Reid finally lost it. "I don't give a shit about these details. We have to do something now. Don't you freakin understand? They're going to kill him – and Gem." He bolted to the front door, opened it and disappeared.
"Shit. Barry go after him." Sheriff Jerome watched as his youngest deputy took off behind Reid. Barry was only a few years older than the kid, maybe he could get him to calm down.
Danny and Ian, walked out to the cruiser. Danny didn't know if he believed Reid about another kidnapping, but the kid was definitely panicked for his friends.
It didn't make any sense. The EPA officers had no reason to take the kids. They didn't need to go to these lengths; they could have contacted the sheriff and he'd have picked them up and brought them in for questioning anytime. Theatrics weren't required. What had Reid said? Something about Gemma and Misty, that they'd seen the men doing something the night before? He pondered that.
Speaking of Misty… His next call was to the hospital.
Yes, Misty was there. It could take a few days for the drugs to work their way through her system. They were running tests on her now to determine just what she'd been given to help pin down her allergic reaction.
Danny frowned as he hung up. None of this made any sense. He'd checked the men's credentials himself. Everything had been verified. But if this kid was right, and these strangers had kidnapped Misty in the first place and if – and this was a big if – the three men were now after Gem and Mark, then what was to stop them from making a second play for Misty? A clean sweep and three troubled and trouble-causing teens would just disappear. Four, if Reid was also a target.
Who would care?
John and Doris would be devastated. The project would shut down. A case file would open up, but without much to go on, it could probably lie unsolved for years. Did the kids have families? He didn't think so. Someone had mentioned they were now too old for continued foster care. More likely the foster care system didn't want them. Probably, no one outside John and Doris cared.
He frowned, disliking the direction of those thoughts. He cared. Believing in John's version of these kids and their potential wasn't difficult.
Early on, Mr. Crompton had been more than willing to explain the project and the kids involved. As much as he hadn't particularly liked the man, he hadn't disliked him either. He was the uncle to two of his deputies, after all.
This time, Mr. Crompton had been polite, officious and cautious in his answers. He hadn't known about Misty's abduction case and had appeared more disturbed about damaging the home's image than finding the kidnappers or Misty's condition. Again, no one seemed to care.
Barry walked into the parking lot, a firm hand clamped around Reid's upper arm.
Danny motioned at Reid. "We'll drive. It's faster."
Ian drove, Danny sat in the front. He turned to Reid in the back seat, "Reid, where to?"
Reid's face, already red from exertion and agitation, brightened as he realized they were planning to help. He pointed the way. A few moments later, the car turned off the main road by the creek. They followed tracks from another large vehicle, through the weeds, until they came to a small, flattened clearing. If there'd been a vehicle here, it was long gone.
The heat rose in waves off the dry ground. Danny remembered this spot from his own childhood. A popular watering hole for the neighboring kids. Although the creek was John's property, he hadn't minded others using it as long as the kids behaved. Now most of those kids had moved away. Oxford was a small rural community of middle-aged and older diehards and there was nothing much for the younger generation…in terms of jobs or a productive future.
He swiveled around on his seat to look at Reid. "Is this where you were when they grabbed Mark?"
Reid pointed a little way back down at the creek. "We didn't make it this far. But it's probably where they parked. I hid and watched them carry Mark. Then I ran for help" Disgust laced the kid's voice.
The deputy parked the car and everyone bailed out to take a look. Ian shot Reid a cynical look then rolled his eyes at his boss. "He probably just made up the whole story."
Curling his lip in denial, but with a restraint Danny appreciated, Reid turned his back on Ian and strode toward the creek.
***
"No one's here." Ian snorted as he searched the high grass.
"Not now." Reid headed straight for the creek. "They'd have taken off as soon as they could." What a bunch of idiots. Ian was the worst. Asshole.
Reid loved crime. He just hadn't decided which side of that particular issue he wanted to specialize in. Crime paid, but juvie sucked. The more he hung around with the cops, the more he realized they needed all the help they could get. Dumbasses.
At the top of the bank he studied the sand down by the water. Sliding and skidding to the bottom, he walked back and forth, looking for clues about the fate of his friends.
"What do you see, Reid?"
Reid glanced up, using his hand to shade the sun so he could see the sheriff standing at the top of the bank. "Not much. Lots of footprints and tracks but they all come to the water's edge."
"Which could have been made by anyone then," Ian said. The tone of his voice clearly said he thought this was a waste of time.
Reid turned his back on the cops. What did they care? He stared at the murky water. Branches and trunks clogged the waterway. If Mark had tried to dive into the water, he might have run into trouble.
Thankfully, he couldn't see any bodies floating.
What was that? He peered closer. Yes. Excitement jumped inside. Without a second thought, he waded into the water, quickly hitting mid-thigh depth.
"What are you doing?"
"I found something." Duh. Did they really think he was just going for a swim?
Reid dove into the water. He was a good swimmer and could swim with his eyes open but the muddy water made it difficult. He snagged the length of rope from the bottom first, then popped up for air. And found himself on the far side of a downed tree trunk – staring at a strap of cloth tied in a loop. He whooped loudly.
The men came running down.
"What? What is it?"
"This might have been Mark's. It's still tied like a gag and I found a length of rope at the bottom that might have been used to tie his legs together." He held up the rope for them to see. Swimming ashore, he handed the two items off to Barry. "I'm going to check for tracks on the far side going up the bank. I think Mark escaped."
Reid dove back into the water. Navigating around the trees, branches, and rocks, he swam upstream looking for where he'd try to get out if it had been him trying to get away. Ten feet up were bushes almost standing in the water. He crawled out slowly, and noticed the scuffed marks in the wet sand.
"Someone came out here," he called back.
"Most likely just some kid cooling off in the creek," Ian called back.
Reid muttered under his breath as he followed the tracks up the bluff. He slipped and skidded several times, unintentionally recreating the marks in the sand that he'd been looking at originally. At the top, he stopped to catch his breath. Not a long distance, but hard to get up with the sand sliding, causing him to slide back down again.
"I'm just going to take a quick look around."
And he disappeared into the trees.
***
The vehicle drove down the road. Though tied up tight, Gem thought of all the things she'd do to these assholes when she got free. Her gaze bounded from the sliding door to the closed smoked windows and bounced to the front dash, trying to take it all in. Humpty and Dumpty. Figures. She'd known they were just thugs. EPA officers, my ass. And somehow they'd scared up this older maroon van. And they were moving. For some reason that scared her the most. Who knew where they were taking her. From the position she was in, she couldn't see much through the window.
"Hey, look at that. Her eyes are saying the same damn thing her boyfriend's did." The porkier of the two men grinned down at her.
Boyfriend. Her fears deepened. If they'd caught Mark or Reid, then where were they?
"I wouldn't be laughing about it right now. You let that bastard get away. There's going to be hell to pay for that."
"Hey, I didn't do nuttin' you didn't do. You're not blaming this screw up on me."
"The boss is going to blame someone. You've already got one black mark against you, so it's likely to be you."
Gem couldn't believe what they were arguing about. She didn't know what the hell these two men were up to, but she knew the men were liabilities to whoever was behind this mess.
What dimwits. Not for the first time, she felt her juvie years had prepared her better than most other people for real life. Like these two idiots really should have done Reality Check 101.
She tried to stare out the van's windows. The skyline offered nothing but the occasional streetlight. No highway signs, no identifiable apartment buildings. Nothing helpful. She closed her eyes.
Think, damn it. Think. What would Mark have done? Gotten away just like he had done.
She was the only that hadn't escaped, damn it. Great. It could take awhile to live that down. She hated to think of herself as a victim that needed to be rescued. Shudder.
As she lay there with her eyes closed, she tested the ropes around her wrists. Tied tight, but not excruciatingly so. A little leeway and she could slip her hands free. Of course, her hands were also behind her back. Five minutes without these two guards and she might be able to change that. If she could get her hands in front, she could use her teeth and really work on the knots.
Not that she'd be able to run far. Her ankles had some kind of bungee strap twisted around them. Burned like shit. She could only separate her feet by less than an inch before they snapped back together again. Not being able to see the closure, she had no idea how to get it off.
First things first.
"Is there any water?"
"Nope. No food either. You'll have to do without."
The shorter of the two men, sweat still drying on his forehead, twisted in the front seat to look at her.
"Don't worry sweetheart. You won't have to suffer long."
Both men laughed.
"Good then I can pee in the van then, right? You guys can clean it up."
The van screeched to a halt.
"What the hell are you doing?" Humpty snapped.
Dumpty glared at him. "I'm stopping. Do you have any idea what piss smells like after it has sat for a day or two. In this heat?"
"Hell no. I don't plan on it, either. She's faking it."
Shaking his head, the driver said. "I don't trust her. That's carpet back there."
"Oh for the love of…" The two men peered out at the streets around them. "We can't just expect her to take a leak on the side of the street. Not tied up like that. Someone is sure to notice something."
"Ya think?" Humpty, spat out the window. "So where's the closest gas station? We'll take her there."
Dumpty, brightened and pulled the vehicle back out into traffic. Gem's mind raced. She had one chance at freedom here. What the hell could she do? The vehicle made a couple more turns and twists around corners before coming to a stop.
Through the window Gem could see a large sign for Shell gas. Where were the Shell stations? She knew there was one on the corner of Picard and 1st Avenue. Was there a second?
She hoped not. And if she knew her general whereabouts, escaping became that much more feasible. The restraints were still an issue though.
Humpty hopped out of the vehicle then turned back to speak with Dumpty. "Back up to the washroom so we can open the side door and let her out without being seen."
"Will do. What are you doing?"
"Going to get the key."
"Right." Dumpty waited until the door shut and then backed the van up in front of the washroom door. Gem rolled around in the back, her stomach knotting. Now or never.
"No tricks out of you, young lady. We won't take it kindly if you try any funny stuff."
Gem widened her eyes in her first attempt ever to present an innocent look. This was so not her, but Misty managed to get away with murder using that look.
"Just so you understand."
The side door slid open. Humpty held up a key with a large piece of plastic that had 'washroom' handwritten across it.
Humpty came over and swung Gem's feet around so she could sit on the floor of the van and look out. Dumpty hopped out from the driver's side and raced around to snag Gem's arm before hauling her to her feet.
"Be a good girl now." He tugged her forward, while she glared at him. Gem deliberately allowed her body weight to sag sideways.
Humpty jumped forward to grab her around the waist so she didn't hit the cement. "Hey. Stop that."
"Stop what?" Gem snorted in disgust. "I can't walk and he's pulling me forward. Of course, I'm going to lose my balance. What did you expect?"
"I expect you to be cooperative and hop three hops to the door so you can go to the bathroom. However, if you aren't going to be, you can piss your pants where you stand and we'll just strip the wet clothes off you before throwing you back in."
He leered at her as if contemplating her half nude. Gem's stomach churned and she straightened immediately. "If you help me to the door, I'm sure I can manage from there."
"Yeah, I'll bet." Both men grabbed her by the elbows and lifted her to the door. Humpty used the key and unlocked it. They shoved her forward, almost carrying her to keep her upright. Then he turned on the light and shut and locked the door behind her.
"Thank God for that," she whispered to the empty room. Glancing around quickly, she realized there was nothing she could use as a weapon. Also there was no window in the small room. Now what? She fell the rest of the way to the ground and twisted so she was sitting with her feet in front of her and her hands behind. With a short shuffling movement she brought her hands under her bum until she pulled them forward toward her feet. Within minutes she had her hands resting in front of her. She immediately gnawed on the ropes. With all the movement, the knots had loosened. The rope dropped off almost instantly.
Bending her knees, she reached for the weird bindings on her ankles. They were only clipped together. Nice. She stood up and rotated her shoulders as she surveyed the small cubicle. She did have to go to the bathroom so she took care of that first. As she washed her hands she knew time was running out – she still didn't have a plan.
Grabbing her restraints, Gemma tucked the rope into her back pocket and snagged the bungee thing. She didn't know what to do with it, but it had possibilities.
One of them pounded on the door. Hard.
"Come on, already. You can't get out and you can't postpone the inevitable forever."
About the only thing she could do once the door opened was to make as much of a kerfuffle as she could. And as loudly as she could.
Gathering her courage she pounded on the door with her knee, pretending her restraints were still in place. The door pushed open with Humpty grinned at her. "There. Now that's more like it."
Her nerves clenched as she grasped a plan of action.
"Let's get a move on." He reached over and grabbed her arm, tugging it forward.
Gem tried to not let him see that she was free, but there was no way to hide her feet. She hobbled forward in her best imitation. She made it a couple of steps outside as several vehicles drove into the station. Her instincts screamed at her to run. But she didn't know where Dumpty was. The van honked.
"Come on let's go!" Dumpty yelled.
One more hobble, then a side jump out of Humpty's grasp. She opened her mouth and screamed the loudest, craziest, panicked scream she could.
And she didn't have to pretend. She was terrified.
Gem bolted into the middle of street.
***
Mark groaned as he struggled upright yet again. Damn it. The sunlight had slipped behind the trees and just putting one foot in front of the other was a major chore. He was tired and sore…but worse than that – he was lost.
Somehow, he'd ended up losing all signs of civilization, and even worse, any sign of the creek. If he'd kept the creek in sight, he could at least have followed it back to the main road. When he bolted initially, he'd actually thought he'd turned in the right direction to circle around and head home, but somehow it hadn't worked out that way.
Now he needed water, food – and better yet – a way to get the damn handcuffs off. Such was his life. Groaning, he plunked his butt down on a fallen tree and leaned his head back for a moment. The only good thing about being lost was that the assholes weren't likely to find him here either.
Surely, there had to be people somewhere close by. He listened carefully.
He struggled to his feet and pushed forward through the brush. He tried to visualize the area, but the town was small and the woods surrounding it went on for miles. If he wasn't careful, he could be lost for days. He wished he had a working cell phone. His had suffered from his impromptu swim. Hell, he'd even be happy to call the police again, at this point.
Surely with all the damn trucks people drove in this town, some of them went out 4x4ing out here? With his luck they went every day except today.
He paused his headlong rush through the trees. Had he heard a dog? Was someone out searching for him? He dismissed that hope immediately. Anyone looking for him wasn't likely to be someone he wanted to see.
Pushing the brush out of his way, he kept going. If luck were with him, maybe he'd find some people to help him before night fell. Even a nice warm barn would feel good right about now. At least a place to hole up for a bit. To rethink and regroup.
Of something.
Anything.