Disclaimer: The characters of, "Sons of Thunder" and "Walker Texas Ranger", are owned by Chuck Norris, Aaron Norris, CBS and whoever else was involved with the creation and production of these two shows. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fanfiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.
Chapter 8: Needing a Lead
Will and Kendra had been making a list of people whom Hunter may have entrusted the other flashdrive to but so far, it had proven to be worthless.
"So, Hunter's friend Andy doesn't have any information that can help us?" Will asked as he scratched another name off the list of possible people and places that may hold the other flash drive that would have the rest of the code.
Kendra shook her head. "Nope."
"So, that leaves us with the Rangers, Alex, your PI friends and your bartender boss."
"I doubt they would have it. They would have mentioned something to me."
"Unless they are going to be receiving it in the mail like I did."
"No, I don't think so. I think Hunter would have sent the other flashdrive to someone that you know. And, I'm guessing that he wouldn't have sent it to someone connected with the DA's office. What about Lyle?"
Will scratched his chin. "Maybe. Maybe not. I think we would have heard from Uncle Lyle by now. He has my number."
"Yeah, but doesn't he think that you're in LA?" Kendra pointed out.
"Yeah, but he would have figured out about the coded flash drive and would have given me a call to help decipher it."
"I guess you are the code expert in your family?"
"Yeah. I taught Hunter some tricks and he took them to a whole new level."
"Hunter is a fast learner," Kendra said unable to keep the pain out of her voice. She wanted to be by his side, but she knew that she had to find out who had hurt him. It was the only way she knew that would make up for the way she had treated him.
Will looked at Kendra and saw the circles under her eyes. He could tell that she was trying to remain standing. "Maybe you should get some sleep."
Kendra frowned. "I'm fine."
"Well, I'm getting get a few winks," Will said as he kicked off his shoes and settled into one of the beds in the room.
Kendra remained sitting on the other bed, wondering where Hunter could have put the other flashdrive. She soon felt the exhaustion that she had kept at bay with her sheer will and decided that she may as well get some sleep.
She kicked off her shoes and went under the covers. She was going to think about possible places that Hunter may have hid the flashdrive but she fell asleep in mere seconds after her head hit the pillow.
Will listened and heard Kendra's breathing began smooth and rhythmic. He was glad that she was getting some sleep. She looked as though she had just recovered from a bad bought of the flu, but he certainly wasn't going to say that to her.
"So, we still have no idea what Hunter was working on?" Trent asked.
Everyone had been working different angles and speaking with their various contacts to find out if anyone knew what Hunter had been working on.
"Nope. We asked Lyle if Hunter had said anything. It seems that Hunter has kept whatever he was working on quiet. We know that he didn't even tell Kendra," Gage said.
"She must not be happy about that," Carlos said.
"Wouldn't Hunter keep a file or something somewhere so if something happened to him, it would lead us right to the scumbag?" Kim asked.
"I don't think so. He wouldn't have wanted the information to fall into the hands of someone he didn't trust," Gage said.
"So, he must have given the information to someone he could trust and who wouldn't be someone that the bad guys would expect him to give it to." Kim looked at Gage and Sydney. "Right?"
"Definitely sounds like Hunter," Sydney agreed.
"So, all we have to do is find out who Hunter would trust with this information so we can trace it to whoever tried to kill him. Any ideas?" Gage asked.
"College roommate or friends? Family members?" Sydney suggested with frustration in her voice at all the possibilities that would lead to another dead end.
"Doesn't Hunter have a brother or something?"
"Yeah, he came to visit when Hunter was in the hospital before. I think his name was Bill," Carlos said.
"It was Will. Jeesh, Carlos, and you were a cop?" Kim said teasingly.
"I barely even met the guy. Give me a break," Carlos said with fake exasperation in his voice.
"Maybe his brother knows. I think he lives in California. He may have given his brother the information knowing that it would be safe in his brother's hands. Maybe he even gave his brother any evidence that he had gathered," Sydney said, wondering if she had gotten far beyond the possible.
"Let's give it a shot. I'll call Lyle and get the number," Trivette said as he picked up the phone and began dialing.
Everyone in the room hoped that this would be leading them in the right direction. If not, without a lead, they were left with nothing to help them.
"Here ya go," Butch said as he handed the cup filled with strong coffee to Lyle.
"Thanks, Butch." Lyle sighed as he looked down at the coffee that still had a swirl of brown and black, the cream having not been stirred enough.
Butch sat across from Lyle and waited silently while his friend worked on his thoughts.
"Maybe I should be at the hospital," Lyle said guiltily, forgetting about the coffee in front of him.
"You know that Hunter wouldn't have wanted you to sit around, hovering over him the entire time. When he wakes up, the doctor will give you a call."
"Yes, I know. What I don't understand is why did Kendra leave?"
"I think she's working on finding out who hurt Hunter. I don't think she'll stop until she gets him."
"Yes, the sounds like Kendra. I worry about her. What if this guy goes after Kendra because she's taking a look around?"
"Kendra can handle herself, but I know that the Rangers and the PIs are working together. They'll make sure that they help keep her safe."
"How can they keep her safe when they don't know where she is?"
"Since they all looking for the same thing, they are bound to cross paths. I wouldn't worry, Lyle, it'll all work out."
"How do you know that, Butch?"
Butch shrugged his shoulders. "I just know."
Before Lyle could respond, his phone rang. He excused himself and picked up the phone. Butch looked up when Lyle mentioned Trivette. The bartender hoped that something hadn't gone wrong with Hunter or with Kendra.
"Uh, sure. What is this about, anyway?" Lyle said into the phone.
Butch frowned and wondered what Trivette wanted. He waited while Lyle gave Trivette a phone number that had an area code that Butch knew wasn't for Texas. After a moment, Lyle said good-bye to Trivette and hung up the phone.
"What did Jimmy want?" Butch asked.
"He wanted Will's number. Will is Hunter's brother," Lyle explained once he saw the look on Butch's face.
"Ah, I remember him. He came out when Hunter was in the hospital before. Why would Jimmy want his number?" Butch asked as several ideas crossed his mind, hoping that Hunter didn't need a transplant or something, but it would have been the doctor to call Lyle, not Jimmy.
"I asked him the same thing, but he was a little evasive. I'm guessing it has to do with whatever Hunter had been working on." Lyle hadn't thought of that at the beginning, but it was possible. Even though Will and Hunter were different, especially when they were kids, they were still close and would rely on one another for anything. Now, instead of worrying about one nephew, he had to worry about two.
Butch saw the worry on Lyle's face and knew what was on his friend's mind. "Hey, let's go to the hospital and hang out with Hunter. We could talk to him. Doc O'Connell said that has been known to help when people are unconscious."
"Sure, why not?"
"You can even tell embarrassing stories that is sure to get Hunter to wake up."
"I think that would only work if Kendra was in the room."
"Yeah, but it may still work."
Lyle smiled for the first time since he had heard that Hunter was in the hospital. He hoped that his nephew would be all right and that his other nephew wouldn't get into any trouble, but he had this nagging feeling that Will had already met with trouble.
guardianM3: Please review. I'm taking this in a different turn than I had expected. That tends to happen a lot, but I hope that the turns prove to turn the story in the right direction. I know this chapter is all dialogue and no action, but I hope to have some soon.
