After the hasty exit of the Company it wasn't long before the White Council Federation was located in the Last Homely Home conference room discussing the very people who had fled.
"The White Council Federation was made to protect the integrity of this sport. Why should we allow such a bargain to happen?" demanded Saruman.
"Because it is a private bargain, a legal one at that Saruman," Gandalf cut in. "A contract between two private parties, a sale actually, hinging on one condition."
"It's a bet Gandalf, no matter how you package it," Elrond put out there, playing the devil advocate. "We live in a country were betting on sports is illegal Gandalf."
"That is where you are wrong, son," came Galadriel's voice. Elrond's mother-in-law was approaching her sixties yet she had an ageless quality to herself. "It is a contract with stipulations. It is not our right to interfere. The Company will be allowed to continue their quest in the Middle Earth Circuit."
Not even Saruman dared voice his displeasure at the ruling. The White Lady had headed the Federation for close to thirty years. Gandalf was relieved that Thorin's quest was not stopped, he would have hated to face the Took clan and inform them the trauma Bilba went through was all for nothing.
If it was one thing Gandalf had learned in his life, it was not worth it to get on the Took Clan's bad side.
Bilba clutched her hands to the steering wheels, the rain coming down heavier all around. Her windshield wipers were running at full blast, but she could barely make out the tail lights of Balin's truck ahead of her through the down pour. The storm had slowed the convoy to a whopping 30 miles per hour, and Bilba was tempted to slow down even more.
"Don't worry lass, just take it nice and slow we'll get out of it soon" assured Bofur from where he was reclining in her passenger seat. To some it would seem that Bofur was nice and relaxed, but it hadn't escaped Bilba's notice that he had clicked on his seatbelt. Bofur had never worn a seatbelt in her truck, up until it began to rain so heavily.
"Shouldn't we pull over until the rain lets up?" she questioned, "High chance of hydroplaning or jack-knifing in these conditions and I don't want to risk the horses."
Bofur frowned before nodding. It was better to heed on the side of caution.
"Probably would be for the best, no point in taking a risk," he said, reaching for the CB radio.
"Yo Papa Bear, this is Mama Bear" he called.
"What do you want Bofur," growled Thorin's voice over the speaker. Bofur shared a smile with Bilba.
"Mama Bear wants to know if we can stop until the rain lets up. No point in risking the horses Thorin. What say you Papa Bear?"
"He's right Thorin, we can barely see three feet in front of us" came Dwalin's voice over the line. "This storm is bound to blow over soon."
There was a growl that filled the cab of Bilba's truck before a sigh, "Fine, everyone pull off to the side of the road, we will wait this storm out."
Bilba sighed in relief and pulled to the shoulder of the road, making sure to put on her hazard lights. For over an hour the rain continued to pour down heavily with constant thunder and lightning overhead. The vibrations of the thunder making the cab of the truck vibrate.
Eventually however the run let up, though the thunder and lightning continued.
Bofur had rolled down his window to let some fresh air in, and had been looking at the darkened landscape as Bilba dozed, when he caught sight of something he thought he would never see.
"Bless me," he said out loud, waking Bilba up as he fumbled for the CB. "Look at that, to the right" cackled Bofur into the CB radio.
Bilba looked over to where he was waving at, and gasped at what she saw. A heard of long horned cattle was stampeding alongside of the highway, obviously spooked by the thunder storm. But that wasn't what had gotten Bofur attention, it was the lightning that struck into the herd, the tips of the horns crackled with lighting jumping from cow to cow. "St. Elmo's fire, never thought I'd see the day, thought that was just a legend" cried Bofur excitedly.*
All across the convoy, exclamations could be heard over the CB radio as they watched the natural phenomenon. Bilba could faintly hear Kili's voice over the radio. "Uncle Thorin won't the cattle be hurt"
"No Kili, the cattle will be fine," assured Thorin.
The Company watched the sight until it ran its course through the herd.
"Alright, site seeing is over with, lets get back on the road and find a town to camp out in," ordered Thorin.
Bilba couldn't agree more, it had been a long day in the cab of the truck. Of course the day hadn't began the best, and it hadn't gotten any better.
They had stopped at a gas station that was within sight of the Last Homely Home.
"Everybody fill up, it's a long drive to Oklahoma," called out Thorin going around to everybody's trucks. When he stopped by Bilba's he had caught her gazing back towards the Last Homely Home.
"Ms. Baggins, unless you want to go back I suggest you fill up," Thorin had called before heading back to his own truck leaving a fuming Bilba behind.
Bilba had then spent the rest of the day behind the wheel with Bofur for company. They stopped every few hundred miles to stretch their legs and go to the bathroom. Thorin had refused to allow them to stop for the night even though the radio had warned about the incoming weather.
"Thorin we have a problem" called Dwalin's voice, sounding slightly embarrassed.
And now they were paying for it.
"What" demanded Thorin, annoyance coloring his tone.
Dwalin could be heard shifting over the line before he spoke again. "My truck won't start, the batteries are dead."
Soon the whole Company came tumbling out of trucks to check out the problem with Dwalin's truck.
Bilba wanted to beat her head against the side of the trailer as she listened to Thorin, Dwalin, and Nori arguing on how to put on jumper cables. She wanted to walk over there and do it herself, but feared that it would only make Thorin hate her even more for showing him up. What little progress she seemed to have made was out the window after arriving late with the boys after their adventure. Even with Thorin's apology, she felt they had went back to square one, or more like square negative 5.
She was thankful that the rain had finally stopped or else another layer of misery would have been added to this whole ordeal. The sky had cleared and the stars were out along with the moon, shining some light on the situation.
She watched amused as Gloin brought some wood from out of the bed of his truck and started a fire right alongside the highway, which was probably breaking how many laws but it mattered little since they hadn't seen a single car in almost five hours. Though looking down the road, she could see the glow of headlights getting closer, from the sound of it it sounded like a motorcycle.
The boys were excited, talking excitedly as they helped Gloin start the fire, listening as Gloin explained how to start a perfect fire. It wasn't long until Gloin had a merry fire going, and Bilba listened with a smile when she heard the boys wish that they had some hotdogs to roast over the flames. She jumped off the tail gate of the truck with a chuckle she didn't have hotdogs, but she did have a stash of chocolate, marshmallows and gram crackers. What better way to pass the time then making s'mores during the impromptu camp out.
Humming she went into her trailer, stopping slightly to remember where she had put everything, pausing when she heard the roar of engines, multiple engines coming closer, not the one she had thought it had been. Suddenly the noise cut out.
Curious she glanced out the window as what she guessed to be about thirty motorcycles appear around the group of vehicles.
A giant of a man got off the lead motorcycle, his hair greasy and straggly. His eyes appeared shrunken in as he gazed over the group that had gathered around the fire. His voice was loud; she could hear his it from inside the trailer.
"Looks like you guys are in a spot of trouble" his voice as oily as he looked. She didn't like how the people who road with him began to spread out around him, blocking the Company from the trucks. She carefully stepped back into the shadows as some of the henchmen stepped in front of her view.
"Were fine actually, we had some car trouble but we've fixed it," came Thorin's voice full of authority.
"That's good Durin, wouldn't want you to get off schedule," said the giant man with a chuckle.
Bilba heard silence for a long moment and she risked stepping closer to the window to see the look of shock on most of the men's faces, Thorin's was neutral.
"You have me at a disadvantage, for you seem to know my name but I do not know yours"
The fat man chuckled, "How rude of me, I am called the Goblin King, and these are my loyal goblins, and I have a message for you Thorin Durin, but first bind them" he cried cackling as his goblin surged forward, grabbing the members of the Company, bunching them close to the edge of the fire.
Ropes were produced and soon every member's hands and feet were tied together. Bilba's heart was pounding as she turned away from the sight, she turned to her couch shoving off the blankets she had piled on top to the floor. Lifting the lid she grabbed what she had stashed inside, her Daddy's 22 shotgun. She was instantly glad that she had brought it with her. She quickly thumbed a few shells into barrel, before shoving a few more into her pockets. She quickly glanced out the door again most of the goblins had gathered around their leader, but a few were staked around the trucks keeping watch. There would be no way that she could just walk out the front door.
She debated whether it would be a safe to go out the back through Myrtle, but instantly decided against it, as Myrtle would be sure to make so much noise and alert the bikers that she was there. She turned to her last option, the windows. It would be a tight squeeze but she was certain she could make it out. Cracking one as far as it would go, she lowered the gun out, after making sure the safety was on. It would do no good for anyone if the gun fell over and went off, alerting the gang they were missing one person.
Taking a deep breath she put her left leg through the window, thankful for once for her small size as she slipped her head and torso through until she was more out then in, her right leg the only thing left in the trailer. Clutching at the sill of the window, she braced her left leg against the side of the trailer and drew out her right leg. She almost chuckled, it seemed like all the years she had snuck out her bedroom window was finally paying off. She nimbly dropped to the ground, barely making a sound
Grabbing the gun, she stayed crouched down, working her way around the trailer. There were three guards total that were standing guard over the convoy. Moving silently on her feet she snuck up behind the guard closest to her. Only hesitating slightly she brought the butt of the gun to the back of the man's head hard, he soundlessly collapsed to the ground and she grabbed him by the back of his leather vest and hauled him into the shadows. Sneaking back around the trailer she headed for the other guards showing them the same treatment as the first guard. The Goblin King had in that time moved from gloating to the actual reason why he had stopped.
"You're a hard man to track down Durin, though fate seemed to be on my side finding you here waiting on the side of the road for me. I come with a message from Smaug, he would appreciate it if you would just bow out Durin, save everyone a lot of hassle," sneered the fat man at the head of the group. Thorin growled, shaking his head.
"No" smirked the Goblin, "Not even if I break the young ones legs?" he asked as he gestured for three of his gang members to grab Fili, Ori, and Kili dragging them in front of the group despite the protests. The Goblin King smirked as the Company struggled, he would break this Thorin and would enjoy doing it.
There was nothing that was going to stop his goblins, the pathetic kids began to cry as his goons grabbed their tiny legs. However the Goblin King was merciful.
The Goblin King turned one last time to Thorin, "Last chance Durin, or I will do it."
To emphasize his point the man holding Kili put pressure on his leg making Kili cry out in pain.
The Company growled in anger, however there was no doubt that Thorin would put this quest ahead of his nephew's welfare. Thorin opened his mouth to say yes when a voice came out from the darkness.
"I wouldn't do that if I was you," all heads swiveled to peer into the darkness that surrounded the group, the bikers looked confused, while realization dawned on the rest of the Company as they recognized that voice.
The Goblin King turned squinting into the dark, "And what if I do?"
All watched as a figure stepped from the shadows, a shotgun held out in front of her. "If you do I'll blow a hole straight through you that you can drive a bus through" threatened Bilba, her mouth set in a hard line, the firelight reflecting eerily in her eyes. The hands holding the gun were steady as she faced down the Goblin King.
There was a flash of nervousness in the man face before he covered it with a sneer. "You wouldn't dare!"
"Do you really want to test that right now?" Bilba asked, her voice was calm and collected sending a chill down many spines as she cocked the fore-end. "Tell you goons to let the boys and the rest of the Company go, then I want your men to back up 40 feet and keep their hands where I can see them, or we will just see how itchy my trigger finger is."
The Goblin King studied Bilba in the flickering light of the fire before turning to his men. "You heard her, back up." As soon as the three who were holding Fili, Ori, and Kili let go, they ran to Bilba hugging her legs. Bilba longed to reach down and envelop the kids in a tight embrace and assure them that everything would be okay, but they weren't out of the woods yet. Moving her left leg to get Fili's attention she nodded to the Company. "Fili there's a pocket knife in my back pocket, go free the others."
Fili quickly did as he was told, taking the pocket knife as directed he swiftly went around to the Company and cut the ropes that they had been tied with, starting with Oin he made his way around leaving his Uncle Thorin for last. As soon as the bonds had been cut, Thorin grabbed Fili up in a hug clinging tightly to his nephew with his eyes shut. He was soon assaulted with another small body and Thorin quickly opened his arms to admit Kili into the hug. His boys were fine he assured himself as he kissed both of their heads thanking God that they were both okay. He lifted his eyes to see many of his members doing the same to their families. Dori and Nori had Ori clutched tight between them, and Ori seemed content to stay exactly where he was. His eyes wandered to Bilba who was standing guard in front of the gang, her shot gun still pointed at the leader of the Goblins. The sight of the Goblins had Thorin springing into action barking at the others to load up, they were getting the hell out of there. Dwalin headed towards the motorcycles slashing their tires and cutting the lines that connected to the gas tank. The campsite was quickly broken down and thrown in the back of the trucks, and everybody was piled into them. Until Bilba was the only one standing out in the open.
"You have only stopped us for now little girl, but Smaug will not let you win this bet" whispered the Goblin King, sneering at her. Bilba said nothing, but kept the muzzle of the gun leveled straight at his chest, only moving when she heard Bofur yell at her to get into the truck. Walking backwards she headed towards her truck, as most of the Convoy was already getting back on the highway and heading out. Bofur was behind the wheel and had the passenger door open for her, Bilba cast one last glance at the Gang and climbed into the cab. The calm façade she had managed during the whole fiasco crumbled. Her hand began to shake as she carefully unloaded the shotgun and set it in the seat next to her. She tried to take deep calming breaths, but the tightness in her chest got worse. Bofur was giving her worried looks but didn't say anything as he concentrated on the road, even the CB radio was silent as the group recovered over what happened in the last twenty minutes. The shaking only got worse as time passed and the realization that she had threatened to shoot someone fell on her. Burying her face in her hands she let go and soon deep sobs tore from her chest.
Bofur reached out hesitantly and put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it gently. "Hey know lass, it's okay, it will all be okay."
Bofur just hoped he wasn't lying as Bilba curled up on his shoulder. Bofur driving with his left hand curled the other around Bilba in a comforting embrace. As they got further and further away, Bofur couldn't help but feel this was not over, Smaug would send somebody else and they might not be lucky the next time around. Bilba might not be there to save them again.
*If you have ever had to sit through the western tv series Lonesome Dove, then you know what this is. St Elmo's fire is a real thing and seemed big enough to replace stone giants. Hoped you liked!