My Brother's Keeper #4

        A couple of weeks had passed since the incident in the bathroom at the courthouse. Todd hadn’t heard from his brother at all and was beginning to think he had imagined the whole thing. He had been struggling to find a way to talk to Blair about what was going on, but every time he turned around Tomas was hovering. He was getting pretty frustrated with Tomas. Sure he had offered to take the rap for Irene, but in the end, Todd had let him off the hook and admitted to the shooting. Now when Todd was trying to make headway with Blair, Tomas had decided to try and pin Victor’s supposed murder on him. That was where it got confusing.

         He was still being haunted by his mother and the images in his mind of him killing his brother were as fresh as the day she had taunted him in the cabin. Yet he had talked to Victor and the jolt he had received the day they shocked Victor, couldn’t have been just his imagination. Victor had said he felt it when Irene had fired the shot that almost killed Todd and when Blair had dug out the bullet. It was obvious the phenomenon that identical twins sometimes shared thoughts and physical sensations seemed to have come true for both he and Victor, but how could he tell anyone that Victor was alive. No one would believe him, least of all Tea, his lawyer, and Victor’s widow. “Damn it, Victor, I wish you’d start talking to me again. I know that shock didn’t kill you.”

        “How the hell would you know that? Do you know what the bastards tried to do to me?”

         Todd felt a sense of relief, he wasn’t losing his mind. Victor was still alive. “So you survived. I thought for sure, you were just more of my imagination. Of course, I know what they did to you. You don’t know it, but that chair was our mom’s favorite means of torture. Now listen, I need you to describe the room you’re in.”

         “No can do, they blindfolded me again. This time I’m on a bed. I want to get back to what the bastards did to me. Are you telling me they did that to you too?”

         “I’ve spent the last few months trying to tell people they tortured me, but no one seemed to want to listen. You shouldn’t be surprised. You’re a product of our mother and what she did to us. Did they ask you anything before they lit you up? Do you have any idea what they want with you or why they’re making it seem like I murdered you?” There was silence and Todd wondered if he had lost the connection to his brother. It was getting weird. He never knew when Victor was going to pop in and since Victor couldn’t get a handle on where he was, Todd had no way to locate him. “Victor, if you’re still there say something.”

         “Man this is the pits. I don’t know where I am, but someone needs a lesson in what classifies as good music.”

         “I don’t believe you, is that all you’re concerned about. I’m out here suspected of killing you, and I already have one strike against me, because I killed Irene. You need to work on getting me something that tells me who’s got you, or where you are.”


         “I’ll try but don’t expect much. They’re keeping me pretty isolated, and when someone talks to me they use one of those weird voice modulators.”

         “Great, just what I didn’t want to hear. They’re afraid you’ll recognize their voice. But wait a minute, 
who might want to frame me, and keep you, hostage.” Todd was sitting in his desk chair with his back to the door and didn’t hear the door open.

          Blair had just dropped Jack off down in the copy room. There was going to be no more of young Jack Manning at the helm of The Sun until he earned it. He was going to learn what it felt like to really work, and he wouldn’t be able to use the paper anymore to hurt his father. After making sure he was introduced to the supervisor, she left him to begin work. Blair walked into the office, just in time to hear Todd’s final statement. She stopped and looked around, “Who are you talking to?”

         Todd whipped around. ”Blair?”

          “What’s up, Blair’s there?”

          Todd wasn’t sure how to respond he had been talking to Victor out loud for some time and it seemed strange to just think the words. Victor, shut up! Yes, Blair’s here, I can’t talk to you and her at the same time. “Blair I didn’t hear you come in. Did you ask me something?”

          “I asked who you were talking to? What did you mean? Who’s trying to frame you and who’s being held hostage?”

          “Uh.. you must have misunderstood. I was talking to myself about some changes I’m thinking of making around here. This contractor I was talking to told me they could build a bookcase for me that would give the impression of framing me when visitors come into the office and see me. Then he told me if I didn’t pay half upfront he would hold the work hostage until I settled. I was just going over my options out loud.” He looked up at her and then dropped his eyes, she was giving him, her ‘I don’t buy it look’.

           Blair couldn’t believe her ears, Todd really was off his game. That was the most asinine explanation she had ever heard. “Todd, what’s going on? You’ve been acting strange ever since the cabin. I thought we were making progress when you came forward about killing Irene. You let Tomas off the hook, but I feel you’re hiding something from me now. Why?”

Todd met her eyes. “If I told you, I don’t think you would believe me. No one seems to believe me these days.”

“Why don’t you give it a shot. I’m willing to listen.”

“This is going to sound crazy, but Victor isn’t dead.” He looked up at Blair and knew he had made a mistake.

Blair couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Todd, I saw the body bag being taken out of Victor’s house. Tea was a mess. She watched him die before her eyes. How can you be so cruel to even say something like that?”

            Todd left his chair and walked to the window of the office. She was upset with him now. He couldn’t face the hurt he knew to be in her eyes, so he stared out at the view. “See, I knew you wouldn’t believe me. I don’t know how it happened, but I’m telling the truth. I’ve talked to him. I‘m not crazy. Although for a while I thought I was. We’ve been trying to figure out who’s holding him prisoner.”

          Blair couldn’t believe what she was hearing and it frightened her. “What do you mean you’ve talked to him. Todd, he’s been dead for several months. Are you alright?”

         “Hell, I don’t know. One minute I’m talking to Victor and the next my mother pops in for a visit. Of course, she’s just here to keep reminding me about what I did. None of it makes sense. I couldn’t have done what she said, because he’s not dead. Yet I keep seeing it.” Even as he said it the image of him standing over his brother’s body again flashed into his head.

           He was babbling and not making sense. Blair walked over to him. “Todd, look at me. What are you talking about? You just said your mother pops in for a visit? She’s dead. Todd. You killed her.”

Todd blinked and came back to the present. “What did you say, Blair?”

“I’m concerned about you. You said Irene’s been popping in and out. That makes no sense. Why did you say Victor’s alive?”

“Because he is, that‘s what I been trying to tell you. I can’t explain it, but I know he’s out there somewhere. It’s a twin thing.” He could see Blair wasn’t buying it. Suddenly he doubled over. It felt like someone had just slammed a two-by-four in his side. In his head he heard a cry of anguish then Victor went silent again.

Blair watched astonished as Todd dropped to his knees in pain. "Todd!"

"Victor, what's going on. Talk to me!" Todd held his side as he used the wall and staggered to his feet. He was intent on finding out how Victor was and didn't realize he had gone back to speaking to his brother aloud. He had forgotten Blair was even in the room as he felt another blow almost drive him to his knees again. “Shit. Victor, are you alright!” God, if he was feeling it this bad, Victor must be in agony. His link to Victor ceased and Todd had an idea his brother had passed out.

“Todd, are you ill?” Blair was shocked, Todd was talking to Victor and seemed to be oblivious to her. He was in obvious pain. “What the hell is happening?”

Todd leaned against the wall, his ribs felt tender but he could breathe. He suddenly heard Blair’s question. “Someone was beating the crap out of Victor. It was bad, I lost him again.”

“This is crazy. I think you need to see a doctor.” She was worried now. It couldn’t be possible. Todd really believed he was in contact with Victor.

He could hear it in her voice. She didn’t believe him. “Blair, I know it sounds crazy, but I need you to trust me. I’m telling you the truth.”

My Brother's Keeper #3

        He couldn't believe it. He had gone to Blair's to tell her how he felt and instead had been blindsided by Irene again. The woman was unstoppable. It had been a chilling experience because as she talked he began to see these pictures in his head, pictures of him doing the deed. He couldn't believe what his mind was telling him and he had tried to force the thought away. Hell, he had even turned himself in for killing Irene. Nora had released him for that, but the images of Victor's death wouldn't go away. Even if Victor was right and he was alive out there somewhere, Todd still couldn't get past the feeling he had killed somebody. What else could go wrong?

          He should have known there was more to come. He looked at the summons and at his sister Vicki. "Does this mean what I think it does?" Could things finally be looking up?

          Todd was dumbfounded. The judge just said Victor's will would stand and everything he owned suddenly became Irene's. To make matters worse Irene's will left everything to Tina. This day was getting bleaker by the minute. "I knew you hadn't changed. Not one little bit," he growled. Tina had just proven him right once again. Then she surprised them all by turning the inheritance down and giving it back to Todd. Now he knew the world was upside down. He wrapped his head around the idea finally something had gone his way. The Sun and the investments were all his again. Todd turned to Tea, "You and Danielle will always be well taken care of."

         "I don't want Victor's money, I want the man that killed him and Tomas is going to see to that."

         "Tomas?"

         "Yes he promised to find Victor's killer and I believe he will."

          Todd watched as Tea departed. So much for his sunny turnaround. Todd found himself staring into the mirror in the bathroom at the courthouse. Great, he had his possessions back, but with Tomas on Victor's case, he was going to lose it all over again. It was only a few days earlier that he had looked into the mirror and talked to Irene. Victor had been silent since his second chat with Irene in the cabin. "You're losing it, Todd. Victor's voice was in your imagination. He's as much a ghost as Irene and both were telling you the same thing. You killed your own brother."

         "Oh come off it, I already told you I wasn't dead."

          "Damn, Victor, you got to stop popping in like that. You're going to give me a heart attack. Besides, how do I know you're real?" Todd turned on the water and splashed his face, but the voice continued
.
          "I guess you'll have to take my word for it. Man, I'm starving, they came and moved me. I'm blindfolded and I'm strapped to a chair. They won't even talk to me, just move me around. I'm not sure what's going on, but I think I overheard someone saying something about plans being changed. I'm telling you, brother, this is getting old. I wish you could do something. This chair is damn uncomfortable. They've even bound my head and legs to it."

          "Victor, what did you just say?"

           "Hey open your ears, brother. I said I'm bound to a chair, why does that bother you? I'm definitely not going anywhere anytime soon. Someone's coming, hang on."


        Todd felt a chill run down his spine. It hadn't been that long ago he had been bound to a chair and it had been no picnic. Surely Victor wasn't being held a prisoner by the same agency that had held him. Hell, Irene had been in charge of that compound and it had been shut down. Could there have been more than one compound? Suddenly Todd felt like he had put his finger in a light socket. God not again!

        Bo entered the bathroom and spotted Todd stretched out on the floor. "What the hell! Hey, Manning are you alright?" As he reached him Todd started moving and began to slowly sit up. "What happened?"

        Todd shook his head the last thing he remembered was hearing Victor talking in his head. He realized he was sitting on the floor and Bo was looking concerned. Todd got slowly to his feet "It's nothing Bo, I just got a little faint. Must be leftovers from the shoulder wound. I just bent over to tie my shoe and I guess I blacked out. I'm fine." Todd gripped the sink trying to focus on Bo. He couldn't tell him the truth. He had just received a jolt of what his brother was receiving somewhere else. They were all convinced Victor was dead. How the hell was he going to prove Victor wasn't?

         "You sure you're alright you look a little green around the gills, Manning."

         "Yeah, just give me a minute, a little dizzy." He wanted to zone out to talk to Victor, but he had a feeling Victor wasn't going to be doing any talking anytime soon. He turned away from Bo and splashed some more water on his face. Then he straightened up and gave him a look that basically said "I don't want to talk about it" and exited before Bo could say any more.

          Todd was glad to get away from the commissioner's concerned stare. He knew Bo and Nora still considered him a suspect in Victor's death and now thanks to his own personal ghost, even he was questioning it. Still, the jolt he had just received told him that Victor was very likely alive, and they both were experiencing what the other was going through.

         "Okay Victor, if you can hear me, you need to hang in there. I'm not sure how I'm going to get anyone to believe me, but I'll see what I can do. Sounds like our mother's goons have you in another undisclosed location.   I'll start doing some research. Victor, if you're my brother, then I know you're as stubborn as me. Don't give in. I'll find you." He got no answer back, but he really didn't expect any.

        Todd hadn't heard anything out of Victor and he remembered how hard it had been to get his thoughts together after one of those electrifying sessions with Baker. "Where are you, Baker? You disappeared off the radar when they caught my mother. Are you the one making it look like Victor is dead?" Todd swung around in his chair and typed in the name of the agency on his computer. It was like he feared, Irene had hidden the agency too well. Todd reached into his pocket and pulled out the small computer chip. He hadn't turned it over to Bo because he was hoping it would give him leverage later on if somehow everything ended up pointing to him as Victor's murderer.

           His mother had made a fatal mistake when she tried to blow up his family. "You underestimated me, Mother. Once I remembered the chip, I couldn't seriously hand it over to you. You were going to kill me because you thought I threw it away. That's where you made your mistake. You had me at your mercy but you had to gloat about killing my family. Never give your opponent time to think Irene. You're dead Irene and you can haunt me about killing my brother but I know he's alive. You lose all around. Now rot in hell." Todd got up and put the microchip in his safe and locked it. "Now Victor, how am I going to get you free?"

           Todd was sitting at his desk when Jack arrived. After their usual getting nowhere conversation. He begged. "Jack, I just want a chance to get to know you."

          "You want to get to know me, why don't we get to know you. Look me in the eye and tell me you didn't kill my father." Angrily he flung items off Todd's desk and said again. "Tell me you didn't kill my father."

          Todd looked his son in the eyes and said with all honesty. "I swear I did not kill your father." Of course, to be truthful, he was Jack's father so he could say that with impunity and not be telling a lie but he was grateful at that moment he didn't have to lie about Victor either. Naturally, his words fell on deaf ears and Jack stormed out of the office. Thanks to his recent conversations with Victor, he knew his brother was still alive out there somewhere. Now he just had to find Victor and until he did, Jack would continue to hate him.












.

My Brother's Keeper #1

        Todd lay on the bunk. Once more he found himself behind bars, and this time his own son had put him there. A long time ago he had told Marty that he felt Fate had it in for him, and today was one of those days when that was certainly true. He wasn't sure why he had gone to the cemetery. When he had walked into that chapel, it had just been weird. Staring out at the room, the huge picture of his brother held dominance. That sounded so strange, his brother. He had had an identical twin brother and hadn't known it. Todd wondered what his life could have been like if their father had acknowledged them. It didn't really take much imagination to know it probably would have been a disaster. Todd covered his eyes as he lay there and before he realized it, he was drifting asleep.

         He and his brother were racing to the house. It never failed, Victor had found another shortcut and had pulled ahead of him but only for a short time. Todd soon overtook Victor and reached the front porch first. He stood there trying to catch his breath, then his brother barreled into him causing him to fall roughly to his knees on the front steps.

       "Hey why did you do that? Look, you tore my slacks." Todd exclaimed turning to confront his brother.

       "Get over it Todd, you should know better than to beat me. Don't worry, Mom only has eyes for me, she knows you're hopeless when it comes to the finer things in life. A pair of torn slacks won't phase her, she'll just make sure that Father keeps his eyes on me. See she's coming now, she won't even notice I bet." Victor turned his back on Todd and swaggered to meet their Mom. Todd looked down at the tear and shrugged his shoulders. Vic was right about their mom, she definitely looked on him as the favored of the two. It didn't matter to him, no matter what his mom did she couldn't seem to get their dad to pay much attention to Victor. Todd was the favorite son, torn slack and all. Of course that wasn't saying much. Their father was a cold fish and his whole mantra was 'Be strong you're a Lord'. He had little love for weaklings and that was why Victor rarely found favor. Victor tended to cry foul a lot and his mother was always babying him. Todd usually let his brother get away with things, it made his life simpler if the attention was focused on Victor. Be it good or bad.

          Todd wandered closer to his mom and watched as she stroked his brother, much like a master stroking a pet cat. Then she turned her eyes on him and they got hard. Her face took on a grimace as she frowned, taking in his torn slacks. "I should have known you couldn't even keep one pair of slacks from getting ruined. It seems the only thing you're good at is ruining things, just like you ruined your brother's chance to be the sole heir. You pushed your brother aside to get out of me, now you've pushed him aside and taken your father's attention too. You should have died at birth."

           Todd stepped back, his mother had never been that mean before. What had happened. Then a hand landed on his shoulder. He recognized that hand and the ring on it. From behind him, he heard.

        "Enough Irene I told you to leave. Take your spawn with you, the one you're so fond of, and don't worry this one won't miss you. I have big plans for this one." his hand dug into Todd's shoulder. Todd looked at his twin in disbelief, the hatred he saw directed at him from both his mother and brother was palpable. He didn't want this but even as he tried to tell them that, he found he couldn't talk.

          All he heard as they walked out of sight was his mother's final statement.
"On your father's grave, Todd, you'll regret what you've done and Victor will have everything he deserves."

         Victor suddenly spoke in Todd's head, "See brother, it was always supposed to be mine."

          Todd jerked awake, for one moment he was sure Victor was standing next to him. Victor's last line was probably part of the dream but it had seemed so real. Todd sat up on the bunk. That had felt so strange. Like a new voice in his head and it wasn't one of his alters. He had heard stories of identical twins having a connection but he had never experienced anything like that. Why, now that Victor was dead, would he feel like he was connected to him?

          "You know, I've been asking myself the same question. Why now are we connected and you know what, I think it's because for the first time we're on the same wavelength. Both of us hate our mother. So now you're stuck with me brother. " Victor began to chuckle.

          Todd shook his head, this wasn't happening. Things were bad enough, he was facing prison for killing his brother, his son hated him and his Mother had the proof he was innocent but wouldn't help. Now he was hearing the voice of his dead brother. Was he going crazy?

          "Relax, you're not going crazy and I don't think I'm dead but we definitely have a problem," replied Victor.

         Okay, that was enough. Todd closed his eyes and decided to see if he could talk to this imaginary voice. "Alright hold it right there. What do you mean you don't think you're dead? They buried you yesterday."

         "They did huh, nope, don't think it was me. I can't see a thing, but I know I'm somewhere. I was sleeping and found myself dreaming of you. It was strange. So I thought what the Hell might as well put my two cents worth in to see if you were paying attention, and presto here I am. This is kinda cool actually."

          Todd could almost hear the smile in his brother's voice. Could it be true, was Victor alive out there somewhere? "You say you were sleeping and dreaming, what was the dream about."

         "Pure fantasy, you had just beaten me in a footrace. Would never happen pal. Then you got upset because I messed up your clothes. Then dear old dad kicked mom and me to the curb. Was he really that much of a bastard?"

         "You should know, you've been living my life for the last eight years.

         "Hey, it wasn't my idea. You've met her. She's wacko our mom."

         Todd's head was spinning, maybe the shock of returning after all these years had split him once again and Victor was really another Alter.

        "Hold it right there brother, I'm not one of your alters. Those guys are yours alone. I got to admit I thought they were faked, but hey if you believe them, and from what I've seen of Vicki and Jessica,...well I'm sorry brother, but you're welcome to them. Listen, I tell you I'm not dead, but I have no idea where I am so you got to get out of there and come find me."

        "You're serious. You expect me to believe I'm sane and talking to my not so dearly departed brother, even though I'm in prison for his death."

       "Sure why not, have you got a better explanation. We're identical twins, maybe it took this kind of trauma to connect us. I don't know. I need help. You free me. Then that frees you. So, are you willing to help your brother? Once we're free, we'll figure out who really deserves Victor's millions."

       "What have I got to lose. You got any bright ideas on how to get me out of here to look for you."

       "You'll get out, you're good at that. By the way, when you see mom tell her, Victor sends his love, that ought to shake her up."

        Just like that, the voice was gone. Todd opened his eyes and made another contact. "Tom, any of you guys, tell me the truth, do I have a new alter?"

        Pete replied, "Are you crazy! Where did you get such a cockamamie idea? I know those shocks were rough but the four of us did all we could to help you keep it together. You're stuck with just us and be thankful there aren't more."

        Todd heard a door clang open and realized Irene was coming back from another talk with John. As they locked her door he stared at her. Was Irene capable of staging Victor's death from here in jail? Hell yeah, she was. He looked his mother straight in the eyes. "I've got a message for you. Victor sends his love."

My Brother's Keeper #2

       "Well this is just great, I'm stuck God knows where, and now you're on the run. Just what did you hope to accomplish when you broke free? Look at you, you're wounded and almost dead. I had hoped you might stick around longer and find me, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen."

        "Victor, get out of my head. I don't need this right now. I'm a little preoccupied at the moment. I just killed our "dear" mother so that's makes finding you a little harder, not to mention you're right she wounded me and I'm half dead. Give me a break." Todd was alone for the first time since Blair had found him. Tea had been hovering and told him he couldn't get Starr out of trouble and now here comes Victor putting in his two cents worth. "You know this makes absolutely no sense, I'm on the run because you're dead, but you keep telling me you're not. How do I know you're not haunting me the way Irene is."

      "Whoa, Mommie Dearest is haunting you. Is she as bad in death as she was in life?"

        "I would think you would know Victor, she claims she's with you and you're both holding me a place in hell." Todd reached over carefully and added another log to the fire. "Tea was just here. She's looking for your murderer. For some reason, she really loved you."

         "Of course she loved me. I'm the lovable twin after all. Is she really alright?"

          "NO, She misses you and I don't think she wants any sympathy from me. She resents the fact that I came home and spoiled your lives. How do you think Irene did it?"

         "Did what?"

          "How do you think she pulled off this death of yours, Victor, there was a body. Whoever it was, was still alive when Tea arrived home. She watched you die, man. Tell me, have you been shot? I mean did Tea just think you died? Believe me, if you've been shot, you would feel it. God, my wound hasn't stopped hurting."

         "I don't know how Irene did it, but it wasn't me who got shot, you're right gunshot wounds hurt and I don't feel anything. I mean nothing on me hurts, I just feel like I'm floating. It actually isn't all that bad since I found out I could talk to you. For a while there I thought I was going crazy."

          "Join the club, this whole time I've been worried about doing just that. I'm not so sure you aren't just another figment of my imagination." Todd looked at the picture he was holding. It was a picture of his brother and Tea. "Say how did you know I was wounded."

          "I felt it. Everything was still and dark and suddenly this pain ripped through my shoulder and then it was gone. I'm guessing just like this two-way speak thing we have going on, that whole if one twin is hurt the other feels it thing also kicked in."

           Todd had just been wondering about that himself. "This isn't really working, you know that, Victor? For all I know, the infection is taking hold of me again and I'm delirious. How can I help you, I'm in worse straits right now? If Irene is behind what's going on with you, then we're up a creek. She's dead and she's not going to be telling me anything. So how do you propose I get you out of whatever mess you're in when I'm in deep shit myself?" There was silence. Victor had apparently left the building. "I knew it, I'm talking to myself. Which I guess is preferable to talking to dead people." He got up off the hearth and went in search of some water. That was when he heard that creak again. Why did it sound like someone was in the cabin?  He had to stop that, he was getting paranoid. He was the only one in the cabin. CREAK Damn it, there it is again. Todd wasn't sure what to do next, he sure as hell wasn't going to go looking for whoever was creeping around the cabin. Standing back up carefully he grabbed a log with his good arm and went to hide. Maybe whoever it was would just leave the way they came in. The way he was feeling, he probably wouldn't be able to put up too much of a fight.

           He thought back to that encounter he had with Irene when he first arrived at the Cabin. It had been horrifying, but nothing had happened since. Todd's shoulder was beginning to ache again and he felt tired just holding the log. He hadn't told Blair about Irene haunting him, she was already mad at him for involving Starr in his escape. He had to do something about that and soon. Tea should have just taken him back to jail. Starr had only been helping him because Irene had threatened the family and it hadn't been an idle threat. He really had lost it when Irene had gloated about killing his family. When he shot her it had seemed the right thing to do.  Hell, the law already thought he killed Victor and he certainly couldn't tell them that Victor was talking to him. They were convinced he had killed his brother out of hatred for stealing his life. If they knew about his conversations with Victor, Nora wouldn't think twice about having him shipped off to St. Ann's.  He hoped he wasn't crazy. Todd felt a cool breeze blowing behind him and he turned expecting to find the window opened, but what he saw chilled him to the bone. God not again.

New additions

To my readers:

         I'm aware that some of you have been reading my little novella " My Brother's Keeper" at the Real Todd Manning Fanfic Hub.  This is to let you know I'm bringing the novella here. A new update is also finished.  I hope you enjoy #4.