Peter couldn’t understand why Carter had just suddenly become scared.  One minute
he seemed somewhat calm, the next he started panicking.

 “Carter, listen to me.  You’re safe here.  Lets...” Peter was interrupted by a
knocking on the front door.  Immediately Carter turned sheet white.  Benton was
afraid he was going to pass out.  As he moved to open the door, Carter stepped
infront of him.

 “Don’t!” Carter yelled.  “Please, don’t open the door.”

 “Carter, come on man.  Out of the way.”

 Carter just shook his head.  Again the man knocked on the door.  More
insistently this time.

 “Carter, relax.  I’m going to open the door and show you there’s nothing to be
afraid of.”  At the insistent shake of Carter’s head, Benton gently placed both
his hands on Carter’s shoulders and moved him to the side.  As he turned the
doorknob he spared a sidelong glance at Carter, and saw him shaking his head from
side to side with a terrified look on his face.  Peter opened the door to see
Jack Deadrick standing there.

 “Hello Dr. Benton, Dr. Carter,” Jack greeted them.  He did a double take when he
saw Carter.  “Are you feeling alright Dr. Carter?”

 Benton glanced at Carter, then answered for him.  “He’ll be fine, just had a
little scare.  Now, why are you here?”

 “I’ve got some great news.  We caught him!  Mr. Vollmer’s in custody at the
moment.  We need you to come down to the station to ID him.  You know, standard
operating procedure.”

 “Yeah, I know.  Have you told McGuinty yet?” Peter asked.

 “Yep.”  Deadrick moved to the side so Peter and Carter could see the street.
“He left already.  Now, if you two would come with me, we’ll go to the station
and I’ll have you back here as soon as possible.”

 Carter watched Deadrick closely.  Something was wrong with this picture.
Deadrick was acting differently.  Why would McGuinty leave without saying
anything?  He really didn’t want to go to the station.  He knew he should be glad
that Vollmer was caught, but why did he feel uneasy about this?  Carter looked
over at Benton to see if he had picked up on anything.  Apparently he hadn’t.

 “Carter?  Come on, lets go.”

*********************

 Mark put down the phone with a dismayed look on his face.  That was the third
time he’d phoned in the past fifteen minutes.  Surely Benton and Carter hadn’t
left the house.  Maybe he was making too big a deal out of this.  He was probably
busy at the moment and coming to the phone just wasn’t possible.  Still,
something about the situation bugged Mark.  He picked up the phone and called
Pete Dalton.

 “Hi, Officer Dalton?  This is Dr. Greene calling from County.  I know I’m
probably being paranoid, but I’ve tried to phone Benton for the past fifteen
minutes and he isn’t answering the phone.  Do you think you could run over there
to make sure everything’s okay?  My shift’s not over for the next few hours so I
can’t do it myself.”

 “Um, you’re right.  You’re probably just being paranoid.  I’d give it a little
while longer before getting worried.  By the way, I’m glad you phoned.  I managed
to find out more on Vollmer and the name change,” Pete replied.

 “Oh yeah?” Mark asked, temporarily distracted from worrying about Benton and
Carter.

 “Yeah.  Al Devreaux was a major criminal.  You name it, he did it.  A few months
ago he changed his name to Jason Vollmer about the same time he married his wife
Anna.  Maybe to protect his past, because he stopped committing any crimes after
he was married.  Once his wife died, he started up again.  You can see why
Vollmer might be a little peeved with Dr. Carter.”

 “Jesus,” Mark said softly.  All his worries from before came back twice as
strong.  “I know you think I’m over reacting, but please check that everything’s
alright.”

 “Alright,” Pete sighed.  “I’m on my way there now.”

**************************

 “So,” Peter started.  “Where was Vollmer caught?”

 “It’s kind of interesting.  It was Pete who caught him.  Pete was at your
apartment Dr. Carter.  He was just checking up on things.  When he went inside,
Vollmer happened to be in there.”

 “Why would Vollmer of been in my apartment in the first place?” Carter asked
from the backseat.  It was the first thing he’d said since they left the house,
and his voice held a note a contempt, which bothered Peter.

 “He was probably looking for you, or something that could tell him where you
could be.”

 Jack turned the car onto one of the streets that would take them away from the
station.  Carter immediately felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach.  He
glanced at Peter and saw he had a confused look on his face.

 “Where are you taking us?” Peter demanded.

 “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough.”  With that, Jack picked up his gun and
brought it down on Peter’s head, knocking him unconscious.

 “What the hell are you doing!?” Carter yelled, panicked.

 “Shut up,” Deadrick said in a menacing tone.

 “What are you going to do to us?”  It was getting hard for Carter to think
straight.  He felt the panic threaten to overtake him, but he fought it down.

 “I won’t do anything to you.  I’ll leave it up to Vollmer,” Jack nonchalantly
replied.

 “No!  Please, let us go.  Why are you doing this?  I thought you were on our
side.”

 “On your side?  I didn’t think you were that naive.  You know, a little money
can make someone do almost anything.”

 “Let me out of here!” Carter tried opening the door, but it was locked.
Frantically, he started banging on the glass.  Without warning Deadrick jerked
the steering wheel hard, sending Carter into the window.  Hard.  At the same time
waking Peter up.

 “I said shut up!  Try that again and next time it’ll be more than your face
splattered against the window!”

 Not only had that being slammed into the door given him a headache, but it had
really jarrred his ribs.  He tightly closed his eyes, and silently willed the
pain away.

 Peter slowly opened his eyes as he felt the car jerk hard to the right.  It
amplified the pounding in his skull.  Remembering the last thing that had
happened, he glanced at Carter and felt concern flood him as he saw his eyes
tightly shut and a look of pain on his face. *What the hell was going on?  Why
was Deadrick doing this?*  Benton was shocked when they drove up behind Carter’s
apartment building.

 Carter had opened his eyes and had also noticed where they were.

 “Why are we here?” Carter shakily asked.

 “It’s Vollmer’s idea.  You see, he wants you to remember his wife before he
kills you.”

***********************

 Pete pulled up infront of Benton’s house, and the first thing he noticed was the
absence of the guards car which should of been parked out front.  He got out of
the car and walked up to the front door, keeping an eye open for anything out of
the ordinary.  He reached up and knocked on the door.  After a few minutes with
no response he tried again.

 “Dr. Benton!?  Dr. Carter?!  Are you home?  It’s Officer Dalton!” he called.

 Again no response.  He reached out and tried to open the door.  To his shock, it
wasn’t locked and opened easily.  Cautiously he drew his gun and entered the
house.  Systematically he searched each room.  As Dalton approached the bathroom
he heard someone moaning.  He stood outside the door for a moment, then stepped
into the doorway and aimed his gun at the first person he saw.  He quickly looked
around the rest of the bathroom, and finding no one else in there, bent to down
to help the man on the floor.

 Pete removed the gag from his mouth and helped untie his wrists and ankles.

 “Who are you?” Pete asked.

 “Dave McGuinty.  I was the cop assigned to guard Dr. Benton’s house.”

 “Obviously you didn’t do a very good job,” Pete muttered, earning a glare from
Dave.  “So what the hell happened?”

 “I’m not really sure.  Something hit my car.  I think it was a rock or
something.  As I got out to investigate something hit me on the back of the head,
then I woke up here.  That’s all I remember.”

 “You should go to the hospital and get checked out.  Where’s your car?”

 “What do you mean?” Dave asked, genuinely confused.  “I left it parked outside.”

 “Well it’s not there now.  Come on, I’ve got a phone call to make,” Pete said as
he helped McGuinty up.  As he walked past the kitchen a piece of paper on the
table caught his attention.  Curious, he went over and picked it up.

 “Oh my God,” he breathed.  “Dave!  Get over here and listen to this.”  When he
was sure he had Dave’s attention he read the note out loud.  “Finally I have your
friends.  It was much too easy getting them.  Really, I expected so much more
from you guys.  Now, like my wife, they both will die.”

End 10*********************



Carter and Benton entered Carter’s apartment followed by Deadrick, who kept his
gun trained on their backs.  He forced them to sit on the couch in the living
room.  Moments later, the man Carter had feared for the past few days entered the
room with a gun of his own trained on them.

 “Well, well, well.  How nice to finally meet you Dr. Carter.  You don’t remember
me do you?  Infact, I don’t think you remember much of anything right now.  Oh,
Dr. Benton.  Glad you could join us.  Deadrick, go find some rope, duct tape,
whatever and tie Benton here up.  I don’t think Dr. Carter’s up to fighting.  Are
you?” Vollmer said with a sly smile.  Carter had turned deathly pale, beads of
sweat were forming on his forehead, and he had started trembling.

 Deadrick returned with a length of rope and proceeded to tie Benton’s hands
behind his back, and his ankles to the leg of the couch so he couldn’t go
anywhere.  When he was done he turned to Vollmer for further instructions.  Jason
put an envelope into his hands.

 “I don’t think you’re needed anymore Deadrick.  All the money’s there.”

 “Of course.”  Deadrick turned to Carter and Benton.  “This is where I make my
exit.  Enjoy the rest of your lives,” Jack said with an evil grin as he left the
apartment.

 “What the hell do you want from us,” Benton demanded.

 “For such a smart person, sometimes you can be awfully dense,” Vollmer said, as
he started pacing back and forth.  “You don’t remember my wife, do you Dr.
Carter?  I have a problem with that.  I think a person should remember everyone
they kill.  I do.”

 “I didn’t kill your wife,” Carter whispered.

 “How do you know?  You don’t even remember!”

 Carter involuntarily flinched as Jason’s voice raised in pitch.  This was
starting to feel like one of his dreams.  He promised himself he wouldn’t fall
apart.  It was his fault Benton was dragged into this, he was going to get him
out of it.  If only he had his memory back!

 “I’m sure I did everything possible to save her.  I’m very sor...”

 “Don’t patronize me!  Your words mean nothing!  Anna was my life!  She meant
everything to me then you come along and kill her.  I did everything for her.
Even changed my name and cleaned up my act.  I’m a firm believer in doing to
people what they have done to you.  I thought Lucy was your wife.  It would of
been perfect.  You think your car accident was an accident?  It was planned from
the day Anna died.  I had someone follow you two as you left the hospital.  They
radioed me your location, and the rest you can figure out.”

 Carter felt the anger rising up in him, replacing the fear.  This man wasn’t
some supernatural demon that had appeared to him in his dreams.  He was a
psychopath, plain and simple.  He had intentionally caused the accident!  It was
Vollmer’s fault he and Lucy were injured.  It was his fault he had had to live
with no memory for the past few days.  It was also his fault he had been
terrified every waking moment of falling asleep into some nightmare that was even
more terrifying.

 “You son of a bitch!” Carter yelled, shocking Benton.  “You caused this!  It’s
your..”  Carter was cut short by a vicious backhand to the face.

 Benton started fighting harder against the restraints.  He felt so helpless.  He
just couldn’t sit here and watch this guy hurt Carter again!

 “Shut up!” Vollmer yelled.  “It’s your fault.  All yours!  And now my sweet Anna
is gone.”

 Anna.  That name.  He’d heard if before, but where?  It sounded so familiar.  He
was so close to remembering.  The more he thought about the name, the more he
felt a sense of loss.  The image of a beautiful smiling blonde entered his mind.
She was wearing a dress and sitting at a table at some sort of party.  A banquet.

            “I’m remembering something,” he whispered to Benton.

 “It’s about time!” Vollmer exclaimed.

 “What do you remember, Carter?” Peter asked him.  He could feel Vollmer becoming
increasingly agitated, but tried to ignore him.

 “Anna.  She was blonde and I remember her at some sort of banquet.”

 “That’s Anna del Amico.  Pedes resident.  You...”

 “We worked closely together.  She left for Philadelphia a few months ago,”
Carter finished for him.  “I remember.”  Carter turned to Vollmer who had been
glaring at him the whole time.  “I remember your wife,” he simply stated.  “I
couldn’t do anything to save her.  She was a goner by the time the paramedics
brought her in.”

 Carter realized the moment Vollmer’s face turned red with anger it had been the
wrong thing to say.  Before he could react, Jason grabbed him by the front of the
shirt and slammed him against the wall opposite the couch.  He gasped as he felt
Jason’s elbow press into his ribs.

 “Leave him alone!” Peter yelled.  He felt the rope digging into his wrists as he
struggled, but didn’t care.  He had to get to Carter.

 “You killed her!” Jason shouted.  To emphasize his point, Vollmer again slammed
him into another wall.

 “I did everything I could.”  Carter felt himself connect with another wall.  He
could feel what was left of his strength slip away, and be replaced with pain.
Carter could feel consciousness slowly ebbing away.

 Benton couldn’t watch this anymore.  He knew if he didn’t do something soon
Vollmer was going to kill Carter.  He could feel the rope around his wrists start
to give.  Just a little more.  Suddenly, a crash coming from the front door broke
the silence, and footsteps could be heard.  Peter was shocked when Officer Dalton
came charging into the room, gun pointed at Vollmer’s chest.  He watched in
horror as Jason put his arm around Carter’s throat and held him infront, using
him as a human shield.

********************

 “Let him go!”  Pete yelled, his gun steady in his hand.

 Vollmer just grinned.  “Glad you could join the fun.  I’d put your gun down if I
were you.  I could snap his neck like a twig.  You know what I’m capable of.”

 Peter watched the exchange.  His fear for Carter doubled when he realized Dalton
had come alone.  There was no way he was going to be able to do this without
help.  He looked at Vollmer, and saw he was grinning.  He looked so sure of
himself.  Benton then looked to Pete.  He could read him like an open book.  Just
by looking at his face he could tell he was torn between putting the gun down, or
taking a shot. *Don’t play the hero kid,* Peter thought. *There’s no way you’ll
be able to hit Vollmer without also risking hitting Carter.*

 “I’m not putting down the gun,” Pete said firmly.  It was obvious he had made up
his mind and wasn’t budging.  Vollmer’s smile slipped a little, but he regained
it as another thought entered his mind.

 “Guess you’ll have the shoot Dr. Carter first then.  Or if you’d prefer, I’ll
kill him for you.”

 Much to his disappointment, Vollmer didn’t get any reaction from Dalton.  He
decided to change tactics.

 “You know your partner can’t be trusted.  He’s a very weak man.  A little money
was all it took and he was willing to sacrifice two, and now three lives.”

 “You can call him what you want, but he’s not my partner.  He was assigned to me
to make sure I behaved.  Now that he’s not here, I’ll do whatever I please.”

 Carter couldn’t take it anymore.  It was extremely hard to breathe.  Every
breath he took felt like fire all though his chest.  He was starting not to care
if Pete shot him to get to Vollmer.  It might be less painful than this.  Carter
looked at Dalton and saw his eyes focus on something behind them.

 Peter saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and was amazed to see another
police officer coming up behind Vollmer.  Back up had arrived after all.
Apparently Vollmer hadn’t realized there was a door on the other side of the room
as well.  The officer had his gun trained on Vollmers back.  What if he fired and
the bullet went through Vollmer, and into Carter?

 Vollmer was fed up with this.  If this rookie cop was going to shoot him after
all, why not take Carter down with him?  He prepared to make his move.

 The cop behind Vollmer saw his muscles tense, and in a split second he made his
decision.

 The sound of a gunshot echoed as Vollmer fell to the ground, taking Carter with
him.

 “Carter!”  Peter yelled.  Pete holstered his gun and untied Peter from the
couch.  In an instant all three of them were gathered around the two crumpled
bodies on the floor.  Not sure if one or both of them were still alive.

 Peter reached out and felt for a pulse on Carter.  He heaved a sigh of relief as
he felt a faint pulse.  He glanced over at the officer who had shot Vollmer, and
saw him shake his head after having felt Vollmer for a pulse and not finding one.

 “Carter?  Come on man.  Can you hear me?”  It felt as if he’d been saying that
far too much these past few days.  He gently tapped Carter on the face to try and
rouse him.  Peter was alarmed to see a bluish tinge to Carter’s lips.  He had
probably passed out from lack of oxygen.  He was also dismayed the see a bruise
forming around Carter’s neck from the pressure of Vollmer’s arm.

 Slowly, Carter drifted back to consciousness. The first thing he felt was the
pain in his chest and back, and a tightness around his throat.  He also felt
something warm and wet soaking through his shirt.  Alarmed, his eyes flew open to
look directly into Benton’s concerned ones.  Immediately he tried to sit up, but
Benton pushed him back down.

 “Stay put Carter.  Just relax,” Peter soothed.

 “Am I bleeding?” he croaked.

 The question alarmed Benton at first until he realized when Vollmer had been
shot, he had taken Carter down with him and they had landed side by side.  Some
of Vollmer’s blood had gotten onto Carter’s clothes.

 “You’re okay Carter.  It’s not your blood.”

 Realization slowly dawned on Carter.

 “He’s dead?” he hesitantly asked.

 “Yeah.  He was shot in the back.”  Benton looked up and saw the officer who had
shot Vollmer dragging the body away from Carter, and covering it with a blanked
from the couch.  Pete also came over and knelt by Carter.

 “The paramedics are on the way,” he told them.  “After they check you both out,
we’re gonna have a lot of questions that will need to be answered about tonight.”

 Carter started to sit up on his own again, but Benton started to protest.

 “I’m alright,” Carter insisted.  “I just want to sit up.”

 Peter gently helped Carter sit up, and kept a hand on his back for support as he
saw Carter start to waver, but regain his balance.  Once he was certain Carter
was alright, he turned to Dalton.

 “How’d you know where to find us?”

 “I got a call from Dr. Greene who said he’d been trying to get a hold of you and
couldn’t.  He wanted me to go to your place to check on you guys.  When I got
there the house was empty except for your guard McGuinty tied up on the bathroom
floor.”

 “So he didn’t leave after all,” Carter said.

 “Apparently not.  He said he was knocked unconscious, then woke up in the
washroom.  I was on my way back to the station when I saw my partner driving a
squad car with you two in it.  I guess he didn’t see me.  I followed you guys
here, and I think the rest you can figure out.”

 “Why did you wait so long to come in after us?”  Pete was angry Dalton had
waited so long and Carter had ended up hurt because of it.

 “I was waiting for back up to arrive, but when I heard Vollmer start yelling I
couldn’t wait any longer.”

 “What about your partner?” Carter inquired.

 “He’s been taken into custody.  He was caught red handed with the cash. Couldn’t
explain fast enough why he was carrying that much cash in an envelope.  Not that
it mattered.  I had already seen him kidnap you two.”

 The coroner had arrived and was preparing to have Vollmer’s body removed.  A
team of paramedics were also just coming in the door, and were heading for Carter
as he seemed to be the one hurt.

 Peter stayed with him as the paramedics carried out their exam.  They insisted
on taking him to the hospital just to be on the safe side.  As Carter and Benton
left the apartment, Carter looked one last time at Vollmer’s body as it was
lifted into the body bag and felt a strange sense of relief that the man who had
tormented him was finally gone.

End ********************