Felicity rang the bell to Andy's home and waited patiently. She wanted to check up on Andy as she still seemed depressed. She fiddled with her thumbs as she had left her cell phone home in a hurry. After a five minute wait, Mary opened the door. Her face registered shock and then she broke into a smile.

"How nice of you to drop by! I baked cookies, would you like some?" She held Felicity's hand as of they were old friends. Felicity hesitated in the doorway.

"No thanks...I'm still digesting my lunch. Isn't Andy home?"

"No. She left and didn't say where she was going. Are you sure you don't want a cookie?" Mary literally bounced and skipped to the kitchen and came out with a tray of cookies. "These are fresh from the oven!"

"What's wrong with Washington?" The dog, always excited to see Felicity, was curled under a couch, his tail flat. He pulled his head out and let out a low growl as he acknowledged Felicity, then ducked in again.

"No idea! Are you sure you don't want a cookie?" Felicity hated things being pushed into her face and since Mary did just that, it pissed her off and she refused, with a touch of adamance. 

"I'll swing by later." She turned back startled as Washington started a barking frenzy.

"Hush! Or I'll cook you next!" Mary threatened and the dog immediately quietened and ducked under the couch again.

Crazy bitch! 

"Maybe I should take him home with me for some time? That may cheer him up." Felicity suggested. Today, there was something definitely off about Mary. She practically vibrated with excess energy, not resembling the shy, reticent woman from before.

Mary laughed loudly. "What a ridiculous suggestion! Ok, bye now!"

The door closed in Felicity's face and she walked back to her car, shaking her head.

****

Andy struggled and grunted for what seemed like an eternity. She could hear voices downstairs and then Washington's bark and whine. Bremer was here! She had half a mind to bellow for Washington if she hadn't known that there was a high chance that they would hurt the poor dog as well. After pulling until her wrists were peeled raw and probably cutting herself in the process, Andy realized that straining against the rope wasn't working. The table leg that she was tied to was a sturdy oak and piled with a lot of junk on top. Moving it would take a superhuman effort, but if she could manage to push it till it toppled, she might be able to wiggle free.

Wincing against the pain in her wrists, she used her feet to prop herself up. Her shoes made squishing sounds on the dirty wooden floor, but she tried to be as quiet as possible. She grunted and managed to sit up on the soles of her sneakers. She pushed her back against the table leg, counted to three, then pushed against the table leg with all her might. Her feet dug into the floor. The table seemed immovable at first, but after a couple of hits, the files and other furniture on top of the table came crashing down on the other side. Andy winced. So much for being quiet.

She propped her legs again and gave another mighty push. The table leg lifted off the floor just enough so she could slide out the rope bounding her hands from underneath. Her hands still tied at the back, she stood up, half expecting Mary and Bremer to come bounding up the stairs.

When nothing happened, Andy let out a prayer to the heavens. Quickly, she looked around, trying to find something to cut her bonds. Luckily, she quickly found an old garden shear tucked behind a dirty broken down wardrobe. As luck would have it, they were slightly open because they had been tucked in a standing position behind the wardrobe. She quickly turned around and rubbed her rope against the ends. The shears weren't exactly sharp, but after a few minutes, she managed to fray the rope enough to pull the rope apart in the center. She almost sobbed with relief to have her hands free, though her wrists had been sorely abused by the blue nylon rope.

But, she didn't have time to waste. It had taken Mary an inordinate amount of time to come back, but she couldn't push her luck. Quickly, she looked around for a means to escape. The only exit from the room led to the flight of stairs which took her downstairs, but if she had to avoid Mary.... The skylight! Heart pounding, Andy looked at the window to the sky. The skylight showed the dying light and with that, hope came alive in Andy's chest.

The attic was simply filthy. This was one room in the house that Andy had avoided like the plague. The room contained broken and old furniture, items discarded carelessly and now gone brown from the dust thickly settled on them.  She spied a tall object in the corner which was covered with a sheet. She pulled the sheet and thanked the Lord. It was a step ladder! It was slightly rusted and stiff from disuse, but Andy dragged it under the skylight, uncaring of the sound she made. Her heart was pounding and she was positive that Mary and Bremer would be here any minute. She needed to rely on speed now, not stealth.

She quickly ascended the ladder. The skylight was locked from inside, but the latch slid open easily and the window swung open. Andy sniffed, silently thanking Leo for fixing it. Grabbing the sides of the skylight with her fingers, the rope still dangling around her wrists, Andy tried to pull herself up. It was extremely hard and her shoulders burned from the effort, but she managed to raise her head out. 

Her feet were still dangling down when she heard noise from below. Panicking and to the brink of hysteria, Andy pulled herself up with a superhuman effort. She pulled out her right leg and placed it on the ledge. She was about to pull up her left leg when something grabbed it from below.

"Gotcha!" A voice said and Andy let out a hysteric scream.

*****

"Where the hell is Andy?" Leo barged into the Pizza Place and demanded of Felicity. She looked startled as did all the customers and they all looked at him like he was a madman.

Uncaring, he strode to Felicity and grabbed her by her shoulders. "She isn't here? Where the hell is she?"

"Calm down, tiger!" Felicity grabbed him by his arm, excused herself from the diner's customers and took him aside. "What are you doing here? Andy said you weren't coming back."

Leo took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead. Maybe he was over-reacting, but he had a feeling that he HAD to see Andy right this minute. "Where. Is. Andy?" Leo repeated slowly to Felicity.

"She took a sick day. Mr. Stern got a text message from her. I swung by her house before I started my shift, but Mary said she'd gone out. I figured she was just playing hooky like I do sometimes."

"Mary answered the door? Did she say anything else?"

"Well," Felicity thought for a moment. "She was... different, you know? All high-strung and jumpy. And the dog was also acting weird. And then when I was leaving, I saw a guy driving up in a beat-up Mercury. He turned towards Andy's house. I thought that was real strange, he might have lost his way, I supposed. He was kind of mean-looking so I didn't ask if he needed help."

Leo let out a muttered curse. This was not good. He pulled out his phone. His detectives had taken a few pictures of Bremer when they were trailing him and he showed these pictures to Felicity.

"Why, that's the guy!"

Terror clawed Leo's throat. "Felicity, call the Sheriff's department, Andy's life is in danger."

****

Andy squinted at Bremer through her swollen eye which was slowly squeezing shut. She felt impotent anger at herself for being a second too late, at Mary who stood mutely in the corner, horror, and sympathy on her face and mostly at Bremer, who was smugly strutting on the attic floor like a peacock.

"You know, I'm going to give you real special treatment. No one's gotten on my nerves as much as you have, not even Mary."

"How kind of you!" Andy drawled leaning for support on the same table leg that she had been tied to. After a fruitless struggle with Bremer, he had cowed her and she was too weak to fight now, at least for the time being. "I'm sure you'll get special treatment in hell."

"Ph-Phil. You said, that she would be my companion." Mary was back to her subdued self. Andy was pissed at her, but gave her a puppy-dog look. Mary wet her lips and addressed Bremer again. "Y-You c-can't treat her like the other girl. Th-That's what you told me."

Stupid, naive Mary! When would she realize what a monster Bremer was?

But Bremer simply ignored her. "Do you want to know what I'm going to do to you, Andy? I have lots of customers, who spend good money to watch me, do what I like to do. I know lots of ways to hurt women, bitch. I'm somewhat an expert in torture. I run an online business for my elite clientele. I'm just a businessman, you know?" His chest blew up. "I'm going to give it to you. Real slow. You hear me, bitch?"

Panic clung to Andy's throat. Her eyes stung with tears. This wasn't fucking fair! All she had wanted to do was save Mary from this monster. Why was this happening to her?

"Don't be stupid, Bremer. The police know that Mary was staying with me. If anything happens to me, you'll be the first suspect." Andy was surprised that her voice sounded so calm and reasonable.

"Well, they aren't going to find out for a long time that you've disappeared. Why do you think I target girls who are basically drifters? And trust me, even if they do suspect me, they won't have a shred of evidence linking me to you. You're in the hands of an expert, sweetheart."

Andy changed tactics. She looked at Mary pointedly. "What did you see in this asshole, anyway? Do you hate me so much, Mary? I took you in and took care if you, I was always nice to you. Are you going to let this monster hurt me?"

Mary flinched. "Ph-Phil?"

"Shut up, Mary. It's time to use the handkerchief and chloroform I gave you. Make her real biddable so that she'll come with us without a fuss." As Mary hesitated, he barked. "DO IT!"

Mary rushed out of the attic. They could hear her tread as she ran down the stairs. Andy glared at Phil with undisguised hatred. "You'll never get away with this."

Bremer gave her a smug smile. "Oh, do you think lover boy will save you? He's had people trail me for weeks. The thing is, sweetheart, that none of you have the means to deal with a clever criminal such as myself. Once we are out of here, no one on earth will ever lay eyes on you, I can promise you that."

"They will look for me, Bremer. I may have been left alone before, but I'm not alone anymore. Leo will come." Surprising thing was, she believed it. Which was amazing, because she hadn't trusted in anyone. But she trusted Leo. He had to come for her.

"Miss me, sweetheart?" Andy's heart leaped. It was Leo! He had come for her! Leo ducked into the room, looking haggard but none the worse for wear. His gaze landed on her and then he looked at Bremer, face contorted with fury.

"You asshole! You've hurt her!"

He strode into the room, ready to attack Bremer. Bremer calmly pulled out a gun and pointed it at Leo. "Say goodbye to lover-boy!" he said in a sing-song voice.

No! She couldn't let Leo get hurt! Andy got up and placed a  solid kick on the back of Bremer's knee. His leg folded and the shot rang wide, hitting the roof. He collapsed heavily with a grunt and the gun flew out of his hand.

Before both Leo and Andy could react, a furry shape ran and got hold of the gun.

"Washington! Here, boy!" Andy said, but the dog turned and ran to the door. He placed the gun at the feet of Mary, who was staring at the scene dumb-founded.

Leo and Andy exchanged looks. Leo lunged for the gun, but at the same time, Mary retrieved it.

She pointed the gun with surprisingly steady hands. 

"Game over." Mary fired.

---------

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this part. Do vote and comment.

Love you all!

This story is winding up and that usually leaves me with mixed feelings. :(