Whisper My Name

Chapter 20

Raffi Torres' Residence, Salem

We'd seen each other in a dream

Seemed like he knew me

He looked right through me...

~ Magic Man ~ Heart ~

Raffi was watching the flames dance in the fireplace when he was given the telephone by his butler. Without preamble, he said into the receiver, "Speak."

"Hey, Boss. It's Francis."

Just the sound of Francis' voice had Raffi in a near rage. "You better fucking tell me you got the Brady woman, Francis," Raffi said.

"I had a clear shot, but the sun must have glanced off of the barrel, because John Black caught sight of it," Francis said nervously. "Black pulled her out of the way right as I fired, so I didn't get the kill shot."

"You fucking shot at her?" Raffi roared. He was about to blow, "I never said to shoot her! I said, I needed her!" He was going to have Mike's hide for allowing this shit to happen. "What happened?"

Francis was almost scared to respond. Raffi was angry. He could tell. They'd grown up side by side, and it was quite often that Raffi had lost his temper with him. He knew what was coming when he got home. Slowly, almost reluctantly, he said, "He...they got away, Boss... I tried to follow them, but John Black, he, uh, he knew what he was doing, and I lost them."

"He was a fucking police officer for the Salem PD! G-d, Francis, you're such a G-d damned moron! Did you actually shoot her?"

"Well, you see... she was hit. 'Cause, you know, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to shoot her... There was a lot of blood on the street, but I don't think she's dead. Give me some time, Boss. I can track them down. I swear. I won't mess up this time."

"So, John Black is somewhere in Colorado with an injured Marlena Brady, and you think he's not going to double down on his efforts to keep her alive? You'll never fucking find them!" Raffi roared. "You fucked up, Francis. You fucked up!"

Francis tried again, "Just let me... let me try and find them–"

"--shut up!" Raffi yelled. "Shut the fuck up, Francis. You will wait for Mike. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah, Boss–"

"--you will wait for Mike, and that is all you will do. Do you understand?" Raffi asked.

Francis sighed like a child, "Yeah, Boss. Yeah. I understand."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pier 14

He'd been waiting for someone to approach him, so Chief Vaughn wasn't surprised when a tall man stepped from the shadows. The fog was thick, glowing deep orange with the light cast from a nearby streetlamp. Their eyes met, and held. Even without an introduction he knew it was the end. It had been the end for the last two days. He'd failed to procure Marlena Brady, and the man who wanted her didn't make idle threats.

"You were lucky my employer got distracted. He had a situation. It gave you two extra days, didn't it?" The man in the dark suit circled Vaughn. "Do you have the woman?"

    Vaughn was barely able to speak, as fear gripped him tightly. He stared at the light reflecting off the gun held in the other man's hand. Almost stuttering, he said, "We–we're close... I have someone working on it. I just need a few more days–"

    "That's a long 48 hours," the man sneered with sarcasm. He laughed, and it turned the blood in Vaughn's veins cold. Stepping closer, he watched with a feral smile as Vaughn stepped back drawing closer to the edge of the pier. "We don't wait."