Once Upon a Time

Forty-two...

***

All he worked hard for couldn't go down the drain.

No, no, no!

Not like this,

There was commotion in his surrounding and all he could think of next was to mingle with the crowd.

---

"Stay where you are or I will shoot her!" He yelled and there was no movement. He gently pulled Clarissa away hoping to get to the door in time.

"Put the Gun down Nicholas, it's over." Darius said.

"No, it's not. It can't be over till I say so!" He yelled back.

"You shouldn't do this, put the gun down." Darius tried again but he shook his head furiously.

"You guys always ruin everything for me! Can't I get what I want for once. She and I are supposed to be gone by dawn but no, you always ruin everything, you ruined EVERYTHING!!" His voice echoed around the room that Clarissa had to flinch from it.

"Now who is it going to be? Her or.... her?" He pointed the gun to the face of the other woman without remorse.

---

 He took the next option- the stairs. Running as fast as he could hoping to escape the police this time.

His legs slid to a stop as he met a dead end. What was he expecting when he took the stairs? Everything, but definitely not a run to his grave. He looked down at the city road which was normally busy. Coupled with the whole commotion and the police, it was even even busier. Car honked below him and immediately, he began retracing his steps. He made the move to turn but stop as he stared at what was currently behind him.

"Where will you run now huh?"

As he waited and thought of his next move. Gabriel was no longer alone.

"I won't repeat myself, put your hands in the air!" Gabriel yelled.

"Be quick about it!" The rest little police force that caught up with them began to circle him, all armed.

Jack slowly brought his hands up in the air in submission.

---

 'Your call has been forwarded to another number....'

'The number you dialled is unavailable...."

"I can't get to them." Audora told Clara.

"They will be alright don't worry." Clara reassured. "Your husband is a strong man. If any one can help Daniel out, it's him. Plus, the police are into this, they declared him wanted, he won't get out of this." Audora nodded and sat on the bed.

"Of course, you need to lie down-"

"I'm okay-" Audora tried saying but she wouldn't have it.

"Darius entrusted me with taking care of you until he returns. He says not to stress too much." Clara advised helping her into the duvet.

"Sure, sure always the caring husband." They found themselves chuckling.

Then silence,

"Why did you do it?" Audora said few minutes after she shut her eyes with a sigh.

Clara's eyes darted to her almost immediately before slowly looking away.

"What I felt for your brother wasn't love Audora. I just didn't know how to tell him."

"But he loved you,"

"You can't be so sure." Clara rather answered. "The first day I introduced him to my cousin, even I felt the tension that day. It wasn't something I could deny so I just made the decision for everybody."

"How so?" Audora asked and she only got up to pour Audora a glass of water.

"It's so easy to read my cousin Audora. I knew she liked Daniel the very day I introduced the both of them to each other and I, on the other hand was in love with someone else and so I had to make things work somehow."

"Even so, you could have come clean. If he was already liking Clarissa then things would have fallen in place by itself."

"I know but when Nick gave the suggestion to move away, I thought it was a good idea and I just did it but then I thought about my family too. For goodness sake, my mother-" She forced back her tears. "She wouldn't even look at me when I got home. I didn't know what to think of myself." She forced a smile on her face before looking up at Audora.

"But I hope, everyone of you can forgive me too, when this is all over." Audora could only give her a little smile of assurance.

---

Jack raised his hands in submission. He stared hard into the lieutenant's eyes daring him to guess what he was about to do next.

Gabriel watched in awe as Jack made two step backwards.

Don't!- he wanted to scream.

"Roberto, stay where you are. Do not move an inch!" He replaced those two steps Jack took with two forward steps of his own.

What will it be, Jack thought.

To let yourself lose in a battlefield,

Or...

To disappear in the middle of the battle.

He did the unexpected.

He let himself fall before they could even reach him. When they took a look at the sight, they grimaced.

"He should have just come with us." One of the many officers mentioned but Gabriel took a turn, walking away from the building.

---

"So who is it going to be?" Nick asked.

"You need to stop this Nick. There isn't any need for it, you're surrounded." Kara said.

"And you should shut the hell up!" Nick yelled at Kara. "You think I wanted this life, she made me like this. I can't think clearly anymore."

Pathetic! Kara thought.

Clarissa armed up. Usually this will be the chance in every cliche story where she would have to free herself.

She made eye contact with Darius for some time allowing him to see her next move before hitting him hard on the toes hard enough to loosen his grip and his grip was no longer firm. She went further to hit hard against the jaw with her elbow making him stumble back and his gun flying west. Darius took over, holding him firmly to the ground as the rest of them tried to get him under control.

Darius hit him hard on the face to get him to be still.

Clarissa hugged tightly her mother-in-law, thanking God that they were all safe. They watched as Nicholas struggled with the two police men that had now held him captive bringing him up to his feet.

He growled in anger, things couldn't end this way.

Daniel burst through the door and that was the perfect attempt to disrupt all they had worked for. He overpowered them instantly grabbing from one of their pocket, a gun and making a shot at the one person he had been glaring at ever since he got captured.

He would never let her get her perfect ending because he believed that there was none without him.

The shot echoed in the room and Clarissa wasn't sure what she heard next. All of a sudden things went blur for her and voices began to diminish. She could see them rush towards her.

Her or someone else,

Probably her but she couldn't see as her lid gently closed.

.

.