Gage held his partner protectively, trying to prevent her from being jostled and bumped as the van made its way across very bumpy terrain.
"Syd...Syd...are you okay? Talk to me."
"What are you doing here?" Gage's heart stopped racing as he heard her voice. But then he realized that instead of sounding relieved to see him, she sounded irritated. He released her from his tight hold and pulled back to look at her. Faint light from the moon outside shone in through the back windows of the van illuminating their faces.
"What do you mean what am I doing here?" His voice was incredulous. "I heard gunshots; I raced back from the dig and saw my partner being taken by gunpoint into this van. I followed it and then I saw you get shot...oh my God Syd, are you okay? There was blood." He looked down at his hands, smears of drying red-brown evident.
"I don't think it was me. I think it hit the guy holding me, I felt him crumple and I just went down with him." Her voice was softer. "No Gage, I mean why are you here? You shouldn't have followed. Now we're both in trouble."
He looked at her intently, eyes dark in the moonlight, and then crushed her to him. "I couldn't think straight Syd. I saw him taking you and I was so scared and then I thought you were shot and I just couldn't get to you fast enough. I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you. I'm just so glad you're okay."
Syd's arms snaked around Gage's back and she held onto him tightly as he poured his heart out. She let her head fall against his chest, her ear pressed against him listening to his heart beating. She relaxed for a moment as he stroked her hair and rubbed her back.
"Thank you Gage." She finally, simply said.
Feeling her warmth snuggled against him, his partner safe in his arms, Gage realized that he didn't ever want to let her go. This is where Syd belonged; it's where he was meant to be. Well, except that they were travelling across the desert to who knows where in the back of van which had been commandeered by native terrorists. Telling his partner about this realization would have to wait until later.
"Syd...got any ideas how we can get out of here?"
Syd pulled herself away from Gage, her moment of weakness over. "Do you have any idea where we are?"
"No...we're clearly not on a road. I've lost all sense of direction."
Syd almost laughed. "Since when have you had a good sense of direction?" She whispered and was about to say more when they were interrupted.
"Hey Joe, these two are awake! What do ya want me to do with'em?"
"Tie 'em up Andre. We'll figure something out later. Right now I just want to get as far away from here as we can – I think I've lost the police but they won't be far behind."
Andre stepped back to the floor behind the backseat but as he moved to restrain Syd, who was closest, Gage swung up and caught Andre on the jaw. A larger man than the Texas Ranger and still armed with his gun, Andre pointed the weapon at Syd.
"You two don't mean nothin' to me; I could kill ya right now – starting with the lady."
The Rangers were silent, Syd wordlessly pleading for Gage to not put them in any more danger. To ensure their co-operation Andre took a swing at Gage while he was momentarily distracted by looking at Syd and knocked him unconscious.
"That's better." Andre took some rope from the floor and tied Syd's wrists together, above and behind her head, securing them to a metal bar running along the inside of the van. She tried to struggle but her muscles were still so weak and her feeble effort did nothing but amuse her captor. He followed suit with Gage, his head still lolling, tying him in place on the opposite side of the van from his partner.
"Okay Joe, they're tied up." Andre called to the driver.
"Good, now get back up here. We've got to ditch this van. Get the pieces out of that chest there and put them in my black bag, and when we see our chance to leave we'll be ready to take it."
"Sure thing boss."
Syd could hear Andre opening the chest and unzipping a bag, but she didn't care about that right now. The objects were worthless anyways. All she cared about was that her partner looked awful, tied to the van with his head swinging violently with each and every frequent bump of the van. They weren't on a road; even if they were somehow able to escape where would they find themselves?
"Gage...Gage!" Syd called to him.
No response.
"Gage! Wake up, please." Her voice was cracking. "I need you."
Nothing.
Syd wished she could touch him, caress his cheek where the brute Andre had struck him, and gently call him back from wherever he was now. It was more frustrating than she could ever imagine being so close and yet so far.
She knew that she was too weak to make an escape on her own, especially if she had to carry or drag her partner with her. She needed Gage's strength, his support, his ability to make feel safe just by being beside her. She needed him; she wanted him beside her every day and, if she was honest with herself, every night. Please God let him be alright and let us get out of here alive so I can tell him that.
Syd's silent and not so silent pleadings did little good. The van rumbled on and on for hours, bouncing and jarring its occupants cruelly. Despite her best efforts Syd found herself struggling with the effects of the toxin still in her system and she soon fell into a deep but restless sleep of exhaustion.
When Gage came-to early morning light was filtering in through the back window and he could see Syd across from him, her head hanging low, her arms tied above her as he imagined his own were. The van was still bouncing across rough terrain but their captors must have felt confident they had lost the police tail because the speed had decreased to a relatively normal pace.
Suddenly though the van came to a screeching halt and Joe or Andre, Gage couldn't tell which, cursed.
"Go get the stuff; we'll have to go on by foot." Joe spoke to his companion.
"What about those two?"
"Leave 'em here. I'm sure as hell not taking responsibility for them."
A bit of fear crept into Andre's voice. "But they're Texas Rangers...we're going to be in a lot of trouble if anything serious happens to them."
"What? More trouble than we're already in? Get a grip Andre! Look, we'll just push the van into the river okay and they'll drown – end of story, and we've saved two bullets."
"Okay boss." Andre climbed in the back and reached for the bag filled with the objects for which he and his partner were clearly ready to kill. Gage wanted to tell him they were fakes, but wasn't prepared to risk the wrath of Joe – clearly the more callous of the two.
Syd had woken up when the van came to a halt. Her head lifted from her chest.
"Gage?" She called, her eyes trying to focus in the sunlight.
"Right here Syd." His face hurt where Andre had slugged him; he imagined he had a nasty bruise there.
"I can't move my arms." She was still groggy.
"I know, I can't either."
"Hey you two, shut up." Andre looked over the backseat at them.
"Let us go." Gage demanded. "Look, we don't have any weapons – we can't hurt you. Just let us out."
"No can do, its goodbye to you two."
"C'mon Andre, stop jabbering and let's get going." They heard the front door slam as Joe left the van.
"Where are you going?" Syd looked up at Andre, her head hurting and all her muscles incredibly stiff.
"Nowhere with you sweetheart, not that you aren't a pretty thing. Sure seems a shame."" Andre grabbed the bag, slid open the side door and hopped out, slamming it shut behind him.
"Where are they going Gage? What's happening?" Syd asked her partner weakly, as she struggled to release her wrists from their restraints.
Gage was struggling with his restraints as well. "I heard them say they were going to push the van into the river."
His comment was followed by the heavy grunts of the two men outside the back doors of the van and the sudden rolling of the van, followed by a sudden lurch and a tremendous splash.
"Oh my god - Gage!"
The van was bobbing up and down in the water; this was no mere stream. Gage and Syd could hear the water rushing around them and within seconds wetness started to creep up around them through the floorboards of the van.
"Gage, we have to get out of here." Syd was starting to panic, the rope around her wrists digging in and ripping at her flesh as she struggled. She couldn't stand to be this helpless.
"I know Syd, I know." Gage tried to keep his voice calm as he felt his partner's rising fear.
There was a loud crash and suddenly the van was no longer moving, but the water continued to roar around them and steadily rose inside. Both Rangers, still sitting, were now submerged to the waist.
"The van must be lodged against something."
"Gage, what are we going to do?"
"I don't know Syd, I don't know. I'm trying, I really am but I am stuck."
"I know you are Gage, I'm sorry. I'm just scared."
The water was rising fast inside the van now, reaching Syd's chest. Blood was dripping down her wrists as she continued to struggle. Gage, still fighting with his own ropes could only look on helplessly.
Syd started crying as the water reached her neck."Gage, I don't want to die. There's so much I haven't done, that I haven't said. Gage..."
The tears streaming down his partner's face gave Gage the sudden strength that he needed to free himself from his restraints. He felt the rope burning and ripping his skin as he tore free from it but paid the pain no heed. Half-swimming, half walking to Syd who was now tilting her head back as far as she could to keep the water from going in her mouth and nose, he immediately began to untie the ropes that bound her.
By time he finished Syd was bobbing between being under the surface and above it; her breath ragged as she tried to inhale before being swished under again. He grabbed her under her arms, raising her above the level of the water where she rapidly drew in short, uneven breaths.
"Syd, the water is rising too fast. We're going to have to swim for the shore. Are you going to be okay?"
"Yes." He could feel her shaking.
"Okay. I'm going to open these doors and I want you to hold onto me as tight as you can. The water is pretty rough out there; I think we are near or in a set of rapids. I'm going to do the best I can to take us to shore okay?"
Syd pulled back from Gage a little to look him straight in the eyes and nodded. "Okay."
Gage looked at Syd saw the trust she had for him shining in her eyes. He hoped his eyes reflected that faith back to her. Leaning forward suddenly he kissed her recklessly, his lips on hers trying somehow to show her how much she meant to him. When he felt her lips returning the kiss ardently he knew that she understood, that she felt the same way.
When they pulled apart after that timeless moment Gage looked at her. "Ready Syd? Hold on tight. On the count of three – one...two...three!"
It was difficult to open against the rushing of the water but Gage managed to get one of the back doors open. As he did a huge wave covered them both but they emerged the other side of it, gasping and choking.
"Big breath Syd – I'm going to swim for it." They each took a deep breath and with Syd's arms wrapped tightly around his neck, Gage stepped out into the rushing current.
They were tossed against the rocks, their bodies bashed into a fallen tree, their heads swallowed up by torrents of water but Gage fought his way across the white water with Syd clinging to him desperately, and after a valiant effort from both Rangers they at the shore, half-dragging, half pulling each other up the embankment.
Collapsing in a jumble of exhaustion and relief, Syd and Gage wrapped their arms around each other breathing heavily.
"Thank you, thank you." Syd was crying into Gage's shoulder. Now that she had started she couldn't seem to stop crying. She had been close to death before but she didn't think she'd ever been THAT close. She knew she couldn't have done that without Gage – he was the one who had untied her, the one who had strained his body beyond the capacity of a normal man to bring them here to where they were safe.
"Shh, shh, shh Syd. It's okay. We're safe, we're safe." Gage held his partner close, his own ragged breaths not far different from her sobs. He stroked her wet hair and felt her warm breath against his chest; as soon as her breathing had evened out he set her slightly away from him and looked at her.
"You okay?" She looked awful, her hair was matted and she was covered with scrapes and bruises and pretty much everything hurt but she was alive. She smiled at him.
"Yeah."
"Good." He smiled back. "We should start walking, we need to find help. Can you walk?"
Syd nodded and Gage stood, reaching down to help her up. As they stood up they both took their first real look around the area. Although it was fairly lush where they were now, they were only steps away from where the desert began. The morning sun was hot and already their clothes and hair were beginning to dry.
Looking at the sun's location in the sky Gage tried to determine which way was north.
"That way Syd?"
Standing beside her partner, Syd looked up at the sky. "Wow, I think all the stuff Walker has been teaching you is paying off."
"Thank you." Gage beamed at Syd. "Which way do you want to go?"
"I have no idea where we are Gage; I don't have a clue which way we should go."
"Fair enough, how does East sound?"
"It sounds great."
Walking side by side the two Rangers headed in a direction that was more or less easterly. It was a bit of a slow go – Syd limping along with her weakened muscles and swollen ankle; Gage's leg battered and bruised from the beating they had taken in the water as he had struggled to the shore.
About five minutes into their journey Gage felt Syd sneak her hand into his. He immediately laced his fingers with hers, giving her a tight squeeze. When he felt her squeeze back he smiled broadly and suddenly being stuck out in the desert didn't seem so bad.