Part 11

Dawn. Kermit glared up at the sky and wondered why the sun couldn't come up sooner. Last night, he had reluctantly agreed that it was too dark to search for Peter; flashlights would only make them visible to their enemies. Kim asked them to stay at the house, so they could leave at the crack of dawn. In Kermit's mind, it just wasn't soon enough.

Caine walked out the door; Kermit looked at the dark circles under his eyes and wondered. Just after they had been forced by circumstances to wait until morning, Peter's father had abruptly left the others, to meditate, he had said. Kermit had his doubts. Caine had looked too much like he was reliving a nightmare of Peter's.

Kim appeared, holding Maggie's leash in one hand—a muzzle was in her pocket. She hated to even bring it, but Maggie's barks could disrupt any chance they might have of surprising the kidnappers. They had decided to leave the other two dogs behind, since they would be a distraction.

"Are we ready?" Kermit asked. He looked them over.

Caine, through drawn, looked much the same as always; maybe the mysterious pouch bulged a little more than usual. Kim had bound her long hair in a single braid down her back. She was wearing jeans, hiking boots and a wool jacket. Maggie had on a harness, so they could restrain her more easily if she pulled. The tags on her collar had been removed so she wouldn't make jingling noises at an inappropriate time.

Kermit looked down at himself. He had made a concession to the terrain; instead of his usual blue suit, he wore black jeans, a sweater and a leather jacket. On his feet were brown boots. Concealed about his person were a variety of weapons. The Desert Eagle was in a holster under his jacket. He knew Kim had a police-issue revolver in a waistband holster. He thought he saw her tucking a small-caliber pistol into her boot, but wasn't positive.

She brushed by him. "So? What are we waiting for?" she snapped. "Maggie, find Kerry. Where's Kerry?" she asked the dog. Maggie put her nose to the ground and started sniffing. She stopped behind Kim's truck and whined.

"This won't work," Kermit growled. "They left her in a truck. The tracks are clear. That dog can't follow a truck, and there's no way she can figure out to go back in the woods where your sister found Peter yesterday."

"She's a smart dog," Kim countered, trying to believe.

"She's not trained." Kermit said with frustration. He knew that the dog was their best chance, but he just didn't believe that a pet could perform under these circumstances.

"We are all…worried," Caine said, walking between the two arguing law enforcement officers to kneel down before the dog. He put one hand under her muzzle and looked into her eyes. "You must find Kerry. Find Peter."

He pulled a pink sock out of the pouch; a pink sock stained with blood and stretched to its limits. He held it under the dog's nose. "They are in danger." Maggie's head tilted to one side as she studied Caine; he stared at her intently. She whined once more, sniffing the sock. The dog then stood up and began walking purposefully down the driveway. Kim followed the tug of the leash.

Kermit stared at Caine. Caine shrugged. "The dog wants to find her mistress as much as we want to find Peter. She was just…not sure of what we wanted her to do."

"And you told her?" Kermit asked incredulously.

"Yes." Cain's head dipped.

"Come on, or you'll get left behind!" Kim called from halfway across the field. Without another word, the two men followed, Kermit still shaking his head.

**

In an hour, Maggie had reached a stream and jumped across it, then sat in the middle of the trail, panting and looking up at Caine. She was no longer on the leash. She seemed content to stay within reach of the priest.

"This is the place where Kerry found Peter," Caine stated, studying the ground around the dog. He closed his eyes and touched the damp earth. "Peter had collapsed from exhaustion. The three dogs found him lying here, Kerry was out of sight on the other side of the stream."

Kim looked at the trail. "How does he know all that?" she asked Kermit. To her eyes, there was no difference in the trail, no footprints, no paw prints, no pieces of pink wool, nothing. She studied Caine's face. He seemed relaxed, confident.

"He can feel Peter's chi," Kermit answered absently, scanning the trail ahead with narrowed eyes. It looked no different from the path they had just traversed.

"Peter's chi." Kim stated, nodding. "Of course. That explains everything." She looked from Caine, still communicating with the earth, to Kermit, with his eyes hidden behind the ever-present green glasses. "Is everyone in Sloanville mysterious, or are you two special?" she asked finally, with irritation.

"We're special," Kermit nodded, "…but he's mysterious, I'm just dangerous." He pulled down his glasses and let her see his eyes. "I thought you understood this last night; Caine is a Shaolin priest. I can't explain everything that means, because I don't understand it myself. All you need to know is that he has a kind of sixth sense, maybe even a seventh sense, that allows him to do things that other people can't. One of those things is communicating with his son.

"I'm still trying to figure out the dog thing," he added thoughtfully, pushing the glasses back into place.

Kim put her hands on her hips. "Okay, so you believe him."

"Oh yeah. I would trust him with my life," Kermit said gravely, "and have."

Caine stood, breaking up their conversation. "Peter walked for quite some time before he reached this place," he announced. "We must go quickly to reach him in time."

"In time for what?" Kim asked, anticipating the worst.

"I do not know," Caine shrugged, turned, and started up the trail. Maggie trotted at his side.

"You'll get used to it." Kermit sighed, pulling Kim to follow.

Part 12

As the door opened, Peter tried to push Kerry away from him; to stand and face whatever was coming alone. She, however, stayed close, keeping one supporting hand on his arm.

Straker walked through the door followed by one of his men. "Awake already?" he asked with mock surprise. "My men must be slipping." He strode towards his prisoners with confidence.

"What do you want now, Straker?" Peter asked tightly. He braced his still-aching body against a new attack. He spoke to Straker, but tried to keep both men in his sight.

Straker brushed past him. "Nothing to do with you, Caine. I just want to talk to your little girlfriend."

"Leave her alone." Peter moved, trying to keep between Straker and Kerry.

Straker motioned impatiently to the man standing behind him. "What do I pay you for? Will you keep him out of my way?" The other man grabbed Peter's arm and pushed him against the wall. Peter gasped as his bruised flesh reacted to this new assault. He struggled briefly, but stopped as his arm was twisted behind his back and he was held firmly in place. He was pinned by the man's weight and the weakness in his own body.

Straker halted before Kerry, blocking her view of Peter. "You’ve been keeping secrets," he scolded.

Kerry took a step backwards, shaking her head. "No I haven't," she protested. The only questions Straker had asked her, other than her name, were about Peter. Since she didn't know anything, how could she be hiding anything?

Straker moved towards her, smiling. "Yes, you have. Your sister is a local cop, isn't she?" He cocked his head to one side, regarding her reaction.

Kerry stopped as her back hit the wall. She looked at Peter, now back in her sight, who shook his head slightly. "No," she said, her voice shaking slightly, hoping she had interpreted his gesture correctly.

"Don't lie to me, girl," Straker said coldly. "I'm not happy with you after last evening."

Kerry licked her lips and closed her eyes. It seemed that Straker knew it already anyway, time to tell the truth. "Okay, yes. She's a Deputy." She knew it was a mistake as soon as the words left her mouth.

Eyebrows raised, Straker drew one finger along her jaw. She shivered. "So I assume it's safe to say that your disappearance will not pass unnoticed," he asked smoothly.

"I guess," Kerry agreed uneasily.

She flinched as Straker threw his hands in the air. "What is this world coming to? You grab and innocent bystander, and she turns out to be related to the local cops." Kerry pulled away from the look in his eyes. Quickly, she dropped her gaze to the floor, not willing to chance meeting the madness.

Straker whirled around to stand beside Peter. The man holding him turned him away from the wall and towards Straker without prompting. Jabbing one finger into Peter's chest, Straker leaned in close to hiss into his ear. "There's no way around it, this morning's lesson will have to wait." He looked into Peter's expressionless face, eyes hooded and brooding. "Don't think that this is a good reprieve," he warned. Peter met his gaze without fear.

Straker's rage built and he backhanded the younger man across the face angrily. "We're leaving in an hour. Dustin, get them ready." He stomped out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Dustin released his hold. Peter turned and measured him, obviously calculating his chances. "Don't do anything dumb, kid," Dustin warned, "I'm on your side."

"Oh, and I should believe that." Peter scoffed, rubbing his sore shoulder.

"Yeah, you should," the man said in a slow drawl. Peter took a second look at him, and remembered him as the merc from the van who had watched him when all the others looked away. Cautiously, he opened his mind to the chance that this guy might be willing to help.

"Listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this one time," Dustin said cautiously, moving to keep one eye on the door. "I owe Paul Blaisdell a great deal, and today, I'm going to repay him. Straker plans to move you two a couple hundred miles from here."

Peter's heart raced. If that happened, rescue would be a remote possibility, at least for awhile. "Where is he taking us?"

"Doesn't matter. You're going to escape before we leave."

"Will this work?" Kerry whispered. Peter was surprised that he could hear her through the heavy cloth bags over both their heads.

"Of course," Peter answered with confidence. "It better," he muttered under his breath, fumbling with the handcuff key Dustin had given him. He wished he could unlock the cuffs as easily as his father would have, but his Shaolin abilities seemed to have deserted him.

Manipulating the key would be easier if he could see, but his hands were behind his back, so cuffs first, bag second. He felt the key slide into the lock and turn. Suddenly his hands fell free. Reaching up, he untied the knot that kept the heavy bag secure over his head. That left only his feet to untie before he moved to free Kerry.

"Thanks," she gasped as he pulled off the bag. "It was getting hard to breathe. Can you see?"

Peter's eyes had adjusted to the darkness of the van. "A little." He unlocked Kerry's cuffs and got the ropes off her feet. Moving with his hands out, he touched the door of the van. With probing fingers, he reached the latch that held it closed. They waited for the signal.

After what seemed like hours, but was probably less than ten minutes, the van swerved to the right and slowed to a crawl. "Ready?" He felt Kerry nod. As the van started to pick up speed again, he pushed the latch and opened the door a crack. As Dustin had promised, there were no vehicles behind them. Through the cracked open door, he could see no sign of Straker's men on the remote road. Kerry moved in front of him and dropped out of the slow moving van and onto the road. Peter jumped behind her. As he let go of the door, he pushed it back, hoping the latch would catch and hold. The van accelerated and moved away.

Rolling to the edge of the road, Peter winced as each rock he touched seemed to hit a bruise. Kerry was waiting for him in the tall grass. "So far, so good," she whispered. Peter nodded. They stayed in the grass for a few minutes, waiting and watching.

"Okay, seems to be safe enough. Let's go." Together, they turned their backs on the road and began their trek down the mountain.

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