Morning Star
Chapter 15
Trivette and Alex sped along the highway and eventually reached the place where Trivette had last seen Walker and Gage. Getting out of the car they looked around but the area did not look any different than when Trivette had left, just after the coroner had loaded the three bodies into her van and driven away. It was clear that neither Walker nor Gage had returned to this site, or if they had, they had left no discernable trace.
"We'll have to keep going Alex." Trivette noted, stating the obvious, as he returned to the car.
"Do you know what's down this road Jimmy?" Alex asked.
"Nothing – its just the site of the old Shindank smelter I think. They tore down all the buildings."
Alex shook her blonde head and spoke, her voice almost a whisper. "No. This road also leads to the abandoned Psych Hospital."
Jimmy noted the fear in Alex's voice and remembered the time that she had been attacked by one of the inmates there during a criminal investigation. But quickly his concern for Alex turned to anger at himself. How could he have forgotten that the Psych Hospital was down here?
He could have, should have, come back down this road hours ago when neither Gage nor Walker contacted him or returned to headquarters. There were lots of places at the old Psych Hospital where one could hide a kidnapping victim or dispose of a body. Until about a month ago there had been a guard posted there and now Jimmy vaguely recollected a memo that had circulated informing the Rangers that the security company had been laid off due to cutbacks.
With that thought Trivette put his foot down on the gas pedal and before either he or Alex could put on their seatbelts the car shot off down the road.
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Walker suddenly came too again as cold water was splashed on his face and he was kicked in the ribs.
"Ahh, the famous Ranger Walker..." a bitter female voice came to him through the darkness. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end of punishment for a change?"
Suddenly a bright light hit his eyes and Walker grabbed his head, trying to subdue the sudden pain the intense light caused him. He tried frantically to think where he had heard the voice before – it sounded a bit familiar but it was not someone he had busted, he was sure of it. He never forgot the voice of someone he had put away.
"Who are you? What do you want? Where is Sydney?" he croaked, his mouth parched and dehydrated.
"Ranger Cooke is dead, or nearly dead. When I last saw her she was in pretty rough shape. I'm sure that the rats have now had their way with her. You will soon be joining her, but not before I punish you for your crimes, just as Ranger Cooke was punished for hers." With that, Walker suddenly found himself being kicked about the head and torso, much like Sydney had been the previous day. Weakened and unable to defend himself Walker curled into a tight ball and did his best to protect his body from the onslaught.
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A gunshot suddenly rang out in the forest and the bullet whizzed past Gage's head so close he could feel it grazing through his hair. Pushing Syd into the covering provided by the thick bushes and the river bank, he grabbed his gun and looked in the direction that the shot had originated.
Immediately another gunshot came, this one hitting its target. Gage was thrown down to the ground with the force of the bullet as it ripped through the shoulder of his already injured arm.
"Gage!" Syd screamed, watching in horror as he fell backwards, blood immediately staining his shirt. Crawling forward and taking herself out of the safety of the bushes, Sydney grabbed for Gage's gun and turned to look for the source of the gunshots.
Before she could even focus clearly, the large man in black was upon her. Kicking her deliberately in her injured leg he easily disarmed her and threw the weapon several feet away in the bushes. Despite fighting with all her might, Syd was effortlessly overpowered and the silent man swung her lithe body up and over his shoulder. He carried her away and she pounded on his back with her fists, tears streaming down her face, crying out for Gage.
Her partner lay motionless on the forest floor, the blood pouring from his latest wound the only indication that his heart was still beating.
Chapter 15
Trivette and Alex sped along the highway and eventually reached the place where Trivette had last seen Walker and Gage. Getting out of the car they looked around but the area did not look any different than when Trivette had left, just after the coroner had loaded the three bodies into her van and driven away. It was clear that neither Walker nor Gage had returned to this site, or if they had, they had left no discernable trace.
"We'll have to keep going Alex." Trivette noted, stating the obvious, as he returned to the car.
"Do you know what's down this road Jimmy?" Alex asked.
"Nothing – its just the site of the old Shindank smelter I think. They tore down all the buildings."
Alex shook her blonde head and spoke, her voice almost a whisper. "No. This road also leads to the abandoned Psych Hospital."
Jimmy noted the fear in Alex's voice and remembered the time that she had been attacked by one of the inmates there during a criminal investigation. But quickly his concern for Alex turned to anger at himself. How could he have forgotten that the Psych Hospital was down here?
He could have, should have, come back down this road hours ago when neither Gage nor Walker contacted him or returned to headquarters. There were lots of places at the old Psych Hospital where one could hide a kidnapping victim or dispose of a body. Until about a month ago there had been a guard posted there and now Jimmy vaguely recollected a memo that had circulated informing the Rangers that the security company had been laid off due to cutbacks.
With that thought Trivette put his foot down on the gas pedal and before either he or Alex could put on their seatbelts the car shot off down the road.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Walker suddenly came too again as cold water was splashed on his face and he was kicked in the ribs.
"Ahh, the famous Ranger Walker..." a bitter female voice came to him through the darkness. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end of punishment for a change?"
Suddenly a bright light hit his eyes and Walker grabbed his head, trying to subdue the sudden pain the intense light caused him. He tried frantically to think where he had heard the voice before – it sounded a bit familiar but it was not someone he had busted, he was sure of it. He never forgot the voice of someone he had put away.
"Who are you? What do you want? Where is Sydney?" he croaked, his mouth parched and dehydrated.
"Ranger Cooke is dead, or nearly dead. When I last saw her she was in pretty rough shape. I'm sure that the rats have now had their way with her. You will soon be joining her, but not before I punish you for your crimes, just as Ranger Cooke was punished for hers." With that, Walker suddenly found himself being kicked about the head and torso, much like Sydney had been the previous day. Weakened and unable to defend himself Walker curled into a tight ball and did his best to protect his body from the onslaught.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------
A gunshot suddenly rang out in the forest and the bullet whizzed past Gage's head so close he could feel it grazing through his hair. Pushing Syd into the covering provided by the thick bushes and the river bank, he grabbed his gun and looked in the direction that the shot had originated.
Immediately another gunshot came, this one hitting its target. Gage was thrown down to the ground with the force of the bullet as it ripped through the shoulder of his already injured arm.
"Gage!" Syd screamed, watching in horror as he fell backwards, blood immediately staining his shirt. Crawling forward and taking herself out of the safety of the bushes, Sydney grabbed for Gage's gun and turned to look for the source of the gunshots.
Before she could even focus clearly, the large man in black was upon her. Kicking her deliberately in her injured leg he easily disarmed her and threw the weapon several feet away in the bushes. Despite fighting with all her might, Syd was effortlessly overpowered and the silent man swung her lithe body up and over his shoulder. He carried her away and she pounded on his back with her fists, tears streaming down her face, crying out for Gage.
Her partner lay motionless on the forest floor, the blood pouring from his latest wound the only indication that his heart was still beating.