John and Grace both stop short as Stefano steps into the doorway, a gun in his hand. Behind him stands a man who looks like he could be Petrov's brother.
"It's about time you got here," Grace says petulantly. "Now make him undo me."
"John?" Stefano moves into the room, the gun trained on John. "Do as Marlena asks."
"We both know she's not Marlena, so you can give up the charade old man," John spits with barely contained fury.
"I told you he would figure it out, my dear," Stefano raises his eyebrows with the slightest hint of amusement.
"Can your gloating wait Stefano," she demands irritably. "At least until I can get out of these damn handcuffs and out of this fucking drab apartment."
"John," Stefano waves the gun at him as he moves to Grace's side. "We are waiting. I would hate to have to kill you over something so meaningless."
John says nothing, but pulls the key out of his pocket and silently unlocks the handcuffs. "Good." Stefano hands his gun to his associate and waits as Grace slides her hand behind John and pulls her own pistol out of the waistband of his pants.
Then, with a possessive smile, he lifts his hand and smooths the dishevelled locks of hair around Grace's face. His thick fingers skim over her the curve of her cheek and down to her décolletage. John watches him, the old man with eyes beady and domineering, as he touches his prize, his chest puffing with arrogance and lust at the thought of finally owning her.
And the buzzing in John's head explodes at last into a cacophony of sound, a bloating of rage. A sudden outburst of action.
He lunges for Stefano, blindly. There is no thought in his head, just a need. A bloodlust that must be satisfied.
And then, everything goes black.
When he comes to, the room is empty. His cell phone is trilling as it digs uncomfortably into his side. Rolling over, he groans as his head threatens to split open. With great effort, he digs into his pocket and pulls out his phone. Flipping it open, he grunts a cursory greeting.
"John, it's Bo. Where are you man?"
"Ugh. Doc's place." He manages to pull himself upright and prop himself up against the bed.
"But..." Bo sounds confused. "Stefano just left there. With Marlena."
"I know." John rubs his neck and groans heavily. "I got jumped. Where are you?"
There is a grave sigh on the other end of the line and then Bo speaks again. "I was following them but I was cut off by some goon not far from the apartment and I lost 'em."
"Dammit Bo, how could you let them get away?" John growls in anger, trying to ignore the pounding of his head.
"I'm sorry bro," Bo sounds almost as frustrated as John feels.
Which direction are they heading?" John grabs hold of the bedding but his hands slip on the satin sheets. "Dammit!"
"Are you okay?" Bo asks with concern.
"Yeah I'm fine," John snaps as he manages to push himself upright and staggers towards the door. "Where are they going, little brother?"
"South. Ish." Bo sounds resigned. "Could be Ridgecrest. Could be somewhere else. Do you want me to call Abe? He can put an APB out on them. It'll be the best way of finding them."
"*No*!" John bites back. "No police, Bo. Head for Ridgecrest. If they're going there, see if you can head them off."
"And where are you going?" Bo demands.
"I'll know when I get there."
Down in the parking basement, John climbs into his Jeep and tries to ignore the pounding that has taken residence in the base of his skull. Taking a deep breath, he closes his eyes and puts his hands on the steering wheel.
He's not even sure what he's doing, how he's going to find them. He just knows that where Marlena is concerned, he has learnt by bitter experience to trust his instincts.
His eyes snap open. Twistng the key in the ignition, he peels out of the basement, leaving only a hazy mist of burnt rubber.
~
"Dammit, aren't we there *yet* Stefano?" Grace looks at her watch with increasing tetchiness.
"Almost, my dear." Stefano peers out of the window into the gathering darkness. "Alexi?"
"Ten minutes at the most, Mr Dimera," the disembodied voice floats out of the front seat of the car.
"Good." Stefano glances across at Grace who is fidgeting in her seat. "You don't seem terribly excited to finally be leaving Salem."
"I'm ecstatic." Grace's delivery of the words is a dead monotone and Stefano reaches over to lay a hand on her knee. However, she flinches and pulls her leg away from him.
Stefano frowns. "Grace. Is there something wrong?"
"Nothing," she snaps edgily. "What could possibly be wrong? I'm getting out of Dullsville, USA. Time for celebrations."
"One would think so," Stefano quirks one eyebrow. "And yet..." his mouth hardens as he watches her pick at her nails. "And yet, I find myself wondering if you would rather have gone with John Black."
Grace turns to him, her eyes widened in disbelief and exasperation. "Gone with John? Are you out of your *mind*?" Her tawny eyes narrow in the darkness. "*My* only question is what the hell took you so fucking long to get to the apartment in the first place?"
"I apologize my dear, I had some final arrangements to make. Bo Brady was following us on the way to pick you up." Stefano steals a quick glance at Alexi and is reassured by his curt nod.
"You lost him though, right?" There is a small catch in Grace's voice and Stefano does not miss it.
"Of *course* we did, Grace," Stefano folds his meaty hand over hers. "Do you think we would allow anything to go wrong? Now, when we are so close to freedom?"
"Well, it's not like you've had great success escaping from Salem without mishap before," Grace reminds him peevishly before she turns to look out of the window.
"Ah yes, but before I had to contend with Marlena's tiresome refusals. Now I have your complete co-operation." He feels her fingers twitch under his. "I *do* have your complete co-operation, do I not, my dear?"
Grace turns to look at him from under heavy eyelashes. "Was that a rhetorical question?" she demands. "Because if you're questioning my loyalty..."
"Of course I am not questioning your loyalty, Grace," Stefano pauses. "Although, I must confess, your lack of enthusiasm does give me cause for concern."
"I'm tired," Grace replies softly. "I'm tired of the Brady's and of John Black and his interminable, *insufferable* self-importance. Believe me, my darling, I am happier to leave this godforsaken dump of a town than anyone."
"I'm glad to hear it," Stefano smiles graciously and with a small, covert smile of her own, Grace slides her fingers between his.
~
"There's no sign of anyone up here John," Bo thumps his steering wheel in frustration. "I've seen a couple of DiMera's men... but I don't think they're coming here."
"It's okay Bo." The voice comes, crisp with static, through the cell phone. "Stay there in case they double back on themselves. I wouldn't put it past the old man to pull a trick like that."
"But..." Bo pauses. "John, let me call Abe. *Marlena* is at stake here. I don't get-"
"Bo. Trust me, okay. I can't get Abe involved in this." John's voice is curt and loaded with urgency and it stops Bo dead for a moment.
"Oookay," he says slowly. "Where are you, bro?"
"I'm not really sure," John fudges. "I'm just following a hunch. You just stay there and I'll call you again soon."
"But-" Bo's intended argument is met by the sudden sound of a disconnected line and he looks at the phone in frustration. "Dammit John, what are you playing at?"
He flips the phone onto the passengers seat and looks straight ahead at the grounds of Ridgecrest. There is something going on here. Why won't John let him call Abe? Unless...
Bo's heartbeat speeds up and his blood cools. He had thought nothing of Abe's investigation of Marlena. He knows it was ordered by the D.A. and that Abe had had no other choice. But with Marlena's strange behaviour and John's insistence that Abe be kept out of it....
He suddenly feels sick to his stomach as pieces of the puzzle slot into place.
"Oh *shit*." What was it that John had said? Marlena is not herself at the moment...
He sits for a moment, torn. He is a cop, but John and Marlena are his friends. And Roman was your brother. If Marlena... if she is Marlena... had something to do with his death, you owe it to Roman and to Mom and Pop. And to Hope...
He groans as he remembers Marlena on the boat and how unlike Marlena she had seemed. And he reaches for the phone again.
~
The headlights of the jeep penetrate the inky blackness only meters ahead of John. He hopes to god that there is nothing on the road anywhere ahead of him, because at this speed, he will never be able to stop.
And yet, he is prepared to take that risk. It can't be far now and somewhere inside him, he knows he is on the right track. He can feel her, almost as though she is calling him, drawing him in. Whether it is to his ruin or his redemption he is not yet sure.
He just prays that he will make it in time.
His heart skips a beat as he sees the lights of the airfield in the distance. It is a small, private airfield, one that he knows of only from his days on the force. They had run a successful bust on a smuggling operation that had been running out of that airfield back in the late 80's. Back when Stefano had been holding Marlena. Back when he had been messing with her head the same way he had messed with John's.
John's fingers tighten around the steering wheel. He wants to kill Stefano for hurting Marlena. For touching her. He can't get the visual of them out of his mind and it makes the urgency to find them even more intense.
"You just played your last game old man," he mutters as he pulls up beside the airfield.
~
Grace sits in the back seat of the Mercedes and looks impatiently at her watch. Looking up, she peers out of the window once again. A short distance away, a plane sits on the tarmac. She is waiting while Stefano briefs the pilot and makes sure everything is secure before he comes back for her. They should be in the air within fifteen minutes.
~
John steals silently up behind the black Mercedes SUV and looks over at the plane. He will only have a few minutes, at most. With measured sureness, he adjusts his grip on the gun in his hand and slides around the side of the car. *She* is in there and the only person that stands between them is DiMera's henchman. And John intends to make sure he won't be standing for long.
Stealthily, he makes it to the drivers door and in a smooth movement, he pulls the door open with one hand and points his gun at the Petrov doppleganger with the other.
"Get out," he growls. "I'm not real afraid to use this. So make it fast."
Alexi starts but he sees the deadly intention in John's eyes and he suddenly realizes that he is stuck between a rock and a hard place. If he lets the woman go, Stefano will have him killed. But this Black character looks like he could get there first if he doesn't get some co-operation, and soon.
"John." Grace's amused voice comes from the back seat. "You can't be serious."
"Deadly." John grabs the front of Alexi's shirt and bodily rips him from his seat. Alexi has no chance to gain his balance and he lands heavily on the tarmac. Without hesitation, John squeezes the trigger and unloads a round into the beefy Russian.
The man howls in pain as he clutches his leg and rolls away. At the same time, John hears the click of a car door and he whirls around and takes off at a sprint. Grace is running for the plane but while she is fast, she is not fast enough and John catches up to her in a matter of moments.
"Don't fight me," John commands in a low, cold voice as his arm grips her around her middle.
"What, are you going to shoot me too?" she demands in a splittingly sarcastic tone.
"I have almost a full clip left. So don't tempt me." He digs the gun in her ribs and forces her to turn around.
"What, and hurt your precious Marlena?" she lets out a short, hard laugh.
"Marlena's not here right now. I'd be hurting you. And at the moment, it's not exactly an idea that upsets me too much." He digs the gun further into her ribs and she flinches. "Head back to the car."
Grace says nothing for a moment and then she takes a deep breath and begins to scream. "Stefano! Stefano, help! It's John. *Help* me!"
"Oh Christ!" John only wastes a split second and then he brings the gun up. With a hard fast blow, he brings the butt of it down on Grace's head and she crumples in his arms. "Sorry Doc," he mutters cursorily.
Knowing he has no time to waste, John twists her in his arms and then ducking down, he throws her over his shoulder. He starts off at a fast jog towards the Mercedes, the drivers door is facing away from the plane which means he has to skirt the front end of it and as he does, he sees Alexi has made it back to the car door and is reaching for a cell phone.
"I don't think so," John discharges another bullet into the henchman's leg and Alexi screams in pain.
His scream is echoed by shouting from the plane as Stefano realizes what is happening. John ignores the yelling and uses his foot to shove Alexi away from the car. Wrenching open the back door, he unceremoniously dumps Grace inside and then slams it shut.
Jumping in the front, he closes his own door and hits the central locking. He jumps as he hears the sound of a gun and he ducks as he twists the key in the ignition. The motor immediately roars to life and he hits the accelerator, just as a bullet punches the rear window, shattering it completely.
"Shit!" John careens wildly across the airstrip, heading directly for the gate. His heart is pounding in his throat as he guides the car across the rough ribbon of earth and grass that stands between him and freedom. The car lurches as he hits a large hole and he desperately tries to keep control of the vehicle. He feels a thump as she hits the back of his seat and he winces.
And then they are back on the pitch and through the gate. The tires scream in protest as John wrenches the wheel a full one hundred and eighty degrees as he turns onto the road and he hits the brakes at the same time. The car slows as he straightens up and then he stabs the accelerator again.
He smiles grimly as the speedometer climbs and the headlights split the darkness. He might have won the battle, but he knows the war is not over yet.
Not by a long shot.