Latimier - by Lorrie Ellis
Email: lorrieann@hotmail.com
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 ours. ALL
DISCLAIMERS APPLY. (No copyright infringement is intended.)
Note from the author: If you enjoy reading Walker, Texas Ranger fan fiction, you should check out the NEW virtual season online. Email me privately for the addy since this site won't let you post other web addresses.
New stories are posted every Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. EST Email me now so you don't miss a single one and please remember to leave feedback on the dreambook. Thanks and I hope you enjoy this story!
********
"Anything else, Walker?" Gage asked as he picked up his jacket.
Walker focused on the young ranger. "No Gage. I think that's it for the day. See you on Monday."
"Have a good weekend." Gage called back as he opened the door.
"Hey, wait up." Sydney called out to her partner.
Gage held the door open while he watched Sydney pull on her jacket and gently lift her hair out.
"What is it Shorty?" He asked as he joined him in the hallway.
"Do you have any plans tonight?" She asked as they started towards the elevator.
Gage shook his head. "Not really. I thought I'd just sit back and watch a little television. What about you?"
Sydney shook her head. "Want to see a movie?"
Gage thought for a moment. "Are you asking me out?" He joked.
"No, I'm not asking you out." Sydney quickly corrected herself. "Not exactly."
Gage grinned. "Yeah, I'd love to see a movie with you. How about dinner afterwards?"
"You're on." Sydney replied. "Give me thirty minutes to go home and change?"
"I'll pick you up at your place." Gage said as the elevator stopped on the ground floor
As the two Rangers started towards their cars, a black SUV sped towards them. Gage quickly drew his weapon and opened fire, shoving Sydney out the way in the same move. While their attention was focused on the first SUV, a second quickly pulled up behind the first.
A total of four men clad in black hoods poured out of the two vehicles and quickly cornered the Rangers. Sydney had pulled her weapon from its holster and aimed it at one of the men. "We're Texas Rangers. Stop, or we'll shoot."
One of the black hooded men faced Sydney and before she could fire a single round, the gun dropped to the concrete floor and Sydney found herself in hand to hand combat against three of the thugs.
Gage fired one round, hitting one of the men square in the chest. The man never flinched. While Gage stared at him in disarray, he was quickly disarmed from behind.
The Ranger punched one of the men in the jaw was rewarded with a sharp jab to his ribs from behind. He watched Sydney being loaded into one of the vehicles and as he tried to take a step forward, he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head and everything went dark.
********* When Gage came to he was relieved to find Sydney cradling his head in her lap. "Where are we?" He asked, reaching for the back of his head as he sat up.
"Take it easy. You've been out for almost an hour." Sydney cautioned.
Dizziness swept over the Ranger as he sat up. Sydney reached for his shoulder to help steady him. "Come on, lean back on me for a while."
He tried to refuse, but knew that he had to lean against something or fall flat on his face. "Syd?"
"I'm right here Gage." She replied, wrapping her arms around her partner and easing him back against her chest. "Shh." She brushed his hair from his face with her hand. "We're going to be OK."
"Where are we? Who were they?" Gage mumbled.
Sydney shook her head. "I don't know. I heard them say something about making all of Company B suffer, but I don't know why."
Gage squeezed his eyes tightly together, hoping that the room would soon stop spinning. "We have to find a way out of here."
"You're about to get out Ranger Gage, just be patient." While one of the hooded men, who appeared to be the leader spoke, two more men approached Gage and Sydney. Gage was pulled to his feet and dragged to the center of the room where he was held by two men while two others began to beat him.
Sydney stood up in protest, trying to fight off Gage's attackers. "Stop!" Sydney screamed. "You'll kill him!"
"No, not yet Ranger Cooke." One of the men replied as Sydney was grabbed from behind and held in place. "He has an important message to deliver to Ranger Walker for me, then we'll kill him, along with the rest of you."
Gage lay on the cold concrete floor, bruised, bloodied and barely conscious.
The leader lifted him to a sitting position and wrapped his huge arm around Gage's neck. "I have a message for the Rangers of Company B." He whispered in Gage's ear in a seething voice. "You tell Ranger Walker that if he wants to see his pretty little female Ranger alive again, he'll meet me at this address, along with Ranger Trivette and yourself. If all of you aren't there, without any backup, I'll kill her and dump her body on the front steps of the courthouse." He stuffed a note inside Gage's jacket pocket and then nodded at the other men.
Gage was hoisted across one of the men's shoulders and dumped into the back of one of the SUV's, all while Sydney was being held securely in the leader's arms. "He'll be back my sweet. He won't let you die anymore than Ranger Walker will." He whispered into Sydney's ear and then trailed his tongue along her neck. "Lock her in the cell. I'll deal with her later." He ordered and Sydney was prodded along a hallway until they reached what appeared to be a jail cell.
*******
Walker had just finished sitting the table when the phone rang. "Hello." He answered.
"Walker, it's me. I'm running late and it looks like I'm not going to get away for another hour or so."
"Oh, so now you're trying to get out of eating my cooking eh?" Walker joked.
Alex smiled. "No. I love your cooking and I had much rather be there with you than taking this deposition. I shouldn't be too much longer."
"I'll be waiting." Walker replied. "Oh, and Alex, I love you."
"I love you too, cowboy."
As Walker hung up the phone, he took the meat out of the stove and decided to take a glance at the newspaper. A particular article caught his attention and he picked up the phone, quickly dialing the Texas State Penitentiary. "Detective Loomis, please." He requested as the phone was answered.
"One moment."
"Loomis." A voice boomed at the other end of the line.
"David, it's Walker. I just read in the newspaper that you had a recent escape up there, but the prisoner's name wasn't mentioned. Anything I should be concerned about?"
"Uh Walker, I uh meant to call you yesterday when this happened, but with all of the chaos and such I didn't get to the phone and then today . . ."
"Loomis, cut the chatter. Who escaped?"
"Travis Latimier."
"Latimier. How?" Walker asked.
"We're not sure how. All I know is three of my men were found dead outside of his cell and he's gone."
"And you didn't think it was something I should be aware of? Loomis, he threatened all of Company B when he was sentenced."
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "There's more Walker. We found some things in his cell, under his cot, that lead us to believe that he may go after Ranger Cooke first."
"What kind of things?" Walker asked and listened intently as Detective Loomis told him everything that was found.
Walker glanced at the clock on the wall as he hung up the phone. He had been talking for over half an hour. He picked up the phone again, this time dialing Trivette.
"Hello." Trivette answered.
"Trivette, it's Walker. Latimier has escaped. See if you can get in touch with Gage and Sydney and let them know. Oh and Trivette, let's all plan to meet at the office in morning around 7:00 to go over what we know."
"Got it." Trivette replied.
*******
Inside the SUV, Gage was vaguely aware of the vehicle bumping along a gravel road and was shocked when the back door opened and he was roughly kicked out as the SUV continued to move.
He rolled several times before coming to a rest, face down in the pile of gravel.
Walker heard the tires screech as the met the pavement. In the darkness, he couldn't make out the figure that had been dumped out and he hurried towards the motionless lump as he saw headlights coming towards him.
Alex screamed as her headlights landed on Gage's bloodied body. She slammed on the brakes and scurried out of the car, meeting Walker running from the house.
The couple knelt down beside of the young ranger, praying that he was still alive. Before Walker could reach to see if there was a pulse, Gage began to shiver.
"Let's get him inside." Walker said as he gently lifted Gage's arms and pulled him towards the house.
Alex parked the car and then helped Walker situate Gage on the living room sofa. "I'll get some water."
Walker nodded, all the while, trying to wake Gage. "Gage. Can you hear me? Come on Gage, you have to wake up."
Gage's eyes began to open as Alex lightly touched a wet cloth to the bruises and cuts on his face. "Easy Gage." She soothed as she continued to clean him up. "He needs medical attention." She said, turning towards Walker.
Walker nodded as he reached for the phone. "I know."
"No!" Gage said weakly. "They'll kill Syd."
Walker eased himself down next to the young Ranger again. "Who will kill Sydney? Gage where is she?"
Gage shook his head slightly. "I don't know. We were grabbed this evening in the parking garage. I was knocked out before they got me in the SUV and when I came to Syd and I were both in a large, open building with a concrete floor."
"Did you get a look at them?" Alex asked.
"No. They all wore hoods, but Walker, one of them put a note in my pocket and said that you, Trivette and myself were to meet him at the address he wrote down."
Walker grabbed Gage's discarded jacket and pulled the note from the pocket as Gage continued to speak. "He said if we all didn't show up for the meeting that he would kill Sydney and leave her body on the front steps of the courthouse."
Alex gasped. "Walker?"
Walker read the note carefully and then picked up the phone and called Trivette.
"Trivette." Jimmy answered.
"Trivette, it's Walker."
"Hey Walker, I was just about to call you. I can't seem to locate Gage and Sydney anywhere. Maybe they actually got together and went out for the weekend. Who knows, maybe they've gone off and eloped . . ."
"Trivette!" Walker interrupted. "They're in trouble. Gage is here and he's been beaten up pretty badly. Whoever took them had Gage deliver a note addressed to me saying that myself, you and Gage are to meet him tomorrow night at the Cross Creek campground, alone."
"What?" Trivette asked in astonishment.
Walker re-read the note in his hand and looked back towards the couch where Gage had drifted off again. "I really need you to get over here now. We need to figure out what we're going to do."
"I'm on my way." Trivette said, hanging up the phone.
"On your way where?" Asked Erica as her husband turned from the phone.
Jimmy pulled his wife to him and hugged her tightly. "On my way to Walker's. Maybe you should come with me."
"Why? Jimmy, what are you not telling me?"
Jimmy kissed her cheek and then placed his hands on her shoulders. "Do you remember me telling you about the Travis Latimier case?"
Erica nodded. "He threatened all of you when he was sentenced, didn't he?"
"That's right. He escaped from prison yesterday and Walker just called and said that Gage is at his place now. He's been beaten up and carried a message from his attackers saying that we're to meet him tomorrow night and if we don't he'll kill Sydney."
Erica's hand went to her mouth. "Oh no. Jimmy, you're not seriously thinking of going, are you? I mean, it's an obvious set-up. At his trial, Latimier said that he would kill every one of the Rangers of Company B even if it took the rest of his life."
Jimmy tried to comfort his wife in another embrace. "I know honey. Shh. It's going to be OK." He pushed her, gently, out of the embrace. "We can't just leave Sydney out there without any hope, can we?"
Erica shook her head. "I know I'm being selfish, but Jimmy, if anything ever happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."
Cupping her chin gently in his hand, Trivette kissed his wife. "Let's hope you never have to find out."
*******
Back at the Cross Creek Campground, Travis Latimier stood outside of the makeshift cell that held Sydney. "Comfortable, Ranger Cooke?" He asked.
"I could be better." Sydney replied to the hooded figure. "Who are you and what do you want with us?"
"Who I am isn't important, but what I want is revenge. Revenge for taking the life of my brother and for sentencing me to life in prison and the four top Rangers of Company B are responsible for both."
"Where's my partner?"
"Delivering a message to your boss."
Sydney sighed inside, knowing that if Gage made it to Walker's then at least he would be alright.
"You'll see him again tomorrow night. See, my plan is that all four of you die together in one huge, unexpected explosion, but I'm afraid that you most likely won't be conscious for that event."
As another hooded figure approached, Latimier unlocked Sydney's cell door. He took a small syringe from his accomplice and headed towards Sydney.
Sydney backed away from the man as he came near. "You're only making it harder on yourself Sydney." Latimier said holding up the syringe of amber liquid. "This will only relax you."
"Yeah, to the point that I can't fight you or your men off." Sydney said as she kicked Latimier in the stomach. He started to double over, but quickly shook off the blow and motioned two other men to join him inside the cell.
With three men in the cell, Sydney didn't stand a chance of escape. She fought off one of the men, finally biting his arm after he had grabbed her from behind.
As the man screamed out in pain, Latimier pulled a gun from his belt and fired it once into the air. "Enough!" He yelled as the two men took each of Sydney's arms and pinned her to the backside of the cell bars.
"We could have done this the easy, painless way, but now you'll suffer." He jabbed the syringe into her left arm and emptied the contents into her body. "Give her a shot every hour, alternating between the sedative and the heroine."
"She'll be dead long before midnight tomorrow if we give it to her that often."
"No she won't. I'm going to weaken the dosage just enough to keep her alive until the others get here."
The two men who had been holding Sydney up, let her slide to the floor of the cell. She barely heard the lock click into place as they left.
******
Jimmy and Erica pulled into the Walker's driveway just twenty minutes after Walker had called and were met at the door by Alex.
"Walker's in the living room keeping an eye on Gage." Alex explained as the young couple came inside.
"How bad is he?" Jimmy asked.
Alex shook her head. "He needs to be in the hospital, but according to the note that he brought back to Walker, if the three of you don't show up at the Cross Creek Campground tomorrow night at midnight, he'll kill her. I don't think Gage could live with that kind of guilt."
"Is Sydney being held at the campground now?" Erica asked.
"We don't know. I've contacted Judge Everly to see if we can get a search warrant for the campground, but so far, he hasn't got back to me." Jimmy left the two women in the kitchen to talk as he joined his partner in the living room. His eyes were drawn to the lifeless figure on the couch. Alex had bandaged the cuts on his face as best as she could, but it was obvious that Gage was still bleeding.
Walker sat on a stool next to the couch with his hands cupped, cradling his chin, staring straight ahead, but not really looking at anything.
"How is he?" Jimmy nodded towards Gage.
Walker shook his head. "I don't know. He's come around a couple of times, but he's taken a really bad blow to the head and without having him checked out by a doctor, I really don't know . . ."
Jimmy stood quietly beside his partner for a moment. "Do you think this was Latimier's work?"
Walker nodded. "I'd bet on it."
"What about Sydney?"
"If she's still alive, Latimier is just holding her as bait to get the rest of us in position for him to pick us off one by one."
"So, what's the plan?" Trivette asked.
Walker sighed, looking at Gage again. "I don't know. I keep hoping Gage will wake up again and be able to tell us a little more about the place where they were held so we can come up with a plan."
The grandfather clock in the hallway began to chime. Gage moved slightly as the clock called out with four loud bongs.
"Gage?" Walker called out. "Gage, you have to wake up. We need to figure out a way to get Sydney back."
"Syd?" Gage mumbled. The two senior Rangers watched as Gage's eyes closed tightly against the pain in his head.
"Gage, I know you're hurting buddy, but we really could use your help right now. If we don't come up with something soon, we might not get Sydney back."
"Syd?" He mumbled again and then groaned.
"Alex, call 9-1-1!" Walker shouted.
"No!" Gage called out. "They'll kill her if I don't show up." He said weakly.
"Gage, man, you could be dying right now for all we know. What if you're bleeding internally?" Trivette asked.
Gage struggled to open his eyes and then adjusted his position on the couch. "Then I'll die trying to save her."
Walker put his hand on Gage's shoulder. "Can you think clearly for me for a minute?"
"I'll try." The young ranger replied, closing his eyes tightly again, trying to force the fog from his mind.
"How many men were there?" Walker asked.
Gage closed his eyes to think. "There were four when we were grabbed from the parking garage and then unless I was seeing double there were eight when they were beating me up. "Two holding me, two throwing punches, two standing guard and two holding Syd, plus the guy that seems to be the leader, so I guess nine in all."
"Nine men, all hooded?" Trivette asked.
Gage nodded. "I never saw any of their faces."
"Gage do you remember Travis Latimier?" Walker asked.
Gage nodded again. "He made some pretty strong threats against the Rangers before he was taken to jail, didn't he?"
Walker nodded. "Exactly. He escaped yesterday. Do you remember what any of the men sounded like and could any of them be Latimier?"
Shaking his head, Gage looked up at Walker. "I don't know Walker. They didn't really say that much, except for the leader and I guess he could have been Latimier, but what would he have against Sydney? She was out of town during that trial."
"Yeah, but she was out of town retrieving a witness against Latimier, remember?" Trivette added.
"Vaguely." Gage mumbled. "So, you think Latimier escaped from prison and concocted this whole thing in under a day?"
"No. I think he very carefully planned his escape and had everything set up before hand. It also appears that he planned to take Sydney first, maybe not expecting you to be with her when she came to the parking garage." Walker said.
"It's the first time in almost two weeks that we've actually left work at the same time." Gage said.
"You're sure." Trivette asked.
Gage looked up. "I'm very sure. We've had to cancel plans twice within the last two weeks because something has come up for one or the other of us. We were planning to go to a movie last night and now this. I'm beginning to think that this just wasn't meant to be." As he shifted on the couch, a new pain worked its way through his rib cage, showing on his face.
"Maybe you had better lie back down for a while. We can't do anymore right now anyway. Alex has a call into Judge Everly and we're hoping for a search warrant for Cross Creek Campground, but until that comes through, our hands are tied."
Gage eased back down on the couch. "Maybe I will rest for a minute. I think I may have a broken rib."
"I really wish you would let us take you to the emergency room and get checked out." Trivette said.
"I can't. Not until I know she's safe." Gage replied, closing his eyes and hoping for a few minutes of sleep.
******
Back at Cross Creek Campground, Latimier entered the room. "Have you wired the lunch room?" He asked.
"Yes sir. Once they're in, they won't be getting out."
"Good. How about the lady Ranger, has she been taken care of?"
"Just like you said boss. One does every four hours, alternating with the Heroine and the Ecstasy. She's so messed up now, she doesn't even know her own name."
Latimier smiled. "Good. I think I'll pay the little lady a visit."
Sydney was propped up against the cell bars, her head twitching sporadically. She couldn't seem to get her thoughts together, but one face was embedded in her mind. "Gage." She whispered a pitiful plea. "Help me."
End Chapter 1 - To be continued
Note from the author: If you enjoy reading Walker, Texas Ranger fan fiction, you should check out the NEW virtual season online. Email me privately for the addy since this site won't let you post other web addresses.
New stories are posted every Saturday night at 9:00 p.m. EST Email me now so you don't miss a single one and please remember to leave feedback on the dreambook. Thanks and I hope you enjoy this story!
********
"Anything else, Walker?" Gage asked as he picked up his jacket.
Walker focused on the young ranger. "No Gage. I think that's it for the day. See you on Monday."
"Have a good weekend." Gage called back as he opened the door.
"Hey, wait up." Sydney called out to her partner.
Gage held the door open while he watched Sydney pull on her jacket and gently lift her hair out.
"What is it Shorty?" He asked as he joined him in the hallway.
"Do you have any plans tonight?" She asked as they started towards the elevator.
Gage shook his head. "Not really. I thought I'd just sit back and watch a little television. What about you?"
Sydney shook her head. "Want to see a movie?"
Gage thought for a moment. "Are you asking me out?" He joked.
"No, I'm not asking you out." Sydney quickly corrected herself. "Not exactly."
Gage grinned. "Yeah, I'd love to see a movie with you. How about dinner afterwards?"
"You're on." Sydney replied. "Give me thirty minutes to go home and change?"
"I'll pick you up at your place." Gage said as the elevator stopped on the ground floor
As the two Rangers started towards their cars, a black SUV sped towards them. Gage quickly drew his weapon and opened fire, shoving Sydney out the way in the same move. While their attention was focused on the first SUV, a second quickly pulled up behind the first.
A total of four men clad in black hoods poured out of the two vehicles and quickly cornered the Rangers. Sydney had pulled her weapon from its holster and aimed it at one of the men. "We're Texas Rangers. Stop, or we'll shoot."
One of the black hooded men faced Sydney and before she could fire a single round, the gun dropped to the concrete floor and Sydney found herself in hand to hand combat against three of the thugs.
Gage fired one round, hitting one of the men square in the chest. The man never flinched. While Gage stared at him in disarray, he was quickly disarmed from behind.
The Ranger punched one of the men in the jaw was rewarded with a sharp jab to his ribs from behind. He watched Sydney being loaded into one of the vehicles and as he tried to take a step forward, he felt a sharp blow to the back of his head and everything went dark.
********* When Gage came to he was relieved to find Sydney cradling his head in her lap. "Where are we?" He asked, reaching for the back of his head as he sat up.
"Take it easy. You've been out for almost an hour." Sydney cautioned.
Dizziness swept over the Ranger as he sat up. Sydney reached for his shoulder to help steady him. "Come on, lean back on me for a while."
He tried to refuse, but knew that he had to lean against something or fall flat on his face. "Syd?"
"I'm right here Gage." She replied, wrapping her arms around her partner and easing him back against her chest. "Shh." She brushed his hair from his face with her hand. "We're going to be OK."
"Where are we? Who were they?" Gage mumbled.
Sydney shook her head. "I don't know. I heard them say something about making all of Company B suffer, but I don't know why."
Gage squeezed his eyes tightly together, hoping that the room would soon stop spinning. "We have to find a way out of here."
"You're about to get out Ranger Gage, just be patient." While one of the hooded men, who appeared to be the leader spoke, two more men approached Gage and Sydney. Gage was pulled to his feet and dragged to the center of the room where he was held by two men while two others began to beat him.
Sydney stood up in protest, trying to fight off Gage's attackers. "Stop!" Sydney screamed. "You'll kill him!"
"No, not yet Ranger Cooke." One of the men replied as Sydney was grabbed from behind and held in place. "He has an important message to deliver to Ranger Walker for me, then we'll kill him, along with the rest of you."
Gage lay on the cold concrete floor, bruised, bloodied and barely conscious.
The leader lifted him to a sitting position and wrapped his huge arm around Gage's neck. "I have a message for the Rangers of Company B." He whispered in Gage's ear in a seething voice. "You tell Ranger Walker that if he wants to see his pretty little female Ranger alive again, he'll meet me at this address, along with Ranger Trivette and yourself. If all of you aren't there, without any backup, I'll kill her and dump her body on the front steps of the courthouse." He stuffed a note inside Gage's jacket pocket and then nodded at the other men.
Gage was hoisted across one of the men's shoulders and dumped into the back of one of the SUV's, all while Sydney was being held securely in the leader's arms. "He'll be back my sweet. He won't let you die anymore than Ranger Walker will." He whispered into Sydney's ear and then trailed his tongue along her neck. "Lock her in the cell. I'll deal with her later." He ordered and Sydney was prodded along a hallway until they reached what appeared to be a jail cell.
*******
Walker had just finished sitting the table when the phone rang. "Hello." He answered.
"Walker, it's me. I'm running late and it looks like I'm not going to get away for another hour or so."
"Oh, so now you're trying to get out of eating my cooking eh?" Walker joked.
Alex smiled. "No. I love your cooking and I had much rather be there with you than taking this deposition. I shouldn't be too much longer."
"I'll be waiting." Walker replied. "Oh, and Alex, I love you."
"I love you too, cowboy."
As Walker hung up the phone, he took the meat out of the stove and decided to take a glance at the newspaper. A particular article caught his attention and he picked up the phone, quickly dialing the Texas State Penitentiary. "Detective Loomis, please." He requested as the phone was answered.
"One moment."
"Loomis." A voice boomed at the other end of the line.
"David, it's Walker. I just read in the newspaper that you had a recent escape up there, but the prisoner's name wasn't mentioned. Anything I should be concerned about?"
"Uh Walker, I uh meant to call you yesterday when this happened, but with all of the chaos and such I didn't get to the phone and then today . . ."
"Loomis, cut the chatter. Who escaped?"
"Travis Latimier."
"Latimier. How?" Walker asked.
"We're not sure how. All I know is three of my men were found dead outside of his cell and he's gone."
"And you didn't think it was something I should be aware of? Loomis, he threatened all of Company B when he was sentenced."
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. "There's more Walker. We found some things in his cell, under his cot, that lead us to believe that he may go after Ranger Cooke first."
"What kind of things?" Walker asked and listened intently as Detective Loomis told him everything that was found.
Walker glanced at the clock on the wall as he hung up the phone. He had been talking for over half an hour. He picked up the phone again, this time dialing Trivette.
"Hello." Trivette answered.
"Trivette, it's Walker. Latimier has escaped. See if you can get in touch with Gage and Sydney and let them know. Oh and Trivette, let's all plan to meet at the office in morning around 7:00 to go over what we know."
"Got it." Trivette replied.
*******
Inside the SUV, Gage was vaguely aware of the vehicle bumping along a gravel road and was shocked when the back door opened and he was roughly kicked out as the SUV continued to move.
He rolled several times before coming to a rest, face down in the pile of gravel.
Walker heard the tires screech as the met the pavement. In the darkness, he couldn't make out the figure that had been dumped out and he hurried towards the motionless lump as he saw headlights coming towards him.
Alex screamed as her headlights landed on Gage's bloodied body. She slammed on the brakes and scurried out of the car, meeting Walker running from the house.
The couple knelt down beside of the young ranger, praying that he was still alive. Before Walker could reach to see if there was a pulse, Gage began to shiver.
"Let's get him inside." Walker said as he gently lifted Gage's arms and pulled him towards the house.
Alex parked the car and then helped Walker situate Gage on the living room sofa. "I'll get some water."
Walker nodded, all the while, trying to wake Gage. "Gage. Can you hear me? Come on Gage, you have to wake up."
Gage's eyes began to open as Alex lightly touched a wet cloth to the bruises and cuts on his face. "Easy Gage." She soothed as she continued to clean him up. "He needs medical attention." She said, turning towards Walker.
Walker nodded as he reached for the phone. "I know."
"No!" Gage said weakly. "They'll kill Syd."
Walker eased himself down next to the young Ranger again. "Who will kill Sydney? Gage where is she?"
Gage shook his head slightly. "I don't know. We were grabbed this evening in the parking garage. I was knocked out before they got me in the SUV and when I came to Syd and I were both in a large, open building with a concrete floor."
"Did you get a look at them?" Alex asked.
"No. They all wore hoods, but Walker, one of them put a note in my pocket and said that you, Trivette and myself were to meet him at the address he wrote down."
Walker grabbed Gage's discarded jacket and pulled the note from the pocket as Gage continued to speak. "He said if we all didn't show up for the meeting that he would kill Sydney and leave her body on the front steps of the courthouse."
Alex gasped. "Walker?"
Walker read the note carefully and then picked up the phone and called Trivette.
"Trivette." Jimmy answered.
"Trivette, it's Walker."
"Hey Walker, I was just about to call you. I can't seem to locate Gage and Sydney anywhere. Maybe they actually got together and went out for the weekend. Who knows, maybe they've gone off and eloped . . ."
"Trivette!" Walker interrupted. "They're in trouble. Gage is here and he's been beaten up pretty badly. Whoever took them had Gage deliver a note addressed to me saying that myself, you and Gage are to meet him tomorrow night at the Cross Creek campground, alone."
"What?" Trivette asked in astonishment.
Walker re-read the note in his hand and looked back towards the couch where Gage had drifted off again. "I really need you to get over here now. We need to figure out what we're going to do."
"I'm on my way." Trivette said, hanging up the phone.
"On your way where?" Asked Erica as her husband turned from the phone.
Jimmy pulled his wife to him and hugged her tightly. "On my way to Walker's. Maybe you should come with me."
"Why? Jimmy, what are you not telling me?"
Jimmy kissed her cheek and then placed his hands on her shoulders. "Do you remember me telling you about the Travis Latimier case?"
Erica nodded. "He threatened all of you when he was sentenced, didn't he?"
"That's right. He escaped from prison yesterday and Walker just called and said that Gage is at his place now. He's been beaten up and carried a message from his attackers saying that we're to meet him tomorrow night and if we don't he'll kill Sydney."
Erica's hand went to her mouth. "Oh no. Jimmy, you're not seriously thinking of going, are you? I mean, it's an obvious set-up. At his trial, Latimier said that he would kill every one of the Rangers of Company B even if it took the rest of his life."
Jimmy tried to comfort his wife in another embrace. "I know honey. Shh. It's going to be OK." He pushed her, gently, out of the embrace. "We can't just leave Sydney out there without any hope, can we?"
Erica shook her head. "I know I'm being selfish, but Jimmy, if anything ever happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."
Cupping her chin gently in his hand, Trivette kissed his wife. "Let's hope you never have to find out."
*******
Back at the Cross Creek Campground, Travis Latimier stood outside of the makeshift cell that held Sydney. "Comfortable, Ranger Cooke?" He asked.
"I could be better." Sydney replied to the hooded figure. "Who are you and what do you want with us?"
"Who I am isn't important, but what I want is revenge. Revenge for taking the life of my brother and for sentencing me to life in prison and the four top Rangers of Company B are responsible for both."
"Where's my partner?"
"Delivering a message to your boss."
Sydney sighed inside, knowing that if Gage made it to Walker's then at least he would be alright.
"You'll see him again tomorrow night. See, my plan is that all four of you die together in one huge, unexpected explosion, but I'm afraid that you most likely won't be conscious for that event."
As another hooded figure approached, Latimier unlocked Sydney's cell door. He took a small syringe from his accomplice and headed towards Sydney.
Sydney backed away from the man as he came near. "You're only making it harder on yourself Sydney." Latimier said holding up the syringe of amber liquid. "This will only relax you."
"Yeah, to the point that I can't fight you or your men off." Sydney said as she kicked Latimier in the stomach. He started to double over, but quickly shook off the blow and motioned two other men to join him inside the cell.
With three men in the cell, Sydney didn't stand a chance of escape. She fought off one of the men, finally biting his arm after he had grabbed her from behind.
As the man screamed out in pain, Latimier pulled a gun from his belt and fired it once into the air. "Enough!" He yelled as the two men took each of Sydney's arms and pinned her to the backside of the cell bars.
"We could have done this the easy, painless way, but now you'll suffer." He jabbed the syringe into her left arm and emptied the contents into her body. "Give her a shot every hour, alternating between the sedative and the heroine."
"She'll be dead long before midnight tomorrow if we give it to her that often."
"No she won't. I'm going to weaken the dosage just enough to keep her alive until the others get here."
The two men who had been holding Sydney up, let her slide to the floor of the cell. She barely heard the lock click into place as they left.
******
Jimmy and Erica pulled into the Walker's driveway just twenty minutes after Walker had called and were met at the door by Alex.
"Walker's in the living room keeping an eye on Gage." Alex explained as the young couple came inside.
"How bad is he?" Jimmy asked.
Alex shook her head. "He needs to be in the hospital, but according to the note that he brought back to Walker, if the three of you don't show up at the Cross Creek Campground tomorrow night at midnight, he'll kill her. I don't think Gage could live with that kind of guilt."
"Is Sydney being held at the campground now?" Erica asked.
"We don't know. I've contacted Judge Everly to see if we can get a search warrant for the campground, but so far, he hasn't got back to me." Jimmy left the two women in the kitchen to talk as he joined his partner in the living room. His eyes were drawn to the lifeless figure on the couch. Alex had bandaged the cuts on his face as best as she could, but it was obvious that Gage was still bleeding.
Walker sat on a stool next to the couch with his hands cupped, cradling his chin, staring straight ahead, but not really looking at anything.
"How is he?" Jimmy nodded towards Gage.
Walker shook his head. "I don't know. He's come around a couple of times, but he's taken a really bad blow to the head and without having him checked out by a doctor, I really don't know . . ."
Jimmy stood quietly beside his partner for a moment. "Do you think this was Latimier's work?"
Walker nodded. "I'd bet on it."
"What about Sydney?"
"If she's still alive, Latimier is just holding her as bait to get the rest of us in position for him to pick us off one by one."
"So, what's the plan?" Trivette asked.
Walker sighed, looking at Gage again. "I don't know. I keep hoping Gage will wake up again and be able to tell us a little more about the place where they were held so we can come up with a plan."
The grandfather clock in the hallway began to chime. Gage moved slightly as the clock called out with four loud bongs.
"Gage?" Walker called out. "Gage, you have to wake up. We need to figure out a way to get Sydney back."
"Syd?" Gage mumbled. The two senior Rangers watched as Gage's eyes closed tightly against the pain in his head.
"Gage, I know you're hurting buddy, but we really could use your help right now. If we don't come up with something soon, we might not get Sydney back."
"Syd?" He mumbled again and then groaned.
"Alex, call 9-1-1!" Walker shouted.
"No!" Gage called out. "They'll kill her if I don't show up." He said weakly.
"Gage, man, you could be dying right now for all we know. What if you're bleeding internally?" Trivette asked.
Gage struggled to open his eyes and then adjusted his position on the couch. "Then I'll die trying to save her."
Walker put his hand on Gage's shoulder. "Can you think clearly for me for a minute?"
"I'll try." The young ranger replied, closing his eyes tightly again, trying to force the fog from his mind.
"How many men were there?" Walker asked.
Gage closed his eyes to think. "There were four when we were grabbed from the parking garage and then unless I was seeing double there were eight when they were beating me up. "Two holding me, two throwing punches, two standing guard and two holding Syd, plus the guy that seems to be the leader, so I guess nine in all."
"Nine men, all hooded?" Trivette asked.
Gage nodded. "I never saw any of their faces."
"Gage do you remember Travis Latimier?" Walker asked.
Gage nodded again. "He made some pretty strong threats against the Rangers before he was taken to jail, didn't he?"
Walker nodded. "Exactly. He escaped yesterday. Do you remember what any of the men sounded like and could any of them be Latimier?"
Shaking his head, Gage looked up at Walker. "I don't know Walker. They didn't really say that much, except for the leader and I guess he could have been Latimier, but what would he have against Sydney? She was out of town during that trial."
"Yeah, but she was out of town retrieving a witness against Latimier, remember?" Trivette added.
"Vaguely." Gage mumbled. "So, you think Latimier escaped from prison and concocted this whole thing in under a day?"
"No. I think he very carefully planned his escape and had everything set up before hand. It also appears that he planned to take Sydney first, maybe not expecting you to be with her when she came to the parking garage." Walker said.
"It's the first time in almost two weeks that we've actually left work at the same time." Gage said.
"You're sure." Trivette asked.
Gage looked up. "I'm very sure. We've had to cancel plans twice within the last two weeks because something has come up for one or the other of us. We were planning to go to a movie last night and now this. I'm beginning to think that this just wasn't meant to be." As he shifted on the couch, a new pain worked its way through his rib cage, showing on his face.
"Maybe you had better lie back down for a while. We can't do anymore right now anyway. Alex has a call into Judge Everly and we're hoping for a search warrant for Cross Creek Campground, but until that comes through, our hands are tied."
Gage eased back down on the couch. "Maybe I will rest for a minute. I think I may have a broken rib."
"I really wish you would let us take you to the emergency room and get checked out." Trivette said.
"I can't. Not until I know she's safe." Gage replied, closing his eyes and hoping for a few minutes of sleep.
******
Back at Cross Creek Campground, Latimier entered the room. "Have you wired the lunch room?" He asked.
"Yes sir. Once they're in, they won't be getting out."
"Good. How about the lady Ranger, has she been taken care of?"
"Just like you said boss. One does every four hours, alternating with the Heroine and the Ecstasy. She's so messed up now, she doesn't even know her own name."
Latimier smiled. "Good. I think I'll pay the little lady a visit."
Sydney was propped up against the cell bars, her head twitching sporadically. She couldn't seem to get her thoughts together, but one face was embedded in her mind. "Gage." She whispered a pitiful plea. "Help me."
End Chapter 1 - To be continued