Chapter 5

Ryan clasped his hand hard over his mouth to suppress the scream that desperately wanted to rise from his throat. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Roger intended to kill them! His heart was racing as he tried to stay still and listen to the rest of what Roger was saying.

"We can't take any chance that the police will find them alive. Even if they aren't rescued for a couple more days, they can provide detailed descriptions of all three of us," Roger told her.

Peggy was clearly upset. "Roger, don't ask me to kill those kids 'cause I can't. I won't!"

"Stop acting so goddamned self righteous, Peg. How many kids do you think you're going to kill at the Festival on Sunday? Huh? Do you think you're only going to kill adults? I've got news for you, lady, there will be plenty of kids there and they're going to die just like the adults will."

Peggy hadn't considered that and she preferred to push it out of her mind for the time being and concentrate on the four lost children she had suddenly and inexplicably grown attached to. "This is different, Roger," she tried to justify the situation. "They're just a coupla scared little kids. By the time they git home, they ain't even gonna remember us. They'll be so happy ta be home that they'll fergit all about us."

"I can't take that chance. Vernon and I will head out to the lean-to around 2 o'clock. It will be quick and painless. They'll never know what happened to them. I promise," Roger said. He started to walk toward one of the tents but stopped. He turned and walked back toward Peggy. He didn't stop until his body was nearly touching hers and spoke so softly that Ryan couldn't hear. "Don't get any smart ideas about trying to warn them," he said in a husky, threatening whisper. He pulled a switchblade from his pocket and held the tip at the base of Peggy's throat. "I'll be watching you. You sit here by the lantern and familiarize yourself with the map so you're all ready for tomorrow. Take one step toward those trees and I will kill you. I'll slit your trachea so you can't scream and then I will very carefully cut you to ensure maximum pain and a very slow death. You aren't essential to this plan, my dear. Whether you live or die is immaterial to me." Roger put away the knife and walked to the entrance of his tent.

Ryan couldn't hear what Roger had just said to Peggy, but he saw the knife and got the general idea. He waited until no one was looking in his direction and moved slowly and silently away from the campsite. He had to get back to tell the others as soon as possible so they could get away.

Walking quickly through the dark woods and trying to do it quietly was almost impossible. Ryan was only a few yards from the campsite when he stepped on a small branch which cracked under his weight. Roger was instantly on alert. He grabbed a lantern and walked toward the trees, taking care to keep an eye on Peggy who he knew would like nothing more than to get away from him right now.

"Hello," Roger called. "Is someone out there? Hello."

Ryan ducked behind the nearest tree. It was a narrow pine but Ryan was small and, in the dark, could easily work his way under some low handing branches and lay silently, curled in a ball, until Roger passed by. Roger continued to check the area for a few minutes but seemed fairly satisfied that the noise had been made by an animal. He returned to the campsite and once again sat alone by his tent.

Ryan eased himself out from under the tree and picked his way as carefully as possible through the woods. As he got closer to the lean-to and well out of range of the campsite, he let his guard down and began to run. At first he had been too scared of getting caught to really think about what was happening but now he was less afraid of getting caught and was rapidly becoming more and more afraid of Roger killing him and the others.

"Mason! Mason! Wake up! Wake up!" Ryan said in a loud whisper. "You have to wake up!" Ryan shook his brother's shoulder to arouse him.

"Ry, I'm beat. Let me sleep. Everything will be okay in the morning," Mason said as he turned over.

"Ryan, pipe down!" Rico told him sleepily. "We need some sleep."

"No! You guys have to wake up. I have something important to tell you," Ryan pleaded with them. "We've got to get out of here!"

"What are you talking about, Ryan?" Mason asked as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"I was worried about Peggy so I went back to the campsite to make sure she was okay. When I got there, that Roger guy was telling Peggy that he and Vernon are going to kill us at 2 o'clock."

"Ry, you're dreaming," Rico said unconvinced by the story.

"No Ric, I'm not!" Ryan told him emphatically. "There's more. They're going to set off a bunch of bombs at that Festival downtown on Sunday. They know we can identify them so that's why they need to kill us. And Mason, they're going to blow up that warehouse that Mom's company just bought. Remember her telling us about it? She said it was on West Road. Well, Roger said they were going to break in and use it to put the bombs together then they would blow it up to get rid of any evidence."

Rico and Mason were now not only sitting up and wide awake, but were listening with interest. They both knew that Ryan wasn't capable of making up a story this complex. Of the two boys, Mason was the quick thinking one who could come up with a story at the drop of a hat in order to provide an alibi when it looked like he was going to get in trouble for one of his adventures. Ryan, on the other hand, was quiet and studious with no street sense. He could never lie convincingly as Mason knew from trying to get Ryan to cover for him a couple of times in the past. On both occasions, the story blew up in Ryan's face and Mason caught hell for it from his father.

"Are you sure about this?" Mason asked him.

"Yes! I was hiding behind some bushes 'cause I was trying to see Peggy and I could hear everything they said. It's true, Mason. We have to get out of here before Roger and Vernon get here."

"When are they coming back for us?" Rico asked.

"I told you!" Ryan said exasperated that the older boys hadn't initially taken him seriously. "They're coming to kill us at 2 o'clock."

Rico looked at his watch. It was only about 10:30. That gave them plenty of time to get away before Roger and Vernon would come looking for them.

Mason and Rico exchanged long looks. "I think I better wake Lucy up," Rico said.

Within minutes Lucy was awake and the four children were on the move. They set out in a direction opposite to the campsite hoping to put as much distance between themselves and Roger as possible. Rico kept a close watch on the time. He and Mason were concerned that once Roger and Vernon discovered that they were gone and started searching the area, that they could cover a lot more ground a lot faster than four tired children could.

The children started out trying to run but found that the forest presented far too many obstacles. Pine branches were buffeting them in the face as they passed. One branch struck Rico dangerously close to his eye and hard enough to cut the side of his face. As if that wasn't bad enough, rocks and fallen branches were everywhere. Unable to see them, they had each fallen more than once. The flashlight Peggy had given them helped at first. It provided a weak beam of light for a while, but the batteries died after only about twenty minutes.

As they tried to cross what looked in the dark like a relatively clear path, Mason's foot got caught in some kind of hole and sent him sprawling into a thorny bush. The bush made a series of cracking sounds as its branches broke.

"Ouch!" Mason cried as he tried to roll out of the bush.

"Shhh!" the others responded immediately trying to silence him.

"I can't help it," he said in a loud whisper annoyed with the other for shushing him and annoyed at himself for falling. "It hurts!"

Mason's face and hands are forearms were badly scratched from the thorns. As he fell, his leg hit a rock which cut decent sized gash in his shin. Rico found the towel in his backpack and handed it to his best friend.

"Here," he said. "We can't stay here Mason. Let's try and find a stream and you can wash off those cuts."

Mason nodded and Rico helped him stand up and try to take a few steps.

"Is it okay? Can you walk on it?" Lucy asked anxiously.

"I think so," Mason said positively as he took several careful steps on his own. What he wasn't willing to say was that it hurt but that they didn't have the luxury was sitting around until his leg felt better. "Let's keep going, but we have to be more careful."

The others agreed and picked their way more cautiously through the brush.

Jack lay stretched out on top of a sleeping bag dozing lightly. As exhausted as he was, he thought that he would be able to sleep, but his back and leg were both bothering him and lying on the ground wasn't helping any. When he last looked at his watch it was almost midnight. He finally dozed off but was soon jolted awake by what sounded like movement in the nearby brush. He sat up and turned on the battery operated lantern that sat on the ground next to him and shone the light in the direction of the sound.

"What's wrong, Jack?" Tony asked having been awakened by Jack's movement.

"I heard something," Jack replied as he stood with some difficulty.

"What did it sound like?"

"I'm not sure. I was asleep, but I thought it was some rustling in the brush and maybe some voices."

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming?" Tony asked him.

"No, not totally," Jack admitted. "I think I better check it out."

"Jack, this area is full of wildlife. It could have been anything. I doubt it was the kids. Even if they're close by, they wouldn't be moving around after dark. Without a flashlight, you can barely see your hand in front of your face out here."

"I know," Jack agreed, "but I want to check it out anyway. Stay here; I'll yell if I need you."

Jack walked several yards toward where he thought the sound came from. He knew this was stupid and he was wasting energy. Tony was right, it was probably just wildlife or, in point of fact, it may have all been a dream. Jack swept the lantern in front of him and surveyed the area. He couldn't see anything moving and the sound was gone now, so he decided to return to the campsite and try to get some sleep. As he turned, the lantern illuminated a small bush that seemed to be partially crushed.

Jack made his way over to examine the bush. It had been stepped on or trampled by something. A number of the thin, thorny branches were broken and the broken pieces were still supple indicating that the trauma to them was recent. Jack scanned the ground for footprints, but the earth was hard and dry and no prints, human or animal, were visible.

He turned in a slow circle to take one final look when his foot caught on a rock. It took him a second, but with the help of his cane, he was able to maintain his balance. He shined the light source on the rock to get a better look at it. It was then that he noticed what looked like blood on the rock. He bent over and touched it with his fingers; the blood was still wet. Something recently cut itself on the rock as it fell into the bush and crushed it. Jack continued to search the immediate area but could find nothing else. He finally decided to go back and try to get some sleep. Like Tony had said earlier, he couldn't imagine that the kids were wandering around in the dark. Where the blood came from was another story. It probably came from an injured animal, although the lack of a blood trail indicated to Jack that the animal was only superficially injured.

Jack went back to camp. Tony was sitting up waiting for him.

"I was just about to come looking for you," he told Jack. "Did you find anything?"

"Just a trampled bush and a small amount of blood," Jack told him. "It was probably just an animal. I think if a person fell into that thorn bush, it would have hurt enough that they would have made a lot more noise. It barely woke me up and I wasn't in a deep sleep."

Tony agreed with Jack's judgment and laid back down. The two rested quietly although sleep eluded them both.

Not a hundred yards away, Mason, Rico, Lucy and Ryan were slowly making their way through the dark woods. As they wondered what they should do next, they had no idea how very close they had come to crossing paths with their fathers. The going had become very slow. They were all tired, but Ryan and Lucy were reaching a level of exhaustion that was effecting their ability to even maintain their balance. Mason's leg, although he would never admit it, was hurting enough to take his concentration away from the task at hand.

"This doesn't make any sense," Rico said as he stopped in a small patch of moonlight. "We can't keep going like this. We've got to find a place to hide and just stay there until morning."

"You're right," Mason agreed. "Did you see any place where we could hide?"

"Not really," Rico admitted, "but let's start looking for a place. Up until now we've just been trying to get away from those people. We're far enough away. Now we can look for a place to hide."

Ryan and Lucy were too tired to argue so they went along. It was about ten minutes before Mason stopped and pointed down a steep slope that had been formed when an old, underground mine subsided. On the side of the hill, several pine trees had partially uprooted as the ground on the south side of the trees sunk over the years. The trees had stabilized but leaned sharply toward the hillside providing a canopy of pine branches. "Look," he said. "Look at those trees over there. We can hide behind them."

Rico nodded as he focused on the trees that were highlighted in the silver glow of moonlight. "That should work. You and I can take turns keeping watch while everyone else sleeps," Rico suggested. He wondered who was going to take the first shift. Ryan and Lucy were going to fall asleep as soon as they sat down and he felt a responsibility to keep them safe, but he didn't know how he could stay awake for long.

The children eased their way down the hill and under the branches. It was surprisingly comfortable. There was more room than they expected and they could see out from beneath the branches without being seen. Lucy curled up against Rico and it seemed like she was asleep in seconds. Ryan lay on the ground between Rico and Mason and likewise fell asleep almost instantaneously.

"What time is it, Ric?" Mason asked.

Rico looked at his watch. "It's 1:20. They're going to start looking for us in about 40 minutes."

"Yeah, I guess so," Mason agreed. "I don't think there's much chance of them finding us here, especially in the dark."

"What are we going to do in the morning?" Rico asked hoping that his friend had a good answer.

"I don't know. Let's hope we make it 'til morning."

They were both silent for a few moments. They listened to the quiet and their siblings' breathing.

"Mase," Rico started, "are you scared?"

"If I let myself think about it, I am," Mason answered honestly

"Do you think our dads would be scared?"

Mason shrugged in the darkness. "I don't know."

"I wonder why they won't talk about being spies. They must've had some great adventures. I mean, my dad got shot in the neck and yours got hit three times in the stomach. If it was me, I'd tell my kids all about it."

"Maybe they were sworn to secrecy," Mason suggested.

"Maybe," Rico agreed. "You know, my mom was a spy, too. They all worked together."

"Really? Your mom was a spy?" Mason was amazed that anyone as delicate and pretty as Michelle could be a spy. He imagined his father without a limp and his Uncle Tony chasing down the bad guys together with guns blazing. But in his wildest dreams he couldn't see Michelle running along side of them.

"I don't know if she was a real spy like Dad. She was probably more like a computer spy. I don't think she ever did any dangerous field work."

"Probably not," Mason agreed. "I don't think they let girls do that kind of work."

The two fell silent again for a minute or two. This time it was Mason who spoke.

"Ric, you can go to sleep for a while. I think I can stay awake. I'll wake you up if anything happens."

"You sure, Mase?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine."

Rico took off his watch and handed it to Mason. "Here, if you push this button it lights up so you know what time it is. Wake me up in an hour and I'll take a turn."

Mason agreed and Rico lay down on the ground grateful to have a chance to sleep.

Peggy sat staring intently at the map in the lantern light. She was staring at it but hadn't read a street or place name on it. All she could think about were the children. Peggy knew that with every breath she took, the time for Roger to kill the children grew nearer.

She had never had any children herself and, in point of fact, didn't really like children. They seemed like too much bother. All that work just to give birth to them and then they just cried and spit up and dirtied diapers. It just never seemed all that worthwhile. But in the last few hours she had decided that if she had children, she would want them to be just like those four. They were polite and well mannered. She wondered about their parents and how worried they must be. She wondered what they were like. Were they rich like Roger guessed they were? They had to be well educated; even the children spoke flawless English. She imagined that their mothers were movie-star gorgeous and that their fathers were handsome and successful businessmen who rarely raised their voices and never even considered hitting their wives.

It was strange. When she was around the children she felt needed and wanted by them in a way she had never felt before. She wondered if that was how a real mother felt and wished there was a way to help them. She would warn them if she could, but she knew that Roger was keeping an eye on her and would kill her if she made any attempt to get away. At the moment, Peggy was more concerned with keeping herself alive than keeping the kids alive. Maybe that's what sets me apart from a real mother, she thought. Their own mothers would probably give their lives for their children without a moment's hesitation.

Just yards away Roger sat alone in front of his tent. He watched Peggy and Vernon sitting in the lantern light with the map. Peggy was staring at it intently, but Roger doubted that she was really seeing it. He shouldn't have told her about killing the kids until it was time to do it. By doing so, he had given her time to think about it and to scheme against him. What could she possibly do to stop me? Roger wondered. He was superior both physically and intellectually. Whatever she tried, he would be able to thwart her. He wasn't worried about Vernon. That fool would go along with anything including killing children, especially since two of them were obviously part of a lesser race in Vernon's mind. No, Vernon would not be a problem.

Roger's mind drifted away from Peggy and Vernon. He needed to plan his operation. Killing four little kids should be easy, but part of Roger's success over the years was that he planned for every contingency. The basic plan was simple. He would slit each child's throat while they slept. He should be able to do that with a minimum of noise and, if done right, he could do it without ever waking any of them up. He hoped to kill the older ones first since they would be slightly better equipped to fight back. The two little ones would be no problem at all. Even if they woke up and tried to get away, they would be easily captured and killed. Roger was a little unnerved by this latest development. He had never killed children before. Oh, of course children had been killed in explosions that he'd set or by rockets that he'd launched, but they were collateral damage, casualties of war. That was to be expected. Slitting a child's throat with one's own hand was a different thing. He tried to ignore his concerns. These children were collateral damage like any others and he couldn't allow himself to think differently.

Roger stood and returned to his tent for a moment. Peggy watched him hoping that she could take the opportunity to slip away but was disappointed to see him stepping out of the tent again within a couple of seconds. As he did, he slipped a sharp hunting knife into his belt, then he took out his gun and attached a silencer to the barrel. He strode purposefully over to Peggy and Vernon.

"Get up," he ordered them. "It's time to go."

Peggy took a deep breath as she stood. "Roger, there has to be another way…"

"There is no other way," Roger retorted sharply. "This is it. It has to be done."

"Well, you can do it then!" Peggy said, her voice quivering with emotion. She had thought it all over carefully and had decided that she had very little to lose. "I'm not killing those kids, Roger and you can't make me."

She was right and Roger knew it. He really couldn't make her do it. He could kill her, of course, and that would solve one problem, but he needed her in Seattle. Constructing all of those bombs was a three person job. Roger needed both Peggy and Vernon at the warehouse to help the weapons expert he had hired. Peggy had him over a barrel. Roger considered his options for a moment.

"Alright, Peggy, you're right. I can't make you kill the kids," he conceded. "But that won't stop me. Vernon and I can take care of four rugrats. You can stay here."

Peggy started to sit down with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Oh, not out here, you fool. Get in the tent."

Peggy walked reluctantly into the tent.

"Good," Roger said as he followed her in the tent. "Sit down there," he pointed to a spot near one of the tent's support poles.

She was visibly shaking now and was too afraid to talk. Before he made her go into the tent she had been relatively sure that he couldn't kill her, but now she wasn't sure of anything. Peggy watched Roger pull a length of rope from their supplies. He proceeded to tie her wrists tightly together and then secure them to one of the tent's support poles. She was beginning to relax a bit. He was just going to make sure she didn't get away. He wasn't going to kill her. Once her hands were secured, he bound her ankles.

"I don't think you're going anywhere, my dear," he said mockingly. He turned and picked up a dirty rag from the ground and held it in front of Peggy's face. She turned her head to avoid its sour smell. "Open up," he ordered her. Peggy kept her face turned away from him. Undaunted, Roger grabbed a handful of her hair and yanked it, pulling her head backwards. As he did it, she screamed involuntarily and he took the opportunity to shove the rag deep in her mouth causing her to gag. Tears filled her eyes as Roger used duct tape to keep her from working the rag out of her mouth with her tongue. "Have a good time, precious," he told her as he left the tent. "Come!" he yelled at Vernon who immediately complied. "We have some unfinished business."