After calling Bellick and sharing the fact that his team had found a blood trail, Sergeant O'Brien realised that his victory call had been somewhat premature. It took his team another hour and a half to find that the trail led to a very well hidden shed roughly a hundred metres from the hideout. It had gone un-noticed before because a thick canopy of trees concealed every part of it and it seemed to blend right into the background. By the time they discovered it, dusk was upon them. As they approached the small structure, O'Brien signed to his men to surround it and they all stood in their positions, guns ready and awaited his signal. He paused for a moment listening for any movement inside the shed since there were no windows for him to look through but when he heard none, he charged at the door and barrelled through it, two officers right behind him. One pointed his gun to the left, the other to the right but they needn't have bothered. The shed was empty. O'Brien holstered his weapon and looked around with his hands on his hips. The shed was completely empty and coated with a thick layer of dust. On top of that, it seemed that none of the dust had been disturbed except for in the area through which they had just charged. The wood that made up the door was old and hadn't given much resistance but it didn't look as though the cons had even entered the shed.

Frustrated, O'Brien walked outside and looked around.

"Where do you think they went Boss?"

"I don't know Mullins but we sure as hell better find out. Keep searching with the dogs, maybe they'll pick up the trail somewhere else and send us in the right direction."

"Yes sir," answered Officer Mullins and went off to carry out his orders.

O'Brien continued to look directly at the shed. It just didn't add up. How could they have vanished without a trace so quickly? He started to walk around the shed. He found that he could make it all the way around and back to the point at which he started in approximately 35 steps. On his first three turns, he found nothing out of the ordinary but the fourth time he began to kick at the dirt around the shed and suddenly, his foot hit against something and he heard a metallic clang. He quickly stooped down and dusted the area with his hand. The more dirt he brushed away, the more metal he uncovered until a rusty panel stood before him in all its glory. O'Brien shook his head in awe and muttered,

"Well I'll be . . ." before shouting, "Over here," to get the attention of his officers.

Hasty footsteps thundered in his direction and excited dogs barked at the sudden commotion. Soon, six men were staring down at the panel trying to figure out the best way to open it since there appeared to be no handle. Eventually, Sergeant O'Brien produced two knives and handed one to Officer Mullins. Together they managed to pry the panel open and they all looked down below. Flashlights ready, they descended into the tunnel one by one and looked around.

"Look boss, they were definitely down here – there's another drop of blood."

"Hmmmn. Ok – this tunnel probably slowed them down a lot so lets see if we can follow above ground. Carter, go get out a map of the area."

"Yes sir."

O'Brien heaved himself out of the tunnel after everyone else. He was not as young as he used to be but he liked to think that his age didn't affect his ability to do his job and if it did, he clearly preferred it if no-one noticed. A sheet of darkness had descended and the officers were never aware of his small struggle. He walked over to where they had congregated. The dogs had been put back into their cages and Officer Carter had set up a large map on the hood of one of the cars. O'Brien stepped up to it, his eyes darting about for a few seconds before he found what he was looking for.

"All right. This is where we are right here. The tunnel was heading west so . . ."

He trailed his finger along the map until he found what he was looking for.

"Bingo," he said confidently, tapping an area on the map. "I'll bet they've headed right for the woods. Smart - but now we can head them off. I want a perimeter set up. We'll never find their trail in the dark but the minute they step out of those woods . . . we'll be waiting for 'em!"

Excited now, he rushed to the car to call in to the station and ask for reinforcements. If this was going to work, they were going to need as many men as possible. Once he had been assured that all available officers were on their way he started up the car, waited for Mullins to get in the passenger seat and then drove to the outskirts of the woods. He parked at a slanted angle, the edge of the woods right in front of him. No wind disturbed the trees and there was an eerie stillness that caused him to slow his breathing and become even more alert. It was too quiet. The moonlight was suddenly blocked by a stray cloud and O'Brien almost expected a cackling witch in a black hat to fly out at him on a broom stick. He tensed as he watched the two other cars align along side him. Now all he could do was wait; wait for the other officers to arrive and wait for the cons to emerge from the woods. As long as they didn't take too long to get there and get organised, there was no way the cons could escape. They had them boxed in.

"Hey boss, what if they made it out of there already?"

"No there's no way – unless they had magic broomsticks. It's a good few hours walk down from where we were to the woods and then on top of that it's about a day's walk from one end of the woods to another. Plus don't forget that they have a hostage. I'm sure she's not making life easy for them."

Mullins grinned as he realised what that meant.

"All right! That means we got 'em then! No way they're getting past us! Do you have a comb in the car ?"

"What? What the hell do you need a comb for?"

"Well, when we catch them we're going to be all over the news. Practically every single channel, Boss! I've been practicing my look – you know, my serious I'm-a-cop-and-I-mean-business look – check it out, what do you think?"

He raised his head, stuck his chin out a little bit and glanced smoulderingly at his superior officer. O'Brien sighed and shook his head at the young officer then turned his eyes back to the road. In the distance he suddenly saw an army of small red and yellow circles moving in their direction. As they got closer, they got larger and he smiled. The cavalry had arrived. Soon, they would be set up on the outskirts of the woods and no matter which direction the escapees went, there would be no getting away this time. . .