The Adventure Continues

[abrightboy]

For thatsfascinating.



The villa Malcolm rented was in the Languedoc, not far from Marseilles, south of Avignon. It was a very historic region, though Malcolm was particularly not interested in visiting Marseilles again. There was a charming village nearby the villa and if they were going to go to an historic city for a day, he'd rather make the trip over to Montpellier, where he'd never been at all, much less with Dr Whitly.

The villa had six bedrooms. As the driver brought their luggage inside the bright and spacious main room, Malcolm handed him some folded Euros and thanked him and shut the door behind him.

"First choice of a room is yours," he told Edrisa with a smile. "But you might want to explore first."

Comments

[thatsfascinating]

"Right. Seems a little sparse..." She stayed in the front as he circled, looking at the area, then at the area in front of the door. She tilted her head.

"Someone's been in here..."

[abrightboy]

Malcolm returned around the front and noted the crushed grass near the door, where she indicated.

He was about to say something to her, but the door opened suddenly and a gun was pointed at his face.

"You," he said to Edrisa in accented English. "Get in here."

"No," Malcolm told her. "Run back to the village. Go."

"I will shoot him in the face!" the man sputtered.

"The police are already on the way. If you shoot me in the face, you'll never get away in time. Leave us alone and run. It's your only chance," Malcolm said in a calm, even tone.

"GET IN HERE!" he screamed at Edrisa.

"NO! RUN!" Malcolm shouted, turning to look at her. When he turned his head the man cold-cocked him with the pistol, sending him to the ground unconscious.

The man pointed the gun at her. "Get in here."

[thatsfascinating]

Edrisa froze when the man appeared, and when Malcolm told her to run she shook her head, not moving. "I'm not leaving you," she said, her voice quiet and tense. There was no way she'd just run away when his life was in danger. He told her again to run, and she shook her head, harder...

Then the man hit Malcolm and he fell.

"No!" she cried out, falling to her knees beside him. "Bright!" she called urgently, patting his cheek, trying to wake him up...

Then the gun was pointed at her.

She raised her hands and slowly stood. "I'll do what you want," she said, stepping closer, trembling. "Just don't hurt him."

[abrightboy]

"You don't have a bargaining position," the man said, grabbing her by the front of her dress and yanking her through the door, giving her a push once inside the room.

There was grain on the floor.

He grabbed Malcolm's arm and dragged him inside rolling him onto his stomach so he could tie his hands behind his back, then leaving him there, tucking the gun into his waistband to advance on Edrisa.

[thatsfascinating]

He pushed her, and she fell hard onto her hands and knees, her hands going into the grain with a small puff of that whitish dust she had seen in the autopsy photos. She made a small, strangled sound at the knowledge that this was likely where those other women died. Likely where they were going to die.

She flipped over so she was facing the man as he tied Malcolm's hands, breathing hard and shaking, tears of fear leaving tracks on her dusty cheeks.

"He was telling the truth," she said, trying to sound brave and mostly failing. "The police know where we are. They'll...they'll be here any minute..."

The man started advancing on her, and she pulled herself back, whimpering. Her hands were sinking into the mess of grain on the floor, and suddenly she had an idea. Quickly she took a handful and whipped it into his face, toward his eyes, then lunged forward to try to grab for the gun in his waistband.

[abrightboy]

She was smaller than him. Much smaller. He did stumble backwards when the grain went in his eyes but he grabbed her with one hand while the other swiped grain from his face. The moment he could see at all, he grabbed her by the throat, his hand wrapping around it easily.

"Try to scream now," he snarled.

On the floor, Malcolm was coming around. When he saw the man had Edrisa by the throat, he lashed out with his feet, aiming for the man's knees as hard as he could.

[thatsfascinating]

She clawed at his hand, kicking her feet uselessly, trying desperately to breathe, her vision starting to grey...

Then the man let out a yell of pain and dropped her, and she fell to the floor, coughing and gasping for air, trying to crawl away.

[abrightboy]

The man stumbled, almost falling, but Malcolm wasn't in a good position to keep up the assault. He wriggled, trying to get closer to kick him again, but the man pulled the gun from his waistband. Before he had it pointed at Malcolm, Malcolm managed to wriggle his way close enough to kick at the man's hand and send the gun flying.

"EDRISA! GET THE GUN!" he shouted, trying to aim another kick at the man's legs.

[thatsfascinating]

Edrisa looked up to see the gun skitter across the floor, and she flung herself toward it, reaching out...and just barely grabbed it. She twisted around, her back on the ground and her head up to see the man whirl round and charge toward her...

Edrisa had been trained in firearms when she joined the NYPD. Some MEs carried a gun, but she never did. Still, she had been to a firing range, had fired a number of guns of different types, and wasn't that bad of a marksman. But firing a gun in a real, live situation? She had never been sure she could do it. Killing someone terrified her, especially after what happened in med school.

She had no choice. This man would kill her. He would kill Malcolm. As he bore down on her she lifted the gun and began firing, not going to stop until he was down or the clip was empty.

[abrightboy]

Malcolm struggled to sit up, his hands still tied behind his back. As the killer fell, he shouted over the noise.

"EDRISA! EDRISA, STOP. IT'S OKAY!"

[thatsfascinating]

Edrisa couldn't hear anything but the deafening explosion of each gunshot once he was on the ground she stopped firing and sat up, dragging herself away to press her back against the wall, then pointed the gun at the man on the floor, trembling, her breath hitched in sobs, making sure he didn't get back up.

[abrightboy]

"Edrisa?" Malcolm said, still speaking loudly to get her attention but not quite shouting anymore. "Edrisa, look at me."

[thatsfascinating]

She heard him this time, and looked up, still shaking, her breath still hitching, not lowering the gun, ready to start firing again if the man tried to get up.

"A-are you o-okay?"

[abrightboy]

"I'm fine," he said, slowly and clearly. "He's dead. Come untie me."

[thatsfascinating]

She looked down at the man...the body...and could see the blood spreading out beneath him, soaking through the grain. She nodded and started crying. She put the gun down, her hand shaking, then crawled around the body toward Malcolm. She started fumbling with the rope, her fingers trembling too much to be of much use.

[abrightboy]

"Edrisa, don't look at that. Look at me," he told her. "Stop everything. Just look at me."

He couldn't hold her with his hands tied behind his back. He had to try something else to shift her attention.

[thatsfascinating]

She nodded and dragged her eyes away from the body, taking a shivering breath, trying to steady herself even as her shoulders still shook with sobs. It took a few long moments of tugging, but finally the ropes began to loosen. She doubled her efforts until she finally pulled the ropes off his wrists and flung them aside.

[abrightboy]

Once the ropes were off, he got up on his knees and reached for her to pull her to his chest.

He could hear sirens in the distance. They were finally arriving. It might have been too late for them if they hadn't... managed to deal with it.

[thatsfascinating]

She clung to him, burying her face in his chest. She could hear the sirens and felt a strange mix of relief and anxiety. She had killed someone. Would she be in trouble?

The she remembered that Malcolm had been hit over the head, and she lifted her face, reaching up to touch his head. "Are you okay?"

Her fingers came back wet with blood. She swallowed.

[abrightboy]

"I'm okay," he assured her. "We're both okay. That's all that matters right now."

He didn't let go of her when the police pushed their way in, but he did pull them both to their feet.

"He tried to kill us," Malcolm told them in French.

[thatsfascinating]

She held on tight as he pulled her up, clinging to him. Were they going to be arrested? At very least they'd be held for questioning. Was he really dead? Did he have accomplices? Was he really responsible for all those women?

Wait...oh god...

"Where's the girl?"

[abrightboy]

"No, Edrisa, look at me."

He'd spotted her already, slumped in the corner, her dress torn, but not removed. They'd disturbed him. She hadn't spotted her yet. He'd rather she didn't.

[thatsfascinating]

She looked at Malcolm, her expression stricken.

"But we have to find her," she insisted. She turned toward the police officers. "You have to find her," she repeated.

[abrightboy]

"We found her," he said quietly, looping his arm around her shoulders to guide her towards the door.

[thatsfascinating]

"What?" She resisted a little, but was still being moved toward the door. "What do you mean we..."

And then it dawned on her.

"Wait..." She twisted in his arms, trying to look over her shoulder and back into the darkened building. "Wait... Is she in there? Is she okay?" She turned back to him, her eyes wide. "Is she okay?"