"A.J. has chicken pox?" Cecilia fought back a chuckle as she spoke to her sister. Her daughters-in-law half-listened as they fixed lunch for the recovering Ricky, Robin and Ceci, who were playing "hospital" in the next room.
"Yes, Annie, I remember he had them, when he was eight. It must have been a mild case, otherwise, no he wouldn't have gone to visit you if he knew he was sick." Linda managed a grin as she watched the older woman roll her eyes.
"Auntie is just mad that A.J. and Rick left early, that's all." Laurie said in an amused tone, trying not to worry. After a morning of not being able to reach the guys only aunt, Cecilia was getting an earful.
"Well, thank you for putting them up, and I'll call you when they get in." she finished, then hung up the phone. At once the older woman's expression changed. "Rudy?" she called anxiously.
"What is it, Cecilia?" the doctor came into the room, his stethoscope hanging around his neck from having "made the rounds" of his patients.
"Can you get a hold of Oscar, the guys left San Diego about 3 this morning, seems A.J. broke out in chicken pox after he came home from the reunion dinner last night. Rick told Annie he thought they'd be home before lunchtime, but after what Laurie dreamt…." She broke off at the look of concern on his face.
Linda spoke up reassuredly. "They probably stopped off someplace, Mom, but let me try A.J.'s transmitter, sis, you try Rick's."
Nodding, Laurie turned on her watch, then called, "Rick? Darling, it's Laurie, are you there?"
Not hearing anything but silence, she paused as Linda called "A.J., honey. Pick up."
No one responded, then Rudy went to the phone. In minutes he had spoken with Oscar, then Laurie called Ron Johnson, arranging for him to call in a description of the truck and the guys with the State Troopers.
"Normally we have to wait 24 hours, honey, but since A.J. has chicken pox, I can make it a health issue." Their friend told her, his quiet voice giving her a much needed boost of confidence.
That confidence ebbed as the hours wore on . A security camera at the Arizona side of the border showed Rick's truck passing through before dawn, then there was no sign of them. Figuring where the two brothers might have stopped, the chief of police had some of the truck stops checked, then found the one in Quartzite where Rick and A.J. had pulled in.
"According to the attendant, A.J. didn't look so good, and Rick got them both some breakfast then they left 15 minutes later." Oscar relayed the message to Linda as his adopted daughter was now trying to allay Robbie and Robin's fears over the phone.
"I know you two want to come here, but just in case your dad calls you, I'd really like you to be home." She explained to her son, then Robbie cleared his throat nervously.
"Uh, Mom, did Ron tell you Branson escaped from prison a couple of weeks ago?"
"No, oh honey, he didn't…..How did that happen?" Laurie was horrified, then turned as Oscar interrupted.
"Laurie, let me talk to Robbie."
Handing the phone to him, she went to sit next to Linda as Oscar listened to the young sheriff.
"Keep your transmitter open, son. We'll check with you on the hour, okay?" he said, finally.
Making his goodbyes, he turned, then sat between Laurie and Linda, putting an arm around each of them.
"Girls, there's no two ways about it, Ron saw Branson in the parking lot of the guys office the day of A.J.'s party. He called in an inquiry about his prison status, unfortunately they told him he was still there, but now it looks like he fooled the prison guards by switching places with another guy for $25,000. Ron's going to go through the truck stop and border tapes again, seeing if he shows up."
"Of course they could have broken down and just be waiting for a tow truck or something…" Oscar added, then Laurie shook her head.
"No, Dad. Something happened to them, I can feel it. They would have answered their transmitters by now. If they crashed off the road, it could be sometime before anyone spots them."
As she stared out into the dusk that was descending over the area, she "called" to Rick, "Don't leave me, please, darling. I need you so…come back to me."
"Don't leave me, please, Rick. Come back to me."
"Rick, hold on, just a little longer."
Voices.
Rick Simon kept hearing them in his head as he tried to open his eyes.
"Come on, big brother, you can make it, wake up!"
He felt pain all over, his leg seemingly on fire. Suddenly a hand gripped his, and he realized A.J. was next to him, talking, pleading with him.
"A.J….." he moaned, then opened his eyes slowly.
Smoke, there was the smell of smoke. At first Rick thought it was like a campfire or something, then he coughed on the acrid odor, and pain shot through his lower body.
"Easy, Rick. Here, drink this."
He saw the bottle of water in his brother's hand and gratefully helped guide it to his mouth. Sipping the cool liquid slowly, he became aware of the dead silence surrounding them. Nothing but that smoke and a purple sky and……stars. There were faint stars, like in the desert.
"A.J., what happened? Did we…?" Rick managed to clear his throat, "did we crash?"
"Yeah, we had a blowout, and we overturned off the road. We're about thirty miles from Phoenix, near as I can tell. Rick, where do you hurt, other then your head?" A.J. asked.
Rick moved his arms and legs, then bit back a cry as his left leg flared with pain.
"Uh, my leg's broken, I think, little brother. Other then that….. how about you?" Rick winced to see the trickle of blood from A.J.'s temple.
"I think I've got a concussion, I'm a little groggy. Last I remember we were rounding a curve then I heard a pop noise, then you lost control and we flipped. I don't know how we got out of the truck, but I'm glad we did, look." He motioned with his head and Rick gulped to see his beloved old Ford nothing but a blackened shell.
"Whoa….talk about lucky. And to think we were only worried about your Chicken Pox." He winced, then belatedly remembered his transmitter.
"A.J., have you tried calling for help?" He held out his watch, then saw the crack in the crystal.
"Yeah, but I got nothing but static. I wish I knew how long we were out. Is yours working?" The younger man looked on as Rick fiddled with his watch, then sighed with relief as the dial lit up.
"Laurie, sweetheart? Can you hear me?"
A faint voice came over the tiny speaker. "Rick? I can barely hear your voice, are you and A. J. all right?"
"Other then a bum leg and headache, we'll be okay, darlin'. We need help, we've crashed off the road." He replied, trying not to worry Laurie. "Uh, what time is it, last I remember it was early morning…."
"It's almost dusk, love." Rick felt the anxiety in her tone. "I'll call Ron, do you know where you are?" Her voice came in a little stronger, then A.J. told her "Just off of Highway, what, 71, sis. It's getting dark out here, I don't hear much freeway noise, wait a minute…."
Suddenly a bright light shone on the two brothers, then a voice called out. "Don't move, either of you."
Instantly Rick whispered, "Laurie, get a hold of Ron, hurry!"
Hiding his illuminated watch under his sleeve, he shifted slowly as the light moved toward them.
A.J. murmured "I don't think this is the cavalry, Rick."
"Nice to see you awake." The familiar voice froze the both of them. Of all the criminals to run into.. ………
"Hold your hands where I can see them, Rick. That's it" Bill Branson held a light in one hand, a 45' in the other.
"Branson, what are you doing here?" A.J. asked tersely, trying to save his energy.
"Waiting for you and your brother. You see, I've been waiting for the chance to pay you guys back for putting me in jail, and get a little money to boot. Killing two birds with one stone, so to speak." he grinned.
"A.J. didn't do anything to you, jerk. I'm the one who wouldn't let you take Laurie, and after all she did to save your wife and kid…." Rick snarled, then the former chief flashed the beam in his eyes, blinding him.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, and believe you me I wish I could forget that…." A guilty tone crept into his voice.
"But you're alive, aren't you? I pulled you and A.J. out of the truck before it exploded. Don't worry, I only gave you enough chloroform to finish setting things up…" he paused, then seemingly regained his bravado. "I'm not going to kill you, yet. I'm going to call Laurie, and get some bucks in exchange for your lives. Then, I'll make myself scarce and live wealthily ever after."
"Now," Branson hesitated, then carefully came closer. "I want you to take your transmitter watch off and toss it to me, Rick. Not one false move, or I forget my obligation and put a hole through your brother."
Biting back a swear word, Rick pulled his watch from his wrist and tossed it to the fugitive.
"Thank you, whoops, I see it's on….now you and A.J. both hold out your hands in back of you." Branson waited a moment, then brought a length of rope and efficiently tied their wrists together. He then looped the same rope to the log they were leaning against, effectively limiting their movement.
"Now, let me see if I remember how you used this, ah, here we go…" Branson cleared his throat.
"Hello, can someone hear me?"
A man's voice answered. "Branson, this is Ron Johnson, Don't make it any worse for your family, tell us where you and the guys are."
"Sorry, Ron, no can do. You're not who I want to talk to anyway. Put Laurie Simon on, or the last thing you hear from the Simons is their death rattle." The blatant cruelty of his words angered Rick, and he quietly started working on the rope holding him.
"Bill, please, don't do this…she's been hurt enough by your betrayal…."
"Shut up, Ron, put her on now!" Branson burst out, then a minute later Laurie's upset voice came over the transmitter.
"Chief, please don't hurt them, they didn't do anything to you!"
"Laurie, it's good to hear you too." The former policeman smiled sarcastically. "I won't hurt them, as you say, if you do as I tell you to. I'll even let you talk to them."
"All right,what do you want?" Rick groaned inwardly, knowing his Laurie would do almost anything to get them out of this.
"I want $50,000, in a suitcase, and I want you to deliver it to me, at which time I will take your car, leaving you and the guys for the Highway Patrol to find." Branson smirked.
"I'll get you the money, but the bank isn't open ….." Laurie started. "No, Laurie. I've called your bank, they'll be open for you. You call to verify you need to pick up the money, then get over there, and leave your transmitter on, I'll tell you what to do next." Branson's expression didn't change as Rick grated "let me talk to my wife."
"Certainly, Rick. You too, A.J.. you can tell your wife everything's okay." He held out the transmitter toward the older Simon's head, then Rick called out, "Laurie?"
"Darling, it's going to be okay, we'll get you and A.J. back home." She replied, and Rick cursed at the tremor in her tone.
"All right, now you, A.J., call for your Linda." A.J. glowered at Branson's use of his wife's name.
"Laurie, hi! Can you put Linda on?" A.J.'s face reddened as his sister responded "Sure. Chief... Please, don't hurt them…
"A.J.?" Linda said his name then was comforted by her husband's quiet voice. "Linny, I'm all right, just a knock on the head. Hold on, honey, we'll be back before you know it."
"All right, Mrs. Simon, put your sister-in-law on." Branson told him, then Linda stalled him. "Uh, Chief, I need to ask him if his chicken pox was better."
An almost frightened look crossed his face, "He's got Chicken Pox?"
"Yes, three of the kids have it, and he caught it somehow, he's been feverish and everything." Linda evidently decided to pile it on, and to Rick's surprise, it seemed to work.
"I've never had it, damn!" the fugitive was actually backing away from his prisoners.
A.J. suddenly made a groan, then slumped weakly against his brother. "God, I feel awful, could I have some water?"
"Uh, yeah….here." the man went to get a bottle of water, then untied one of A.J.'s wrists so he could grasp it.
Guzzling it gratefully, he started to hand it back only for the former policeman to wave it off. "No, no, you keep it there. ….."
Abruptly Laurie's voice came over the transmitter. "Chief, if you won't let both the guys go, could you at least free A.J., drop him at a hospital or something, so he won't get worse or contaminate anyone else?"
Rick saw a light seemingly go on in the man's eyes. "Free him, huh, yeah…."
After a moment, Branson nodded, almost to himself. "Okay, Laurie, but the price just went up. I'll drop your brother-in-law off somewhere, but you're going to pay $100,000, I know you're good for it. And if I see anyone, and I mean helicopter, airplane, car, etc., following me….I'll cut Rick's throat, then I'll come after the rest of you."
"No one will follow me, I promise." Rick heard the seriousness of his wife's voice, and knew that Branson believed her.
"All right, you've got two hours, starting right now. You make the call to your bank's vice president, he will release the money to you. As soon as you leave the bank, I will give you directions. Now, go." The steel in the man's voice brooked no response, then Rick saw him turn off the watch.
"There, can't track me now." After pocketing the watch, Branson carefully untied A.J.'s other wrist, then bound them together in front of him. Pulling a pillowcase out of a backpack, he put it over the younger Simons' head, then pulled him off the ground.
"Okay, Rick, you better be here when I get back. I promised and I'm keeping my word. I'll drop him at the front entrance of the nearest hospital, but if I see anyone following me….." The fugitive growled, then a muffled, "Rick, I'll be okay" made Rick more angry then ever.
"It'll be all right, A.J." he said as calmly as he could, then waited until Branson had dragged his brother away before tackling the ropes holding him to the log again.
