Never Tear Us Apart
Chapter
Sixteen
(Much Later...)
Greta sat on the couch in the townhouse, reading over her mother's diary entries. She had always tried her best to ignore Gina's diaries in the past, not wanting to deal with what might be in there. However, her friends had found them in their hiding place at her apartment, and now she felt more compelled than ever to read them. Plus, it was something to keep her mind off what was supposed to happen tonight.
Noah had gone off to his room to plan and prepare for tonight's event. Brady was sitting at the desk nearby, engrossed in something on his computer for the past hour, leaving an eerie silence throughout the house. She imagined they were all feeling the same things right now. Anxiety and fear.
"Greta..."
Greta snapped the diary shut and turned around to look over the couch at Brady. "Yeaaaaah... What is it?"
He paused for a moment, chewing on his lower lip thoughtfully. "I don't know how I'm going to tell Nancy... I promised her that no harm would come to Chloe. I promised her..."
"You won't have to tell her anything, Brady... We'll find Chloe before any harm comes to her... Then you won't have to suffer the wrath of Nancy Wesley."
"Not to mention the entire Horton family... It's just, what if -- what if --"
Brady had a hard time finishing his sentence and Greta finished it for him. "What if it's too late?"
Brady nodded slightly and Greta continued, doing her best to reassure him. "It's not too late. If Stefano wanted her dead, any of us dead, he would have done it by now... He would have done with a snap of his fingers. No, she's alive... As long as the game is still on, Chloe is alive."
Brady smiled at her in appreciation and replied. "I know all of this, I do... It just helps to hear someone else say it. So... Finding anything useful in those diaries?"
"Not really... Just a wonderful collection of all the terrible things that my mother did when she was alive. There is a lot in here about your dad... which is no surprise..."
"What kind of things about my dad?"
Greta laughed and turned around, re-opening the book to continue her reading. "I don't think you want to know, Brady... It's not exactly G-Rated..."
Brady went back to whatever he was working on and muttered under his breath. "You're probably right then..."
They both continued what they had been doing previously in silence for quite awhile. In fact, it had become so quiet, that Greta could hear the creaking from the hinges as Noah came out of his bedroom. She kept her eyes pointed towards the diary, but listened as his footsteps came down the hallway towards her. He moved behind the couch and pressed the tip of his gun into the back of her head.
Greta froze and gasped in surprise. "Noah... What are you doing?"
"I'm getting what I came here for. Don't move an inch, Princess."
Brady flew out of his chair and rushed towards them, but Noah gave him a threatening look. "Don't move, Brady and do not reach for that gun on the desk. I'll shoot both of you if I have to."
"Jesus Christ, Noah... Put the gun down."
"No way, Brady. I came here to find out what happened to my brother, and I'm going to find out."
Brady shouted at him, trying to maintain his composure. "And shooting Greta is going to do that for you? Have you lost your mind?"
Noah shook his head and spoke solemnly. "No, in fact, for the first time since I met you all -- I'm finally thinking clearly."
Noah looked towards the ceiling and shouted upwards as if he was speaking to Stefano himself. "I KNOW YOU'RE LISTENING DIMERA!! GIVE ME WHAT I WANT OR YOUR LITTLE GIRL GETS A SHINY BULLET IN HER BRAIN!"
Greta began crying softly, not moving an inch from the position she was in as she did so. "Noah, this is... this is crazy... don't do this... I thought we were working together... I thought we were friends."
"We're not friends, we never were. The only loyalty I have is to my brother. If Stefano calls me right now and tells me how to find him, I won't hurt you... I know he's listening, just pick up the phone, you sonofabitch."
Brady looked at Greta and then back to Noah, he needed time, time for Stefano to be made aware of the situation. "This wasn't part of our plan, Maguire. Greta put her trust and faith in the both of us, and now you're threatening to kill her."
Noah's voice was full of anguish as he replied to Brady. "Well, that was a mistake, wasn't it? Trusting me? I don't care about you, or Chloe or the Princess... I only want to bring my brother home."
"This isn't the way to do it... This is insane."
Noah ignored him and shouted again, directing his words at Stefano again. "Come on, DiMera -- pick up the phone and call me. You found Chloe here, I'm sure you know the number... Pick up the phone or the Princess is dead in ten minutes. I know that's not what you want... COME ON!"
Greta began pleading through her sobs, her voice wavering as she spoke. "Please, please help me... please father, help me... I'll do anything you ask me, just make this stop..."
Greta's stomach turned, absolutely hating that she had to use 'father' in reference to that man. She only used it in hopes that Stefano would hear her cries for help and make contact with them. Greta cried louder, using everything in her body to push out the loudest, most anguished cries possible.
Besides Greta's crying, it seemed that the only sound made for the next few minutes was the sound of the clock ticking on the wall. Noah had given him the deadline of ten minutes, and he fully expected Stefano to make a move within that time.
The phone rang loudly and Greta quieted herself as Noah motioned for Brady to hand him the phone. Brady complied and Noah spoke into the receiver confidently.
"DiMera..."
The older man's accented voice came over the line clearly. "Mr. Maguire... You clearly have no idea what you're doing."
"Oh no, I think I know exactly what I'm doing. Now tell me how to find my brother..."
"You won't do it, Mr. Maguire. You don't have the guts to kill an innocent woman."
Noah laughed into the phone and then replied. "Don't I? Besides, she's not exactly innocent, is she? She's a DiMera, and as far as I'm concerned, she deserves to die, just like you do..." Noah paused and put the phone near the gun for a moment, allowing the chamber to click loudly into the phone before he returned it to his face. "Do you hear that? That's the sound of the gun I'm going to kill your daughter with, and you, if you don't give me what I want. Now, I'm willing to spare you both if you just tell me where Jake is."
There was a long pause and Noah looked at Brady nervously, suddenly having second thoughts about Greta's plan. Finally, Stefano spoke back to him confidently. "There is a pay phone across the street from your townhouse, in front of the barbershop. Be there in 10 minutes, I will give you further instructions on where to find me then. Bring my daughter, but no one else... If I see Brady Black anywhere near you, I'll kill you both and your poor, sweet mother will never know what happened to her sons."
"We'll be there."
Noah hung up the phone and breathed a loud sigh of relief. "I've got ten minutes to take Greta to the pay phone across the street. He says he's going to tell me where to find him. If you follow me, Brady -- he'll kill you, and me too... Don't follow me."
Brady winked at him knowingly and nodded. "I won't, you sick bastard..."
Greta turned to look at the two men and moved her head away from Noah's gun. Noah smiled bashfully, forgetting that he had his gun still trained at the back of her head. She wiped her fake tears away and smiled at them both, then tapped her watch to indicate that the clock was ticking.
Noah nodded in understanding and shoved the gun into the holster at his side, covering up with a light jacket. Greta went to the computer and typed a quick message to Noah. "Did you really HAVE to put the gun to my head? It's not like he could see what we were doing, only hear us."
Noah grinned at her and typed back. "I thought it would help your acting, Princess."
Greta rolled her eyes and turned away from the screen as Brady was handing her a silver pin that she could attach to her blouse. It was a tracking device, one that would help Brady follow their path towards wherever Stefano was and Brady would follow them there to find his wife. He planned to get Chloe back from DiMera, right under his nose, while he was too busy being distracted by Noah and Greta.
The two of them hurried their preparations up, both of them armed and ready to go. Brady walked them to the door silently and briefly patted Noah on the arm, mouthing the words 'Good luck' to him, as Noah mouthed the words, 'You too' right back at him.
Greta threw her arms around Brady and squeezed him tightly, pausing to whisper words of comfort in his ear. "Everything is going to be alright. It has to be..."
Greta let go of him and Brady nodded slightly, emotion filling his expression. "I know..."
Noah and Greta stepped out of the door and began the walk towards outside. She paused at the exit to the townhouse and then turned to Noah with a reassuring smile. She put her hands at the back of her neck and leaned up to kiss him directly on the lips. The kiss was soft, sweet and lasted a little longer than she had planned.
She broke away from him with a satisfied smile, but Noah's expression was one of complete shock. "What was that for?"
Greta winked at him and continued smiling as she mouthed two words to him. "For luck."
They began their walk across the street, while upstairs Brady sat in front of the tracking system and watched the red light that was attached to Greta's tracking device blink in front of him. His eyes followed the light as it moved across the street towards the payphone that Stefano sent them to.
Brady sighed heavily, hating this part of it worse than anything. All he could do now was wait, staying back so that he could somehow sneak in to wherever Stefano was hiding and find his wife. So, he waited and for the first time in a very long time, he prayed to any deity that would answer.
If their plan soured on them, not only would Chloe's life be in his hands, but so would the lives of Greta and Noah. Despite all of his confusion and fear, Brady knew he had to step up to the plate tonight. Chloe was his everything, his entire life and the happiness of his son was wrapped up in her. He had to protect her, he had sworn to do so, and Brady Black never backed down from a promise.
Across the street, Noah had received his phone call from Stefano, instructing them to stay where they were and wait for a black car to pick them up. The car came and the driver began speeding them off towards Stefano's hideaway. Brady saw the red dot moving across the grid rapidly and stood up to begin preparing for his part of the plan.
~*~
(Meanwhile...)
Chloe awoke slowly, feeling about a hundred times worse than she had before. Phillip's thug had drugged her once again and now she was waking up in a different place than her previous cell. There was a bright beam of light above her that hurt her eyes until she could finally adjust to it. She tried to move but not only was she weak from the drugs, she was strapped down to the table.
She turned her head to the side and realized she was in some sort of medical environment. Phillip's words began flashing through her head again, as she remembered him saying something about an operating room and a doctor.
"Oh god... Oh no..."
Phillip kneeled down beside her gurney and looked into her eyes. His hand brushed away a stray piece of hair from the side of her face as he smiled malevolently at her. "Hey Beautiful..."
Her throat was dry, so her words only came out quietly, but the fear in her voice was still evident. "Phillip... What are you going to do to me?"
"What I have to do... to make you mine again..."
Chloe's tears began to flow down her face, and despite her brazen attitude earlier, she was frightened terribly of what he might do. "Please, Phillip... Don't hurt me... Please..."
Phillip laid his hand on the side of her face and looked at her sadly. "I wouldn't have to if you would have agreed to the future I have planned for us... Now I have to get what I want the hard way. It will only hurt for a little while, Chloe... And when it's over -- then I'll have everything I've ever wanted, and I swear that I'll make you happier than Brady Black ever could."
Phillip stood up and when he spoke again Chloe realized that there was someone else in the room with them. "Rolf... We've got no time to waste. I hope you're ready."
"I'm ready, Mr. Kiriakis... But, are you sure you don't want to numb her first? The drugs you already gave her make her weak, but she'll still feel the pain."
There was a pause as Phillip weighed the options in his mind. "I'm sure. We don't have time for that."
Chloe felt a cold chill run up her spine at his words. Phillip undid her restraints, but she was too weak to even move her limbs, so it really didn't matter much. He rolled her over on to her stomach, resting her face on a pillow at the end of the table, so that the back of her head was facing up. Chloe was crying softly as she listened to Rolf making his preparations.
She heard his footsteps come closer and he gave her only one instruction. "Don't move, it will hurt less if you stay still..."
Her hair was pulled up and out of the way, most likely by Phillip's hands. The cold metal tip of Rolf's scalpel grazed the back of her neck and Chloe let out one last cry for help.
"Oh God no... PLEASE PHILLIP NO!"