Chapter Eleven

Elena didn't understand how Rollie knew that Loubar would go after Angie. "Why would he risk getting caught on an international flight when you're here in London? I mean, if you're his nemesis, why not come after you?"

"You're thinking too logically, Elena." Rollie's jaw clenched. "Loubar may be a terrorist and he may have a grudge against me but he is also a coward. He's going after Angie because he knows," Rollie repeated, "he knows what it would do to me if he killed her. His revenge against me is to hurt her and he's right...." Rollie replied solemnly as he looked somewhere far off, "It's just another psychological game to him and I don't know...I don't know what I would do if he hurt her again." He had the phone in his hand and was calling the loft as they spoke but there was no answer. The machine picked up. Damn it, Rollie wondered, where the hell are you? "Angie, sweetie, it's Rollie. Um...damn it!" Rollie shook his head, as he couldn't think of the words to explain. He didn't want to frighten Angie— hell, yes! That's exactly what he needed to do! "Angie get out of there! Loubar escaped. Go to Midtown. Stay there until they can find someplace safe for you. I'll be home soon, sweetie. Get out of there now!"

Rollie and Elena were soon on their way to the airport. Along the way Rollie called Leo in New York on his cell phone, waking him up in the process.

"McCarthy. This better be good." Leo grumbled as he was rudely awoken from his much-needed slumber.

"Leo, it's Rollie. Loubar escaped. He's going after Angie. I know it," Rollie informed him breathlessly. "I...I tried calling the loft but there's no answer. I don't know where she is or my dad either, for that matter. Elena and I are trying to get on the next flight out of here. Leo please—"

"I'm on it," Leo assured him, sitting up in bed and throwing the covers off. "I'll call Mira and Lucinda and find out if they know where she is."

"Great. I'll call back later." Rollie hung up, resting the phone's receiver on his chin.

Elena had gone to check on a flight. She came running back. "Come on. They have room but we have to board now!" Elena pulled Rollie with her.

Elena reached over and clasped Rollie's hand tightly. "She'll be okay," she tried to assure him. "The police in New York are searching every flight arriving from London. And just in case he's still in London, they will be on the lookout here as well. We caught him once." Elena squeezed Rollie's hand. "We'll catch him again."

Rollie continued to look outside the window barely listening to Elena. This plane ride was interminably long. He was going mad. It was all he could do to stay in his seat.

Rollie didn't bother eating the meal they served on the flight. He knew his stomach wouldn't be able to keep it down. Elena was doing her best to try to get him to focus on other things but she was having very little luck. Rollie chewed on his fingernail and stared out the window, his knee bouncing nervously up and down. When Elena finished eating Rollie reached for the phone on the seat in front of him and dialed the loft again. Again, there was no answer. Rollie let out a loud frustrated groan. Not giving up, he dialed Leo's cell phone.

"McCarthy."

"Leo. Any news?" Rollie's voice sounded stressed.

"I can't get a hold of Lucinda. I tried the apartment and her cell. Mira remembered Angie saying something about going away for a few days to a spa somewhere with Lucinda but she didn't say when or where. She's trying to track down the spa now. Oh, and Dingo's not at the loft either, apparently. We're trying to track him down too. And in case you tried calling Angie's cell phone, she told Mira that she was giving it to Dingo since she would be with Lucinda and she has a cell phone in case he needed to get in touch with her or vice versa. I called Lucinda's phone but she must have shut it off. Mira isn't sure if Angie and Lucinda are expected back today or tomorrow."

"Thanks, Leo. We're on a flight over the ocean. We should be there in a couple or three hours."

"Hang in there, Rollie."

"I'm doing the best I can Leo," Rollie said, desperation tingeing his voice.

"Bye Lucinda!"

Angie arrived back at the loft in the early evening. She called to Dingo but there was no answer. She picked up her cat, pressing her soft fur against her cheek. She fed Chiops and then went upstairs with some of her bags.

Angie unpacked and put the teddy bear she bought on the dresser. She wanted it to be the first thing she saw when she got up in the morning. Then, she went to the bathroom and undressed. She took a long, hot bath. She felt so relaxed.

Angie smiled as she ran her hand over her belly. Lucinda was right. She was starting to show, just a little. Angie smiled at the thought but also worried about Rollie's reaction when he finally sees her. She hoped it wouldn't be too long before that happened.

Angie had gone over how she would tell Rollie so many times but the more time went by the more she knew the visual clue would be unmistakable. In a few more weeks she wouldn't even be able to hide it from her friends, no matter how loose her clothing got. Angie sighed heavily as she dressed in one of Rollie's Aussie football jerseys and readied for bed. She didn't want to think about that now. She could worry about that in the morning. Angie grabbed her book and started reading in bed.

A short while later, Angie's book fell to the floor as she fell asleep. She curled up with Rollie's pillow and dreamt of Rollie and their baby.

In her dream Angie felt a hand softly caress her tummy. The hand came up and brushed some hair away from her face. Angie reached for the hand. Only...it was real. Angie awoke with a start.

"Rollie?" she whispered. Instead, she turned and was staring into the cold, dead eyes of a man she prayed she would never see again. Her blood went ice cold. Angie gasped as Victor Loubar sat near her on her and Rollie's bed.

Loubar caressed Angie's cheek. "So, things have changed for you my sweet. I no longer find you sleeping in your own home and in your own bed. Instead you are here. I had to search for you. You owe me for seducing you," he sneered, as he ran his hand over Angie's growing belly.  His sinister smile sent chills down Angie's spine as she realized he could tell she was pregnant. "For it seems I changed your life."

Angie hit his hand away. "Don't you touch me!"

"It will be the last time. I promise." Loubar's eyes narrowed. "You and Tyler are through interfering in my plans."

Angie stared into his eyes and she knew one thing. This time Victor Loubar meant to kill her.

But not before getting what he wanted, again. Loubar moved to go on top of Angie. He held her wrists above her head and with his legs he attempted to separate Angie's thighs. His hands were tight on her wrists.

"No, NO!" Angie cried as she struggled against him. "Please!"

Loubar let go of one of Angie's wrists so that his hand could go down and separate her legs. Angie started crying as she felt him move his leg between her thighs. She glanced over at the bed table while Loubar was busy. In desperation, Angie reached over and grabbed the lamp from the table and hit Loubar hard on the temple, sending him off of her and down onto the bed with a cry of pain. Angie held onto the lamp and when Loubar rallied, she used it like a baseball bat against his temple. Loubar reeled back, falling to the floor in pain and clutching his head, blood flowing from his temple.

Angie scrambled to get away and as she did so she stepped on the broken glass from the lamp. Angie cried out in pain and was now bleeding from her foot and limping but she couldn't stop trying to get away, not when the alternative was whatever twisted revenge Loubar had concocted. Angie tried to no think of what Loubar had done to Rollie, the mere thought churning her stomach and making bile rise in her throat. She almost made it to the door when Loubar's hand grabbed her ankle, bringing her to the floor.

"No!" Angie cried out as she frantically kicked at him. "Dingo! Help!" Angie screamed as she scrambled to get out of reach of Loubar, who now knelt behind her. She scratched frantically at Loubar's face causing him to cry out in pain. Angie stood up and ran out of the bedroom as fast as she could.

Loubar ran after her, bloodied and in pain. "If you mean that old man that was downstairs, he won't be helping you or anybody else for that matter. Nobody's going to help you now including your precious Rollie." Loubar sneered.

His words sent arrows of pain straight at Angie's heart. "What did you do to Rollie?" She demanded, finally acknowledging the worst. If Loubar was here then Rollie's plan didn't work. He was...Rollie was dead.

"NO!" Angie cried out, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Dingo! Help me please!" Angie called again as another thought struck her. What had Loubar done to Rollie's dad? She knew she had to reach the panic button Rollie had installed. Angie pulled at the drapes as Loubar lunged at her, getting him caught in the material.

Angie ran out of the room closing the door behind her. She had just made it out when Loubar ran up behind her. He caught her around the waist as Angie kicked and struggled against him. Angie reached over to the wall and slammed her fist against the wall nice and hard.

Suddenly, the lights started flashing off and on and an obnoxiously loud alarm went off. They could hear the call being placed to 911 over the speakers and Bluey's pre-programmed message for help.  The sound angered Loubar even more and caught him off guard. Angie got away from Loubar. She ran for the stairs, despite the glass still embedded in her foot.

"You bitch!" Loubar railed at her. "You are going to regret that!"

Angie felt fear grip her. She had made it to the top of the steps when she knew that Loubar was behind her. Angie turned and Loubar lunged for her. Angie dodged his grab. She steadied herself and protected her stomach with her arms. Angie pivoted on her foot, in a roundhouse kick hitting Loubar with a high kick to his jaw. Before Loubar could rally, Angie struck him with a crosscut to the neck, nice and hard, as she remembered her moves from kickboxing class.

Loubar was stunned for a moment and Angie used the time to move further away but Loubar came at Angie again. Angie found herself pressed against the railing of the staircase. Angie knew she had no hope of beating Loubar, she could only hope to get away from him and to buy herself some time until the police arrived. Angie tried to push Loubar away but when he came at her, the thrust of the attack sent Angie up and over the railing. Angie screamed as she fell over the railing and down onto the hard surface below.

Angie lay at the bottom of the stairs in a motionless, twisted heap.  Loubar came down the stairs slowly, fingering his chin where she had hit him and where he could taste the blood in his mouth. He deliberately cracked his neck as he bent down and touched Angie.

"You put up a good fight but in the end you've made things easier for me, my sweet." Then, Loubar picked Angie up and carried her out of the loft.

Rollie and Elena arrived at the loft. There were police cars and an ambulance parked outside, their lights flashing blue and red colors on the cars and the buildings across the way. Rollie spotted Leo, who had just arrived as well.

"Angie!" Rollie called out as he ran past Leo and into the loft. 

Francis was inside talking to some officers. He called to Rollie.

"Angie? Where is she?" Rollie begged Francis for information.

Francis looked solemn. "She's not here, Rollie. The door was wide open when we got here. There was a struggle. Rollie...your dad—"

Fear gripped Rollie. "What about my dad?" He hadn't even thought of what Loubar might do to his dad.

"He's been stabbed." Francis explained, his notebook in hand. "He was found under the stairs. He's in pretty bad shape."

"Oh my God!" Rollie rubbed his hands through his hair as his mind tried to come to some sort of understanding of what happened. "What about Angie? Where's Angie?" Rollie's voice cracked with emotion.

"We don't know. There was a struggle upstairs. Angie must have hit the panic button before Loubar got to her."

Rollie hands ran over his face in worry as he paced around aimlessly. Suddenly, he thought of something. "Bluey, playback home security tapes. Find Angie." He ordered his mechanical pet.

Rollie, Leo, Francis, Elena, Mira, and some of the other officers gathered around the monitors to view the security tape. They watched in horror as they viewed the struggle that took place.

"Bluey, show outside security feed, window one." Rollie ordered the dog. They watched as they saw Loubar carry an unconscious Angie out into a car parked outside. Rollie zoomed in to get the make of the car and the license plates.

Mira called the information in about Loubar's car right away.

Rollie went over to check on his dad as he was being readied for transport in the ambulance. Dingo was very pale and not in good shape. He had lost a lot of blood and he was unconscious.

"Dad? Can you hear me? Dad you're going to be all right, do you hear me?" Rollie cried as the EMT's said they have to get him to the hospital. "I'll see you later, okay? I have to find Angie. Please dad, you have to be all right. Don't give up, dad." Rollie watched as they wheeled him out but he turned when Mira called out that they had something.

Mira was on the phone and was relaying information to those assembled in the room. "A police helicopter has spotted Loubar's car heading down Fulton towards the docks on the East River." Mira got off the phone and looked at the others who were intent on her every word. "It looks like Loubar is heading towards the Piers over by South Street. We should be able to pen him in. I'll head down Fulton Street and approach from the East."

"Good idea," Leo said, "Rollie and I will head down Wall Street and approach him from the West."

"Okay." Mira agreed. "Let's roll."

Rollie rode with Leo. Mira kept in touch over the car radio and said the Loubar's car was stationary at the piers between Fletcher and Pine. The detectives and Rollie didn't know what Loubar had planned but it didn't look good.

All Rollie could think was that Loubar was acting like a desperate man. If he had a plan for getting away, did it involve a boat? Rollie doubted Loubar had had time to arrange such a thing and the thought sent fear coursing through his veins because if Loubar had no escape plan...then this was an act of desperation.

A few minutes later Mira called and said that some officers had Loubar cornered on the dock. He had Angie with him. She appeared to be unconscious.

Leo and Rollie arrived at the docks. Leo reached under his seat and handed Rollie a gun. Rollie looked at him unsure of whether he should take it or not. Then, he realized that if he had to...he wouldn't hesitate to kill Loubar. He took the weapon and stuck it in the waistband of his pants, under his jacket.

They reached the cordoned off area where the police surrounded Loubar. Loubar was standing at the edge of the pier. He had Angie in his arms. He held her by the waist with one arm as her body drooped forward. All Rollie could think of at this point was how cold Angie must be because it was late November and she was outside and was clad only in his T-shirt and was barefoot.

"You're surrounded Loubar! Let her go!" Mira called.

 Overhead, the police helicopter buzzed around adding to the tension. A police sharpshooter sat poised inside the helicopter ready to take Loubar out if given the chance.

"Back off! You'll have to go through her to get to me!" Loubar railed. "Now, I want safe passage out of here or I kill her now!"

"You're not going anywhere, Loubar!" Mira yelled. "There is no way you're getting out here and you know it. This is the end of the line for you. Let her go! Now!"

"Not a chance." Loubar laughed. "If I go, then I'm taking Tyler's little squeeze with me! Let that be my final revenge against Tyler!" Loubar yelled as he propped Angie up with one arm and pointed his gun at her temple with the other. "Don't forget to give him my regards."

"NO!" Rollie cried out.

"Aha! I knew you would be here." Loubar growled, a look of triumph on his face. "Rollie Tyler. It's so good of you to make it to your fiancŽe's death scene. Too bad you don't have cameras rolling. This would be a fabulous special effect...if only it weren't real blood." Loubar licked the blood that trickled at Angie's temple. "It wouldn't be the same without you, considering you're the very reason she's going to die."

"No! Don't hurt her," Rollie pleaded, as he never thought he would with this man. "Take me. Let her go and take me. Kill me, Loubar! I'm the one you want. Kill me." Rollie came out into the open, his arms raised as if in surrender.

Loubar laughed maniacally. "You still don't get it do you? You did this. You're the one who caused Angela's death by getting in my way. Nobody's ever done that before and that carries a heavy price. Killing you would bring me no joy, Tyler. But seeing the pain I've inflicted, the torment, and knowing that there is nothing you can do...now that's what I'll live and die for." he laughed again. "It's eye for an eye, Tyler. It's as simple as that. Just think, all you had to do was stay out of my way. Was that so hard? In a way..." Loubar's eyes twinkled and he smiled, "you're the one who's really killing her. It's all because of you." Loubar hissed and suddenly he raised the gun again to Angie's head. "Say adieu!"

Suddenly Angie moaned and began to stir in Loubar's arms, distracting Loubar's attention for a moment.

Without thinking or even being conscious of it, Rollie pulled out the gun Leo had given him. He aimed it at Loubar and shot, hitting Loubar's gun arm. That shot brought Loubar's arm down, with a cry of pain.

Rollie's hand shook and he dropped the gun. Working as a stuntman and in special effects he had fired guns before but none of them felt like that. This felt all too real. His hand was still shaking and his mind was numb at the realization that he had intentionally shot someone, even if that someone was Victor Loubar. He thought he could do it. It was what he thought he had to do but when it came down to it, Rollie Tyler found that he couldn't shoot to kill, not even Loubar. And Angie was still in danger, for all the good it did.

Then, it happened so fast.

A second shot rang out, this time from Leo's gun, hitting Loubar in the shoulder and sending him staggering backwards.

A second later another shot rang out from Mira's gun. Her bullet hit Loubar in the chest sending him stumbling backwards as Loubar dropped Angie from his grip.

Angie fell to the ground.

Still another shot hit Loubar in the head, smack dab in the middle of his forehead thrusting Loubar backwards over the pier and into the water.

It was then that Rollie noticed that Angie was handcuffed to Loubar.

"NO!" Rollie cried out as he ran towards them

Loubar's lifeless body fell backwards into the freezing water, his weight dragging Angie in with him.

Rollie ran, throwing off his jacket along the way. He jumped into the water and he struggled to pull them up, the process difficult because of the added weight of Loubar and their wet clothes. Several officers ran forward to help. They helped Rollie pull Angie, then Loubar, up and out of the water.

"Get an ambulance!" Leo called as he ran over.

Mira called someone over to break the chain linking Angie and Loubar together.

Rollie was performing mouth to mouth on Angie, trying desperately to get her to breath. She was so cold and pale. He pinched her nose and did the breaths as Leo started administering compressions.

Finally, Angie coughed as she began breathing. Rollie rolled her over as the water rushed out of her lungs. Mira handed him his jacket and he placed it over Angie's freezing body. Leo took his jacket off too and put it on her.

Angie's eyes opened slowly as she took in the scene. She didn't remember how she got here. Her head and her body hurt all over. Then, she saw him.

"Rollie?" she coughed, her lips blue from the cold.

"I'm here. I'm here sweetie." Rollie smiled down at Angie as one hand caressed her face and his other hand held hers. He was so grateful to have her back, alive. "Don't try to get up. The ambulance will be here soon. They need to check you out, just as a precaution, okay?"

Angie's brow furrowed as she looked around. She saw the body lying next to her and she started whimpering, scared, and wondering who it was, her mind still very much in a fog.

"Shh, Ange," Rollie gently turned her face back towards his and away from the sight of Loubar's body. "It's okay. You're okay now. Loubar can't hurt you anymore." Rollie's voice was soothing and calm and it had a calming effect on Angie.

Angie smiled and shivered against the cold as she reached out to caress Rollie's face. "Rollie I—" she smiled and whispered again. There was something she needed to tell him. Then she felt sudden excruciating pain in her abdomen. "Ow!" she cried as she curled up in pain.

"Angie? Angie what is it?" Rollie's eyes were big with worry.

"Ow...w...w!" Angie cried again as she held her tummy and fear gripped her. "Oh no, Oh God, please no...please don't let me lose my baby. Oww!"

"Baby?" Rollie cried breathlessly. "Angie? Baby?" Rollie voice shook as he looked over at Leo. Leo's face was ashen as realization hit him as well.

"Oww, Rollie, make it stop," Angie writhed in pain as she begged him to do something that was out of his hands. Angie sobbed as she bunched up again. "Oww! Owww! Rollie, it hurts! It hurts! Please make it stop!"

Rollie caressed Angie's brow. "Angie, I would give anything to take away your pain. I wish I could...." Rollie's voice broke.

"I know," Angie whimpered as she bunched up again.

"Where the hell is the ambulance?" Rollie cried out in panic, as he felt useless to help Angie. Rollie held Angie's hand as she squeezed it every time she felt pain, which were in increasing frequencies. He hated seeing her in so much pain. Pregnant!

Mira came over after she heard the news. She lifted the jackets to see that Angie's nightshirt and legs were blood soaked.  Mira closed her eyes for a second or two because she knew what was happening to Angie and her baby.

Finally, the FDNY EMT's arrived and they immediately went to try to work on Loubar. Rollie yelled at them to leave him be and to help Angie instead. Fear and anguish were in his eyes.

"Sir, we have to check this man. He's been shot—"

"Yeah, and he's obviously dead. This woman is pregnant and hemorrhaging. She needs your help now. Not him." Mira yelled.

The EMT's went to Angie. They asked Rollie how pregnant she was but he just gave them a blank stare. They turned their attention to Angie. "Ma'am, how far along are you?"

Angie grimaced in pain. "I'm...I'm twelve weeks," she cried.

Rollie looked down at her in awe and worry. For the first time he noticed Angie's stomach, normally flat and muscular, now with a slight bump. Her stomach was just beginning to grow and he had to wonder if there was any way for the baby to be saved. It was so young and so fragile at this point and Angie was in a lot of pain and losing a lot of blood. Rollie's hand suddenly went to Angie's abdomen, lightly touching the area where their baby was...and probably dying.

"Okay, twelve weeks. Can you tell us what happened?" one of the EMT's asked as the other was taking her vitals.

"I fell...I fell down the stairs." Angie cried and doubled over in pain again. "Ow! Please save my baby!"

Rollie grimaced too as he realized what Angie had been through, the struggle with Loubar, the fall down the stairs, and the fall into the icy waters of the East River. Rollie told the EMT's about the fall into the river.

"Ma'am, you have to try and be calm. Do you hear me?" the ambulance technician said as he put an oxygen mask on her.

"Okay, I'll try." Angie whimpered though the mask, clearly still in pain and she shifted slightly on her side. She held Rollie's hand tightly. "It hurts," Angie cried. She was beginning to lose strength.

"Do you remember anything else?" the paramedic pressed on. "How did you get here?"

Angie looked up between Rollie and the paramedic. "I...I don't know...."

"Look, is this really important right now?" Rollie asked in exasperation. Rollie grimaced as Angie tried to stifle another cry of pain. "Can't you do something? Anything??" Rollie pleaded with them through tears.

"Sir, you've got to keep her talking." The young paramedic looked up at Rollie. "She's lost a lot of blood and she could slip into a coma."

Rollie swallowed, his throat feeling tight. "Angie, sweetie, come on. You have to fight. I know you're doing it but you've got to keep doing it. You're the strongest person I know," Rollie whispered in her ear. "Come on sweetie, I know you can do it." Then his voice took on more desperation. "I can't lose you, Angela. Please don't leave me," he cried.

"Rollie," Angie whispered through the oxygen mask. She squeezed his hand. Her eyes were wide with fear.

Rollie could see the fear and pain in her eyes and it mirrored his own.

The paramedics loaded Angie up into the ambulance. Rollie rode along with her. Leo, Mira, and Francis said they would meet him at the hospital.