Chapter 36

I don't own these characters, but it would be nice if I did.

Anyways, I do promise to keep them true to themselves.

The cops were stunned to find the car empty. But once that wore off, several of them began searching the area while a couple of others checked out the car to see if they could find anything. Even searching the trunk, they found nothing. So, it was with that that one of them had to radio back into Detective Mahoney. And to say Mahoney was livid with this news would be an understatement. Cody, Zack and Woody just sat back and wondered why he was so upet. And finally, he turned back to the three of them.

"Bad news. Miller wasn't in his car when my men got there."

Zack looked at him incredulously. "What? I saw him right before I came inside! Why didn't you wait until they had a visual on him before getting me out of the way?"

The detective sighed. "Look. I was told we did. I don't know what happened, but that's not what's important right now. The important thing is that he's still on the loose."

Cody paused. "Have you notified all the hospital security gates to close the exits? He might try to steal a car and get out of here. Else, he's on foot, and he won't get very far."

The detective shook his head. "Not yet, but that's a good idea. By now, he must know he's been spotted. And now that he knows that, he might be desperate. So, with that said, I want all of you to stay right here in this room. You understand me?"

Cody and Woody nodded, but Zack just mumbled. The detective stepped outside, and that is when Zack turned to the other two.

"Can you two believe this? We had Miller right where we wanted him! I could have gone over and taken him on by myself. But no, I had to listen to the police..."

Cody just looked at his brother. "Zack, calm down..."

Zack shot a look back at his brother. "Calm down? You want me to calm down? Cody, the man tried to kill my wife and children! Your children too, remember?"

Cody sighed. "Oh, believe me...I haven't forgotten..."

Zack cut him off. "Answer me this? When Moose was trying to kill Bailey while she was pregnant, did you calm down and let the police handle it?"

Cody shook his head. "No, I didn't. But, Zack...that was different."

Zack gave his brother a dirty look. "Why? Because it was your wife and not mine?"

Cody paused trying to figure out how to calm Zack down. "Not at all. Because Bailey was in immediate danger. Right now, your wife and kids are safe. I had no choice but to act then. Here, we do have a choice. We don't have to rush in to save someone."

Zack paused and took a deep breath. "Codester...I know that. But you know me. I'm not one to sit back and do nothing."

Woody turned to Cody. "I can attest to that."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Trust me, Zack. I know. But..."

Zack interrupted him. "But nothing. You just saw how the cops handled this. They were probably too busy stuffing their faces with Twinkies or donuts. If we want to get this SOB, we needed to do it ourselves!"

Cody shook his head. "There is a problem with that. We don't know what we're up against exactly, and its not like we have any weapons here to protect ourselves with."

Zack smirked. "Unless I miss my guess, I'm betting you have several cans of bear repellent in your office, right?"

Cody was silent.

"That's what I thought. If you get those, we'll at least have something to protect ourselves with."

Woody spoke up. "But the detective told us to all stay in here."

"Forget what he said!"

Cody finally spoke. "Zack, even if we did, bear repellent is no match for a gun. Or did you forget I almost had to learn that lesson the hard way?"

Zack paused. "I remember. But do you remember that it was the three of us who worked together to bring that psycho down?"

Cody sighed. "I remember that too, but things are a little different now in case you haven't realized."

"How so?"

"We have children that rely on and need us. We have families to worry about."

Zack shook his head. "I'm not buying that either. You had Bailey then. Are you going to try and sit there and tell me she didn't mean the world to you then?"

Cody exhaled and shook his head. "No."

"Then lets do this ourselves then! Let's be heroes!"

Cody groaned. "Quoting Varsity Blues isn't helping your case."

Zack rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean..."

Woody spoke up. "Doesn't anyone care what I think about this?"

Zack looked over at him. "Alright, Woody...what do you think?"

"Well, I think that we should stay here like the detective said..."

Zack cut him off. "It doesn't matter what you think. So, how about it, Bro? Are you with me, or are you going to sit here next to Woody while I do this by myself?"

Cody sighed and shook his head. "This is essentially blackmail, you know?"

Zack smiled. "Wouldn't be the first time I've used it on you."

Cody hung his head. "Bailey's going to kill me for this..."

Zack grinned while Woody turned to Cody in shock.

"You're going along with this? But you're supposed to be the sensible one here!"

"I know...but I can't let Zack go off by himself. Someone has to be there to have his back."

Woody shook his head incredulously. "I can't believe this..." He sighed. "Alright...what's the plan?"

Zack slapped Woody's arm. "Atta boy, Woodchuck. The Three Musketeers ride again."

"Zack, Woody's right. We do need a plan. For one, there is nothing we can do if we can't get out of this conference room unnoticed."

Zack paused. "Good call. Codester, you know this place the best. Surely, there is another way out of here."

Cody thought about that. "Well, no windows, so that's not an option." He paused. "Wait a minute. The bathroom!"

Woody looked at him. "I'm not going to flush myself and go through the sewer...Once I left the boat, I was done with the sewage flap."

Cody shook his head. "No, the bathroom has an outer door out into another hallway. We can sneak out that way."

Zack grinned. "Alright, gentlemen, lets roll!"

And that's what they did. The all snuck out through the bathroom and made their way up to Cody's office. And like Zack had predicted, he did indeed have a a stash of bear repellent there. He equipped the others with two cans apiece.

Woody paused. "What now?"

Cody paused and looked around. "I have an idea."

And fifteen minutes, they were all dressed in scrubs, surgical masks and surgical caps.

"These should help us blend in around here."

Zack nodded. "Good work, Codester. Alright, everyone turn your cell phones on to walkie talkie mode. If you see anything or find anything, let the other two know immediately. Gentlemen, good luck!"

And with that, they all three went separate directions. About that same time, Detective Mahoney returned back to the conference rooms.

"Guys, I just wanted to...Guys?" He began looking around the room and found no sign of them anywhere. "Son of a...This was the last thing I need to deal with right now!" And with that, he stormed out of the room to go looking for them.

Woody was looking around, but he wasn't finding or seeing anything. Of course, it didn't help that he was completely scared out of his mind. He wondered again how Zack and Cody had talked him into this idiotic idea.

Like Woody, Cody wasn't having any luck either. He sighed again. Was it too much to ask that this would be easier than he thought it would be? He shook his head. Of course it wouldn't. He was a lucky guy, but he wasn't that lucky.

Like the other two, Zack was looking around and was looking through the hospital's parking garage. He figured that Miller would likely be thinking about stealing a car. But so far, he hadn't seen hide nor hair of him. Zack really wished he could have gotten a better look at Simon in the car so he would know what kind of clothing he was wearing. But, that wasn't a luxury he had right then.

Zack entered a stairwell ready to head up to the next level of the garage. And that's when he felt it. Something was poking him in the back. But before he could do or say anything, he heard that voice.

"Don't move a muscle or you're dead!"

To be Continued...