Disclaimer: Don't own Automan—wish I did. Please don't sue. All of the disclaimer see Chapter 1.
Ch. 3--Calling For Help
John replaced the business card in his wallet and went to the entrance of his hiding place looking for Lieutenant Kovilli or Sergeant Tang. He spotted Tang some distance away heading straight for where he was located. He looked around the camping grounds for another exit without finding one. If he didn't do something soon, Tang would trap him in the area.
He picked up a medium-sized rock and went to the entrance/exit again. Tang was closer this time. Dangerously closer. He set himself and heaved the rocked as far as he could in the opposite direction he intended to run. The rock made a resounding thud as it landed about five feet from John's position. Tang spun in the direction of the sound; gun raised. John chose that moment to run. The movement and sound of crunching snow caught Tang's attention and he spun back around and shot at the same time. The shot went wide, and the bullet imbedded itself in a tree two feet from John's left shoulder.
"Lieutenant! Lieutenant! I found him!" John heard Tang yell.
John didn't dare look back. He knew Tang was chasing him. He had to lead Tang on a wild goose chase and lose him without running into the lieutenant. He ducked onto a barely perceptible path slowing down just long enough to make sure that Tang still followed him. Another shot rang out. The bullet missed him by inches impacting with a tree on his right as he weaved to avoid being shot.
He careened around a corner barely catching his footing in time to keep himself from falling. He spotted another hiding place in a depression in the ground and ducked inside. Knowing his position was well hidden from the sergeant for the time being from an overhanging tree root, he tried to quiet his breathing. He tried to create as little noise as possible, so he could hear when the sergeant had left the area.
After 15 minutes of thoroughly searching the area, Sergeant Tang was getting impatient with his lack of success in locating John. 'He was just here! He couldn't have gotten far,' thought Tang. He decided to check an adjacent area containing another disused path.
As John heard Tang's footsteps receding into the distance, he hazarded a glance from his hideout. He spotted the back of Tang's uniform withdrawing from his position. 'Good. He's heading in the opposite direction I need to go,' he thought. 'Now all I have to do is elude the lieutenant.'
After counting off another 15 minutes, he carefully extricated himself from his hiding place and took off at a run for a place with a phone. As he ran, he looked around for any sign of the lieutenant. 'So far so good. No sign of him.'
He had reached the edge of a clearing. The back of a log cabin stood at the very edge of the clearing. He figured he would have to cross at least five feet of open terrain before he reached the relative safety of the cabin. He would be wide open for an attack, but it was a risk he would have to take.
He scoured the immediate area for any sign of the two corrupt officers. When he found none, he sprinted for the cabin as fast as his legs would carry him. When he reached the front door of the log cabin, he knocked as loud and hard as he could. "Sam! Edie! It's me, John! I need your help! Please, open up!" he pleaded desperately.
The door opened and an elderly gray-haired man stood in the doorway. "Johnnie? What's going on?"
"Sam, no time to explain. I need your help," said John. Sam nodded and stepped aside. John quickly stepped inside. The cabin was exactly as John remembered it the last time that he had visited--small with only a living room with a fireplace, a small kitchenette with a laundry room off to one side, and one bedroom with a master bathroom.
An elderly, silver gray-haired woman came from the kitchenette attracted by the commotion. "Sam, what's going on? I thought I heard Johnnie yelling." She took in the disheveled appearance of the new visitor. "Johnnie! What happened? You look terrible."
"Sorry, Edie, can't talk now. I'm being hunted by two cops. They killed Steve and now they're after me." He let that last tidbit of information sink in for a few very uncomfortable seconds before continuing. "I'm sorry to bring you both into this, but I need to use your phone."
Sam nodded wordlessly. Edie gasped, shocked. "Steve's dead?" she asked.
John sorrowfully nodded before crossing to where the phone was sitting on an end table. He dug in his wallet for Wally's business card. He dialed the number. A man on the other end said, "LAPD, Special Section. Officer Nebicher speaking."
"Wally? It's John Ridge. We met at the high school reunion a week ago."
"John? Yeah, I remember."
"I'm in some serious trouble and I need your help."
"Trouble? What kind of trouble?"
"Life and death trouble. Look, I can't talk long. Here's the long and short of it. Seems my partner, Steve, had gotten in with some crooked local cops. I overheard them say something about a shipment coming in a couple of days--possibly drugs. There was an argument over money and next thing I know Steve's dead. Now they're after me," said John quickly. "I need your help."
"I'll see what I can do."
"Thanks, Wally. I knew I could count on you. I gotta go." John hung up the phone. He took a quick look out one of the windows facing the park scanning for any sign of the two cops. 'Good they haven't come this way, yet,' thought he. He turned to Sam and Edie, who were silently regarding him from the middle of the living room. "I'm really sorry for putting your lives in danger. I didn't know where else to turn. I just called a good friend from my high school days, Walter Nebicher. He's an LA cop. Hopefully, he'll be able to help. I need you to give him any assistance you can."
"Sure," replied Sam. Edie nodded.
"I better go before they find me here." He took a step to leave when Sam caught his arm.
"You take care of yourself, Johnnie," said Sam. Both he and Edie felt this would be the last time they might ever see Johnnie alive again. They shared a quick hug with John before John took off out of the back door heading back into the woods.
He got about ten feet from his last hiding place when he heard the distinctive click of a hammer being cocked behind him. He slowly raised his hands and turned around coming face to face with Lieutenant Kovilli.
"So nice to finally find you, John. You gave us quite a bit of trouble," said Kovilli. "Sergeant!"
Sergeant Tang appeared from a few feet away. He also had his gun out and aimed at John should John try escaping again.
"Let's reunite you with your partner, shall we?" Kovilli waved the gun in the direction he wanted John to go. "Put your arms down. Act normal. Move," ordered Kovilli harshly. John complied by slowly lowering his arms and walking further into the woods under the watchful gaze of the lieutenant and sergeant.
They walked in silence back to the secluded area where Daniels' body was. John was desperately trying to think his way out this predicament. Each more crazy and desperate idea he came up with was systematically rejected. With both guns trained on him, his chances of escaping without being shot diminished with each step he took closer to their destination. Resigning himself to his fate, he came up with one final idea. He knew it wouldn't save his life, but maybe it would help Wally.
They reached the area without anyone noticing them. "Stand next to your partner," ordered Kovilli.
John walked over to Daniels' still body. As he got closer, he saw the blood pooling in the snow underneath Daniels' body staining the snow a pinkish crimson. 'I hope this works,' thought he. He carefully and quickly reached into his pocket and grabbed the commemorative pin. He carefully removed his hand from his pocket and let the pin fall to the ground. He quickly buried the pin with the toe of his boot making it look like he had only distractedly scuffed his boot. John turned around to face the Lieutenant.
"Sorry, John, can't have you talking to the wrong people," said Kovilli. He pulled the trigger and John's body crumpled to the ground next to his partner. Kovilli turned to Tang, "Come on, let's go. We have a shipment to take care of."