Chapter 42

Was it half an hour later, I don't know, but I did know that I was getting really uncomfortable.

"Please you're hurting me, I need to move"

"Not long now sweetheart"

Was the answer I got as I felt his breath in my ear. Personally, I thought that he was enjoying this more than he should be. I felt the car slowing down and then turning before speeding up again. It seemed we were on a smaller road judging by the lack of lights outside.

"Let her up Roberts. No one's following us now"

Oh shit, it just had to be Roberts in here with me, didn't it. Was that a coincidence, had he been ordered to come, or had he manipulated it so he stayed close to me? Whichever it was I knew I was in deep shit with very little hope of anyone finding me. Roberts only pushed himself away from me when the car came to a stop and that's when I sat up to see where we were.

From the headlights of the car, I could see a small house in front of us which was suddenly in darkness as Desilva turned off the engine. Roberts had opened the door and was dragging me again, toward the house. Desilva unlocked the door and hit the lights before we came through the door.

Once inside I was led toward a door that led into a small lounge area and pushed down onto the couch. Roberts stood watching me while Desilva walked out of the room. I could hear him at the front door so assumed he was locking up. When he came back into the room, he came over to me and unfastened one of the cuffs but then proceeded to fasten it to the wooden arm of the couch.

I had no idea what was going to happen now and had to close my eyes and take deep breaths to calm myself down. That's when I felt the couch dip and a hand run up and down my back as though trying to comfort me.

"I have no intention of hurting you"

My eyes came open as I stared back at Desilva.

"Then what the hell is happening?"

"This is a safe house. There are other people looking for you"

Okay now was the time to see if I could get some answers from him.

"But why?"

"Because some people think that you know where some important information is"

"Information?"

"National security"

"Why would I know that?"

"Because of your relationship with Manoso"

"Relationship?"

"Come on, everyone could see how much he cared for you"

Not a subject I wanted to discuss at the moment soI went back to the idea that people thought that I knew where that information was.

"I haven't seen Ranger for ages, then he died so how am I supposed to have any knowledge of what you're talking about?"

"Maybe Roan told you"

That had me frowning because as far as I knew he was on our side, wasn't he? Anyway, he never said anything to me when I took him to the station. Though I knew he was expecting it to have been Ranger who go after him.

"He never said anything. What now?"

"I'm going to get us something to eat"

Once Desilva had left the room I was on my own, I hadn't even noticed where Roberts had gone and that had me worried. If he was working with Coleman and Coleman wanted that hard drive, then did that mean that I was in danger? The smell coming from the kitchen did nothing to dampen down my anxiety and I felt that I needed to do something, anything just to get away from here. The problem that I was having was whether or not to trust Desilva. Could I maybe give him some of the truth, enough for him to be suspicious of Roberts as well? Enough to get us out of here.

Desilva came back into the room with a large plate that held pizza and placed it on the couch between us. We both picked up a piece though as I brought it to my mouth there was no way I could stomach eating any.

"You not hungry?"

"I'm too scared to eat"

I thought I heard him laugh at what I'd said but while he was chewing on his pizza, he looked over to me and I thought that he seemed to be taking me seriously.

"Why are you scared? We're in a safe house and no one knows that you're here"

"Roberts does"

Came from me without me thinking about what I was saying.

"What do think you know?"

I knew I had to explain myself very carefully to Desilva without giving away too much information so I came up with a reason for how I would know about Roberts.

"Joe had been getting more weird than usual about my job. He hates what I do and wanted me to pack it in. After I brought Roan in, he met me outside of my apartment and went up with me. The place had been trashed so Joe insisted that he took me somewhere safe. He got drunk and had a go at me"

"Did he hurt you?"

I could see that I had Desilva's full attention now so ignored his question, it didn't matter now anyway.

"He blamed me for messing up a job he was on, said it was typical of me and that I'd got him kicked off the job that he was working with the FBI. He said I'd ruined his chances of moving over to work at the FBI"

"That wasn't going to happen"

That was an interesting comment that he made but I needed to finish what I wanted him to hear.

"I was annoyed that he found it so easy to blame me, so I did some searching. I've always been good at ferreting out information"

I turned to look at Desilva again and okay he was still intent on what I was saying. I only hoped that he didn't get annoyed with what I'd found out, especially as he was also part of the search.

"I found out who Joe was working with"

"You mean the team from the FBI?"

"Yes. Then looked at each one"

"Hell, maybe we should have you on our team and not Morelli"

I smiled as he said that, sure now that he was more interested in what I'd found out.

"Gareth Thompkins, he lives beyond his FBI pay which had me curious"

"I know. He likes expensive things"

"Seems he gets an income from a trust fund and hides it, I suppose to avoid paying any taxes"

"Makes sense. He enjoys the chase but he's good. Maybe he likes the charisma it creates when he wines and dines the women"

"Roberts isn't as good. He tries to hide the extra income through gambling, but when I checked he doesn't win a lot and always pays off his debts in cash"

I waited for Desilva to say something he knew about Roberts and wasn't disappointed when he continued to talk.

"He came from a small police department after he helped solve a big case. To be honest I don't like him"

"Why not?"

"He's lazy, he doesn't work at the clues and expects someone else to do the legwork. You think he's the one who tipped off the company at Lafayette don't you?"

"Yeah. It feels right. Which is why I'm scared that he'll tell someone where I am"

Desilva got up and started to walk toward the window as though looking out beyond into the back yard. After a few minutes he turned back to me a frown on his face.

"What about me?"

"Hard working, you've worked your way up. I didn't find any skeletons in your information"

He laughed as I said that but then turned serious as he walked back to where I was sat.

"You really think that we're in danger here and that Roberts is responsible?"

I nodded my head in reply because I wasn't sure what he would do. He may decide to stay here and wait to see what would happen, which I was praying he wouldn't do. My spidey senses were sending me nuts to the point that I was starting to shake.

I closed my eyes to try and settle my nerves down when I heard the sound of a key in a lock and looking down was surprised to see that Desilva had unfastened the cuff from my wrist. I looked up through eyes that were blurred with tears to see Desilva looking at me intently.

"I'm going against everything I've ever been trained to do but for some reason I believe you. Shall we get out of here?"

I'm not sure why I did what I did next, well maybe it was because I was so grateful because I threw my arms around Desilva whispering over and over again "Thank you"

Five minutes later I had a large jacket on, and we were squatted down outside with our backs to the kitchen wall. You might ask why, well it had something to do with the arrival of two cars next to the house. I suppose Desilva was trying to work out if the house was surrounded or if there was a way to leave without being seen.

"Desilva we need to go before they go inside and work out that we're missing"

Seemed logical to me and without even acknowledging what I'd said I felt him take hold of my hand and lead me along the wall. I stayed low as we crept to the end of the house, waiting for what he was going to do next.

"We're going for timing, as soon as those two men in that car head toward the house we run for the car"

His plan could work but only if the men were stupid enough to leave the keys inside. I couldn't see what was happening but heard car doors open and close so knew the time would be soon for us to move. I anticipated Desilva moving and was right behind him as he ran toward the car. As we made it to the side furthest away from the house, he quietly opened the door and climbed inside.

Following him I could see the keys dangling from the side of the steering wheel but knew that we weren't in the clear yet. Desilva soon had the engine started and I felt us accelerating away quickly. I'm sure that I yelped as the back screen shattered and the sound of gunfire ripped into the back of the car.

Desilva was swerving the car back and forth I assume to try and ensure no important part of the car got hit, like the tires or us. He was driving fast and soon the sound of gunshots receded behind us. The main lights of the car came on as Desilva continued to drive quickly while I kept looking behind us, sure that we'd have company soon. I was surprised that we were only on a single track road, but then I'd not seen where we'd driven on the way here because Roberts made sure I was laid down on the seat.

"Shit"

My head swirled around to look at Desilva and that's when I saw headlights ahead of us, coming our way. He fought with the wheel to turn the car from the road onto an even smaller track which judging by how the car was bouncing wasn't designed for cars to travel along.

This wasn't the greatest get away car that we were in, being what looked to be a four door sedan, Toyota maybe. I was aware of lights behind us, bouncing up and down as they followed us along the track, which only made Desilva drive faster, I suppose in an effort to put some distance between us. I was holding onto the handle above the window trying desperately to pull the seat belt around me and into the lock.

I wasn't aware until it was too late of another vehicle coming out from the side between some trees.

"Look out"

Was all I had time to scream before I felt the impact against the side of the car. I thought we were going to tip over but Desilva managed to stop that happening but at the cost of us swerving off the road. I had no idea how he kept driving, avoiding rocks and trees but as he turned to avoid an outcrop of rock the car started to tilt, and we were slowly sliding sideways down a slope. It felt slow, though I'm sure it wasn't, because the next outcrop of rocks brought us to a sudden stop. Grinding metal and breaking glass was all I heard as I screamed to my myself and prepared for impact.

It was the silence that I found strange but on opening my eyes I remembered what had happened. Looking around me I couldn't work out how I was laying on my side or why the scene ahead of me was at a strange angle. It was the sound of a voice that gradually came through to me, so I turned my head to where it seemed to come from. That's when a pain shot through my shoulder, enough that I felt a cold sweat pass through me as though I might pass out.

"Stephanie. We have to get out of here"

"Stephanie, reach up and hold my arm"

I got my head together and looked up to where the voice had come from, seeing Desilva leaning through the window his arms stretched down toward me. It seemed that the car had rolled onto its side with me now just about laying on the ground. I reached up with my left arm and felt him pulling me up until I could help by pushing with my legs. Once stood that's when his arms came around my waist as he gently lifted me past the steering wheel and out through the broken window.

I had tears in my eyes as he left me sat on the side of the car while he climbed down onto the ground. I held my shoulder tightly trying to stop the throbbing pain from erupting again.

"Are you hurt?"

I nodded a little, afraid to slide down the roof and onto the ground, but Desilva caught me around my hips making my landing soft and gentle.

"Your shoulder?"

Another nod as I looked back at the car that was now resting on it's side, steam escaping from somewhere near to where the engine was and the smell of gasoline drifting in the air.

"We need to move in case it explodes"

I said remembering all the times a car had exploded near to me. I found I could walk okay as long as I didn't jostle my shoulder and turned to look behind me. The car was still as it was so maybe I'd been wrong. I felt Desilva opening my jacket surprised when he took off his coat and removed his sweater. He rolled the sweater up and then gently pushed it under my arm before he refastened my jacket and tied his belt around me so that my arm was immobilized.

"We need to get that seen to"

I had no idea where we were let alone how we'd get away from here so had to trust what Desilva was planning. I watched as he took a phone from his pocket, looked at it then dropped it on the floor before he smashed it with his foot. I couldn't believe he would do that, we could have called for help. I was about to shout at him when he raised his eyebrows at me and put his hand into an inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out another phone.

"Two phones?"

"Personal phone. I decided it wasn't such a good idea having the company phone on me"

Okay, he just went up in my estimation, he wasn't as stupid as the FBI agents I'd come across before. As he took my hand to start walking, he made a phone call, obviously not bothered that I could hear his side of the conversation.

"Can't talk, need a pick up"

"Yeah, that should be okay"

"I'll be there"

Okay so maybe he wasn't giving much away, but it seemed that he'd just arranged for someone to meet us. I was just hoping that it was someone who could be trusted. As we continued to walk it seemed as though the sky was lightening, announcing the start of another day. I could now make out the smooth track that we were following and the low bushes that seemed to protect us on either side.

"Do you know where we are?"

Because he'd seemed to be sure of where he was going.

"We have to be careful soon, this path ends, and we have to cut across a field"

It wasn't long before the path ended and just as Desilva had said there was a large field in front of us that had the shoots of whatever had been planted just peeking up from the ground. There was no cover at all, and the morning light was brighter now.

"How are we going to do this?"

"The road is at the other side"

Okay not a lot of help but at least I knew where we needed to be. The problem was that any car could be waiting for us on that road.

"Look I hate to say this, but they want you alive, so I don't think they'll shoot at us"

I just looked at Desilva as he said that thinking of the gunfire as we'd left the house but to be honest ended up agreeing with him. The problem that I had was that I didn't want to get caught and have someone trying to get information from me. In that respect I was a coward but then my mind went back to Ranger and how he had endured so much to keep what he knew a secret. Could I be that brave? I really wasn't sure, but I'd do my best if only for Ranger.

The field was so big that there was no way to go around it so we were soon walking across the field trying to keep our senses alert to anyone that might just suddenly appear. I suppose we'd see them as easily as they'd see us though. I found it hard work keeping up with Desilva and to be honest my shoulder was really beginning to hurt. As we approached the edge of the field and the road came into sight we dropped down into a ditch. From there Desilva scrambled up the side on his stomach to look out onto the road while I squatted down trying to find an easier position to ease my shoulder.

"Come on"

Was what I heard as I dragged myself to a standing position. Thankfully Desilva helped me to get up the banking and onto the road. That's when I heard it, the sound of a car, coming fast towards us.

"Oh shit"

I said as I was sure that I'd heard another approaching from the other direction. We had nowhere to go, nowhere to hide so I just stood there, much to Desilva's amazement.

That was when something really weird happened. Neither car seemed to be slowing down and the first one to reach us just carried on past us. It looked to be a new Discovery, well to me it did, and it was travelling down the middle of the road toward the other car.

I grabbed hold of Desilva's arm afraid of what might happen but at the same time I couldn't take my eyes of the cars. It was the rust colored saloon that swerved to get out of the way and in doing so, ended up down the ditch. The Discovery did a quick three point turn and was speeding back toward us. That's when I noticed a slight smile on Desilva's face as he watched the car approach us.

It was driving back toward us, but I wasn't looking at who was driving because my attention was on the saloon car. It seemed there had been at least two men inside and now they were running along the road toward us with guns in their hands.

"Desilva!"

I had no idea that he was carrying a gun until he was stood in front of me pointing it toward the men. As the Discovery approached, I couldn't see through the blackened windows but heard the driver's door open. I didn't have time to see what happened next because Desilva opened the backdoor of the car and literally threw me in. I landed heavily on my shoulder, the pain shooting through me with black spots appearing in front of my eyes until they merged into one. To be honest I welcomed the darkness because it helped to make the pain go away.