CHAPTER ONE

It was a little past ten o'clock in the evening as Marissa sat in the office of McGinty's, waiting patiently for Gary to come back after finishing his last save of the day. She smiled as the sweet scent of the half dozen long stemmed roses, that he had sent her earlier that day, filled the room.

"I'm a very lucky woman to have a man like Gary," she said to the cat as it crawled onto her lap, "He's sent me roses every day since we became a couple." Marissa paused for a moment and then started to chuckle, "Why am I telling this to you, Cat? Have I become as strange as Gary in the way that he talks to you?"

"Meow."

The cat jumped off her lap and headed towards the kitchen.

The door of the office opened and in walked Gary, tired and weary from a long day of saving lives and preventing disasters. Although worn out, as soon as he saw Marissa, he suddenly regained his vitality.

"Hi, Marissa, oh boy, I'm glad to see you! What a day!" said Gary as he kissed her and sat down.

She returned his kiss and speaking in a comforting tone of voice, asked, "Do you want to tell me how your day was?"

Gary sighed, "Just the same old same old. I gotta wonder how people can be such idiots?" he raised his brow, "I mean, how the hell can you get your foot caught in a dishwasher and be electrocuted?"

"You're kidding, right?"

"I wish I was," he replied, "This guy, ya see, got mad at his dishwasher and decided to kick it, thinkin' that, well, maybe that might fix it! If I hadn't got there when I did, not only would he have been toast, but the whole block around his house would have lost electricity, causing a woman on a respirator to die. Then the guy threatens to call the cops on me if I don't leave his property! Sheesh!!"

Marissa got out of her chair, walked around the desk to where Gary sat, put her arms around him and kissed him lovingly. "You're home now, relax and forget about the day. I'll help you."

Marissa unbuttoned his shirt and placed her hand on his bare chest, gently caressing and kissing it at the same time.

"Uh...Marissa....please...don't..."

"What?" She was puzzled.

"I love you, but we're not ready to take this to another level yet," he held and gently kissed her hand, "We'll both know it when we are, but until that time, let's just...well, you know."

"I...I understand, Gary," she was obviously embarrassed, "I-I just wanted...to p-please you."

"Just coming home and finding you here is pleasing enough," he smiled, "And besides, I probably smell rather, um, uh....."

"Awful?" giggled Marissa, interrupting him.

"Uh, yeah," Gary chuckled, "I also had a small run in with a fertilizer truck."

She crinkled her nose, "So I noticed."

"I'm gonna go up to the loft, take a shower and go to bed." Gary then hugged her after standing up, "I'll see you in the morning."

"I could scrub your back!" she said whilelaughing, making him scowl at her. Sensing his displeasure at her remark, she then quickly added, "I was only kidding, Gary, but I do want to thank you for the roses, they mean quite a lot to me."

He smiled and kissed her, "They mean a lot to me, too. I haven't sent anyone roses since, well, Marcia."

"I know." She felt for his lips and kissed them back, "Good night, partner, pleasant dreams."

-------------

CHAPTER TWO

After making sure that Marissa would call him after the cab dropped her home, Gary slowly walked up the stairs to his loft, followed by the cat. He was very tired from the day's saves and just wanted to get the stench of the fertilizer off himself.

"Cat? Was I wrong to tell Marissa to stop? I mean, it felt wonderful and I don't think we'd have done anything that we could have been ashamed about."

"Rowwrr!"

"Oh, what the hell am I tellin' you for, ya damn furball," Gary said as he glared at the cat, "I just want to take a shower and relax." He undressed and went into the bathroom, "I guess I did the right thing."

After showering, Gary went to the kitchen and grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. He hadn't bothered to put on a towel since he was by himself and planned to put on his boxers before going to bed. He got his beer and started to drink it when he heard a voice say,

"Have a nice shower?"

"Marissa! Uh...uh...could you turn around...I-I don't have anything on!" He quickly covered what he could behind the beer bottle.

"Gary! I'm blind, remember?" She continued to stand where she was, giggling at his surprise and obvious embarrassment, "I promise not to look!"

"J-just a minute," he said as he darted to the bathroom for his robe, "Wh- what are you doing here?" he asked after putting it on, "I thought you went home!"

"I came up here to apologize for getting a bit, uh, frisky, in the office earlier," she quietly replied, "I just wanted to make you feel good. I know that we're not ready for doing other things yet, but you make me feel just so...so special, and I just wanted to tell you that I love you more and more each day." Marissa paused for a moment and then asked, "You're not upset with me, are you?"

"I could never be upset with you." Gary went over to where she was standing and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, "And since you're here, would you like to stay awhile and talk?"

"I'd like that very much, Gary, I treasure the moments that I can spend with you."

"Me, too."

They sat on his sofa and talked about the years that they had been friends, mentioning both good times and bad. Gary placed his arm around her and she responded by curling up next to him, laying her head on his chest.

"I like to listen you breathe, it's very comforting to me" she said, smiling.

"I wish that you could stay here with me tonight," Gary said while gently stroking her braided hair, "But you know that some night you will."

"Gary...I know that this is none of my business, but did you and that little witch, Erica, ever, well, um, you know, uh....."

"No."

She let out a sigh of relief, "Not that it would’ve mattered to me if you had, but I'm glad that you didn't."

"Are you sure it wouldn't have mattered?" He smiled while asking.

"Well, pretty sure, anyway," she quickly replied and then changed the subject, "I called my mother today to tell her about us and she was somewhat surprised."

"I don't blame her, after all, didn't you always complain about me to her?"

Marissa grinned, "Not all of the time."

"It's late and I'm calling you a cab, okay?"

"Okay, you're right, it's time that I got myself home." She stood up and unfurled her cane, "I love you, Gary."

After putting down the phone, he walked her to the door, placed his arms around her and gave her a passionate kiss.

"I love you, too, and tomorrow is another day. So until then, you take care and call me when you get home!"

"I will. Good bye, partner." Marissa replied while walking down the stairs.

-------------

CHAPTER THREE

It was twenty minutes before seven in the morning when Gary came down to the bar from his loft, tomorrow's paper in hand. He smiled when he saw Marissa sitting down at a table waiting for him, with two cups of coffee in front of her.

"Morning, partner," greeted Marissa, "I got in a little early and made us coffee, I hope you don't mind."

"Hey, Marissa!" he chuckled, "Now how could I mind when a beautiful woman makes my morning coffee, huh?" He gave her a kiss.

"What's in The Paper today, Gary?"

"I dunno. I haven't looked yet."

"Wanna read it to me?" Marissa asked cheerily.

"Okay," he said while glancing over the front page, "Let's see what we..." Gary stopped in mid-sentence as his eyes scanned the headline in front of him.

"Gary? What is it? What's in The Paper?" she asked, concerned by his silence.

"Failed hold up kills eighteen."

"Oh, no!"

Gary read her the story, "At three fifteen yesterday afternoon, two gunmen walked into the Illinois Trust Bank on State Street for an attempted robbery. After showing their weapons, a security guard shot and killed one of the gunmen, but not before being fatally wounded by the other. Frightened customers and employees were then lined up by the remaining gunman and systematically shot one at a time. Police sent in a swat team, but were unable to apprehend the suspect, due the bank's older style of layout which aided in his escape. The suspect is described as a white male in his mid to late twenties with dark hair and eyes. He is six feet tall and was wearing a navy blue windbreaker and jeans."

Gary paused and said quietly, "I hate guns."

"Maybe you should let the police handle this one, Gary. I don't want you getting hurt."

"You know I can't do that, Marissa, The Paper doesn't work that way."

"Damn it, Gary, why do you always have to put your life on the line?" tears began to well up in Marissa's sightless eyes, "Call Brigatti...or Armstrong.....please, get help, don't do this save on your own!"

"And what the hell am I suppose to tell them, huh? That I heard a bank was gonna be robbed?" He shook his head, "The two of them are looking for any excuse to put me in the looney bin!"

Now very upset, Marissa grabbed at Gary's shirt, "I would rather have you alive in the looney bin than not to have you at all!"

"I-I know," he placed his arms around her as she started to sob, "I've got some time to figure out what to do." He spoke softly, "Please, I need for you to be your usual strong self, it would help me a great deal."

"Okay, I-I'll try" she said as Gary wiped the tears from her face.

"That's my girl."

"I guess I haven't been much help to you this morning, Gary."

"Oh yes you have, more than you could know. I'll find a way to stop this from happening and come back to you in one piece, I promise! And, if you don't mind the pun, you can take that to the bank!"

-------------

CHAPTER FOUR

"I have three other saves that need to be done before the hold up, Marissa," Gary told her after reading the rest of The Paper, "The last save is preventing a little girl from drowning in the lake. The problem is, according to The Paper, she drowns at five after three," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I won't get to the bank in time if I save her."

"You've got to save her, Gary," replied Marissa, "I'm sure you know that."

"I know."

"Call Brigatti and tell her that you overheard a couple of guys planning a hold up...she'll have to believe you," she exclaimed, "Just make it sound convincing!"

"She still blames me for her townhouse blowing up," answered Gary, "I don't think she'll even take a phone call from me."

"Then call Armstrong. I know that he suspects you of causing the all the saves that you make, but just say to him......."

"No!" he interrupted, "Not Armstrong. He and I go together as well as oil and water!" Gary paused for a moment and pondered something, "Hmm, oil and water, I wonder....?"

"Wonder what?" she inquired.

"About something that just might work...." He picked up The Paper with a smug smile on his face.

"Are you going to tell me what you're doing or not?" asked Marissa

"I will if it does!"

After checking the drowning story again, Gary picked up the phone book, found what he was looking for and made a call, "Hello, is this Paulson Elementary School?...It is? Good, because I'm, uh, Jerry, uh, Jerry Dobson from the Chicago Lake Commission and I'm calling to tell you to cancel your school field trip to the lake today because we have an oil spill along the stretch of lake that your one of your classes is gonna visit...uh- huh...yep, that part of the lake is closed until we clean it up!" He laughed nervously, "Yeah, I know the kids will be upset, but hey, it's closed, lady, and will be until we're finished...yeah, good bye to you, too!"

He looked for the drowning story, but it was no longer there. "That’s one less problem to deal with."

"Very clever, I'm impressed," replied Marissa tersely, "But you still have to figure out what to do about the hold up."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that, Marissa," he shook his head, "But I have to take care of the two other saves first. I gotta to go to Grant Park and stop a balloon vendor from filling his balloons with hydrogen instead of helium."

"Hydrogen? How does that happen?"

"He was sold the wrong gas cylinder and ends up creating a bunch of mini Hindenburgs that cause fires all over the park!"

"Oh, no!" she gasped, "When?"

"In about a half an hour, so I better leave now," Gary kissed her, "I'll be back before I go to the bank."

"Gary..."

"What?"

"I-I just want to say, uh,well....tell you....please be careful out there and that I love you." Marissa reached out for his hand.

"I will be," he said as he placed his hand in hers, "And I love you, too."

-------------

CHAPTER FIVE

It was almost ten fifteen, when Gary got to Grant Park. Looking around, he spotted a cart with the words "Bobby's Balloons" printed in big red letters on the side. He then rushed over to a man turning on a large gas cylinder and shouted, "Hey, pal, is that the right gas to use?"

"Huh? What, are you crazy or somethin'?" answered the vendor, "This is helium! Perfectly safe."

"How can you tell?" Gary was out of breath from running, "Wh-what if you got sold the wrong gas by mistake?" he looked over the cylinder, "I mean, pal, what if somebody made a error and filled it with something else instead, you know, like hydrogen?" He kept looking for some kind of marking or labeling on the gas container.

"It could never happen, buddy," the vendor replied, "Helium has no odor and when you breathe it, it makes your voice funny. Hydrogen, ya see, smells like rotten eggs and is flammable. It explodes, like that Nazi airship, the Hindenburg. It was filled with hydrogen!" He opened the valve.

"No!" screamed Gary.

"Hey, buddy, see, there's nothing to worr..." the vendor stopped speaking and sniffed at the gas escaping from the open valve, "What the hell? Holy crap, this is hydrogen!" He quickly shut off the valve, "Damn, buddy, how.....how did you know? You just saved my ass!"

Gary hurriedly made up an excuse, "I have this friend...h-he works for a gas supply company...and mentioned to me that there may have been a mix up in shipments."

"Thanks loads, buddy! Do you know what could've happened if my balloons got filled with that crap? Man! Kids walkin' around with small bombs on the end of a string!" He looked at Gary, "Um...you're not gonna tell anyone, are you? I don't wanna lose my vendor's license!"

"Nah, just bring that cylinder back to the supply company, okay, pal?"

"Sure, buddy, anything you say!"

Gary looked at The Paper and saw that the balloon story had disappeared, "Now on to saving a woman from dying of embarrassment," he chuckled to himself while reading the small headline, 'Contestant in Miss Lincoln Park Pageant loses swimsuit', "Hmm, this ought to be interesting."

*************

Marissa paced around the office, wondering out loud what she should do to help Gary with the hold up, "Maybe Brigatti won't take his phone call, but she'd probably take mine."

She exited the office and made her way to the bar, "Gene? Are you here?"

Gene the bartender answered her from the other end of the bar, "Yes, Ms. Clark, over here!"

"Gene, I need for you to do me a favor. In the office Rolodex is a phone number for Detective Antonia Brigatti of the Chicago Police Department. Could you look for it and when you find it, would you mind dialing it for me? I would really appreciate it, okay?"

"Sure, Ms. Clark, what ever you need!"

"Thanks, Gene!"

*************

"Gosh, mister, I don't know how to thank you enough!" said a very beautiful young woman to Gary, "If you hadn't told me about the straps on my suit....oh, I hate to think what would have happened!"

"Hey, just doin' my part, that's all!"

She kissed him and asked, "Are you single? You're a very handsome man!"

"I have a girlfriend, but thank you very much for the complement!"

She sighed, "I hope she realizes how lucky she is!"

He laughed, "Believe me, I'm the lucky one! I gotta go, make sure and get those straps double stitched, okay?"

"Okay!"

Gary was on his way back to McGinty's, when he noticed that the hold up headline had changed, "What the...this morning The Paper said eighteen were killed, now it says nineteen...what happened?"

-------------

CHAPTER SIX

Gary entered McGinty's and headed straight towards the office. After entering, he slammed The Paper down on the desk in front of where Marissa was sitting.

"*Nineteen!*"

"Nineteen what, Gary?"

"The hold up story changed," he replied, "It had said, 'failed hold up kills eighteen' this morning, but now it says that nineteen are killed!"

"Oh, no...oh, no...Gary! I-I may've caused that!"

"How?" he asked, puzzled.

"I-I did cause that..." she tried to compose herself, "I thought I'd call Brigatti myself and t-tell her that I thought I overheard some guys talk about pulling a bank job!"

"YOU DID WHAT?" Gary was very angry, "Marissa! You may've signed Brigatti's death warrant!"

"I was just trying to help!"

"I want you to call her back and say that you were mistaken, that you probably overheard some actors rehearsing for a play or something and I want you to do that right now!"

"Dial her number for me and I will....Gary, I'm sorry, I-I thought I could help you out."

"I know," he sighed, "And I didn't mean to yell at you like that, but please leave things in The Paper to me, okay?"

"Okay....I will." she answered timidly.

*************

Marissa put down the phone after speaking to Brigatti, "I hope you're satisfied, Gary, she just threatened to have me arrested for filing a false report!"

Gary looked at the headline and it had changed back to what it had originally been.

"It's back to eighteen."

"Well," she said, "That's some progress, anyway."

"Marissa," he said to her, "I love you very much, but you know from past experiences when you try to help with The Paper on your own and don't tell me, most of the time it makes things worse."

"Not all the time, Gary, and just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't help you!"

"I didn't say that," he explained, "What I said is that I'd just like for you to tell me. That's it in a nutshell. I want us to work together with The Paper," Gary put his arm around her, "We make a great team, you and I."

A slight smile appeared on Marissa's lips, "Yeah, I guess we do."

"I'm gonna get ready to go to the bank now, Marissa. I have a safe deposit box that Lucius Snow left for me there. I figure that I can be in the vault for as long need to in order to stop this."

"Please be careful." She had a few tears, "I love you and I want you to come home safely." Marissa put her arms around him and with those few tears still rolling down both cheeks, kissed him softly.

He returned both the kiss and the embrace, "I'll be okay, but it wouldn't hurt to pray a little."

"I already have."

-------------

CHAPTER SEVEN

It was ten minutes to three in the afternoon when Gary arrived at the front of the old imposing building known as the Illinois Trust Bank. It had been nearly a year since he had visited the safe deposit box that Lucius Snow had given him the key for when he was eleven years old. He checked the right front pocket of his jeans to see if the small key was still connected to a Swiss army knife with the letters G.H. engraved on it. Satisfied that both items were there, Gary entered the bank.

"I have a safe deposit box that I wish to look at," he told a bank clerk while holding up the key for him to see, "I just want to check on a couple of things."

"Come this way with me, sir." replied the clerk as he led Gary towards the vault.

Gary looked around the bank and saw the security guard that would be shot was only a few feet away from the vault entrance. The bank was busy and each teller had a long line of customers that they were helping. He noticed in particular a pregnant blind woman on one of the lines and this made him think of Marissa.

"Damn!"

"Is something wrong, sir?" inquired the clerk.

"I forgot to send my girlfriend some roses today," replied Gary, "I send her some every day."

"We're a full service bank, sir," the clerk responded, "If you give me her name and address, we can take care of that for you, if you'd like."

"Really?" Gary was impressed, "Sure. Her name is Marissa Clark and the address is McGinty's Bar, 228 West Illinois Street in River North."

"I just need for you to come over to our customer service desk to sign a form," the clerk said, "And we'll get the request out right away."

"Thanks, pal, I, uh, said a few stupid things to her today and I don't want to forget the roses, too."

"I understand, sir."

While Gary was busy signing forms at the desk, two men walked into the bank unnoticed by everyone. One of them was about six feet tall with dark hair and was wearing a blue windbreaker and jeans.

*************

Marissa was pacing around the office like a caged animal. She occasionally would bump into a chair or the corner of the desk and would curse under her breath. "I'm not myself today, that's for sure," she quietly said to herself. She began to pray, "Father in Heaven, please look after and take care of Gary today. I know that it's a lot to ask of you, Lord, but please bring him home safely." Marissa began weeping softly, "Father, you know that Gary is a very good man, so I'll ask you to please give him the wisdom and courage to make the right choices today, Amen."

*************

Gary glanced down at his watch and it read ten minutes past three. He knew that in five minutes, all hell was going to break loose. He walked into the room next to the vault with his safe deposit box and put it down on the table. He was about to go towards the main lobby, when he heard some type of commotion outside the room.

"Everybody freeze! This is a robbery! Do what we say and nobody gets hurt!"

Gary watched in horror as the guard reacted instantly, pulling out his weapon and quickly shooting one of the men. The man in the windbreaker returned fire and shot the guard. The guard's gun fell out of his hand as he hit the floor and landed at Gary's feet, unnoticed by anyone. The gunman then motioned for everyone to move to the back area of the bank and had the manager lock the front door. "I want you all to line up in single file, if I can't get out of here, neither will any of you!" He grabbed the pregnant blind woman, "You're gonna get it first, lady," he put the gun to her head, "Yeah, you'll be a two for one special!"

Rage.

That was all Gary could feel as he imagined that the blind woman was Marissa a couple of years from now when they might be married and expecting a child of their own.

Rage. It began to fill every fiber of his being.

Rage. It began coursing through every vein in his body.

Rage. It was in his brain as it made him to do something that he never had considered before.

Rage. It was in his arm as he picked up the guard's gun.

Rage. It was in his lungs as his breath became short and shallow.

Rage. It was in his eyes as he aimed the weapon towards the man in the blue windbreaker.

Rage. It was in his shaking hand and sweat covered fingers as he squeezed the trigger.

Rage. It was in his fast beating heart as the bullet left the gun and hit the target.

Rage. It was in his soul as he watched the man fall to the floor and die.

-------------

CHAPTER EIGHT

In McGinty's, some of the customers at the bar were watching a Cubs game on TV. Marissa was trying to keep her mind off of the hold up by doing some paperwork at one of the tables. As her fingers read the Braille report in front of her, the game was suddenly interrupted by a special report.

"This is Allison Payne and I'm reporting live from the Illinois Trust Bank on State Street in the Loop where we have some breaking news. Today, a customer foiled an attempted bank robbery by shooting and killing one of the suspects. At three fifteen this afternoon, two armed men tried holding up the I.T.B. A security guard shot and killed one of the suspects, but was then shot by the other. A customer, who had been in the safe deposit box area of the vault, then picked up the dead guard's weapon and killed the remaining gunman. The customer has been identified as Chicago bar owner Gary Hobson. We'll bring you more developments in this story as soon as they're released. I'm Allison Payne and this has been a WGN news special report. We'll now send you back to the Cubs game, already in progress."

Marissa's heart skipped a beat. "Oh, my God, Gary....Gary may've killed someone! Oh, no!......"

*************

Gary just had a blank stare on his face while the police were questioning him. "This guy is out of it," said one of the uniformed officers to another, "We're not getting anywhere with him."

"Step aside, let me through," shouted Detective Toni Brigatti, "I'm in charge of this case now! Where's Hobson?"

"He's right here, detective, but we can't get a word out of him, it’s like he's in a trance."

Gary was oblivious to all the words being spoken around him and the only thing that he could see were the repeated seconds in which the shooting took place, his picking up the gun and looking at the man in the eyes before he pulled the trigger. He re-lived the feeling of watching the bullet hit the robber in the heart and the nausea that overcame him as the gunman died. He had vomited upon seeing the dead man's blood on the floor of the bank. These images kept replaying in mind, over and over again.

"You idiots," screamed Brigatti, "Get this man to a hospital! Can't you see he's in shock?"

*************

"Gene! Call me a cab," yelled Marissa to her bartender, "I have to go! I have to be there for Gary!"

"Ms. Clark! There's a phone call for you!" shouted Jenny, a waitress.

"Not now, Jenny! I have to leave!"

"It's a police detective......her name is...Brigatti!"

"I'll take it in the office!" replied Marissa as she turned away from the front door and quickly tapped her cane towards the office.

"Clark?......It's Brigatti, I'm calling to let you know that your boy, Hobson, just shot and killed a man trying to rob a bank....you heard about it on TV?....no, he's not alright...he's at Cook County Hospital.....he's in severe shock...I'll meet you there...Clark, I suggest that you get a good lawyer,...no, not for him, for you!...yeah, YOU! I wanna know how you knew this hold up was gonna take place and if you don't tell me, I'll charge you as an accessory to attempted armed robbery and maybe even murder.....the guard, remember? I'll wait for you there."

Marissa put down the phone and began to shudder. She had called Brigatti that morning to tell her about the hold up and now Gary's words rang true, that every time she tried to help with The Paper and didn't tell him, things got worse. They couldn't get much worse than this.

-------------

CHAPTER NINE

Marissa arrived at the hospital and immediately made her way to where Gary was being treated. Upon getting there she was met by Brigatti, who wanted to question her at once.

"Clark, you called me this morning and told me that you overheard some men planning to rob the Illinois Trust Bank at three o'clock this afternoon. Then you call me back a couple of hours later and say that it was a mistake, that it was some actors rehearsing their lines in a play or movie! Then at three fifteen this afternoon, two men attempt to rob the I.T.B. and your boyfriend kills one of them! I want some answers, Clark, and I want them now!!"

"First of all, my name is either Marissa or Ms. Clark and since it's you, detective, it's *MS.* Clark!"

"Answer my questions, CLARK," replied Brigatti angrily, "We'll discuss what I call you later!"

"Second, BRIGATTI, I refuse to answer anything without my lawyer present and unless you're going to charge me with anything, you'd better get the hell out of my way!" Marissa made sure to hit Brigatti hard on the leg with her cane as she passed by.

"Don't think I'm gonna go easy on you because you’re blind, Clark. Blind people go to jail, too!"

"Bitch." Marissa muttered under her breath as she walked away.

"I heard that!"

"Good!" Marissa answered.

*************

Gary lay in the intensive care unit of the hospital, still oblivious to the happenings around him. The staff did what they could to try to ease him out of the state he was in, but Gary did not respond.

Marissa entered his room and was led over to him by an orderly. She took his hand and brought it up to her heart. With tears rolling down her face, Marissa kissed him and gently stroked his head.

"Gary...please, snap out of this...I need you...I'm in a lot of trouble. I know what you did hurt, but I also know that you must have had a good reason to pull that trigger or you wouldn't have done it. Damn it, Gary! Don't shut everyone out! You're a good man...a very good man and I love you!"

Marissa laid her head on his chest and quietly wept.

*************

Brigatti was on the phone talking to police headquarters, "What do you mean I can't charge her?" she screamed into the mouthpiece, "The woman knew the robbery was gonna take place! No, I didn't write up a report when she called this morning!..No, Hobson just happened to be there. He has a safe deposit box and the security video shows that's what he was doing, just looking at his box...the guard's gun just ended up near him and he picked it up...yeah, justifiable homicide, no charges pending. I'm still gonna grill his blind girlfriend a little, she knows something...yeah, I will, 'bye."

*************

Marissa had not moved her head from Gary's chest for over an hour and still continued weeping softly. She held his hand and occasionally would kiss it. She knew that she would have to leave the hospital soon, but was determined to stay as long as they would let her.

Gary slowly moved his hand and placed it on hers.

"Marissa?" he asked in quiet and raspy voice.

-------------

CHAPTER TEN

"Gary! Oh, Gary!" Marissa cried tears of joy to finally hear him speak, "Are you really here or am I just imagining your voice?"

"I-I guess I'm here, wherever here is?" Gary answered weakly.

"You're in Cook County Hospital, Gary," she replied, "They brought you here after...." Marissa paused and didn't know whether to mention the shooting, "After you were in the bank."

"Yeah, the bank...I-I killed a man, Marissa, I shot and killed him," Gary's voice was filled with sorrow, "And I-I wanted to do it......it wasn't an accident." He started to cry.

"Shhh...it's okay, Gary, I'm here," said Marissa softly, "You go ahead and let it out, I'll just hold you and be here for you, okay?" She cradled him in her arms as he continued to cry.

"Ms. Clark, I'm sorry to have ask you to leave, but we need to examine Mr. Hobson and run a few more tests," said one of the doctors to Marissa, "You can wait in the family area until we're finished with what we need to do."

"I-I understand, doctor," she got up from Gary, "I won't be that far away from you, Gary. If you need me for anything, you tell them to come and get me, okay?"

"I-I will."

Marissa left the room with a heavy heart. She knew that Gary was hurting inside and didn't know what to do to ease his pain. She began to pray, "Father, please help him, I beg you, he's a good man or you would've never given him The Paper in the first place. Please, Heavenly Father, help him and take his hurting away." She then sat down and cried.

*************

As Gary lay in his hospital bed, a short, bearded man, about fifty years old, walked into his room.

"Hello, Mr. Hobson. My name is Dr. Thomas Morrow and I'm a staff Psychiatrist here at Cook County Hospital. I'd like for you to tell me a little about your feelings right now. Things like, oh, how do you feel about what transpired in the bank today, for instance. Can you do that for me?"

"I-I killed a man and I-I wanted to do it." replied Gary

"I see," said Dr. Morrow softly, "Why did you want to do it, Mr. Hobson? Do you know?"

"He was going to kill all those people, including Mar....a pregnant blind woman. I had to stop him." Gary became agitated, "I-I wanted to kill him, not just stop him!"

"I understand that he had killed the guard standing close to you, is that why you wanted to kill him, Mr. Hobson, because he killed someone close to you?"

The words 'killed someone close to you' made him shudder and lose his temper, "How in the hell should I know? I just did it! Now get your fat ass out of here and leave me alone!"

"As you wish, Mr. Hobson, but if you would like to talk, I'll be around."

Dr. Morrow left his room and Gary started crying again. A nurse came in and gave him a sedative to calm him down. As he drifted off to sleep, Gary thought of the rage that he had felt and why he had shot the robber. It wasn't that he tried to save all the people in the bank when he had picked up the gun. It was because his emotions had got in the way of his purpose. The pregnant blind woman had appeared to him as Marissa and when the robber had put the gun to her head, he just wanted him dead, plain and simple. The Paper, he thought, needed someone else, not him, not anymore.

*************

"Ms. Clark?" said a nurse, "Why don't you go home and get some sleep. Your friend has been given a very powerful tranquilizer and will be asleep for quite a few hours. You can see...uh... *be* with him tomorrow."

"Okay, I guess I'll go home then," Marissa said, "I'll come back and *SEE* him tomorrow."

Marissa got in the cab that they had called for her and went on her way home. For the first time in six years she didn't think about The Paper or what problems that it would bring with it in the morning. The only thoughts that she had were those of Gary and what he was now going through.

-------------

CHAPTER ELEVEN

It was just past six in the morning when Marissa's alarm clock woke her up. She had tossed and turned most of the night and finally fell asleep after taking a sleeping pill. She was still somewhat groggy from the pill's effect and thought that a cup of coffee and a long shower would help. She had just stepped out of the shower and was drying herself off, when she heard a very familiar sound coming from her front door.

"Meoww!"

"No...it can't be, it's not possible!" She hurriedly wrapped a towel around herself and quickly made it to the front door. She opened it and in came the cat, brushing up against her bare leg as it ran towards her kitchen.

"Cat! what are you doing here?" She began to shut her door, but decided to feel if The Paper was there for some reason. After bending down, her hand felt something very thick, but it wasn't The Paper that Gary would normally get. "What is this? Oh, my God! It's The Paper! The Paper in BRAILLE!"

Marissa had somehow received a Braille version of tomorrow's Sun-Times.

*************

Gary lay in his hospital bed, wondering why God or whatever powers that were out there would even let him wake up after what he had done. Remorse, an emotion that Gary was unfamiliar with, was all that he could feel. He got out of the bed and began getting dressed. He just needed to leave the hospital and think about what had happened. As he put on his shoes, a nurse came in.

"Mr. Hobson, where do you think you're going?"

"I'm leaving."

"You can't do that! We haven't released you yet!"

In a raspy and curt tone, he answered, "I didn't ask to be here and I no longer want to be."

"But...but... Mr. Hobson, you're not ready to leave, we still need to help you!"

"Unless you have a court order, there's not a damn thing you can do about it, is there?"

The nurse left to go get Dr. Morrow. He came almost immediately to Gary's room, "Mr. Hobson...Gary, please reconsider this action, you're not a well man!"

"Doc, I could care less what you or any other quack thinks right now. I just need to get the hell out of here and unless you want me to sue your asses for whatever I might think they're worth, just let me be!" Gary's face was flushed and he was trembling badly.

"Mr. Hobson, there's no need to get belligerent!" Dr. Morrow replied, "We can work this out. You need some help."

"Screw you, I'm out of here!" Gary put on his brown leather jacket and left out the door.

*************

"Cat! Why? Why did I get this paper?" Marissa picked it up, shut the door and brought it over to her kitchen table.


"Cat! You have to help me! I've never done this before...please, Cat, I know that there's a reason or it wouldn't be here!" she started to read the pages with shaking fingers, "Please, Cat, show me what I'm supposed to do, show me what I have to change! There are too many pages! I need your help!"

The cat jumped onto her table, "Rowwrr!"

"What...is this it? Damn it, Cat, help me!"

*************

Gary left the hospital and wandered around the city. The day before, he had killed a man. As a child, he could not even stand to go hunting with his father. Thoughts of killing a living, breathing animal had been repugnant to him and yet, the day before he had taken a human life. Even worse, he had wanted to. He looked at the Sun-Times building as it stood alone and proud, next to the Chicago River. He realized at that moment what he needed to do.

"Forgive me, God, but this is something that I have to take care of. Please look after Marissa."

Gary entered the building with tears in his eyes.

*************

"Cat! I need your help, please!" Marissa was frantic, but at that moment, her fingers found the story that she needed to. She read it out loud to the cat, "Hold up hero commits suicide by jumping off Sun-Times Building!"

-------------

CHAPTER TWELVE

Marissa continued to read the story out loud, "At seven fifteen yesterday morning, local bar owner, Gary Hobson, jumped to his death off the roof of the Sun-Times building and into the Chicago River. Hobson, 36, had shot and killed a gunman attempting to rob the Illinois Trust Bank the day before. Sources said Hobson was despondent after the shooting and was being treated for clinical depression. He apparently discharged himself from the hospital against doctor's orders and went directly to the Sun-Times building. Further information will be available after the autopsy report is released. Hobson's girlfriend and business partner, Marissa Clark, was unavailable for comment."

A tear rolled down her face after she finished, "Cat? What do I do? How can I stop him?"

"Rowwrr."

Marissa quickly got dressed and after ripping out the page containing the story from the Braille paper, she went out to catch a cab to the Sun-Times. She didn't know how she would stop him, but knew she had to find a way to try. "Now I understand how Gary has felt all these years," she quietly said to herself after she entered the cab, "The weight of the world on your shoulders. It's a wonder that he didn't lose his mind before this."

*************

Gary started walking around the Sun-Times building, looking at all of the rooms, offices and desks that shaped many things that had transpired in his life for the last six years. He passed by the open reporter's office and glanced towards Molly Green's cubicle. She wasn't there and was more than likely out chasing a story. He looked over towards the editor's office and thought of Harry Hawks. Gary had been framed for Hawks' murder during another rough time in his life and always felt responsible for his death. He had never discussed it with anyone, although he always suspected that Marissa knew what his true feelings were.

The Paper had been a trust and he had violated that trust by killing the robber. In his heart he knew what he was about to do was wrong, but there was no way of changing what had happened. Gary remembered what convicted murderer John Hernandez had said to him while they were eluding the police; that if he could take back killing the man, he would have, "But you can't do that, can you?" He finally understood what Hernandez had meant as he boarded the elevator and pressed the button for the top floor.

*************

Marissa got out of the cab in front of the Sun-Times building. Grasping the Braille page in her hand, her fingers read the story once more as she entered the building. Gary would jump off the roof and drown in the river at seven fifteen this morning. She pressed a button on the speaking watch that Gary had given her as a gift and the computerized voice announced the time as five minutes past seven. She had just ten minutes to stop him.

*************

Gary exited the elevator and took the stairs to the roof. Once arriving, he took a long look at the city of Chicago. The big clock on the Wrigley Building, the John Hancock Building, the Sears Tower and the rickety tracks of the El, all came into his line of sight. The city had been good to him and for the most part, he had returned the favor. But all of that was over now as he slowly walked to the edge. Looking down, he saw the slow moving mud green water of the river and prepared to die.

*************

Marissa made her way to the roof and listened carefully for any sign of Gary. She heard what sounded like heavy breathing towards her right and slowly tapped her cane in that direction.

"Don't do it, Gary, please, for God's sake, don't do it!"

Gary heard her voice and turned to face Marissa.

"I-I don't know how you found me here, but I have a good idea," He stammered, "It-it's over, Marissa, I-I can't do it anymore. Instead of saving a life, I-I took one! It's time for me to atone for what I've done."

"Gary, we've been through too much together for you to quit on me now!" She said forcefully, "I love you too much to see you throw your life away. I need you in my life! I want you in my life! You're a very good man, Gary...so maybe you lost a little of yourself, that doesn't mean the rest of you has to suffer for it!"

"NO! You can't even begin to know how I feel, Marissa," he angrily shouted at her, "I killed a man and I wanted to do it! There's no way I could ever take back that moment and I won't live the rest of my life filled with remorse! This is the only option I've got! Just let me go ahead and do what I need to!"

She tapped her cane over to him and felt for his arm, "Then you'll have to take me with you!"

-------------

EPILOGUE

"NO!" screamed Gary as he grabbed Marissa and brought her over to the center of the roof, "It's my problem and my solution to it! You've got no right to butt in!" He slapped her, "Just leave me the hell alone, okay?"

Marissa felt where he had struck her face and shouted back, "I have every right to butt in, Gary! Don't you remember what you said yesterday? That we made a great team, you and I? Well, I'm not ready to let that team break up and I'll do what ever it takes to make sure of it!"

"There's not a damn thing that you can say to make me change my mind, Marissa, so don't waste your breath!" Gary shook badly and his face was flushed, "I-I'm not gonna listen to you, c-can't you get that through your head? I won't listen!"

"Fine!" shouted Marissa through her tears, "But just let me show you something that you might miss if you go ahead and kill yourself!" Marissa threw off her jacket and tore open her blouse. She began lifting up her brassiere, but Gary stopped her.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing?" He covered her up with her jacket, "Are you crazy?"

"Yes I am! I'm crazy for you, Gary!" She collapsed in his arms, "I said I would do what ever it takes and I meant it! Gary, please...just talk to me! We can get through this together, I'm sure of it! I love you and don't want to lose you...forget about The Paper, forget about the bar, but don't you forget about me!"

"I-I don't want to forget about you...I-I love you." He put his arms around her and began to cry.

As the two of them embraced and cried together on the Sun-Times Building rooftop, Gary suddenly realized how much Marissa meant to him and although he could have easily hurt himself, he would never want to put her through the anguish of him taking his own life.

"Let's go home, Marissa, I-I want to go home."

"I know you do, Gary," she said reassuringly, "And I'm going to take you there, my love, okay?"

Gary and Marissa slowly walked with their arms around each other as they left the rooftop to go home.

*************

The cab brought the two of them to McGinty's at little past eight o'clock and both were surprised and annoyed to find Brigatti waiting for them outside the front door.

"Hobson," she said, nodding her head, "Ms. Clark. Nice of you two to finally show up, I've been trying to find the both of you all morning. I went to see you at the hospital, Hobson, but they told me you had discharged yourself against the doctor's advice. I went to your place, Ms. Clark, but all I found there was Hobson's, ugh, cat. I have some important news to tell you."

"And what might that be, detective?" asked Marissa.

"It's concerning the guy that Hobson shot." Brigatti replied.

"What about him?" Gary quietly asked.

"I just got his autopsy report and I thought you might be interested in knowing something. Apparently he had a brain tumor and it was inoperable. He'd have been dead in about a week, ten days at most. You did him a favor, Hobson, the pain he was experiencing more than likely caused him to act the way he did. He felt nothing when you shot him and he died instantly. I just thought you might want to know."

"Uh...yeah, thanks, Brigatti, thanks for telling me."

Brigatti continued, "And Ms. Clark...I won't be charging you with anything for the moment, but someday, I want you to tell me how you knew about the robbery, okay?"

"I'll think about that and get back to you, detective." Marissa answered with a small sarcastic smile.

"Well, that's all I had to say, so I'll leave," said Brigatti, "And I hope I don't run into either one of you anytime soon!"

"I'm sure the feeling is mutual, Brigatti," replied Gary, "Come on, Marissa, let's go inside."

*************

Gary and Marissa sat at a table, drinking coffee and holding each other's hands, when he asked, "Who did you get to read you The Paper this morning?"

"I-I didn't have to get anyone to read it to me." she answered softly.

"Howzat? I don't think I understood you right? No one had to read it to you?" He was puzzled, "Howzat possible?"

"It came in Braille, Gary, a special printing, I guess," Marissa smiled, "I have the page that I tore out in my purse, let me show it to you."

Marissa produced a page of regular newspaper out of her pocketbook, "This is odd, it feels like a normal newspaper page...it is a normal page! I don't understand! It was in Braille this morning!"

Gary looked at it, "It's an ad for canned cat food at a grocery store, five cans for a dollar," he turned it over, "The other side is an ad for ladies lingerie, buy one bra get the other free."

Gary smiled for the first time in over a day and a half, "That reminds me, were you really planning to, uh, go through with, uh, lifting up yours?"

Marissa blushed, "I, um, know that you're a gentleman at heart and even in the situation that we were in this morning, I counted on you stopping me...at least I hoped you would and as it turned out, I was right! You did stop me from embarrassing myself. Um, thanks."

"I'm the one who has to say thanks, not you....you would have held on to me if I had jumped, I know that. There was no way you were going to let go through with it. Thank you for giving me my life back, Marissa."

"It was never mine to give back, Gary, it was yours all along. You just needed to be reminded of that." She kissed him.

"I was wrong about what I said to you yesterday," Gary held her hand, "When it came down to it, you were able to handle The Paper pretty damn good on your own. I hope you'll forgive me for that and everything else that happened in the last day or so."

"You're forgiven, Gary," she placed her arms around him, "I love you and don't ever want to lose you."

He smiled, "Like it or not, I guess you’re stuck with me. I'm gonna go upstairs and take a shower, shave and change my clothes. We have a bar to run, don't we....partner?"

"Yeah, we do, partner. I need to go to office anyway, so I'll walk that far with you."

As the two of them slowly walked into the office together, Gary noticed some roses on the desk.

"These must have come yesterday during all the trouble, Marissa, I had them send you some from the bank before....uh, you know."

"They smell too fresh to be from yesterday, Gary," Marissa said as she felt around for the card attached to them, "The card is in Braille...did you tell them I was blind?"

"No, I didn't, what's it say?"

Marissa had a look of astonishment on her face as her fingers slowly read the card in her hand.

"Thank you and......." she paused with her mouth wide open.

"Thank you and what?" Gary asked.

"Thank you and meow."

Unseen, and perched above both of them on a shelf, was the cat.....smiling.

THE END

Email the author: Mpaterno234@aol.com
 

Back Home to McGinty's

Stories by Title

Stories by Author