Okay, first off, I would like to say I am SO SORRY it took SO LONG to update! I had to rewrite the chapter in order to fill in holes. Not a good excuse, I know, but it's true. *Finally*, I finished, so I humbly present to you Chapter 5! But first, thanks to reviewers:
adsh: I spent a lot of time thinking why Dane was driving a semi. (That was a REALLY good point, by the way!) I think I've got a reason now, but it won't be included until next chapter. I did include why George was plotting against Mark, Steve, and Amanda in this chapter, though. Hopefully you'll find it believable.
Edwina: Thanks! Sorry you had to wait so long for the next chapter. Hopefully you'll still like it! ^_^
Cass8: First off, I'd just like to thank you for taking the time to give me pointers to make me a better writer. I really tried to take your advice to heart. As you guessed, I am a young writer. I guess I try to make up for my not-so-complex plot line by expanding my vocabulary. (ie: Irate with sadness) I'll try to be a little more careful with how I use my words. I also realize that I am rushing this story. It's something I plan to work on. I'll try to take my time in the next few chapters. As I stated above, I rewrote this chapter to fill in holes from the last one. I thought a lot about what you said while writing it, and I hope you can see improvement.
Amy: Thanks! Poor Jess indeed! lol I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
tiger tail: When I read your review, you could not believe how much better I felt about this story. Now that I step back, and really look at it, I realize I seemed very down on myself, and I have you to thank for that. And I am glad you think my story's not crap! ;) So, from now on, I won't pretend like it is.
tkitty: Thanks! Although it may not seem like it, but I did update asap. Hopefully, it won't take this long in the future! ^_^
Britt-Angel: Thanks for your review! ^_^ In this chapter, I explained how the TV turned on by its self. Hopefully you'll find it understandable!
keemew2: I'm glad you're enjoying my story so far. To be truthful, I really didn't think about when this was happening. If it helps any, Jesse knows his father is a CIA agent. Does he become an ex? If so, then this story is still within the series time-frame. If not, I suppose it's after the series ended, because I remember in one episode Jesse's mom came back, so it'd have to be after that! lol Well, I hope I answered some questions. More will be answered in the next chapter. (like why Dane was driving a semi)
Mellon-nin: I fear I have switched some things on you! Perhaps you will still find this chapter enjoyable though! ^_^
StrangePenguin: lol! I'm glad you thought George's dialogue wasn't too bad. I tried to answer a lot of question in this chapter and the next one. Oh, and by the way, you actually type English rather well for someone who normally speaks German! ^_^
Daniel Wesley Rydell: I'm glad you liked it! There's going to quite a bit of… drama, shall we say? in the next few chapters! ^_^
Legolasfreak: Oh, you haven't seen anything yet! *evil snicker* ^_^
DMFAN: It's nice, because George doesn't talk so much in the next few chapters so I won't have to worry about it! lol I'll explain why Dane is driving the truck in the next chapter. ^_^
Marianne Verhoeven: I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long! I don't think it'll ever take this long to update ever again! (or so I hope… lol!)
Fairyangel: Thanks for your review! ^_^ I'm afraid to say this isn't much of an action chapter, but don't worry, it'll come! ^_^
Chapter 5
"Got it, boss." Came a rough voice from behind the camera.
"Good." George said, satisfied. "We'll send another one later this evening. Don't want them to find us too quickly, do we?" he added with a sinister smirk. His plan had gone smoothly so far. He could just imagine the wheels turning in Mark Sloan's head. The old man never saw it coming! Jesse wasn't the only one who didn't recognize him. He would soon enough, though.
"Put them in the back room!" George barked to his men who immediately complied. He wouldn't be needing them for a while.
********
Mark, Steve, and Amanda sat stunned, still staring at the blank screen as though it would tell them where George was. Mark was the first to break the silence.
"Did he say that his fiancé was Kristy?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah," Steve answered distantly, worried for his friend.
"And she got hit by a semi?"
"I think George made that quite clear." Amanda said, giving Mark a questioning glance. Mark didn't notice it, though. He was lost in memories almost forgotten.
~~flashback~~
Mark struggled to see out his windshield through the pouring rain as he drove home from Community General. Suddenly, the red taillights he had been following stopped. Quickly Mark slammed on the brakes to keep himself from crashing into the car in front of him. Squinting, he tried to see what had caused them to stop. It was futile, though, for he could hardly see the car in front of him. Slowly, the traffic inched forward. After 10 minutes of crawling along the highway, Mark was able to see a semi on the edge of the road. As he got closer, he saw that there was also a small destroyed car in front of the semi's grill. Immediately kicking into "doctor mode" like he had done so many times, Mark pulled over to the side of the road. Once he turned off his car, he made his way to the small wrecked car. When he got there, the site made him sick. A young lady was hunched over the steering wheel, her curly auburn hair falling around her face. The dashboard in front of her was splattered with her own blood. The smell coming from the car was strong, and Mark found it hard to keep from gagging. Slowly backing away from the car, he pulled his cell phone out of his coat pocket. He was sure someone had already called 911, but he wanted to make sure. Unfortunately, he overestimated the kindness of LA's people. The operator told him that he was the first to call in the incident.
Angrily, he turned off his cell phone and walked back to the woman. He peered in the broken door window to see if it was okay for him to open the door. Deciding it was, he slowly pulled the door open, ready to catch the woman if his disturbance caused her to fall. She didn't as Mark pushed the door as wide as it would go. The front of the car was crushed as far as the dashboard, crushing the woman's legs with it. As Mark got closer, he could see pieces of the car's windows scattered in her hair. Gently, he brushed the hair out of her face to reveal a large gash on the woman's temple. The blood glittered, reflecting off the headlights of cars on the highway. Gently, he pressed his fingers on the woman's neck and found a shaky pulse. She was alive, but it was obvious that she needed help right away.
With a frown, Mark realized that he couldn't move the woman without aggravating her injuries further. He decided to go to the semi to see how the other driver fared. As he got closer, he was surprised to see there was no driver. As he looked in the cab, he couldn't find any sign of blood. Obviously the driver had gotten out of the truck and run away. Mark shook his head in disgust and headed back towards the woman. Again, he checked her pulse to find that it was weakening. Desperately, he looked at the highway, hoping that he would see the ambulance coming their way. Unfortunately, there was no such thing on the road. With a shiver, he prepared to stay with the woman until help arrived.
~~end flashback~~
"Mark?" Amanda asked. Her friend had a blank expression on his face and was staring out the window. "Mark?" She ventured again. That snapped Mark out of his trance.
"I'm sorry; what did you say, Amanda?" Mark said, turning his attention to her.
"What were you doing?" She asked. "Did you remember something?" Mark nodded slowly.
"Do you remember last December when I got hypothermia?" It was Amanda's turn to nod.
"Of course. You almost missed the hospital's Christmas party!"
"Yeah," Steve agreed. "It was because you stayed out in the rain with an accident victim…" his voice trailed off as the facts began to click. "That was Kristy!"
"That must be why George set up this." Mark gestured towards the TV. "He wants me to see everything."
"Us too." Amanda said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Steve asked.
"I was the one that did the autopsy report on Kristy." She turned to Steve. "And you were put on the case of finding the semi's driver!"
"It's not just Jesse he wants. He wants all of us." Mark realized.
*******
The men roughly shoved Jesse and Dane into the room and locked the door. Jesse found the wall closest to him, and leaned on it. His shoulder was screaming out in pain. Unwillingly, tears streamed down Jesse's face. He heard Dane take a deep breath.
"I'm sorry." The words shocked Jesse more than the bullet. He never thought he would ever hear his father say those words.
"I didn't realize he would come after you. I would have stopped him if I could." Jesse couldn't believe it. His father was actually apologizing to him.
"It doesn't make sense," Jesse whispered. "You apologize for things out of your control, but don't for things you do control."
"Jesse," Dane sighed.
"Don't deny it." Jesse warned, his voice getting louder. "I don't care that you feel bad for some psycho that came after me because of you! I care more about you feeling bad for never being there in my childhood; for walking out on mom and me. I care more about that than I'll ever care about this." Dane was quiet. Jesse waited for a while, but couldn't stand it anymore.
"Well?" He asked accusingly.
"I don't have to answer you." Dane said quietly.
"Oh, c'mon, Dad! Why not? Can't you even think of a good-enough lie?"
"It's in the past, Jesse!" Dane stated in a loud voice. "It doesn't matter now."
"Oh, I get it." Jesse said, tears forming in his eyes. But this time, they were from emotional pain. "Because you had me in the past, I don't matter now."
"I don't want to talk about it." Dane said. Jesse's tears started to flow more freely.
"Fine." He whispered. Closing his eyes, he tried to get some much-needed sleep. He found it impossible as angry thoughts of his father swarmed in his head. As soon as he got out of this mess, Jesse planned to never talk to his dad again.
*****
The three friends all sat in silence, trying to get over the shock of their knowledge. After a while, Steve got up to look at the TV. Suddenly, he picked something up from the top of the frame, and smashed it on the floor. He stomped on it until he was satisfied.
"It was a camera," He explained to his friends. "He was watching us the whole time!"
"I can't believe…" Amanda's voice trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
"We need to find Jesse." Mark stated, finally out of his daze. "And fast. We don't know how much time we have left."
"But where to start?" Amanda asked.
"Steve, do you know where the transmitter is?" Mark asked his son.
"What do you mean, Dad?"
"Well, George must have set up Jesse's TV to turn itself on and broadcast his signal somehow. He must have used a transmitter." Mark explained. Steve then examined the TV and VCR.
"Here it is." He said triumphantly. He started to yank it out.
"Wait!" Amanda stopped him. "Leave it in there. Maybe he'll broadcast something else later that could help us find Jesse."
"Lets hope we won't give him the time." Mark said grimly. "Did you guys notice anything unusual in the video?" The group silenced.
"It was dark." Amanda said.
"What does that mean?" Steve asked.
"Well, either it's underground, or the building has no windows." Amanda reasoned. "It's still bright outside. The light would be let through the windows if it had any."
"Good thinking, Amanda." Mark agreed. "Also, George isn't working alone. We can look up his closest friends, and ask people who know him if they know anything about this."
"I can do that," Steve said, getting the car keys. "I'll go get started on it. The sooner, the better."
"Good luck Steve." Amanda said. Once Steve left, the two went back to thinking.
"I think they might be in a warehouse." Mark said, breaking the silence.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well," Mark started. "In the broadcast, the floors and walls were made of concrete. Warehouses don't have windows, either."
"I think your right." Amanda agreed. "I can check to see what warehouses are out of use. Maybe we can find a lead there."
"I'll go help Steve." Mark said, getting up with Amanda. "We'll meet at the beach house for dinner, okay?"
"Perfect." Amanda said. "I'll see you there." They then parted to go their separate ways, both hoping to find a good lead.
*****
George sighed in frustration. Steve broke his camera. Oh well George thought with a smirk He'll pay for it. Emotionally, of course. George allowed himself to snicker. He didn't know that Jesse and Dane didn't have a strong father-son relationship until he had heard them arguing in their "room". That, of course, made it that much better for George. If he didn't kill one of them, the other would. He looked at his watch. 7:30. He walked over a station of 5 TV's. One was blank, but the others were set on random views. One was set on the police station; it was pointed at Steve's desk. Another one was pointed at the Sloan's front door. The screen next to it was pointed at the back door. The last one was pointed at the living area.
A grin escaped as George watched Steve, Amanda and Mark walk into the living area and sit down. He watched as they talked, occasionally sipping their cups. His grin widened when all their faces turned to worry. He knew it was time to make his move.
"Get the Travis men out!" he yelled, turning on a camera.
"Yes sir." A man ran back to the room Dane and Jesse were kept in.
**********
I hope I answered a few questions there. I'll explain why Dane was driving a semi in the next chapter, so you don't need to worry about that. But, please, let me know how I did on this last chapter. I hope it was an improvement from the last! ^_^ And, once again, I'm sorry for the wait!
adsh: I spent a lot of time thinking why Dane was driving a semi. (That was a REALLY good point, by the way!) I think I've got a reason now, but it won't be included until next chapter. I did include why George was plotting against Mark, Steve, and Amanda in this chapter, though. Hopefully you'll find it believable.
Edwina: Thanks! Sorry you had to wait so long for the next chapter. Hopefully you'll still like it! ^_^
Cass8: First off, I'd just like to thank you for taking the time to give me pointers to make me a better writer. I really tried to take your advice to heart. As you guessed, I am a young writer. I guess I try to make up for my not-so-complex plot line by expanding my vocabulary. (ie: Irate with sadness) I'll try to be a little more careful with how I use my words. I also realize that I am rushing this story. It's something I plan to work on. I'll try to take my time in the next few chapters. As I stated above, I rewrote this chapter to fill in holes from the last one. I thought a lot about what you said while writing it, and I hope you can see improvement.
Amy: Thanks! Poor Jess indeed! lol I hope you enjoy this next chapter!
tiger tail: When I read your review, you could not believe how much better I felt about this story. Now that I step back, and really look at it, I realize I seemed very down on myself, and I have you to thank for that. And I am glad you think my story's not crap! ;) So, from now on, I won't pretend like it is.
tkitty: Thanks! Although it may not seem like it, but I did update asap. Hopefully, it won't take this long in the future! ^_^
Britt-Angel: Thanks for your review! ^_^ In this chapter, I explained how the TV turned on by its self. Hopefully you'll find it understandable!
keemew2: I'm glad you're enjoying my story so far. To be truthful, I really didn't think about when this was happening. If it helps any, Jesse knows his father is a CIA agent. Does he become an ex? If so, then this story is still within the series time-frame. If not, I suppose it's after the series ended, because I remember in one episode Jesse's mom came back, so it'd have to be after that! lol Well, I hope I answered some questions. More will be answered in the next chapter. (like why Dane was driving a semi)
Mellon-nin: I fear I have switched some things on you! Perhaps you will still find this chapter enjoyable though! ^_^
StrangePenguin: lol! I'm glad you thought George's dialogue wasn't too bad. I tried to answer a lot of question in this chapter and the next one. Oh, and by the way, you actually type English rather well for someone who normally speaks German! ^_^
Daniel Wesley Rydell: I'm glad you liked it! There's going to quite a bit of… drama, shall we say? in the next few chapters! ^_^
Legolasfreak: Oh, you haven't seen anything yet! *evil snicker* ^_^
DMFAN: It's nice, because George doesn't talk so much in the next few chapters so I won't have to worry about it! lol I'll explain why Dane is driving the truck in the next chapter. ^_^
Marianne Verhoeven: I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long! I don't think it'll ever take this long to update ever again! (or so I hope… lol!)
Fairyangel: Thanks for your review! ^_^ I'm afraid to say this isn't much of an action chapter, but don't worry, it'll come! ^_^
Chapter 5
"Got it, boss." Came a rough voice from behind the camera.
"Good." George said, satisfied. "We'll send another one later this evening. Don't want them to find us too quickly, do we?" he added with a sinister smirk. His plan had gone smoothly so far. He could just imagine the wheels turning in Mark Sloan's head. The old man never saw it coming! Jesse wasn't the only one who didn't recognize him. He would soon enough, though.
"Put them in the back room!" George barked to his men who immediately complied. He wouldn't be needing them for a while.
********
Mark, Steve, and Amanda sat stunned, still staring at the blank screen as though it would tell them where George was. Mark was the first to break the silence.
"Did he say that his fiancé was Kristy?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah," Steve answered distantly, worried for his friend.
"And she got hit by a semi?"
"I think George made that quite clear." Amanda said, giving Mark a questioning glance. Mark didn't notice it, though. He was lost in memories almost forgotten.
~~flashback~~
Mark struggled to see out his windshield through the pouring rain as he drove home from Community General. Suddenly, the red taillights he had been following stopped. Quickly Mark slammed on the brakes to keep himself from crashing into the car in front of him. Squinting, he tried to see what had caused them to stop. It was futile, though, for he could hardly see the car in front of him. Slowly, the traffic inched forward. After 10 minutes of crawling along the highway, Mark was able to see a semi on the edge of the road. As he got closer, he saw that there was also a small destroyed car in front of the semi's grill. Immediately kicking into "doctor mode" like he had done so many times, Mark pulled over to the side of the road. Once he turned off his car, he made his way to the small wrecked car. When he got there, the site made him sick. A young lady was hunched over the steering wheel, her curly auburn hair falling around her face. The dashboard in front of her was splattered with her own blood. The smell coming from the car was strong, and Mark found it hard to keep from gagging. Slowly backing away from the car, he pulled his cell phone out of his coat pocket. He was sure someone had already called 911, but he wanted to make sure. Unfortunately, he overestimated the kindness of LA's people. The operator told him that he was the first to call in the incident.
Angrily, he turned off his cell phone and walked back to the woman. He peered in the broken door window to see if it was okay for him to open the door. Deciding it was, he slowly pulled the door open, ready to catch the woman if his disturbance caused her to fall. She didn't as Mark pushed the door as wide as it would go. The front of the car was crushed as far as the dashboard, crushing the woman's legs with it. As Mark got closer, he could see pieces of the car's windows scattered in her hair. Gently, he brushed the hair out of her face to reveal a large gash on the woman's temple. The blood glittered, reflecting off the headlights of cars on the highway. Gently, he pressed his fingers on the woman's neck and found a shaky pulse. She was alive, but it was obvious that she needed help right away.
With a frown, Mark realized that he couldn't move the woman without aggravating her injuries further. He decided to go to the semi to see how the other driver fared. As he got closer, he was surprised to see there was no driver. As he looked in the cab, he couldn't find any sign of blood. Obviously the driver had gotten out of the truck and run away. Mark shook his head in disgust and headed back towards the woman. Again, he checked her pulse to find that it was weakening. Desperately, he looked at the highway, hoping that he would see the ambulance coming their way. Unfortunately, there was no such thing on the road. With a shiver, he prepared to stay with the woman until help arrived.
~~end flashback~~
"Mark?" Amanda asked. Her friend had a blank expression on his face and was staring out the window. "Mark?" She ventured again. That snapped Mark out of his trance.
"I'm sorry; what did you say, Amanda?" Mark said, turning his attention to her.
"What were you doing?" She asked. "Did you remember something?" Mark nodded slowly.
"Do you remember last December when I got hypothermia?" It was Amanda's turn to nod.
"Of course. You almost missed the hospital's Christmas party!"
"Yeah," Steve agreed. "It was because you stayed out in the rain with an accident victim…" his voice trailed off as the facts began to click. "That was Kristy!"
"That must be why George set up this." Mark gestured towards the TV. "He wants me to see everything."
"Us too." Amanda said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Steve asked.
"I was the one that did the autopsy report on Kristy." She turned to Steve. "And you were put on the case of finding the semi's driver!"
"It's not just Jesse he wants. He wants all of us." Mark realized.
*******
The men roughly shoved Jesse and Dane into the room and locked the door. Jesse found the wall closest to him, and leaned on it. His shoulder was screaming out in pain. Unwillingly, tears streamed down Jesse's face. He heard Dane take a deep breath.
"I'm sorry." The words shocked Jesse more than the bullet. He never thought he would ever hear his father say those words.
"I didn't realize he would come after you. I would have stopped him if I could." Jesse couldn't believe it. His father was actually apologizing to him.
"It doesn't make sense," Jesse whispered. "You apologize for things out of your control, but don't for things you do control."
"Jesse," Dane sighed.
"Don't deny it." Jesse warned, his voice getting louder. "I don't care that you feel bad for some psycho that came after me because of you! I care more about you feeling bad for never being there in my childhood; for walking out on mom and me. I care more about that than I'll ever care about this." Dane was quiet. Jesse waited for a while, but couldn't stand it anymore.
"Well?" He asked accusingly.
"I don't have to answer you." Dane said quietly.
"Oh, c'mon, Dad! Why not? Can't you even think of a good-enough lie?"
"It's in the past, Jesse!" Dane stated in a loud voice. "It doesn't matter now."
"Oh, I get it." Jesse said, tears forming in his eyes. But this time, they were from emotional pain. "Because you had me in the past, I don't matter now."
"I don't want to talk about it." Dane said. Jesse's tears started to flow more freely.
"Fine." He whispered. Closing his eyes, he tried to get some much-needed sleep. He found it impossible as angry thoughts of his father swarmed in his head. As soon as he got out of this mess, Jesse planned to never talk to his dad again.
*****
The three friends all sat in silence, trying to get over the shock of their knowledge. After a while, Steve got up to look at the TV. Suddenly, he picked something up from the top of the frame, and smashed it on the floor. He stomped on it until he was satisfied.
"It was a camera," He explained to his friends. "He was watching us the whole time!"
"I can't believe…" Amanda's voice trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
"We need to find Jesse." Mark stated, finally out of his daze. "And fast. We don't know how much time we have left."
"But where to start?" Amanda asked.
"Steve, do you know where the transmitter is?" Mark asked his son.
"What do you mean, Dad?"
"Well, George must have set up Jesse's TV to turn itself on and broadcast his signal somehow. He must have used a transmitter." Mark explained. Steve then examined the TV and VCR.
"Here it is." He said triumphantly. He started to yank it out.
"Wait!" Amanda stopped him. "Leave it in there. Maybe he'll broadcast something else later that could help us find Jesse."
"Lets hope we won't give him the time." Mark said grimly. "Did you guys notice anything unusual in the video?" The group silenced.
"It was dark." Amanda said.
"What does that mean?" Steve asked.
"Well, either it's underground, or the building has no windows." Amanda reasoned. "It's still bright outside. The light would be let through the windows if it had any."
"Good thinking, Amanda." Mark agreed. "Also, George isn't working alone. We can look up his closest friends, and ask people who know him if they know anything about this."
"I can do that," Steve said, getting the car keys. "I'll go get started on it. The sooner, the better."
"Good luck Steve." Amanda said. Once Steve left, the two went back to thinking.
"I think they might be in a warehouse." Mark said, breaking the silence.
"Why do you say that?"
"Well," Mark started. "In the broadcast, the floors and walls were made of concrete. Warehouses don't have windows, either."
"I think your right." Amanda agreed. "I can check to see what warehouses are out of use. Maybe we can find a lead there."
"I'll go help Steve." Mark said, getting up with Amanda. "We'll meet at the beach house for dinner, okay?"
"Perfect." Amanda said. "I'll see you there." They then parted to go their separate ways, both hoping to find a good lead.
*****
George sighed in frustration. Steve broke his camera. Oh well George thought with a smirk He'll pay for it. Emotionally, of course. George allowed himself to snicker. He didn't know that Jesse and Dane didn't have a strong father-son relationship until he had heard them arguing in their "room". That, of course, made it that much better for George. If he didn't kill one of them, the other would. He looked at his watch. 7:30. He walked over a station of 5 TV's. One was blank, but the others were set on random views. One was set on the police station; it was pointed at Steve's desk. Another one was pointed at the Sloan's front door. The screen next to it was pointed at the back door. The last one was pointed at the living area.
A grin escaped as George watched Steve, Amanda and Mark walk into the living area and sit down. He watched as they talked, occasionally sipping their cups. His grin widened when all their faces turned to worry. He knew it was time to make his move.
"Get the Travis men out!" he yelled, turning on a camera.
"Yes sir." A man ran back to the room Dane and Jesse were kept in.
**********
I hope I answered a few questions there. I'll explain why Dane was driving a semi in the next chapter, so you don't need to worry about that. But, please, let me know how I did on this last chapter. I hope it was an improvement from the last! ^_^ And, once again, I'm sorry for the wait!