Steve heard the shooting as he climbed out of his car, having stopped beside the fence surrounding the refinery. Instinctively, he knew Shane and John were in trouble. He cursed himself for not having a gun handy, but that was not going to stop him from helping.
Sleet pelting his face, he ran to the fence, but there was no way to see what was happening on the other side. The slick black covering blocked his view and there was enough barbed and electrical wire on the top that he knew he was not going over the fence. But if Shane and John were on the other side, they must have found a way through - or made their own.
The gunshots continued as Steve sprinted along the length of the fence looking for an opening. At least, I knew they're still alive, he thought, even as he cursed them for not waiting for him. Steve intended to tear Shane a new one - first for wasting Steve's time and, second, for running off after Lawrence without him. Unless that was the whole idea, Steve said to himself. After all of their arguments about Steve's involvement, Shane was just stubborn enough to find his own way of keeping Steve on the side. "I'll kill him if that's the case," Steve muttered. Then he silently added that he hoped Shane would be alive for Steve to do it.
He could not hear any more shots, as he rounded the corner. There. About 100 feet from the corner, he saw a tear in the black covering and the sheeting blowing in the harsh wind. He found a hole cut in the fence and slipped through. The sleet continued to rain down on him, making it hard to see in the distance. He thought he could make out some people ahead, so he headed in their direction.
Doing his best to maintain his footing and stay out of sight, he spotted a group surrounding John. Two men had guns on him as a jeep came up what Steve assumed was a slope and came to a stop next to them. One of the gunmen motioned for John to climb inside and then followed John into the jeep. Then another jeep drove up the slope. The remaining men got into that one. The men in the two jeeps exchanged words, but Steve could not hear them over the pounding sleet and the wind. Then the jeep without John began heading toward the main gate of the refinery site, while the jeep with John began heading toward the river.
In the back of his mind, Steve noted that he had seen no sign of Shane, but he shunted the thought aside. John needed his help. Slipping and sliding, he chased the jeep, which, thankfully, had to move slowly across the slick and increasingly icy ground.
The jeep came to stop about 50 yards from the river. The two men climbed out and began checking their pistols. Steve was still too far away to help, so he pushed himself faster. His heart was pounding as he ran and his lungs burned from the effort. He was getting closer.
One of the men walked to the back door of the jeep and pulled it open. He waved his hand and John slowly got out, awkwardly, because his hands were tied behind his back. He and the man exchanged some words before the man grabbed John's arm and shoved him forward. John fell to the ground, before the two men pulled him back to his feet and began dragging him to the water.
The one good thing was that John was not making it easy for them, so they had to move slowly. Steve had reached the jeep already and was closing the gap quickly. He crouched behind the jeep and watched them, knowing that he had no cover once he ran forward. But he had no choice. The men were nearly at the river. Steve began running again.
Having reached the water's edge, the men shoved John forward. He fell to the ground again, the water lapping around his knees. Steve was getting close enough to hear them and he heard John tell them that his friends would find them.
The man laughed and said it would be far too late. "Nobody will find you until your bloated corpse bobs up in a few weeks." He and the other man raised their guns.
"Not exactly," Steve yelled, as he launched himself at them. The men spun around, just in time for Steve to slam into one of them. The force of Steve's charge knocked the man to the ground and his gun flew into the water. Steve landed on top of him, grabbed his head, and slammed it down again. The man's eyes rolled back into his head and he did not move.
Jumping back to his feet, Steve saw that John was wrestling with the second man. He must have used Steve's distraction to rush the other gunman, but John was at a disadvantage with his hands still tied.
As Steve watched, the other man shoved John back and pointed his gun. Steve raced forward, but he did not have enough time to close the distance. The gun fired and John crumpled to the ground.
"NO!" Steve yelled,
The man whirled toward Steve. He aimed, but Steve reached him before he could fire. Slamming into the man with his shoulder, Steve drove him to the ground. Then he struck him with a flurry of sharp punches to the face. Right. Left. Right again. Steve stopped only when he was sure the man was unconscious.
Grabbing the man's gun, Steve stood up and ran to where John was lying. He could see blood streaming down John's shirt. Not again, Steve thought, his mind flashing to when Shane was shot. He fell to his knees as John groaned in pain.
The bullet looked like it had struck John's shoulder. Steve tried to put pressure on the wound as John gritted his teeth.
"Son of a. . . ." John said, the words dissolving into a groan.
"You'll be okay," Steve said. He did not think the wound was fatal. "We've got to get you out of here." He thought for a second. "Come on. Let's get you to the car and to the hospital. Can you stand?"
John managed to nod his head and let Steve help him to his feet. Then, John said, "We've got to help Shane."
Steve suddenly remembered that Shane should have been with John. "Where's Shane?" he asked.
"Lawrence," John said, groaning once more. "Lawrence took him."
The words chilled Steve more than the pelting sleet could possibly have done. If Lawrence has Shane. . . . Steve shoved aside the fear at that thought. He had to get John out of there. That was his priority right now. He told himself that was what Shane would do.
"Come on," Steve said. He wrapped an arm around John's waist and helped him back to the jeep. He would get John to the hospital first and then he would come back and find Shane.