"Jack?" Tara's voice brought him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah?"
She hung up the phone. "That was SOG. They just sighted Brad Everton at a gas station in D.C."
He looked puzzled. "Any sign of Myles and Sue?"
"No. That's the weird part. I asked them to check around for a few blocks, but there's no sign of Myles' car anywhere."
"Did you try them on the radio? Their cells?" The nagging worry he'd had for the last five hours was getting worse.
"Working on that right now. So far, nothing."
"Keep trying. The storm and the terrain might mess with cell reception, but the radio should still work, and the repeater unit in the car could reach all the way from Richmond, if it had to." He grabbed his coat. "Bobby, come on."
The tall Aussie looked up from his paperwork. "Where are we going?"
"Out toward Westlawn. I just have a feeling something's wrong. Where we they the last time Myles called in, Tara?"
Tara's curls bounced as she turned to check her notes. "3:30 pm: They were just turning off Route 50 at the Westlawn exit. Jack, it's full dark now— if something did happen to them, you're going to have a hard time finding them out in those hills."
Jack nodded. "I know; but I can't shake this feeling, and I have to do something. Call D and Lucy— tell them to saddle up and get in here. When they do, call me and we'll figure out what to do next, if anything. Bobby, let's go."
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A small battery-powered lamp was the only thing that permeated the darkness. Rain continued to pound on the roof of the car, but at least the wind wasn't blowing. Thank heaven for small miracles, Myles thought. He checked his watch in the dim light; 10:30. They'd been stuck for almost seven hours.
It had taken them about a half hour to get his shoulder immobilized, since she was very dizzy and nearly blind, and he'd only had one hand to help. But that pain had subsided somewhat, and it was easier to focus.
There hadn't been a large enough bandage left in the kit to both pack and wrap his leg, since the triangular was on his shoulder; then Sue had a thought and pulled off the scarf she was wearing with her coat. A brief argument had ensued:
NO.
"Why not?"
I-T S-I-L-K.
"Then it should be worthy of a Leland."
A-L-S-O Y-O-U-R F-A-V-O-R-I-T-E.
"How would you know that?"
W-E-A-R E-V-E-R-Y D-A-Y.
It surprised her that he'd noticed. "And it's mine to do with as I please."
S-U-E.
"Myles, shut up and hold this in place before I change my mind and wrap it around your neck instead."
He had laughed at that, wincing as his ribs hurt, but not able to stop himself. Y-E-S S-I-R
His ribs hurt increasingly whenever he took a breath now, but at least he was in no immediate danger of bleeding to death. He was more concerned, though, about his colleague.
Sue's head drooped against his shoulder, bringing him out of his thoughts. He reached for her hand. H-E-Y. N-O-N-E T-H-A-T. Y-O-U ST-A-Y A-W-A-K-E.
She smiled. "You're getting pretty fast at your finger-spelling."
G-E-T-T-I-N-G M-U-C-H P-R-A-C-T-I-C-E. He felt her shiver. Y-O-U C-O-L-D?
"A little."
C-A-N F-I-X T-H-A-T A-T L-E-A-S-T. He pulled a blanket out of the emergency kit and spread it over her legs. B-E-T-T-E-R?
"Yes. But what about you? You're the one that's been out in the rain. You must be about frozen."
Y-O-U T-H-I-N-K J-A-C-K F-O-R-G-I-V-E M-E?
Sue laughed softly. "I won't tell him if you don't."
O-K He gingerly slid over a little and put his good arm around her, then rearranged the blanket. N-O-W, M-I-S-S T-H-O-M-A-S,E-X-P-E-C-T Y-O-US-T-A-Y A-W-A-K-E.T-A-L-KT-O M-E.R-E-A-L-I-Z-E-D D-O-N-T R-E-A-L-L-Y K-N-O-W Y-O-U M-U-C-H, B-E-S-I-D-E-S W-O-R-K.
"I could say the same thing about you."
T-R-U-E. B-U-T G-I-V-E H-A-N-D C-H-A-N-C-E U-N-C-R-A-M-P. T-H-E-N F-A-I-R T-R-A-D-E. O-K?
Her breath came out in a laugh again, although it sounded pained. "That's a deal. Well, let's see..."
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"Tara?" Bobby's voice came over the radio.
"Bobby, it's Lucy. Tara and D are headed out to help you look for them."
"Righto. Welcome aboard." The Aussie leaned back in the passenger seat. "Jack and I are just swinging around to go up to Route 29, just in case Everton took 'em up that way."
"All right. I have calls in to the PDs for Arlington, Westlawn, and Falls Church, just in case anyone reported an accident. What do you want me to tell D and Tara?"
Dimitrius' voice piped in. "Yeah, where do you want us at?"
Bobby looked over at Jack. "Your call, Sparky."
Jack thought for a moment. "D, why don't you guys swing down the 29, then continue around to the 50 and backtrack where we just were. Catch it twice, maybe we'll get lucky."
The older man's voice replied again after a pause. "Jack, we could just wait 'til daybreak. It'll be a bona fide miracle to find them in the dark, if they took a spill off one of those hills."
"He's got a point, mate," Bobby agreed. "It's almost midnight."
Jack sighed. "Look, guys, I know this is a long shot. But I can't shake this feeling that we don't have until daybreak."
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