First Date

These good fellows don't belong to me but I promise when I'm done to pick um up, dust um off and with a kiss on the cheek return them safely home.

"Forgiveness does not change the past but it does enlarge the future." Paul Boese

Sorry for the delay, we had a family crisis. Here ya go as our handicapped crew flees for safety, Adler is trying to catch up, Roy is wandering aimlessly (or is he?) and Carter sticks to facts and tracking down clues.

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Chapter 18

Carter had now gathered several critical details during his all night investigation. They knew that Dr. Adler had taken the three missing people and that Adler knew the man with the scar. As they rifled through his address book Carter wrote down every male name, phone number and address. One of these names was the man from the pickup truck and every fiber of his being told him that this man was the pivotal clue that they needed.

Time was running out and he knew it. Stalkers didn't traditionally nuzzle up to their prey when they were finished with them. He knew that when Adler was done with Kanda there would be no reason to keep her or the others around any longer.

"Carter," the officer said as he stuck his head in the little office. "You got a call being patched in from the Gage Ranch."

"Thanks Jake." Now what?

He picked up the phone and listened to the report of Roy running off the ranch. There was little he could do at this point since not only did Roy have no idea where he was going, he had no idea where Roy was looking. Directing the officer to stay right with the mother and child in the house Carter picked up his jacket and headed out the door. They had several houses to hunt down now.

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Kanda's gut instinct was beginning to grow deep inside her as she kept glancing back at the beach behind them. Johnny was still carrying Jenny and she could see the look of pain in his features, pain and exhaustion. She was also at her limit but the nagging feeling that someone was now following them spurred her on.

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Roy took the exit off the interstate and drove down the road to a little market. Everything was closed and locked up at this time of the night, or morning, but what he needed wasn't inside. He kept thinking about his fight with Joanne, the things he said and then leaving her there alone. Jenny belonged to both of them and her grief and fear was just as deep as his. Picking up the pay phone he dialed the number at the ranch.

She picked up on the first ring, "Jo?"

"Oh Roy, I'm so sorry," she cried at hearing his voice. "I'm so sorry."

"Shh," he tried to calm her. "Jo, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled like that. I know that you are just as upset over all this as I am."

"Roy, I never meant to put the kid's between us. I really am sorry for the things that I've said. I guess there's still a part of me that will always love you but I hope you know that I would never wish for anything bad to happen to Kanda."

He closed his eyes as he fought back the tears, just the thought that something could happen. "I know Jo. I know. I also hope you know that I would never take the kids from you."

She smiled softly with understanding, even though he couldn't see it. "I knew you were just angry and you had every right to be."

"We'll find her Jo," he said knowing the source of all her worry and fear.

"I know."

With a little tiny bit of peace in his heart Roy got back on the road. Joanne leaving was her idea and she knew it was her actions that had torn their marriage apart but for the first time he felt that things could move forward. Hopefully for both of them.

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Another wasted hour and it pissed him off as Carter marked another name off the list. He had already eliminated the out of state names to focus on local address's only but the going was still too slow for his mind. Morning would be approaching soon and greeting the rising sun with no clue as to where they were was not what he wanted to deal with.

He stood in front of a middle class home. Nothing special, he absently thought to himself. Just another house in another neighborhood. He knocked on the door and waited for the angry response, as he had already dealt with. Seems folks don't like being woke up in the middle of the night on a wild goose chase. The two uniformed officers stood behind him, waiting patiently.

It was a woman in her thirties that answered the door as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. When they focused on the fact that it was the police at the door Carter instantly saw the look of panic. The look of 'she's gonna run' panic.

"Who the hell is it Mary?" The voice yelled from the hallway.

As the woman stood frozen in the doorway Carter pressed his finger to his lips, "Shh." He wanted the man to get closer. Every instinct in him told him that this was the magic house they had been searching for.

Her breath was quick as she wondered what to do. Of course she knew exactly what it was about. Her husband got closer as Carter waved the officers to the sides, out of sight.

When he reached the door he put his hand on it and leaned into his wife, "Who are you?" He demanded of Carter.

"Mr. Lauder?" Carter asked casually.

"Yea?"

"Do you know a Dr. Adler?" The man did a poor job of hiding his fight or flight response.

"He's my uncle, why?" His voice tried to remain casual but Carter already had him figured out. The picture and the scar was clear identification.

"The hospital is concerned since he didn't show up to work last night and they haven't been able to reach him."

The man's eyes darted and in the next instant he pulled on his wife and pushed the door closed. Carter was ready and he quickly put his shoulder into the door preventing it from closing completely. As he shoved it back open he could see them running through the kitchen and towards the back door. Waving the officers in that direction he took off in a dead run to get them from this side.

It was quick as they took them down in the kitchen, each officer handcuffing one of them and pulling them back to their feet. Carter smiled, finally some progress. The husband looked defiant but her eyes told a different story. She would talk.

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Kanda focused on one foot at a time, just a little further. Her mind now numb to everything except what was behind them. Then in the stillness she realized that she could hear Johnny breathing. Looking over to him he seemed to be struggling. Just as she took his arm he went into a spasm of coughing. The jarring of his chest woke up Jenny who began to softly cry. Kanda looked ahead and could see the upcoming outcropping of rock in front of them. She took Johnny's arm to guide them in that direction. It would be some shelter for them as the feeling of being followed now had the hairs standing up on the back of her neck.

Moving through the deeper soft sand was exhausting but she found an area of rock with a little alcove in the middle, some protection to keep them out of sight for a little while. Reaching up she took Jenny from his arms and put her over in a soft area of sand where she promptly went back to sleep, probably never even waking up. Turning to Johnny she helped him sit down as he leaned back against the rocks.

Doing a quick exam on him her first concern was that he was no longer protesting as she unbuttoned his shirt to see his chest. Then as he lurched forward to cough some more she held his shoulders. His pained expression telling her that his condition was only getting worse now. He had pushed and pushed until his body was threatening to send him to a grinding halt.

"Johnny?" She asked with concern as she watched his labored breathing.

"I'm…okay…sis," he said as he struggled to catch his breath.

"Yea, I can see how okay you are. Now be still and let me listen." She placed her ear to his chest, listening to his heart and lungs. As she heard his fast heartbeat that layer of fear was once again creeping to the top. His lungs were wet, his air exchange diminished, especially on the side of the broken ribs. The bruises were deepening showing how much injury falling down the stairs did to him. Looking at his bandage over his gunshot wound it was saturated with blood with an ever going seeping.

"Well?" He asked with a half smile.

She sat up, "Not too bad but I don't think we are going any further."

He smiled, "First of all you're a terrible liar and second we can't stay here." His forced words only threw him back into spasms of coughing.

"Johnny, you can't keep going like this," she was scared to stay and scared to make him move knowing the consequences of pushing him too hard. She reflexively glanced backwards.

He took her hand as he caught his breath again, "You feel it too, don't you."

Her breath quickened at his words, "Yes."

"He's coming Kanda and we can't sit here and wait for him." He got to his feet and leaned against the rocks as he strained to see down the beach. The moon was once again behind the clouds making for a very dark night. "We need to get past these rocks before we stop."

She knew the dangers. If they sat and waited they were simply sitting ducks. If they kept moving his condition would continue to deteriorate but they might find a way out of this. He took off his little backpack and handed it to her.

"Wake her up and put her on my back," he said as he nodded in Jenny's direction.

"Johnny let me take her for a while. You can't…"

"Can't what little sis? We have to get over these rocks and it's going to be hard enough with that," he pointed to her cast. "We can't fall here, they will tear us up." He'd been in this exact situation more than once as the rescuer and knew the kind of damage the ragged, sharp edges could inflict on human flesh.

Without further arguement she reached down and gently woke Jenny up then helped her to climb up onto Johnny's back. She saw the flash of pain and grimace as her little legs wrapped around him.

Refocusing his energy he reached back and helped her get situated, "Jennybear, I need you to hold on tight okay?"

She was awake now, "Okay Uncle Johnny."

They stepped back onto the beach and walked a little closer to the water as he tried to find the easiest point to begin crossing over.

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Carter and his men raced to the address given to them by the wife. He had nailed them right. The husband was tight lipped probably because of how involved he was in this mess but she had given in easily. She told them of the night they picked up the couple, the threats that Adler had held above their heads, him getting Jenny off the bus and finally the last phone call they received from him. He wanted the key to the family beach home that was open for rental. Right now he didn't care who planned it he just wanted to get there.

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At the same time Roy was driving up the north coastal highway when he suddenly realized that he knew where he was. This was the road that Kanda had taken him on for her beach spot. He frowned with the memory of how something that started out as so simple had become so complicated. There were very few houses on the coastal side now as he reached the farther outskirts of town. One last house he went past then nothing until he reached the small gravel parking lot and pulled up into it.

He was exhausted and had no idea what he was doing way the hell out here. At least he had touched base with Joanne and knew that they were still safe with an officer keeping an eye on them. Looking across the steering wheel he couldn't even see the water it was nothing up ahead except for darkness. He folded his arms and rested his head on them. Just a few minutes then he would head back to the ranch. Running around out here was the dumbest thing he had done yet and he wouldn't find out anything from Carter until he got back home.

His eyes closed and let the dreams enveloped him.