“Captives” – part 2

by Jo and Stacey

Cort looked at Maximus' grimly-set profile as the General drove rapidly towards Dwayne's house. He hadn't seen him look quite that way since Joimus had been lost during the flood. He himself was very fond of Alistair and hated the thought the reverend had been hurt again and might still be in danger. His hand moved to the handle of his gun. There it was, a question of force again. He was coming to terms, at least somewhat, with the fact that sometimes force was necessary when evil threatened good folks. And they didn't come any better than Reverend Harris.

Maximus stopped his car some ways back from Dwayne's house, pulling it off the road behind some tall shrubbery. He and Cort got out, looking through the leaves toward the house, waiting for Zack. There was no sign of activity they could discern in or around the house from where they were.

"You think Alistair's ok?" Cort asked.

"I am not sure. He was having a hard time speaking. Said he had been hit. I do not know exactly what he meant by that...or who hit him." Or why, he added silently. Why would anyone want to hurt Alistair? The man never gave offense to a soul. But Alex had been stabbed. Someone in the house was bent on doing harm. That much was sure.

Meanwhile, Dwayne had gone back out into the foyer to where Alistair and Alex were still lying side-by-side on the floor. He frowned, spotting the tiny cell phone lying in Alistair's hand.

"Well, well, well," he said, bending down and snatching the phone from Alistair's outstretched hand. "While the cats away, the mice will play, huh?" He checked the call-log and frowned again. He rolled Alistair over onto his belly. The man let out a moan as Dwayne pulled his arms behind him and quickly began tying them together with a long piece of nylon cord he pulled from his back pocket.

"Now, don't you go gettin' any crazy ideas about escaping, Reverend," Dwayne told him when he'd finished tying him up, "I'll be back in just a bit with the little woman and we can get a move on before your friends show up and try to put a damper on the fun we're havin' here."

Vaguely, Alistair was aware he was being moved. He was having a hard time concentrating and his head had sharp pains shooting through it from the back. There was something he needed to do, something important...something...what? Alex! Alex was bleeding. That was it. He needed to help Alex. He tried to move and was startled by the fact he couldn't. His arms were behind him, uncomfortably, tightly, behind him and he couldn't seem to pull them to his sides. Had he called Maximus? He'd wanted to, but had he? He couldn't remember. Then he tried lifting his head. His cheek was resting on something sticky. The motion sent a sharper pain through his head and he gasped, letting his head fall back to the floor.

"Ahnna," Joimus said, smiling at her friend as she opened the door of the mill, "come and sit with me a moment. I've got some news."

Ahnna looked at Joimus' smiling lips then at her eyes. The smile was not in her eyes. Instantly her heart started to pound. "Is something...?"

When they were seated, Joimus continued, "There's a... situation... over at Dwayne's new house, you know that big place he bought out of town. I don't know any details, but Maximus and Cort have both gone over there and Zack is on his way, too, so there should be nothing to worry about, all right?"

"What...what sort of...situation?"

"Alistair called Maximus just a few minutes ago."

"I saw his note when I got home. He said he was going with...with
Dwayne. Something about him needing to talk with Abby."

"Well, he said he'd been, um, hit and that Alex was there, too, and Alex had been stabbed. We don't know by whom or why, but Alistair was able to call and speak with Maximus. They'll call as soon as they know anything. I'll stay here with you."

Ahnna had stood, looking toward the door. "I need to...."

"No, Ahnna, no you don't. Maximus specifically asked that we stay here at the mill until he's had a chance to discover what's going on over there. We don't want to make the situation worse for them by charging in."

Ahnna sat back down, clasping her hands tightly. "I...I don't think I can go through this again."

"It's not like the fire. He's already been able to use the phone, said he was going to try and help Alex."

"You think he's really all right?"

Joimus had no idea, but she said, "Maximus will take care of things. Trust him."

Zack had been filling in down at the sheriff's when Maximus' call came in. Bud, who'd gotten Zack a part-time job there while they waited for their security business to get off the ground, was out on a call with John, so Zack was there on his own to handle things. As soon as he hung up the phone, he was out the door running – quickly grabbing a couple of shotguns and his berretta, and his vest.

On his way out to Dwayne's, he put out a call on the radio to the sheriff and let him know what was going on and that he'd had to leave the station unattended. When he pulled off the main road and headed up the drive to the Campbell ranch, Zack could see Maximus' car parked off to the side, hidden behind. Pulling up next to it, he quickly jumped out of his vehicle and made his way over to where Maximus and Cort were talking.

"What's the situation here?" he asked, carefully watching the front door of the house in case anyone inside made a move.

"I do not know anything more, Zack, than when I called you," Maximus replied. "It is quiet right now but from what Alistair said, Alex was bleeding pretty badly from a knife wound. He was going to try to help him, but," he sighed, "he dropped the phone."

Cort hadn't realized that. "He dropped...? You mean he might be hurt bad?"

"I do not think we can stand around out here and wait very long to find out," Maximus said, his voice low. "I called for the medics, too. We cannot have them walking in on something that is still dangerous." He gazed deeply at Zack.

Zack nodded. Assuming Alex and Alistair were both still alive, they would be their number one priority. "Alright, we need to find out exactly how many are in there and if they are still alive. I'm assuming if this was a true hostage situation that someone from inside would have made contact already to place their demands. Since that hasn't been done, we've got to assume this is all being played out on the fly. That's even more dangerous a situation, however, could work to our advantage depending on how armed they are in there.

He was well aware of Maximus' capabilities, had heard the rumors about him being an ex-general in the military. Cort, however, was a bit of a mystery. He looked up at the young man and asked, "I assume you know how to handle a gun?"

"That'd be correct," was Cort's reply.

"Do not worry about him," Maximus added. "He knows what he is doing."

"Good," Zack replied, "Then let's get going. I'll sneak around to the side, peek in the window over there - see if I can see anything. Maximus, you go around to the opposite side.Cort, you keep lookout, signal if there's trouble. Once we know what we're dealing with we'll have to find a way inside - possibly
from the back. Sound good?"

Maximus merely nodded and headed to the side of the house.

Zack nodded to Cort, then crept slowly around to the right side of the house, his shotgun at the ready. Ducking behind some low shrubs, he peeked inside the first window he came to. He found himself looking into a small den. The lights were off, however, the door was pushed ajar and just outside he could make out the front foyer. Someone was moving around in there, but he couldn't make out more than just their feet.
 

As quietly as he could, he crept over to the next window and peeked in. He was in luck! This gave him a clear view of the living room which opened up to the foyer. He pulled out a small pair of binoculars, adjusted the view, and let out a quiet gasp, then shoved them back into his pocket and quietly made his way back to the front of the house to meet back up with Cort and Maximus.

"Did you see something?" Maximus asked, noting the look on Zack's face.

Zack licked his lip, nodded, "It doesn't look good," he told them, "I could make out 2 bodies - one was definitely in bad shape. Blood everywhere. Most likely, Ross. The other - I assume, Reverend Harris - was lying next to him, face down. His hands bound behind him. Dwayne had his wife tied up as well, set her down next to the two men." He looked Maximus and Cort in the eye, "We need to work quickly. We don't know what he's planning. We've got to get him isolated somehow from his captives and take him down."

Cort's hand hovered over his gun butt. He'd been thinking about this ever since they'd left Maximus' house. Herod. The name kept repeating over and over in his mind. Someone was inside and they were acting like Herod, with no concern for human life. He looked at Zack, who was the official lawman here. "What do you need?"

"I'm going around to the back of the house, get his attention," Zack said, checking the ammo in his side-arm. "You and Maximus go in through the front, break the door in if you have to, but do it quickly. In and out. Get Ross out first, then the other. I'll take care of Campbell." He looked up at them, "Ready, gentlemen? Then let's do this."

Dwayne was putting the final touches on his plan, completely aware of the three new arrivals that were outside creeping around his house. Unbeknownst to them, Dwayne had the entire compound set up with hidden surveillance cameras. At that very moment he was watching their every move from a tiny portable monitor.

"C'mon, darlin'," he told Abby, pulling her to her feet. "Time to blow this joint; it's gettin' a might too crowded here for my taste."

Abby wobbled a bit on her feet, the drugs in her system having taken full effect on her now. Dwayne wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her, then kicked at Alistair. "You too, padre!" he said, then kicked at him again when the man didn't move. "Let's get a move on here! Time's a wastin'!"

Alistair moaned, his eyes mere slits.

Dwayne let out a sigh, leaned Abby against the wall beside him. "Stay here darlin'," he said, then bent down and picked the man up and threw him over his shoulder.

Once he was upright, he grabbed his gun and put it against Alistair's head, then pulled Abby by her restraints. "You stay with me, darlin', you hear? Make one move or one sound I don't like and the padre here gets it. Comprende?"

She nodded, her eyes glazed over and tear-filled.

"Good," he told her, dragging her along to the rear of the house, "then let get goin'. Doc will be here to pick us up any moment."

Meanwhile, Zack had just reached the back of the house and was now in position to make his move when suddenly a black SUV came barreling around from the front of the house.

He couldn't make out who the driver was but knew it couldn't be one of his men. Without thinking, he pulled out his sidearm and raised it towards the front of the vehicle. The driver must have seen him because he swerved and floored it - aiming right at Zack.

Zack jumped out of the way just in time as the driver pulled around, opened the door a crack and began firing an automatic weapon at him. Zack managed to duck down and took cover on the side of the barn before the driver hit him. He waited a moment, peeked around, then quickly ducked back when another barrage of bullets came spraying at him. He counted to three, held his breath, then began to return fire - his bullets making no impact on what was obviously a bullet-proof vehicle.

The driver began honking his horn wildly, and Zack saw the back door of the house fly open. Dwayne was moving towards the vehicle as quickly as he could - Alistair draped over his shoulder, a gun aimed at his head. Abby was being dragged along by her wrist-restraints - completely out of it, Zack thought.

Zack watched as the driver helped Dwayne get his two captives into the back of the SUV, then climbed in behind them and shut the door. As they sped off towards the front of the house, Zack stood cursing to himself. He'd blown it. They'd gotten away. He only hoped Maximus and Cort were okay and had been successful at least in getting to Alex.

Maximus' vehicle screeched around the corner, the passenger side deeply dented in. The black SUV had plowed into it, spinning it so that it's rear fender slammed into Cort. Clutching his ribs, Cort had hollered, "Go!" to Maximus. "I'm ok. I'll go inside and check on Alex!"

Out of the corner of his eye, the General had seen Dwayne's getaway. "You are sure?" he asked, already halfway in the driver's seat.

"I'm sure," Cort nodded. The pain told him he probably had some broken ribs, but what had to be done had to be done.

Not really stopping at the rear of the house, Maximus leaned across, opening the door for Zack.

Leaning way forward, holding his ribcage, Cort went in the front door. Alex lay quietly, his eyes closed, blood everywhere. Beside him, more blood was smeared as though someone had lain in it and then been dragged away. Cort hoped to God that Alistair wasn't bleeding, too. He crouched painfully beside Alex, moving back the wrapping someone had covered the wound with. The knife had gone in right in Alex's chest. Cort blew out a long breath, laying the cloth back over it and applying pressure. Before long he heard the sound of a siren coming up the long drive. "Hang in there, Alex," he urged. "Help's here."

Alistair felt himself being carried. Whoever was carrying him was in a hurry and none too careful about his methods. Twice the side of Alistair's head smacked into doorways, then he was tossed into the back of some vehicle, his torso twisted, his hands lashed behind him. When his feet were shoved in, his head slid down to the floorboards and the sounds and the pain stopped as he was lost in the darkness.

TBC...