HIDE IN THE TREE
You consider yourself a pretty tough guy when it comes to living in the city. To you, a street thug seems less threatening than the bear you're convinced is occupying that cave. With that in mind you run toward the tree and stop long enough to jump for the lowest limb before hoisting yourself up.
You are able to duck behind the foliage just as Bo and Luke emerge from the cornfield.
"Where do ya think he went?" You hear Luke ask Bo.
"How 'bout that old cave over there?" Bo replies, pointing to the cave.
"I hope he didn't go in there. That's the old talc mine." Luke replies. "I'm surprised the whole thing didn't fall in years ago."
"Well we ain't gonna find him standin' here." Bo replies, turning toward the woods. You watch as your cousins run right under you, praying that they don't look up.
"You go over that way and I'll head this way." You hear Luke say once they are a hundred or so feet past your tree. "Report back over at Sorrell Falls in ten minutes."
"Ten-four cousin." Bo shouts out as he takes off in his assigned direction, leaving Luke to do the same.
Once the boys are out of sight, you jump back down to the ground and quickly make your way to the cabin. Once you arrive, you see that Frank and Loreli have returned.
You trot to the backyard to retrieve your shirt before looking into the window of the cabin. Once you do so, you see Frank and Loreli anxiously studying a map that is spread out on the table.
"Where were you?" Frank asks sternly, nodding toward the General Lee when you enter the cabin moments later. "I hope you didn't tell your cousins anything."
"I didn't." You explain. "They saw me, but I ran from them. I didn't know what else to do except try to get away until you could decide where we go from here."
"It doesn't really matter anyway." Loreli replies, turning back to the map. "We just got a tip that a handover is about to occur at a place called Sorrell Falls. This could be the end of it if we can just find the place!"
"Did you say Sorrell Falls?" You ask as a lump creeps into throat.
"Yeah, you know where it is?" Frank asks.
"Not exactly, but I don't think it's too far from here." You reply, explaining to the agents how you heard Luke mention the place as you sat hidden in the oak tree.
Loreli looks at Frank then back at you as she secures a gun on her belt. "We need to get there fast. If your cousins walk in on that exchange, there's not much of a chance of them coming out alive. Now show us where you were when you heard the place mentioned."
You quickly lead the agents out the door and through the cornfield. "I've heard enough about the commissioner to know he's a dishonest crook, but I don't think he's a murderer." You point out.
"Well that might be, but it won't be the commissioner we're dealing with, and I'm afraid even he doesn't have much control over these men. When it comes right down to it, they're going to do whatever it takes to make sure they get their hands on the money…and make sure that it keeps coming."
When you arrive at the oak tree, Frank and Loreli pause long enough to pull out their guns. "Now which way did your cousins go?" Loreli asks.
After you point out the directions in which the boys ran, Frank nods toward the general area that would be considered the midway point of their two paths. "If they planned to meet back up at this Sorrell Falls, it'd stand to reason that it'd be this way.
Without a word, you and Loreli follow Frank through the woods, the leaves crunching under your feet. After just a few minutes, a dull roar you hear in the distance grows louder with each step.
"Shouldn't be too far now. C'mon." Frank says, running ahead.
You follow his lead until you reach what you assume is the riverbank, from the sound of things. Peering between the bushes you are crouched behind, you and your companions let out collective gasps.
Luke is on his knees at the mercy of a stranger, who presses a knife to his throat..
"Faster, plowboy!" You hear the stranger say, noticing that Luke is helpless as his hands are tied behind his back. Forcing your attention away from Luke, you look to the side and spot Bo in a knee-deep ditch, digging furiously. And that's where your attention remains mere seconds before it returns to Luke, who cries out in pain as a hint of red shows against the knife on his neck.
"Leave him alone, I can't go no faster!" Bo insists as he continues to dig madly while a second man points a gun at him.
"What do you think's going on?" Loreli asks.
"All I'm certain of is the fact that those boys are in serious trouble." Frank replies as he cocks the hammer of his gun back and points it toward the group.
"Don't be crazy, Frank! You know the sites on that gun are off!" Loreli exclaims. "What if you hit one of the boys?"
"Loreli them boys are gonna be dead in just a few minutes if we don't do something. Besides, I've been to the practice range with this gun so much that I got the sites all figured out. Trust me, I can shoot straight." He explains, closing one eye tightly as he lines up for the shot.
Looking back toward the group, you notice what was a hint of red on Luke's neck before has turned into an ugly stream, and the guy with the gun shifts from foot to foot nervously, as if anything could set him off. Frank seems to have the right idea as he crouches there, prepared to shoot.
But then again, the idea of the sites being off makes you extremely nervous. You don't know if the gun was made improperly in the beginning, or if the sites shifted as a result of some accident. But if the latter is true, is the possible that the gun could somehow shift again, meaning Frank has a false sense of security in his weapon?
As you watch his finger tightening on the trigger, you must quickly decide if you will let him go through with it.
CLICK ON THE CHAPTER ENTITLED 'FIRE' TO ALLOW FRANK TO FIRE THE GUN
CLICK ON THE CHAPTER ENTITLED 'STOP' TO STOP HIM