Title: Romance and Mysteries
Authors: Hoedogg
Authors' Note: As you can see, this fic is the work of many people. It's a running story where each person posts part of it and leaves it unfinished so that the next person can play along. The story is currently being worked on at televisionwithoutpity.com, so feel free to come on over and add your own piece.
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters or anything else (Brenda Hampton, et al do), but if we did, things might be better…
*********
Chapter 10
Nevada. Las Vegas, Nevada, of all places," Annie thought as she looked at the tracking device. "Ruthie sure does know how to get under my skin."
She chuckled to herself. Oh, if only her husband knew all the things going on in her head right now, then he would just leave her alone. She almost wished she could tell him over the cockpit radio, tell him what she knew. But he could not be trusted.
It was wonderful how the voices had become more clear to her -- now she could almost hear each one distinctly.
One had reminded her what she had seen in the planner: "Pay cover-up $ to Sgt. Michaels." What secret was her husband trying to cover up? Was he having an affair? Using drugs? Committing some other heinous crime?
Obviously he was involved in something evil, and Sgt. Michaels, another man, was in on it. Simon and Matt could be too. They were men. Oh God. Her own flesh and blood, behind her back. That was why she had to do it. She had to take her daughters and the twins who were still pure, and save them from whatever evil her husband and the other men of the world were involved in.
A second voice had reminded her why she had called all those women between two and four a.m. It wasn't to have the women meet her at the destination, as she had thought earlier. The voice had cleared up her confusion; she had called to cancel their church's women's group meeting.
They were supposed to have organized a fundraising bake sale at the meeting this morning. But how could Annie possibly spearhead such a meeting when she had much more immediate family business to attend to? Since she had known she and the girls would have to leave at dawn, she needed to call the women before sunrise.
It had seemed so trivial at the time. Why bother to call these women? But the third voice had reminded her she was a Camden and she needed to protect her reputation. It would have been impolite for her simply to not show up.
Oh, the third voice was the one that sent shivers up her spine, the one she dared never to disobey. It was the raspy-sounding one that had told her to gather the family this morning. It had told her to leave Ruthie at the rest stop because she was endangering the plan. It had told her to smack Lucy when she defied her will. And it had told her to command control of the airplane. She feared the voice, yet it empowered her.
It had empowered her months ago when, making small talk with Sgt. Michaels, she had asked if the police ever used tracking devices on cars. "Sometimes," he had answered.
"What a fantastic stalking tool," the raspy voice had told her. "You need one of those for Matt's Camaro."
That voice had also told her to use Robbie, to have him steal one of the automobile-tracking devices from the Glenoak P.D. office. She knew Robbie was friends with a boy in the Jewish Mafia, so he had "connections". And she was the only Camden who knew this truth about him. Rabbi Glass had heard it through his "Family" and told her privately, for fear that Robbie was plotting something evil against the mother of their secret lovechild. But the voice in her head had instructed her not to worry. And it had been right, as always.
Robbie had been such a pushover. "Yes Mrs. Camden, I'll have Rocco send someone to steal the device Mrs. Camden, please don't throw me out of your house, I'll have nowhere else to go." Pathetic.
And so she had Robbie install the stolen bug on Matt's Camaro those many months ago, feeding her the information she craved through the stolen tracking device. The best part was that it eliminated the need for her husband, the middleman. Even though the reverend's stalking skills were virtually unmatched, she had always had to wait for him to return home to hear the news.
Such anxiety was unnecessary now. She had the tracking device! Now she could instantly know when Matt went to the library, or the hospital, or anywhere else. The device was almost magical. It had made the anxiety go away.
For comfort she had brought it into the cockpit with her. Then the raspy voice that scared yet empowered her had told her to use it. And that is how she knew.
She knew that her last chance to save Ruthie was to land this JetBlue baby on the Vegas strip...
Authors: Hoedogg
Authors' Note: As you can see, this fic is the work of many people. It's a running story where each person posts part of it and leaves it unfinished so that the next person can play along. The story is currently being worked on at televisionwithoutpity.com, so feel free to come on over and add your own piece.
Disclaimer: We don't own the characters or anything else (Brenda Hampton, et al do), but if we did, things might be better…
*********
Chapter 10
Nevada. Las Vegas, Nevada, of all places," Annie thought as she looked at the tracking device. "Ruthie sure does know how to get under my skin."
She chuckled to herself. Oh, if only her husband knew all the things going on in her head right now, then he would just leave her alone. She almost wished she could tell him over the cockpit radio, tell him what she knew. But he could not be trusted.
It was wonderful how the voices had become more clear to her -- now she could almost hear each one distinctly.
One had reminded her what she had seen in the planner: "Pay cover-up $ to Sgt. Michaels." What secret was her husband trying to cover up? Was he having an affair? Using drugs? Committing some other heinous crime?
Obviously he was involved in something evil, and Sgt. Michaels, another man, was in on it. Simon and Matt could be too. They were men. Oh God. Her own flesh and blood, behind her back. That was why she had to do it. She had to take her daughters and the twins who were still pure, and save them from whatever evil her husband and the other men of the world were involved in.
A second voice had reminded her why she had called all those women between two and four a.m. It wasn't to have the women meet her at the destination, as she had thought earlier. The voice had cleared up her confusion; she had called to cancel their church's women's group meeting.
They were supposed to have organized a fundraising bake sale at the meeting this morning. But how could Annie possibly spearhead such a meeting when she had much more immediate family business to attend to? Since she had known she and the girls would have to leave at dawn, she needed to call the women before sunrise.
It had seemed so trivial at the time. Why bother to call these women? But the third voice had reminded her she was a Camden and she needed to protect her reputation. It would have been impolite for her simply to not show up.
Oh, the third voice was the one that sent shivers up her spine, the one she dared never to disobey. It was the raspy-sounding one that had told her to gather the family this morning. It had told her to leave Ruthie at the rest stop because she was endangering the plan. It had told her to smack Lucy when she defied her will. And it had told her to command control of the airplane. She feared the voice, yet it empowered her.
It had empowered her months ago when, making small talk with Sgt. Michaels, she had asked if the police ever used tracking devices on cars. "Sometimes," he had answered.
"What a fantastic stalking tool," the raspy voice had told her. "You need one of those for Matt's Camaro."
That voice had also told her to use Robbie, to have him steal one of the automobile-tracking devices from the Glenoak P.D. office. She knew Robbie was friends with a boy in the Jewish Mafia, so he had "connections". And she was the only Camden who knew this truth about him. Rabbi Glass had heard it through his "Family" and told her privately, for fear that Robbie was plotting something evil against the mother of their secret lovechild. But the voice in her head had instructed her not to worry. And it had been right, as always.
Robbie had been such a pushover. "Yes Mrs. Camden, I'll have Rocco send someone to steal the device Mrs. Camden, please don't throw me out of your house, I'll have nowhere else to go." Pathetic.
And so she had Robbie install the stolen bug on Matt's Camaro those many months ago, feeding her the information she craved through the stolen tracking device. The best part was that it eliminated the need for her husband, the middleman. Even though the reverend's stalking skills were virtually unmatched, she had always had to wait for him to return home to hear the news.
Such anxiety was unnecessary now. She had the tracking device! Now she could instantly know when Matt went to the library, or the hospital, or anywhere else. The device was almost magical. It had made the anxiety go away.
For comfort she had brought it into the cockpit with her. Then the raspy voice that scared yet empowered her had told her to use it. And that is how she knew.
She knew that her last chance to save Ruthie was to land this JetBlue baby on the Vegas strip...