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DISCLAIMER: Mark, Steve, Carol, Dora and Stacey Sloan,
Amanda Bentley, and Jesse Travis belong to Paramount and Viacom.
I just borrowed them to write this story.
*******************************************************
THE SWEENEY VENDETTA
SAGA--PART ONE:
DEATH OF A SLOAN
PLOT: Carol decides to come back for a visit, but after she calls
to tell Mark, she never arrives. Responding to a call of a body
found, Steve discovers that the victim is his sister. (This
happens after the "Murder In The Family" TV episode.)
*******************************************************
Act one: The Disappearance
Mark is fixing breakfast for Steve and himself when the phone
rings. "Hello." he says, picking up the phone. A smile
spreads across Mark's face as he hears the caller's voice.
"Oh, hi Carol! It's great to hear from you again." he
says, his voice full of joy. "How are you? You are? That's
wonderful!" His smile gets even wider. "It'll be great
to see you again. Steve will be thrilled. So when are you
coming?" he asks. "In two days? Great! We'll see you
then." His voice grows softer and he says: "I love you,
honey. Good-bye."
As Mark hangs up the phone, Steve enters the kitchen. "Good
morning, dad." He pours himself a cup of coffee. "Was
that anyone I know?" "Yes," Mark replies, handing
Steve his breakfast. "That was
Carol. She's coming for a visit in two days." "That's
wonderful. I can't wait to see 'Lil Sis' again," Steve
exclaims. "Steve, you know Carol hates that nickname,"
Mark admonishes. Steve grins impishly. "I know." Steve
chuckles mischievously at the thought of his sister yelling at
him every time he called her that.
Two days later, Carol's plane is arriving in LA ahead of
schedule.
"I'll take a cab and surprise daddy and Steve," she
thinks to herself.
She smiles as she picks up her luggage. "It sure will be
good to see them again," she thinks as she flags down a
taxi. As she gets in, she is so deep in thought that she doesn't
notice the malicious glint in the driver's eyes, or the way his
mouth curls up in an evil grin.
They are passing the park when Carol realizes they are going the
wrong way. "Hey!" she exclaims, leaning forward to tap
the driver on the shoulder. "This isn't the way I told you
to go!" He glances at her and the coldness of his eyes sends
a fear-filled chill down her spine. He pulls out a gun and waves
it at her. "Sit back, keep quiet, and you won't get
hurt," he growls, in a low and menacing voice. Trembling,
Carol falls back against the seat as terror fills every part of
her being. The only thought that enters her mind is that she
might never see her family again. "Oh, daddy...." she
murmurs softly, as tears begin to flow down her cheeks.
At the Sloan house, Mark is getting worried. It is almost ten
p.m. and Carol has still not arrived or called. "Where can
she be, Steve?" he wonders nervously, as they sit in the
kitchen drinking coffee. "She would have called if she were
going to be late." Steve looks over at his father, trying to
keep his own anxiety from showing. "I'm sure she's fine,
dad. Her plane was probably delayed, and the phones on it out of
order," he says in a tone more calm and reassuring than he
feels. Reaching over, he puts his hand on his father's shoulder.
"Thanks Steve," Mark says gratefully, placing his hand
on his son's.
Act Two: The Awful Truth
The next day, Steve is sitting at his desk at the precinct,
trying to do some paperwork. He finds himself still worrying
about Carol instead.
At that moment, a call comes in. "Sloan! We've got a report
of a body in an abandoned building. Looks like foul-play."
"Thanks, Bill.
I'm on my way," Steve replies, standing up. As he drives to
the building, he starts to think: "What if this is
Carol?" Shaking his head, he runs his fingers through his
hair: "Come on, Sloan, get a grip. You keep thinking like
that and you'll drive yourself nutty."
Arriving at the scene, he searches out the ME. "What've we
got, Dave?" "Well, sir," he answers, "It
looks like a robbery gone bad. We have a female Caucasian, 5'8'
to 5'9', about 125-130 lbs., medium blond hair." He stops,
takes a breath, and continues. "Shot twice, once in the
head, once in the chest. She wasn't wearing any jewelry and her
purse was found empty nearby." "Thanks, Dave,"
Steve replies as he turns and heads for the room where the body
was found.
Entering the door he walks over to the body, which is already in
a body bag. Unzipping the bag, he pulls it open. As he looks in,
for the first time in his career, he can feel himself loosing it.
Eyes widening in shock, his stomach starts to churn and he breaks
out in a sweat. Dropping the sides of the bag, he backs away.
"Oh God...noo..." he breathes, his voice barley
audible. Shaking, he feels his knees give way and, as blackness
closes in, he slowly sinks to the floor.
As he sits at Steve's bedside at CG, Mark watches his son start
to come around. "Oooh... Where am I? What happened?"
Steve groans, rubbing his head. "I was hoping you could tell
me," Mark answers, concern in his voice. "They told me
what happened when you opened the body bag...." He stops as
Steve pales and starts to shake. "Son, what's wrong? What is
it?" Mark asks. He presses the nurse call button as he jumps
up and clutches Steve's arm, his son's reaction frightening him.
Steve looks up at his dad, his eyes wide and tearful.
"I..It..was....
Carol! She's dead, dad!" he gasps. His voice is trembling
and full of grief. Speechless with shock, Mark collapses into the
chair, almost in a faint.
Act Three: Everyone In Shock
The nurse comes in time to hear Steve speak. Concerned, she
leaves to find Dr. Travis. Coming up, he asks what is wrong. The
nurse answers: "It's the Sloans." She tells him what
she heard and saw. The color drains from Jesse's face as he
listens. "Oh no!" he thinks as he thanks the nurse.
Turning, he runs for the room, stopping long enough to pick up a
strong sedative for his friends. At the room, he stops before he
goes in. "Okay, Jesse," he thinks, "Get a grip.
They need you strong, not upset." Steeling himself, he walks
in.
Inside, Jesse immediately gives Steve one dose of the sedative,
then turns to Mark. "Mark? Mark! Are you all right?" he
asks anxiously.
Mark looks up at him with such a haunted, grief-stricken
expression in his eyes that Jesse shivers. "He..he said it
was Carol.....my daughter,
Jesse....my only daughter!" Mark speaks in a calm, quiet
voice, but
Jesse sees that he is about to lose it, so he gives him a dose of
the sedative, too. Tears threatening to spill, Jesse turns and
leaves the room as soon as the sedatives take effect. "I
need to tell Amanda," he thinks, and heads for the path lab.
In the path lab, Amanda is working on some files for Steve, when
Jesse rushes in. "Amanda!" he pants, shaking and out of
breath.
"Jesse!" she cries out as she jumps up and runs over to
him. "What's wrong?" she asks, noticing the tears in
his eyes. Trembling, he slowly tells her what had just happened.
"God, Amanda, I've never seen them like this before!"
He shivers again as he remembers the look in Mark's eyes.
"Oh, Jesse, no!" Amanda's voice is shaking. "Why,
Jesse?" she asks, as she starts to cry. "Why!"
Putting his arm around her, he says sadly "I don't know,
Amanda; I just don't know."
Three days later, they are at the funeral. Steve had come home
two days earlier, and Uncle Stacey and Aunt Dora had arrived the
night before. As they stand graveside, Amanda and Jesse glance
worriedly at their friends. Mark is sitting down with his head in
his hands, crying softly. Steve is standing behind his father,
his hands tightly gripping Mark's shoulders. He is quiet but you
can see tears on his face. Uncle Stacey is sitting beside Mark,
his hand on his brother's shoulder, on top of Steve's. Aunt Dora
is in a chair on Mark's other side, one arm wrapped around him.
She is dabbing at her eyes with a lace handkerchief in her other
hand. "Oh, Jesse." Amanda's voice is low and sad. Jesse
reaches over and gives her a comforting squeeze.
The preacher is finishing his prayers when Mark succumbs to the
shock of the last few days. Stacey catches him and Dora waves her
handkerchief in his face, trying to bring him around. Watching,
Steve suddenly turns and runs. Amanda starts to follow but Jesse
puts his hand on her arm. "Let him go," Jesse says
quietly, "Steve needs to be alone right now." Ten
minutes later, Steve slows to a walk. Blinking tears from his
eyes and breathing hard, he sinks to the ground against a tree.
Putting his head in his hands and leaning his elbows on his
knees, he draws a shaky breath. "Oh, Carol....why?" he
whispers, his voice low and anguished.
Act Four: Discovery And Capture
Three weeks have passed. Mark and Steve have been back at work
for about a week. They are trying to get their lives as back to
normal as possible. It has not been easy, and has been especially
hard for Steve.
He has not been able to get the sight of his sister in the body
bag out of his mind. The first time he responded to a murder
scene after returning to work, when he reached out to open the
body bag, his hand shook. As he touched the zipper, he stopped.
He pulled his hand back and turned away, as he murmured:
"No.. I can't.…" His voice was soft and
distressed. With the help the precinct psychologist, he is doing
better, but he is still a bit hesitant at times.
Mark has had trouble too. The first time he lost a patient after
he went back to CG, it was a young girl about Carol's age. When
it was time to let the parents know, he was standing outside the
waiting room with Jesse. He turned to Jesse and said, his voice
filled with heartache, "I.. I can't do it, Jesse. I can't
tell them." He looked at Jesse, tears in his eyes.
"Will you do it for me? Please." Jesse nodded yes and
went in. Mark is slowly getting better. He is now getting through
the day without breaking down in tears at least once.
It is taking time, but Mark and Steve are improving day by day.
They are at home talking on the deck one evening, when Steve's
cell phone rings. "Hello." As he listens, his eyes
narrow with fury and anticipation.
"You did? Great! I'll be right there." Seeing the look
on his son's face as Steve hangs up, Mark asks: "What's
going on?" "They may have found the scum who murdered
Carol. Some of her jewelry was sold at a pawnshop today, and the
cashier recognized and reported it. If his description matches
the one our witness gave, we have him! I can't wait to get my
hands on him!" he growled, his voice seething with rage.
"Now, Steve," Mark implores, upset by the news and
Steve's reaction to it, "please don't do anything rash or
dangerous." He looks pleadingly at his son. "I've lost
one child, I don't want to lose another." Steve sighs,
"I'm sorry, dad. I won't." He slams his hand down on
the table. "I just want this guy so bad!" he exclaims
angrily. "I know you do, son." Mark walks over and puts
his hand on Steve's shoulder. "So do I." Steve takes
Mark's hand in his as he stands up to leave. "Thanks,
dad," he says softly.
At the precinct, Steve walks up to the front desk. "Hey,
Earl, anything new?" "Yes. The description matched the
driver of the taxi that Carol was seen entering at the
airport." Earl responds. Steve just stands there for a
minute, as a wave of emotions--anger, sadness, fear,
confusion--flows through him. He had wanted to catch the guy, but
wishes they hadn't had to look for him in the first place. He is
afraid of what he might do if he gets near the guy. He is also
having trouble separating his feelings as a brother from his
feelings as a cop.
"Lt. Sloan?" Earl asks, "Are you all right, sir?
"Hum...oh. Yes, thank you," Steve says, shaking his
head to clear his mind. "I'm okay.
Did you say whether they had brought him in yet?" "Not
yet, sir. They have already left to pick him up though." He
hands Steve an address. "If you leave now, you should be
able to meet them there." "Thanks." Steve heads
for his car.
As he stops for a red light, Steve reaches over and turns on the
radio, hoping to get his mind off of his feelings. His eyes
moisten when he hears which song is playing. Elton John's
"Candle In The Wind" was Carol's favorite song. Steve
remembers the last time he had heard the song. It was a week
after the funeral and he and his father were still out on
personal leave. Steve's eyes cloud over with the memory as he
goes back to that day.
Mark is sitting on the couch, looking and feeling depressed.
Steve has been pacing all over the house like an angry, caged
animal.
Mark, deciding that maybe some music would help, gets up and
turns the stereo on. He has just sat back down when "Candle
In The Wind" comes on. Tears spring to Mark's eyes as Steve
stops walking and stands, staring at the stereo. "Carol's
favorite song...." Mark's voice is soft and devastated.
Suddenly, Steve runs over and grabs the stereo, pulling the cord
from the socket. Shaking with unspoken rage, he hurls the stereo
across the room.
"Son!" Mark gasps. Steve looks over at him, his eyes
full of grief.
"I...I'm sorry, dad. I just couldn't take it anymore."
He walks toward the couch. "No matter what I do or where I
go, everything I see reminds me of her, looks like her, is
her!" He sinks down beside his father. "Every time I
see her face, it's looking up at me from that body bag!" His
voice is high-pitched and anguished. He puts his head in his
hands. "God I miss her, dad!" he moans. Reaching out,
Mark pulls Steve into a fatherly embrace. "I know, son. I
know." he says sadly as he strokes Steve's hair. "I
miss her, too." Finally letting down his defenses, Steve
puts his arms around his father and cries. Mark just sits there,
tears running down his face, and holds Steve. Father and son
grieve openly and completely for the first time since Carol's
death.
Hearing a car horn, Steve jumps. He blinks his eyes as the memory
fades again. Looking up, he realizes the light is green and moves
on.
After driving for another fifteen minutes, he finds the address.
It is a run down apartment building in a bad part of town. As he
parks and gets out, he sees that the other officers are already
there. Walking over to the officer in charge, Steve asks.
"What's going on, Frank? Do you have him yet?"
"No, Sir," Frank answers. "He has barricaded
himself in his apartment. Every time we try to approach, he opens
fire with what we think is an automatic weapon."
As the officer finishes speaking, a hail of bullets cuts through
the air. Frank and Steve to throw themselves to the ground. The
suspect has opened fire, hitting several officers. The police
return fire. Moving cautiously, Steve raises his head and looks
around. Seeing that the coast is clear, he slowly starts to sit
up, but winces as he leans on his left hand. Glancing at his arm,
he sees blood running down from his shoulder. "Damn!"
he swears under his breath, putting his hand to his shoulder.
Half an hour later, his shoulder bandaged, he looks around,
taking in the situation. There are officers being tended to by
the EMTs, and officers packing up their equipment. There is an
area where the bodies of the fallen officers are waiting to be
taken away, and the body of
Carol's murderer is being brought out of the building. Sitting in
the back of the ambulance, Steve runs his good hand through his
hair and sighs resignedly. It is finally over.
Or is it? Preoccupied with his thoughts, Steve doesn't realize he
is being watched. In a car across the street, a man is holding a
pair of binoculars and snickering fiendishly. "Just wait,
Sloan. Just you wait," he thinks, his mouth turning up in an
evil smirk.
A month later....
To Be Continued in:
THE SWEENEY VENDETTA
SAGA--PART TWO:
A MURDERER'S
DECEPTION
