Rating: I'm giving it by chapters this time. I'd say K+ for the swearing, but nothing terribly exciting besides that.

Disclaimer: Just, no.

A/N: This chapter sucks, but I had to do it to get it moving someplace. I swear it'll get better... at some point. I just read an amazing story on here so my faith in myself is a TINY bit down! But I hope everyone enjoys.

Two huge cups of coffee? Check. Sleepless? Check. Speeding? Check. Car that seems to be staying closer than comfort with no intention of moving? Shit.

Maybe it was just the paranoia setting in, but Riley had no desire in the least to deal with Ian in that moment. He was aiming to get away, not run away and find more trouble than he would have had had he stayed in town with Ben and Abigail. He didn't want to admit it, but he was almost starting to miss them. Maybe it was only because they'd be better able to help him out of the situation, but with that though his chest rose proudly and he reminded himself that was the exact reason he was out here on his own. He could manage to live without those two.

Hell, if they wanted clues to where he might've been going, he'd given them everything he had planned. Ben was resourceful, if he only knew what to go on and where to look. Riley counted on that taking a while.

Now if he could just make it to his destination without getting killed he be in great shape.

"We have to figure out where he's headed before we can figure out how we're going to get to him, Abi." Ben wanted so badly to be able to just speed the entire way to wherever Riley was, but if he didn't know where that was then he'd have some issues in the task, "We just... have to figure out what his note meant."

"Where he was found?" Abigail questioned, receiving a nod from Ben in a silent answer, "...we should probably call Sadusky for that help he offered."

It would have been a great plan, had Ian not been three steps ahead of everyone. From the moment the idea was hatched while he was still behind bars, he had been keeping tabs on Riley. There was very little he didn't know, as far as where the young treasure hunter might have been headed, so he was prepared for anything. And after watching as one of his lackeys followed Riley from the hotel, Ian was more than confident about the fact that he knew where Poole was going.

"This is going to be easier than I thought." he was grinning as he watched the computer screen that was showing a video feed from his lackey's car. They were right behind Riley, so Ian pulled out his cell phone to get in contact with them, "Get him, any way you have to. Just make sure he stays alive."

"Ohhh, crap." The car was beginning to come around Riley now, and he could tell something wasn't right about it. He was already speeding, so for this car to get around him they'd have to have been going at least twenty over the speed limit, and no one was that stupid – unless they had an agenda. And this car, whoever it happened to be, clearly did.

Riley's rental car jolted and nearly slid off the road as the slightly larger (a small SUV) vehicle bumped into him, "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit..." When did he start swearing so much? He shook the wonder out of his head as his mind started reeling with ways out of this, coming up with very little that might have done him any good at all.

Another hit from the SUV and Riley was slamming on his breaks to get behind them. He knew if another hit was taken there was no way he'd be able to keep control of the car. With a deep inhale, he came to a decision, something he knew he'd probably regret later but if it saved his life now he didn't much care, "Should have paid that little extra for the insurance." Shaking his head and telling himself he just had to go ahead and do it, he started speeding up again.

His only aim was to get the nose of his car to contact with the corner of theirs. He'd seen it done on television? That had to be good enough. But then he just had to laugh at himself, "This is suicide." but he didn't care. He couldn't get caught, not by Ian, and definitely not without his friends nearby to get him out of such an event. He could take care of himself as long as he wasn't being held captive by anyone, he knew that much. But if they managed to get to him, that would have been the end of it.

With one more deep breath and the realization that it was now or never to make the attempt, he checked for any other cars – none. Thank God no one really traveled much on that road that late at night. He turned hard on the steering wheel and hit the back corner of the SUV's bumper, sending it swerving and getting his hopes up just a little too high. First time, not the charm.

He slowed down with the intention of trying it again, the thought that he didn't know what the hell he was doing so it probably wasn't going to work in the first place. At least he had probably managed to scare them? And then he heard it, the loud pop of the one thing he had feared the most.

They were shooting at him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Ian screamed into the phone at the man driving the SUV Riley had only seconds before been trying to knock off the road, "I said ALIVE you imbecile, THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO ACCOMPLISH THAT." He watched for a few moments longer, switching the camera view to one that was attached to the back of the car, "Don't go blowing up the engine or anything. Aim for the tires."

It would help if the man had been watching the road. There was only one of them in the car Ian had sent after Riley, thinking that would have been enough when he stopped in a hotel for the night – but he hadn't stayed long enough, and Ian knew why. Riley was suspicious, so this task was going to be harder, but if the man who was already with Riley now did things the right way everything would have gone fine. The one thing he didn't take into account, though, was that driving and shooting behind you was no simple task.

Howe watched in awe and amazement (in the worst sort of way) as there was a loud sort of crunching noise and a scream from the unnamed driver of the SUV, and suddenly everything stopped aside from Riley's car zooming out of view of the camera, "Oh bloody hell!" Ian started switching views of the camera, becoming more and more infuriated as he realized what went on as he realized he was seeing everything upside down and the driver had crashed, "Speed up, Shaw. We can't let Gates get to Poole before us."