The Silent Capture

By Ace

ace_2004_1999@yahoo.com

It was a typical day in Dallas, hot and humid. It was typical August weather, apparently, someone forgot to tell the weatherman that the calendar said November. After the recent storm, everyone thought that the weather would return to normal, if such a word could ever be used to describe Texas weather. The air was stagnant and the temperature soared. As usual, all law enforcement agencies were up and running, but the temperature was unbearable. At ten o'clock in the morning the temperature was 101, and it just climbed from there. It was now 10:45, and with the added humidity, it felt like the temperature was 110. The Rangers of Company B Headquarters who couldn’t find an excuse to be elsewhere, were all inside the city building, sitting at desks with fans on. The air conditioning that had broken down over a week before remained nonfunctional. Some wise government official had decided not to spend the money to fix the air conditioning system in November. After all, who needs air conditioning this late in the year? Sydney Cooke looked up from her work when a paper ball flew into her face. Eyeing who threw the ball, she frowned. "Gage, what do you want?" she asked of her snickering fellow ranger.

"Nothing in particular," he spoke, "just wondering if you had any plans for tonight?"

Sydney absentmindedly touched her forehead in a playful thinking gesture. "Hmm," she spoke, "I don't think so. Why, Francis?"

Gage cringed at the sound of his name. He knew it was Sydney's way of playing with him. "I was wondering if you would like to come to my house and talk over dinner."

"Do you have air conditioning?" Sydney asked.

"Of course, and it works, too."

"I'll be over around seven. Thanks, Gage."

Sydney and Gage returned to their work. A few minutes later Sydney's phone rang, once again disrupting her concentration. After setting down her file folder, she picked up the screeching device. "Texas Rangers Company B," Sydney spoke, "Ranger Cooke, how may I help you?"

"Don't say a word, or your partner will be killed. Quietly exit the building and come to the alley around the back. Let me remind you, if you say or do anything wrong, innocent people will die."

Sydney mechanically hung up the phone and began to walk out the door. "Who was that, Syd?" Gage asked.

Sydney kept on walking. Gage became suspicious and started to follow Sydney. "Syd," Gage touched her, "what's going on?"

As much as she wished to turn around and talk to Gage, Sydney kept on walking. Her features were tightly drawn and her brow was furrowed. 'Why does this have to happen to me?' she thought. As Sydney's pace quickened, Gage hustled to keep up. "Syd," Gage tried again, "please turn around and talk to me. No matter how bad it is; I'm always here for you."

As she approached the door, Sydney turned toward him and expressed a simple gesture. The three fingers she held up were the last thing he saw before she ran out the door. The silent 'I love you' would be forever engrained in his mind.

Gage was stunned by the gesture. When he was young, kids used to use it all of the time, but why was Sydney using it now? He had to admit, he had feelings for her, too, but why did she sign it now? Why did she rush out of the building like that and what was she doing now? Now, he could go find out. Whatever was going on, he hoped he wasn't too late.

Sydney kept running until she reached the alley behind the courthouse. She moved around cautiously, looking for the caller, but he found her. A hand was clamped over her mouth before she could say a word. Sydney hoped Gage would find her before she was taken away.

Gage turned the corner of the courthouse and ran toward where he saw Sydney run. He arrived in time to see a man chloroform her, causing Sydney to fall limp in the man's arms. The perpetrator pulled Sydney toward a dark van and threw her inside. Gage ran toward the man, but the evil figure sensed movement and pulled out a gun. Looking for cover, Gage dove behind a dumpster, but by the time he got up, the dark van was leaving. The last sight he saw was the license plate.

Overcome with fear, Gage rushed into the city building and climbed his way up to Walker's office. He barged through the door, interrupting a conversation between Walker and Trivette. The fiery look on Gage's face told Walker something was wrong. "Gage, what's going on?" Walker questioned.

"Syd's been kidnapped. Someone called, she practically ran outside, and she was taken away by a guy in a black van," Gage spoke without taking a breath.

"Whoa, Gage, slow down!" Walker spoke, "Who took Sydney?"

"I don't know. All I know is that the man chloroformed her. She didn't even know what was going on."

Trivette then took his turn to speak. "Did you say she got a phone call before the attack?"

"Yes," Gage answered, "then she just walked out of here in a trance-like state. She wouldn't talk at all, she just used a sign."

"The phone call could be traced," Walker spoke, "but I think it would be better to start off with the van. Gage, can you give a description?"

"It's a 1996 Astro. The license plate is ZBG-174." Gage answered.

"Trivette, put an APB out on the van, then try to get the registration from DMV. I'll work on trying to trace the call, but I don't think I'll have too much luck. Gage, stay with me."

Trivette left the office and entered his adjoining one. After putting an APB out on the black van, he started to look through the DMV list. While he was waiting for some information to come up, he called Erika. "Hello, H.O.P.E. Center, Erika speaking, how may I help you?"

"Erika, it's me. I might have to work a little later tonight. Someone just abducted Sydney and we're doing all we can to find her."

"That's terrible. Do you have any leads?"

"We only know the vehicle that she was taken away in. I'm waiting for some information to come back."

"Jimmy, I'll tell you what. I'll cook some dinner after work and bring it over for all of you, because if I don't, I know you won't eat. Maybe Alex and I can do some talking."

"Okay, honey, I'll see you later. I love you."

"I love you too, bye."

Trivette hung up and turned back to his computer. A window flashed onto the screen with vehicle information on the black van. He wrote down the pertinent details and headed back into Walker's office.

Although he had tried many contacts, Walker could not trace the call that was made to Sydney's phone. He once again put down his phone as Trivette reentered. "Were you able to find out anything?" Walker asked.

"The van belongs to a Mr. Brusinski. I have an address on him that we can go check out."

"Don't bother," Gage spoke, slamming the door, "the van was stolen from Mr. Brusinski's family. The information I did discover was that there's a theft device attached to it. The insurance company will have the tracker activated as soon as we're ready."

"We'll call the company from my truck," Walker spoke, "let's go."

The three Rangers rushed out of the city building and piled into Walker's truck. After a call to the insurance company, they discovered the van was moving quickly north on I30 out of Dallas. Walker started in the direction of the van, driving as fast as he could with the traffic.

After an hour of driving, the black van stopped moving. This made Walker drive faster, and within 45 minutes he was at the scene. The van was crashed into a tree and severely damaged. "Trivette, call for backup," Walker spoke, "Gage, come with me."

Gage followed Walker out of the truck, and they inched toward the van together. With a gloved hand, Walker opened the rear door. What greeted them was surprising, but promising. "No one's here, Gage." Walker spoke, "It looks like they both got out alive."

Gage looked over Walker's shoulder and peered into the van. "They both got out, but look, there's fresh blood in the back. Syd's hurt."

"Yeah, it looks that way," Walker spoke, "but she's still alive. Let's see if we can find any trail away from the van."

"I'll go this way," Gage pointed, "you go that way. If either of us finds anything, call the other. We'll meet back here in ten minutes."

The two of them went off in their separate directions, each looking for their colleague and fellow Ranger. Gage prayed she was okay, because he desperately needed his partner. Then he saw it; the locket that he had given Sydney was on the ground. It sparkled in the sunshine, but the chain was broken. Since Gage was so deep in thought, he didn't hear the man behind him. The last thing he felt before unconsciousness was the chloroformed rag over his mouth.

Half an hour had passed and Gage still hadn't shown up. Walker had tried calling him numerous times, but he wasn't receiving an answer. By this time, Trivette had joined Walker. "Trivette," Walker spoke, "come with me. I can't find Gage, and I'm afraid he's been kidnapped too."

Trivette started to search with Walker, but soon came up with an idea. "Call his cell phone," Trivette suggested, "we'll be able to follow the ringing if he dropped it."

Walker quickly dialed the number and listened for any ringing. It took a minute, but he finally detected a faint sound. "This way," Walker pointed, "follow me and use your ears."

Trivette and Walker followed the distant sound for forty-five minutes. Then they found the phone on the ground. After turning off the screeching cell phone, they began to investigate the area. "He was captured," Walker said looking around, "but I'm not finding a trail, or anything else suspicious."

The men kept walking around, but it was Trivette who saw the glimmering gold object. Upon inspection, he saw it was a necklace. "Walker," Trivette spoke, "over here, I found a necklace."

Walker moved toward Trivette and looked at the necklace on the ground. With a gloved hand, he picked it up. "Gage gave Sydney this for her birthday," Walker spoke, "it looks like it was torn off her neck. Gage must have seen it before he was taken away, because his phone was right there, too. Maybe we can get a print off the necklace somehow."

Walker carefully placed the necklace in a forensic bag and started to walk. Trivette followed as they moved back toward the highway. "Erika said she'll have food for us back at the courthouse," Trivette stated. "It will probably be at least an hour before they get any information about the locket."

"You're right, Trivette," Walker answered, "let's go back to the courthouse and wait."

After handing over the necklace to forensics, Walker and Trivette started back to the courthouse. When they entered the building it was 7:45. They headed toward Walker's office and saw that Alex and Erika were talking. Alex held a sleeping Angela in her arms. "How are my two favorite women?" Walker asked, hugging his wife and child.

"Angela has been a little fussy, but we're fine," Alex answered with a kiss.

"Erika, thanks for bringing dinner," Trivette spoke, "it’s going to be a long one after all."

"My pleasure. If we all keep talking, we're not going to get to eat. Everyone grab a chair and we'll sit around the conference room table and talk."

Everyone moved towards the table with a chair in hand. Alex put Angela in her baby basket and set her by the table while they ate. "Have you found any leads on Sydney's disappearance?" Alex questioned.

"We found a locket that Gage had given her a little while ago. Forensics is trying to see if there are any prints on it. Gage is missing too and chances are it’s by the same person. Right now we're just waiting for some news."

**********************************************************************

Gage awoke from his drug-induced sleep to the sound of a woman's voice. For a minute he thought he was dreaming, but soon discovered it was Sydney. "Syd, are you okay?" Gage asked.

"Gage," she spoke uneasily, "I can't see out of my left eye."

"Syd, is that from the crash?"

"Yeah. The guy just slammed into the ditch for no reason. I must have hit my head on something, because I've got a pounding headache."

"Walker knows we're here. We were searching for you in the woods when the guy caught me from behind with the chloroform. I found your necklace, Syd."

"The guy's fingerprints should be all over it. I tried to fight him in the woods and in the struggle, he pulled it off my neck."

"Walker should find it in no time. Syd, do you have any idea where we are?"

"Somewhere in the woods, but I'm not sure where. I blacked out after I lost my necklace. Gage, I'm freezing!"

"I know it's cold down here, Syd. I'd give you my jacket if I could."

Gage tried to pull himself out of the restraints he was in, but that just made his wrists sore. He was tied to a chair that was cemented to the floor, and Sydney was in an identical chair at his back. He couldn't cut through the handcuffs that were there, so it was useless to try. He hoped Walker would find them soon, for Sydney's sake and his.

**********************************************************************

Back at the courthouse, the crew had just finished eating. The plate of cold cuts had been devoured and there wasn't any bread left. It was 9:15 when a call came through from forensics. Trivette hung up the phone and spoke. "They got the lab work done. The prints belong to Rex Haley, convicted murderer Rex Haley."

"Yeah, I know him, Trivette. He's a guy that Sydney and Gage helped put away when they first became Rangers. He's probably back for revenge. As much as I'd love to continue this tonight, we can't be looking for criminals without sleep. I'll see you here at 8:00 tomorrow, Trivette."

"Goodnight Walker, Alex."

"Goodnight."

They exited the building together, then went their separate ways. Walker helped Alex strap Angela into the truck, then started driving home. "How was your day, honey?" he asked.

"Oh, it was okay. I got some depositions put together, and I got some research done. I saw Angela around noon and fed her, then I tried to get some more work done. The daycare center called me and said Angela was getting fussy, so I picked her up early. I heard about Sydney getting captured, so I just stayed at the courthouse and waited for you. When Erika showed up we started talking about wedding plans. She's really excited about the big day."

Walker pulled into their long driveway and drove up to the house. As they exited the car, Walker answered. "I'm glad your day was pretty good. I'm just mad that someone had to decide to kidnap Sydney and Gage."

"I'm sure you'll find them, honey. I'll get you the warrant you need for his house tomorrow, then you can try and find them."

"Thanks, honey. Let's get this cranky baby into the house and get ready for bed."

Alex picked up Angela and followed Walker into the house. After feeding Angela, they got ready for bed and started talking. "Alex, why would Haley just take Sydney and Gage? Many people were involved in that investigation and they weren't even the main officers."

"Terrorists don't think, Walker, you and I both know that. C'mon, get some sleep, you can look for Sydney and Gage in the morning."

"I guess you're right. Goodnight, Alex."

"Goodnight."

At four o'clock Walker and Alex were awakened by the sound of a crying baby. "I'll get her," Walker spoke.

"Don't bother," Alex rebutted, "you don't have what she wants."

Alex got up out of bed and carried Angela over to the rocking chair. After getting comfortable, Angela started nursing. Walker joined Alex at the rocking chair and brushed Angela's soft hair with his fingers. "She's an early riser today," Walker joked, "do you want to put her back to bed and get some more rest?"

"Yes, if we're going to do all of that extra work today, we better get some sleep."

Walker put Angela back to bed and soon got back into bed with his wife. After a few minutes they were both sleeping soundly once again.

**********************************************************************

"Gage, I'm so c-c-cold," Sydney spoke.

"Syd, fight the chill, you've got to stay with me."

"I am fighting it. My head is throbbing, I'm sweating, but I am freezing."

"I wish we could find out who is behind this."

Just as Gage finished speaking a blazing light came on in the room. For the first time they were able to see their surroundings, and they weren't pleasant. The room was only about 10x10 and there were no windows. There was a steel door at the side of the room, but neither one of them could even get close to it. A small black speaker inhabited one corner of the room and an unpleasant voice blared at them. "Remember me, Rex Haley?"

"You," they both said at the same time, "how did you ever get out of prison?"

"The judge was crooked, but that's beside the point. I'm innocent, anyway. If either one of you tries to do anything stupid, there's a bomb in the courthouse and one click of my switch sets it off. Everyone else who put me away will die in the explosion."

"Why us?" Gage asked, "We didn't even play a big part in your capture."

"It was you two who discovered my wrong-doings. Now you're going to pay the consequences."

"Can't you at least get some heat on down here?" Sydney spoke.

"What's the matter little lady, your tootsies cold? You are in an underground pit. No one can hear you above and the entrance is completely sealed off. I'm leaving you here to die, and if you two do anything stupid, your death will come sooner, along with the deaths of hundreds of others. It's your choice."

The voice shut off from the speaker as quickly as it had come on. "Syd," Gage spoke, "we've got to get out of here."

**********************************************************************

Three hours later, Walker and Alex once again got up from bed. After getting dressed and ready for work, Alex had Angela in her arms, all ready to go. "Walker," she called, "I'm going to take Angela to day care. From there, I'm going to work."

"Okay, Alex," he said, emerging from the bathroom, "I'm leaving soon, also. I'll see you at the courthouse."

They kissed and Alex left. Walker watched as her champagne Durango left the driveway. Within minutes he was ready to leave, and therefore, he left. While he was on the way to the courthouse, he got a phone call. "Hello," he spoke, clicking the button on his phone.

"Walker, I believe you know who I am," a mysterious voice spoke.

"Haley," Walker snarled, "how did you get this number?"

"That doesn't matter. What does matter is that I've got Sydney and Gage in my grasp, and if you don't do what I ask, well, you get the picture."

"What do you want?"

"I want you."

A click sounded as the phone was hung up on the other end. Haley's last words rang in his ears. "I want you..."

**********************************************************************

After arriving at work, Walker sprinted up to his office. "Trivette," he called out to his partner, "meet me in my office, now!"

Trivette picked up his steaming coffee and entered Walker's office. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Haley called me," he spoke, "he's after me. Sydney and Gage are just pawns."

"Any idea where he called from?"

"No. The call wasn't long enough for a trace, either."

Trivette held up some sheets of paper. "I've got a last-known address. Maybe we can go check that out and get some information."

"I'll call Alex and tell her to get the warrant."

"Already done, pard. All we have to do is go search the place."

"Let's go."

Walker and Trivette exited the courthouse and headed toward Haley's last- known address. The sheet had said a small brown cottage up in the woods, but they had been traveling for a while now. Just as Trivette was about to tell Walker to head back to the courthouse, they found the cottage. "Perfect place for a killer, isn't it, Trivette?"

"Yeah, let's go investigate."

Walker and Trivette walked up to the cottage and knocked on the door. After getting no response, they entered. What they saw shocked them terribly. There was a wall of photos of Company B officers, and red paint was splattered all over them. After regaining his composure, Walker spoke. "He's obviously been here, and it looks like he's after us. Let's look around to see if we can find any leads."

Walker and Trivette began to search the area, but no relevant objects were found. The place had been cleaned out, and there were no obvious signs of a basement. Finding nothing, they headed out; something else would have to be done to find Gage and Sydney.

**********************************************************************

Sydney tried to turn towards Gage, but her head screamed out in protest. "Syd," Gage spoke, "don't try to move, you'll only make the pain worse."

"Gage," Syd replied, "I just thought of an idea. My cell phone is in my pocket. If we can turn it on, we might be able to call Walker."

"Even if we can get it, Syd, will it have enough battery, and will it get a signal out of here?"

"We can only try."

Sydney moved her hands and tried to get the cell phone out of her pocket. The pain that resulted was terrible, but only tears fell down her cheeks, no screams. Within ten minutes, Sydney had shimmied the phone out of her pocket and dropped it on the floor. "Syd," Gage said, "can you get your shoe off and press the buttons with your toes?"

"Yes," she whispered, "I'll try."

Sydney pulled off her shoe and pressed her speed-dial button for Walker. After turning the phone to speakerphone, they sat and waited for Walker to pick up. "Walker," Walker spoke after a minute.

"Walker," Gage answered, "Sydney and I are trapped underground somewhere."

"Are you guys okay?"

"I'm fine, but Syd's hurt. Walker, its Rex Haley."

"I know Gage. Do you guys have any idea where you are?"

"We're underground, but we don't know where. I'm sure you can try to get a location on the phone."

"I'm going to try that."

"Walker, Haley threatened to blow up the courthouse if we did anything wrong."

"I'll get the bomb squad here right away. Gage, I'll try to come get you guys as soon as we find a location on you."

"Thanks, Walker, we'll be waiting."

After ending the phone call, Sydney and Gage relaxed. They hoped Walker could find them, but they also hoped that they didn't sign the courthouse's death sentence.

**********************************************************************

Walker called the bomb squad and began to evacuate the courthouse. A location was being found on the phone, but it would take a while to get accurate results. Outside, Walker ran into Alex. "Walker," Alex spoke, "I'm going to go pick up Angela and go home. I don't want to be in the middle of this if there is a bomb."

"Go ahead, Alex. I'll be home as soon as I find Sydney and Gage."

Alex kissed Walker and left. When the bomb squad arrived, Walker and Trivette followed them into the building. After they entered the building, they headed straight for the basement, in hopes they would find the bomb there. After a few minutes of searching, they found a very complex time bomb. The bomb squad immediately began to deactivate the bomb, but the time kept ticking. "C'mon," Walker said, "if we don't hurry, the bomb will explode."

The men of the bomb squad didn't answer him, but the bomb kept ticking. When the digital screen read one minute until explosion, one of the guards took charge. "Run," he said, "we can't disarm the bomb, and it'll kill us all."

Everyone turned and ran toward the stairs. They all waited outside for the explosion, but none was felt. After ten minutes of waiting, Walker took off, back into the building. When he reached the basement, he was shocked by what appeared in front of him. From the package that was the bomb flew a flag that read "BOOM". As Walker turned to run out of the basement, a dart hit him in the back. His last conscious thought was of Alex; then all went black.

**********************************************************************

Gage looked up from his thoughts when he heard a thud at the other side of the room. He recognized the form, but was surprised to see the man there. "Walker," he spoke, "are you okay?"

Walker shook his head to clear out the dust, and when his vision came clear, he spoke. "I'm a little beat up, but I was drugged while it happened."

"What about the courthouse?"

"It was a trick. When the timer ended, a flag came up that said "BOOM". That's when a dart hit my back and I blacked out. Then I ended up here."

"Do you think Trivette will be able to find us?"

"Yeah, he's trying to get a trace on Sydney's phone and follow it here."

"Can you try to get us out of these chairs? I'd like to get Syd more comfortable if we can."

"Do you have anything small and metal?"

"I don't have anything, but Syd might have a pin in her hair."

Walker slowly picked himself up and walked over to Sydney. He found a hairpin in her hair and carefully took it out, but this caused Sydney's hair to fall. Sydney woke up with the movement. "What's going on?" she cautiously questioned.

"It's okay, Sydney," Walker spoke, "it's Walker. I'm here to help you."

"How did you get here?"

"The bomb in the courthouse was a fake. I was drugged and brought here."

"Can you get me out of these handcuffs?"

"I took a pin out of your hair and I'm going to use it to open your handcuffs. Gage, I'm going to uncuff you first so you can help me with Sydney."

Walker used the hairpin to pick at the lock on the handcuffs. After a few minutes, one of the cuffs comes off. It took a little longer to get the second one off, but Walker succeeded. Gage slowly stood up and stretched his muscles. "Gage," Walker spoke, "I want you to carefully move Sydney from the chair when I free her. Be careful not to move too fast, so she doesn't get injured worse."

Walker takes Sydney's handcuffs off and Gage picks her up. He starts to move, but he abruptly stops. "Gage, everything is spinning," Sydney spoke, "this is hurting my head."

"Everything will be fine once you lay down."

Gage carefully lays her on the floor. Sydney sighs, but then she speaks. "I still can't see, Gage, and I'm freezing."

Gage takes his jacket off and carefully wraps it around Sydney. "Walker," he spoke, "can you take a look at Syd's eye?"

"Yeah, but we won't be able to do much until we get out of here."

Walker knelt beside Sydney and looked at her eye. After assessing the situation, he spoke. "Pressure is building up inside of her head from the concussion. It's probably pushing on her optic nerve, which caused her to black out."

"Syd," Gage spoke, "I need you to stay awake for me. We're going to get through this fine."

"I know, Gage, but I'm really tired."

"Just hold on a little while longer, a little while longer."

**********************************************************************

Back at the office, Trivette went crazy. He couldn't believe his partner disappeared into thin air, but it was probably the same guy that captured Sydney and Gage. He knew he had to call Alex, but he didn't want to make her too upset. Oh well, he had to call. "Hello," Alex answered the phone.

"Hi Alex, its Jimmy. Alex, are you sitting down?"

"Jimmy, what happened? What is going on?"

"Alex, Walker disappeared. He was searching the courthouse, and then he was gone. We think it was Rex Haley."

"The courthouse, what happened with the bomb?"

"It was a fake, he went back in to see what was going on, but then he disappeared. We'll find him, Alex."

"I'm sure you will, Jimmy. Bring him back in one piece."

"I'll try to. You take care of yourself."

"I will. Good-bye."

"Bye."

Trivette put the phone down, but then he had the sudden urge to pick it up again. He knew that Alex would be an emotional wreck, so maybe Erika could help her out a little bit. He dialed, then heard his fiancee's voice. "Hello," Erika spoke.

"Hi, honey," Trivette answered, "can you help me out?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Walker has been kidnapped also. I just called Alex and she sounds pretty distraught. Do you think you could go talk to her for a little while?"

"Yeah, it will be nice to get the chance to talk. I hope you find everyone, Jimmy."

"I'm hoping, too. Gage called this morning and we should have a location on the phone soon. Then we can go in and get them all to safety."

"Okay, Jimmy. I love you."

"I love you too, bye."

"Bye."

Trivette had just hung up the phone when an officer came into his office. "I've got a location," the man spoke, "they're being held captive underground in the woods 40 miles north down I30 from Dallas."

"Get some backup ready, we're going in."

**********************************************************************

At home, Alex sat in her chair staring at a picture of Walker. The picture was her only real tie to reality, but it was surreal at that. Angela was sleeping in her arms, her small fists clenched with tension. Alex kissed Angela's hand while she pondered a question. 'Where are you, Walker?' she thought.

Alex would have been left to keep thinking, but the doorbell interrupted her. "Just a minute," she called, as she laid Angela down in her bassinet.

After looking through the blinds and seeing Erika, Alex opened the door. "Erika, it's so nice to see you," she spoke, "did Jimmy send you?"

Erika laughed and smiled. "Yeah, he called me and said you were a little down about Walker, so I'm here to keep you company."

"Come on in."

Erika followed Alex into the living room where Angela was sleeping. After getting them both a cup of coffee, Alex once again sat down. "How's Angela?" Erika started the conversation.

"She's been a little fussy, but I finally got her to sleep. She must know that her father is in trouble."

"Maybe. Jimmy told me that he thinks Rex Haley kidnapped Walker, too. Jimmy's waiting on a location, then he's going to get backup and get everyone to safety."

"I hope everything goes down alright. I'd be right there to see Walker when Jimmy finds him, but I've got Angela, and I'm too tired."

"I'm sure everything will go fine without you. Jimmy has confidence that he will get everyone out okay."

"Erika, it's great that you came out here and everything, but I'm really tired. I think I'm going to get ready for bed and get some sleep before Angela is awake and hungry again."

"I've got to get home anyway, just in case Jimmy calls. I'm sure everything will be fine Alex, but if you want to talk, just call me."

"Thanks, Erika, I'll keep that in mind."

Erika gets up to leave and Alex shows her out. After closing the door, Alex returns to the living room and goes into a fitful sleep on the couch. She just hoped that Walker and her friends would be okay.

**********************************************************************

As soon as Trivette found out where his colleagues and best friends were, he got a helicopter and flew to the point on I30. His backup met him there, and they proceeded to move in. After discovering where the underground compartment was, Trivette pushed a hidden button that activated the door. The entrance creaked open revealing a set of stairs that led to a musty basement. Trivette cautiously entered, with backup just behind him. The stairs led to one room, the only thing under the ground. Trivette signaled to his backup. "We need a blowtorch down here, these doors are bolted shut, and it would take us forever to get through here."

A few minutes later, a man arrived with a blowtorch. Trivette took it from the man and faced the door. He banged on the door with his fist to get Walker's attention. "Guys," he yelled through the door, "get away from right here, we're coming in."

"Trivette, is that you?" Walker asked.

"Yeah, it's me," he spoke, "get away from the door so we can torch through."

"Just give us a minute," Walker spoke, "we've got Sydney propped up over here."

Once again, Gage carefully picked up Sydney. She awoke with the movement and was puzzled. "Gage?" she asked.

"It's okay, Syd," he spoke, "Trivette is getting us out of here. Everything is going to be fine."

After he saw that Sydney was moved away from the door, Gage spoke. "You can start torching, Trivette, we're away from the door."

Trivette began torching the door, and within half an hour he had made a big enough hole to get through. When he poked his head through, Gage gave a sigh of relief. "So, how long did it take you before you decided to come get us," Gage joked.

"That trace took forever," Trivette responded, "they just came in a little while ago to tell me where you were."

"I hope you've got an ambulance out there," Walker spoke, "'cause Sydney's got a concussion and she needs to get looked at."

"What about you, Walker?" Trivette questioned. "You've got a pretty nice gash above your eye. I don't think Alex will appreciate that too much. You better go, too."

"We'll all go," Gage spoke, "just as long as it's warmer than it is in here."

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Just outside, the police backup noticed Rex Haley trying to get into the underground chamber with a gun. "Halt," an officer says, "take a step further and you're dead."

Haley kept moving toward his goal, and he paid for it. A bullet to his heart killed him instantly. There wouldn't be much of a trial for that one. As the police removed the body, Trivette emerged. "I need an ambulance," Trivette spoke, "I've got some Rangers that need to go to the hospital."

Gage carried Sydney over to a stretcher, but even after that, she wouldn't let him go. "Syd," Gage spoke, "I've got to go to the hospital, too. We'll be together the whole ride."

"Okay," Syd spoke, "but don't you be abandoning me anywhere, you still owe me dinner."

"That's a deal, Syd, that's a deal."

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After they got to the hospital, Trivette waited for news on Walker, Gage, and Sydney. He was awakened from his daydreaming when they all came back to him in the waiting room. "Wake up, sleepy-head," Walker spoke.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Trivette said, "so how is everyone?"

"I don't have much skin left on my wrists," Gage spoke, "but other than that I'm fine. Syd's got a concussion and some cuts and bruises."

"I got some stitches put in the cut. I'm fine, though. I've got to get home to Alex." Walker stated.

"We should be going, also," Gage spoke, "I've got to keep watch on Sydney tonight to make sure she doesn't have a relapse."

"You also owe me dinner, don't forget the dinner," Sydney spoke.

Everyone laughed. "I'm going to go home and get some rest. This has been too much work for me."

"What have you done, Trivette?" Walker spoke.

"I got you guys out!" Trivette hollered in defense.

"You weren't the one stuck in that place, it was freezing!"

"But I came to the rescue!"

"With what, a blow torch?"

"At least I came for you, I could of left you there."

"I guess that's right, Trivette, you should be proud."

"As I am."

"You've got a big head, Trivette."

"I do not!"

"You're too full of yourself, you're just in this business for the attention."

"I am not!"

The bickering went on until they all decided to go home; Walker to Alex, Gage to cook Sydney dinner and Trivette to think about how good he was in his heroic deed.

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The End