Title: Kidnapped - Part 10A - The Conclusion
Author: Lynne Facella
Email address: Mulderette@aol.com or Lynne1919@aol.com
Rating: PG (violence, language)
Keywords: Angst
Spoilers: Episodes through All in the Family
Archive: Sure, just ask so I know where it is going.
Disclaimer: All ER characters are the property of Warner Brothers, NBC, etc., etc. (The bad guys are mine).
Summary: Dr. Carter is held for ransom and an unwitting Dr. Benton gets dragged along for the ride.

Author's notes: Thank you, Victoria, for your storyline suggestions. They were very helpful to me :)


Carter awoke shivering violently, his teeth chattering uncontrollably. His eyes shifted desperately in every direction, but once again found only darkness. "Turn on the light. Turn on the light please, Dr. Benton," he begged.

Benton quickly grabbed the flashlight and flicked on the switch. He then examined Carter, carefully, trying to hide his growing concern. Carter's condition was rapidly deteriorating. His breathing was shallow and he was in noticeable pain whenever he coughed.

"Nobody's coming for us, are they?" Carter asked, struggling to catch his breath. "God...we're just...we're just going to die in here."

"No we're not...we're not, Carter..." Benton tried to reassure his friend although privately he didn't hold out much hope either. He placed his hand on Carter's forehead and it seemed that the Advil he had given him hadn't helped very much at all. He was burning up.

"How could they do it? How could they just leave us here like this? How?"

"Help is coming, Carter. It is..." Benton said consolingly. "Don't talk any more. You need to save your strength."

"I feel sick." Carter whimpered as he thrashed about fretfully. He just couldn't stand this anymore. He was cold and thirsty. Everything hurt and he was having a hard time breathing. He longed to be somewhere warm and safe. "I...." His words were cut off by the sound of a loud bang. "What...what was that?"

"I don't know, Carter..." They had been disappointed so many times before that Benton hardly dared to hope that help could have arrived. He struggled awkwardly to his feet, his stiff muscles rebelling against the unaccustomed movement. He moved closer to the door and he could hear the approaching footsteps. He felt a sudden sense of foreboding. If someone had arrived to rescue them...why weren't they calling out to them? He could think of no other explanation for their abductors to return...unless they here to kill them. He should have known they would be back to finish them off. They hadn't even attempted to hide their identities. He moved back towards Carter, inwardly vowing that he would not go down without a fight, trying to steel himself against whatever was to come. Within moments, he heard the key turning in the lock. The door slowly opened and the bright beam of a flashlight illuminated the cell.

"Hey Tony, great news." Frank chuckled raspily as he greeted Benton with a mock salute. "Our little pals are still alive...well sort of anyhow. Grab him."

Tony advanced towards Carter and Benton turned towards him with a growl. "*Don't* touch him."

"I am *so* sick of you and your damn attitude." Frank raised his gun and aimed it at Benton's head, as he slowly increased the pressure on the trigger. "Just one little click and you can say goodbye to this world as you know it. Try me."

With Benton's attention refocused on Frank, Tony took the opportunity to try to hoist Carter to his feet. "No...Leave me alone," Carter pleaded as bolts of pain shot through his shoulder.

"Hey!" Benton swiftly pivoted in Carter's direction, but Frank took his gun and slammed it into Benton's skull. He crashed to the floor, unconscious.

"Get him up!" Frank yelled, annoyed that Carter was still on the floor.

"I need help. This guy's dead weight."

Frank rolled his eyes as he went over to Tony and roughly assisted in yanking Carter up.

"No...please...he's hurt." Carter said as he weakly struggled against the ironclad grips of his two assailants. He cast a desperate glance at Dr. Benton's still form, but it was to no avail. The two men began to haul him out of the cell.

As he was manhandled up the stairs, Carter was seized by another fit of coughing and a wave of dizziness. "I'm gonna be sick," he muttered, unable to control the sudden nausea that came over him. He staggered forward and retched violently. Nothing came up however, and he mostly just succeeded in straining his abdominal muscles.

"Enough of this shit!" Frank screamed. He yanked Carter viciously, causing him to stumble and almost fall. "The fucking cops are going to be here. We've got to get him out of here!"

Finally they managed to drag the half conscious young man into the bright sunshine. Carter squeezed his eyes shut against the unfamiliar brightness and fought against the waves of nausea which were threatening once more. Frank glanced at Carter, recognizing the look on his face and gave him a look of disgust. "He isn't puking all over my car. We're shoving him in the trunk."

"What? Oh come on Frankie.." Tony said, but any further protest died when he saw the look of blind fury on Frank's face. Tony didn't dare go up against him.

Frank opened the trunk of the car and the two men clumsily lifted Carter inside, ignoring his feeble pleas to let him go. No sooner had Frank slammed the trunk shut when he cocked his head, hearing the faint sounds of sirens in the distance. "Shit! Let's get the fuck out of here!"

The two men scrambled into the car and Frank turned the key in the ignition just as a van came speeding towards them.

"Fuck!" Frank yelled as he pressed his foot as far down as possible on the accelerator.

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Dave swore softly as the men in the brown Ford attempted their escape. "Get out!" he yelled at Mark as he swerved to a stop.

"Huh? What are you doing, Dave?" Mark yelled as he grabbed his medical bag from the floor and quickly exited the van.

"I'll be back!" Dave yelled, expertly maneuvering the van in the direction the kidnappers had taken. "Check this place out. We can't let them get away!"

"Dave no!" Mark shouted as he helplessly watched Dave swivel the Van. "Let the police handle this!" His words fell on deaf ears though as he watched his van disappear from sight.

Dave could feel the rush of adrenaline as he started to chase the men in the Ford. "You're not going to outrun me in that crappy car," he uttered softly as he slowly, but steadily, began to gain on the Ford.

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Mark was apprehensively making his way towards the prison when two squad cars pulled up. He turned back towards the police officers.

"Put your hands up!" one officer yelled. Mark gave no argument, dropping his bag to the ground. "I'm a doctor at County, Mark Greene. I have my ID. Listen...My friend just took off after the guys we think are the kidnappers. We're not sure if the victims are with them or if they're here."

The officer searched Mark's bag and inspected Mark's ID, finally satisfied as to the validity of his story. "Which way did they go?"

Mark pointed towards the left. "They're in an old brown Ford. My friend is chasing them in my van."

The officer nodded. "Stan...Mike...Go after them. Radio in. Maybe they can intersect them. We'll search this place and see what we can find. Come on Ben."

The three men headed towards the prison. "I'm Officer Jim Peterson. Some kind of mess your friends have gotten themselves into. The police should have been called in long before this."

"Right now I just want to find them." Mark said quietly, praying to God they would find Benton and Carter alive.

"Carter! Peter!" Mark shouted as they entered the building. "Carter! Peter!" They stood silently for a few moments, straining to hear any kind of response, but they heard nothing.

"Let's spread out and search," Officer Peterson ordered.

"Carter! Peter!"

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A sharp knife-like sensation penetrated Benton's skull as he began to regain consciousness. "Oh man..." he moaned as he opened his eyes and tried to focus on his surroundings. He was still in the Godforsaken cell, but this time was different...the cell door was open...but Carter was gone..."

"Oh no..." Peter moaned as he tried to sit up, his vision beginning to swim, causing him to slump back against the floor.

"Carter! Peter!"

For a moment, Benton was sure he was in the midst of a dream or a hallucination. It had to be some sort of trick. There had been too many instances of false hopes. He refused to believe that help had finally come.

"Carter! Peter! Can you hear me?"

He was definitely hallucinating. That voice had sounded like Mark Greene. Why would he be here? Peter made another attempt to sit up and this time managed to do so, leaning heavily against the wall. "Mark?" he called weakly. He then tried again, managing to yell louder this time. "Mark! Down here!"

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"Peter?" A surge of hope swept through Mark as he heard the familiar voice of the surgeon. "Hey I think I've found them!" Mark shouted as he looked down the pitch black stairwell. "I need a flashlight."

A few moments later Officer Peterson turned on the flashlight, casting a warm glow over the dark passageway, and the men cautiously began their descent.

"This place is unbelievable," Peterson murmured. "I can't believe they kept them here."

Mark nodded grimly, unable to even begin to fathom what Carter and Benton had gone through these past days. The flashlight beam hit upon an open cell door and Mark and Peterson headed towards it.

"Peter!" Mark knelt down beside his colleague. "What happened to you? Are you hurt?"

"I got knocked on the head pretty good...I'm okay though. Listen they grabbed Carter. You've gotta find him."

"We have to get you out of here. Do you think you can stand if we help you?" Mark asked with concern. This place was eerie. He couldn't believe they had been held captive in this place.

"Yeah...I definitely want out of this place."

Mark and Peterson gently helped Peter get to his feet. He swayed slightly for a few seconds, but then regained his balance as Mark helped to steady him. A few minutes later they found themselves outside and Peter flopped exhaustedly onto the grass. "You guys don't happen to have any water, do you?" he asked as he tried to adjust his eyes to the sunlight while breathing in the fresh air.

"I've got some spring water in the car," Ben said as he hurriedly went over to the cruiser and returned holding a three-quarters full bottle of water. He offered it to Benton who grabbed the bottle and greedily started gulping its contents.

"Whoa...whoa...easy Peter..." Mark cautioned as he began checking Peter's vital signs. "We need to get you into County, get you checked out."

"We have to find Carter...." Benton gazed intently at Mark. "He...he's really sick, Mark. I...I don't know how much longer he can last without proper medical attention."

"Dave left here chasing after those guys," Mark stated. "Maybe he'll find them?"

"Malucci?" Benton gave Mark an incredulous look. "Mark...these men are dangerous. They have guns. They shot Carter...They're not fooling around..."

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"Why doesn't that fucking moron give up?!" Frank screamed, unable to lose the van that was following closely behind them.

"You're the fucking moron, not him! I told you this was a stupid idea!" Tony yelled. "We should have just left. We could have been free and clear with five million dollars. Now we'll be lucky to even get away."

"Shut the fuck up!" Frank bellowed. He was starting to panic. He had no idea what he was going to do. They had to get away from this guy in the van. "Tony...Tony shoot at him. Blow his tires out or blow his head off...something..."

Tony shook his head, finally beginning to realize that they were royally screwed. "We're not going to get away with this Frankie...it's over..."

"Damn it! I said to shoot at him!"

"Or what?" Tony scoffed. He gave Frank a contemptuous look and then stared ahead, his face paling as he saw the flashing blue lights of a road block up ahead in the distance.

"Turn around!"

"There's not enough room," Frank said loudly, eying the narrow road in alarm, but then, seeing no other possible way out he slowed down in order to attempt it, momentarily forgetting about the van hot on their trail.

******************************************************************************

"Peter...we really should be bringing you to the hospital," Mark admonished gently, giving a concerned glance to the man beside him. The two were seated in the back of Officer Peterson's squad car which was headed in the direction that Dave and the kidnappers were headed. By radio contact they had learned of the road block that had been set up in an attempt to end this once and for all.

Peter shook his head. "You don't understand. I can't," he began slowly. "I *have* to be there for him, Mark. I just have to."

He had no idea what was going through the minds of these men. According to Mark they had gotten their money. What on earth were they hoping to accomplish now? There was a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach as he inwardly speculated. None of the scenarios that he was imagining were very good. He stared out the window at the passing scenery and prayed that Carter would make it through this.


End Part 10A