(BLAKE walks onstage and goes over to one of the cops at the scene.)
Blake: Where’s the body?
Officer: Over there. It looks pretty brutal. Whoever did this is one sick SOB. The victim’s name is Tabitha “Temmie” Dreemurr. She worked at a club called Prophecy. The owner of the beachhouse saw her inside. It’s awful. You just need to see it yourself. (The two walk off stage.)
Officer #2: Hey! I think we found something. (He picks something off of the ground.) It’s a pocketwatch. Williams! Get this into a bag! Shields! Smith! We found evidence! (BLAKE and OFFICER run back on stage.) There’s something carved into the back of it, but I can’t read what it says. It looks like someone tried to carve it out completely. He must have left on purpose. This guy wants us to know that he did this. I’ll get this back to the station. You guys check out everything else. He may have left something else.
Officer: The body was found in the bedroom, but nothing else in the house looks touched on. The front door wasn’t damaged and neither was the back door. None of the windows are broken and there’s no other way of entry. The owners of this place were out of town the past two weeks. A key had to of been used, but the owners were the only ones to have one for the house. What do you think, Blake?
Blake: I think we have a psychopath on our hands that we need to get off the streets. Did the owners ever lose a key that could have gotten copied?
Officer: I’ll ask them. They are staying at a temporary apartment downtown until we have everything here cleaned up.
Blake: Call me up when you find out or you find anything else here. I need to get home. My daughter’s there alone and I need to make sure that she’s okay.
Officer: No problem, Detective. We’re going to double check this place and make sure that we aren’t missing anything. We need to get the clean-up crew over here, too.
Blake: I’ll call them on my way. I’ll tell them to come by tomorrow. The place should be cleared out by then, right?
Officer: Yes. The body is already being autopsied. You’ll want to check that out when you can, too. It may lead us to this sick bastard. Call me when you get to your place. I wanna make sure that you and Cassandra are okay.
Blake: Cassandra and I divorced after Emily disappeared. After six months of her being gone, we just gave up and Cassandra filed for divorce. We only just finished finalizing custody for Alexa. To be honest, I couldn’t care less about what happens to Cassandra. She gave up on Emily and kept Alexa from me. Now she’s blaming me for the fact that her life is a mess.
Officer: She quit the force because of a drug addiction, didn’t she?
Blake: She started smoking, but she more so went insane after Emily disappeared. She wasn’t stable. The chief asked her to leave personally. She became unstable. I was worried about her, but she refused my help. She filed for divorce soon after. I don’t know how her new boyfriend can handle her. She’s worse than I’ve ever seen her. Not like I care too much after everything that she has done. I have full custody of Alexa so I don’t have to see Cassandra too much which I’m thankful for.
Officer: Well, good luck. Seems like you have a lot on your plate, Detective.
Blake: Tell me about it, Smith. Be safe out here. This place is dangerous. This guy could still be out here somewhere. Keep an eye out.
Officer: You too, Shields. You don't know who this guy could be after. (Blake nods and walks off stage.)

(Blake walks up to his house where Alexa is sitting on the porch. She sees him and gets up, running over to him.)
Alexa: Daddy! (She runs over to him and hugs his leg.) I’ve missed you so much! How is work? How’s Vicky? (Blake smiles at the nickname for Victor.)
Blake: Hi, sweetie. I’ve missed you, too. (He picks her up.) How has school been? Have you been doing well? Getting good grades?
Alexa: My grades are fine, Dad. You won’t believe what happened at school though. So we’ve had this sub for about two weeks and he’s this really cool guy who plays guitar and skateboards and he used to be in a band and he’s really funny-
Blake: (cuts her off) Wow. He sounds awesome.
Alexa: Dad! Don’t cut me off! Anyway, one of the boys in my class was giving him an attitude, so he grabbed his guitar and sang a song that talked about how he didn’t care about the boy’s attitude and it was so cool.
Blake: That sounds very cool, Alexa.
Alexa: SO how many bad guys have you caught lately, Daddy?
Blake: I’ve been catching a lot of them, sweetheart. In fact, I’m working on a new case right now.
Alexa: Awesome! What’s this one? Kidnapping? Bank robbery? Grand thief? Gang deal?
Blake: It is none of your concern, little one. This one is an adult case. I need to make a call to Uncle Vicky, so how about you go inside and start making us some hot chocolate.
Alexa: Can I add the little marshmallows too?
Blake: Anything for my little princess. I’ll come inside soon. Go watch some cartoons if you want to, Alex. (Alex walks off stage left, Victor walks on stage right). Victor, I was about to call you.
Victor: I decided to come by to see the little one after I finished the paperwork at the office. Though from the look on your face, you have something else that you want to talk about.
Blake: Victor…(He trails off) I don’t think I can take this case. This is a lot of time out of the house and I refuse to allow Alexa to stay at Cassandra’s just because I can’t watch her. This guy, whoever he is, is dangerous too. I  don’t want the risk of him coming after Alexa because of me.
Victor: I don’t know how likely that is, but I guess the risk is always there. I know you won’t let anything happen to her though. You’re the most protective guy that I’ve ever seen when it comes to her.
Blake: Of course I am. She’s my only daughter and I’ve almost lost her once before. I’ve already screwed up with one of my daughters. I can’t lose her too.
Victor: Emily wasn’t your fault, Blake.
Blake: (Yelling) You don’t know anything about that, Victor!
Victor: I know what I’ve heard from both testimonies. Cassandra was the one who lost sight of her. You had nothing to do with her going missing. Hell, you worked yourself to the bone. Believe me, I was there.
Blake: I could have done more to try and find her!
Victor: There was no more that you could have done in the state that you were in! You were shoulders deep in whiskey and you went through a week’s worth of cigarettes in one day! I’m surprised you never ended up with some God-awful illness! I spent more time than I remember just to make sure that you didn’t drink yourself into a coma! There was nothing else that you could have done! I know! I was there! In your state, I’m surprised that I was able to drag you into a shower every week. I had bruises for weeks from you trying to fight me off. I was the one who made sure that you didn’t get kicked off the force. Alexa needed you! It’s not like she had Cassandra to support her! I was taking care of your family more than you were. You and Cassandra spent every waking hour you could trying to find Emily until both of you fell into a pit that I had to drag at least you out of.
Blake: I didn’t ask you to save me, Victor!
Victor: I did it because I care about you, Blake. I was worried that something was going to happen to you and I wasn’t going to stand there and let it happen. I wanted to help you, you oblivious idiot! But you were too busy burying yourself in your own self loathing to notice! You were a mess, Shields! You were the shell of a man that you once were! (Blake closes his fists tightly at his sides.) I made sure you didn’t blow your brains out after Cassandra filed for divorce. You were nothing. Everyone was doing everything possible to find Emily and no one did. It’s not your fault. (Blake throws a punch at Victor. Victor leans out of the way, barely missing it.)
Blake: Where do you get off?! (Alexa walks back on stage)
Alexa: Uncle Vicky! You’re here! (She runs and hugs him.)
Victor: Hey Lexy. It’s good to see you too. You’ve been staying out of trouble right.
Alexa: Of course, Uncle Vicky. I heard yelling out here. Is everything okay?
Blake: Of course, Alexa. We were just talking about your mother. Everything is okay.
Alexa: (Unsure.) Okay. (She looks at Victor.) I’m making hot chocolate. Can you come in and have some?
Victor: I would love to, but I have to head home and get some work done, kiddo. Maybe next time.
Alexa: Aw. Okay, but you’ll stay next time, right?
Victor: I’ll make sure to. I promise. (Looks at Blake.) I’ll see you tomorrow.
Blake: Yeah. (Victor walks off stage right.)
Alexa: Are you coming in, Dad?
Blake: Yeah. Let’s get inside.

(Blake sits in his living room, writing a letter, mumbling to himself.)
Blake: I fully appreciate all the work that you put into the custody battle. I will deliver the money to pay you for your services once I receive the full bill for your work. Your effort is very much appreciated. Furthermore, (He is cut off by his phone ringing. He picks it up and answers it. Another officer is on the other line.)
Officer: We may have found another body, but the details aren’t complete yet. The autopsy team is still trying to get the body together.
Blake: Together? What form was it found in?
Officer: Let me just put it this way. It won’t be easy to get a DNA sample from this one. It was found everywhere. Thing is, nobody saw anything strange.
Blake: Where was it found?
Officer: You know the club that the first victim worked at? What was it? Prophecy or something like that. That’s where. Forensics is still trying to gather a solid blood sample, but it’s everywhere. The body was found in the back room of the club and it wasn’t discovered until an employee went to put something away. He said when he walked in the room smelled metallic and it was extremely hot, making the smell worse. When he turned the lights on, he saw the body...everywhere. It was bad. From what I’ve heard, the blood has already dried so they aren’t able to get a decent sample.
Blake: Four gallons of blood dried up that quickly? No one heard anything. If the scene is as bad as I’m imagining it to be, someone had to of heard something. The body is genuine, right? This isn’t just a prop that our killer setup?
Officer: Everything is as real as it can be. According to our guys though, there isn’t four gallons worth of blood at the scene.
Blake: Missing blood? That’s weird.
Officer: Tell me about it. We’ve got officers checking out the rest of the club. They don’t want you guys coming in until the place is cleared out completely and the body is gathered.
Blake: About that… I don’t think I can- (A doorbell cuts him off.) Sorry. I’ll call you back. I need to take this. (He hangs up the phone and puts it on the table. He walks over to the door and opens it.) What is this? (He brings a package inside and puts in on the table, sitting in front of it.)
Alexa: (Calls tiredly) Daddy? Is that you?
Blake: Yeah, sweetie. It’s just me. Go back to bed. (Alexa walks out.)
Alexa: What is that, Daddy?
Blake: Nothing. Now go back to bed. (She steps back and stands in the hallway, just out of Blake’s sight. Blake looks at the package carefully.) No return address. That’s weird. (He opens the package and pulls out a blanket. Alexa runs out and sees it.)
Alexa: What is that? That looks just like mine! (Blake is frozen staring at the blanket.)
Blake: Alexa, go to your room.
Alexa: But Dad. Whose blanket is that? Is it...Emily’s?
Blake: I told you to go to your room, Alexa. (He throws the blanket back into the box and collapses onto the ground.)

(Blake walks on stage, tired and shaken.)
Blake: So what’s been found? Anything new? Any evidence?
Victor: Blake, what happened to you? You look like you go hit by a bus.
Blake: Nothing. I just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.
Victor: You look worse than just missing out on a night of sleep. You’re a mess.
Blake: I just...look I’m fine. Was anything else found? Were they able to get an identification on the body?
Victor: Caucasian male. Around 18 to 25 years old. No murder weapon found as of yet, but we still have to check out the rest of the club. (A voice comes from the entrance of the club.)
Damon: Get your peasant hands off of me! Release me at once! Who do you think you are?! Do you know who I am?! (Damon runs on stage.)
Blake: Who the hell are you?
Damon: God. You people obviously don’t know how to show respect.
Victor: You people? What does that mean? And how did you get in here? No one is supposed to be here. This is a crime scene.
Damon: I can tell that this is a crime scene.
Blake: Then why are you here? This is for police only. No citizens are supposed to be here.
Damon: I’ve been here since before this became a crime scene. (He removes his jacket to reveal a blood-stained shirt. Victor and Blake both take out their guns.)
Blake: Get on the ground! Someone get in here and cuff him! He’s got blood on him! (Damon smirks as he is forced onto the ground and cuffed. Two officers drag him offstage.)
Victor: Who was that guy?
Blake: I don’t know, but he was at a crime scene with blood on his person. That can only mean he’s a part of this somehow. (Both put their guns away.) Anyway, continue with what you were saying.
Victor: We have reason to believe that the victim was dead before they were...blown up. Due to the lack of blood that was in the room, we believe that the victim was stabbed before they were brought here. We’ve checked the cameras as well, but...well..it’s strange.
Blake: What is?
Victor: There was two hours of footage missing from the camera's memory. It’s just gone. That has to be when the body was brought in. There’s no blood anywhere else, so the body must of had to be carried in. That means…
Blake: That means the guy we just arrested might be our killer. Not only for this case, but for the beach house murder as well.
Victor: You’re probably the best person to be interrogating this guy.
Blake: Why me?
Victor: Look at yourself. You’re intimidating. These rich pricks haven’t seen how threatening you or the other officers can be.
Blake: Rich pricks? Really?
Victor: I recognized him as he was being dragged away. Damon Charles Adamms. His family was the richest family in the country, if not this side of the world. He’s the only living member. Now he’s one of the richest people in the world. What someone like him is doing at a crime scene like this concerns me. You better find out what is going on with him. What ever he’s planning on doing, it can’t be good
Blake: You really think he would try to kill someone? I can’t think of a possible motive for this from him.
Victor: I can’t think of one either, but he’s what we have so far and he’s pretty suspicious.
Blake: I have to agree with you on that. This doesn’t look good. I feel like it was too easy though.
Victor: What do you mean? What was too easy?
Blake: Think about it. This guy comes out of the blue covered in blood. That’s suspicious, but he can’t be our killer. Whoever the murderer is, they don’t want to be found easily. Maybe I’m wrong though. He doesn’t look like someone who would be able to kill someone and get away with it.
Victor: You never know what people are capable of until they are able to do it. You’ll just have to pull the information out of this guy and get him to at least explain what he was doing here covered in blood.
Blake: I’m going to check it out. I don’t trust him as far as I could throw him. I’ll keep you updated.
Victor: Be careful. (Blake nods and both walk off in opposite directions.)

Damon: (Looks down) Well how am I supposed to drink this, Mr. Shields?
Blake: I guess you can’t. Well that’s just a shame, isn’t it? (Throws a file onto the table.) Damon Charles Addams. Age 32. The last living rich Adamms. Tell me why you were at the club this morning with blood on your shirt.
Damon: Isn’t that what you are supposed to find out, Detective? Why people are where they aren’t supposed to be.
Blake: A DNA test was done from the blood on your shirt. The blood matches the victim’s. What are your relations with Tabitha Dreemurr and now, Gilbert Williams.
Damon: I don’t know either of them. I’ve never met them before.
Blake: Then why was Gilbert’s blood on your shirt and Tabitha’s necklace in your pocket?
Damon: Are you a family man, Detective?
Blake: This isn’t about me.
Damon: There’s a tan line on your ring finger. Divorce is a very sad event, no? Especially on the children.
Blake: How did you know that?!
Damon: Your tie was obviously tied by a child.
Blake: Why were you at Prophecy?!
Damon: I don’t have children. Well that’s not true. I don’t have children related to me by blood. There’s this young girl that I’ve been taking care of for the past few years. She’s nine now. The most adorable child you could ever see. Her name’s Emily. (Blake freezes.) Is something wrong, Mr. Shields?
Blake: Someone get in here! (An officer walks in.) Get this bastard to spill everything. Do not release him until you find out why he was there. Record everything that he says. Do not let him get out of confessing to anything. (Blake walks out of the room and runs into Cassandra and Eric.)
Cassandra: Blake. A surprise to see you here. You look like crap.
Blake: It shouldn’t be. I do work here. Look. I need to talk to you.
Cassandra: And why the hell should you? I should have put a restraining order on you when I had the chance.
Blake: I got a package last night.
Cassandra: Good for you. You get mail.
Blake: Would you shut up for one second? I got a package and inside of it...was Emily’s blanket.
Cassandra: You shut your mouth about her!
Blake: She was my daughter, too! And not only that, the bastard that is inside of that room was talking about his “daughter”, Emily who is not his blood relation and is nine years old, the same age that Emily should be.
Cassandra: Keep your trap shut! That is all bull and you know it! You’re just pathetic and you can’t give up on me!
Blake: Like hell that is true!
Cassandra: You should have gotten custody of Alexa! I swear if I find out that you hurt her at all-
Blake: I would never! (An officer runs into the hallway.) Officer: Detective, there’s been a problem.
Blake: What happened?
Officer: We got some information from him. He’s our killer. He knew every detail about each crime scene and explained exactly how he went about each murder.
Blake: Then cuff him.
Officer: We can’t.
Blake: Why not? He’s guilty. Throw him in a cell and we’ll deal with everything else later.
Officer: He’s gone missing. He’s no longer in the interrogation room he was in.
Blake: How is he missing?!
Officer: We were getting the confession from him when the lights went out. Someone turned the lights back on and he was gone.
Cassandra: Where did Eric go? He was just here.
Blake: Set up a perimeter around the block. If this sicko escaped, I don’t want him to get far. Go explore his house as well. He’s probably hidden evidence there as well.
Cassandra: Don’t be stupid, Blake. You have to get a warrant and if he’s as famous as everyone says he is, you may not even be able to get it. Enjoy working your case. I’m finding my fiancé and leaving. (Walks offstage.)
Blake: Come on. Let’s find Adamms and put him where he belongs. (Both run off stage right.)

(Blake is observing some files.)
Blake: This doesn’t make sense. None of this makes any sense. Adamms couldn’t have done all of this alone. There’s too much for him to just have done this alone. His fingerprints are nowhere. His DNA is at neither of the crime scenes. There had to have been an accomplice of some sort. (He pauses.) Alexa... Is she going to be okay at all? How much do I need to worry about her? Is she at risk? God, if she is… I can’t risk anything happening to her. If I lost her… I can’t think like that. This guy isn’t after me.
Eric: It’s a tad bit strange to be talking to yourself alone at night, isn’t it? (Blake jumps slightly.)
Blake: Eric...you- what are you doing here? Cassandra was looking for you earlier. You kind of just disappeared.
Eric: I just went to the bathroom. No big deal.
Blake: I have the right to be suspicious. You disappeared just before there was an incident with a dangerous criminal who was in our custody.
Eric: And he’s out of your custody now, isn’t he?
Blake: Yeah, unfortunately.
Eric: That’s a real shame, isn’t it? Someone extremely dangerous out on the streets...Someone could get hurt.
Blake: Which is exactly why we have officers on every block looking for him.
Eric: It’s a pity you aren’t able to look at his house, isn’t it? You won’t be able to meet darling Emily.
Blake: How do you know about his daughter? There was nothing in our files about her. I didn’t know of her existence before he told me about her.
Eric: You are a card, aren’t you Shields? You really don’t understand what’s happening around you. I wouldn’t expect you to know, though.  You better just watch your back, Detective.
Blake: What does that mean?
Eric: You really are an idiot. Cassandra was right to leave you. I’m just disappointed that we didn’t get to keep Alexa.
Blake: Cassandra is unstable physically, mentally, and financially. Secretaries and tax collectors don’t make a lot. You can’t support a family of three with what you and Cassandra make.
Eric: And you think you can support Alexa alone?
Blake: With my salary I can. I get paid per case. It’s just the two of us. I can keep a roof over her head and have food on the table. Cassandra just wastes all of her money on alcohol, doesn’t she?
Eric: You shut your- That’s a little rude to say about her.
Blake: She was the one who filed for divorce and kept my daughter away from me. She deserves it.
Eric: You weren’t very stable after Emily disappeared. You wouldn’t have been able to take care of her in your state.
Blake: Cassandra was in a similar state. I don’t like the idea that you were watching my daughter.
Eric: Yes. I did have to watch over Alexa. She didn’t approve of me much though. If anything, she avoided me as much as possible. She’s a very rude little girl.
Blake: She’s actually the nicest girl that you could meet. You must have done something to make her dislike you. It doesn’t surprise me though. You’re a naturally unlikeable person.
Eric: No wonder Cassandra left you. You’re just like every cop. You only care about yourself. I should be going, but it was lovely talking to you as always, Blake. I’ll see you soon enough.
Blake: What do you mean by that? What exactly are you planning on doing?
Eric: You’ll find out soon enough.
Blake: Who are you really? Something tells me you’re not just a tax collector.
Eric: (Shakes head.) Foolish idiot. (Walks offstage.)
Blake: What the hell was that? He’s...I can’t worry about that now. (Walks offstage.)

(Blake walks on stage left.)
Officer: Bloody hell, Shields. What has happened to you? You’ve been looking a mess for the past few days.
Blake: I just haven’t been sleeping.
Officer: You should get that checked out. That probably isn’t healthy for you.
Blake: That’s not necessary. This isn’t the first time that I haven’t slept well. It’s just the stress of the case. That’s all. This won’t help. It’s another murder, isn’t it?
Officer: We can’t tell. For all we know, this was a suicide.
Blake: Cause of death?
Officer: Poison. The victim consumed half of the container.
Blake: Container of what exactly?
Officer: Strychnine. Not as quick acting as arsenic or cyanide, but just as bad. A few moments after the injection, the body begins to spasm. After about 2 hours after the poison enters the body, the victim dies of asphyxiation. It’s a painfully slow death.
Blake: Do we have an ID on the victim?
Officer: We found a wallet on the rocks nearby. What’s weird is that it was almost ten feet away from the body. The license on the inside gave us the name. Gabriel Hansen. Age 42.
Blake: Family man?
Officer: From what we’ve found on his person, wife of 18 years and two kids, only about 5 and 7.
Blake: Christ…
Officer: The wife has already been called. (Blake begins to space off.) She doesn’t know the cause of death yet and we haven’t allowed her to see the body until a full autopsy is done. She is going to  need to talk with someone about financial help seeing as she already has a low income and now she has to work overtime to support her. I thought that your sister might be able to help her with that. Anyway, we’ve concluded that the time of death had to of been around 3-4 this morning. A jogger discovered him while she was running by. We’ve taken the wallet and a few other things as evidence, but we’re still looking for anything that might have belonged to the killer. There’s nothing too important that we’ve found yet and- Detective? Are you listening? Detective?! (Blake proceeds to fall onto the ground. The officer sighs.) These detectives are always over-working themselves. Detective! You are at a crime scene! Detective Shields! (Blake immediately gets up.) You need to get home and rest, Blake. This isn’t healthy for you.
Blake: A normal person can go 11 days without sleep. I’ve only gone two. I’m fine.
Officer: I know you. You stayed up for six nights, go home, sleep for an hour, then stay awake for four more nights. I know you better than you think, Detective. We all do. Maybe you shouldn’t be working this case.
Blake: We know who our killer is. I can’t give up now when we are so close to closing this case.
Officer: Blake-
Blake: That’s enough. (Looks down.) What is that? (Picks up a small flip phone.) I’ve seen this before. Does it belong to the victim?
Officer: No. Mr. Hansen had his phone on his person.
Blake: Is there any other evidence that you have found that isn’t the wallet?
Officer: A few belongings that were on the victim, but nothing that would lead us to figuring out who our killer is.
Blake: Give all of it to me. I’ll bring it in. I’m planning on going by the station and I’ll drop it off while I’m there.
Officer: And then you’ll go rest?
Blake: You shouldn’t worry about me. I know how to take care of myself. You don’t need to stress over my well being. I’ve taken care of myself for fourteen years. I can take care of myself until I die. And I can last a few nights without sleep.
Officer: It’s not the sleep that I’m worried about. You’ve been anxious ever since you interrogated Adamms. It’s worrying the chief too. She’s noticed some things that have been wrong. Alexa’s okay right?
Blake: She’s fine. I have Victor watching her right now.
Officer: Tell him to be careful as well. We don’t know what Adamms is capable of.
Blake: He’s fine too I’m sure. Be careful here. Don’t miss anything that we could have against Adamms. (Blake walks off stage.)

(Blake walks in with the evidence. He brings it over to an officer.)
Blake: Here. (Gives to officer.) Bring that down to forensics. See if there is anything they can get from it to figure out anything that we might be missing.
Officer: Yes, sir. (Walks off stage.)
Blake: (Takes out his phone.) I should call Victor to see if there’s anything that he needs me to pick up. (Dials number and puts phone to his ear.)
Victor: Hey, Blake. What’s up?
Blake: Hey, Victor. I’m just calling to make sure that everything is okay. Do you need me to pick anything up? I’m at the station right now dropping some evidence off.
Victor: No, I think we’re fine. (He stays silent for a moment.) There’s something that I need to tell you when you get here.
Blake: What’s wrong? Is it Alexa?
Victor: No. No. This is something that I’ve needed to tell you for a while. Listen Blake, I- (A crash sounds in the background.)
Blake: Victor? What was that? (Alexa screams loudly.) Alexa! (The call drops. Blake quickly calls again.)
Recorder: Your call has been forwarded to an automated voice messaging system. Victor Night is not available to answer your call at the moment. Please leave a message after the beep. (Blake hangs up.)
Blake: Christ. What happened? Smith! Williams! I need a squad car at my place A.S.A.P! Something’s happened to Victor! (Runs offstage.)

(Blake runs on stage where Victor lays unconscious. Blake hurries over to him to see if he’s in a stable condition.)
Blake: Victor? Victor! Come on! You have to wake up! Victor! (Blake checks his pulse and sighs when he feels one.) Smith! Williams! I need an ambulance here! (Officers run in and go on either side of Victor.)
Officer: It looks like he’s suffered an injury to the head. His breathing is stable enough, but I don’t know how long that could last.
Blake: Do whatever you can to keep him stable until the ambulance gets here. I need to go find Alexa. (Blake runs out of the room. The officers work on keeping Victor stable.)
Officer: (Stands up and laughs.) God. He's as gullible as always. This was way too easy.
Officer 2: What should we do about Night here? Leave him or finish him off?
Officer: We weren't given instructions to do anything with him. Besides, we aren't getting paid to kill someone. I'm not taking the risk of getting arrested. Let's get going. Call an ambulance so Shields doesn't expect anything. (Two walk out. Blake runs backs in.)
Blake: Williams?! Smith?! (A car drives off in the distance.) Son of a traitor! Where the hell are those two going?! (Runs over to Victor.) Come on, buddy. You have to stay with me. An ambulance will be here soon. Just keep breathing. You and Alexa are all I have. I can't lose you too. God, what am I going to do? Alexa! Alexa, are you hiding somewhere?! Alexa! Please tell me that you’re okay! (Head falls down. Begins to cry.) Alexa...Please...Where are you? Dammit! I swear Adamms if you have her, I will make sure that you will never see the light of day again! You will rot! Do you hear me?! I will make sure you burn for everything that you have done! (He runs offstage again. Eric and Damon, Eric is carrying Alexa. Both men smirk.)
Eric: You have both his daughters now. Why not take away his best friend too?
Damon: Maybe later. I want him clinging to the last thing that he has before he loses that too. I want to see him become a mess. I want him to be absolutely ruined. He lost his wife and both of his daughters, but it’s not enough for me. You can head out later and find his friend. Just wait for my signal. I want this to plan out perfectly. I will take away everything and leave him to be ruined.
Eric: He’ll lose his job. Without his friend there to support him, he’ll drink himself right off of the force. He’ll be broken and miserable. You’ll make him into nothing.
Damon: And that is exactly what I want him to be. I want him to suffer for the way that he made me suffer. And of his ex-wife? What is of her?
Eric: I’ve got her in the basement of the manor. She’s probably awake by now, but she has no chance of escaping.
Damon: She’ll go straight to Shields if she does.
Eric: I’ll check on her once I have this brat tied up as well. Do you think it was smart to leave Emily alone? Especially if she finds Cassandra and Alexa. You know how she is.
Damon: Emily knows the consequences if she tries to escape again. After all I have done for her, she continues to try and betray me. If she tries again, she knows what will happen. For now, our main priority is destroying Shields.(Both walks off stage.)

Blake: What do you mean you can’t do anything to find her?!
Officer: I’m sorry, sir. She hasn’t been missing for 24 hours so we can’t consider it a missing persons case.
Blake: That’s a bunch of bull! She’s my daughter! My house was broken into and my partner was attacked! This is a kidnapping! Something needs to be done about this!
Officer: Again, I apologize Mr. Shields, but we can’t do anything no matter what. The paperwork needs to be filled out and she needs to be reported as a missing person.
Blake: I know. I’ve been through this process before. (Eric runs in and hurries over to the desk that Blake is at.)
Eric: I need your help! My fianceé is missing! I went to my apartment and the whole place was a mess. Please I need her to be found. (Victor walks in and Blake walks over to him.)
Blake: How are you doing, Victor?
Victor: I’m fine, but Alexa... I’m so sorry, Blake.
Blake: It wasn’t your fault. You were attacked. How is your head?
Victor: I’m fine. It’s nothing. So what is Eric doing here?
Blake: I don’t know, but he’s been acting very suspicious around me. I think he may have something to do with this. Cassandra is missing, apparently. Isn’t that strange though? One night Alexa goes missing and then Cassandra does. It could be a coincidence, but I’m not so sure about that.
Victor: It is strange I admit that. I don’t trust him all that much either. You should probably do some investigation on him. He doesn’t seem as worried at he should be about his fianceé being missing.
Blake: I’m sorry to have dragged you into this. You shouldn’t have been hurt because of me.
Victor: This is what I do, Blake. You would have done the exact same thing for me. I was more than willing to risk my life to protect her. I’m just sorry that I wasn’t able to save her.
Blake: You can make it up to me by helping me catch this guy.
Victor: You bet your life that I’ll help you catch this guy.
Blake: First things first, we need a computer that can’t be tracked.
Victor: What for?
Blake: If we’re going to find this guy, research needs to be done. We need to find out everything about him and any accomplices that he might have. Past, present, and future plans. We need to find everything. Because of protection laws, we can’t legally do research on him, but it’s the chance that we need to take.
Victor: So what we need to do is spend hours to do a bunch of illegal research to find out all the information that we can about a rich kid who apparently has something against you who has probably killed three people and kidnapped your ex-wife and possibly both your daughters all while facing the risk of losing our jobs and getting arrested just for the sake of attempting to throw this guy in jail.
Blake: You don’t have to take the risk-
Victor: Oh no. I’m helping you out. I’m just making sure that I have everything understood. I’ve got a few untraceable computers that we can use. Let’s find this guy and end this once and for all, but if we get arrested, you owe me.
Blake: I’ll buy you a cup of coffee once we get out.
Victor: If we ever get out.
Blake: You’re the one giving us the technology.
Victor: The sooner we do this, the less likely chance that we’ll get caught. No one is looking for us at the moment. This is the chance to sneak away. Besides, Chief probably heard you all the way from her office. You probably have the rest of the day off. You look like you could use it too. You look like crap.
Blake: I’ll probably rest my eyes for a bit once we get our research done. If I’m going after this guy, I’m doing it tonight after he’s out. I’m getting my daughters back, helping Cassandra out, and making sure that this guy gets thrown into prison where he belongs.
Victor: Then let’s get this taken care of.

Act 3 Scene 2
Setting: Damon’s house; That night
(Blake has broken into Damon’s house, and walks blindly through the darkness.)
Blake: Victor, I hope you know what the rest of this plan is going to lead to. Where are the lights? I can’t see a single thing. God, I am going to get arrested.
Damon: Yes you are. Illegal research and breaking-and-entering in one night. My, my. What a surprise this is. (The lights turn on. Damon is sitting in a chair.)
Blake: I thought you were gone!
Damon: I knew that you were stupid enough to try something like this, so I made sure to stay in. I wouldn’t be a good host if I didn’t show up to greet you. (Blake takes out his gun.)
Blake: You have my daughters. (Points gun at Damon.) Give them back to me or I will shoot you.
Damon: I want to see you try.
Blake: Why the hell did you take them?! Answer me, you bastard!
Damon: Because you killed my father.
Blake: What do you even mean?
Damon: (Stands up.) It was five years ago. Charles Adamms. Sound familiar? You were working a case. A drug deal. You shot and killed him. In. Cold. Blood.
Blake: He was a criminal that ran a drug market and killed innocent people. He deserved to die.
Damon: After I found out that it was you, I researched day in and day out. I found out everything about you. When I found out about your daughters, I took one of them when I had the chance. I hired Eric to swoon your ex-wife once the divorced had been finalized. It wasn’t enough though. You weren’t broken. I wanted you destroyed. So I hired those idiots Smith and Williams to take care of your boyfriend. They refused to kill him though, which was unfortunate, but I took care of them myself. While he was dealt with, Eric grabbed Alexa. I knew that would destroy you. It wasn’t happening quickly enough. You weren’t becoming a wreck. I wanted you to rot. And I know exactly how to do it. Emily! Oh, Emily! Won’t you come out? (Emily walks out.)
Blake: (Whispers.) Emily…
Damon: Your precious Emily is here. Alive and well. Look at her. Looks just like her mother, doesn’t she?
Blake: I will kill you Adamms! I swear to God above, I will end you for this. (A yell comes from another room followed by a slap. Alexa is dragged out by Eric. Blake immediately pulls his gun on him. Eric presses his gun against Alexa’s head. Damon does the same with Emily.)
Blake: What are you going to get out of this, you sick bastard?! Killing both of my daughters in front of me?! Who the hell do you think you’re messing with? I will shoot both of you here and now.
Damon: Will you really? You don’t have a clean slate, Detective. I can have you arrested even after you try and kill me. There is evidence everywhere of you being here. You will be sent straight to jail. If I want you, I could even frame you for the murder of those two officers as well. I would do it and I could get away with it. You deserve to be ruined and that is exactly what I intend to do. (Damon pulls his gun on Blake.) I may just kill you right now instead and just get it over with. That is just what I may do. (He c***s the gun.) Goodbye, Mr. Shields. (Emily takes the opportunity and attacks Damon, then runs and grabs Alexa.)
Blake: Get away from here, girls! Run! Get out of here as fast as you can! Hurry!
Alexa: Wait! We can’t leave him!
Emily: We have to. Come on. (The two run offstage.)
Blake: (Turns around.) Now you have me right where you want me. Just keep my damn daughters out of this. If you touch them, I will murder you.
Damon: I’d love to see you try. (Eric hits Blake over the head, knocking him out.)
Eric: He’s a real pain, isn’t he? Let’s just kill him now and get it over with.
Damon: You’re right. Get it over with. (The lights go out and a gunshot is heard.

(Victor is waiting outside of Blake’s house and sees the girls running towards him. The girls run on stage and towards him.)
Alexa: Victor ! It’s Dad! He’s- (Pants) I don’t think he’s (Gasp) You have to help. That guy you guys were after (Gasp) and Eric. I think Dad’s in trouble!
Victor: Alexa. Take a second and breathe. I can’t understand a single thing that you’re saying. Just calm down.
Alexa: (Take a deep breath.) Eric brought my mom and Emily and I to that guy’s mansion. I was in the basement forever, but Emily was taken out about an hour before Dad showed up. Then Eric brought me upstairs and I tried to fight him back. He slapped me and I yelled, causing him to get the attention of Dad. Dad pointed his gun at Eric, but Eric put his gun to my head and that rich guy did the same to Emily. (She stops and tries to catch her breath.)
Emily: Damon was more than ready to shoot me and so was Eric. Then Damon changed his mind and tried to shoot Dad. I took my chance at freedom and attacked Eric. After he was distracted, I grabbed Alexa and ran over here. But as we were leaving, we heard a gunshot. We don’t know what happened, but it was a two against one situation. We would have tried to help, but Dad told us to get out of there. I knew I had to listen to him or it would end badly for all of us. I don’t know what happened though. We need your help. You have to get over there and make sure that Dad is okay.
Victor: Emily...You...you’re alive...I thought...We all thought you were dead.
Emily: No. Not dead. Just imprisoned by that monster. What he’s done...What I saw...I can’t get it out of my head.
Victor: I can’t believe that you’re alive. Wait. Eric? What is he getting out of this kidnapping and murder scheme?
Emily: From what I heard, everything that he could ever want. Damon is a very powerful individual. He thinks that he can do whatever he pleases and that he can get away with it. He’s rich. That’s all that can be said. He can get Eric every single thing that he wants. And all that has to happen was the deaths of eight innocent people. A dancer, a gambler, a family man, two cops, a mother, and two nine year old girls. Damon could pin all of it onto Dad and nothing could be done about it. He could get away scot-free while an innocent man gets sent to prison. It’s what Damon wanted since the day that Dad killed his father.
Victor: Jesus...We need to get you girls to the station. That’s where you two will be safest.
Alexa: And what are you going to do?
Victor: I’m heading up there myself. I have to help him.
Alexa: You can’t go there alone! They could kill you!
Victor: Your dad has saved my life more than a few times. It’s about time that I repay him for everything that he’s done for me. I would kill for that man to pay him back for everything that he’s gotten me through. I’ved saved him once and now I need to save him again.
Alexa: Is there something that you need to tell us, Vicky?
Victor: You both are going to need to testify everything that has happened. Especially you Emily. It’s important that you tell them everything that has happened and everything that you have seen.
Emily: Yes, sir. Um...I have a question…
Victor : What is it, kiddo?
Emily: My parents...Did they...you know…
Alexa: Mom and Dad missed you a lot. Mom went kind of crazy. I’m living with Dad right now.
Emily: I see…
Alexa: (Grabs Emily’s hand.) Maybe they’ll get back together since you came back to us.
Victor: We should get to the station. You two can catch up there. (Victor walks offstage. The kids follow him.)

(Blake and Cassandra have Damon and Eric in handcuffs; Eric has a bullet wound in his side. Cassandra and Blake are arguing.)
Cassandra: You know Blake, I could have left you to get shot!
Blake: Like you would have! You shot Eric because you wanted to!
Cassandra: I would have shot you given the chance!
Blake: Don’t give me that BS, Cassandra. I saved the girls!
Cassandra: From what I heard, the girls saved themselves!
Blake: I was more than ready to get shot to save them. I jeopardized my career to save the three of you!
Cassandra: You’re full of crap as always! You did this so you could play the big hero again.
Blake: The big hero?! Since when have I played the big hero?!
Cassandra: Like you don’t remember!
Alexa: Mom! Dad! You’re okay!
Blake: (Turns) Alexa, what are you doing here?
Victor: I brought them here so Emily could tell the chief everything that she had seen. What happened here?
Blake: After the girls ran out, Eric tried to shoot me, but Cassandra came in from where ever she was at and shot him. took the distraction as a chance to take down Damon. We unarmed the two and brought them straight here.
Victor: You’re okay, right?
Blake: I’m more worried about you.
Victor: More worried about me? I’m fine. You were the one who decided to break into the nut job's place and you nearly got yourself shot.
Blake: Yeah, but that wouldn’t be the first time that that’s happened. You look like a mess though.
Victor: You really need to stop getting yourself into messes like these. It’s really not good for your health.
Blake: Right. That reminds me. So while I was talking to our killer over there, he brought you up. Not by your name though. He called you something completely different.
Victor: Whatever he said was just a lie. You can’t believe anything that he would say.
Blake: No. No. It was nothing bad. I’ll just tell you over dinner later. Just come by my place at like nine. I’ll make spaghetti. (Turns and walks towards Cassandra.)
Victor: Blake Shields! Did you just- You can’t even cook a decent meal!
Cassandra: So what happens now?
Blake: First and foremost, we need to get these two away from the girls. Can we get an officer to take these two away?!
(An officer walks in.)
Officer: Did you need something, Detective?
Blake: Get these two into questioning. Make sure every single exit is locked and guarded.
Officer: Yes, sir. (The two are taken offstage.)
Cassandra: Well now that they are dealt with-
Blake: The girls should go into your custody.
Cassandra, Alexa, and Emily: What?!
Blake: I’ll help pay the bills and take care of them, but Alexa was with me one night and she got kidnapped. As long as I’m working this job, I can’t take care of them.
Cassandra: And who says that I can? I’m working too.
Blake: I know, but you won’t have multiple people with grudges against you coming for them. You’re the only one can can keep them safe.
Alexa: Dad!
Cassandra: Even if I thought that this was a good idea, you were given custody of Alexa by a judge. It’s another process for the both of them that could take months and you’ll probably still end up receiving custody or them.
Blake: I can’t risk losing either of them again. If I have them stay with me, there’s a giant risk that I could have someone exactly like Damon come after me and try to hurt them.
Cassandra: You’re delirious, Blake. You need to think this through.
Blake: I am thinking this through and I’ve already made my decision. Because of my idiocy, you and the girls almost got killed. If I screwed up again, you three wouldn’t be standing there. I could have gotten you killed. I can’t live with that risk again.
Cassandra: Blake-
Blake: I’ll call the judge myself. You’re the better person for them to have as a parent anyway. You’re a better influence. It’s best if you just take care of them.
Cassandra: Blake, that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard you say in your entire life!
Blake: Just takes the girls back home. It’s safer for them to be there.
Cassandra: So that’s it then?! You arrest the bad guy and abandon your daughters.
Blake: I never said a single thing about abandoning them. I can still see then. But they are at a greater risk living with me. They are still my daughters no matter what, but if someone comes by to hunt me down and they see those two in my house, the girls will be taken care of first and I cannot live with that.
Cassandra: Fine. I’ll take the girls. (Grabs the girls and drags them out of the station.)
Victor: Are you-?
Blake: We have questioning we need to get taken care of. Let’s get that done with, so we can send these bastards off to jail.
Victor: And Cassandra?
Blake: Still going to be my ex-wife and the mother of my daughters. There’s nothing that can be done with her. Come on. I want to send these two to jail myself. (Walk offstage. Lights go out.)