by BEAGLE BOY
Part 5
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"Where am I," was the first conscious thought Brian could form. His head hurt. He attempted to move a hand up to rub it, but the tape prevented his hands from leaving his back. He started to focus on his surroundings. What happened? There was tape on his mouth, so even groaning out loud was out of the question. His vision slowly cleared, and he noticed Paul, laying in much the same state Brian felt. He shook his head slightly. Why was Paul blinking his eyes like that? There must be something? From Brian's field of vision, he couldn't see any blood. Wait. There was an order to it. Something that just tickled the back of his mind. What was it? THAT'S IT!! Morse code! "Slow down" he begged, silently. What was he saying? "E end of word F A K E end of sentence"
"James," Anthony yelled, as the explosion caught everybody's attention.
"I've got to go," came the almost panicked reply, as James bolted for his car.
"Oh no you don't. Not alone. Des, let's go," Anthony ordered. "Lash, you and Shady stay here and see what you can find."
The three made it to the police station to find their worst fears confirmed. The police officers filed in a few of the unfortunate blanks. Yes, it was Mark that was leaving. He had just unlocked the doors when it blew. The other two were now nowhere to be found.
Des made the rounds outside the police station, to see what could be found. There was nothing unusual. He decided to make his way inside and see what the three were working on before they left. Maybe there would be SOMETHING to tell him where they went.
He made his way through the police and back to James' office. He looked at some of the pieces under the microscope. Then, he saw the tape player still rolling on. He rewound the tape and started from the beginning.
"Uh-oh," whispered Des.
"'Uh-oh' is right," hissed a voice from behind him. That was the last thing Des heard.
"Anybody see where Des ran off to," Anthony asked.
"Let me try the station," offered James.
Anthony made a quick search outside the police station. Not finding anything, and never one to just sit around and do nothing, he went over to where the van was. This was not good. But something caught his eye as he rounded to the driver's side of the van. On the other side of the low hedge, there was something almost shining in the sun. He figured it was simply part of the van, but curiosity got the better of him. As he made his way over to the object, his hand started to shake. It was the key to the van.
"Anthony," James called out.
"Over here, at the van."
"No sign of Des in the building," James informed him, as he ran over. "Several people saw him enter, but nobody saw him leave."
"I don't like this. Not one bit," he glared. "James, so help me, if you are holding ANYTHING out on me, even speculation, I'll deal with you personally." Anthony's eyes burned hotter than anyone had seen in a long time.
"Look," James growled back. "This psycho has my son! I don't like the fact that I had to call in help. I like it even less that this ... THING ... has specifically asked for Allen. I will admit to panicking, but I assure you, if there is ANYTHING I know about this case, YOU know it! Other than the way some of the people were dismembered. And the contents of their stomachs when they died. Now, If you REALLY want that
information, then I WILL see to it that you get it. Other than that, I have told you everything I know. Is that clear." James eyes burned just as hot as Anthony's. And the last thing spoken was not so much a question as a fact.
"Lash, you having any luck," asked Candace.
"I've found something inside the house. Looks like a piece of discarded fishing line. It might explain how someone got in and out, with all of the doors locked."
"What?"
With that, Lash explained how it was possible to raise a window, tie the fishing like around the window latch in some of the older houses, lower the window, pull the line to lock the window, and one good, sudden yank breaks the line.
"Sweetie, you have one devious mind."
"I know," he grinned. "Hey, I'm going to see what I can find outside. You gonna be okay in here?"
"Lash! The last time I checked, I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"
With that, the two grinned, and Lash headed outside, while Shady continued her search inside.
"Beag! Whatcha make of this," yelled Sasha.
Allen made his way over. Two sets of footprints. One of an adult, and the other of a child.
"These what I think they are?"
"It appears," Allen sighed. "But it looks like there was no struggle. That just doesn't make sense. Everything I've seen up to this point shows nothing out of the ordinary. I can't see anything. This fits in to place with everything else. Why wouldn't there be at least SOME struggle?"
"Can I see the police report?"
Allen handed over the police report, and Sasha started scanning it.
"Let me know if you find anything interesting. I haven't looked at it, yet. I wanted to get a feel for the scene before I started reading it."
"Uh, Allen?"
"Yes, Sasha," he sighed.
"What do you drive? You still driving that truck of yours?"
"What kind of question is that? You KNOW what I drive!"
"License plate number?"
Allen thought a minute, then finally rattled off the number.
"Then you better look at this."
Allen felt his muscles tense. Eye witnesses described his truck in detail. There was some confusion on the license plates, but the numbers and letters were close enough. That might explain why there was no struggle. Why struggle when you know the supossed kidnapper?
"You about ready to go?"
"Yeah," grinned Sasha, eager as ever.
They got back in James' car and headed back to the house. They made a qhick stop by the store so Allen could pick up a few things before going back to the house. If he was going to cook for the team, then he needed food. Once back at the house, Allen had to force his mind to slow down. He was glad Sasha was there. Sasha managed to take his mind off of things. Once again, Allen was grateful at Sasha's ability to change subjects as easily as some people breath. He was always inquisitive, and made lots of observations, along with asking lots of questions. Most prominently of the incident back at the cafe. Allen chuckled and explained his relationship with Pam. Which led to more
questions. And more stories and a few laughs. Allen finally managed to turn the tables and began asking about Sasha. To which Sasha gave more information. The two really seemed to get along well. They had to. This was not the first time the two of them had been together and talked. For some reason, Allen was able to open up to him more than others.
"Hmmmmm... This is odd," noted Candace. There was no air circulating in the room. a quick glance gave her the answer. There was a sheet of paper stuck in a vent. Carefully, with rubber gloves, she managed to take the cover off the vent and remove the paper. It was actually a note. The handwriting..... No. It couldn't be.
Lash managed to go over the outside of the house fairly quickly. But when he got to the back of the house, he heard a rustling of the underbrush just a few yards away. He walked over to investigate. Probably just a squirrel or a rabbit. Maybe even a bird. Please, ANYTHING but a snake. As he bent over to pick up a stick to start poking the underbrush, a hand clamped around his mouth, while the other arm wrapped around Lash's chest so tightly Lash's arms were useless.
There was a knocking at the door. Sasha hopped down off the table and ran to the front door. Allen yelled at him to stop. Sasha slowed while Allen ran after him. They reached the front door at the same time. Allen opened it.
Candace started calling for Lash. Apparently he couldn't hear her. She stepped outside and continued calling. Where was he? This was not the time to play a joke on anybody. Besides, Lash knew better than to just leave. Well, the police station was only a mile from here, so Candace began the journey, with the note safely tucked away.
The room was very dim. Dust danced in the faint rays of sunshine that made it through the dirty panes. Paul kept repeating the message. Brian couldn't believe it. Finally, Brian was able to start a message of his own. He had to know if Lucien were around. He didn't know what good it would do, but at least if he were around, then maybe among the three of them, they could find a way out. Yes, Lucien was around, but he was on the other side of Brian. Brian was in such a position that he was unable to turn around to verify it for himself. And with his hands and mouth taped up, the chances of escape were about as dim as the room. But at least the three of them were together. Suddnely, there was a rustling behind Brian. Paul's eyes were as big as saucers. What was going on behind Brian?
Candace made it to the station, and found Anthony and James. Neither looked happy. In fact, they both looked about the way Candace felt. She was getting upset at Lash for just leaving her.
"Anybody seen Lash," she asked, reigning in her temper.
"Des is gone," shot Anthony.
"What," Candace blinked.
"Lash is with you," said Anthony, arching an eyebrow.
"I couldn't find him, so I walked back here. What do you mean Des is gone? And what happened to our van???"
"Des has disappeared. The van blew up. Michael and Cru are missing, too."
"That accounts for three. Where's Mark?"
James unconsciously glanced at the van.
Candace completely forgot about the note. She went numb all over, as Anthony gave her a hug. It was hard to tell who needed it more.
"Now, what can I do about you," Brian heard. His mind raced. Who was it. With that, he felt somebody start grabbing his legs. He began to kick voilently. Brian refused to go quietly.
"Would you stop it," shot Lucien. "I'm just trying to get you untied."
Brian was in shock. Lucien managed to remove the ropes that tied Brian's legs together. Then he began unwrapping the tape around his wrists. That just left the tape covering Brian's mouth.
"I almost deserve to rip that off, myself, after the way you kicked me," threatened Lucien.
Not wanting to take any chances, Brian hurriedly ripped off the tape.
"How," he gasped, as Lucien began working on Paul.
"You won't believe me."
"Try us," panted Brian. "At this point, there is very little I wouldn't believe."
"It was a brad on my pants. I was able to use the edge to start cutting through the tape around my wrists. It just took a while."
"You and your brads," said Paul, as he yanked the tape from his mouth. "Now what?"
"For starters, are you sure what you told me earlier," asked Lucien.
"Afraid so," came the reply.
"So the Crown Jewels really ARE fakes," asked Brian, in disbelief.
"Think about it. If they were revealed to be fake, then the effects would be far reaching! Think of the implications!"
"Quiet," shushed Lucien. "Anybody else here a thumping?"
The trio became deathly silent as they listened. There it was, again. It seemed to be coming from the other side of the wall. They worked frantically trying to find a way through the wall to the other side. Finally, using a bar, Paul was able to pry the window up. The three managed to scramble up and through it. But when they reached the outside, they realized they were not alone.
"Hello, 'brother.'"
"Beagz! It's you," exclaimed Sasha.
"Behind me, now," ordered Allen. The two backed up, with what appeared to be another Allen on the other side of the storm door.
"Is that any way to treat family," came the mocking question from outside. "You see, I am you. Only better."
With that, he thrust his fist through the glass pane on the storm door, and unlocked it. Allen just stood there, keeping a firm grip on Sasha. The hand was bleeding. That shoots him being an android, thought Allen.
Summoning up his courage, he managed to ask, "Who are you?"
"Don't you recognize me? I'm you. Like I said, only better. I'm what you could have become, if you had only put your mind to it, and had a little discipline. I was trained to be the best. I am your clone. And, very shortly, I will take your place."
Before it could even register, the stranger lunged at Allen. Sasha sidestepped as the two began to fall. A flurry enveloped the two. Nearly as quickly as it began, one was left unconscious, and the other stumbled up.
"Sasha, you okay?" he asked.
"Beagz! What happend," he asked.
"I don't know. But we've to get out of here. Our location has been comprimised."
Sasha gave the body on the floor a good swift kick as he left.
"Where are we going?"
"Why should you care?" With one fluid movement, Sasha was sprawled on the ground outside. The only evidence of life was the rise and fall of his chest.