Chapter 2

Decisions and Consequences

"there's one more, the one that Amy raced against, "

"it's too late Ty, come on we got to go" Wade warned

"I'll go get him and meet you on the other side of the ranch at the back near where I parked Jacks truck, "Ty instructed stepping back from the trailer and pulling the door closed.

"Ty, come on man, let it go" Wade sighed, knowing this was a bad idea, he knew the kind of people that ran these events. They were not to be trifled with.

"just go Wade, get Amy and Shane out of here, I'll catch up" Ty insisted and with that ran off back through the parked floats towards the stables and tack shed.

Wade, paused for a moment, knowing that running after him would just put Amy and Shane and the horses they already had at risk. He bit his lip and looked back at the truck, hit the rear door in aggravation and ran to the driver's side, getting in.

He flicked the truck into gear and pulled away, Amy looking back out the window from the back seat, watching to see if they were being followed. As she turned around, she suddenly became aware that Ty was not in the truck with them.

"Wade, where is Ty?" she demanded, a look of panic filling her blue eyes,

"he's gone after that last horse, "Wade hissed, knowing in his gut it was probably not the right decision, he looked in the rearview cautiously as he continued driving down the track towards the properties main gates "he will meet us at Jacks truck"

"Wade, we can't just leave him behind!" Amy protested, looking back out the window, searching for Ty amongst the spectators.

"he will be ok Amy, Ty's tuff, look how he took out Liam' Shane said trying to console her.

"no, this isn't right, Wade, stop the truck!" she demanded,

"Amy, If I stop the truck, you lose all the horses, everything Ty put on the line will be for nothing "Wade explained looking over his shoulder at her. "Ty will be fine, he knows what he's doing, so sit tight and hold on and let me get you out of here"

Amy held her tongue, not happy with leaving Ty but knowing that if they stopped and went back, they would be risking the horses as well.

She bit her lip, her eyes on the rearview mirror, hoping in her heart that all would be ok.

"Hey! Hey! Stop those guys! Stop them! They're stealing the horses! "Liam called out, he had regained consciousness from Ty's punch and was staggering out of the tack room in his underwear. Some of the punters saw him and laughed, wondering why this little man was covered in sawdust and only wearing boxers while he yelled about stolen horses.

"Someone's stealing the horses! " the walkie-talkie announced to the commentator, who instantly went into shut down mode. "Don't let that truck out of here, no matter what! "he bellowed to the voice on the coms. The put the bullhorn to his lips for the last time. "Okay, everybody, we're shutting 'er down. Now! Let's go! "

The crowd went into panic mode and dissipated quickly, people were running to their trucks and cars to get as far away from the illegal race track as they could, beer mugs went flying, gear was grabbed and stowed quickly. The ranch erupted to sounds of clambering yells and footfalls of a fast escape.

Wade barreled down the driveway towards the exit, seeing a rather large guard, who had stopped Ty and Amy entering through the main gate previously blocking their way, Rifle in hand. Finger on the trigger.

"He's got a gun! "Shane yelled, still filming with his phone,

"Get down! "Wade growled,

Amy and Shane quickly obeyed as a gunshot rang out around them. Amy shut her eyes and jumped as it was followed by two more blasts.

Wade pressed his foot to the floor and sped up challenging the gunman with his truck, making him rethink his position and dive out of the way of the oncoming vehicle.

"I don't believe it! The guy actually took a shot at us! "Shane said in amazement

Shane! Will you turn that phone off! And don't you dare tell Dad, okay? "Amy warned. Her face scared but relieved they had made it out and onto the main road.

"Thanks, man. That was awesome!" Shane smiled at Wade, who smiled and enjoyed the compliment. Knowing he had actually for once in his checkered and besmirched life saved the day.

"turn down that side road there "Amy ordered pointing to a small dirt side road." Grandpas truck is just beyond that outcrop"

Amy pulled off the riding helmet and jumped out of the truck before Wade had a chance to put it into park, she ran down through the trees and crouched down, squinting across the field before them, watching people in the distance scatter and run for their cars and trucks.

"I don't see him" she whispered, her concern growing.

"He will make it have a little faith," Wade smiled, crouching down next to her after warning Shane that if he didn't stay in the truck this time, there would be consequences.

"this is not a joke Wade" Amy rebutted, annoyed at his calmness, "where were you! if you had turned up when you said you would we wouldn't be in this mess"

"now come on, I made it here didn't I, I told Ty where to go, I helped you get your dads horse back and 4 others to be precise, "Wade protested, a sly grin on his features, "Ty will be fine, after all, he had me to teach him how to handle this kinda thing"

Amy fumed but held her tongue, deciding that a full-on argument with Wade would not help her or Ty at that moment.

"there he is, "Wade said suddenly, weeing Ty come out from behind a building, leading a horse behind him. He touched Amy on the shoulder and guided her eyes to where he was looking.

"come on TY" Amy breathed, as she watched her boyfriend fight with the frightened horse, it reared and pulled against him as he tried to lead it towards the backfield, not one amongst the crowd was paying much attention to him. Amy lost sight of him as he ran behind an outbuilding, trying to avoid the main driveways.

"I'm going over there" she said quickly, standing up and stepping forward, but Wades hand on her arm restrained her,

"look, Amy, Ty asked me to get you and the kid out of here, if you go storming over there, you're not only going to put yourself in danger, but you're going to attract attention to him as well, how will that help anyone!"

Amy glared at him, her head in turmoil, not knowing what to do.

"just sit tight, he will come to us," Wade smiled calmly. "give him some credit will you,"

Amy bit her lip in indecision, and then stepped back behind the log, conceding to Wade's point.

Ty had told Wade he would make it to them, all they had to do was wait.

Ty pulled the large bae thoroughbred away from the crowds of running and yelling people, the confusion and panic were giving him cover as he walked the horse into the barn and hay shed at the back of the property. He looked through the rear door and could just make out two figures crouching down behind a fallen tree across the field, all he had to do was get the horse through the back-field gate and across the open area and he was home free. He heard a familiar voice heading his way so grabbed the horses bridle and pulled into one of the empty stalls. Placing his hand on the horse's nose, he stood still, as he watched Liam engage with the announcer and head off running in the opposite direction. Ty inhaled and shut his eyes, his luck was holding. If Liam had decided to go the other way. He would have run straight into them.

"Shhh, boy" he breathed stroking the horse's nose, trying to calm it. He ran his hand up its mussel and across his head, finding the swirl pattern between its eyes, slowly he started to move his fingers in circles, smiling a wry smile as he did. All those hours of watching Amy use T-Touch had paid off.

The horse slowly calmed down, enjoying the attention. Ty looked around and once convinced the coast was clear he leads the horse out of the stall and back to the rear barn door. Hoping to god no one had parked their rig near the back entrance.

Ty was a good rider, Amy had made sure of that, but he had never ridden a racehorse or used a racing saddle, he didn't have time to reset the stirrups to his height, and as he was bigger body wise to a jockey he knew the saddle would not really work for him. His mind raced, he had to get that horse out of the barn and across that field and he was running out of time.

Ty looked around and saw a riding step near one of the stalls, he quickly grabbed it and placed it next to the horse, he stepped up and threw himself over the saddle his legs hanging freely on either side, he tucked in the stirrups to get them out of the way, grabbed the reins and dug his heels into the horse's flanks. The bae jumped a little at the extra weight but trotted forward and Ty rode him around through the rear doors and towards the rear field gate.

"he's at the gate," Amy said, pointing to the horse and his rider as he approached the field, "careful, that horse looks spooked"

They watched on as Ty rode the horse up to the rear gate, fighting it all the way, it sidestepped and pawed the ground, the noise from the people and the vehicles spooking in and terrifying it.

Amy watched in trepidation as Ty leaned forward to unhitch the gate lock, but could get the horse to stand still long enough to grab it. He finally managed to push it open with his boot as the sounds of voices behind him made him turn and startled the already agitated steed.

"Hey, stop him, "they yelled, running down the grassy hill towards Ty and the Bae.

Amy held her breath as time stood still, everything seemed to be in slow motion as she watched the events unfold before her.

She saw the horse rear and Ty try to hold onto it as it pivoted around at the gate, she heard the men yelling and saw them waving their arms at the horse, trying to get it to submit.

Amy gasped as the horse reared again, this time to full height, making Ty lose his grip and fall from the saddle hitting the ground roughly, rolling to the side pulling himself clear of the hooves that crashed down around him. The horse bolted, scared by the approaching men and galloped across the field in full flight.

"TY!" Amy almost yelled, Wade, squeezed her shoulder, standing next to her now, concern crossing his face as well when he saw his stepson fall, they watched Ty scramble to his feet and take off back up the embankment away from the approaching men, disappearing again behind the old barn doors.

Wade grabbed Amy's arm and pulled her down behind the log as the men watched the horse bolt out of reach and across the field in their direction. They turned back looking at the way Ty had run and took to their heels after him.

Wade looked at Amy, who was still staring in shock. Trying to process what had happened. "get back to the truck" he growled, as he ran off through the trees.

Amy looked back across the now empty field, trying to see if she could see Ty, but nearly all the people were now either in their trucks and heading out or long gone. She bit her lip and stood up, deciding to listen to Wade and return to the truck.

"where's Ty!" Shane asked as she got back into the back seat, her face etched with concern

"I don't know, he tried to get back to us, but they chased him, so" she dropped her words, not knowing what to do.

"we have to go help him, Amy, "Shane cried "we can't just leave him there, to fight his way out alone"

"I know Shane, "Amy snapped," I know, let me think will you"

Amy heard movement outside and felt the rear door of the trailer open, followed by the sound of hoof beats on the trailer floor.

She looked through the rearview mirror as she heard the door bang closed again and watched Wade run up the side of the rig and climb into the driver's seat.

"I got the horse," he said, a slight smile on his face, but dropped it when he saw the look Amy threw at him.

"and Ty? "she asked,

"I couldn't see him, Amy, "he replied, turning on the engine and checking the truck into gear,

"Wade!" Amy growled, "we can't leave him behind!"

"no, we need to get help" Shane agreed, horrified by the idea of abandoning Ty.

"look, we need to get this rig away from here ok, once we are clear, you can call whoever you like "Wade snapped, "your dad, the cops I don't care, but I need to get you two as far away from here as possible right now"

"please Wade, we can't just "Amy pleaded, tears in her eyes.

"Amy, look I understand ok," he softened his tone trying to make her understand. "I'm not leaving him behind, we just need to regroup and come up with a plan, we can't help him right now"

Amy dropped her head and nodded, "I'll get grandpas truck, "she said softly opening the door and running over to the other truck.

She slid behind the wheel and paused for a moment, then turned the key, pulling out in front of Wade and rumbling off towards the main road and heartland.

"So, thanks for the call. It's too bad everyone had already packed up and left by the time we got to the ranch. And miss Fleming? How about the next time you decide to take the law into your own hands, you call us before, not after the fact? "Officer Murphy Scolded as he glared at Tim and Amy.

"no one was there when you got there?" she asked,

"nope, clean as a whistle, "Murphy responded.

"but officer, my boyfriend he was there, he helped us get the horses out, but we got cut off from him, "Amy's eyes were welling up, the day's events were catching up with her.

"come-on Murphy, are you telling me you can even track one kid"" Tim growled, "it's not like he just disappeared"

"I'm telling you all that the place was deserted when we got there if you had called me earlier, well then I may have been able to assist. "Murphy growled. "I'm sure your boyfriend is fine, you may find he's turned up while you've been here giving me old information"

"Amy, we should go back to Heartland, he's right, Ty may have made his way back by now, after everything calmed down," Janice said calmly. "he probably went to ground until the smoke cleared"

Amy smiled half-heartedly and nodded, seeing her point, she watched Officer Murphy walk away from them and head back into the police station.

"come on Amy, "Tim said softly, touching her shoulder, "he's fine, he's smart, he's resourceful, Janice is right, he's probably back at Hartland waiting for you now."

Meanwhile….

Ty pressed himself up against the barn wall and an old water tank. He held his breath as he heard the footsteps run past him.

Slowly once he was sure they were gone he stepped out, keeping close to the barn wall as he walked around the building heading for the parking area. He was hoping that someone in their haste to pack up may have left their keys in their truck, giving him an opportunity to hijack one and get away.

Worst case scenario, he could slip into the back of a truck bed and sneak out that way.

There were 4 trucks left when he turned the final corner. Two had men loading them hastily and one was reversing up to an empty horse float and hooking it up. Tys eyes flicked from side to side from his vantage point, deciding the truck at the far end of the area, that seemed to not have any activity around it at the moment and was his best bet.

He watched the two men head back into the outbuilding to grab more tack and took his chance. He quickly dashed across the open area, sliding up to the rear of the truck and crouching down keeping as low and as close to the vehicle as he could, he slid his hand into the handle of the driver's door and pulled, a smile running across his lips as it unlatched, slowly he pulled the door open, glanced across the parking area and saw no one in view so stood up and went to get into the driver's seat.

As he stepped-up with his foot to get in her felt someone grab him by the shoulder and bend his arm backward, causing him to groan in pain and stumble away from the truck.

"and who do we have here?" A voice snarled into his ear as it applied pressure on his arm making Ty call out in pain.

"Um, Ben, Mr. Dawson Sir, we have a problem "the man said stepping into the larger of the two Mobile trailers.,

"really Sid, "the well-dressed individual snarked, "would that be the fact that someone stole all our racehorses from right under our noses or is this something else?"

The cowboy took a deep breath a continued, knowing Ben Dawson was not a man to be trifled with.

"no sir, we found this kid, trying to steal one of the trucks, I think he was one of the ones who stole the horses?"

Bens black eyes flickered slightly, a small smile curling across his lips. "where is he?"

"Um, he's outside with Clyde and Rusty,"

"Well, bring our friend in, I'd like to have a talk to him" Ben smiled.

The cowboy nodded and retreated back out the trailer door, returning momentarily with two other men, and Ty who they manhandled into the trailer.

Ty fought against them as they held his arms behind his back, forcing him forward.

"argh, so you're the one who's caused all this chaos today," Ben said with a smug smile, he twisted his cigar around in his lips as he walked his eyes over Ty.

Tys eyes locked onto the mans before him. Trying to remain calm, he was in full on defense mode now, he knew just how much trouble he was in and he needed to somehow turn this around.

"what's your name kid," the older man asked, watching him like a lion watches a gazelle.

Ty didn't answer, choosing to keep quiet rather than engage. Defiance flickering through his green eyes.

The older man nodded subtly to the cowboys who increased their hold on Ty's shoulders, as they rifled through his jeans pockets. Ty hissed, stumbling backward under their grip as one pulled out his wallet and handed it to Mr. Dawson.

He flipped it open and rifled through the contents, knowing Ty was watching him intently, feeding his anger and fear.

"Tyler Borden" he smirked, flicking the driver's license around in his fingers, his eyes still on the young man who stood before him in his men's grasp.

Ty's heart was thumping so loudly he could hear it in his ears. The adrenaline had kicked in as he struggled against his captors.

"so, Tyler," Ben continued, pulling the money out of Ty's wallet and with a smile pushing it into his own pocket. "who's this?"

He flipped the wallet up to show the pictures of Amy that Ty kept.

Ty lunged forward slightly, his lip twitching, as the men held him still, bending his arm further backward, making him grit his teeth from the pain.

"Oh, ok the girlfriend I take it, "Ben smirked" I can see why she's a pretty one, "

Ty pulled against the men again, trying to get free, his temper flaring at Ben as he licked his lips while flicking through the images.

"ok ok, "Ben laughed, "settle down Tyler, I'm just playing "

"Ty, "Ty snarled, taking a breath as the pain in shoulder grew worse" just Ty,"

"very well Ty, "Ben corrected, seeing he was getting somewhere, "can you explain to me how you managed to single-handedly break into my invite only race meet and steel my racehorses?"

"there not your racehorses!" Ty hissed. "you stole them first"

The men on either side of him increased the pressure on Ty's arms making him drop his head and groan, his knees buckling under him.

Ben raised his hand to his men, smiling curtly. Ty felt them let go and he staggered forward rubbing his shoulder.

"now that is a matter of opinion, "Ben said smoothly motioning towards the booth for Ty to sit down, Ty at first didn't move, but when he felt the cowboys behind him again he reluctantly accepted the offer and slid onto the seat.

Ben moved forward and leaned against the booth seat. directly opposite Ty. Watching him intently.

Ty flicked his eyes around the trailer, he was boxed in, the door was behind him, blocked by three rather large men, the only other way out was through the side door at the front of the trailer and that meant he had to get through Ben and two other men who stood near the sleeping quarters.

"now the problem is Ty, that I can't just let you go, "the older man smiled, throwing Ty's wallet across the table to him.

"I won't say anything, "Ty said softly, pushing his wallet back into his pocket "I only wanted the horses,"

"ok, ok, well, I can believe that I suppose, you're a horsey person, save the animals and all that, so, maybe did it for the girlfriend?" Ben surmised and when he saw Ty's reaction at the mention of this he knew it to be correct.

"argh, the girlfriend, the things we do for love hey"

Ty eyed his captor warily, annoyed at himself for letting his emotions show.

Ben walked over to the sidebar and ran his hand through his short dark, slightly greying hair,

"I promise, I won't say a word" Ty repeated. "I don't know who you are, or who any of these guys are, I'll just say I got lost or"

"that's right Mr. Dawson, he doesn't really know any of us" one of the men blurted out from the door.

Ty dropped his head as he saw the older gents face register annoyance.

"Well, Mr. Simmons, you just told him my name, so I think that boat has sailed" Ben snapped, rolling his eyes.

Ty sighed and rubbed his face. Knowing now that now the idea of walking away from this was gone.

The door opened quickly and another cowboy stepped in,

"Um sir, we gotta get going, everything is packed up" he stammered.

Ben nodded and motioned for one of the men to go with the interloper leaving Ty with two bodyguards instead of three.

"ok, well, we are going to have to take this up later, as Time is not on our side, "Ben sighed and looked towards one of the men at the far end of the trailer near the sleeping quarters. "bring me the black box"

Ty sat up slightly, concern on his face, uncertain as to what the comment meant, he watched one of the men walk over to a cabinet at the back and retrieve a small black case which he handed to Mr. Dawson.

I Dawson smiled reluctantly at Ty, sizing him up.

"how much do you weigh kid?" he finally asked. Tapping the box with his cigar.

Ty raised an eyebrow, not understanding. Not seeing the relevance,

"80 to 95" the man behind Ty suggested. Ty turned to look at him over his shoulder, his confusion growing.

Mr. Dawson nodded in agreement and opened the box over on the counter. Ty craned his neck to see what was inside, not understanding what was going on, but growing more and more concerned by the expressions on the other men's faces.

"so, TY, I need you to just sit still for me ok and just go with it," Ben said as he turned his back to him and played with the contents of the box.

Ty sat up slightly, pushing his hands into the seat, trying to get a better look at what was happening. His intuition screaming at him to get out of there, he glanced around nervously at the door and the men blocking his way. His heartbeat starting to race.

"have you heard of Detomidine Hydrochloride?" Ben asked, more at Ty than anyone else.

"Um, yeah, it's a horse tranquilizer" Ty replied softly, his mouth slightly open now, his eyes transfixed on Mr. Dawson back.

Ben Dawson turned around holding a small syringe in his hand, his eyes locked onto Ty.

"what's that for?" Ty whispered, his face now ashen, his eyes locked onto the syringe in the man's hands.

Ben nodded to the man behind Ty who moved forward quickly and grabbed ahold of his shoulders. TY looked up at him, exhaling loudly struggling under their grip, the realization of what was about to happen finally dawning on him.

Ty fought to stand up but was pinned back down to the booth seat, one of the other men joining the first and securing him tightly in their grasp.

"now come on man, you don't need to" Ty pleaded, his breathing now short and panicked, "I won't say anything, I mean it"

He pushed with his legs trying to get free, but was unable to gain any ground, one of the men wrapped his arm around Tys neck and pulled him back into the back of the booth, pressing him firmly against the seat, while the other pulled up his left arm, laying it on the table and pushed up his jacket sleeve.

"no, don't' Ty grunted. "come on, please, "his eyes where as large as saucers now, the green in them radiating his fear, "that's, for horses, not"

Ben moved over to the now incapacitated Ty and smiled evilly, he squeezed the syringe slightly removing any air bubbles,

Ty struggled again, this time with more force, kicking the table legs with his feet, gaining some leverage and managing to arch his back into an almost standing position, causing the man who had him in the headlock to tighten his arm around his throat and place his other hand on Ty's forehead. They pushed him down again, forcing his body to bend back into a seated position.

"Please, don't' Ty pleaded, trying desperately to pull his exposed inner arm away.

Ben pressed his finger to his mouth and smiled "shhh, son, it will all be over in a minute "

And with those final words, he lowered the needle towards the struggling Ty.

"Mr. Dawson," one of the men near the sleeper said suddenly, a slight tremor in his voice, "are you sure Sir, we don't know what it will do to him"

Ben sighed, and stopped, aggravation showing on his worn features. "so, we just let him go then and hope he doesn't say anything?" he snarled sarcastically.

The man moved awkwardly, "we could just lock him up and dump him down the road, "

Ben exhaled roughly and spun around, motioning comically to Ty to just sit still and wait for a moment. "yes, we could, and when they find him, and he tells them who we are and what we do and our names. What then, we just smile and let the police take us away"

"no Sir," The other conceded, bowing his head.

Ben smiled and turned back to Ty who was watching him in horror. Realizing that he had no way of stopping this man from what he was planning to do.

"Sorry about that Ty, where were we. "he mocked, taking hold of Ty s arm and holding it still on the table with the help of one of his goons.

"no. come on, "Ty stammered, desperation flooding his body,

Ben tapped the skin bringing a vein to the surface and pressed the syringe against Ty's inner arm. Ty pulled again trying to move his arm away as Ben grinned at him. Ty twitched and grimaced as he felt the pinch of the needle going in, his eyes watched in disbelief as Ben squeezed the syringe and administered the drug.

Tys mind was awash with anger, Fear and anxiety, drugs where his Achilles heel, he had seen them destroy so many people in his life and now to be forced to take something that wasn't even meant for humans were making him spiral in a whirlwind of panic and alarm.

"that should take effect pretty quick, I think I got the dose right, but well, you never can tell" Ben snarked, smiling as he watched the fight go out of Ty's green eyes.

Ty felt the burn in his arm as the drug entered his bloodstream, a tingling along his bicep and through his armpit, He blinked and tried to control his breathing but the fog was starting to close in around him.

He looked up at the man who held him, his eyes trying to find help from somewhere, but he was alone.

Ty felt them release their hold on him, giving him one last ditch attempt to run, he pushed with his feet, but the lost traction, grabbing at the table and pulling himself up shakily, staggering on his feet. One of the men grabbed him around the waist and put him back where he started. Holding him in place by his shoulders.

Ty blinked his eyes as the room lost focus, the voices all muddled together as the drug took effect, He looked around wildly, but the room was now just a mass of shadows and shapes, nothing made sense, He licked his lips, his mouth dry and his breathing shallow.

"he's a fighter this one," one of the men said with a chuckle,

Ty felt his body relax, it was a warm feeling that he wanted to fight with all his might, but the fog was now surrounding him. Obscuring his thoughts and memories. He let his head fall back against the seat, his eyes slowly glazing over, the last thing he saw before he succumbed was the face of Mr. Dawson, smiling and winking at him as he puffed on his cigar.

to be continued