Monster
Disclaimer: I do not own The A-Team movie or television series or any of the delightful characters found on The A-Team.
Author's note: In 1984, the land which comprises Runyon Canyon Park was purchased from a private entity to become one of Los Angeles's city parks. The Runyon Canyon Road runs from the northern to the southern end and is paved but closed to public motorized vehicles. It is a hikers' trail but is called a fire road in some of my sources. I place this story in about 1983, before the land became a park, perhaps making it possible for Stein to travel there.
Chapter 14
"He's stopped," Face announced suddenly. Thank God! Maybe we have a chance of catching up to him, the con man thought with mixed emotions of relief and anger. But the dot had stopped moving on the Runyon Canyon Road and they were still on Mulholland.
B. A. only briefly glanced at the screen. Pressing down on the accelerator, he growled a muttered threat against the man who kidnapped Amy.
Hannibal relit a cigar he had stubbed out. Staring coldly out the passenger's window at their darkened surroundings, he remained silent.
"That can mean only one thing, Hannibal," Face continued.
"We don't need you to draw us a picture, Lieutenant. Take note of where he stopped. One of us will have to look for Miss Allen." The Colonel tapped the armrest impatiently with one gloved hand.
B. A. won't let either of us drive and Hannibal will want to be there to keep B. A. from . . . wait . . . that means . . .
The con man sighed in frustration and ran a hand over his hair, smoothing it back. " . . . while the others track down Stein and give him a taste of his own medicine," he finished, bitterness evident in his tone. "Guess I'm the one who'll be trying to find Amy, huh?"
Hannibal looked back at him sharply. "That's right."
Damn!
Seeing Face's pentup anger the Colonel's expression softened slightly. "Much as I know you want to make sure Stein pays for what he did to Murdock and the other patients, someone has to locate her. And tend to her injuries if he's injured her."
Face noticed Hannibal purposely avoided expressing the worry they must all share: that he killed their friend and left her in a place no one would look. The con man tensed at the thought and resolutely kept his gaze on the screen. "Well, he hasn't started moving yet. Maybe we can get to him before he does anything."
Come on, B. A.! Can you move any faster?
As if reading his thoughts, the black man responded. "Road winds. Ain't no way I'm gonna be able ta make some o' those curves without slowin' down." B. A. glowered for a second at the unmoving dot. "I'll do th' best I can."
Both Hannibal and Face noticed the van seemed to speed up despite the driver's warning.
"Hang on," B. A. muttered. The other two men braced themselves as the Sergeant negotiated a curve so fast Face wondered if part of the way they were riding on only two wheels.
They were getting closer but who knew when Stein would start moving again.
oooooo
Stein peered out his side window at Runyon Canyon, aware that there were some houses below that might see him when he rolled the woman down the slope. He was waiting for just the right place before he disposed of her.
He was certain that if he did it right, she would not be able to climb or even crawl up to the road. It had to look like she drank too much and didn't know where she was walking. He shrugged as if to respond to his own thoughts.
If she dies of exposure, they might believe I didn't have anything to do with it.
As if that worried him. By the time they decided she was missing and not simply out on assignment or on the trail of a news story he would be halfway across the country, heading east.
I've never been to Texas. Big enough state I should be able to shake any tracks I left behind.
By now he figured Murdock was in surgery. He would probably live, a thought that annoyed the orderly. Again, he glanced over to the reporter and scowled.
"If not for you . . . " he muttered. Amy's head moved slightly. She moaned softly, her eyelids parting a little.
But they may not believe Murdock's story about what happened to him. Don't his charts say he's delusional and paranoid? Can't take any chances though.
He glared briefly at Amy and searched the darkened slopes more fervently for a good spot to dump her.
A couple of minutes passed and he finally stopped. Getting out of the car, he stepped around to the passenger's side where Amy was slowly regaining consciousness.
Stein grabbed the wine bottle from the back seat. Uncorking it, he pinched Amy's nose shut with his fingers. When she opened her mouth in an attempt to breathe, he sloshed the contents in and watched with satisfaction as she gulped, sputtering a little as she did.
"That's right. Drink it down,"he muttered. Letting her take a breath, he repeated the process until most of the wine was gone. Her clawing hands had no effect on him. He tossed the near-empty bottle in the chaparral grasses behind him.
Forcing her to her feet, he grappled her around the waist and pushed her toward the edge of the road.
Her feet dragged on the pavement but not, he noted, because she was resisting. The sedative combined with the alcohol made her struggle weak and ineffective.
He let her fall forward and grunted with a sense of accomplishment when she tumbled down the hillside as limp as a rag doll. He didn't stay to see if her body stopped before it reached the bottom. Even though the Runyon Canyon Road was quiet and dark this time of night, he could not be certain there would be no vehicle traffic.
Getting in Amy's car and slamming the door, he continued on his way, thinking about his next move.
oooooo
As she felt Stein lift her up out of the car and force her to move, she knew it might be to her death.
Her mind was still fuzzy from whatever the orderly had injected into her system. The wine he had forced into her wasn't helping.
But I'm not going to disappear without leaving some trace of where he dumped me.
Purposely dragging her feet, she managed to leave behind one of her shoes on the roadside, hoping someone besides Stein would see it and investigate.
The next minute she was falling, sharp rocks, prickly shrubs and plants tearing at her clothing and skin as she rolled down the slope. She tried not to cry out, afraid that Stein would find a way to silence her instantly.
At one point, she felt her forehead make contact with a larger stone. Her senses reeling, she was barely conscious when her back came to rest against a manzanita shrub several yards from the road above. She willed herself to stay conscious. Her survival depended on it.
As she watched, her car began to move and soon disappeared from her view.
She was still alive . . . for now . . . but she wasn't sure how badly she had been injured. She was also alone with no reason to believe she would be found soon.
At least if I get to the road, I have a better chance of someone seeing me.
Peering up the slope, she groaned. The road seemed an impossibly long way from where she was. She wasn't sure she could make it.
But I have to.