We're nearing the end!
"Lost them!?" Mrs. Fox shrieked.
"We searched for hours," Mr. Stillman kept his voice low and his head bowed, "The boy and the servant escaped."
"You imbeciles!" Mrs. Fox was a ball of fury "You promised me a body, Stillman!"
"The servant could have died somewhere-" Mr. Fox stammered.
"But the boy could have survived!" Mrs. Fox growled, "we only have one option."
Her two cohorts were silent.
"We must move our location."
"The initial abduction was risky enough," Mr. Stillman started, "to attempt a second one without the element of surprise on our side and with the possibility of authorities-"
"You should have considered these setbacks before you let the boy and servant escape!" Mrs. Fox snarled in return, "Ready the car. Chloroform the two."
She turned on her heel and stalked off.
"Shall-shall I prepare the car?" Mr. Fox stammered to Mr. Stillman.
Stillman growled at the puny, weak man, "I will ready the car, urchin, after all the heavy lifting I have done on this job. You knock out the captives."
"But-but-"
Before Mr. Fox could finish, Stillman shoved a bottle of chloroform and a rag into the shaking man's hands. His burly form stalked off angrily, leaving Mr. Fox alone. He approached the cellar door slowly and opened it.
Below, he could see the wide, scared eyes of Lady Mary and Mr. Branson. He descended the stairs one at a time.
"Ah, Mr. Fox," Mary released a relieved breath, "We are so glad it is you who comes to see us after all of your generosity."
Mr. Fox took an unsteady breath, trying to hide the chloroform and rag behind his back.
"Mr. Fox," Tom started, "your kindness has not gone unnoticed. We appreciate all of your help, especially in treating Thomas."
"Correct," Mary nodded, "that vile Mrs. Fox was wrong to scold you. You saved a man's life."
"I...I saved a man's life," Mr. Fox nodded, seeing the entire scenario in a whole new light. The Lady is right, I did save a man's life. In fact, the thought even made him feel...good.
"What is that behind your back, sir?" Tom craned his neck.
Mr. Fox stiffened.
"Will it help us escape?" Mary brightened.
"It is...well, uh-" Mr. Fox backed up hastily and ran straight into the wooden beam. The chloroform and the rag fell from his hands into the hey below in full view.
Mary gasped.
"Chloroform?" Tom's expression darkened, "You mean to incapacitate us once more...?"
"What is the meaning of this?!" Mary shouted.
"We-we mean...to...move our location," Mr. Fox admitted.
"You would not!" Tom yelled, "Have we not suffered enough at your hands?"
"Please, sir," Mary pleaded earnestly, "my son needs his mother. He has already lost his father, I cannot subject him to the absence of his only parent."
"Nor my daughter," Tom's voice shook, "she has lost her mother. I am all she has left."
Mr. Fox shuffled his feet.
"Mr. Fox, you have helped us before. Please do so again. If the authorities apprehend us, we will surely testify to your bravery in this dire situation," Mary spoke confidently, "we will do all that is within our power to grant you amnesty."
Tom nodded vehemently, "Please, sir…"
Mr. Stillman slammed the car door shut. Dusk was approaching. Mrs. Fox was clutching her remaining luggage as she threw them into the cargo compartment.
"Where the hell is that swine husband of mine?" she hissed.
"Gathering the prisoners," the valet responded.
"Well don't just stand there!" she growled, "Move it along!"
Mr. Stillman released a shaky, angry breath. He took a threatening step towards Mrs. Fox who did not flinch, "You had better be sure we close this deal and I receive my payment."
"Do not be daft, Stillman," she stood taller, facing him, "the sooner you gather the prisoners and we move locations, we will ensure we receive the ransom and the estate. We were so close once, we can do it once more."
"Fine," he spat, "you had better be sure."
He stalked past her and went inside the abandoned wine cellar once more. Mrs. Fox kept her eye on the horizon for any approaching authorities. The skyline remained dark and motionless. A few moments later, Mr. Stillman returned with Mr. Fox. The valet had Mr. Branson's unconscious body draped over his shoulder, while Mr. Fox gently carried an unconscious Lady Mary in his arms.
"Chloroformed?" Mrs. Fox asked.
Mr. Stillman nodded.
"Good," she nodded towards the car, "put them in the back. We must leave now."
Both men placed the limp Crawley and Branson in the cargo of the car and shut the doors.
Just as they sealed the compartment, sirens rang in the distance.
"Start the car!" Mrs. Fox shouted, "Now!"
All three individuals raced to their seats. Stillman ignited the engine and tore off, leaving the wine cellar behind.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Captain Redford and his gang of officers just rounded the turn to the abandoned wine cellar at the county's edge, the exact location that Mr. Thomas Barrow attested was the whereabouts of the missing Lady Mary Crawley and Tom Branson.
"Move in, men!" he shouted. His officers parked in front of the cellar and swarmed the premises. After minutes of searching, Captain Redford understood the scene: the captives had definitely been kept there. Mr. Barrow's blood stained the cellar floors and there had been definite signs of recent activity. However, the place had been cleared and only momentarily.
"Captain, look! The tire prints are still fresh in the mud!" an officer pointed out.
Redford clapped the man on the back, "Excellent! Follow the trail!"
The officers resumed their positions in their vehicles and followed the mud tracks. It went further down the road, deeper into the darkness.
The sirens wailed as Redford led the raid towards the kidnappers.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"We must lose them!" Mrs. Fox shrieked, tugging at Mr. Stillman's shoulder, "We must find a place to hide!"
"Get your paws off of me, woman, and let me drive!" Stillman roared back.
"Step on it!" she screamed, staring out the window behind them. The blue and red of the sirens were just over the crest. Any moment, the horde of police vehicles would be in their sight and on their trail.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"Up ahead!" Redford shouted, "I see them!"
Their police fleet had managed to gain on the captors. Redford had a brown, tarped cargo van speeding down the dirt track.
"Hurry! To the flank!" he ordered as the vehicle accelerated to its might.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"They're on our tails!" Mrs. Fox's eyes went wide with alarm, "Quick! Through the grass!"
Mr. Stillman stared at the woman like she was crazed, "Drive in the grass!? We will crash!"
"They will not be able to follow us through there, it is too thick! We could escape!"
Before Stillman could respond, a body slammed him to the right.
The car leered.
Mrs. Fox held on for dear life, as Tom Branson erupted from the cargo compartment of the van and launched himself at the brusque valet.
He was fighting him for the wheel.
Mrs. Fox surged forward, clawing at Branson to get him off Stillman.
The moment she touched him, someone attacked her from the side. Lady Mary grabbed Mrs. Fox by her red locks and pulled back. The woman screamed.
The car teetered to the left.
Stillman was trying to throw punches at Branson, while still holding the wheel.
"Mr. Fox!" the valet shouted, "Get him off!"
Mr. Fox looked resolute for once in his life. He stared Stillman dead in the eye and with an unwavering voice said, "I will not."
"You bastard!" Mrs. Fox screamed, "You awful, good for nothing, swine!"
"Enough!" Mary shouted at the woman, "You sadistic, twisted devil!"
Mary kept her hands locked on Mrs. Fox's hair and tugged down harder. She had her elbow pressed against the woman's neck, pinning her to the side of the vehicle and unable to escape.
Tom looked over his shoulder at Mr. Fox, "Sir, grab the wheel! I'll hold Stillman at bay!"
Branson had his arms wrapped around the valet's throat, squeezing just enough so that the man gasped for air and his face was red as a tomato.
Mr. Fox nodded and leaned forward. He took the wheel in his hands and steadied the car as Mr. Stillman and Mr. Fox were kept neutralized by Tom and Mary.
No one saw it until it was too late.
There was a glint in the moonlight.
A sharp point emerged from Mr. Stillman's boot.
He kicked his foot upward, a knife's edge emerging from the tip of the sole.
The knife sunk into the chest of Mr. Fox.
Blood poured from the man's torso.
"No!" Tom shouted.
Mr. Fox gasped in alarm. He stared down at his abdomen for a moment, then went limp against the wheel.
The car jerked and spun out of control.
Captain Redford and his force watched in horror as the van went on its side and tumbled through the grass and into the ditch below.
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