Fatal Target

Chapter Thirty-one

September 5th – 12:07 pm

“You got the other one?” Chase asked, still gripping Kat’s throat.

“I’ve got my pretty Kimmy…” the other man said, his voice almost a purr as he held Kimberly. “You’re so pretty, Kimmy…”

“Okay, we get the message. Pick her up, will you? Your dad wants them in the basement within the hour.”

Kat went limp in Chase’s grip, weighing down his arms. He dropped her on the ground, surprised by the sudden weight. Her head lolled back, her limbs splayed out at odd angles.

“Katy? KATY!” Kim cried out. She tugged on arm of Dustin Weiss, who only tightened his hold on ‘pretty Kimmy’.

Kat didn’t move. She didn’t breathe.

“Dude, I think you killed her…” Dustin shook his head as Chase nudged Kat with his shoe.

“Thanks for that brilliant observation, Sherlock,” Chase snapped over Kim’s cries for her sister. “Now make her shut up, will you?”

“Kimmy, ssh… we don’t want to hurt the baby, do we?”

She shook her head, her golden eyes still riveted on her sister’s still body.

“Then can you stop making a fuss?”

“Uh huh.”

“That’s my Kimmy…” Dustin kissed her hair, playing with the red strands.

Chase kicked Kat in the ribs, growing annoyed. What’s wrong with you? I didn’t squeeze that hard!

No response. No whimpers. No movement.

“My dad is sooo gonna kill you.” Dustin smirked at Chase, looking a lot like his father for once.

September 5th – 12:01 pm

The cell phone lying on the floor started to ring. It spun in circles.

Aidan’s eyes snapped open.

The buzzing continued, the phone still doing its panicked little dance.

He reached for it, head throbbing. “Hello?”

“Aidan? What’s going on? Where’s Kat?”

“Oh, Damion….uh, well, she’s gone?” He tried not to sound alarmed. He didn’t need Damion freaking out.

“So, Kat’s missing, you have her phone, and Kim’s where?”

“With you?” Aidan asked hopefully. He’d been operating on that idea for a while.

“She supposed to be, but, yeah… she’s not here…”

“Shit.”

“Tell me about it. I’m the one who’s face is going to get gnawed off by Jackson,” Damion protested. “You have any idea where she is?”

“Doesn’t she do this a lot? Hiding from people?”

“Not from me. This isn’t Kimmy—it’s really starting to worry me.” Panic was creeping into the other guy’s voice.

“Do me a favor, Damion. I need you to call Jackson, then meet me at the girls’ room. Come as quietly as you can, and please, just stay calm.”

“Calm? Why wouldn’t I be calm?” Damion hissed sarcastically. “It’s not like my wife and sister-in-law are missing or anything…”

“Yeah, keep the ‘wife’ bit to yourself, Damion. I don’t think telling Jackson that you and Kim eloped is the best idea for you at this moment—he might just blow your head off when he sees you.”

“Hmm, good call. He’s still gonna kill me.”

“That’s what Kat and Kim are for. They’ll hold him back, while you and I run.”

September 5th – 12:30 pm

A few near-misses later, Jackson pulled up in front of the emergency room.

A head jerked up as the BMW’s tires squealed to a halt. Flame-red hair caught his icy eyes.

The woman ran to the car, jumping in the passenger seat without even bothering to see who was driving. Inside the car, she threw her arms around him, tears wetting his shirt as she cried on his shoulder.

“Leese, you’re okay. You’re okay…”

“Jack… Jackson…”

“Sweetheart, you’re safe. I’m here. I’m here…”

“Jackson, I have to tell you something…”

He brushed her hair from her face, observing her for the first time. “What? Have you heard from the girls?”

“No, not since… not since yesterday… it’s about Weiss—“

“He took over the college, Leese. The team’s on the way.”

“The college? Why would he—?”

“Lisa, why were you here? Didn’t you know?”

Lisa shook her head, eyeing him suspiciously. “Know what?”

“There’s been a shooting, Leese.”

Both of her hands clamped over her mouth, her small body trembling as she shook her head. “No… no… no!”

He tried to soothe her. Lisa smacked his hands away.

“My baby! KATHERINE!”

“We’re leaving right now, Leese. We’re gonna find her and Kimmy, okay? They’re gonna be fine, Aidan and Damion are there and the team’s heading up. We’re gonna find them…”

She nodded, still sobbing.

Jackson slammed on the gas pedal again, nearly running over a lady in a wheelchair as he steered out of the maze that was the hospital.

Hang on, babies, Daddy’s coming…

September 5th – 12:12 pm

Everything was going according to plan.

For once, Jonathan Weiss was grateful that he’d thought to plan out all the details, down to who would be when where. It was like having all of his employees on little individual leashes or on puppet strings.

The last time he’d tried to murder the Carter family, he’d miscalculated when it came to Katherine Carter. Not this time. He’d learned his lesson while sitting in jail for three years.

He’d taken those three years to plan the perfect series of murders, disguised within a shooting, a heinous crime spree that would haunt the small town for years to come.

It was a fitting end to the man who’d systemically destroyed his life a decade before with the murder of Deanna. Justice was finally within his grasp.

Katherine Carter had only a few hours to live. Her life would be over before 3 pm.

Only Kimberly was to be spared from the slaughter. The youngest member of the family, Kim was also less loyal to her family. With her sister dead, it would be child’s play to turn the impressionable teenager into one of his employees.

Kimberly’s shot at survival would stem from her allegiance to the Agency. He would bend her to his will and show her the life she was meant to lead.

Of course, he had to take care of her sister first, then her stepmother, and finally, Jim Carter himself. The powerful patriarch would be no more.

Weiss smiled. Soon, soon it ends…

September 5th - 12:10 pm

“Katy… Katy…” Kim whimpered.

You can’t be dead, you can’t… Katy, I need you…

Her sister wasn’t moving. Why hadn’t she moved? Kat had to be alive!

“Katy… Katy!”

Still nothing. The two guys were arguing, but Kim couldn’t understand their voices. All she knew was that Kat was lying on the floor and she wasn’t moving. Kat looked dead.

No, Katy… you have to be alive!

Kim let a hand rest on her stomach, trying not to panic. Kat was playing with her, yeah, that was it. Kat was pretending to be asleep.

“Katy… Katy, help…” Kim pleaded, her golden eyes looking for the slightest movement.

Nothing.

Daddy’s gonna be mad, Katy… you have to wake up! You aren’t dead!

Or was she? What did dead look like? Was her sister dead? Was that why Katy wasn’t responding?

Daddy, hurry! Katy’s hurt!

She tried to move towards her sister. She needed to know what was wrong with Kat. She had to know if Katy was sleeping or dead.

“Katy, Katy, please….”

That’s when the pointer finger on Kat’s left hand started to tap on the floor.