Chapter five

THURSDAY 3:25 NORTH CAROLINA

Danny decided to stop at a mini mart to pick up a snack to give him the energy to keep going. He pulled into the parking lot and parked his car on the side of the building. As he entered the store, his mind was mulling through everything he knew and everything he wished he knew. In the background, he faintly heard the sound of the chimes by the door meaning someone else had entered. Danny went about his shopping, making his way to the back aisle for goldfish crackers. As Danny picked up a box of the little orange fish, he heard a scuffle at the front of the store.

"Just give me the money, hon, and don't do anything stupid" The girl at the counter looked to be in her mid-twenties and scared to death. Her freshly manicured fingers were shaking as she placed the money in the bag. Danny hadn't looked at the men yet, there were two of them and as soon as he raised his head to get a good look at them, Danny's stomach dropped. He didn't have the papers in front of him, but the faces were etched in his mind, he knew these were the guys; the guys who took CJ. The pounding of his heart was beginning to echo louder, he could have sworn the whole store could hear it. Danny took a step back to ensure he was hidden.

"Ok, I got the money let's get out a here." The two men ran toward the door and their 1981 Toyota pickup truck. Danny threw down the items in his arms and ran out the door to his car. As he passed through the door he called back to the girl, call the cops and lock this door untill they get here.

Danny threw open the door to his ca, started it, and floored the gas. He couldn't loose them, but he couldn't let them know he was following either. He pulled out of the parking lot barely missing another car pulling in. He grabbed his cell phone from the passenger seat to call Josh, but there was no signal. He threw the cell phone on the floorboard and pulled behind another car in traffic to hide his presence from the kidnappers.

How long would he have to follow behind these guys? Where did they have her hidden? Danny couldn't stop ideas like that from flowing through his head. He had been trailing these guys forever and he had no clue where he was anymore. The beautiful blue sky turned to a dark gray. He couldn't stop thinking about her, the way she would look at him sometimes. The feel of her lips on his the first time they kissed. Her hand smoothing his tie the last time they kissed. He was not going to lose her, not now. She had to know he would do anything for her, even put his life on the line to save her.

All of a sudden, the Toyota turned down a dirt road. Danny hung back a moment and then cautiously followed them into the woods. A half a mile later, the truck turned into a driveway that led up a large hill. Danny pulled his car to the side of the road two hundred yards back. He opened his door and pulled his binoculars out of the glove compartment. He saw the men stop at a cabin; he needed to get a closer look. Danny made his way to the top of the hill through a dense grouping of trees. He worked his way cautiously toward the cabin's one dusty window.

Danny peered into the window. He felt like his heart stopped beating as he saw CJ tied to a chair. He wasn't quite sure it was her for a moment, her hair tattered and tangled in her face. Her body flinched as the men entered the small log cabin causing her face to move toward the window. He saw her eyes and he saw her fear. He wanted to grab her, take her in his arms. He wanted to save her, but he heard Toby's voice in head, "Don't do anything. You call Josh."

CJ's hair fell out of the way of her face and suddenly her eyes widened. She saw Danny. Their eyes met, as she feared for not only Danny, but for her own life. Yet she still had a look of hope in her eyes. Danny could see it all. He tried to tell her it was all right with his eyes--that he was going to help her.

Danny could see someone was coming and he lowered himself under the window. He took a breath leaning himself up against the wall under the sill. Danny had found himself in some crazy situations, but James Bond he wasn't. Suddenly his inexperience and stupidly hit him. His next move had CJ's life depending on it. He didn't want to leave her, but Danny knew he had to leave her for a moment to call Josh. Danny ducked and walked out of view of the window, looking back one more time before running his hardest down the hill and down the gravel road. Once he hit his car at the end of the dirt road, Danny leaned on the car and took out his phone. "Come on, come on." He spoke softly for Josh to pick up.

Josh put his hand on his hip feeling the vibration of his phone. Toby looked at him. Josh excused himself.

Danny held the phone waiting, "Where are ya, Josh?" he said impatiently. Danny couldn't finish the thought , a hard object smacked him in the back of the head forcing Danny forward and his cell phone to the ground hitting the mud and leaves.

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Josh walked out of the Mural room and opened his phone, looking at the display with a panic.

Donna walked out of the room having seen Josh leave.

"Is it Danny?"

"Yeah?" He looked at the phone. "But he hung up."

"Maybe he lost the connection."

"Yeah." Josh shook off his strange feeling. "He'll call back." Josh went back into the meeting.

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