One Step Ahead

Breaking News

      "Boy, I bet his neighbors were freaking the fuck out when they heard that!" CC observed.

      "Well, wouldn't you?" Andy responded. "But seriously, that had to truly fuckin' suck for those kids. How long do you think it's gonna take 'em to get over that?"

      "Quite awhile, I'm sure," Jake stated quietly. "But if they actually know who the bastard is, hopefully they can track him down before he can hurt anybody else. Because the sooner they lock the fucker down, the sooner we get Ash back."

      The strains of cello music drifted to their ears, and Jinxx pulled his phone from his pocket, glancing at the display. "Well, it's one of our middlemen," he announced. "Maybe he knows something." Connecting the call, and activating the speaker, he said, "Hello. If you're planning to tell us about the press conference, we've already heard about it."

      "Not even close, dude," the youthful voice responded. "I don't know shit about a press conference, and I don't care. I'm calling you to tell you that you might wanna get your buddies together and get your asses on the road if you wanna see Ash."

      "What?"

      "Where?"

      "What the fuck?"

      Jinxx waved his hand as the others talked over each other, motioning for quiet. "On the road to where?"

      "A town called Solvang, he's on his way to the Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital. At least I think that's what they said it's called."

      They all stared silently at each other for several seconds, before CC finally found the nerve to ask the question that none of them were sure they wanted the answer to. "A hospital, huh? How bad is he hurt?"

      "His knee's pretty jacked up, but he'll live," the caller replied, tension becoming more apparent in his tone. "But he was seriously losing it before they put him in the ambulance, because that motherfucker tossed our friend Briar over a cliff right in front of him."

      "Holy fucking shit!" Andy hissed. "Is she...? I mean, she's not...?"

      ""She's still alive, at least for now, but we're not sure how bad off she actually is. They're life-flighting her to the hospital right now, so I guess we'll find out when they get to check her over. Listen, dude, I really don't feel like talking right now, but I remembered that Ash doesn't have any family around here, so I thought you guys might wanna get them in the loop, and maybe be there for him."

      "Hell yes, we'll be there as soon as possible!" Jinxx returned. "Thanks for letting us know, we'll let you get off the phone now. And I hope everything turns out for your friend, man."

      The words, "Yeah, me too," followed by what sounded like a sob were the last thing they heard before the line went dead, leaving them all in stunned silence.

      "Okay, where the fuck is Solvang?" Jake queried, whipping out his phone to access a roadmap. "Here we go. It's about a two hour drive, not far past...," he began, before trailing off and simply staring at the screen.

      "Past what, dude?" CC prompted impatiently, before noticing the shocked expression on the guitarist's face. "Dude, you don't look so good. What the hell's going on?"

      "That stuff on TV just now, about the fires and shit, I think that may be them," he murmured quietly. "Solvang is a few miles past the opposite end of Cachuma Lake, and the cops were up on the edge of some sort of drop..."

      "And the chopper was dropping somebody down into the gorge, too," CC continued. "Aww, geez! No wonder the dude says Ash is a fuckin' wreck, if he had to watch something like that. He was talking to me about this chick after that break in at his house, and he said that she's a really cool chick, and he could see them being good friends."