Chapter Twenty-One
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the plot
AN: A little more swearing in this chapter than usual. A thank you to lily moonlight for helping me with Stella's age. And thank you to the others who reviewed! Gave me warm fuzzies to know people are still enjoying the story, even with my sporadic updates. :)
"We're nearing the area where that search party reported being shot at," Scott whispered as he and Lindsay silently drifted across the ground, moving slowly. "But I don't see anything." The two continually glanced around, but there were tons of trees, rocks, bushes...a perfect place to hide.
Lindsay beckoned Scott over to her. "Let's leave our packs here for the moment and skirt around the area, we'll get around quicker and learn more that way."
Scott was already unbuckling his pack and hiding it in some bush. "Let's go this way and circle around." He blew out some air silently and unclipped his gun, taking the safety off. "What I wouldn't give for some extra ammunition and a bullet-proof vest right now."
As the adrenaline began rushing through their bodies, Lindsay smiled shakily. "Live for the moment, Scott." She hid her own pack and began moving, gun in hand.
The grass swished as they moved and ducked repeatedly behind trees to maintain cover. Hopping over fallen branches, Lindsay and Scott sidestepped around bushes, diving low to avoid overhanging branches, breathing lightly with eyes and ears on alert. The two approached a small rocky clearing on an incline that ended up with a small sharp rock face at the top, a perfect place to hide ensuring that no one could sneak up on your back. It was littered with rocks of all sizes, chipped off from the large mountain by nature over time. The two exchanged a glance and paused, scanning the area carefully while laying low to the ground. The moment was filled with silence before they heard and then saw a few small rocks rolling down the small incline. Something higher up on the slope was moving.
The two snapped to look at each other and crouched lower.
"Bear?" Scott asked skeptically, bringing his gun up.
Lindsay gave him an almost disdainful look. "Bears usually sleep during the day, you know that." She made a few gestures indicating the need to get closer. Scott grasped her arm.
"Let me go first. Don't argue with me," he said fiercely, green eyes alive. Not waiting for her answer, he began moving slowly, making sure to have some sort of cover between him and the area where the two had heard rustling. Lindsay followed close behind, eyes pinpointed to the area, but ears straining in all directions. The two approached a rocky outcropping, but Scott stopped before, ducking behind a tree and beckoning Lindsay over.
Ina voice lower than a whisper, he said, "The rocks will give away our advantage. Let' see if we can hear something from here to verify anything." The two tried to blend into the forest while holding their breath. Lindsay felt a twinge of impatience but knew Scott was right. Hearing rocks and gravel crunching under their feet wold have surely alerted whatever or whomever they were tracking just as surely as it had alerted them that someone was there in the first place. Straining, they heard more movement on the rocky ground, but nothing definite.
Moving her mouth close to Scott's ear, Lindsay whispered, "We could be waiting forever for what might just be a small animal. The only way to determine if this is Katum and Dakin is to startle them into revealing their precise position."
Scott's breath was hot in her ear as he replied, "And potentially enter into a day-long gun fight. One we're not prepared for."
She pulled back to look at him, ignoring how close they were. "If we're ever going to get close to them, we're going to have to make some noise."
Another sound like a scrape of metal against rock. Scott sighed and frowned as he thought. He peeked out from behind the tree, scouting for a good position. Drawing Lindsay's attention, he pointed out the best position for cover. Problem was, it was a fair distance away and in leaving the wide tree they were hiding behind, the two would be open for a few long seconds. Assessing the distance, Lindsay gave him a resolute nod, her jaw set. Scott took a deep breath and counted down with his fingers. As the last finger descended, the two broke out in a full-fledged run towards their destination.
As Lindsay ran, she heard a muffled curse from somewhere ahead of them and a shot rang out, followed by another. They were close. Dust from the rocks flew up as a bullet hit the ground.
At the last few feet, in a simultaneous move, Lindsay and Scott, without a glance, dove behind the rocks. Another shot zinged off the granite surface near Lindsay's hiding spot and she reflexively hunched lower, already wincing at the small cuts she'd sustained when she dove. Though trained, Lindsay was not prepared for this.
"Bozeman PD! Surrender now!" Scott bellowed, panting slightly.
Laughter from higher up rang out.
"Give it up Katum, Dakin! You're never getting off this mountain. We've already radioed for back-up!" Scott bluffed. He'd given the radio to Cody. "Give up the hostages and maybe, just maybe we could negotiate something."
The only response was more bullets flying in their direction.
Lindsay shuffled as close as she could to Scott without exposing herself. "We could be here a while. Who knows how many ammunition boxes my father had in his gun cabinet?"
Shifting slightly, Scott replied, "Maybe we should just sit tight. People will have been bound to hear the gun shots and yelling."
"People? What people? You mean the people Charlie recalled? The people all making their way down the mountain? Those people?" Lindsay shook her head and ran a hand through her hair.
Scott gave her a look and then said, "Desperate situations always did have a chance to bring out your sarcastic side, Linds."
Another shot had Lindsay and Scott ducking while they could hear Katum laughing. The two remained in cover, perceiving their disadvantage, not only with line of sight but with lack of abundant rounds.
Lindsay felt chills up her spine as Katum spoke; she'd recognize his voice anywhere. "Unless you can get me a plane heading to Canada and until I'm safely hidden there, I'm not giving up anyone. You tell your bosses that, why don't ya?" He followed up his remark with another gun shot.
"Where's Dakin? Why isn't he opening his trap?"
"Maybe guarding my parents? Sneaking around to catch us by surprise while we sit here talking?"
"Or we could be wrong in our assumption that Katum and Dakin are together. Just now Katum was saying 'I', not 'we'. Making his own demands; if Dakin's up there beside him, I don't think he'd be taking that quietly," Scott theorized. "Hostages are great to have, sure, but they're also extra baggage." Scott ignored Lindsay's look as he referred to her parents as 'baggage'. "It might be just as easy to ditch the whole crew and take off on your own. The chances of getting off the mountain are the same."
Lindsay shook her head. "We can't know that for sure." She bit her lip. "But if it is just Katum up there with my parents...Let's try a distraction. I'll keep him talking, you try to go around."
"Linds, no."
"This is why I came along. No one can keep him talking longer better than I."
"This is not a good idea," Scott muttered strongly before crouching on his feet. He quietly shuffled off, rolling on the ground and diving behind other rocks, prompting more shots from the spooked convicts and Lindsay took a deep breath, gathering her courage.
"Give it up Katum. You've already killed another, you don't need more deaths!"
A shot ricocheted off the ground nearby. "Now that wasn't me! Stupid Dakin, being all trigger-happy, stupid son of a... Besides what do I care? You can't get much worse than life in jail!" He laughed and fired off again.
"Let the Monroes go," she called. "They're completely innocent in all this."
"Then their stupid bitch daughter should have kept her little nose outta' it! Shame I didn't kill her then too, along with her pathetic easy-picking friends; I would've gotten off scot-free. Little bitch."
Lindsay felt her temper flare. "You deserved to go to jail, you murdering bastard! Should have gotten the death penalty for killing them!"
Katum remained silent for a moment before calling out,"Now that was a mite touch of personal anger there. Who are you? A family member, friend, or - " he cut off abruptly. "Wait...I recognize your voice...I should. Hearing it across a room for weeks...you're that little upstart bitch! Little Lindsay Monroe." Katum began laughing even more maniacally. Lindsay felt an angry flush work its way up her face and she clenched her jaw as she leaned against the rocks. After containing his glee, Katum shouted, "I'm touched that you came all this way for lil' ole me."
Gripping her gun, Lindsay called back with pure hatred in her voice, "I came for my parents and to put a bullet in the forehead of lil' ole you!" Lindsay could almost imagine Scott, wherever he was, listening to their conversation and shaking his head. She was supposed to be making Katum lose control, not the other way around.
"Now, now, no need to get all testy, little Lindsay," she gritted her teeth when he called her that, "I got your parents right here and I'm getting mighty tired holding the trigger of this shot gun. Besides, don't you want to hear all about my little visit to your beloved parents? I must admit that your mother wasn't all that welcoming, so I had to smack her around a few times. And your dad, well, he tried to play brave, but a couple hits was all he needed to shut the hell up." There was some rustling and Lindsay tensed, but then Katum started talking again, "Did you see what I did to your room? Was a bit angry with you, little Lindsay, you understand right?" Wanting desperately to close her eyes and cover her ears to block out his voice, as it was, there were tears running silently down her cheeks. Still he continued, "Like I said, shame I didn't kill you back then. I ask that you forgive me for that, but I was too busy basking in the blood of your friends. What were their names? Kelly? All I can remember are the looks on their faces, so scared." To Lindsay's disgust, Katum's voice sounded slightly dreamy. "But, since I didn't kill you, I guess I'll have to settle for your parents."
Taking a deep breath, Lindsay fought for control. Ease up, Montana, ease up. She began to fire back, "Is that what you're all about? Only able to feel tough when bullying old people or shooting young girls? I should have figured, you look like a coward. Tell me something Katum, do you suppose it's at all possible you suffer the Small Man syndrome? Shame you escaped from jail, you would have been well-liked there."
His answer was yet another shot, dangerously close to the ground beside her hiding spot. Katum said in a chilly voice, "You do not want to get me riled up, little Lindsay. That is something you do not want to do, for your parent's sake."
A/N: The confrontations have begun!