Chapter 13 – Taken by surprise

Zeke listened to the crackle of the static over the satellite phone cursing the useless piece of technology. As he heard Cyrus' voice answer irritably he yelled, "Cyrus, it's Zeke, listen! That guy is not the girl's step-father. No he's not her step-father ... I saw his wallet. His name is Taylor. Mac Taylor. He's a cop!"

He had barely finished uttering the words before he was knocked to the floor, the solid plastic phone flying out of his hand to skitter across the floor towards the sink. Taken totally by surprise he was unable to retaliate but he squirmed under whoever it was that had just barrelled into him. It was, however, to no avail. He was firmly pinned down.

"Stay down!" ordered a voice. "Don't you move!" Zeke wriggled trying to get free as the man on top of him dragged his arms behind his back. He felt a pair of cuffs being snapped onto his wrists. He let loose with a long list of expletives. He felt a sharp smack to the back of his head. "Mind your language. There are ladies present!" The weight lifted and Zeke rolled over to stare up into the face of Don Flack. Don towered over him. "Where is he? Where is Mac Taylor?" His voice was low and threatening and Zeke swallowed nervously under the gaze that said it would like nothing more than to tear him to pieces. He glanced at the other people in the room. The taller of the two women was glaring at him like he dirt under her shoe. He tried to get up but a foot planted itself in the centre of his chest. "I'm not going to ask again. Where is Mac Taylor?"

"I don't know." The pressure from the boot increased. "I swear. I don't know. Cyrus and the others took off yesterday. They've gone looking for the plane but I don't know where they went." His eyes flicked between Jo and Don. The boot didn't move. "The kid said something about a waterfall. That's all I know. I swear."

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Randall Wade drove as fast as he could. Danny held on tight to the passenger grab handle as the car took the turns with screeching tires. As they pulled onto the straight they could see the helicopter ahead of them. Pulling up on the side of the road they both dashed towards the helicopter.

"Don!" Danny shouted. Don raised a hand and began dragging a sulky but resigned Zeke Dryer towards the squad car. "Have we got a location?"

Don nodded. "Adam's traced the satellite phone this guy was using. He just transmitted us the coordinates." Don pushed Zeke towards Randall Wade who immediately took charge and began reading him his rights. Randall escorted him to the car but before pushing his prisoner into the back of the car he turned to Don and Danny.

"Good Luck."

Danny nodded. "Thank you. For everything." He turned and followed Don to the helicopter where Jo and Lina were waiting. Don made the introductions. "Where are they?"

Jo held out a tablet. She pointed to the map. A small blue circle flashed intermittently on the screen. "The satellite phone indicates they're here just above these falls. We should be there in about twenty minutes." Even before he had done up his seatbelt Danny could hear the change in the motor as the rotors geared up and before he could catch his breath, the chopper lifted off and turned at a sharp angle making his stomach flip. Helicopters were not his favourite mode of transport. Danny watched Randall and the squad car getting smaller. For some reason he couldn't explain he un-holstered and checked his gun before putting it back. He looked at Jo and Don. Their faces were grim. Lina was staring at them wide-eyed as though only then realizing just how dangerous this situation was. Cyrus Mason and Victor Gaunt together with a third man that Zeke had told them was called Casey now knew that Mac was a cop. While they thought he was Hank he had stood a chance. Now it was too late. Danny looked out of the window as the forest below rushed past them and tried to quell the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach which had nothing to do with his current mode of transport.

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Going down was one thing but going up was something else entirely. Mac leaned his forehead against the rock-face and transferred his weight to his right leg where he had found a good foothold in the rock. His left leg trembled with the exertion and he released his hold to massage his thigh as muscle fatigue set in. The fingers of his right hand were cramping where they curled into a small crevice in the rock so he had to scrabble to find another hold with his left. He rested briefly allowing the stone to cool his burning face and willed the trembling in his thigh to stop. He tried desperately to ignore the wrenching pain in his side and the ache in his arms and shoulders. What had he been thinking? He was no longer a young man. But he had had no choice. He had to make it back to the top to give Stacy a chance. He dare not look up. He was too scared even thinking about how far he still had to go. His energy was fast depleting. The first half of the climb had completely exhausted him. Pulling himself back to the rock ledge on a wildly swinging rope had been much more difficult than he had anticipated. Although the climbing kit had included an ascender he was no expert climber and he had no idea how to use it so he had been forced to do it the old-fashioned way, hand over hand but he had felt every inch of the climb and his side had been burning by the time he had made it back to the ledge. He had had barely time to catch his breath before Mason had called him on the walkie-talkie demanding to know what the hell was taking him so long. So despite his exhaustion, after only a few minutes he had started the second half of his climb.

Taking a deep breath and thinking about Stacy he pushed himself onward. He had been glad of the kit around his waist as he now had extra holds and a safety line should he fall. He pushed all thoughts from his head as he looked for the next hold. He curled his fingers into a vertical crevice and gripped hard as he brought his left leg up. He tested the hold and levered himself upward but his running shoes weren't designed for climbing and he lost his footing. His fingers were unable to hold him and he found himself slipping. Fortunately he had tied in only a few feet below so his fall was arrested with a jolt that jarred every bone in his body and sent a shooting pain through his ribs. Not one for cursing even he succumbed to a few choice words. He repositioned himself and began retracing his steps. He pushed every thought from his mind and concentrated on only finding the next hold. And the next. And the next.

The sun was bearing down and he was sweating profusely. As he was forced to pause he looked up and was surprised to see that he hadn't that far to go. He pushed himself onward despite every muscle protesting at the movement. He had to make it back. For Stacy. As he neared the summit he paused, the strange feeling of being watched coming over him. He looked up. Much to his surprise he was only a few feet from the edge. Less of a surprise were the faces of Mason and Jowls as they glared down at him. They waited making no move to assist him. Mac drew on the last ounces of energy and climbed the last few feet stopping just below the edge of the cliff.

In one swift movement Mason lifted the rifle and racked a round into place, the familiar ker-chunk of the bolt making Mac's blood run cold. As he stared into Mason's face he knew that the pretence was over. He was playing a dangerous game but he had no choice. Mac raised his left hand to the rope above him and gripping it firmly, planted both feet against the rock-face and leaned back staring coldly at Mason.

"The diamonds if you please ... Detective Taylor," Mason demanded as his mouth pulled into a smug sneer.

There was little point in denying it so Mac didn't bother to acknowledge the fact that they knew his real identity. "Let Stacy go."

Mason gestured with the rifle. "The diamonds."

"When I know that Stacy is safe."

"How about I shoot you now?" Mason threatened.

Mac nodded imperceptibly as though considering the option and reached a hand behind him to the pack. He pulled out the Thermos flask and held it out over the void. Mason's eyes narrowed. "Let Stacy go or you can kiss your diamonds goodbye." For a moment they stared at one another, each man weighing up the other wondering how far they were prepared to go. Then the tip of the rifle lowered slightly. "Let her go and I'll give you the diamonds." Mason stared daggers at him but then flicked his eyes away and jerked his head.

"Mac?"

Mac felt relief flood through him at the sound of her voice. She appeared in his view still some distance behind Mason and Jowls. Casey had an arm wrapped around her. She stared at him with eyes full of fear. "Stacy. I want you to go. Run as fast as you can and don't stop. Remember what I told you."

"They'll kill you." She pleaded with him but Mac merely smiled.

"I'll be fine. Trust me. Now go." Stacy hesitated but Mac saw Casey release his hold on her and step back. With one last look at Mac, she nodded and disappeared from view. Mac waited his eyes never leaving Casey. As the seconds turned to minutes each man watched the other. Then with the tiniest movement Casey nodded to Mac. Mac fixed his eyes on Mason. "You want your diamonds? Well here you go." And with every ounce of energy left in his body Mac lobbed the flask as hard as he could over Mason's head towards the trees. All three men automatically turned to follow the arc of the flask as it flashed in the sunlight. Mac quickly unclipped the rope from his harness. The next few seconds seemed to pass in slow motion. Mason yelled for Jowls to get the diamonds. As he turned back he screamed at Casey to get after Stacy. Mason pointed the rifle over the edge of the cliff but was stunned to see Mac push away from the cliff face with all his might and sail off into the void. It was some seconds before his brain calculated what was happening and he was able to take aim and fire.

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Stacy ground to halt as first one shot then another echoed through the forest. She turned back in horror, her breath coming in quick panicky bursts. She was tempted to go back but Mac's words from their journey in the back of the van echoed in her head. "Stacy, I need you to trust me. If they find out I'm a cop, they'll kill me. They must think I'm Hank and if I let them think that it might buy us enough time to work out an escape plan. But I need you to trust me implicitly. If I say run, you run. Don't look back. You get to the nearest police station and you call Jo Danville. You got that? You call Jo Danville. Promise me. No matter what happens." Stacy looked back one last time and with tears in her eyes she turned and she ran. There was only one thought in her head. Jo Danville.

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A/N : More tomorrow?