It's a dreary and rainy day here today, my favorite type. Even better so after a sunny weekend with way too much to do and not enough time in the day. The rain reminds us to take a breather every once in a while and get back to writing stories. See how far I get tonight. Thanks for hanging in there so long on this one. I hope you enjoyed our little journey to the world of large livestock.
They had taken the back corridors toward McAllister's office, avoiding all the foot traffic ahead of the rodeo tonight. Steve hoped that both, Jordan's and his absence would be enough to start raising some questions, maybe even cause Jeffers to reach out to police.
Entrusting his partner's senses enough to know that Mike had a pretty good idea of what was going on surrounding Aldarez's death by now, he drew in a deep breath, hoping that backup was well on its way.
With the .38 shoved into the holster by right hip, McAllister finished tying up Jordan against his office chair, using up several strands of orange and green baling twine to keep her hands and feet secured.
Her eyes were wide in terror and her breaths were coming in short gasps, as the estranged businessman gagged her with a red bandana and giggled in sick excitement.
"Don't worry, police will arrive before anything happens to you.", Steve promised reassuringly and once again fought the tight nylon strings tying his hands behind his back in vain, as he sat helplessly on the cold linoleum floor.
"And they'll find nothing but a dead cop, who overindulged in some cattle drugs for a cheap high and ended up in the wrong place.", McAllister growled as he finished tightening the baling twine and walked around his vast desk, "In the meantime, the pretty Miss here and I will be having ourselves a fun time. And how that fun will end is totally up to her. Maybe it will help her dad keep his program going here at the Cow Palace, or…if she's dumb, she'll end up in the same place Sally did."
Sickened at the sheer thought of what McAllister was talking about, Steve fought to get his feet back underneath him, his knees and thighs screaming in protest as he carefully slid back up against the cream-colored plaster walls.
"You are going nowhere, McAllister.", he threatened with a shaky voice, only to have the other man smile arrogantly.
"You are dead-wrong, cop.", the businessman hissed and walked over to his desk, before pulling open the top drawer, "As a matter of fact, while your partner is busy chasing down all the wrong leads, I will cover my tracks so well that nobody will ever be able to tie me to as much as a parking ticket…"
Steve flinched at the dreadful sight of a package of hypodermics and a vial of clear liquid being placed onto the desk. Even from his distance, he could see an image of a cow on the label, likely the same concoction used to subdue Sally.
"See, I took the steps of becoming a licensed veterinarian when I got involved with the zoo. Best decision I ever made.", McAllister said triumphantly and slowly filled the syringe with an inch worth of liquid, tapping it to ensure that he squeezed out all the air bubbles, "Access to drugs is unbelievably easy. Pair that with a place like this where nobody would question the presence of white powder or dubious liquids, and you've got yourself a winning situation."
"Why'd you switch sides?", Steve pried when McAllister walked up to him, before spinning him around to face the wall, "You had everything. Why get into drugs?"
"Well, young man, the sad reality is that there's no money to be made in honest businesses when it comes to places like the zoo or the Cow Palace. It's a labor of love. But eventually the money runs out, so what do you do? What's the life of a damn junkie worth when you can continue to make people happy here? Plus, I get to look at those pretty girls riding horses all day."
"All life is worth protecting.", Steve argued and tried to shift when he felt McAllister's breath by his neck. The move proved to be pointless when he was pushed even harder against the wall, almost hitting his chin on impact. Reaching for his restrained wrist, McAllister brushed the flannel shirt off his shoulder and effortlessly slid the needle into his upper arm. Steve flinched when he depressed the plunger, causing his muscles to seize when the cold liquid encased them.
"It doesn't matter now, does it, Inspector?...This should be a light enough dose to keep you on your feet and strong enough to make sure that you won't know what's going on around you. By the time your partner shows up, it'll be too late."
Steve could feel the toxins enter his bloodstream frighteningly fast, almost immediately causing his vision to blur. In the background, he heard Jordan's muffled cries, as McAllister slowly pushed him toward the office door.
"Don't worry…", he tried, only to find his speech beginning to slur, "Help is on its way…"
The light coming in from the windows on the east wall were turning several shades darker, before everything became engulfed in a bright yellow hue. Steve tried to blink away the hallucinations but found that the harder he tried, the worse they became.
Glancing over where Jordan was sitting, he could barely make out a human shape beneath the rainbow of colors and outlines circling in front of his eyes.
Satisfied with the effects of the drug, McAllister untied his hands, a move that should have alerted Steve. And yet, all he could do was stare straight ahead, trying to keep his balance in an ever-moving ocean of lights and the sound of blood rushing through his veins.
Steve never noticed his surroundings change until the sound of metal on metal woke him back up. Turning around to find the source of the noise, he felt his legs buckle and reached forward for support, his hands grasping the nearby livestock gate tightly.
The cold of the tubular structure made his fingers cramp, sending his nerves into overdrive and he hissed in pain, the world in front of him slowly but surely beginning to spin out of control.
"What the…", he croaked, his tongue feeling like sandpaper, as the thick, rich odor of wet straw filled his nostrils.
Swallowing hard as bile began to rise in his throat, Steve pulled himself back up and took a few deep breaths to keep his stomach contents down. Beneath the sound of his heartbeat pounding in his ears, he never had a chance to hear the danger approaching until it was too late.
Turning around when he felt something tug on his jeans, Steve froze in his spot, his limited vision giving him enough of an idea of where he was.
And it was definitely the wrong side of the fence.
