Tina was anxious waiting on Sheriff Winters to arrive. Rachel was in danger, and she wanted to get the ball rolling on the rescue. She thought back to when she didn't trust Rachel, and thought she was a danger. How wrong had she been. She glanced over at Sanjay who looked just as anxious as she felt.
"It'll be okay," Tina said. "She's a lot stronger than she looks. She escaped those men all on her own once. She can handle this." Sanjay looked at Tina and gave her a weary smile.
"You are such a good friend to her," Sanjay stated. "I must say I misjudged you."
"I'm a reporter," Tina scoffed. "I'm used to it by now." There was a knock on the side of the van door. Tina jumped. Cautiously, she opened the door, and was relieved to see Sheriff Winters. There was another man with her, that Tina didn't recognize. She looked at him warily.
"This is a FIA agent, his name is Jack," Gwen informed her.
"What exactly does a FIA agent have to do with this?" Tina asked skeptically.
"We have been investigating Maion for quite some time," Jack explained. "But that is t important right now, the longer we stand here, the longer it is until we rescue that girl." Tina smiled.
"You're right," Tina replied.
Rachel sighed in desperation. There was no way out of the room she was in. She paced the room wondering what she should do. She thought of attacking Will, but what if she didn't succeed? He would be angry, and he would surely hurt her, or worse. She shuddered. What was even worse was the fact that he wanted to be with her.
"I have to figure something out," Rachel said to herself. She looked around. There was only the one door. The room she was in had no windows, and she doubted the door was easily visible. Prince Amir would have found her otherwise. She decided then, she had to try something. She wouldn't take this laying down anymore. Looking around she tried to find something to arm herself with.
The door to Rachel's room opened some time later, she was exhausted, but she raised her hands to attack. She stopped short of bashing Sanjay over the head with the lamp she had in her hands.
"Sanjay!" She shouted. She wasn't sure if she was seeing things. But he quickly gathered her up in his arms.
"Shhh," Sanjay whispered in her ear. "We are not in the clear yet." Rachel's heart started thumping. She was so overjoyed to see him. Tina was right behind him.
"We have to be quick," Tina said. They turned to leave, but Rachel's heart dropped as she saw Will standing behind Tina.
"Well now," Will said devilishly. "What a touching reunion." Rachel clung to Sanjay. She wasn't about to allow her one chance of salvation slip through her fingers. Will pulled out a gun. "Now I want all three of you to walk out of this room, and believe me when I say if you don't obey me, I will kill you."
Gwen listened from the van to Will's voice commanding the three inside to walk. She looked at Jack. This plan had been risky from the start, but she was glad that her hunch had been right. He wasn't going to kill them in the mansion. He was directing them to go out the back door.
"Let's roll," Gwen said to Jack. They armed themselves, and exited the van.
It never occurred to Will that someone could outsmart him. He very rarely underestimated his opponents. That very fact had kept him on top for so long. He watched as his three hostages silently obeyed him. He thought he was in control.
"I would have loved you," Will said hatefully to Rachel. Rachel glared at him. How dare she be so insolent! This was all her fault! He would punish her. He would force her to watch as he killed her friends. Then, he would keep her for a while. After he grew bored of her, he would get rid of her. He was about ready to raise his gun at Sanjay, when he heard a familiar click behind his head.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a cold voice warned. He recognized the voice as Sheriff Winters.
"Drop your weapon," Jack ordered. Will didn't move. "I said drop it!" Will finally obeyed. He turned to look at the man who had the gun trained on him. Then he saw Gwen. His eyes widened. He had not expected such a turn of events.
"You are under arrest," Gwen replied. Will surrendered without a fight. He knew the sheriff was talking, but he didn't really pay attention to her. How had he been defeated so easily. He glared at the girl who was hugging Sanjay. She looked so much like Chelsea, but he found himself hating her.
"I will get you, you bitch!" Will spat out.
"I highly doubt that," Gwen retorted. She pulled at his cuffs. He watched as the girl turned away from him. She was Chelsea, but she was not Chelsea. He let out a guttural scream.
Rachel clung to Sanjay, and finally allowed the tears to fall. She had been so scared.
"It's okay, you are safe now," Sanjay crooned. He placed his hand on the back of her head. She felt so comforted by his touch. She had worried that she would never feel his touch again.
"We should get you to a hospital," Tina said, after a moment. Sanjay nodded in agreement.
"I-I'm fine," Rachel stammered.
"I don't care." Sanjay said sternly. "You need to get checked out." Rachel sighed knowing she wasn't going to win this argument. Instead she wrapped her arms around Sanjay again.
"Thank you for rescuing me," she whispered