Chapter 84: All or Nothing
"Hold on Rose…" Jack hisses under his breath. He steers the car down the street out towards the richer parts of town. He didn't know where Cal lived, but he knew he had to get out of the main part of the city. Daylight is stretching across the landscape, reaching the tops of buildings with it's golden and orange glow. Most of the time, Jack would take a moment to watch the beauty of Mother Nature and be bathed in the warmth of the sun's glow, but without Rose, it would've felt empty and he didn't have time to waste… He was on a rescue mission and he was a wanted man. He was aware that by now the police would be looking for him, putting a warrant out for his arrest and probably spreading some grandiose lies about him as well. He swallowed a lump in his throat. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but the law had failed him. It had been unable to prove his innocence and it failed Rose and their child, the police were not doing their job to save them, instead of letting Cal keep them as his prisoners. They believed all the lies that the tycoon had told them and no matter how hard both Emma and Peter tried, they could not be extinguished, and he was kept in that holding cell.
He swallows a large lump in his throat thinking about his two best friends. No doubt they would have heard the news by now and he cannot imagine how they must be feeling. Betrayed, angry, sad, confused, and other negative emotions come to mind. If they felt deceived, he didn't blame them, after all, they were doing all they could to get him out of prison, legally and without consequences. For him to escape on his own basically demolished all the hard work they had done and… that he'd stolen their car to getaway. He knew that they meant well, and they were doing their best, but sometimes the best is not enough, not enough to save his fiancée and unborn child.
He knew that his actions would have consequences, and no doubt he'd probably be put in jail for a long time, but to spend one more minute trapped in that cell, while Rose was in Cal's greedy and greasy hands, he would have been driven absolutely insane. It was torture just being away from Rose, not knowing if she was safe or not, but to have the knowledge that Caledon Hockley, a man who had tried to kill them multiple times in the past, he knew he did not have any other choice. He'd hoped that Emma and Peter would understand someday soon.
He pushes the thoughts from his mind, he had to focus on finding Cal's home, his mansion no doubt, with the fanciest things one could ever imagine. A place filled with servants to be at his beck and call, rooms so vast that one could hold the most elaborate parties and a place to hold a helpless, pregnant woman.
As the 1910 Ford speeds through the streets where skyscrapers were reaching towards the morning sky and people were beginning to wake up and begin their morning routines, Jack noticed that the car was becoming slower and slower with every passing mile. He cursed to himself, knowing that it is running low on fuel. Additionally, his stomach growls; he had not eaten the prison dinner that had been given to him the night before and he is quite hungry. He wants to push on, but he has no idea where he is going, and he needed to keep his strength up if he was going to rescue Rose.
After much debate in his head, Jack pulls over to a service station that seemed far enough away that his escape would likely not have reached the people there yet.
He pulls up to the first pump and a friendly older looking gentleman in coveralls and wore a straw hat on his head stands up from his chair in front of his garage and walks towards the car.
"Fill'er up?" the man says in a gruff voice, a cigarette hanging between his teeth.
"Yes." Jack nods.
As the man begins his work on filling the vehicle, Jack steps out into the morning sun to stretch his legs. He tries to act as naturally as possible. He wasn't sure if this man would have found a paper or be listening to the radio yet, but he couldn't take any chances.
The elderly man was whistling to himself as he put the nozzle into the back of the car.
"Quite the ride you have there… 1910 I'm guessing?"
The young blonde man swallows, remembering what Peter and Emma had told him about their car.
"Yes."
"Did ye buy it used?"
"No, right off the assembly line."
"Impressive, not sure how a young fella like you could afford one."
"What do you mean?" Jack asks, keeping his eyes away from the man.
"I'm just sayin' that this kind of thing would cost a whole year's salary for a young man like yourself. You got a good job with the city kid?"
"Yes."
"Well, that's impressive, livin' the American Dream I suppose…"
The man takes a puff of his cigarette and Jack realizes that he hasn't had one of those in a long while. He felt his cravings come rushing back, he remembered all the times that he was stressed in the cell and how he wanted to smoke, but none were available to him. Now that he was free, he wanted one to relieve his stress for the upcoming task.
"Excuse me, sir," Jack asks.
"Yeah?"
"Do you mind if I have one of your cigarettes?"
"You smoke?"
"Yes."
"All right then," the old man reaches into the pocket of his coveralls and removes a pack of cigarettes. The cheap kind that Jack liked to buy as well. Jack takes one of the white cylinders and places it between his lips. The man then offers him a match, allowing the escapee to feel free and relieved of stress.
Jack leans against the car, inhales the chemicals and then expel them quickly. He coughs slightly after the first few puffs as it had been a while since he'd smoked. He ignored the voice in the back of his head that repeated Emma's words about how bad cigarettes were for him. At this point, he didn't care and his health was the last thing on his mind.
Once he's more relaxed, Jack decides to ask the man as inconspicuously as he can about where he might find the Hockley mansion.
"Excuse me, sir?" Jack says after exhaling some smoke.
"Yes?"
"Do you happen to know where I might find the richer neighbourhoods, like the Rockefeller's or the Hockley's?"
"Why? Yer not plannin' on robbin' them, are you?"
"No sir, I'm actually a reporter who is going to do some interviews for the paper about the lifestyles of the rich and powerful," he lies through his teeth.
"Really?"
"Yes, sir,"
"Well, I don't know about the Rockefellers, but the Hockley Mansion is about two miles south of here. It's surrounded by an orchard of apples and all those high trees and such. Real fancy place, do you have permission to go there?"
"Yes sir, the newspaper arranged all of it."
"What a lucky man you are, does a reporter pay well?"
"Fairly well."
"Alright then, she's all filled up for you… So, you want to take this road south in that direction…"
Jack hurries into the car and pulls out a pencil and paper. He jots down the man's directions exactly as he says them.
"Thank you, sir, I lost the original instructions my boss gave me. Left them at home and I was in such a rush this morning that I forgot them."
The old man nods and then grabs another cigarette.
"Awful early to be disturbin' em."
"Mr. Hockley prefers this as my interview will not interfere with his business affairs."
"I see, well that'll be 50 cents for the fill-up."
Jack digs into the glove compartment and finds enough money to pay for the filling.
"Thank you so much," Jack says, shaking the attendant's hand. "Also do you happen to know a good place to grab a bite to eat. I'd like to do so after my interview."
"Sure, there's a good eatery down that way, best home cooking you'll ever have around here."
"Thank you."
"My pleasure, now be on your way fella."
"Thank you again," Jack says, climbing into the driver's seat.
"Have a safe journey," the old man says. He offers one more cigarette. "One for the road?"
"Thank you once more," the young blonde man says, taking the cylinder and shoving it into his pocket.
"Good luck now," the attendant says, waving as Jack pulls away. "Nice young feller, real bright for his age…"
…
Jack follows the gas station attendant's instructions and soon he finds the place to eat. Knowing he needed some nourishment, he pulls over. He orders a large sandwich and coffee. He wolfs it down, so happy to have some real food and not the garbage that the prison was serving.
"Whoa slow down there, you're going to choke," the waitress says, serving him some coffee as well. "You look like you haven't eaten in days."
You have no idea, Jack thinks to himself as he slows down.
The waitress who is serving him looks to be around his age. She has her blonde hair pulled up into a bun and her green eyes admire him with a strong smile on her ruby lips. She can see that he is very handsome, and she blushes a few times as she walks past him serving other tables. His strong arms, his beautiful blue eyes, darker blonde hair, makes her want to take him home to meet her parents. She deliberately dropped her pencil once and bent over to pick it up to see if he'd notice and visit him more often at his table than all the others.
Jack caught on to this game almost immediately. He knew that girls would be attracted to him and he wished that the cops had not confiscated his wedding ring when he was arrested, that way girls would not be hitting on him like this. It had happened a lot when he was in Europe and over there, girls were willing to take their clothes off for him. And yet… he knew that Rose was the only one for him. No one could compare to the fiery redhead that had long since captured his heart. While the waitress did have Rose's green eyes, they were not as passionate nor as gentle as is beloved fiancée's. They had their own unique look that no doubt some man would be taken by and fall in love with, but that man was not him.
He paid the waitress and left a tip with money from the glove box. As he stood up to leave, the waitress slipped him her phone number on a napkin. Jack sighs and turns to the woman, knowing he would have to let her down gently. He takes her aside, so she would not embarrass herself any further.
"Thank you, Kate," he says as calmly as he can. "For your number, but I'm sorry. I've already been spoken for…" He hands the napkin back to her, placing it on her tray. "Save it for the man who will love you as I love my fiancée. He's out there, keeps your eyes wide open."
While Kate looks rather upset at the rejection, she admired the man's honesty. She fights back tears of embarrassment in her green eyes and forces a smile on her lips. She nods.
"Thank you," she says. "Have a nice day, good luck with your marriage,"
"Thank you," Jack says. Hopefully, the second time will be the charm.
…
Finally, Jack makes it to the Hockley family mansion. It looks just as impressive as any other mansion. Painted white, with three stories high, columns that supported a grand front porch, tall windows and an elaborate garden that stretches out in front of it and the entire thing was surrounded by a wrought iron gate that had points reaching into the blue sky. It takes all his strength for Jack to not run, barge into the home, attack Cal and force him to release Rose. He knew Cal would have his staff around and they would no doubt come to his aid. Jack had to get to Cal when he was alone and easier to interrogate by force.
His heart is pounding against his ribs and it's hard for his mind to form a plan as anger and fury clouded it. The waiting would kill him, but he still had to be smart about this, otherwise, everything that he had done to this point will be for nothing.
He parks the car just outside one of the apple orchards that the gas station attendant mentioned, just close enough so that he and Rose could get away after he found her. He slips through the iron gate and travels along the perimeter, through hedges and behind trees in order to not be seen as easily. There was a gardener raking leaves but on the other side of the land. Eventually, Jack positions himself close to the door, behind a few hedges to give himself some cover and would wait for the perfect moment to strike.
…
The sun finally set behind the Hockley mansion and darkness crept up, casting sharp shadows everywhere. Jack was sweating profusely, and his heartfelt warn out from beating so hard.
The waiting had been excruciating, every part of his body ached so very heavily as he thought to Rose, somewhere in that house, helpless and at Cal's mercy. He tried to think about what would happen after he saved her. They would speed away as fast as possible, only after a happy reunion kiss, they would go to the police station, Rose would explain everything, and Cal would finally be arrested. Hopefully, then, Emma and Peter could help him get out of trouble for escaping, and then all of them would go home. They could finally all get married and then prepare for the birth of their baby. He thought about finally using that money to buy a house for their growing family. Not too far from where Emma and Peter lived, but it gave them their own space to celebrate their married life.
His mind went through the imminent victory that would come from this, it was worth the risk, Rose was worth every risk he had taken since he met her.
He shuffles into position as several of the servants comes out of the house, clearly on their way to either run errands or go home for the night. He hopes that they leave the door unlocked.
As they disappear along with the path, Jack finally uses all his pent-up adrenaline. He rushes to the door, opens it as quietly as possible, and slips inside. He ignores the fancy chandelier hanging above him and the imported rug at his feet. He listens for the voice… the infamous voice of Mr. Hockley.
"Riptide, would you please bring me the evening paper?"
The voice came from one of the rooms to his right. All Jack could hear now was his heartbeat. He enters the room that was completely dark, but it was adjoined to one that had the flickering of firelight. Jack realizes that this was Cal's library and as he stealthily goes across the floor, he grabs a fire poker next to the fireplace to use as a weapon.
Jack peers inside the next room and his heart jumps into his throat when he sees the slick black hair of the black-hearted man. He sits in a chair, smoke is arising, meaning he likely had a cigarette with him, with his feet up and a roaring fire going in front of him.
Jack knows he must be smart and very quiet and not just tear Caledon limb from limb. He goes across the floor as quietly as he can manage. He holds his breath and prepares to attack this monster.
He sneaks up behind Cal's chair and with all his strength, shoves the tycoon to the floor of the parlour. Cal rolls over and does his best
"As I live a breathe," Cal chuckles, ignoring the fire poker at his throat. "The gutter rat has come back."
"Where is she?" Jack demands, holding the fire poker up, preparing to use it as a weapon.
"Who?"
"You know who!" Jack snarls. "Where is Rose?"
"Rose? Rose?" Cal taunts, pretending he doesn't know the name. "I can't say that I can recall."
"CUT THE HORSE SHIT, I KNOW YOU HAVE HER!"
"And how would you know that?"
"I got your note… but it only confirmed what I already knew, only you would do something so low and evil to get what you want."
"So you're a jailbird now, what's that like?"
"TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!" Jack hollers.
"And why would I do that…?"
Something strikes Jack on the back of the head and he collapses to the floor of the parlour, unconscious. Behind him is Mr. Hockley's manservant, holding a large candlestick.
"Perfect timing Riptide," Cal says, standing up to look at the filth now lying on his floor.
"I do hope I didn't hit him too hard," the man says.
"It won't matter for too long. The problem is if he escaped eventually the police are going to trace him here and we can't have them finding out anything, now can we?"
Riptide swallows. "No, we cannot sir."
"Well, let's get on with it then. Once he's restrained, I want you to pack my bags and bring the car around. All of us are going to take a little trip."
Cal smirks down at the unconscious gutter rat. "Both of them will end up where they should have gone in the first place."
A/N: What do you think Cal has planned? I'm back and I'm excited to post this new chapter thank you for the reviews and thank you to 87GN for pointing out the factual error, I will be sure to correct it.