The One With The Transporter
Chapter nine
By: Jana~
*****
--Phoebe nudged Joey softly, extending a styrofoam cup towards him when his eye fluttered open.
"Here's some coffee," she told him, sitting beside him on the uncomfortable bench when he made room.
"I musta dozed off," he muttered, suppressing a yawn. "What time is it?"
"Three in the morning," she said after a quick glance of her watch. "They say there is still no sign of them."
Joey nodded as he carefully took a sip of the horrible coffee. "Ross and Rachel dozed off too, I see," he whispered with a head nod in their direction.
"Yeah," Phoebe whispered back, grimacing a moment later over the police station coffee. "This coffee is horrible."
Joey shrugged. "It's not so bad. Chandler's is worse," he added with a soft chuckle, but the smile soon left his face. "Do you think he'll forgive me?"
She smiled as she nodded. "In a heartbeat. He loves you, Joey. Besides, you didn't do anything wrong. It's not your fault your uncle is an idiot."
He smiled; she always knew just what to say to him. He took another sip of coffee before posing the question, "What made him open the trunk? I mean, was he just curious? Was she banging around and he heard it?"
Phoebe shrugged. "Maybe he needed something out of the back?"
He scowled, "But, like what?"
"Maybe he got a flat tire," Ross offered, having heard part of their conversation as he started to wake.
Joey's eyes widened, "He would need the jack to put on the spare!"
"I can't even imagine what must've been going through his head when he saw her in there," Phoebe added, shaking her head in disbelief over the whole scenario.
"Do you know," Rachel asked, her too starting to awake from a restless sleep. "Did your uncle… hurt her?"
"Well, as little as he told me, I know he wasn't brutal," Joey offered as slight consolation. "He knocked her out with ether and tied her arms and legs with rope or duct tape or something."
"Would explain how he was able to grab her," Ross surmised. "The ether knocked her out, so she wasn't able to kick his ass." His new friends looked at him with odd expressions, and he felt it necessary to clarify his statement. "She's freakishly strong," he informed. "For as petite as she is."
Joey and Phoebe nodded in understanding, a brief moment passing before Rachel exclaimed, "I feel so helpless just sitting here!"
Ross draped his arm around her, comforting her, though he was feeling all the same worries and frustrations. "I can't believe they haven't found them!" he complained. "I mean, shouldn't they have turned up at a police station by now?"
"Maybe something happened to them," Rachel gasped, looking to Ross for reassurances.
"No, no," he coddled her, "I'm sure they're fine." He said it, though he wasn't 100% convinced of it.
"Maybe we should try to find them?" Joey wondered, looking to the others for feedback.
Phoebe agreed immediately. "Beats sitting around here."
"But," Ross countered, "What good would that do? If they're on their way back here, we'll just pass them, and in the dark, we probably wouldn't even see them. And if they've stopped at a police station, we'll get the word faster here."
"Well, yeah, but, see," Joey explained, "If they were still on the route, the police would've found them by now. And if they were going to a police station, they would have gotten to one already. I think, they've gone off course."
"Why would they do that?" Ross asked.
"They're running from my uncle Sal," Joey theorized. "And probably me. They probably think they're safer if they get off the route they had been traveling. And by now," he added, "They've most likely pulled over at some motel or something for some sleep. I say, we figure out the mostly likely turn off, and start checking motels."
"That's a very intelligent summation," Phoebe complemented, somewhat surprised. Joey wasn't known for being overly intelligent, but deep down, she knew he was smarter than most gave him credit for.
"We'll need a map," Ross jumped on board instantly with Joey's plan.
"I'll get it," Rachel offered, heading for the police sergeant behind the large desk.
"How well do you know Chandler?" Ross asked both Joey and Phoebe.
"Well," Phoebe replied.
"Here's the map," Rachel announced, handing it to Ross.
He promptly opened it, laying it out on the floor. "How fast does Chandler usually drive?"
"He's not a speed demon," Joey answered. "About 5 or so miles over the limit maybe."
"How fast can he change a tire?"
"If he thinks his life is in danger," Joey guessed, "Pretty fast."
"What time was it when he called you?"
"Just after dusk."
"When he called you, did it sound like the car was moving?"
Joey scowled as he tried to remember. "No, I don't think so."
"Ok, so, he probably called right after he found Monica in the trunk, before he changed the tire," Ross assumed. "When did he leave this morning?"
"Umm," Joey tried to recall. "Eight or nine in the morning, I think."
Ross followed the route with his finger, "At 60 miles per hour, starting at about eight this morning, assuming he stopped for gas and maybe even something to eat…" he trailed off as he continued computing the miles. "And he called you at about 6:30… That puts him… here," he pointed at the map, "And the next turn off from there is…"
He trailed off again as he checked the map. "Here," he exclaimed proudly, jabbing at the map with his index finger.
"Ok, but, which way?" Rachel wondered aloud. "East or west?"
"Well, going with the theory that they're running away from Joey and his uncle, I'm gonna say west."
"They have a good ten/twelve hour or more head start on us you know," Phoebe voiced reason. "Even if they sleep for several more hours, I doubt we're gonna be able to catch up to them."
"She's right," Joey agreed.
"Well, maybe we should just tell the police about our plan," Rachel interjected. "Maybe they could get some officers near the junction to check for us."
Ross wasn't convinced of their competence, but reluctantly agreed with the others to let the police try and find them first.
The police officer seemed disbelieving of the possibility, but took their theory seriously and put a call out for any officers in the area to look out for the car, or the couple, on the highway, or at any motels along the highway.
All there was left to do was wait.
***
--Sleep at a big city police station was impossible, to say the least. Between the drunks being brought in and the hookers, the disenchanted youths getting back at their society by vandalizing and stealing, and the odd scary-looking hardened criminals, not to mention their worry over their missing friends… Joey, Phoebe, Ross, and Rachel found little to no sleep.
Finally, after hours of waiting with still no word, they decided to go to a nearby coffee shop and get breakfast. Hopefully, by the time they got back, the police would have good news for them.
***
--"We have good news and bad news," the officer informed as the 4 friends stood at the large desk, the policeman's expression hard to read.
Rachel grabbed Ross' hand, preparing for the worst.
"We found the motel your friends stayed at last night," he told them, and all 4 of them reacted with gasps and looks of relief. "That's the good news. The bad news is, they left before we got there. The manager seemed to think they were headed east, so we have officers on the lookout for their car…"
"Are they ok?" Rachel asked, worried.
"Yeah, the manager said they just seemed like a married couple or something. They didn't seem to be under any duress, they just looked tired. To him."
"They went east?" Ross asked, wrinkles in his forehead a clear sign he was confused.
"Yeah, why?" the officer asked.
Ross shook his head, "I thought they would've been headed west."
"Maybe they're heading back home?" Phoebe suggested, and Rachel perked at the idea.
"Oh, I hope so!"
"That doesn't make sense," Ross complained. "Why run all this time, just to turn around?"
"Maybe they just decided to stop running," Rachel answered simply, lightly smacking Ross for trying to sully the positive scenario.
He scowled, shaking his head just barely. "Yeah, maybe." It was obvious he didn't believe that to be possible.
"Maybe someone should go to Monica's, and someone to Chandler's, to see if they show up," Phoebe proposed, excited.
"Even if they did decide to come back home," Ross reasoned, "It'll take them hours. I think we should stay here and see if the police find them."
They all agreed, and took their seats back on the uncomfortable benches to wait.
***
--"Well, there's still no word," Phoebe updated the group after checking in with the police sergeant on duty. "He said that their officers are already spread thin, and if more important calls come in, they have to take them. So, the hunt for Chandler and Monica gets put on the back burner."
"We've been here forever," Rachel whined. "I'm so tired, my eyes have forgotten how to blink."
"Just work them manually then," Phoebe suggested, receiving odd looks in response. "What?" she asked, then proceeded to demonstrate how to 'blink manually'. She placed her index fingers, one on each eyelid, then gently moved them up and down. "Like this."
When the police officer approached with a look of confusion over the strange behavior, it caused Phoebe to stop her demonstration.
"We found the car," the officer told them, a response of happy gasps following the news. "They weren't in it though."
That last comment stopped the brief celebration.
"They apparently abandoned the vehicle, in a parking lot on Seaside Drive."
"Seaside Drive?" Ross scoffed. "What's on Seaside Drive?"
Suddenly, Joey gasped, his eyes growing wide. "The Mr. Beaumont."
Rachel scowled. "What?"
"Who's Mr. Beaumont?" Ross asked.
"It's not a who," Joey explained, "It's a what. It's a boat. My boat. Seaside Drive is only a mile or so from the docks!"
"So," Ross started to piece it together, "They're heading out to sea?"
"Not if I can help it!" Joey exclaimed, then started in a sprint towards the exit. "Let's go get our friends back!"
***
--They ran onto the docks, finding the empty slip where the Mr. Beaumont was supposed to be.
"We're too late!" Rachel stated the obvious. "How are we supposed to find them now?"
Joey snapped his fingers, "It has one of those beacon thingies! You know, if you get lost at sea or something, then rescuers can find you!"
"Great," Ross muttered sarcastically, "Now we just need to get the Coast Guard out here with their radar to pick it up."
"There's gotta be a way!" Joey fussed. They'd come too far to quit.
"You guys need help with something?" a man asked as he approached.
Joey shook his head, "A friend of mine took off with my boat, and we're trying to figure out how to catch up with him."
The man squinted, narrowing his eyes on Joey. "Which boat?"
"The Mr. Beaumont," Joey replied.
"And you are?" the man asked.
"Joey Tribbiani."
"He said he was Joey Tribbiani," the man mumbled, a comment not for the benefit of the others so much as for himself.
"You spoke to him?" Ross demanded to know. "What about the woman?"
The man shook his head, confused by the desperation in Ross' tone. "He did all of the talking. She seemed scared, and hid behind him most of the time, till she climbed on the boat."
"Did they happen to say where they were headed?" Phoebe asked.
"No," he shook his head again, "But I can tell you, they veered left when they pulled out of the marina."
"I don't suppose we could borrow your boat," Rachel asked with a flirty smile. "It's pretty much a life and death kind of thing."
He smiled at her, making Ross instantly jealous. "Yeah, sure, I guess that would be ok. If I go with."
"Fine by us," Ross exclaimed as he stood between the man and Rachel. "You can captain the boat."
***
--"Yours is a gentleman day sailor, right?" the man asked Joey, to which he nodded in response. "Then my boat can catch it," he informed, answering a previous question. "You guys just keep your eyes peeled for any sign of it."
--It was more than a half-hour later when Joey whooped, the noise catching everyone's attention.
"I think I see it!" he announced to the group, and they all turned to the direction he pointed in.
After a minute or two, as the boat got closer, and with the aide of binoculars, Joey became certain it was his boat, and he could just make out Chandler on deck.
Joey moved the binoculars away from his eyes, looking around the boat he was on. "Is there, like, a bullhorn or something on board?"
The man nodded, then moved quickly to retrieve them.
Taking it from the man, Joey quickly looked through the binoculars again before using it.
"Chandler!" Joey could see the man he thought to be Chandler react. "It is Chandler!" he announced excitedly. "He jumped up and is all looking around!"
"Call to him again!" Phoebe demanded happily, grabbing the binoculars away from him.
"Chandler!"
"He doesn't know where it's coming from," Phoebe deduced by watching her friend's actions. "He's looking around… He's trying to figure it out…"
"What about Monica?" Rachel asked.
"She's looking around too," Phoebe informed, then within seconds, she squeaked, "He sees us! He sees us! He's pointing right at us!"
Joey instinctively waved.
"Tell him to drop the sails," the boat owner instructed. "We'll catch up faster."
"Dude! Drop the sails, man!"
The smile dropped from Phoebe's face. "Monica is freaking out. She's grabbing onto Chandler and, freaking out."
"Give me the bullhorn," Ross demanded, and Joey handed it over.
"Monica!" Ross yelled.
"She stopped freaking," Phoebe informed.
"Monica, it's Ross! Drop the sails!"
"They're talking about it," Phoebe updated.
"What is there to talk about?" Rachel asked. "Why is she so freaked out?"
"He's dropping the sails," Phoebe apprised.
"She probably thinks Joey is the one that kidnapped her or something," Ross surmised. "Would you want to come face to face with the man that grabbed you off the street, tied you up, and shoved you in a trunk?"
"But Joey didn't do that!" Rachel shot back.
"We know that," Ross reasoned. "She doesn't necessarily know that."
"He stopped dropping the sails."
"What?!" Joey asked. "Why?"
"He's hugging her," Phoebe replied, continuing to watch through the binoculars. "Ok, he's dropping them again…"
TBC…
I don't think this series is as well liked as others I've done. I had such high hopes for it, but after the hard drive crash, and then with my cat getting sick, I think this story was kind of affected. I apologize for that. We are probably looking at one more chapter, and it'll be done. Never fear, I have an idea for another story!
As always, Please leave a review!