A Hero For Hire: Chapter Twenty-Eight *FFY Sequel*

OKDeanna's Passions Fan Fiction Forum > Luis & Sheridan Stories > A Hero For Hire: Chapter Twenty-Eight FFY Sequel
	Next Topic >>

Subject: A Hero For Hire: Chapter Twenty-Eight *FFY Sequel*
Posted By: OKDeanna - ezOP
Posts: 343
Posted At: (9/6/03 8:36 am)
Reply

A Hero For Hire
By: OKDeanna

Email: asjfan@cox.net

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Stubbing out his last Havana cigar in the amber colored horseshoe ashtray Katherine had once bought him, Alistair Crane reached for the ringing telephone to his right. The voice that spoke wasn’t one he expected to hear. “Sir, it’s Packer. I have news.”

“And what news might that be, Officer?” Alistair leaned back in his chair and frowned as his eyes caught sight of the ashtray again. Why did he keep the thing? He detested it. Had ever since Katherine brought it home. He should have thrown it out years ago.

Along with everything else she had ever given him.

Packer cleared his throat and Alistair fought to remain focused. Thinking about Katherine now would do him no good. He knew that. She was gone. Had been for years. Nothing he could do to change that. Wouldn’t want to even if he could. She had made her bed, and now she had to lie it—six feet underground.

Alistair shook his head, forced himself to concentrate. “I haven’t got all day, Packer. Spit it out.”

“It’s about your son, Sir. And your daughter.” Raised voices and the wail of sirens echoed through the wires; Alistair straightened and waited for Packer to continue. “Ms. Crane has been shot, Sir. She’s being loaded into an ambulance as we speak. Condition at this point is critical. She has lost a lot of blood.”

Alistair furrowed his brow. Had Julian followed his orders after all? He’d been sure his son had betrayed him. Just as his mother had years before. But now… Now it appeared he might actually be wrong. Could it be possible? Was Julian finally turning into the son he’d always wanted? The son who would protect the family? No matter what the cost? “And Julian? Where is he?”

“Lighthouse Park. Near the old fishing pond.” Packer cleared his throat again, and when he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. “Mr. Crane and Agent Freeman are talking with Officer Quinlan. I don’t know what all they are saying, Sir… But I heard your name mentioned. More than once.”

Alistair closed his eyes, fought to remain calm. Julian had betrayed him. Not once, but twice. He shook his head. Maybe he had more of his mother in him than he first thought. Why else would he be so stupid as to cross him this way? “I want you to tell me everything you know, Officer. And don’t leave anything out.” My son’s life depends on it.

* * *

Julian listened as Hal related the events of the night to Officer Quinlan, but as he continued to talk, Julian found his eyes and the better half of his concentration drifting toward the waiting ambulance. He watched as the paramedics loaded Sheridan into the back and prayed Quinlan would finish his questions soon. He wanted to be there when Sheridan arrived at the hospital; he needed to be there. He’d promised.

He and Luis might not be the best of friends—okay, they might not be friends at all—but he’d given his word to his sister that he wouldn’t leave Luis alone—and he planned to keep it; he would not fail her again.

“Mr. Crane?” Someone laid a hand on his arm; Julian turned to find Officer Quinlan staring at him, his soft, green-eyed gaze a mixture of concern and maybe a small trace of suspicion. “Sir? I know you are worried about your sister right now, but I really need you to come down to the station with me. Chief Bennett has a few questions for you, about a man he found lurking outside Ms. Crane’s cottage tonight.”

The cottage? Who would be— Julian glanced at Hal the second the answer popped into his head, and then he knew, with dreaded certainty, the night had just taken another unexpected turn.

Julian closed his eyes, inclined his head toward the ground. How could he have forgotten? How could he have—

“Mr. Crane?” Julian opened his eyes to find Quinlan holding out an arm, obviously waiting for him to head toward the police cruiser parked a few feet away. “Chief Bennett is already on his way to the station.”

Julian frowned. “This can’t wait? I promised my sister—“

“Of course, it can wait,” Hal interrupted, stepping in front of Officer Quinlan, gently leading him toward a bench at the far end of Lighthouse Park. “Chief Bennett would understand Julian’s need to be with his sister right now. He wouldn’t expect him to leave Sheridan at time like this. Just to go downtown and answer a few questions?” Hal shook his head, and motioned behind his back for Julian to go.” I’m sure if we call Chief Bennett at the station, and explain the severity of Sheridan’s injuries, he would be more than happy to wait until morning for Julian to come downtown. Right, Officer Quinlan?”

As Quinlan nodded, Julian sighed with gratitude and turned to leave…only to find the ambulance already pulling out onto the road.

Once again, he was too late.

“Damn.” How would he get to the hospital now? The car he and Hal had been driving earlier was miles away. He closed his eyes, willed himself to calm down, and think. When he opened his eyes again, the face that appeared before him was the last one he’d been expecting to see.

“Eve.”

* * *

As the EMT continued to work on Sheridan, Luis tried to remember how to breathe. To think. For the first time in his life, he found himself afraid. Afraid to ask the one question he needed an answer to the most: was Sheridan going to make it?

Luis closed his eyes, fought the tears that threatened to fall. He had to be strong. He had promised her; he would not cry. And no matter how hard it was for him to fight it, he would do it—for her. He would not fall apart; he would be strong. Show her that he believed in her. That he had no doubts about her ability to fight this. To win against the darkness threatening to cloud her vision.

Someone stepped on his foot; he moved it back out of the way and opened his eyes to find himself lost in Sheridan’s watery gaze. He swallowed, blinked, drew in a raspy breath. “You promised, Sher.” He leaned forward slightly—making sure to stay out of the paramedics’ way—and took hold of her left hand, brushing his thumb across her too cold, too pale skin. “No tears, remember?”

Beneath the oxygen mask the paramedic placed over her face, Sheridan’s lower lip trembled. Her eyes—still wet with tears—held the same fear he could feel seeping into his own bloodstream, burrowing deeper with every pothole the ambulance hit.

“It should’ve been me,” he said, massaging her skin with his thumb. “I should be the one lying here right now. Not you.” He drew in another breath, sniffed, and blinked his own tears away. “I’m sorry, Sheridan. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.” He turned his head, unable to take the denials he could see forming in her eyes. “This is my fault. If I hadn’t dragged you into those godforsaken woods—“

“Blaming yourself won’t do anyone any good,” the EMT said, interrupting him. “Besides, she can’t feel the pain you’re imagining she feels right now. Her mind has blocked it out.”

Luis looked up, met the man’s sympathetic eyes. “Will she…will she be all right?” Luis sucked in a breath. “Please. Tell me… Tell me she’s going to be all right?”

The ambulance began to turn a corner; the EMT placed a palm against the padded wall behind him and sighed. “Sheridan has lost a lot of blood. But I think she got lucky with where the bullet hit. She’s suffered some lung damage, but it’s too high to have hit her heart. As long as she stays calm—and fights—she’ll be just fine.”

Luis nodded, looked back at Sheridan; her eyes were closed, her face paler than he would’ve liked. “If there is one thing Sheridan Crane is, it’s a fighter. She doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit.” And he prayed she never found out. “Did you hear that, sweetheart? You’re going to be all right. You’re going to be just fine.”

Luis gave her hand a gentle squeeze, and fought the slight tremble to his lips. Please, God, give her the strength she needs. And let her know how much I love her.

* * *

Hal listened in as Officer Quinlan relayed his message to Chief Bennett, and breathed a sigh of relief when the other man agreed with him. The last thing Julian needed right now—what either of them needed right now, actually—was to be hauled downtown for questioning. Especially on something that was bound to lead to a subject neither one of them were allowed to discuss. At least not formally.

Hal shook his head, cast a quick look over his shoulder. He blinked when he saw Julian talking with Eve Harrison. He hadn’t realized the woman still lived in town. Amazing. She looked nothing like the Eve he once knew. In fact, if he hadn’t recognized that long black mane and café au lait skin—not to mention the deer-caught-in-the-headlights look on Julian’s face—he would have thought her to be someone else entirely.

“What’s with the frown?” A familiar voice asked from behind him. “The good guys won, remember? Rog is dead, and Pierre… Well, Pierre is on his way to meeting a handsome new playmate.”

Hal turned and raised an eyebrow. “What about Sheridan? What is she on her way to?”

“Living a long and happy life as far as I’m concerned.” Hank crossed his arms over his chest, parted his legs in a defensive stance. “Sheridan Crane is a strong woman; she won’t give up without a fight. And when she puts her mind to it—“he paused to grin—“she can put up one hell of a fight.”

Hal nodded. “Yes, but this fight is one I’m not sure she can win.” Hal looked back toward Julian and Eve, briefly closed his eyes, and turned his attention back to Hank. “Alistair Crane isn’t a man you want to cross, and tonight we crossed him.”

“And you think he could go after Sheridan in retaliation?” Hank shook his head, dropped his arms back to his sides. “I don’t buy that. The old man is too smart. That’s the reason I haven’t—“

Hal lifted an eyebrow, waited for Hank to finish his sentence. When he didn’t, he found himself chuckling. “Don’t worry, Bennett. I already know who you are. I recognized you the second I saw you.” Hal tilted his head to the side, and studied the man before him. “You know, your reputation precedes you. A lot of respectable men have their eye on you. I think most of them are convinced you’re superman or something.”

Hank frowned. “I’m no superhero. Never have been. Never will be. That title belongs to Luis.”

“I don’t know about that, Bennett. I could name several men who would disagree with you, and based on tonight’s events, I think Luis would be one of them.”

Hank shook his head again. “Luis would’ve managed just fine without me. Hell, my trying to help almost got all three of us killed. If it hadn’t been for him and his quick thinking under pressure, I know for a fact I wouldn’t be here right now.”

“That might be true, but without your help, Luis and Sheridan would both be dead. Even you can’t deny that.” Hal narrowed his eyes. “Does Luis know the truth about you?”

“Couldn’t risk it.” Hank let out an exasperated sigh, lowered his voice to a whisper. “As far as everyone in Harmony is concerned—and that includes both Luis and my brother, Sam--I’m the same screw up I’ve always been.” Something flashed in Hank’s eyes, but it was gone before Hal could determine what it was. “Besides, no one who knows me would ever believe I work for the government. And if they wanted to dig a little bit, they’d find a rather hefty trail of criminal activity under my name—or rather linked to my name—to prove just how unlikely that scenario would be.”

Hal nodded again, started to respond but paused when his cellphone gave a sudden shrill. “Sorry,” he said, pulling the offending object from his belt clip, “I have to take this.” He held up a hand when Hank started to turn. “Just give me a second.”

“Freeman here.”

“Big Al is on the move,” Hal straightened, frowned. “He’s heading east, toward the airport. What do you want me to do?”

Hal met Hank’s eyes. “Follow him, and under no circumstances do you let that plane take off. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir. Consider him grounded.”

A dial tone sounded in his ear a second before he disconnected the call. “Someone must’ve tipped the old man off.” Hal shook his head, lifted an eyebrow at Hank. “Any idea who might be in a position to do that?”

Hank turned and cast his eyes toward an officer at the far end of Lighthouse Park, near the police cruiser that held a dazed and handcuffed, Pierre. “I have one idea. But unfortunately, I can’t do anything about it right now. Not without giving myself away.”

Hal nodded, sighed. “Alistair doesn’t exactly take no for an answer, Hank. When he wants something, he does whatever he can to get it—and he doesn’t care who gets hurt in the process.”

“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.” Hank closed his eyes, furrowed his brow. When he opened them again, his eyes held the same determination he knew had gotten him where he is today. “If you need an extra pair of hands bringing Alistair in, I wouldn’t mind tossing my own into the mix. As long as we can cover my face, and I don’t have to speak or anything, I’ll be good to go.”

He’d known the man would offer, but accepting his help could hurt both their cases in the long run. “That might be a little too risky. If anyone were to recognize you…” Hal’s frown deepened as he cast a look towards the man Hank suspected to be on Alistair’s payroll. “If he sees you leave with me, Hank, he’s bound to put two and two together eventually, and when does, whatever case your working on will be in jeopardy.”

Hal turned back to look at Hank. “I think you should go to the hospital. That’s where everyone would expect you to be right now. That’s where I’ll be headed as soon as I get Alistair taken care of.”

“Then I guess I’ll see you there.” Hank reached out a hand; Hal took it without hesitation. “Watch your back, man. Alistair won’t go down without a fight.”

No, he wouldn’t. But Hal wasn’t giving up without one, either. Not this time. No, this time Alistair Crane was going down. And it would be a long, hard fall.

* * *
Julian had almost convinced himself the angel standing in front of couldn’t possibly be real, but then she spoke, and he knew she was. She wasn’t a mirage his mind had somehow conjured up; she was real, as real as the concern that etched every feature of her beautiful face. “You heard about Sheridan?”

Eve nodded; her eyes grew soft, understanding. “I was on my way home when the news broken in to relay there had been a shooting. I didn’t know it was Sheridan until I got here a few minutes ago. Will she…will she be all right?”

Julian closed his eyes, lifted his head toward the sky. “I don’t know.” When he reopened his eyes, stars he couldn’t ever remember seeing before came into view. Julian sighed, lowered his head until he met Eve’s chocolate and gold speckled eyes. “She lost a lot of blood, and her breathing was pretty shallow. I think the bullet might’ve hit her lung before it passed through.”

“Are you sure the bullet passed through?” Eve gently touched his forearm, but the heat from her hand did nothing to warm the cold seeping into his bones. He nodded, and she squeezed his arm slightly. “That’s good news, Julian. If the bullet is out, it can’t do anymore damage.”

But what about the damage it has already done? “Will you…will you go to the hospital? Check on her for me? I’d feel better knowing you were there.”

Eve removed her hand, dropped her arm to her side. “I’ll head over there as soon as I leave here.” Eve pursed her lips; war raged inside her eyes. “Julian, I…” she stopped, drew in a breath. “Do you need a ride to the hospital? I can…I can take you. If you want.”

“Are you sure?” The last thing he wanted to do was to make her uncomfortable. Well, more uncomfortable than he’d already made her. “Because if you’re not, I can always ask one of the officers to take me.”

“I’m sure.” She nodded her head in time with her statement, but neither her words nor her affirmation erased the doubt he could see lingering in her eyes. Doubt they both knew he deserved.

Julian sighed, motioned with his hand for Eve to lead the way toward her car. The sooner they got to the hospital, the better off he—and she—would be. Spending time with Eve was nothing short of torture, particularly since he knew she was the only person in the world who could drive the demons that haunted him away. And tonight, the demons were out with a vengeance. A vengeance he might be temped to silence without the benefit of alcohol. If only for a little while.

* * *

Brilliant white light illuminated the space around her, but nothing came into view. No shapes. No color. Nothing but the light. And a soft, gentle breeze. The kind of breeze she’d loved as a child. The kind she used to wish to feel brushing across her skin.

She could hear the voices talking, but they were too low for her to make out the words. That didn’t seem to matter, though. Even if she couldn’t hear his voice enough to recognize it, she knew he was there. Knew he was with her. She could feel him. Even sense him.

His touch transcended words. Transcended everything. It always had, always would.

A figure appeared out of the light. She waited for it to move closer, for the face to come into view.

Dark hair. Soulful eyes. Warm, loving smile.

Her breath caught in her throat.

"Mo...mother?"

To Be Continued...

Important note: I would like to extend my thanks to T for sharing her EMT/gunshot wound knowledge with me. I would also like to thank Maria (luisfan79) for her help in editing this chapter. Any mistakes are my own.

I want to call your attention to two important scenes in this chapter. The first is the Julian/Eve scenes. That scene is basically the starting point of my Julian/Eve spinoff, The Other Side. Whatever scenes follow from this point for those two characters are basically all leading up to the first chapter of The Other Side, which incidently will be posted after A Hero For Hire reaches its conclusion.

The second scene I want to call your attention to is the Hal/Hank scene. That scene is starting point for my yet to be titled Hank/Gwen spinoff story. I am not sure how many appearances Hank will have in the remaining chapters of this story, but I do know his story begins in this chapter. His spinoff story will make its debut after the next chapter--possibly the next two chapters--of this story.

I hope you will keep an eye out for the new stories and as always, thank you for reading!

Deanna

Next Topic >>

Replies

A Hero For Hire: Prologue - Chapter Seven FFY Sequel	OKDeanna	10/19/02 7:40 am
A Hero For Hire: Chapter Eight - Fifteen FFY Sequel	OKDeanna	10/19/02 7:43 am
A Hero For Hire: Chapter Sixteen - Nineteen FFY Sequel	OKDeanna	10/19/02 7:53 am
A Hero For Hire: Chapter Twenty-Twenty-Five FFY Sequel	OKDeanna	10/19/02 8:03 am
A Hero For Hire: Chapter Twenty-Six FFY Sequel	OKDeanna	8/19/03 7:34 pm
A Hero For Hire: Chapter Twenty-Seven FFY Sequel	OKDeanna	8/24/03 1:40 pm
A Hero For Hire: Chapter Twenty-Eight FFY Sequel	OKDeanna	9/6/03 8:36 am

Email This To a Friend
Topic Control Image

Topic Commands

Click to receive email notification of replies

Click to stop receiving email notification of replies