J.M.J.

A/N: Here it is – the last chapter! Thank you so much for reading this story! Thank you also if you have followed and/or favorited it! Thank you especially to Jo, AllTrekkedUp, and Julie for your reviews on chapter 10 and throughout the story.

Julie – as for your question, I'm fairly new to this website, as I've only been on here a little over a year. In that time, I haven't heard of the website deleting any stories. The stories that have disappeared were probably deleted by their author, or maybe the author deleted their account and that, in turn, deleted the stories. Maybe someone else knows what happened.

Chapter XI

Capture

"What do you think this guy is up to?" Johnny asked Roy as they watched their kidnapper going back and forth, in and out of the cabin.

Roy shook his head. "Who knows? We need to get out of here."

Unfortunately, there didn't seem to be any way of doing that. They were bound tight, and the kidnapper was never out of sight long enough for them to escape.

The hours passed slowly like this. Then something even more terrible happened. Johnny and Roy heard a car drive up to the cabin and park. The kidnapper peered out the door, holding his gun, to see who it was. As soon as he saw, he went hurrying out to meet the person.

"Reinforcements," Johnny guessed in defeat.

It was true. Two other men had arrived, both armed and both clearly friends of the kidnapper. These three immediately went into some kind of preparations, completely ignoring the two captives. It was during this time that the paramedics first heard the name of their captor – Lester Wording. However, they also learned some even more interesting things.

"Hey, Les," one of the newcomers said. "Couldn't you have just left it at killing the old man? I mean, asking the police to come here is a little risky, don't you think?"

The other newcomer scoffed. "More than just risky. Downright stupid. I'm glad to help you out in a pinch, Les, but I don't like sticking my neck out this far."

"Aw, quit worrying," Wording told them. "It's worth it. Old Uncle Roger had it coming to him, but I don't plan on getting arrested over him."

"It might be too late," the more concerned of his friends muttered.

"Only if one of you two goof this up," Wording retorted. "Just think about the share of the life insurance you're going to get when this all works out." He looked at his watch. "It's about time now. Dave, you head out and get in position. Give a whistle when you see them coming."

One of his reinforcements – Dave, apparently – took his gun and went out of the cabin. Wording and the other one waited impatiently, looking out the window. After a long wait, they heard a whistle.

"It's time," Wording said. "Get ready, Jack. And if this goes wrong, shoot these two."

With those less than encouraging parting words, Wording went outside to meet an approaching car. It wasn't hard for the captives to guess what was going down. Somehow Wording had arranged to have some police officers – the ones who had witnessed the "accident", Wording most likely thought – come here, and he intended to ambush them. Johnny strained against the ropes. This was definitely not looking good. The police were undoubtedly planning an ambush of their own. If they grabbed Wording, Jack would kill the prisoners, and even if that didn't happen, Wording would use Johnny and Roy as hostages.

Roy was thinking along the same lines, but he wasn't quite so hopeless. He had a bit of a plan that might at least keep them from being killed right away. He glanced at Johnny in an effort to communicate it, but he had no way of knowing whether his partner understood or not.

Just then, there was the sound of shots. Jack peered out the window to see what was going on. Apparently, he didn't like what he saw, for he cocked his gun and came towards the two prisoners.

/

As soon as the shots rang out, Pete and Jim dove for the cover of their car. They knew that there were shots coming from a different direction than the house, but even though there wasn't much cover, they couldn't tell which direction it was coming from.

Wording was running back toward the cabin. Once he got inside, they might never be able to get him out again. Moreover, that was probably where he had the two firemen, if they were still alive. With this thought in mind, Pete peered out from behind the car and took careful aim at Wording and fired. The man let out a whelp and stumbled. Pete must have hit him in the leg.

Meanwhile, Jim was trying to spot the unknown sniper. As he peered out from the cover of the car, another bullet ripped through the air and drove itself into the car only a few inches from Jim's head. He ducked back, but now he knew the direction the bullets were coming from. Looking carefully, he saw a glint of a rifle from behind a nearby rise in the ground. He fired towards it.

There was a shout from inside the cabin, followed closely by a shot. Pete and Jim exchanged worried glances. Not only was someone firing at them from outside, but there was also someone inside. What was worse, neither of them thought that that shot had been aimed toward them. Had the worst happened inside the cabin?

Even as these thoughts were passing through his head, Jim spotted the outdoor sniper rising up from his cover. Immediately, Jim fired a shot, and he saw the man drop his gun and fall to the ground. Then both officers turned their attention to the cabin and waited tensely. Not a sound came from it.

Lennox arrive a few minutes later. "Is there another one inside?"

"Yeah," Pete told him, "but we don't know what's going on in there."

Just then, there was another shout from inside.

/

As Jack approached them, leveling his gun at them, Roy glanced anxiously at Johnny, trying to see some sign that his partner was guessing what Roy planned to do. Obviously, he couldn't tell. In that case, Roy would just have to do this himself.

"I guess I've got to do this now," Jack said, sounding a little unwilling.

That was good. He wasn't as crazy as Wording. Roy waited a second longer to see if he had any more time. He probably didn't. Jack was raising his gun. Gritting his teeth, Roy stood up as well as he could tied to the chair and butted his head into Jack's stomach. Jack, taken completely by surprise, staggered backwards and fell, hitting his head hard against the floor. The gun went off as it fell.

"Roy!" Johnny shouted, both in surprise and concern.

"I'm all right," Roy assured him. He watched Jack, but the man didn't move. "What happened to the gun?"

Johnny nodded toward one side of the room. "It's over there. What do we do now?"

There was still shooting going on outside, so they decided to stay quiet for the moment. Slowly the shooting died down, and everything became silent outside.

"What do you think?" Roy asked after waiting several minutes.

Johnny craned his neck to try to see out the window, but he could see no sign of movement. "I guess it can't hurt to let them know that this guy's not a threat anymore."

They both shouted the news outside, explaining that they were tied up so they couldn't come to the door to prove it. The police officers were cautious in coming to rescue them, but they finally made their way through the door and untied the prisoners, as well as handcuffing Jack, who was beginning to wake up now.

Wording, Jack, and Dave, all injured in varying degrees, were taken into custody, while another paramedic unit was called in to treat them. Meanwhile, Johnny and Roy recognized Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, the officers who had been at the scene of the "accident".

"Are you guys all right?" Jim asked.

"We are now," Johnny replied, looking at his wrists.

/

"Those wrists should be fine in a couple of days," Dr. Morton told Johnny as they walked out of the emergency room at Rampart. "Come back tomorrow, though, so I can change the bandages."

"Right, Doc," Johnny said. "Thanks."

Roy was standing outside the door, waiting. "Well? What's the diagnosis? Is he going to live?"

"Oh, I think so," Dr. Morton replied. He patted Roy on the shoulder. "I'll see you fellows later."

"I think I'm ready to head home for a nap," Johnny said with a yawn.

"I called Joanne," Roy told him. "She's coming to pick us up."

Just then, Pete and Jim walked up to them.

"How are you doing, Gage?" Pete asked. When Johnny had assured him that he was all right, Pete went on to explain that he and Jim had been among the officers who had brought the three kidnappers in.

"It looks like they're all going to be fine," Jim said.

"Then it sounds like they'll be recovered just in time for the trial," Roy commented.

Just then, Jennifer Caley walked past. If she noticed Johnny, she didn't give any indication of it.

"How long is it before Joanne is coming to pick us up, Roy?" Johnny asked.

"She should be here any minute," Roy replied.

"I just need ten minutes," Johnny said, starting to follow Jennifer. "Just ten minutes."