A Week to Remember
by Timeguardian
Chapter Ten
Hadji took his cues from Jessie, following her frenzied pace as they rode though a handful of small roads before they came to a stop a few meters beside a dirt-covered road leading off into a group of trees.
He was grateful for the opportunity to catch his breath as he asked. "Why did we stop here?"
Jessie got off of her bike and grabbed for the tracker scope she clipped to her handlebars. "Because they turned off on that dirt path over there and considering our luck it will be monitored. How else were they able to ambush us so effectively at that warehouse?"
He mentally thought back to when they left home and realized that he was not focused at the time on anything but accompanying Jonny on his journey. "So what do we do now?"
She reached for her backpack. "I've got another smoke grenade and my computer."
When Jessie looked up and saw Hadji glaring at her, she exploded. "Okay, I don't have a plan! I thought this was going to be a fairly straightforward thing."
"You brought smoke grenades."
His reply caught her off guard and despite the tense situation, Jessie laughed. "All part of growing up with a secret agent dad and a mother who has seen her share of action while on her archeological expeditions. Okay, we can figure that once they know Jonny is remembering things that this situation is going to speed up. Knowing my dad, he'll have himself and I-One here as soon as they get a lock on us. Let's make a plan."
Jonny's eyes opened. A wave of nausea and pain washed over him and he was tempted to close his eyes again – until he realized that he was tied to a chair.
Slowing his breathing, he did his best to calm himself while he took in his surroundings. From what Jonny could tell, he was sitting in a wooden chair and whoever bound him this time was serious – his ankles were tied to the front legs of the chair and a long length of rope bound him to the chair from near his waist clear up to his shoulders. He barely even had room to breathe.
The room he was in was decked in wood paneling and was sparsely decorated. In the opposite corner of the room there was a bed with a small nightstand beside it. There was a small window near the nightstand that was letting in a bit of sunlight, but Jonny couldn't see a door or doorway from his vantage point.
He was alone for the moment and for that he was thankful. For Jessie and Hadji not to be here gave him hope that they managed to escape.
The pain in his head was holding steady, making it harder to think. Even with that challenge, Jonny found that in addition to remembering his captors mention the Professor, he was starting to remember more.
A noise came from behind him that sounded like a door opening. Jonny tried turning his head, but the pain made him stop. Groaning, he watched as one of his kidnappers from the first time walked around the chair until he faced him.
The tall man gave him an unusual look before smirking at him. "You shouldn't have left home, Quest."
Jonny thought a moment before groaning again. He was still finding it hard to stay awake, but he wasn't about to leave himself at their mercy again. He looked up at the man and grinned, deciding that he had little to lose at this point. "Believe me Stan, the last thing I wanted to do was see you or your boss ever again."
At the mention of his name, Stan frowned and reached up to brush the side of Jonny's head. "It looks like they had to whack you again but good. I told the boss you probably didn't remember anything after that last beating he gave you. You just sealed your own fate."
Jonny nearly flinched as he saw Stan withdraw his hand streaked with red blood.
Suddenly an ear-splitting noise sounded throughout the room.
Stan quickly wiped his hands against his pants as the man Jonny recognized as Rex angrily rushed into the room.
Rex seemed as angry as Jonny remembered. Red faced, the boss declared. "The intruder alert alarms are sounding off that YOU setup - multiple readings that can't seem to be pinpointed. I have the rest of my men from the ambush out there. Get out there and see what's going on."
"But-"
Stan's protest only seemed to fuel Rex's anger. "Young Mister Quest isn't going anywhere. Now get going!"
Stan looked between Jonny and Rex before rushing out of the room.
Rex leaned down to face Jonny. "Your demise has been delayed, but not for long. I will be back soon."
And with that, Rex rushed from the room. Seconds later the noise of the alarm cut away and then the sound of a slamming door before things went quiet again.
Once Hadji and Jessie determined that the property was being monitored, they came up with a way to set off the alarms without setting foot on the property until they were ready, and then they split up.
It was nearly three minutes but Hadji counted himself lucky when he heard the splitting wail of an alarm coming from one of the cabins in particular. He kept low as he moved around to the side and flattened himself out of view, just enough to where he could keep an eye on the front door.
Minutes later the alarm sound stopped, followed by two men rushing out of the door. He waited until they were out of range and then moved to the front door of the cabin. Hadji tensed for a moment, wondering if Jonny's kidnappers might have left someone on guard. At this point time was not on their side, and he remembered quite a bit from Race's judo lessons and could put it to use if called upon.
Decision made, he opened the front door and rushed into the cabin. He found himself in what looked like a small living/kitchen area, but there was no sign of Jonny or anyone else. Carefully, Hadji made his way to the back of the cabin where he saw an open doorway. He walked through it and was relieved to see what looked like Jonny tied to a chair.
He eagerly rounded the chair until he was facing his brother, his relief slightly tempered at the sight of the blood on the side of Jonny's head.
Before he could say anything, Jonny looked up at him and gave him a slight smile. "You're here."
Hadji set to work untying the bonds. "No time for greetings, Jonny, we have to get you out of here."
He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but Hadji soon had Jonny free and on his feet. Jonny swayed would have collapsed if Hadji had not kept a tight hold on him.
"Looks like I got another concussion," Jonny lamented, his words slurring. "Sorry Hadj."
"Apologies are not necessary," Hadji replied, "but we really should get out of here to safety."
Together they half-walked, half stumbled out of the small bedroom and back into the main living area. Hadji nearly had Jonny to the front door before he heard his brother speak up. "Hadji, wait – that's the boss' computer."
Stopping, Hadji followed Jonny's gaze. At the small dining table in the kitchen area, a laptop was open and powered on – it made sense, considering the alarms he heard and that they would want a way to monitor the security. "Jonny, we have to get you out of here."
Jonny shrugged off Hadji's help and staggered over to the table. "Wha- what if he was gonna do his deeds from here?"
Of course, figure on Jonny's priorities being a little out of order. Don't get too used to the quick updates, the muse is actually being cooperative and my RA is actually being cooperative for the moment – I'm not looking this gift horse in the mouth. More later.