Who's the Real Todd?, Ch. 46

SPECIAL EDITION


New Owner of The Sun, Shot!


Today, Samuel Toddman, the new owner of the Sun was found shot at his estate. Police are being sketchy about details but released a statement that a call for help had come into the station around 2:00 pm. Police were dispatched to the new Estate of Mr. Toddman to check on the validity of the call. Upon arriving, gunfire was reported and the police entered the premises to find Mr. Toddman shot on the floor in his office. It is believed that an unknown assailant shot Mr. Toddman and escape moments before the police entered the house. A manhunt is currently underway.


There is no information regarding Mr. Toddman's condition, although it has been determined a patient is being kept under secure care at Llanview hospital. No word has been released whether he is still alive or not.


In an interesting side note, a source at the police department reported that a suicide note was found on Toddman's computer. Could the police be trying to hide a suicide under the guise of an attack? It was recently revealed that Mr. Toddman was blinded while on his honeymoon. Could the note and the shooting be related? There are definitely some questions that need answering. This paper will stay on top of any developing news."

Carlo folded the paper and set it beside his brandy. He had finally received a call from Kipling stating that a patient, who had been shot, was brought into the hospital that afternoon, but that he was only seen by the few doctors that work with the Police. He was under police protection and only those authorized were allowed in to see him. Kipling said it was so hush-hush, none of his people knew the final condition of the patient. Between the call from Kipling and the Special Edition, Carlo was sure Todd Manning was out of commission for the time being, if not already dead. He was still perturbed that Vega had failed to check in but considering the manhunt maybe Vega had gone to ground. Carlo picked up his brandy and made a toast."To you Todd Manning, May you finally have some peace, I know I will."

Todd made his way back downstairs, it was getting close to dinner and Blair still hadn't arrived back home. He had spent the afternoon talking to Jake and getting details about his scheduled appointment with Kipling. Then they had discussed the special edition that had gone out the night before. The Sun's phones had been ringing off the wall as newspapers around the state wanted more info on Toddman's shooting. Todd had turned the ringers off on the house lines so he wouldn't have to listen to the number of calls coming in trying to get interviews with Blair.

Jake's visit with Kipling was to take place in two days which only gave Pete one day to find Carlo and snag him. Todd paced his office, he had decided as long as Carlo believed he was in the hospital near death's door, he would have to stay out of sight. Blair had left that morning with both implants so it was imperative that nothing prompt Hesser into sending more killers his way. He would be at a definite disadvantage this time and would only be able to rely on his wits since his eyesight was bad.
Todd had researched the properties around his estate and had come up with two possible locations for Hesser's hideout. He sat down in his chair wincing as his side twinged. He leaned back and decided to communicate with Pete while he waited for Blair to get home.

Wandering the halls of his mind he came to the Gym where Pete was beating the stuffing out of a bag. He could tell Pete was really restless,

"Damn Todd tell me you have some good news and you're going to let me out of here. It's frustrating as hell. You took another bullet yesterday. We've got to get that guy before he succeeds in killing us." Pete glared in his direction.

"That's what I came to tell you, I've located two possible sites for Hesser's hideout. If we get the ring, we'll go out tonight and search."
replied Todd

"It's about damn time. I can't wait to get my hands on him, and Kipling too. You swore you would let me handle it, you're not going back on your word, are you? These guys are mine, right? As long as I don't kill them it's no holds barred."

"You have my blessing Pete, and Samuel and I will be cheering you on." Todd heard the front door. "Gotta go, I think Blair just returned." Todd sat back up in his chair and had just started to get up when Blair came into the room.

"I've brought Chinese for dinner. We haven't had any since your accident. but first I think you've waited long enough. Here, sit down." She placed his plate under her picture. "Now I'll be right back."

Todd felt his stomach rumble at the smell of the Chinese food sitting not too far from him. Hopefully, Blair wasn't going to take forever, wherever she went.

She came back and sat on the floor in front of him. "I hope you like these."

Reaching for his wrist she undid his watchband and set the watch down on the table next to him. She snapped the new watch on his wrist and he felt the shock run up his arm giving him a little jolt. He tried to see the design because as he felt it, he realized Blair had designed the whole casing. Then she grabbed his right hand and pushed the ring on his finger, this time the shock was exhilarating as his vision cleared and he looked down at his wife staring up at him happily. "Hi."

" Hi, yourself. Well what do you think?" she watched anxiously and his gaze fell to the two gifts his wife had given him. They were a set, unique in design. The watch casing was of a dragon curled around the watch face the dragon mouth partially opened spewing golden flames that became the band on one side but connected to tail on the other. She had used a smoky crystal that covered the inner workings of the watch which looked like golden pieces of treasure surrounding the digital time. It was beautiful, but the ring was magnificent. A golden dragon encircled a mysterious cache that glowed and sparkled as if alive under its clawed feet. The dragon's tail complete with delicate scales wrapped around the cord of the implant effectively hiding it, with the point of the tail completing its trip around his finger and nestling under the belly of the dragon, Todd looked at the delicate cage that enclosed the glowing mechanism under the dragon's belly, He carefully removed the ring and looked at the underside and marveled at Blair's ingenuity. The implant was held in place by what appeared to be four tiny dragons, but these were simply etched beautifully into the actual gold prongs allowing the implant to touch his finger. Todd replaced the ring, incredibly touched by the care and thoughtfulness that Blair had put into the designs. Now the Master of Dragonheart had a ring of his own.

Todd reached out to cup his wife's face and they both felt the energy surge through them. "Thank You. These are incredible." he pulled her to him and thanked her till they were both breathless. Coming up for air he said. "That Chinese food smells great. Can we eat?"

Blair laughed and went to get some plates and flatware while Todd examined the watch and ring in more detail. Both dragons were exquisite down to the smallest details. Blair had given them dimension and life in miniature. The implants were so in tune with each other that everything he looked at was sharper and clearer. He knew one thing, he would have to be extremely careful not to lose either one.

"Todd, the jeweler who placed the smaller implant in the ring told me something interesting. He informed me that a small part was missing from the cluster. He wondered what the mechanism was used for and he was surprised it still worked since it was missing a part" she paused and shook her head. "Todd do you think the reason you can see by holding the implant, is because somewhere in your brain is the missing piece."

Todd looked at her. It was a very real possibility. This time he was going to leave it alone. "I don't know Blair, I'm still connected to them so yeah, there could be something that got left behind. The part that was killing me is out. I think I'll leave well enough alone. Right now, thanks to you, I can see again. Let's eat."

Several hours later Pete rolled over in bed and made sure Blair was sound asleep. He shook his head, wishing he had time for her, but he had a chore to do and playing with Todd's wife wasn't it. He dressed in black to blend with the shadows and slipped out the back door and made his way across to the forest. Moving around the perimeter of the property, he found several cameras trained on the front of the house. He knocked each of them down and destroyed them. After making sure, there were no more eyes on the estate Pete went and got the car. He headed in the general direction of the first site Todd had picked out for Carlo.

Pete pulled up to the first property and got out. He would know pretty quickly if it was Carlo's property. A quick look around satisfied him that he could cross that particular property off his list. It appeared to be the location of a hunter's cabin. Pete was all set to leave when he spotted something unusual. He hadn't seen it at first. "Damn Carlo, very clever." he hopped into his car and left before Carlo's men found him.

After a couple miles, he pulled off the road and hid the car. Grabbing up some dirt he rubbed some on his face and hands and reached into the glove compartment getting out Todd's gun. Then he started his walk back to Carlo's property. He slowed down as he neared it and stood in the treeline watching Carlo's men searching the perimeter. One of the men was headed his way and he knew he could use that. He backed away and waited for the guy and knocked him out as he passed him. "You're working for the wrong guy fella." Pete found some zip ties on him and tied him up. Then he took the guy's equipment and hat as well as his badge and joined the rest of the men as they began moving back toward the cabin. He lagged behind until he was the last man entering. He watched as the men walked toward the fireplace and it moved to reveal an elevator. Each man flashed his badge at a scanner by the elevator and then got on.

Pete watched the elevator close and set about studying what options he had and his avenues of escape. He walked back outside and finally saw what he was looking for, the air vents to the facility below. Now he knew what he was going to do. He made his way back to the edge of the perimeter and back to where he had left the guard. He clipped the ties and pocketed them and then put the hat and equipment back on the unconscious guard. "Sorry fella, but I need the badge," he thought to himself. Picking up a large branch he positioned it so the guard would think he had been knocked out by a falling branch. Hopefully, when the guard came to, he would be too confused and not realize he had lost his badge till he returned to the cabin.

Heading back down the road Pete worked out in his mind what Todd would need to do in the morning. He got in the car and headed back to the estate and Blair. Walking into their suite he noted she was still asleep. God, he was wired. He walked to the bathroom and shed his clothes and watch, leaving the ring on. Taking a band-aid from the cabinet he carefully wrapped the ring and turned on the shower. He was soaping up when he heard the door to the shower open. Pete whipped around and found himself face to face with Blair before he even thought about it, he had grabbed her and was devouring her lips, Blair eagerly wrapped herself around him taken aback by the ferocity of his embrace. He couldn't stop, the smell of her and his overcharged senses from the evening mingled and he took her, she was as much his as Todd's, and right now he needed the release. "Woman you have no idea what you're doing to me at this moment," he growled. Blair felt a rush at his words and just went along for the ride. With a wild scream, he found his release and pushed her against the wall of the shower staring down into her eyes. The passion that raged through him was palpable and he began to fondle her admiring the feel of her body slick and smooth against his.

Blair stared into his eyes and saw something smoldering there she had never seen before. She felt a little like she was standing before some magnificent animal waiting to devour her and then she realized she was looking at Pete. Oddly she wasn't scared just more turned on. The animal magnetism that rolled off Pete was intense and her body responded as he caressed her. She relished the feeling and once more reached and pulled his mouth to hers this time doing some devouring of her own.

In the middle of it all, his kisses suddenly changed and Blair knew her husband had returned to claim his wife and she sighed and felt his love for her as the kisses became slow and lingering no longer controlled by his passion but tempered by it. He paused his kisses and looked at her. "Let's finish this in comfort." he turned and stopped the water, took her hand, and led her back to bed.

Who's the Real Todd?, Ch. 45

Todd walked into his office and over to the desk where he sat down and found the jar for the implant. Reluctantly he put the implant away and let his eyes and mind adjust to the loss of sight again. He knew now that Blair had to get the ring finished, he couldn't stand being incapacitated much longer. He heard someone come in and looked up to see if he could figure out who. John had been talking to Natalie in the living room when he had headed for his office so it was either John or Natalie. Turns out it was both. "Were you able to get much Natalie?" He moved the wrong way and gasped as the gash in his side protested the movement.

"Christian was careful not to leave prints, Todd, if the bullet in the hallway and the ones in here hadn't matched those in his gun, you might have been in trouble. But they do match his gun and your conversation was taped by John. So we have Christian dead to rights. I just don't understand, I thought Christian was free of Carlo's control." said Natalie

"Natalie, Carlo is capable of much more than you realize. With regards to Christian, I think he should have a cat scan John, it's possible he could have problems from the bullet crease. I wouldn't want him suing me. If I'm right, there might be a way to keep Christian's incarceration to a minimum." replied Todd. He went on to explain about the implants to his niece leaving out the fact his own implants were helping him see.

Natalie was surprised by the latest information and stunned by what her uncle had been put through. Her mother hadn't told her about his surgery until it was over and she had believed the article when it had told how he lost his sight, now to find out he had been used as some sort of guinea pig for Carlo made her sick. "Todd, that's terrible what you've been through, no wonder Mom has been so worried. So you think there is a possibility Chris might have something similar in his brain?"

"I don't know Natalie, I just think he should be checked out. John, Chris came to kill me directly and didn't try and take me out with sniper fire. That means you can't connect him to the attempt on Manning. He also talked about Poseidon which means everything he's been doing stems back to those days when we know Carlo manipulated him. All of his problems started after Manning appeared in town. I think it's a safe bet Carlo used something on Chris, that he developed while experimenting on both me and Manning." Todd slowly got up from his desk feeling the wound protest his movements. "Blair should be home soon, I don't know how I'm going to explain this to her." Todd searched the top of the desk until he found his mobility device and turned it on so he could make his way back to the living room.

John and Natalie stepped aside so he could leave the room and followed him out. John had noticed the slump in his shoulders and knew Todd was missing the use of his eyes. He had really begun to like the guy, which surprised him, knowing Todd's past and everything. The guy was a survivor that was sure. Even blind, he had kept his cool and managed to outwit Christian. There weren't a lot of people who would have come out on top the way he had. Thanks to Todd, they had captured Christian in the act. It was possible Christian might have been the one who killed the two assailants Samuel had identified. If he was, two more cases could be put to bed.

Todd had walked over to the wall feeling along it till he found the place where the bullet had impacted into the stone. Luckily, Blair probably wouldn't notice that hole. He knew the ones in the office, as well as the bloodstains on the floor, wouldn't be easy to explain, not to mention the gash in his side.  No matter how he looked at it, there was no way he could lie to her about today. He made out the ocean sounds coming from the suite upstairs and turned to Natalie. "Natalie, I hate to ask, but could you go turn off the sounds in the Key West Suite."

Natalie and John looked at each other. They hadn't heard any sounds coming from upstairs. "Uh, sure Todd." Natalie headed upstairs to go find the sound. Sure enough, as she neared the rooms, she heard the sound of the ocean and seagulls. She found the control and turned it off and decided to check and see if the other rooms needed something turned off. No more sounds were emanating from anyplace upstairs so Natalie returned to join John and Todd in the living room. Todd was trying to clean up the mess he had made when he had knocked over the vase, but he was actually making it worse. "Todd, go sit down, I'm sure John has a few more questions for you. I'll clean that up."

Todd nodded and moved to one of the chairs away from the mess. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his handkerchief and began wrapping it around a finger he had nicked when he had attempted to pick up some of the shards. "So John what else do you want to know?"

"Why don't you just tell me what happened after you realized Carlo might have been sending someone here," asked John?

Todd told John everything that had happened after Blair had left. He told about distracting Christian long enough to escape the suite and then he told how he had used the sounds from the suite to draw Chris into that room so he could get downstairs. He recalled how he hadn't known it was Chris till the intruder spoke while coming down the stairs and that was the reason he had accidentally knocked over the vase. "The rest you know John. I called you the minute I made it into my office. I can't tell you how relieved I was to see you after I had taken that shot."

The sound of a purse falling and her gasp drew all of their attention to the entrance of the living room where Blair stood shocked by what she had heard.

Todd tried to get up too quickly, winced, and fell back into his chair. He felt something wet on his side and knew he was probably going to have to go get some stitches. The bandage wasn't doing the job. He covered the stain on his shirt with his hand and tried to get up to go to his wife.

John stopped him and said. "Stay put Todd.  Blair, what did you hear?"

Blair looked at John, then noticed what Natalie was doing. It was true, everything she had heard. "When? What about Chris? What shot?" She looked over at Todd and noticed he was favoring his right side. "Tell me the truth. Why are you here?"

John knew Blair had heard enough to know something bad had gone down. He respected her too much to lie to her. "Christian Vega came here today to kill Todd. Todd managed to evade him long enough to get a call out to me and then managed to keep him talking until we could get here. There was gunfire and Todd was injured but he managed to wound Chris and knock him out. Natalie and I were just getting the rest of the story from Todd which is what you heard."

Blair had rushed to Todd's side when John had said he had been wounded and saw the stain spreading on his shirt. "Why isn't he at the hospital. He's bleeding," she demanded, looking at John.

"I'm fine Blair, we can go get me stitched up after John and I finish." Todd tried to calm her.

"It's a flesh wound Blair, the EMTs patched him up, but we were trying to keep the incident under wraps. You know Carlo sent Christian, and we've been trying to figure out what to give to the media. I don't want him to know we have Christian." John felt bad, the wound had obviously started bleeding again, no wonder Blair was distressed. " If Hesser is watching, he knows one person was taken from here in an ambulance. We want him to believe it was Todd and that the perpetrator was gone when we arrived. The only way we're going to get Todd out of here now is to disguise him. Natalie, take off your forensic jacket and hat."

"John that'll never work, I'm in a skirt. If they're watching, Carlo will know a woman came into the house. Todd will never be able to pass for a woman." Natalie looked at them all shaking her head.

Todd suddenly got the biggest grin on his face. "You might be surprised Natalie." closing his eyes he went looking for her. 'Ms. Perkins, I need you.'

Ms. Perkins arrived and shifted positions sitting primly on the edge of the chair "My dear Natalie you have no idea how much I've longed to meet you. Now I understand from Todd you need me to get him out of the house. Blair darling, perhaps you have a skirt I can borrow, these jeans will never do. Oh my goodness, I'm bleeding, well this shirt is certainly a loss, we'll never get this blood out.  Blair, I need to find something to wear quickly because this wound is hurting me grievously. Detective, if you would help me up please." Ms, Perkins held up her hand and John aided her. "Thank you, sir. You're a true gentleman. Come, Blair, I'm sure we can make one of your wrap dresses work, and then I can use Natalie's jacket and hat." Ms. Perkins placed her hand on Blair's elbow and sauntered out behind Blair.

Natalie and John watched stunned as she walked up the stairs following Blair. About twenty minutes later Ms. Perkins and Blair returned downstairs. The transformation was an eyeopener. Blair had pulled Ms.Perkins's hair back into a high ponytail similar to the way Natalie was wearing hers. She was now wearing a dress also closely resembling Natalie's skirt. She walked very sedately down the stairs holding the rail till she arrived at the bottom. "Detective, if you would please help me into the jacket and Natalie, how do you wear the hat. " She stood quietly as Natalie fix the hat. "Thank you, my dear. Well, Natalie, do you think I'll pass for you just to get out to the car." She struck a pose and waited for Natalie to answer.

He wasn't a pretty woman but after Blair had finished with him, he did indeed resemble Natalie enough to leave the house. "Ms. Perkins, I think it's going to work exceedingly well. So I'll stay here while the three of you head downtown and get Todd's side stitched. Blair, in order to leave the house you need to look like the grieving wife, but that will enable Ms. Perkins, as me, to appear to be helping you when in fact you're helping her. When you all return, I'll be able to leave with John."

John, Blair, and Ms. Perkins left the house. Natalie watched carefully out the stained glass windows and realized Ms. Perkins acted exceedingly well. Someone watching from far away in the woods wouldn't know it wasn't her. It was a little unnerving to see her uncle become a woman in front of her. Still, she knew her mother had Tommy, and Jess had Wes, so knowing Todd had Ms. Perkins made some sense. Natalie decided to take the time to check the rooms where Todd had said he led Christian, just to make sure she hadn't missed any evidence.

Arriving at the Hospital, John went and found Larry.  They smuggled Blair and Ms. Perkins into an examination room where Larry stitched up Todd's side, giving Todd a shot of antibiotics to ward off any infection. He took a few moments to check Todd's eyesight and made note of no improvement. He informed John that Christian was still not talking but he said he would order a cat scan to see if Christian might indeed have implants similar to Todd and Manning.

"Dr. Wolek, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to help Todd. That poor boy has already been through so much. Without your help, it is quite possible we could have been dead by now. You have very gentle hands, Doctor. I could hardly tell you were stitching." Ms. Perkins carefully gathered her dress about her again tying it up and waiting patiently for Blair to get the prescription Larry had written.

Larry had been surprised when John said he had a patient that needed services on the down-low but when he saw who the patient was he had been flabbergasted. At first, he thought they had just disguised Todd to look like a woman until she started talking to him and he realized he was talking to an alter. Blair introduced him to Ms. Perkins and then they explained what had happened. "Ms. Perkins, I'm glad I was of service to Todd and all of you. What Carlo Hesser and Ivan Kipling did to him and Manning is heinous and if I have, in any way, aided in the means to catch them, I am glad. You have my sympathy for your loss of sight. I've seen some of Samuel's artwork around the hospital and I know it must be a blow to all of you."

"Yes, that is definitely an ongoing process to cope. You shouldn't worry about us Doctor, Todd is always one who bounces back. He'll succeed this time too." Ms. Perkins took Blair's arm and smiled in Larry's direction. Then they departed and began their trip back to Dragonheart, Ms. Perkins was quiet and Blair glanced over and realized that she appeared to be zoning out. More than probably she was having a conversation with Todd. Blair would have to wait until they were safely back home to find out what was going on in Todd's mind.

Ms. Perkins, Blair, and John arrived back at Dragonheart and entered the house. Natalie was waiting, having been on the phone chatting with the rest of the forensic team about any results that might have already been processed. Ms. Perkins handed the jacket and hat to her and had excused herself to go change. Blair had wandered into the office. She saw the blood on the floor in two different places and felt a chill run through her. She noticed something on Todd's computer screen and sat down to read it. As she read, she realized it was a suicide note. God, Christian had forced Todd to write a suicide note. Her heart skipped a beat because she knew everything Todd had said in the note was true to an extent. She had to get the ring finished, Todd's sanity was on the line.

"I never meant for you to read that. I'm sorry." Todd was standing in the doorway staring in her general direction.

"Todd, I can't believe Chris made you write it, but I'm not sorry I read it. I know how hard this has been for you. Tomorrow everything will change. The ring is nearly ready and I've also got a new watch casing ready for the second implant. Thank you for surviving. We've got Chris where he can't hurt anyone else and maybe we'll be able to get him some help." she got up and went to Todd and wove her hands into his long luxurious hair. "I've got you and I intend to do everything in my power to keep you here with me, fully healthy." she pulled his face to hers and took his lips letting him know that he was everything to her.

John and Natalie found them embracing and quietly removed themselves from the premises. John had everything he needed from Todd. He looked over at Natalie and wished things were back to normal for them. He couldn't help being envious of Todd at that moment.

Not far away, Carlo sat waiting for word from his operative. Vega was usually very prompt, Carlo turned to look at the tapes of the events that had taken place at Dragonheart. He observed Vega entering the home and then he waited. The next thing his cameras had caught was the sound of a shot being fired. It was followed by more silence. Then two more shots rang out right before the police arrived and moved into the mansion. Carlo watched as the police searched the grounds and figured Vega might have escaped out the back. He sincerely hoped that was the case, he couldn't afford for him to be taken into custody. Shortly thereafter an ambulance had arrived on the scene as well as Llanview's Forensic team, Carlo thought he recognized Natalie Banks entering. Soon someone was being transferred to the ambulance and it roared out of the driveway with sirens blaring. He watched as Blair arrived home and then saw her leave distraught with Natalie and John. Carlo pondered if Samuel had died or just been seriously hurt. Carlo reached for the phone. Calling Kipling, he asked. "Have you heard from anyone at the hospital that Samuel Toddman was brought in?...No?... If anyone of your sources hears anything I need to know immediately." Damn, he was just going to have to wait until either Vega called or a source contacted Kipling. Carlo stood up and walked out of the surveillance room.

Todd heard the front door close and knew John and Natalie had left. He broke the kiss to reach and caress Blair's lips with his fingertips. he loved the fullness and shape of them, she kissed his fingers sending shocks to his heart with each dainty kiss. His hands moved to examine every inch of her face. Samuel had worked from memory all those years and Todd closed his eyes and saw her features appear as his hands flowed over them. "Do you know how beautiful you are? I've never been able to figure out how you, of all people, wanted to be with me. Back when we first met, and you laughed at me in the bar, I was taken with you. There was something easy and natural between us. You lit something in me with your first touch and now the flame fills me. I burn for you, Blair. Feed my fire." he took her lips once more and it felt like everything around them ignited with their passion.

Sometime later, he rolled over, running his fingers down her side, and smiled as she purred and moved into the caress. He held her in his arms, laid there, and replayed in his mind how close he had come to losing her earlier. Unconsciously his arm tightened about her.

Blair had been listening to his heartbeat in her ears when he had tightened his grip and she knew something had bothered him. "Hey there, give a woman a chance to breathe." his arm immediately loosened and she said. "What's the matter?"

"There was a moment today when I realized I might not survive. I was trying desperately to get to the office where the second implant was, and Chris's first shot barely missed me. My hands were literally shaking trying to open that damn container knowing he was going to come through that door and I wouldn't be able to stop him. Time slowed as the implant dropped into my hand and my sight returned and the door crashed open. There we were, he had me dead to rights. No one was more surprised than I was when he didn't shoot, and then I realized he figured I was blind and trapped, he didn't need to rush the shot. That was when he gave me my options, a quick bullet, or a chance to say goodbye to you. He decided to be lenient for your sake. I knew John was listening to the whole conversation, so I went along with the suicide suggestion figuring to stall as long as I could. Chris had no idea I could see him and when he began to raise his gun to shoot me as I was finishing the note to you I flung myself out of the chair just as his shot rang out. There were just seconds as he rounded the desk and took a second shot, he saw my gun too late to avoid my shot, and I rolled to avoid his shot. We both were very lucky." he felt Blair's hand touching his side. "I'm grateful I didn't kill him, I don't want to have to face that again."

Blair had seen the wound at the hospital and was also grateful. She was grateful that Todd's luck when it came to being killed, was still in force, but she wondered just how many more lives he had left. She found herself stroking his chest and again his arm tightened around her but this time it was just enough to let her know he wanted her. She smiled and laid her head on his shoulder saying. "Let's not think about that, you're here with me, that's all we need to think about right now."

Who's the Real Todd?, Ch. 44

The morning after the Sun hit the stands with Samuel Toddman's story, it had become national news. It seemed Samuel had been more well known in the art world than he had realized. Todd was stunned when letters of sympathy began arriving from patrons of the arts. He had always figured Samuel's fame had really been just a fluke because his two main purchasers had been Manning and Hesser. But it seemed more people knew of his paintings than he had realized. The next day a crate had arrived at the house with his portraits from Tomas's Gallery. He had opened it with some help from Blair and separated them. He was looking for 'Sunset' when Blair took a quick gasp of breath next to him. Although he couldn't see it properly, he knew it was 'Sunset'. He recognized the colors in the painting, and Samuel had also given him a heads up too.

He reached for the portrait and set it aside, rubbing his fingers gently over the face in the portrait. In his mind's eye, he saw that day once again.

Blair reached for his hand. "It's lovely Todd, Samuel put so many of our memories on canvas. I hate that you have to give it to Hesser."

"It's a means to an end Blair. If I'm going to find Hesser I have to do it with this portrait. I know he won't have it delivered directly to his hiding place, but it'll get us close. I believe after he thinks no one is watching the portrait, he's going to go to it. That's when we'll get him." I need to put it in a new frame though." he stopped, planning on calling one of his hi-tech friends to help him install a tracker wire in the frame. "Blair, how's the design for the ring coming along," he brought her hand up and kissed it." I know you're not too happy to be making this ring, but it means I can regain my sight. After all this, the awful mechanism can actually be useful for something good."

Blair gave him a small hug and said. "I know how much this means to you, Todd, and I've just about got the mold ready for the pour. Should get the ring poured by tomorrow and we'll be able to mount the implant tomorrow night. I'm really quite proud of the design, it's a very masculine ring. No one would suspect that it's more than a ring. Keeping the implants separated while I worked with the smaller one has made it easier for me to just view them as electronic devices. The jeweler who will be putting the device into my ring will be here tomorrow when I call him."

"Good. I also received a call from Kelly, our guy is in, and getting pictures of Kipling's house as we speak. As soon as we get his uploads, I'll have a good idea where the lab is. I know that with everything going on with Bo and his son, John is our best connection to the force right now. We need to call and find out if his forensic team has been able to make any headway with Jake's implants. If they can find a way to read the information stored on them we'll have more proof for the judge." Todd looked back over to the Painting he couldn't make out. "Samuel deserves to get his sight back. Of all of us, he's got to be feeling the loss the most. He should be able to come out and paint. Vicki's portrait is in limbo right now. This has to come to an end."

Just then the phone rang, Todd answered, "Hello."

"My dear Mr. Toddman, I can't tell you how sorry I was to hear about your accident. I must commend you on the way you're getting around. I had no idea you had lost your sight when I visited the other day, but now I understand why you are unable to complete the portrait I wanted. Really Mr. Toddman, you are quite extraordinary." said Carlo. He was in fact very impressed that Samuel had kept his blindness from him.

Todd frowned. He should have known that Carlo would get in touch as soon as the papers had come out. " Mr. Hesser, how nice of you to call, I do apologize for the deception, but surely you can understand I'm still adjusting to it. I'm glad you called, the portrait I promised you, in place of the one you commissioned, arrived this morning. I'm sure we can work out a good time and place for you to receive her." Why was it he felt Carlo had a specific reason for calling that had nothing to do with the paintings? Was it possible Carlo didn't believe the account in the paper? "Is there anything else I can do for you Mr. Hesser?"

"Nothing at all Mr. Toddman, I just wanted to call and offer my sympathy for your current situation. The article says you had the accident on your honeymoon, that had to be most distressful for Mrs. Toddman, I trust the charming Blair is holding up alright?" inquired Carlo

Todd's hand tightened around the phone. He had to take a breath to keep himself from saying something angry into the phone. Carlo's obsession with Blair was beginning to get on his last nerve. Speaking through gritted teeth he said." My wife is just fine, Mr. Hesser." he almost choked on the words, if he didn't end the conversation soon the phone would end up a tangled mess. "Mr. Hesser, I'm afraid I have to cut this conversation short. Perhaps you would like to tell me where to have the portrait delivered." Todd prayed he'd get an answer.

"That won't be necessary, I'll have a colleague of mine pick it up shortly, Mr. Toddman." Carlo hung up.

Todd put the phone down wondering when Carlo would send his colleague and had a sudden premonition that there might be trouble headed his way. He had been wondering if Carlo had figured things out and now something was telling him it was a very real possibility. If Carlo knew he was Todd then he needed to get Blair out of the house for a while. " Blair, where is the small implant?"

Blair looked at Todd and asked. "It's in your desk in your office. Why?" She had seen how angry he had been getting while talking to Carlo and wondered what he was thinking of doing. "Todd, you're not going to put it on and go looking for Carlo are you? What if you were to lose it? Please be patient. By tomorrow, you'll have the ring."

Todd glanced in the direction of her voice and said. "You're right, but I wasn't going to do anything foolish. I was just curious where you had put it."

Blair walked to him and took his arm. "If you promise to behave yourself and not mess with those things, I believe you. Now I need to go finish that mold so the ring will be ready. I should only be gone for a couple of hours. Are you going to be alright?"

"I'll be fine, you go. I'm anxious to see what you designed for me?" Todd took her hand and kissed it and she kissed his cheek in return and then left to go take care of the ring. Todd waited till he heard the front door close, then headed for his bedroom where his gun and the second implant were stored. He prayed he had enough time. No telling when Carlo's colleague would show up

Todd went straight to his safe and opened it, he felt for the gun, drawing it out and tucking it into his belt. Then he found the container, he opened it and took the jar holding the second implant and pocketed it. Just then he heard the door downstairs open. "Blair is that you? Did you forget something?" No answer, and then he heard the footsteps on the stairs. Whoever was coming up would be on the landing soon. He had to get downstairs to the second implant, and the stairs to the Kitchen were at the end of the second story wing, just past the Movieland suite. He had to draw the intruder downstairs somehow. If only for a few minutes. He walked to the bed and found the stereo console beside the bed that turned music on throughout the house. He quickly turned on the music in the living room and prayed it would distract the intruder long enough for him to exit the suite.

Christian stopped on the stairs wondering who had turned on the music in the living room. He turned around and began descending the stairs to check it out. He stood just under the stairway looking around. No one was in the living room. Then he heard movement coming from above him. Damn, Samuel had somehow realized he was here. Chris turned and made for the stairs again.

Todd had stood at the edge of the hallway watching the blob descend and turned to his right to go find the stairs to the kitchen. The hallway was dark but Todd made his way down it easily. He stopped briefly in the Starr's and Hope's suite to flick a switch that turned on the animal and bird sounds in the room. As he stepped out into the hall he heard the intruder coming back up the stairs. He knew he wouldn't make it to the stairs before the intruder reached the landing so he slipped into the Movieland suite. Keeping the door cracked and he watched down the hall as the Blob moved toward the Nature suite.

As soon as the blob entered the suite, Todd figured he probably had only minutes to get down through the kitchen and across the living room to the downstairs wing where his office was. Todd's heart was racing and he prayed it would be strong enough to get him through this. He thought back to the time he had chased Nora all around the beach house. Now he understood the terror she must have felt. He was as helpless as she had been if he couldn't get to that second implant. He edged back out into the hall and made it the rest of the way to the stairs. It was a good bet the intruder would search both suites before coming back downstairs but as the intruder could see, it wouldn't take him long.

Christian found himself in the suite and knew he would have to search. Obviously, Samuel, although blind, knew the way around his own home. It didn't take him long to search that suite, so he moved to the next one. After doing a cursory search of the second suite upon exiting, he noticed the stairs at the end of the hallway. Christian smiled, Samuel wanted to play hide and seek. He kind of liked the idea.  When Poseidon had called with his latest assignment, a perverse thrill had run through him, he was finally going to get back at the man. Poseidon thought Samuel was really Todd, how interesting. Chris didn't question why there were two Todds, he did what he was told and Poseidon had decided Samuel or Todd needed to be removed. A part of him felt sorry for Blair. She was his friend and partner but right now he had to put that aside after he completed his job he'd be there for her. Like always they found ways to comfort one another. Descending the stairs he said. "Samuel, you're just delaying the inevitable."

Todd paused as he heard Christian's voice. Damn, he had hoped he had been wrong about Chris for Blair's sake. He turned briefly to look in the direction of Chris's voice and accidentally knocked over a vase. At the crash, he knew Chris would be in the living room in seconds. Suddenly a bullet ripped past his ear and hit the wall in the hallway. Todd dodged out of sight and found the door to his office. He entered and shut the door behind him and locked it. He stumbled past his chair, almost falling down, sitting, and reaching for his desk. He turned on the phone and keyed his connection to John. Leaving the line open he began searching the desk, he had to find that implant. He heard John's "hello" and said. "John, intruder at Dragonheart. I'm running out of time. If you don't make it. Tell Blair I loved her." He reached into his top drawer and found the jar. His hands shook as he opened it and dropped the implant into his hand. The electrical shock was brief and instantly his vision cleared just in time to see the door to his office crash open.

Christian stood in the doorway, staring at Samuel behind his desk. Chris was impressed, he showed no fear. Chris moved quietly into the room and noticed that Samuel didn't follow his movement. So it was true, he was blind. Chris had him good and trapped. "Tsk, Tsk, that wasn't very nice leading me all over the house, although I must say, what I've seen so far is stunning. You should have stayed in Paris.  My employer thinks you're not Samuel but Todd Manning.  I can't believe Blair married you.  I thought she had gotten you out of her system. I guess I was wrong. Now we can do this one of two ways. I can kill you quickly or you can sit there and I'll make it look like you committed suicide because of the blindness. Taking the suicide route will let you dictate a note for Blair. What's it going to be, Samuel or should I be calling you Todd?" Chris found his target's lack of focus a little unnerving, but he waited for a reply.

Todd focused just to the left of Chris to give him a false sense of security. Then he said. "Chris, I'm disappointed. I thought you were stronger than this. How can you let Hesser manipulate you this way? Didn't you already go to prison once for him? I thought you cared about Blair, how can you just kill me?" The longer he could stall Chris the better his chances.

"I do care for Blair, and if you're Todd, I think you're all wrong for her, but don't worry about her. I'll be able to help her over her hurt after you are gone. I've done it before. So do you want this quick or like a  suicide."

Todd carefully pulled himself closer to the desk. "I think I'll take suicide. But I can't see to write. How am I going to leave a note." while he sat behind his desk he wrapped the implant around his finger securely and surreptitiously pulled the gun out from his belt and held it, pointing it at Christian praying he wouldn't have to use it. Chris had been looking around for a means to write the note, not paying attention because he felt Todd wasn't a threat.

"Here's an idea. Todd, just dictate to your computer. Don't worry I'll give you time. It should sound sincere to Blair." Christian leaned against the wall with his gun in hand and watched as Todd groped for the computer key that would allow him to dictate his thoughts.

Todd began, knowing the police had to be getting close. "Blair, forgive me, I can't continue in this darkness any longer. I thought I could for your sake but it takes too much out of me and I'm tired, Blair. I know I promised to never leave you again. But I can't see you and it's killing me. I'll always love you. Tell the kids my love for them never faltered. Good-bye" even as he was finishing he saw Christian's gun raise and knew he had to take his chance now. He flung himself out of the chair as Christian fired his shot just missing. Todd quickly crawled to the desk "Chris, you don't have to do this, do you really believe they won't know it wasn't murder? Think."

"It doesn't matter Samuel. Murder, suicide, you'll be dead either way. I'm not worried.   They won't know who did it and that's all that Poseidon requires of me." He raised his arm to fire once again.

Todd took his shot at the same time, rolling as he did so, hoping Christian's shot would miss. He felt something hit and knew he hadn't escape fully but then there was silence and no more shots. Todd collapsed breathing deeply feeling the blood run down his side. He heard movement and brought the gun around looking into the face of John in his doorway. He dropped the gun and struggled to keep conscious.

John took in the scene in front of him and went to Todd. Checking him over he called for an EMT. "Lie still, it doesn't look too serious." He then went over to the other man on the floor and turned him over. Seeing it was Christian he check him out. Christian had been grazed enough to knock him out, but he was beginning to come around. John handcuffed him, snagged his gun, and went back to Todd. "Relax Todd, he's not dead, only grazed. Your wound is going to require stitches though. Hang in there the EMTs are on the way. For a guy who can't see that was a heck of a shot." Todd just looked at him and passed out.

He came to while someone was bandaging his ribs. "Damn that smarts".

"Easy Mr. Toddman, you're going to be fine but the bullet took a pretty good gash out of your side. I expect you'll be sore for a while" The EMT flashed a light in his eyes and he had to close them it was so bright. The implant on his finger twitched and he knew it was responding to the light, his other hand reach to his pocket hoping the jar hadn't broken, thankfully the jar was still intact. Todd was sure he couldn't have taken a bad memory at that moment. "I would suggest you let us take you to the hospital but Detective McBain was pretty adamant that we fix you up here." said the EMT.

"No, that's quite alright, the detective is correct and since the police have already been notified could you write up your report to indicate you were called out here because I injured myself on the stone wall on my terrace when I stumbled. I don't want to alarm my wife. Gentlemen, please, it could have happened that way since my sight is bad. There is no reason she needs to know the true reason for your visit." Todd waited staring at a space in between the two EMTs.

They looked at each other and nodded. "Sure Mr.Toddman, the detective explained the need for secrecy. We'll write the report the way you asked, just be sure you keep the gash covered and change the bandage in two days. You should be good as new in a few more days." they gathered their equipment and left his home.

Todd looked around and realized he was in his suite. He gingerly sat upon the edge of the bed as John walked in. "How's Christian?"

"He's got a massive headache but isn't very talkative. I'm amazed you kept him from shooting you right away," said John.

"That was all Christian's doing, I think he felt he had me dead to rights, why not play with me a little bit. He figured I couldn't see, so I was no threat to him. He wasn't very observant because of it, or he would have realized I had called you."

John looked at Todd, studying him. The man had somehow gotten Christian to talk instead of shooting him. He had heard much of the conversation and had been amazed at how calm Todd had sounded. He and his men had just been turning into the driveway when a shot had rung out and John had thought they were too late, only to be surprised to hear voices continuing. They had just entered the house when two more shots rang out, then silence. John had been certain Todd was dead but instead, he walked into the office and found a gun leveled at him in Todd's hand and the intruder lying face down not far from him. Somehow Todd had managed to get off a shot of his own toward Christian that actually connected.

Christian was exceedingly lucky. The EMTs said he would have been dead if the bullet had hit his head direct, instead of creasing him. While the EMTs had been working on Todd, Natalie had shown up and was getting whatever evidence she could get from Todd's office. She had been shaken to find out Christian had tried to kill Todd.

Todd stood up carefully feeling a little woozy. "Blair's going to kill me. It won't take her long to realize I knew something was going down."

"Just how did you know Todd?" John inquired.

"It was just a feeling I got while I was talking to Hesser. Something told me, Hesser had figured out I was no longer in the dark about myself. The cat's out of the bag now. Hesser suspects I might be Todd, but at least you've got Christian. He needs protection John, he'll be a target now too." Todd ran his fingers through his hair deep in thought. " Damn I got this close to finding Hesser and now he might go back into hiding. I need to get an article out in the paper. Something about an unknown intruder who only managed to wound me before disappearing. If Carlo believes his killer failed but didn't get caught, he might consider himself safe and make another try to get me and the painting."

"Todd, I can't let you continue to make yourself a target. What is this painting you're talking about?" asked John

"Hesser wants one of Samuel's portraits of Blair. It arrived this morning. Carlo's obsessed with Blair. I think he'll still want the portrait. Let's go downstairs, I was going to call one of my contacts to see about wiring the frame of the portrait with some sort of tracer. Perhaps you know someone instead." He headed to the door and turned back when John didn't move. John was standing there still looking at him. "What's the matter, John?"

"You move around this house exceedingly well for a blind man." John remarked. "Not to mention, that shot you took at Christian was spot on. Explain Todd."

Todd knew he had gotten careless but at least he had done it in front of John. "Yes, well you see there's a reason for that." Todd reached into his pocket and drew out the jar. "You recognize this don't you, and you are aware that it is part of a set."

John nodded. "I've seen something similar. It looks like one of the implants that Manning delivered to me. Where's its other half?"

Todd raised his hand. "This is the other implant."

John's eyebrow went up when he realized Todd had the implant wrapped around his finger but what really bothered him was that it seemed to be moving just a little bit. "What the ..that thing is moving."

Todd looked down at it. "Um yes, it does that when it's close to the other implant. It does something else too. As long as I'm touching it and both implants are close together, I'm able to see again. I'm not sure why but it's like I'm still connected to them somehow. If they get separated by more than 25 feet, they no longer work and I'm blind again. When I put out that call to you I was still searching for this one" he looked at his hand. "If I hadn't found it when I did, I know the outcome would have been different. Christian had no idea I could see him, that's why I was able to elude the first bullet in the office. Unfortunately, in eluding the first bullet I put myself in an equally vulnerable position. When I took my shot at Christian, I was rolling hoping to avoid his shot. You saw how that turned out."

"Wait a minute, the implants that Manning gave me didn't move, why are yours still working."

"Michael said the power source that operated them is still functioning and they are still sending and receiving data. I don't know John. I only know they help me see. I can tell from the look on your face you don't believe me. Here, take this one and hold it in the palm of your hand, and exit this room you'll see what I'm talking about. I'll stand by the bed, you'll be able to see me from the hall." Todd had taken off the implant and it was wiggling from his fingertips.

John's curiosity got the better of him and he held out his palm and Todd dropped the implant into it. Then Todd turned and walked back toward the bed but this time he took his time almost falling when his leg came in contact with the edge before he was ready for it. John realized Todd's vision had been affected by just taking off the implant. John took the implant and walked out of the suite and suddenly it became inert. He held it close and examined it, pushing it around on his palm, but it was just a small piece of machinery lying in his hand. Todd had sat down on the bed his eyes unfocused looking toward the door. John walked back into the room and the little implant again began wriggling. It seemed to want to crawl off his palm so he closed his hand around it and walked over to Todd. "Amazing!" He held it out to Todd and watched as Todd held his hand out in John's general direction. Todd was telling the truth, he couldn't see. John dropped the implant into his hand and watched Todd's face as he refocused and looked directly at John once more.

"You're right John, it's amazing. but it has its drawbacks. The implants have to stay close together for me to see and if anything happens to either one of them I'm out of luck and blind again." Todd pocketed the jar again and wrapped the smaller implant around his finger. "I need to put the smaller implant away before Blair gets back home. Is Christian still downstairs?"

"No, they took him to the station, Natalie's downstairs finishing up. She was upset about Christian. You're right Todd, Christian's a marked man unless we can figure out where Carlo is first." John headed out followed by Todd and they made their way down to Todd's office.

Who's the Real Todd?, Ch. 43

Todd knew Kelly was shaken by what she had read. He couldn't see her face, but there was something about the jerk of her head that told him she was shocked by what she was reading. He felt Blair take his hand and knew that she was upset about everything that had happened too. She was still mad at Carlo for almost killing him and she was fearful that because of his loss of sight he was, even more, a target than before. He had to convince her to begin working on those pieces of jewelry for the implants. Once he could see again he could really go after Carlo and Kipling with both barrels. He heard the door behind them open and waited to find out who had entered. He turned his head trying to figure out who it was. He realized it must be Tea and Manning when Kelly stood up.

"Toddman didn't expect you in my office, to what do we owe this honor?" Manning remarked sarcastically, he suddenly smiled at Kelly and Blair and shushed them as he began going around the room searching for hearing devices. He continued talking as he worked so whoever was listening in wouldn't know what he was up to. "My lawyer tells me we can't fight your buyout so I guess I have to share the Sun with you, but it doesn't give you the right to barge in on my Executive Editor. Perhaps you'd like to explain why you're here," he held up three electronic bugs and went to the door to drop them outside and then continued looking.

Kelly spoke up. "Todd, Samuel came in so I could have the exclusive story about his honeymoon accident. You and Tea have been away, so you have no idea what occurred. It seems my new cousin-in-law was recently blinded while on his honeymoon."

That brought Manning up short as he turned to look at Tea and she nodded. He frowned. Tea hadn't told him. He felt fortunate that he could still see Tea and sorry for the man whose life he had taken all these years. He shook his head and looked over at Blair and mouthed. 'I'm sorry.' "That's tough Toddman, especially for an artist. How did it happen?"

Todd turned his head in the direction of Manning's voice and saw his blob moving around the room. "Let's just say I'm not as proficient on a horse as I thought I was, and had the misfortune to fall and hit my head."

Manning had finally swept the whole office and had taken the last of the bugs and deposited them outside the office. Turning around he said. "Now we can talk." He looked at the people sitting in front of him and at the man who was the real Todd. He was slowly getting back his own memories but sometimes he kept seeing Todd's life flash through his mind. When he had awakened in the hospital in Seattle, he had known several things. He had remembered his real name. He had known his wife Tea, and he had realized he had been living someone else's life for eight years. How do you apologize for taking some one's life? He knew he wasn't responsible for his actions but still. On top of everything else, Todd Manning had actually talked Michael McBain into performing the surgery on him, and Manning knew that was a bloody miracle because Michael and Marcie hated him. "Todd, you have my sympathy about your eyesight. Tea didn't tell me. It seems I owe you my life. McBain told me, my surgery was almost too late. According to him, our unwanted guests were falling apart in me, but McBain was able to get every piece. Tea and I delivered them to John just a short time ago. I gather you and Kelly have been able to find out something about Carlo and Kipling."

Todd nodded, "Kelly perhaps you'd like to fill in Manning."

Manning looked up and said quickly. "The name's Jacques Boudreau, but you can call me Jake. Tea's still working on it but I think it's getting easier for her, we've been getting to know each other all over again. Haven't we Dawlin'." he looked at his wife and winked.

Tea blushed, then turned to Todd. "I don't think we're going to be able to keep up the charade any longer. Jake no longer even sounds like he used too, and although he's been working in this business these last eight years, it seems, he's more into oil than newspapers. Jake, it seems, is a wildcatter, who happens to own several oil wells off the coast of Louisiana. His company has been in limbo since his disappearance, but his wells have still been producing oil all this time. The bank was overjoyed to hear from him and we've made arrangements to set up funds here, in Jake's name so we can give you back your money Todd."

To say he was surprised was an understatement. Todd wondered if Carlo knew he had taken someone who actually had some pull when he had picked Boudreau. He'd bet even money Carlo thought he had picked a bum. If Boudreau really had money then between the two of them they could do some major damage to Hesser's pocketbook.

Todd looked over at the man who had lived his life for the last eight years. Jake had done some things as Todd Manning that Todd was still having trouble with, but he knew the man hadn't been himself. Tea was still with him, so he had to have some good qualities. "Well Jake, I'll let Kelly tell you what we've found out. Then you and I need to have a private conversation. Agreed?"

Jake looked at Todd, hearing something in Todd's voice that meant he wanted to keep the women out of it. Jake couldn't agree more and replied. "Absolutely."

With the bugs gone from the office, Kelly was able to speak freely about the undercover reporter at the Research Facility. She informed Jake and Tea about everything the reporter had found out about Kipling's little experiments in the past and the ones he believed Kipling was currently pursuing. Todd then informed Jake and Tea about his dreams and the corridor. At the mention of the corridor, Jake had gotten real quiet. Tea noticed that her husband had seemed to zone out when Todd was talking about the corridor.

"Jake, what is it? Are you remembering something?" Tea gave her husband a shake to get his attention. Jake turned his gaze to his wife and Tea felt a chill go down her spine. Jake had this haunted look on his face like he was seeing something that truly scared him. "Jake, you're scaring me. Talk to me."

"I've been there Tea, all this time I thought it was just some weird dream." he looked over at Todd. "Do you remember seeing a painting, you know the one with a guy screaming?" When Todd nodded, Jake shivered, goosebumps were running up his arms and he recalled some of the pain of visit after visit down that damn corridor. "Day after day they took me down there and hooked me up to some damn machine. The pain would start and then it would be followed by all these images. They were images of everyone in Todd's life, events, and people. The more they hooked me up, the more of myself I lost, till all I remembered was the images and events I was being fed. At the end of each session, they would ask my name and in the end, the only name I knew was Todd Manning. Your life had become my life. All I wanted to do was come home to Llanview, to my family, I felt this need that it was imperative that I change my appearance, so I had the plastic surgery. The rest of the story you know." Tea reached over and took his hand. "I'm alright, Dawlin. It explains a lot I guess. I'm just glad they didn't wipe out who I really am."

Blair and Kelly glanced at the two men. Their lives were never going to be the same, too much had gone down for both of them. Blair felt bad for Jake, he had been through some horrific things as Todd. Margaret's rape and his execution, fighting for his life at every turn. She had loved him once but she had thought he was Todd. Having found her Todd, she couldn't conceive how she had ever believed Jake was Todd. Jake had had some of Todd's habits but when it came down to it, Jake as Todd was different, he had been bordering on obsessive when it came to his kids and wives. She was pretty sure that the obsessiveness had been a by-product of the implants, as they were set to reinforce any wavering by Jake. Just like Todd's had been set to trigger whenever he had tried to remember.

Kelly had been listening intently and knew the four people in front of her had only told part of the story. Still "Jake", that was going to take some getting used to, had said something about unwanted visitors removed by McBain. Which meant that he must have undergone surgery like Todd's. If his "visitors" were implants like Todd's then this story had gotten even more bizarre. One thing was certain. Jake was very different from the Todd everyone knew. It was true what Tea was saying, Jake no longer even acted like Todd and his southern accent was definitely becoming prominent. He couldn't continue to fool people into believing he was Todd with that accent. Todd was going to have to come out and let the world know he was back. The fallout was sure to be amazing and Carlo would know his plot was uncovered. Kelly turned to Todd. "I'm not sure how much longer we can leave our reporter undercover. Everything you guys have said makes me believe these men are very dangerous to cross and you've both have done just that now that you want to take back your lives. Todd, you've already upset Carlo's applecart by purchasing back the Sun. Jake's had one attempt on his life and Todd, you've had two. I don't want our guy to be another casualty. Let's not forget Jake is probably still a target. Carlo thought he was a liability months ago. His shooter is still at large."

Todd turned his head and tried to focus his eyes as much as possible on Kelly. "You're right Kelly, the reporter is getting pretty close to the action. If he can hang in there just long enough to find the entrance to Kipling's secret lab, I'll be happy. Then we can pull him out. As far as the shooter is concerned, John has someone keeping an eye on the person we think might be the shooter. Tea, you're also right. Jake isn't going to be able to keep up the facade much longer. Jake, your accent is definitely coming out now and people are going to notice. I need your help maintaining the ruse just a little longer, so Jake you'll have to try and act like me for as long as you can. I'm working on something that will enable me to finally step forward as Todd. Just give me a couple of days. Ladies, I hate to ask, but could Jake and I have some time to ourselves. I need to talk to him privately and since I'm the one with the handicap maybe you gals could go find some coffee for us or something."

Blair looked over in mock shock and punched his shoulder. "Chauvinist" was all she said as she got up and encouraged Kelly and Tea to follow her. Tea didn't look too happy. She had a feeling the guys were going to be talking about something that was dangerous and possibly illegal.

When the women left the room Todd got up and pulled out his mobility device. He made his way over to the window by walking carefully. "So are you of the same mind as me?"

Jake walked over to join him. "Yep, when can we get them? Do you have a plan?"

"Actually, one has been rolling around in my head for a while. That's why I was thrilled when I figured out the whereabouts of the lab. Jake, you never received any knowledge about my alters because they were too well hidden in my brain. You've met Samuel. I want you to meet Pete." Todd leaned briefly against the window.

"Damn it's good to be out, but you got to do something about this sight Todd. I can't work like this." Pete located Jake standing next to him. "So you're the son of a bitch who took our life. I ought to kill you but I've been listening so I guess I'll have to give you a pass since you got caught up in this like Todd did. But listen up Jake, I don't like what you did to Todd's family, even if you were under the influence of those damn implants. I'll work with you to get Hesser and Kipling but after that, you better stay clear. I'm working on a short fuse as it is. You might get caught in an explosion. Just giving you fair warning."

Jake looked curiously at the man who had just spoken to him. He had heard about Pete just in passing when Tea had brought up what he had been told were Todd's fake alters. But there was no mistaking the anger coming from the man looking at him. Jake couldn't really blame him. He had had to relive the last eight years as if a dream when he had awoken in the hospital and it hadn't been pretty. He couldn't believe how cruel he had gotten over the years toward Starr and Vicki and Jessica. Even Jack had recently suffered at his hand and he was wondering how they were truly going to help Jack, now that he, as Todd, had bought him his freedom. The Todd Manning he had become the last couple of years was worse than his few memories of Peter.

Michael and Larry had informed him just before the surgery that some of his personality traits had been altered because of the implants and their corruption; also the drugs Kipling had been giving him to try and mask the symptoms of the implants, had really done a number on him too. He owed a lot of people an apology. But right now there was the matter of Carlo and Kipling to take care of.

Holding his hands up in surrender even though Pete couldn't see them he said. "Hey, you're right, as Todd Manning I've been pretty despicable, so if you want to go at it when this is through, I'll understand. I've got a lot to correct before I leave here, but both you and I want the same thing right now. We want them to hurt as much as they hurt us. More if it's possible. You can have your shot at me, but I'm not going to let you walk all over me, just know that. Now back to business, what do you and Todd have in mind for these two?"

Pete turned to stare out the window, "We're going to give them a taste of their own medicine. Are you onboard? They strapped us in and gave us those treatments like we were guinea pigs. It's their turn. I'm going to be looking for Carlo, I have a feeling he's close to our estate. You need to contact Dr. Kipling and see if you can arrange a checkup with him. Make it for the end of the week. You get the appointment, I'll take care of everything after that. I'll be in touch when you're to join me for our little party. Don't tell Tea what's going on, she and Blair wouldn't understand. When we're through with them, they're going to beg to be taken to John and Bo." Pete turned and said chillingly. "When I'm done they'll wish they were dead."

He had never seen anyone as cold as Pete, and he had thought Todd was cold-hearted but Pete put him to shame. Jake had to wonder what had caused this alter. He had never gotten past Peter just being a bastard, but now he wondered if Peter Manning had been more of a monster. Whatever Peter did to Todd had fractured him and Pete was the angry violent alter. Jake made a vow then and there that meeting Pete alone somewhere probably shouldn't happen, he might not come out alive. Before they could do any more talking the girls started to come through the door.

Pete spit out. "Get that Appointment. Contact Todd." and then he slumped against the window.

Blair saw the slump and immediately went to her husband. "Todd are you alright."

Todd pushed himself away from the window. "I'm alright Blair, just lost my balance." he took her elbow and they returned to their chairs.

Jake went and destroyed the bugs he had deposited out the door. He had had it with being watched and listened to constantly. He contacted Security and showed them the bugs and said if any more were found in his office they would all be looking for new jobs. Blair, Todd, Tea, and Kelly watched as Jake transformed himself back into the Todd everyone knew. With a few more choice words for security, he slammed the door on them and turned back to his audience. "Convincing enough?"

"You'll do just fine Jake. Thank you," replied Todd.

Who's the Real Todd?, Ch. 42

Todd grabbed the second jar and pocketed it. He wrapped the little implant around his finger and taking Blair's hand he took her downstairs so he could really see everything Blair had done to fix up their home. He walked from room to room and marveled how well Blair knew his taste. Then he took her outside and they walked the grounds around their home and he relished the freedom of seeing again. They walked around to the terrace area and looked down at Llanview. Todd swept the area with his eyes looking to see if there were any signs of Carlo's visit. He spotted another cigar butt and knew it belonged to Carlo. Going over to where it lay on the ground, Todd turned and looked toward the house. He was pleased to see there wasn't a good view of the living room so it was very likely Carlo hadn't observed a lot of Todd's movements around the house.

Once back inside, they sat down. Todd had been thinking about the idea ever since the small implant had wound around his finger. He wondered if he could get away with it. Blair wasn't going to be happy with him for even suggesting it, she really hated the object, but she was the only one he trusted to do it. Todd asked "Blair, could you make a ring that we could mount the implant in, you would have to design it so that my skin came in contact with the implant on the underneath side, but it could be disguised to resemble some caged jewel. With your design talent, you could give it an outer covering no one would suspect. Only you and I would know the implant was inside the ring. Then you could fashion some sort of locket that the second implant could be placed in, that I could wear around my neck or put inside my wallet or attach to the bottom of my watch. It would give me the means to carry both implants, keeping them within the range of each other so I could see again. Please, I'm begging you to consider it. With my sight restored, I could go after Carlo full bore. What do you say, Blair, are you game?"

He was so sincere and so endearing, he knew exactly how she felt about the implants, but he was right, he couldn't walk around with the thing just wrapped around his finger. If it should happen to get dislodged he could lose it and also his sight. She was still repulsed by the little machine and it probably was because of the fact that it was vibrating even as she looked at it on his finger. Just what had Kipling done to make the two parts seem almost alive, and why did they still have a connection to Todd and he to them. It was a question she was afraid to ask because she really didn't want to know the answer. This whole thing had a sci-fi aspect to it and the implications of this kind of technology and what it had done to Todd and Walker scared her to bits. She hadn't worked with designing jewelry for a very long time but disguising the implants as a ring and watch casing sounded interesting and maybe once disguised she could find it easier to think of him being in contact with them. Todd was looking at her and patiently waiting for her answer. She reached over and took the hand that had the implant. She tried to envision the implant wrapped in something like gold chainmail and realized it was very workable. So too would be making a watch casing to hold the other implant. She loved him.  She couldn't refuse him. "Todd, I'll do it but it's going to take time. Can you do without wearing it until its shell is ready? It would mean going without your sight a little longer. You can't take a chance you could lose the implant."

Todd glanced down at his hand and knew Blair was right until it could be mounted it wasn't safe for him just to trust it not to fall off. The loss of his sight again for a short time was worth it, if he knew the end result would be his vision restored. "Yes, you're right, as it is I can't just hold it all the time. If it got lost or damaged because of my eagerness to jump the gun and see again, I would hate it. I'm not a patient man, but even I know, after all these years, that to get what I want, I have to learn to be just that. Very well, they'll be put safely away until they are ready to be mounted in your jewelry but promise me, in the privacy of our room, you'll allow me to take them out so I can truly see you for a short time each night." He looked directly into her eyes and reached with his free hand to touch her face. He had so missed seeing her face.

Blair couldn't help but quiver as his hand gently touched her. She too had missed his gaze on her and loved the feel of his hand against her cheek. "We'll work something out Todd, I promise."

They walked upstairs and Todd took the smaller implant off his finger and walked to retrieve its jar. He dropped it into its jar and steeled himself for the loss of sight. For just a moment, his sight stayed clear, and then everything got fuzzy once more. He looked around and tried to pick out the container but after the clarity the few minutes before, his senses seemed to want some time to adjust and he found himself fumbling for the box. He sat on the edge of the bed with the box and jar in hand and put the jar away. Then he reached into his pocket and drew out the other implant. Blair had gone into another room as they had gotten upstairs and he knew he had only a few minutes before she would be back. Unsure what made him do it, Todd removed the lid to the bigger implant and tentatively reached in the way he had done with the smaller one.

Pain so intense ripped through his body as his hand clenched tightly around the jar. Todd screamed and dropped to his knees no longer in his house but strapped to a chair and being wheeled through someone's family home. Whoever was pushing him, paused to open an elevator door and wheeled him inside and then they were going down and he found himself once again in that corridor. There was the painting and several feet ahead, the elaborate door. Just as he was being taken in, the pain ceased and everything went black.

Blair heard the scream from just outside the suite and rushed in to find Todd lying by the bed his hand clutched tightly around something. She couldn't get a response from him and then noticed the container missing the second jar. "God, Todd what did you do?" She knelt down and began trying to free the jar and it's contents from Todd's hand. Working feverishly she had to literally pry each finger away from the jar and worked to pull his last two fingers free of the implant in the jar. Even as she pulled the fingers from the jar she watched as the implant came out with them, somehow attached. Gingerly she reached for the implant and tugged it free noting the tip of one of Todd's finger bleeding. She hurriedly dropped the offensive implant back into the jar and closed the lid. Then she turned to her husband.

"Todd, please be alright." he was stirring, she ran to the bathroom and got a wet cloth. She came back and laid it on his head watching as his eyes fluttered open. "It's alright, just lay there till you feel like sitting up. Whatever possessed you to open that container? Sometimes I feel you deliberately look for ways to hurt yourself. You know what those things did to you. Why Todd, would you take such a stupid chance?" She knew she was being brisk with him but he had scared her to death with his scream.

Todd's head felt like mush and he was only able to make out half of Blair's words. He lay there trying to make sense of what she was saying, something about the implant, and then the memories of the last couple minutes began filtering back into his head and he recalled reaching in for the implant just to see what would happen it he touched it. His head began aching and he realized Blair was right. It had been foolish to think that the implant would have been as harmless as the smaller one. Obviously, it wasn't. He closed his eyes again as everything he had seen, came to him, and he knew he had the answer to the whereabouts of Kipling's lab.

Seeing his eyes close, her anger evaporated and Blair worried he had lapsed into unconsciousness again. "Todd don't you zone out on me. Come on stay with me, let me know what's hurting."

He reached up and captured her hand "I'm alright, just remembering." He looked up at her and focused as best he could. "Help me up!" he then began pushing himself off the floor and Blair aided him till he was again sitting on the bed. "I'm sorry. You're right I'm an idiot. I just never expected that to happen." he began rubbing his fingers and came away with blood on his hand and looked at it shocked. "What happened did I cut myself."

Blair took the wet cloth and cleaned his hands and said. "No, the implant had attached itself to you." She wiped the finger that was bleeding and noticed three tiny puncture marks. "You must have stabbed into the prongs on the implant when you spasmed in pain." she preferred to believe that was how he had become attached because the other thought floating around in her head was horrific. She didn't want to think that the implant had deliberately attached itself to him. "This has got to stop Todd, you must stop taking these risks. When you screamed my heart stopped and I was sure I was going to find you in here dead. I don't think I can take much more of this. Please stop it." she got up to go get a bandage for his finger but he caught her, stood up and pulled her into his arms. She gave way to the tears she had been holding in.

He held her, needing her close and knowing he had screwed up again. When was he going to stop making these stupid decisions? She was right, he could have killed himself. She stopped crying and he released her reaching up to wipe her tears with the uninjured hand. " You know me, Blair, I promise to not do anything stupid like that again. But I'll ask for your forgiveness now because I have a feeling it won't be long before I do just that." he grinned ruefully and she chuckled in response.

Blair kissed his palm and walked to get the bandage and returned to find him staring out their bedroom window. She walked to him and picked up his hand that was still bleeding slightly. Wrapping the finger up she asked. "What is it, Todd? What did you remember?" Todd was still lost in thought and barely heard her question. She turned him toward her and asked again. "Todd?"

He shook his head and came back to the present. "Blair, I know where Kipling's lab is. Now I have to find where Carlo is hiding. We need to reach Tea and find out if Michael was successful with the operation. If Manning is free from their clutches then we can strike back." He made his way over to a chair by the window and sat down. "I talked to our undercover reporter earlier before Carlo showed up. He told me that the corridor I had been seeing wasn't in the facility. He's trying to insinuate himself into Kipling's inner group of orderlies. If he succeeds I'm pretty sure he might be able to get some information about those ambulances that were seen leaving Kipling's loaded down with electronics. Those ambulances had to have been carrying supplies to Carlo. Blair, the implant gave me some crucial information today albeit painfully. The Lab we've been looking for, it's under Kipling's house."

Blair just looked at him stunned. He had just dropped a bombshell. Somehow the implant had given him back more of his memories about the experiments and he had figure out that Kipling's own house was the site of the laboratory. "You're serious aren't you?"

Todd nodded his head, "It all makes sense Blair. Our informant said patients were being taken from the facility to Kipling's house on a daily basis. It was always the same patients and he even told me that they came back in worse shape than when they were taken. I'm positive now that I myself was taken to that house. He and Carlo were performing their illicit experiments under the guise of a reputable facility." he paused and rubbed his fingers absently particularly the one with the bandage. "I've got to find out where those ambulances took the equipment and I don't know why but I have a feeling it's somewhere here on Llantano Mountain. I think that's why Carlo's been making his own visits here, he's close."

Just then the phone rang and Blair went to pick it up. Tea and Walker had returned with implants in hand. Walker's had been slightly different and also placed strictly in the memory lobe. Upon their removal, Walker had spent the next few days separating his real memories from Todd's fake ones and exploring his real feelings for Tea. They had decided to stay married and they had returned because they both wanted in on the takedown of Carlo Hesser and Ivan Kipling. It was agreed upon that Tea and Walker would take their implants to John and tell him Walker's side of the story. Walker had regained the memory of the night he had been captured by Carlo's goons and beaten badly. He also had his memories of the experiments. After seeing John, they would all meet at The Sun.

Todd and Blair finished up a few things around the house and headed into town for that meeting. They arrived and Todd was forced to let Blair lead him as they entered the lobby of the Sun. There were too many people milling about for him to avoid on his own, and therefore it became obvious to some of the workers that Samuel Toddman was having a vision problem. By the time he made it to the executive offices' word had spread through the building the new owner was blind. Todd shrugged at Blair when she said "Samuel" in response to the whispers flying around them. It had been a foregone conclusion he wouldn't be able to keep it a secret for long once he came into town. He just wanted the news out there when he was ready, and now he was ready.

They entered Kelly's office and Todd made his way to a chair opposite Kelly and Blair took one alongside. Kelly had thought something unusual was up when Blair and Todd had entered. Then she had realized what was wrong. Blair hadn't said a word since they had returned from their honeymoon, so it came as a shock to realize Todd was blind. "Blair why didn't you tell us. Samuel, how did this happen?"

"I'll explain shortly Kelly, but there is something that needs immediate attention." They alerted Kelly to the rumors passing through the halls and Todd suggested they hop on the headline quickly saying New Owner Suffers Blindness From Freak Honeymoon Accident. They told her the story involving the horseback ride that culminated in a fall. They went on to say that the condition was serious at the moment but hope remained that sight could possibly be restored. Kelly wasted no time getting the article written and to the printers so it would be out in the next edition.  Then he and Blair filled Kelly in on everything.

By the time Blair had finished the story, Kelly was stunned. She looked at both of them and recalled how happy they had seemed on their wedding night and yet they had known their honeymoon might have been their last time together. She remembered how in love they had been the day of the gold balloon wedding. Everything had shattered with his shooting in Ireland, and now they had once again faced possible tragedy knowing the surgery might take his life. She actually felt tears welling up for them especially since Todd hadn't escaped unscathed.

While they were talking, Todd had handed Kelly a flash drive and indicated she should read it quietly just in case Carlo had his ears on. When they had told the story to Kelly they had talked about the surgery but had kept the implants out of it. Now Kelly was reading the true story and getting chills. She stared wide-eyed at Blair and mouthed "Seriously" and felt alarmed at Blair's nod. It was a story that would indeed break records when they finally could print it. Kelly's heart went out to her cousin-in-law as she realized that he had indeed been to hell and back these last years, and his torment still wasn't over, because thanks to Carlo, he was now blind.

Who's the Real Todd?, Ch. 41

Todd spent the next couple of days getting familiar with the house and getting around it when Blair was otherwise occupied with the boys. He discovered that Blair had purchased a state of the art computer with voice recognition and reading capabilities so he was able to access the Sun and hear the articles as they were written.  He called and talked to Kelly and they had a conference call with her undercover reporter and Todd found out several key pieces of information. One thing he was able to find out was that the reporter had been everywhere in the facility and as far as he knew he had never encountered a hallway similar to the one that Todd and Samuel remembered. But the reporter did say that Kipling had a number of ambulances taking a few select patients to and from Dr. Kipling's home.

The reporter talked a little longer and then Todd made a request, "I need you to be extra careful, but you need to try and get into Kipling's good graces and see if you can begin helping with those patients. It's imperative that I find out more about them. It's possible that Kipling is working with these patients in a way that has nothing to do with the purpose of the research facility. I think Dr. Kipling has his own experiments, that he's doing on the side and it's very likely those patients are in a great deal of danger for the sake of Kipling's research. Do you think you might be able to do that?.... Great, get back in touch with Kelly when you find out." Todd ended the conference call and decided to take a practice walk on the grounds. He was still struggling with range perception when colors blended outdoors.

He opened the front door and stepped out. It had now been a couple of weeks since the surgery and he had seen no further improvements since the inclusion of color. Todd was beginning to think he would never be able to see Blair clearly again. He looked out across the lawn and the colors blended till everything dissolved into a mishmash of greens and browns with no definition of shape. It was no use attempting to walk the grounds until he had Blair or Starr along. He walked back into his house when he smelled the cigar smoke. It could only mean that one person had arrived again. His steps slowed as he entered his living room looking around for the source of the smoke.

Todd wondered if he could keep his blindness a secret from Carlo or if Carlo already knew about it. Todd located him sitting under the portrait of Blair in the 2001 wedding gown. He felt a breeze and realized Carlo had entered from the terrace. He had the living room memorized so Todd put away his laser. " My dear sir, you startled me I wasn't expecting visitors. To what do I owe this visit."

Carlo had known, through his sources, that Samuel and Blair had returned from their honeymoon. He was curious why they hadn't been back to town for a while, and he had heard some rumors that there was something wrong with Samuel. Carlo wanted to find out if the implant or Samuel's heart had caused trouble on the honeymoon. Besides he still wished for Samuel to paint him another portrait. Carlo felt he got better information a lot of times when he looked into things himself, and Samuel's new home had proven to be bug proof. Not exactly sure why, but the bugs placed on the property while Samuel and Blair had been gone, were not operating properly. There appeared to be some natural interference in the area that made those items useless. "Samuel, forgive the intrusion, but as I hadn't heard from you, I decided to come to find out if you've managed to start my portrait of your fair wife, for my collection. I also wanted to give you an update on our mutual friend Tomas."

"Most assuredly I would love to hear about our friend Tomas. Tell me, is he recuperating from his accident."

"He is but now it appears someone destroyed his art gallery. They say it was unrelated to Tomas's accident. I fear Tomas is out of business for now. It really is a shame." stated Carlo coolly, he watched Samuel for some signs of any anger.

"That is very distressful, whoever did this to Tomas needs to be caught." Todd could feel both Samuel and Pete close to the surface, strangely enough, they were all feeling the same anger. All he really wanted to do was go to the Blob that was Carlo and wring his neck, he gripped the laser in his pocket almost crushing it, but the pain from that brought him to senses and he knew he was once again going to let Hesser walk away. His hands were tied until the all-clear came from Tea. In the meantime, he had to continue to pretend to only know Hesser as a patron. "I wish I could do something to help my friend but perhaps I can still help you. I received word that my paintings have arrived in the States and I'm expecting the shipment here in a couple of days. Alas, I haven't been able to start on the portrait you wanted. An unfortunate incident occurred on my honeymoon that I'm still dealing with. However, if you would still like to purchase the piece you were interested in before Tomas's accident I might be able to accommodate you."

It was really the last thing he wanted to do, but he was unable to paint at this time unless his vision returned. If he didn't offer Carlo something he would continue to press for the new painting.

Carlo looked at Samuel and frowned. He hadn't expected Samuel's offer, in fact, he had thought that hearing about the gallery would have elicited a stronger reaction. Samuel was proving to be quite a challenge and it was indeed becoming interesting trying to figure out what the man might do next. Samuel Toddman was as shrewd as Todd Manning but much more civilized. Carlo had never been one to turn down a good offer and he had really wanted the " Sunset" Portrait. "Samuel, I agree, it is a great shame about Tomas's situation. I do hope they find the culprits."

"Like hell, you do, you bastard! You sent the culprits because he was a link to us. Damn it, Todd, take him down now. What are you waiting for?"  Pete interrupted.

Todd ignored him and answered Carlo. "Indeed. Well, Mr. Hesser, do we have a deal? I will sell you my portrait "Sunset" as I cannot at this time paint the other portrait, due to doctor's orders. Forgive me if I don't go into details, I'm afraid I did something foolish while on my honeymoon that I'd rather not talk about at this time."

Carlo nodded and said. "That will be quite satisfactory Mr. Toddman. I do apologize for letting myself in. I've been out of the country for some time and where I come from people tend to come and go as they please. I must learn that isn't so here. I'll see myself out and I'll be in contact with you concerning the painting soon."

"Excellent I should have the portrait in the next couple of days." Todd watched Carlo's blob exit the way he entered and knew he had to contact John soon with this latest development.

"Why Todd, why did you let him go?" Pete asked.

"Because until we find the lab we can't bust him and he's gone back into hiding. I need to find that lab and you know why, Pete. Hang in there, I just hope he doesn't present me with any more surprise visits before I come out. I don't know how many more of these surprises I can take without wringing his neck. I think I might have an idea about the lab."

Todd was nearly as frustrated as Pete but he couldn't afford to be. "Damn I wish I had my sight back, this is torture right now. Give me some help, Samuel keep Pete off my back for a while. I almost lost it earlier, it can't happen again." He walked to the Terrace door and stared out not really seeing anything but imagining his hands around Carlo's neck, watching the man die a slow death.

Later, Todd was standing in front of his own portrait of Blair in their bedroom.  He reached behind the side of it and hit a button and the portrait moved aside to reveal his wall safe. He punched in his code and the safe door opened. Todd reached inside to remove the box from Michael and took the case over to his end table. Todd sat down and open the container and removed the two jars. He couldn't see them clearly but when he held them close together the jars vibrated and tried to connect with each other.

The first time he had held the jars he had almost dropped them because he hadn't been ready for the movement. They literally felt like there was something alive in them. Something that wanted out. He held them tightly this time and wished he could make out the contents. Todd recalled the scan Larry had shown him of the obscene little item sitting on his brain. Then Michael had told him about the second part they had realized was in him, he remembered feeling ill as Michael had described what the two parts had done once free of his brain. If he hadn't needed them so bad for his case against the man who had just left his house, Todd would have destroyed them. As it was, he found himself drawn to them with a kind of morbid curiosity and sick fascination, knowing they had been the cause of a lot of pain.

He wasn't sure what made him do it, but he found himself opening a jar. Todd reached inside with his fingers and captured the smaller of the two implants in them, grasping the plug that was slowly moving back and forth in the jar. He felt a little electric jolt go through him and suddenly found himself actually seeing the implant caught in his fingers. He was so startled, he let go of the jar the implant was in. Like slow motion, he watched the jar drop to the floor. Dangling from his fingers was the implant moving or swinging in a strange fashion but he realized he could see it clearly for the first time in days. He looked around the room, amazed at the colors and shapes he had taken for granted all his life. Something in him was responding to the implant even though it was no longer a part of him. Todd sat down on the bed shaken to his core. Just by holding this implant he was seeing. It made no sense. He brought the implant up to better inspect it and saw the minute and intricate ball of circuitry and engineering in its design.  Something inside it was still powering it, even though it was no longer attached inside him.

Todd wanted to see if it continued to provide him with vision as long as he held it do he got up to leave the room. As he entered the hallway outside the bedroom suite the implant stopped moving and Todd stumbled as his vision reverted back to just the blobs of color and vague shapes. Luckily he knew where he was or he might have accidentally fallen over the banister. He took a moment to think and knew what he had to do he turned and retraced his steps this time counting his steps till the visions cleared it took four steps to reach the entrance to the suite, as he crossed the threshold his vision returned and the implant came alive again. He stopped again and began his count back to the bed where the other implant was vibrating in its jar. It had taken about nine steps or approximately 25 feet to get back to the bed.

Todd sat down and pondered his next move. What was he going to do now? Suddenly the little implant wrapped itself around his finger forming a little ring with the cord of wires the ring and the little ball comprised of some sort of nano technology and sensors resting on top of his finger like an unusual gem vibrating and feeding small jolts of electricity through sensitive nerves in his finger. It looked all the world like a very unusual ring and it gave him an idea.

"TODD NO!"Blair screamed as she saw what Todd was doing. She still had visions of the one implant moving across the floor toward Todd in surgery, and now it looked like one of them had attached itself to his hand. "God Todd, what did you do? Are you okay? I'll call Larry, we'll get it off,  I promise."

"Blair it's alright I swear. I'm fine. It's not attached to me but something marvelous has happened, Blair, I can see you." Todd got up and walked to her without hesitation and really looked at her. "My God you're beautiful." he just stared at her unable to take his eyes off her face until he realized she was actually blushing because of his stare. "I'm sorry it has seemed like forever, and I was sure I was never going to see you again. Blair, it's helping me see. Do you understand?"

Blair hadn't felt his gaze in so long that it took her a moment to understand what was happening. Todd was really looking at her and seeing her, not just a colorful blob, but her. Then she realized what else he had said. Was he serious? She stared at the thing on his finger and wanted to cringe. She remembered so well everything that wretched thing had done to him and now he was standing there with it wrapped nonchalantly around his finger. She shivered as a chill went down her back "Todd you can't be serious, that thing almost killed you. Do you know what you're saying?"

Todd could tell she was really spooked by the implant so he walked back to the bed and carefully unwrapped the implant keeping his body between it and her, so she wouldn't see it moving. "I know exactly what I'm saying, and I assure you that it was not hurting me. I will put it away but the minute I do I'll lose my sight again." he glanced over his shoulder one last time at his beautiful wife. "You are worth every second I have and I won't have you upset." he dropped the implant back in the jar and immediately everything got fuzzy once again.

Blair had watched as he walked back to the bed but noticed how his shoulders had suddenly drooped when he had put the implant back in the jar. She watched as his movements became less sure and fumbling as he reached to place the jars back into the container, and her heart went out to her husband. She hated the things but she went to her husband and gave him a hug. "You meant it didn't you. You really can see when you handle that awful thing. Let me put them away and we'll talk, I promise I will listen." She picked up the box and placed it back in the safe, closing it and letting the portrait come back into place, and then she returned to Todd "Okay, first tell me what made you get the container out. Then we'll talk about this latest development." she sat down next to him and waited for his story.

Todd turned his face to Blair's and began his story about Carlo's latest visit. Even though he couldn't see her face, he could tell from the stiffness of her fingers in his hands that she had tensed up at Carlo's name. She wanted to call John immediately to report it but Todd stopped her. "He was fishing again Blair and because I couldn't let him find out I was blind, I promised him one of Samuel's pictures and got him out of here but it made me think of what he had done and I found myself up here getting the case. When I took the jars out and felt them vibrating I remember everything you told me about how they had reacted to each other. I don't know why I opened the smaller implant's jar but I thought if I held it I could get a better idea what it really looked like. What I didn't expect was what happened when I touched it."

He gently rubbed her hands with his thumb "Blair it was unbelievable. The moment my fingers came in contact with the cord of the smaller implant, a current ran through me and I suddenly saw the implant and everything around me clearly. I decided to see what would happen if I just walked with it. Unfortunately, as soon as I left the room the implant went limp and my vision was lost. It was jolting, to say the least, but as soon as I returned to the room the implant came alive and my sight was restored. There is a twenty-five-foot working radius that the implants seem to be sending and receiving, beyond that and they are inert. I understand your revulsion with the implants and I admit I felt just the way you did when I held those jars the first time. Blair, Carlo, and Kipling took so much from me and almost killed me with those things.  They're out of me, yet for some reason, I still have a connection to them, and that connection allows me to see." He stopped talking and just sat there waiting for Blair's reaction to it all.

Blair wasn't sure how she felt after listening to Todd. She was mad that Carlo had once again gotten into her home and she wanted that stopped. She blurted out "John needs to know about Carlo, I don't like the idea that he got in here. How do you know he wasn't watching you the whole time? You say you didn't want him to know about the blindness, but you can't be sure he doesn't already know. Todd, you can't keep playing this game with him. I think it's time to let him know the truth."

"I know you're frustrated by Carlo and our current inactivity, but until I know that Manning is free of his devices we can't let Kipling or Carlo know the truth. But you're right, Carlo might know I'm blind but I don't think so. Don't you see though, with the implant in my hand I'm no longer handicapped?" Todd couldn't believe how needy he sounded just then.

She looked at her husband and heard him. He wasn't afraid of the implants that had almost killed him. He saw them as a means to an end, a means to get his life back on track using the very items Kipling had used to hurt him and making them help him instead. Maybe it was time to get past her fears of the day when she had lost him, he was here in front of her and trying to be brave and remain unsighted but he had found a way to see and it was killing him to not use it. She got off the bed and went back to the safe. Opening it she retrieved the container and brought it back to the bed and then she opened it. Blair steeled herself and looked again on the terrible items that had been inside Todd's head She opened the jar with the smaller implant and forced herself to drop it into her hand. " God, Todd, it is so unnatural, it's moving and it shouldn't be. It's disturbing. These things almost killed you and that's all I see. I love you so much and I lost you, but I have you back and you should have your sight back. Here" She reached for his hand and dropped the moving implant into it and looked into his eyes. They focused on her and she smiled." Hi, Todd"

Todd beamed back at her. "Hi, Blair. Thank you." he leaned over and showed her just how much she meant to him, his hand wrapped tightly around the implant.