Friday 28th September (According to Morag)

Shaking hands was as big a promise as she could make but that thought wouldn't last long in her mind. Her main priority was finding a way to track down Roy's location. How to go about doing so was another issue. It was all well and good having a GPS system in Roy's camera, but it meant nothing if Morag couldn't use it.

Naturally, she possessed a USB stick that allowed her to do so, but it was not on her person, so she made a quick trip back to the hotel to go and get it. She got past the reception easily enough; she just had to say she'd forgotten something and the let her through. USB retrieved, she left the hotel and went searching for somewhere with a computer she could connect it to.

Morag thought for a bit as she walked. 'The Library was too conspicuous.' She thought, trying hard to come up with another place to go. She thought of going to an internet café, but that posed the same problem.

"Might as well go to the library. Hopefully there won't be anyone around." Morag decided, picking up the pace. The library was still open, thankfully, and empty too. She settled down at a computer and plugged in the USB, with which she opened up a file on the computer, showing a map of the area, with a red dot pinpointing Roy's current location. The dot was moving away at considerable speed, on the I-20 heading Westbound.

About half an hour had passed since Roy was kidnapped. Armed with that information, she looked along the map to see any logical place they would stop. It would make sense if they went to Cape Canaveral or anywhere in Florida, that's where the links led to after all. She had no choice but to wait for the time being, as she couldn't take the computer with her. "It wouldn't hurt to have a laptop, if I had the money to hand." She sighed as she waited for the dot to stop. To her surprise, it stopped for a while in Columbia, South Carolina, at an empty warehouse building.

Morag wasted no time in following after, getting a taxi ride to the location. It took an hour to get there, but alas, there was no trace of that Silver Jaguar anywhere. Morag paid the cab fare and clambered over the fence to get inside. The warehouse was as dull and empty as she feared, but, not one to give up, she scoured the place for any clues that Roy might have left. It wasn't too long before she saw a torn scrap of paper lying on the ground.

The scrap read FOLLOW ME (with the F and L underlined). A message that in Morag's mind, could only mean Florida. With her suspicions confirmed, she left the scene and headed into town to look for some transportation. With the money she had available, she was keen to avoid using a taxi, since firstly, they weren't very quick, and secondly, not good value for money either. The buses were too slow to be of any help, and a plane would be too expensive. Ideally she wanted to take a train, but the question was whether she could find one.

After finding a map in the middle of town, she discovered, to her luck, that there indeed was a train service that would travel all the way to Miami, if needs be. Without further ado, she sought out the next train and bought a ticket to Jacksonville, along with a can of Fanta and a Panini. With nothing to do for the next 5 hours, she focused on getting some sleep; she'd need to be alert when she eventually caught up to Roy and his kidnappers.

While on the train, she did some thinking. Logically, Roy would be in either Cape Canaveral, or near the Florida State Capitol, which was in Tallahassee. Morag hopped off the train at Jacksonville at around 5pm, and went to find a free computer.
Eventually, she found one, and she plugged in the USB drive once again. The computer told her everything she needed to know, as the red dot indicating Roy's location was well on its way to Tallahassee.

"Just a few more hours, Roy, and I'll get you out of this." Morag muttered to herself as she unplugged it.

Roy wasn't much enjoying being in the back of the Jaguar. The long journey was taxing on the brain, and he'd fallen asleep at least twice. His kidnappers had spared him the humiliation of being tied up, at least for the time being. The Jaguar was installed with one of those plastic screens you see in taxis, which prevented him from interfering with the car, and the doors were child-locked (go figure).

Roy had hoped to find out where he was being taken, but his kidnappers kept turning up the radio whenever he asked, so he eventually gave up, settling for looking out the window. With the sun hanging low in the sky, Roy observed as they pulled off the highway and entered Tallahassee.

"I see." Roy realised, barely two minutes away from their destination. A few turns and crossroads later, they arrived at a disused warehouse.

"We're here." said one of the kidnappers as he stopped the car.

Several Hours and a long journey later, Morag stepped off the bus as she set foot in Tallahassee. Her usual tactic of using the library computer wasn't going to work this time, so she had to think of something else. In front of her was a computer hardware store that was still open, thankfully. She headed inside and plugged the USB drive into one of the display PCs, hoping she wouldn't get caught. The red blip on the map showed that Roy was in a warehouse on the east side of town. She looked relieved for a second, until a shadow cast over her and the computer.

"Excuse me, miss." A man in blue uniform remarked.

"Oh, sorry sir." Morag apologised sheepishly.

"You shouldn't be messing with the displays. You could brick the system by doing that.

"I doubt it. I haven't installed anything." Morag pulled the USB out of the computer and looked at him smugly as the computer returned to showing the desktop. "I'll see myself out, thank you." Morag walked off, putting the USB back in her pocket and leaving.

A few minutes of running through streets and roads later, she stopped at the warehouse she believed Roy was trapped in.

"This is the place." Morag said to herself as she looked around. "Except I don't see that silver Jaguar anywhere." This was a concern for Morag. The fact that his kidnappers weren't there could have meant that they'd taken him elsewhere in the last 15 minutes. Not one to give up, however, Morag approached the building and peered inside the window.
"Roy!" Morag shouted, having spotted him on the opposite side of the warehouse. She took a nearby stone and threw it at the window, smashing it. She then clambered onto the small windowsill, kicking down the rest of the window, before climbing through the gap that remained.

"Morag?" Roy asked excitedly. "You found my note?

"I did. Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" Morag asked.

"Well, Apart from the fact my arms are tied around this pillar, I'm fine. Did you see them?"

"Not since we were in Darlington. The car's gone." Morag replied.

"They're probably off to interrogate dad, or whatever they plan to do." Roy uttered.

"Is that what they said?" Morag asked, finally arriving at the pillar and putting her untying skills to work.

"Yeah, they took him to a separate location. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Roy asked.

"Not really, but I can guess." Morag answered, as she finished untying Roy, who immediately headed for the door.

"Door's locked." Morag told him.

"How do you know?" Roy asked.

"No self-respecting criminal would leave a door open for his hostage to escape. Also, the shutters were down." Morag replied. Roy pulled and pushed at the door anyway, to no avail. "Told you." She added, as Roy caught up to her. She hoisted herself up to the window ledge, before helping Roy do the same. They then jumped down onto the concrete outside, before walking away. Roy had something to say as they went back towards the centre of town.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"If my instincts are correct, Cape Canaveral." Morag answered. "I'll explain more on the way."

The two of them caught a bus to the middle of town so they could plan their next move. At the bus station. The two of them sat on a bench facing a map of Florida, and, since it was already 8:30pm, the bus station was relatively empty.

"You were saying?" Roy prompted.

"So, here's my theory." Morag began. "We know from you and your father's research that the two prime suspects are Goldspur and the NASA man, and we can assume that they're working together, given their conversations. From what I can infer, Goldspur decided you were as much of a problem as your father, hence why you got kidnapped. Your father, under the orders of the NASA man, was kidnapped earlier, and taken to Cape Canaveral. That way, the NASA man can continue his work while attending to his hostage as required. You were taken to Tallahassee, close to the Florida State Capitol.

"So why did they leave? Goldspur had plenty of people who could have done the interrogating for him." Five pointed out.

"I believe their original plan was to kidnap you in broad daylight, with multiple witnesses. They would all give conflicting testimonies to the police, slowing the investigation down and allowing them to slip away. By the time the police would have found you, you'd have already starved to death, and as such would not be able to tell them about your father." Morag explained.

"You're saying I was a decoy?"

"Yes. You're a kid. I'd expect them to underestimate your ability."

"And how did you find me, anyway? I didn't leave that many clues." Roy asked.

"Oh, the camera I gave you was GPS enabled. But your clue did save me some time." Morag answered.

"You gave me that camera just in case, didn't you?" Roy realised.

"I was starting to worry about you. You got into some close calls." Morag admitted.

"I guess…" Roy replied. "How do you suppose we're getting to Cape Canaveral? There's not a lot we can do at this time of day.

"I'm not sure. There aren't any night buses that leave from here." Morag agreed. "Maybe there'll be a taxi that'll take us."

"Some plan." Roy retorted.

"Got anything better?" Morag asked. Roy kept his mouth shut as the two of them got up and started walking outside. They continued down the street, looking in vain for any taxi's to ride. By now it was getting dark, and increasingly difficult to do anything. Roy suggested they turn in for the night, but Morag was too stubborn to listen, so they continued on for another hour.

At around 10:40pm, without warning, a Police car pulled up alongside them. Morag instinctively put herself between Roy and the vehicle, and watched as the officer rolled down his window. An African-American police officer poked his head out of the window.

"Evening, officer." Roy called put from behind Morag's arm.

"May I ask what you two are doing outside this late at night?" the officer asked.

"We're uh…, trying to find my dad." Roy answered.

"We got separated." Morag interjected.

"And now we're lost." Roy added.

"Have you tried contacting your parents?"

"We tried, but we can't reach them." Morag replied.

"Why don't you sit in the back, and I can get you two home. How does that sound?"

"Let me see your badge." Morag asked. The officer shined his badge proudly, and Morag smiled. She opened the door and got in, with Roy in tow."

"Now, where do your parents live, exactly?"

"Cape Canaveral!" Morag answered quickly.

"That's a long ways from here." The officer replied. "Were you out on a day trip or somethin'?"

"You could say that." Roy scratched his back as he responded, with a hint of nervousness.

"Alright. It's a good thing I'm on night shift and not Rourke, he might have left you out in the dust." The officer mused to himself, as he pulled back out onto the road. Roy took the opportunity to get some well-earned shut-eye while Morag kept watch over him. The officer radioed in to let his fellow cops know he was busy, as they continued eastward.

Saturday 29th September

(3am)

"Dispatch, we have reports of a Silver Jaguar XJS with plates XE3 48T6 in the Brevard County area. Suspects are wanted on suspicion of the kidnapping of a child named Roy Tripps." Came a voice on the police radio. Roy jolted awake in his seat.

"I heard my name." Roy yawned as he rubbed his eyes. Morag glared at him silently.

"Are you the child in question?" The officer asked him.

"Yeah. They took me to a warehouse and then left me to rot, until Morag found me." Roy admitted.

"This is [Squad Car No.], the child in question has been found and is now safe. We are en-route to the nearest police station."

"So I take it your parents don't actually live in Cape Canaveral do they?" The Officer began.

"No. We're not related either, as it happens." Roy replied, pointing at himself and Morag.

"But we think that's where his dad is being held." Morag added.

"And you didn't tell us this before, because?" The Officer continued.

"I didn't think you'd believe me." Morag answered.

"Her trust in the police is quite low." Roy pointed out.

"I can see why, your story does seem a bit far-fetched. But then again, my kid was watching these kids driving racing cars the other week, and I couldn't believe my eyes." The officer relayed.

"I know right? The idea seems to get crazier every race!" Morag complained, throwing her arms up in exasperation.

"You watch it too, huh?" the Officer asked. Morag rolled her eyes at this and said nothing.

"He's in for a surprise when we get to the station." Roy said to her, smiling.

"We'll be there in a minute. Not long now, kids." The Officer indicated, turning off at the exit ramp. Shortly after he said that, he pulled over and parked at the Titusville Police Precinct. Morag and Roy got out of the patrol car and followed the officer into the police station. The officer sat them down at a table and proceeded to ask them some questions.
"To start with, I'd like you to explain what's going on. You believe your father has been kidnapped."

"My father works as a journalist for Minnesota Sports Weekly. With a bit of help from Me, Morag, and a few others, we investigated, among other things, the reason why everything about the 'Spindycar' series is so hush-hush. We snooped around, heard a few conversations, and narrowed it down to the involvement of a few people, who eventually caught wind of what we were doing and kidnapped the two of us yesterday." Roy explained.

"And these people are?"

"Adrian Goldspur, Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives, Mandy Wilcox, Commercial Director of the All American Motorsport Federation, and an unnamed man who works for NASA." Morag answered.

"Suppose I believe all this, for one second. How do you know that your father is at Cape Canaveral?"

"Your radio said they were in the area, right? If they didn't have other business here, they'd have gone back to Darlington, or stayed in Tallahassee." Morag deduced. "Also, not to insult you or your town, but I would not have travelled all the way from Darlington to Tallahassee without valid reason." she added. "It's not exactly a tourist trap."

"I get your point." The officer relented. "We'll see what we can do. I'm going to get some blankets. You guys need some sleep." And the officer promptly left. Morag looked fidgety as she thought about whether to continue alone.

"We should do as he says. It won't do us any good if we're dead tired when we get there." Roy advised, and Morag begrudgingly agreed.

Around 10 am, the two of them woke up, well rested and still in the station. A different officer, with fair skin and short, dark hair, entered through the door.

"Hello? Who are you? What happened to the other guy?" Roy asked with a yawn.

"His shift ended, so he's gone home. My name is Officer Kenny. Officer Carlson gave me the brief and the info seems to check out, I've been assigned to you so we can get to the bottom of this."

Morag looked up at him apprehensively.

"Oh don't start looking like that. I'll have you know we're not like those officers you read about on the news. We pride ourselves on our conduct."

"Good to hear." Morag replied, slightly more relaxed.

"Now, the first thing we plan to do today is to find out the identity of the man working for NASA at Cape Canaveral." Kenny replied.

"Are we coming with you?" Roy asked.

"Of course. I don't want you running off unsupervised. That would be negligent." Officer Kenny answered. The kids followed him into the police car and set off on the short journey to Cape Canaveral. Morag looked outside for anything to take her mind off. She was very unsure as to how this would pan out. For all she knew, all three of them could end up in caskets. Roy looked a lot more confident though, which calmed her nerves a bit.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the front gate of the Base, whereupon they were halted by one of the guards.

"Excuse me officer, but under what pretext are you here? If you do not provide a reasonable answer I will have to turn you away."

"We'd like to enquire whether a silver Jaguar XJS passed through here, with plates XE3 48T6?"

"Hold on let me take a look." the guard looked down at his register. "Yes, Mr Jackson and Mr Forrest are currently on the premises. Would you like me to bring them here?"

"If you can, but I should probably go along with you, since they likely won't come along willingly." Officer Kenny replied.

"What about the kids?"

"We can go along. Roy's a key witness, and neither of us are going to stay in the car for long in this hot weather." Morag suggested.

"All right, but stay close." The guard replied.

"Sworn promise." Morag replied, signing a cross as she did so. The four of them walked single file into the compound, passing by the silver Jaguar as they did so, before heading into one of the main buildings. As they walked through one of the corridors. Two men, dressed in work clothes, were stood in front of a janitor's closet, sipping coffee. Roy recognised them instantly.

"That's them." Roy pointed out.

"Excuse me, Mr Jackson, Mr Forrest. This man here would like a word with you." The guard said to them.

"What for?" asked Forrest.

"We have reason to believe you were involved in a recent kidnapping case." Officer Kenny Stated.

"What kidnapping? Asked Mr Jackson. A loud thud was heard on the door behind them.

"If you could step away from the door, gentlemen." The guard ordered calmly. The two men reluctantly complied and allowed the guard to open the door. In front of him lay Roy's father, his legs and arms bound, and his mouth taped over, looking quite uncomfortable.

"Dad!" Roy shouted, as he rushed over. Morag grabbed his arm and pulled him back whilst Kenny and the guard approached the two men with handcuffs.

"What are you doing!?" Roy yelled at Morag.

"Wait." Morag looked around whilst the two adults pushed further down the corridor. "Now go." And she let go of Roy, who rushed over to his dad. He and Morag untied the ropes and ripped off the tape, freeing him. Roy gave him an appreciative hug.

"It's okay, I'm here." Frank said has he held on to him. The three of them watched as Kenny and the guard led the two of them out in handcuffs.

"We should go." Morag pointed out. "They're leaving."

"Oh, yeah." Roy realised, helping his dad up and following behind them. Morag stood at the back, watching their backs while they left, in the event the unnamed man should show up.

After several minutes, they finally made it back to the patrol car, where Kenny left the guard to keep Frank, Roy and Morag company until he could pick them up separately after he drove the kidnappers to the station.

"I hope you weren't fretting about me too much." Frank said.

"Not to worry you or anything, but I got kidnapped as well." Roy replied.

"Oh my…"

"I know. But it was alright. Morag witnessed it, and she managed to find me." Roy assured him. They were interrupted by the guard, now back at his post.

"Would any of you like some water? The guard asked, holding out two plastic cups.

"Yes please." They replied, taking them out of his hands. The guard made another two for himself and Roy, and they chatted for a bit about his work. When Officer Kenny returned, the three of them headed to the station and gave their accounts of what happened. The statements and testimonies to the rest of the day to complete. Morag decided not to contact Charlie Brown until the race was over, in order not to blow her cover. She rang her team on Sunday evening to let them know she would be back in time for the Tennessee race, but that she would be getting there on her own.

Monday 1st October

*RING* *RING* Charlie Brown heard the phone ring in his hotel room, as he darted awake. He picked up and held the receiver to his ear.

"Uh, Hello?"

"I'm sorry I didn't call sooner, Charlie Brown, but I'm okay. Everything's fine, and Roy, Frank and I are safe. I'll see you when we get to Tennessee." Morag replied.

"Where are you, Morag?"

"Titusville, Florida. I'll explain more later. When are you guys going?"

"Monday. We should be there by 6pm, I think."

"We'll meet then." Morag replied, hanging up. Charlie Brown put the phone down, and went back to sleep, finally able to rest easy.