"Penny!"
It took Jeff a while to realise it had been he who had called her name. He looked up expecting to see her lifeless body on the ground. Instead he saw her standing, her firing arm held steady. A groan of pain escaped Peter. Jeff saw his face twisted in pain. The bullet wound in his leg steadily oozed blood as he took off with great difficulty into the trees.
Jeff didn't move while the police ran out of their hiding places, swarming into the clearing and into the house. Time seemed to stop until a gentle hand rested on his shoulder. "Jeff, it's alright."
"Penny." He drew her into a hug, savouring the smell of her soft hair and the smoothness of her skin. He had asked for an angel, and his calls had been answered.
"Come on, we've got to get Alan to the ambulance," she said, breaking out of his embrace.
Jeff was stunned that he had forgotten about his son, who still lay on the floor. He picked him up as together they headed to the car. Penny got in the drivers seat of Jack's car and tried to start the engine.
"Dad!"
Jeff spun around to see his other three sons running towards him.
"Are you ok? We heard a shot!" cried Scott, holding him by the shoulders.
Jeff would have smiled at his son's protective nature if the situation hadn't been so serious. "I'm fine, but we need to get Alan to the ambulance as soon as possible."
From inside the car, Penny cried out in frustration, "Jeff we have a problem." She got out. "It won't start."
"Are you kidding?" cried Gordon
"Didn't Peter have a car?" asked John
"Yes, but even if we could find the keys for it, it's locked inside a shed a little way from here," said Jack.
"We don't have enough time," said Penny firmly. "I'll call Parker and get him down here."
Jeff gritted his teeth; that would still take too much time for him to be for his liking. "Lieutenant!" he called, barely waiting for the man to reach him before asking, "How far away is your nearest car stationed?"
The lieutenant rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "We have a squad car parked only a little distance away. Just through the bushes for about one hundred metres and it's parked on a route we made that leads onto the main road."
"Walking distance?" questioned Jeff, disbelievingly
"Definitely," said the lieutenant "One of my men has been left to man the car, so he'll drive you if you need it. I'll radio him and let him know you're coming."
"Good" said Scott, "Then we can rendezvous with Virgil in the ambulance and get Alan to hospital."
Jeff nodded his agreement and was just about to take off when the lieutenant called for him.
Seeing his father's indecision at whether to get to the car or answer the lieutenant's call, Scott piped up, "I'll take Alan to the car, Dad; you've got enough on your hands here."
Jeff looked hesitant, but he knew it would be faster and he could definitely trust Scott, "Okay, take care of him," he said, handing Alan to his eldest son
Scott answered with a brief nod and took off in the direction the lieutenant had pointed.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Scott was relieved to see that the lieutenant had been right. He hadn't even been running for a minute when he came across the car. A policeman was inside, bent over the radio inside. Probably keeping updated with the situation, Scott thought, gratefully. He was also thankful that the policeman had had some sense to open the backseat door ready for him and get the engine started. He climbed in, laying Alan in his lap. "Let's go!" he called
The policeman didn't answer, but sped off. It wasn't long until they'd reached the main road. At this rate, Scott estimated, they would reach the ambulance in less than three minutes. Satisfied with this, he turned his attention to his little brother.
"Come on Alan, stay with me; don't give up," Scott gently called to his little brother.
Alan was semi-conscious and obviously struggling to stay awake. Scott was surprised to hear him try to speak, "Sc…Sco…"
"I'm here, Alan, I'm here, stay with me alright?" he cupped Alan's cheek in his hand.
"Sco…"Alan started coughing violently
Scott frowned, "Alan, what's wrong?"
Alan's coughing didn't cease and Alan was gasping for breath. Scott began to panic. "Alan, please, tell me what's wrong," he pleaded, even though he knew Alan couldn't talk.
Alan writhed in his arms and Scott rolled him awkwardly onto his side in case he was sick. He ran a hand over Alan's chest, trying to feel any damage, but he couldn't find any. Thankfully it appeared Alan was recovering, his coughing easing.
"That's it Alan, deep breaths now," he instructed firmly, "Come on! Step on it!" he called to the policeman, who was showing no reaction to what was going on behind himAlan's coughs dissipated, but Scott was still worried.
Suddenly the car stopped and the policeman got out of the car. Without hesitation, Scott climbed out of the car, leaving Alan on the backseat so he could later turn around and bring him out safely.
When he looked up however, he couldn't see the ambulance in sight.
"Hey, where have to taken us? This isn't the rendezvous point!" Scott grabbed the policeman's arm and spun him around. He gasped as he came face to face with Peter Corper.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
Jeff wanted nothing more than to race after his sons and hold Alan in his arms again; just so he knew he was there. But instead, he wearily answered the lieutenant's summons, "What is it lieutenant?"
"Mr Tracy, Peter Corper has disappeared. We haven't been able to find him yet," the lieutenant said sombrely.
"But you will find him won't you?" asked John, nervously
"Yes, we are doing the best we can. But the news gets worse from there. We haven't been able to recover the firearm in his possession." the lieutenant looked Jeff in the eye. "Mr. Tracy, Peter Corper is still armed and extremely dangerous."
Jeff gave a panicked sigh, wondering if he had been wise to let Scott go alone. But the situation became a lot worse when one of the lieutenant's officers approached them.
"Sir, we have a problem," he said in a voice that implied he wanted to speak to the lieutenant alone.
But by now Jeff was not in the mood to be ignored. "Whatever it is, you can say it in front of us." he said in a voice of steel
The officer looked hesitant, but continued, being careful not to make eye contact with Jeff, "Its Rogers, sir; we found him and…"
The officer gulped, knowing he had no choice but to look at Jeff, "…he's been found unconscious sir. He's got a pretty nasty head injury."
"Corper!" John exclaimed.
"Why would Peter attack a police officer?" questioned Penny. "It doesn't make sense."
The lieutenant's face suddenly drained of colour, "Rogers was the man I left with the car," he said, "The car that your son is headed towards Mr Tracy."
Jeff didn't hesitate to run this time, "Scott!" he yelled
Suddenly Penny grabbed his arm, "It's too late Jeff! They would have gone by now."
Jeff couldn't believe what he was hearing and quite frankly he didn't care what she said. Nobody was going to tell him what to do. "Penny that psychopath has my sons! I'm not just going to stand here!"
"But you're not going to run off alone either," Penny's firmness battled with the flare of his temper, "Parker will get us there faster, then we should be able to cut them off on the main road."
Torn, Jeff knew he had no choice.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBT
No, thought Scott, It's impossible!
"You!" he hissed. It hit him. The anger, the hatred, the fear that had been trapped inside him now boiled over, pumping adrenaline through his veins. Before he could control himself, he threw his fist at Peter, who narrowly avoided the punch by throwing himself against the car. His face twisted in pain; Scott noticed the bullet would in his leg was bleeding heavily. Nevertheless, his anger gave him enough strength; it seemed, to push Scott onto his back. Scott would have got up again if it hadn't been for the gun that was now pointed inches away from his forehead.
"I wouldn't move if I were you, son of Tracy," warned Peter
Scott cursed himself. How could he have been so stupid? Why hadn't he had the brains to at least look at the man's face before he got into the car? Although, donned in a policeman's uniform, Peter could have easily fooled a lot of people; Scott couldn't use the excuse in his defence. His father had told him to look after Alan and he had failed him. Worse yet, he had failed Alan.
Now, in his position, Scott could only try to negotiate with Peter, "Please don't do this. If you really care about Alan, give him back to us"
Peter's cold eyes didn't waver
"Please!" cried Scott, his eyes darting to where Alan lay on the back seat, moaning quietly for him
Corper cocked the gun, "I'll never give him back. You won't take him away from me again. You'll never see him again!" he yelled
Suddenly Alan gave a sharp cough and rolled off the back seat, landing on the floor of the car with a thud. Scott instinctively lurched to help his brother, but instead met the butt of Corper's gun head on.
TBTBTBTBTBTBTBTBTB
"Scott!" Jeff called for what seemed like the thousandth time, only to have cold silence greet him once again.
"We can't be far off," said John, determinedly
Parker had driven them down the main road in hope of catching up with Peter in the stolen police car, but they'd found no sign of them. Now Jeff, John, Gordon, the lieutenant and two of his officers and Parker had stopped, getting out of the car to look for any trace of him. Their search was interrupted by Jeff's radio.
"Recovery to Rescue Team, Dad, come in."
Jeff was both shocked and relieved to hear Virgil summon him. Having only briefed his son on the situation only a few minutes ago, Virgil was in the ambulance going down the road to meet them, hoping to somehow block Peter in. The police had taken three of their cars and placed them at points where it was possible for Peter to change roads. To hear anything from Virgil warmed Jeff's heart, "What is it, son?"
"Dad, How far down the road are you? Do you know?"
Jeff stopped in his tracks, "You can't find him either?"
"No, we're well over halfway and haven't seen him yet. I've tried contacting him, but he doesn't answer," Virgil reported, sounding very worried
Dread ran down Jeff's stomach and up his spine as a cold shiver, "We're not having much luck. We've stopped to see if we can find any sign of where they are."
Jeff knew it wasn't necessary to remind Virgil, but before he could stop himself, he said in a strained voice, "Peter is out there. He's got your brothers and he's armed"
Virgil seemed to understand, "It's ok Dad. We'll keep driving. We'll find them."
"Right," said Jeff, cutting the connection
Gordon ran up beside him, "Do you think they're ok Dad?" he asked quietly
For the first time Jeff realised how scared Gordon looked and cursed himself for not noticing before, "I don't know what to think Gordon," he replied quietly
He ran for a little while before Jeff saw a figure lying motionless in the middle of the road, "Scott! No!" he cried, increasing his speed before landing on his knees beside his son. He cradled Scott in his arms, "Scott, can you hear me?" he called as the other crowded around him
"He's alive," John gasped with relief
"It looks like he's sustained a head injury," observed Penny, "Parker," she summoned her butler, "Take the car and search further up."
"Very well milady"
"What's this still doing here?" Gordon asked, referring to the police car that lay abandoned next to Scott
"Peter must be on foot," said John, "But why would he do that? It'd be faster for him to get away by car."
"The radio."
They all turned to look at the lieutenant as he spoke solemnly, "He must have heard about our road blocks over our radio."
Jeff collapsed inside. Tears ran down his face as he held Scott against him, his shoulders shaking with silent sobs.
Hands rested on his shoulders in support, but they didn't help the pain. This was all his fault. When would it end? What sacrifices would those he love have to make next?
The lieutenant shouted to his troops, "Fan out! If he's on foot, he must have left a trail!"
Jeff could do nothing but hold his son and sob.