Chapter 15: Hideout

Casey leaped into the hummer, floored the gas pedal, and sped through the electronic gates. It was still broad daylight outside. The Goggle helmet lay on the drivers side, it's long mesh of wires connected to a hulking, black and red backpack. Casey fumbled for his cell phone and called Rhea.

"Rhea, I'm out, what should I do now? Can you hear me?"

"Yes, John. Go West onto 14! On the right side of the helmet is the on/off switch. Do you see it?"

"Yeah."

"Flick that on and wear the helmet, you can hang up, it picks up audio."

Casey grabbed the helmet and put it on his head. The small monitor blocked some of the vision from his left. He turned it on, and a wave of electricity and static appeared. The black screen zapped into the four-day-old image of the road.

"Oh crap!"

Casey clutched the steering wheel from the sudden flash and turned his eyes away from the road. He had forgotten that in his present, it was still the afternoon, but Lane drove on an empty highway after midnight. Casey spun the wheel all the way around and backed off the highway to avoid a slew of oncoming cars.

"This is wild!" He hollered. He jumped lanes and sped up until he almost caught up to his target.

"I feel like I can hit him, I'm right on his tail!"

"John, wherever you look, we'll see what you see. Leave the goggle helmet on! Don't let the CHiPs catch you!"

Casey swerved in and out of traffic, and saw Lane's car turn off an exit.

"Get outta here, I'm NSA, Ponch and Jon have no authority over me! Damn! I just lost him!"

"He's turned off Golden Valley Road, Exit 5! Take it now!"

Casey whipped the hummer down the curved thoroughfare. Lane unexpectedly halted and his van twirled on a 360 spin, the brakes squealed through Casey's ears. Casey braked as if they would crash into one another. Lane's face appeared in Casey's direct line of sight. His pale blue eyes glazed with murderous intent and his mouth frowned with deep hatred through the rear view mirror. Casey couldn't remove his gaze from him, and they just stared at one another.

"My God…Rhea…I can see him, he's right in front of me…" Casey's voice wavered. "It's like he can see me. He senses something. I know it. The guy must be paranoid, he knows somehow that Costa was always watching his every move."

A loud horn blast broke the unnerving tension and a truck barreled into the front of the hummer. Casey's body lurched to the right, but the extra firm seat belt kept him in place. He grasped the helmet; it had fallen off on impact. He shook it a few times.

"John! What happened! We lost the feed! Wait…we still have a map reading, are you there?" Rhea nearly screamed into the microphone.

Simon and Wang scrambled to bring it back online.

"I heard that crash, he probably wasn't paying attention…" Althea noted troubled.

Casey put it on his head and tapped the screen, the static cleared up, but he decided not to take any more chances wearing it. The flux between time zones was disorientating and deadly on the road. He rubbed his shoulder and a sharp pain radiated from his collarbone. There was no time to linger. He raised the helmet to the windshield.

"I'm alright, where did he go!"

"We're on him, John! Double back, take a right…then on the next exit, make a left!" Rhea commanded.

Casey smiled. "I love your driving skills, Jones!"

He drove steady until Rhea screeched.

"Left, John! Left!"

He turned off the exit and the road was empty, save for Lane's van.

"He's slowing down, guys!"

"Stay on him…there's a property up ahead. Take a right down the next path."

"I see it, there's a…electrical fence, this must be a hideout."

Casey stopped the hummer at the gate and climbed out. He craned his neck and rubbed his shoulder again.

"John, bring the backpack, it's the power source for the helmet."

Casey tucked his weapon at his side. He lifted the pack out of the hummer and strode to the gate, shielding his eyes from the glare of the harsh sun.

"What happened here? Half the place is bombed out."

"It's all intact from our view, John."

"There's an ambulance stuck in the wall, like someone literally crashed the party. It looks empty to me, I'm going in."

"There's no ambulance, something must have…"

Rhea tentatively watched Lane on the monitor; he parked a few feet from the cabin. She peered harder and gasped.

"Be careful! John, he's taking Tim out of the van…and…he's still alive!"

Rhea and the others watched in horror as Lane dragged the half conscious guard toward a long, dilapidated patio on the left side of the house.

"John, he's by the patio with him…and…oh no! Oh God!" Tears sprang to Rhea's eyes and the rest of the team gasped. Althea covered her face with a sob.

Casey climbed over the debris. The air was heavy with soot and ash, and the odor of burnt timber.

"What's happening, Rhea! Tell me!"

"John, he's right next to you! Oh damn him!"

Casey glanced around, but the entire area was deserted. He stared at the planks on the ground; they were burned to a blackened crisp and a thick dusting of ashes lay in a pile. Casey knelt down and cautiously touched it. The ashes sifted and he felt sharp bone fragments. He groaned and lowered his head with fury and disgust. He quickly realized what the feed was picking up and turned the helmet away from the horrific scene.

"Rhea…are you there? I'm sorry…" He murmured.

Rhea's voice trembled. "We're here John, … he just set Tim on fire and left him to burn! He's screaming! Lane went into the house. I think you should get back here. We have all the information we need to grab this killer for good."

Casey dusted his pants and rose up slowly. Was he in the actual place? Did Lane bring Chuck here and kill him? It seemed very likely. With a heavy heart, Casey lumbered off the patio and decided to cut through the burnt out portion of the cabin. He inspected the ambulance and found blood smeared across the front seat and the front of the vehicle. In the center of the room he discovered a burned wooden chair, with charred ropes scattered about. Tossed in the corner was a large hedge trimmer with blood spattered all over the rusted shears.

"Oh man…that's gotta be what he used to remove Chuck's hand."

He kicked around the rubble and noticed something familiar jutting out. He crouched next to it and wiped the dust.

"John, what do you see?"

Casey lifted the plastic card up and held it to the shaft of sunlight. It was Chuck's Buy More ID.