The Fire -1-

-S1, Ep2: Chapter 9-

-Chapter 9: Not According to Plan-

She ran and collied with Richie as he pulled the trigger. The bullet landed in a tree as the two fell to the ground with a grunt. She looked up and saw the dog stopped and waited for her.

"RUN, GRIM, RUN!" She yelled. The dog didn't want to, but it did as its owner said. It took off through the woods, running to God-Knows-Where. She sighed in relief once the canine was out of sight. But her relief didn't last long.

Suddenly, she was flipped over onto her back and hands gripped around her throat, cutting off her airways. Richie glared down at her in anger as he squeezed her neck. Her taped hands gripped his, trying to release the pressure.

"Where did it go?!" Richie asked in anger. Her airways were getting more constricted. "WHERE DID IT GO?!"

"Far away...from you." She said weakly. Anger rose more in him, he squeezed harder, causing a soft groan to leave her. Her vision started blurring and her eyes started rolling into the back of her head.

"Richard!" Seth's voice was distant in Richie's head. All Richie cared about right now, was killing the fiery redhead. "Richie, Stop!" All of a sudden, Richie was ripped off the girl and held back by Seth. Air reentered the girl's lungs, causing her to cough and turn over onto her stomach. Seth pushed Richie against the car, holding him there to calm down. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"She let the dog go!" Richie shouted, trying to get at her again.

"So what?!" Seth shouted back, slamming him against the car again. "We don't kill hostages!"

"She sent it somewhere." Richie explained and then looked at her. "Didn't you? Where did you send it?"

"The one place...he's knows where to go." Her raspy voice said, rubbing her throat as she looked at the brothers. "Home."

"We gotta kill her." Richie said, trying to reach her again but Seth held him back.

"Richie, listen to me, okay?" Seth said. "By the time whoever-the-hell decides to come looking for her, we'll already be gone. Alright? Just calm down." Seth let him go and walked over to the redhead. He reached down and grabbed Richie's gun off the ground. He put it in his jacket and then reached down. He grabbed the girl and pulled her up off the ground. He turned her to face and looked directly into her eyes. "You're walking on thin ice, Princess. I recommend, you keep your trap shut, alright?" Irritation grew on her face, but she nodded in understanding. "Good." He pushed her towards the car but stopped when a cellphone rang. It was coming from the trunk. Seth looked at Richie, who was now on the passenger's side.

"I thought you grabbed all the phones." Richie said.

"I did." Seth said and sighed. He opened the backseat car door and looked at the girl. "Get in the car." He pushed her gently into the car and shut the door behind her. She looked behind her out the back window and watched as they opened the truck. The trunk door blocked her view for a few seconds, but it lowered, and she could see Seth talking on what looked like a kid's phone.

"Mrs. Garza?" Freddie asked on the other end of the phone.

"Well, if it ain't Tonto." Seth said.

"Where are they, you son of a bitch?" Freddie asked.

"No!" The bank teller yelled as Seth shuts the trunk.

"Mrs. Garza?" Seth asked. "She's a little tied up at the moment. And the redhead? Well, she's perfectly fine."

"Let me make this real simple." Freddie said. "You touch them, I will personally make sure you spend so much time in the hole, your own brother won't recognize you when you get out."

"Well, you gotta catch me first." Seth said and Richie took the phone out of his hands.

"What are you thinking?" Richie asked. He threw the phone on the ground and smashed it under his foot.

But it was too late, Freddie already had them tracked.

The brothers got in the car, causing the redhead to look at them as she struggled in the duct tape.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Pitstop." Seth said before taking off.