Escape Clause Part 14

Annie didn't want to make a scene in a hotel lobby and she certainly didn't want any innocent bystanders hurt so she nodded to Calder that she would go with him. He took her arm harshly in exactly the same spot Auggie always clasped in sighted lead. She could not believe how different the sensation was with Calder's cold fingers digging into her flesh, she shuddered.

"You should be afraid Miss Walker," he whispered menacingly, "now let's go."

Annie walked out the side entrance and turned toward the parking lot.

"No car, too easy to track. I said I wanted to take a walk, and I meant it," he indicated the trails that ran down into the valley from their spot on the side of a mountain.

"There are bears in the woods," Annie mentioned, "it is cub season."

"Bears should be the least of your concerns Walker," Calder shoved her a little to get her moving.

***555***

"Excuse me, Joan, could I have a word," Eric Barber popped his head into the interrogation room.

Markham rolled his eyes as Joan exited the room.

"Annie is moving," Barber whispered, "and not by car."

"She's supposed to stay put until we talk tonight," Joan whispered back.

"I know, that is why I interrupted," Barber cringed.

"Can you piggyback on a satellite without raising any red flags around here?"

"Not as fast as Auggie," Barber admitted.

"He's been out of the loop for over a year," Joan pointed out.

"This is Auggie we're talking about," Barber laughed.

"Right," Joan smiled.

"It would be safer with him at the wheel."

"Gather the tech you need and take it to the subbasement Room S432, we can work there," Joan instructed.

Barber nodded and scurried off.

Joan re-entered the interrogation room to hear Auggie say, "If you know all the answers, why are you asking me the questions?" in a measured tone certain to drive Markham through the roof.

"OK, we are done here. We have a lead on Walker and clearly Anderson isn't going to give us anything further. We can use him further when Walker is in custody. Markham, go check on the team," Joan ordered.

"Yes ma'am," the sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable.

"Nice guy," Auggie smiled after he was gone.

"You need to come with me," Joan's voice left no room for question.

***555***

Calder dragged Annie down a rocky path towards a covered bridge. The river rushed by and Annie squinted against the harsh sunlight. It was warmer than she expected and she was sweating under her suit coat, but she couldn't risk taking it off, it had the tracker on it.

"I can't believe Auggie let you out of his sight, oops, I mean reach," Calder snarled.

Annie just glared.

"I found your little hideaway, very cute, the bed was still warm when I got there," he taunted.

"You were always a little too interested in our sex life, something you want to share Calder? I mean Auggie is a very attractive man, I wouldn't blame you for …"

"Enough Walker, I could care less about you or your boyfriend, you know what I want," Calder pulled the weapon now.

"He's my husband," she said to distract him.

"Not according to any US court, I had a trace on you all year."

"In every way that counts," Annie was trying to buy time.

"Well that's sweet, but as I said I could care less, I want the last piece of evidence you two have and I want it now," he pointed the gun at her heart.

***555***

"This Chinese satellite isn't good for much, but it happens to be in a good spot. I think they are using it to record baseball stats," Auggie rambled as his fingers flew over the keyboard.

"Told you he was the right man for the job," Barber looked at Joan.

"OK, it is picking up Annie's tracker, what do you see?" Auggie asked.

"Woods, a covered bridge and a river, some bears," Barber reported back.

"Go thermal," Auggie instructed and switched over to heat signature identification.

"Two bodies under the covered bridge, one must be Annie it is the exact geo-location of the tracker," Barber reported.

"Is Calder there already?" Joan asked.

"Oh God, Danielle," Auggie ran his hands over his face.

"She's fine, I talked to Reva an hour ago. If Michaels was in San Fran looking for her, he missed them," Barber put the geographic puzzle together in his head.

"Thank God," Auggie sighed.

"They are already through the Rockies, they'll be here in 2 days," Barber assured.

Auggie nodded.

"Still doesn't explain how Calder found her so quickly," Joan wondered.

"Whistler is remote, not a ton of places to look," Auggie shrugged.

"The team is nearby, Annie is safe, she can signal for them at any time, we have to trust her," Joan patted Auggie on the shoulder.

***555***

Annie was just about to tap the transmitter for the team to approach, but she was curious what Calder was talking about.

"What evidence are you referring to Calder? We left everything in DC, the flash drive was in Tech Ops, they recovered everything there was," she shook her head.

"That's not true and you know it," Calder approached," there was a file missing from that flash drive, you must have kept it as leverage."

"To what end, Auggie and I were not planning on coming back," she wanted to keep him talking.

"Insurance, in case you were caught, like you are right now," he advanced on her weapon drawn and Annie tapped the code for the team on the tracker.

Something moved in the woods to her left and her eyes flicked over there, luckily Calder's did too and in the split second he was not paying attention she kicked at his weapon, disarming him. He reacted quickly, advancing on her with speed and agility. The resulting hand-to-hand combat was intense and Annie had to channel her old muscle memory having been woefully negligent in keeping up her skills.

Calder elbowed her in the jaw, snapping her head back as she attempted to counter with a roundhouse. All she had to do was hold her own until the team arrived, but she was overmatched. He grabbed her by the throat and bent her back over the railing of the bridge.

"I could kill you now, or better yet, throw you over the edge for the bears, but I need to know where that last file is, the one that documents my agreement with Henry," Calder was practically growling at her.

Annie saw her advantage and pushed back against him, summoning all her strength to fight back.

"So Seth was your lawyer too, that guy really got around," Annie grimaced.

Suddenly the sound of several sets of footsteps came through loud and clear and Calder knew he was trapped, he made a last ditch effort to reach his discarded weapon, but Annie was quicker and kicked the gun off the bridge before he could reach it. Within seconds he was in custody and Annie was handed a phone.

***555***

"Annie?" Joan asked when her private cell rang.

"Calder is in custody. Joan, do you have Auggie's old laptop from the apartment?"

"Yes, in evidence somewhere," she responded.

"You might want to dig it up. Can I talk to him?"

"For you," Joan smiled and pressed the phone against Auggie's hand.

TBC…