Time Stands Still

(FYI, this chapter takes place at the same time as The Disappearance - Part 1 and 2, above, so while Tyler and Taylor are hanging out, Katie and Tommy are arriving in Dallas and Val and Reilly stop at the house real fast, before Tyler arrives.)

Katie and Tommy’s POV

At O’Reilly’s, one of the restaurants near TD Garden, the two Boston young adults sat at a table, outside. Tommy leaned back in his chair, grinning from ear to ear. He was wearing a Red Sox tank top, that matched with Katie’s. His was white, while hers was red. His partner-in-crime flagged down a waiter and ordered an Irish-style burger and also some more waters. She spun back in her seat to see her partner’s enjoyment, as he stared at the screen of his phone.

“What is it, Tommy?”

“It’s Tyler Seguin! He’s got himself a nice new tweet fah us!”

“Ooh, ooh, lemmie see it!” She reached over and snatched the cell from her friend. She read the tweet. “Oh Seguin, ya wicked fool!”

“He told us right where he’s gonna be!”

“Yah right, Tommy! I think it’s time that we went ta pay the Star a little visit, doncha think?”

“Absolutely Katie! I’ve been ichin’ ta get my hands on that traitah!”

“So we ah goin’ ta Dallas?”

“Ya!”

“How exactly ah we gonna fit in? We ah Bostonians, we’ll stick out like a New Yorker or a Yankees’ fan, here!”

“Yankees’ suck!” Tommy spat, stomping his foot on the ground.

“Hella right, Red Sox rule!” Katie shouted.

“So what ah we gonna do, Katie?” Tommy asked, taking his phone back from the female.

“I’m thinkin’, I’m thinkin’, Tommy.” She screwed her face up tightly in thought, contemplating the next move for the duo.”Read his tweet ta me again, will ya?”

Tommy dipped his head. He tapped the screen and quickly pulled the tweet back up. He read it to her, “Going to talk to a good friend, @taylorlonestar That’s what Seguinistas are for, right?”

She slammed her fist on the table, jumping to her feet at once. “I’ve got it! We can use our loyal Dallas friends! We’ve already had them go ta the Rangers game and spy on the little troublemaker!”

“I like it, Katie! Should we send him another threat?”

“Yeah...but this time, send the threat through his Twitter, email, and as a text message! We really wanna scare him!” She cackled, as she imagined the floppy haired brunette man freaking out and doing something stupid.

Tommy paused. “What should the message say?”

“Have it say this: ‘Tick, tock Tyler. So nice of you to tell me where you are. You don’t realize it, but it is time we met up. You can run, but you cannot hide. Live each moment like it’s your last, because soon enough, it will be. Time to pay for your sins. If you continue to carry on with this, things will get bad for YOU. No, they already are.’ And don’t forget to add ‘@tseguinofficial’ ta the tweet!”

Tommy finished typing it up. He pressed send on the text first. Then he moved and typed it as an email and then he typed the tweet threat. When the action was done, the two shared an evil cackle. The food came out, after Tommy placed his order. They ate quickly and went to their car. They hopped in, still laughing at their sinister plan.

Katie was once more in the drivers’ seat. She stomped on the gas and zoomed off to the airport. (I understand that they do need a ticket and to have called earlier, instead of arriving to the airport on the dot and getting a flight, but because this is Boston-Logan and it isn’t that busy, I’ll allow it in this case.)

A few hours later, the two arrived in Dallas, Texas. They immediately got off the plane. They pushed their way through the crowd and emerged on the outside of the building. Outside, stood two people. One wore a Boston University shirt and the other had on a Harvard shirt.

“Donny!” Tommy greeted.

“Aubrey!” Katie cried.

They embraced their friends.

“What brings you two to our little slice of hell?”

“Ever heard of a Twitter-obsessed nutcase named Tyler Seguin?”

“Oh, have we ever, that son of a gun dissed Boston! I saw it all over Twitter and he thought he was proud of this status?”

“Nah. We ah gonna teach him a lesson, right Tommy?”

“Right, Katie!”

“We ah gonna go hunt him down now. We know where he is too, he’s in Tyler, Texas!”

“Sick, what are you thinking about doing to him?”

“We ah gonna kidnap him!” Katie replied with a smirk.

“And then we ah gonna hold him in Boston and teach him a lesson!” Tommy added on quickly, with a look to his partner.

Katie winked to him.

Donny and Aubrey shared a look. “So you’re going to “kidnap” him and teach him a lesson and this is going to work?”

“It will. Now, we should go, so we can intercept the prick!” Katie stated, sternly.

“Oh, you’re serious! You’re really going to do this?”

“Yeah, we won’t kill him. We’re just gonna rough him up a bit!” Tommy explained.

“Alright. Just be careful about the police and that Hockey Law Enforcement! They’ve been sticking their nose into his business, apparently!”

“Yeah, we’ll watch. Take care of yourselves, Donny and Aubrey.”

“You as well, Tommy and Katie!”

A little while later, Katie and Tommy had the cab drop them off at the address of Tyler Seguin, thanks to having Brad’s phone handy with them. They found the door unlocked and slipped inside, easily.

“This is gonna be too easy, Tommy,” Katie whispered, as she found a good spot behind a decorative indoor plant.

Tommy snickered, as he walked into the kitchen and found the frying pan out. He grabbed it up and held it, smirking cleverly to himself. “What a dumbass!”

“What?” Katie called from her spot.

“Tyler Seguin’s a dumbass! He leaves the door unlocked and a frying pan on the counter. It’s like this was set up for us ta come in and get him!”

“You ah right. He’s wicked retarded!”

A noise comes from the door. It is a tall man. But he doesn’t sound like Tyler. Tommy dove down to the ground, clutching his weapon. He remained out of sight, as the man came up to the counter.

“There it is!” He exclaimed to himself. He grabbed something up. The two heard him gasp, before he bolted back out once more. Katie peered around her bush and spotted a man with light blue eyes and straw-like hair, that stuck upward on his head. He closed the door once more, behind him.

It was Valeri Nichushkin.

“Nichy!” Katie hissed.

Tommy stood up once more. He raced around and stood on the other side of the door. He passed Katie the pan. He had a plan. They communicated through non-verbal cues in the darkness, as once more the door cracked open.

This time, a wary Tyler entered. Tommy stalked forward, glowering, as he flicked a knife open to his side. He saw Tyler turn and put his hand on the handle. But he wasn’t quick enough; Tommy was faster.

Tyler’s POV

Tyler Seguin knew immediately upon entering the dark house that he wasn’t alone. His senses informed him of what his mind didn’t yet know. Subtle movement in the air, a scent, a geometry unlike the one he’d left when he’d gone to see Taylor, slight sounds of a frequency felt rather than heard. He had been feeling like this for the past few days, but it was never as bad as it was now.

After seeing what might have been the impression of a man on the couch, Tyler had become more cautious in everything he did. It was amazing what fear could do. The go-getter man on the ice of supreme confidence, had been replaced by someone meeker and milder. He’d come more and more to see his house as a refuge, a sanctuary, from fear.

So powerful was the sum of these sensations, that he actually turned to turn around and leave.

His hand was reaching for the doorknob, when he heard a man’s voice say, “You’re here now. You might as well stay for a while.”

For the rest of your life.

He was still frozen by fear, when he felt the man move in close to him. His breath was warm on the back of his neck. He hadn’t been had time to whirl and see who’d spoken.

In one rapid movement, the man turned him around slowly, using only the tips of his fingers on one hand to guide the petrified hockey player, almost as if they were dance partners. With the slight movement, he felt some of his fear slip away.

A weapon. He drew his breath, planning to continue revolving his body, moving away from his assailant, coming up and around with his fist. Fast. Hard. Visualize it and you can do it.

Make it count!

As he coiled his body and made the beginning of his turn, his eyes snapped to the knife, the man held before his face. It had a knobby wooden handle and a short, wide blade that curved in on itself and ended in a sharp point.

Visualize it.

What he found himself visualizing, was the knife parting his flesh, unleashing torrents of scarlet blood.

If it hadn’t been for the knife, he might have made the initial moves of resistance. At least, put up a struggle. But his resolution wilted within him and he heard himself whimper, as he let his arm drop. He couldn’t make out his assailant’s features through his fear and tears, but he could see that he was smiling. This man was smiling and he was paralyzed.

Gosh darn him, he was smiling!

His willpower seemed to flow from him, in exact proportion to the man’s sadistic amusement.

That’s all I am to him – something amusing!

He encircled his wrist with a powerful hand, squeezed, and he heard rather than felt his cell phone crop to the floor. So much for that!

“We’re gonna have a little fun, Seguin,” he said. “We’re going back ta Boston, I’m sure ya remember that place, right Twitter Boy? Let’s go there and I’ll show ya.” He marched the hockey player slowly, but steadily toward the couch, leading into the family room, across from the door. The man guided him by his aching wrist, the cool knife blade now resting against his throat.

He glanced back and got a glimpse of his face. He didn’t look like man he’d mistakenly thought of as a villain. He looked a little gentler and Irish. And yet…

The mind could play such tricks.

The man’s fingers dug into his arm and he whimpered again, and at the same time felt a hot coal of anger deep inside of him. He wouldn’t let himself be led like this, like a lamb to slaughter.

I know hockey. took the concentrated course in self-defense. I can best this bastard in a fair fight.

But there was the odd little knife, and at that moment all he really knew was terror. One abrupt motion of his arm and his blood would flow.

The ember of anger refused to become a flame. He would do what the man said. It was the best chance of survival. And he clung to the belief that he DID have a chance. That he’d he talking about this at the practice tomorrow.

“Ruining my life won’t help out any. This will ruin your life as well!”

“Shut up Seguin, or I’ll slit your pretty little throat now!”

Maybe he knew the risk he was taking, nad was willing because he had done this before. Maybe this wasn’t the first time.

Maybe he was the anonymous caller who had threatened him.

He would have to apologize to Val and Reilly, if he got the chance!

He struggled to speak, to plead with him, but his throat was so dry that he could only croak. Which made him smile again. It was the smile that struck him numb and dumb, that controlled him. Control. That was what he wanted. What all the assholes in the world wanted.

And the person who had him was a representative of the devil. There was a force emanating from him that seemed supernatural. It dwarfed his own feeble efforts and made them useless and meaningless.

He sat Tyler down on the couch and pushed him back against the back part of the furniture. The killer hockey player might as well have been a humanlike doll in the hands of this real bastard. His plaything.

Suddenly, before he knew it, he was whacked over the head with something hard and flat. The frying pan! He blacked out immediately.