Vinny and the group followed Eggar down to the end of the hall. Eggar tore down the hallway and shouldered the door to the stairs open, he took the stairs two at a time haphazardly until he reached the exit at the bottom.
"Stop! Get back here!" Vinny yelled at him as he exited the building after the other man.
Eggar paid him no heed, he kept running, cutting across the lawn that lay on this side of the building. The grounds were nearly empty, only a few cadets here and there dotted the pathways enjoying their weekend.
Vinny looked back and saw that Sweet and Audrey were close to him whereas the others were trailing farther and farther from them. Eggar was fast and they had to catch him quickly before the group lost him.
"Where is he going?" Sweet wondered out loud.
Eggar was on a walkway that ran parallel to the Hudson River when suddenly he cut across onto a nearby street, in the process he almost bowled over a cadet facing away from him. The young man was taken by surprise and flinched away. Then everyone else ran right by him causing him to drop his books.
"What are you doing?!" he yelled, "A bunch of weirdos." He muttered as they passed.
"Sorry!" Audrey yelled back to him.
Eggar now was a few hundred feet ahead, clearly outpacing them, Vinny slowed to a jog to let the others catch up. Once they did, they slowed to a brisk walk and saw him turn on the street corner; he was in the residential area where the staff and instructors lived.
Breathing hard, Sweet quickly surveyed the situation, "Alright, if I were to bet, he is going to his apartment to grab some things then run. Does anyone know where he lives?"
"Second to last unit on that street, left side, apartment three I believe." Packard said.
"Okay, I think we should approach together on the street before then cut through the neighbor's lawn to stay unnoticed. After that we go in and grab him." Sweet proposed.
Audrey looked at him, "Are you sure we should be doing this? Why not let the cops?"
He nodded, "I agree, unfortunately I don't know where the nearest phone is, he might be gone by that time."
"Tarnation!" Cookie exclaimed, "Should've grabbed the phone in the office."
"What, the one he threw at me?" Vinny stated dryly, he looked to see bruises forming on his arms.
"Yeah, can't do anything about that now." The doctor agreed.
They silently made their way up the street and turned, all the while they looked around to see if they were attracting attention. Apart from the handful of cadets back on the grounds proper, there seemed to be no one paying them any attention.
They reached their destination and ran across the street to get to the apartment Packard was talking about, if there were doubts about which one, they were swept away because they saw number three apartment on the second level with its door wide open and could hear some shuffling from it.
As they approached, the group split up Vinny, Sweet, and Audrey climbed up the stairs to the door while Packard, Cookie, and Mole went to the back of the unit.
The apartment layout was simple but well made, to their immediate left was the kitchen. Attached was a small living room/dining area, then to the right a closet which was next to a short hallway that led to what must be two bedrooms and a bathroom.
Eggar's voice could be heard from the second door, "Yes, those are all the papers we will need to take, if you get those, I can take the rest of the luggage."
The three of them gathered at the far end of the hallway facing the door. They all paused not quite sure what to do.
Vinny looked to Sweet and whispered, "The others had to have made it to the back, right?"
The doctor nodded in the affirmative, "Here goes nothing."
He started towards the door but stopped as soon as he did, because Eggar walked through the door suitcase in his left hand, and a revolver in the other. Upon seeing them he dropped the suitcase and leveled the gun to Sweet.
"Stop! Come any closer and I shoot." He yelled.
Sweet put his hands up and backed up a step, "Easy there, there's no need for that."
Upon seeing the gun Vinny and Audrey quickly mirrored the doctor's actions backing up a few paces. Eggar was sweating and his eyes darted between the three of them.
Seeing his unease Sweet spoke again in a low calm voice, "Alright, what's next? Do you need us to give you some space?"
Eggar twitched the barrel of the gun up to motion for them to start moving backwards, "To the dining area, and don't try anything."
"Wouldn't dream of it." Sweet assured him in a calming tone.
Facing him they made it to the dining room, a small area where a plain wooden table and some chairs sat. He motioned for them to sit and when they did, he retreated to the kitchen area and surveyed the scene, running a hand through his hair.
Yelling back to the room he emerged from he said, "If we don't need it, it has to stay! Who knows when the cops will get here!" Someone else was here with him.
They hadn't gone to the cops, however with that gun pointed at them and Eggar's nerves Vinny and the others weren't going to tell him that.
Audrey however, had something to say, "Hey Eggar, let us help you. Just please put the gun down."
"Yeah right! Like I believe that from you guys, I'll take my chances away from here." He quickly retorted, "And be quiet if you know what's good for you. If you do that, we all part ways breathing, alright?"
As he was talking Vinny saw movement behind him, looking to the source he saw Cookie coming from the hallway creeping up on Eggar. The man put a finger to his lips and kept on approaching silently. Vinny just nodded slightly in response to Eggar hoping Cookie wasn't spotted. He also tensed up in his chair ready to spring up and help as soon as that gun was pointed somewhere else.
However, his glance and nod didn't go by unnoticed, Eggar began to turn around and when he did so Cookie closed the distance between the two of them with agility that belied his age. Knocking into Eggar he closed both hands on the revolver, covering the hammer so it couldn't fire. As Eggar was about to strike him with his free hand Vinny was able to get to him and restrain that arm.
"No!" Eggar yelled as the two overtook him, they struggled for a moment but once Sweet and Audrey piled on, it was already over, Cookie grabbed the gun and Vinny and Sweet had an arm each. They wrestled him into one of the chairs and took a step back, he immediately got up again but the two pushed him back down.
"It's over, stop struggling." Sweet said.
Still breathing heavy, and eyes darting wildly, Vinny thought he would try it again. However, seeing four people- one with a gun- standing over him he stayed where he was.
Sweet glanced at Cookie, "Quick, check who's in that other room, Audrey close the door."
They moved out and as they did so Eggar was glaring at Sweet, obviously mad he had been beat by them. Soon they heard two sets of feet moving towards them, turning they saw Miss. Schmitt hobbling over with Cookie following behind. They had her sit in a chair next to Eggar.
"Miss Schmitt, what are you doing here?" Vinny asked, confused. "And Cookie, how did you get up here?"
"Fire escape." The Oklahoman said.
The German teacher was silent and as she sat down, she refused to meet his gaze instead staring off to the side, her black hair partially covering her face. Vinny looked at the others to see their equally confused faces as well.
"Why did you frame Raimondo?" Sweet simply asked looking between the two of them.
A humorless laugh escaped Eggar's lips, "Ha! That's your first question? Get lost."
"Quiet!" Schmitt quickly said as an aside.
As they were talking Audrey had made her way back from the front door.
Noting how long it took her to get back Vinny asked, "What took you?"
"I think I found him." She simply said, holding a coat in her hand.
"What are you talking about?" Sweet asked, looking over to her. "Found Who?"
"This was in his closet, it was open, and I saw it when I closed the front door."
She held the article of clothing out, it was an olive-green trench coat, what got their attention was the symbol on one of its arms: a red stylized lambda, the same kind worn by the soldiers, in the Atlantis expedition.
Sweet turned on Eggar, "Where did you get this?"
He said nothing, Sweet leaned in grabbing the coat as he did and held it right in front of him.
"I'll ask again, where did you get this."
Eggar was visibly shaken when the large doctor quickly swooped in like that. However, he continued to remain silent.
After a moment Sweet stood up and looked around the apartment clearly thinking.
"Alright, Audrey, grab Packard and Mole and have them come in, once they are back, we need to search this place. We need answers, while you are doing that Cookie and I will be talking with them."
Audrey quickly turned around again and headed outside to grab her two companions. As she did, Vinny had already set about looking in the kitchen and Cookie stayed next to Sweet with the revolver tucked into his belt if they tried anything.
Sweet grabbed another chair nearby and sat in front of Eggar and Schmitt, "Now Eggar, I need you to tell me who else made it out, and what does Miss Schmitt have to do with all of this?"
Surprisingly he responded right away, "I am the only one that made it out," he paused, shoulders drooping, "Schmitt knows nothing about this, let her go, please."
Sweet responded, "Alright, one thing at a time, I will talk with you, then Miss Schmitt, and after my colleagues have finished looking around," Eggar visibly relaxed "if, and only if, she has nothing to do with what happened." He purposely was keeping the Atlantis expedition as vague as possible.
The others had made it back and were splitting up searching the house.
"But- ", he started, a flash of panic crossed his features.
"No," Sweet cut him off, "we are going to protect our friends, and that means we find out as much as we can here, understood?"
Eggar nodded looking sullen
"Now let's say you are the only one, how do- "
Schmitt cut him off, "He wasn't"
Looking at her Sweet asked, "Pardon?"
Eggar was about to speak up when she waved him off, "They are going to find out anyway."
"But- "
"No."
Giving her a confused look, Sweet asked, "What is it we are going to find out about Miss Schmitt?"
She straightened up in her chair and brushed her hair away from her eyes. She now had a grim determined look on her face and answered with a voice the doctor thought long gone.
"It's not Miss Schmitt, it's Helga Sinclair."
Dun dun dah!
Well here is another chapter, I couldn't have gotten this far with out the help of ghostFACERS95. Many thanks there. Hope to see you all for the next few as the story continues on!