Heart & Soul

Episode 32

Survival

By Allan Craig

 

Somewhere in Oakridge

 

Carrie ducked as she heard the gunshot…she wanted to run away…she knew she had to run away…but her feet wouldn’t let her…not until she knew who had been hurt. Her heart rate increased even more, faster than she knew was humanly possible, as her gaze was fixed on the two men lying on the ground. She saw Nate roll over and stumble up as Michael winced due to the agony of the bullet in his stomach.

 

“Are…are y…you okay?” Carrie mumbled, barely able to string a sentence together.

 

“I’m fine, just run!” Nate’s calm exterior was most definitely broken.

 

“What?”

 

“RUN!”

 

Sterling Enterprises: John’s Office

The role of John Sterling will now be played by John McCook

 

John sat behind his grand desk, his eyes pouring over the latest facts and figures for the company. He winced, his eyes beginning to hurt from the long day in front of the computer and the various papers, as he rubbed his forehead. A gentle knock at his door distracted him, and he looked up to see Greg standing in his doorway.

 

“Come to sell me out again, have we?” John looked straight through his son, still fuming from Greg’s suggestion to Kendall that Joseph run the company.

 

“Joseph talked me into it; you know how persuasive the guy can be.” Greg walked further into the office, “You should know, he is your brother.”

 

“Your uncle is good at getting his own way, I’ll give you that,” John sat back in his leather chair, “But it still doesn’t change what you did, Greg.”

 

“Well I’m sorry, okay?” Greg sat down on the brown sofa facing his father, “I never thought you were one to hold a grudge. Can’t we put it behind us?”

 

“I suppose.” John cracked a smile, he never could stay mad at any of his kids for too long, “Just don’t be pulling any of that crap again, got it?”

 

“Got it.” Greg quickly cut to the chase, revealing the true reason he was there, “Dad I’m worried about Carrie. I haven’t heard from her in a few days now and I don’t know what to do.”

 

“Have you tried calling her?” John asked.

 

“Her cell’s off constantly and the hotel said she hasn’t been back in a few days…dad there’s no way she’s skipping town with my kid.”

 

Somewhere in Oakridge

 

Nate ushered Carrie out of the building, quickly, before Michael could follow. He reached out to take her hand, but she pulled away.

 

“W…what are you d…doing?” Carrie, still shaken, didn’t know what was going on, her mind was a blur and everything seemed to be spinning around her. She struggled to keep her balance.

 

“We’ve gotta get outta here.” Nate held his hand out, “And we gotta do it quickly before he can see what way we go…that way he can follow us.”

 

“I just want to go home,” Carrie began to cry, “I don’t know what’s going on here but I don’t wanna be involved in it.”

 

“It’s too late…you’re already involved in it, now come on,” Nate grabbed Carrie’s hand and pulled her into Michael’s car, revealing he had stolen the keys from Michael’s pocket. He quickly started the car up and sped away, leaving Carrie clueless as to what was going on.

 

The Abbot House; Ashley’s Room

 

Ashley sat on top of her bed, flipping through a magazine, but not taking any of it in. In fact, she was barely even looking at it, she was too busy thinking of Leo.

 

“Screw waiting for him to call,” she thought, “He’s probably lost my number or something,” she picked up her cell phone and dialled his number, waiting for him to pick up.

 

Leo’s Car

 

Leo pulled up to his destination; a nightclub where the entrance was obscured by crowds of people trying to get in, as his cell phone rang. He picked it up and looked at the display on screen:

ASHLEY

He rejected the call and got out of his car, walking straight up to the front door and straight past the crowds, shaking the familiar bouncer’s hand as he walked inside.

 

Joseph’s Penthouse; Lounge

 

Diane sat on the plush, comfortable sofa sipping her champagne as Joseph walked down the stairs with a CD.

 

“Here it is,” he smiled, slipping the silver disc into the player and letting the sound of jazz music fill the apartment.

”I haven’t heard this in years,” Diane’s face lit up.

 

“It’s one of my favourites,” Joseph picked up his champagne and took a sip, sitting down next to Diane as they took in the music. Joseph reached for Diane’s hand, and she responded.

 

Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Joseph got up. He walked over and opened the door to see Madison standing before him.

 

“Sorry to disturb you at home,” Madison barged in, “But we need to go over the details of the takeover.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, you’re welcome here any time,” Joseph winked, clearly attracted to the young, vibrant, sexy lawyer who stood before him.

 

“I’ll remember that.” Madison smiled, taking a file out of her briefcase and placing it on the bureau next to her, “Right, let’s get down to business.”

 

Diane stared at Madison icily, but was ignored. Fuming, she downed the rest of her champagne.

 

Sterling Enterprises; John’s Office

 

John stood at his window, staring out at the impressive view as he tried to think. Greg stood behind him, arms folded, as he waited for his father to come up with something…anything to stop Carrie taking his child away from him.

 

“And you haven’t heard from her since the day of her appointment?” John tried to get the details into order.

 

“Nope, not a word…she’s not answering her cell, she’s not been back at the hotel either…she must have skipped town…either that or something’s happened to her.”

 

“I think you should give it until the end of the week…maybe she went to Colorado to see her parents, did you give them a call?”

 

“I never thought about that, I’ll get right on it.”

 

“You better call Jessica too, and her sisters, just in case she’s gone to any of them. Anyone you can think of,” John turned to face his son, “If you don’t get any leads, we’ll hire a private investigator.”

 

Michael’s Car

 

Nate’s focus was stuck on the road, his eyes full of determination to get as far away from Oakridge as possible. Carrie, on the other hand, didn’t know where to look. She didn’t have a clue what was going on…was she a hostage or was he doing it for her own safety? What had she done to be caught up in this mess? She couldn’t cry anymore, she just sat there, shaking.

 

“You okay?” Nate kept staring at the road in front of him as he spoke bluntly.

 

“Not really, no.” Carrie muttered faintly, barely able to get her voice loud enough for Nate to hear her.

 

“Want a smoke?”

 

“I’m pregnant.” Carrie took a deep breath, “So do you want to tell me what is going on here?”

 

Nate sighed, “Okay…that man you saw back there, the one that wanted to kill us, is…was my boss, Michael DiCenzo. He’s one of the most powerful men on the east coast. He’s dangerous…really dangerous. He sent me here to get some girl, who I thought was you, who owned a bar in Detroit where a murder took place…she saw the whole thing and now he’s trying to make sure she isn’t going to testify against him. Her name’s Megan Sterling, you know her?”

 

“She’s…well was, my sister in law,” Carrie began to liven up, the colour slowly coming back to her face as she realized Nate wasn’t a threat…he was in the same boat as her.

 

“Anyway, me and DiCenzo’s wife, Loretta, we kinda have a little thing goin’ on…and now I’m guessin’ he’s found out about it. I really shoulda stayed well away from her, but you know, heat of the moment n all that.”

 

Carrie rolled her eyes, “So where are we going?”

 

“Well tonight we’re gonna get as far away from Oakridge as possible. We’ll need to get rid of this car and get a new one, but it’s cool, I know a guy in Texas who can hook me up. We’re gonna have to go non stop until we get out of the country…”

 

“Hold up! I’m not going out of the country. For one I don’t have my passport and…”

 

“We don’t need passports. Look, Carrie, you’re gonna have to go along with me on this if you want to survive.”

 

Carrie folded her arms, “Fine.”

 

Somewhere in Oakridge

 

Michael DiCenzo lay on the ground, bleeding. He managed to get his cell phone out of his pocket and dialled a number.

 

“Hey…yeah it’s me…I need help, Rutledge shot me…and he’s got away. I want him killed.”

 

The Sterling Mansion: Megan’s Room

 

Megan sat on top of her bed looking at photographs. All of the memories held in these little pieces of paper stared out at her, especially one of her and Will as teenagers. There was definite love there…love that went as soon as their parents found out they were dating…part of her wanted to rip the photo up, knowing how Will had changed upon her return, but she always loved that Will, even if he’s changed now, she still loved him then, and she couldn’t get rid of that. Her phone rang and she reached over to pick it up.

 

“Hello…Marc, hi,” Megan’s face lit up, a smile spreading from ear to ear, “I’m really good, just going through some old photographs, what about you?...oh my god I love that movie! It’s one of my favourites! We’ll have to watch it together sometime…”

 

THE NEXT DAY

 

The Sterling Mansion: Megan’s Room

 

As the sun rose over Oakridge, Megan lay on top of her bed, still clutching the phone…

 

“…yeah…I really wanted to go to that but I couldn’t get a ticket…I’m so jealous,” Megan giggled, although she’d been up all night, her eyes were still wide open, “Look at the time…we’ve been up all night…actually I better go now I’ve got so much to do today, but how about we meet up for a few drinks tonight?...yeah okay how does Bamboo at nine sound?...I’ll see you there, then.”

 

Megan hung up the phone, still grinning from ear to ear.

 

The Sterling Mansion: Conservatory

 

Kendall sat on the sofa flipping through the channels as Leo strolled in, hung over.

 

“Heavy night, was it?” Kendall mocked, barely distracted from the TV as she watched her brother slump into one of the armchairs.

 

“You could say that.” Leo rubbed his throbbing head.

 

“Well there’s like fifteen messages from someone called Ashley on the machine,” Kendall rolled her eyes, “Does someone have a little stalker?”

 

“Again, you could say that,” Leo got up from the chair, walking into the kitchen, “I was kinda seeing her but she just got so clingy and now she isn’t getting the hint. I swear to god, Kendall, she’s driving me mad.”

 

“Tell her then.” Kendall got up and followed her brother into the kitchen, “I thought you’d at least have the balls to tell a girl when it’s time to give up. But then again, players like you always have a safety net, don’t you?”

 

“Player? I’m offended by that,” Leo poured himself a coffee, god knows he needed it, “You can talk anyway, as I recall you were always one for chewing boys up and spitting them out again.”

 

“Well things change,” Kendall opened the fridge and took out a bottle of water, “Besides, Oakridge is hardly crawling with hot guys.”

 

“Maybe if you left the house occasionally for reasons other than shopping you’d meet someone,” Leo leaned against the counter, “You’re a Sterling, so ID never comes into it around here.”

 

“So what are you doing today?”

”I dunno, I might go for a swim and then just take it easy. I didn’t get in ‘til 5.”

 

“I’ve gotta say, this really is a poor show. Whatever happened to my brother who could pull all nighters for weeks on end?”

 

Leo took another sip of his coffee.

 

Nate’s Car

 

Now in an old, slightly battered convertible, Nate and Carrie continued down the deserted old road. Carrie’s eyes were red and her skin pale, obviously worn out from not sleeping all night. She’d tried, but couldn’t get to sleep at all. Nate glanced over.

 

“You okay?” he tried to make her feel at ease.

 

“Considering the fact I’m on the run from a total psycho who wants to kill me for no reason and my only company is a total stranger who could be just as determined to kill me,” Carrie stated, bluntly, “Yeah, I’m just fine.”

 

“Look Carrie, I don’t like this situation any more than you do,” Nate was obviously still shaken from his run in with DiCenzo, “But trust me, we just need to get away for a while. DiCenzo will soon find someone else to occupy everything. Especially when he finds that Megan chick.”

 

“What?” Carrie sat up straight, “Do you think he’ll kill her?”

”I dunno, he seems pretty determined to. She’s a threat, and DiCenzo doesn’t like threats.”

 

“I better call her and let her know to get the hell out of Oakridge, do you have a cell?”

 

“Don’t do that! He might have her already,” Nate warned, “Besides, there’s no reception out here.”

 

Sterling Enterprises: Joseph’s Office

 

Joseph sat behind his desk as Madison stood over his shoulder, admiring her work: a document on Joseph’s desk.

 

“As soon as Kendall signs this, Sterling Enterprises will be all yours,” Madison smiled wickedly.

 

“Madison, you are a genius…I cant believe there is no way she can get this document undone,” Joseph couldn’t help but laugh, “You’re good, I’ll give you that.”

 

“Why thank you.” Madison sat down on the edge of Joseph’s desk, his face directly level with her chest, “It’s my job.”

 

“I thought your job was to fight for justice, not pervert it,” Joseph joked.

 

“That gratitude was short lived,” Madison rolled her eyes.

 

The door to the office opened and Diane walked in.

 

“I thought we could go for lunch…” Diane stopped dead in her tracks as soon as she saw Madison so close to Joseph.

 

“That sounds great, Di,” Joseph got up from his chair and walked over, kissing her on the cheek, “Madison and I are just sorting out some business just now but why don’t you go down and see Greg for a little while and when I’m done I’ll come and get you.”

 

Diane half smiled, clearly not happy, “Okay then.” She shot Madison another of her icy glares, “Madison,” and walked out.

 

Bamboo

 

Will sat at the bar in the busy club, drinking his beer contentedly as he pondered the meaning of life. An attractive brunette sat down next to him and waited to be served. The barman approached.

 

“I’ll have a glass of red wine please,” the girl, who appeared to be in her late twenties, ran one hand through her long, wavy locks of shiny brown hair.

 

“I’ll get this…and another beer, my good man.” Will slid a ten dollar bill across the bar and turned to the female, “I’m Will.”

 

“Ally,” she reached out and shook Will’s hand.

 

“Delighted to meet you, Ally,” Will was obviously a little merry with the beer, “I haven’t seen you around here before, are you new in town?”

 

“I’m just passing through and thought I’d visit an old friend of mine,” the barman handed them their drinks, and Ally raised the glass to her lips and took a sip, “I thought I’d surprise them.”

 

“Ah, the element of surprise…I like that in a woman,” Will downed the remnants of his beer and began on the next one.

 

Ally laughed awkwardly, “Would you excuse me? I need to make a trip to the little girl’s room.” She grabbed her bad and strolled off to the bathroom, leaving a confused Will to his beer.

 

Marc and Megan walked into the club, laughing as they sat down on one of the plush leather sofas.

 

“What are you drinking?” Marc asked.

 

“I’ll have a rum and coke if that’s okay?” Megan gazed at Marc’s chiselled face, he really was perfect; the white teeth, dimples you could swim in, a face so sculpted you’d think he was fake.

 

“No problem,” Marc got up and walked over to the bar, upon seeing Will he took a deep breath and looked back over at Megan. He quickly ordered the drinks, hoping that he could get away before Will clocked on that Megan was in the club. He wasn’t letting anyone ruin his time with Megan, not tonight anyway. The barman handed him the drinks and his change and Marc quickly about turned and walked back over to Megan, bumping into the brunette who was talking to Will.

 

“I’m so sorry,” Marc picked up the woman’s purse, but when he looked up to see her face, his happiness levels dropped to zero.

 

“Marc, well this is a surprise,” Ally smirked.

 

“Ally…what are you doing here?” Marc’s face went chalk white, like he had seen a ghost.

 

Nate’s Car

 

Carrie stirred, slowly awakening as she noticed the car pulling up in a harbour.

 

“Where are we?” Carrie yawned; she couldn’t believe she had gone to sleep. How could she have possibly slept?

 

“We’re about to get on a boat to Mexico, it’ll be faster that way, we’re taking my yacht, this way DiCenzo wont be able to track us. He has no idea about this boat; it was for Loretta and I.”

 

“But…where are we going?” Carrie still wasn’t sure she could trust Nate…part of her knew he was telling the truth, but another part of her knew she was in trouble…the question was, would Nate be the one to get her out of it, or would he be the one leading her into danger?

 

“I told you, Mexico.”

 

TO BE CONTINUED