"Captive"
By Lorrie
Disclaimer: The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Walker, Texas Ranger". The characters belong to CBS Productions, Top Kick Productions, Washo Brother's Entertainment, etc, but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.) Note from the author: "Captive" contains scenes earlier referenced in "Pirate's Pleasure" which can be found in the "R" rated section of fanfiction.net.
Walker reached for the phone as he passed by his desk. "Walker." He said, sitting down as he spoke.
"Ranger Walker, this is Captain Holliday. I have a young lady here that's asking for you. A Sarah Parks."
"Sarah Parks?" Walker asked.
"Yes sir. She's a little disoriented, probably should be in the hospital, but she insists on speaking with you first."
"I don't believe I know a Sarah Parks." Walker replied.
"Maybe she knows you by reputation Ranger. She's frightened and she won't talk to my people. She came in her with a slip of paper with your name on it and handed it to me. We checked her idea and got her name from that. Ranger, she's never uttered a word and we're pretty sure she's been raped."
Walker hung up the phone. With Trivette in court today, he would have to take Sydney and Gage. "Gage, Sydney, come on we're going to the police station."
"What's up?" Gage asked.
"I'll explain on the way."
Walker relayed the information to Sydney and Gage that he had been given by Capt. Holliday.
As they pulled into the police station, Sydney turned to Walker. "Have the paramedics been called yet?"
"I don't know. We'll find out when we talk with the Captain." Walker replied.
"Ranger Walker." Capt. Holliday greeted.
"Hi Captain." He shook the man's hand.
Walker pointed to the two junior Rangers. "Rangers Gage and Cooke."
The Captain nodded in their direction. "Rangers." He led them to an interrogation room. "We've called the EMT's. She's getting a little listless."
Walker, Gage and Sydney stepped into the room. "Sarah Parks?" Walker asked, facing the young girl.
She nodded.
"I'm Ranger Walker. This is Ranger Gage and Ranger Cooke." The girl nodded and then began to stare straight ahead. "Sarah, can you tell me what happened to you?"
The young girl rocked back and forth in the chair. She continued to stare straight ahead, still frightened.
"Sarah?" Walker reached for her hand. She quickly pulled it back, a look of pure fear in her eyes. "Shh. Shh. It's OK. I won't hurt you." Walker tried to sooth, but Sarah turned to the wall.
Not knowing what else to try, Walker nodded towards Sydney, silently asking her to try to communicate with the girl.
"Sarah." She started.
The girl continued to rock back and forth, not acknowledging her name.
From the end of the table, Gage noticed something familiar about the girl's actions. He quietly approached the girl. "Syd," he said gently, "let me try."
Sydney looked at Gage oddly, wondering how he planned to reach the girl when neither she nor Walker had been able to.
Gage lightly touched the girl's shoulder and then turned her face to look at him. He then signed as he spoke. "Are you Sarah Parks?"
She nodded her head yes.
"Can you tell us what happened to you?" He signed.
She shook her head yes.
Sydney joined the conversation at this point. "Sarah, I'm Ranger Cooke." She signed. "Will you talk to me?"
Sarah hesitantly nodded her head.
Sydney turned to Walker and Gage. "OK guys - out, please."
They turned and left the room, knowing that this young woman would probably feel more comfortable discussing her ordeal with another woman. Walker opened the door to the observation room, next to the interrogation room where Sydney was talking to the girl.
"How did you know?" He asked Gage as the two men stood near the two-way mirror.
"What, that she was deaf?" Gage asked. Walker nodded. "When we first came in, she was looking at the door. She read your lips when you asked if she was Sarah Parks. The rest of the time you were trying to talk to her, she wasn't looking at you." Gage leaned against the wall. "She's very withdrawn right now." He looked at the girl and Sydney talking.
"What's she saying?" Walker asked, regretting that he didn't know sign language.
"She was taken by two men. They took her to an old building. It was cold and dark. They tied her up and gave her a shot of something and then . . ." Gage stopped and closed his eyes briefly.
"And then what?" Walker asked.
"And then they raped her."
Walker's eyes also closed.
"She's telling Sydney that she thinks she saw one say something about selling her to the highest bidder at an auction."
"How can we be sure?" Walker asked.
Gage pushed the button to the intercom in the room where Sydney was talking to the girl. "Syd, ask her if she remembers the name of the warehouse or a street name. We need to find out what's going on."
Sydney nodded and asked the questions to Sarah.
Sarah thought for a moment and then signed to Sydney. "Industrial Way was the street name and the warehouse had a big yellow rose on the side of it."
"Thank you Sarah. Now, the paramedics are here. They need to take you to the hospital so a doctor can check you over. Is there anyone I can call for you?" Sydney signed.
"My sister lives in Houston. I live here alone."
"What's your sister's name?"
"Kathleen Parks. Would you mind calling her?"
"Not at all." Sydney smiled.
"Thank you Ranger Cooke and tell Ranger Gage thank you too, for realizing that I'm deaf." She smiled. "How did he know?"
"He's pretty perceptive about those things." Sydney smiled towards the window.
Gage smiled back even though she couldn't see him.
********
"Chase, how in the hell could you have let the girl get away?" Bobby McCade asked.
"Hey, don't you go blaming this on me. She probably wouldn't have brought much anyway since she can't hear." Chase replied.
"Well little brother, you had better hope that Mr. Trask sees it that way."
"Maybe we can replace her before he gets here. He's never seen her, right?"
"That might work. We sent him pictures of the others, but we didn't have time to get a shot of her." Bobby stretched. "OK, we'll try it. What did you have in mind?"
"How about we check out the theater tonight? It's Friday and there's usually a really good pick of girls on Friday night."
Bobby nodded his head. "OK, the theater it is. Maybe you can find him a nice dark haired one."
Chase smiled and nodded to his brother.
*******
"So what about it Gage?" Sydney asked from across her desk.
"What about what?" He asked, not looking up from his reports.
"Are we still going to a movie tonight?"
"Uh, yeah I guess." He said without looking up from his paperwork.
"What, you don't want to go?" Sydney asked.
Gage peered over the paper he was holding. "I didn't say that Syd. Let me finish this and then we'll decide what we're going to see."
Sydney smiled. She already knew which movie she wanted to see and where it was playing.
When Gage finished his report he put it in Walker's "In" Box and then sat on the edge of Sydney's desk. As she talked on the phone, she pushed his leg out of the way of one of her side drawers so she could retrieve a pen. "Thanks Amy, I'll have it to you in the morning."
She hung up the phone and turned her attention to Gage. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Waiting to see what movie you want to see tonight." He replied innocently.
"Oh really?" She said, raising her eyebrows slightly.
"Yeah. There's a really good one playing at the Cineplex on 10th Street. The one we saw advertised last night."
"The pirate flick?"
"That's the one." Gage smiled.
Sydney contemplated the movie that she had wanted to see and the one Gage had suggested. She finally decided that they could come back anytime to see the one she wanted to see since it had just started, but the one Gage wanted to see wouldn't be in theaters as long.
"So, is that alright?" He asked, bringing out of her thoughts.
"The pirate one. Yeah, that's fine." She smiled.
"Really? I mean, I can always wait until it comes out on video."
"Gage, really, it's fine."
She began to think about the previews they had seen on television the previous night and then she began to think about the story Gage had told her of Francois and Josephine. She laughed to herself as she thought of how romantic Gage's inner mind must be since he had dreamed up this story while he was unconscious.
"What's so funny?" Gage asked as he pulled on his jacket, noticing the unsolicited smile on her face.
"Um. Oh, nothing." She continued to smile.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked.
"Give me a minute." She grabbed her jacket and after depositing a stack of folders in Walker's "In" box, she and Gage left.
"Do we have time to run home first? I'd like to change clothes." She asked as they neared the car.
Gage glanced at his watch. "Sure. I thought we'd grab a bite of dinner after the movie, if that's OK."
"Umm. Sounds good. I get to pick where though, right?"
They both laughed as they headed home.
*********
"Have you picked a theater yet, Chase?" Bobby asked as he loaded the van.
Chase held the newspaper in his hands. "Yep. The Cineplex on 10th."
"Alright then. Let's get something to eat and we'll be ready around 9:00 when they let out."
"Good enough bro."
The two brothers closed the doors of the van and pulled away.
*********
"Walker, anymore on the Parks girl?" Trivette asked as he and his partner sat alone in Ranger headquarters.
"I spoke with her doctor earlier. She's doing as well as can be expected. She was raped."
Trivette shook his head in disgust. "How about the sister?"
"She's with Sarah now. I thought I'd give them tonight and try to question her again in the morning."
"What are you hoping to get out of her?"
"I want a description of the man who did this." Walker replied firmly.
Trivette nodded. "What about the warehouse?"
"Dallas PD checked it out earlier. It's empty. No trace evidence either."
*****
Gage parked the car outside of the theater. "Are you sure this is OK?" He asked for the umpteenth time as he turned to Sydney.
She nodded, looking up at the marquee. "I'm sure Gage. Actually, this sounds really good."
"Good." He leaned over and kissed her full on the lips. "I love you Syd."
"Umm. I love you too." She returned the kiss. "We'd better get inside."
Gage purchased their tickets and then they stood in the long line at the concession stand for popcorn and sodas. "Gage, come on! We're going to be stumbling around in the dark if you don't hurry up."
They finally got to the front of the line and made their purchases, then entered the cinema just as the lights went down. "Oh great!" Gage moaned, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.
"Told you so." Sydney hissed as she took one of the drinks from Gage's hands and led the way. "What about here?" She whispered.
"Go." Gage replied.
Sydney started across one of the rows. "Excuse me. Excuse me." She announced as they stepped over people's legs.
"Sorry. Excuse me." Gage said as he followed close behind Sydney. Finally, they came to two empty seats and laughed as they fell into them.
"Shh." Someone in the row behind them emitted.
Gage looked at Sydney and put his finger to his mouth. "Shh Syd." He laughed.
The movie was everything it had promised to be; full of adventure and romance on the high seas. When it was over, people began to pour out of the Cineplex and into the parking lot.
"Heads up Chase. It's your pick." Bobby said, looking at his younger brother.
Chase's eyes were already fixed on a petite woman, his only concern being how to get her away from her very built companion.
"That one right there, Bobby." Chase pointed. "Think you can distract the guy?"
"You've got it."
Bobby parked the van on the side of the theater, close to the curb. "You go for the girl. I'll take care of the guy." He instructed as he grabbed a tire tool from the back of the van.
Chase approached his prey from behind with Bobby at his heels. As Chase reached out and grabbed her shoulder, Sydney, caught off guard was quickly turned to face Chase.
In an instant, Gage raised his fist to connect with Chase's young jaw, but was instead met by the tire tool Bobby carried, to his midsection. Bobby then took off running towards the back of the theater with Gage giving chase.
Sydney screamed and was able to execute one powerful kick to Chase's chest before he grabbed her, one of his strong arms going around her neck, the other producing a Chloroformed cloth which he used to cover her nose and mouth. In seconds, Sydney collapsed into Chase's arms.
Gage, in the meantime, had his hands full with Bobby at the back of the theater. Each of his powerful blows was met with a defensive move from Bobby. As they fought, Gage didn't see Chase until he had reached the van, carrying Sydney's limp body.
"Syd!" Gage called out. Bobby made a run for the van with Gage right behind him. He jumped inside, sliding the door closed, as Chase cranked up.
Gage positioned himself in front of the van and as he ran towards it, Chase stepped on the gas. Gage leaped to the side, but not before the van struck him, throwing him onto the windshield and then to the pavement.
A crowd on on-lookers ran to the scene. "Someone call 9-1-1!" A man shouted.
Walker and Trivette heard the call come in on the radio as they were driving towards headquarters after working late. "We're just a block away." Trivette said as he picked up the radio and called in their position.
Walker pulled the RAM to an abrupt stop as they entered the parking lot.
"Walker! That's Gage!" Trivette shouted as he recognized Gage's slumped form trying to pull himself to his feet.
"Gage! Gage, stay down buddy." Trivette ordered, attempting to keep Gage on the curb.
Gage pushed Trivette away as Walker joined them. "I'm alright." Gage said, trying his best to sit up.
"I can see that." Walker replied, noting the blood on the side of Gage's face and his torn shirt.
Gage sat up and wiped the blood from his face with the handkerchief Walker handed him. "Thanks." He replied flatly.
"Gage, what happened? Where's Sydney?" Walker asked.
A bewildered look came across Gage's face. "Oh God! They've got her! Walker, they've got Syd!" Gage tried desperately to stand, but Walker and Trivette both forced him to remain seated on the curb until the paramedics arrived.
"Easy Gage. Who has Sydney?"
Gage squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "It was a dark colored van. I got a couple of the letters from the plates. T and L. Texas plates." He looked up at Trivette. "I can give you a good enough description of one of them, but not the one that grabbed Syd."
As the Rangers were talking, the paramedics pulled up. "OK, what have we got?" One of the young EMT's asked.
"This is Ranger Gage, he was hit by a car."
"I was brushed by a car. I'm fine. Really. It's just a small cut on my head." Gage insisted.
"Ranger Gage, you really should have that looked at in the hospital." The other EMT suggested.
"I'm fine! I need to be out there looking for Sydney!"
"Can you stand?" The EMT asked, ignoring Gage's tone. Gage scoffed, but pulled himself to his feet. He knew if he could stand on his own, without passing out, everyone would be more likely to leave him alone. He felt a little wobbly, but no one could tell. The EMTs cleaned up the cut on his forehead and placed a small bandage there.
"Walker, we've got to get on this. They've got Syd!"
"Calm down Gage. First we need to get a description of this guy that you fought with." Trivette responded.
"Come on, let's go back to headquarters and we'll get started." Walker suggested.
The ride back to headquarters was fairly quiet. Gage was favoring his left arm by the time they got inside.
"How bad is it?" Walker asked as they entered the darkened room.
"What?" Gage asked.
"The arm."
"I bruised it pretty good."
"That's not all you bruised. Man, you look awful." Trivette noticed as they walked into the well-lit office.
"Can you pull up your composite program?" Gage asked as he sat down near Trivette's desk.
"Sure." Trivette replied, again noting Gage's worried look. "I know you're worried about her, we all are."
"Trivette, the last time I saw her, she was limp in some guy's arms and being tossed into the back of a dark colored van. I'm a little more than worried." Gage said through gritted teeth.
"Hey, we're all on the same side here Gage. Trivette and I are worried about her too." Walker announced.
"You guys weren't there! I should have been able to protect her!" Gage fumed at himself.
Walker and Trivette stared at each other for a moment. Knowing full well what Gage was feeling. "Let's get this composite going." Trivette and Gage worked on the composite while Walker called Alex to let her know what was going on.
"That's him!" Gage announced suddenly.
"Alex, I've got to go. I'll see you soon." Walker hung up the phone and joined Trivette and Gage at Trivette's desk.
"Let me cross reference the composite with the police records. He punched a few keys and in a few moments had a name to go with the face. "Bobby McCade. He's got a few priors, but nothing big."
"Gage, you're certain that this is the man you were fighting with?" Walker asked.
Gage nodded his head. "I'm very certain."
"Got an address?" Walker asked Trivette.
"Yep." He printed out the address listed for McCade. All three Rangers piled into the RAM again and headed for the Market Street address, but when they arrived, they found a vacant lot.
"Are you sure the address is right?" Walker asked.
"Positive." Trivette replied as the men got out and looked around the area.
"This lot looks pretty fresh." Trivette noted.
Walker nodded. "We'll have to check the records in the morning."
"In the morning?" Gage asked frantically. "What about Syd?"
"We can't do anything more tonight." Walker placed his hand on his young friend's shoulder.
Gage stared at Walker with a completely lost look in his eyes.
"Gage, we will find her. I promise."
Gage closed his eyes and nodded his head quietly.
"Come on. I'm taking you back to the Ranch."
"Ah Walker, really, I don't want to impose. I'll be fine at home." Gage objected.
"I won't hear of it. You took a pretty good swat on the head and since you won't get checked out by a doctor, I'd like to know that you're really alright tonight."
Gage reluctantly agreed.
After dropping Trivette at his house, Walker and Gage headed for the Ranch. "You have to believe that she's alright." Walker said as he noticed the look on Gage's face.
"I can't help but think that this is connected to that case from this morning." Gage replied.
"The Parks girl?" Walker asked. "Why?"
"I don't know why. It's just a gut feeling."
********
Walker parked in the driveway and looked over at Gage who was half asleep. "We're here." He announced.
"Oh, sorry. I must have fallen asleep."
"Come on. We'll get you set up in the guestroom."
"Walker, I really don't want to impose."
"Trust me. You're not." Walker replied as Alex met them at the door.
Her eyes grew wide at the sight of Gage's bruises. "Gage!" She exclaimed. "Are you alright?"
He nodded. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."
"Come on. The guestroom is this way. I've already put fresh linens on the bed."
"I'm sorry to be so much trouble."
"You're not." She flipped the light on in the guestroom. "Just let us know if you need anything."
Gage sat on the edge of the bed, a slight display of pain showing on his face, which didn't go unnoticed by Walker. "Gage?"
"It's just my ribs Walker." He replied and before Walker could ask anything else Gage removed his shirt, revealing a ten-inch long thin black and purple bruise across his right ribs.
"You know they're probably cracked."
Gage nodded. "Or broken. I hate to ask, but could you wrap them?"
Walker nodded and retrieved a roll of bandages from the medicine cabinet down the hall. "OK, I need for you to breath out and hold it." He ordered as he prepared to tightly bandage Gage's ribs.
Gage took in a deep breath and then exhaled. Walker began to quickly wrap his ribs. "OK." He replied when he was finished.
Gage released his breath and the tightness of the bandages caused another wave of pain across his lower ribs.
"Too tight?" Walker asked.
Gage nodded.
Walker smiled slightly. "That means it's wrapped right. Sorry."
"It's OK." Gage gasped slightly as he laid down across the bed.
Walker stared out of the room.
"Thanks Walker."
"Try to get some sleep, OK?"
********
Sydney's mind had drifted to a small island, which appeared to be inhabited by only two people. "Francois? Where are you?" Josephine called out.
"Here I am Jo." He called down from atop a tall tree.
"What can you see from there?" She asked.
"Water, water and more water." He laughed as he came down. "It's a good lookout tree though. You can see for miles around the island."
"Do you really think Lafitte will come back for us?"
Francois nodded. "Yes Jo I do and I want to be ready for him when he does." Francois thought back to the night when he had taken Jean Lafitte's ship after the Captain attempted to force himself on Josephine. Lafitte had been captured and tied up, but his brother Pierre had managed to shoot Francois in the side before he and Josephine were able to escape.
Josephine had nursed Francois back to health after their small boat had drifted to this isolated, uninhabited island. Now it was home to the two of them.
Francois stood by the tree and shook the tender branches, sending leaves pouring down on Josephine's head.
"Francois Bouchard! You stop that this instant! You are acting like a child!" She scolded.
Bouchard let go of the tree and smiled. "A child, am I?" He asked as he reached out for her.
She playfully dodged his hands and began to run from him. He quickly gave chase down the beach, eventually catching her in his arms and brining her into his strong embrace. "Why is it that I love you so, Josephine Dupree?"
"For the same reason that I love you Francois Bouchard." She smiled as she lifted her chin to him, waiting for his kiss. He didn't leave her disappointed.
*********
"Should we put her with the others?" Chase asked as he and Bobby headed towards home.
Bobby looked at his watch. "It's late. Why don't we take her to the cabin for now and we'll get her to the warehouse tomorrow."
Chase smiled mischievously. "Really?"
"Now don't go getting any ideas about keeping her Chase. You know we have to replace the one that got away and hope that she didn't remember enough about any of this to tell anyone."
Chase nodded his head. "I don't see how she could. We're giving each of them three injections a day and that stuff is pretty strong."
"Yeah, Big Jim said it would keep them pretty much out of it until he could get them out of the country."
"Bobby, I'm still not crazy about this. I mean, we're letting Big Jim sell these girls like they were a sack of potatoes or something. Why are we letting him hold this over us anyway?"
"Chase, just keep your mouth shut. It's that kinda talk that'll get you killed." Bobby paused, and looked into his brother's eyes knowing that he was still waiting for an answer to his last question. "Have you forgotten that Big Jim knows about the girl at Texas A & M, Chase? He knows what you did." Bobby replied, his jaw firm.
Chase looked at the floorboard of the van. "Bobby, it was an accident. I didn't mean to kill her. I loved her."
"I know Chase. I know." Bobby soothed. "But I'm not willing to take any chances. What if Big Jim really does have evidence that links you to that girl's murder? You could be convicted of first-degree murder."
"But what if we're caught in the middle of this? We could be convicted of kidnapping. That's a Federal offense too." Chase replied.
Bobby nodded his head as he pulled the van to a stop in their driveway. "Come on, let's get her inside."
Chase easily lifted Sydney's limp body from the van and carried her inside the cabin. "She's still out." He looked at Bobby.
"She'll be coming around soon enough. Let's see if she has any ID on her." He opened the door and Chase immediately took her to the basement. He laid her on a small cot in a corner and handcuffed her right wrist to the metal bed railing.
Once she was secured, Bobby began going through her pockets. "Nothing." He said, looking up at Chase.
"Um. I think I'll call her Jessie."
"I'm telling you Chase, don't get too attached. We need her for an even dozen."
"I know. But Bobby, she's mine tonight."
Bobby smiled at his brother and nodded.
******
Sydney had tried to open her eyes as Chase had lifted her out of the van. She could feel the cool evening air on her face, but couldn't seem to wake up. Eventually the darkness overpowered her and she found herself back on the deserted island with Francois, who in her mind, looked very much like Gage and she like Josephine.
"Jo!" Francois called out as he approached their shelter with several fresh fish. He sat the fish down near the campfire and looked around the area. "Josephine! Where are you?" He called. No one answered.
He realized that the watering cans were gone and knew that she must have gone for fresh water while he had been catching their dinner. "Ah Jo, you know that the cans are going to be too heavy for you to carry by yourself once they're filled." He said to himself as he made his way to the watering hole.
Josephine had decided to take advantage of Francois' fishing expedition and had taken a dip into the fresh-water lagoon. Her clothes lay strewn on the nearby bushes.
Francois immediately noticed the oversized shirt and pants, belonging to him, along with her underwear lying about. He looked into the lagoon and saw her bathing in the warm sunlight.
As she lifted her face towards the sun, she suddenly went under. Fighting her way back to the surface, she screamed out. "Francois! Help!"
"Jo! Hang on Jo, I'm coming!" Bouchard was into the water in an instant. He swam to her and brought her back to shore, a stream of blood trickling from the back of her leg.
"What is it Francois? Something has bitten my leg." She tried to twist her head around to see the backside of her left leg.
Francois pulled his belt from his pants and tightened it around her leg. With one hand, he gathered her clothes and then picked her up and carried her back to camp.
Josephine was fighting to stay awake when he gently put her down inside their shelter. "Jo? Jo, can you hear me?"
"Fran . . . sois." She said in a slow whisper.
"Shh. I'm afraid that it may have been a viper. I need to cleanse the wound." He pulled his knife from his boot and laid it in the fire to sterilize.
"What are you . . . going to do?" She asked.
"I need to open the wound and then I'll suck out the poison. Hopefully it hasn't had time to spread yet." He said, retrieving the knife and pursing his lips as he prepared to cut into Josephine's tender flesh.
********
Sydney felt a sting at the back of her left leg as Bobby injected her with the drug they had used on the others. "Why are you giving it to her now?" Chase asked.
Bobby looked up at Chase. "Because I don't want you to get carried away with her. She's not staying Chase. We have to hand her over to Big Jim with the others." He put his hand on Chase's shoulder and guided him upstairs.
"You said I could have her tonight Bobby. You said!" Chase shouted as the door to the basement closed.
"I had time to re-think. If you have her tonight, you won't want to let her go, so it's better that you just stay away from her."
The phone rang and Bobby walked away, leaving Chase standing by the basement door. "I will have you Jessie. I will have you tonight and any other night I choose. I'm not going to let them take you away."
"Chase, come here a minute would ya?" Bobby called out. Chase left the basement door and found Bobby in the living room on the phone. "Big Jim wants to speak to you." He handed Chase the phone.
"Chase, my boy. How are you doing this evening?" Big Jim asked.
"Fine." Chase answered.
"Good. Good. I want to issue you a warning. Don't touch the merchandise again, or I'll make sure that you and your brother die a very slow and painful death, understand?" Big Jim threatened.
"Y-Y-Yes sir. I understand." He stammered.
"Good. Put your brother back on the line." Chase handed the phone to Bobby.
"Yes sir. We'll deliver her around 7:00." Bobby answered after listening to Big Jim for a while. He then hung up the phone and without warning rushed Chase, pinning him to the wall. "You idiot! You just had to make it with one of them, didn't you?" He tightened his grip on his brother's neck. "Which one was it Chase?" Chase began to gasp for air and Bobby loosened his grip. "Which one was it?" He repeated.
Chase brought his hands to his throat, coughing. He looked up at his brother. "The one from the mall. The blonde."
"Big Jim says that one is damaged goods now and he won't get as much for her."
"She wasn't a virgin Bobby. I swear. And I'll bet Jessie isn't either."
"Stop calling her Jessie! I told you not to get wrapped up in her! She goes to the warehouse at first light." Bobby yelled and threw a pillow at Chase and stormed out of the room.
As soon as Bobby was gone, Chase looked at the clock on the wall. It was two in the morning. "She won't be here Bobby and neither will I." Chase whispered and quickly gathered a few things from his room. He ran down the steps to find Sydney lying in the bed where he and Bobby had left her.
"Come on Jessie." He coaxed, trying to wake her. "Jessie, wake up." He lightly tapped her face until her eyes opened.
"Gage?" Sydney asked, wondering why she was being addressed as Jessie.
"Yeah, sure. I'll be whoever you want me to be, but right now we need to get out of here. If we don't you're going to find yourself on and unscheduled flight to Asia." He unlocked the handcuff and then flung his backpack over his shoulder. Leaning down, he easily picked Sydney up and carried her out the back door, deeper into the woods.
********
Josephine passed out at the first touch of the white-hot knife on the back of her leg. Francois breathed in deeply and pressed his lips to the snakebite and sucked the venom from her body, spitting it out as he felt it burn the inside of his mouth. He continued to cleanse the wound in this manner until he could taste only blood.
Quickly he wrapped a clean cloth tightly around her leg and then pulled her close to him. "Come on Jo. You have to be alright. You just have to be." He kissed the top of her head as he began to rock slowly back and forth with her.
*******
"Syd!" Gage screamed as he bolted upright in bed, immediately grabbing his ribs in pain. He panted a few times to get his breathing under control. The clock on the bedside table read 3:15 a.m. He stood and made his way to the window of the second story room.
The moon was full and Gage stared up at it as he whispered. "Where are you Syd? Please be OK. I don't think I could make it without you." He stood there for a long time, staring at the moon and then went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. He took a long look in the mirror. "Boy Gage, you really do look rough." He said to himself.
He knew that it was pointless to lay down again. There was no way he was going to be able to go back to sleep. He had too much on his mind. He quietly sneaked down the stairs, hoping to avoid the squeaky step so as not to wake the Walker household, but ended up stepping on it anyway.
"What was that?" Alex asked as she sat up in bed.
Walker was already awake. He lay on his back with his fingers laced behind his head. "Probably Gage. I heard him get up about an hour ago."
Alex looked at the clock. "Walker, it's 4:00 a.m."
"I know."
"Shouldn't you check on him?" Alex suggested.
Walker looked over at his wife. "Well, since he's downstairs now, I guess it wouldn't hurt." He leaned over and kissed her. "You go back to sleep."
Alex nodded and snuggled down under the comforter again, closing her eyes.
Walker dressed and headed downstairs. As he entered the kitchen, he could see that Gage had already started a pot of coffee. "You're certainly up early." He commented.
Gage turned quickly to face Walker, slightly startled. "Sorry Walker. I didn't mean to wake you. I couldn't sleep."
"Your ribs?" He asked, hoping that Gage would change his mind and at least let the doctor take a look at his injuries.
Gage shook his head. "No. Syd." He poured himself and Walker a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.
"Gage . . ." Walker started.
"I know. We'll find her. That's what you and Trivette said all night last night, but Walker, I'm not so sure."
"Look Gage, I plan to see Sarah Parks again this morning, just as soon as she's awake. I'm hoping that she can tell us something more about her kidnapper."
"I'm coming with you."
"Gage . . ."
"You're not talking me out of this one Walker. How do you plan to talk to her? You've already said that you can't sign." Gage took another sip of his coffee.
Walker nodded. He knew Gage was right, but he was afraid that he would be too persistent and may scare Sarah into not talking.
"I know what you're thinking. I won't push her. Let's write down what we want to ask her and I'll use that when I question her. You'll be in the room too, so what's the difference? If you don't like the way I'm doing it, I'll stop."
"OK." Walker half smiled. "You've convinced me." Walker started into the living room. "Since we're up, why don't we work on pulling together what we do know."
Gage nodded. "Now you're talking."
The two Rangers sat down and began to go through the paperwork. "OK, we've identified your attacker as Bobby McCade and we know that the address listed for him is no longer current."
Gage was in deep thought. Suddenly he looked at Walker. "Are you on the internet here?"
Walker nodded. "Yeah, but I wouldn't really know where to begin with it."
Gage powered up the computer and logged onto the internet. "Let's see if we can find out if Bobby McCade has any siblings."
Walker nodded his head and joined Gage at the desk. Gage brought up a search program and logged on.
"How did you get into that?"
"I have a membership. It comes in handy sometimes." Gage replied.
He entered Bobby McCade's name and quickly had access to some of his personal records. "He has a brother, Chase McCade. Looks like Chase was kicked out Texas A & M last year."
"Does it say why?" Walker asked.
Gage switched to another site and got the name of the Dean at Texas A & M. "No, but I'll bet the Dean would know." He then switched to his email and sent a message to the Dean of the college marked urgent. "I'll follow this up with a phone call in the morning."
Walker looked up as the sun began to pour through the windows. "Gage, it is morning."
********
Chase had carried Sydney for the past three hours, deeper into the woods. Finally he came to a cave that he knew well. "Here we are Jessie." He said as he carried her inside. "We'll be fine here until all of this dies down and then we'll get out of the state."
He pulled a length of rope from his backpack and secured Sydney's arms behind her and then tied her legs together. "This will do while I get a fire going and then I'll find a better position for you." He leaned forward and kissed her full on the lips and then let her head slump forward again.
********
Bobby batted at the alarm clock, trying to turn off the annoying noise. "Chase! Chase, get up! We've got to get that girl to the warehouse by 7:00." He looked at the clock again, it read 6:00.
He banged on Chase's bedroom door. "Chase! Come on man, get up!" He opened the door and found that Chase's bed had not been slept in. "NO! NO WAY! You had better not have!!!" He yelled as he ran to the basement, flipping on the lights as he went.
When he saw that Sydney was missing too, he began to curse. He picked up the small-framed bed and threw it against the wall, breaking the frame in the process. "What in the hell am I going to do now, Chase?"
********
Josephine began to stir as the warm sunlight hit her face. "Francois?" She whispered.
Bouchard, still holding her in his arms, leaned down and lightly kissed her face. "Jo? How are you feeling?"
"A little sick to my stomach and my leg hurts." She replied.
"Can you move your leg?" He asked, watching her left leg closely as she bent her knee. He smiled at her. "Good, Josephine. Very good. You are going to be fine." He leaned forward and kissed her again.
"Help me up, Francois, I just realized that I am lying in your lap without a stitch of clothing on." She began to fume.
"So? It's certainly not the first time." Bouchard laughed, thankful that she seemed to back to herself.
"Monsieur Bouchard, if you fancy yourself a gentleman at all, you will kindly pass me my clothing and turn your back while I dress." She demanded.
Francois sat her down on their blanket and proceeded to take his own shirt off and then his pants. "I do not fancy myself a gentleman Mademoiselle, I am a pirate of the sea and I wish to take this damsel in front of me for my very own . . . again." He laughed as he pinned Josephine's arms to the ground and then covered her mouth with his own.
Josephine smiled as their passion boiled to the surface and Bouchard did as he said he was going to do and took her for his own . . . again.
In the distance, a spyglass from a large ship was focused on the small island. "This is it." The Captain said as he put the spyglass down.
"Jean, they may not be there now. Why is this girl so important to you?"
"Pierre, it is not just the girl. Francois Bouchard was once a trusted friend of mine. I treated him as a brother and he betrayed me. For this, he must die and the girl, the girl will serve me quite well until we reach Paris. Then I will have her imprisoned for assisting Bouchard in his mutiny!"
"Drop the anchor!" Jean Lafitte ordered. The large anchor was dropped and a smaller boat was made ready for the Captain and the few select men he had chosen to take with him.
Bouchard abruptly stopped his lovemaking and pulled on his clothes. "Get dressed." He said quietly.
"Why?" What is wrong Francois?" She whispered.
"I have a bad feeling." He tossed her clothes to her and climbed the lookout tree while she dressed. When he was almost at the top, he spotted the ship. On the staff was the flag of France as well as the skull and crossbones, the flag of Piracy. He quickly slid down the tree.
"Jo, quickly, we must head for the cave! Lafitte is back!" He grabbed up their few position, making certain that he had their swords, daggers, firearms and what little ammunition they had left. "Go! Quickly!" He prodded Josephine as they headed for the cave.
********
Trivette's phone rang a little after 6:00. "Hello." He answered groggily.
"Trivette, it's Walker. Gage and I'll be by to pick you up in about 30 minutes. We're headed to St. Matthews to talk with Sarah Parks."
"Alright. I'll be ready." He hung up the phone and turned to his wife.
"What is it Jimmy?" Erica asked.
"Walker and Gage are coming by in about 30 minutes. We're going to St. Matthews to question the Parks girl."
"Do you think she can help you find Sydney?"
"I hope so." Trivette said as he headed for the shower.
Later at St. Matthews, Walker knocked on Sarah's door. Her sister stared as the three Rangers entered. "Ms. Parks?"
"Yes, I'm Kathleen Parks." She stood and extended her hand to Walker.
"I'm Ranger Walker." He introduced himself and then pointed at Trivette and Gage. "Rangers Trivette and Gage." He looked at Sarah, who was still sleeping peacefully. "We'd like to talk to your sister."
She looked at Sarah and then nodded towards the door. Once in the hallway, she turned to Walker. "Look, Ranger Walker. She's already talked to the police once. She told me last night that if she had to talk to you again, she would only speak with Ranger Gage or Ranger Cooke."
Walker nodded. "That's fine. Ranger Gage is perfectly willing to talk to her."
Kathleen then focused her attention on Gage. "You do know that she's deaf?"
Gage nodded. "Yes, I do."
"And I suppose you'll want me to interpret."
Gage signed back to her. "No, I don't think that will be necessary. My partner, Ranger Cooke was able to communicate with Sarah just fine on her own yesterday and I feel that I can do the same. You're more than welcome to stay in the room though."
Kathleen hung her head slightly and then looked back up at Gage. "I'm sorry. I've always been very protective of Sarah and her disability. So many people look down on her because she can't hear. They treat her like a child, or like she doesn't exist." She explained.
"I know exactly what you mean." Gage replied and then entered Sarah's room.
Trivette turned on his handheld camcorder and focused on Sarah and Gage.
"What are you doing?" Kathleen asked.
"We need to record their conversation so if needed, it can be used in court testimony." Walker replied.
Kathleen nodded.
Sarah was just waking up when the Rangers and her sister entered. "Good morning." She signed.
Gage smiled and signed. "Good morning Sarah. Do you remember me from yesterday?"
"Yes. You're Ranger Gage. You're the one who realized that I was deaf."
"Sarah, are you up to a few more questions?"
"I don't know if I can remember much more, but I'll certainly try." She looked around. "Where's Ranger Cooke?"
Gage hung his head briefly. "Ranger Cooke was kidnapped last night outside of a theater. I have a feeling that it may be related to your kidnapping." Gage produced a copy of the composite Trivette had made of Bobby McCade. "Does this man look familiar?"
Sarah's eyes widened and she nodded. "Yes. I think I heard the other one call his name. Billy or maybe Bobby." She signed frantically.
Gage nodded. "What about this one?" Gage showed her a picture of Chase McCade that he had obtained from the Dean of Texas A & M just that morning via email.
Sarah quickly looked away. "That's him! That's the one that . . . " She began to rock back and forth and Walker tapped Gage on the shoulder, signaling him that she had had enough. Gage got up and as he turned away from Sarah, she tried to speak. He turned back towards her and she signed, "Oh my God, that's the man that raped me!"
Gage put the picture down and took Sarah's hand in his left hand and then signed with his right. "I am so sorry." She nodded and leaned on Kathleen
"Sarah, I need to ask you one more question, OK?" Gage asked.
Sarah nodded.
"I need for you to think real hard on this one. Where did these guys take you when they first kidnapped you?"
Sarah thought for a moment. "A cabin, I think. I could smell wood, but I was in a basement. They handcuffed me to a cot and I could see a set of steps. That's where . . . " She paused and closed her eyes tightly and then looked back up at Gage. "That's where it happened." She finished.
"And then they took you to the warehouse?"
Sarah nodded. "It was early, the sun was just coming up. I was hurting and they had given me a shot of something when they tied me to the cot. I could see flashes of building and trees, but nothing was really registering. When the van stopped, we were in the warehouse district. I could see a street sign that read 'Industrial Way' and the building facing me had a yellow rose on it."
"Thank you Sarah." Gage signed. "Get some rest."
"I hope you find Ranger Cooke."
Gage nodded and signed. "Me too."
When the Rangers stepped out into the hallway, Gage turned to Trivette. "You got all of that, right?"
"You bet." Trivette replied.
Walker turned to Gage. "I think I know where we made our mistake about the warehouse."
"What?" Gage asked.
"She said she could see a yellow rose on the side of the warehouse she was facing, what if they took her inside the warehouse across from that one?"
They returned to the RAM and Walker radioed for backup to meet them on Industrial Way.
When they arrived in the warehouse district with the necessary warrants, they raided the warehouse across from the one with they yellow rose on it and in the basement found eleven young women, heavily drugged and chained together.
The three of them checked each of the women to be certain that they were alive. Gage turned to Walker and Trivette. "She's not here! Sydney's not here!"
As they continued to search the warehouse, Big Jim's limo pulled in from the backside of the building. Walker motioned for everyone to hold their positions and be silent.
Big Jim, unaware of the raid that was in progress stepped out of the limo and was greeted by Walker and a pair of handcuffs. Gage was immediately in the man's face. "Big Jim, right?"
Trivette and Walker, both unsure at this point how Gage knew this man. Gage turned to the senior Rangers. "This is Big Jim Carson. I was in on his bust a few years ago, when Port Arthur PD took him down for selling stolen thoroughbreds." He turned his attention back to Big Jim. "So, I see your merchandise has changed and now you're in the business of selling women."
"What are you talking about, Ranger?" Big Jim asked. "I love women, why would I want to sell them. Who would want to buy them?"
Trivette produced several documents he had retrieved from the computer in the warehouse office. "Looks like you have a whole string of buyers in the Asian market." He held up the printout for Big Jim to see.
"I want my lawyer." Big Jim said quietly.
"And I want my partner." Gage said as he got up in Big Jim's face and reached for his neck. "I want to know how you're connected to Bobby and Chase McCade and I want an address on them now!"
"Easy Gage." Walker placed a firm hand on Gage's shoulder, urging the young Ranger to let up. "We'll get it out of him."
"Bobby McCade is the one behind all of this. I'm only holding the women for him and his brother. As a matter of fact, they were supposed to be bringing another one here this morning at 7:00, but never showed."
"An address!" Gage demanded.
"It's a cabin off of Hilltop. It's isolated." Big Jim confessed. "I want to cut a deal. I gave you information, now I want a deal!"
"That's not up to us." Walker replied as Big Jim was hauled away.
"Come on." Walker said as the three Rangers once again loaded into the RAM, heading towards the address Big Jim had given. "We could be on a wild goose chase."
"Maybe, but we've got to check it out." Gage insisted.
*********
Sydney was beginning to come to herself and found that she couldn't move. "What the?" She said out loud.
"So, you're finally awake Jessie." Chase said as he sat down beside of her with a canteen of water. "Are you thirsty?"
Sydney nodded.
Chase pressed the edge of the canteen to her lips and then as she prepared to drink, he quickly pulled it away. "Give me a kiss, Jessie and I'll give you a drink." He put his lips over hers and kissed her hard as she tried to buck him off of her, her head moving from side to side.
Finally Chase sloshed the water in her face and stormed off. As he neared the entrance of the cave, he turned back to her and laughed. "You have no say this time Jessie, so you better prepare yourself, because when I come back, I'm going have you."
Sydney tried hard to fight back the tears that were forming in her eyes. She knew that right now, she was powerless to fight off anyone. Her hands were secured behind her back and her legs were tied together. Her mind began to think about that. Her legs were tied together. If he planned to rape her, he would have to untie her legs at some point. She would just have to be ready for him then.
********
When they were halfway to the cave on the other side of the island, Josephine stumbled, her left leg giving way. "Jo?" Francois called out quietly.
"I can't go any further." She said.
"Here, let me carry you." He put the supplies down, all but his gun and sword. "I'll come back for the rest when I know that you're safe." He picked her up and carried her the remaining distance to the cave. Once inside, he sat her down and gently kissed her forehead. "I'll be back shortly."
"Francois." She called out. He turned back and faced her, a smile on his face. "Please be careful."
"I will Jo. I'll be back before you know it."
When Francois returned to the spot where he had dropped their supplies, he heard a twig snap as he bent to retrieve their things. "Bouchard!" A voice called out. "You are surrounded! It is pointless to try and fight. Throw down your weapons and I'll let the woman live."
"Never Lafitte! If you want me, come out and face me like a man, or all of your men will know you for the coward that you really are!" Bouchard shouted.
Lafitte thought about Bouchard's words and motioned for his men to stand down. He then stepped out of the woods to face Bouchard, his sword drawn. Bouchard drew his sword from its sheath and a loud clash was heard as the two swords met.
As the dual took them through the woods, Lafitte was urged on by the cheers of his men. He gained the upper hand on Bouchard and swept his feet out from under him, sending him to the ground. Lafitte then jabbed his sword towards Bouchard's shoulder. Bouchard regained his senses in time to roll away from the oncoming sword.
He was on his feet in an instant and retaliating against Lafitte's movements. "Why did you return Lafitte? Is it so important to you to see me hang or could you not get Josephine off of your mind?" Bouchard asked as they fought.
"I never took you for a stupid one." Lafitte confessed. "I want the woman and I want to see you die, but you will not hang. That would be far too fast. You will suffer a humiliating and painful death. Perhaps I should have you drawn and quartered." Lafitte suggested as their swords clashed again.
"And where would you propose to get the horses from?" Bouchard countered as he wielded his sword and pinned Lafitte against a tree. "I could run you through right now Lafitte." He pointed out.
"So what is stopping you?" Lafitte asked. "It the tables were turned, I would run you through."
"I suppose you would, but I'm offering you your life Lafitte. Your life and the lives of your men. Leave the island now and I'll spare them."
Lafitte began to laugh as did his crew. "You'll spare us? My good man, we are twenty to your one. There is no match here. I merely humored you by having this dual."
"A dual, which it appears that I have won." Bouchard pointed out.
"Until you run me through and then my men will kill you in an instant. So you see, there is no real victory in killing me, is there?"
Bouchard pulled his sword back and instead of killing Lafitte, he drew the sword slowly and lightly against his neck and as Lafitte's neck began to bleed, Bouchard ran deeper into the woods.
Lafitte's eyes were ablaze with anger. He pulled his handkerchief from the inside of his sleeve and pressed it against the mild wound. "What are you waiting for? After him!" He ordered.
A roar from the crowd erupted as the men began to chase Bouchard. Bouchard knew that he could not lead them to Josephine or Lafitte would use her to get to him, so instead, he led them to the end of the island that he and Josephine seldom explored because of the numerous pits of quicksand.
As he neared the first pit, he knew he must be careful and step around the deadly mixture of clay, sand and water, which sucked down anything that dared to step into it.
Lafitte's men were running after Bouchard so fast, in an attempt not to lose him that they failed to recognize the signs of the quicksand until it was too late. Five men were taken under in the first pit and another five in the pit beside of it. The screams of the men were heard all across the island as they sank under and drowned.
Bouchard continued to run and the remaining ten men plus Lafitte continued after him. As he crossed through the deep woods, he stopped by a tree to check his ammunition. As he did, he noticed an extremely poisonous viper in a nearby tree. He pulled it out of the tree, careful to hold it just behind its head. The viper was becoming very agitated and as Bouchard placed it on the path, it coiled up, ready to strike at the next thing that crossed.
Pierre was leading the remaining men on their quest. He screamed in agony as the viper bit into his leg and then slithered off. The men stopped in their tracks and turned to face Lafitte.
Jean Lafitte knelt by his brother's side. "Pierre, we will get you back to the ship. You will be alright." He insisted as the men lifted Pierre and carried him back to the boat with Jean Lafitte behind them. As they started to paddle to the ship, Lafitte stood and screamed towards the island. "This is not over yet Francois Bouchard! I will be back and you will pay!"
Francois entered the cave after hearing Lafitte's threat. They were safe, at least for the time being.
*******
As Walker pulled up to the cabin, Gage was out before the RAM came to a stop. He pulled his weapon and was quickly joined at the door by Walker and Trivette. Walker nodded and counted silently. "One, Two, Three." He then kicked the door in and covered Gage as he entered the cabin. The three Rangers swept the dwelling and found it empty. They did discover the cot downstairs, which now sat on its end with a pair of handcuffs dangling from the railing.
"Where in the hell is she?" Gage screamed.
Bobby McCade had heard the Rangers drive up and had hid in the hallway closet. When he heard Gage scream out, he came out of his hiding place and stood beside the basement door, his .45 drawn and ready to fire.
Trivette was the first to emerge from the basement. Bobby pointed his weapon and motioned for Trivette to quietly step aside. Instead of complying, Trivette slammed the basement door shut, sending Walker and Gage off balance and down a few of the steps. "What the . . ." Walker started and then forced the basement door open.
Trivette had disarmed Bobby and the two men were exchanging blows when Walker and Gage came upstairs. Bobby swung wildly and contacted his fist with Trivette's jaw, dazing him for a moment. Trivette then retaliated with two quick blows to Bobby's chest, followed by a kick to his mid- section, sending Bobby to the floor.
Walker slapped his handcuffs around Bobby's wrists as Gage tried to control the anger welling up inside of him. "She's gone you know." Bobby chided, watching Gage's jaw twitch and hoping to provoke him.
"Shut up McCade." Gage said firmly.
"She's gone and there's no way you can get her back. How does that make you feel, Ranger?" Bobby continued.
Walker, noting Gage's temperament, pulled Bobby's arms tightly behind his back and whispered in his ear. "I suggest you shut up. If you don't, I'm going to leave you alone with him and let him tear you apart."
"You can't do that. You're a Texas Ranger." Bobby said.
Walker shrugged his shoulders. "So is he. So is the woman that you and your brother kidnapped from the theater."
"She's a Ranger?" Bobby asked.
"You bet she is." Gage replied flatly.
"Bobby, where's your brother?" Trivette asked.
"I don't know." Bobby shook his head. Gage started towards him. "Really man, I don't know. We were supposed to have delivered the girl this morning and when I got up, she and Chase were gone. They couldn't have gotten too far. I imagine Chase would have had to have carried her most of the way."
"Why is that?" Gage asked through gritted teeth.
"She's been drugged. Pretty strong stuff too."
Gage grabbed Bobby's collar as Walker held him. "You had better hope that she's OK, because if she's not . . ."
"GAGE! That's enough!" Walker ordered. Gage turned away from Bobby as Walker continued to question him. "Where would your brother have gone?"
"I don't know. He doesn't have a car and mine's still in the garage, so they must be on foot." Bobby scoffed and yelled out to Gage. "But I'll bet he's had a piece of her by now!"
"Get him out of here Trivette." Walker said as he watched Gage lean heavily on a nearby table.
"Come on, Gage. I have an idea." Walker said as he and Gage headed out the back door.
Gage closed his eyes tightly. "What makes you think he took her out here?" Gage asked, his hand resting on his ribs.
"Like Bobby said, the kid doesn't have a car and Sydney's probably still a little out of it. I'll get a chopper and some back up and we'll start combing the area."
Gage nodded. "OK Walker. We've got to get moving though."
"I know." Walker headed back through the house and to his RAM where he radioed for back up. "I need a complete search and rescue team out here. We think that Chase McCade may be holding our victim against her will. Get me a chopper up here too."
Gage joined Walker at the front of the house. He leaned on the RAM while Walker finished his conversation. Dallas PD had issued transport for Bobby, it arrived before the other officers arrived, but soon the place was crawling with officers and search and rescue personnel.
"OK, Gage and I are going up in the chopper while you set your men up here. We need to cover the whole area since we don't know exactly where he may have taken her." Walker stated.
The chopper arrived and Walker and Gage climbed aboard while Trivette stayed with the ground crew. Walker instructed the pilot to carefully comb the area. Gage picked up a pair of binoculars and studied the ground below, looking for any sign of Sydney or her captor.
********
Chase had re-entered the cave and as he leaned across Sydney, he brushed his lips across hers. "I love you Jessie. I know you're not too sure of me right now, but you will learn to love me too."
"I'm not Jessie. My name is Sydney and I'm sure that there are people looking for me right now. Your best bet would be to release me. Things will go easier on you."
"Shut up Jessie! Just shut up." He backhanded her across her cheek. Sydney gasped slightly at the unexpected strike. "Now, I'll tell you exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to untie your legs and then I'm going to remove your jeans. I'll bet you can guess what I'm going to do then." He said roughly as he struggled with the ropes around her legs.
As soon as she felt the ropes loosen, Sydney brought her freed leg up in a strong kick, striking Chase under his chin. She shot up to her feet and as she began to run, Chase grabbed her ankle, bringing her to the ground, hard.
Chase tried to pull her to him. Sydney waited until she had a clear shot and then delivered a powerful full-face kick with her right foot, leaving the impression of her small boot on his face.
She was up again in an instant and ran out of the cave. She had no idea where she was or where she was headed and running wasn't easy with her hands still tied behind her.
The helicopter was nearing the top of the hill. Gage continued to search the ground and suddenly grabbed Walker's sleeve. "There! That's Syd!"
Walker focused his binoculars on the area Gage was searching and as he saw Sydney running, he motioned for the pilot to sit the helicopter down.
Sydney heard the helicopter and started to follow it to the landing spot. As she passed near the cave, unseen hands grabbed her from behind and a handkerchief covered her nose and mouth. "You will be mine Jessie. You'll be mine or you'll belong to no one."
Gage was out of the chopper as soon as it touched down with Walker right behind him. "Gage, wait up!" Walker said firmly. His words went unheard as Gage made his way to the spot where he had seen Sydney.
As he neared the cave, he ducked behind a tree as he saw Chase coming through the woods, carrying Sydney's motionless body in his arms.
Walker placed his hand on Gage's shoulder, causing Gage to take a defensive stance, not realizing at first that it was Walker. "Gage, stay put and keep an eye on him. I'm going back to the chopper and radio the others." He patted Gage's shoulder and returned to the helicopter.
He waited until Walker was out of sight and then he crept towards the entrance of the cave. He could hear Chase talking. "Jessie, you shouldn't have ran away from me. I don't want to hurt you. I just want to feel your beautiful body against mine." As Gage heard Chase speak, his eyes grew wide with anger. All he wanted to do was rush inside the cave and take this guy out, but he knew that a move that bold would put Sydney at risk.
He flattened himself against the wall of the cave and carefully made his way inside until he could see Chase, still holding Sydney's limp body. He closed his eyes briefly, praying that she was still alive, knowing that if she wasn't, nothing would stop him from killing Chase with his bare hands.
As he watched, Chase gently laid Sydney down on the floor of the cave. He knew that this was his chance. Running towards Chase in full force he landed a kick into his chest.
The sudden attack had taken Chase by surprise and he fell to the ground as Gage's boot met his chest, but was up in an instant, his knife in hand. "Come on, Ranger boy." He said, noting the star pinned to Gage's shirt pocket. "Come on!"
Gage made several quick moves, attempting to disarm Chase, but Chase knew he had nothing to lose. He didn't plan to let the Rangers take him alive and if he had his way, he would take a few of them with him. "So, Ranger boy, what's your interest in Jessie?" Chase asked, as he continued to circle Gage, taking a few stabs at him with the knife.
"She's my woman Chase. She's mine and her name's not Jessie, it's Sydney." Gage tried to keep Chase engaged in conversation, knowing that Walker would be returning soon.
"NO!" Chase shouted. "You're wrong. Her name is Jessie and she's mine. I won't let anyone have her, not Big Jim, not Bobby and not you. She's mine!" An evil grin spread across Chase's face. "Besides, I've already had her."
Gage flew into a rage and lunged at Chase, knocking the knife from his hand. He began to throw blow after blow even though both men had now dropped to the ground. Walker caught Gage's arm as he prepared to deliver what would have been a fatal blow to Chase's head. "GAGE! That's enough!"
Gage pulled away from Walker and ran to Sydney's side, taking her into his arms. "Syd? Oh God Syd, please be alright."
"Gage?" Sydney said, groggily.
The medics were already on the scene and loaded her onto a gurney preparing to carry her to the helicopter. "Ranger Gage, why don't you come with us? You look like you could stand to be checked out too."
Walker gave an approving nod as Gage looked towards him and then the young Ranger joined the EMT's, enroute to St. Matthews Hospital.
**********
Walker and Trivette joined the others at the hospital just as Sydney and Gage were being released. "Are you sure you're both OK?" Alex asked as the young couple leaned on each other.
Sydney smiled. "We'll be fine Alex. I think we both just need each other right now." Alex nodded in understanding.
"Well, you can both rest assured that both Bobby and Chase McCade will be going away for a long time." Alex stated.
"Good." Sydney replied. "Alex, any idea why he called me Jessie?"
Alex smiled a thin lined smiled. "It was the name of the girl he was accused of killing at Texas A & M last year. He was dating her."
Sydney looked at Alex, tears welling up in her eyes. "How sad." She replied, as Alex nodded.
"Come on you two and I'll drop you by your place." Walker offered.
"Thanks Walker. I guess my car's still at the theater." He half laughed. "I hadn't given it another thought."
"Just as well." Sydney replied with a grin.
Later, when they were snuggled against each other in their own bed, Sydney whispered to Gage. "I dreamed about them."
"Who?" Gage asked.
"Josephine and Francois." She replied, looking up at him as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Really? What happened in your dream?" Gage asked.
Sydney proceeded to tell him of her dream and how in her mind Francois had looked like him and she like Josephine.
Gage laughed. "That's weird Syd."
"What?" She cried out, half hurt that he would think her dream weird.
"No, no, no, not the dream." He soothed. "In my mind, I'm Francois and you're Josephine too." He smiled as he pulled her into a passionate kiss.
THE END
Disclaimer: The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Walker, Texas Ranger". The characters belong to CBS Productions, Top Kick Productions, Washo Brother's Entertainment, etc, but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.) Note from the author: "Captive" contains scenes earlier referenced in "Pirate's Pleasure" which can be found in the "R" rated section of fanfiction.net.
Walker reached for the phone as he passed by his desk. "Walker." He said, sitting down as he spoke.
"Ranger Walker, this is Captain Holliday. I have a young lady here that's asking for you. A Sarah Parks."
"Sarah Parks?" Walker asked.
"Yes sir. She's a little disoriented, probably should be in the hospital, but she insists on speaking with you first."
"I don't believe I know a Sarah Parks." Walker replied.
"Maybe she knows you by reputation Ranger. She's frightened and she won't talk to my people. She came in her with a slip of paper with your name on it and handed it to me. We checked her idea and got her name from that. Ranger, she's never uttered a word and we're pretty sure she's been raped."
Walker hung up the phone. With Trivette in court today, he would have to take Sydney and Gage. "Gage, Sydney, come on we're going to the police station."
"What's up?" Gage asked.
"I'll explain on the way."
Walker relayed the information to Sydney and Gage that he had been given by Capt. Holliday.
As they pulled into the police station, Sydney turned to Walker. "Have the paramedics been called yet?"
"I don't know. We'll find out when we talk with the Captain." Walker replied.
"Ranger Walker." Capt. Holliday greeted.
"Hi Captain." He shook the man's hand.
Walker pointed to the two junior Rangers. "Rangers Gage and Cooke."
The Captain nodded in their direction. "Rangers." He led them to an interrogation room. "We've called the EMT's. She's getting a little listless."
Walker, Gage and Sydney stepped into the room. "Sarah Parks?" Walker asked, facing the young girl.
She nodded.
"I'm Ranger Walker. This is Ranger Gage and Ranger Cooke." The girl nodded and then began to stare straight ahead. "Sarah, can you tell me what happened to you?"
The young girl rocked back and forth in the chair. She continued to stare straight ahead, still frightened.
"Sarah?" Walker reached for her hand. She quickly pulled it back, a look of pure fear in her eyes. "Shh. Shh. It's OK. I won't hurt you." Walker tried to sooth, but Sarah turned to the wall.
Not knowing what else to try, Walker nodded towards Sydney, silently asking her to try to communicate with the girl.
"Sarah." She started.
The girl continued to rock back and forth, not acknowledging her name.
From the end of the table, Gage noticed something familiar about the girl's actions. He quietly approached the girl. "Syd," he said gently, "let me try."
Sydney looked at Gage oddly, wondering how he planned to reach the girl when neither she nor Walker had been able to.
Gage lightly touched the girl's shoulder and then turned her face to look at him. He then signed as he spoke. "Are you Sarah Parks?"
She nodded her head yes.
"Can you tell us what happened to you?" He signed.
She shook her head yes.
Sydney joined the conversation at this point. "Sarah, I'm Ranger Cooke." She signed. "Will you talk to me?"
Sarah hesitantly nodded her head.
Sydney turned to Walker and Gage. "OK guys - out, please."
They turned and left the room, knowing that this young woman would probably feel more comfortable discussing her ordeal with another woman. Walker opened the door to the observation room, next to the interrogation room where Sydney was talking to the girl.
"How did you know?" He asked Gage as the two men stood near the two-way mirror.
"What, that she was deaf?" Gage asked. Walker nodded. "When we first came in, she was looking at the door. She read your lips when you asked if she was Sarah Parks. The rest of the time you were trying to talk to her, she wasn't looking at you." Gage leaned against the wall. "She's very withdrawn right now." He looked at the girl and Sydney talking.
"What's she saying?" Walker asked, regretting that he didn't know sign language.
"She was taken by two men. They took her to an old building. It was cold and dark. They tied her up and gave her a shot of something and then . . ." Gage stopped and closed his eyes briefly.
"And then what?" Walker asked.
"And then they raped her."
Walker's eyes also closed.
"She's telling Sydney that she thinks she saw one say something about selling her to the highest bidder at an auction."
"How can we be sure?" Walker asked.
Gage pushed the button to the intercom in the room where Sydney was talking to the girl. "Syd, ask her if she remembers the name of the warehouse or a street name. We need to find out what's going on."
Sydney nodded and asked the questions to Sarah.
Sarah thought for a moment and then signed to Sydney. "Industrial Way was the street name and the warehouse had a big yellow rose on the side of it."
"Thank you Sarah. Now, the paramedics are here. They need to take you to the hospital so a doctor can check you over. Is there anyone I can call for you?" Sydney signed.
"My sister lives in Houston. I live here alone."
"What's your sister's name?"
"Kathleen Parks. Would you mind calling her?"
"Not at all." Sydney smiled.
"Thank you Ranger Cooke and tell Ranger Gage thank you too, for realizing that I'm deaf." She smiled. "How did he know?"
"He's pretty perceptive about those things." Sydney smiled towards the window.
Gage smiled back even though she couldn't see him.
********
"Chase, how in the hell could you have let the girl get away?" Bobby McCade asked.
"Hey, don't you go blaming this on me. She probably wouldn't have brought much anyway since she can't hear." Chase replied.
"Well little brother, you had better hope that Mr. Trask sees it that way."
"Maybe we can replace her before he gets here. He's never seen her, right?"
"That might work. We sent him pictures of the others, but we didn't have time to get a shot of her." Bobby stretched. "OK, we'll try it. What did you have in mind?"
"How about we check out the theater tonight? It's Friday and there's usually a really good pick of girls on Friday night."
Bobby nodded his head. "OK, the theater it is. Maybe you can find him a nice dark haired one."
Chase smiled and nodded to his brother.
*******
"So what about it Gage?" Sydney asked from across her desk.
"What about what?" He asked, not looking up from his reports.
"Are we still going to a movie tonight?"
"Uh, yeah I guess." He said without looking up from his paperwork.
"What, you don't want to go?" Sydney asked.
Gage peered over the paper he was holding. "I didn't say that Syd. Let me finish this and then we'll decide what we're going to see."
Sydney smiled. She already knew which movie she wanted to see and where it was playing.
When Gage finished his report he put it in Walker's "In" Box and then sat on the edge of Sydney's desk. As she talked on the phone, she pushed his leg out of the way of one of her side drawers so she could retrieve a pen. "Thanks Amy, I'll have it to you in the morning."
She hung up the phone and turned her attention to Gage. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Waiting to see what movie you want to see tonight." He replied innocently.
"Oh really?" She said, raising her eyebrows slightly.
"Yeah. There's a really good one playing at the Cineplex on 10th Street. The one we saw advertised last night."
"The pirate flick?"
"That's the one." Gage smiled.
Sydney contemplated the movie that she had wanted to see and the one Gage had suggested. She finally decided that they could come back anytime to see the one she wanted to see since it had just started, but the one Gage wanted to see wouldn't be in theaters as long.
"So, is that alright?" He asked, bringing out of her thoughts.
"The pirate one. Yeah, that's fine." She smiled.
"Really? I mean, I can always wait until it comes out on video."
"Gage, really, it's fine."
She began to think about the previews they had seen on television the previous night and then she began to think about the story Gage had told her of Francois and Josephine. She laughed to herself as she thought of how romantic Gage's inner mind must be since he had dreamed up this story while he was unconscious.
"What's so funny?" Gage asked as he pulled on his jacket, noticing the unsolicited smile on her face.
"Um. Oh, nothing." She continued to smile.
"Are you ready to go?" He asked.
"Give me a minute." She grabbed her jacket and after depositing a stack of folders in Walker's "In" box, she and Gage left.
"Do we have time to run home first? I'd like to change clothes." She asked as they neared the car.
Gage glanced at his watch. "Sure. I thought we'd grab a bite of dinner after the movie, if that's OK."
"Umm. Sounds good. I get to pick where though, right?"
They both laughed as they headed home.
*********
"Have you picked a theater yet, Chase?" Bobby asked as he loaded the van.
Chase held the newspaper in his hands. "Yep. The Cineplex on 10th."
"Alright then. Let's get something to eat and we'll be ready around 9:00 when they let out."
"Good enough bro."
The two brothers closed the doors of the van and pulled away.
*********
"Walker, anymore on the Parks girl?" Trivette asked as he and his partner sat alone in Ranger headquarters.
"I spoke with her doctor earlier. She's doing as well as can be expected. She was raped."
Trivette shook his head in disgust. "How about the sister?"
"She's with Sarah now. I thought I'd give them tonight and try to question her again in the morning."
"What are you hoping to get out of her?"
"I want a description of the man who did this." Walker replied firmly.
Trivette nodded. "What about the warehouse?"
"Dallas PD checked it out earlier. It's empty. No trace evidence either."
*****
Gage parked the car outside of the theater. "Are you sure this is OK?" He asked for the umpteenth time as he turned to Sydney.
She nodded, looking up at the marquee. "I'm sure Gage. Actually, this sounds really good."
"Good." He leaned over and kissed her full on the lips. "I love you Syd."
"Umm. I love you too." She returned the kiss. "We'd better get inside."
Gage purchased their tickets and then they stood in the long line at the concession stand for popcorn and sodas. "Gage, come on! We're going to be stumbling around in the dark if you don't hurry up."
They finally got to the front of the line and made their purchases, then entered the cinema just as the lights went down. "Oh great!" Gage moaned, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness.
"Told you so." Sydney hissed as she took one of the drinks from Gage's hands and led the way. "What about here?" She whispered.
"Go." Gage replied.
Sydney started across one of the rows. "Excuse me. Excuse me." She announced as they stepped over people's legs.
"Sorry. Excuse me." Gage said as he followed close behind Sydney. Finally, they came to two empty seats and laughed as they fell into them.
"Shh." Someone in the row behind them emitted.
Gage looked at Sydney and put his finger to his mouth. "Shh Syd." He laughed.
The movie was everything it had promised to be; full of adventure and romance on the high seas. When it was over, people began to pour out of the Cineplex and into the parking lot.
"Heads up Chase. It's your pick." Bobby said, looking at his younger brother.
Chase's eyes were already fixed on a petite woman, his only concern being how to get her away from her very built companion.
"That one right there, Bobby." Chase pointed. "Think you can distract the guy?"
"You've got it."
Bobby parked the van on the side of the theater, close to the curb. "You go for the girl. I'll take care of the guy." He instructed as he grabbed a tire tool from the back of the van.
Chase approached his prey from behind with Bobby at his heels. As Chase reached out and grabbed her shoulder, Sydney, caught off guard was quickly turned to face Chase.
In an instant, Gage raised his fist to connect with Chase's young jaw, but was instead met by the tire tool Bobby carried, to his midsection. Bobby then took off running towards the back of the theater with Gage giving chase.
Sydney screamed and was able to execute one powerful kick to Chase's chest before he grabbed her, one of his strong arms going around her neck, the other producing a Chloroformed cloth which he used to cover her nose and mouth. In seconds, Sydney collapsed into Chase's arms.
Gage, in the meantime, had his hands full with Bobby at the back of the theater. Each of his powerful blows was met with a defensive move from Bobby. As they fought, Gage didn't see Chase until he had reached the van, carrying Sydney's limp body.
"Syd!" Gage called out. Bobby made a run for the van with Gage right behind him. He jumped inside, sliding the door closed, as Chase cranked up.
Gage positioned himself in front of the van and as he ran towards it, Chase stepped on the gas. Gage leaped to the side, but not before the van struck him, throwing him onto the windshield and then to the pavement.
A crowd on on-lookers ran to the scene. "Someone call 9-1-1!" A man shouted.
Walker and Trivette heard the call come in on the radio as they were driving towards headquarters after working late. "We're just a block away." Trivette said as he picked up the radio and called in their position.
Walker pulled the RAM to an abrupt stop as they entered the parking lot.
"Walker! That's Gage!" Trivette shouted as he recognized Gage's slumped form trying to pull himself to his feet.
"Gage! Gage, stay down buddy." Trivette ordered, attempting to keep Gage on the curb.
Gage pushed Trivette away as Walker joined them. "I'm alright." Gage said, trying his best to sit up.
"I can see that." Walker replied, noting the blood on the side of Gage's face and his torn shirt.
Gage sat up and wiped the blood from his face with the handkerchief Walker handed him. "Thanks." He replied flatly.
"Gage, what happened? Where's Sydney?" Walker asked.
A bewildered look came across Gage's face. "Oh God! They've got her! Walker, they've got Syd!" Gage tried desperately to stand, but Walker and Trivette both forced him to remain seated on the curb until the paramedics arrived.
"Easy Gage. Who has Sydney?"
Gage squeezed his eyes tightly shut. "It was a dark colored van. I got a couple of the letters from the plates. T and L. Texas plates." He looked up at Trivette. "I can give you a good enough description of one of them, but not the one that grabbed Syd."
As the Rangers were talking, the paramedics pulled up. "OK, what have we got?" One of the young EMT's asked.
"This is Ranger Gage, he was hit by a car."
"I was brushed by a car. I'm fine. Really. It's just a small cut on my head." Gage insisted.
"Ranger Gage, you really should have that looked at in the hospital." The other EMT suggested.
"I'm fine! I need to be out there looking for Sydney!"
"Can you stand?" The EMT asked, ignoring Gage's tone. Gage scoffed, but pulled himself to his feet. He knew if he could stand on his own, without passing out, everyone would be more likely to leave him alone. He felt a little wobbly, but no one could tell. The EMTs cleaned up the cut on his forehead and placed a small bandage there.
"Walker, we've got to get on this. They've got Syd!"
"Calm down Gage. First we need to get a description of this guy that you fought with." Trivette responded.
"Come on, let's go back to headquarters and we'll get started." Walker suggested.
The ride back to headquarters was fairly quiet. Gage was favoring his left arm by the time they got inside.
"How bad is it?" Walker asked as they entered the darkened room.
"What?" Gage asked.
"The arm."
"I bruised it pretty good."
"That's not all you bruised. Man, you look awful." Trivette noticed as they walked into the well-lit office.
"Can you pull up your composite program?" Gage asked as he sat down near Trivette's desk.
"Sure." Trivette replied, again noting Gage's worried look. "I know you're worried about her, we all are."
"Trivette, the last time I saw her, she was limp in some guy's arms and being tossed into the back of a dark colored van. I'm a little more than worried." Gage said through gritted teeth.
"Hey, we're all on the same side here Gage. Trivette and I are worried about her too." Walker announced.
"You guys weren't there! I should have been able to protect her!" Gage fumed at himself.
Walker and Trivette stared at each other for a moment. Knowing full well what Gage was feeling. "Let's get this composite going." Trivette and Gage worked on the composite while Walker called Alex to let her know what was going on.
"That's him!" Gage announced suddenly.
"Alex, I've got to go. I'll see you soon." Walker hung up the phone and joined Trivette and Gage at Trivette's desk.
"Let me cross reference the composite with the police records. He punched a few keys and in a few moments had a name to go with the face. "Bobby McCade. He's got a few priors, but nothing big."
"Gage, you're certain that this is the man you were fighting with?" Walker asked.
Gage nodded his head. "I'm very certain."
"Got an address?" Walker asked Trivette.
"Yep." He printed out the address listed for McCade. All three Rangers piled into the RAM again and headed for the Market Street address, but when they arrived, they found a vacant lot.
"Are you sure the address is right?" Walker asked.
"Positive." Trivette replied as the men got out and looked around the area.
"This lot looks pretty fresh." Trivette noted.
Walker nodded. "We'll have to check the records in the morning."
"In the morning?" Gage asked frantically. "What about Syd?"
"We can't do anything more tonight." Walker placed his hand on his young friend's shoulder.
Gage stared at Walker with a completely lost look in his eyes.
"Gage, we will find her. I promise."
Gage closed his eyes and nodded his head quietly.
"Come on. I'm taking you back to the Ranch."
"Ah Walker, really, I don't want to impose. I'll be fine at home." Gage objected.
"I won't hear of it. You took a pretty good swat on the head and since you won't get checked out by a doctor, I'd like to know that you're really alright tonight."
Gage reluctantly agreed.
After dropping Trivette at his house, Walker and Gage headed for the Ranch. "You have to believe that she's alright." Walker said as he noticed the look on Gage's face.
"I can't help but think that this is connected to that case from this morning." Gage replied.
"The Parks girl?" Walker asked. "Why?"
"I don't know why. It's just a gut feeling."
********
Walker parked in the driveway and looked over at Gage who was half asleep. "We're here." He announced.
"Oh, sorry. I must have fallen asleep."
"Come on. We'll get you set up in the guestroom."
"Walker, I really don't want to impose."
"Trust me. You're not." Walker replied as Alex met them at the door.
Her eyes grew wide at the sight of Gage's bruises. "Gage!" She exclaimed. "Are you alright?"
He nodded. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."
"Come on. The guestroom is this way. I've already put fresh linens on the bed."
"I'm sorry to be so much trouble."
"You're not." She flipped the light on in the guestroom. "Just let us know if you need anything."
Gage sat on the edge of the bed, a slight display of pain showing on his face, which didn't go unnoticed by Walker. "Gage?"
"It's just my ribs Walker." He replied and before Walker could ask anything else Gage removed his shirt, revealing a ten-inch long thin black and purple bruise across his right ribs.
"You know they're probably cracked."
Gage nodded. "Or broken. I hate to ask, but could you wrap them?"
Walker nodded and retrieved a roll of bandages from the medicine cabinet down the hall. "OK, I need for you to breath out and hold it." He ordered as he prepared to tightly bandage Gage's ribs.
Gage took in a deep breath and then exhaled. Walker began to quickly wrap his ribs. "OK." He replied when he was finished.
Gage released his breath and the tightness of the bandages caused another wave of pain across his lower ribs.
"Too tight?" Walker asked.
Gage nodded.
Walker smiled slightly. "That means it's wrapped right. Sorry."
"It's OK." Gage gasped slightly as he laid down across the bed.
Walker stared out of the room.
"Thanks Walker."
"Try to get some sleep, OK?"
********
Sydney's mind had drifted to a small island, which appeared to be inhabited by only two people. "Francois? Where are you?" Josephine called out.
"Here I am Jo." He called down from atop a tall tree.
"What can you see from there?" She asked.
"Water, water and more water." He laughed as he came down. "It's a good lookout tree though. You can see for miles around the island."
"Do you really think Lafitte will come back for us?"
Francois nodded. "Yes Jo I do and I want to be ready for him when he does." Francois thought back to the night when he had taken Jean Lafitte's ship after the Captain attempted to force himself on Josephine. Lafitte had been captured and tied up, but his brother Pierre had managed to shoot Francois in the side before he and Josephine were able to escape.
Josephine had nursed Francois back to health after their small boat had drifted to this isolated, uninhabited island. Now it was home to the two of them.
Francois stood by the tree and shook the tender branches, sending leaves pouring down on Josephine's head.
"Francois Bouchard! You stop that this instant! You are acting like a child!" She scolded.
Bouchard let go of the tree and smiled. "A child, am I?" He asked as he reached out for her.
She playfully dodged his hands and began to run from him. He quickly gave chase down the beach, eventually catching her in his arms and brining her into his strong embrace. "Why is it that I love you so, Josephine Dupree?"
"For the same reason that I love you Francois Bouchard." She smiled as she lifted her chin to him, waiting for his kiss. He didn't leave her disappointed.
*********
"Should we put her with the others?" Chase asked as he and Bobby headed towards home.
Bobby looked at his watch. "It's late. Why don't we take her to the cabin for now and we'll get her to the warehouse tomorrow."
Chase smiled mischievously. "Really?"
"Now don't go getting any ideas about keeping her Chase. You know we have to replace the one that got away and hope that she didn't remember enough about any of this to tell anyone."
Chase nodded his head. "I don't see how she could. We're giving each of them three injections a day and that stuff is pretty strong."
"Yeah, Big Jim said it would keep them pretty much out of it until he could get them out of the country."
"Bobby, I'm still not crazy about this. I mean, we're letting Big Jim sell these girls like they were a sack of potatoes or something. Why are we letting him hold this over us anyway?"
"Chase, just keep your mouth shut. It's that kinda talk that'll get you killed." Bobby paused, and looked into his brother's eyes knowing that he was still waiting for an answer to his last question. "Have you forgotten that Big Jim knows about the girl at Texas A & M, Chase? He knows what you did." Bobby replied, his jaw firm.
Chase looked at the floorboard of the van. "Bobby, it was an accident. I didn't mean to kill her. I loved her."
"I know Chase. I know." Bobby soothed. "But I'm not willing to take any chances. What if Big Jim really does have evidence that links you to that girl's murder? You could be convicted of first-degree murder."
"But what if we're caught in the middle of this? We could be convicted of kidnapping. That's a Federal offense too." Chase replied.
Bobby nodded his head as he pulled the van to a stop in their driveway. "Come on, let's get her inside."
Chase easily lifted Sydney's limp body from the van and carried her inside the cabin. "She's still out." He looked at Bobby.
"She'll be coming around soon enough. Let's see if she has any ID on her." He opened the door and Chase immediately took her to the basement. He laid her on a small cot in a corner and handcuffed her right wrist to the metal bed railing.
Once she was secured, Bobby began going through her pockets. "Nothing." He said, looking up at Chase.
"Um. I think I'll call her Jessie."
"I'm telling you Chase, don't get too attached. We need her for an even dozen."
"I know. But Bobby, she's mine tonight."
Bobby smiled at his brother and nodded.
******
Sydney had tried to open her eyes as Chase had lifted her out of the van. She could feel the cool evening air on her face, but couldn't seem to wake up. Eventually the darkness overpowered her and she found herself back on the deserted island with Francois, who in her mind, looked very much like Gage and she like Josephine.
"Jo!" Francois called out as he approached their shelter with several fresh fish. He sat the fish down near the campfire and looked around the area. "Josephine! Where are you?" He called. No one answered.
He realized that the watering cans were gone and knew that she must have gone for fresh water while he had been catching their dinner. "Ah Jo, you know that the cans are going to be too heavy for you to carry by yourself once they're filled." He said to himself as he made his way to the watering hole.
Josephine had decided to take advantage of Francois' fishing expedition and had taken a dip into the fresh-water lagoon. Her clothes lay strewn on the nearby bushes.
Francois immediately noticed the oversized shirt and pants, belonging to him, along with her underwear lying about. He looked into the lagoon and saw her bathing in the warm sunlight.
As she lifted her face towards the sun, she suddenly went under. Fighting her way back to the surface, she screamed out. "Francois! Help!"
"Jo! Hang on Jo, I'm coming!" Bouchard was into the water in an instant. He swam to her and brought her back to shore, a stream of blood trickling from the back of her leg.
"What is it Francois? Something has bitten my leg." She tried to twist her head around to see the backside of her left leg.
Francois pulled his belt from his pants and tightened it around her leg. With one hand, he gathered her clothes and then picked her up and carried her back to camp.
Josephine was fighting to stay awake when he gently put her down inside their shelter. "Jo? Jo, can you hear me?"
"Fran . . . sois." She said in a slow whisper.
"Shh. I'm afraid that it may have been a viper. I need to cleanse the wound." He pulled his knife from his boot and laid it in the fire to sterilize.
"What are you . . . going to do?" She asked.
"I need to open the wound and then I'll suck out the poison. Hopefully it hasn't had time to spread yet." He said, retrieving the knife and pursing his lips as he prepared to cut into Josephine's tender flesh.
********
Sydney felt a sting at the back of her left leg as Bobby injected her with the drug they had used on the others. "Why are you giving it to her now?" Chase asked.
Bobby looked up at Chase. "Because I don't want you to get carried away with her. She's not staying Chase. We have to hand her over to Big Jim with the others." He put his hand on Chase's shoulder and guided him upstairs.
"You said I could have her tonight Bobby. You said!" Chase shouted as the door to the basement closed.
"I had time to re-think. If you have her tonight, you won't want to let her go, so it's better that you just stay away from her."
The phone rang and Bobby walked away, leaving Chase standing by the basement door. "I will have you Jessie. I will have you tonight and any other night I choose. I'm not going to let them take you away."
"Chase, come here a minute would ya?" Bobby called out. Chase left the basement door and found Bobby in the living room on the phone. "Big Jim wants to speak to you." He handed Chase the phone.
"Chase, my boy. How are you doing this evening?" Big Jim asked.
"Fine." Chase answered.
"Good. Good. I want to issue you a warning. Don't touch the merchandise again, or I'll make sure that you and your brother die a very slow and painful death, understand?" Big Jim threatened.
"Y-Y-Yes sir. I understand." He stammered.
"Good. Put your brother back on the line." Chase handed the phone to Bobby.
"Yes sir. We'll deliver her around 7:00." Bobby answered after listening to Big Jim for a while. He then hung up the phone and without warning rushed Chase, pinning him to the wall. "You idiot! You just had to make it with one of them, didn't you?" He tightened his grip on his brother's neck. "Which one was it Chase?" Chase began to gasp for air and Bobby loosened his grip. "Which one was it?" He repeated.
Chase brought his hands to his throat, coughing. He looked up at his brother. "The one from the mall. The blonde."
"Big Jim says that one is damaged goods now and he won't get as much for her."
"She wasn't a virgin Bobby. I swear. And I'll bet Jessie isn't either."
"Stop calling her Jessie! I told you not to get wrapped up in her! She goes to the warehouse at first light." Bobby yelled and threw a pillow at Chase and stormed out of the room.
As soon as Bobby was gone, Chase looked at the clock on the wall. It was two in the morning. "She won't be here Bobby and neither will I." Chase whispered and quickly gathered a few things from his room. He ran down the steps to find Sydney lying in the bed where he and Bobby had left her.
"Come on Jessie." He coaxed, trying to wake her. "Jessie, wake up." He lightly tapped her face until her eyes opened.
"Gage?" Sydney asked, wondering why she was being addressed as Jessie.
"Yeah, sure. I'll be whoever you want me to be, but right now we need to get out of here. If we don't you're going to find yourself on and unscheduled flight to Asia." He unlocked the handcuff and then flung his backpack over his shoulder. Leaning down, he easily picked Sydney up and carried her out the back door, deeper into the woods.
********
Josephine passed out at the first touch of the white-hot knife on the back of her leg. Francois breathed in deeply and pressed his lips to the snakebite and sucked the venom from her body, spitting it out as he felt it burn the inside of his mouth. He continued to cleanse the wound in this manner until he could taste only blood.
Quickly he wrapped a clean cloth tightly around her leg and then pulled her close to him. "Come on Jo. You have to be alright. You just have to be." He kissed the top of her head as he began to rock slowly back and forth with her.
*******
"Syd!" Gage screamed as he bolted upright in bed, immediately grabbing his ribs in pain. He panted a few times to get his breathing under control. The clock on the bedside table read 3:15 a.m. He stood and made his way to the window of the second story room.
The moon was full and Gage stared up at it as he whispered. "Where are you Syd? Please be OK. I don't think I could make it without you." He stood there for a long time, staring at the moon and then went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. He took a long look in the mirror. "Boy Gage, you really do look rough." He said to himself.
He knew that it was pointless to lay down again. There was no way he was going to be able to go back to sleep. He had too much on his mind. He quietly sneaked down the stairs, hoping to avoid the squeaky step so as not to wake the Walker household, but ended up stepping on it anyway.
"What was that?" Alex asked as she sat up in bed.
Walker was already awake. He lay on his back with his fingers laced behind his head. "Probably Gage. I heard him get up about an hour ago."
Alex looked at the clock. "Walker, it's 4:00 a.m."
"I know."
"Shouldn't you check on him?" Alex suggested.
Walker looked over at his wife. "Well, since he's downstairs now, I guess it wouldn't hurt." He leaned over and kissed her. "You go back to sleep."
Alex nodded and snuggled down under the comforter again, closing her eyes.
Walker dressed and headed downstairs. As he entered the kitchen, he could see that Gage had already started a pot of coffee. "You're certainly up early." He commented.
Gage turned quickly to face Walker, slightly startled. "Sorry Walker. I didn't mean to wake you. I couldn't sleep."
"Your ribs?" He asked, hoping that Gage would change his mind and at least let the doctor take a look at his injuries.
Gage shook his head. "No. Syd." He poured himself and Walker a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.
"Gage . . ." Walker started.
"I know. We'll find her. That's what you and Trivette said all night last night, but Walker, I'm not so sure."
"Look Gage, I plan to see Sarah Parks again this morning, just as soon as she's awake. I'm hoping that she can tell us something more about her kidnapper."
"I'm coming with you."
"Gage . . ."
"You're not talking me out of this one Walker. How do you plan to talk to her? You've already said that you can't sign." Gage took another sip of his coffee.
Walker nodded. He knew Gage was right, but he was afraid that he would be too persistent and may scare Sarah into not talking.
"I know what you're thinking. I won't push her. Let's write down what we want to ask her and I'll use that when I question her. You'll be in the room too, so what's the difference? If you don't like the way I'm doing it, I'll stop."
"OK." Walker half smiled. "You've convinced me." Walker started into the living room. "Since we're up, why don't we work on pulling together what we do know."
Gage nodded. "Now you're talking."
The two Rangers sat down and began to go through the paperwork. "OK, we've identified your attacker as Bobby McCade and we know that the address listed for him is no longer current."
Gage was in deep thought. Suddenly he looked at Walker. "Are you on the internet here?"
Walker nodded. "Yeah, but I wouldn't really know where to begin with it."
Gage powered up the computer and logged onto the internet. "Let's see if we can find out if Bobby McCade has any siblings."
Walker nodded his head and joined Gage at the desk. Gage brought up a search program and logged on.
"How did you get into that?"
"I have a membership. It comes in handy sometimes." Gage replied.
He entered Bobby McCade's name and quickly had access to some of his personal records. "He has a brother, Chase McCade. Looks like Chase was kicked out Texas A & M last year."
"Does it say why?" Walker asked.
Gage switched to another site and got the name of the Dean at Texas A & M. "No, but I'll bet the Dean would know." He then switched to his email and sent a message to the Dean of the college marked urgent. "I'll follow this up with a phone call in the morning."
Walker looked up as the sun began to pour through the windows. "Gage, it is morning."
********
Chase had carried Sydney for the past three hours, deeper into the woods. Finally he came to a cave that he knew well. "Here we are Jessie." He said as he carried her inside. "We'll be fine here until all of this dies down and then we'll get out of the state."
He pulled a length of rope from his backpack and secured Sydney's arms behind her and then tied her legs together. "This will do while I get a fire going and then I'll find a better position for you." He leaned forward and kissed her full on the lips and then let her head slump forward again.
********
Bobby batted at the alarm clock, trying to turn off the annoying noise. "Chase! Chase, get up! We've got to get that girl to the warehouse by 7:00." He looked at the clock again, it read 6:00.
He banged on Chase's bedroom door. "Chase! Come on man, get up!" He opened the door and found that Chase's bed had not been slept in. "NO! NO WAY! You had better not have!!!" He yelled as he ran to the basement, flipping on the lights as he went.
When he saw that Sydney was missing too, he began to curse. He picked up the small-framed bed and threw it against the wall, breaking the frame in the process. "What in the hell am I going to do now, Chase?"
********
Josephine began to stir as the warm sunlight hit her face. "Francois?" She whispered.
Bouchard, still holding her in his arms, leaned down and lightly kissed her face. "Jo? How are you feeling?"
"A little sick to my stomach and my leg hurts." She replied.
"Can you move your leg?" He asked, watching her left leg closely as she bent her knee. He smiled at her. "Good, Josephine. Very good. You are going to be fine." He leaned forward and kissed her again.
"Help me up, Francois, I just realized that I am lying in your lap without a stitch of clothing on." She began to fume.
"So? It's certainly not the first time." Bouchard laughed, thankful that she seemed to back to herself.
"Monsieur Bouchard, if you fancy yourself a gentleman at all, you will kindly pass me my clothing and turn your back while I dress." She demanded.
Francois sat her down on their blanket and proceeded to take his own shirt off and then his pants. "I do not fancy myself a gentleman Mademoiselle, I am a pirate of the sea and I wish to take this damsel in front of me for my very own . . . again." He laughed as he pinned Josephine's arms to the ground and then covered her mouth with his own.
Josephine smiled as their passion boiled to the surface and Bouchard did as he said he was going to do and took her for his own . . . again.
In the distance, a spyglass from a large ship was focused on the small island. "This is it." The Captain said as he put the spyglass down.
"Jean, they may not be there now. Why is this girl so important to you?"
"Pierre, it is not just the girl. Francois Bouchard was once a trusted friend of mine. I treated him as a brother and he betrayed me. For this, he must die and the girl, the girl will serve me quite well until we reach Paris. Then I will have her imprisoned for assisting Bouchard in his mutiny!"
"Drop the anchor!" Jean Lafitte ordered. The large anchor was dropped and a smaller boat was made ready for the Captain and the few select men he had chosen to take with him.
Bouchard abruptly stopped his lovemaking and pulled on his clothes. "Get dressed." He said quietly.
"Why?" What is wrong Francois?" She whispered.
"I have a bad feeling." He tossed her clothes to her and climbed the lookout tree while she dressed. When he was almost at the top, he spotted the ship. On the staff was the flag of France as well as the skull and crossbones, the flag of Piracy. He quickly slid down the tree.
"Jo, quickly, we must head for the cave! Lafitte is back!" He grabbed up their few position, making certain that he had their swords, daggers, firearms and what little ammunition they had left. "Go! Quickly!" He prodded Josephine as they headed for the cave.
********
Trivette's phone rang a little after 6:00. "Hello." He answered groggily.
"Trivette, it's Walker. Gage and I'll be by to pick you up in about 30 minutes. We're headed to St. Matthews to talk with Sarah Parks."
"Alright. I'll be ready." He hung up the phone and turned to his wife.
"What is it Jimmy?" Erica asked.
"Walker and Gage are coming by in about 30 minutes. We're going to St. Matthews to question the Parks girl."
"Do you think she can help you find Sydney?"
"I hope so." Trivette said as he headed for the shower.
Later at St. Matthews, Walker knocked on Sarah's door. Her sister stared as the three Rangers entered. "Ms. Parks?"
"Yes, I'm Kathleen Parks." She stood and extended her hand to Walker.
"I'm Ranger Walker." He introduced himself and then pointed at Trivette and Gage. "Rangers Trivette and Gage." He looked at Sarah, who was still sleeping peacefully. "We'd like to talk to your sister."
She looked at Sarah and then nodded towards the door. Once in the hallway, she turned to Walker. "Look, Ranger Walker. She's already talked to the police once. She told me last night that if she had to talk to you again, she would only speak with Ranger Gage or Ranger Cooke."
Walker nodded. "That's fine. Ranger Gage is perfectly willing to talk to her."
Kathleen then focused her attention on Gage. "You do know that she's deaf?"
Gage nodded. "Yes, I do."
"And I suppose you'll want me to interpret."
Gage signed back to her. "No, I don't think that will be necessary. My partner, Ranger Cooke was able to communicate with Sarah just fine on her own yesterday and I feel that I can do the same. You're more than welcome to stay in the room though."
Kathleen hung her head slightly and then looked back up at Gage. "I'm sorry. I've always been very protective of Sarah and her disability. So many people look down on her because she can't hear. They treat her like a child, or like she doesn't exist." She explained.
"I know exactly what you mean." Gage replied and then entered Sarah's room.
Trivette turned on his handheld camcorder and focused on Sarah and Gage.
"What are you doing?" Kathleen asked.
"We need to record their conversation so if needed, it can be used in court testimony." Walker replied.
Kathleen nodded.
Sarah was just waking up when the Rangers and her sister entered. "Good morning." She signed.
Gage smiled and signed. "Good morning Sarah. Do you remember me from yesterday?"
"Yes. You're Ranger Gage. You're the one who realized that I was deaf."
"Sarah, are you up to a few more questions?"
"I don't know if I can remember much more, but I'll certainly try." She looked around. "Where's Ranger Cooke?"
Gage hung his head briefly. "Ranger Cooke was kidnapped last night outside of a theater. I have a feeling that it may be related to your kidnapping." Gage produced a copy of the composite Trivette had made of Bobby McCade. "Does this man look familiar?"
Sarah's eyes widened and she nodded. "Yes. I think I heard the other one call his name. Billy or maybe Bobby." She signed frantically.
Gage nodded. "What about this one?" Gage showed her a picture of Chase McCade that he had obtained from the Dean of Texas A & M just that morning via email.
Sarah quickly looked away. "That's him! That's the one that . . . " She began to rock back and forth and Walker tapped Gage on the shoulder, signaling him that she had had enough. Gage got up and as he turned away from Sarah, she tried to speak. He turned back towards her and she signed, "Oh my God, that's the man that raped me!"
Gage put the picture down and took Sarah's hand in his left hand and then signed with his right. "I am so sorry." She nodded and leaned on Kathleen
"Sarah, I need to ask you one more question, OK?" Gage asked.
Sarah nodded.
"I need for you to think real hard on this one. Where did these guys take you when they first kidnapped you?"
Sarah thought for a moment. "A cabin, I think. I could smell wood, but I was in a basement. They handcuffed me to a cot and I could see a set of steps. That's where . . . " She paused and closed her eyes tightly and then looked back up at Gage. "That's where it happened." She finished.
"And then they took you to the warehouse?"
Sarah nodded. "It was early, the sun was just coming up. I was hurting and they had given me a shot of something when they tied me to the cot. I could see flashes of building and trees, but nothing was really registering. When the van stopped, we were in the warehouse district. I could see a street sign that read 'Industrial Way' and the building facing me had a yellow rose on it."
"Thank you Sarah." Gage signed. "Get some rest."
"I hope you find Ranger Cooke."
Gage nodded and signed. "Me too."
When the Rangers stepped out into the hallway, Gage turned to Trivette. "You got all of that, right?"
"You bet." Trivette replied.
Walker turned to Gage. "I think I know where we made our mistake about the warehouse."
"What?" Gage asked.
"She said she could see a yellow rose on the side of the warehouse she was facing, what if they took her inside the warehouse across from that one?"
They returned to the RAM and Walker radioed for backup to meet them on Industrial Way.
When they arrived in the warehouse district with the necessary warrants, they raided the warehouse across from the one with they yellow rose on it and in the basement found eleven young women, heavily drugged and chained together.
The three of them checked each of the women to be certain that they were alive. Gage turned to Walker and Trivette. "She's not here! Sydney's not here!"
As they continued to search the warehouse, Big Jim's limo pulled in from the backside of the building. Walker motioned for everyone to hold their positions and be silent.
Big Jim, unaware of the raid that was in progress stepped out of the limo and was greeted by Walker and a pair of handcuffs. Gage was immediately in the man's face. "Big Jim, right?"
Trivette and Walker, both unsure at this point how Gage knew this man. Gage turned to the senior Rangers. "This is Big Jim Carson. I was in on his bust a few years ago, when Port Arthur PD took him down for selling stolen thoroughbreds." He turned his attention back to Big Jim. "So, I see your merchandise has changed and now you're in the business of selling women."
"What are you talking about, Ranger?" Big Jim asked. "I love women, why would I want to sell them. Who would want to buy them?"
Trivette produced several documents he had retrieved from the computer in the warehouse office. "Looks like you have a whole string of buyers in the Asian market." He held up the printout for Big Jim to see.
"I want my lawyer." Big Jim said quietly.
"And I want my partner." Gage said as he got up in Big Jim's face and reached for his neck. "I want to know how you're connected to Bobby and Chase McCade and I want an address on them now!"
"Easy Gage." Walker placed a firm hand on Gage's shoulder, urging the young Ranger to let up. "We'll get it out of him."
"Bobby McCade is the one behind all of this. I'm only holding the women for him and his brother. As a matter of fact, they were supposed to be bringing another one here this morning at 7:00, but never showed."
"An address!" Gage demanded.
"It's a cabin off of Hilltop. It's isolated." Big Jim confessed. "I want to cut a deal. I gave you information, now I want a deal!"
"That's not up to us." Walker replied as Big Jim was hauled away.
"Come on." Walker said as the three Rangers once again loaded into the RAM, heading towards the address Big Jim had given. "We could be on a wild goose chase."
"Maybe, but we've got to check it out." Gage insisted.
*********
Sydney was beginning to come to herself and found that she couldn't move. "What the?" She said out loud.
"So, you're finally awake Jessie." Chase said as he sat down beside of her with a canteen of water. "Are you thirsty?"
Sydney nodded.
Chase pressed the edge of the canteen to her lips and then as she prepared to drink, he quickly pulled it away. "Give me a kiss, Jessie and I'll give you a drink." He put his lips over hers and kissed her hard as she tried to buck him off of her, her head moving from side to side.
Finally Chase sloshed the water in her face and stormed off. As he neared the entrance of the cave, he turned back to her and laughed. "You have no say this time Jessie, so you better prepare yourself, because when I come back, I'm going have you."
Sydney tried hard to fight back the tears that were forming in her eyes. She knew that right now, she was powerless to fight off anyone. Her hands were secured behind her back and her legs were tied together. Her mind began to think about that. Her legs were tied together. If he planned to rape her, he would have to untie her legs at some point. She would just have to be ready for him then.
********
When they were halfway to the cave on the other side of the island, Josephine stumbled, her left leg giving way. "Jo?" Francois called out quietly.
"I can't go any further." She said.
"Here, let me carry you." He put the supplies down, all but his gun and sword. "I'll come back for the rest when I know that you're safe." He picked her up and carried her the remaining distance to the cave. Once inside, he sat her down and gently kissed her forehead. "I'll be back shortly."
"Francois." She called out. He turned back and faced her, a smile on his face. "Please be careful."
"I will Jo. I'll be back before you know it."
When Francois returned to the spot where he had dropped their supplies, he heard a twig snap as he bent to retrieve their things. "Bouchard!" A voice called out. "You are surrounded! It is pointless to try and fight. Throw down your weapons and I'll let the woman live."
"Never Lafitte! If you want me, come out and face me like a man, or all of your men will know you for the coward that you really are!" Bouchard shouted.
Lafitte thought about Bouchard's words and motioned for his men to stand down. He then stepped out of the woods to face Bouchard, his sword drawn. Bouchard drew his sword from its sheath and a loud clash was heard as the two swords met.
As the dual took them through the woods, Lafitte was urged on by the cheers of his men. He gained the upper hand on Bouchard and swept his feet out from under him, sending him to the ground. Lafitte then jabbed his sword towards Bouchard's shoulder. Bouchard regained his senses in time to roll away from the oncoming sword.
He was on his feet in an instant and retaliating against Lafitte's movements. "Why did you return Lafitte? Is it so important to you to see me hang or could you not get Josephine off of your mind?" Bouchard asked as they fought.
"I never took you for a stupid one." Lafitte confessed. "I want the woman and I want to see you die, but you will not hang. That would be far too fast. You will suffer a humiliating and painful death. Perhaps I should have you drawn and quartered." Lafitte suggested as their swords clashed again.
"And where would you propose to get the horses from?" Bouchard countered as he wielded his sword and pinned Lafitte against a tree. "I could run you through right now Lafitte." He pointed out.
"So what is stopping you?" Lafitte asked. "It the tables were turned, I would run you through."
"I suppose you would, but I'm offering you your life Lafitte. Your life and the lives of your men. Leave the island now and I'll spare them."
Lafitte began to laugh as did his crew. "You'll spare us? My good man, we are twenty to your one. There is no match here. I merely humored you by having this dual."
"A dual, which it appears that I have won." Bouchard pointed out.
"Until you run me through and then my men will kill you in an instant. So you see, there is no real victory in killing me, is there?"
Bouchard pulled his sword back and instead of killing Lafitte, he drew the sword slowly and lightly against his neck and as Lafitte's neck began to bleed, Bouchard ran deeper into the woods.
Lafitte's eyes were ablaze with anger. He pulled his handkerchief from the inside of his sleeve and pressed it against the mild wound. "What are you waiting for? After him!" He ordered.
A roar from the crowd erupted as the men began to chase Bouchard. Bouchard knew that he could not lead them to Josephine or Lafitte would use her to get to him, so instead, he led them to the end of the island that he and Josephine seldom explored because of the numerous pits of quicksand.
As he neared the first pit, he knew he must be careful and step around the deadly mixture of clay, sand and water, which sucked down anything that dared to step into it.
Lafitte's men were running after Bouchard so fast, in an attempt not to lose him that they failed to recognize the signs of the quicksand until it was too late. Five men were taken under in the first pit and another five in the pit beside of it. The screams of the men were heard all across the island as they sank under and drowned.
Bouchard continued to run and the remaining ten men plus Lafitte continued after him. As he crossed through the deep woods, he stopped by a tree to check his ammunition. As he did, he noticed an extremely poisonous viper in a nearby tree. He pulled it out of the tree, careful to hold it just behind its head. The viper was becoming very agitated and as Bouchard placed it on the path, it coiled up, ready to strike at the next thing that crossed.
Pierre was leading the remaining men on their quest. He screamed in agony as the viper bit into his leg and then slithered off. The men stopped in their tracks and turned to face Lafitte.
Jean Lafitte knelt by his brother's side. "Pierre, we will get you back to the ship. You will be alright." He insisted as the men lifted Pierre and carried him back to the boat with Jean Lafitte behind them. As they started to paddle to the ship, Lafitte stood and screamed towards the island. "This is not over yet Francois Bouchard! I will be back and you will pay!"
Francois entered the cave after hearing Lafitte's threat. They were safe, at least for the time being.
*******
As Walker pulled up to the cabin, Gage was out before the RAM came to a stop. He pulled his weapon and was quickly joined at the door by Walker and Trivette. Walker nodded and counted silently. "One, Two, Three." He then kicked the door in and covered Gage as he entered the cabin. The three Rangers swept the dwelling and found it empty. They did discover the cot downstairs, which now sat on its end with a pair of handcuffs dangling from the railing.
"Where in the hell is she?" Gage screamed.
Bobby McCade had heard the Rangers drive up and had hid in the hallway closet. When he heard Gage scream out, he came out of his hiding place and stood beside the basement door, his .45 drawn and ready to fire.
Trivette was the first to emerge from the basement. Bobby pointed his weapon and motioned for Trivette to quietly step aside. Instead of complying, Trivette slammed the basement door shut, sending Walker and Gage off balance and down a few of the steps. "What the . . ." Walker started and then forced the basement door open.
Trivette had disarmed Bobby and the two men were exchanging blows when Walker and Gage came upstairs. Bobby swung wildly and contacted his fist with Trivette's jaw, dazing him for a moment. Trivette then retaliated with two quick blows to Bobby's chest, followed by a kick to his mid- section, sending Bobby to the floor.
Walker slapped his handcuffs around Bobby's wrists as Gage tried to control the anger welling up inside of him. "She's gone you know." Bobby chided, watching Gage's jaw twitch and hoping to provoke him.
"Shut up McCade." Gage said firmly.
"She's gone and there's no way you can get her back. How does that make you feel, Ranger?" Bobby continued.
Walker, noting Gage's temperament, pulled Bobby's arms tightly behind his back and whispered in his ear. "I suggest you shut up. If you don't, I'm going to leave you alone with him and let him tear you apart."
"You can't do that. You're a Texas Ranger." Bobby said.
Walker shrugged his shoulders. "So is he. So is the woman that you and your brother kidnapped from the theater."
"She's a Ranger?" Bobby asked.
"You bet she is." Gage replied flatly.
"Bobby, where's your brother?" Trivette asked.
"I don't know." Bobby shook his head. Gage started towards him. "Really man, I don't know. We were supposed to have delivered the girl this morning and when I got up, she and Chase were gone. They couldn't have gotten too far. I imagine Chase would have had to have carried her most of the way."
"Why is that?" Gage asked through gritted teeth.
"She's been drugged. Pretty strong stuff too."
Gage grabbed Bobby's collar as Walker held him. "You had better hope that she's OK, because if she's not . . ."
"GAGE! That's enough!" Walker ordered. Gage turned away from Bobby as Walker continued to question him. "Where would your brother have gone?"
"I don't know. He doesn't have a car and mine's still in the garage, so they must be on foot." Bobby scoffed and yelled out to Gage. "But I'll bet he's had a piece of her by now!"
"Get him out of here Trivette." Walker said as he watched Gage lean heavily on a nearby table.
"Come on, Gage. I have an idea." Walker said as he and Gage headed out the back door.
Gage closed his eyes tightly. "What makes you think he took her out here?" Gage asked, his hand resting on his ribs.
"Like Bobby said, the kid doesn't have a car and Sydney's probably still a little out of it. I'll get a chopper and some back up and we'll start combing the area."
Gage nodded. "OK Walker. We've got to get moving though."
"I know." Walker headed back through the house and to his RAM where he radioed for back up. "I need a complete search and rescue team out here. We think that Chase McCade may be holding our victim against her will. Get me a chopper up here too."
Gage joined Walker at the front of the house. He leaned on the RAM while Walker finished his conversation. Dallas PD had issued transport for Bobby, it arrived before the other officers arrived, but soon the place was crawling with officers and search and rescue personnel.
"OK, Gage and I are going up in the chopper while you set your men up here. We need to cover the whole area since we don't know exactly where he may have taken her." Walker stated.
The chopper arrived and Walker and Gage climbed aboard while Trivette stayed with the ground crew. Walker instructed the pilot to carefully comb the area. Gage picked up a pair of binoculars and studied the ground below, looking for any sign of Sydney or her captor.
********
Chase had re-entered the cave and as he leaned across Sydney, he brushed his lips across hers. "I love you Jessie. I know you're not too sure of me right now, but you will learn to love me too."
"I'm not Jessie. My name is Sydney and I'm sure that there are people looking for me right now. Your best bet would be to release me. Things will go easier on you."
"Shut up Jessie! Just shut up." He backhanded her across her cheek. Sydney gasped slightly at the unexpected strike. "Now, I'll tell you exactly what I'm going to do. I'm going to untie your legs and then I'm going to remove your jeans. I'll bet you can guess what I'm going to do then." He said roughly as he struggled with the ropes around her legs.
As soon as she felt the ropes loosen, Sydney brought her freed leg up in a strong kick, striking Chase under his chin. She shot up to her feet and as she began to run, Chase grabbed her ankle, bringing her to the ground, hard.
Chase tried to pull her to him. Sydney waited until she had a clear shot and then delivered a powerful full-face kick with her right foot, leaving the impression of her small boot on his face.
She was up again in an instant and ran out of the cave. She had no idea where she was or where she was headed and running wasn't easy with her hands still tied behind her.
The helicopter was nearing the top of the hill. Gage continued to search the ground and suddenly grabbed Walker's sleeve. "There! That's Syd!"
Walker focused his binoculars on the area Gage was searching and as he saw Sydney running, he motioned for the pilot to sit the helicopter down.
Sydney heard the helicopter and started to follow it to the landing spot. As she passed near the cave, unseen hands grabbed her from behind and a handkerchief covered her nose and mouth. "You will be mine Jessie. You'll be mine or you'll belong to no one."
Gage was out of the chopper as soon as it touched down with Walker right behind him. "Gage, wait up!" Walker said firmly. His words went unheard as Gage made his way to the spot where he had seen Sydney.
As he neared the cave, he ducked behind a tree as he saw Chase coming through the woods, carrying Sydney's motionless body in his arms.
Walker placed his hand on Gage's shoulder, causing Gage to take a defensive stance, not realizing at first that it was Walker. "Gage, stay put and keep an eye on him. I'm going back to the chopper and radio the others." He patted Gage's shoulder and returned to the helicopter.
He waited until Walker was out of sight and then he crept towards the entrance of the cave. He could hear Chase talking. "Jessie, you shouldn't have ran away from me. I don't want to hurt you. I just want to feel your beautiful body against mine." As Gage heard Chase speak, his eyes grew wide with anger. All he wanted to do was rush inside the cave and take this guy out, but he knew that a move that bold would put Sydney at risk.
He flattened himself against the wall of the cave and carefully made his way inside until he could see Chase, still holding Sydney's limp body. He closed his eyes briefly, praying that she was still alive, knowing that if she wasn't, nothing would stop him from killing Chase with his bare hands.
As he watched, Chase gently laid Sydney down on the floor of the cave. He knew that this was his chance. Running towards Chase in full force he landed a kick into his chest.
The sudden attack had taken Chase by surprise and he fell to the ground as Gage's boot met his chest, but was up in an instant, his knife in hand. "Come on, Ranger boy." He said, noting the star pinned to Gage's shirt pocket. "Come on!"
Gage made several quick moves, attempting to disarm Chase, but Chase knew he had nothing to lose. He didn't plan to let the Rangers take him alive and if he had his way, he would take a few of them with him. "So, Ranger boy, what's your interest in Jessie?" Chase asked, as he continued to circle Gage, taking a few stabs at him with the knife.
"She's my woman Chase. She's mine and her name's not Jessie, it's Sydney." Gage tried to keep Chase engaged in conversation, knowing that Walker would be returning soon.
"NO!" Chase shouted. "You're wrong. Her name is Jessie and she's mine. I won't let anyone have her, not Big Jim, not Bobby and not you. She's mine!" An evil grin spread across Chase's face. "Besides, I've already had her."
Gage flew into a rage and lunged at Chase, knocking the knife from his hand. He began to throw blow after blow even though both men had now dropped to the ground. Walker caught Gage's arm as he prepared to deliver what would have been a fatal blow to Chase's head. "GAGE! That's enough!"
Gage pulled away from Walker and ran to Sydney's side, taking her into his arms. "Syd? Oh God Syd, please be alright."
"Gage?" Sydney said, groggily.
The medics were already on the scene and loaded her onto a gurney preparing to carry her to the helicopter. "Ranger Gage, why don't you come with us? You look like you could stand to be checked out too."
Walker gave an approving nod as Gage looked towards him and then the young Ranger joined the EMT's, enroute to St. Matthews Hospital.
**********
Walker and Trivette joined the others at the hospital just as Sydney and Gage were being released. "Are you sure you're both OK?" Alex asked as the young couple leaned on each other.
Sydney smiled. "We'll be fine Alex. I think we both just need each other right now." Alex nodded in understanding.
"Well, you can both rest assured that both Bobby and Chase McCade will be going away for a long time." Alex stated.
"Good." Sydney replied. "Alex, any idea why he called me Jessie?"
Alex smiled a thin lined smiled. "It was the name of the girl he was accused of killing at Texas A & M last year. He was dating her."
Sydney looked at Alex, tears welling up in her eyes. "How sad." She replied, as Alex nodded.
"Come on you two and I'll drop you by your place." Walker offered.
"Thanks Walker. I guess my car's still at the theater." He half laughed. "I hadn't given it another thought."
"Just as well." Sydney replied with a grin.
Later, when they were snuggled against each other in their own bed, Sydney whispered to Gage. "I dreamed about them."
"Who?" Gage asked.
"Josephine and Francois." She replied, looking up at him as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Really? What happened in your dream?" Gage asked.
Sydney proceeded to tell him of her dream and how in her mind Francois had looked like him and she like Josephine.
Gage laughed. "That's weird Syd."
"What?" She cried out, half hurt that he would think her dream weird.
"No, no, no, not the dream." He soothed. "In my mind, I'm Francois and you're Josephine too." He smiled as he pulled her into a passionate kiss.
THE END