The Text Message Ch 05

Author's note:

This is the fifth part of a six-chapter story. I recommend reading the previous instalments if you haven't done so yet.

Please be aware that the story will be a bit less romantic in the remaining chapters.

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As usual my thanks go to my editors, Stattion and Joffa. Everything that's right is their work. Everything that's wrong is my fault.

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Chapter 05: The Showdown

After first meeting Theresa, she and I developed a great friendship and a routine where we visited each other roughly every other week. My concerns about sexual entanglements were soon put to sleep when Theresa had noticed my unease and, after inquiring for the reason, informed me that she was strictly lesbian and could not imagine bedding me. Her straightforwardness was one of the reasons I liked her so much and it didn't take long until also our subs grew into a team, jointly serving both Theresa and me in either place instead of looking after their respective Master or Mistress only.

My search for larger accommodations advanced excruciatingly slowly. Of the six prospects I had selected in the beginning none survived my initial visit and inspection; too old, too small, too bad substance, too ugly, too whatever. I just didn't click with them and as I was determined to find the right house and not just buy any house I had to bite the bullet and remain patient. Several of the realtors that showed me around the properties tried to convince me to let them look for houses for me but repeated rebuttals kept them in check.

Alicia and I settled into a routine relationship. Monday to Friday Alicia would help me get ready in the mornings, clean the apartment according to the plan I had developed and have dinner ready according to the menus I prepared by the time I got home from work. After dinner, we would both study for a while before we'd watch some TV or a video before going to bed where we would have a little playtime. Once Alicia had understood that it wasn't my way to use her as a mean to get my rocks off but instead preferred sensual and lasting sessions, she quickly came up with new ways to keep our sex rich in variety.

On weekends she would wake me up with a method of her own choice, often with a blowjob, sometimes riding me and occasionally with a tit job. It had been the reason for quite a few discussions when she asked whether I wanted her to undergo surgery to enlarge her breasts. Several times, she had caught me looking at Dolores' larger bust and was afraid I would become tired of her small breasts. My answer was a clear 'no', I undoubtedly preferred her to remain natural, but it took me a while to convince her that I wouldn't tire of her or her breasts.

She had offered anal sex repeatedly, especially while she had her period, but I had not taken her up on her offer but 'contented' myself with her astonishing blowjobs as I had never been a fan of the idea of shoving my cock into someone's bowels. I knew from surfing porn prior to Alicia's appearance in my life that many men were very fascinated by it but I just wasn't one of them.

It was roughly three months after the barbeque when a feeling of doom started to creep up on me again. It didn't happen from one day to the next but I found myself increasingly nervous and troubled. It took a lot of effort to keep my anxiousness from seeping out and bother Alicia. At one point it became so intense that I decided to start carrying my gun with me, so I ordered a holster for it online. While at work, I kept the holster and the gun in the glove compartment of my car, on weekends when outside of the apartment I would carry it with me. I knew that I was breaking the law by carrying a concealed weapon but I reasoned that there was only a very small likelihood to be caught as I was a law-abiding citizen and the increased feeling of safety was in my eyes worth the risk.

We were sitting at the table in Theresa's sunroom on a chilly Sunday afternoon in October. My jacket with the gun wrapped in it was lying on the small side table and Alicia was sitting at my feet when suddenly an excruciating pain shot through my right side, followed by a loud bang which I instantly recognised as a gunshot and I violently toppled sideways off the chair. I looked down at my body and saw growing red flowers spread over my biceps and my chest. Surprised and confused I looked around and saw Justin approach, a gun in hand, shouting while I heard confused and scared female screams.

Anger welled up in me but it was quickly overlaid by a feeling of tiredness as unconsciousness crept up on me. My sight began to dwindle, my mind clouded, everything was turning black.

Then I heard two muffled thumps. Some neurons in my brain connected. More gunshots. Alicia! I fought the unconsciousness, with pure willpower I forced the blackness into the background. I would avenge her. My love. My gun! I looked around and saw my jacket, only an inch or two from my hand. I stretched but the resulting pain helped the unconsciousness creep back to the foreground. I fought it back again. There, I got it. Somehow I managed to pull the bundle closer and retrieve my gun. I tried to focus but everything remained blurred except for a small circle in the middle of my view. I looked around, my hearing was almost gone, my right arm numb. There he was, looking sideways, pointing his gun downwards at somebody or something. I lifted my left arm and tried to point it at him but I swayed heavily. Nevertheless, I pulled the trigger but nothing happened. The safety, I had to release the safety. I put the gun on the ground and pushed the small lever with my index finger and took the gun in my left hand again. I tried to focus on Justin again but I still couldn't hold my arm still enough to aim.

My head dropped and then I saw her. Or rather her eyes. She looked straight at me, locked her eyes on mine and I found a last iota of strength or maybe it was sent to me from Alicia but I found the power to raise my head and was able to point my weapon steadily at Justin's torso. In this moment he turned his head, probably because he saw me move and made the mistake that most likely saved Alicia's life and cost him his own. He swung his revolver around in an attempt to beat me to it, to shoot me before I could shoot him. His whole body slumped as he tried to dodge the bullet but what he effectively did was put his face right in the line that went from my left eye over the notch and the bead. I pulled the trigger. I slacked and the unconsciousness quickly overwhelmed me but before I closed my eyes to die I saw Alicia bend over me, tears and panic in her eyes, and muttered what I thought were the last words of my life.

"I love you, Beautiful."

Alicia

"I love you, Beautiful."

I screamed.

"Noooooooo!" but he closed his eyes and died. Or at least I thought he did. I looked around, haunted. Dolores was leaning over her Mistress, Justin lay on the ground, his face a bloody mess. What should I do?

Suddenly, I heard Master's voice in my head. My head snapped around so I could look at him while he spoke, overjoyed that he was still alive, but his lips didn't move, his eyes were still closed.

"Alicia, stay calm. Get my phone off the table and call the emergency services. Tell them who and where you are, that there are several people shot and they need to bring the police and at least three ambulances as fast as possible."

I reacted as fast as I could and did as he had ordered. Only two minutes after my call two police officers came running into the sunroom through the garden, their guns drawn. They quickly scanned the room and ordered Dolores and me to step away from the guns that were on the floor. When Dolores didn't move, I pulled her away. The officers approached, their guns still at the ready.

One of the officers looked at Justin, "That's Henreid, he's dead. Headshot straight between the eyes."

"So is this woman here," his partner replied, checking the neck of Mistress Chao for a pulse. Dolores shrieked in despair, wrestled herself loose and tried to get to her but the officer stopped her until I could get hold of her again.

"That guy here is alive, barely but alive. Where is the ambulance?"

Alive?! Master was alive?! Oh, my God. I let go of Dolores and rushed to Master only to be stopped by the same officer who had previously blocked Dolores. He grabbed me and Dolores, who had taken advantage of him being distracted and had rushed to her Mistress and pulled us away.

I heard an electronically distorted voice say something and at the same time, a siren started to get louder rapidly. The police officer ripped Master's shirt off and tore it pieces, trying to administer a bandage to stop the bleeding.

An eternity or two later, two paramedics rushed in and took over, applying first aid, giving Master some injection, trying to stop the bleeding. They were still frantically working on him when two more ambulances arrived but they could only record the deaths of both Mistress Chao and Justin.

Dolores had fallen into a shock and didn't react to anything anybody, whether the paramedics or me, said, anymore. Suddenly, the paramedics working on Master lifted him onto a stretcher and started to carry him away and I quickly got up to follow them but the police officers stopped me.

"Miss, we need you to stay here for questioning."

"No! I'm going with him."

"Miss, we'll take you to the same hospital but we need you to answer a few questions."

"No, not now," I tried to free myself from his grip.

"Officer," one of the medics said, trying to defuse the situation, "these two women are under a severe shock. You will not be able to use their statements. Let us take them to the hospital, we'll keep them separated until you can question them. Ok?"

"Just a minute, doc. Miss, as short as possible. What happened? You will be taken to your husband immediately afterwards."

I looked into his, trying to determine whether he was telling the truth. I decided that obliging was more likely to get me to Master than fighting.

"We sat here drinking tea and chatting when suddenly M... my Nick fell off the chair and I heard a gunshot. Then Justin came in here, screaming and wielding his gun. I don't remember anything else up until I saw Nick point a gun at my ex," she pointed to Justin, "and shoot him. I called the emergency services. Now let me go!"

"Ok. That's enough now but we will have to ask more questions later," he said as he turned to Dolores to ask her for a short account of the events but she was non-responsive.

We were accompanied to one of the ambulances and brought to the hospital where Master was already in the ER being operated. Dolores was taken to a hospital room while I was accompanied to the observation room where several students were watching the proceedings in the surgery room below. They quietened when the head nurse brought me in.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, this is the wife of the victim below and I expect you to be on your best behaviour. I brought her here so that you don't forget that every patient in an ER has an environment, friends and family. He is not just a case, a number or a name on a pad but a human being with hopes and fears like everybody else. Never forget that.

Ms Blue, if you need anything, just ask one of these noobs here, they might be capable of bringing you a beverage without messing up too much."

"Thank you," I replied absentmindedly, my eyes and my focus already on Master on the table below. I could hear the monitor tracking his pulse beeping regularly. That had to be good but I didn't understand much of what was happening in the operating room. After watching for a few minutes, I turned around and looked at the students.

"Can anyone please tell me what they are doing?"

"Yes, Miss," a young black man replied. He quickly consulted his notes, "The patient has a penetrating gunshot wound on his right arm. The x-ray showed no injury to his humerus, his upper arm bone, and somehow miraculously his artery was not damaged, so the doctor can focus on closing the entry and exit wounds. After leaving his arm, the bullet entered his pectoralis, the chest muscle, where it came to a rest. The surgeon is checking whether the ribs were damaged but as far as he could see on the x-ray they are ok so he has to remove the bullet and close the wound."

A young, white woman chipped in, "From the readings on the monitors, we can see that he is currently stable. The surgeons down there are really good and if he can be saved, they will do it but it is still too early to make a prediction."

She put an arm around me and held me. I was grateful for the support she offered but I could feel that she wouldn't be able to replace Master. I needed him back, I needed him to survive.

After thirty more minutes, the activities in the ER started to dwindle and the two surgeons stretched and one of the students walked over to an intercom, activated it and asked loudly, "Doctor, the patient's wife is up here with us. Do you have any news for her?"

"I don't really know how he survived as long as he did but we patched him back together and I think he will make a full recovery."

At hearing this I finally collapsed, crying and sobbing excessively, thanking everybody who would listen. It took me a while before I realised that the two students were still watching over me and helped me get up and accompanied me to the head nurse's desk where they asked where I could wait for Master to wake up. She checked her notes.

"Her husband will be in room six-oh-three and her friend is in six-oh-four. Bring her to the second bed in six-oh-four."

"Can I stay in Nick's room?"

"I'm sorry but we will need to take a quick look at you and the police want to question you as soon as possible."

"I'm fine."

Why did they try to keep me from Master? Of course, I was fine. Exhausted and shaken from the events but my beloved Master lived! I didn't need anything else.

The girl on my left chipped in with a smile on her face, "Let us decide on that. We'll just check your vitals and try to make sure that you don't suffer too badly from shock."

The head nurse took charge again, "Ok. You two are responsible for her and ... Miss, what is your friend's name? She hasn't spoken a word to anyone so far."

"Her name is Dolores Anderson. She is the..." I stopped before restarting, "She was the girlfriend of the woman that was killed, Theresa Chao. I'll try to speak to her."

"Thank you. Can you give me your husband's insurance?"

Husband? I didn't want to leave the impression we were married. Master might disapprove.

"Boyfriend, not husband. I'm afraid no, but both he and I were here in June and Doctor Summer took some blood samples for testing. Maybe he knows?"

"You've been patients here before?" she asked as she turned to the computer and typed something on the keyboard. "Ms Blue, you've been of invaluable help for me. Thank you very much. Now these two, a little less incapable noobs than the rest of the bunch, will take you to your room and look after you."

"Thank you. When can I see Nick?"

"I don't know, I need to ask the Doctor and will let you know."

I thanked her and let the two students lead me away to a room where Dolores was lying on a bed, her eyes wide open but not perceiving anything. The two students took my blood pressure, checked my pulse, listened to my breathing with that thing all doctors carry around with them all the time, shone a small flashlight into my eyes and asked a few harmless questions. Once they were done, they took me to the room next door where a middle-aged woman in grey pants and a white blouse was waiting.

She turned out to be a detective who carefully and respectfully questioned me regarding the events at Mistress Chao's house. When she was convinced that I had told her everything I could, she accompanied me back to the room where Dolores was still lying and I started to softly speak to her. It took some time but finally, she came slowly out of her unresponsive state and started to react to my words.

As I had previously discussed with the detective I let her ask Dolores a few questions to which she was barely able to reply but what she said confirmed my statements so after a quarter of an hour of cautious questioning she was pleased and left us to return to her office.

I took the opportunity to tell Dolores what I couldn't say while somebody was around.

"Don't worry about your future. Master will take you in. He would never abandon you."

A glimmer of hope lit in her eyes, "Really, did he say so?"

"I haven't spoken to him yet. He's still unconscious but I know he will not let you down."

"You can't know."

"I've known Master for half a year and I just know he'll help you. I don't promise that you'll become his sub but he will at the very least make sure that you get a new caring Master or Mistress. You are not a full blown lesbian, right? I've seen you look at Master."

She hesitated shortly before she replied, "I can live with both."

I embraced her strongly, "I promise that Master will take you in if you want him to. He has a big heart and I know he likes you."

There was a knock on the door and a nurse looked in, "Ms Blue, your boyfriend has now been brought to the room next door but he's still sleeping and he probably won't wake up before tomorrow."

I jumped up to rush to Master but before I could enter his room I was stopped by a man in a suit.

"Ms Blue, I'm afraid I can't let you be alone with him. We are quite positive that neither you nor Mr West are guilty of anything but we need to play this by the rules."

With an anger I didn't know I could feel I stopped trying to push past him and confronted him directly, "You let me go in there right now or, God help me, I'll kick you in the balls so hard you will still hear them chime at Christmas."

Both he and the nurse that had followed me laughed out loud at that.

"Ok. Ms Blue, I will let you enter but there will be a detective with you at all times when you are in there. Clear?"

"Move," was all I replied as I rushed past him to Master. How pale he was! But at least I could see his chest rise and fall regularly with his breathing and the monitor that was visualising his heartbeat beeped steadily. I pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down, taking his left hand in mine, holding and kissing it softly or pressing it against my cheek.

A few hours later, I was softly woken by a nurse who led me from the chair in which I had fallen asleep with my head on Master's bed to the room where Dolores was sleeping and gave me a hospital gown which I slipped into before laying down to sleep myself. I abruptly woke sometime later, wondering what had alerted me. I checked my phone and found out that Master would have to get up in three minutes to go to work and I had woken because I was used to getting up a few minutes earlier to prepare his coffee.

Instead, I rose, changed back into my regular clothes and returned to my watch at Master's bedside where the morning nurse found me half an hour later while doing her rounds. The detective came in another thirty minutes later and playfully scolded me for not listening to his instructions regarding being alone with Master.

Around eight, I called Master's office number and Zara answered the phone quickly. I informed her about what had happened and that Master would not be in the office for an unknown period of time and she promised to let everybody know. After this call, I returned to Master's bedside, determined not to leave him alone until he woke.

Nick

Everything was calm, so calm. The blackness was calm, the warmth I felt all over my body was calm, the regularly beeping sound I heard was calm, the muted and unidentifiable sounds of activity around me were calm, even the pain in my right side was calm.