Author's Note: Thank you fellow readers for keeping up with all the action here :-) Sit tight and hold on to anything you can...this isn't the end of the journey...

(Our thanks goes to "honu59" for beta reading)

Cable Car Chronicles

Chapter 10

Through the stillness, Mike slowly raised himself up on his hands and knees. His eyes quickly scanned the area for the whereabouts of his partner. He let out an audible sigh of relief when he saw Steve leaning weakly against a tree, pointing his gun at the suspect who was lying face down on the ground between them. Though his head ached from the blow he took, Mike forced himself to rise to his feet. "Are you all right, Steve?" he called out breathlessly.

Even though he couldn't hear what his partner had said, Steve knew what Mike had asked him just by reading the man's lips and the expression he wore. "I'm okay," he responded croakily.

Mike hurried over to where Henderson lay and quickly picked up the revolver, which he recognized as his own, from beside the prone criminal. He stowed the weapon in the waist band of his pants then dropped to one knee and checked Henderson for a pulse. A groan escaped from the downed man's throat. Mike pressed the muzzle of his gun into Henderson's back. "Just hold it right there! You're under arrest," Mike panted as he frisked the hardened criminal for concealed weapons.

Doug Nelson signalled for Wanda and Leah to stay hidden under the table and keep silent as he crept toward the fireplace and reluctantly took possession of the rifle that the gunman had left behind. He knew it wasn't loaded as the man had removed the cartridges before he walked out but he figured it could come in handy to use as a club if need be. Slowly and carefully, he opened the front door and stepped outside.

Using one hand, Mike confiscated Steve's revolver from Henderson's pocket as well as two rifle cartridges and bullets from his jeans and a hunting knife from his boot. He also checked the wound in the man's upper arm and the gash on his temple, which Mike surmised he probably sustained after hitting his head on a rock when he hit the ground. Finding no life-threatening injuries, he now faced a dilemma. He needed to restrain his prisoner, and without any handcuffs readily available, he was going to need Doug Nelson's help. The sound of someone coughing broke through Mike's thoughts. His immediate reaction was to see if Steve was all right. To his horror, he looked up just in time to see his young partner collapse. "Steve!" Mike cried out frantically before the crunch of twigs breaking reached his ears. He turned toward the source of the noise and saw Doug Nelson approaching with a rifle in his hand. "Doug, I need your help. Do you have some rope or anything I could use to tie up this bastard?"

Doug nodded. "I'll get you some. What happened to your partner?"

"He was shot. Please hurry and get me some rope," Mike almost pleaded with the hippie. He wanted to run up to Steve but he couldn't leave Henderson free and run the risk of him trying to escape or over power him.

Nelson quickly did as he was told and returned as fast as he could. Following Mike's instructions, he tied Henderson's hands behind his back while the cop kept the gun pointed at the prisoner.

"Watch him!" Mike ordered Nelson firmly.

Henderson let out a scornful laugh that was cut short from the pain lancing up his arm. "What's the matter, old man? Afraid I'd finish the job my brother started on pretty boy?"

Mike ignored the jibe and hurried over to where his partner lay. He leaned down and took Steve's arm, draping it over his neck while he slowly lifted him off the ground. The young man was semi-conscious and unable to support his own weight. Holding on to the back of Steve's shirt with one hand, Mike used his free hand to pick up the rifle they had taken from Corey Henderson. "Come on, Buddy Boy, don't you give up on me now! Don't you dare, you hear?" Mike pleaded in a thick voice filled with emotion as he half carried his partner toward the cabin. He motioned for Nelson to wait while he took Steve inside. Wanda and Leah both gasped and rushed over to help Mike take Steve into the bedroom. Mike abandoned the rifle he held, leaning it against the wall by the bedroom door. Then with the girls' assistance, he lay Steve face down on the bed. "I need some clean towels and hot water. Hurry!" Mike instructed Leah while Wanda sat on the edge of the mattress and tried to calm Steve, who was becoming distressed. "Steve, I'll be right back. Just hang in there." Mike ran out of the cabin. After retrieving the gun that Steve had dropped by the tree, he gestured for Nelson to help him drag the protesting Henderson to his feet.

"What is this, police brutality?" Henderson spat at Mike.

"Need I remind you, you're under arrest?" Mike shot back as he marched the prisoner into the cabin.

"You haven't read me my rights, cop!" Henderson barked.

With his teeth clenched tightly, Mike forced Henderson to take a seat in a chair at the dining table then he took a deep breath and hastily read him his rights.

Henderson winced when his struggles earned him more pain shooting up and down his arm. "You know, old man, if my brother dies out there…"

"Now you listen to me! Your kid brother is not going to die because I won't let him have the easy way out. He shot my partner and you had better pray that he makes it or I'll make sure that your brother is locked away for the rest of his life!" Turning to face Nelson, Mike said "Watch him. If he so much as moves a finger, tell me!"

Nelson nodded and stood watching Henderson like a hawk as the detective headed to the bedroom to be with his partner.

Mike thanked Wanda and Leah, who stepped aside as he leaned over to check Steve's wound. Carefully, he untied the make-shift bandage from around his partner's waist and lifted his blood soaked shirt. Mike swallowed hard as Steve's pain-filled moans were like sharp knives slicing through him. "Easy, easy. Just lie still." Mike took one of the towels from the pile on the bedside table and placed it over the wound. The thought of leaving Steve to treat Corey Henderson's leg injury then call for help was an agonizing prospect but he knew it had to be done. He couldn't leave Corey to bleed to death out there and his partner needed urgent medical attention.