Breaking Ties: An Ensemble Story (Read 248,597 times)

[Kpatch]

So good to see Philip and Chloe again!

Henry is doing a great job with the gunman. I hope he doesn't get hit in the crossfire.

[André DiMera]

It seems like Henry was about to get through to the gunman. Glad the police showed up, though.

Love Chloe’s idea of a party!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[heroicmuse]

Week 497 - 4
“I think that’s a fantastic idea,” Philip said. “We need more positivity in our lives. The kids have been weighed down ever since my father died, and then to lose Doug only a year later… well, it’s time they have some happiness. Plus you know I love a good party. I could fire up the old grill, make my famous Phiklip Kiriakis burgers that rival the Brady Pub’s…” He rubbed his hands together. “Hey! Here’s an idea. Why don’t we combine it with something for July 4?”

“I don’t know,” Chloe said. “I love your excitement, but I want the kids to feel like this is something special, just for them, you know? Newsies, they love the July 4th celebration in the park.”

“True.” Philip sighed. “When I was a kid, my brother Bo threw the best parties. The absolute best. Every July 4th he’d barbecue and invite half the town. He’s gone and so is Doug, who threw the second best July 4th parties in Salem. I kind of wanted to keep the tradition going. The Hortons have Christmas, we have July 4th. Or did til now.”

Chloe patted his hand. “If it’s that important to you, it’s important to me.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to say yes to something you don’t really want, just to please me.”

“Positive,” CHloe said, “as long as we do something else just for the kids. How about when they finish their last ady of school, we take them out for ice cream?”

“Deal,” Philip said. He and Chloe kissed.


The gunman grabbed Henry and pulled him to his feet, pressing the gun against his side. “Yeah, I don’t think so,” he said. “This guy here’s my insurance policy. You’re gonna back off me and let me take him out of here or else he’s going out in a body bag.”

“You don’t want to do that,” a cop said. It was Prescott, who had the most experience with hostage situations. “You’ve watched enough movies to know how this ends if you try that. See, me and the cops in here, we’re the only ones who care about saving your life. There’s snipers right outside and they won’t hesitate to shoot you in the back of the head if that’s what it takes to get this doctor safely out of your grip. So if you wanna live, stop trying to use him as a bargaining chip. Drop the gun and put your hands where we can see them.”

The gunman’s eyes darted back and forth. Henry said, “Come on, man, you’re young. You’ve got a whole life ahead of you. Don’t end it prematurely.”

“Shut up!” the gunman said. “I can’t think.”
The cops trained their guns on him, but Prescott held up his hand. “We’ll giv eyou 60 seconds,” he said, “but then you’d better drop that gun and let this man go.”

The gunman swallowed hard. All of a sudden, Henry twisted, elbowing him and knocking him backward. The gunman was caught off guard and lost his balance, falling to the ground. The gun flew out of his hand and the cops all held their breaths til it landed and they saw it didn’t go off.

One of the cops picked it up so no one could get hurt while Henry threw himself backward on top of the gunman, pinning him down.

“Thought I couldn’t fight cause you had me tied up, huh?” Henry said. “Turns out I learned a thing or two about how to defend myself when I started working here.”

The gunman whimpered and struggled. “Please,” he said. “I told you from the start I had no beef with you. I was only doing what I had to do.”

“It’s over,” Henry said. “You’re the one whose about to be tied up. Surrender to the oops, all right? I’ve seen enough things go down to know if you cooperate now, they’ll go easier on you.”

The gunman hesitated, then nodded.

“All right,” Prescott said. “We’re gonna get Dr. Shah off you and then I need you to lie still and stretch your arms and legs out as far as they’ll go.” Two cops helped Henry up while the rest pointed their guns at the would-be kidnapper and waited to see if he’d comply.

He did, slowly spreading his legs and stretching his arms out.

A cop cut the zipties off Henry while Prescott came forward and cuffed the kidnapper’s hands behind his back before patting him down to make sure he didn’t have any other weapons hidden. He found a knife in his sock, which he confiscated.

“What’s your name, kid?” Prescott asked.

The kid looked down at the ground. “They call me K-Man on the streets.”

“I can’t use your street name,” Prescott told him. “I need your full name.”

“Kevin Marshall,” the kid said.

“You under 18?”

The kid nodded. “Just turned sixteen last week.”

“And this is what you decided to do for your birthday.” PRescott shook his head sadly. “All right. Cause you’re underage, we have to notify your parents or guardians you’ve been arrested so when we get to the station you’re gonna need to give us that info. In the meantime, listen up while I explain your rights to you.” He took out the card that listed Miranda rights and flipped it over to the juvenile version. “You’ve got the right to remain silent, which means you don’t have to answer our questions if you don’t want to, no matter what the reason. If you do talk to us, we can use anything you say against you in court, which means we can testify to what you said for the prosecution in your case. You also have the right to an attorney and/or a parent or guardian present for any questioning and when you go to court. If you want an attorney and you and your guardians can’t afford one, we have to give you one free of charge. Any questions?”

“Not like this is the first time I’ve ever been locked up,” Kevin said. “I know the drill.”

“Let’s go, then,” Prescott said.

Henry shook his head sadly as the boy was dragged off. He couldn’t believe a sixteen-year-old was already such a hardened criminal.

“You okay, Dr. Shah?” a cop asked him.

Henry nodded, but he had tears in his eyes.

[André DiMera]

Glad Philip and Chloe came to an agreement. The party should be great!

Thank goodness Henry was able to get out of that, and that Kevin was arrested!

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

I don't know what Newsies is but I'm glad Philip and Chloe agreed to a celebration.

Relieved that the hostage crisis is over and Henry is unharmed.

[heroicmuse]

Week 497 - 5
Prescott sat at his computer, typing out his arrest report. Kevin Marshall had already been processed and was locked up downstairs, awaiting his arraignment and then probably transport to juvenile detention.

Prescott shook his head sadly, remembering the defiant look in the kid’s eyes and how he declared almost proudly that he had been arrested before. “Sixteen years old and already throwing his life away,” he said to himself. “What the hell got into this kid?”

Horowitz came up to his desk. “Commissioner Carver says he wants us to question the Marshall kid now that he’s been processed.”

“Yeah. Okay.” Prescott got up slowly.

Horowitz put her hand on his shoulder. “Hold up a sec. What’s eating you?”

Prescott sighed. “A couple things but mostly that we just locked up a sixteen-year-old who doesn’t care that he’s facing a long jail sentence. You remember what you were doin’ when you wer ehis age? Cause I sure as hell wasn’t holding up people at ugnpoint and acting proud to get caught.”

Horowitz bit her lip. “Worst thing I ever did was steal a bunch of junk from an S-mart,” she said. “I was arrested when I was thirteen but instead of pressing charges the cops released me to my mom with a warning that I needed to turn things around before something worse happened. Next thing I know, I’m being signed up for the Explorers program, you know, that thing we do where we teach kids about our jobs and I had to shadow the cops that arrested me all summer long. That’s what got me on a good path, otherwise I might be talking to you from one of those holding cells.” She looked away, embarrassed. “Guess you didn’t know that about me, huh?”

Prescott shrugged. “I’m not saying I was an agel either. But stealing a couple tubes of lipstick or whatever’s not the same as holding people up at gunpoint. He tried to take a doctor hostage. Henry Shah went into that treatment room in good faith, hoping to help a kid he thought had a heart problem, and next thing he knows he’s got a gun pointed at his chest.” He shook his head. “Ruby Michaels was only fourteen too when we took her in for all those robberies. The Fire Lions, they’re recruiting them when they’re barely out of childhood and making sure their futures are ruined before they’re old enough to graduate high school.”

“Yeah, well, not like these kids aren’t choosing the wrong path too, not that it helps to have idiots pushing them down it.” Horowitz stood. “Look, this is probably all about Natalie Simmons being on trial. We knew there’d be an uptick in crime around that. But the good news is, once she’s put away —”

“If she is.”

“She’d better be cause this is pretty much an open and shut case and she knows it. That’s why she’s trying to cause chaos and scare the witnesses out of testidying. Anyway, the point is… once she’s locked up, the Fire Lions are gonna need a new leader, and their weakness is our gain. We can infiltrate and round them up much easier than usual.”

“I hope so,” Prescott said, “and that that’s the end of this cause there are kids in Salem who don’t need to be led down that path.”

“Yeah. Well, it starts with questioning the one we got today, so let’s go.”

Prescott nodded slightly, but his shoulders were hunched over as he headed toward the interrogation room.


The EMTs had insisted that Henry get checked out. He was sitting in an exam room now, wearing a hospital gown, when there was a knock on the door.

“You can come in,” he said. “I’m dressed.”

The door opened a crack and then Valerie came in. “Is it true?” she said. “That patient was no patient at all? He was a trap that was meant for me?”

Henry nodded. “He kept asking for you and then at some point he pulled a gun. But it’s all right. I haven’t worked in the ER all these years without knowing how to deal with belligerent patients.”

Valerie pressed her hands together in front of her face. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “This… this is my fault. They’re after me because my daughter is testifying against Natalie Simmons.”

Henry shrugged. “I knew it was a possibility. Why do you think I wanted to walk you to your car? I mean, I didn’t think it would happen here in the hospital with a gun but…” His eyes widened. “Hannah. Is she safe?”

Valerie nodded. “I can’t go into details, but the police are aware that there are people who want to stop her from saying what she knows in court.”

“Good.” Henry smiled slightly. “And you’re safe, at least for now.” His smile faded. “That’s only two out of three. What about your husband?”

Valerie’s eyes widened and she grabbed her phone to call David.



“Thank you for entertaining this motion so quickly, your Honor,” Justin said. “Roman Brady has nothing of substance to offer the prosecution. He was not present at the scene of the alleged crime, so the only purpose of him testifying is to dig up dirt from my client’s past, which would be highly prejudicial.”

“Oh, come on,” Sloan said. “That’s lawyer speak for ‘this witness can sink my client’s case and I don’t like it’ and you know it. Any evidence that proves your client is guilty as sin -- which we have a mountain of -- will ‘prejudice’ the jury against a guilty verdict. Should I just not put on a case so that the jury doesn’t hate him as much as he deserves?”

Judge Walston held up his hand as Justin opened his mouth to respond. “Please do not talk to one another directly, particularly not if your aim is to be sarcastic. Now, Ms. Petersen, what is your reason for wanting to call the former Commissioner, particularly when he refuses to testify voluntarily?”

“To get under Rafe’s skin by turning his best friend against him,” Justin said under his breath.

Judge Walston raised his eyebrows. “Something you’d like to share, Mr. Kiriakis?”

“No, your Honor. I apologize.” Justin squeezed his briefcase handle tightly to help himself stay calm.

“Then I’ll ask Ms. Petersen again, and perhaps this time she can be the one to answer.”

“Mr. Brady’s testimony will show a pattern of concerning behavior,” Sloan said. “Mr. Hernandez has covered up similar crimes in the past, and Mr. Brady fired him over it.”

“A decade ago, and then rehired him,” Justin said. “That’s hardly relevant.”

“Like I said, it goes to pattern. Mr. Brady also can talk about five years ago when he suspended Mr. Hernandez for conduct unbecoming of an officer.”

“Under duress,” Justin said, “and you know it as well as I do.”

Judge Walston sighed. “Mr. Kiriakis, why should I dismiss this subpoena rather than you cross-examining the witness if he should testify at trial?”

“It’s ridiculously prejudicial, your Honor. As I said at the outset, he knows nothing about this alleged crime and can’t do anything more but reluctantly share ancient history about my client’s behavior.”

“And like I said, it goes to pattern of behavior,” Sloan said. “I have the right to build a foundation for my easy-to-prove claim that Mr. Hernandez is a career criminal who has too often used his badge to cover up the crimes of people he cares about.”

“Oh, please,” Justin said. “Even you can’t be that desperate.”

“Hey!” Judge Walston banged his gavel. “I have now told each of you once to refrain from making snide remarks to one another. The next person who does it will spend a night behind bars for contempt. Do I make myself clear?”

The attorneys both bowed their heads and mumbled, “Yes, your Honor.”

“Good. Now, I will be back in five minutes with my ruling. Behave yourselves until then.” Judge Walston banged his gavel before he got up and left the bench.


Meanwhile, in another courtroom down the hall, Natalie Simmons’ lawyer was speaking in front of Judge Hildebrand.

“It’s enormously prejudicial for these witnesses to testify via an online video chat app rather than in court,” he said. “It sends the message to the jury that my client is so scary her witnesses can’t bear to be in the same room with her before they’ve said a word. Plus, she has a right to face her accusers. That’s in the Constitution. Sixth amendment, in case anyone needs a refresher.”

“I’m familiar,” Judge Hildebrand said dryly, “and I would suggest you refrain from the type of courtroom humor that could come across as condescending. The people’s response, please.”

Rubin gripped the sides of her podium tightly. “Your Honor, the two witnesses are currently in protective custody to ensure that they survive until their day in court, so forcing them to testify in person defeats the purpose of protecting them. And yes, I’m sure Mr. Saxton will say that there is security in court, but let me remind you that the defendant’s brother was fatally shot in open court, and therefore it is not only possible but probable that someone would hurt or even seek to kill these witnesses before they can take the stand. Therefore, the only way to keep them safe is to allow them to testify by closed circuit television. Now, I’m sorry if that seems prejudicial, but perhaps if the defendant had spent her time since her arrest preparing her defense instead of attempting to intimidate the witnesses against her into silence, she wouldn’t be in a situation where she can’t be in the same room with the people testifying against her.”

Judge Hildebrand nodded. “So your position, then, is that for the safety of the witnesses, they must testify remotely?”

“Yes, your Honor.”

Judge Hildebrand turned toward the defense attorney. “And yours is that this would create insurmountable prejudice so that your client cannot get a fair trial?”

Saxton beamed. “Exactly, your Honor.”

“Very well. I understand the arguments and will take a few minutes to consider them before giving you my opinion.”

[André DiMera]

I hope Horowitz is right about it being easier to infiltrate the Fire Lions when and if Nat goes to prison.

Glad Henry’s okay. Hope David is, too!

I really hope Judge Walston sides with Justin!

Well this Saxton guy is a creep. Rubin makes a good point. Hopefully the judge will listen.

Can we please have previews, heroicmuse?

[Kpatch]

Henry is a saint. Let's hope David's home safe.

[heroicmuse]

Thank you André DiMera and Kpatch for your comments this week.

I'm so excited for Chloe and Philip's party! We've only got a couple weeks to go before the big event, and in the meantime there's plenty of drama to spare. Read on for spoilers...

Coming Up on Breaking Ties...

Tensions rise in the safe house as Hannah demands to know more about Jeremy's past. Will his revelation about the warrants for his arrest in South Africa strain the fragile peace, or will his openness help build understanding, especially with Hannah?

A new threat rises against Hannah too, though she doesn't know it, when the judge who has to decide whether to let her testify remotely is the same one who sentenced her in the past. Judge Hildebrand believes Hannah is a criminal who didn't get punished nearly severely enough, but will she rule based on bias or put her feelings aside? And elsewhere, when Valerie finally gets ahold of David, he voices an opinion that the best way to keep them all safe is to tell the DA that Hannah has changed her mind about testifying...

Elsewhere, Daniel is touched and pleased that Philip extends an invitation to him and Jennifer, but his joy is tinged with grief as Philip's interactions with Parker open an old wound.

And finally, Rory confides in JJ about Julie's opinion of his ability to handle his inheritance responsibly and his hurt feelings over it... and something else big in his life.

[André DiMera]

Hopefully Hannah will be understanding when Jeremy reveals what he did in the past.

I hope Judge Hildebrand rules fairly. Don’t agree with David.

Glad Philip invites Daniel and Jennifer to the party.

Wonder what Rory will tell J.J., besides his feelings about Julie’s ideas.

Thanks for the previews, heroicmuse!

[Kpatch]

Emotional week! I can't wait, especially for the Philip/Daniel scenes. I think Daniel will see that Parker considers Philip more his father than Daniel.

Rory and JJ! Where it all began.

[heroicmuse]

Week 498 - 1
At the safe house, Hannah sank into a seat at the kitchen table. Chanel smiled at her and said, “Um, “Jeremy made the breakfast burritos and I made muffins and I know it’s not breakfast time, I don’t think anyway, but…” She trailed off. “Sorry. You probably don’t want to hear my voice at all and here I am throwing all sorts of words into the air that don’t need to be there.”

“No, it’s fine.” Hannah sighed. “I’m still not over what you did to Kenneth but he wants to be forgiving and we’re stuck here so I guess I have to be.” She stared at the table. “Hit me with a burrito, I guess.”

“Coming up,” Jeremy said. “You’re not allergic to gluten or anything, are you? They didn’t give us anything special to work with.”

“Nope,” Hannah said. “No allergies.”

Jeremy handed her a burrito on a plate. She mumbled her thanks and then got up to get a fork and knife. When she sat back down, she said, “How about I was half expecting to stand in line with a tray and hope no one tries to beat me cause they think I took their space?”

“It does kind of fell like that, huh?” Chanel said. “I could tell you some stories about jail too, but I won’t.” She sighed. “I’d like to forget those days."

Jeremy rubbed her shoulders. “Hopefully we’ll put this all behind us soon. Except me.” He sighed. “I really might have to go back to South Africa, babe.”

“Let’s not worry about that now,” Chanel said. “First I gotta survive this trial and then we’ll get you cleared up.”

Kenneth frowned. “South Africa?” he said. “What on Earth, man?”

“Long story,” Jeremy said, “and one I doubt you guys want to hear.”

“I want to.” Hannah’s voice was flat. “If we’re gonna be sharing space we need to know what we’re dealing with.”

“Nothing terrible,” Jeremy said. “At least, hopefully you won’t think so since it was a long time ago and I heard you had a past too.”

Hannah’s eyes narrowed. “Mine was for nonsense, but I did my time.”

Jeremy held his hands out. “I wasn’t trying to be offensive.”

“Just tell them,” Chanel said. “It’s not like they can use it against us. I mean, we’re all stuck here without phones or anything, so who are they gonna tell?”

“And we don’t do stuff like that anyway,” Kenneth added, putting his hand on Hannah’s shoulder. “So go ahead, Jeremy. What’s your story?”

“All right, fine,” Jeremy said. “I’ve got warrants for my arrest in Cape Town cause I was on probation after punching a store manager who wouldn’t let me steal a candy bar and then like an idiot I ran away to the States to live with my aunt instead of staying in town like I was supposed to. And now there’s warrants for my arrest in another country and I might not be able to put it behind me unless I go turn myself in and sit in a Cape Town jail for being an idiot. All right?”

His eyes darted back and forth from Hannah to Kenneth, looking for some clue as to how they were going to react.


Justin met Nicole out in the hallway. “I’m waiting for the judge to come back with an important decision in Rafe’s case,” he said, “but I have a few minutes, assuming you’re here as Rafe’s girlfriend and not as a reporter.”

“You know what they say about assumptions,” Nicole said lightly. “Is it true that that snake disguised as a human being is trying to subpoena Roman to testify against Rafe?”

“Officially, no comment,” Justin said. “Girlfriends of the defendant might get more details off the record.”

“Fine,” Nicole said. “I won’t broadcast anything on the six o’clock news, though if the judge crushes certain cockroaches under his heel, I want to be first in line to get the scoop.”

“Judge Walston doesn’t crush people, even ones who deserve it,” Justin said, “but I”ll keep you in mind. Now you promise you’re not recording this?”

Nicole nodded. “Don’t even have a phone on me.”

“All right,” Justin said. “Yes, Roman’s been subpoenaed, but I just made my best arguments for why it’s ridiculous and now we’re waiting to see if the judge will agree with me or whether he thinks the nonsense coming from the other side makes more sense than I do.”

Nicole crossed her arms. “How long do we have to wait for?”

“No telling,” Justin said. “I’d think the judge would have only taken a few minutes to decide this because in my opinion it’s obvious, but I don’t make the rules. Now if you’ll excuse me…”

“Wait.” Nicole’s voice was soft. “Justin, please. I know this is just a probable cause hearing and even if the case doesn’t get thrown out, it doesn’t necessarily mean Rafe is going to jail, but as someone who loves him, I have to know… how bad is it?”

Justin sighed. “It’s… not great so far, but I’m confident we can — “ His phone beeped. He glanced at it. “Judge’s back so you really will have to excuse me.”

Nicole watched as he hurried into the courtroom, frowning and pressing her arms against her chest.


Valerie frowned as she got David’s voicemail. “At least your phone’s turned on,” she said, “but I need to hear your voice and know you’re all right.” She hung up.

“Nothing?” Henry said.

Valerie shook her head. “Maybe he has it on silent. He does that sometimes when he’s working.” She let her breath out slowly. “He’s going to think I’m a crazy person, but I’m calling him again.”

She called again.

David’s phone was on a countertop. It lit up with her name and number as she called.

[André DiMera]

Wonder what Hannah and Kenneth will say. At least they agreed to eat what Jeremy cooked.

Glad Justin told Nicole what he could. Can’t wait for the judge’s decision!

Like Valerie, I wonder why David isn’t answering.

Great chapter, heroicmuse!

[krw627]

Your last sentence concerns me: "David's phone was on A countertop". Who's?

[Kpatch]

I have the same question as krw627. Where is David?