In the Darkness there is Light

Walking down the hospital corridor, Matt feels completely numb. Having known Will his entire life, he's known all of the women he's dated. Despite Will's natural good looks, there weren't many. Shocking, especially since once they reached puberty, pretty much every girl had a crush on Will at one stage or another. Matt was always jealous of Will, but his girlfriends never were the reason; just the attention. It wasn't until Will introduced Matt to Chloe that he truly knew what jealousy was. Matt ached to have a love like that. A beautiful woman, with brains and a great sense of humor, that lit up every room she entered. A woman with natural beauty, but one that never acted as if she knew she was beautiful. In fact she once confided in Matt, that she never felt like she was good looking enough for Will. Shaking his head once more, Matt tries to focus on being the cop, and not the angry friend who wants to kill this Maxwell.

Will four steps ahead of Matt reaches the door to room 231 first.

Lifting her head slowly, Molly looks up and sees the most handsome man she's ever seen standing in her hospital room doorway. A shadow crosses his face, almost as if he's seen a ghost.

"Hi."

Will opens his mouth to respond, and is gently pushed forward into the room by Matt. The look on Matt's face is the most determined, strong and angry Will has seen, ever.

"Miss McCourt, I'm Sergeant Black. If it's alright with you I'd like to ask you a few questions about the man who attacked you."

Molly nods at Matt, even thought she knows she could go to jail for prostitution, there's something about these two men that makes her want to spill her guts to them.

Slowly Molly tells them everything she knows. She was walking home from her "shift" when a man in a black land rover pulled along side her and smiled. She wasn't in the mood for another customer, but this guy was handsome, looked normal and had a sexy British accent. So she got in the car with him. He drove her to the pier and parked at the end of it. Molly was weary of the parking lot, being such a public place, but she turned to him as he parked and asked what he wanted. He instructed her to close her eyes, he said they were the wrong color. Then he asked her to call him her Lord. She complied and in her head was starting to think that this guy has a screw loose. He continued to give her instructions, he wanted to see her body parts, but didn't want her to touch him. Each time she tried to open her eyes he became angry. Sitting next to him with her shirt around her neck and skirt hiked up, exposing herself she wondered if he was getting off on this. She opened her eyes to see as his breathing had changed, becoming rougher.

But as she did he smacked her and yelled. "I told you not to look at me with those dirty brown eyes!"

Scared, Molly began to cry and tried to put her clothes back into place. But he stopped her. Smacking her again across the face, so hard it knocked her sideways against the window. The window cracked by her head and she felt blood run down her cheek.

"Eyes Shut Whore." he said fiercely.

He then pulled her by her ankles from the vehicle and let her slam to the ground. She looked up just in time to see him climb back in and put the car in reverse. She rolled to the side but not fast enough, he ran over her right leg. Thinking fast she tried to memorize his license plate... M.. H... 6... 2..Q... then she blacked out from the pain.

"The next thing I knew I was waking up in the hospital with a bandage on my neck and my leg raised up in a cast. I don't even know how I got a cut on my neck. The doctor said it looks like I blacked out and he came back to finish the job, but he was about an inch from my artery."

"Thank you Miss McCourt, you have no idea how helpful this is."

"Please, call me Molly, Sergeant Black."

Smiling at her Matt forgets for a moment that she's a prostitute. He turns to smile at Will, but he's gone.

"Fuck. Excuse me Molly." Matt says as he stands and pulls his phone from his pocket, at the same time looking for Will.

The phone ringing in his ear, he spots Will, just outside the hospital entrance hunched over a planter.

Matt pats Will's back as he vomits into the bushes.

"Captain, I have a partial plate and a make and model of the vehicle..."

Ernie walks up the stairs of the lighthouse wondering whether that lovely couple enjoyed their visit. Smiling through the arthritis pain as he climbs the stairs he remembers when he proposed to his wife here. As he reaches the landing he notices a breeze and realizes they left the door to the balcony open. Stepping through the room in the dark, Ernie reaches for the door and attempts to close it. But something is in the way. Switching on the light, Ernie gasps as he finds Jake barely breathing and unconscious. And Mia is covered in blood, a pool of it beneath her. On the ground is a cell phone covered in blood. Ernie picks it up and seeing 911 already there, presses send. Phone propped between his shoulder and ear, Ernie begins CPR on Jake. Slowly a tear rolls down his cheek, his smile long gone.

As Ernie kneels over Jake, his hands desperately trying to keep the blood pumping to his heart, he hears the sirens in the background growing closer. Hurry he pleads silently. Looking over at Mia he sees her lifeless body laying there limp, and he can't seem to get past the look of surprise and fear in her blue eyes.

"I'm sorry I puked, Matt." Will says as they speed along the highway back to the police station.

"It's just... when I was listening to her talk. All I could think about was.... what if he? you know?"

"I know." Matt says grasping Will on the shoulder. "When we find him. We will kill him."

Eyes moving rapidly beneath her eyelids, Chloe is in a deep dream state. She's with Will at a surprise Deftones show. She's standing at the bar trying to get the bartender's attention. She feels his eyes on her, can almost feel his breath on her neck. He's been watching her since they set foot in the bar. There's something about this guy, he's oddly familiar. His blonde hair, perfectly styled. His suit perfectly tailored. His eyes malicious in intent but there's something else there, a deep rooted pain. Chloe feels his breath on her neck again. Her eyes open suddenly with a sharp intake of breath.

For the first time since he approached her at the train station Maxwell sees a look of recognition in Chloe's face. He steps back and considers whether to remove the gag from her mouth. He smiles as watches her eyes take in every inch of him, as if for the first time.

Matt's phone rings as he pulls into the parking lot of the police station.

"Hello?"

"What? Where?"

"Ok. When?"

"Text me the address."

Making a U-turn in the parking lot, Matt turns to Will. "I think we just got a little closer to Chloe."

Will looks at him speechless, not wanting to get too hopeful.

"There's a lighthouse about ten miles from the pier. A 911 call was placed from a cell phone there about an hour ago. Two people were shot."

"Matt I don't see how that--"

Matt interrupts Will, "I have a feeling. I may not be great at sports or cards, but Will.. . I'm a cop and when I have a feeling, I'm usually right."

"I remember you." The words escape Chloe's lips like a whisper as a tear rolls down her cheek. The sense of dread and fear in the pit of her stomach have subsided and she feels sadness. Her captor's eyes widen in shock and he takes two steps backward away from her.

He stands there speechless as she speaks.

"You were there. You were at the concert last summer. You helped me win a teddy bear from the machine on the pier. But you've been around me longer than that. You must have. You were there when I lost my mom, you lost yours too. You sat on the swings with me and told me I'd never be alone."

He closes his eyes and sighs in relief. She remembers. She does care. Opening his eyes and smiling he takes a step forward cautiously. He can sense that she no longer fears him and he wants to hold her in his arms.

Chloe watches as he steps forward and stops him in his tracks with a question. "How long have you been watching me?"

He opens his mouth to answer and stops. Then smiling he responds, "I've been searching for you since the day you drove away with your dad."

"How did you find me? And when?"

" I saw you once when you were in college, you were walking with a group of girls to class. I wasn't sure it was you, but I did some research and realized it was you. I found you through your father, where you lived, and went to school. I went to your college graduation and I sent flowers to you on your first day of work. I love you Chloe, always have and always will. You are my queen."

He watches her face as she begins to cry and he can't stand it anymore he closes the gap between them and wipes the tears from her face.

Chloe shutters under his touch, the sadness for the little broken boy now replaced with anger and fury.But she decides to see how this plays out.

"Maxwell" She whispers.

Maxwell gasps as he hears his name leave her sweet lips and he makes a decision. Pulling a knife from his pocket he begins to cut Chloe from her restraints.

"Now we can be together forever. Just like mother told me, I always get what I want."

Maxwell continues to babble on in such a way, but Chloe's not really listening anymore. She's watching the knife in his hand and considering her options.

After cutting the final restraint, Chloe takes Maxwell by surprise and envelops him in a tight embrace, nearly knocking him off his feet. Having not had time to close the knife he drops it in surprise and hugs her back.

The knife now at his feet, Chloe makes to move Maxwell backward, but he resists and moves to kiss her.

Swallowing her disgust and anger, Chloe kisses Maxwell deeply and loosens her embrace.

Maxwell breaks the kiss suddenly and steps backward from her. Both their eyes widen in shock as they hear sirens rise in the distance.

"Bitch." Maxwell yells. Sure in his mind that Chloe somehow contacted Will.

As Maxwell moves to grab her, Chloe drops to her knees, and grabs the knife.

Then as she begins to rise to her feet, she stabs Maxwell in his right calf.

Maxwell falls backward and Chloe leaps over him and runs toward the door.

Behind her Maxwell pulls the knife from his leg and pounces on her.

Chloe falls on her side and hits her head hard on the wood floor.

Angry, Maxwell takes the bloody knife and plunges it into an unconscious Chloe.