Chapter 10
"How has it been three days?" Robert yell, "We know it was Price that put Barry in the hospital, we know he was there. He has to be here somewhere, get out there and find him."
Guy and Sean watched as the offices filled out of Robert's office, "Robert they are working as hard as they can on this," Guy told him once the door was closed. They both knew Robert had been pushing himself a lot and would only quit at night so he could be there for Robin if she needed him.
"It's not good enough. How does a man beat another man within an inch of his life and no one notices, no one sees this man leave? We have searched the area around that motel and no one saw anything."
"That's it. Robert, we're searching the wrong area," Sean offered. "Price took Holly from the Port Charles Hotel and Anna from our office, both are on the other side of the city, we need to do a more thorough search over there. He might not have been planning to take Holly, he may have put her somewhere close by, or maybe someone saw him with her. Anna was planned but I don't think Holly was."
"Of course, even if they aren't close by someone might have seen something when Holly was taken. Guy,"
"Already on it boss," Guy said as he walked out the door.
"Where are the area's you could keep someone that they wouldn't be heard or noticed by other people?" Robert flipped over his chalkboard where a map had already been attacked, "He wasn't registered at either the Port Charles Hotel or the Harbourview Motel, so where is he staying?"
"All the hotels and motels have been check unless he has another alias we don't know about he wasn't at any of them. What about abandoned building or the catacombs?" Sean suggested.
"Now we're getting somewhere. We should start with abandoned buildings, the catacombs might be good for hiding out in but I can't see him holding anyone prisoner down there."
"That makes sense," then he joined Robert looking at the map. "So there's a section of Charles St. that has a lot of abandoned buildings. Birch Tree Lane has several seasonal cottages, that are spread out. Oak St. has a section of empty buildings that are scheduled for demolition where they're going to put up that new apartment building. All of these areas would only be about ten or fifteen minute drive from where Anna and Holly were taken."
They got to work trying to map out likely areas that Price may be hiding out in and where it would make the most sense to hold Anna and Holly. They were sure he had to still be in the area after he attacked Barry he must have known the police would be looking for him. They believe he is trying to lay low for a while, but he is going to have to surface again and they wanted to be ready when he did.
Guy started getting some reports back from the officers in the field. The cottages along Birch Tree Lane were mostly occupied by the owners and the few that aren't seem to be securely locked up and look like no one's been there for a while. The abandoned buildings have turned up a few homeless people but so far no sign of Price.
Guy was still updating them when Tiffany and Robin came in, "We haven't seen much of you two the last couple days," Tiffany said as she walked over and gave Sean a kiss.
"Daddy I only see you for a little while before I fall asleep and maybe a couple minutes in the morning so we brought lunch."
Robert walked over and gave her a hug, "Thanks, sweety. We might be on to something but again we are waiting for answers."
"So after you've had something to eat are you going back out there?" Robin asked. Robert would tell her about what he was doing during the day when he would tuck her in at night. She seemed to be happier knowing what they were doing to find her mom and it helps Robert to talk through what they have tried.
"Yeah, I think we need to. If you wanted to hide out would you go to Charles St. or Oak St. there are abandoned buildings on both we think they could be hidden in?"
Robin went over and looked at the map, after studying it for a moment, "This is where they are going to build that new apartment building right?" Robin pointed at a portion of the map near a large wooded area.
"Yes," Sean answered. "There are still buildings there that are scheduled to be torn down soon."
"Rowdy told me there are a few small cabins in these woods some have power some don't. He didn't know why they are there or who owns them but he said sometimes teens go out there to, you know."
"Yeah, we got it," Robert said with a little grin. "Guy find out what you can about these cabins. Are they close to road access, which ones have power how many of them are out there." Guy turned and left the office knowing he better get that information as quickly as possible.
"Has Rowdy been out there?" Sean asked.
"I don't think so, he talks about them like someplace he wants to go and explore. Could that be where mom is?"
"It could be, but don't get too excited. We won't know anything until we've been out there and looked around," Robert reminded her then they all took a seat and started to eat. It would take Guy a little while to get the information they needed anyway.
...
Holly was pacing back and forth being locked up in this small room was getting to both of them. "So I think I've been here for two weeks now, you've been here for a week at least, maybe it's been longer. Shouldn't Robert have come to your rescue by now?"
"You might not understand this but sometimes when people take you, they don't want other people to find you so they make it hard to find you." They had been together too long, they would usually attempt to be civil but today wasn't one of those days. They had been snarky with each other all day. "I trust they are doing everything they can to find us, now would you just shut up?"
"I will talk whenever I want to, about whatever I want to." Holly looked over at Anna about to say something but the look on Anna's face made her rethink saying anything else. "Robert is looking for us right?" she asked quietly.
"Yes, he will find us. Sometimes these things just take time. They will be looking for witnesses, talking to people that were in the area when we were both taken. If Price did hurt Barry they would have to investigate that as well. There are lots of things that have to happen before they even know where to start looking, then how much area are they searching. I'm not sure but we are either on the edge of the woods or right in it. I have no idea how far we are from Port Charles but we have power so we aren't out in the middle of nowhere." Anna knew Holly was scared and wanted her to calm down, them fighting wasn't going to make this any easier.
"So we just have to wait."
"It could be worse, we have food and there isn't an angry dog guarding us, and it's not the middle of winter so we won't freeze to death if we aren't found in time."
Holly had heard about Anna being abducted and held prisoner for a long time, she knew it had been winter. Was that what she was talking about, had she almost died the last time this happened to her? "Yeah, I guess we just wait." Holly went and looked out the little window, not wanting to think about how much danger they really could be in. Clearly, Anna had been trying to keep her from worrying about what might happen, but today she made it clear they were in danger and could die out here if they aren't found and Liam has abandoned them. When her tears started to full she tried to make sure Anna didn't see that she was crying.
...
"Hey boss, I've got a few things for you," Guy said as he entered Robert's office. "There are at least eight little cabins throughout the woods behind Oak St. There are three with power but it's not clear which ones those are but the power lines suggest they are these ones along the west side, some of the other ones might be almost ready to fall down. I have a map of sorts to help with the search of the area."
"OK, anything else?"
"Yeah, we found a witness that said he saw Price in the area a few days ago. He might have been heading to the abandoned building but the witness couldn't be sure."
Robert looked over at Robin, "Thank you for lunch. Now we have a lead to follow so thank you for the tip on those cabins."
Robin smiled, happy she could help in any way. "Get out there, you have work to do." He gave her a quick hug and a kiss then he and Sean left the office. Guy had a few officers together already and the group left together. When they got to Oak St Robert started giving orders, there were twelve of them in total and Robert wanted to start with the abandoned building. He didn't want anyone sneaking up on them once they entered the woods.
There were two patrol cars in the area already and they came over to join the search. Sam Wells came over, she had been the one that talked to the witness who thought he saw Price. "Commissioner," Robert turned to her when she spoke. "The witness said he saw someone that he thought could be Price walking toward that building there." She pointed to the last building before the trees got thicker.
"Did he see him go inside or could he have gone past the building into the woods?"
"He wasn't sure, he saw him walking up the sidewalk and assumed he went into the building but didn't actually see him go inside."
"Did he notice anything else?"
"The reason he noticed the man was because he thought there was blood on his shirt. When I asked him when this was he said three or four days ago."
"So it could have been the day he attacked Barry." Robert turned to address the officers, "Price may have been injured so when you check the building, keep an eye out for evidence of him treating his wounds. Anything that can point to him having been in this area will help find him."
Guy started telling the officers what building to start with. The one that Price might have entered would be the last one they search, they wanted to clear the others first. Robert and Sean waited outside the last building. They would wait while each building was thoroughly searched.
"Do you think they're in there?" Sean asked.
"No, they're in one of those cabins, and I think Price is in those woods somewhere. He's had lots of time to learn his way around in there, there's sure to be boobytrapes and he could be watching us right now."
Sean looked over at Robert, "That's why we're waiting, you want to search the last building and woods with as much manpower as you have."
"Move as a team and cover each other's back, you and I are staying close to each other. I want to move to the cabins while Price is distracted by the officers coming at him through the trees. The cabins with power are all along the west side, we can duck into the woods and check them all quickly." Robert went back to his car and got a black bag.
"I take it we're busting locks," Sean know what was in the bag.
"Whatever we need to get inside," Robert answered. They watched as the officers started coming back, all reporting not finding anyone in the other three buildings. Once they were all back Robert stepped forward, "Listen up. I want you to move on this building as if there are armed men inside, take no chances, cover each other and move quickly. Clear this building then we will move into the woods."
Sean noticed Robert had tensed up, "We'll make our move soon, once they're done in there we'll go get her back." Sean put his hand on Robert's shoulder, as he stared into the wood.
"He's in there and he's waiting for us." They could hear the officers move through the building beside them but neither of them really believed they would find anything. Like Robert, Sean believed Price was waiting for them and that he would have a few surprises waiting for them as well.
"There's sure to be a few traps around the buildings with power, we have to stay on our toes once were start moving." Robert just nodded, he knew Sean was right.
Guy came over, all the officers were now walking over to Robert and Sean. "Guy I want you to stay here with a couple of officers while the rest move into the woods we'll need someone here to stay in contact with us and the station." Guy nodded then Robert addressed the officers. "We don't know if Price is in these woods or not but I want you all to assume he is. He does have DVX training so you need to be prepared for anything. He could have been here for as long as three months and could have a number of boobytraps waiting for you once you enter the woods. You need to cover each other and stay focused. Make sure you know what you're shooting at if you fire your weapon, I don't want anyone taking a bullet from another officer."
They all started talking forming groups and after a couple of minutes there was a plan and the officers moved into the woods.
After they couldn't see any of the officers Sean turned to Robert, "I'm following your lead."
Robert looked over at him then started moving they both moved quickly and quietly along the edge of the trees. Guy watched as they suddenly vanished into the woods without making a sound. Robert knew how far the first Cabin should be but doubted that would be where Price would have Anna and Holly. If anything it might be where he was hiding so they would have to check it over. Robert was sure by now if Price was here he was now out in the woods trying to stop his officers from finding him or Anna and Holly. They could hear the officers and sure enough, they had come across the first trap waiting for them. Robert didn't even pause to see what had happened he just kept moving. There were raised voices off to their right when Robert spotted the cabin, he knelt down and started scanning the ground. He pointed to a trip wire then started moving slowly carefully stepping over the wire, Sean following close behind.
There was loud yelling and both Robert and Sean stop, they look around to see if anyone was around them then scanned the ground again. There is a wire that seems to be attached to the doorknob of the cabin, the cabin itself is completely dark. The windows are covered with shutters but nothing seems to have extra locks on it. "Can you see the end of that wire?" Sean asked.
"No, I don't." They both started looking around for the other end of the wire, they did have flashlights but didn't want to give away their location. "There," Robert pointed to a branch, it didn't look that dangerous and as long as they removed the wire before opening the door nothing should happen. They moved up to the door and Robert quickly picked the lock, once they were inside they quickly realized no one had been staying there. There was more yelling outside but it seems to be further away this time.
"Do you think he's out there, or are they just finding his traps?"
"I think he's out there," Robert answered confidently. "He's toying with them, staying out of sight."
"I'll close the door are we going to bother putting the wire back?"
"No, let's just move on to the next cabin. I want to move a little further west we should make better time there, we'll still have to watch for his little surprises." They quickly checked the map before leaving the cabin then quietly slipped into the darkness.
...
Anna was now by the little window, she was sure she had heard something but was it people or was it just animals. She couldn't see anything in the darkness but had a feeling something was going on.
"Was that a gunshot?" Holly asked when there was a sudden loud bang.
Anna turned and looked at her, "No that wasn't a gunshot. I'm not sure what that was, it sounded more like wood slamming into something."
"What's going on out there."
Anna smiled, "The cavalry is coming." Holly looked like she needed more of an explanation. "Price has training, he could have set up a few boobytraps out there to keep people from stumbling upon us. If he's still in the area he might even be out there trying to stop whoever is out there."
"Was that yelling I heard a little while ago?"
"I heard that too but I wasn't sure if it was animal or human." Anna went and picked up the clothing rod.
"What are you doing?"
"We don't know who's out there and we definitely don't know who's going to come through that door next."
Anna moved closer to the door and they both waited to see what would happen next. There would be long periods of silence then they would hear what sounded like voices but they were far in the distance.
"Why are they so far away? Don't they know where we are?" Holly had started pacing and would jump whenever she heard anything.
"You need to relax. They might not know exactly where we are, we don't," she said with a little grin.
"How can you make jokes about this?"
"Holly I told you to relax, there's nothing to do but wait." Anna turned back to the door, took a deep breath then stood ready to attack.
...
As they moved through the trees Sean and Robert had managed to avoid three more boobytraps, when they heard a loud bang they knew the officers hadn't. They had looked in the direction of the noise but kept moving. They didn't know how much time they had to check these cabins. If the others didn't capture Price how long would he wait before wanting to make a break for it? If he doubled back this way and stumbled on Robert and Sean who knows what he might do.
The second cabin finally came into sight and it looked like there was a little light on inside. Again once they were close they knelt and looked around for trip wires. Sean noticed the first one, he could see it was attached to a bell, this was a warning system. Robert pointed out another trip wire closer to the cabin, he couldn't see what it was attached to but it would be easy to avoid.
"OVER THERE, HE'S ON THE MOVE." Robert and Sean froze, they couldn't be sure where the yelling was coming from but it sounded like they had eyes on Price. They waited a few minutes before moving again just to make sure Price wasn't headed their way.
"I think this is where Price is staying," Sean said.
"I think you're right, it's small but he could have them tied up in there." Before they start moving they did one more scan for trip wires then move to the door avoiding the one trip wire they had seen. Again there were no extra locks on the door so Sean picked the lock. They drew their guns then throw the door open, the single lamp in the room showed them there was no one there but there was another door. Sean covered Robert as he moved toward the back of the cabin. Robert turned at the door to find an empty washroom.
"Clear. There's no one here," Robert said as he came back into the main room.
Sean was already looking around the room, "He's armed." Sean held up an ammo box.
"Do you see any weapons?"
"No," they quickly looked at what was there. Some clothing, food and the remains of what he had been using to make his traps. Robert had just pulled out the map when they heard gunshots, they took cover and moved to the door. "Which way are we going now?"
Robert checked the map "If we go straight north of here, we aren't that far from the next cabin. Watch for the tripwires on the way out."
Sean closed the door behind them then the moved into the trees. Two more gunshots stopped them in their tracks, "Where is that coming from?"
"That's way over there, I just wish I knew which direction those bullets might be flying," Robert answered. They looked around for any movement but didn't see anything then heard distant voices. "Let's get moving."
...
"That's was gunshots I know it was."
Anna didn't look away from the door, "Yes, that's gunshots."
"What do we do? Are they coming to rescue us or is that Marcus shooting at them?"
"First you need to stay quiet." Anna glanced at Holly, "I don't know who's shooting out there. I need to be able to hear if anyone is coming. We won't know what's going on until someone comes through that door, even then it depends on who it is."
Holly knew Anna was right but that didn't change the fact she was terrified. Who was out there? Who was shooting at who? She slid off the bed and laid down on the floor. What if Marcus is working with someone else now? Is Barry out there are they the ones shooting at people, if they are who are they shooting at? She closed her eyes hoping these questions would stop but they didn't. Then there were two more gunshots, Holly covered her ears and tried to block out everything that was going on.
Anna was by the door not paying attention to Holly, time was crawling by now. There was almost no noise coming from outside now. What was going on? Who was out there and were they going to find them? It felt like hours had passed when Anna heard something, it was faint but she thought it was close. Someone was outside, she moved behind the door and raised the rod above her head ready to attack. Another distant gunshot then the door flew open, she waited when she heard someone step inside she came out and swung.
Robert saw her and turned to avoid getting hit across the wrists, "It's me! Luv it's me."
"Robert!" Anna dropped the rod and rushed into his arms just needing to hold him. Sean came in and quickly closed the door behind them.
"Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Robert leaned back to look at her then ran his hand along her cheek.
She looked up at him and smiled, "I'm fine." He smiled back and hugged her again.
Sean had moved into the room and found Holly on the floor and helped her up, she looked over just as Robert and Anna hugged each other again. Then she saw Robert pull out another gun and hand it to Anna. When he looked over at her he asked, "Are you alright? Were you hurt?"
Holly just stared at him, "She had quite the black eye when I got here, I can only imagine how bad it was when she first got here."
Sean turned and looked more closely at Holly, "Was there any other injuries, are you in any pain?"
"No, I'm fine now. Are we getting out of here now?"
"Just hang on," Robert said then went to the door and opened it slightly. "There are several boobytraps that we had to avoid to get here. I don't know what's going on out there and I don't know who's been firing their weapon." He closed the door again then dropped the bag that was still hanging from his shoulder and pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Guy Lewis, come in Guy. Scorpio here."
"Guy here go ahead."
"We've found Anna and Holly. What's going on out there? Any word? Over"
"The only other report I got was that it's Price shooting at our people. Over."
Robert looked at the other three, "We better move out, I don't want him coming this way and finding us." Then Robert spoke into the walkie-talkie, "OK, Guy. We're on the move, we're just coming out I don't want to risk getting caught in the crossfire, over and out."
"You need to follow our lead there are trip wires all over the place outside this cabin, once we're further away from here there aren't as many," Sean told them. "Do you want to take the same route back?"
"Once we're away from the cabin let's go a little further west, there will most likely be less boobytraps that far over, and it should keep us away from whatever is going on out there."
"Sounds good, I'm still following your lead Scorpio. Holly, stick close to us."
Robert checked the door again, then waved for them to follow him. He stepped out the door with Anna right behind him, then Holly and Sean right behind her. They all followed his lead and avoided trip wires as they went. They were moving behind the cabin when a shot rang out into the night. They all hit the ground, Holly was about to scream but Sean covered her mouth. "You have to stay quiet," he whispered in her ear. "No one can know we're over here." She nodded, so Sean moved his hand. "Stay down."
Robert and Anna got up and moved over to the cabin, they looked around but didn't see anyone, there were voices in the distance. Quietly they made their way back over to Sean and Holly, and knelt beside them, "That was closer than before, we better get moving they could be coming this way," Robert whispered.
They moved out in the same order, Robert kept an eye out for tripwires there were a couple but they had been right about there being less of them this far west but the trees were thicker so it was slow going. They could hear voices in the distance but at least there hadn't been any other gunshots. After about half an hour they started to see the lights from Oak St. through the trees. When they came through the trees Guy came rushing over, "What's going on out there?"
"We don't know, it sounded like that last shot was closer to us than others but I don't know where anyone is. Hasn't there been any other reports?" Robert asked he was now holding Anna's hand as they walked back over to the cars.
"No they're in silence mood, they don't want to give away their location."
"There's what ten of them that went in right?" Robert looked over at the officers waiting by the squad cars. Guy nodded, "Was it only Price that you saw?"
Anna nodded, "I think so, Holly?"
"I think it was just Marcus, or Liam Price whatever you're calling him. He would wear a thing over his face, but the last time he didn't. Did he hurt Barry?" she asked sounding very concerned.
Sam Wells was walking towards them now, "Yes he did. Barry's still in the hospital and it's serious. Sam here will take you to see him but we'd like you to give your statement first." Robert then turned to Sam, "I want you to stay with her until we have Price in custody."
"Yes, commissioner."
After they walked a little ways away, "Do you want my statement as well commissioner?" Anna asked with a flirty smile.
"Yes, but there is something else I need to do first." Then he leads her away from everyone else. Holly watched them walk away, noting that he had not let go of her hand in some time now.
Once he thought they were far enough away Robert stopped and turned to her, "What were you thinking getting yourself in this kind of situation again?" he asked with a grin.
"I just had to spend nine days in a very small room with Holly. I should get some sort of award."
"Well I don't know about an award, but how about this?" Robert pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Anna wrapped her arms around him and the kiss deepened. "I missed you, I was so worried." Robert put his forehead against hers, "When I saw what he did to Barry, I couldn't stop thinking about what he might do to you or Holly."
"We saw him, covered in blood and there were cuts on his arms. I thought it might have been Barry." Anna touched his face, "I'm completely fine, he drugged me at the office and I woke up in that cabin. There was food and water, we even had tea." Anna kissed him again, "Now I want to give my statement so you can take me home to Robin. Did you spend time with her?"
They turned and started walking back to the others, "I spend every night at your house, a few time she slept in my arms." Robert put his arm around her, "Robin was the one that told us about those cabins out there, I guess her being friends with Rowdy does have a few benefits."
"I can't wait to see her." She leaned into Robert a little as they stepped around the cruiser. "Guy, will you take my statement so I can go home?"
"Taylor will Anna, I still have to wait for word on what's going on out there," Guy said and gestured toward to woods.
After Anna'd walked away Sean came over to Robert, "From the look on Holly's face I don't think you two were quite out of sight before."
"I don't care what Holly thinks. She walked out on our life, walked out on me. I'm with Anna and I believe we have a real chance at being happy, that's what I care about."
Sean smiled, "You both want this, I know you'll be happy together."
Robert looked over at Anna then over at Holly, "I'm so glad they weren't hurt."
"I know, I think he wanted them to be safe. Like he would act first then realize the mistake he'd made but couldn't undo it. They had food, they seemed comfortable, the most dangerous part was having them in the same room together," Sean said and they both started laughing.
Guy came over, "They think they've lost him, they've checked all the cabins four were run down and didn't look like anyone had been in them in years. There were two people have been staying in, I assume where they were kept and the one Price was staying in. They followed him but were slowed up by his traps. Now they haven't seen or heard him in about twenty minutes."
"I want roadblocks set up now and I want this area watched, he could pop out anywhere. In the morning I want people back in there looking for any clues he might have left behind."
"Yes boss," then Guy turned and walked toward the tree line to wait for their people to come out.
Anna came over and joined them, "I can leave as soon as the man in charge says I can go."
"You're sure you're alright?"
"Yes, now I want to see our daughter."
"Sam, you are to stay with Holly. Someone will relieve you in the morning." He didn't miss the look Holly gave him, "As long as Price is out there I want an officer with you, I saw what he's capable of. He's desperate and none of us knows what he might do next."
"Fine, can I go see Barry now?"
"As long as we have your statement you are free to go where ever you want, with Officer Wells."
Sean tried not to laugh, "Come on Anna, I'll drive. My wife is at your house and I think there's someone else there that will be very happy to see you."