by Paul Moxham
“We’ll get shot,” Muscles interrupted.
Logan frowned. “What? But—”
“Quiet!” Muscles glanced at the guard to make sure he couldn’t overhear them. Satisfied, he turned back to Logan. “That attack we just had is all that we’re going to get.”
Logan looked shocked. “What? Why?”
“Just in case my son was right and there was a traitor in our group, I made up the story about the hundred men. In truth, it’s just five of my best men. So, if we’re going to escape, we’ll have to get out of these handcuffs in the next ten minutes.”
“And how do you suggest we do that?” Logan questioned.
“I don’t know. If Xavier—” Muscles paused as the power suddenly went out. A moment later, he whispered to Logan, “Take out the guard!”
Logan stood up and hurried to where the guard had been standing, Muscles following right behind him.
Just as a beam of light flooded the area, Logan and Muscles smashed into the guard. The impact sent the flashlight tumbling across the floor. A pistol rang out, and by the spark of the muzzle flash, Logan knew that it had come from Sanchez.
Bodies tumbled to and fro as Logan attempted to get the pistol from the guard. Even though they had a dim light, it was hard work to tell who was who.
As Muscles punched the face of the guard, a gunshot rang out and a bullet hit the wooden floor just a few feet from where he was kneeling. A moment later, another one hit the floor, both coming from the direction of the couch. “Where’s the gun?”
“I’m trying to find it.” Moments later, Logan pulled the weapon out from the pocket of the unconscious man. “I’ve got it! Find the key to the handcuffs.”
Logan glanced around the darkened room. As he did, he realized he didn’t know where Jet had gone. As he heard a struggle over by the door, he assumed that he was fighting the guard. “We need to help Jet!”
Muscles kicked the flashlight in the direction of the door. It rolled over and over, stopping close to where the fight was going on. In the dim light, he saw the guard punching Jet in the face.
As Jet collapsed to the floor, Logan raised the pistol and fired three times. His aim wasn’t perfect as his hands were still handcuffed, but it didn’t matter. At least he was fortunate enough that he could fire, which was only possible as his hands had been handcuffed in front of him. The man sank to the ground as blood spilled out of his chest. “Are you okay, Jet?”
“Yes, I’m coming to join you now.” Jet took hold of the flashlight and hurried over.
Remembering Lucy, Logan got Jet to shine the flashlight toward the couch. It was empty. Suddenly, the flashlight crashed to the ground as bullets whipped past Jet’s face. He skirted out of harm’s way and hid behind a chair.
Wanting to find out where Lucy was, Logan hurried over to the flashlight and kicked it in the direction where the shots had come from.
As the light lit up Sanchez, Logan prepared to fire, but he paused as Lucy was thrust in front of the mob boss. Sanchez aimed his weapon against the woman’s head. “Kill me and she dies as well.” Sanchez toyed with his trigger.
“Okay, okay.” Logan lowered his pistol. “Just take it easy. No one is going to shoot you.”
With the weapon still to her head, Lucy reached down and picked up the flashlight.
“If anyone tries to follow me, she’s dead. Understand?” No one said anything. “Understand?” Sanchez repeated.
Logan stepped forward. “Let her go. It’s us you want.”
Hearing footsteps, Sanchez pressed the gun tightly against Lucy’s head. “Stop! One more step and I’ll shoot.”
Logan didn’t move. There was no way he was going to risk Lucy’s life. As much as he despised Sanchez, Lucy meant the world to him and he would do everything in his power to see that she survived this ordeal.
“Walk back to the others.” Sanchez grabbed the flashlight from Lucy and grinned as he saw Logan do as he had instructed. “I now want all of you up against the kitchen door.”
The three obeyed. Once they were in position next to the door, Sanchez smirked. “I’m sorry I can’t stay and enjoy the party, but I’ve gotta get going. And remember—if I hear someone following me, anyone at all, I’ll shoot Lucy without hesitation.”
Handing the flashlight back to Lucy, he opened the door. Then, with the three men watching his every move, he pushed Lucy into the hallway. A moment later, the door slammed shut, causing the party room to sink into complete darkness.
“Damn!” Logan kicked the kitchen door in frustration. “What the hell are we going to do now?”
“We need to find the keys to the handcuffs first,” Muscles suggested. “We can’t do anything with these things on our hands.”
“What if Sanchez has the keys?” Jet asked.
“Let’s hope he doesn’t.” Muscles bent down and fiddled around in the guard’s pockets. It was almost pitch black in the room, the only light coming from the rising moon as it shone through the windows. A minute later, he yelled out, “I’ve found them.”
As soon as the three were free of their handcuffs, they began searching for a flashlight. Using the light from the cigarette lighter that Jet had found on the guard, they searched the room, only to realize that the other guard had a small flashlight in his pocket.
Logan switched it on and breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. It works. Now, let’s see where Sanchez went.” He opened the door and stepped out. He shined the light both ways, unsure of which direction to head in.
“We’ll have to be careful. He’ll kill her if we get too close,” Jet reminded Logan.
“If you think I’m going to sit here and do nothing—” Logan said.
“I’m not saying to do nothing,” Jet interrupted. “But we don’t even know which direction he went.”
Muscles sighed. “He’s right. Sanchez could’ve headed left or right, and then headed up or down. Even if we split up we might miss him.”
“Not really. It isn’t as though he’d head down the set of stairs on the right as they are torn in half,” Logan said.
“He might not know that they’re like that,” Jet argued.
“Well, I’m going to head up the stairs,” Logan said. “Because that’s what I’d do if I were …” He paused and turned off his flashlight. “Someone’s coming.” He closed the door and the three of them waited for the footsteps to pass.
But they didn’t. They stopped right outside the door. Logan gave the flashlight to Jet and whispered to him, “Switch it on when the door opens.” He then took a firm hold on the pistol that he had picked up from the guard by the door and waited.
~*~*~
Kenneth didn’t know how long it had taken, but with his arms aching, he smiled as he caught sight of the shore.
The teens, who had drifted off to sleep, awoke as the dinghy scraped against rocks. Molly sat up and glanced around in the darkness. “How will we be able to tell where we are?”
“We can’t tell. Not until daylight.” Kenneth stood up and stretched his arms. “I don’t know about you, but I feel as though I could sleep for a week.” He took hold of one of the backpacks and climbed off the dinghy and onto the rocks. “Come on, you two, get moving.”
The teens followed Kenneth as he switched on his flashlight and swung it around. Grass, scrub, and a few trees were all that he could see. “The town probably isn’t far off, but I say we camp here. We’ll find someplace flat, start a fire, and get some sleep.”
“Why the fire?” Molly asked.
“It’s going to be very cold soon. Can’t you feel how much the weather has changed in the last hour?” Kenneth said.
“Well, now that you mention it,” Molly admitted, “it does seem a bit chilly. I guess my mind has been on other things.”
“Your parents?” Kenneth asked as he scouted out a good place to lay out the blankets.
Molly nodded. “I just want to find out what’s happened to them.”
“I’ll have a talk with the gene
ral tomorrow and see what he says,” Kenneth said. “Now, how about you two get some kindling while I get some branches? We want the fire to last till morning so we’ll need quite a bit.”
It didn’t take that long before some wood had been gathered. It took a while longer to get the fire roaring away, but once it was, the teens each grabbed a blanket and lay down beside the warmth of the fire and closed their eyes.
Kenneth gazed up at the sky and saw that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was going to be a cold night. He looked toward the pile of wood that they had gathered so far. It was probably enough to last them through the night, but he decided to get some more to be sure.
Leaving the teens, he headed into the trees and started picking up the driest branches that he could find. He had been doing this for just a few minutes when, out of the darkness, a pair of yellow eyes appeared.
Chapter 28
Logan didn’t have long to wait. A few moments later, the handle turned and the door swung open. A person stepped in, also carrying a flashlight. As it lit up Logan, Jet switched on his.
As both parties saw each other, they lowered their weapons. Xavier shook with relief. “You had me scared for a moment there.” He looked around. “Where’s Baldy?”
“Dead,” Jet muttered. “As is Sabrina. Where’s Peter?”
“He’s also dead. That’s actually what caused the power to go out the first time. A bunch of guys ambushed Peter. He didn’t stand a chance. I managed to hide until they left, and then I used the explosives to blow the generator up before coming up here.”
“Did you see anyone on the stairs as you came up?” Logan asked.
“No, why?” Xavier said.
“Sanchez escaped with Lucy,” Muscles said.
Xavier shook his head in wonder. “What the hell happened?”
Muscles quickly explained the situation. As he reached the part about leaving the party room five minutes earlier, Xavier frowned.
“You know, when I was climbing up the stairs, I thought I heard a noise above me,” Xavier said.
“You think it was Sanchez?” Logan asked, a gleam appearing in his eyes.
Xavier hesitated. “I don’t know. It could have just been my imagination.”
“Maybe he went to the penthouse suite,” Jet said.
“Hey, that could be right. I know we searched it, but we could have missed something.” Logan cast a mischievous eye at Muscles. “Wanna see if he’s there?”
“I guess so. It’s as good a chance as any.” Muscles led the way as they walked to the stairwell and up the stairs.
All was silent and dark as they approached the penthouse suite. Logan shined the flashlight at the door and inwardly gasped. It was open. “Hey, look at that.” He touched the lock. “It’s been forced open.”
“It does look like he’s been here,” Muscles admitted. “I can’t see that anyone else would’ve come past here in the time that we’ve been gone. The question is, is he still here?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Xavier said.
“Let’s take this nice and slow,” Logan said. “If Sanchez is here, there’s all probability that Lucy is here. And if she is, he’ll use her as a hostage. So let’s be as quiet as possible.”
Logan pressed the top of his flashlight up against his chest so that it only radiated a dim light before he stepped into the room. The others followed.
It was completely dark in the room. Logan listened, but all was silent. Leaving Muscles to guard the door, the others slowly went to the other rooms.
No one appeared to be in the suite. Searching once more with their flashlights, Logan noticed something was different as he entered the office. He frowned.
Jet noticed. “What’s wrong?”
Logan shined the flashlight around. “I’m not sure.” The beam of the light lit up the bookshelves, the model train display, and the desk. It wasn’t until he shone it above the desk that he paused. He called to the others. “Hey! Look what I’ve found.”
The others were soon in the office and gazing up at the wall. The map, the one that showed the San Francisco Bay area, had been torn off the wall. The edges, as well as the area north of Golden Gate Bridge, remained.
“Why would someone take a map?” Jet said.
“It had to be Sanchez,” Muscles said. “No one else has had time to come in here since we were last here.”
“But why a map?” Logan studied the small corner bits that were still in place. They were held there by pins. “He could have taken these pins out and then taken the whole map, but he didn’t.”
“He was probably in too much of a hurry.” Jet said.
“Or maybe he got what he wanted,” Logan said. “Of course. He must have a helicopter on the roof.”
Muscles frowned and then grinned. “Sanchez probably got the map so he could see where he was going.” He glanced at his watch. “But if he did, I wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t already taken off.”
“Then we don’t have any time to waste.” Logan hurried to the door, flung it open, and raced down the hallway.
“Do you think he’s on the roof?” Xavier asked Muscles.
Muscles nodded. “If I were him, that’s where I would’ve gone.”
“That’s good enough for me then. Come on. Logan can’t tackle Sanchez alone.” Xavier hurried out of the room.
The two groups soon became one again as they raced up the two flights of stairs as they headed for the roof. All the time, Logan kept an ear open, hoping that he wouldn’t hear a helicopter starting up.
He reached the stairs that led to the roof and slowed down to catch his breath as he climbed up them. He was thankful that he hadn’t yet heard a helicopter, but he also wondered if they’d been mistaken.
Suddenly, the roar of a helicopter cut through the area. “No!” Logan pushed himself even harder as he reached the door to the roof. He turned the handle but it didn’t budge. He pushed against it, but this didn’t help either.
“It won’t open!” Logan cried out.
“Let me try.” Muscles pushed against it with all his strength, but it still didn’t budge. Taking his pistol, he shot the handle off. He pushed again, but failed again.
“Something must be jammed against the door,” Xavier stated.
“Let’s all try pushing it,” Logan said, urgency in his voice. “Three, two, one!”
The door didn’t stand a chance. The force tore the door off its hinges and sent everyone falling onto the ground.
Stumbling to his feet, Logan watched in horror as a police helicopter, its searchlight lighting up the darkness, rose up from the helipad on the roof and gained height.
For a brief second, Logan caught sight of a face as someone peered down from the passenger side of the helicopter. It was Lucy.
“No!” Logan cried out in agony and desperation as he watched his one true love get farther and farther away from him for the second time.
~*~*~
Kenneth stopped what he was doing and shined the flashlight at the slanted eyes in the bush. It was a scrawny mountain lion. One that clearly hadn't enjoyed a full meal in a while.
He dropped the branches that he had collected and walked away, heading to the left of the campground, but the eyes followed him.
He fantasied about climbing a tree, but he had to get back to the teens. He walked off, faster than before, in another direction. It took all his willpower to keep from sprinting, which would only force the creature to strike.
Kenneth knew that he would have to take his chances and run back to the campsite, hoping that the fire would ward the animal off. He twisted around and around, trying to spot the glow of the fire, but he couldn’t. Sweat beaded down his neck, despite the cool air. If he didn’t get to the safety of the fire, he might not survive. Frantically fishing in his pockets, he found everything but his pistol.
Which he left back at the camp.
“Son of a …” The mountain lion’s rumbling growl and frenzied drooling cut him o
ff. He spun around and saw that the yellow gleam in its eyes were bigger. With a start, he realized that the animal was closing in.
If he continued standing where he was, the predator would be on him within seconds. He had to flee now. Not knowing if he was going in the right direction or not, he dashed off into the darkness, using the flashlight to light up the ground in front of him.
With a final hungered growl, the animal stalked after him. The faster Kenneth ran, the closer the paw slaps behind him grew.
Kenneth prayed that he was heading in the right direction but every tree looked the same. If he was to survive, he’d have to get lucky. Really lucky.
He pushed past branches and leaped over logs, his heart pounding. If he could grab a good, strong stick, he might be able to fend the thing off, but if the ravenous mountain lion got so much as a single bite of his leg, then that would just doom them all later. Now was sure as hell not the time to be bedridden.
Kenneth risked a glance over his shoulder as the growling suddenly stopped. He slowed to a jog. “Where the hell did you go ...”
He spun his flashlight around like a baseball bat just as something lunged from the bushes to his side. The big cat didn’t make a sound as its paws slammed against his chest and threw him to the ground. The only light went out as the lion’s drooling jaws clammed down on the flashlight in his hands.
Kenneth rolled with the fall and bounced off the enraged creature as it heaved chunks of aluminum and spit out battery acid. That might have bought him a few precious seconds, but the growl chasing after him sure seemed to have a note of rage between the hunger pains.
Kenneth spotted a slim gleam of light shining through the trees. He crashed through the undergrowth and ignored the branches slashing his face. With the last of his breath, he popped out of the treeline and caught sight of the campsite.
Kenneth gasped out as he ran toward the fire, “Molly! Derek!”
The teens sat up as he approached. “Grab a branch and wave it around!” Kenneth reached for his backpack.
As he fumbled inside for his pistol, the teens each grabbed a stick that was alight at one end but cool enough to hold at the other end.
