"The Chameleon"

Chapter Ten

Jim was on his feet again and running upstream in the direction of the smoke he'd detected earlier. He was still reeling from the drug's effects, but hoped he would soon find someone who could help him.

Move it, Jimmy, they will be looking for you by now, Kenny's voice told him.

"I know, I know already," Jim whispered under his breath.

He had to stop, grabbing hold of a tree, as his vision became obscured once again. He shook his head, trying to shake clear of the drug, but when he looked around again, he still couldn't see the reality of what was around him, instead all he saw were rapidly shifting patterns of light and dark.

Don't depend on just your sight here, Jim, Blair's voice came to him, joining Kenny's, Use your sense of smell and your hearing to guide you.

Jim felt his expression contort as he said, "My hearing is all screwed up. All I can hear is you and Kenny, and you two aren't real!"

Let us help you, Jimmy.

"NO!" Jim shouted back, dropping to his knees. "No more, please. I can't take this . . . "

Kenny spoke next. Jim, we are only trying to save your life. Those drugs have your system all out of whack, but we can tell you where to go and how to be safe when you aren't able to find the way yourself.

He's got a good point, Simon said quietly, his voice appearing out of the blue.

"NOOOO!" Jim cried out against the voices echoing in his mind, and fell to the ground, unmoving.

Simon directed his teams to spread out in the direction of the gunshot.

"Search teams, report. Any signs of Jim or the kidnappers yet?" he ordered.

When the teams reported in, no one had found anything yet. Simon looked to Blair who was keeping up with Simon's long strides. The young man's face revealed his worry without saying a word.

"We'll find him, Sandburg."

Blair nodded, but then shook his head. "Why are we searching the woods when we haven't searched the house yet? I mean that shot could have been a hunter in the woods for all we know."

"It isn't hunting season. Besides, Mancuso's team searched the house as they swept through and no one was there. No, my cop instincts are telling me that Jim is involved with that gunshot in some way."

Blair sighed and looked down. He stopped and knelt beside the area, looking up to Simon. "Wait, Simon, look here. The foliage has been disturbed by someone recently. Someone who was out in this forest barefooted."

Simon knelt closer to see for himself. "Damn, Sandburg, I didn't know you were an Indian scout. Someone did come through here barefooted and recently by the look of the mud. Let's see if we can follow the trail."

"It's got to be Jim," Blair whispered, looking back down at the footprint.

Simon stood, and patted Blair on the shoulder. "It won't be long now, Sandburg," he said with a smile.

The smile came from his attempt at humor, but also from a glimmering of hope. Simon didn't want to let it grow until they actually had Jim safe in hand again. Until then, he had to keep his mind on the task before him.

He reached for his hand mike and called the rest of the teams. "We've got a trail leading into the woods and we think it's probably Ellison. Call for an ambulance and paramedics to stand by."

Blair stood, and started moving forward, following the trail of footprints in the mud.

"Be careful, Sandburg, and keep an eye open for trouble. If that gunshot did come from one of the kidnappers, this forest isn't safe."

Blair nodded, glancing around, but his attention returned to the trail. Simon sighed as he appointed himself Blair's protector since Blair wasn't paying any attention to their surroundings. Blair's only focus was devoted to following the trail as they delved deeper into the forest and Simon's was on protecting him.

Blair halted at a spot where the runner left a deeper impression, as if he had paused at this very location. He glanced at the tree trunk beside him and saw something wet reflecting in the darkening sunlight of dusk. He wiped at it with his fingers and his breath caught as he realized it was blood.

Simon knelt beside him, and when he saw the blood, he had the same reaction as Blair. Blair spoke in a low, quiet tone as he said, "Jim's hurt."

Simon rubbed the back of his neck. "Come on, we better hurry. It will be dark soon and we'll have to pull back for flashlights and heavier gear."

Blair stood, his gaze glancing ahead for the next sign of disturbed foliage. Soon, he was on his way again, trying to rub the blood against his pants leg, but somehow it stubbornly remained on his fingers, just as his worry for Jim never left his thoughts.

Blair continued to head in the same direction they'd been following when he suddenly lost the trail. "Wait, Simon, I don't see where he headed from here," his voice echoed the desperation he felt washing over him.

He slowly turned until he saw another footprint in the mud to his right. Following it, he saw that the person headed down into a ravine where a brook ran through its lower regions. "I-I think he went down there," he said as he pointed downward.

Simon looked confused. "Why change direction all of a sudden?"

Blair was grim as he said, "Maybe he was being followed. That gunshot came from someone."

"Wait," Blair said, stopping Simon from walking over a footprint. "There's a smaller print over Jim's. Someone else came through here after Jim did."

Simon's expression darkened. "He's being followed."

Blair nodded. "I think so."

Banks glanced to Blair, his expression frowning. "Where did you learn all this, Sandburg?"

Blair brushed his long hair out of his face. "You forget I've spent a lot of time studying various tribes and their activities. You hang around hunters long enough, you learn how to read the signs your prey has left."

Simon nodded. "So we're going down there?" he asked as his head gestured toward the creek.

"Yeah, that's where the trail leads."

They headed off, carefully crossing the steep hillside of rock and dirt.

Jim awoke to uncontrollable shivering. He curled up into a ball, trying to warm himself, but it didn't help. The cold temperature, along with his lack of clothing, and the dampness of the forest all combined to work against him.

After a moment, he began to move, but stopped when he was hit with mind-numbing pain. He didn't know how he could hurt in so many places and still be alive, but he was. His hand brushed his broken ribs, making his breath catch. Looking down, he saw a myriad of black and blue bruises with hints of yellow and green at the edges.

It didn't take him long to remember where he was or why. Anna and Ramon. Rage fueled a sudden burst of energy and he got to his feet, though he swayed wildly. He blinked a few times and looked around, not sure what was the right direction to go. The daylight was waning rapidly.

Sniffing at the air, Jim found the source of smoke again. Stumbling along, he proceeded ahead. Then he caught a whiff of something that shouldn't be in a forest. Perfume. Anna was close by. The adrenaline rush fueled a new source of energy and he moved as fast as he could.

He found a spot where he could hide in the middle of several trees closely clumped together. Sniffing the air again, Jim warily watched as Anna approached. She had been running, but stopped as she glanced around her, obviously not sure of which direction to take.

Jim held his breath as she walked forward and stopped again right beside his hiding place. Staying in one place allowed his injuries to beg for attention. One hand went to his ribs as he crouched down, watching her without blinking, but his body was trembling so badly from the cold, he was afraid he'd give his position away.

Finally, she walked on, soon disappearing from his sight. Jim slumped against a cold tree trunk and held on for all he was worth. He swallowed, wondering if he should stay put or make a run in another direction. The decision was taken away from him as his body shut down in an unexpected siesta and all he could do was go with the flow.

Jim wasn't sure how much time had passed when he crawled out from the thicket of trees, but apparently it wasn't long enough, because he heard a noise behind him. Spinning around, he saw Anna standing there, aiming a gun at his head.

"You were not supposed to go out of your room without a chaperone, Ellison," she said tightly.

Jim shrugged, standing unsteady. "I've never been one to follow orders."

"Step away from the trees and go back in the direction we came from."

She waved the gun and waited for him to comply. As he started walking, he heard her speak into her cell phone. "I found him. We are heading back now. Meet us at the house."

Neither one of them said anything for the next minute. Jim's mind was racing as he considered his alternatives and possible ways to escape before they reached the house.

Fall down to the ground and when she comes to you, give her a solid head butt to send her flying, his dead friend, Kenny, said in whispered tones.

"No, that won't work. His hands are still tied," the faux Simon argued.

"The ropes won't stop him from doing as Kenny suggested," Blair's voice chimed in.

Jim groaned from listening to the argument inside his head. Ah, hell, why not try it?

He dropped to the ground, rolling over to one side to keep his hands as free as possible, and closed his eyes, pretending to pass out. Anna did exactly as predicted, kneeling beside him to see what was the matter.

Now! Kenny shouted.

Jim came up with all the strength he had and hit Anna in the chin with the top of his head hard enough to rattle her teeth and send her reeling backwards. Jim snatched the gun from her hand and was still crouched, about to aim it at her, when she kicked out with one leg, hitting his broken ribs.

Jim gritted his teeth together, riding out his body's threats to shut down again, and kept hold of the gun as he dropped to his knees. Anna growled with anger and tackled him, the two of them rolling across the forest floor.

She tried to wrestle the gun away from him, but Jim was not about to let her gain possession of the weapon again. Their struggle resulted in the gun discharging. Neither one of them moved until Anna fell to the ground beside Jim, her unseeing eyes staring at some fixed point beyond life.

Jim struggled to breathe. The battle had flared his injuries and weakened his energy stores, but he knew he couldn't stop for long. Ramon would have heard the shot and would be after him soon. With the gun still in his hands, he stumbled away from the dead woman and back in the direction he'd been heading.

Simon saw the body first, running ahead of Blair. Rolling her over, he found Anna Cordova dead from a single gunshot wound. Blair came up behind him, stopping when he saw who it was. Then his gaze darted around the scene, looking for Jim. Or some sign of where he had gone.

There was very little in the way of light by then, but Blair knelt close to the ground in order to see better. Finally, he saw Jim's tracks leading out of the scene of a struggle. "Here, Simon, let's go!"

Simon was behind him. His gaze darted around them. "Hurry, Sandburg, we're lose the light."

"It's almost gone already, but I think I can follow him."

Simon didn't answer him. They both knew there was very little time left to find Jim before they had to pull back and organize a search-and-rescue mission.

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