From Bunkers to Palaces

Part 15 - One Sleepless Night

Richard was out around the other side of the house, on his hands and knees, mopping along to the front porch. Staffy crept along the border fence, to the front footpath, looking for signs of cars, life or movements, returning to join with Richard at the front door of the house where the blood drops stopped. "That won't help none if someone has tracker dogs," Staffy said, "waste of time if you ask me. Do you think he was actually in the house, that he went back down the ladder around there?" 

"Kate said the cell staircase is in the garage, not here. But let's see where her father went first if this opens. Yes, there, it's not locked." Following blood drops, Richard stepped into the kitchen and saw a cup on the sink bench with outer red fingerprints. "He came for water and must have gone to the cell..."

"Richard, I really must make contact with the others."

"We make Kate and ourselves safe first," Richard said.

"She wants to save that mongrel but he'll be dead in less than an hour. He's lost a serious amount of blood."

"He's her father, Staffy, not to speak of the importance of his knowledge regarding the technology that's embedded in her. We must do all we can to get him to a hospital."

"There's no way we can take him up that ladder, Richard. I think he fell, hence the pool of blood. He couldn't get up for a while..."

"I'll go down the ladder; you go to the garage and find the door down, or wait if it's locked. When I get in the cell, I'll come up for you."

While Staffy waited for Richard, he successfully communicated with Bruce who was with Peter. They'd 'borrowed' the large black wagon to drive Amma and the rest of their team to the airport and the jet had left with them. Arrangements for return transport were in progress and a helicopter would be on standby as well as a jet-boat at the beach.

"Stay with Kate and Richard," Bruce said, "FBI and armed defenders are here; they're all over this. They're likely to come to the house, so leave there now. Hide in the woods, or out in a barn and communicate your location. If you need us, we can join you. Keep safe and in-com."

Staffy and Richard carried Kate's father up the stairs which were wider and more horizontally friendly than the ladder. Having laid him in recovery mode on a mat in the garage, Richard said, "Find his phone if he has one, Kate." 

Searching his jacket pockets, she pulled out a computer chip and a Fone-Com. Taking them, Richard, said, "We have to leave him here, Kate. They'll come for him and take care of him." Pressing pressed the on button, he touched the word 'emergency' at the bottom of the screen and waited.

Staffy checked for a pulse, nodding to Kate when he found it, he checked other places on his body, saying, "He must have hit the back of his head; there's blood there." Searching the rest of the pockets, he pulled a round disc from the front of his shirt.

"911 —what is your emergency?"

Richard didn't answer and the woman asked, "How may I help you?"

"I — I've been —shot..." Richard said in a cracked voice-tone, then groaned.

"Do you know your location, Sir?" When Richard was silent, she said, "Sir, are you there?"

Breathing heavily, into the phone, he wiped it on his shirt and used the shirt fabric to hold it while he crouched and placed it on the floor. The voice kept asking for response... With his finger to his lips, Richard waved for them to go down the wide steps, before pointing at the outer door of the garage. Locking the inner door before leaving the garage, he hurried around the house to join them in the cell.

Richard checked that the door at the top of the stairs was indeed locked. "We have to go elsewhere before they come, but I'll get the hose up there and wash the pool of blood down the drain before they arrive."

"I don't like leaving Father. Could we watch, even from a distance until he's in the ambulance?"

"Yes, but let's get to that distance now."

"I hear a siren," Kate said.

Hurrying up the ladder, Staffy pulled the hose along to the opening. Waiting for Kate and Richard to climb out, he dragged the grate across the hole and pushed the hose down through a gap while Richard turned on the tap.

The siren noise came closer and closer.

"Leave the tap on," Richard said.

Another siren sounded. "That's a police siren; likely they're heading here..." Staffy snatched up Kate's hat, asking, "Where's that dress?"

Two, 'Whoop —whoops' of the ambulance ended the noise. It was right there...

"The dress doesn't matter. We have to get to safety before the police or FBI arrive. We'll head in the direction of the beach and if the jet boat's there, we'll be on it and gone in no time."

"Where are my bags?" Kate asked.

Opening the gate, Richard said, "Here." 

Unloading his pockets, Staffy pushed snacks and drink bottles, he'd retrieved from the cell, into a duffle bag passing it to Richard before taking the other duffle and the backpack over one shoulder. He grasped Kate's hand firmly in his.

It turned into one long sleepless night, hiding in bushes when siren noise came close, moving through small lifestyle blocks, avoiding guard dogs. Having to go cross-country rather than straight to the shore. At one time, they entered a barn, hoping to rest. With her acute hearing, Kate announced, "I can hear a pack of dogs barking; do you think they're using them to track us?"

The night was pitch black with rain clouds blocking the moon and stars. The trio spent two hours in a small creek, stumbling along in the middle of it before crossing to hold to overhanging branches. The dogs, German Shepherds, passed the creek on one side before the dog-handlers took them across through the flowing water then moved back upstream, searching the top of the bank above. As they hadn't moved out of the river onto the ground there were no footprints or detectable scents. The bottoms of the bags they carried were sodden from water as were their lower clothing. 

"We need helicopters with heat sensors," a deep voice announced.

"I'll order them," a woman replied.

Kate clung to either Richard or Staffy while in the river and when they saw torches on the other side, Kate lifted both hands over her mouth and nose because she wanted to sneeze and needed to stifle any sound coming out.

Yes, it was one sleepless night, but two hours before dawn, they found themselves at the ocean shore, a quarter of a mile from the beach community. Wanting to keep safe somewhere until dawn, they trudged through the incoming waves. Noting that the tide was incoming, Kate pointed out the uneven line along the beach where the waters had stopped from the last full tide, whispering, "It's incoming but shouldn't come further than that."

Moving in the opposite direction from the beach community to where the cliffs began, Staffy collected an armful of driftwood. Searching for an indent in the cliffs, he was glad to discover an outcrop of rocks and further in, a cove with several caves.

Leading into a cave and moving to the back of it, Staffy built a fire around which they sat, turning from back to front to dry their clothes off.

Not speaking, they stared into the flames. Kate lay down, but sleep wouldn't come. She listened as the men talked in undertones about the drama of the day and decided to pretend she was asleep. Richard laid his jacket over her, making her grateful for the extra warmth.

There was no signal in the back of the cave and Staffy left now and then to walk out to the entrance, checking the shore and calling Peter for updates. Richard switched places with him to go outside to talk with Amma and Bruce.

Upon his return, Kate found the conversation most interesting even though she discerned they weren't talking as openly as they might if she'd not been there. It was dawn before she slept and the tide was well on its way out.