Steph's POV

The next morning

"This is useless" I sigh and slide to the ground next to the bed.

All night we have been trying to remove some wiring from the metal slats, but without success. Our hands are now bloody and very painful. Combine that with my throbbing arm and you have a very bad tempered Steph.

We were lucky that the guards didn't get suspicious, when they brought dinner last night.

"Mom, we gotta find something...the goons are coming back any moment." Julie points out. She is right. The sun is coming up, which means they will come and give us food and collect us to go to the toilet.

"We try to make our break when they bring us to the toilet" I inform her. The Toilet is outside, close to the big shed and we could make it, if we distract the guards long enough or take them out completely. The latter is highly unlikely, as they are both massive and mean looking man. They rival Tank in size. "I will make sure you have enough time to get away."

"What about you?" my daughter questions with a worried expression.

"I will be right behind you...but if I don't make it, you run like hell and don't look back." I instruct her. We probably should have tried this earlier, but I figured we are safer where we were, since I didn't know how far from a city we are. I didn't want us wandering around in some desert or forest.

And since Julie doesn't know where the money is, Mary won't have much use for us anymore. And I bet my life on it, that she won't just let us go. "Julie...we have no choice. When we make away we run towards the containers and into the woods behind them. Just keep going straight, towards that city."

"Ok" Julie nods and comes over to where I am sitting. "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too" I kiss the top of her head and smile. She is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Suddenly the door bounces open and the two men walk in, without food. "Get up" Goon number one growls and we do as we are told. They tie our hands together, guide us out of the room, down the stairs and outside.

I look at Julie and my heart stats beating a mile a minute. This is it, this is our window. I nod at Julie and she nods back.

With all of the strength I have left in my body, I jab my elbow of my good arm into my kidnapper's stomach. He is momentarily stunned, but unfortunately the elbow didn't do enough damage and he grabs for me again.

I run my semi long nails across his face, leaving nice red marks in their wake, and lift my knee to kick him in the balls. But in that same moment he turns, making me hit his thigh instead.

Now what I do next, I have only ever seen happen in movies or that one time I saw the men from Rangemen practice it in the gym. I bring my right foot, with as much force as I can muster, down onto the side of his knee.

His knee snaps into a weird angle and a smile spreads across my face. I can't wait to tell Ranger about this.

My goon screams in pain and goes down like a soccer player who has just been fouled. I look at Julie, who has managed to hit her kidnapper in the face with her elbows and into the balls with her knee, and we both start running towards the sea containers.

I hear someone shout something in a different language and then a gunshot rings through the air. In the next second incredible pain courses through my body. I trip over my own feet and face plant the gravel.

"MOM" Julie shouts and stops running to help me up.

"Julie...just run!" I instruct her. "You gotta go!"

"Not without you!" Julie insists and pulls me up by my good arm.

"Arggg" I scream in pain, but start moving with her nevertheless.

"Mom, we gotta go quicker. They are coming" Julie says, when she looks behind us, and starts speeding up. Every fibre of my body just wants to lie down, but for Julie's sake I keep moving.

We don't stop, we run and run and run, until I can't run anymore. "Julie...you gotta go on without me" I tell her, glide down onto the ground next to a small creek.

"No Mom, I am not leaving you." She says stubbornly.

"Listen to me...I am bleeding heavily. And they will find the trail of blood eventually, if they haven't already. The bullet is still in me and I am only slowing you down….You follow this creek. Walk in the water so they can't follow your trail. I will stay here and find cover somewhere." I instruct her. I have seen this in the movies, surely this can work in real life too, right? "You remember Rangemen's number?"

Ranger made us memorize the number just in case something ever happened or we were stranded without a phone.

"Yes" Julie nods.

"Ok…" I nod. "You find a phone and you call them."

"I don't know if I can do this." Julie says and looks down to the ground.

"You are one of the strongest person I know. You ran away from these people once before, I now you can do it again." I tell her. "Now the city isn't far away. Probably about 20km...I know you can make it." I am purely guessing here, but I won't tell her that. I need her to believe that she can make it. Otherwise she probably won't leave me.

"I love you Mom" She hugs me and I kiss her cheek. "I will be back."

"I know you will be...now get going" I say and make a shooing motion. "Oh Julie…"

"Mh?" She looks back at me.

"Bring me a doughnut or a Tasty cake...I am really low on sugar" I smirk.

"Gotcha" She nods, steps into the creek and starts walking. As she is just about to be out of side, she turns and waves.

Now where am I going to hide?


Tank's POV

"Boss" Cal knocks on the conference room door and I motion for him to come in. "It took us awhile, but I think we found where they could be hiding."

"Spit it out Cal" I growl.

"We found a property about 30km away from Trenton. The property was owned by a company called Demol. They took old cars and shipped them overseas or sold their parts. Company went broke a few years back." Cal explains. "Company's owner was a Tyron Webster. He is Cletus Green's uncle's brother in law."

"Good Job" I say, grab my gun out of my drawer and stand. "Get a team ready to move out in two."


Julie's POV

The cool water has long soaked my sneakers and I make squishy noises with every step I take. I am shaking, even though it is a relatively warm day.

I am not sure how long ago I left Steph behind, but it feels like ages. I just hope I find help in time. Instead of going down the road, of what will happen if I don't, I rather think about what we can do in the autumn school break.

Mom said she always wanted to go and see the Niagara Falls. I always said that would be lame to go there only to see some water run over some cliff, but maybe I should just give it a try. Would be nice, just the two of us. We haven't been on a trip together, because Steph never had the money.

"Hey kid, you ok?" Someone calls out behind me, making me nearly trip over my own feet mid run.

I carefully turn around and see a young man standing between the trees, with a rifle in one hand and a brown haired retriever sitting by his feet. "I won't hurt you…" He says as I eye his rifle. "I am just out here hunting…" And with that he puts down the rifle and leans it against a tree close by. "I saw you running down stream...You ok?" He probes and nods towards my bloody jacket.

"Not mine" I manage to get out. "Stop...don't come closer" I tell him as he starts moving towards me.

"I just want to help...I am Brian and this is Stella." The man with blonde hair and blue eyes nods towards his dog.

"Do you have a phone?" I question.

"Yes I do, but I don't have reception here. Only further down the stream." He informs me.

"Oh" I frown. "Well I gotta keep going."

"Here" He says, takes the phone out of his pocket and holds it out to me. "Take it...it shouldn't be far until you reach a spot where you can get reception."

"Won't you need it?" I probe.

"I will call you when I need it back...deal?" Brian responds with a small smile.

"Ok" I nod and carefully take the phone of him, all the while keeping an eye on him, in case she tries something funny.

"Good luck" He adds, moves backwards with Stella by his side and grabs his rifle on the way.

I watch him, until he disappears behind some trees, before I turn and keep running down the stream.

About ten minutes later, I enter a clearing with a small lake and the phone beeps, indicating that I have a signal. "Please...Please work" I pray, typing in the memorized number, before hitting the dial button.


Tank's POV

"There is nothing here Boss" Manny informs me after we searched the grounds. "No indication of the girls ever being here."

I only nod and lean against the car. This is getting ridiculous. We have the best resources on our hands and yet we cannot find Julie and Steph.

Suddenly my phone rings and I pick up without looking at the caller ID. "Report"

"I have Julie on the phone, she is asking for you. I will patch her through. Hector is already tracking her signal" Binkie informs me and then there is a click in the line, telling me that he patched her through.

"Julie?" I ask.

"Tank...Oh...Thank god...I didn't know if this phone would be working or if I was remembering the right number...I am glad Dad made us memo…" Julie rambles on.

"Julie...are you ok?" I interrupt her and motion for Les and the others to gather around. "Do you know where you are?"

"No...I ...I don't know...we saw a city from our room….but we had to get out of there...so we run...Oh go…" She cries. To me it sounds like she is going to start hyperventilating any moment.

"Listen...everything will be alright...but you have to stay with me kiddo…" I nearly beg. "Take deep breaths...everything will be alright."

"Tank?" She asks.

"Yes?" I answer.

"Mom...she was shot...She told me to leave her behind...You gotta come quickly." Julie tells me, making my heart plummet to my stomach. Shit.

"We will be there soon...hold on for one second." I say and mute the phone. "Hector?"

"Beaver Madows lake, Allegheny National forrest cerca de Owls Nest Road." He says through the speaker of Bobby's phone.

"That is a five hour drive" Lester closes his eyes in resignation.

"So the city they saw...could have been Ridgway…" Bobby points out whilst looking at the map over Lester's shoulder.

"Alert local authorities." I order, before unmuting Julie. "Julie...you are a bit farther away from us than anticipated, but we will be there soon...I promise. Just stay on the line ok?"

"Ok" she says.

BANG

BANG

"JULIE? JULIE" I shout down the phone.


Don't hate me :D