Backwoods by mardel PG Bobby was running, he didn't know from whom or why but he was running. Fawkes, where was Darien? He looked to his left, then his right, he stopped btaking cover behind a large bolder. What the hell was going on? He didn't remember anything after they started the trip north. That had been that morning hadn't it? Damn. Bobby checked his weapon, it was still fully loaded, that was good wasn't it? He checked the time, middle of the afternoon. Think! They had been sent up to northern California to look into the disappearance of a top level government officials wife. It had looked like it could be kidnapping to blackmail her husband. The leads had sent them to the near by National Forest, a man that often worked as a guide to extreme campers was a suspect in the woman's disappearance. Okay Hobbes get your act in gear your partner could be in trouble and you're hiding behind a rock. Bobby pulled his weapon again and moved back in the direction he'd come from. He was moving quickly but cautiously. Darien was in a little bit of trouble, he'd been visible when the shooting had started. But they were shooting some strange dart things at him and Bobby. He'd thought Hobbes had been hit with one. But he was to busy trying to keep himself in once piece to see well. He'd turned invisible at first, and moved out of the direct line of fire. By the time he looked to see if Bobby was safe, he couldn't find him. "Hobbes! you hurt man?" Darien yelled and there was no answer. Now it was ten minutes since he'd gone quicksilver and he knew Claire was a long way back down in San Diego. He had to move to a location he could stay undercover with out the quicksilver. He had to stay and find Bobby too. Darien began to move back towards the van, but there was a loud whoosh just past his head and he saw one of those dart things imbed it's self in a nearby tree. Crap they must have thermals if they were aiming at him. He made a mad dash for the van. But felt a dart hit his back, he tried to reach the van and get away. He was feeling very sick to his stomach, and dizzy, he couldn't stay on his feet. Then he passed out. " I told you they were government agents." The woman slapped her partner on the shoulder as she saw the wallet he'd just pulled out of Darien's hip pocket. "Now we are going to have to make sure he's gone, real gone." " Now just hold on there a minute, I agreed to your plan, but you said there wasn't going to be any killing." He protested. " Well this changes things, doesn't it?" She pointed to the unconscious man on the ground. Bobby arrived back where he'd left the van. He was sure he'd parked it near a large pine tree and a small group of rocks. They had walked up a long dirt path to the cabin. But Golda was gone, he hoped Darien was with her. He flipped open his cell phone, but all he got was static. Okay so what would Darien do if he was looking for him? He'd backtrack the way Bobby had disappeared in right, then he wouldn't be in the van. Great. Bobby went up towards the cabin, very cautiously. He saw no signs of movement, but he did find drag marks. Not good. He didn't find any blood. "I told you we aren't killing him. Now think of something else." Earl yelled at the woman. He was dragging the still unconscious Darien out of the back of his beat up pick up truck. "Man for looking like a scarecrow he still is dead weight." "Okay, the ransom money is supposed to be dropped off tonight, so all we really have to do is keep him from being found until the day after tomorrow. If we take him way back in the woods and just leave him we should have plenty of time to get to the house and hole up until this all blows over." "Yeah, that will work, but I ain't carrying him that far. We'll have to tie him up and wait for the stuff to wear off." Earl nodded. "While we're here I'll go and check on our guest." The woman moved off towards a small shack just off the path. Bobby checked out the cabin, it was empty, it looked like it had been for sometime. He found a few empty beer cans and some trash. Who ever had been shooting at them must have taken Darien with them and the van. He'd looked at the map of the park, it was a good three miles to the nearest ranger hut. Even farther if no one was manning it this time of year. He started jogging in that direction. He stopped every fifteen minutes and took a breather and check his cell phone for reception. He reached the ranger hut before the cell phone worked. "Man am I glad to see you." Bobby came to a halt on the small porch area of the hut. There was a older ranger inside, talking on a short wave radio. "Hang on one second there mister." The Ranger held up his hand, "That's received and understood, Matt I'll expect you to check in, in two days. Base three out." He hung up the handset and turned back to Bobby. "Okay mister what's the matter?" "Agent Bobby Hobbes, my partner and I were investigation a missing person in the area and he's been captured." "Captured are you sure you don't mean lost?" "No, I mean captured you know taken hostage by the people we were looking for." Bobby argued with him. "Slow down and explain it to me again." "I'm a Federal Agent, my partner and I were in the park here, looking for Earl Dawson he's supposed to be a guide. He is suspected in a kidnapping case we are working on. When we approached his cabin, he or someone inside started shooting at us. But they were shooting darts, not regular bullets." "Darts?" The Ranger asked. "Yeah, you know like you see in wildlife films, they use them to tranquilize bears and lions." Bobby thought he must be talking to the stupidest Ranger in the world. "Oh, right, darts." He nodded. "The point is my partner is missing now. I got hit by one of those things and the next thing you know our van is missing, my partner is missing and the cabin is empty. We need some help here, can you call in the local sheriff of police on that thing?" Bobby nodded towards the radio. "Yeah, I can, but it will take them a hour or more to get out here." "Well put in the call, I need help here." Bobby looked at the guy like if you don't do it man, I'm going to get physical with you. "Alright hold your pants on." The older Ranger reached for the radio handset again. Meanwhile Darien was just starting to come around from his darting. "Man did you get the number of that bus?" He rolled to his back and opened his eyes his head hurt, but for once it wasn't from the gland. It was kind of like a hangover headache. He looked up and saw a man, wearing scruffy looking clothes standing over him. "I tied you up already, so don't get any ideas." Earl warned. Darien had noticed his hands were tied, in front of his body at least. But his feet weren't tied. If he could get to his feet, and quicksilver he might just make it to the trees for cover before the guy shot him again. He checked his monitor, but it was getting close to shot time. Scratch that idea, at least for the time being. Maybe Bobby would show up soon to rescue him. "You don't know what kind of trouble you got yourself into there buddy. I've got to take you out in the woods and leave you there." Earl complained. "You're not going to kill me?" Darien asked the obvious question. "No, not if we don't have to, killing a fed is a big deal, they would never leave off looking for us if we killed you." "Then my partner isn't dead?" "Partner? Oh, yeah almost forgot about that other guy, I shot at him too, but he disappeared. You know sometimes the drug in the dart has a strange effect on smaller folks. He might have had a bad reaction." Darien moved to sit up. "Hadn't you better go look for him?" He didn't like the sound of that at all. "No, if he's not still out from the dart, then he's wondering around the woods lost." Earl was sure of that the direction he'd run in. Darien sighed, he didn't like the sound of that either. Bobby wasn't exactly his idea of a woodsman. He might be lost out there somewhere. Drugged and confused. The woman came back then as Darien was trying to decide his next move. "She's fine, a little worn out but alive. I see he's awake, you'd better get started. Take him out a good way, maybe blind fold him the last bit so he has no idea where he is." The woman came up to look Darien over. "Shame he's a Fed, he's not bad looking. Kind of tall and lean." She smiled at Darien. Darien had to nearly bit his tongue off to keep from telling her he wouldn't do anything with her with someone else's... well never mind. "You're going to take me out in the woods and leave me there?" Darien asked. "I just told you that, are you stupid or somethin'?" "Right, just checking." Darien moved to his knees and then stood up. "My he is tall ain't he." "Stop your staring Reba, there's no time for that if you want me to take him out in the woods and get him lost." Earl glared at her. "I was just admirin' him." She complained. " I can look can't I?" "No, you can't cause we are leaving." Earl picked up a small pack and a rifle from the back of his truck. "I'll be waiting at the place, you know." Reba told him. "Yeah, right I know." Earl motioned for Darien to lead the way down a path. :::::::::::::::::::: "Yes, Sir I understand but I can't seem to get it through to this." Bobby turned his back to the old Ranger. "Ranger that this is an important Government agent and we need to go out into the forest and start looking for him now." "Hobbes commandeer a vehicle if you have to, but rescue Fawkes." The Official was red in the face, he was so upset at the news that Darien had been lost. "I'll do my best Sir, I'm worried about him too." Bobby hung up the hand set. The radio operator at the main ranger station had patched him through to a land line to San Diego. "I know you want to go looking for your friend. I've sent for another guide that live near here. He'll help you look." "Thank you." Bobby was to exasperated to ask questions. It was only a few minutes later when the guide arrived. She was a very pretty woman of no more than twenty, small and of Native American heritage. "Hello, I'm Elly Red Horse, I understand you need help finding a lost man?" She offered Hobbes her hand. Bobby looked worried, but shook her hand she would at least know the woods better than he did, and she had a jeep. "Bobby Hobbes Federal Agent, my partner was taken prisoner by a man or men up at the cabin off Area six." "Prisoner?" She looked concerned. Elly was use to men not taking her seriously, but this one was acting like he was glad to see her. He wasn't big but he looked capable. He had very expressive eyes, dark and worried. "Yes, he was suspect in a kidnapping case we were working on, Look can I explain this while we are underway?" Bobby asked, it was getting later and the light would be gone in a few hours. "Fine, Luke I'll be in touch. Let me know when the police get here." She told the old Ranger. "You go easy now there Elly, make sure you have your rifle. Earl was never a man to cross." "Great, you know this Earl character?" Bobby asked as he climbed into the passenger seat of her jeep. "Earl yeah he's my biggest competition. Not that many campers that want to rough it these days." Elly pulled her jeep onto the road. "I think we might be able to find your friend if Earl doesn't have him, if he does we'll have to wait for back up." "I have a weapon and I won't hesitate to use it, if the situation calls for it." Bobby told her. "Fine, but until we know what's happened we can't assume anything." Elly told him. "You're right. I'm just worried about him." Bobby took a deep breath exhaled and reached for his pills it was past time for him to take them, again. Elly noticed, but didn't ask, it wasn't her business. He looked upset, maybe they were for an ulcer. She hoped he was wrong about Earl taking his friend hostage. That could get very ugly. The man beside her was interesting, he was dressed in jeans, boots and a wool suit jacket. But under it he was wearing a chambray shirt. He wasn't pulling one of those city guy comes to the big woods and wants to dress like a lumber jack routine. He wasn't tall, but he looked solid, strong. Elly wasn't worried about him keeping up on the trail, if she got him a sweater to wear with his jacket he'd be warm enough. "I think what we need to do, is look the area over and if we can locate their trail, if there is one to follow, then we can radio back to Luke and head out. I've got a warm sweater you can put on under your jacket and a hat. It gets cold up here early." Elly told him. "Thanks, sounds like a good plan. At least you are taking me seriously." Bobby nodded. He liked her, she thought things through first then talked. She was so young that was what had him worried. His protective instincts had already kicked in. "Mine if I ask you a personal question?" "Depends if I don't like it I won't answer." She glanced at Bobby. "How old are you? I'm hoping you just look young for your age, cause I'd hate to think I'm putting my partner's life in the hands of a college age kid." Bobby was blunt. "I'm almost thirty, thanks, I know I look young, but short of going around showing folks my ID, I guess I just have to learn to live with it." Elly lied a little, she was 26. But she didn't want him to think she couldn't handle herself out there. "Okay, that make me feel better." Bobby nodded not sure he believe her, but she lied good. "We should walk up from here, then if they are back at the cabin they won't know we are here." She parked the jeep. "I'll get that sweater for you." Elly reached into the back of the jeep and pulled out a old sweater of her brothers she'd borrowed once and never returned because she liked it to much. Bobby shed his jacket and pulled the wool hand made sweater over his head, "This is really nice, thanks for letting me use it." "You're welcome, here's a hat too." She passed him a wool watch cap/hat. The kind with a short brim. She had a hat in her jacket but her long hair usually kept her warn until the temp dropped below thirty. Bobby let her lead, it was her job to find the trail. Elly moved soundlessly thru the trees, she checked on the cabin and it was still empty. "No one is there, doesn't look like they stayed long when you surprised them there." "Yeah, I thought so too, just a stop off point. They must have another place around here." Bobby guessed. "With Earl it's hard to say, he could have three or four other cabins he uses. Come on I'll look for a fresh trail." Elly moved off to the north, it was the direction she would have taken if she was headed for another cabin or out into the deep woods. ::::::::::::::::::::: "Can we stop for a minute, I've got a pain in my side." Darien whined. "Okay, city boy take a breather." Earl growled. He removed his pack and shook out a cigarette. Darien was trying to keep his bearings, but he wasn't very good in the woods and he was sure he was going to get ever more lost if they walked much further. He'd considered quick silvering a number of times but he didn't have much left and he hated to waist it with out a clear plan of action. He didn't want to get himself lost just to get away. ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: "Eberts is there any news from Hobbes?" The Official returned to his office from a meeting with the his superior at the Federal Building. "No, Sir Hobbes checked in about an hour ago. That was the last we heard from him." Eberts jumped to his feet. "Humm, have you notified the Keeper to be ready to go north?" "Yes, Sir she is ready to leave at a moments notice." "Then I suggest you and she leave now. I want you to report back to me as soon as you reach the area." "Me Sir, with Dr. Keeply?" Eberts hadn't really wanted to do field work. "Yes, you now go!" The Official barked. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::: end part one