"The Gladiators" Chapter 3 By Lorrie

Disclaimer: The following story is based on the characters of the TV Series "Walker, Texas Ranger". The characters belong to CBS Productions, Top Kick Productions, Washo Brother's Entertainment, etc, but the story is mine. ALL DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.)

The Ravine off of Route 29:

Gage's eyes opened slightly and he tried to move, but the pain throughout his body was too great. His eyes closed again as he slipped into unconsciousness, but not before praying that someone would find him before it was too late.

The Motel in town:

As soon as Trivette hung up with Walker, he looked at his watch. It was near midnight, but he ran across the road to the Sheriff's office anyway, knowing that someone would be there.

"Can I help you?" A new face asked as Trivette entered the building.

"I'm Ranger James Trivette and I need to speak with Sheriff Beckett immediately." He showed the officer his badge.

The officer looked at his watch. "It's awful late." He said.

Trivette was quickly losing patience with the officer. "I need to see Sheriff Beckett right now. This can't wait until morning. Two of our Rangers are missing and they're somewhere in your county and we have a lead, but I need the Sheriff's assistance." He calmly explained.

"Alright. I'll call him, but he ain't gonna like it."

"Just call him." Trivette said through gritted teeth.

The young officer put in the call to the Sheriff and soon Sheriff Beckett was in the office. He approached Trivette with a yawn. "Don't you boys ever sleep?"

"Not when we have people missing."

"Now I've already told you that there's every possibility . . . "

"We have reason to believe that Ranger Gage may be at the bottom of the ravine off of Route 29." Trivette said.

"Why didn't you say so?" The Sheriff said as he grabbed a rifle from the gun cabinet and got on the radio.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting a few of my best to help us search. We'll need to find your man, establish a perimeter and seal it off."

"Fine, let's just get going."

The Gladiator's hangout:

'The Man' strolled towards a shed not too far behind the shack and pulled out four cans of gasoline and some old rags. Nicole came up behind him. "Here, take these." He handed her two of the cans.

Nicole picked up the cans and carried them to the back of the shack. "What are you going to do?"

"Destroy the evidence." He replied as he took one of cans and began to pour it around the floor.

"What about Jade?"

'The Man' suddenly stopped pouring the gas and slapped Nicole's face. "Wake up girl! She's dead. Jade is a Texas Ranger. There's no way I can let her live. This way, the body will burn and since no one will be missing her anyway . . ."

"Her father will miss her." Nicole said.

"What?" 'The Man' asked turning away from the gas can again.

"Jade's father. She called him yesterday just before me and her got into it. He's real sick and I'll bet he's waiting for another call from her."

"Does he know where she is?"

"I don't think so."

"Well, then, he'll just keep on missing her, won't he?" He continued to saturate the floor with the gas. "Here, take this one upstairs. I'll be up in a minute." He handed another can to Nicole.

Sydney could hear voice downstairs, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Her head hurt too much to think and she realized that she didn't really care. "Must be the drugs." She thought.

Nicole swung open the door of the bedroom. "We have to get you out of here. He plans to burn the shack down with you in it."

Sydney could barely comprehend what Nicole was saying to her, but she nodded her head.

Nicole pulled her knife from her boot and cut loose the ropes binding Sydney's right hand to the bed and she had just started for the left when 'The Man' came through the door.

"What are you doing?" He demanded.

"Uh, nothing. She had worked her hand loose."

'The Man' moved to Sydney's right side and examined the ropes carefully, realizing they had been cut. "She didn't work her way out of this, you cut her loose!"

"That's right!" Nicole announced. "I cut her loose. Now, turn around slowly and put your hands on top of your head."

'The Man' turned around and faced Nicole's .45 which was pointed at his head. "What's this all about Cole?"

"You're under arrest."

"What? You're a Ranger too?"

"No, DEA, Miami."

'The Man's' face began to turn red in anger. He lunged at Nicole, catching her off guard, sending her into a dresser. Once she was on the floor, he wrestled the gun away from her. "Now who's in charge?" He asked as he pointed the .45 at her. "I can't believe I didn't catch on sooner."

"Why would you? You had never seen me before."

"Well, I guess now you'll suffer the same fate as the little Ranger here, except there aren't any drugs to dull your senses, so I guess you'll get to feel the flames." He waved the gun towards the foot of the bed. "Have a seat on the floor and put your arms against the bedposts."

Nicole reluctantly did as she was told. Once she sat down on the floor, 'The Man' tied her wrists to the bedposts at the foot of the bed and then squatted down until he was face to face with her.

"It's a shame Nicole. We could have been really good together." He then stood and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Soon after 'The Man' left the room, Nicole heard the unmistakable crackling of wood burning. She struggled with all of her strength against the ropes that held her to the foot of the bed and as she began to smell the smoke, she began to scream, knowing that if someone didn't find them soon, both she and Sydney were going to burn to death.

Walker could see the eerie red glow as he neared the abandoned farmhouse. "What the . . .?" He expressed as he pulled the RAM into the driveway and skidded to a stop.

He noticed the faint red glow of a motorcycle taillight leaving the farm in the other direction and he picked up his radio. "I need a fire truck at the old abandoned farmhouse just off of 29. Get the Sheriff if you need directions. Also, send an ambulance. I spotted a motorcycle leaving here and the place is on fire!"

After radioing in, Walker didn't wait for a response. He could hear a woman screaming and prayed that he would get to her in time. A good portion of the bottom floor was in flames, but Walker knew that he had to get upstairs, somehow and get to whoever was screaming. He saw an old tarp lying on the grass; grabbing it, he tossed it over his head and headed inside.

The Ravine off of Route 29:

Trivette's hand was on the door handle of the Sheriff's cruiser before he came to a stop beside the bent guardrail. "This looks pretty fresh. I'm surprised someone didn't call it in." Trivette half heard the Sheriff comment.

"Do you have a rope?" Trivette asked.

The Sheriff opened his trunk. "I think so, but let's wait for my deputies. Two of them are experienced in this kind of thing. They climb mountains and cliffs for fun." The Sheriff tried to lighten the mood.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather go down alone." Trivette said as he took the rope from the Sheriff.

"Son," the Sheriff started. "I know he's a fellow officer and a friend, but don't get your hopes up. That's quite a drop and this spot in the road doesn't have the nickname 'Point of No Return' without reason."

Trivette nodded as he hooked the rope into the wench at the front of the Sheriff's cruiser and began to repel down. He heard the other officers approaching and started to wait for them, but then decided that if he were going to find Gage dead, he'd rather do it alone.

"Who's down there?" One of the deputies asked the Sheriff as he grabbed his gear from his trunk.

"An undercover Texas Ranger. He was with The Gladiators and the Rangers have reason to believe that his cover was blown and that the bikers tried to take him out."

"He went off of 'Point of No Return' on a bike?" The other deputy asked.

"Looks that way." Sheriff Beckett said grimly.

"You know that the chances of survival are slim at best."

The Sheriff nodded. "I know. I told the Ranger that went down not to get his hopes up."

Trivette was nearing the bottom of the ravine. He looked up, realizing that he must be a good 150 to 200 feet down from the road now. "How could I even hope that Gage could have possibly survived a fall like that, on a motorcycle?" He thought.

The two deputies began their decent and with their experience, were about half way down before Trivette reached the bottom. There was evidence of the crash scattered throughout the brush and as Trivette's eyes canvassed the area, he spotted an unmoving body. "Gage?" He whispered more to himself than aloud.

He forced his feet to move towards the unmoving figure and as he neared, he could see the bruised and bloodied form of his friend. He dropped to his knees and felt for a pulse and could hardly believe that he found one. "I need a medic down here!" He shouted back towards the deputies. "He's alive!"

"He's alive!" One of the deputies shouted in his radio.

"Hallelujah!" The Sheriff cried out as he sprang into action. "This is Sheriff Beckett. We need a Medivac chopper at the bottom of the ravine on Route 29, 'Point of No Return', by golly, we got one that's trying hard to return!"

"Roger that Sheriff. The chopper's ETA, 10 minutes."

"Roger and out." The Sheriff replied and then radioed back to the deputies below. "Chopper is 10 minutes out."

"Thanks Sheriff." The deputy's made their way to the spot where Gage lay. "Medivac chopper is 10 minutes out." One of them told Trivette.

"Thanks." Trivette said, his eyes never leaving Gage. "Gage, buddy, you've got to wake up for me."

"Here, give him some water." The deputy offered a bottle of water, which Trivette greatfully took and held up to Gage's parched lips.

"Here you go buddy."

Gage's lips moved slightly as he took the water in and then licked his lips. His eyes opened slightly. "Tri - vette." He mumbled.

"Shh. Don't try to talk now. Help is on the way."

"Syd?" He asked in a whisper.

"Walker's gone after her."

Gage's brow furrowed in pain and he drew in a ragged breath.

The Gladiator's hangout:

Walker entered the shack, his eyes scanning for the stairs leading to the second floor. He quickly found them and as charged up them, two at a time, he could hear the flames licking the underside of the staircase. "It'll be gone before I get back." He thought to himself as he continued upward.

"Help!!!!" Nicole screamed still pulling at her restraints. She noticed that Sydney's muffled screams had stopped.

The smoke was getting thick as Walker reached the top of the stairs. "Sydney!" He called out.

"We're in here!" Nicole screamed. "Hurry!"

Walker followed the sound of Nicole's voice to a closed door. He rammed the door hard with his shoulder. He could hear the wood give a little, but not enough. With a look of determination, he backed up a little and then pegged the door with a forceful kick, sending it slamming to the floor.

When he entered the room, he saw Sydney on the bed, motionless. "Down here!" Nicole yelled. Walker quickly untied Nicole's restraints and then she helped him free Sydney. "We've got to get out of here!" Nicole yelled as the flames began to burn through the floor near the wall.

"We can't use the stairs. They were just about gone when I came up." Walker replied, looking for another way out. "Come on." He called to Nicole. "Help me with this." They lifted the nightstand from the side of the bed and tossed it through the window. Walker picked Sydney up off of the bed again and hoisted her over his shoulder. "Go!" He yelled to Nicole.

Nicole looked at the drop from the second story window. "Can we do this?" She asked.

"It's better than the alternative." Walker replied. "At least this way, we have a chance."

Nicole nodded and held onto the curtains as she threw her legs over the edge of the windowsill.

"Wait!" Walker called out noticing the length of rope on the floor that 'The Man' had used to tie Nicole's wrists to the bed. "Grab that rope!"

Nicole grabbed the rope and secured it to the edge of the bed and then repelled down the side of the house, safely to the ground. Walker in the meantime had secured a makeshift harness around Sydney and lowered her to the ground where Nicole was waiting.

Once Sydney was safe, Walker started out the window just as the second floor began to give. The house was caving in and Walker knew that he didn't have time to repel. He threw himself through the window and landed hard on the ground, rolling to his feet.

Nicole patted Sydney's face lightly, trying to bring her around. "Come on Jade, wake up."

Walker pulled out his handcuffs and was about to put them around Nicole's wrists when she suddenly backed away from him. "Now hold on a minute. I don't know who you think you are, but I'm taking her out of here and I don't want any funny business from you."

Walker pulled his gun. "I'm Texas Ranger Cordell Walker and I'm taking you in."

"I'm Detective Nicole Braden, DEA out of Miami. I've been on these guys for months now and I finally have what I need to put them away."

Walker still held his gun on her.

"If you don't believe me, call Miami. Although we're wasting precious time here." She looked down at Sydney.

Walker holstered his gun. "What did they do to her?" He asked.

"'The Man' filled her full of 'Devil's Tail', maybe enough to kill her." Nicole answered.

Walker tossed his cell phone to her. "Call for an ambulance and then call the Sheriff." Walker looked at Sydney again and brushed a whisp of hair from her face. "Where were The Gladiators going?"

"'The Man' mentioned Decatur. He said it wasn't far."

Nicole handed Walker his cell phone back as it began to ring. "Walker." He answered.

"Walker, it's Trivette! Gage is alive! They're air lifting him to Dallas though. He's pretty banged up."

"At least he's alive." Walker replied. "I have a feeling that Sydney will be joining him soon."

"How is she?" Trivette asked.

"She's been heavily drugged. She's unconscious."

"Gage has been drugged too. It may be what saved his life though. The EMT said that the drugs may have made him limber enough to take the drop. Walker, they're getting ready to take off. Do you have any objection to me going with him?"

"No, go ahead. I'll be right behind you with Sydney."

"So Jack is a Ranger too." Nicole said.

Walker nodded. "Yeah, he is."

"Look, I want in on this bust. I'm going to Decatur with or without you."

"Nicole, I don't care if your DEA, ATA or CIA, your cover has been blown and if you go back in there, you're dead."

"Ranger Walker, I appreciate your concern, but I can handle myself. I'm trained for this."

Walker could see that he wasn't going to get anywhere with this woman. He had seen this strong stubbornness many times, in both Sydney and Alex. "Listen, if you're going in, you're going to wait for me and my partner. Our first priority is to make sure that Gage and Sydney are alright, then we'll sit down and devise a plan, OK?"

Nicole nodded. "OK." As Walker headed toward the approaching ambulance, Nicole shook her head and thought to herself. "I've already got a plan Texas Ranger and it doesn't include you. I've worked too hard, too long for this bust and I don't intend on sharing it with the Texas Rangers."

DeKalb County Hospital:

Walker paced the waiting room floor while Nicole sat in one of the stiff chairs, waiting for news on Sydney. A doctor soon stood in front of them. "Ranger Walker?"

"Yes." Walker answered.

"I'm Doctor Anderson. I've examined Ranger Cooke and quite frankly, we're not equipped to handle a drug situation like this. I want to have her airlifted to Methodist in Dallas as soon as possible."

Walker nodded. "Thank you doctor." Walker whipped out his cell phone and dialed Trivette.

"Trivette."

"Trivette, it's Walker. Sydney's being airlifted to Methodist."

"OK, that's where we are."

"How's Gage?"

"He has a broken arm, broken leg, a couple of ribs and a hairline skull fracture. Walker, he's still unconscious."

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Trivette, if you have a little down time, see what you can dig up on a DEA Agent by the name of Nicole Braden."

"OK. Walker, I've gotta go. I see Gage's doctor coming out of his room."

"I'll talk to you when we get there."

Methodist Hospital, Dallas:

Walker had left the RAM parked outside of the Sheriff's office in DeKalb and opted to ride in with Sydney, bringing Nicole with them.

"Ranger Walker, this case is much bigger than it appears. I caught up with these guys when they were getting ready to leave Miami. Since then we've held up in Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and now Texas. I know how these guys think. I've been part of their gang, hell I was 'The Man's' lady, I know how to get to them."

"Good, then you'll be able to supply us with the information we need to go in." Walker said flatly.

"Ranger Walker . . ."

"Look Nicole, I've almost lost two of my best to these guys, I will not feel responsible for another officer going after these guys and getting hurt, or worse."

"It's not your call." Nicole said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, actually it is. The Texas Rangers have full jurisdiction over the state of Texas and like it or not, that's where you are."

Sydney began to moan slightly and the attending EMT re-checked her vitals. "Tom, what's our ETA?" He yelled to the pilot.

"Three minutes."

"Make it two, her vitals don't look so good."

The helicopter was on the landing pad in minutes and Sydney was rushed into triage, Walker and Nicole following close behind. "Hey! You can't go in there." A nurse stopped them just outside the triage doors. "Someone will be out to speak with you as soon as she's stable."

Walker nodded, understanding fully that the first priority was Sydney. Trivette rounded the corner just as Walker was turning from the closed swinging doors. "How is she?"

"Not too good." Walker replied. "Trivette, this is Nicole Braden, DEA out of Miami."

Trivette held out his hand. "Nice to meet you." He looked the two up and down and then turned to Walker. "Do you want me to have Alex bring some of your clothes over?"

Walker just then realized how he must look with his dirty jeans, leather jacket and boots. "Yeah, Trivette, that would probably be a good idea. Ask her to bring something for Nicole too."

Trivette made the phone call while Walker and Nicole slumped into two nearby chairs. "You look tired." Walker comments as Nicole began to cough slightly.

"A little." She said.

Alex arrived shortly and after giving her a quick kiss, Walker made his way to the men's room to change. When he came back to the waiting room, a doctor was in deep discussion with Alex and Trivette.

Alex swayed slightly as Trivette guided her to a chair.

"What is it?" Walker asked as he approached the group.

"Walker, " Trivette started, but couldn't seem to find the words to finish his sentenece.

Nicole cleared her throat and quickly looked down and then found the strength to look Walker in the eye. "It's Ranger Gage. He's in a coma and it doesn't look good."

Walker stared straight ahead, his eyes cold and angry, both with himself and "The Gladiators". "Trivette, be ready to leave in ten mintues. They're not getting away with this." He said coldly.

"But Walker . . ."

"I'm leaving in ten with or without you." He started to walk away from the waiting room.

"Cordell Walker! Don't you dare leave here like this!" Alex yelled, not caring who heard her.

Walker stopped for a moment, anger still welling up inside of him. It was his fault that Gage was in a coma and Sydney was fighting for her life. He sent them on this assignment, even when he knew that there was a chance, all be it a small one, that someone would recognize them from their dealings with the Raptors. Now he had every intention of making someone pay.

Trivette got up to leave and Alex grabbed his arm. "Jimmy, please. I don't want to be here alone, not when they're both so close to dying." Tears began to stream down here cheeks.

"I'll be right back Alex. I'm going to see if I can talk him out of this."

When Trivette reached the outside doors, he found Walker standing on the curb. "She's pretty upset with you, you know."

Walker nodded. "Yeah, I know. I'm pretty upset with myself right now too." He turned and faced Trivette. "You stay here. Someone needs to be here with Gage and Sydney and Alex for that matter."

"Walker, Alex needs you."

"I need to take these guys down, now." He flagged down a cab and climbed in. As Trivette turned to go back inside the hospital, the cab door on the opposite side opened and Nicole climbed inside.

"What are you doing here?" Walker demanded.

"The same thing you are. Ranger Walker, I want these guys bad. You never gave me a chance to explain why."

"I'm listening." He replied as the taxi headed towards the airport.

"Last year when 'The Gladiators' came into Miami, my partner and I were working undercover in a strip club owned by Roberto Juarez."

"Juarez, I've heard of him. Big drug lord, operates out of small island south east of Miami."

Nicole nodded. "Juarez introduced 'The Man' to 'Devil's Tail' and the 'The Man' ended up stealing the recipe for it."

"And Juarez stood for this?"

"Not exactly. Juarez ended up dead and his partner, Angeline Brutran formed a partnership of sorts with 'The Man'. I think 'The Man' is Angeline's half brother, Andre Garrison, but I don't have any proof of that."

"Where is Angeline now?" Walker asked.

"On the mysterious island, we think."

"What happened to your partner?"

"Juarez was tipped off by someone that we were DEA. There was a big dinner party on his yacht and Danny and I were ordered by Juarez to be present. We knew it was a set up and we had back up in place. Danny was shot when we went in after them. He didn't make it." Nicole cleared her throat. "Well, now you know why I'm here. I get the feeling that you feel responsible for Jade and Jack being hurt."

"You mean Sydney and Gage and yes, you're right. I'm their superior officer. I sent them in even when Gage expressed concerns about possibly being recognized by some of the bikers."

"What's your plan?" Nicole asked as the taxi pulled into DFW.

"Let's get back to DeKalb first and get my truck, and then we'll head out to Decatur."

End Chapter 3