Scene 1:

Dinah had just enough time to turn and erase the look of fear off her face. It was essential that Ty not get caught right now. Not until they cleared his name of the rape charge at least, she thought grimly as the light switched on overhead casting a pale yellow light across the room. She sucked in her breath as the sight of her sister met her eyes. She hadn't seen Kelly in nearly three years but she hadn't changed that much, it was simply a shock to see her at all.

"Dinah!" Kelly exclaimed her eyes widening into an expression of surprise. Dinah giggled at the comical expression on Kelly's face nervously. "Why are you laughing?" Kelly demanded. "I don't think you have anything to be laughing about right now! Do you know how much trouble you're in?"

Dinah's giggles fell silent at Kelly's scolding. "No, why don't you tell me," she snapped. "I mean it isn't as if I haven't been told a million times that I'm not too smart."

"Knock it off. Are you aware that Daddy filed kidnapping charges against that boy?"

"Yes. And they're ridiculous. I went with him on my own," Dinah replied jumping to Tyler's defense.

"Exactly. Which makes you guilty of aiding and abetting a fugitive. Christ, Dinah, don't you think before you do things? You must not," she went on answering her own question. "Since you're here in a house that is soon to be filled by your parents who want nothing more than to have you home safe and sound and your boyfriend locked up in prison."

Dinah's skin flushed hotly at Kelly's words. Of course she knew being there was stupid. But it hadn't been their choice. Nicky had them brought here... No, she reminded herself. Nicky had nothing to do with them being there. That had been his evil little henchman, Garcia. The fact that she and Tyler were in serious trouble hit her again, hard. If anyone else found them, or found Tyler at least, there would be no way for her to help him.

"I didn't plan on being here," she returned sullenly.

"No? So what are you doing here?"

"I don't know," Dinah answered, edging towards the pantry door. She couldn't hear Tyler in the room but she knew he was there and sweating every moment of it. "I'd like to leave if I could. Will you let me do that?" She asked hopefully watching Kelly closely. They had never been close and Kelly helping her now seemed like a longshot, but it might by her some time. "Just stall Mom and Dad until I can slip out the back door?"

"No way. I don't where that guy is right now, but I'm glad you're here now instead of with him. Maybe someone can talk some sense into you. I know you won't listen to Dad..."

"Why should I? Why should you? Didn't he run you off with all his demands that you be this perfect wife and mother? You're a total hypocrite if you say he didn't! Because I know it couldn't have been Galen's fault that you walked out on him and Mia. He never did anything to you but love you!"

"You have no idea what went on in my marriage, Dinah," Kelly shot back coldly. "I don't know where your blind allegiance to Galen came from..."

"I can tell you where," she interrupted hotly. "He was always a friend to me. Never lectured unless I gave him good reason to and he cared what happened to me. Now our parents could care less about me. They just want to make sure I don't screw up which they are certain I will."

"You have though! Look at yourself! On the run with a man accused of rape? How is that not screwing up?"

Dinah cut her off with an exasperated sigh. She didn't want to hear any more. She flicked a quick gaze around the room, trying to decide how she and Tyler would get out. Her eyes settled on the patio doors on the other side of the breakfast table. All she needed was for Kelly to leave the room for two minutes...


Scene 2:

"You're right. That is one hell of a story," Troy Sloane muttered. "And you believe it?"

Toni nodded eagerly wishing that Troy's voice didn't have that tired edge to it that he saved specifically for her and her thoughts. "I've got proof...I mean, Nicolas has proof..."

"You're on a first name basis with the guy?!" He sounded angry and she was suddenly glad that Nicolas had decided to follow in his car. Being interrogated in front of him would have been too much to bear, she decided. Though whether it was from sheer embarrassment at being dressed down by her boss or because Troy managed to sound exactly like a jealous boyfriend, she didn't know which. "How the hell does that happen?"

"He asked me to call him Nicolas," she replied knowing it sounded lame. "Look, Nicolas Tejera is not the issue. The issue is Tyler Jones and his innocence. If we show up at that house with the intention of arresting him without talking to him or questioning him, he'll bolt."

"Chance we'll have to take."

Toni glanced over at her friend, recognizing the stiff expression on his face as the famous Troy Sloane Stubborn Look. "Why are you being so difficult? I can give you proof, you know..."

"Proof that you obtained from a man you are convinced is mobster," Troy shot back.

"I don't think he is anymore."

"No? Well, the fact remains that even if you do have proof, you know that tape isn't admissible in court. Any judge worth a hill of beans would throw that out so fast your head would spin. Look, I'm not saying the guy is guilty. I'm just saying, there's a process and procedures that we have to follow. He has to be arrested. You know he does. So does Dinah Stafford. That's all there is to it."

She huffed angrily at his words but remained silent. He had to be by the book this one time. Any other time, he might have bent the rules just a little. And he sounded so angry too. For as long as they had been friends, and they had been friends for a long while, he had lectured her on her life and her work but in a friendly way. Tonight, though, he was different. More protective, jealous even. Perhaps, she thought, giving him a sideways glance, he had wanted to be the one to catch Tyler Jones and she was ruining it for him. He was ambitious after all.

He stopped the car outside the house and opened the door. "You coming?" He asked looking at her intently.

"Yes. Someone has to be on his side," she returned snappishly and climbed out after him. Nicolas pulled up close behind them just as several more police cruisers, lights flashing and sirens blaring, screamed to a halt in front of the house. Toni turned surprised eyes on the uniforms and then back to Troy ready to accuse him of Gestapo tactics but bit her words back at the look of surprise mirrored in his eyes as well.

"What in the hell is going on?" Nicolas demanded, storming towards Troy, staring daggers at him. Toni shifted herself in front of Troy trying to keep Tejera at bay until Troy could explain.

"I have no idea," Troy answered through gritted teeth, one of his hands landing protectively on her shoulder. "Why don't you ask him though?" He nodded towards a man in a dark suit directing the police as if Troy were just a civilian. "He looks FBI to me. I'll bet he has quite a few questions for you too, Tejera."


Scene 3:

Tyler pressed his ear to the door but Dinah and her sister were silent. He heard footsteps running out of the room and took a quick step back from the door as the doorknob turned. Dinah pulled the door open and reached into the room, grabbing his arm.

"Come on! There's no time. The police are here and Kelly will be back any second!" She hissed pushing him towards the glass doors on the other side of the room. She kicked at the lock on the floor ferociously and slid the door back. "Go on!"

"Aren't you coming?" He asked, turning towards her.

She shook her head firmly. "No. I'll be okay. You know they think I was kidnapped. But if you go now, you can get to Noah's apartment while they question me. Come on Tyler! You don't have any time to argue!" She snapped pushing him out the door with a heavy shove.

He paused for a moment ready to turn and argue with her. She'd done so much for him already, he couldn't leave her to face her father and the police in the same night alone. The sirens screamed from the street, startling him. She pointed towards the fence in the back of the yard where it would be easy to climb over and get into the neighbor's yard before the house was surrounded by cops. Not that the street wasn't already but it was his only chance.

Giving her one last painful look, he ran towards the fence, climbing it easily, and dropping to the ground. He stayed close the fence, running towards the next yard and out onto the street. The police cars lit up the neighborhood with an eerie blue light as residents came out of their houses to see what was happening. No one paid him any mind. He ought to do what Dinah said. Noah would hide him again if he needed to...at least until he could contact Nicky again. But worry and guilt about leaving Dinah to face them all alone made him turn. She had been the only one to believe in him and helped him when he asked. How could he run now? Especially when she needed him.

He jumped another fence and hurried down the sidewalk, hiding himself behind a bush until he got a handle on the situation. The police swarmed around the Stafford house, searching for him. From his hiding spot, he could see Dinah as she was led down the steps towards a squad car. She wasn't in cuffs but a female cop had a hold of her shoulder, head dropped against her chest.

He started to stand but a hand pushed him down. "Get back down!" Nicky hissed, dropping down to where Tyler crouched. "They're taking her to the police station to talk to her. She's not under arrest. What do you think you're doing anyway?"

"Giving myself up," Tyler whispered back fiercely. "She doesn't have to go through all that!"

"Obviously she wanted to. Christ, Tomas! She wants to keep you safe. Do you know what those cops will do to you if you get picked up tonight? They're out for blood. You've made a fool of them, the whole department. That police chief heard the whole story from Toni and he still wants you taken down."

"I can't let her go through this alone!" Tyler argued angrily. "It's my fault she has to go through it at all. And my name is Tyler."

"Yeah, I know. But sit tight and let her do this for you. She's a smart kid and she can get herself out of this. You on the other hand, don't know when to shut up!" Tyler glared at him but sat still, keeping himself low to the ground. "Good. Now I have an idea," Nicky added making a mental count of exactly how many policemen were in front of the Stafford home.


Scene 4:

Dinah looked up at the shouts that rang through the balmy night air. A flurry of activity further up the street caught the attention of the police and several of them ran towards the noise, leaving the area just in front of her house clear for the moment. She prayed it wasn't Tyler they had spotted. Detective Hamilton shifted nervously watching the cops chase after a shadow. Dinah inched closer to the woman, who, strangely enough, was dressed in party clothes.

"Detective? Tyler is innocent. I know Melissa Cravens...she's always been a liar when she wanted attention of some sort," Dinah told the woman.

Toni gave her a sympathetic look and nodded her head. "I heard the tape," she replied. "Why did you lie to me?"

"You wouldn't believe the truth," Dinah shrugged. "It seemed easier to lie than try to convince you that you were wrong."

"You've gotten yourself into a little bit of trouble, you do know that, don't you? Even if this does get worked out and Tyler goes free, you did interfere with an official police investigation," Toni told her.

Dinah nodded, sighing heavily. Of course she knew she'd have to face the music. She leaned against the car, kicking at the pavement. Toni paced towards where the chase for Tyler was going on, ignoring her for the moment. No one was watching her. She wasn't the suspect here, after all. Just the victim. She inched backwards, her eyes on Toni's back, careful not to make too much noise. If she could just get somewhere dark, she might be able to slip away to Noah's for a little while. Just until she found out if they had caught Tyler or if he showed up there.

When she was clear of the car, she turned and dashed into the hedge of the neighbor's yard. Ducking out of the light, she paused for a moment, looking back at Toni. She was still watching the police searching yards. She crept along the bushes to the street and was preparing to run across the road when an arm snaked out and pulled her back into the darkness of the shrubs. Tyler put his finger to his lips motioning quiet. She nodded and followed him along the hedgerow into the back yard, noticing that Toni had finally realized she was gone. In the backyard, they ran as hard as they could crossing two more streets before fleeing up another one only pausing when a car pulled onto the street. Tyler waved frantically at the driver.

"Are you crazy?" Dinah asked harshly.

"It's Nicky!" He responded as the car approached him. "He's the one the cops were chasing. Well both of us, but when we lost them I doubled back for you and he went for a car..."

The car stopped just shy of them, the headlights practically blinding them. Her eyes focused past their brightness and for the smallest moment, she was afraid.

"That's not Nicky," she managed as her father climbed out of the car.

"Dinah." His voice rumbled darkly in that scolding way of his. "Get in the car."

"No," she answered in a feeble voice, though her heart and head raced with adrenaline.

"Don't argue with me. Get in the car," John repeated. They all turned at the sound of crashing footprints behind them and the hoarse yells of a policeman as he neared them. "Dinah, get down on the ground now!" John yelled.

Shaking her head defiantly, she grabbed at Tyler's arm and pulled him away down the street just as a loud crack filled the air, followed by yet another one and another one. She would have run forever if Tyler hadn't pulled her down to the ground. Her knee scraped the pavement and she smelled blood thinking, ridiculously, that she hadn't had a scraped knee in ten years. She gazed at it in wonder, looking up at Tyler's concerned face.

"What?" She asked. "Why did you stop running?"

"Dinah," Tyler said in a small strangled voice, "you're bleeding." Bleeding? She didn't see any blood. "Your shoulder," he added as the cop bore down on them.

"Don't move!" He shouted. Tyler's hands went up over his head, clasping behind his neck.

"She's hurt," he called over his shoulder. "I won't run...just get her some help before she bleeds to death!"

Her eyes blurred, turning the world a dull gray. Tyler was saying something to her but she didn't hear it. Someone leaned over her and peered into her eyes. She was conscious just long enough to hear the man say, "Just as well. Her father is dead. Dammit, why did he have to get in the way? Search the kid and see if he has any weapons. And if he doesn't, plant one. I'm not going to tell that man's wife he died because we shot at an unarmed man and her daughter."
 

On the next Episode of Secret Horizons...