Overkill

Fifteen

"What was that back there?" Darcy asked as soon as they were in her car.

"I can't talk about it," Sarah answered while buckling her seatbelt.

"Since when have you not been able to talk to me?" She turned right on a road that led away from downtown, towards the Jackson area.

"Where did Scott say he was?"

"At the Jackson department. He said he thought you'd go there to work on the case."

"I really wish I had my phone," she spoke as she watched the tree's go by.

Darcy, smiling, reached over and patted Sarah's leg, "We'll get you to him." Before Sarah could reply, Darcy's phone rang, "Hello? Sir? Alright, we'll see you soon," glancing over to Sarah quickly as she turned her turn signal on indication she needed over, she explained, "Chief wants you somewhere safe, Jackson isn't it."

It was at the very moment that she realized she was in much more danger than she initially thought she was, "Scott doesn't want me at a police station?"

"I'm just following orders," with a shrug, she turned left.

"Alright," leaning forward, she opened Darcy's glove compartment, "You don't have a gun stashed in here?" Knowing each agent was instructed to keep a handgun in their vehicles at all times for backup, she was sure she'd find one in there.

"It's back at the office, I was unaware my day would be this adventurous."

With a sigh, Sarah sat back just as they were pulling down a long driveway that wrapped around into an area hidden by trees. Seeing Scott's car parked in front of the secluded home, her heart began to quicken at the same time of feeling a sense of ease wash over her. Unbuckling as the car parked, she climbed out and waited for Darcy, "What is this place?" Looking around she took in the blue house with white shutters. The porch was painted white with a red door.

"Safe house, if anything goes down, Scott sends people here."

"Who all knows about it?"

"Just a few."

She followed her to the front door. Darcy pulled her keys out, slid a key into the lock, and pushed the door open. Sarah walked into a cozy living room furnished with a brown suede couch and a matching reclining chair. A flat screen TV mounted to the wall above the fireplace and a bookcase filled with books and movies. The floors in the halls were hardwood and polished to shine, the living room was carpeted with white carpeting.

Off to the left was the stairs leading to the second floor, straight ahead was the kitchen. Sarah stepped further into the house, looking around as she waited.

"What's he doing?" She asked, reaching out to straighten a picture frame that hung lopsided on the wall.

"Most likely setting up a room if you'll be staying here for a while." Darcy tossed her keys on the stand next to the door. Sarah glanced at them out of reaction to the noise, what she found turned her blood ice cold. Laying on the stand connected to Darcy's keys was an Iron Man keychain, much like Mark's and the one in the evidence photos.

Trying to keep her composure, she slowly began inching backward to put as much space as she could between the two of them. She made it seem to be looking at the pictures, "So, are these pictures of scenery around here?" She knew Scott wasn't here and probably wasn't coming. What did they do with him? Her mind was beginning to spiral, her worry for Scott taking over her initial fear. She then realized Darcy's car was a dark blue, the witness said she saw a dark colored car in the driveway of her grandmother's house.

"No. Pretty sure they were here when the agency bought the place, pretty aren't they?" Darcy walked to where Sarah was standing.

Sarah attempted a smile, but it faltered and didn't go unnoticed by Darcy, "What's wrong? You feeling ok?"

"I'm just ... the past few hours have been a lot for me to take in," she stepped back, turning into the kitchen knowing if this truly was Scott's place, he'd have a gun hidden in one of the cabinets, "Does he keep this place stocked with food and drinks?" She walked over to the cabinets above the counters and began opening them as if she was looking for snacks.

"It's not in there."

Sarah froze for a second, then continued moving down the row, "Yeah, I'm seeing it's quite empty."

"I know what you're looking for, Sarah, we removed all weapons from the house."

Sarah turned to find Darcy standing in front of Mark, her arms crossed over her chest. Her eyes widened at the sight of blood stains on Mark's clothing, she began inching her way towards the sliding door. If she could just get to it before either of them...

Jumping into action, Mark rushed towards the sliding door as Darcy rounded the kitchen island, boxing Sarah in between them. Her heart was racing, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Her training and basic instincts kicked as she braced herself for a fight.

"So, you've been working with Mark this entire time?" It was more of an accusation rather than a question.

"What can I say? The man is very persuasive." Darcy glanced over Sarah's shoulder to where Mark was standing behind her, smiling at him.

"He's a monster!" Sarah exclaimed.

"He was born this way, Sarah, he can't help it."

"Born...What?"

In disbelief that her friend could truly believe something like that, she asked, "Did you actually harm any of those men, Darcy?"

Darcy's brows pulled in as she was thinking, seeming to be confused, "No. I only lured them in. They were all begging to be removed from their lives anyway. None of them were happy with their jobs or home life. We did them a favor."

"Stop talking to her." Mark demanded. Darcy immediately standing straighter and stiffer, said, "Yes, sir." Mark's eyes darkened with a seductive grin at her response.

This only made Sarah roll her eyes, "You've got to be kidding me," looking at Mark with disgust, "You've got a kink for women obeying you? What is this, some sort of submissive obsession?"

Before Sarah realized what happened, Mark was standing right in front of her with his body pressed against hers. She was pinned between him and the kitchen island. Leaning backwards away from him, she squirmed, "Don't touch me." She pushed him away from her and turned away from him.

"You didn't seem to be saying that last night," he stepped back into his place in front of her, his nose nuzzled against her neck making her skin crawl in disgust. Raising her knee quickly, she kneed him hard enough to cause him to double over in pain, "You bitch!" he grunted.

Sarah took the chance to run. Running around the island, Darcy blocked the doorway to the living room, holding a gun with both hands out in front of her.

"Darcy, if you never touched those men, I can get you a deal, you won't go down with him."

"It won't matter, you won't be around to solve the case. Mark will bring in the 'murder' and with you and Scott gone, he'll become Chief, where he belongs. You know, if you'd have never come snooping around here, we'd be just fine. Jackson doesn't give a damn about what happens in their area." She rounded Sarah, forcing her to back up.

"Darc, this isn't you," she pleaded with who she thought was her friend.

"No. You just never took the chance to learn who I really was. Mark took that chance on me, he spent time with me. He taught me who I really am," she sneered, "I tried to give you an out. I tried to get you to lunch so we could talk. I begged Mark not to hurt you. He was in to you, I could tell. Why do you think he came on to you? I encouraged it."

"Mark is a sick, deranged man, Darcy, you can't seriously beli—" before she could finish, she was hit over the head with something hard. Falling to the ground as her vision blurred in and out of focus, the pain exploded as she watched a blurry outline of a body hover over her. Unable to consciously control her movements, she attempted to kick forward, connecting with nothing. Another blow to her head knocked her completely unconscious.