Obsession
Disclaimer: See Prologue
A/N: I truly appreciate your reviews. Thank you.
Chapter 31:
The descent down the tree was becoming a long and arduous one, not to mention a painful one. His wound would send out agonizing spasms if he twisted the wrong way which seemed to happen quite often as he worked his way down through the boughs of the old oak. He was bruised and battered from the crash and literally ached from head to toe. Charlie was certain that the next time he stepped into the shower he would find black and blue bruises covering his entire body. He was moving stiffly and tried to stretch his aching muscles before going any further.
It amazed him that he had been able to climb up so high, especially when he took into consideration his own height and the distance between the branches. "It must have been an adrenalin rush." he mused. "Can't wait to tell Don about this one." and then "I wonder how an adrenalin rush would figure into my Cognitive Emergence Theory."
Charlie had only traveled ten feet down the tree, his method of getting down was a slow one. He would scoot out to the middle of the branch and drape his jacket over the bough. Next , he would grip an arm of the jacket in each hand and ease himself over the branch, stretching his body until his feet could make contact with the lower branch. All in all, a very effective way to get down without falling, albeit a slow one. He paused to wipe his brow and looked up at the sky. The bright sun had burned off the last of the fog and was already warming everything up. As a native Californian, he could tell the signs, it was only seven a.m. and it was going to be a hot one.
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Edgerton knelt down to get a closer look at the tracks. It was getting more difficult to find them now, the trail was becoming rockier, with less and less ground to provide footprints for him to follow. It didn't help that the local wildlife had also used the trail recently. Apparently, a pack of coyote's had traveled the same path and their tracks had nearly obliterated the few that he had found.
It had been easy to spot the professor's tracks in the beginning, Charlie had been on the run and had left not only tracks, but broken branches to follow, but that had suddenly stopped. The mathematician had calmed himself down and had started concealing the signs of his passage.
Ian applauded his efforts, "not bad for an amateur." he thought. Bashere, on the other hand, was obviously a skilled tracker in his own right, and he appeared to be quite clever at concealing his own tracks. That fact, along with the local wildlife, was putting his skills and his patience to a test. It didn't help that Eppes was calling him every half hour for a report. Ian shrugged, he couldn't blame the man though, if Charlie had been his brother, he was sure that he would be doing the same thing. The tracker had been a little surprised that Eppes hadn't argued longer with him about coming along, but then, the man was a professional, despite the fact that he had a personal interest in this case. The SAC would have considered all the risks and realized that this was the best way to deal with the situation….still, it had to be a tough decision for him to make.
He paused to grab a bottle of water from his pack and drank it down in one long gulp barely noticing it as his eyes continued to range over the terrain. Tucking the empty bottle back into his backpack, he hefted his rifle back over his shoulder and hurried on down the trail.
"Edgerton, come in." Don's anxious voice crackled over the radio.
Ian continued to survey the area as he answered. "Yeah, go ahead."
"You spot anything yet?"
"Nothing but old tracks…. you?"
"Negative. Call me if you find them and don't try to take Bashere alone. Understood?"
"Loud and clear. Out."
Ian's eyes settled on something in the sky that distracted him so much that he barely finished his last sentence. In the distance he could see a kettle of vultures circling over something, more disturbing to him was the fact that they appeared to be flying over the same area that he was headed for. Grimly, he increased his speed as he followed the trail.
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Bashere had finally picked up Charlie's trail and had followed it to a curve in the path. He rounded the bend, occasionally catching a partial footprint between the stones until he reached a point where they just seemed to vanish. Animal tracks were dominating the trail, and he exhaled a curse as he recognized a few lion tracks among them.
The helicopter returned and he dived under a chaparral bush just as it rounded the bend. It was flying lower than before and hovering longer over the parts of the trail that were shaded heavily by the trees. He kept his head down, glaring at the helicopter until it was out of sight once again.
"No!" Bashere muttered angrily. There was no way in hell that Charlie was going to get away from him….not now…. no way! Fuming, he started to crawl out from under the bush when something caught his eye. If he hadn't been under the bush he would have missed it completely. Blood, a drop of dried blood on a leaf of the bush. Now that he knew what to look for it was easier to spot another one. After that he found a partial footprint, more importantly, the heel of a footprint and it was facing in the opposite direction.
Suddenly, a grin crossed his features and he straightened up, gazing back down the trail that he had just traveled.
"Nice trick, Charlie." he mumbled, " Very clever, but it's not going to work."
Bashere's eyes lit up with anticipation and with a wary eye to the sky, he worked his way back down the trail, following the occasional drop of blood.
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Four sets of eyes studied the trail as the helicopter hovered above it. So far, all they had managed to do was stir up was the local wildlife. A herd of mule deer scattered in their wake as they flew overhead.
The tension in the helicopter was palpable. The agents were on edge and binoculars in hand, they continually searched the land below them for any signs of Charlie or Bashere.
"Damn it!" Don muttered. "Where is he? Charlie's got to know that we're looking for him,…why doesn't he come out in the open?" He rubbed the back of his neck trying to knead out the knots that had formed there. It didn't help though, every minute that passed without them finding his brother just seemed to tighten his muscles even more.
His question went unanswered, not that he had been expecting one. He already knew the answer anyway, Charlie couldn't reveal himself if he was hiding from that madman. Don could see the worry in his teammates eyes, they knew the odds as well as he did. Even Colby, who normally would have a flippant comment to make, had become unusually silent. Charlie's chances of survival diminished greatly if Bashere caught up to him first and Don couldn't shake a gut feeling that the minutes were stacking up on Bashere's side.
"Ridge 2 to Ridge 1."
"Ridge 1. Go ahead." Don responded.
"We found an injured hiker, he fell down a ravine. It looks like he broke a leg, Medivac just flew him out. Over."
"Roger that. Any sign of your quarry? Over."
"Still following the tracks. Over."
"Keep me posted. Ridge 1 out." He shared an frustrated look with his team and picked up his binoculars again, mumbling under his breath. "Come on Chuck,….give me a sign."
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The helicopter had flown overhead at least three times by Charlie's count, and all of his efforts to quietly wave them down had failed. The tree that had protected him so well during the night, now prevented his rescue. Charlie had no choice, he had to find an open area to flag the helicopter down.
The view that he had from this height was truly breathtaking, and any other time he would have been able to appreciate it, but not this time. This time he was more concerned with avoiding Bashere and finding his brother or any of the nearest law enforcement personnel that were currently scattered around the mountains trying to find him. His head tilted sideways and he narrowed his eyes as he detected movement along the trail but Charlie breathed a sigh of relief a few minutes later when several deer came bounding out of the thicket.
The young mathematician glanced toward the rock face where the flickering firelight had appeared during the night. There were no flames now just the bare rock reflecting the sunlight and birds circling around the base of the rocks. "Vultures." he thought darkly. It turned his stomach to think about what they might have found for their morning meal. He turned his head and checked the area to the right of him and could see a bare ridge and the ocean beyond it. That might work, once he got to the ridge he could proceed toward the crash site and stay in the open in case the helicopter flew over. Charlie rubbed a finger over his lips as he estimated the distance; roughly three miles he thought, but it was hard to be sure without knowing the type of terrain that he would have to cross to get there.
His decision made, he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans and tossed the jacket over the bough. He bent down and eased himself over the branch until he hung from it and then gripped the arms of the jacket so he could lower himself down to the next branch.
Charlie had just pulled the jacket down when he heard a twig snap. He whipped his head around, searching for the origin of the sound. The heavy foliage blocked part of his view but he could hear soft footfalls heading toward the tree. He froze and held his breath as the owner of the feet shuffled beneath his tree and stood at the base of it. His heart was hammering in his chest as he wrapped his arms around the tree trunk, determined to become a part of the tree.
He stared at the ground below him but he couldn't get a very good look at the person because of the thick leaves that surrounded him. "Don't let it be Bashere, please don't let it be Bashere." became a mantra that he silently whispered over and over again.
Charlie couldn't see the man from his location and he couldn't risk moving around to get a better view. He prayed silently that whoever it was wouldn't look up because although the leaves around him were quite dense, he wasn't sure if he would be completely hidden from sight if someone actually looked up into the tree. He leaned out a little further to try and get a better look but all he could really see was the top of someone's head. Charlie couldn't even discern the man's hair color because it was lost in the dappled shadows of the leaves.
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Edgerton stepped off the trail and followed Bashere's tracks toward the escarpment that loomed above him. He was relieved that he hadn't found any signs of Charlie's tracks here, especially since he had also discovered lion tracks trailing the Frenchman's. There was a steep incline leading up to a promontory rock that created an overhang about fifty feet up the side of the cliff. After draping his gun around his shoulders and adjusting the rifle in his backpack until it was more centered, he began the climb. Despite the incline, it really wasn't very difficult. The wind, weather and time had worn at the rocks and it was actually quite easy for him to make his way up the side of the cliff. Ian stopped twenty feet into the climb when he spotted a venue of vultures feeding and fighting over a carcass at the base of the rocks. There were so many of them around the carrion that Ian couldn't tell exactly what they were eating.
The tracker inched his way over to them to get a closer look but the birds were reluctant to give up their breakfast. He picked up a stick and ran toward them, swinging it back and forth until they scattered enough so that he could see what they were eating. Ian chased the remainder of them away when he discovered the nature of their meal but they didn't go far. The birds flew up to the surrounding tree's and rocks, angrily screeching and flapping their wings at him.
Edgerton ignored them and grimaced at the sight before him as he studied the remains of the body, not that there was much left. The lion had been extremely thorough, and with the added attention of the vultures, it was going to be almost impossible to identify the man's remains. He pulled a pair of plastic gloves from his pocket and squatted down next to the body, searching through the torn and bloody clothing. until he found the man's wallet. His eyebrow's shot up in surprise when he read the man's identity.
"Eppes, come in."
"Yeah, go ahead Ian. Did you find something?"
"I found a body and your going to love this. The I.D. in the wallet reads Angus Fitzgerald. It would appear that Bashere is no longer a threat."
"Ian are your sure?" Don's excited voice returned. "Give me your location and we'll join you. Got it. We're on our way. Out."
As it turned out, there was a wide enough area for the helicopter to land at the top of the bluff and the agents were able to work their way down to the bottom of the cliff without any problems.
Edgerton perused the surrounding area as he waited for the agents to join him at the base of the rocks. His experienced eyes scanned for any signs of passage but the only movement that he saw was of the animal variety. He turned as the agents approached and motioned toward the body.
"There's not much left to identify him." David commented, as he stepped down from the rock.
Colby snorted as he joined him. "Couldn't have happened to a more deserving guy."
Don rubbed his chin nervously. "Ian, did you find any of Charlie's tracks around here?"
Ian grinned. "Relax Eppes, Charlie didn't come this way."
"Hey, guys?" Megan called from the cliff above them. "Someone stayed in a cave up here. There's also a trail of blood that looks like it goes all the way down the cliff to that body." She glanced toward Edgerton. "Would the lion drag him all the way down there?"
The sniper shook his head and called back. "Not in this case, from the blood pattern down here, this is where the lion attacked."
"Then where did this blood come from?" she yelled, as she pointed to the rocks where she was standing.
The agents made their way up the cliff and joined her. While they studied the blood stain on the rocks, Ian checked out the cave. "Well, someone was fairly comfortable last night. A fire to keep them warm and it was placed strategically to discourage any unwelcome visitors." he squatted down and checked out the large blood stain as well, then stood and followed a wide smear of blood to the edge of the cliff.
"Whoever slept in that cave shot Bashere up here and then pushed him over the side. The lion came in and finished him off." Ian walked back and knelt down beside of the ashes. "Fire's been out a couple of hours now, blood stain ….hmm….maybe five or six hours old."
"So... Bashere stumbled in and got himself shot for his troubles." David mused out loud.
"Maybe." Don squatted down and thoughtfully studied the stain as he twirled the sunglasses in his hand.
Megan leaned over his shoulder. "You see something Don?"
The SAC shook his head and slowly stood up. "I don't know…something just doesn't feel right."
"What do you mean?" Colby asked, moving in to take a closer look at the stain.
"Think about it." Don said. " I can picture Bashere shooting someone and tossing them to a lion, not the other way around."
David shrugged. "Bashere could have been caught by surprise."
Don shook his head. "I don't think so, the man's too careful. I can't see him just walking up to someone like that."
"Don has a good point." Megan agreed. "Bashere wouldn't do that, he doesn't trust anyone. He would have found some way to get that man out of the cave before he confronted him."
"Right." Don agreed. "That's exactly what he would do and he's smart enough to cover his tracks by trading his wallet for the victim's."
Edgerton walked back to the edge of the cliff and followed the trail with his eyes. "So, we're operating under the assumption that Bashere is still out there and that he is still on Charlie's trail."
"Exactly." Don said as he turned around and yelled up to the pilot. "Hey, Martinez! You got anything up there that we can cover this body with?"
"Yeah, I've got a tarp. I'll be right down." The pilot yelled back.
"Then I've still got a trail to follow." Edgerton said as he hoisted his gun over his shoulder and without another word he headed back down the cliff.
"Stay in touch Ian." Don called after him and then turned back to his team. "Let's get this guy covered and get back in the air." He pointed to the woods below them. " I want to narrow our search area to a few miles around this location."
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Charlie's heart sank as the man began to mumble angrily. He knew who it was now and he barely suppressed a moan as the realization hit him full force. "Bashere….why did it have to be Bashere." he thought in despair. He leaned closer to the tree, barely breathing as he strained to keep an eye on the man while he listened to the Frenchman vent his anger.
"Charlie had to go through here." he cursed, "He must have gone further into the grove." Bashere sat down and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. He flipped it open only to slam it shut almost immediately. "Damn phone!" he cursed. "No signal.. worthless piece of crap."
The man was talking to himself and skipping from one subject to another. Charlie shuddered, Bashere had really slipped into madness now, he was totally insane.
"Where did that dear boy go?" The man shifted his position under the tree trying to get more comfortable. "I'm really going to be pissed if some lion got him last night….. some genius….he should have stayed with me, at least I have a weapon."
Bashere stood up suddenly, stretching his arms over his head as he looked up into the tree. A loud rumble cut through the stillness and his eyes shifted toward the sound. The noise was getting louder and coming toward him so he quickly hunched down and hid under the tree as the helicopter flew over the area. The man remained hidden until the chopper passed overhead and headed toward the distant rock escarpment.
"Damn…damn!." he cursed again. "How did Eppes find my cave so fast, it's a good thing that I left when I did." he glanced at the ground, looking for more tracks. "I've got to find Charlie first. He had to have left a trail….I'll just have to find it." Bashere muttered angrily to himself as he dashed to the next tree in the grove.
Charlie's heart fluttered at the mention of Don's name but he held his breath and didn't move as he kept an eye on Bashsere's retreating form. He remained where he was , long after Bashere had left and with regret watched the helicopter land on top of the distant rock bluff. Don was there, he just knew it, only a few miles away and he couldn't even try to get his attention because if he made any noise at all, Bashere would find him first and that was a risk that he wasn't willing to take. After twenty minutes and no sign of Bashere, Charlie took one last longing look at the helicopter and then began his descent once again.
Finally, he was standing on the last bough and once again was amazed that he had managed to get up in the tree at all. Using the jacket he lowered himself down but was still dangling four feet from the ground. He let go and hit the ground with a thud and ended up on his back when his feet slipped out from under him. He lay there only a moment to catch his breath and to give the throbbing in his side a chance to calm down. That was when he noticed the dried blood on the tree. His eyebrows rose as he realized that was how Bashere had been tracking him. He had been so lucky that the Frenchman had not walked around to that side of the tree. Charlie swallowed hard and pulled himself up. He grabbed the jacket out of the tree and searched the ground for the stick that he had tossed down before he had begun his descent. He found it after a short search and as he straightened up his eyes drifted in the direction of the escarpment. He couldn't see it now, but he knew where it was.
Charlie began to walk toward the trail, the pull to find his brother was so great that he was only a few feet from it when he stopped. Many areas along the trail were shrouded by trees and shrubbery, good places for someone to hide in, someone like Bashere. He could have doubled back when Charlie wasn't looking….he could be hiding somewhere along the trail, just waiting for him to walk by.
Charlie sighed and with regret in his eyes he turned away from the trail. He had wasted enough time, he had to get to the open ridge. Bashere could be anywhere, the ridge was his only option….but the big question was,…could he get there without running into that madman.
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Bashere crouched beneath a bush and watched as Charlie climbed down the tree. He had spotted his quarry with that one quick glance upward and had pretended to leave. The Frenchman knew that the only way to get the professor to come down was to pretend that he hadn't seen him and of course, he knew Charlie would head straight for the crash site so he had doubled back along the trail while Charlie was focused on his descent. Bashere knew that he couldn't get close enough to the tree to capture him without being seen, so he had decided to wait along the trail and surprise Charlie when he headed back toward the cliff.
Excitedly, he watched as the young man come closer. He chuckled to himself, this was going to be so easy. Suddenly, the professor stopped and gazed along the trail then abruptly turned on his heel, and headed in the opposite direction. Bashere was shocked, where was he going.?
Cursing softly to himself, the older man hurriedly tried to parallel his target's movements. He was too far away to catch up without attracting attention , so he kept him in sight and tracked him from a safe distance.
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The path dipped downward, narrowing as it curved around a ravine before continuing on in a steep incline. Edgerton moved slowly along the trail until he came to the edge of the ravine. He glanced over the side and perused the disturbed soil, rocks and broken branches. Someone had slid over the side, but only a few feet down, catching themselves on the tree roots that were protruding through the soil. Whoever it was had managed to crawl back up to the trail.
Something caught his eye and he knelt down, studying it with dismay. Blood, small droplets of dried blood were scattered around the trail. Charlie had been hurt but up until now, he had not been leaving a trail of blood. The fall must have opened his wound, and he was willing to bet that the professor hadn't realized that he was bleeding again.
Edgerton discovered a partial print, Charlie's heel print, but it was hours old . His eyes drifted downward and he knelt next to a bush. The ground beneath the bush had been disturbed, someone had hidden there, and recently. He ran his fingers over a shoe print and recognized it immediately. This print was made by the same man that he had followed from the crash site, the same man that had been chasing his friend.. Don was right, Bashere was still alive and he was gaining on Charlie. The print was one to two hours old and Ian was finally gaining on him.
Ian retraced his steps and found where Charlie had left the trail, but before he followed them, he noticed another area where the earth had been disturbed. He tracked Bashere's footprints as they left the trail and followed them to a bush where the ground showed multiple footprints. Bashere had crouched down behind the bush and waited there, hiding or watching someone.
Ian scanned the area that was within view of the bush. All he could see was the trail up to the bend and a grove of oak trees to the right of the trail. "What had the man been watching? He stood up and followed the footprints for a few feet. The tracker checked the ground carefully, Bashere's tracks were the only ones that he found, there were none of Charlie's….so why did the Frenchman leave the trail and go in this direction?"
Puzzled, he made his way back down the trail to where he had discovered Charlie's prints. The professor's tracks were at least eight hours old and he didn't find any new ones until he was about forty feet from the trail. Lots of new tracks, Charlie wasn't trying to hide them anymore. Eagerly, he followed them back to the tree. It didn't take long for his sharp eyes to spot the bloodstains on the tree trunk and he followed their progress up through the branches until they were out of sight. "So, Charlie spent the night in the tree." he mused and he smiled at the professor's resourcefulness but his smile turned to a frown when he found more of Bashere's tracks beneath the tree. "Damn!" he cursed. The Frenchman had caught up to the professor…or had he? Ian circled the tree and found Bashere's tracks leading toward another oak but no sign of Charlie's. He retraced his steps around the tree and found Charlie's tracks leading in into a denser part of the forest. He glanced up at the area where Bashere had left the trail and it all fell into place.
He clicked on his radio. "Eppes, come in."
"Go ahead Ian."
"You were right, Bashere is still alive and he is closing in on Charlie's position."
"Do you know where Charlie is?" Don asked anxiously.
"I've found fresh tracks, one to two hours old. Where are you?"
"Circling the trail below the escarpment."
"Do you see a grove of old oaks?"
"Hold on."
"Over there." Colby said as he pointed toward them.
"Take us over there." Don told the pilot.
Soon they were hovering over Charlie's tree listening to Ian's explanation via the radio.
"You were right about Bashere and he's closing in. Charlie's tracks lead off in that direction," he said as he pointed to the dense woods. "From your vantage point up there, do you see any reason for him to go that way?"
Don suddenly realized what his brother was planning to do. "Charlie's trying to get to the ridge line. If he can get there he'll be out in the open where we can see him."
"Yeah, that make's sense, but there's a problem. Bashere is tracking him along a parallel trail and will either stop him before he comes out or will grab him when he does. I'm going to follow Bashere's tracks and see if I can overtake him."
"Right, we'll cover these woods all the way to the ridge line and patrol the ridge. Oh, and Ian, keep that radio on." Don added.
"Roger that." Edgerton responded as he trotted back up the path to pick up Bashere's trail.
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Charlie had calculated the most direct route but it wasn't as direct as he had hoped it would be. There were times that he would have to skirt around a deep ravine or avoid a rocky slope. He was an experienced hiker and would normally handle these type of obstacles without any problem but because of his injuries he had to continuously find alternate paths. The stick had proven to be invaluable, by using it as a walking stick he was able to climb steep hills and use it to keep himself from falling when he came down a hill.
After an hour Charlie stopped to take a break. A fine sheen of sweat covered him and he wiped it from his brow as he leaned against the trunk of a downed tree. He took off the jacket and pulled the water bottle out, taking a small sip of the precious liquid. Charlie glanced at his watch, eight o'clock, he had to be getting closer. The helicopter had flown over a number of times but so far he hadn't found any open areas where he could flag it down.
Charlie jammed the water bottle into his jeans pocket and pulled himself to his feet. He leaned on the stick for a moment to balance himself as a wave of dizziness washed over him. His eyes shifted downward to the jacket and he decided to leave it behind. Charlie was too hot to wear it and it was too heavy for him to carry. He pushed onward, telling himself that Don would be there, all he had to do was get to the ridge where he could be seen and his brother would find him. With these thoughts spurring him on, he kept himself moving forward.
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Cursing softly to himself, Bashere hurried ahead to catch another glimpse of the young professor. The terrain had shifted and a gully had opened up, separating him from Charlie. Several times he thought to move in and capture him but obstacles kept getting in his way. He crossed a small knoll and then suddenly realized Charlie's objective. He smiled grimly. "So that's where we've been going." He glanced across the gully, Charlie was behind him and moving slow, this could still work in his favor. All he had to do was get out there first, grab the professor and hide when the helicopter came over.
Bashere increased his speed and soon found himself standing in the open. He surveyed the area while he caught his breath and spied a large rock near the edge of the cliff. With an eye on the woods he hurried over and crawled behind it, noting with satisfaction that it would also hide him from view if the helicopter flew over.
The Frenchman's eyes gleamed with excitement as he sat hidden, waiting like a spider for it's prey to step into his web.
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Charlie was panting and stopped to catch his breath as soon as he stepped out onto the rocky ridge. His eyes searched the skies as he eased himself to the ground and pulled the water bottle from his jeans pocket . There was barely enough liquid left for more than a sip, but his parched throat savored the little drop that made it's way down.
"Where is it?" he whispered to himself. "Where are they?" His eyes continuously watched the sky as he strained to hear the welcome sound of the helicopter.
That was when he heard it, he turned his head to the side and listened. The sound was coming from the edge of the precipice ….it was a cry for help. Charlie couldn't ignore it….someone was in trouble…he couldn't turn his back on them.
He pushed himself up and advanced toward the edge of the cliff. Charlie carefully knelt down on the ground near a large boulder and slowly crept to the edge so he could safely see over the side of the cliff. The sight that greeted him caused his eyes to widen in disbelief.
Bashere was hanging over the escarpment, holding on to a rock and calling for help.
"Hang on…I'll go for help." he said forcing the words to come out while he backed away from the edge. He slowly rose to his feet and continued to stare at the ledge.
The young mathematician stood lost in thought and turned his head toward the crash site, his expressive eyes lighting up with hope. He was free, he could run to safety , he didn't have to worry about hiding from Bashere any more.
All Charlie had to do was turn his back on Bashere and just walk away. No one would ever know what happened….no one…no one….except him.
As if on cue, the older man's voice filtered through his musings, pleading and begging for help.
"Professor….please.. I'm sorry ….please don't let me fall!"
Charlie really didn't want to help this man. He told himself that he would be doing the world a huge favor if he just let the man fall. His life would certainly improve if he just walked away, but even as he thought it, he knew that he couldn't do it. That wasn't who he was, and he would never forgive himself if he didn't try to help Bashere, no matter how much he despised the man.
"Professor,… please don't leave. I can't hold on much longer!" The man continued to plead with him for mercy.
Charlie bowed his head and his shoulders sagged… he knew what he had to do. He walked back to the precipice and got down on his knees and leaned over the edge. The waves crashing on the rocks below were a frightening sight and he fought a bout of dizziness as he shifted his eyes to the man below. He looked down at Bashere and swallowed the bile in his throat that he got every time he saw the man.
"I should let you fall!" Charlie hissed at him, but even as he said it, he was laying himself down on the ground. He wrapped his belt around a small boulder near the edge and held tightly to it with his left hand while bracing his feet against the side of another rock. He winced as his side pressed against the ground and gritted his teeth to help himself withstand the pain. Finally, reluctantly, he extended his hand over the side to grip Bashere's. Charlie's hand was hovering over the edge when he suddenly heard the sound that he had been longing to hear. The helicopter was coming, it was going to make another pass over the ridge.
Hope flared in his heart and Charlie looked toward the sound . In that moment of distraction, Bashere grabbed his hand and with a mighty tug, he pulled the young professor over the ledge.
Charlie's scream of terror was lost in the sound of the approaching helicopter.
TBC