return9

"Fine, I don't have time to argue," Pacey grumbled, paying the guy. "I'll take my bag, but can you wait for me?"

"Five minutes, then I leave," he replied.

"I won't be longer," Pacey called. Opening his door and jumping out, he began to run down the street. Dodging the manholes was a trial in itself, but he kept hearing Andie's frightened voice in his head.

When he reached the property, he noticed again the same two black cars. This time he knew that neither belonged to Andie, but were backups for Ralston - probably never even driven.

He jogged to the front door, and raised his hand to knock. When he got no reply, Pacey put his hand on the doorknob, and was surprised to find it give easily under his touch. He slowly stepped into the house, keeping his eyes peeled for a maid, or for Ralston lurking around. His first concern was to find Andie. For all he knew, she could be seriously hurt, or even dying somewhere in the house.

A sudden sobbing caught his attention, and he moved towards it. He found himself entering what appeared to be a drawing room - two desks, a table, and a set of chairs adorned the space. Andie was seated at one of these chairs, facing away from him.

"Andie," he called.

She turned to face him, her movements slow and steady. When he saw her, he understood why she was so cautious. Two new, large black bruises shone from her face, the third now looking faded and small. He came to stand before her, and saw the same type of marks covering her neck, shoulders, and arms.

"Oh, Andie�" he knelt before her, dropping his bag to the floor. He took her hands in his. "When did he do this to you?"

"This morning," she answered, tears falling down her battered face.

He brought his hands to his chest, trying to stop the feverish pounding of his heart. This was all his fault. He should never have left her alone with Ralston last night. The man was obviously unhinged, and Pacey figured that their confrontation couldn't have helped much. If only he had demanded that Andie come with him. If only he hadn't let her dance around the truth so much, maybe she would have come with him before Ralston had showed up. This last beating could have killed her, and he doubted that Ralston would be able to control himself again.

"It's my fault," she said, quietly. "He left after � after this morning, but he said he'd be back."

"I don't care, because you won't be here to be his personal punching bag again. Do you have a bag packed?"

She shook her head.

"That�s okay, we'll get you new stuff when we get home. Go get Mera, and we're leaving."

"She's not here," Andie replied. "I took her to the sitter's last night."

"That's okay, we'll drop in and pick her up. We've got a flight back to Capeside this afternoon, and all three of us are going to be on it."

"I don't know�" she said, wearily.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. You're stubborn, McPhee, but this time you're wrong. You can be safe - it's the least you deserve." He lifted his bag in one hand, and her in the other, careful to avoid the bruises he could see, and cautious of the ones he couldn't.

They had reached the kitchen, her resistance having disappeared, when a shadow loomed over the doorframe.

Ralston Mackey was home, and he wasn't happy. He first caught sight of Pacey's bag, and then moved his eyes to include Pacey himself, his arm around Andie's waist.

"Just where do you think you're going?" He asked.

"I'm taking her away from here," Pacey said, sternly. He could feel Andie clutching his arm tightly.

Ralston laughed. "No you aren't."

"I am, so please step out of the way."

Ralston reached out and grabbed Andie by the arm. She tried to fight him, but her body was in no condition to do so.

"I will kill her before I let her leave this house with you." Ralston grumbled.

Pacey suddenly became aware that Ralston still had his uniform on, the holster, which housed his gun, sat snugly at his waist. Ralston seemed to realize it at the same moment, and he reached down to release the lock. He expertly drew the gun, pointing it at Pacey's face.

"Or better yet," he said. "I might as well just kill you."

"No!" Andie shouted. "Please stop it!" She began to cry. "Put that away."

Ralston released his grasp on her, but gave her a hard stare. "Are you giving me orders, Andrea?"

"Andie, get out!" Pacey shouted, "leave now!"

"Andrea, get back to your room," Ralston challenged. "You aren't leaving with him."

"She is, and we're leaving right now." Pacey motioned to Andie with his head, and slowly began to move toward the door, aware that Ralston still had the gun pointed at him.

What happened next seemed to occur in such slow motion that Pacey couldn't move fast enough to prevent any of it. All at once, he heard a gunshot, saw the smoke fly from the gun, and saw a fast blur before his eyes.