Within minutes, they heard the whine of the motorcycles again, clearly getting closer.
This is it, thought Danny. I’m done for.
A few minutes later the first of the bikes appeared, ridden by Crack himself. At the sight of the gang leader, Swallow’s knees buckled once again, but again he somehow remained standing. Crack pulled up and skidded to a stop in a cloud of dust. Soon after, the other gang members arrived. Danny recognized a few of them. Crack and the others headed straight toward them.
“I found the boy for you!” Swallow announced in a trembling, fawning voice as Crack approached. Crack stopped in front of him.
“I was on my way to bring him to you,” Swallow said.
Crack stared at him for a few seconds, saying nothing. Suddenly, he threw back his head and laughed. Swallow tried to laugh nervously along.
“You kill me, Swallow,” said Crack. “You really do.”
Crack took a step closer to both Swallow and Danny. He scanned Danny up and down, as if not quite convinced he was still alive.
“You were bringing him to me, were you?” Crack said quietly, shifting his gaze to the dirt beneath his feet. “Is this the right direction?” He said, absently drawing lines in the dirt with the toe of his boot. “This seems like an odd route to be taking to get to me.”
“I…I wanted to make him show me what he found first.” Swallow shifted nervously from one foot to the other. “I didn’t want to waste your valuable time.”
“Well, that’s really considerate of you,” Crack said, looking up. “Really considerate – in fact – maybe I’ve been underestimating what a valuable part of our little group you are, Swallow.”
Swallow smiled weakly and said, “I was about to force him to reveal what he knows when you arrived.”
“You were, were you…” answered Crack. “So did he?”
“Did he what?”
“Did he tell you what you wanted to know?”
“No, it was not I who wanted to know,” said Swallow. “It was for you. I was going to drive the information out of him for you. I am a mere tool for you to command.”
“You’re a tool, are you?” said Crack. Some of the other bikers snickered. “So you were just about to come and tell me about it, were you?” continued Crack.
“Most certainly, yes,” said Swallow.
Crack’s face contorted with a sneering smile, and he took a step closer to Swallow – to within arm’s reach. Danny saw the characteristic writhing of Crack’s octopus tattoo as the gangster clenched and un-clenched his fists.
Suddenly the octopus sprang to life as Crack’s right arm shot up and grabbed Swallow by the throat, almost lifting him off his feet. Swallow’s eyes bulged out of his head and his face was a mask of absolute terror. Whining and gurgling sounds issued from his throat, and his arms waived pathetically in the air at his sides.
“You piece of shit!” screamed Crack. “You think I’m a complete moron! I’m really going to enjoy doing you.”
Swallow sobbed amid gasps for breath.
“But that can wait,” said Crack. He let go of Swallow’s throat, and the kidnapper dropped in a heap to the ground. “I’ve got more important things to do right now. I want to save you for later, when I can relax – and take my time.”
Swallow lay on the ground whimpering. Crack turned his attention to Danny.
“So,” he said.
Danny was shaking, despite all his efforts to look calm and confident. “What?” he said, in a voice that he meant to be tough, but that came out sounding thin and weak.
Crack slapped him across the face. “You little shit! Don’t fuck with me!”
Swallow was still lying on the ground, muttering to himself. He seemed to be having a conversation with some invisible companion. Danny overheard him say,
“Yes…yes…It will be done. I am yours to command…”
“Shut up!” Crack yelled at Swallow, and kicked him hard in the stomach. The muttering abruptly stopped.
“Now, where was I?” said Crack, to nobody in particular. He turned once again to Danny.
“Oh, I remember – WHERE THE FUCK IS THE GASOLINE!” he screamed.
Danny couldn’t think a way to stall any longer, but suddenly he was paralyzed. He opened his mouth to speak. No words would come, but his eyes tracked to their left. Crack followed his gaze. A pile of debris lay at the base of the rusting metal cylinder projecting from the ground. Lying on top of the debris was a slab-like object covered with dust.
Crack noticed it, strolled over, and scraped at the dust with his foot. A smile formed on his face. He bent down, grabbed one side of the slab and stood it on its side. He gave it a heavy kick from behind, and most of the dust fell away. Clearly embossed on the slab was the bright yellow shape of a scallop shell. The words ‘Cherry Blossom Service’, beside the image of a flower, a thin green stem curling beneath it, were still legible on dark band at the bottom.
“A gas station,” said Crack. “Not bad, kid. Not King Solomon’s Mines, but not bad. Did your mutt find this?”
Danny didn’t answer.
“I SAID – DID YOUR MUTT FIND THIS!” Crack screamed.
“Y-Yeah,” said Danny.
“That’s better. Where’s the cap?”
Danny nodded toward an area in front of the building.
“Show me,” said Crack. He motioned to someone behind Danny, and started walking toward the spot Danny had indicated. The huge man they called Chuckles took Danny by the arm and dragged him to meet with Crack. A small pile of rusted machinery littered the ground a few feet from where they stood.
“This?” said Crack, pointing at the pile.
“Yeah,” said Danny.
Crack walked over and kicked away some debris. Beneath it was a metal pipe extending about six inches above the ground, topped by a round metal cap.
“Have you opened it?” Crack said to Danny.
Danny shook his head.
“Well, how do you know there’s still gas down there?”
“Zonk knows.”
“Zonk knows, does he?” Crack said sarcastically. “Well, we’ll see what Zonk knows. Mansur, keep an eye on the kid. Chuckles, see if you can get this cap off.”
The huge biker waddled over to the pipe protruding from the ground. With a great deal of effort he assumed a kneeling position directly over it, and gripped it with both of his massive hands. His face contorted grotesquely as he strained to turn the ancient cap, which had probably been frozen in position for dozens of years.
At first, the obstinate cap wouldn’t budge, but finally it turned, a little at first, gaining momentum as the giant continued to strain.
When Chuckles reached the final few threads, a blast of high-pressure vapour blew the cap into the sky with such a force that it knocked him to the ground. The biker lay stunned for a few seconds before finally struggling to his feet.
“Good job, Chuckles,” laughed Crack. “I knew there was a reason I kept you around.”
There was a stench of gasoline, and vapour continued to blast from the opening for about thirty seconds before the pressure finally equalized.
“Now,” said Crack. “Let’s see what’s down there.” He picked up a small pebble from the dirt beneath his feet, and walked up to the opening. He knelt down and positioned his ear close to the tank outlet, then dropped the pebble into the hole. Almost immediately Danny heard a faint ‘plop’ as the stone hit the captive gasoline.
“Shit,” said Crack. “It’s half full – looks like that mutt of yours knows his gas. Chuckles…” he called. “Put the cap back on and cover everything back up.”
Crack walked back over to Danny, and they returned to the spot where they’d stood earlier. Swallow still lay cringing on the ground.
“Any idea where that cute little doggy is right now?” Crack said. Unexpectedly, he placed a hand gently on Danny’s shoulder.
“Do you think you could find him, son?” he said, warming to his fatherly tone.
“Maybe…” answered Danny.
“Well, you know…” said Crack, I might be convinced to spare you if you could help me find that sweet puppy.”
Danny felt sick to his stomach. He dared not look Crack in the eye, for fear of revealing his loathing and terror. Instead he stared at the ground. Death was incredibly close now.
The Search is Over
With encouragement from both Lacy and Richard now, Zonk set off with his nose to the ground. They continued east. Richard estimated that they'd been gone for about an hour; Keller must be wondering what had happened to them. At the same time, he judged that they must be getting close to what he guessed would be their final destination – the Wild Rose area.
“Listen,” said Lacy.
They could barely make out the buzz of motorcycles in the distance.
“We’d better go,” Richard said. “From the direction, I’d say whatever those bikes are doing has something to do with Danny. We’ll catch up with Jim on the way.”
They climbed the ridge and headed to intercept Keller’s path. Occasionally they heard the whine of motorcycle engines waft toward them on the breeze. Every time Richard caught that sound his stomach churned, as he imagined what might be happening at this moment to the person he cared for most in the world, the brother he’d vowed to protect. After a ten minute ride, they caught up with Keller. Richard guessed they were no more than a half-mile from the Wild Rose area.
Keller was picking his way along the main road, which was heavily strewn with everything from boulders to small trees. They rode up beside him and he stopped. Lacy dismounted and walked up to meet them.
“This is Lacy,” Richard said to Keller as she arrived. Lacy moved up and shook his hand. “She’s a friend of Danny’s.”
“A friend, eh?” said Keller with a smile. “What’s with you Hamptons anyway? Trapped out in the wilds of Surrey and you both come back with beautiful women on your arms. Must be some kind of genetic thing…”
Lacy blushed deeply.
“Well Lacy,” Keller continued, “it’s good to meet you. How in God’s name did you two hook up?”
“No time to explain,” said Richard. “We’ve got to go right now. It’s probably best if we take the car, the horse and the bike. We might need them all if we run into Crack. Zonk can ride in the car with you, Jim.”
“Horse? Zonk?” said Keller. “What the hell have I been missing?”
“It’s a long story,” answered Richard. “I’ll fill you in later. We’ve been hearing the sound of bikes all the way over here. We’re going to follow it and I’m hoping it will lead us to Danny. We’ll ride ahead. You follow as best you can.”
“You got it,” said Keller. “Go on, get going. It’ll take me a few minutes to get the beast moving. Just try to stay in sight.”
Richard and Carrie took off, moving as quickly as they dared while trying to limit the whine of their own bike. After a few minutes Richard glanced back and spotted Lacy not more than twenty or thirty yards behind them. The horse seemed to be well suited to this terrain. Much farther back, barely visible now, was Keller in the Black Cherry.
Suddenly they heard a flurry of gunshots.
“Oh my God,” said Richard.
Carrie twisted the accelerator, and both Lacy and Keller moved into the distance behind them. With a backward glance Richard saw that Lacy was somehow keeping up, having pushed Serena into full gallop. The shooting continued for several minutes then abruptly stopped. The scream of the bikes faded into the distance. As Richard and Carrie approached the Wild Rose area, they heard another single gunshot. The whine of motorcycles rose again, very close now, but then there was silence.
They cut their engine and walked the bike to a hill overlooking the space Richard had found earlier. At its base, they found the bodies of two men lying on the ground. They were riddled with bullet wounds and wore the colours of the Ripper gang.
“Looks like they had a problem convincing Crack he was trespassing on their territory,” said Richard. Nearby, he spotted another body – one he recognized as Blackie – one of Crack’s men. They hiked to the crest of the hill, hid behind some rocks, and looked down.
Below them stood a crowd of men and several motorbikes. Richard recognized a few of the men from Crack’s compound. He scanned to his right and his heart nearly stopped. Danny! For a moment he studied his brother’s face, savouring the moment. He was so close – yet all he had fought for over the past weeks could still be destroyed in a fraction of a second and he'd be powerless to stop it.
It was clear that Danny, and another man he didn’t recognize, were being held captive by the bikers. He studied the group more closely. Aside from Danny and the other prisoner, he counted nine men and six bikes. At least half the men were clearly armed. Crack was talking to Danny’s fellow prisoner, a small thin, dark man dressed in filthy rags. After a few minutes of talk, Crack reached out and half-choked the man, then threw him to the ground.
Richard was startled by a sudden movement right beside them, and was shocked to find Lacy had moved in next to him without him hearing the slightest sound. He returned his attention to the group below. The little man with Danny was probably this ‘Swallow’ character – the one who had kidnapped him. When Crack tilted up the gas station sign, Richard read the title and saw the drawing of the flower.