Stan and the other marshals continued to push forward. They were not going to stop. They knew they were far behind and needed to make up as much ground as possible. Both choppers were out now getting refueled and would return to scour the terrain as soon as they were able. He waited for an update from anyone while they continued in the night. "Chopper one is back in the air." He heard fifteen minutes later.
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Mary had timed the walk so that she would know how to get back to Marshall. It was the only way she could come up with that didn't leave a trail. They had walked several hours when Mary heard the sounds of the helicopter rotors. The search beam moved up and down to their left.
"Samantha we're going to need to hustle to see if we can find a location for the chopper to see us and pick you up." The girl nodded and they both began to run. Mary kept tabs on the beam and its location. "Pick it up or we're going to lose this opportunity." Mary called out and almost laughed as Samantha started to pull out in front.
Much to her immense satisfaction they ended up in a clearing big enough for the chopper to land. The light beamed through the area and the roar of the rotors grew nearer. Mary remembered to look at her watch before flagging the helicopter. They were three hours from Marshall. It seemed like an eternity to her.
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Stan heard the crackle of the walkie talkie. "I have a visual of the two females. Repeat I have a visual of the two females."
Stan was relieved to hear that but there was one important part still missing from the equation. "Pick them up and bring them to the hospital in Knoxville. There's a team waiting there for your arrival. Is there any sight of Marshall?"
The chopper pilot replied. "I thought the blonde was a marshal."
Stan groaned. There were times when Marshall's name was a pain. "Marshall is the name of the male inspector." Stan tried to bite back his frustration. He knew they were not familiar with his people.
"You're kidding right?" The pilot laughed back. Not getting an answer he realized it wasn't funny to the man. "That's a negative. No sighting on him at all. I'll have the others on board in a few minutes. I'll let you know what information I get."
The U.S Marshall that was with the pilot hopped out and escorted the two women to the chopper. Mary got Samantha in and told the pilot to take off. He looked at her. "No can do. Your boss instructed me to bring the two of you to a hospital to have you checked out."
"Get him for me." Mary bit out. She wasn't going without her partner and as long as Samantha had a marshal that could go with her she was staying.
"Mary, what's going on?" Stan asked.
"Explain to this man that even if hell froze over tonight I'm not getting on this chopper without Marshall. He needs to take Samantha with them and have a team meet her at the hospital." Mary demanded.
Stan took it as a good sign that she was her usual cantankerous self. "I already have a team in place at the hospital. Where's Marshall from your location? We'll meet you there."
Mary smiled at the pilot when she got her way. "Three hours from the pickup spot. Where are you?"
Stan listened as the pilot told him the exact location that Mary described. "We're two and half hours from there."
"Stan, we have two of the men from the first team tied up and tucked away. There are four left and there's another team of unknown quantity out there." Mary informed. "Marshall needs medical attention as soon as we can get it for him."
"Copy will meet you by Marshall. There's a second chopper and I'll have them wait at your current location. We'll bring him to the chopper." Stan ended his transmission. Mary explained to Samantha what was happening and then the pilot took off once she was clear.
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Marshall was vaguely aware of noises outside the cave. Mary had been gone awhile and he was getting worse. He attempted to raise his weapon but his hands were trembling from the effort. He recalled the play possum promise and rolled over to his side with his back towards the entrance and his shoulders hunched up to his neck. He managed to put the gun in a position where he could steady his hands and fire, the voices came near and he saw a beam from a flashlight on the wall. He worked on slowing down his breathing and closed his eyes.
Manelli's men had heard the helicopter and speeded up their pursuit. They had yet to see or hear from the two men they had sent earlier.
"Let's check the cave. You two guard the entrance and you with me." The leader stated as they arrived. They shined the light into the cave. When it hit the back he saw a person in the back. "Go check on him."
Marshall heard the order and was prepared. The man came up to him and kicked him in the side. Marshall bit back the groan trying to escape his throat. "I think he's dead." The man yelled to the other.
"Check for a pulse." The leader yelled back.
Marshall kept his eyes closed as the man went to turn him over on his back. "You know I could just pull the trigger to make sure." His bravado escalated because he thought he was dead. To illustrate the point he took the muzzle and put it to Marshall's head.
"If he's not we can use him for leverage against the other one." The leader spoke back.
When the man flipped Marshall over he squeezed the trigger and the man fell backwards, dead. The leader rushed up and before Marshall could pull it again he kicked the gun from his hands. "Don't move or I will kill you." He stated in a menacing voice. Shining the light on his face he could tell the inspector was in rough shape. "So how far would your partner go to save your backside?"
Marshall rolled his eyes. "What is with the fascination of my backside this week?"
The leader didn't care for the smart aleck remark. "Shut up unless you're answering what I ask you." He dragged Marshall up to his feet and moved him towards the mouth of the cave.
Stan and his group were almost to the location Mary had given them when the gunshot was heard. "Move!" Stan ordered. They got to the area by the cave and spread out. From their angle they could see two at the entrance. The men weren't aware of their presence until someone snapped a twig. The two men guarding the cave began to open fire.
"Do not shoot unless you have a clean shot. Make sure that what you are shooting at is not my inspector." He barked the order out as a bullet whizzed by his ear. Stan began to curse as bullets flew by and pieces of trees began to fall on him and the other marshals.
Stan got two calls over the walkie talkie. "I have a line on the one on the right." The first call announced. "I have the other one." The second one called.
"Fire!" Stan ordered. The two men dropped almost without warning. "U.S Marshal's come out with your hands up."
The leader looked at Marshall when he realized he was the only one of his men left. His second team called in before he made up his mind on how to proceed. "We heard the gunfire what's going on?"
"Fall back. There's no opportunity here." He bit into his walkie talkie. He glared at Marshall. "You and your friends are ruining my track record."
"That's a crying shame." Marshall stated flatly.
"I'm really beginning to not like you." He hissed as he grabbed Marshall and walked closer to the front. "You will make a great shield on the other hand. How much do you think they're willing to give me for you?"
"Not much. My boss is out there and he's decided that my partner and I are nothing but overgrown kids. You might be doing him a favor. The others, they don't even know me. On the other hand we do take care of our own. It's kind of a tradition that started…" Marshall stopped talking when the gun was put to his head.
"Shut up and let's see what they'll do to save you." The leader insisted. He led Marshall to just outside the mouth of the cave. The full moon gave everyone a good view of each other and the situation.
Stan cursed when he saw the man with the gun to his inspector's head. One look at Marshall and he cursed again surprised that Marshall was still standing. He now understood Mary's concerns. "Let him go. You have nothing to gain by keeping him."
"You want him than you're going to have to get me a ride out of here. Then I'll set him free." The leader demanded.
"What kind of guarantee do I have that you won't kill him instead of letting him go?" Stan asked stalling for time.
"You're going to have to trust me." The man shouted back at him.
"That isn't going to work. You haven't given me anything to work with. I don't simply trust people that are sent out to kill others." Stan argued back.
"That doesn't work at all for me. What would prevent me from killing him?" Before the leader could continue there was a sound of a click behind his head.
Stan smiled. "His partner. She doesn't take too nicely to people shooting him." He was relieved when he saw Mary climbing the top of the cave towards the lip while he was talking to the man holding Marshall and glad that his relief didn't show on his face.
"You heard the man. Drop your gun, kick it away and put your hands above your head." Mary waited while the man complied. "Marshall, can you move away from him?" She watched as he struggled to get his body to move.
Stan ordered one of the other marshals to cuff the man while he moved towards his inspectors. "Marshall, let's sit you down for a minute" Stan said helping him to a sitting position.
Mary anxiously waited for the other marshal to cuff the leader. Once he was in cuffs and being lead away she scrambled down the side of the cave. "What did I tell you about playing possum? Do not even attempt to start on the trivia either."
"I did." He said briefly.
"Then why was a shot fired?" Mary admonished. "Dead things don't shoot."
"I do recall warning you I would go down fighting; plus they mentioned using me for leverage. I don't like being used. He had a thing for my backside too. I'm becoming concerned about this trend." Marshall rambled.
Stan was baffled by whatever Marshall was talking about but Mary tried to cover a chuckle so he figured it was something he really didn't want to understand. "Can you make it to the helicopter?" Stan asked.
"If it gets us out of here than it'll be no problem. Where's Samantha?" Marshall asked wanting to make sure everyone was safe.
"They took her to the hospital to get checked out." Mary answered. "Now it is your turn. Let's go buddy." Mary and Stan both took one of his arms and helped him to the helicopter. He scared them both when he passed out before they got to the helicopter. Mary hopped in after they loaded Marshall on.
"I'll meet you there as soon as I can." Stan promised and watched them leave. Mary came over the walkie talkie a few minutes later.
"Stan, the other team of Manelli's men is trying to make an escape for it". She gave him the coordinates they had spotted them at and he ordered another group to bring them in.
"We got it covered Mary. Get yourself checked out too." He ordered before signing off the walkie talkie one last time.