Categories > Original > Drama
The Day Of Revenge
0 reviewsArcher must save his wife from a madman who has her held captive. He's forced to relive memories of his past. Will he save his wife before Clark loses his patience and kills her? -This was a school...
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THE DAY OF REVENGE
Written and Rewritten by:
Natalie Wadge
PART ONE
The Archer reached for his gun, but found it gone as Clark hit him over the head with the butt of his 9mm.
A sharp pain shoots through his head as the Archer opens his eyes. As the pain subsides he recognizes the dim flickering lights. Surrounded by some four-wall machines, he can hear faint voices in another room. He can just make out the words, "He'll never do it?" He is startled by a loud bang and a thump, as if someone's just been shot.
"What is going on here? Someone answer me!" he yells as the explosion echoes off the walls. His question receives no answer. All he can hear is the humming of the machines. He recognizes the machines to be the kind used in hospital's to treat burn victims. There is a tank full of water in the middle of the room. It looks like the kind of tank you'd see at a carnival. He wonders what it's for.
"How are you feeling, 'Mr. Archer'?" a deep voice asks from behind the door. It sounds very familiar but for some reason he can't place it.
"What is going on here? Where is this place? and who are you?" the Archer asks.
Whoever you are I am going to kill you. He didn't say.
"Don't you recognize a fellow soldier?" he asks coming out from behind the door.
Archer glares at him. "Clark. I should have known it was you."
"Now that you know who it is, I have a job for you to do. If you decline-"he reaches behind himself and pulls out the Archer's wife. She has her hands tied behind her back and her mouth is gagged. "I'll kill your lovely wife."
"Rachael! You son of a bitch! If you touch her I'll-"
"If you cooperate I won't have to." He interrupts. He pushes her into the arms of one of his men who hold her by the hair. "What I want you to do are to kill the occupants of the Wright Tower. Then, find the large bookshelf in the study. Behind four books at the left you will find a box. I want you to bring it back to me. Whatever you do, don't open it. Understand?"
"Yes. But don't think I'm going to let you get away with this." he threatens.
"In all due time. I'm sending along a few of my men to follow you, to make sure you don't screw up. Get my drift?"
The Archer nods.
"Now boys, I want you to see that the Archer finds his way out alright." Clark instructs the two thugs holding Rachael. As they start to walk towards the Archer, Clark grabs Rachael by the arm. "Come on 'honey.' Let's go."
"Don't worry, Rachael, baby. I'll come back for you. I promise." The Archer says as Clark drags his wife away.
"Shit."
As the Archer walks to his car, he thinks about his wife and what might happen to her if he doesn't do what he's been told. Clark, he knows, doesn't take things lightly. As a young guy, they were in the army together, until his father had a heart attack. Clark had come home one day and found his parents killed by none other than the Archer. Since they were growing up in the army together they were always on each other's bad side. The Archer and Rachael moved and it took Clark five years to find them again.
PART TWO
Clark takes Rachael to a padded cell to house the insane and locks her in. He then goes into his office to think. So far, everything has gone as planned. Of course, he still plans to kill the Archer's wife, but he wants to wait for the Archer to return so he can witness it. He can't wait to see the look on his face as his beloved Rachael's blood paints the floor. He wants the Archer to feel the same pain he's felt since his parents were executed.
"That slime killed my family, and now I finally get my revenge! I'll tie him to a chair and kill Rachael as he watches. I'll let him suffer for a while and then I'll kill him. I'll get that box and my revenge at the same time. Yes!" he says to himself.
Clark decides to take a little nap. He tells his men not to disturb him until the Archer returns with the box. He lies down on the office couch and imagines how his face will look as the Archer's wife lays dying. At last, he falls asleep-smiling.
The Archer keeps looking in his rearview window to see the tail that Clark has sent to look after him. Yes, they are still following him.
As he arrives home, the two thugs park on the other side of the street to keep an eye on him. Inside the house, he goes to his office where all his guns are hidden behind a false wall. He chooses a high-powered rifle and loads it. He decides to shoot his 'shadows' if they come in to check on him.
He goes into the bathroom and turns on the shower. He gathers towels and shampoo, gets undressed, and gets in. The water feels good on his skin, but falls painfully on the goose egg on his head. He is constantly thinking of his wife and all that she's been through since they first met; and wonders how she's doing. He hopes he will be able to save her. He has to. He knows he can't trust Clark to keep his word. For all he knows, Clark has every intention of killing her, whether or not he does what he says. He will have to be careful.
After the shower he dresses. He takes the rifle and puts it on the kitchen table. He takes some egg salad sandwiches out of the refrigerator. Rachael made them for him this morning before he went to work. He finishes eating and goes to the window to see what the men are doing. He sees them looking at the house. He goes back to the task of preparing for the assignment.
He has to think of a way to get the guys out of the car so he can kill them. First, he must find a way to keep them from alerting Clark-Rachael's life is on the line. He will have to create a diversion and take them out when they come to get a better look. He decides to break a window so it will sound like he is trying to get away. As they get to the door he wants to come out shooting, but thinks better of it. He will need to keep one of them alive. Clark will be expecting an armed escort to be with him at his return. He will have to kill one and disarm the other one. He plans to go to the Wright Towers after the occupants have left for the evening. He will then get the box and bring it back to Clark. He knows he will have to kill him to get back his wife. Like a spider in a web, he waits for his unsuspecting victims.
Clark wakes up--- all covered in sweat. He has been dreaming about his parents. Over and over, he dreams about the incident that started this. He pictures his mom and dad just sitting on the couch. All of a sudden, there is Archer. Shots ring out and his mom and dad are dead. He can see their helpless looks on their faces. He walks in to find the Archer shoots them and he just stood there in shock while the Archer shoots him in the leg and runs away. He still blames himself for their deaths. He should have done something. But he just stood there and got shot. Every time he has a dream, he wishes he could go back in time and stop the Archer? he knows that will never happen, but at least now he can have his revenge.
He decides to take a shower and think about how sweat revenge will be. Now refreshed, he takes his transmitter and calls his men to check up on the Archer's progress.
In the car Clark's men are looking out the window at the house. They see the Archer look out the window, apparently to see if they are still there. They hear their boss's voice on the transmitter.
"How is everything over there boys?"
"Everything is fine. The Archer is still in the house. He keeps looking out the window. Over."
"Good. Keep a close eye on him and be extra careful. He's very experienced and probably has a lot of guns. Keep me posted on his progress."
"We will. Over and out."
Just as the transmitter goes silent again, they hear the sound of breaking glass.
While they were talking on the transmitter, the Archer was finding something to throw at the window to the back door with a deadbolt and key. He locks it before he goes to work every day. He finds a brick and throws it at the glass. He runs to the window to see what's happening. The two guys in the car start cautiously toward the house, looking in all directions for potential witnesses. The Archer takes his rifle and stands to one side of the front door, so that he has the upper hand as they enter the house.
The men open the door. As the second one comes in, the Archer grabs him, putting the rifle to his head. "Stop or he's dead!" he threatens.
They both drop their guns on the floor.
"Now I want you to kick it over and step back!" the guy does what he's told, except rather than stepping back, the idiot runs toward the back door. The Archer has no choice but to shoot him in the back of the head.
What an idiot. He thinks.
"When I let you go, you are to go and sit on the couch. If you don't, you'll end up like your friend over there. Understand?" a nod assures him that the guy does.
The Archer lets him go and the man sits on the couch. The Archer takes the confiscated guns and puts them in his bag. He takes a rope from the bag and ties up the thug. Just as he's finishing he hears Clark's voice over the transmitter. He picks it up.
"Okay now. I want you to calmly tell your boss that everything is fine. Got it?"
The guy nods and the Archer hold the transmitter to his mouth. "Is everything alright?" Clark asks.
The guy glares at the Archer "Everything is fine. We just heard a noise and searched it out. It was just a stupid cat in the alley-it knocked down a trashcan. Over."
"Okay if anything happens, tell me. Clark out."
The Archer puts the transmitter in his pocket. Then he turns to his captive. "I'm going to gag you and I want you to stay there-nice and quiet. I need to do something?" Beaten, the guy just stares at the Archer blankly. He takes a towel, puts some of it in the guy's mouth as a gag, and ties it around his head.
PART THREE
Clark decides to look in on his prisoner. He goes to the cell where she is being held. She is sitting on the floor, crying.
She's a very sexy female. He thinks to himself. Too bad she is going to die.
Her mouth is still gagged and her hands are still behind her back. Clark removes the gag.
"You jerk! Where is my husband? What are you going to do to me?"
"Your husband is on a mission for me and won't be back for a long time. My name is Clark."
"I know your name. I remember you," she says.
"I'm not going to do anything to you just as long as your husband does what I asked for. When he does I will let you go. If he fails you're going to die. What's your name again?"
"Rachael."
"That's a pretty name. Now Rachael. Tell me what happened eleven years ago?"
She looks puzzled. "What do you mean? I don't understand?"
"Let me tell you about that day. I remember that day like it was just yesterday. It was raining. I was on an assignment and your husband was at my house. I came home to check on my folks and heard something. I ran into the living room just in time to see your husband shoot my father in the head. My mother was sitting on the couch with a hole in her chest. I just stood there. It was like I was frozen. While I stood there in shock, your husband shot me in the leg. I lay on the floor and started yelling.
Tears form in his eyes as he stares at the floor.
"I looked at my mother and father lying in their own blood. I vowed to take revenge on your husband. By the time I found you guys it has already been five years.
"I know all about you. I know that you had a daughter who died at the age of three. When I discovered where you guys lived, I came to get you. In order to find you I had to kill three people. It was sweet to feel their blood on my hands. Anyway, you know the rest."
He lifts her head and looks at her. Her tears are stopped and, but her eyes are still red and wet. "Did you know that your husband was a trained killer? An assassin?"
She stares at him with hate in her eyes. "You sick perverted monster!" she spits. "Now you listen to me. I need my husband and you can't do anything that will tear us apart. I don't care what happens to you. I hope you die!"
He slaps her in the face. Her words frighten him. He wants to kill her, but he knows that he needs her. "Shut up you stupid bitch! You'll end up like your husband's partners? dead!"
She just smiles. She knows she is his only way to get to her husband. She is his only chance for revenge. "Go ahead. If you kill me, my husband will come for you."
"You're right. I can't kill you, yet. But I can do anything else I want. I can mess up that pretty face of yours. I can also fuck you while your husband watches and then I'll kill you. How would you like that?"
She starts to shiver from fear rather than anger. He smiles, knowing he's gotten to her. Satisfied for the time being, he leaves her with her thoughts-horrible things.
The Archer reaches the Wright Tower just as the occupants drive away to a party for the mayor. He enters the penthouse through the service elevator. There is a long corridor leading to ten different rooms.
Oh man. It's going to take me fifty years to check all these rooms. He thinks.
Then he remembers he has the transmitter.
I'll just call Clark and ask him for directions. It's no use pretending anymore. I'm tired, and my wife needs me to hurry.
He flips the switch and the transmitter crackles to life.
"This is Archer. Are you there, Clark?"
As Clark walks down the hallway, he hears a familiar voice.
"This is Archer. Are you there, Clark?"
"Ah, Mr. Archer, how nice to hear from you. I've just come from your wife's room. She and I had a very? interesting visit."
"You stay away from my wife, you sick pervert!"
Clark is delighted that he can make the Archer so angry. "Don't worry? I haven't taken advantage of your wife, yet. We just talked. I did have to slap her though because the little bimbo was getting on my bad side. But, I'm saving the best for when we meet again.
Clark can just imagine his enemy with hate in his eyes. He is grinning from ear to ear. In his mind, he is rehearsing the death scene, which will soon be played out.
"By the way, Clark, your two henchmen are at my house. One of them is sitting on my couch- bound and gagged. The other one is dead. He decided not to cooperate, so I had to kill the poor bastard. I'm calling from the Tower to ask you which room the box is in. there are ten doors and I need to know which is which."
"The third door is the study. Remember what I said. Don't open that box."
PART FOUR
The Archer turns off the transmitter and finds the third door on the right. As he opens the door, he sees what seem to be a million books. There are four different large bookcases and several smaller ones. He stares at the first bookcase, but discovers that it isn't the right one. He checks the next one, and the next. Finally he looks in the last bookcase and finds a small black box.
"Okay now. I have to get this back to the hospital and to Clark." He is just about to leave when he decides to open the box. "Screw what he says." He carefully lifts the lid.
The Archer is about to leave when he hears a noise coming from down the hall. He takes his pistol from his bag and stays close to the walls so as not to be seen. As he slides cautiously along the wall, he hears the noise again. When he looks toward the direction of the noise, he sees a shadow in the kitchen. A man is making a sandwich. Now is his chance for a clean get away. The Archer walks as slowly as he can to the front door, so as not to alert his hungry companion to his presence. Just as he gets to the door, the man finishes preparing his food and turns out the light. He must move quickly. He grabs the doorknob, turns it, and steps outside just in time to escape without being seen. That was close.
The Archer reaches the hospital and sees that all the lights are off with the exception of the room he'd left that morning. Something must be up?
While the Archer is in the Wright Tower study, Clark takes his wife to the room with the big tank. It takes quite a while to get her there.
"Stop that!"
She struggles to get away from his strong grip. She begins kicking her legs so Clark has to carry her over his shoulder. When they finally get to the therapy room, he puts her on the chair he's set out for her and leaves her alone.
Rachael starts to cry. She is thinking about her husband and the horrible thing he did to Clark. She still can't believe it and wants to know why he did it. She will have to ask him.
He better get here soon. She prays.
As Clark leaves her, he tells his men to close all the doors and turn off the lights in all the rooms, except for the one Rachael is in.
"I have a surprise for the Archer."
Upon returning to the abandoned hospital, the Archer prepares his rifle. He's also brought along a handgun, and some extra ammo. As he heads for the door he listens for any signs of danger. He holds his gun out in front of him.
Okay. Now how do I get to the room with the light on without getting caught?
He moves down the hall and sees a door with a light on under it. Just then, one of the thugs shoots at the Archer. The round just misses him as he ducks behind a large door. When he feels it is a good time, he leaps out-firing-and shooting the guy in the chest.
He enters the lighted room and sees his wife tied to a chair. He runs over to her and takes the gag out of her mouth. "Oh Rachael." Tears come readily to his eyes. She has a big bruise on her cheek. Her face is smeared. She smiles at him with tears of joy in her eyes. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine-just a little tired. I'm glad to see you're okay. I love you." She answers. "Can we get out of here?"
"Not until you give me the box I asked for." Clark answers from in the doorway. "Do you have it?"
"I got it."
The Archer stands up. He starts to move towards Clark with his rifle out in front of him and his bag over his shoulder. The Archer sees Clark's gaze go from his eyes to his gun and back again.
"Let me see the box."
The Archer takes the box from his bag and slides it across the floor to Clark. While Clark opens the box, the Archer kneels by his wife and attempts to untie her legs. Clark points a gun towards them. It has a silencer attached to the end of it. "No one is going anywhere"
Archer is about to pick up his rifle, which he lied on the floor so he could use both hands. "I wouldn't do that Archer. Unless you want your pretty wife to get shot, I'd kick it over to me right now."
Clark motions to the chair. "Sit down Rachael." He commands.
Rachael looks to Archer for advice. He nods to her. "Do what he says."
She sits in the chair and looks at her husband just as Clark shoots him in the shoulder. Instinctively he drops the rifle and grabs his arm. He glares at Clark and kicks the rifle over to him. Clark picks up the rifle and moves it to the side. Then he points the gun at Rachael and pulls the trigger.
Feeling happy that he got this far, Clark can taste his revenge. But when he pulled the trigger all he hears is a metallic click, not the bang he expected.
(Click, click, click)
"What is wrong with this thing?"
Before Clark can get his answer the Archer hits him in the back of the head with the rifle he picked up from the floor. Clark falls to the floor, unconscious. Rachael screams.
The Archer walks over to Rachael with the rifle still in his hand. "Let's go darling. We still have to be careful. Clark has lots of men." He says.
"Is he dead?" Her voice betrays a twinge of pain and disappointment.
"No, but when he wakes up, he's going to have one hell of a headache. Come on."
As they start to walk out into the dark hall, a few of Clark's men enter the room from another door to find Clark on the floor and their hostage gone. The couple quickly hides behind the big tank-not however, quickly enough. The sound of gunfire explodes.
"Stay here." He says.
"Be careful."
The Archer loads his gun and peaks over the tank. He is a crack shot and nails one of the guys in the chest. He kneels back down for cover, and after a few seconds, jumps up to shoot the other two in the legs. They get up from behind the tank and he tells Rachael to tie them up before Clark wakes up. With the following hours still fresh in his mind he points his gun at the two wounded men and shoots them in the head.
"Aaaaaaahhh! Why did you do that?" she never saw her husband act this way before. He looks almost like he enjoyed killing them. She falls on the floor in disbelief.
His wound is oozing a lot of blood. He looks tired and lost. Without answering her he starts to recall how all this got started. He decides she needs to know. "Eleven years ago I remember thinking that it was going to be a routine job. But when I got there, it was like I was relieving a long-running dream. It was like a memory from my youth. My father had been drinking heavily all morning. He smelled heavily like beer. He started yelling at me because I forgot to take out the trash. With every angry word he hit me with his belt-harder every time. When he finished, he took me to my room, shut the door, and told me not to leave. I began to cry and finally fell asleep. I had a dream that my dad was sitting on the couch in our living room. I picked up his gun and shot his in the head. All of a sudden I woke up and realized I was on assignment. A man and woman were on the couch. I had shot the man in the head and the woman in the chest. I had killed them. They were spies and international terrorists, but they were also Clark's parents. When I noticed Clark, frozen there staring at the bodies of his parents, I shot him in the leg so he couldn't go after me? then I ran. I ran all the way to our house, took a shower, and took a nap. By the time you got home I was fine again. That's what started all of this. I wanted to share it with you, but I couldn't." he says collapsing from loss of blood. "Please forgive me?" he pleads silently.
She scoots over to him and holds him. "I forgive you." she replies.
They get up and check on Clark, who is still out cold. "What do we do with him?" she asks.
"We'll leave the sick fuck here and call the police."
The Archer displayed a slight enthusiasm to finally ending it. "I'm done with him. Let's just go home."
"First I have to dress your wound before you feint." She walks over to one of the guys and rips off a piece of the guy's shirt. She wraps it around the Archer's shoulder.
"Dressing the wound with a dead guy's shirt?this is kind of romantic."
"Was that an attempt at a joke to lighten up the mood?"
"Was it bad?"
She kisses him passionately on the lips. Arm in arm, they leave for home.
The Archer and his wife watch Clark's arrest on television from home a woman reporter, wearing a cheesy red dress and an absolutely fake smile, was covering the story.
"Today a man was picked up by police after he apparently killed eight people. An anonymous caller led police to this abandoned hospital. Officer Carl Bentley got the call."
The Archer mutes the television and notices that his lovely Rachael has fallen asleep in his lap.
I have a wonderful wife.
FOUR MONTHS LATER
I'm home!" the Archer calls from the front door after a long day at work. Rachael is in the kitchen cooking. She pauses to kiss him and then goes back to cooking. Rachael has been having bad dreams about Clark and the kidnapping. Otherwise, their lives are back to normal. The Archer relaxes and turns on the news.
"I had a great day," he answered, "how about you?"
"Me too."
Suddenly, the Archer turns up the volume. It is the same female reporter. She is wearing an even uglier dress this time.
"The man known as Clark escaped today?"
They gasp in horror.
"Residents in the area should be looking for this man?he has blue eyes, short brown hair, is of medium height and has a stocky build."
A picture of him is shown.
"Residents should stay indoors with their doors locked. If he is spotted, please stay calm and notify the police."
Several seconds pass before anyone speaks. "Here we go again!" they both echo? THE DAY OF REVENGE
Written and Rewritten by:
Natalie Wadge
PART ONE
The Archer reached for his gun, but found it gone as Clark hit him over the head with the butt of his 9mm.
A sharp pain shoots through his head as the Archer opens his eyes. As the pain subsides he recognizes the dim flickering lights. Surrounded by some four-wall machines, he can hear faint voices in another room. He can just make out the words, "He'll never do it..." He is startled by a loud bang and a thump, as if someone's just been shot.
"What is going on here? Someone answer me!" he yells as the explosion echoes off the walls. His question receives no answer. All he can hear is the humming of the machines. He recognizes the machines to be the kind used in hospital's to treat burn victims. There is a tank full of water in the middle of the room. It looks like the kind of tank you'd see at a carnival. He wonders what it's for.
"How are you feeling, 'Mr. Archer'?" a deep voice asks from behind the door. It sounds very familiar but for some reason he can't place it.
"What is going on here? Where is this place... and who are you?" the Archer asks.
Whoever you are I am going to kill you. He didn't say.
"Don't you recognize a fellow soldier?" he asks coming out from behind the door.
Archer glares at him. "Clark. I should have known it was you."
"Now that you know who it is, I have a job for you to do. If you decline-"he reaches behind himself and pulls out the Archer's wife. She has her hands tied behind her back and her mouth is gagged. "I'll kill your lovely wife."
"Rachael! You son of a bitch! If you touch her I'll-"
"If you cooperate I won't have to." He interrupts. He pushes her into the arms of one of his men who hold her by the hair. "What I want you to do are to kill the occupants of the Wright Tower. Then, find the large bookshelf in the study. Behind four books at the left you will find a box. I want you to bring it back to me. Whatever you do, don't open it. Understand?"
"Yes. But don't think I'm going to let you get away with this." he threatens.
"In all due time. I'm sending along a few of my men to follow you, to make sure you don't screw up. Get my drift?"
The Archer nods.
"Now boys, I want you to see that the Archer finds his way out alright." Clark instructs the two thugs holding Rachael. As they start to walk towards the Archer, Clark grabs Rachael by the arm. "Come on 'honey.' Let's go."
"Don't worry, Rachael, baby. I'll come back for you. I promise." The Archer says as Clark drags his wife away.
"Shit."
As the Archer walks to his car, he thinks about his wife and what might happen to her if he doesn't do what he's been told. Clark, he knows, doesn't take things lightly. As a young guy, they were in the army together, until his father had a heart attack. Clark had come home one day and found his parents killed by none other than the Archer. Since they were growing up in the army together they were always on each other's bad side. The Archer and Rachael moved and it took Clark five years to find them again.
PART TWO
Clark takes Rachael to a padded cell to house the insane and locks her in. He then goes into his office to think. So far, everything has gone as planned. Of course, he still plans to kill the Archer's wife, but he wants to wait for the Archer to return so he can witness it. He can't wait to see the look on his face as his beloved Rachael's blood paints the floor. He wants the Archer to feel the same pain he's felt since his parents were executed.
"That slime killed my family, and now I finally get my revenge! I'll tie him to a chair and kill Rachael as he watches. I'll let him suffer for a while and then I'll kill him. I'll get that box and my revenge at the same time. Yes!" he says to himself.
Clark decides to take a little nap. He tells his men not to disturb him until the Archer returns with the box. He lies down on the office couch and imagines how his face will look as the Archer's wife lays dying. At last, he falls asleep-smiling.
The Archer keeps looking in his rearview window to see the tail that Clark has sent to look after him. Yes, they are still following him.
As he arrives home, the two thugs park on the other side of the street to keep an eye on him. Inside the house, he goes to his office where all his guns are hidden behind a false wall. He chooses a high-powered rifle and loads it. He decides to shoot his 'shadows' if they come in to check on him.
He goes into the bathroom and turns on the shower. He gathers towels and shampoo, gets undressed, and gets in. The water feels good on his skin, but falls painfully on the goose egg on his head. He is constantly thinking of his wife and all that she's been through since they first met; and wonders how she's doing. He hopes he will be able to save her. He has to. He knows he can't trust Clark to keep his word. For all he knows, Clark has every intention of killing her, whether or not he does what he says. He will have to be careful.
After the shower he dresses. He takes the rifle and puts it on the kitchen table. He takes some egg salad sandwiches out of the refrigerator. Rachael made them for him this morning before he went to work. He finishes eating and goes to the window to see what the men are doing. He sees them looking at the house. He goes back to the task of preparing for the assignment.
He has to think of a way to get the guys out of the car so he can kill them. First, he must find a way to keep them from alerting Clark-Rachael's life is on the line. He will have to create a diversion and take them out when they come to get a better look. He decides to break a window so it will sound like he is trying to get away. As they get to the door he wants to come out shooting, but thinks better of it. He will need to keep one of them alive. Clark will be expecting an armed escort to be with him at his return. He will have to kill one and disarm the other one. He plans to go to the Wright Towers after the occupants have left for the evening. He will then get the box and bring it back to Clark. He knows he will have to kill him to get back his wife. Like a spider in a web, he waits for his unsuspecting victims.
Clark wakes up--- all covered in sweat. He has been dreaming about his parents. Over and over, he dreams about the incident that started this. He pictures his mom and dad just sitting on the couch. All of a sudden, there is Archer. Shots ring out and his mom and dad are dead. He can see their helpless looks on their faces. He walks in to find the Archer shoots them and he just stood there in shock while the Archer shoots him in the leg and runs away. He still blames himself for their deaths. He should have done something. But he just stood there and got shot. Every time he has a dream, he wishes he could go back in time and stop the Archer... he knows that will never happen, but at least now he can have his revenge.
He decides to take a shower and think about how sweat revenge will be. Now refreshed, he takes his transmitter and calls his men to check up on the Archer's progress.
In the car Clark's men are looking out the window at the house. They see the Archer look out the window, apparently to see if they are still there. They hear their boss's voice on the transmitter.
"How is everything over there boys?"
"Everything is fine. The Archer is still in the house. He keeps looking out the window. Over."
"Good. Keep a close eye on him and be extra careful. He's very experienced and probably has a lot of guns. Keep me posted on his progress."
"We will. Over and out."
Just as the transmitter goes silent again, they hear the sound of breaking glass.
While they were talking on the transmitter, the Archer was finding something to throw at the window to the back door with a deadbolt and key. He locks it before he goes to work every day. He finds a brick and throws it at the glass. He runs to the window to see what's happening. The two guys in the car start cautiously toward the house, looking in all directions for potential witnesses. The Archer takes his rifle and stands to one side of the front door, so that he has the upper hand as they enter the house.
The men open the door. As the second one comes in, the Archer grabs him, putting the rifle to his head. "Stop or he's dead!" he threatens.
They both drop their guns on the floor.
"Now I want you to kick it over and step back!" the guy does what he's told, except rather than stepping back, the idiot runs toward the back door. The Archer has no choice but to shoot him in the back of the head.
What an idiot. He thinks.
"When I let you go, you are to go and sit on the couch. If you don't, you'll end up like your friend over there. Understand?" a nod assures him that the guy does.
The Archer lets him go and the man sits on the couch. The Archer takes the confiscated guns and puts them in his bag. He takes a rope from the bag and ties up the thug. Just as he's finishing he hears Clark's voice over the transmitter. He picks it up.
"Okay now. I want you to calmly tell your boss that everything is fine. Got it?"
The guy nods and the Archer hold the transmitter to his mouth. "Is everything alright?" Clark asks.
The guy glares at the Archer "Everything is fine. We just heard a noise and searched it out. It was just a stupid cat in the alley-it knocked down a trashcan. Over."
"Okay if anything happens, tell me. Clark out."
The Archer puts the transmitter in his pocket. Then he turns to his captive. "I'm going to gag you and I want you to stay there-nice and quiet. I need to do something..." Beaten, the guy just stares at the Archer blankly. He takes a towel, puts some of it in the guy's mouth as a gag, and ties it around his head.
PART THREE
Clark decides to look in on his prisoner. He goes to the cell where she is being held. She is sitting on the floor, crying.
She's a very sexy female. He thinks to himself. Too bad she is going to die.
Her mouth is still gagged and her hands are still behind her back. Clark removes the gag.
"You jerk! Where is my husband? What are you going to do to me?"
"Your husband is on a mission for me and won't be back for a long time. My name is Clark."
"I know your name. I remember you," she says.
"I'm not going to do anything to you just as long as your husband does what I asked for. When he does I will let you go. If he fails you're going to die. What's your name again?"
"Rachael."
"That's a pretty name. Now Rachael. Tell me what happened eleven years ago?"
She looks puzzled. "What do you mean? I don't understand..."
"Let me tell you about that day. I remember that day like it was just yesterday. It was raining. I was on an assignment and your husband was at my house. I came home to check on my folks and heard something. I ran into the living room just in time to see your husband shoot my father in the head. My mother was sitting on the couch with a hole in her chest. I just stood there. It was like I was frozen. While I stood there in shock, your husband shot me in the leg. I lay on the floor and started yelling.
Tears form in his eyes as he stares at the floor.
"I looked at my mother and father lying in their own blood. I vowed to take revenge on your husband. By the time I found you guys it has already been five years.
"I know all about you. I know that you had a daughter who died at the age of three. When I discovered where you guys lived, I came to get you. In order to find you I had to kill three people. It was sweet to feel their blood on my hands. Anyway, you know the rest."
He lifts her head and looks at her. Her tears are stopped and, but her eyes are still red and wet. "Did you know that your husband was a trained killer? An assassin?"
She stares at him with hate in her eyes. "You sick perverted monster!" she spits. "Now you listen to me. I need my husband and you can't do anything that will tear us apart. I don't care what happens to you. I hope you die!"
He slaps her in the face. Her words frighten him. He wants to kill her, but he knows that he needs her. "Shut up you stupid bitch! You'll end up like your husband's partners... dead!"
She just smiles. She knows she is his only way to get to her husband. She is his only chance for revenge. "Go ahead. If you kill me, my husband will come for you."
"You're right. I can't kill you, yet. But I can do anything else I want. I can mess up that pretty face of yours. I can also fuck you while your husband watches and then I'll kill you. How would you like that?"
She starts to shiver from fear rather than anger. He smiles, knowing he's gotten to her. Satisfied for the time being, he leaves her with her thoughts-horrible things.
The Archer reaches the Wright Tower just as the occupants drive away to a party for the mayor. He enters the penthouse through the service elevator. There is a long corridor leading to ten different rooms.
Oh man. It's going to take me fifty years to check all these rooms. He thinks.
Then he remembers he has the transmitter.
I'll just call Clark and ask him for directions. It's no use pretending anymore. I'm tired, and my wife needs me to hurry.
He flips the switch and the transmitter crackles to life.
"This is Archer. Are you there, Clark?"
As Clark walks down the hallway, he hears a familiar voice.
"This is Archer. Are you there, Clark?"
"Ah, Mr. Archer, how nice to hear from you. I've just come from your wife's room. She and I had a very... interesting visit."
"You stay away from my wife, you sick pervert!"
Clark is delighted that he can make the Archer so angry. "Don't worry... I haven't taken advantage of your wife, yet. We just talked. I did have to slap her though because the little bimbo was getting on my bad side. But, I'm saving the best for when we meet again.
Clark can just imagine his enemy with hate in his eyes. He is grinning from ear to ear. In his mind, he is rehearsing the death scene, which will soon be played out.
"By the way, Clark, your two henchmen are at my house. One of them is sitting on my couch- bound and gagged. The other one is dead. He decided not to cooperate, so I had to kill the poor bastard. I'm calling from the Tower to ask you which room the box is in. there are ten doors and I need to know which is which."
"The third door is the study. Remember what I said. Don't open that box."
PART FOUR
The Archer turns off the transmitter and finds the third door on the right. As he opens the door, he sees what seem to be a million books. There are four different large bookcases and several smaller ones. He stares at the first bookcase, but discovers that it isn't the right one. He checks the next one, and the next. Finally he looks in the last bookcase and finds a small black box.
"Okay now. I have to get this back to the hospital and to Clark." He is just about to leave when he decides to open the box. "Screw what he says." He carefully lifts the lid.
The Archer is about to leave when he hears a noise coming from down the hall. He takes his pistol from his bag and stays close to the walls so as not to be seen. As he slides cautiously along the wall, he hears the noise again. When he looks toward the direction of the noise, he sees a shadow in the kitchen. A man is making a sandwich. Now is his chance for a clean get away. The Archer walks as slowly as he can to the front door, so as not to alert his hungry companion to his presence. Just as he gets to the door, the man finishes preparing his food and turns out the light. He must move quickly. He grabs the doorknob, turns it, and steps outside just in time to escape without being seen. That was close.
The Archer reaches the hospital and sees that all the lights are off with the exception of the room he'd left that morning. Something must be up...
While the Archer is in the Wright Tower study, Clark takes his wife to the room with the big tank. It takes quite a while to get her there.
"Stop that!"
She struggles to get away from his strong grip. She begins kicking her legs so Clark has to carry her over his shoulder. When they finally get to the therapy room, he puts her on the chair he's set out for her and leaves her alone.
Rachael starts to cry. She is thinking about her husband and the horrible thing he did to Clark. She still can't believe it and wants to know why he did it. She will have to ask him.
He better get here soon. She prays.
As Clark leaves her, he tells his men to close all the doors and turn off the lights in all the rooms, except for the one Rachael is in.
"I have a surprise for the Archer."
Upon returning to the abandoned hospital, the Archer prepares his rifle. He's also brought along a handgun, and some extra ammo. As he heads for the door he listens for any signs of danger. He holds his gun out in front of him.
Okay. Now how do I get to the room with the light on without getting caught?
He moves down the hall and sees a door with a light on under it. Just then, one of the thugs shoots at the Archer. The round just misses him as he ducks behind a large door. When he feels it is a good time, he leaps out-firing-and shooting the guy in the chest.
He enters the lighted room and sees his wife tied to a chair. He runs over to her and takes the gag out of her mouth. "Oh Rachael." Tears come readily to his eyes. She has a big bruise on her cheek. Her face is smeared. She smiles at him with tears of joy in her eyes. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine-just a little tired. I'm glad to see you're okay. I love you." She answers. "Can we get out of here?"
"Not until you give me the box I asked for." Clark answers from in the doorway. "Do you have it?"
"I got it."
The Archer stands up. He starts to move towards Clark with his rifle out in front of him and his bag over his shoulder. The Archer sees Clark's gaze go from his eyes to his gun and back again.
"Let me see the box."
The Archer takes the box from his bag and slides it across the floor to Clark. While Clark opens the box, the Archer kneels by his wife and attempts to untie her legs. Clark points a gun towards them. It has a silencer attached to the end of it. "No one is going anywhere"
Archer is about to pick up his rifle, which he lied on the floor so he could use both hands. "I wouldn't do that Archer. Unless you want your pretty wife to get shot, I'd kick it over to me right now."
Clark motions to the chair. "Sit down Rachael." He commands.
Rachael looks to Archer for advice. He nods to her. "Do what he says."
She sits in the chair and looks at her husband just as Clark shoots him in the shoulder. Instinctively he drops the rifle and grabs his arm. He glares at Clark and kicks the rifle over to him. Clark picks up the rifle and moves it to the side. Then he points the gun at Rachael and pulls the trigger.
Feeling happy that he got this far, Clark can taste his revenge. But when he pulled the trigger all he hears is a metallic click, not the bang he expected.
(Click, click, click)
"What is wrong with this thing?"
Before Clark can get his answer the Archer hits him in the back of the head with the rifle he picked up from the floor. Clark falls to the floor, unconscious. Rachael screams.
The Archer walks over to Rachael with the rifle still in his hand. "Let's go darling. We still have to be careful. Clark has lots of men." He says.
"Is he dead?" Her voice betrays a twinge of pain and disappointment.
"No, but when he wakes up, he's going to have one hell of a headache. Come on."
As they start to walk out into the dark hall, a few of Clark's men enter the room from another door to find Clark on the floor and their hostage gone. The couple quickly hides behind the big tank-not however, quickly enough. The sound of gunfire explodes.
"Stay here." He says.
"Be careful."
The Archer loads his gun and peaks over the tank. He is a crack shot and nails one of the guys in the chest. He kneels back down for cover, and after a few seconds, jumps up to shoot the other two in the legs. They get up from behind the tank and he tells Rachael to tie them up before Clark wakes up. With the following hours still fresh in his mind he points his gun at the two wounded men and shoots them in the head.
"Aaaaaaahhh! Why did you do that?" she never saw her husband act this way before. He looks almost like he enjoyed killing them. She falls on the floor in disbelief.
His wound is oozing a lot of blood. He looks tired and lost. Without answering her he starts to recall how all this got started. He decides she needs to know. "Eleven years ago I remember thinking that it was going to be a routine job. But when I got there, it was like I was relieving a long-running dream. It was like a memory from my youth. My father had been drinking heavily all morning. He smelled heavily like beer. He started yelling at me because I forgot to take out the trash. With every angry word he hit me with his belt-harder every time. When he finished, he took me to my room, shut the door, and told me not to leave. I began to cry and finally fell asleep. I had a dream that my dad was sitting on the couch in our living room. I picked up his gun and shot his in the head. All of a sudden I woke up and realized I was on assignment. A man and woman were on the couch. I had shot the man in the head and the woman in the chest. I had killed them. They were spies and international terrorists, but they were also Clark's parents. When I noticed Clark, frozen there staring at the bodies of his parents, I shot him in the leg so he couldn't go after me... then I ran. I ran all the way to our house, took a shower, and took a nap. By the time you got home I was fine again. That's what started all of this. I wanted to share it with you, but I couldn't." he says collapsing from loss of blood. "Please forgive me?" he pleads silently.
She scoots over to him and holds him. "I forgive you." she replies.
They get up and check on Clark, who is still out cold. "What do we do with him?" she asks.
"We'll leave the sick fuck here and call the police."
The Archer displayed a slight enthusiasm to finally ending it. "I'm done with him. Let's just go home."
"First I have to dress your wound before you feint." She walks over to one of the guys and rips off a piece of the guy's shirt. She wraps it around the Archer's shoulder.
"Dressing the wound with a dead guy's shirt...this is kind of romantic."
"Was that an attempt at a joke to lighten up the mood?"
"Was it bad?"
She kisses him passionately on the lips. Arm in arm, they leave for home.
The Archer and his wife watch Clark's arrest on television from home a woman reporter, wearing a cheesy red dress and an absolutely fake smile, was covering the story.
"Today a man was picked up by police after he apparently killed eight people. An anonymous caller led police to this abandoned hospital. Officer Carl Bentley got the call."
The Archer mutes the television and notices that his lovely Rachael has fallen asleep in his lap.
I have a wonderful wife.
FOUR MONTHS LATER
I'm home!" the Archer calls from the front door after a long day at work. Rachael is in the kitchen cooking. She pauses to kiss him and then goes back to cooking. Rachael has been having bad dreams about Clark and the kidnapping. Otherwise, their lives are back to normal. The Archer relaxes and turns on the news.
"I had a great day," he answered, "how about you?"
"Me too."
Suddenly, the Archer turns up the volume. It is the same female reporter. She is wearing an even uglier dress this time.
"The man known as Clark escaped today..."
They gasp in horror.
"Residents in the area should be looking for this man...he has blue eyes, short brown hair, is of medium height and has a stocky build."
A picture of him is shown.
"Residents should stay indoors with their doors locked. If he is spotted, please stay calm and notify the police."
Several seconds pass before anyone speaks. "Here we go again!" they both echo...
THE END
Written and Rewritten by:
Natalie Wadge
PART ONE
The Archer reached for his gun, but found it gone as Clark hit him over the head with the butt of his 9mm.
A sharp pain shoots through his head as the Archer opens his eyes. As the pain subsides he recognizes the dim flickering lights. Surrounded by some four-wall machines, he can hear faint voices in another room. He can just make out the words, "He'll never do it?" He is startled by a loud bang and a thump, as if someone's just been shot.
"What is going on here? Someone answer me!" he yells as the explosion echoes off the walls. His question receives no answer. All he can hear is the humming of the machines. He recognizes the machines to be the kind used in hospital's to treat burn victims. There is a tank full of water in the middle of the room. It looks like the kind of tank you'd see at a carnival. He wonders what it's for.
"How are you feeling, 'Mr. Archer'?" a deep voice asks from behind the door. It sounds very familiar but for some reason he can't place it.
"What is going on here? Where is this place? and who are you?" the Archer asks.
Whoever you are I am going to kill you. He didn't say.
"Don't you recognize a fellow soldier?" he asks coming out from behind the door.
Archer glares at him. "Clark. I should have known it was you."
"Now that you know who it is, I have a job for you to do. If you decline-"he reaches behind himself and pulls out the Archer's wife. She has her hands tied behind her back and her mouth is gagged. "I'll kill your lovely wife."
"Rachael! You son of a bitch! If you touch her I'll-"
"If you cooperate I won't have to." He interrupts. He pushes her into the arms of one of his men who hold her by the hair. "What I want you to do are to kill the occupants of the Wright Tower. Then, find the large bookshelf in the study. Behind four books at the left you will find a box. I want you to bring it back to me. Whatever you do, don't open it. Understand?"
"Yes. But don't think I'm going to let you get away with this." he threatens.
"In all due time. I'm sending along a few of my men to follow you, to make sure you don't screw up. Get my drift?"
The Archer nods.
"Now boys, I want you to see that the Archer finds his way out alright." Clark instructs the two thugs holding Rachael. As they start to walk towards the Archer, Clark grabs Rachael by the arm. "Come on 'honey.' Let's go."
"Don't worry, Rachael, baby. I'll come back for you. I promise." The Archer says as Clark drags his wife away.
"Shit."
As the Archer walks to his car, he thinks about his wife and what might happen to her if he doesn't do what he's been told. Clark, he knows, doesn't take things lightly. As a young guy, they were in the army together, until his father had a heart attack. Clark had come home one day and found his parents killed by none other than the Archer. Since they were growing up in the army together they were always on each other's bad side. The Archer and Rachael moved and it took Clark five years to find them again.
PART TWO
Clark takes Rachael to a padded cell to house the insane and locks her in. He then goes into his office to think. So far, everything has gone as planned. Of course, he still plans to kill the Archer's wife, but he wants to wait for the Archer to return so he can witness it. He can't wait to see the look on his face as his beloved Rachael's blood paints the floor. He wants the Archer to feel the same pain he's felt since his parents were executed.
"That slime killed my family, and now I finally get my revenge! I'll tie him to a chair and kill Rachael as he watches. I'll let him suffer for a while and then I'll kill him. I'll get that box and my revenge at the same time. Yes!" he says to himself.
Clark decides to take a little nap. He tells his men not to disturb him until the Archer returns with the box. He lies down on the office couch and imagines how his face will look as the Archer's wife lays dying. At last, he falls asleep-smiling.
The Archer keeps looking in his rearview window to see the tail that Clark has sent to look after him. Yes, they are still following him.
As he arrives home, the two thugs park on the other side of the street to keep an eye on him. Inside the house, he goes to his office where all his guns are hidden behind a false wall. He chooses a high-powered rifle and loads it. He decides to shoot his 'shadows' if they come in to check on him.
He goes into the bathroom and turns on the shower. He gathers towels and shampoo, gets undressed, and gets in. The water feels good on his skin, but falls painfully on the goose egg on his head. He is constantly thinking of his wife and all that she's been through since they first met; and wonders how she's doing. He hopes he will be able to save her. He has to. He knows he can't trust Clark to keep his word. For all he knows, Clark has every intention of killing her, whether or not he does what he says. He will have to be careful.
After the shower he dresses. He takes the rifle and puts it on the kitchen table. He takes some egg salad sandwiches out of the refrigerator. Rachael made them for him this morning before he went to work. He finishes eating and goes to the window to see what the men are doing. He sees them looking at the house. He goes back to the task of preparing for the assignment.
He has to think of a way to get the guys out of the car so he can kill them. First, he must find a way to keep them from alerting Clark-Rachael's life is on the line. He will have to create a diversion and take them out when they come to get a better look. He decides to break a window so it will sound like he is trying to get away. As they get to the door he wants to come out shooting, but thinks better of it. He will need to keep one of them alive. Clark will be expecting an armed escort to be with him at his return. He will have to kill one and disarm the other one. He plans to go to the Wright Towers after the occupants have left for the evening. He will then get the box and bring it back to Clark. He knows he will have to kill him to get back his wife. Like a spider in a web, he waits for his unsuspecting victims.
Clark wakes up--- all covered in sweat. He has been dreaming about his parents. Over and over, he dreams about the incident that started this. He pictures his mom and dad just sitting on the couch. All of a sudden, there is Archer. Shots ring out and his mom and dad are dead. He can see their helpless looks on their faces. He walks in to find the Archer shoots them and he just stood there in shock while the Archer shoots him in the leg and runs away. He still blames himself for their deaths. He should have done something. But he just stood there and got shot. Every time he has a dream, he wishes he could go back in time and stop the Archer? he knows that will never happen, but at least now he can have his revenge.
He decides to take a shower and think about how sweat revenge will be. Now refreshed, he takes his transmitter and calls his men to check up on the Archer's progress.
In the car Clark's men are looking out the window at the house. They see the Archer look out the window, apparently to see if they are still there. They hear their boss's voice on the transmitter.
"How is everything over there boys?"
"Everything is fine. The Archer is still in the house. He keeps looking out the window. Over."
"Good. Keep a close eye on him and be extra careful. He's very experienced and probably has a lot of guns. Keep me posted on his progress."
"We will. Over and out."
Just as the transmitter goes silent again, they hear the sound of breaking glass.
While they were talking on the transmitter, the Archer was finding something to throw at the window to the back door with a deadbolt and key. He locks it before he goes to work every day. He finds a brick and throws it at the glass. He runs to the window to see what's happening. The two guys in the car start cautiously toward the house, looking in all directions for potential witnesses. The Archer takes his rifle and stands to one side of the front door, so that he has the upper hand as they enter the house.
The men open the door. As the second one comes in, the Archer grabs him, putting the rifle to his head. "Stop or he's dead!" he threatens.
They both drop their guns on the floor.
"Now I want you to kick it over and step back!" the guy does what he's told, except rather than stepping back, the idiot runs toward the back door. The Archer has no choice but to shoot him in the back of the head.
What an idiot. He thinks.
"When I let you go, you are to go and sit on the couch. If you don't, you'll end up like your friend over there. Understand?" a nod assures him that the guy does.
The Archer lets him go and the man sits on the couch. The Archer takes the confiscated guns and puts them in his bag. He takes a rope from the bag and ties up the thug. Just as he's finishing he hears Clark's voice over the transmitter. He picks it up.
"Okay now. I want you to calmly tell your boss that everything is fine. Got it?"
The guy nods and the Archer hold the transmitter to his mouth. "Is everything alright?" Clark asks.
The guy glares at the Archer "Everything is fine. We just heard a noise and searched it out. It was just a stupid cat in the alley-it knocked down a trashcan. Over."
"Okay if anything happens, tell me. Clark out."
The Archer puts the transmitter in his pocket. Then he turns to his captive. "I'm going to gag you and I want you to stay there-nice and quiet. I need to do something?" Beaten, the guy just stares at the Archer blankly. He takes a towel, puts some of it in the guy's mouth as a gag, and ties it around his head.
PART THREE
Clark decides to look in on his prisoner. He goes to the cell where she is being held. She is sitting on the floor, crying.
She's a very sexy female. He thinks to himself. Too bad she is going to die.
Her mouth is still gagged and her hands are still behind her back. Clark removes the gag.
"You jerk! Where is my husband? What are you going to do to me?"
"Your husband is on a mission for me and won't be back for a long time. My name is Clark."
"I know your name. I remember you," she says.
"I'm not going to do anything to you just as long as your husband does what I asked for. When he does I will let you go. If he fails you're going to die. What's your name again?"
"Rachael."
"That's a pretty name. Now Rachael. Tell me what happened eleven years ago?"
She looks puzzled. "What do you mean? I don't understand?"
"Let me tell you about that day. I remember that day like it was just yesterday. It was raining. I was on an assignment and your husband was at my house. I came home to check on my folks and heard something. I ran into the living room just in time to see your husband shoot my father in the head. My mother was sitting on the couch with a hole in her chest. I just stood there. It was like I was frozen. While I stood there in shock, your husband shot me in the leg. I lay on the floor and started yelling.
Tears form in his eyes as he stares at the floor.
"I looked at my mother and father lying in their own blood. I vowed to take revenge on your husband. By the time I found you guys it has already been five years.
"I know all about you. I know that you had a daughter who died at the age of three. When I discovered where you guys lived, I came to get you. In order to find you I had to kill three people. It was sweet to feel their blood on my hands. Anyway, you know the rest."
He lifts her head and looks at her. Her tears are stopped and, but her eyes are still red and wet. "Did you know that your husband was a trained killer? An assassin?"
She stares at him with hate in her eyes. "You sick perverted monster!" she spits. "Now you listen to me. I need my husband and you can't do anything that will tear us apart. I don't care what happens to you. I hope you die!"
He slaps her in the face. Her words frighten him. He wants to kill her, but he knows that he needs her. "Shut up you stupid bitch! You'll end up like your husband's partners? dead!"
She just smiles. She knows she is his only way to get to her husband. She is his only chance for revenge. "Go ahead. If you kill me, my husband will come for you."
"You're right. I can't kill you, yet. But I can do anything else I want. I can mess up that pretty face of yours. I can also fuck you while your husband watches and then I'll kill you. How would you like that?"
She starts to shiver from fear rather than anger. He smiles, knowing he's gotten to her. Satisfied for the time being, he leaves her with her thoughts-horrible things.
The Archer reaches the Wright Tower just as the occupants drive away to a party for the mayor. He enters the penthouse through the service elevator. There is a long corridor leading to ten different rooms.
Oh man. It's going to take me fifty years to check all these rooms. He thinks.
Then he remembers he has the transmitter.
I'll just call Clark and ask him for directions. It's no use pretending anymore. I'm tired, and my wife needs me to hurry.
He flips the switch and the transmitter crackles to life.
"This is Archer. Are you there, Clark?"
As Clark walks down the hallway, he hears a familiar voice.
"This is Archer. Are you there, Clark?"
"Ah, Mr. Archer, how nice to hear from you. I've just come from your wife's room. She and I had a very? interesting visit."
"You stay away from my wife, you sick pervert!"
Clark is delighted that he can make the Archer so angry. "Don't worry? I haven't taken advantage of your wife, yet. We just talked. I did have to slap her though because the little bimbo was getting on my bad side. But, I'm saving the best for when we meet again.
Clark can just imagine his enemy with hate in his eyes. He is grinning from ear to ear. In his mind, he is rehearsing the death scene, which will soon be played out.
"By the way, Clark, your two henchmen are at my house. One of them is sitting on my couch- bound and gagged. The other one is dead. He decided not to cooperate, so I had to kill the poor bastard. I'm calling from the Tower to ask you which room the box is in. there are ten doors and I need to know which is which."
"The third door is the study. Remember what I said. Don't open that box."
PART FOUR
The Archer turns off the transmitter and finds the third door on the right. As he opens the door, he sees what seem to be a million books. There are four different large bookcases and several smaller ones. He stares at the first bookcase, but discovers that it isn't the right one. He checks the next one, and the next. Finally he looks in the last bookcase and finds a small black box.
"Okay now. I have to get this back to the hospital and to Clark." He is just about to leave when he decides to open the box. "Screw what he says." He carefully lifts the lid.
The Archer is about to leave when he hears a noise coming from down the hall. He takes his pistol from his bag and stays close to the walls so as not to be seen. As he slides cautiously along the wall, he hears the noise again. When he looks toward the direction of the noise, he sees a shadow in the kitchen. A man is making a sandwich. Now is his chance for a clean get away. The Archer walks as slowly as he can to the front door, so as not to alert his hungry companion to his presence. Just as he gets to the door, the man finishes preparing his food and turns out the light. He must move quickly. He grabs the doorknob, turns it, and steps outside just in time to escape without being seen. That was close.
The Archer reaches the hospital and sees that all the lights are off with the exception of the room he'd left that morning. Something must be up?
While the Archer is in the Wright Tower study, Clark takes his wife to the room with the big tank. It takes quite a while to get her there.
"Stop that!"
She struggles to get away from his strong grip. She begins kicking her legs so Clark has to carry her over his shoulder. When they finally get to the therapy room, he puts her on the chair he's set out for her and leaves her alone.
Rachael starts to cry. She is thinking about her husband and the horrible thing he did to Clark. She still can't believe it and wants to know why he did it. She will have to ask him.
He better get here soon. She prays.
As Clark leaves her, he tells his men to close all the doors and turn off the lights in all the rooms, except for the one Rachael is in.
"I have a surprise for the Archer."
Upon returning to the abandoned hospital, the Archer prepares his rifle. He's also brought along a handgun, and some extra ammo. As he heads for the door he listens for any signs of danger. He holds his gun out in front of him.
Okay. Now how do I get to the room with the light on without getting caught?
He moves down the hall and sees a door with a light on under it. Just then, one of the thugs shoots at the Archer. The round just misses him as he ducks behind a large door. When he feels it is a good time, he leaps out-firing-and shooting the guy in the chest.
He enters the lighted room and sees his wife tied to a chair. He runs over to her and takes the gag out of her mouth. "Oh Rachael." Tears come readily to his eyes. She has a big bruise on her cheek. Her face is smeared. She smiles at him with tears of joy in her eyes. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine-just a little tired. I'm glad to see you're okay. I love you." She answers. "Can we get out of here?"
"Not until you give me the box I asked for." Clark answers from in the doorway. "Do you have it?"
"I got it."
The Archer stands up. He starts to move towards Clark with his rifle out in front of him and his bag over his shoulder. The Archer sees Clark's gaze go from his eyes to his gun and back again.
"Let me see the box."
The Archer takes the box from his bag and slides it across the floor to Clark. While Clark opens the box, the Archer kneels by his wife and attempts to untie her legs. Clark points a gun towards them. It has a silencer attached to the end of it. "No one is going anywhere"
Archer is about to pick up his rifle, which he lied on the floor so he could use both hands. "I wouldn't do that Archer. Unless you want your pretty wife to get shot, I'd kick it over to me right now."
Clark motions to the chair. "Sit down Rachael." He commands.
Rachael looks to Archer for advice. He nods to her. "Do what he says."
She sits in the chair and looks at her husband just as Clark shoots him in the shoulder. Instinctively he drops the rifle and grabs his arm. He glares at Clark and kicks the rifle over to him. Clark picks up the rifle and moves it to the side. Then he points the gun at Rachael and pulls the trigger.
Feeling happy that he got this far, Clark can taste his revenge. But when he pulled the trigger all he hears is a metallic click, not the bang he expected.
(Click, click, click)
"What is wrong with this thing?"
Before Clark can get his answer the Archer hits him in the back of the head with the rifle he picked up from the floor. Clark falls to the floor, unconscious. Rachael screams.
The Archer walks over to Rachael with the rifle still in his hand. "Let's go darling. We still have to be careful. Clark has lots of men." He says.
"Is he dead?" Her voice betrays a twinge of pain and disappointment.
"No, but when he wakes up, he's going to have one hell of a headache. Come on."
As they start to walk out into the dark hall, a few of Clark's men enter the room from another door to find Clark on the floor and their hostage gone. The couple quickly hides behind the big tank-not however, quickly enough. The sound of gunfire explodes.
"Stay here." He says.
"Be careful."
The Archer loads his gun and peaks over the tank. He is a crack shot and nails one of the guys in the chest. He kneels back down for cover, and after a few seconds, jumps up to shoot the other two in the legs. They get up from behind the tank and he tells Rachael to tie them up before Clark wakes up. With the following hours still fresh in his mind he points his gun at the two wounded men and shoots them in the head.
"Aaaaaaahhh! Why did you do that?" she never saw her husband act this way before. He looks almost like he enjoyed killing them. She falls on the floor in disbelief.
His wound is oozing a lot of blood. He looks tired and lost. Without answering her he starts to recall how all this got started. He decides she needs to know. "Eleven years ago I remember thinking that it was going to be a routine job. But when I got there, it was like I was relieving a long-running dream. It was like a memory from my youth. My father had been drinking heavily all morning. He smelled heavily like beer. He started yelling at me because I forgot to take out the trash. With every angry word he hit me with his belt-harder every time. When he finished, he took me to my room, shut the door, and told me not to leave. I began to cry and finally fell asleep. I had a dream that my dad was sitting on the couch in our living room. I picked up his gun and shot his in the head. All of a sudden I woke up and realized I was on assignment. A man and woman were on the couch. I had shot the man in the head and the woman in the chest. I had killed them. They were spies and international terrorists, but they were also Clark's parents. When I noticed Clark, frozen there staring at the bodies of his parents, I shot him in the leg so he couldn't go after me? then I ran. I ran all the way to our house, took a shower, and took a nap. By the time you got home I was fine again. That's what started all of this. I wanted to share it with you, but I couldn't." he says collapsing from loss of blood. "Please forgive me?" he pleads silently.
She scoots over to him and holds him. "I forgive you." she replies.
They get up and check on Clark, who is still out cold. "What do we do with him?" she asks.
"We'll leave the sick fuck here and call the police."
The Archer displayed a slight enthusiasm to finally ending it. "I'm done with him. Let's just go home."
"First I have to dress your wound before you feint." She walks over to one of the guys and rips off a piece of the guy's shirt. She wraps it around the Archer's shoulder.
"Dressing the wound with a dead guy's shirt?this is kind of romantic."
"Was that an attempt at a joke to lighten up the mood?"
"Was it bad?"
She kisses him passionately on the lips. Arm in arm, they leave for home.
The Archer and his wife watch Clark's arrest on television from home a woman reporter, wearing a cheesy red dress and an absolutely fake smile, was covering the story.
"Today a man was picked up by police after he apparently killed eight people. An anonymous caller led police to this abandoned hospital. Officer Carl Bentley got the call."
The Archer mutes the television and notices that his lovely Rachael has fallen asleep in his lap.
I have a wonderful wife.
FOUR MONTHS LATER
I'm home!" the Archer calls from the front door after a long day at work. Rachael is in the kitchen cooking. She pauses to kiss him and then goes back to cooking. Rachael has been having bad dreams about Clark and the kidnapping. Otherwise, their lives are back to normal. The Archer relaxes and turns on the news.
"I had a great day," he answered, "how about you?"
"Me too."
Suddenly, the Archer turns up the volume. It is the same female reporter. She is wearing an even uglier dress this time.
"The man known as Clark escaped today?"
They gasp in horror.
"Residents in the area should be looking for this man?he has blue eyes, short brown hair, is of medium height and has a stocky build."
A picture of him is shown.
"Residents should stay indoors with their doors locked. If he is spotted, please stay calm and notify the police."
Several seconds pass before anyone speaks. "Here we go again!" they both echo? THE DAY OF REVENGE
Written and Rewritten by:
Natalie Wadge
PART ONE
The Archer reached for his gun, but found it gone as Clark hit him over the head with the butt of his 9mm.
A sharp pain shoots through his head as the Archer opens his eyes. As the pain subsides he recognizes the dim flickering lights. Surrounded by some four-wall machines, he can hear faint voices in another room. He can just make out the words, "He'll never do it..." He is startled by a loud bang and a thump, as if someone's just been shot.
"What is going on here? Someone answer me!" he yells as the explosion echoes off the walls. His question receives no answer. All he can hear is the humming of the machines. He recognizes the machines to be the kind used in hospital's to treat burn victims. There is a tank full of water in the middle of the room. It looks like the kind of tank you'd see at a carnival. He wonders what it's for.
"How are you feeling, 'Mr. Archer'?" a deep voice asks from behind the door. It sounds very familiar but for some reason he can't place it.
"What is going on here? Where is this place... and who are you?" the Archer asks.
Whoever you are I am going to kill you. He didn't say.
"Don't you recognize a fellow soldier?" he asks coming out from behind the door.
Archer glares at him. "Clark. I should have known it was you."
"Now that you know who it is, I have a job for you to do. If you decline-"he reaches behind himself and pulls out the Archer's wife. She has her hands tied behind her back and her mouth is gagged. "I'll kill your lovely wife."
"Rachael! You son of a bitch! If you touch her I'll-"
"If you cooperate I won't have to." He interrupts. He pushes her into the arms of one of his men who hold her by the hair. "What I want you to do are to kill the occupants of the Wright Tower. Then, find the large bookshelf in the study. Behind four books at the left you will find a box. I want you to bring it back to me. Whatever you do, don't open it. Understand?"
"Yes. But don't think I'm going to let you get away with this." he threatens.
"In all due time. I'm sending along a few of my men to follow you, to make sure you don't screw up. Get my drift?"
The Archer nods.
"Now boys, I want you to see that the Archer finds his way out alright." Clark instructs the two thugs holding Rachael. As they start to walk towards the Archer, Clark grabs Rachael by the arm. "Come on 'honey.' Let's go."
"Don't worry, Rachael, baby. I'll come back for you. I promise." The Archer says as Clark drags his wife away.
"Shit."
As the Archer walks to his car, he thinks about his wife and what might happen to her if he doesn't do what he's been told. Clark, he knows, doesn't take things lightly. As a young guy, they were in the army together, until his father had a heart attack. Clark had come home one day and found his parents killed by none other than the Archer. Since they were growing up in the army together they were always on each other's bad side. The Archer and Rachael moved and it took Clark five years to find them again.
PART TWO
Clark takes Rachael to a padded cell to house the insane and locks her in. He then goes into his office to think. So far, everything has gone as planned. Of course, he still plans to kill the Archer's wife, but he wants to wait for the Archer to return so he can witness it. He can't wait to see the look on his face as his beloved Rachael's blood paints the floor. He wants the Archer to feel the same pain he's felt since his parents were executed.
"That slime killed my family, and now I finally get my revenge! I'll tie him to a chair and kill Rachael as he watches. I'll let him suffer for a while and then I'll kill him. I'll get that box and my revenge at the same time. Yes!" he says to himself.
Clark decides to take a little nap. He tells his men not to disturb him until the Archer returns with the box. He lies down on the office couch and imagines how his face will look as the Archer's wife lays dying. At last, he falls asleep-smiling.
The Archer keeps looking in his rearview window to see the tail that Clark has sent to look after him. Yes, they are still following him.
As he arrives home, the two thugs park on the other side of the street to keep an eye on him. Inside the house, he goes to his office where all his guns are hidden behind a false wall. He chooses a high-powered rifle and loads it. He decides to shoot his 'shadows' if they come in to check on him.
He goes into the bathroom and turns on the shower. He gathers towels and shampoo, gets undressed, and gets in. The water feels good on his skin, but falls painfully on the goose egg on his head. He is constantly thinking of his wife and all that she's been through since they first met; and wonders how she's doing. He hopes he will be able to save her. He has to. He knows he can't trust Clark to keep his word. For all he knows, Clark has every intention of killing her, whether or not he does what he says. He will have to be careful.
After the shower he dresses. He takes the rifle and puts it on the kitchen table. He takes some egg salad sandwiches out of the refrigerator. Rachael made them for him this morning before he went to work. He finishes eating and goes to the window to see what the men are doing. He sees them looking at the house. He goes back to the task of preparing for the assignment.
He has to think of a way to get the guys out of the car so he can kill them. First, he must find a way to keep them from alerting Clark-Rachael's life is on the line. He will have to create a diversion and take them out when they come to get a better look. He decides to break a window so it will sound like he is trying to get away. As they get to the door he wants to come out shooting, but thinks better of it. He will need to keep one of them alive. Clark will be expecting an armed escort to be with him at his return. He will have to kill one and disarm the other one. He plans to go to the Wright Towers after the occupants have left for the evening. He will then get the box and bring it back to Clark. He knows he will have to kill him to get back his wife. Like a spider in a web, he waits for his unsuspecting victims.
Clark wakes up--- all covered in sweat. He has been dreaming about his parents. Over and over, he dreams about the incident that started this. He pictures his mom and dad just sitting on the couch. All of a sudden, there is Archer. Shots ring out and his mom and dad are dead. He can see their helpless looks on their faces. He walks in to find the Archer shoots them and he just stood there in shock while the Archer shoots him in the leg and runs away. He still blames himself for their deaths. He should have done something. But he just stood there and got shot. Every time he has a dream, he wishes he could go back in time and stop the Archer... he knows that will never happen, but at least now he can have his revenge.
He decides to take a shower and think about how sweat revenge will be. Now refreshed, he takes his transmitter and calls his men to check up on the Archer's progress.
In the car Clark's men are looking out the window at the house. They see the Archer look out the window, apparently to see if they are still there. They hear their boss's voice on the transmitter.
"How is everything over there boys?"
"Everything is fine. The Archer is still in the house. He keeps looking out the window. Over."
"Good. Keep a close eye on him and be extra careful. He's very experienced and probably has a lot of guns. Keep me posted on his progress."
"We will. Over and out."
Just as the transmitter goes silent again, they hear the sound of breaking glass.
While they were talking on the transmitter, the Archer was finding something to throw at the window to the back door with a deadbolt and key. He locks it before he goes to work every day. He finds a brick and throws it at the glass. He runs to the window to see what's happening. The two guys in the car start cautiously toward the house, looking in all directions for potential witnesses. The Archer takes his rifle and stands to one side of the front door, so that he has the upper hand as they enter the house.
The men open the door. As the second one comes in, the Archer grabs him, putting the rifle to his head. "Stop or he's dead!" he threatens.
They both drop their guns on the floor.
"Now I want you to kick it over and step back!" the guy does what he's told, except rather than stepping back, the idiot runs toward the back door. The Archer has no choice but to shoot him in the back of the head.
What an idiot. He thinks.
"When I let you go, you are to go and sit on the couch. If you don't, you'll end up like your friend over there. Understand?" a nod assures him that the guy does.
The Archer lets him go and the man sits on the couch. The Archer takes the confiscated guns and puts them in his bag. He takes a rope from the bag and ties up the thug. Just as he's finishing he hears Clark's voice over the transmitter. He picks it up.
"Okay now. I want you to calmly tell your boss that everything is fine. Got it?"
The guy nods and the Archer hold the transmitter to his mouth. "Is everything alright?" Clark asks.
The guy glares at the Archer "Everything is fine. We just heard a noise and searched it out. It was just a stupid cat in the alley-it knocked down a trashcan. Over."
"Okay if anything happens, tell me. Clark out."
The Archer puts the transmitter in his pocket. Then he turns to his captive. "I'm going to gag you and I want you to stay there-nice and quiet. I need to do something..." Beaten, the guy just stares at the Archer blankly. He takes a towel, puts some of it in the guy's mouth as a gag, and ties it around his head.
PART THREE
Clark decides to look in on his prisoner. He goes to the cell where she is being held. She is sitting on the floor, crying.
She's a very sexy female. He thinks to himself. Too bad she is going to die.
Her mouth is still gagged and her hands are still behind her back. Clark removes the gag.
"You jerk! Where is my husband? What are you going to do to me?"
"Your husband is on a mission for me and won't be back for a long time. My name is Clark."
"I know your name. I remember you," she says.
"I'm not going to do anything to you just as long as your husband does what I asked for. When he does I will let you go. If he fails you're going to die. What's your name again?"
"Rachael."
"That's a pretty name. Now Rachael. Tell me what happened eleven years ago?"
She looks puzzled. "What do you mean? I don't understand..."
"Let me tell you about that day. I remember that day like it was just yesterday. It was raining. I was on an assignment and your husband was at my house. I came home to check on my folks and heard something. I ran into the living room just in time to see your husband shoot my father in the head. My mother was sitting on the couch with a hole in her chest. I just stood there. It was like I was frozen. While I stood there in shock, your husband shot me in the leg. I lay on the floor and started yelling.
Tears form in his eyes as he stares at the floor.
"I looked at my mother and father lying in their own blood. I vowed to take revenge on your husband. By the time I found you guys it has already been five years.
"I know all about you. I know that you had a daughter who died at the age of three. When I discovered where you guys lived, I came to get you. In order to find you I had to kill three people. It was sweet to feel their blood on my hands. Anyway, you know the rest."
He lifts her head and looks at her. Her tears are stopped and, but her eyes are still red and wet. "Did you know that your husband was a trained killer? An assassin?"
She stares at him with hate in her eyes. "You sick perverted monster!" she spits. "Now you listen to me. I need my husband and you can't do anything that will tear us apart. I don't care what happens to you. I hope you die!"
He slaps her in the face. Her words frighten him. He wants to kill her, but he knows that he needs her. "Shut up you stupid bitch! You'll end up like your husband's partners... dead!"
She just smiles. She knows she is his only way to get to her husband. She is his only chance for revenge. "Go ahead. If you kill me, my husband will come for you."
"You're right. I can't kill you, yet. But I can do anything else I want. I can mess up that pretty face of yours. I can also fuck you while your husband watches and then I'll kill you. How would you like that?"
She starts to shiver from fear rather than anger. He smiles, knowing he's gotten to her. Satisfied for the time being, he leaves her with her thoughts-horrible things.
The Archer reaches the Wright Tower just as the occupants drive away to a party for the mayor. He enters the penthouse through the service elevator. There is a long corridor leading to ten different rooms.
Oh man. It's going to take me fifty years to check all these rooms. He thinks.
Then he remembers he has the transmitter.
I'll just call Clark and ask him for directions. It's no use pretending anymore. I'm tired, and my wife needs me to hurry.
He flips the switch and the transmitter crackles to life.
"This is Archer. Are you there, Clark?"
As Clark walks down the hallway, he hears a familiar voice.
"This is Archer. Are you there, Clark?"
"Ah, Mr. Archer, how nice to hear from you. I've just come from your wife's room. She and I had a very... interesting visit."
"You stay away from my wife, you sick pervert!"
Clark is delighted that he can make the Archer so angry. "Don't worry... I haven't taken advantage of your wife, yet. We just talked. I did have to slap her though because the little bimbo was getting on my bad side. But, I'm saving the best for when we meet again.
Clark can just imagine his enemy with hate in his eyes. He is grinning from ear to ear. In his mind, he is rehearsing the death scene, which will soon be played out.
"By the way, Clark, your two henchmen are at my house. One of them is sitting on my couch- bound and gagged. The other one is dead. He decided not to cooperate, so I had to kill the poor bastard. I'm calling from the Tower to ask you which room the box is in. there are ten doors and I need to know which is which."
"The third door is the study. Remember what I said. Don't open that box."
PART FOUR
The Archer turns off the transmitter and finds the third door on the right. As he opens the door, he sees what seem to be a million books. There are four different large bookcases and several smaller ones. He stares at the first bookcase, but discovers that it isn't the right one. He checks the next one, and the next. Finally he looks in the last bookcase and finds a small black box.
"Okay now. I have to get this back to the hospital and to Clark." He is just about to leave when he decides to open the box. "Screw what he says." He carefully lifts the lid.
The Archer is about to leave when he hears a noise coming from down the hall. He takes his pistol from his bag and stays close to the walls so as not to be seen. As he slides cautiously along the wall, he hears the noise again. When he looks toward the direction of the noise, he sees a shadow in the kitchen. A man is making a sandwich. Now is his chance for a clean get away. The Archer walks as slowly as he can to the front door, so as not to alert his hungry companion to his presence. Just as he gets to the door, the man finishes preparing his food and turns out the light. He must move quickly. He grabs the doorknob, turns it, and steps outside just in time to escape without being seen. That was close.
The Archer reaches the hospital and sees that all the lights are off with the exception of the room he'd left that morning. Something must be up...
While the Archer is in the Wright Tower study, Clark takes his wife to the room with the big tank. It takes quite a while to get her there.
"Stop that!"
She struggles to get away from his strong grip. She begins kicking her legs so Clark has to carry her over his shoulder. When they finally get to the therapy room, he puts her on the chair he's set out for her and leaves her alone.
Rachael starts to cry. She is thinking about her husband and the horrible thing he did to Clark. She still can't believe it and wants to know why he did it. She will have to ask him.
He better get here soon. She prays.
As Clark leaves her, he tells his men to close all the doors and turn off the lights in all the rooms, except for the one Rachael is in.
"I have a surprise for the Archer."
Upon returning to the abandoned hospital, the Archer prepares his rifle. He's also brought along a handgun, and some extra ammo. As he heads for the door he listens for any signs of danger. He holds his gun out in front of him.
Okay. Now how do I get to the room with the light on without getting caught?
He moves down the hall and sees a door with a light on under it. Just then, one of the thugs shoots at the Archer. The round just misses him as he ducks behind a large door. When he feels it is a good time, he leaps out-firing-and shooting the guy in the chest.
He enters the lighted room and sees his wife tied to a chair. He runs over to her and takes the gag out of her mouth. "Oh Rachael." Tears come readily to his eyes. She has a big bruise on her cheek. Her face is smeared. She smiles at him with tears of joy in her eyes. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine-just a little tired. I'm glad to see you're okay. I love you." She answers. "Can we get out of here?"
"Not until you give me the box I asked for." Clark answers from in the doorway. "Do you have it?"
"I got it."
The Archer stands up. He starts to move towards Clark with his rifle out in front of him and his bag over his shoulder. The Archer sees Clark's gaze go from his eyes to his gun and back again.
"Let me see the box."
The Archer takes the box from his bag and slides it across the floor to Clark. While Clark opens the box, the Archer kneels by his wife and attempts to untie her legs. Clark points a gun towards them. It has a silencer attached to the end of it. "No one is going anywhere"
Archer is about to pick up his rifle, which he lied on the floor so he could use both hands. "I wouldn't do that Archer. Unless you want your pretty wife to get shot, I'd kick it over to me right now."
Clark motions to the chair. "Sit down Rachael." He commands.
Rachael looks to Archer for advice. He nods to her. "Do what he says."
She sits in the chair and looks at her husband just as Clark shoots him in the shoulder. Instinctively he drops the rifle and grabs his arm. He glares at Clark and kicks the rifle over to him. Clark picks up the rifle and moves it to the side. Then he points the gun at Rachael and pulls the trigger.
Feeling happy that he got this far, Clark can taste his revenge. But when he pulled the trigger all he hears is a metallic click, not the bang he expected.
(Click, click, click)
"What is wrong with this thing?"
Before Clark can get his answer the Archer hits him in the back of the head with the rifle he picked up from the floor. Clark falls to the floor, unconscious. Rachael screams.
The Archer walks over to Rachael with the rifle still in his hand. "Let's go darling. We still have to be careful. Clark has lots of men." He says.
"Is he dead?" Her voice betrays a twinge of pain and disappointment.
"No, but when he wakes up, he's going to have one hell of a headache. Come on."
As they start to walk out into the dark hall, a few of Clark's men enter the room from another door to find Clark on the floor and their hostage gone. The couple quickly hides behind the big tank-not however, quickly enough. The sound of gunfire explodes.
"Stay here." He says.
"Be careful."
The Archer loads his gun and peaks over the tank. He is a crack shot and nails one of the guys in the chest. He kneels back down for cover, and after a few seconds, jumps up to shoot the other two in the legs. They get up from behind the tank and he tells Rachael to tie them up before Clark wakes up. With the following hours still fresh in his mind he points his gun at the two wounded men and shoots them in the head.
"Aaaaaaahhh! Why did you do that?" she never saw her husband act this way before. He looks almost like he enjoyed killing them. She falls on the floor in disbelief.
His wound is oozing a lot of blood. He looks tired and lost. Without answering her he starts to recall how all this got started. He decides she needs to know. "Eleven years ago I remember thinking that it was going to be a routine job. But when I got there, it was like I was relieving a long-running dream. It was like a memory from my youth. My father had been drinking heavily all morning. He smelled heavily like beer. He started yelling at me because I forgot to take out the trash. With every angry word he hit me with his belt-harder every time. When he finished, he took me to my room, shut the door, and told me not to leave. I began to cry and finally fell asleep. I had a dream that my dad was sitting on the couch in our living room. I picked up his gun and shot his in the head. All of a sudden I woke up and realized I was on assignment. A man and woman were on the couch. I had shot the man in the head and the woman in the chest. I had killed them. They were spies and international terrorists, but they were also Clark's parents. When I noticed Clark, frozen there staring at the bodies of his parents, I shot him in the leg so he couldn't go after me... then I ran. I ran all the way to our house, took a shower, and took a nap. By the time you got home I was fine again. That's what started all of this. I wanted to share it with you, but I couldn't." he says collapsing from loss of blood. "Please forgive me?" he pleads silently.
She scoots over to him and holds him. "I forgive you." she replies.
They get up and check on Clark, who is still out cold. "What do we do with him?" she asks.
"We'll leave the sick fuck here and call the police."
The Archer displayed a slight enthusiasm to finally ending it. "I'm done with him. Let's just go home."
"First I have to dress your wound before you feint." She walks over to one of the guys and rips off a piece of the guy's shirt. She wraps it around the Archer's shoulder.
"Dressing the wound with a dead guy's shirt...this is kind of romantic."
"Was that an attempt at a joke to lighten up the mood?"
"Was it bad?"
She kisses him passionately on the lips. Arm in arm, they leave for home.
The Archer and his wife watch Clark's arrest on television from home a woman reporter, wearing a cheesy red dress and an absolutely fake smile, was covering the story.
"Today a man was picked up by police after he apparently killed eight people. An anonymous caller led police to this abandoned hospital. Officer Carl Bentley got the call."
The Archer mutes the television and notices that his lovely Rachael has fallen asleep in his lap.
I have a wonderful wife.
FOUR MONTHS LATER
I'm home!" the Archer calls from the front door after a long day at work. Rachael is in the kitchen cooking. She pauses to kiss him and then goes back to cooking. Rachael has been having bad dreams about Clark and the kidnapping. Otherwise, their lives are back to normal. The Archer relaxes and turns on the news.
"I had a great day," he answered, "how about you?"
"Me too."
Suddenly, the Archer turns up the volume. It is the same female reporter. She is wearing an even uglier dress this time.
"The man known as Clark escaped today..."
They gasp in horror.
"Residents in the area should be looking for this man...he has blue eyes, short brown hair, is of medium height and has a stocky build."
A picture of him is shown.
"Residents should stay indoors with their doors locked. If he is spotted, please stay calm and notify the police."
Several seconds pass before anyone speaks. "Here we go again!" they both echo...
THE END
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