Two of a Kind

<Warning: this contains language which may offend some.>

1. The Devil Wants to Know

I couldn't believe it.

He was running after me. He was actually running after me.

That son-of-a-bitch. He never quits, does he? Always the Mountie to the very end. Hunt me down to the ends of the earth, will he?

But he did look serious. I know that kind of serious. There's serious-serious, as in I could spend the rest of my life in prison, and then there's serious as in I don't care what you've done. I thought, for a moment, I saw that face before that Yankee shot him. I know I did.

I need to sit down. Here. A private booth. I don't care who it's supposed to be for, I want to be alone. It's so good to get off my feet. I've been running around all day.

All I wanted was to give him a taste of his own good medicine. The medicine I've been tasting for the past ten years. He gave me the wrong key! Shit! All that money!

Calm down, Victoria. You're out and right now that's all that matters.

Okay- so he would have gone to jail but it wasn't like he didn't deserve it. Mr. High-and-Mighty! He might be bitter just for a second but I know him. He wouldn't be angry for long. He would stay in jail for awhile and I would wait for him. I could occupy myself for a while but I'd run to him if he phoned that very night. I'd toy with him. I'd make him pay for every year I spent rotting in prison. He bloody well deserves it!

When I saw him lying there, I knew I knew I had gone too far. I wasn't trying to kill him even though the thought has occasionally tickled my fancy. Oh no! Never kill him! That would be going too far, way too far. Just frame him for crimes he did not commit, send him to prison and have him vegetate for ten to twenty.

Oh God, I can't believe that Yankee shot him! What the hell was he thinking? Shoot the poor guy before he runs off with the jailbird? Was he trying to kill me instead and hit Benny? What a fucking idiot! Chicago's finest, my ass!

Oh God! Benny is dead and it's all my fault. If they take me in, I won't let them pin Benny's death on me.

What am I saying? What if Benny's not dead? What if he's just hurt? Maybe badly. A shot in the back will take a man down for a good, long while.

Ah, he's got that while to waste.

I could use some lipstick.

If Benny is not dead (and I don't seriously think he is), then he's wounded, maybe in the shoulder. He'll live. And I'm off the hook! I mean- I'm on the train away from here- I can get off anywhere, cut my hair, change my name, it doesn't matter. I am free and for the first time in a long while, it feels good. Really good.

But Benny? The shot in the back could have crippled him. He'll spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. They won't be good to a cripple in prison.

Did I leave my prints anywhere? Because if I did, then they will trace me and get Benny off the hook.

Funny. I never thought about it seriously. What would he do in prison?

The diamonds. I almost forgot about these!

Benny? Who the fuck cares?! I've got what I want.

2. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window

Where am I?

My legs. My legs! Where are they? I can't feel them!

Calm down, Benton. They are right where you left them. You will be alright but what you must do right now is calm down. I need you to be calm.

I can't! My legs. Oh. Ow, God, my back! It feels as though it's on fire.

I was shot. Victoria? No. She did not have the gun. It must have been train security. They must have been aiming for her and I got in the line of fire.

She was getting away. I had to apprehend her. She stepped over the line and it was my duty to bring her in.

Don't lie, Benton. You were running to her.

I was running to her.

There. Doesn't it feel good to be honest with yourself? For once.

Oh, God, my back.

For one brief second, I was running to her. I was running away from the law, away from my career. I was leaving my life behind. Thirteen years of loyal service gone down the drain for her. But I was running to her. I was running to her away from it all, away from Ray.

Ray.

Ray will never see me the same way again. I have betrayed him, my trust. I ransacked his home for her lies. Why?

What is in her that I so love? No. Not love, but... What is the word? Long for? Is that it?

Ten years ago, she broke the law. She knew what she was getting into. She was a bright girl, a smart girl, a beautiful, demented girl....

Dammit! What in necessity brings you closer? Why does survival make fools of us all?

I should never have fallen in love with her. I do tend to make that mistake, don't I? Always with the wrong woman. Either it is someone who does not love me but whom I love dearly or someone I cannot love enough. I have ruined them. No one else.

What, the fair Ophelias....

Never again. She can't have gone far. At the next stop, she will be apprehended. I'm sure her lawyer will follow through with mitigating circumstances...

You're doing it again.

What?

Defending her. She left you for good. She wanted this to happen.

No, not this.

And why not? She can kill, lie, cheat, steal. What makes framing you any harder than what she has done before? You are such a fool.

Shut up!

You are. You are a complete idiot.

It wasn't my fault.

You let yourself be deceived.

Let her go.

What?

I said let her go. Make amends with Ray. He deserves an answer.

Ah, God, my back! The pain! I'm on fire!

Nurse? Nurse? You've got the syringe. Make the pain stop.

Stop it.

Please....