Thanks to Peg for beta reading. I
think it will be
glaringly obvious which ep I've chosen and I can't
wait to read everyone's pieces on Monday (roomie is
working on a paper or 3, lol) Enjoy!
Jax.
Challenge #7.
Remington emerged from the bedroom,
ready for bed,
towel drying his hair, oblivious to the fact that,
while he was in the shower, Carl had climbed up the
fire escape and had just finished jimmying the lock to
the glass doors.
Remington spied the jacket lying innocently
across the
arm of his sofa, picked it up and put it on. Stroking
the lapels absently, he turned from side to side and
looked down, examining himself. *There must be
something we're just not getting*, he mused silently
to himself as the balcony door slid open and Carl
stepped in holding a gun.
"The blazer," Carl snarled.
Remington looked up at his intruder
as the pieces
suddenly fell into place, "It was never about the
film. All this time - it was the jacket everybody
wanted."
Unbeknownst to the two men, the elevator
arrived at
the fifth floor and Laura and Bulletz emerged, heading
swiftly down the hallway.
"No more talk," Carl demanded,
"I want that blazer.
NOW!"
Remington quickly sized up his options.
"Not a chance
Carl," he answered, and turned to make a break for the
front door. *Please don't shoot* Remington thought to
himself as a sharp knock rang out, *Laura!*
The sound of a gunshot sent Laura's
heart rocketing
into her throat and a strangled cry burst from her
lips as she began to fumble through her purse for her
key to the suite. *Mr Steele! Oh God, what happened?*
she wondered frantically and, without thought for her
own safety, she threw open the apartment door in time
to see Carl moving towards Remington who was sprawled
face down on the carpet.
Before Carl had a chance to reach
for the jacket he
caught sight of Laura in the doorway and fired two
shots towards her. With reflexes like a cat, Laura
ducked and rolled to avoid the bullets and Carl leaped
over her and ran out of the apartment.
Stunned, Laura got to her feet slowly,
her eyes
trained on the bullet hole in the jacket. A wretched
sob escaped her throat as she flew to Remington,
crying as she covered his body with her own and began
kissing his hair.
"There were so many things I
wanted to tell you... so
many things I should have told you," she sobbed. *Why
have I wasted all this time?* she asked herself
silently, *What have I been trying to prove by holding
you at arms length, by denying ourselves what we both
wanted? Was it worth it in the end?* "I'm sorry," she
cried as she pulled him into her arms and rocked
gently, "Oh, come here. Oh -"
"I hate to interrupt while I'm
ahead," Remington
murmured absently.
Shocked, Laura froze. "Mr Steele?"
she gasped, turning
him in her arms,
"Mr Steele? Oh babe!" she cried in delight and began
kissing him over and over again.
Remington blinked and looked around.
"Wait a minute!"
he exclaimed, "I think it's all beginning to make
sense!"
Laura pulled him closer. "Oh,
nothing makes any sense
but the fact that you're alive and well, and -" she
stopped abruptly. "Mr Steele, WHY are you alive and
well?"
At that moment, a concerned Bulletz
came in. Remington
ran a hand over the back of the coat while a perplexed
Laura looked on.
"This blazer, Miss Holt," he said, "It's steel."
"What?" Laura asked in confusion.
"This is some fabric!" Remington
announced with a
grin.
"Mr Steele?" Bulletz asked, "You okay?"
"Carl and Lila didn't want to
get Julian's film,"
Remington explained, "This jacket! They wanted the
jacket all the time! That's what Mark was killed for!"
"You mean bullet proof?"
Laura asked, the full meaning
of what had happened finally dawning on her.
Remington stood up and examined the
jacket once again.
"Exactly! Top of the line, yet stylish. And I think I
know just the man who can tell us about it." He
started towards the bedroom with quiet confidence.
Laura smiled at Bulletz. "Quite
a guy. Takes a licking
and keeps on ticking, eh?" she said, as she removed a
kleenex from her purse and dabbed at the tears on her
cheeks.