Marlena sat on the couch in her home, holding the files and pictures John had let her look over. Her eyes stared into space. "Why am I getting myself into this again?" She failed to hear the door click open and the footsteps softly padding behind her. She jumped from her place on the sofa and her awareness heightened. "John! What are you doing here?" "Well, I think I live here. And is that any way to talk to the love of you life?" He tossed his jacket on the back of the chair and sat gently on the couch, where his wife had resumed residence. "I didn't mean it like that. You weren't supposed to be home for another hour. But I am glad your home." She raised her feet to his legs, stretching out the entire length of the couch.
"Ah, now that's how I like to be greeted when I come home." John slowly leaned over her, his hand tracing a path along her leg, eliciting a giggle from Marlena. He stopped just short of her face, his hand embracing her neck, pulling her to him. "John�" "Yeah?" "I am awfully glad your home�" John brushed his lips along her jawline. "Well, you're about to be even happier." Marlena's eyes opened from her euphoric stupor, rolling in amazement. "I'm happy your home, but not for this reason." John's path ceased and his eyes met hers. "We have to talk about this case." She kissed his nose and raised up from the couch, pushing his head away and grabbing the files on the table. "John, I think�"
Her words were cut off by sniffling. John held his head in his hands, shoulders shaking, sobbing. "Hey, I'm serious here. We need to talk�" John let out a wail and fell back against the arm of the sofa, covering his eyes with his arm. "Ok, ok. You'll tell me when you done alright?" Marlena placed the files in her lap and crossed her arms, trying not to let his display make her laugh. After a few more sobs, John sat up and pulled his shirt from his waistband, dabbing his eyes, and pretending to blow his nose. "Ok, I think I'm done." Marlena uncrossed her arms and opened the first file folder. "Good, now then�" Her words were once again stopped by John's sniffling. "I thought you said you were done." After a long sigh, John scooted next to her. "I am now. Boo hoo." She pulled her glasses out from their case and brought her legs up to cross them. "Ok, love of my life, I think we need to start with this."
Stefano studied the board with great care, his hand to his mouth in serious thought. Orpheus stepped carefully beside the elder man, putting a shadow on his game board. "We need to talk." Stefano's eyes never left the checkered board, his hand simply stretching toward the empty chair facing him on the opposing side. "You will have a seat then, and not hover about like some common vulture awaiting his next kill." Orpheus nervously shoved his hands in his pockets before walking to the seat. Orpheus was a man who no one crossed, no one but this man setting across from him. Orpheus feared no one, but Stefano wasn't just anyone. He was the master, and it was through him, Orpheus hoped to one day conquer all who crossed him. "Now, what do you need to discuss?" Throughout the minutes of silence, Stefano's gaze never left the board, his hand pointing out imaginary moves, contemplating the consequences. "It's been days since anything's happened. I think it's time that we move forward."
"Ahh, my friend, it has been said that patience is a virtue." Orpheus' hand splayed hard on the surface of the table, slightly disrupting the alignment of the ivory pieces. "How poor are they that ha' not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees? Thou know'st we work by wit and not by witchcraft, and wit depends on dilatory time." Orpheus' hand slowly inched off the side of the table with each monotone word that came from Stefano's mouth. Not knowing exactly what he meant, but sure he would in time, Orpheus made no attempt to question his mentor's words. "Fine, when we make our next move, and it should be soon, what is the next step?" Stefano smiled and finally looked full-faced into the other man's face. "Our next move, as in any good chess game, is to eliminate a piece."
John and Marlena sat stooped over the endless stream of files that seemed to multiply with each passing hour. "Doc, I just feel like there's a connection here, I just can't fit it all together." He threw the file down and walked toward the balcony, the stress becoming too thick in the room. Marlena watched him go and reached over to grab yet another file. The quiet was broken by the heavy sobs that trailed from the top of the stairway to Marlena's side. "Mommy?" Marlena dropped the file when her son's broken voice met her ears. "Honey, what's wrong?" Her question was answered with her son's clumsy leap into her arms. "John!" Marlena's voice traveled out to the terrace and John ran to his wife and son's side. His eyes questioned hers, to which a distraught Marlena could only reply with tears and a greater grip on her son. John patted Brady's back in a soothing gesture, hoping he would open up to them.
"Hey slugger, do you think you can tell us what happened?" Brady head moved in a positive fashion. "Brady, do you think you'd be okay if you sat in between us, we won't let anything happen to you. Would that be okay?" Marlena smoothed his hair and waited for a sign he understood. Brady lifted his head from Marlena and whimpered a 'yeah'. He snuggled in between them, still trying to catch his breath. "Brady, can you tell me about your dream?" Tears filled the boys eyes again, but he again nodded. "I was in a dark place, I couldn't see nuthin'. But then I heard a big boom and then I can see again." Brady buried his head into Marlena's shoulder, his body once again convulsing with great heaves of sobs. Marlena pulled him tighter to her, before questioning him again.
"Brady, do you think you can tell me what you saw?" Brady wiped his nose on his shirtsleeve and resumed his dream. "Yeah, it was scary. I� I didn't wanna look, but I did. It was� it was�" Brady calmed himself before he could be upset again. "Brady, what did you see?" Taking a long breath before speaking, Brady readied himself for what he was about to reveal. "I saw a person, Mommy� a bloody person."
To be continued...