The gunshot echoed across the room paralyzing all except for Ron who still had his gun aimed at Derek's unmoving body as he approached him.  Once besides Derek's body, Ron gave it a few soft kicks.  When Derek remained unresponsive, Ron knew he was dead.  He turned to Michael and said, "He's dead."

Still recovering from the shock of the sudden loud gunshot, Michael merely gave Ron a limp smile and said offhandedly, "Good, one less person to worry about."

Looking at Michael with a blank expression, Kenny commented, "He arrived sooner than we expected."

With his earlier disposition returning, Michael chuckled, "Good thing Ron is always alert and attentive."  Turning to Ron, he praised, "You did good."

Charmaine who had caught a glimpse of Derek's face just before he fell to the ground screamed out, "Derek!  Derek!"

"Charmaine!" Raymond quickly held her back when she was about to jump off from the bed.

"Derek!" she cried out fervently, her eyes glued to the lifeless form of her deceased brother.  She then lifted eyes full of hate to Ron before turning her wrath onto Michael and screamed hysterically, "You killed him!  You killed my brother!"  With a low growl she pushed Raymond's arms away and threw herself at Michael.  She rejoiced with satisfaction when she managed to scratch his face and draw blood.  But that victory didn't last long.  She soon found herself dragged away from Michael with her arms twisted painfully behind her back by Kenny.

Raymond immediately jumped to Charmaine's aid but stopped short when Ron pressed the barrel of his gun against his temple.  "Don’t move," Ron said quietly.

Michael touched his face where Charmaine had scratched and felt a stingy soreness.  He winced slightly from the small throbbing pain as he pulled his hand back and saw a droplet of blood on his finger.  Glaring at Charmaine with flinty eyes, he stomped over to her and arched his hand back.  The slap he gave her was loud and hard causing her head to snap to one side.  "You little !" Michael cursed and slapped her again.

"Charmaine!" Raymond shouted and ignoring Ron's gun he charged at Michael causing Michael to topple over from the unexpected attack.  Raymond would have taken another shot at Michael if it weren't for the gun now pressed firmly into Charmaine's head.

"Try that again and she's gets a hole in her head," Ron warned lowly.

Raymond dropped his hands and Michael lifted his booted feet and kicked him roughly in the stomach.  Doubling over with pain, Raymond screamed, "Let her go!  I'll do anything you want!  Just let her go!"

Michael walked over to Raymond and curled his fingers into Raymond's hair, pulling his head back sharply.  "Call your father!  Tell him to come here tomorrow at noon.  Alone!"

"What do you want with my father?" Raymond grounded out despite the fiery pain in his scalp from Michael's relentless hold.

"I want to kill him of course," Michael answered calmly with a wicked smile.  "Why else are you here?"

"I'll call my father but you let her go first," Raymond said stubbornly.

Michael made a snickering sound before releasing his hold on Raymond.  With the predatory slowness of a tiger stalking its prey, Michael walked over to Charmaine.  "If I let her go, you won't call your father."

"I won't call until you let her go," Raymond countered, hoping to regain some sort of control over the situation.

To that Michael laughed out loud, his eyes twinkling with amusement.  "I know all about you Raymond Lam.  You're a filial son and would have no doubts sacrificing yourself for your father.  That's where she comes in.  I know you don't want to see her hurt in any way."

Raymond darted a quick glance at Charmaine and seeing the fear in her eyes, he quickly looked away and riveted his full attention on Michael.  Forcing himself to act indifferent, he said casually, "I have no idea why you would think that."

"Really?" Michael said in a silky drawl.  With a devious smile on his face he nodded at Kenny who instantly and effortlessly moved both Charmaine's wrists into one hand while with the other, he placed it boldly on the flat of her stomach.  With a leery grin, his hand moved upwards, touching her intimately, until it stopped at the neckline of her shirt.

"Don't," Charmaine sobbed pitifully as she tried to squirm from the offensive hand that was now inching with maddening slowness into her shirt.

The agony on Charmaine's face tore at Raymond and with his eyes glaring murderously at Michael, he yelled, "Stop!  Let her go!"

Michael chuckled as he walked to the door, "You're in no position to give any orders.  However, since my mood is ruined by this," he shot a distasteful look down at Derek's body and continued, "We'll continue where we left off at a later time.  For now, enjoy your peace."

Ron followed Michael out without a word.  Releasing Charmaine, Kenny walked over to Derek's body and took hold of his two ankles.  He then proceeded to drag Derek out of the room without care or caution as Derek's body banged and thumped on the concrete floor and against the wooden frame of the door.

"No!  Derek!" Charmaine tried to run after Derek but the door was slammed closed by the time she got to it.  She looked down and saw a trail of Derek's blood and the sight and scent of it made Charmaine nauseas.  Left alone with Raymond, she turned to him and asked with raw emotion, "Why?  Why did they have to kill him?  Why?"

Raymond was at a loss of words.  He couldn't find any words to comfort her and he knew anything he say she may not want to hear.  Looking gently at her he slowly placed his arms around her and pulled her into his embrace.  He expected her to flinch from his touch or strike at him but when she collapsed against him, he knew he would do everything within his power to get her out of this.  Rubbing her hair softly, he vowed, "I'm not going to let them hurt you.  I'll get you out.  I promise you."

Somehow Charmaine knew he was telling the truth.  She nodded her head and allowed Raymond to comfort her.  It was much much later when they finally pulled apart.  Charmaine sat down on the bed staring unseeingly at Derek's blood which has now gone dry.  Raymond sat on the other end of the bed, his eyes watching her while at the same time trying to come up with a plan to save them both.

"Can I ask you something," Raymond asked suddenly, hoping to take Charmaine's mind off of their circumstances, at least for a short period.

Charmaine slowly turned her head towards him and said bleakly, "Sure."

"How come you came to work at the Fortune Nightclub?"

"I…" Charmaine started and the memory of her last argument with her father caused an onslaught of tears.

Raymond hurried to kneel beside her and stammered, "I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have asked."

Sniffing back a sob, Charmaine pulled her knees up to her chest and lowered her head onto it, hiding her face from his view.  All the events that happened in the past few months came crashing through her and it made her realize how wrong she had been for running away.  Because of her immaturity she didn't get to see her father one last time before he died.  And now Derek was gone too.

"Charmaine, there's something I want you to know," Raymond said in a forceful tone that caught her attention.  "Can you please look at me?"

Slowly Charmaine lifted her tearful gaze to Raymond and waited for him to speak.

"I want you to know I'm sorry for everything that I've said and done to you in the past," Raymond said softly.

Turning away from him, Charmaine returned her gaze to the floor and responded dully, "It doesn't matter anymore."

"It does!" Raymond exploded and grabbed her shoulders so that she was forced to look up at him.

Curious by the sudden intensity of his eyes and the strange tender glow on his face, Charmaine whispered, "I'm not sure what you're trying to say."

Raymond's eyes raked her face as his hands tightened on her shoulders, "That night we spent together is very special to me."

Lowering her gaze, Charmaine replied stiffly, "I don't ever want to talk about that night."

Raymond saw the shame on her face and hated himself for treasuring something that obviously brought her a lot of pain and humiliation.  But he wanted to rectify all that and change it to something sweet and unforgettable between the both of them.  Not knowing how to achieve that, given how they have started off, he could only say, "I want a chance from you."

Perplexed by the request, Charmaine asked, "A chance for what?"

Locking his gaze on her, Raymond slowly moved his hands from her shoulders to the nape of her neck where he began to slowly caress it.  "A chance to take care of you," he said softly.

His words stunned Charmaine and she was at first incapable of speech.  But within seconds she snapped out of her revere and pulled his arms off her.  "I don't need anyone to take care of me, especially you," she stated firmly and moved away from him.

Wounded by her words, Raymond asked quietly, "Why do you still hate me so much?"

Strangely disturbed by the look of disappointment on Raymond's face, Charmaine said softly, "I don't.  It's just that I have feelings for someone else."

Raymond knew instantly who she was referring to and out of angry jealousy snapped, "And he's dead!  Or have you forgotten that he was killed right in front of you only yesterday."

The reckless reminder of Kevin's death triggered a wave of tears to flow down Charmaine's face "Stop it!" she screamed, "Don't say any more!"

Realizing too late what he had done, Raymond looked remorsefully at her and murmured guiltily, "I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have brought that up."

Raising her eyes to him, Charmaine saw the sincerity on his face and knew he had spoken out of anger and didn't mean to be cruel to her.  Not understanding why, she found herself forgiving him immediately and with pleading in her eyes whimpered, "Can you please hold me?"

With his heart aching, Raymond pulled her into his arms where he held her in a tight and secure embrace.  They remained cuddled together throughout the rest of the night.