The Assignment (Elvis presley story)

Chapter 18

After ten excruciating minutes, Elvis heard a motor in the distance. The urge to tear across the Creek and follow that sound almost undid him, but he waited, his worried gaze trained on the far bank. Mr. Walker appeared near the trees where Elvis had spotted Vinland earlier. He tore down the bank and into the shallow rushing water, wading across as fast as he could. Halfway across, he motioned for Elvis to meet him.

Elvis gave Dilly a hug. "Du-da is almost here. I'm going to help him. Stay right here, okay?"

"Yes, Mr. Elvis," Dilly said in a small voice.

"Where's Ava?" Elvis demanded as soon as he grasped Mr. Walker's hands to pull him up the bank.

"She was tearing through the woods after she fired, so I don't think she was hit. Sounded like he got away. I left Dilly over-"

"Shes fine." Elvis jerked his thumb in the child's direction, bypassed the old man and hurriedly splashed through the icy water to see about Ava.

She appeared out of the underbush just as he exited the Creek. Elvis rushed to her, running his hands up and down her arms. "You hurt?"

"Just winded," She gasped. "I radioed for a car to intercept him, but they probably won't reach the cutoff in time. I lost him, Elvis. I missed."

"It's all right," he assured her. "We'll get him. At least Dilly's safe and no one was hurt."

She didn't look mollified in the least.

"You did everything possible."

"I should have nailed the bastard and ended this," She said bitterly. "So much for my marksmanship skills."

Elvis kept his arm around her shoulders as the waded back across the stream. "Well, it's different when
The target's shooting back. Don't beat yourself up about it."

"He was armed. I saw the pistol, but he didn't return fire. The shots were mine."

He could see her strength was spent and wished he could just lift her and carry her the rest of the way to her grandparent's house. As if she'd  allow such a thing. Instead, he simply boosted her to dry land and climbed up behind her. "Let's go get dry. We'll join the hunt after you rest a little."

She shot him an angry glare. "I'll rest when he's caught. Let's go!"

Her grandfather and Dilly were waiting for them. She quickly hugged them and made certain they were okay. "Did he see her?" Ava asked her grandfather.

"No, I saw him first. He was over there coming through the trees. Soon as I hid Dilly, I thought I'd lead him away from where she was. I made a lot of noise getting down to the water, he ducked back into that thicket and I took cover."

Ava frowned. "You should have ran back to the house, Du-da."

"Nope, he would have caught up to us for sure. Figured he was armed, but he hadn't fired on me yet. I stayed behind that rock, between him and Dilly. That's when I heard Elvis warn me not to fire, that you were over there."

"I saw him," Ava said. "I got close, but he was fast and I wasn't exactly geared up for pursuit. Won't make that mistake again."

"You're sure he was armed?" Elvis asked.

"The warthog has arms?" Dilly asked, biting her bottom lip, looking up suspiciously from one to the other of the adults around her.

Elvis scooped the child up in his arms and tapped her playfully on the nose. "You don't need to worry about it, sweetheart. He's long gone."

Her dark eyes examined his for the lie. "Can I fish now?"

"Not today. Let's go and see if your grandmother has something yummy to eat. I'm starved, how about you?"

Ava tossed him an appreciative look. "Yeah, Dilly, we could go for some cookies and milk, right?" She started back towards the house.

Elvis put Dilly up on his shoulders and followed, amazed by Ava's sudden renewal of energy and the speed with which she moved. He understood it. Her family were threatened and that gave this chase a different sort of urgency.

"Ava, you know personal involvement can cloud thinking and wreck your normal sense of caution," he warned as he caught up to her on the porch. He set Dilly down and watched as she dashed into the house, intent on cookies.

"I ought to have you taken off the case," he told Ava.

She gave him a shove in the chest. "Don't do that to me, Elvis," She snapped. "Don't you do it!"

He recognised that look in her eyes. She wouldn't quit even if ordered off it. She'd only take vacation time and go after Vinland on her own. He might as well leave things as they were and stick to her like duct tape until this was over.

Elvis couldn't fault her when his own personal involvement equaled hers. And no way would he lay off and let someone else look out for her safety.

That just wasn't happening.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! And thanks for reading! Xoxo