your school.'
Van laughed, "Alright, I gotta say that one's kinda weak. But then there's.." and he began singing 'California girls.'
But Deaq interrupted with another parody, this time of 'In the warmth of the sun.'
In retaliation, Van loudly belted out the chorus for "409".
Without warning, a voice behind them broke into their fight with one name, "Elvis Presley."
Both looked straight up to see Billie standing directly behind them, wearing a swimsuit and holding a surf board.
"What?" Deaq and Van said together in confusion.
She came around to stand directly in front of them and shrugged her shoulders as if to say she was only stating a truth everyone knew. "Elvis is all time, hands down."
Van's protest was instantaneous. "He's not a boy band!"
To this Billie gave a condescending smile, "Because he didn't need a crutch."
"A crutch?" Deaq repeated in outrage. "You saying all members of a boy band can't fly solo like Elvis did?"
"Yup."
Van was quick to dispute her claim. "Oh you are so wrong and we could spend all day proving it! Right Deaq?
"Straight up, dog!" Deaq agreed.
With a smug smile, Billie gave the knock out, "111 gold, platinum and multi-platinum records." She relished their stunned looks and concluded with, "I'm not saying...I'm just saying," and then she walked to the water's edge and paddled out on her surf board like it was second nature to her.
Van and Deaq turned to one another to confer. "She knows no one's beat that," Van hissed.
"I think that proves her point, Van," Deaq sarcastically came back with.
"Yeah, but we're supposed to be proving our point."
"But our point just got decimated by a truckload of gold, platinum and multi platinum records."
Incredulously Van demanded, "So, that's it?! You're giving up?!"
Realizing that his partner was not going to let this go, Deaq climbed to his feet, "Hey, she wouldn't be here if you didn't go AWOL and make us track you down."
Van began to climb to his feet and Deaq quickly offered his aid but it didn't even earn him a reprieve from their discussion. "You didn't have to tell her where I was. This coulda stayed just between you, me and the Beach boys. But no, you gotta tell her I'm at the beach and, boom, she dives into a bathing suit, grabs a surf board and comes down here and screws everything up by saying "Elvis Presley." I mean who can top "Elvis Presley?!"
"No one, Van. That's her point," Deaq said as he began to walk away from Van toward the water. "You know, I think the water's calling me. Maybe surfing ain't so bad after all...especially since you can't follow me out there 'cause of your injuries."
Undeterred by Deaq's words or retreat, Van followed his partner right up to the surf. But when he made to enter the water, Deaq swung around and put his hand on Van's chest, halting the man's progress. "Here I gotta draw the line, Van. Now go over there and work on your tan."
"I already got the perfect tan."
"Well then get a perfecter tan." And Deaq turned Van around and gave him a gentle shove back to the beach, safely out of the range of the surf. "And stay outta trouble."
But Van spun around and offered up a parting taunt,"Watch it, Deaq. You almost sound like you care,"
"Fool that I am, I do care. I knew we shoulda kept it clean and simple.." Deaq replied, shaking his head in mock disappointment.
Van smiled, "And not become friends."
"Stop quoting me!"
"Make me!"
With one quick motion, Deaq bent down, scooped up a handful of water and sent it splashing into Van's face.
"Ohh, you will pay for that, dude" Van laughed as the water ran down his face and he began to approach Deaq.
"Van... you can't get your leg wet...Van stop right there." Deaq warned as he stepped backwards further and further into the ocean.
Van watched in glee as a wave came up behind Deaq and sent the man down into the sand. But the next second Van found himself back pedaling hard to not get soaked by that same wave.
Coming out of the water sputtering, Deaq accused, "You set me up!"
"And you "fell" for it!" Van quirked but soon began to back away as his friend came determinedly out of the water. "I'm injured, Deaq. Remember?"
Billie watched the antics of Deaq and Van from her vantage point on her surf board. So many times in the past weeks, she had begun to lose hope that there would be a happy ending to the tale. And how close she and Deaq had come to losing Van...twice...she didn't want to think about...ever again.
She smiled as Deaq, using a sand bucket he confiscated from a little boy, dumped water over Van's head. "Those two are such children," she said aloud. Then, with a smile on her face, she began to paddle for shore, fighting back a sigh, 'The things one does for one's family.'
The End.
(((((((((
A HUGE THANK YOU TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO TOOK THE TIME TO READ THIS STORY!! AND TO THOSE WHO LEFT ME A REVIEW.....YOU ARE THE BEST!!!! WITHOUT YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT THIS STORY WOULD HAVE TANKED OUT AT CHAPTER ONE! THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEDICATION TO FASTLANE, VAN, DEAQ AND BILLIE... MAY THEY WILL NEVER SLOW DOWN IN OUR MEMORIES
DKM: I have to admit, I loved writing the action in last chapter and this chapter. I love being sadistic!!! And it was pure fun making Cade more evil with each revealed secret. I know you didn't want anything too bad to happen to Van in this chapter...well, he lived..that's a good point right? As for another story in the works, sadly no, I don't. This may be my swan song and that kinda has me blue. This was so fun writing and getting your reviews was a pure delight. I'm gonna miss talking to you!!!! You've reviewed this story from chapter 1 and I always looked forward to hearing your thoughts...you kept me writing, though my writer's block, confusing plot and loose ends. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You truly made a difference in my life by being a good friend who always encouraged me and stayed loyal and amused me greatly with every word in her reviews. Good luck with art school, life and all your stories!
Bjp: Queen of cliff hangers? I love that!! And what a compliment you gave me!!! ("I'm sorry you weren't writing for the show...maybe it would still (be on).") Writing for tv...now that's been my dream since I discovered writing stories. I'll never get there but the belief you have in me...that's probably a sweeter victory than getting the writing job, anyway. Thank you so much for your loyalty to this story and to me. I soaked up every word you wrote. Best of luck in life!
Valentine Blue: Sexy Van in angst...I love the picture myself. Yummy!! I'm really pleased with myself that I had you on the edge of your seat...no wait, on the floor (grins evilly).
And the fact that you want this an episode ... you got me blushing! But it would be great seeing Van take all this abuse and getting Deaq and Billie to show how much he means to them. Gosh..I'm such a sap. (As if you couldn't tell that already?!?!) Well, it's time to say goodbye! Thank you so much for you reviews. Have a great life!
Fan4fastln: Yes, I know. I kept you on the edge of your seat for 2 weeks. That was very cruel of me and I apologize! Glad you thought Van was still acting in character last chapter..I always worry when I take a character to their "limit" if I've taken them maybe too far. And yes, winding this puppy down was hard ...harder than I thought and in hind sight, I should have split this chapter up but ...it was too late, I had already said one more chapter to go. Sorry but I do not have plans to write another Fastlane story. This will have to be my tribute to the show unless I get rehooked down the road. But it was truly sad to finish it and yet I felt happy to have wrapped it up. Thank you for all your reviews ...beginning in chapter 1!! I'll miss them! Hope you get the best out of life!
Almarates: As good as you thought last chapter was, I'm crossing my fingers that this one tops it?! Well, now that it's all said and done, how'd I do? Hope to hear from you. Thank you for reviewing this story from the start. I really appreciated your encouragement! Every writer needs someone there to prod them and you were that for me. Thank you. I wish you the best!
Leann: Poor Van did become more friendly with sharks than I EVER want to be. (Did I tell you how terrified I am of being a victim of a shark attack?!?!) Now that things have ended, I wanted to thank you so much for all your reviews! You reviewed from Chapter 1 and I appreciate your loyalty! It really meant a lot to me! Good luck in life!
Sheba-jcf: thank you for breaking your own code and reviewing! I know, I'm not one to review a lot either. Sometimes I just don't have anything original to say. I'm really pleased that you liked the storyline and thought I portrayed the characters well. I wanted it to be like the show...no AU here. As for writing on ffnet, yes, sometimes you have great ideas but getting them down..that's the real tricky thing. But keep at it! There is nothing quite like writing and getting a chance to hear reviews...that's outta this world. Glad I could offer some inspiration! Good luck in writing and life!
Electricgurl: Well, you got your wish...Cade was "offed". And I couldn't allow Van to do it but I also couldn't let Van walk away without inflicting some serious pain on Cade. I hope that satisfied your blood lust as it did mine. I truly hope this last chapter did the story justice. Thank you for each review you gave! Have a great life!
Fairy-mills: I'm so glad you liked my previous chapters enough to compare them with an episode of the show! Hope this "season finale" worked for you. Love to hear from you. Best wishes for your future!
Sirith: Computer virus?!? Yikes! I hate that!! It always makes me realize how obsessed I am with the internet. (I know, me obsessed, that's a real shocker!) Thank you for thinking I have talent. I hope you liked this ending?! And I'm always hopeful that more fastlane fics will emerge. I still need my fix of Van! Thank you so much for your review and I wish you the best in this life!
Well, that's my swan song. Hope you liked the story and I'll love to hear any comments you'd like to make. I will miss you all and I'll miss thinking of new ways to torture yummy Van. I wish everyone the best this life has to offer and I pray NOONE gets into trouble like Van does! (Myself included!)
Cheryl W.