The Dreamt-of Call
by Estirose
c 2011
Chapter 8: Running Rogue
Calls from Doctor K were never good.
"Ranger Red," the disembodied voice said, "Ranger Black has kidnapped Ranger Green and departed base. I believe he intends to return to the Wastes."
Scott pinched his nose. "Great." He wasn't sure why Dillon was kidnapping Ziggy, but Dillon's desire to find whatever he was out there trying to find had been an issue of contention for the time he'd been a Ranger. "Why'd he kidnap Ziggy?"
Their new member was really bad at fighting, but then again, he'd given them ample warning that he was. He'd been enthusiastic and it was hard not to like him, especially as he'd taken on his powers with little hesitation. What he lacked in self-esteem he made up for in willingness to do, and Scott could deal with that. Yes, his jokes needed work, but maybe they'd go away when Ziggy felt more comfortable.
"I believe that Ranger Green's self-esteem regarding his bond came up as an issue, and Ranger Black thought that Ranger Green believed the same things he did."
Taking a second to parse Doctor K's words, he wished sometimes that Ziggy had come with a little more belief in himself. "Do you know where they are?"
"Yes," Doctor K said. "I am tracking them through the morphers." There was a momentary pause, and he added, "I also injected a tracking device into Ranger Green while updating his immunizations, given his history of disappearing on us."
Scott was glad for the foresight on Doctor K's part. "I'll grab Flynn and Summer. Keep me updated."
He took Summer and Flynn to one side. "What is it with Ziggy and getting kidnapped?" Flynn asked. "I mean, the man wants to break with his past and be a good person, and everyone wants to keep him from doing that."
"Can we figure that out later, and recover our rogue Ranger first?" Scott asked. "Summer?"
"I'm just glad that Doctor K thought of that," Summer said. "Let's go. I'm sure I can talk Dillon into staying. And I don't think Ziggy's staying silent, either."
"Right," Scott said, heading for his car. The others did the same.
Ziggy, once he got over the shock of being kidnapped by his teammate, albeit a very unwilling one, had quickly righted himself and buckled up. He'd seen Dillon's driving, and he didn't intend to be tossed out of the car by accident. On purpose was another matter. "You're sure this is a good idea?" he asked.
"You want to get brainwashed?" Dillon demanded. "Because that's what will happen if we stay there. Become good little soldiers for the city of Corinth."
"Isn't that the general idea? I mean, that's what we're supposed to be doing, after all." Defending the city. No matter how much his morpher had screwed up, he was determined to make the best of it. "But if you want to leave, I'll support you."
Dillon was big, powerful, and Ziggy didn't see the point in him staying if he didn't like it there. Plus, big, powerful guys were guys that Ziggy didn't like crossing. He tended to get hurt that way.
"And that's the point," Dillon said. "Nobody else would be willing to back me up here. You belong as much as I do."
"That's debatable," Ziggy said. "I mean, I might belong, but hey, you know yourself best." He did belong to something, something good, for the first time in his life. Dillon thought differently, and Ziggy wasn't stupid enough to stop him.
"Let me put it this way, if I was about to go through a gate, would you stop me?"
"I'd hope you'd let me off first, but hey, if it gets you out to where you want to be, I'm not going to stop you."
Dillon seemed to be debating something, and then turned a corner. "We're going out gate 14."
Ziggy wracked his brain trying to figure out his plan. "Why?" He was sure as Rangers they could get it to open and cause a temporary shield breach, but still. Gate 14?
"Less Venjix presence. Better chance for you to get back, if you want to." Dillon concentrated on driving. "There are settlements in the wastes, you know."
"Yeah, but I'm kind of planning on defending Corinth," Ziggy said. "No matter how really stupid it was to choose me."
As they passed through an industrial section, Dillon held one hand out. "Your morpher."
Ziggy knew what he was planning. Doctor K and the others couldn't track them without their morphers, couldn't stop Dillon from leaving. Which was okay by Ziggy; he could get his morpher back when he returned to Corinth. He took the morpher out of the holder and handed it to Dillon without protest.
Dillon, surprisingly, slowed down to a crawl, enough to toss two morphers out the window, and then returned to his normal speed. "Did you bring enough to survive?" Ziggy asked. Maybe he could bargain a day's worth of food and water from Dillon, enough to get him back to Corinth once Dillon let him out.
"Always do."
It was kind of scary, and exciting in a way, once he got used to the idea that he was going to be leaving the safety of Corinth. Without the morphers, nobody would know where Dillon was going until it was too late.
Ziggy had only been in the Wastes briefly before he'd gotten to Corinth with Fresno Bob, and he didn't really want to be out there again, but it wasn't like he had a huge choice in the matter. Not with Dillon mostly convinced that he, Ziggy Grover, wanted to be out of there.
Dillon made more than a few turns, and Ziggy recognized what he was doing. He didn't want the others to figure it out, know where he was planning to leave. Standard law enforcement evasion. He'd learned it when he ran with the Scorpion Cartel.
As they went down a particularly long block, he saw a car screeching in, blocking the street ahead. Scott! He looked behind him, and saw that Flynn's truck had pulled up, blocking the other way. "I think we have trouble. With a capital Trouble."
"You'd better be buckled in," Dillon said, as he revved up his engine.
"I'm buckled! I'm very buckled." He could see what Dillon was trying to do - either force Scott's car out of the way, or drive through the gap between the car and the building.
"Dillon, don't!" Summer was beside them on her motorcycle. "Whatever's going on, let's talk about it."
"I don't trust Doctor K," Dillon said. "Sorry."
"Come on, Dillon, at least let Ziggy go," Summer pleaded.
"Can't do that," Dillon told her. "We're both leaving, now."
Dillon banked suddenly, and then there was an overly-loud boom. Ziggy saw Summer accelerate out of the way before Dillon was forced to come to a stop.
