Snapshot

[Oxidizer]

Story Title: Snapshot

Type of Story S/M - Trilogy

Main Characters Zoe McCallister, Tracey Thompson, Peter Baker

BTTB Rating T (V/D)

Genre Angst/Drama

Does story include spoilers? No

Any Warnings (V/D)

Summary The barn explosion was just a way of faking their deaths, now presumed dead, the Stalker and her accomplice can finish what they started - getting revenge on Peter Baker.

-Like Clockwork-

When Peter Baker was told that Zoe was going to be spending the rest of her days behind bars, he couldn't be more relieved, and jumped at the chance to celebrate. The perfect time was Jack & Martha's wedding. That was until the joyous atmosphere was shattered by the presence of the one they all feared. How she escaped from the transfer van, nobody knew. At least not until it was revealed that his ex-colleague -and friend from the academy- Tracey Thompson, was in allegiances with his nemesis. It all happened so fast, he never received the answers that he longed for; he was more angry for that than her betrayal. That was until he woke up in that place, in a confused state, far away from the people he cared about most. It was then his life ended and was then merely an existence of sorts. It was then the end slowly creeped upon him.

"All of these threats," Peter shook his head and let out a half hysterical laugh of disbelief, as he was sat on his bed, printed pages from the computer scattered around him. "I thought the whole point of being cooped up in a safe house was to be safe?"

Luke Davis, one of the witness protection officers, stepped forward and empathised. "We're doing everything in our power to keep things under control."

"He's right, you know." Davis' partner, Isaac Harvey, nodded in agreement. "You should relax a little."

"Relax?" Peter scoffed. "You're kidding, right? How am I supposed to relax?" the officers charged of protecting the former detective looked on and cringed, they knew he was about to crack. "First I'm drugged up and brought here against my will, having to wake up not knowing where I am or how I got there, and then I'm told of Gillan's latest antics in Summer Bay, which involves a series of fires and my son being targeted!" the worn-out blonde snapped. "Now, please, tell me how I'm meant to relax."

Luke pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed exasperatedly before opening his eyes to look at the stubble-faced law enforcer. "You're just going to have to trust us, Peter."

Noticing that he was about to throw another of his fits, Isaac quickly stepped in to calm the breaking man down; they were still trying to soothe his anger from being here. That he'll never forgive. "We're setting you up with a new identity as we speak, it should be ready in a week or so. At least then you'll be able to go out and try and get your life back. It's not all bad."

"Yeah," Peter grumbled agitatedly. "Thanks for the reassurances."

"Drew!" Constable Rice called out as he jogged across the beach towards the dark-haired teen, whose attention he now had.

The angst-ridden youth scowled. "Oh, what have I done now?"

"There's no need to be so cynical," Evan chuckled at his protective stance. "I'm not here to arrest you." Drew looked on somewhat hopefully. "But I am asking if you'll come with me to the station, just to help us with our inquiries on your attacker."

"What's the point?" Drew scoffed and raised an eyebrow challengingly. "The guy's probably long gone now anyway."

Evan let out an exasperated sigh. He didn't have time for this. "Mate, please, I'm asking nicely, yeah? We need to know more about the assailant for our investigations."

"Oh, so you don't really give a stuff about me, you just want to help yourself?" Peter's illicit son snapped, making Evan fight back the urge to shake his head. All this kid seemed to want is an excuse to be aggressive. "Thanks."

"I didn't say that." the constable looked at him apologetically and sighed heavily with his hands on his hips, squinting to prevent the sunlight from temporarily blinding him. "Look, I'm sorry, alright? Now, please, will you help us?"

Drew huffed bitterly and glanced to the side to pretend to think it over; trying his best and succeeding at being awkward. His eyes caught a glance of a dark Mercedes, ominously parked outside the Diner afar. "Fine." he sighed blankly, looking at the brunette woman wearing a pantsuit and sunglasses, who stared back in their direction. "I ain't got nothing better to do." he turned to face the relieved constable. "What do you need?"

"Afternoon, mate." Jack smiled ruefully as he entered the interview room. Constables Fitzgerald and Rice stood watch from the side as they observed their former superior's son, who sat at the table, nervously picking at his fingernails.

Drew's head shot up in response. Finally! "Hey, look, is this going to take any longer? I've been waiting for 14 minutes! I thought you wanted my help?"

"We do," Jack explained apologetically, sitting at the opposite side of the table and placing his files in between the two. "I was just talking to McGrath about the case."

"So let's get started, I don't want to be here all day."

Constable Holden flipped open his notebook and clicked the injector on his pen, getting ready to take the victim's statement. "Alright, let's start with your attacker; what did he look like?"

"I don't know, it was dark." Drew folded his arms across his chest and slouched in the chair, Evan and Lara shared an annoyed look as the teenager huffed. "I wasn't paying much attention. I took a glimpse to the side and then he knocked me out."

Jack jotted all of what he was being told down and looked up expectantly. "Do you know what with?"

"I don't know, a plank of wood I think." the youngest in the room replied thoughtfully. "I'm not really sure."

"Okay, what was he wearing?" Holden began to bombard him with questions. "Anything distinctive about him? Did he say anything to you?"

"No," Drew grimaced. "I don't know! He was wearing a balaclava." he revealed agitatedly, trying his best not to snap but to no avail. "That's all I know. Can I go now?"

Jack looked at Evan and Lara awkwardly and sighed, closing his notebook and slipping it in his pocket before rousing from the table. "Thanks for your help. I'll see what we can arrange."

The angsty teen frowned bitterly as the uniformed officers exited the interview room.

"What's your problem now?" Isaac fought back the uncontrollable urge to snap as he monitored Peter frantically clicking the mouse to the computer.

"I was just checking my e-mails and something doesn't add up." the worn-out blonde turned around to look at the witness protection officers present in the room. Luke stood silently in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Oh, yeah?" Isaac raised his eyebrow expectantly. "And what's that?"

"How does Gillan know I'm not dead?" Peter asked with genuine curiosity. It was something that had been playing on his mind for some time now; since he received the first death threat. "Sure, he's pretty high up as far as the underworld goes, but there's no way he'd know about the wedding." he clarified when his query was met by a doubtful response. "It wasn't as if it was mine, there was no need for him to."

Luke stepped further in the room and sighed heavily. "Maybe he heard about it on the news."

"Even so, what would make him think I'm still alive?" Peter argued. It was beginning to frustrate him that they didn't seem to believe him; they looked at him as if he was insane. Maybe he was slowly beginning to lose his sanity, it doesn't mean he wasn't right.

"I honestly don't know." Isaac exhaled deeply. "Just know that we've got people looking into it."

"Thanks a lot," Peter squinted his eyes bitterly, getting up from the computer and sending the chair scattering across the room. He was leaving before he did something he would regret. "No, really, great help you two are!"

Luke and Isaac both bowed out of the way as he stormed past them into his room. "Irrational prick."

"You don't see me disagreeing," Isaac chuckled humorlessly in response to his partner's anger. Like it was their ideal way to spend every waking hour of their day. "But the guy's got a point."

Officer Davis sighed reluctantly. "Yeah, I know."

"I hear you saw something of interest earlier." the blonde-haired woman grinned as she entered what used to be Peter's bedroom, before he apparently died. It was now a place where they developed photographs, the room glowed a luminous red.

Tracey turned around to face her sociopathic girlfriend, her outline illuminated by the white glow of the laptop screen. "Yeah, Constable Rice and Drew talking. I wasn't close enough to hear what about, but I'm fairly certain it was about his attacker."

She and the frizzy-haired blonde shared a egotistical smirk. "I was hoping it would be." Zoe's eyes darted across the room, the wet photographs pegged to the line reflected in her hazel eyes. "How are they coming along, nearly done?"

"Almost." the corrupt senior detective looked at them sharply before resuming focus on her equally ingenious girlfriend. "In a couple of minutes they'll be developed and ready to scan, then I can attach them to an e-mail." she turned back to look at the laptop positioned on the desk. "I think Peter will get the message once I've sent this."

Zoe cackled playfully. "Oh, Tracey, you criminal mastermind, you." the brunette twirled around on the chair to look up at her proudly. "And you thought your idea wasn't good."

1/3

[Oxidizer]

-Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are-

The computer screen reflected in his cobalt blue eyes. Peter clenched his jaw as he used the mouse to scroll through the files attached to the e-mail - they were photographs of Drew's attack. He was knocked unconscious, faced-down on the dirt track; his face was lit up by the camera's flash, erasing any doubt in the pained detective's mind that it could've been a look-a-like. "What was that you were saying about overreacting?"

"I'll call CID." Isaac stammered, making a hasty exit from the room as Officer Davis stood at Peter's side, looking at the photographs on the computer.

"Okay, so I underestimated Gillan's thirst for vengeance," Luke empathised and tried to reassure the worn-out blonde that they were on top of things. "But it's nothing to be overly concerned about." Peter shot his head up in response and glared. Maybe I could've worded that better. "We'll deal with it accordingly; you shouldn't work yourself up so much."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this!" Peter snapped. "Look at the screen, that's my son, knocked unconscious!" he pointed to the screen aggressively, making Luke cringe. "If someone can do that and take photos of it, what the hell else are they capable of?"

Luke squinted challengingly. "I don't think I like your tone, Baker."

"Tough." Peter roused from the chair and stood firm on his feet, instantly regretting it and clutching at his sore abdomen. "I'm going to warn my son, and you're not going to stop me."

"That would be a very bad move." Luke's eyes looked over the pained man vigorously. "I advise you to stay put, at least until Officer Harvey returns with the response from CID."

"I can't just sit here!" Peter almost screamed his frustration. "I've got to do something!"

Luke sighed apologetically. "I understand your concern, really, I do, but we're trying our best to put an end to this."

"Oh, yeah?" Peter raised an eyebrow challengingly. "And how's that?"

"We called ahead last night when we heard Drew was brought in for questioning," he quickly explained when Peter's eyes widened. "Now, it's nothing to worry about, they just needed to know more about the attack." Luke shook his head dismissively and got straight to the point, not wanting to worry him any further with his lack of assuring words. "Anyway, we phoned CID and we're moving you to another safe house, just until things ease down a bit." he looked at the rueful man apologetically and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid setting you up with a new identity is out of the question at this stage."

Peter scoffed. "Wonderful!"

"So what's the plan?" Tracey entered Peter's old bedroom and stood in the doorway, watching Zoe wipe their fingerprints from the surfaces erratically; she was obviously in a rush.

The stalker replied in a flustered tone as she whizzed around the room, erasing any DNA or mark of their presence from her nemesis' apartment. "We abduct Drew, send a ransom to the safe house, draw Peter out and kill him."

"Zoe, I don't mean to stand on your parade here, but when we were discussing revenge tactics before, it was a little more... formal."

Tracey watched as she placed the cloth and any other materials to wash away their presence in her rucksack, zipping it up as she replied. "I don't know what else you want me to say."

The corrupt senior detective walked further into the room, stepping aside Zoe and placing her hands on her shoulders to calm her down; sharing a light gaze. "Are you nervous?"

"Something like that." Zoe shrugged.

"What's wrong?"

Zoe sat on the bed and sighed ruefully. "Nothing, it's just... once Peter's dead, that's it." she swallowed nervously. "The end."

"Of your ties to Summer Bay and Sarah's killers, yes." Tracey pointed out the bright side, sitting next to her. "But there's a whole world out there just waiting to be explored. Once we've finished up here, we can go on holiday, move on." she held Zoe's jaw to make her face her; their eyes meeting. "-Be happy."

"You're right." Zoe replied lightly, slapping her hands down her thighs and pulling herself up from the bed. "You're absolutely right."

Tracey chuckled and looked up at her for answers. "So, I'll ask again; what's the plan?"

A smirked played across Zoe's lips dangerously.

"Thanks for keeping him in over night," Dan expressed his gratitude, stood in the reception of the police station with Leah and Drew. "At least we knew he was safe."

Constable Lara Fitzgerald smiled earnestly. "Don't mention it, that's what we're here for."

"Yeah, thanks a lot." Drew muttered sarcastically. He was still annoyed that he was fooled into being held captive by Summer Bay's finest. Or as he and a few other people thought; dumbest.

"Drew." Leah warned.

"It's okay, we know he wanted to go home after giving us his statement." Lara rationalised his behaviour and turned to face him, to apologise. "We're sorry we tricked you into coming back here with us, but if you knew what we were planning, we knew you'd never agree to it."

"Maybe I was a little out of line," Drew turned around to face Leah and Dan before resuming his attention on the constable. "Thanks."

Dan's eyes widened in response. "You get him a new personality over night?" he joked dryly. "Maybe he should stay over more often."

"Yeah, right." Drew rolled his eyes playfully.

Lara smiled lightly. "Just give me a minute to fetch Constable Rice then you can go home."

"Okay, thanks."

The Bakers watched on as she repositioned behind the reception desk, picking up the receiver from the phone hook and shooting them a smile, as she flipped through various files on the desk.

"Rice?" Drew twisted his face in confusion. "Why does he have to be here?"

"I assume to drive us home." Leah informed.

"What?" Drew blinked.

Dan chuckled at the worries his nephew underwent. "Don't worry, it's just to be extra careful."

Their eyes were quickly drawn to the interview room where Evan emerged. He walked towards them casually and cleared his throat. "Hey, Drew." he smiled at the awkward family. "You guys ready?"

"About that," Drew stepped forward to show his disappointment of being driven home like some criminal. "I don't mean to be rude, but I fancy walking. You know, now that I've got my freedom back." he snarked.

Evan took a second to examine the angst-ridden teen's face and sighed. "Well, I wouldn't advise it, but it's not as if you're a prisoner or anything."

Drew's coal-like eyes lit up. "So I can walk?"

"Fitzy?" Rice turned around to face the constable behind the reception desk for a second opinion.

"I don't see why not." Lara shrugged as she held the phone to her ear. "You're all together, it's not as if you're going to be attacked in a group." But don't call me on that if you are she thought quietly to herself.

"Awesome!" Drew grinned. The others looked on wide-eyed as he quickly strolled out of the station, taking big long strides, almost running; eager to get out of there. It'd be a good few minutes before Dan and Leah caught up with him.

"He means thanks." Dan grimaced at his nephew's unappreciative manner, holding Leah from behind as they made their own exist.

Lara and Evan shared an amused look as they left the station. "See you later."

Peter's sapphire-like eyes pierced the screen as he re-read the e-mail that the photographs of Drew's attack were attached to.

Anonymous4296:

Come out, come out, wherever you are...

His mind playing on what his son must've gone through. Was he aware of what was happening, did they torment him before hand, was it unexpected, sudden, quick? Did they tell him that he was still alive, just to cause more fireworks to their relationship when all this was over? If it would ever end. It seemed to have carried on for months, not weeks like it really did.

He looked at the photos with a grimace and that's when he knew he had to do something. That's it. He couldn't just wander around the safe house aimlessly anymore.

Quietly pushing the chair backwards to get out from the enclosed office-like area, Peter stealthily made his way out of the room, trying desperately not to make a sound; which was something of a challenge in the hallway leading to the front entrance, the wooden floorboards creaked.

He peered around what could be best described as the living room, rolling his eyes at Isaac and Luke who played Grand Theft Auto III on the Xbox. And they say I spend too much time on that thing, they use it more than I ever did.

Peter shook his head and snapped out of his snark, quickly realising that time wasn't on his side. If they found out he was so much as planning an escape, let alone carrying one out, they'd secure the place tighter than Joan River's facelift.

Sighing deeply to brace himself, he swiped the keys to the patrol car from the side cabinet, clenching them tightly in his clammy palm to prevent them from jingling. Now was his chance; it was now or never. He took one last glance at the officers charged with protecting him before racing forward, towards the front door. His sneakers squeaked on the polished surface of the floor; the pesky floorboards creaked. He was sure they installed those on purpose, to prevent an escape much like the one he near mastered.

Isaac and Luke's ears pricked up in response to that familiar sound, they both dropped the consoles in unison and charge towards the hallway; hell-bent on preventing Peter from going outside and showing his face; destroying everything they achieved.

"Peter!" Luke bellowed as they raced through the hallway, catching a glimpse of their alleged safe detective make a break for it out of the now-open door, which was swinging ajar. "Come back here at once!"

Officer Harvey tailed behind and they both came to an immediate halt in the doorway, watching on in dread as the patrol car tore out of their, the cringe worthy sound of tyres screeching; confirming their failure in keeping him safe. "What do you want me to do?"

"Phone CID." Luke grimaced. "He's going to get himself killed."

"On it." Isaac nodded before darting back inside.

Luke stood in the doorway and watched the now-empty landscape from afar, tyre marks from where Peter escaped disturbed the sandy road. He wasn't expecting the detainee to come back unharmed, let alone alive, now. He was as good as dead out there.

2/3

[Oxidizer]

-Playtime Is Over-

Just as expected, Drew wasn't on his way home; the head start he deliberately caused between him and Leah and Dan was for a different reason. He was walking down a long and lonely roadside, a rucksack on his back. A few miles down and he'll be out of Summer Bay. He wasn't sticking around to be accused of being some lunatic addicted to starting fires, or to be attacked by shady characters in the night. He was going home - his real home, with his friends in the city.

Unbeknownst to him, a dark Mercedes ominously tailed behind; slowing the pace as it approached nearer.

At first, Drew didn't pay that much attention, his mind was focused solely on one thing; getting as far away from Summer Bay as humanly possible. He always wanted to travel Europe anyway. Yeah. He turned around when he heard car tyres churn on the gravel-like concrete of the road, squinting suspiciously at the blackened vehicle he was sure he had seen somewhere before.

Pulling the rucksack that slowly slipped from his shoulder back up, he stopped as the Mercedes slowed down and continued to drive beside him at his pace; the windows ominous rolled down.

"Need a ride?" Zoe quirked an eyebrow from inside the passenger's side, eyeing up the luggage Drew had on him. She knew he wouldn't be able to resist; his back must've been aching.

Drew stopped and so did the car, as he dropped his rucksack to the ground in resignation, looking around to see nothing but bushland and trees from afar, holding his hand above his brow to shade his eye's from the sunlight that blinded. "I don't want to be any trouble."

The 'borrowed' patrol car from the safe house slowly tailed behind, far enough to evade suspicion, but close enough to see what was happening. Peter's grip around the steering wheel tightened in frustration, as he grimaced at what he was witnessing. Don't do it, Drew. That's Gillan's flunkeys.

"Not at all." Tracey smiled as she leant forward; Zoe turned to face her where the couple shared a mischievous smile for a split second, before both resuming their attention on the dark-haired teen. She motioned for Zoe to open the door. "Hop in."

"Thanks," Drew sighed as he climbed in the back seat, throwing his rucksack in first and slamming the door shut carefully behind him.

Zoe and Tracey shared the same thought as they watched him from the rearview mirror ominously. That was easier than we expected.

"So, where you headed?" the blonde asked, cautiously drawing her words out as the car began to pick up speed, driving down the lane with velocity.

"The city." Drew revealed whilst looking at the scenery pass by through blacked out windows. He turned his head to look up front. "You?"

Zoe chuckled humorlessly, putting on a charming façade. "What a coincidence! That's where we're going."

"But we have to quickly drop some stuff off at a friend's first though," Tracey interjected, her knuckles popping as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. She looked at him from the rearview mirror. "Is that alright with you?"

Drew grinned bemusedly. "You bet."

Catching a glimpse of the patrol car from the mirror, Zoe turned her head to Tracey, giving her a silent signal to get out of there.

The dark Mercedes tore down the road, sending fallen leaves to scatter up and twirl in the air as Tracey floored the accelerator; soaring through the countryside. Peter followed suit.

10 minutes had passed and Drew was beginning to feel unsettled. For that time they drove through Summer Bay and into more out-of-range land; they were in the middle of nowhere. Did they even know where they were going? Were they lost? He drummed his fingers nervously on the armrest and looked up at the strangers who were in control. "What are we doing here?"

"I doubt you noticed, but I do believe there was a car tailing us." Zoe informed dryly, looking out of the window at front to get a good view of their whereabouts. They were just entering a disused barn that looked like it had been abandoned for at least a year or so. "We're here to settle a few old scores that have been long overdue."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Drew frowned in confusion, his eyes widening when Tracey whipped out a silenced 9mm from her jacket and handed it to Zoe, who twisted in the passenger's seat and aimed it at him. "What the... what's going on?"

Tracey slowed the vehicle's pace and pulled up in a vacant space where tractors once parked. "Do as we say and you won't get hurt."

Zoe smirked when the patrol car did a U-turn, sending a cloud of dust to fly up into the air, and came to an immediate halt a few meters away. "Come on, Trace. Peter's here."

Drew twisted his face in confusion, his eyes somewhat hopeful to hearing that name; the name he had spent the last couple of weeks damning. "Peter?"

"Yes, your dad." Zoe rolled her eyes flippantly, pushing the car door open on her side, half stepping out. "I'm glad to see that you're not suffering from amnesia after that nasty blow to the head you received the other night."

"That was you?" Drew blinked, pressing his back firmly against the seat; trying his best to get as far away from them as possible in a futile attempt to feel safe.

"Personally? No." Zoe revealed, stepping out of the car and stretching before rounding the other side. Tracey followed suit and opened the door, exposing Drew to the outside dangers. The stalker concluded her revelation. "We hired someone to do it for us, a guy by the name of Stuart Jones, who we used to do the break-ins and set up the tyre factory."

Tracey pulled Drew out of the car forcefully by his upper arm. "Come on."

Peter jogged towards them after seeing his son being [wo]man-handled from the car, aggression resided over him. Charging forward, he was immediately stopped dead in his tracks by two things; the gun aimed to his chest and seeing Zoe and Tracey, both looking remarkably healthy for alleged corpses. "You!"

"Expecting somebody else?" Zoe glared challengingly.

Tracey stood at her side and slipped her arms around her waist, circling her whilst keeping a steady aim at her ex-colleague. "Hello, Peter." she smirked.

"How did you survive?" Peter snarled through gritted teeth. "Why are you here?"

Zoe turned her head to the side slightly, her gaze fixed to the dirt track below. "Trace."

"The explosion was going to be our big finish," Tracey stepped forward and began to explain her ingenious plan. "Until I remembered our little chat the night before, the one about Murphy wanting to place you in witness protection." Peter's eyes widened in shock; how could she? Like her betrayal wasn't enough, she actually masterminded her own vengeance. "That's when I came up with the idea of making your life a living hell under the guise of Dennis Gillan."

Peter almost choked at what he was hearing. Drew was stood by his side; although he spent the last few weeks hating him, he felt safe with this man. "You?"

"Oh, come on, Detective!" Zoe barked a half hysterical laugh of disbelief. "You used to work with her for two years, surely you know how clever she is."

"But why?" Peter ignored his nemesis and solely asked Tracey. His voice on the verge of breaking.

Tracey glared dangerously. The gun in her hand shaking from the rage that took over. "I wanted you to pay, you deserve nothing less for what you did to me."

"What I did?" the painkiller addicted blonde frowned in confusion.

Zoe grinned as she looked at the small group, intrigued. "And it's about to get interesting."

"You knew how I felt about you," Tracey screamed silently in a small voice. "We were going strong until you came here, getting infatuated with Leah, and then actually cheating on me with Claire. How could you do that to me?"

"You're joking." Peter gasped hysterically. "That's what all of this is about?"

Tracey bit the inside of her lip. On the brink of tears, she snapped. "I loved you, and you betrayed me!"

Peter twisted his face in confusion. "But I thought you two were..."

"Lovers?" Zoe interjected. "We are. People move on, Detective. Just like you did with Tracey, just like she did with you." the hazel-eyed sociopath glared venomously. "Just like I did with Sarah."

"So, what, you're working with Gillan because of all of this?" Peter shook his head bitterly.

"Don't be ridiculous." Tracey barked. "As far as we know, he's in the city, back with his family. He doesn't want revenge on you." this was clearly a revelation for Peter; he had spent every waking hour at the safe house hating that man, for something he wasn't even a part of. "We're just posing as him so that someone will get the blame for your death once we've finished."

Drew shakily interrupted in an intimidated voice. His coal-like eyes a mixture of a plea and contempt. "Don't do this."

"Sorry, kid, but it's a little late for that." Zoe frowned amusedly. "There's no way either of you are just walking away from this, let along keeping quiet on our survival."

"Leave Drew out of this," Peter urged. "Take me instead!"

"That sounds familiar." Tracey muttered quietly as she rolled her eyes and snarked.

Zoe couldn't prevent the laughter that escaped her mouth at the former detective's words. "Weren't you listening to what I just said? He's a witness. We've got no choice but to silence him."

Drew tugged on Peter's grey hoodie like a child wanting his parent's attention. "Dad."

"It's alright, mate. They'll never get away with this." he put a protective arm between him and their homicidal assailants.

"Of course we will." Zoe replied flippantly. "Why do you think we're wearing gloves?" she waved her hands playfully, just to get it through Peter's thick skull. "No fingerprints, no DNA, no one knows about us. As far as everyone's concerned, we burned in that fire."

"We've already planted all the evidence need for a conviction in Rice's apartment." Tracey smugly revealed. "We've got our fall guy."

"Why?" Drew frowned bitterly. "What has he got to do with all of this?"

Zoe rolled her eyes and sighed tiredly; she was getting sick of explaining. "He was involved on your case the most. It all makes perfect sense when you think about it." she stepped forward to tell the conclusion the police would eventually come to. "He was hired by Gillan to frame you for those fires, to draw Peter out."

Peter grimaced. "You started those fires?"

"Oh, come on!" Zoe barked in disbelief. "We burnt your car, a car that looked almost identical to the one that exploded at the town meeting, the school - Sally's work place, your memorial bench, a barn." she chuckled quietly to herself. "Don't tell me you wasn't aware of the patterns."

Tracey flipped her hair and kept her gun pointed firmly at the two men in their grasp as she took over storytelling duties. "As for framing Drew, that was me." she grinned smugly. "You know forensics was my speciality."

"So, what happens to us now?" Drew asked nervously. He'd be lying if he denied claims that he was terrified, he was practically shaking.

"Tracey kills you, I watch the torment on your father's face, and then do the same to him." Zoe informed dryly, as if it was an every day and casual occurrence.

Peter stepped forward and placed his arm protectively in front of his son, pushing him back and standing guard in front of him. "Drew, stay behind me." he ordered.

"How sweet." Tracey tilted her head before rapidly aiming the silenced firearm to the side; in perfect alignment to the side of Drew's head. "But it's not saving anyone."

Completely avoid of emotion, Tracey pulled the trigger. The stifled pop of a silencer bursting was audible, followed by the thud of Drew's body hitting the ground.

"Drew!" Peter screamed as he charged to the ground, cradling his dead son in his arms; the dead teen's black eyes fixed and staring at him, widened in fear.

Tracey handed Zoe the gun whilst their nemesis was otherwise engaged. Chuckling to herself, Zoe stood over Peter as he cried into Drew's gelled black hair. He looked up at her and glared dangerously, making her smirk. "Any last words?"

"I'll see you in hell." Peter ushered his final words through gritted teeth before Zoe pulled the trigger. His body jerked back by the force of the shot; a lethal head wound to his forehead, the bullet lodged in his skull.

"Ominous." Zoe giggled the her nemesis' last words as she slipped the pistol in the sleeves of her hoodie that was tightly tied around her waist. She turned to face Tracey. "So, what do you fancy doing now?"

"Other than you?" Tracey winked, making Zoe smile coyly. "Well, I quite like the idea of discussing that holiday we were hypothetically talking about earlier over pizza." she stepped forward and inched closer to her homicidal lover; their bodies briefly touching. "How does that sound?"

Zoe looked Tracey square in the eye and the couple shared rueful smile. "Beautiful."

3/3

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