CHAPTER 10

Gun raised and ready, Frank ran through the woods, breathing steadily. He was glad that he kept in shape by running every evening. He kept glancing back to check on Anderson and to make sure that they weren't being followed. So far Anderson was managing to keep up. When he felt that they were safe, Frank slowed his pace to a fast walk.

"Too bad we didn't think to raid the refrigerator; I could go for a nice plate of eggs, bacon and toast," panted Anderson.

"Yeah…well, we were kind of in a hurry."

"Do you know where we are?"

"I'm not sure…when they took me out of the trunk the area reminded me of my friend, Chet Morton's home. His family lived outside the city limits. His mom had a small vegetable stand and his dad sold real estate," explained Frank.

"Morton…Morton…I think I bought my first house from him!"

"Joe and I used to visit Chet a lot during the summer. Chet used to take us exploring around his property and sometimes going outside it." Frank smiled as he reminisced. "I'm hoping to recognize a landmark…that's if we're where I think we are."

-PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK-

Although she protested, Joe was determined to drive Mackenzie to school. He didn't think that Lassiter would go after her but he didn't want to take any chances. Vanessa rode with them, as he didn't want to leave her alone either. He first had to take Mackenzie to her home so she could change into fresh clothes.

"Joe, you really don't have to do this. I can drive myself to work," Mackenzie continued to protest.

"You can complain all you want, I'm still driving you to work! If anything happened to you, Frank would kill me!"

Looking at Mackenzie in the rearview mirror Joe gave her a smile. Something caught his eye and he pretended to adjust the mirror.

Vanessa was tucking her hair behind her ear and noticed a small frown on Joe's face. He kept glancing in the rearview and side mirrors. "Joe, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I think we have company."

Vanessa pulled down the visor and used the vanity mirror to see behind her. Mackenzie, looking through her briefcase, hadn't noticed anything was wrong.

"The black Mercedes? Didn't Con say a black Mercedes…?"

"Joe, where are you going? This isn't the way to my house."

"Mackenzie, do you have your seatbelt buckled?" Joe noticed the Mercedes gaining on them and stepped on the gas pedal.

"Yes…what's going on?" Mackenzie looked at Joe, then Vanessa.

"Vanessa, call the police and tell them we're being followed. I'm going to try and lose them." Joe sped up as fast as he dared, keeping a careful eye out for any school children or their parents.

-PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK-

"Mr. Lassiter, I don't think this is a very good idea," said Blaine.

"This is the perfect time to capture him, Blaine! No police guards…two against one young boy!" cackled Lassiter with glee.

"That's just it, Mr. Lassiter….he's not a 'young boy' anymore! He's a grown man who's worked with the government for over five years!"

"Keep following him, John…try and cut him off!" yelled Lassiter, ignoring Blaine.

With a sigh Blaine sat back and hoped nothing would go wrong.

Joe had managed to keep ahead of the black Mercedes, and he figured with a couple more turns he would be able to elude Lassiter. Joe smiled…if he could make this next turn he could head for the highway and lose his assailants. He pressed his foot down hard on the gas pedal.

"Joe, watch out!" screamed Vanessa.

-PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK-

"Hey, do you hear that?" asked Anderson excitedly.

"Yes I do!" answered Frank with the same excitement.

They stumbled out of the wooded area to find a two-lane highway. For the last ten minutes they had heard the sound of cars passing by. Frank saw a truck coming down the road and he frantically waved his arms to get the driver's attention. The driver of the truck stared at Frank as he zoomed by but then he came to a screeching stop and backed the truck towards Frank.

"Frank…is that you?" Staring disbelievingly at Frank was Mr. Josh Davidson, a long time neighbor of the Mortons.

"Yes sir, Mr. Davidson, it's me and this is Mr. Anderson…we could use a ride into town."

"Sure, hop on in! You look a little peaked…I've got some beef jerky in the glove compartment; you're welcome to it."

"Thank you, we haven't had anything to eat this morning," said Anderson opening the glove department. He was delighted to find two small bottles of water as well as the beef jerky. He gave one to Frank and opened the other for himself.

"I heard you were kidnapped…Chief Riley's got every cop looking for you. Did you beat those no-good scumbags to a pulp? Is that how you got away?" Josh glanced over at Frank, the older man's eyes sparkling with glee.

"Not exactly Mr. Davidson," chuckled Frank. "We tripped one of the guards and knocked him out, then made our escape and luckily ran into you!"

"Hold on a second…I keep forgetting I have this thing…granddaughter gave it to me last Christmas," said Josh, reaching into his shirt pocket and taking out a cell phone. "You should call your folks and let them know you're okay."

"Mr. Davidson, did I ever tell you that you were my favorite person in Bayport?" Frank happily took the cell phone. Tempted to call Mackenzie first, instead he called Con Riley.

-PAGEBREAKPAGEBREAK-

Joe had made a hard right only to find a school bus in the middle of the street as school children boarded. He spun the steering wheel, causing the car to whirl into a 180-degree turn, and the back bumper just barely touched the back end of the school bus. The car jerked to a stop. Joe pressed on the gas pedal and the engine sputtered out.

"Stupid crappy rental!" roared Joe as he tried to start the car again. He'd had a feeling this would happen, as the car had been making strange noises and jerking when he increased the speed. He looked up when he heard a car screeching to a stop.

"Get out of the car…get out of the car!" Joe slid across the seat, pushing Vanessa in front of him out the passenger side door.

Vanessa pulled Mackenzie out of the car. Holding tightly to the other woman's hand she dragged her across the street. Vanessa heard someone scream, then knew why when gravel flew up and hit her leg. Whoever was following them had fired at them!

John had jumped out of the car, taking the gun from his shoulder holster and firing it at Vanessa.

When he heard the gunshot and saw the bullet narrowly miss Vanessa, Joe saw red.

"Stay low!" he called out to Vanessa and Mackenzie as he reached behind him and took out his gun. He was glad that he had it with him, although he didn't like using it with innocent bystanders so close by. He turned, coming to a stop, and aimed carefully, not wanting to make a wild shot with children around.

He fired at the driver, hitting the door as the man ducked behind it. He saw Blaine reaching for his gun and didn't hesitate.

Blaine had feared this would happen. He got out of the car, shouting at John to stop shooting. He was just pulling out his own gun when he felt a searing pain in his shoulder.

Hearing police sirens as he fell to the ground, Blaine yelled at John to get Lassiter out of there. John dived into the car and sped away.

Joe went over to Blaine, kicking the man's gun away. Pointing his gun at Blaine's head, Joe glared down at him.

"Where's my brother."

*endofchapter*

Authors Note: Please read the author's profile for this story. The author, copagirl, passed away in 2013. I am posting these stories up with the permission of her family, who want her to be remembered as well. Lola was a long-time member of the Hardy Detective Agency and we miss her soooooo much! Love you Lola!

Thanks to those of you leaving feedback! I know copagirl would love all of it.