The three of them had been walking all day and into the night. When they began to trip and fall over loose rocks and branches they finally looked for shelter for the evening. Marshall opened the bag when they found a place to stop. He rationed out the food and water.
"Do you want the first watch or do you want me to take it?" Marshall asked, after Samantha has fallen asleep.
Mary looked at his face. The patch of moonlight that slipped through the trees made visible the many bruises adorning his face. "You sleep first, you look awful. Besides you'll wake up at first light." When he didn't argue she knew he was in pain. "Take some Tylenol before you go to sleep. It might help the pain some."
"I don't want to use it yet. We might need it later. I have no idea where we are or how long before we actually find some help. There's no point in wasting what we have." Marshall shrugged forgetting about his dislocated shoulder.
Mary didn't miss the wince of pain on his face. "You are hurting now Marshall. Don't be the hero. Just take the damn medicine. If you don't I will force it down your throat."
Marshall looked at her. "I'm not a hero but I am the practical one. It's too soon to waste it. It's not that bad." He paused. "Wake me in four hours."
"Damn stubborn goofball, doesn't know what is good for him." She muttered under her breath.
"Still awake and have very good hearing." Marshall answered back.
"Shut up and go to sleep." Mary smirked when he turned away and eventually drifted off to sleep. Her eyes adjusted to the night and she kept watch vigilantly. Mary decided to wait six hours before getting Marshall up.
The sound of a cracking branch had them both turning around with their guns drawn. Marshall saw the deer and smiled. "It's an Odocoileus virginianus, a white tail dear, also known as the Virginia deer. A medium sized deer native to the United States. They're found in all but five states. So we know we are not in Nevada, Utah, California, Hawaii or Alaska. Doesn't help us narrow down our location at all since we already knew we were not in any of those. My guess would be the Smoky Mountains. I have noticed that some of the trees are Frasier Firs, Red Maples, and White Ash. I have also noticed the Flame Azaleas and Mountain Holly. They are all common for the Smokey Mountains. If I'm right than we are either in North Carolina or Tennessee."
Mary stared at him with a dumbfounded look. "It is amazing your head doesn't explode with all that information. For the record if it's not going to help us there is really no need to share." She moved to sleep but came back briefly to hand him the Tylenol and crossed her arms over her chest until he finally took them.
Marshall just smirked at her and began to scan the woods. With any luck the only visitors they had would be the deer. His instinct was telling him they would be in for more and he was hoping for once that it wasn't correct.
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Stan and Eleanor had stayed at the office long into the night. The plane's beacon was being tracked and they refused to leave. Eleanor would never admit it to Mary but she liked the inspector. The little spats they had were entertaining and perked up the day. Marshall was probably her favorite but he was nicer so it wasn't much of a surprise. Stan's phone went off. "They found the beacon in Tennessee. I need to fly into Knoxville and coordinate with their offices." Eleanor got right on it.
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The boss looked up as Victor came back into the room. "What do you have to report?"
He handed the boss a slip of paper watched as the boss picked up the phone. "Get the teams out there and find them." He gave the coordinates to the person on the other line before hanging up. "You've done well Victor."
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Marshall noticed the first rays of light peaking through the trees and moved to wake the two women. Samantha woke first and he handed her the ration of food for that morning. Moving over to Mary he gently shook her arm. "Rise and shine sleepyhead, time to get a move on."
Mary felt the hand on her arm and automatically reached for her Glock but was restrained from getting it. When Marshall's voice penetrated her conscious, she put two and two together and finally got up.
"We have no coffee. How can you be so awake and perky? It's just wrong Marshall." They ate their rations and packed up the garbage so they wouldn't leave any traces that they had been there. Marshall did his best to cover their footprints and the matted areas that they had slept on.
"Which way do you want to go?" Mary asked. She didn't like operating without knowing where they were or having a map.
"Keep heading down. More than likely we'll eventually find a road or town. Agreed they continued on the rough terrain.
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The men sent by Manelli arrived at the crash site about the same time Stan was landing in Knoxville. They open fired before they even looked inside it. Their leader signaled them to stop. Cautiously he entered the plane. To his dismay the only body in there was that of the pilot.
"We need to fan out." He called jumping down from the plane. He broke the men down into three teams and they moved out. "Keep me updated every half hour. Any leads on a trail and we'll need to regroup and go after them."
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Samantha had finally had enough. The two marshals continued to push to continue moving. "Stop and I am not kidding. I CANNOT walk another step."
Marshall turned to her as Mary approached from the rear. Mary shook off Marshall. I'm going to scout a little further ahead." Marshall told her before he turned to let her deal with the woman. They could hear the sound of flowing water. Marshall knew from the sounds what it was. They would need a decent location to cross it safely.
Mary knew they didn't have time for a temper tantrum. "Samantha, I know that you're tired and don't want to keep moving. However, you don't call the shots and we are going to continue forward. My job is to keep you alive and every time we make a stop we lose distance between us and whomever maybe coming for us. We will tell you when it is okay to stop. I don't want any complaints or arguments. Marshall is still moving and he is in worse shape than either of us. The daylight hours are the easiest to move through and if we find someone chasing us we will be traveling at night. If at any time you do not find this acceptable let me know and you can sign yourself out of the protection program and Marshall and I will be on our way."
Outraged by the comment Samantha stared at Mary before shouting at her. "You can't leave me out here alone! You don't even know where here is!"
"Sign the paper and we can do whatever we please. You're no longer our problem. As a matter of fact" Mary stopped when she heard the faint echoing sound.
Marshall was staring at rapids when the sound hit his ears. He turned back quickly heading towards Mary and Samantha. "We need to go and we need to go now." Mary stated firmly.
Samantha looked between the two. "What was that sound and why are you in such a hurry?"
"We have unwanted company." Marshall stated flatly. "They're probably miles away. My best guess is they've found the plane. I can't be sure though. Bullet's in the woods echo for great distances. We hadn't heard any shots before now, the plane make the most logical place."
Mary stared at him. "What's with the water we're hearing?"
"We have to cross some water." Marshall answered as they started forward.
Mary noted the concern on Marshall's face and couldn't figure out what the big deal was. They would get wet and a little cold but so what. "Why is water a problem?"
"They are of the whitewater rapids kind." They were pushing forward quickly. The echo of the shots being fired inspired even Samantha to move faster.
Mary cursed under her breath but they continued forward. She could hear the sound of the river water racing as they drew closer, getting the three of them across would be tricky at best. Mary had no idea what skills Samantha had and knew they would more than likely need to help her. Marshall was another concern at the moment. Where she wouldn't normally doubt his ability she knew the sling would cause problems. When they finally made it to the river's edge she looked at the water and then at Marshall and needed to know a plan. "How are we going to get across?"
"How the hell are you going to do that? You have only one good arm and can't use the other to help balance and your damn boots are not going to hold on slimy rocks. So genius, tell me the plan." Mary was mad that everything was going against them at the moment.
"We don't have a choice. We'll do the best we can. If anyone falls in than you need to know the following; the rapids are deep and powerful, roll over onto your stomach and swim aggressively for shore. Watch for eddies and slack water and use them to get out of the current. Strong swimmers can affect a powerful upstream ferry and get to shore fast. If the shores are obstructed with strainers or undercut rocks, however, it is safer to 'ride the rapid out' until a safer escape can be found." Marshall advised. "Mary you go first, Samantha will go second and I'll go last." She was about to argue but he stopped her. "We do not have time to argue. I am the most likely to fall in; if I do you the two of you need to get to safety and keep moving away from our guests." He began to remove the sling. It would only be in the way. "Do not come after me if I go in. Under no circumstances Mary do you follow me. Protect the witness. It is your only objective."
"Do you know how much your ideas suck?" Mary muttered angry at Marshall and the world and began to slowly move across on the rocks. On the first rock she made sure to secure her weapon tightly. They would need it later if they were unable to escape their company.