SHIPS IN THE NIGHT

The quick detective reached out grabbed the hand holding the gun and turned it toward a wall. A shot rang out and the bullet dashed into a wall and lodged there. Dropping to a knee and twisting the detective sent the would-be assassin sailing through the air to land hard on the stairwell. The assailant rolled down the stairs, as the detective heard a crack like a broken stick. She knew that wasn't good.

She ran down the stairs to she if her attacker was still alive.

'Damn,' Charlene thought, 'the Son of a Bitch is dead.'

She wondered if Xena could recognize this guy as the other kidnapper. She radioed in her location and for a meat wagon. She went up to the apartment she was here to investigate and found the door ajar.

The young detective pulled her gun and identified herself as a police officer. Then she pushed the door wider and dove through it. She scanned the room quickly and found no one else. Slowly, she moved to the door to the right. She turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. She stepped into the bathroom and found no one.

Carefully, she stepped back into the main room and moved to the door across the room. Again she pushed the door open and cautiously entered the small sparsely furnished bedroom. The room was equally empty.

She went to the phone and vigilant not to disturb any prints she called her headquarters.

Xena knocked boldly upon the door and was greeted by an elderly woman who asked, "Can I help you?"

The dark immortal still felt the immortal in the area, as she replied, "I'm looking for Joshua Marx. Is he here?"

The old woman's eyes narrowed as she queried, "What do you want with my brother?"

Xena, now, knew who the immortal was and answered, "Tell him, I know he's here and that Xena of Amphipoulis wants him to come out and play."

The door opening widened and the older woman moved back and let a man, who appeared to be in his late twenties step through the portal with a toothy smile. He scanned her as he passed down the stoop and said, "I am Joshua Marx; shall we seek some privacy?"

"Certainly," Xena responded with a half smile.

As she started to leave the old woman grabbed her arm and desperately pleaded with the dark haired immortal, "Please, kill him."

"No problem."

The young immortal asked, "Did my sister beg you to kill me? I only keep her around because I enjoy torturing her with her own mortality. We used to be lovers, but she got old."

Xena followed the young man into an empty parking lot and pulled her sword as she inquired calmly, "Where is the child?"

The brown haired man's brown eyes widened as he answered, "Ahhhhh, that's why you're here. You really surprised me. I've heard of you of course, but I thought you were dead."

The black clad warrior sighed, "No hardly, now, where is the child?"

The smaller man pulled a scimitar and replied, "A one-track mind, okay, you can have the information if you take me."

A dark eyebrow raised and her smile widened as she said, "No problem."

The green-eyed detective did a quick search of the small apartment before her backup and the FBI got there. She found a receipt for another apartment in a very run down part of town. She smiled to herself as she thought, 'Now, why would a stripper have another apartment? Especially with such deluxe accommodations as these.'

Detective O'Grady was being grilled by an angry FBI agent. Finally, feed up with this ass, she exploded, "Look you can sit around with you thumb up you ass, if you want or you can get out there and find the child. If you guys had acted on the information proved to you by Ms. Amphipoulis, you have been here before me."

The FBI agent's eyes flared as he said, "We don't trust her information, she is probably involved in this up to her black eyebrows. We have very little information on her. As far as we can find out is that she appeared full grown eight years ago."

The young police detective laughed and responded, "In other words, if she had a long eventful record with the FBI, you would be happier with her story. You guys really need to get a life. Listen, you can have you're little circle jerk if you want, but I've got a young girl to find."

As she started to leave, the FBI agent grabbed the young redhead's arm and ordered, "Stay out of this. This is an active FBI investigation. Kidnapping is our jurisdiction."

"Assault is mine. I'm looking for the man who assaulted Xena Amphipoulis. So, fuck off and if you ever touch me again, I will remove the offending hand with my service revolver," she replied as she pulled herself free of the offending hand.

The young immortal swung a two-handed blow at the older, experienced warrior, which she easily blocked. After a series of minor exchanges, it was obvious to both opponents that the young man was no match for the dark woman. So, he decided to deal by saying, "Why don't we delay this battle? I'll tell you where to find the kid and we continue this at a later date?"

Xena smiled and moved quickly disarming the inexperienced warrior and piercing his stomach. She said, "Talk before you die and I'll leave your head on your shoulders or don't talk and I will remove it while you rest."

The young immortal was in severe pain as he told her of the apartment where the child was being held and how many people were there. Then he told her about the security of the place and the location of its lookouts. The dark warrior stooped before the dying immortal and said, "When you wake up, run. If you have lied to me, run. If anything happens to that child, run."

She turned around and went to remove the sister from her brother's torments. The tall warrior didn't want the elderly lady paying for her brother's humiliating defeat. When she got to the apartment she used the dead immortal's phone to call Detective O'Grady, she got no answer. The ancient warrior decided to get the old woman relocated first. It proved to a mistake.

Detective O'Grady had been forced to spend fifteen minutes bringing her captain up to date on her activities. Then she lost another ten minutes getting away from nosy FBI agents, who wanted to respect the family's wishes of paying the ransom and waiting to get the girl back before they investigated the evidence.

The young detective knew that this was not an option. Kidnap victims rarely survived to be returned to their family. She desperately wanted to find this young girl before she became another statistic.

The would-be statistic was eating the baloney sandwich and drinking the glass of water that her kidnappers provided. She hated this room, but she was cried out. The young girl just couldn't cry anymore.

Richard Gardner was not happy as he hung up the phone. The FBI agent had explained that he couldn't keep the young detective from her investigation without alienating the entire police department. The irritated man knew if he raised too much of a stink then he would raise some suspicions on himself.

His wife was totally unsatisfying in her present state. She was practically catatonic. He had so planned to have fun torturing her. He quickly dialed another number. Sadie and Joshua would have to handle the interfering detective. When Sadie answered, he instructed her, "There is a woman detective, who's getting close. When Joshua gets there have him capture her. We need her out of way."

Sadie didn't like this news and asked, "What if she gets here before he does?"

The elder Gardner thought, "Okay, get out of there and take the brat to the other warehouse. They'll never figure us to take the bitch to the place next door to one they have under surveillance."

Joshua Marx hadn't died since the first time. It was quite a shock to his system. It was a feeling he didn't want repeated. He remembered the first time. It had happened in 1929. He was running bootleg whiskey from Canada for old man Kennedy. It made him laugh to think that the Kennedy fortune was built on bootleg scotch whiskey.

On the trip back, a hijacker attempted to intercept the truck. He was just 24 then and felt invisible. So, the young man gunned the truck and ran through the barricade that blocked the road. Bullets rained upon the truck and both back tires were blown. He was thrown free of vehicle, but his back broke on impact. A smiled Irishman with a thick brogue came up to him and said, "Ah, nice try, Laddy, I will ease your pain."

Forty bullets riddled his broken body. He woke up in the morgue under a sheet. Three days later that smiling Irishman became Joshua Marx's first kill. Now, he had another kill to make to avenge this death.

Xena had deposited the elderly woman in her hotel room and told the old lady to order room service. Then the dark warrior went to her vehicle to race to the apartment address that Joshua had given her.

As the red-haired detective arrived, she spotted a blonde woman carrying a small child, who didn't appear to be happy. She leaped from her vehicle and yelled, "Hold it right there, this is the police."

The bleached blonde threw the child into the car and pulled a gun and fired. The inexperienced detective had not been ready for this action and forced just to dive for cover. The blonde took the opportunity to jump into her car and drive off.

The young police officer recovered quickly and got into her car to give chase. A brown Plymouth plowed into the green-eyed detective's car. She was knocked unconscious.

Several minutes later, a Mustang arrived on the scene. She saw that the young detective's car had been involved in accident. The ancient warrior felt something she hadn't felt for a long time, anxiety. The dark warrior realized she had come to like the saucy detective. The fiery detective's demeanor reminded her of her Bard.

The immortal warrior asked an on-looker, "What happened?"

The excited young man replied, "It was so cool. This cop gets into this gun battle with this woman. The woman got away and when the cop starts after them, this other car crashes into her. This guy gets out of the car and pulls the cop from the car. Then he throws her into a passing van."

Xena was very worried now, "What did the guy look like?"

The young man eagerly told everything he knew, "He was medium height, brown hair and his clothes were all bloody. Must have been somebody else's blood because if it were his, he'd be dead."

'Damn,' she thought, 'I'd spent too long with the old woman. Now, Charlene was in trouble.'

The young cop woke up in a room. Her hands were handcuffed behind her back. There was a young girl huddled in the corner. The green-eyed detective smiled and asked, "Are you Rickie Gardner?"

The frightened girl shook her head. The redhead brightened her smile and said, "Well, Rickie, I am a police woman. I will get you out of here."

The young girl looked at the woman and asked, "How?"

The green-eyed woman winked at the girl and reached for her right shoe. She removed the innersole and found her spare handcuff keys she kept there for emergencies. She unlocked the cuffs and moved around the room to find a way out.

Behind a large crate she found an air conditioning vent. It was too small for her to fit into, but the child could fit through it. She took off the grill and put her head into the opening. It was dark and appeared to lead to some other light source.

The young detective found some paint-thinner and some rags. She had the seed of a plan. So she went to find out if the young child could carry it out.

Detective O'Grady stooped down to get on the young child's level and asked her, "Can you be a brave girl?"

The three-year-old shyly whispered, "I'm a bad girl."

The redheaded detective smiled and said, "Me, too, sometimes, but can you be a brave girl?"

The young strawberry blonde pursed her lips and replied, "Yes."

The green-eyed woman smiled and said, "Rickie, no matter what happens I want you to be quiet until I come and get you or a big woman dressed in black clothes comes and gets you. Do you understand?"

The child gave her a weak smile, "How big?"

The young detective held her hand over her chest and said, "I come up to here on her."

The child's eyes got very big as she said, "Wow!"

The detective got serious and told the child, "Rickie, no matter what you hear or see, do not come out for the bad people. They will try to make you come out by hurting me. Don't come out until the big lady comes."

The child started to cry, "I don't want them to hurt you."

Charlene O'Grady gazed into the girl's eyes and willed her strength into the youngster as she said, "They are going to hurt us anyway. I want you to be safe."

The girl pouted, "Okay."

She put the young girl into the air condition ventilation shaft and said, "Crawl to that light over there and if it goes outside come and tell me. If it does not go outside, just stay there. Do you understand?"

The young girl shook her head, no. The young detective took a breath and tried again by pointing her finger, "Go over to that light and wait for me or the big lady to come and get you. Do you understand?"

The young girl shook her head, yes and started crawling cautiously to the light. She got scared as it got really dark, but she heard the policewoman encouraging her on. She wanted to be brave for the lady who wanted to help her, so she went on to the light. The young girl looked through the new vent and saw the bad people. She curled up scared.

Detective O'Grady put the vent back on and piled boxes and crates in front of it. She wet them with water from the storeroom sink. Then, she doused the door with paint-thinner. She didn't have a match or lighter, but she broke the glass bulb in the room and used the electricity that fed the light to ignite a rag, which she tossed onto the door.

As the door became engulfed with flames, she wet herself with water until water was dripping off of her. The smoke was filling the room and she was beginning to choke on the smoke. She knew it was now or never and she threw herself at the door feet first.

The weakened door gave under the furious kick of the petite detective. She landed on the flaming door that partially ignited her clothes. She was rolling on the ground as the platinum blonde arrived with a fire extinguisher. She sprayed the woman and the door with the contents of the metal cylinder.

The red haired detective had minor injuries, but she was still in trouble as she spied a brown-haired man with a gun pointed right at her.

The brown-haired man told the blonde, "Check the room for the brat."

The blonde came back panicked, "Richard, she's not there."

The man cocked his gun and asked, "Where is she?"

Xena drove her car back to her hotel room. The dark warrior was out of leads and thought in desperation that the old woman might know something. She pulled into the hotel parking garage and felt Joshua presence. The younger immortal spotted her as well and dashed out of the garage and into the hotel lobby.

The dark immortal parked the Mustang and chased the other immortal. He had dashed out of the lobby door as Xena entered the lobby. She had to hurry. The long striding warrior was too late to follow her lead. He had disappeared. He must have had a car waiting for him.

She dashed back into her hotel and ran up to her room, where she found the old lady dead on her floor. A police siren alerted her to presence of the police. 'Damn,' She thought, 'They will never believe that I had nothing to do with this.'

The immortal warrior thought quickly and knew how to get out of this. She dashed downstairs and put her weapons into the Mustang. She moved the Mustang to a monthly-rented parking space two levels up. Then she went to the roof of the hotel and jumped off.

The young detective looked at the gun covering her and said, "Richard Gardner, so this was nothing more than an insurance scam."

The irritated man avoided the bait and repeated, "Where is she?"

The green-eyed detective replied, "I don't know who you're talking about."

The man's lips became a thin line as he queried one more time, "Where's the girl? She was in there with you."

Detective O'Grady sent out a silent prayer for the arrival of the dark immortal. The red-haired policewoman shrugged her shoulders and responded, "I woke up in there alone. Would I have risked the girl's life by firing that door?"

The cold man walked slowly toward the young woman and circled her and spoke slowly and patiently, "I will give you one more chance. Now, that you know who I am, you have to die. The question is do you want to die quickly or to be broken first. Believe me we will enjoy breaking you and then you will tell us everything. Save yourself a lot of pain."

In the back of her mind she realized that the Watchers would lose track of the dark immortal if she died. The green-eyed detective lowered her head and said with resignation, "Well, it's going to be pain, because I don't know shit."

The FBI agent smirked as the body was loaded into the body bag. He thought, 'Joshua's plan had worked well. Joshua had wanted to do the woman, but the Bitch offed herself.'

Now, he could arrange the drop and get his share of the million. The FBI agent closed the door of the ambulance and went to find Joshua. Joshua sat on his car and asked, "Where is she?"

The FBI agent shrugged and said, "Morgue, she took a header off the top of the hotel."

Joshua slapped his head and sighed, "I said to bring her to me."

The FBI agent chuckled and said, "Why, she's dead?"

Without anymore patience and to tie up one more loose end, the young immortal shot a stunned FBI agent. He knew it was too late to catch the ambulance before Xena revived, so he decided to go and get further instructions from the boss.

The young girl heard the yelling and screaming, but couldn't see what was going on. She curled weakly into a ball and waited for the big lady to come and get her.

At first the young detective had refused to take off her clothes. The green-eyed woman didn't want to give the son-of-a-bitch the minor victory, but he had taken off his belt and beat her until she slowly began to remove her clothes. When the redheaded woman was totally nude, the evil father ordered the young woman onto a metal table. Then, the sick blonde boldly parted the woman taunt legs.

The young detective lied nude on the metal table, as her insides were examined by the platinum blonde. The twisted blonde smiled wickedly as she said, "She's really tight. I don't think she's had much experience."

Using shackles that were attached to the table legs, the police detective was chained to the metal table. When she was totally exposed, the corrupt man leaned forward and put his mouth by the woman's ear and laughed, "Is that true? Did the big bad warrior just pop your cherry?"

The inexperienced detective tried to stay tough. She turned her head and spit in the man's face, who laughed at her and ordered her, "Lick it from my face."

She refused. With an evil leer, the twisted father roughly clipped a nipple clamp onto her right nipple. She bit the inside of her mouth to help to avoid the pain. Then, her left nipple was put under assault. She wanted to scream, but knew that she couldn't let him have that victory, yet. She had to hold out for herself and Rickie.

She tried to control her pain by concentrating on her breathing. Her only hope was to stall long enough for the Immortal Warrior to find them. The twisted woman noticed the young detective trying to retreat inside herself, so the blonde shoved a huge dildo abruptly into the young woman, who was brought back to the real world, screaming.