Chapter 7-End of the Road

Riot and Jem found themselves in an old house out in the middle of nowhere early the following morning, before sunrise. From what they could tell, it was an abandoned ranch house. The two captives were bound, gagged, and tied to chairs. The windows were boarded up.

Minutes later, Eric Raymond sauntered in. "Well, well, I have you two at last," he said. "We have some preparations to make before we get rid of you once and for all. I bet you didn't know that I was behind that plane crash that killed everyone. One of my men managed to electronically take control of that plane and crash it into the mountain, so it would be chalked up to pilot error."

Jem was furious. Eric had killed her sister, her friends, the girls!

"How far out in the desert we gonna dig those holes?" Zipper asked.

"I was thinking a few miles out," Eric said thoughtfully. "I don't want to leave anything with them, in case the bodies are discovered too early."

"So we gonna shoot 'em, stab 'em, or what?" asked Mickey.

"Get some plastic and smother them," said Eric. "What I do want is for these two to sit here for a while and give that some thought while you go dig. I need to head back to Los Angeles so I'm not missed. Just make sure the door is locked so no one can get in and find them."

"Can we grab their wedding rings now?" asked Zipper eagerly.

"And do what with them? Wait until it's done, then wait several weeks before you pawn them," Eric snapped.

The three men left. After they heard the two cars drive away, Riot managed to plant his feet on the wood-plank floor and more or less hop over to Jem's chair. It took some maneuvering, but he managed to position his chair so they were back to back.

Jem felt around, found the knot that secured the rope that held his hands behind the chair. It took a few moments of working at it, but she finally managed to work it loose and free his wrists. Turning her head, she watched as he managed to shrug off the ropes that were around his chest, then yanked the gag off his mouth.

"We need to figure out where we are, then get out of here," said Riot as he untied his legs, then freed Jem. "My guess is they're headed east, if they're going out into the desert, so we need to head west. I'm glad I had that Army training. It's still early in the morning and the sun isn't up yet so we need to start out as soon as possible."

Jem went over and unlocked the front door, which was secured only by a deadbolt; apparently their captors hadn't thought that they'd be able to get themselves free. "If we're out in the desert…we have no water."

"Which is why we need to get going-immediately," said Riot. He looked around. "West is-that way. But first let's head to the north or south and see if we can't find a road."

"Let's try south," Jem suggested. "I just wish I wasn't wearing heels."

"Carry them. You should be able to walk barefoot here," said Riot.

Jem took her pumps off, and together the two walked for a while. After about ten minutes, they found a paved road. A road sign told them that this was Route 62. "Great, let's follow this!" said Jem.

"I think I see houses-a town-up ahead," said Riot.

After a few more minutes, a sign informed them that they were entering Twentynine Palms, California. They decided to head directly into town and find the police department.

They finally found the police department, and went in and immediately told their story. "We were abducted and taken to a shack not too far from here," said Riot. "We need to get back to Los Angeles."

The policeman called the Los Angeles police department. After he hung up, he said, "You two haven't been reported missing, but if no one was expecting you anywhere, and you've only been gone for several hours, I guess that's to be expected. Lead us to the shack and we'll set up an ambush."

Riot and Jem got into the back of a police car and the cop, who had his partner with him, followed Riot's directions. No one had come back to the shack yet. One of the cops found the door open. "I see the chairs and ropes in here," he called out to his partner. "Radio for some back-up."

Minutes later a San Bernardino sheriff's car pulled up. "We'll get the ambush set up, Steve," one of the deputies said to the cop. "You take these two back to Twentynine Palms."

"They've got it," said the cop as he got back into the car. "We'll take a police report, then see if we can't get a highway patrolman to get you back to L.A."

The police had been kind enough to serve Jem and Riot some breakfast, since they hadn't eaten since the night before, and they were eating when the report came in that Zipper and Mickey were in custody, charged with aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder, among other things. The LAPD had been advised about Eric Raymond's part in the abduction, and about his admission to having had a part in the plane crash that claimed the lives of Jem's sister and friends, as well as the other victims on the plane.

A California Highway patrolman would be taking Jem and Riot home. He was sitting with the couple now, waiting patiently until they were finished eating. "Yeah, I heard from a detective there about that Eric Raymond," he said. "Real slippery character."

"I remember him telling me that it's amazing what lawyers can do when you pay them enough," Jem recalled.

"It'd take all the gold in Fort Knox to get Raymond out of this one," the patrolman laughed. "And someone with few enough scruples to take it!"

Once they were finished with their lunch, Jem and Riot got into the back of the state patrolman's car. "It may take Mr. Raymond a while to get back, it's a three-hour drive from here, but we know where he lives, where he works…we have the LAPD lying in wait for him."

Hours later, Jem and Riot were finally home, and they took a shower and put on fresh clothing. Jem sat on their bed in their bedroom and started to cry.

"What is it?" Riot asked as he sat down next to her.

"What they were going to do…they were going to kill us, then bury us out in the desert," she wept.

"It's not going to happen, my love. We got away. Those two thugs are facing some serious prison time, and so is Eric Raymond, no doubt."

The phone rang. Riot picked it up. "Llewellyn residence," he said.

Jem waited while Riot listened. "I see…well, I guess he won't trouble us anymore, will he?" Riot finally said. "Yes…you got the other one? Thank you. Okay…goodbye."

Riot turned and looked at Jem. "Eric Raymond tried to get away from the police. There was a high-speed chase. Eric wound up going through a guardrail and over a cliff…let's just say he gave himself the death penalty. They just picked up Tech-Rat; apparently he's been involved in some hacking, and he's facing multiple charges of first-degree murder-he'll never get out of prison alive."

"How ironic. When we first tangled with the Misfits, we almost went over a cliff," said Jem. She got up and looked out the bedroom window. "It's finally over now," she said. "I don't think the Misfits will bother us very much anymore."

Epilogue

May 16, 1988

It was Riot's twenty-fourth birthday, and Jem had thrown him a party. The guests were mingling in the recreation room.

"Where were you this morning?" Riot asked his wife as they danced together to the stereo.

"Confirming something," she replied, smiling mysteriously. "Why I've been feeling tired, irritable, and miserable in the mornings."

"Jem-you don't mean-?"

"Yes, I do mean. You're going to be a father come January, Riot. And I couldn't think of a better time to tell you than your birthday!"

Well, that wraps up this story. This part of the saga at any rate. Look for the next book in my series, which I'm going to call Jem: The Next Generation. No, no starships will be involved, it only takes place in the late 80s to present-day! Which means it'll be a lot longer.

I was a teenager in the 80s. So a lot of things I'm recalling from memory and failing that, Google can be your friend. :)