Sacrifices
Chapter 6: Trading Places
The van came up the hill, coming to a stop near the entrance to the bridge. Barry, Rebecca and Jill got out and stood by the back doors. They each looked around, carefully examining the area for any signs of an ambush. Barry had left the engine running, just in case. After several minutes, they seemed somewhat satisfied, but did not let their guard down. They knew better than to take things at face value. They also derived a small amount of comfort from knowing that Chris, Carlos and Leon were somewhere up above them, hidden in the trees, watching their every move.
Chris had wanted to stay by Jill's side. He had argued the point for some time, but finally relented, knowing that his expert skills as a marksman would be of better use. The cliffs above the bridge offered a perfect view of the happenings below, but it was still a good distance away. Both Chris and Carlos were well skilled with high-powered rifles, while Leon, who was no expert, could hold his own.
Claire and Sherry had stayed with the jeep after dropping the three men off to take their positions. Claire, of course, hated being away from the action, but she had no intention of putting Sherry in harm's way. She also did not want the girl to witness what could end up becoming a very gruesome scene. They waited in a clearing behind the cliffs, a relatively safe distance away, just in case they were needed.
It was up to Barry and Rebecca to handle Jill's father. There was some concern that he might be injured, so the young medic was needed to stand by, just in case. There was also the more likely possibility that Dick Valentine would not be happy about his daughter's decision to give herself over to his captors. Barry was there to keep him from doing something foolish that might get them all killed.
The three friends stood together, watching intently, as several vehicles crested the hill on the other side of the bridge. There were two black SUV's, followed by a blue van. All of them came to a stop, the van pulling in between the other cars, about fifteen yards from the bridge entrance.
Jill immediately stepped forward, but Barry put a restraining hand on her arm.
"Wait." She looked at him and nodded, taking a deep breath. Her gaze strayed back to the clearing across the river, focusing on the blue van. She felt Rebecca slip a hand into hers and squeeze it tightly. Jill reciprocated with a vise-like grip of her own.
The van doors opened and people began to emerge. Jill counted five men and one woman. Two of the men wore dark business suits, while the others, including the woman, were dressed in standard Umbrella uniforms. Her father was not among them. There was no activity from the other vehicles. Jill could only guess at how many soldiers might be hidden inside.
Time seemed to move at a snail's pace as the former police officers stood and waited. Finally, another figure emerged from the van. He was wearing a blindfold.
Jill held her breath, as the man was lead towards the bridge surrounded by armed guards. Unable to wait any longer, she took a few steps forward to get a better look. The guards observed her movements and drew their weapons. The two guards in the lead parted, pulling the man forward to stand between them. They both pointed their weapons at him.
Jill hesitated, and then began to make her way toward the bridge. She was aware of Barry and Rebecca walking along side of her, but her mind was focused on the man in the blindfold.
As she stepped onto the bridge, one of the guards reached over and removed the blindfold off the man's head. She saw his face clearly as he blinked from the sudden brightness.
It was Dick Valentine.
Jill's heart nearly burst with relief seeing, with her own eyes, that he was alive and well. Her body started to tremble from the sudden release of emotion and adrenaline. She was so overwhelmed, in fact, that she didn't hear Barry speaking to her. A hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality.
"Jill?" She turned to him, eyes bright with tears.
"It's him, Barry. Thank God…it's him." Barry wiped a tear from her cheek. His face wore a sad expression.
"You still want to go through with this?" He already knew the answer. She looked over at her father.
"Yes." She fought to keep her breathing under control. "I'm ready." Barry gripped her by the shoulders.
"We'll get you out of this, somehow. I promise." She pressed a hand to his cheek.
"Take care of my dad." Barry nodded. Jill turned around to face Rebecca, who had tears running down her own face. She wrapped her arms around the younger woman, hugging her, tightly. "I need you to keep it together, Becca", she whispered. She could feel her friend's head nodding against her cheek.
Jill let go of Rebecca and started walking across the bridge.
***
Dick Valentine wiped the moisture from his eyes as they finally adjusted to the sunlight. He caught sight of his daughter, almost instantly. The guard on his right gave him a shove.
"Get moving. And don't do anything stupid." Dick stumbled, but managed to stay on his feet. He glared, angrily, at the guard, who proceeded to level his gun at him. "Move."
Dick began to walk across the bridge; his only concern was reaching Jill. It was unnerving, knowing there were guns pointing at his back, and his anxiety grew as he quickened his pace.
***
She was nearly halfway across the bridge when she heard her father call to her.
"Jill!" She slowed down, wanting him to meet her in the middle. He walked even faster toward her, closing the distance between them, and threw his arms around her. She clung to him, feeling very small, as his larger frame enveloped her. "I can't believe you're here." He kissed the top of her head. "Are you alright?" She pulled back to look at him.
"I'm fine. Are you okay?" He smiled at her.
"I am now." Jill smiled back at him and then cast a quick glance over his shoulder. Her body went rigid as the smile faded from her lips. Dick could see the immediate change in her demeanor. "What's going on here, Jilly. Those assholes wouldn't tell me anything…except that you'd fill me in when I saw you. So, let's hear it." Jill held his hands, giving them a firm squeeze.
"I want you to go with my friends", she said, jerking her head towards Barry and Rebecca. "They'll give you all the details after you leave." Dick narrowed his eyes at her.
"Wait a minute, what about you? Where are you going?" She cast another glance toward the awaiting guards.
"With them." Dick's eyes went wide as his hands gripped hers tighter.
"No way."
"Dick, please listen to--"
"No! There's no way I'm letting you do this. You are not going to trade yourself for me. For Christ's sake, Jill, I was just gonna rot in prison for another ten or fifteen years, anyway. My life is not worth this much."
"Don't say that!" she yelled. "It's worth everything to me." Dick's expression softened. He gripped her, gently, but firmly, by the upper arms. He looked down at her, staring into her dark eyes, so much like his own.
"I promised your mother that I would take care of you."
"And you did."
"Like hell I did. These people want to hurt you. I won't stand by and let that happen." He released her and turned back toward his captors. Two of the guards stepped forward and raised their weapons. Jill grabbed him by the arm. Time was running out and she had to make him understand.
"If I don't go, they'll kill us all. Right here, right now." Dick stood looking between his daughter and the guards, his expression one of utter despair. "We have a plan, so just trust me, and go with my friends. They'll take care of everything." Dick eyed her with suspicion.
"What plan?" Jill shook her head.
"There's no time. They'll explain it all to you." She walked over to him and gave him another hug. He gripped her, fiercely. "I have to go." They separated, slowly. Dick was in agony, unable to bear the thought of them taking his daughter away. He reached a hand up, brushing a few errant hairs away from her forehead.
"I love you", he whispered, kissing her above the eyebrow.
"I love you, too, Dad." Jill let go of him and took a few steps back. She smiled and turned away, heading toward the direction he came from. Dick watched her retreating back, slowly taking a few steps in the other direction. He saw her glancing back at him, checking his progress, as she continued on. He felt numb as he made his way across the bridge.
***
Chris was lying on his stomach with the scope of his rifle trained on the head of an Umbrella soldier. He kept one hand on the trigger, and the other on a pair of binoculars to watch the scene unfolding far below him.
He could see the emotional exchange taking place between Jill and her father, and wished, for about the thousandth time, that he could be down there.
He observed Jill and Dick heading in opposite directions, noticing how they each stopped every so often to look back at one another. Chris breathed a small sigh of relief when he saw Barry step forward, trying to lead Dick to the van.
He focused his attention back on Jill, as she reached the other end of the bridge. Two guards stepped forward, appearing to give her some kind of instructions. She turned her back to them and put her hands on her head. One of the guards stood behind her and began to pat her down, while the other stayed to her left, holding his gun level to her head. Chris wanted nothing more than to blow the guys head into a million pieces.
***
Dick stood with Barry and Rebecca, watching, unwilling to leave his daughter without a friendly face to focus on. On at least two occasions, Barry had to physically restrain Dick from going after her. They both tried to explain that they were not giving up on Jill, but eventually everyone lapsed into silence, fearful of what was about to happen.
***
Jill continued staring straight ahead as the guard finished his search. She could see Dick and her friends watching with concern. She wanted them to leave. There was still the chance that Umbrella would gun them all down, regardless of the risk. And there was also a good chance that they would put a bullet in her head right there in front of everyone. She did not want them to stand there and watch her die.
The guard reached up and pulled Jill's arm down, twisting it, roughly, behind her back. She felt the handcuff as it was slapped onto her wrist. He proceeded to grab her other arm, firmly locking her wrists together at the small of her back. He finished by placing a blindfold across her eyes. She stumbled a bit, disoriented by the sudden darkness.
"Good afternoon, Officer Valentine." Jill recognized the voice immediately. "I'm pleased we have a chance to finally meet in person. Of course, the introductions will have to wait until we are in a more…private location. For now, let me just say, welcome to Umbrella." Jill felt something touch her neck. The guards caught her by the arms as her body fell forward. The last thing she heard before slipping into unconsciousness was her father screaming her name.
***
Chris jumped to his feet and started to run. He raced through the dense woods, oblivious to the branches that scratched at his face and arms. His mind was awhirl with images as he tried to piece together what he had witnessed. As he watched from his vantage point, he was afraid they were going to kill Jill right on the spot. But, when the man in the suit had used some kind of taser gun on her, Chris was almost elated. That meant they wanted her alive, at least, for now. And that had given him hope.
His breath came out in ragged gasps as he reached the bottom of the hill. He spotted the jeep and ran to it. Claire was in the driver's seat, with Sherry sitting next to her.
"Claire, start the engine!" he hollered, jumping into the backseat. Claire's eyes went wide.
"What about Leon and Carlos?" she asked, watching her brother fumbling with the tracker.
"Forget them, just go!" Claire started the jeep and slammed her foot on the gas. The engine roared as the vehicle tore across the clearing.
"What happened?" she yelled back, raising her voice loud enough to be heard over the straining engine. Chris was muttering to himself.
"Come on…come on…" Sherry looked back at him, and then at Claire.
"He's trying to locate the signal, er…signals", she offered. Claire watched him in the rearview mirror. His face was flushed from his flight through the woods and his features were tight with tension. She looked at her young companion.
"Call Rebecca's cell phone and let her know the route we follow, okay, sweetie?" Sherry was glad for something to do. She snatched the phone out of the glove compartment and hit the '4', remembering that Claire had programmed it.
"Chris!" He picked his head up, catching Claire's eye in the mirror. "What happened?" He put his head back down to study the small screen.
"They knocked her out and took her away" he answered. "Yes, I've got it!" He looked up at the road. "Take the next left and head for the highway." Claire did as he instructed.
"What about her father?" she pressed.
"He's okay, although Barry and Rebecca had to practically tie him down to keep him from running after her." Chris cursed and looked up at the road again.
"Speaking of which--"
"Take the next exit", he interrupted. "They must have decided to head for the city." Claire took the ramp.
"Left or right?"
"Right." She turned quickly as the tires protested.
"So, what are we gonna do when we catch up to them?"
"I haven't thought that far ahead, yet. I just want to stay within range."
"Rebecca wants to know what route we're on", Sherry piped up.
"Twenty-four", Claire answered. Sherry relayed the information, straining to here the response.
"She says they're only a couple of minutes behind us", Sherry relayed.
"The signals stopped moving", Chris announced.
"How close are we?" Claire asked.
"Only a few blocks away." Claire slowed her speed.
"This is a pretty desolate stretch. Where would they be stopping around here?"
"The signals are close. There must be something nearby. A campground? Or a small airport, maybe?"
"I see a sign!" Sherry exclaimed. Chris looked up from the tracker.
"A gas station…that's got to be it. Claire, pull over here." She parked the jeep on the side of the road. Their view of the station was obscured by a copse of trees. Chris jumped out, tucking an extra handgun in his belt. "Wait here."
"Whoa, brother." Claire hopped out after him. You're not going alone. Rebecca said they're right behind us. Let's wait for the others." Chris didn't look at Claire.
"There's no time. I'm going." He ran down the road and disappeared into the trees.
"Chris!" Claire shouted after him. "Goddammit!" She reached under the seat and pulled out a gun, tucking it into the waistband of her jeans. She reached a hand out to Sherry. "Come on. I don't want to leave you here alone." The young girl climbed out and followed closely behind as they made their way to the station.
***
Chris scanned the area, looking for the vehicles. The place was almost empty. He stepped out from behind a tree and made his way across the parking lot. He spotted a tractor-trailer in the back, using the diesel pumps, but there was no other activity. He looked down at the tracker in his hand as he walked toward the front of the station. The signals were very close, according to the device he held, but there was no sign of anyone.
As he neared the garage doors, he heard a faint beeping sound. He noticed a large trash barrel standing between the doors. He approached it slowly, hearing the sound growing louder.
His heart sank as he peered over the rim.
"Chris." He heard Claire come up behind him, but he couldn't speak. She put a hand on his shoulder. "What is it?"
Chris reached his hands into the barrel and pulled out several items, holding them up for Claire to see.
Jill's shirt, boots and jacket.
Well, there we go! I managed to get this chapter up PDQ. The next chapter should be out soon. Watch for Leon to take center stage as he tries to get a line on Jill. Frankly, I can't wait to see what happens next. Thanks for reading. Later.