A GRAY PICKUP SKIDDED TO A STOP ON THE GRAVEL DRIVE in front of a deserted hotel. Dr. Catalyst hopped out of the cab and hurried inside. Once there, he gathered his equipment and gear and loaded it up. The trip to the swamp was a disaster. Try as he might, he was unable to find that fool Newton anywhere.

It had been relatively easy to follow the trail Newton left on the road. At some point during his escape, the man appeared to have been running, for his footprints were very far apart. At some point his tracks had become scattered all over the surface of the road and then disappeared back into the swamp. Dr. Catalyst had lost the trail in the marshy bogs that lined the service road.

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. Even if Newton had somehow miraculously survived, it was unlikely he would remember anything incriminating. And this particular base was unknown to anyone. Truthfully, he couldn’t bring himself to believe the man was alive. There were just too many dangers in the Everglades. It was hard to imagine a dolt like Newton could survive.

Still, it was vital he remain free, in order to continue his work saving the Everglades. So far he had avoided capture by taking no chances. With Newton at large, he would need to go to ground again, and there were plenty of places for him to hide. He could afford to wait until Newton surfaced, or it was confirmed he’d perished. If he was still alive, he could be dealt with then.

His equipment and supplies were what was important now. He never traveled with many personal effects — a few changes of clothes in a small duffel bag and some toiletries were all he carried with him. It allowed for escape at a moment’s notice.

After he loaded everything into the truck, he returned to carefully check that he’d left nothing behind. Everything was accounted for.

Once back on the road, Dr. Catalyst tuned the radio to check the local all-news station. The newscaster was already midway through a report about a search now taking place in the Everglades. Dr. Catalyst nearly drove his truck off the road. Were they out there looking for Dr. Newton? How could this be? Who could have possibly determined that was where he had taken his captive?

He turned up the volume and listened carefully. He almost wrecked again when the announcer said that Dr. Geaux’s twelve-year-old son, Calvin, was believed to be missing in the Everglades.

Calvin was missing!

Dr. Catalyst turned off the road into the parking lot of a vacant gas station. He waited for the traffic to clear and then zoomed out onto the highway, speeding as fast as he could toward the Everglades.