Releasing Johnny's arm that he had wrapped around his shoulder, Marco turned and gently kicked shut the door they had just come through, instantly stopping the freezingly cold wind that was chilling them to the bone. Momentarily releasing his hold from around Johnny's waist, he quickly shrugged out of his backpack, opening it before rummaging through it until he found the torch that he knew he had packed earlier. Pulling it free, he dropped the backpack to the floor and switched it on, shining it around the small room as he wrapped his arm around Johnny's waist again.

The room appeared to be sparsely furnished as the narrow beam of light travelled across it, there was an old dust covered, wooden table with an old oil lantern sitting on it in the middle of the room, surrounded by four wooden chairs, a small sink and cupboards sat against the far wall next to a small wooden stove. A large bed covered with blankets sat against another wall opposite the large fireplace that held pride of place on the other side of the room, a large basketful of wood and kindling sat beside it.

He jumped and released Johnny's waist again as he heard the door open behind them. Spinning around, he felt his heart rise into his throat as the torch light captured the armed man who was now stepping through the doorway. Swallowing hard, unsure if the new arrival was one of the hunters seeking shelter, Marco stepped in front of Chet and Johnny, as he tried to bluff, "Don't take another step! Or I'll shoot!"

"Whoa! Don't shoot!" Lee exclaimed, instantly recognizing one of the missing firemen's voices as the bright light blinded him. "It's us, Detective Rollings and Detective Thompson!"

"Marco, how the Hell can you shoot anyone you. You don't even own a damn gun!" Cap's annoyed voice growled from somewhere behind the police officer.

Cap?" Marco frowned, "Is that you?"

"Of course, it's me, you twit! Now stop blinding us with that damn torch and let us get out of the rain!" Cap demanded, shivering as icy cold rainwater from his drenched hair trickled down the back of his neck.

"Ah, sorry Cap." Marco stammered in surprise, lowering his torch a little as the four men hurried into the small cabin and closed the door behind them.

"C-c-cap?" Johnny stuttered, uncertain if he was dreaming or if he had really just heard his captain's voice.

"John?" Cap frowned peering through the darkness as Marco turned and hurried across to the table and lit the lantern, flooding the small one room cabin in a soft yellow light.

"I-I'm n-not dr-dreamin'?" Johnny whispered as he struggled to lift his head from where it was resting on his chest and turn to look at his captain, still not quite believing that this wasn't some dream, that he was really safe and had escaped from the nightmare he had so suddenly found himself thrust into.

"No, you're not dreaming, Pal, I'm really here," Hank smiled, relieved to see his youngest paramedic alive and now safe.

"T-they s-s-shot h-him, C-cap!" Chet told his captain through chattering teeth as Hank gently grabbed Johnny's arm, shocked at how cold Johnny's arm was as he helped Chet guide him towards the bed.

Chet added proudly, "B-but h-he s-still m-managed to g-get a-away."

Marco nodded. "We found him trying to cross the flooded stream, getting away from them. He would have made it as well, Cap, except he slipped but Chet managed to get him to the bank."

Chet nodded and blushed as he shivered violently, "T-the P-phantom c-c-couldn't l-let h-his f-favorite p-pigeon d-drown, n-now c-c-could he?"

Cap nodded as they reached the side of the bed as found himself smiling at Chet's comment. As much as the Phantom tormented Johnny, he knew that Chet would give his life to save Johnny's. Hell, they all would, and they all knew John would do the same thing in a heartbeat for anyone of them. "When you see the Phantom, thank him for saving John's life, Pal, but also tell him that it's not going to get him or his sidekick out of three months of latrine duty for the next three months for that little stunt of coming out here to search for Johnny without telling anyone where they were going!"

"T-three m-months?" Chet gasped, his eyes growing wide in shock as he looked at Cap.

"Wanna try for six, Pal?" Cap asked.

"A-ahhh, n-n-no, Cap." Chet shook his head vigorously.

"Didn't think so." Cap smiled before he returned his attention back to Johnny as he ordered gently. "So how about we get both you and John out of those wet clothes and warmed up a little." Looking over his shoulder to the two Santa Barbara detectives as Marco and Mike hurried across to help, he added softly, "We're going to need a fire going and something warm for John and Chet to drink. I think John is hypothermic and I suspect that Chet has a mild case of hypothermia as well. We need to warm them both up."

Turning back to John as Mike reached them and began to remove the two drenched bandages that Chet and Marco had wrapped his wet clothes, he smiled, "Okay Pal, how about we get you out of these wet clothes and warm you up a little."

Johnny nodded weakly, his head dropping back down onto his chest as his eyes drifted close on their own accord as Hank helped him to stand. He was only vaguely aware of Mike removing his clothes or Marco helping Chet to remove his as he struggled to open his eyes and look back up at his captain as he tried to make his mouth work enough to ask," "R-r-roy?"

"Roy's safe, John, Joanne's with him. And Emily called Nurse McCall and asked her to come and sit with Joanne while we were searching for you. And I am willing to bet that Dixie didn't come alone, Pal, I am betting that Dr Brackett is with her." Hank reassured the younger man as Mike grabbed one of the backpacks before grabbing one of the tee shirts out of it and using it to dry Johnny as well as he could.

Hearing Chet hiss in pain as Jim and Marco helped him out of his wet clothes, Hank turned his head to find the LA detective examining a large gash in Chet's side. He heard Marco murmur something in Spanish beneath his breath as Chet explain to Jim that one of the hunters must have winged him when he had returned to the stream to retrieve one of the backpacks that he and Marco had rescued Johnny before insisting that the injury appeared worse than it was.

"Then you wont mind Marco putting a dressing on it, will you, Pal?" Hank suggested softly, aware that Chet would know it was more an order than just a friendly suggestion.

"Ahh, n-no C-cap. Chet sighed as Hank turned back the blankets on the bed before easing Johnny down on the edge of the bed.

Holding firmly but gently onto Johnny's shoulders, Hank helped him to sit up as Mike grabbed out the first aid kit and began to rebandage the two bullet wounds. He wasn't sure if he should be relieved or not that neither wound seemed to be bleeding much as they managed to dress Johnny into some dry warm clothes. Grabbing one of the sleeping bags that he and Mike had picked up on their way to the park, and removing it from its waterproof bag, eased Johnny down into it before sipping it completely up before also covering him the two blankets, tucking them around the shivering younger man before he lightly pressed his fingers against the side of Johnny's throat, feeling the weak, racing beat beneath them.

Glancing across at Chet who was now seated at the small table, he was relieved to see that Marco and Jim had also help Chet into some warm dry clothes before wrapping one of the thick open sleeping bags around his shoulders. Marco was encouraging him to drink a hot mug of something that Lee had made after starting a nice roaring fire in the old fireplace that was now quickly warming up the small cabin, taking the icy chill out of the air.

Watching Marco and Chet, he knew angry as he was at both of them for risking their own lives by searching for Johnny on their own, he was grateful that they had. Hell, if he was totally honest with himself, both he and Mike had both come to the park to search for not only his two wayward men but Johnny as well. He was also left with the feeling that there was more to Johnny's rescue than what he had just been told.

"How is he?" Lee asked, startling Hank out of his silent musings, as he handed Hank a mug of warm black tea and nodded towards Johnny.

"Not good." Hank answered softly, accepting the mug of tea as he turned and looked at Johnny, unsure if Johnny had drifted off to sleep or if he had lost his fight to stay conscious as Mike covered him with another blanket. "He has gunshot wounds to both his leg and shoulder, he's hypothermic and is going into shock, and if what Chet and Marco just told us, he probably swallowed a lot of water when he got washed away, trying to cross that stream. He's not bleeding much now but when he warms up, I'm not sure if we will be able to- " Hank swallowed hard, running his hand over his hair, not quite willing to voice his own fears that they might be forced to watch Johnny bleed to death. Aware that what he was about to say was impossible with the darkness, the storm and the danger that would confront them outside the cabin, he looked back at the detective and admitted softly, "He needs to be in a hospital, and he needs to be in a hospital now."

"I know." Lee sighed, aware that the young paramedic might not survive the night but also just as acutely aware as Hank was that there was nothing they could do get him to safety and any specialized medical help until the storm let up and it was light enough to safely do so.

Turning back towards Marco, Chet and Jim, he silently listened as Chet and Marco told his partner about hearing a gunshot and discovering Gage as the younger man tried to escape his tormentors by heading downstream. Listening to Marco describing how Chet had risked his life to rescue Johnny and how he had then returned after Chet had gone back to retrieve the backpack, and by judging by the deep bullet graze in Chet's side, which Lee had no doubts that Marco had probably saved Chet's life after the hunters had tried to shoot him while hidden within the tree line on the other side of the flooded stream.

Lee shared a quick shared glance at his partner before he returned his attention back to Marco and asked, "Are you sure that they were shooting at you from the other bank?"

Both Marco and Chet nodded in unison.

"And you're sure that there are two of them?"

Marco nodded again, "Johnny told us to be careful, that there were two of them and that they armed with high powered hunting rifles and that they were crazy."

"H-he also warned-us that t-they were p-playing some- s-sick hunting game." Chet added, confirming Lee's theory before he looked down into the mug of tea that he still had his hands wrapped around, as he added softly. "W-we f-found another of t-their victims. A-a young b-boy. H-he was shot i-in the b-back."

Lee nodded, his heart sinking at the thought there were more victims out there whom they had been unaware of and he wondered just how long the park had been these two killers personal hunting grounds.

"Could you find the body again?" Jim asked, not wanting to leave the young boy laying in the forest all alone. He deserved to be returned to his family and Lee was determined that he was going to ensure that that happened.

Marco nodded, unsure he would ever forget the terrified look on the young boy's face or where they had found him.

"Thank you." Lee told them softly as he reached across and gently took the mug from Chet's hand, promising to fill it up again.

Rising from his chair, Jim followed his partner across to the small sink and glancing covertly back at the four firemen huddled around the table, asked, "What do you think?"

Looking back over his shoulder at Chet and Marco, Lee turned back to Jim and whispered, "Gage confirmed our suspicions but if what Kelly and Lopez just told us about these two bastards taking pot shots at them across the swollen stream, we should be safe here tonight. There's no way anybody is going to be able to cross that stream, not with this storm and all the water coming down from the heavy rain upstream."

"And no way we can contact anyone for help. I just hope that Gage can last through the night."

Jim nodded his agreement before he sighed. "We're going to need some more water. I saw an old well outside."

"I'll get it." Lee offered.

Jim smiled and shook his head, "No, it's fine, I'll get some. I want to have a little look around outside anyway before we settle in for the night."

"Still expecting trouble?" Lee asked the older man.

"I don't know. I just guess as Tom always tells us, it's better to be safe than sorry." Jim shrugged as he picked up his rifle and slung it over his shoulder before he turned and headed towards the door.