Chapter 12
Steve wakes up as his whole body shakes uncontrollably. Now he also has chills. With difficulty he sits up. On a stool a little away from him, someone has placed something to eat and drink. He gets up and drags himself to the stool. He is not hungry, but terribly thirsty. He sits down again on the bed and drinks slowly from the water. His spirits return a little. He has to get out of here somehow. Again he begins to tremble. As he tries to hold on to the bed frame, he quickly pulls his hands back. Ow, damn it. He has cut himself on something. He looks carefully. Sure enough, the metal frame of the bed is already so decrepit that the tube has already split open in one place. Why hadn't he noticed this before? Steve starts rubbing the spot with his shackles. Relatively quickly, he has cut a good chunk of the rope. Then he finally has his hands apart again. He has to catch his breath for a moment. The fact that he still has trouble breathing doesn't help him. He drinks another sip, then climbs the stairs again. This time he has his hands free and tries to push the hatch up. At first nothing happens, except that stars explode in pain before his eyes. But then it seems to move. The hope to get out of here gives him new strength and he manages to open the hatch completely, something falls to the floor. He listens, but nothing can be heard. Then he climbs the stairs, bent over, and looks around carefully. A large stone lies next to the hatch, presumably it had been placed on top of it to weigh it down. He is apparently in a similar hut to the one near the reserve. No one seems to be there. Slowly, he lets the hatch close again. Again he listens. When he steps out of the hut, he has to close his eyes, blinded by the sun. He has no idea where he is. Nothing here seems even remotely familiar to him. After all, he is alone. But he probably won't get far on foot in his condition, but at least he has to try. He looks at the sun and the clock and starts walking. Always in the direction of the west.
Danny just won't give up. There must be a way to find Steve. He's the super-seal, and if anyone can survive the most impossible situations, it's him. Danny gets up from the curb he was sitting on. "I'm going to see Madame Lefebre again. After all, the two workers were employed by her, maybe she has an idea where we can find them." Chin nods. "The idea is not wrong." He stands up as well. Lou, Kono, Catherine and Tim are not convinced. Nevertheless, they also get up and get into the cars. At the farm, Madame Lefebre is already coming toward them. She speaks to Catherine.
"Salut, how is your friend?" Catherine shakes her head. "Unfortunately, that wasn't Steve, but another kidnap victim. Her two former associates seem to have made some extra money off of it." "Those Canailles. I didn't trust them all along. But my husband didn't think so." "Madame. Do they perhaps have any more ideas about where the men might be? They must have at least seen Steve, they had his gun."
Oise Lefebre ponders. "Un moment." She leaves the group and walks over to the stable. "Pierre?" "Qui, madame?" "Will you come here, please?" She returns to them with a young man.
"This is Pierre. He, like me, grew up here on the ranch." She turns to him. "People are looking for Bastian and Raoul. Do you have any idea where they might be hiding here?" Thoughtfully, he looks at the group. "What about the old sheep farm up north? The one your father always wanted to buy in addition, but the community of heirs couldn't agree." Oise nods. "That would be a possibility. I hadn't even thought of that one. Personally, I've always avoided the farm, there were too many horror stories about it." "Where do we have to go?" "You can continue here at the main house, straight ahead. Then they'll come to a gate. Drive through there and then it's a few more miles north. Be careful though, it's all pretty dilapidated there already." "Thank you, madame." "De rien. Bonne chance."
They get back into their vehicles and follow the path past the house. Soon they come to the gate described. Lou opens it for them and closes it again behind them. Then they drive on. Oise Lefebre is right, it's all dilapidated. The main house is basically no longer standing. It looks like a hurricane swept over it. The roof is already gone and some of the walls have fallen down. The friends get out and look around anyway. Suddenly Catherine calls out.
"Guys, there's another building back here." Everyone runs up to her. Catherine is standing in front of an old shack that was apparently used as a sheep pen. Unlike the main building, this one even looks quite intact.
Danny and Chin enter the cabin first. Danny bumps into Chin and points to the floor. A trail of relatively fresh blood drops leads from the entrance to a basement trapdoor. Danny draws his gun, and Chin slowly opens the trapdoor. Danny then climbs down the stairs. A single light bulb illuminates the room.
There is a tray of food on a stool, but no one has touched it. A bucket stands in one corner and in the other a decrepit bed. In front of it lies a ball of unraveled rope, with which someone was tied up until recently, and they also find blood in front of and in the bed.
"Danny, Chin!" The two called rush outside. They just barely see a pick up disappear in a cloud of dust. Tim and Lou have already given chase in one of the jeeps. Chin and Danny bring Catherine and Kono up to speed. "There was someone locked up here, whether that was Steve, or again someone else, it's hard to say. In any case, whoever it was is also injured."
After about twenty minutes, Tim and Lou return. The waiting people look toward them expectantly. "We caught up with them and questioned them a little nicely. Bastien admitted that they had Steve locked up here. He kept talking about an American, but he explained that he took the gun from this one, which he used in the robbery. He doesn't know where Steve went. He brought him something to eat and drink two hours ago, he was still lying on the bed. Now he wanted to collect the tray again and give him something for the fever. When he saw us, he turned off." "Well, that's something. But that means Steve is wandering around here somewhere injured and feverish." Tim is already reaching for the phone.
"Marc, we need your help again, please."