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Darkness Rising	By : SaMe Category: M through R > Once Upon A Time In Mexico Views: 1846 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Once Upon a Time in Mexico, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Darkness Rising

A Once Upon a Time in Mexico
story by Merrie

Disclaimer: Robert who? SJ is all mine!
Mine I tell you!! ~ is carted away by nice men in white with butterfly nets~

Summary: Sands and Jeffrey, after having a good long
homicidal run have finally been caught. So what happens next? And how the hell
does a wanted psychopath wind up in the CIA anyway?

Characters: Jeffrey, Sands, Roland Rivers, Emily Brisbane,
Lauren Drasden, Julian Manchester and Dr. Claire Harrington

Author�s Note: Well it�s been a year and a half since this
has been updated�well not quite but close�and I am sorry for that. So without
further ado, the new chapter!

Rating: R for extreme violence, graphic imagery and
language.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Renewed
Acquaintances

�I feel like Hannibal Lector,� Sands muttered aloud as one
of his armed entourage of guards tightened the strap holding his arm to the
wheelchair he had been forced to sit in.

Lauren Drasden stood watching and smirked. �You should have thought
of that before you went out and killed all those people,� she said dryly. �Stop
your whingeing or I�m going to ask one of these fine gentlemen to include a
gag.�

�You wouldn�t dare. You enjoy the pleasure of my
conversation too much to do something foolish like that,� Sands responded with
a grin and a lazy loll of his head against the back of the wheelchair.

�I just have to take you for a �walk.� There�s nothing in
the hospital bylines that says I have to listen to you,� Lauren pointed out as
she checked and double checked the restraints, never moving closer than was
necessary to Sands.

Sands laughed. �The idea that you have to take me on �walks�
is hilarious. You don�t look like one to care about ethics, Harrington either,
so why bother with pretenses? Why not just keep me caged in my little cell of a
room and throw away the key? I know that�s what the CIA�s urging you to do,�
Sands murmured.

Supposedly it was unethical to keep a prisoner in restraints
for long periods of time without some kind of respite, even if that prisoner
was a confessed murderer. Lauren didn�t agree with this concept at all but
Sands had behaved himself over the past few weeks as he healed and her
conscience would be screaming at her if she didn�t do this one small thing for
him. �Oh I�m sure you�ll be put there soon enough. But apparently they seem
some insane need to try you first.�

�Yeah, the law is funny that way,� Sands murmured with a
smirk. �They�ll probably just put me to death anyway. It�s no big deal.�

Lauren snorted. Only a truly insane man could manage to be
so glib about being executed by the state for his crimes. �Actually knowing my
luck they�ll probably deem you twisted enough to throw you into a padded cell
for the rest of your life. And since we seem to get along so well, they�ll probably force me to look
after you. Life sucks sometimes.�

�Well you could just let me go and you wouldn�t have to put
up with me ever again,� Sands offered with a slight grin before turning
completely serious. �They�re not locking me up. I�d rather die.�

Lauren nodded in silence. It wasn�t a view she hadn�t heard
before. Many of her patients would have rather chosen death or imprisonment
than spend a lifetime in an institution such as this one. �You�re not going to
be let go, Sands. You might as well stop asking. And I�m sure the courts will
deem you aware of your actions when you killed those people. You will surely be
put to death.�

�You really think so?� he asked bemusedly, and Lauren was a
bit unsettled by the sound of hope in his voice. He truly wanted to be put to
death if the only other option was a lifetime spent in a padded cell and
straightjacket. She nodded in response to his question though. �The reason I
ask is because I haven�t always had the best luck when it comes to dealing with
the law.�

�I�m aware of that,� Lauren said evenly as she remembered
just what had happened to him all those weeks ago. He had barely been out of
surgery when a member of the CIA had thought it necessary to beat the shit out
of him. Knowing Sands as she did now she knew without a doubt that he had the
singular ability to drive men to extreme measures in dealing with him but that
did not excuse what the man Rivers had done.

Sands grinned then and Lauren could tell he was beginning to
lose what tenuous grasp of lucidity he held right now. �Now what are you going
to do with us, Lauren. We�re tied, we�re bound. We�re in your control. You like
that, don�t you? You like being in control. We like it too. We understand your
desires, your lusts. You want us,� Sands tossed his head back to stare up at
the ceiling, exposing his pale throat as if he wanted her to bite it. Knowing
his�proclivities, that probably wasn�t far from the truth. �They can stay and
watch,� he said breathlessly, gesturing to the two armed guards with a slight
nod. �Just give into what we both want, Lauren. Give a poor bastard one last
fuck before the end. You won�t even have to undo the restraints.�

Lauren scowled, forcing away the unwanted stab of arousal
that she always felt when he asked her such things, despite her rational
disgust at the asking. Her body assured her that it could be good between them,
he was more than handsome and his requests certainly were�provocative, but her
mind cried out in disgust and revulsion. He was a murderer. A monster who lived to manipulate others as he was manipulating her
now. �Save your propositions, Sands. I�m not interested.�

Sands laughed and she just barely kept herself from
flinching at the sound. �You�re lying. We can practically smell the lust on
you, Lauren. Be the bad girl. Give in to what we both want. Make me scream,
Lauren. Make me beg for your touch. You know you could. I�m in your control.
Just give in.�

�If you don�t shut your mouth and leave Ms. Drasden alone I�m
going to show you just what pain is, you sick bastard,� one of the guards spoke
up before she could respond.

Lauren visibly groaned at her erstwhile protector�s comment.
When were the fools in charge of this hospital going to send her guards that
knew better than to try and play to Sands� games? The poor bastard was falling
into Sands� trap even now.

Sands turned to the guard and grinned, ignoring Lauren�s
groaning. �Would you now? And how would you do that? Are you a sadist like me,
Joe?�

Joe the hospital guard started at how Sands had possibly
learned his name-he checked to make sure there wasn�t a nametag on his shirt
and frowned to see that indeed their wasn�t-and glowered at him in anger. �I am
nothing like you, you sick son of a
bitch. Speak to me that way again and I�ll shoot you.�

Sands sighed, his good humour gone. It was hard to stay in a
good mood with all the fucking drugs they kept pumping into him, but it was
even harder to take pleasure into manipulating someone so easily manipulated.
�You�re not worth our time,� he muttered to the now purple-faced guard. �Driver? Let�s get out of here,� he called backwards to
Lauren. �You and I can stop for a quickie on the way.� He winked, making sure
that the guard saw the gesture. The guard did and as Sands had predicted he
lunged towards him, hands outstretched to beat and abuse.

Sands didn�t bother to flinch or fight back. He couldn�t do
much of anything except glare seeing that his hands were strapped to the chair
he was pushed around in. He just lifted his chin in expectation of a blow that
never came.

�Enough,
Joe. He�s just trying to goad you and apparently it�s
working. Stop being such an idiot and pull yourself together. I don�t care
where you go, but you can�t stay here,� Lauren hissed, not moving from her
position between him and Sands no matter how much she might want to. Sands was an arrogant prick who she had wanted to slug more
than a few times herself but she hadn�t. And she wasn�t about to let anyone
else give into the temptation that she was forced to deny herself either.

�But you can�t�� the guard started,
turning to his fellow guard-Chris she thought his name was-with a pleading look
for solidarity. Chris to his credit hadn�t moved a muscle throughout this whole
thing, just watched the proceedings with a detached eye. He wasn�t an idiot.
Lauren could see that and he would be allowed to remain.

�I can and I am. Get out,� Lauren said evenly, pointing at
the door. �I�ll be fine with Chris. Oh and if you�re so easily manipulated by
men who can�t otherwise lay a finger on you I suggest you look into a new line
of work.�

Seeing that his fellow guard was going to be no help
whatsoever, Joe turned on a polished heel and left the room, muttering �I won�t
be sorry when he kills that bitch,� just loud enough for Lauren to hear.

Sands opened his mouth to give a parting comment but the
fierce glare Lauren leveled on him kept his mouth shut for the time being.

�Would you like me to radio for a new guard to be sent up, Miss?� the remaining guard asked, a decent-looking
man in his thirties with auburn hair and a boxer�s physique. He exuded a sense
of danger and Lauren was suddenly startled to realise that Sands had yet to try
and manipulate him into leaving. Perhaps he sensed what she herself did. This
was a man not to be messed with.

She sighed and did her best to think of the correct answer
to his question rather than the emotional and irritated one on the tip of her
tongue. �I�m just taking Mr. Sands to get some air. He�s fully secured and we
won�t be leaving the grounds. I�m sure you�re more than capable to deal with
him yourself for the rest of the day. I wouldn�t want to inconvenience Officer
Silber anymore than I already have these past weeks,� she said with a slight
lift of her shoulders.

�Oh I don�t think he minds, Miss. He�s never complained
about you before and trust me, he considers almost everyone in this hospital an
idiot who isn�t worth his time. He doesn�t much care for your�boss,� he said
tactfully.

�Dr. Harrington fortunately isn�t my boss although she tries
to be. And I agree with him. Most of the doctors here aren�t worth their salt,
but if you tell anyone I said that I�ll deny it and have you fired,� she said
seriously although her voice was sweet.

Chris nodded. �I understand, Ms. Drasden. I won�t say a
word.�

She nodded. �I know you won�t which is why I�m convinced to
give Officer Silber at least one day without a complaint from me for a new
guard. I�m sure you�re competent enough to know when you�re in over your head
and to do something about it.� She gestured towards Sands with a nod of her
head.

�Of course, Miss,� he said with a nod, appreciating her
faith in him. He knew he was good at his job, and it was gratifying to see that
he wasn�t the only one.

�But now I think it�s time to go,� she said with a glance at
Sands, taking in his glassy eyes and the fact that he hadn�t spoken a word in a
manner of minutes. If someone didn�t talk to him and keep his focus he often
found himself overtaken by the drugs they gave him to keep him docile. Since he
had kept his word by being moderately cooperative for her and the other
doctors, she strove to keep hers by keeping him as lucid as possible without
compromising their safety. She wasn�t about to lessen any of his doses for a
promise. She wasn�t a fool. But she would try and keep him centered on the
present.

�Sands?� she asked directly, locking gazes with him. It took
a moment but his expression finally settled into something other than mindless
obedience. As appreciated as that was, she couldn�t stand seeing it on him. She
knew he was dangerous, knew he had killed dozens of people, and yet she
couldn�t bring herself to want him mindless and drooling. �Time
to go.�

Sands nodded, his brow furrowing as
he looked at her. He had been thinking of something�saying something�and then
all of a sudden it was gone. The first few times it had happened to him he�d
freaked out but now he was unwillingly becoming used to the state the drugs
they forced upon him put him into. He couldn�t hear Jeffrey at the
moment-sometimes he was able to whisper but not always-and his moods were fluid
and dulled at the edges. He didn�t get angry, he didn�t get happy, he just was. �I want a cigarette,� he grumbled as Lauren
pushed his chair out through the door into the heart of the hospital, the lone
guard following close behind.

�This is a hospital, you�re not allowed to smoke,� Lauren
reminded him for the tenth time. �And smoking�s not
good for you.�

�A lot of things aren�t good for me,� he murmured in return.
�Take me outside then. I�ll smoke there.�

�It�s the middle of winter, Sands. You�ll freeze,� Lauren
said with a sigh. She herself had never seen the appeal in sucking on a bit of
burnt weed and paper. Did he have any idea what that crap did to his lungs?

�I don�t care,� he muttered. �I�m not able to scratch my own
nose or jerk-off without a guard present to make sure I�m not going to kill you
all with my bare hands, the least you can do is let me have a fucking cigarette.
Even prison inmates get cigarettes.�

�I don�t have any,� Lauren said after a long moment of
contemplation. �But if you can�t possibly live without one I�ll ask around.�

�I�ve got one, Ms,� Chris offered behind her shoulder. She
jumped at his sudden voice, having forgotten that he was there. The better
security guards of the hospital had an uncanny ability to sneak up on her which
they practiced with irritating regularity. Lauren had a sneaking suspicion they
were doing it on purpose.

�Chris, my armed comrade. I think I
just might have to marry you,� Sands drawled, eying the man gratefully. �Or at
least send you flowers. Can I send him flowers, Lauren?�

�Ms. Drasden,� she reminded him under her breath.

�I prefer roses but your continued cooperation would be
preferable,� Chris answered Sands� offhand comment wryly.

Sands pretended to consider it. �Keep me well-stocked in
cigarettes and I�ll be a good boy,� he offered with a disarming grin.

�I don�t believe you, but at least they�ll keep you quiet
for awhile,� Chris muttered, giving Lauren a shrug when she shot him a pointed
glare.

�You still can�t smoke in the hospital,� she muttered,
hating how nagging she sounded but not really caring otherwise. Sands was a dangerous patient and here his guard was offering him cigarettes as if
they were old pals. It didn�t sit well with her.

�Take me up to the roof then,� Sands hastened to suggest,
clearly willing to do anything for the cigarette Chris had offered.

Lauren frowned at the obvious drug-seeking behaviour but
nodded. �We�re all going to freeze but I guess you don�t care as long as you
get your nicotine fix, right?� Sands nodded eagerly and Lauren let out an
unladylike snort. �You two can show how macho you are and freeze your dick�s off. I�m going to grab a coat.�

�I think I�ll be macho, Ms.,� Chris said with a smirk and a
wink.

�I don�t really have a choice either way but I�ll gladly
freeze for a cigarette. Do you know how long
it�s been since I�ve had one? I dare not contemplate it. I think I might slip
into depression. Not,� he eyed the IV line running into his arm with disdain,
�that that�s even possible with the drugs you all seem fit to give me.�

�Suck it up, mister. If you wanted to complain about
antipsychotics, you should have thought of that before you turned psychotic,�
Lauren muttered, pushing him in the direction of the elevators so they could
head up to the roof. The employee break room was on the way and that�s where
she�d hung her coat this morning.

�You say this like it�s my fault,� Sands murmured, lolling
his head backwards to look at her. �That I just woke up one day and decided to
be like this. I didn�t you know.�

Lauren didn�t answer. It wasn�t her job to coddle the
psychotics, not matter how handsome they might be.

WWW

Julian Manchester paced the waiting room the hospital
wondering what the hell he was doing here. The man the police had in custody,
one Sheldon Jeffrey Sands, had all but taken him hostage in his own house and
more than once threatened to kill him. When he had fled the masquerade ball
last month Julian had been relieved. Who wouldn�t be? If half of what they said
about his old schoolmate was true-and Julian was inclined to believe all of it-then Sands was a very sick man
indeed; one to be avoided. So it came back to the question: Just what the
bloody hell was he doing here?

He had no idea really. Was he here to gloat? It was possible
but not plausible. He wasn�t the stupid. Or was he? What was he doing here? �Just leave, Julian,� he muttered to himself
lowly. �You haven�t stated your business yet. You haven�t told the watchful
nurses why you�re calling. Just leave. You don�t need to see him.� It was
wonderful advice. So why wasn�t he following it?

�Was there something you needed, sir?� the receptionist
asked with a wary glance in his direction.

He blinked at her for a moment, thinking of what to say. He
felt her eyes take in his rumpled suit and frantic air. She probably thought he
was some relation awaiting the results of a loved one�s surgery. �I�m here
visiting someone,� he said at last, making some attempt to straighten his tie
and smooth his dark blonde hair back. �S. J. Sands,� he said after a long pause
of consideration. It was too late to turn back now. He was committed, no matter
what his reasons had been for coming.

The receptionist nodded and entered in the name to her
computer, her brow furrowing as she came across it. �Mr. Sands is being held in
our psychiatric ward under security, sir. Visitors aren�t normally allowed.�

�Alright. Sorry for bothering you. I�ll be going
now.� The words wanted to pass his lips but didn�t. He hadn�t come all this
way to turn around and go home no matter what some ditzy receptionist said.
�Aren�t normally allowed, Miss? So that means that sometimes they are allowed?�
he asked sweetly, laying on the charm a little thicker than he normally would,
but he figured she�d be a tough nut to crack.

�May I ask the manner of your business with Mr. Sands, Mr��

�Manchester. Julian Manchester,� Julian said with a wide
smile that he knew the women drooled over. He knew that he was handsome and he
had always known how to use his looks to his advantage. �I�m an old friend of
Sands�. I got a call when he was picked up that maybe a familiar face would go
to helping him come out of whatever mindset he�s trapped in.� Utter bullshit
but hey it sounded good, right?

The receptionist was eating it up. �Of
course, Mr. Manchester.�

�Please, call me Julian,� he said smoothly. This was almost
a waste of his talents. �So may I visit him?�

She pretended to consider it before handing over a white
pass that had �VISITOR� clearly marked in big red letters. �You�ll have to be
escorted. Would you like me to��

�Oh I�m certain you have other duties to attend to, Miss.
I�m sure one of the fine armed gentlemen you have standing about will do just
fine.� There was no way on earth he was going to meet Sands without an armed
guard at his side.

The receptionist looked disappointed, but saw reason in his
statement. There was a full waiting room behind him and as a receptionist she
couldn�t just up and leave to personally escort a visitor whenever she wanted.
After an obvious sigh she raised a radio and called for a guard to come greet
him. She needn�t have bothered with the radio. There were
an overabundance of men just standing about attempting to look important not
yards from the front desk. One of them answered his radio and waltzed over
seemingly without a care in the world.

Sands must not be as
dangerous as I thought if they�re not worried about taking people to see him,
Julian thought upon seeing the man�s manner and following him back through
various security doors to see his old school comrade. Had Sands been lying about the people he�d killed? No, that didn�t
ring true. He had seen the murder in Sands� cold eyes; heard the truth of his
claims in the flat tone of his voice. Sands had killed all those he claimed to
have killed, probably more. Julian was suddenly very glad that Sands had been
caught. He didn�t know if he would have been on Sands� hit list-he didn�t
exactly know how he had managed to escape the masquerade alive-but he was very
glad he was now out of harm�s way. Except
that you�re going to visit the very man you narrowly escaped last month. You�re
just as crazy as he is.

Julian found he couldn�t really argue with such logic but it
was too late to turn back now. He and his armed escort had already reached
Sands� room. The guard told him to hang back while he went in first. Julian had
no intention of doing otherwise. Despite his lack of rational thought in coming
here, it could not be claimed that he was a stupid man. He was well educated
and clever despite the occasional horrid lapse in judgement. That said, Julian
couldn�t help but put his head into the room and look around; his curiosity
getting the better of him.

He was mildly disappointed to see that the room was nothing
like the medieval torture chamber he had been hoping for. The walls aren�t even padded for fuck�s sake. What kind of hospital is
this? Apart from the obvious hands, feet and chest restraints on the bed it
looked like a completely ordinary hospital room. An empty hospital room. �I thought
you said that this was Sands� room,� he murmured as the guard returned, closing
the door behind him.

�Oh it is. He and Ms. Drasden must be out for a walk,� the
guard explained with a shrug.

�A walk?
They just let him get up and walk around whenever he�s in the mood?� Julian asked
incredulously, casting a wary eye over his shoulder as if expecting to see
Sands walking up right now.

The guard laughed and shook his head. Julian wanted to
strangle him. �By walk I mean he�s pushed around in a wheelchair for awhile.
Supposedly it�s unethical to keep someone restrained to the bed indefinitely. A
load of horse hooey if you ask me,� he muttered under his breath. �We could go
after them if you like. My guess is that they�re up on the roof.�

�On the roof? In
this weather?� Julian repeated again, sounding a bit like the idiot the
guard must take him as for questioning each thing he said.

The guard just shrugged. �Fresh air�s
fresh air.�

Julian frowned, tightened his long wool coat a bit tighter
around himself and nodded. �Let�s go then.�

WWW

Sands chomped down on the end of his cigarette with relish,
tilting his head back a little to further insure that he wouldn�t lose it to
his lap. The bitch and her armed monkey wouldn�t let even one of his hands
loose so he could smoke so he was forced to do it the hard way. It didn�t
matter, really. He was so relieved to have the nicotine in his system that he
would have smoked with his feet if he had to. Alas, his feet were also strapped
down to the wheeled contraption they had him in. He had tested the restraints a
few times going up the elevator when they hadn�t been looking, but they held
fast. If he was going to get out of his hellhole he was going to need help
getting the restraints off.

�Are you done yet, Sands? Some of us aren�t cold-blooded
like you are,� Lauren muttered, clutching her coat tightly around herself. It
wasn�t snowing-yet�-but she could
practically smell the bite of frost in the air and cursed men and smoking
habits everywhere.

Sands� eyes made their way to his face and he let his
cigarette dangle from his bottom lip for a moment before inhaling just slow
enough so that she knew he was fucking with her. She had just been about to
tell him where he could stick his future smoking privileges when the door
leading back down into the hospital opened and two people stumbled out to join
them in the cold. She didn�t recognise either of them and figured that they
must be two idiots looking for a place to have a smoke like Sands was.

Julian followed the guard silently out onto the roof,
telling himself that it wasn�t too late to just turn around and leave. He
didn�t need to see Sands, he didn�t even know what he
was really doing here. Clearly he had not been firing on all cylinders when
entertaining the notion to come to this godforsaken place. He had had ample
opportunity to turn around and head back home during the trip here and he
hadn�t. Why? Did he need some kind of closer in seeing that Sands was indeed
caught and bound and no longer a threat to anyone but himself?

�Either you�re keeping my medication higher than promised,
Lauren or I�m honoured with my first guest since coming to this delightful
facility,� Sands murmured loud enough for the entire rooftop to hear, his
cigarette bouncing off of his bottom lip as he spoke.

Lauren looked over to the new people and saw that she did
recognise the man who came out first as one of the guards. She didn�t believe
Sands was talking about him so either he was hallucinating-not an entirely
impossibility given the levels of antipsychotics running through his blood and
his own predisposition towards madness-or he knew the man who followed behind.
�Do you know this man, Sands?� she asked a moment later when neither man spoke
a word of greeting. They simply stared at each other.

�His name�s Julian Manchester. We went to school together. I
also ingratiated myself into his household about a month ago. He�s probably
come to gloat.� He smirked and turned look at Julian. �A
pleasure to see you again, you bastard. I�d get up to greet you but I�m
a little tied up at the moment.�

�Quite,� Julian said softly, steeling himself and taking a
step in Sands� direction. �I�d heard that you�d been caught. I suppose I had to
see it for myself.�

�Yeah well I�d respond to that with some sort of snide remark
but I�m finding it a little difficult to stay upset at anyone given the�� he
trailed off and turned to look at Lauren. �Just what is it that runs through my
veins these days, darling?�

�Haldol,� Lauren answered with a
glare at the pet name.

�Haldol? Really? Well gosh no wonder I feel like blowing the back of
my head off after supper. What fun.� He turned back to
Julian with a curious tilt of his head. �They�re giving me Haldol,
Julian. It�s supposed to quell psychopathic urges. It only half works. I�m
half-inclined to kill you just for the heck of it, you see. But don�t fret.
They keep me under restraints even when I sleep. They�ll break out the straight
jacket soon, just you wait.� He spit his spent cigarette to the ground and sighed a thick cloud of his own breath in the cool air and
cigarette smoke out like dragon�s breath. �But I�m not supposed to talk like
that or else this lovely lady standing before you will up my dosages to
vegetable-inducing levels and let me tell you, that�s a whole lot of no fun.�

�How did they catch you?� Julian asked after a long moment
of contemplative silence.

Sands looked thoughtful before turning to Lauren without
answering him. �Let�s go back inside. I think I�ve collected enough icicles on
the tip of my nose for one day. If you really want to know, Julian, then follow
as they take me back to my cell.�

Julian just nodded and followed Sands and his entourage back
into the building.

TBC

A/N: Well I am very very very sorry this wasn�t up weeks and months sooner. Forgive
me, dear friends. Thank you as always to my reviewers. You guys really make my
day and keep me writing. :-D
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