Chapter 11
Tris leapt up from Tobias' lap. He moved the hair out of her eyes. The blue reminded him of a clear sky. He felt the sweat pouring from her brow. "You okay?"
Her heart pounded. "Yeah, just a bad dream." She took his face in her hands. The swelling went down and she could see his eyes. She moved in and their lips met. Like a drug rushing to her brain every muscle in her body relaxed.
"I'd tell you two love birds to get a room, but I can't. I also don't have to watch it. So break it up." Peter said.
Tris released Tobias, stood and stretched. She brushed her fingers across the scabbed cut on her face. She wondered if it'll scar? Tris imagined people asking about it. She would make up a cool story about how she escaped from her kidnappers. She hoped her story might hold some truth to it.
The front door flew open. Eric followed Max inside. "Let's go." The four grabbed their few possessions, left the building, and closed the door behind them.
"How far do you think they'll get before they notice they left us behind?" Tris asked.
Tobias sighed, "it would be too much to ask, wouldn't it." They shared a kiss and a brief giggle.
"Come on you two, let's go!" Peter screamed. "We don't got all day!"
"I got a question," Katniss said. Before Gale got a chance to say go ahead ... "I don't understand why Peeta is so angry. Lily is safe. I arranged for her protection. She'd be fine at home. But no, without even telling me what he's going to do, he takes off. I didn't even get to say good-bye. Now that's why I'm angry."
Mount Katniss exploded one rant after another. Gale brushed them aside like gnats circling a light.
"... and the thought of that mother-in-law of mine having Lily for that long really sets me off. So what do you think?"
"This is our exit."
"Were you even listening to me?"
"I gotta pull over and take a leak."
"Jesus Gale, if you don't want to talk about it ..." Gale got out and slammed the door. She stuck her tongue at him and then sighed at her juvenile outburst; she checked for any messages from Peeta. "Damn him."
... ring ... ring ... ring "Hey Carol."
"They identified the cabin. The sheriff department and SP are on their way now to raid it. I'll text you the address."
"Thanks, Carol." Katniss put her hand on the horn.
"Jeez, what's your problem?"
"They identified the cabin. They're raiding it now."
Trees, lots of trees occupied the vast spaces between the houses and the occasional business. Katniss loved her home in the city, but she longed to walk in the forest every once in a while.
"Hey Kat. Remember when we went hunting up here?"
"Yeah, but it's been awhile. Maybe this fall we'll go hunting together." Katniss looked out the window as the scenery zipped by. "I took Peeta hunting last year with my father."
"Peeta who?" Katniss turned to her left and glared at her lifelong friend.
"Don't give me that Peeta who crap. You know who. My husband, you asshole."
Gale laughed. "I know Kit Kat. It's just that he doesn't like hunting, and he makes too much noise."
Katniss giggled and had to agree with Gale. Peeta's plodding made him an awful hunting partner. Though heavier and taller, Gale seemed to float across the forest floor.
"Well, he shot a doe."
Gale almost drove off the road. "WHAT!"
"Yup, my dad saw it."
"I don't believe it."
"It's true. He shot ten beautiful photos. Then I pushed him out of the way and I plugged it."
Gale laughed and Katniss leaned back and closed her eyes. She visualized Peeta and Lily waiting for her when she got home. She took a long easy breath. The tensed muscles slacked and a smile appeared.
"We turn here." Gale snapped her back to reality.
They drove up the long dirt road and they stopped when they hit the long line of trooper cars.
Gray uniforms dominated the front yard. "Mellark, Hawthorne?" A deputy asked.
"Yes. Sheriff DeBuck is over here." Katniss frowned. Troopers and deputies milled around. She didn't see anybody in handcuffs, but no body bags relieved her.
A man of medium height with thick legs lumbered over. "I'm Sheriff DeBuck." His strong grip gave Katniss confidence in the Sheriff.
"I'm Detective Mellark and this is Detective Hawthorne."
Barrel-chested and a square-shouldered torso made him appear as wide as he was tall. His clean-shaven and rugged-looking face along with his close-cropped hair gave him the appearance of a Marine drill sergeant.
"Good morning detectives. They were here, but they're gone. The truck they drove up in is around back. Another set of tire tracks is back there." The straight-forward manner of Sheriff DeBuck pleased her.
"Shit," Katniss muttered. "Find anything helpful inside?"
He shook his head, "no. It looks like they came and left pretty quick. Do you have any idea where they're headed?"
"Chicago."
"Are you sure?"
"That's where they're from. That's my best guess."
"I'll alert Pennsylvania State Police and everyone else between here and Chicago. Can you meet me back at the office?"
Katniss nodded. "We're going to check into a motel and shower." They shook hands and walked off.
"Pull in here. I gotta take a piss." Eric said from the back seat.
"I'm starving," Peter added.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Max agreed.
Drew pulled the car into the parking lot and bolted into the store.
"Let the asshole go first so he doesn't piss in his pants." The three chuckled. "Eric, you and Peter get food for the road. I'll watch them." Max said.
Peter rolled up and down the aisle filling the cart with chips, soda, and donuts.
"How can you eat all that crap?" Eric asked.
"What? I'm in good shape." Eric shook his head and rolled his eyes at Peter's comment. "Go grab the rabbit food you heath nuts eat." Eric felt his blood pressure rise. Loyalty just got you so far, Peter had a big mouth. If the store had been empty Eric would have beaten the crap out of him. He made a mental note to gut Peter when they got home.
"Yeah, I'm a health nut."
Drew exited the men's room. "I wouldn't go in there if I was you. Oh, Tastykakes!" Drew almost emptied the shelf into the cart. "I gotta drive out of town to find these."
"Okay, you two finish up. I'm goin' outside. Pick up a case of pop for Max." Eric turned and glared at the pair. "And you two pay for everything. We don't need to attract any attention." They nodded in unison.
Eric leaned against the wall outside the general store. He lit a cigarette and examined the four stores at the intersection. A service station, the post office and a Chinese restaurant filled out the central shopping district. This is a real happening burg, ain't it.
Eric turned his back to the street and a reflection in the store window caught his attention. He stayed still and continued smoking his cigarette. Peter and Drew finished up at the checkout. Come on assholes. Let's hurry.
"Why do I gotta carry everything?" Drew said.
"You two bicker like an old couple. Let's get out of here. A cop car just passed by."
"Relax, he probably has nothing to do. Look at this place." Peter said.
"I don't want to take any chances."
"I thought we had them," Gale said.
"So did I." Katniss' ears perked up and her eyes got wide. She looked out the rear window and saw a cop car at top speed with lights on and the siren blaring. "I don't like this, follow him."
Katniss dialed her phone. "Sheriff's office."
"This is Sargeant Mellark from the NYPD. A sheriff's car just passed us."
"They're responding to a shooting."
"Tell them we're following them."
"I got a bad feeling about this." Gale said.
The deputy's car skidded to a stop. Katniss' eyes darted left and right. A man is on the ground outside the general store, a woman is next to him holding a shotgun. There are two bodies by the cop car.
"Drop the gun! Put it down! Show your hands!" Katniss approached the couple.
"He's my husband! We own the store!" Katniss took the gun.
"What happened?" The man tried to raise himself. Blood seeped out of a shoulder wound. "Stay still. Tell me what happened."
"Um, I heard gun shots." He grimaced, "and I ran out with my shotgun. I got two shots off at the guys shooting at the cops."
"Do you know who they were?"
"Yeah, three of them were in the store shopping."
"Do you have cameras in the store that record?" The woman nodded her head. Katniss and Gale's eyes locked. "Gale, go review the DVR."
"Relax, an ambulance is on the way." Police cars flooded the intersection. She walked to the two lifeless bodies. The sheriff knelt next to one.
"I remember recruiting him. Just a couple of years ago. I grew up with his father."
"I'm sorry," Katniss said. The sheriff's body shook and he held back tears from his bloodshot eyes. "But we need to talk."
"Yes we do." Katniss and Sheriff DeBuck walked to the general store. They stepped around the medics working on the injured storeowner.
"Kat, this is Jasper. He's the co-owner," Gale said.
"I was in the back when I heard the shots. I ran to the front."
They nodded to the man who was the complete opposite of the sheriff. Tall and lanky with a ponytail, he spoke with a muted voice that forced Katniss to lean into him to hear what he said.
"It's them, we can see Eric and Peter on the surveillance cameras," Gale said.
"Jasper, did you see anything?" Katniss asked.
"All I saw was the car driving away."
"Describe it."
"A dark green Ford Expedition. It went west." Sheriff DeBuck radioed the information.
"Mellark, who are these people?" He asked.
"They are part of a drug ring from Chicago. They have two teenage hostages. The young girl's parents were killed by them. They killed a street vendor in the city, two drug dealers in The Bronx and ..." Katniss paused and swallowed hard, "and an attempted kidnapping."
"Sheriff!" A deputy bolted into the store. "They found the car!"
"Where?"
"Twenty miles out on route 105."
Katniss looked at the map on the wall. "That's here. In the state park. Any sign of them?"
"No, they drove off the road and tried to hide the car. It looks like one of the bullets hit the radiator. There were bullet holes in the windows and blood on the seats."
Katniss' heart pounded. Did Tris or Tobias get shot? "Any idea which way they walked?"
"No."
"They walked northwest." All eyes turned to Jasper.
"Why do you say that?" Gale asked.
"It's downhill. I bet that bunch thought it'd be easier going downhill. From the look of them, they probably never spent a day in the woods."
Katniss followed the hiking path with her finger. "Jasper, what's this road?"
"It's an old logging road. It's not maintained. You'll need a big-ass jeep to get down it."
The wheels turned in her head. She estimated the distance they could walk.
"What are you thinking Katniss?" Gale asked.
"Put together two packs with two days worth of supplies."
"You're not going after them Detective," DeBuck said. "I'll organize a search party if you don't mind."
"We're team players Sheriff, we're not interested in running the search. Just think of us as another tool on your belt. I'll show you exactly where we're going. We'll keep you informed by radio or cell phone."
"No, stay out of this."
"Sheriff, we're going in." She paused while she packed some supplies in her pack. "And we'd rather do it working together with you."
He shook his head and sighed. "It's against my better judgment. Okay, I'll get you a pair of handi-talkies. State Police chopper will be overhead in a couple of hours. And we'll be right behind you. We'll also come in from the north."
"Thanks, Sheriff."
Katniss stared at the case containing the hunting rifles. "You a good shot?" Jasper asked.
Katniss nodded. "Yeah, pretty good."
"Well, the Remington 700 is a good choice, you could take down a deer at 1000 yards." She lifted the rifle. "Or a man." He added.
"I'm not a marine sniper. Something smaller and lighter."
"Then this is the gun for you. The Bushmaster is a classic."
It felt like an extension of her arm when she looked through the scope. "I'll take it." She handed over her credit card. Jasper pushed it back.
"No, this is on loan. Bring it back when you've caught or killed the bastards that killed those boys outside.
She mouthed, "thank you."
He added boxes of ammo for her new rifle and Gale's shotgun. "Good hunting."
