I would like to apologize to Space-Case7029 for hurting Chelsea. I had already finished the story by the time I had posted part 3, and when I write I have no idea what the characters are going to do until they do it.
Chelsea Meets Her Father
Part 4
The next two days went by smoothly, Thursday at lunch was when it happened. Chelsea was trying to waste the rest of her lunch break, when all of a sudden Rodriguez showed up. Before she could react, he had her four fingers pulled back to the brink of pain. To any bystander, it looked like an adult was holding a child's hand but she knew there was no way out of this 'come along' grip. She was at his mercy; it would be at least two more hours before her father would know that she was missing.
"Let's go for a ride, Chelsea." He said in a Spanish accent. He led her to his truck and shoved her in through the driver side door. All the while, keeping hold of her hand. She guessed he was involved in a felony arrest, because he started the vehicle with his left hand and put it into gear before driving off. A few blocks away from the school, parked the truck and ordered her to turn around. As she did, he reached behind the seat and grabbed a length of rope. He used the rope to tie her hands behind her back, and put a heavy black cloth hood over her head that he got from the glove box.
Forty-five minutes later, Chelsea was shoved into what appeared to be a janitor's closet. After a few minutes of working the ropes that bonded her hands, she managed to free them. She yanked off the hood to find that she was not alone in the tiny room. In the corner, bound and gagged, was the senator's daughter. Not wanting to scare her too much, Chelsea asked "Cindy Halloway?" She watched the other girl nod her head before continuing, "I'm Chelsea Walker. I'm going to untie you now, okay?" Again the other girl nodded her permission before she started at the ropes with her raw hands.
Once Cindy was free from her gag and ropes, she asked Chelsea "How did you know my name? I don't think 'he' told you." She meant Rodriguez, and Chelsea knew it.
"He by the way is Carlos Rodriguez, a serial killer and pedophile. No, he did not tell me your name, but my dad did. Your dad, Senator Halloway, immediately went to the Texas Rangers for help in finding you. My dad recruited me as bait so that we can better locate you." Chelsea explained, knowing that her father had done some favors for the senator in the past and that Cindy would know who he is. She didn't have to wait long to confirm her suspicion.
"Your Ranger Walker's daughter? I didn't know he had any kids, nor did I know he was married." Cindy exclaimed. She watched as Chelsea started to look at the various bottles and containers on the shelves. She asked, "What are you looking for, Chelsea?"
"Two things, actually. I'm trying to see if any of these labels can tell me where we are, and if I can use them in case of an emergency." Chelsea had already looked at the lock on the door, and knew she could not pick it. Before their conversation got any further, the door flew open and Rodriguez stormed in. he immediately grabbed Chelsea and started to beat her. She let him get a few good licks in before she fought back, really fought back. She was determined to not let him break her. She kicked him in the groin, and then elbowed the back of his head effectively stunning him for a few moments. Not taking the time to get his keys, she grabbed Cindy and pulled her out the door. "We have to run. Now!" She explained to the girl.
Cindy slammed the door closed, and Chelsea grabbed a nearby chair that she shoved underneath the door handle to buy them a few more minutes to get away. They managed to get to the stairs before the chair crashed behind them against the wall. "Cindy stop!" Rodriguez yelled. To Chelsea's surprise, she obeyed him. He was gaining on them and closing the distance rapidly. Chelsea said a prayer to the spirits, and grabbed Cindy's hand.
"Run, Cindy, run! We can't let him catch us." Chelsea encouraged her. She was relieved when Cindy followed her. They were almost to the front door, when he stopped them. "Move aside Rodriguez, or I will make you do so." Chelsea threatened the man before them. She knew that she could put the psycho in intensive care if needed, but no way was she going to let him beat her or Cindy any more. The clock on the wall said it was well after three pm. 'Good, Dad knows I'm missing. It is only a matter of time before he finds me and Cindy.' At that thought, she gave the other girl's hand a squeeze before letting go. She waited for Rodriguez to make the first move, so as if she accidentally kills him it would be in self-defense. No charges against her. Rodriguez tried to give her a right blow to the head, which she ducked easily. It was on now.
Walker closed the door as the tardy bell rang, and looked over the class. His heart stopped when he spied his daughter's empty desk, 'Where is Chelsea?' He knew Rodriguez took her, but asked the class anyway. "Does anybody know where Chelsea Walker is?" A lone, shy girl in the back raised her hand. "Yes, did you see her?" He answered her.
"I saw her get shoved into a beat up old pickup truck outside at lunch, Mr. Washington." The girl told Walker what had happened to Chelsea.
He silently cured up, down, and six days from Sunday. Walker just nodded his head and quickly took roll call. He had already mad arrangements for this with another history teacher, so did the other Rangers. He picked up the phone and called the other teacher to tell her that she is needed. After he got the okay, he told the class "I'm sorry class, but my name is not really Calvin Washington. I'm actually Ranger Cordell Walker, Chelsea's father, and you are going to be joining Miss Balsden's class today." He quieted their questions and made sure the entire class was where they were suppose to be, before trotting off to tell the other Rangers.
Forty-five minutes later, all four Rangers were busy trying to find Chelsea and Cindy. Trivette had gone out to Rodriguez's house to find no one home. Syd and Gage went to talk to his parents to see if they could tell them anything. Walker was at the office working the phones, all the while praying that his daughter was safe with Cindy. Trivette had started to go to Rodriguez's old haunts to see if he can get an old buddy to start talking this time around.
Meanwhile, Sydney and Gage had listened to the Rodriguezs' stories about their boy growing up for about forty-five minutes, before interrupting. "We're sorry, but what can you tell us about Carlos now? Do you know where he works at?" Sydney politely asked them.
"Of course, he works as a janitor at the Dallas Convention Center. I think he is on shift right now." Mrs. Rodriguez told them. Syd and Gage thanked the Rodriguezs before quickly leaving. They did not walk toward their car, instead they ran to it. They barely had shut their doors before Gage sped off toward the convention center.
Sydney placed the light on top of the car and turned it on, before reaching for the car phone to call Walker. "Walker, we know where they are. Rodriguez works at the Dallas Convention Center as a janitor. Gage and I are on our way there now." She heard and acknowledged Walker's order to notify Trivette. She did so, and told him the same thing.
When Walker got Sydney's call, he immediately grabbed his hat and headed for his truck. He buckled up, turned on the siren and lights, and sped toward the convention center. He was the first one there, and he did not wait for the others. He barged in the front door and stopped, only for a second to assess the situation before him. Chelsea was on the floor curled up into a protective fetal position, and Rodriguez was kicking her like a soccer ball. Cindy was curled up into a corner out of reach. He launched at Rodriguez.
Chelsea did not know what happened. First, she was ducking Rodriguez's blows like it was nothing, and then returning a few of her own. Next thing she knew was that he just got faster and faster until she could no longer block or duck them. He managed to get her to the floor, and started to kick her very hard and very fast. The only thing she could think of was to curl up into a protective ball and await rescue. She managed to see her father come in, and become very angry at her situation. She was only glad that Walker took him on, so that she can assess the damage done to her body.
Trivette, Sydney, and Gage came in just in time to see Walker attack Rodriguez for beating up on Chelsea. Gage immediately went to help Walker, Sydney spied Cindy and went to make sure she was okay, and Trivette decided to check on Chelsea. He made a quick assessment of her injuries, and helped her up to where she could see the two against one fight going on.
Chelsea watched as her father attacked Rodriguez from the belt up, and Gage took the belt down. They each gave a few non-effective blows at first, but they slowly became aggressive until they thought he had had enough. Gage took out his left knee with a swift kick, and Walker did a rough roundhouse kick to the chin knocking him unconscious. He stood above Rodriguez's unmoving body a few minutes to make sure he doesn't want round two, and nodded his head at Gage to cuff him.
Now that was out of the way, Walker turned his undivided attention to his daughter. He kneeled down in front of her and asked, "Chelsea, are you okay? Where are you hurt?"
Chelsea forgot about her injuries, and she flung herself into Walker's arms. She winced in pain as a few of her ribs grated against each other. Her father's concern had her wondering if she just injured herself further. "I don't know, Daddy. I think I may have a few broken ribs and some bruising. I don't know who is worse, him," she nodded towards Rodriguez. "Or Bob." She watched different emotions play across her father's face as she mentioned her step-dad's name.
"Chelsea, we had an agreement to not speak his name." Walker chastised his daughter, before looking over her injuries himself. In addition to her ribs, he found a few more injuries that troubled him. There were a few bruises on her back along her spine, and a nasty looking one right over her kidney. What worried him the most was a fairly good-sized knot on the back of her head. Not sure if any internal damages have occurred, he gently gathered her up and carried her out to his truck. He placed her in the front seat, and climbed behind the wheel before she knew what was going on. 'Not a good sign, if she is incoherent.' He thought as he started the truck and headed toward Mercy Faith's emergency room.
"Daddy, where are we going?" Chelsea asked, looking out the window, and knew that this was not the way to the ranch. All she wanted to do was crawl into her bed and go to sleep for the next three or four weeks, not whatever Walker had in mind for her.
"I'm taking you to the hospital to have you checked out by a doctor." Walker watched as Chelsea's eyes started to close. "Don't you dare go to sleep on me! Not until I get a doctor to see you. Stay with me, Sweetheart. Talk to me." He pleaded with his daughter and God to do as he asked.
"How is Cindy? I forgot to ask her earlier, and before I could do so, Rodriguez interrupted me. He came in and started to slap me around like a rag doll. I let him get a few licks in before I kicked him in the groin and then elbowed his head." Walker knew his daughter's injuries must be worse than he thought, because she was rambling now. He was glad Chelsea didn't see his knuckles starting to turn white on the steering wheel as she mentioned what that bastard did to her. "After Cindy and I holed him up in the closet with a chair shoved underneath the door handle, we were almost to the stairs when he broke out. What scarred me was that he ordered her to stop, and she obeyed him. If it weren't for me pulling her, I really thought she would've gone back to him if he told her to do so."
He pulled up to the emergency room door, and got out before answering her. He went around to her side and got her out, and then headed inside. "Cindy had been with Rodriguez for two weeks. He probably had already broke her, and was just starting to rebuild her to his liking." Walker told his daughter. A nurse was rushing by and he stopped her. "I need a doctor. My daughter was badly beaten." He made sure she saw his badge pinned to his shirt, and the shape Chelsea was in. He watched the nurse nod her head, and then rushed off into a room. A few moments later, she re-emerged with a doctor right behind her. The doctor took one look at Walker and they immediately recognized each other off the bat. "Dr. Dawes."
"Ranger Walker, did you involve Chelsea in another one of your cases, again?" The doctor asked him, as he took Chelsea, who had given up on consciousness a few moments ago, from her father. Dr. Dawes led the way to an examining room, and then laid the child down so that he can examine her.
Walker followed the doctor and his daughter to the examining room. "Actually, she involved herself. I ask her, before I put her in mortal danger. You know that Dr. Dawes." He answered the man's question. He watched as Dawes donned a pair of rubber gloves before starting.
"What happened this time? She looks just as bad as the first time you brought her in." Dawes gently prodded her ribs, his face set in a grim line at what he found. He was prodding at the knot on her head when the other man answered.
"Kidnappings."
"Excuse me?" Dawes' head snapped up at the word. "You mean to tell me that someone kidnapped her?"
"Not exactly. Remember Senator Halloway's daughter being kidnapped a few weeks ago?" Walker watched the other man nod his head in answer before continuing. "We had trouble finding her, so I asked Chelsea for help. I told her up front what was involved, and she agreed to do it. I also told her that I would use her as bait."
Dawes had finished his exam of Chelsea, and straightened up. He looked toward Walker, and gave his opinion both personally and professionally. "Chelsea seems to have a mild concussion and a few broken ribs, but you don't need to worry about internal bleeding. I do however want to know what happened to the Son of a Bitch that did this to her."
"He ended up with a broken left knee and a fairly good concussion, but that is the least of his troubles. In addition to his injuries, he'll get 20 to life in a federal pen if he survived his 15 to 20 in a state prison." Walker answered the good doctor through clenched teeth at the thought of what that bastard did to her.
A few days later, Walker and Chelsea were relaxing at the ranch by riding their horses. Trivette, Sydney, and Gage drove up to the house, and walked around to the back to find the two galloping in sync. "Walker! Hey, Walker!" They all yelled at the pair. Walker signaled to his daughter that they should turn around, and she nodded her head and turned her horse around to head toward the trio with her father.
As the pair approached them, Trivette asked a sympathy question. "All three of us wanted to know how Chelsea is doing?" Walker and his daughter rode right up to them, and started to dismount. Walker did so easily, but Chelsea had a little trouble.
Sydney saw this and gave her a helping hand. Once she was steady on the ground, Chelsea answered the inquiry. "I would be the best person to ask, not Daddy." She walked over and gave him a hug. "Anyway, I'm doing just fine. My bruises are fading, and my concussion is gone. My ribs need a few more, okay, a while longer, but the doctor says I can go back to school on Monday. Although, I can't participate in PE until my ribs are better." She thought for a moment before asking a question of her own. "How is Cindy holding up?"
Sydney took the young girl's shoulders under her arm before answering, "Cindy is doing great, but she hasn't stopped asking about you since she was returned to her parents. Now we have something to tell her." The group looked up as a car drove up in the driveway, and parked near the other vehicles. The driver got out and spotted the group, and headed their way.
As soon as the driver was in hearing range, the group greeted the newcomer. "Hey Alex, how was your trip?" Alex walked up and assessed the group before answering them.
"It was great, and I had fun." Alex looked Chelsea over real good, and then asked a question of her own. "What happened while I was gone for the past two weeks, most especially what happened to Chelsea?"
Walker looked around and made a decision. "I'll explain as soon as Chelsea and I take the horses to the barn, and remove their saddles." He and his daughter did as he said and returned to the group. He took Alex under his arm and made a suggestion. "Why don't we all go inside to talk this over."
As the group started for the house, Sydney again took Chelsea under her arm as the young girl voiced an idea of her own. "Syd, I've got a better idea. Instead of you telling Cindy how I'm doing, how about I write her a note saying how I'm doing?"
"That may not be such a bad idea." Everyone answered her. She was thinking of what to include in the letter as they entered the house.
THE END