Lea Barrett (L8TLEA@aol.com)

If you recognize the characters, they belong to Alliance. All others are my creation.

All errors are mine. Comments welcome and desired.

Listening calmly as the water rose shallowly against the shore, he drew back and cast his line into the river. A warm sun shown across his body. His jeans clung to his lower legs, wet from draping into the water. He could have worn waders but the water was cool and pleasant brushing against him. He reeled in the line, drew back and cast again. Fly fishing. This was something he hadn't done in too long.

Across the river, he watched a couple of brown squirrels chase each other up and around a large oak tree. Earlier he found bear tracks. He was truly in the heart of the outdoors. He breathed the sweet air and smiled. He cast again.

A slight breeze ruffled the ends of his brown hair. He was tempted to take off his Stetson but knew his face and neck would burn in the warm sun. He reeled the line in with no weight or motion to indicate a catch. But, he didn't care. He had supplies. He just liked the rhythm of each cast, the plunk as the fly hit the water, the zipping sound of his line reeling back in. There was chirping and buzzing and pattering all around him. It felt incredibly good not to hear car engines or beeping horns or people talking and yelling and abusing each other.

He glanced back at his small campsite. A sleeping bag, a backpack, one sleeping wolf and the remnants of a cooking fire. Everything where it should be. He drew back and cast again, sighing contentedly.

A few minutes turned to hours. He continued casting until his stomach growled and his shoulders ached. He decided to quit fishing for the day. He would eat a late lunch, take a good long walk along the river and read by the fire until sleep stole over him.

He reeled in the line and trekked back to camp. His wolf was not there, presumably off hunting or prowling. Taking off his hat, he wiped the perspiration from his forehead. He dug in his pack for a bottle of water, then sat contentedly for several minutes scanning around for the squirrels and the wolf. Neither appeared.

After finishing the water, he changed into dry jeans and dry boots. He put his hat back on and started on his walk, deciding to have dinner instead. The wolf did not concern him. He would return to camp because they were companions and had been for more years than either could count.

He had no idea that he was being watched. Not by wildlife or his stray wolf, but by two men who stayed carefully out of view. They were judging him. Clearly this man had outdoor experience. He was comfortable in the environment. His jeans, gray t-shirt and navy flannel shirt spoke of someone who understood the value of dressing in layers. His boots were well worn and well kept. He travelled light. This was a man unconcerned with modern gadgetry like fold out chairs, batteried lights and air mattresses. Both of them imagined he probably even carried a compass.

Ben Fraser walked two miles down the river. He stayed close to the edge, climbing over fallen trees and rocks. As he reached the first sign of civilization, grafitti painted over a large rock, "Mario loves Jane",he turned back. He didn'y cross to the other side because he did not want to get wet again as night was falling. He reached his camp just as a large, full moon crested. As expected, his wolf, Diefenbaker was waiting for dinner. Ben patted his head and opened a can of food for him. Then he dug in his pack for some vegetable stew. He had hoped to have fried fish with the stew but he wasn't really bothered. The next day, he would catch something.

He built a fire and warmed the stew. Sitting beneath the stars, eating his dinner, he grinned. He needed more long weekends like this. Chicago was no place for an outdoorsman.

He took a worn book from his pack. He must have read "Call of the Wild" a hundred times, but it never ceased to affect him. He read until his eyes refused to focus, then he took off his clothes so he wore only his red longjohns, unrolled his sleeping bag and climbed inside to sleep with Diefenbaker lying beside him.

Ben woke with the sun. He stared into the lightening sky and oriented himself. Just as he started to sit up, he heard footsteps across the ground. They were small, light and moving fast. They also sounded two legged. He looked towards the sound in time to see a small boy running with his head down. The boy was not watching his direction, just running blindly at the river. Ben jumped up. He sprinted in front of the child and caught him by the waist a couple of feet from the water's edge.

The boy started screaming and wiggling in his arms. Ben held him tight, afraid if he released him, the child would just shoot off again. He used his best commanding voice, ordering the boy to calm down. And slowly, he managed to penetrate his panic. The child relaxed until he was mostly limp in his arms.

"Oh, good, you found him." A man said as he walked out of the wooded area. He was in his thirties with blond hair, wearing jeans and a green sweatshirt. "Come on, Ethan, I told you not to run off like that." The child stiffened at the sound of the man's voice.

"This is your son?" Ben asked. The boy was deeply tanned with dark, curly hair.

"Yea, he gets excited out here and runs off sometimes." Ben tried to put the boy down but he held tight against him.

"He nearly ran headlong into the river."

"Yea, that's him. Don't know what he's thinking most of the time. Sorry to interrupt your fishing."

"That's not my dad." Ethan whispered into Ben's ear.

Ben was already suspecting something. The boy looked nothing like his father but that was fragile logic. The boy was clearly frightened by the man but he was probably expecting to be punished for running off. How did the man know that Ben was fishing? His gear was not in sight. Fraser held out his hand awkwardly around the child.

"Ben Fraser." He said.

"Daniel Gates and that's my son, Ethan."

"Ethan has said you are not his father." The boy caught his breath.

"Oh, son, I told you not to say stuff like that, people'll believe you. You don't know how much trouble something like that can cause."

"He isn't." Ethan repeated, slightly louder.

"He's always making stuff up. Again, I'm sorry to bother you." Gates tried to take the boy out of Ben's arms. The boy clung tighter. Diefenbaker growled.

"I don't suppose you have any identification." Ben said. "I certainly don't want to jump to the wrong conclusion, but I'd like to be certain."

"Look, mister, that's my son. He tells stories like all boys but he's my son. Now, my ID is a few miles away at our cabin and I have no intentions of going all the way back there just to prove my kid is my kid."

"Ethan ran a few miles to reach here?" Ben asked skeptically.

"No, he ran about a quarter mile. My brother and I are camped in a clearing just north of here. The rest of the family is waiting at the cabin."

"Ah." Ben said. Ethan was shaking his head against his shoulder. "I appreciate your frustration, Mr. Gates. So, how about if the three of us go together. The morning is a good time for a brisk walk and then there'll be no question. Certainly, if there were a stranger and this were your son, you'd want someone to take the time to check." Gates thought about this. He shoved his hands in his pockets dejectedly and agreed.

Ben set Ethan on the ground. The boy looked around six or eight years old. He was dressed in brown jeans and a navy t-shirt. Despite the chill in the morning air, he was not wearing a jacket. His hair was messy and oily as if it had not been washed or combed yet. On the surface, none of this seemed particularly unusual. People tended to ease up on personal hygiene when spending time in nature. And if the boy ran off as his father explained, then a jacket could easily have been forgotten.

"If you'll give me a few moments, I'll dress. Or if you're not in a hurry, I could warm some water for coffee before we get started."

"Thanks anyway, but we need to get back. My brother's waiting for us."

"Fine, I'll just change then."

Ethan followed Ben back to the campsite. Gates followed the two of them. Ben put on his dry jeans from the day before over his long johns. He dug an ivory colored thermal shirt from his pack and covered that with a green flannel button down. He put on his boots and stood up. Ethan never moved more than a couple of feet away from him. He stayed as far from his father as he could manage. He didn't speak or look at Ben directly and only made sideways glances at his father. Ben thought that even if the boy was lying about his parentage, there was something wrong about this.

"That should do it." Ben said brightly. Diefenbaker woofed softly in agreement.

The wolf walked beside Ethan. Ethan walked beside Ben. Daniel Gates walked ahead of them. Ben tried to make small talk with him about the weather, the foliage and the animals he'd seen but the man was not interested. He barely responded.

With Ethan along, Ben slowed his pace so the half-mile walk took nearly half an hour to complete. Gates pointed out the clearing. There were no sleeping bags or campfire or gear of any kind. Another man stood up from the rock he had been occupying. He held a shotgun. Another weapon leaned against a thick pine tree.

"He's not my dad." Ethan said backing up a couple paces.

"Who is he then?" Ben asked, kneeling down on one knee in front of him.

"He took me. I was sleeping in her room and he took me and Becca. Just like Mom said, he's a stranger and he took me." Ben stood up, shielding the boy behind him. Gates turned around. He had watched the conversation silently but the look on his face had changed. He was no longer annoyed. Rage lit up his eyes while it creased the lines around his mouth.

"You are not his father." Ben stated. Diefenbaker stood at attention beside him.

"You're right."

"You kidnapped him."

"That's right." The other man said walking up to them. He looked like a younger version of the first.

"And you have his sister?" Ben asked.

"In the cabin." Gates answered.

"I will have to ask you to release both of them into my custody. And turn yourselves in to the police."

"You don't really think we're going to do that." The second man said.

"No." Ben answered.

"I have another idea," Gates said, "Why don't you go back to your camp, pack up your stuff and go home. Forget all about us. You could do that."

"We can't let 'im go, Daniel." The second man said, tossing him the second shotgun. Gates lowered it to Ben's chest.

"Sure, we can. This doesn't concern him. You were a good samaritan but it's not worth dying for, is it? We're not gonna hurt the boy or his sister."

"I'm afraid I can't do that." Ben said. Ethan had continued backing up with Diefenbaker by his side. He was preparing to bolt.

Ben was thinking. He may be able to defeat the two of them in a fight though the odds were against it, especially with the guns in their favor. He did not dare tell Ethan to run away. This was the wilderness. If either man chased him, they would catch him. If they did not chase him, Ethan would likely become lost. A small boy lost in the woods was a handy meal for the wild life roaming the woods. And if an animal did not devour him, the elements certainly would. Still, if Diefenbaker ran interference and stayed with him, the wolf would guide him to civilization. He was about to give the order when a third man showed up on his blind side. This one looked like an even younger version than the first two. He also held a shotgun. He approached slowly, almost casually.

"Why don't we all go to the cabin and talk this over." The third one said.

Ben put his hands up in surrender. Diefenbaker growled. He bared his teeth. Ben told him to stop. They would certainly shoot him. The second man leveled his gun at the wolf anyway. Ben stepped between him and Diefenbaker hoping they would be less willing to shoot a man. He ordered the wolf to return to camp. Dief hesitated with a whine. Ben repeated his order. The wolf barked at him, ran a few steps away and hesitated again. Ben yelled at him a third time and he ran away. The second man fired a shot in the wolf's direction, but clearly missed. Ben sighed, then returned to stand in front of Ethan glaring at the shooter.

The boy glued himself to Fraser. Ben took his hand firmly as they were herded back on the path. He asked questions as they walked in a north east direction but the three men were not talking. Ethan was different. He chattered incessantly.

"He climbed the wall outside like Spiderman." He said indicating Daniel Gates. "I saw him in the window and I figured I was dreaming but then that mean one came in too." This time pointing out the second man. "His name's Roy. He's mean." Ben nodded. "And they grabbed me and put somethin' over my face an' I couldn't breathe good. And then I kinduh fell asleep. I woke up an' I didn't know where I was but Becca was cryin' real loud and the mean one kept yellin' to make her be quiet. She wasn't down there with me and I got up to look around. It was scary cuz I couldn't really see good an' there was this big tube thing makin' noise an' it was scary. But, Chris, his name is Chris, came an' got me. He told me to make her stop cyrin' and then he left us alone in this big bedroom with a window so I climbed out the window and I ran as fast as I could. Like the devils from heck were chasin' me. That's what Daddy says when I run. They couldn't find me cuz I was hidin' an' I waited as long as I could to run again but the mean one heard me and then they were running after me and then you caught me and you gave me back to 'em." The boy stopped to look at the man holding his hand. Ben looked back at him. "That wasn't a very good idea." The boy said.

"No, it wasn't." Ben agreed.

Ethan shrugged then he started talking again. He probably would have talked until they reached the cabin but the mean one, Roy, told him to shut up.

The cabin was set back a couple of miles from any trails or paths. Ben imagined they must have chosen it for its natural seclusion. A relatively small enclosure with no windows adorning the front, the cabin had a decidedly closed in feel to it. They used the pine trees along the property to build it. The front porch ran the length of the building with no rails or panels to enclose it.

Once inside, Gates directed them to sit down. They settled on a brown plaid couch. Somewhere in the cabin, they could hear a baby crying. From the sound of it, it was a small baby.

"You shouldn't let 'er cry. Mama never lets her cry very long."

"Shut up." Roy told Ethan.

"That's your sister?" Ben asked the boy. He nodded.

"What is going on here?" Ben asked, worried about the baby's crying.

"This boy is Ethan Brand. His daddy has a debt to pay. My brothers and I are makin' sure he pays it."

"You know anything about babies?" The youngest brother, Chris, asked Ben.

"Yes. Some."

"Good, let him take care of her. I can't stand that cryin' anymore."

"We can take care of her for two days, Chris. We don't need help." Roy said.

"But, why should we? Let him change her and feed her and put her to sleep. We didn't count on him but it'd be a lot less work for us." Daniel Gates laughed.

"Ya know, Roy, he's got a point." Roy frowned. Then he looked at his youngest brother's pleading gaze. He shrugged and nodded.

Chris Gates looked like a smaller version of this oldest brother. He had the blond hair and the blue eyes but he was two inches shorter and twenty pounds lighter. Roy Gates stood about the same height as Daniel but he was all muscle. His hands were thick and ruddy. His eyes were green and set closer together than his brothers.

"I'll be happy to care for the children." Ben agreed, anxious to see the screaming infant. He wanted to learn more about their reasons for the abduction. Something in the way Gates called it a "debt to pay" made Fraser nervous. But, he needed to see the baby. From the crying he could not tell if she was wet or hungry or hurt in some way.

Roy Gates kept his shotgun trained neatly on Ben's back as the brothers took him to a bedroom in the rear of the cabin. Inside a small infant lay in the middle of a double bed. She was dressed in a pink floral creeper. She looked about 13 inches long and weighed under 20 pounds. Her face was scrunched tight. Her tiny hands were squeezed into tight fists while she wailed. Ben lifted her off the bed quickly drawing her against his chest. He cooed at her automatically. Her skin was cold. She shivered in his hands. He continued holding her, warming her with his hands and fighting the rage building inside him. She was screaming because she was freezing.

"She's cold." He said more calmly than he thought he was capable of being. "I need a blanket and warmer clothes if she has any. Does the cabin have heat or do you have a portable heater?"

"No clothes. We got diapers and some baby food though." Chris Gates said.

"She's too small for baby food. She needs formula. Can you find a small blanket? I want to wrap her up but I don't want to smother her."

Roy Gates pulled the comforter off the bed. He pulled a hunting knife from a sheath attached to the back of his belt and shredded the blanket into quarters. Ethan picked up one section timidly and handed it to Ben. He asked him to lay it on the bed. He placed the infant on the blanket and wrapped her snugly inside.

"When did she eat last?"

"At home." Ethan said.

"And when were you home."

"Thursday. I watched Friends and I played Demon Death, that's a video game, and then I went to bed."

Today was Saturday morning. The baby had not eaten for a full day and possibly two nights. It was a wonder she was strong enough to cry so much.

"We tried to feed her but she wouldn't eat anything. She drank juice and milk all right though." Chris said.

"In the absence of her mother, she needs actual baby formula. No iron because she may be allergic. She can't live on juice and whole milk. They don't contain enough of the vitamins and minerals she needs." Daniel appeared in the doorway.

"Go to the store, Chris." Daniel ordered. "Don't go to Ruth's, everybody there'll wonder what you need it for. Go to the next town." The youngest brother left the room followed by the oldest. Ben had not seen a vehicle near the cabin so he guessed they must have one stashed near the mouth of the trail. Daniel returned a moment later and set a small portable heater on the dresser. He plugged it in.

Roy eyed Fraser with contempt. He did not say anything but Ben noticed and chose to ignore it for now.

"How long will he be?" Ben inquired.

"An hour and a half, maybe two hours." Daniel answered.

"She won't stop crying until she's fed. Do you have any juice left? Perhaps if her stomach feels full, she'll sleep for awhile. And I'll need to change her. The diaper is saturated." Ethan opened the closet door and pulled a diaper from a plastic bag. He handed it to Ben.

"Look, buddy, you're takin' care of that baby cause we want you to. You're not in charge here." Roy said. Ben turned deliberately to face him.

"You have the gun. You are in charge. No one is questioning your authority. I am only doing what you asked of me." He answered carefully. He did not want a confrontation with the children at risk.

Ten minutes later, Ben sat on the bed with Becca sucking apple juice contentedly. Her clothing was wet so she wore only a diaper but was wrapped warmly in the blanket. She cooed and waved her hands while she stared up at him. He smiled at her. The heater was small but it was enough to warm the room despite the draft coming in from the window. She was warm and dry. He wanted the formula but for now she was not in danger. Ethan sat beside him. He played with her foot absently but his mind was on Roy Gates. The man had pulled a chair into the room. He sat silently with the shotgun over his lap. Daniel was no longer in the room. After the trauma of being cold and wet, Becca settled quickly, she continued sucking as sleep came over her. Ben handed the bottle to Ethan who carried it to the wood dresser that stood beneath a large pane window. The boy stared outside sadly for a moment before he returned to sit beside Fraser. The baby stirred a bit making small whimpering noises before drifting back to sleep. Ben wondered if anxiety touched her at such a young age.

"How old is your sister?" He asked.

"Mama said she's less than a month so I can't take her outside."

"And how old are you?"

"Seven, really six but my birthday is next week."

"And are you having a party?"

"I dunno." The sadness in his voice was disheartening. Ben stood up and placed Becca in the center of the bed. He covered her with the section of comforter, then placed pillows on either side of her. He didn't think an infant this young could roll over and possibly roll to the floor but he did not want to take any chances.

"Now, that she is settled, perhaps we should play a game." The boy brightened at the thought, then looked away sadly.

"They said I should be quiet in here."

"Then we'll play quietly."

"Forget it. Just sit there and be quiet." Roy growled.

"Surely a small game won't hurt anything. And it will keep him occupied."

"I said no." Roy repeated.

"All right then, how about a story instead. I grew up in the Territories in Canada and learned many stories there. Many of them concerning the Inuit."

"What's that?"

"Well, you probably know them as Eskimos but they prefer to be called Inuit."

"You know real Eskimos?" Ethan asked, with wonder in his voice.

Ben chose a particularly long fable to repeat. He talked using several voices for the characters and acted out various moments making the boy laugh. He kept one eye on Roy hoping not to be interrupted until the end. With acting out the story and using dramatic effect, the story took nearly half an hour to relate and when he was done, Ethan fell over on the bed laughing. Ben laughed with him.

"Do you know another one?"

"No, he doesn't know anything. Shouldn't you be taking a nap?" Roy snapped.

"I'm seven." Ethan said defensively.

"Yea, tough. Lay down anyway. I don't wanna hear any more from you."

"You're mean."

"You wanna go back in the cellar? That's where you're headin'." Ethan backed up on the bed shaking his head no. He turned around and curled up on one of the pillows beside his sister. Ben watched him with a knot in his stomach.

"What's in the cellar?" Ben asked quietly as he leaned over the child to hear him.

"Nothin'. It's dark."

"But, you don't like it there."

"It's scary. It's dark and there's webs and that's where that big tube thing is." Ben considered his description.

"Yes, it sounds frightening." Ben sat close to him, rubbing his back. He could only offer himself as comfort for now. The boy snuggled close to him. In time he fell asleep.

Roy waited until the child slept before he nudged Ben with the gun barrel. He indicated for him to go with him. Ben followed instructions. If he could get the gun away from the children, he might be able work out a plan for freeing them. Roy shoved him forward by jamming him in the back hard enough to cause him to stumble. Daniel waited in the center of the room. Ben regained his balance and moved to one side so both brothers remained in his view.

"You have a problem, Mr. Fraser." Daniel began, "You have walked in on something that has nothing to do with you and now we're stuck with an extra person."

"You could give up."

"You do have an interesting sense of humor." Ben nodded weakly. "The problem is what to do with you. For someone who's just been kidnapped, you are surprisingly calm. You seem to handle yourself as if you do this every day. And I have to be honest, that worries me. It makes me think you have done this before. And that means you're probably a cop. I'm right, aren't I?" Ben was not a good liar. He didn't want them to feel threatened by him so he didn't want to tell the truth. But, his silence answered the question.

"Oh, man!" Roy exclaimed turning around in exasperation. "A cop, Daniel. How can he be a cop of all things?"

"Where do you work out of?" Daniel asked.

"The Canadian Consulate." Both men were stopped by that answer.

"Canadian?" Daniel said.

"Yea, he said somethin' about that to the kid." Roy said.

"Constable Benton Fraser of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police." Ben said. "I am currently assigned to the Canadian Consulate in Chicago." Both brothers shook their heads in the same way. Ben imagined their father shook his head that way as well.

"And you are here..."

"Fishing." Ben completed for him.

"No other reason?"

"None."

"Dumb, stupid luck." Roy said, "That stupid kid brought us a cop. I told you we should've left him there. He couldn't have seen us in the dark. We should've just taken the baby."

"No," Daniel argued. "He was sleeping in the same room and he woke up. We agreed if Brand was really gonna pay, then we should take both of 'em." Daniel turned back to Fraser. "Who'll be looking for you?"

"Any number of people." He said simply, not adding that no one would look before Sunday night.

"Well, they won't be looking here right away. Chris and I obliterated the tracks from your campsite to here. They shouldn't come looking this way for awhile. My guess is you're on a weekend camping trip. Nobody's gonna miss you until Monday."

"I didn't understand your references before." Ben said, changing the subject, "What is it that you want their father to do?"

"Nothing." Daniel answered, "he's never gonna see his kids again, that's how he's paying."

"You're planning to murder..."

"No," Daniel interrupted, "they'll be perfectly unharmed. They're just never going home again. Lots of frustrated parents who aren't too picky about where their kids come from."

"You're selling them?" Ben said, horrified.

"The girl is going to live with a nice American family." Daniel answered. Roy finished for him in a taunting voice, "and the boy is going to live in Europe where they need nice young boys." Ben felt his body go cold.

"You can't do that."

"It's already arranged. Now you can go back in there and tell the boy but you'll just scare him. So, why don't we just keep this between ourselves." Ben worked past the absolute dread he felt at the thought of the future for those children. He tried to consider his own.

"And your plans regarding me?"

"You know the answer to that." Daniel said seriously. "But, here's the important part, you can go easy or you can go hard. We have a couple days before we turn over the kids. We can make it very hard on you if we want to. So, just go back in there, look after the children and know you're making their last few days together as pleasant as possible."

Gates spoke the truth. These men had no choice but to kill him. They were going to keep him alive as long as he was useful. Ben swallowed back the fear building in his stomach. The plans they had for the children must not happen, he thought.

Without really thinking which was often the case with him, Ben rushed Roy. Neither man expected it so Roy went down clinging to his shotgun. Ben brought his knee up, crushing the man's groin. Roy yelled out, loosening his grip. Ben had the shotgun in his hands when Daniel tackled him. His brother was curled up moaning. Daniel and Ben rolled into an end stand sending a lamp crashing to the floor. Ben was on top with his back to Daniel so he tried to elbow him into letting go of his arms. Instead he felt a hard knee to his lower back. He wrested himself free and managed to turn in time to get punched. The blow was ill timed and only caught part of his chin. But, it was enough to make him drop the gun. Ben got off a better swing taking the man hard in the mouth. Daniel went down. Ben made a dash for the shotgun. He didn't see Roy put out his leg. He tripped then skidded on the hard wood floor. There was no time to regain his balance. Roy kicked him just under his rib cage. Then he kicked him again. Ben rolled away but the man followed him. A series of hard kicks sent him curling into a ball to protect himself. Daniel stopped the beating by shoving his brother away. Through the haze settling over his brain, Ben could hear them yelling at each other though the words were garbled. Until finally, he realized they were talking to him, ordering him to stand up. He worked to do what they wanted but it was difficult. He managed to get his legs beneath him, then slowly using the wall for support he stood. He stomach and ribs argued loudly against straightening up but he ignored them.

"You had to do one thing." Daniel said, disgustedly. He shoved him back towards the bedroom. Roy handed his brother the shotgun.

Instead of going to the bedroom, Daniel maneuvered him to the bathroom. He told him to clean up and shut the door between them. He heard the lock turn and wondered why someone would put an outside lock on a bathroom door. Ben looked in the mirror. His face was not bad. A small bruise that would get darker crested his chin. Since he did not shave that morning, stubble filled his beard lines. He washed his face with cold water. Carefully lifting off his shirts and opening the longjohns, he examined his chest. The bruises were darker and purple. He imagined they would be really ugly in a few hours.

He could hear water running in another room. Apparently, the brothers were cleaning up as well. He used the facilities, then sat down on the edge of the tub. Having a constant guard in the bedroom limited him. He could not risk rushing an armed man with two children in the room. He needed to get himself and the children separated from the guard. He did not want to frighten Ethan but if he could manage to get all three of them to the cellar, he might be able to work out an escape. There was no way to question Ethan regarding the contents or layout of the cellar. There was no way to find out in advance if there were windows or another door. But, there might be.

When he heard the water stop, he stood up and re-dressed. As he put on his flannel shirt, the door opened. Roy stood on the other side. From the bedroom, Becca started to wail. None too gently, Roy shoved him into the room.

Ethan was rubbing his eyes with one hand and patting his sister's stomach with the other. Ben tussled his hair gently with a smile, then lifted the infant. He asked him to get a diaper from the closet. Ethan retrieved it and handed it to him. Ben changed her quickly and wrapped her in the blanket. He held her close, rocking and talking to her, but she continued to scream. Ethan didn't like listening to her. He crouched on the other side of the room watching. His eyes were wide. Ben tried to reassure him but he knew that until the baby was fed, she would continue to cry.

And while he hated to admit it, he was hungry too. As far as he knew, Ethan hadn't eaten either.

Chris Gates appeared behind his brother holding a bottle. He said he followed the directions on the container. Roy let him in. Becca's crying was becoming a strain on all of them. Ben took the bottle and checked the temperature before placing the nipple in her mouth. For a few moments, she continued to scream until she finally registered the food. She drank greedily and Ben sighed. He did not know how long a baby could survive without real nourishment but he was afraid Becca had gone too long. He gave her two ounces, then listened to her wail while he burped her. Then he replaced the bottle in her mouth for two more ounces. They continued in this fashion until eight ounces later, she appeared to be full and happy.

"Ethan needs to eat as well." Ben said as he laid the baby back on the bed. He rubbed her tummy playfully. Roy just scowled.

Night filled the bedroom window as Ben fed Becca again. She woke fussy and he had a difficult time settling her. He played with her as best he could. He liked the way her hand wrapped around his finger. He liked the way she turned red when she was angry. This child had spirit.

Ethan rarely left his side. He wandered to the window occasionally but he mostly remained close and talking. The boy seemed to have endless breath.

The brothers traded places guarding their prisoners. When Roy left the room, they had more freedom. Ben told stories or taught Ethan games they could play or listened to the boy's stories. When Chris was the guard, Ben even sang and taught him a few songs to sing together. This ended abruptly when Roy started yelling from another room so they contented themselves with quieter activities.

Ben still had not figured out a way to get all three of them to the cellar. He imagined if they annoyed Roy enough, he might find himself locked away or they might take Ethan only. Given the boy's fear, Ben wanted to avoid that. And even if he could get both of them downstairs, what about Becca? He couldn't leave her behind.

He could not imagine how three grown men could have no concept on the care of a baby. And if they intended to kidnap an infant, certainly someone must have realized they would need to care for her. The youngest brother seemed to have the most concern for Becca though clearly he had no more knowledge than his older siblings. Daniel and Roy seemed content to let her suffer.

As Ben thought this through, he realized the only thing keeping him alive was Becca's crying. Her noise made all three brothers anxious. As long as he kept her quiet, he was useful.

Roy had argued against feeding Ethan. He decided if the boy didn't eat, he would probably be less noisy. And he didn't want to spend money on Nathan Brand's son. Daniel disagreed. He wanted Ethan in good health and appearance (presumably, for his trip to Europe). Chris supported Daniel. He thought the boy should be kept as healthy as possible. After a lengthy discussion on the topic, they agreed on one meal a day for Ethan. This way they could keep their expenses down and still keep the boy in reasonable health. Grudgingly, they agreed they should feed the Mountie too.

As the room grew increasingly darker, Chris turned on the ceramic lamp sitting on the dresser. Becca was awake and cooing on Ben's lap. Ethan sat cross-legged on the floor listening to an endless tale about wolves and caribou. Daniel dropped a fast food bag on Chris's lap. Chris handed the bag to Ethan. Inside he found four individual hamburgers. Ben told him to eat while he rocked Becca to sleep. The boy ate almost as greedily as his sister. While he hadn't complained about hunger, Ben knew he hadn't eaten in some time and must be starving. After downing two of the burgers, he eyed the last two longingly.

"Save me one." Ben said over his shoulder while he laid Becca on her tummy. The boy hesitated for a moment, then quickly unwrapped and devoured the third burger.

"He'll need water." Ben said to Chris. Chris yelled to Daniel and asked him to bring in some water. The oldest brother returned with a plastic pitcher and two glasses. He advised them to make it last.

Ben ate the last hamburger though he wished he could save it for Ethan. He had to remind himself that food would keep him alert mentally and physically. He needed to be at his best for the sake of the children. He looked at Chris Gates. He was probably in his early twenties, yet he had the look of someone older. Someone who had seen too much too soon.

Later in the evening when Ethan had gone to sleep and Ben was sitting on the bed facing Daniel Gates, he decided to see if some of his questions might get answers.

"Mr. Brand must have done something truly terrible to cause you to want to harm his children."

"We're not gonna hurt his children, just him." Daniel said.

"Did he hurt you or your family in some way?"

"You could say that."

"I'd really like to understand what could drive you to this. These children are innocent. Even if you set them free tomorrow, the boy will likely have nightmares for the rest of his life. You are hurting them even if it's not intentional."

"I don't care." Daniel said, standing up, "I don't care if he ends up drooling in a mental ward for the rest of his life. He doesn't mean anything to me. His parents are my concern."

"But, why?"

"It doesn't concern you."

"You stole a month old infant with absolutely no idea of how to care for her. You take a boy that you don't even know if you're planning to feed. It all sounds very last minute and not well considered. Did you wake up on Thursday morning and decide that you needed to torture their parents? Did you drive by their house and suddenly decide that this was the only way to make them pay? Were you kidnappers a few days ago? Criminals? What could have possibly brought you to this time and place?"

"I told you once, this does not concern you."

"You're planning to kill me in a couple of days, I would have to say all of it concerns me." Daniel stood up. He took a couple of steps forward.

"Well, you'd be wrong. I gave you every chance to walk away before, but you wouldn't. The rest of this is family business. It's got nothin' to do with you."

"Understood." Ben responded. Daniel hesitated a few moments. His eyes narrowed with rage. Then he shook his head and returned to the chair. Ben exhaled silently.

Ray Vecchio, a slender Italian police detective with loud clothes and louder manners jumped when his boss yelled to him from his office. Here it was, Sunday morning, he was working on his own time to finish paperwork and the lieutenant was still bellowing at him. A while earlier when the FBI arrived, Ray was hoping their visit had nothing to do with him. He set down the file he had been working on and entered his boss's office. One of the agents closed the door behind him.

The two agents were young. One was a man. He stood taller than Ray, maybe six foot three or four. He was slender with brown hair and green eyes. The second agent was a woman. She was five foot six, thin, with long brown hair she wore loose over her shoulders. Both wore navy suits though she wore a burgundy colored blouse compared to his white button down shirt. Lieutenant Welsh introduced them as Agents Spencer and Weckstein. Spencer was the man. Ray shook hands with them. As a rule, he did not like federal agents. They always seemed to show up for the sole purpose of interfering with his cases.

"Sit down, Detective, these agents have some news you may find disturbing." Ray did not like the sound of that. He sat down. Agent Spencer sat in the chair beside him. Agent Weckstein leaned on the edge of Welsh's desk. She spoke first.

"We have reason to believe that a friend of yours may be in some kind of trouble though we have yet to determine the nature of the problem."

"What friend?"

"Constable Benton Fraser of the RCMP. You know him, correct?"

"He's fishing." Ray said. "He'll be back tonight. He has to be at the Consulate on tomorrow morning."

"Well, we believe we've had a siting on his dog, or who we believe is his dog. But the Constable appears to be missing."

"You found Dief?" Ray shook his head, this was not making sense to him, "Maybe you better start from the beginning." Agent Spencer intervened.

"Yesterday morning, a dog approached a Ranger's station, he was barking and appeared to be in a panic. The Ranger initially believed the dog was either injured or being chased by something larger. He approached slowly and the dog barked at him and ran a few feet away. Then he came back and repeated this action. The Ranger described it as a 'Lassie thing'. Evidently, he believed the dog wanted to be followed. To the Ranger's credit, he did follow the dog for several miles where he found an abandoned campsite. He looked around for the owner but when no one came back or answered his calls, he searched the belongings. He found Constable Fraser's ID in his backpack. The dog was very restless but now the Ranger was concerned for your friend's safety. He looked around the general area but decided he had better arrange for some help before continuing. Apparently the dog disagreed because he refused to accompany the Ranger back to the station."

"Dief would've lead him right to him if he just...Look, couldn't he just be hiking downstream or upstream or something like that. Why is the FBI involved?"

"We're not involved because of your friend," Weckstein said. "We're working on a kidnapping that has led to the same general area of Constable Fraser's disappearance."

"Oh, man, that is not good." Ray said. He knew Fraser. The man had a knack for finding trouble. "Let's get up there. Dief will come to me and I can read him."

"You understand the dog's signals?" Spencer asked.

"He's half wolf and I've had a lot of experience with him. You can tell me about the kidnapping on the way."

"We weren't actually looking for any assistance other than information, Detective Vecchio." Weckstein said.

"Well, look, now you have information and a whole cop to add to the search. I'm a bargain. Has anyone notified the Consulate?"

"Yes, apparently the person in charge, an Inspector Thatcher is out of town. We spoke with another Constable but he did not seem particularly adept at taking information."

"That'd be Turnbull. That's all right. Benny can tell her all about it when he gets back." He hesitated at the lieutenant's door. "Are you two coming or not?" He asked. The two agents followed him out.

"Excuse me, Detective." Welsh yelled from his office. Ray stuck his head back in. "Did you have something you'd like to say to me?"

"Permission to go?" Ray asked hopefully.

"Granted, Detective." Ray mock saluted and disappeared.

Ben remained awake through the night. Becca woke at three hour intervals. Chris had prepared bottles in advance so Daniel warmed them as needed. Ben would feed her, change her and rock her to sleep. Ethan also woke a couple of times when his sister cried. He would look around the room with a lost expression, then curl up tight and go back to sleep.

When morning finally came with the sun, Daniel switched jobs with Roy.

Ben stood and stretched. His back, stomach and chest throbbed annoyingly. He looked out the window to a rapidly graying sky. Rain would come before noon. He thought about Diefenbaker and hoped the wolf had found shelter. Becca woke with her usual appetite. Having food caused more than the usual mess to her diaper and Ethan was sent to the bathroom in search of a damp washcloth. The boy returned with the item. Having been cooped up for some time, he was restless. He skipped into the room, humming one of the tunes the Mountie taught him and he tripped over Roy's legs. He fell on his knees, startled. Roy looked at him on the floor and laughed. Ben was fussing with the baby and did not see the incident. He heard the fall and turned in time to see Ethan jump to his feet. The boy was furious.

"Don't laugh at me!" He yelled and swung a small fist. The blow landed against Roy's thigh. The man laughed harder and pushed Ethan away. Ethan screamed his frustration as he ran forward, barrelling into him with all his strength. Roy had been sitting with the chair on two legs. The sudden rush of Ethan sent the chair toppling over. Roy scrambled to his feet, his hands clenched into fists, his face turning purple with rage. Daniel and Chris had run into the hall to see about the noise.

Ethan jumped back, surprised and frightened by what happened. He lost his temper but he never expected to knock the mean man to the floor.

"I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to." The boy cried, backing away.

Ben set Becca on the bed. He watched Roy's hand go up, clearly preparing to strike the boy. Ethan covered his head. Ben put himself between the two in a quick stride. He caught Roy's arm. Roy shoved him back.

"That boy's gonna be punished!" He yelled.

"No." Ben said, standing his ground. Roy threw a punch that Fraser leaned away from easily. The man tried again and Fraser leaned in the other direction. Roy screamed at him.

"Mama says keep all legs on the floor." Ethan yelled, trying to make them understand.

Daniel and Chris had watched the confrontation curiously. Both were wondering how things would turn out but as Roy became more unstable, they decided to intervene. Chris lifted the chair out of the doorway. Just as Roy attempted another punch at Ben, Daniel spun him around. Chris had retrieved the shotgun and was pointing it at Fraser.

"Settle down, Roy." Daniel said.

"I want that boy punished for knockin' me down! And I want that cop dead!"

"How about a compromise?"

"What?" Roy asked not understanding his brother through his rage.

"How about a compromise?"

"What kind of compromise?"

"I need the boy unharmed or he's worth nothing, right?"

"Yea." He agreed hesitantly.

"How about if I let you pummel the cop. You can get all that frustration out and I get to keep the boy in good health."

Roy considered this while Ben glanced between the brothers. This was so ludicrous he needed to be certain they were serious. But, they were. They thought this was a good solution to their problem. He glanced back at Ethan who had scrambled on to the bed. He was leaning against the headboard with his legs drawn up to his chest. He had one hand wrapped around his knees and the other holding on to Becca's tiny foot. Ben shook his head, hating the trauma being inflicted on the child.

"What'll it be, cop? I can throw the boy down the cellar steps or you and I can have a go? What d'ya wanna do?"

"We'll go outside." Ben said, his heart pounding hard in his chest. "He doesn't need to see this."

Daniel and Roy left Chris to watch Ethan and the baby. The three men walked outside.

"There's something you should understand, Constable." Daniel said, "My brother is extremely volatile. When he gets excited, there's nothing to do but let him burn it off. If I didn't do something in there, he would've torn you apart to get to the boy. And I would've had one less boy to sell. I mean, you know there's more to this than money, but, money's a big part."

"You are making explanations where none are necessary. I know a psychopath when I see one. Or two."

With that, Roy rushed Ben from behind taking him down at the waist. They grappled for awhile, rolling back and forth across the dirt. Each throwing punches but neither landing anything solid against the other. Finally, Ben broke free and rolled to his feet. Roy jumped up as well. They circled each other. Ben carried the classic boxing stance. Roy was more unformed. He stepped forward with a good swing but Ben pushed his hand away. He tried again and Ben pushed him away, then followed up with a right hook that snapped his opponent's head back. Roy shook it off, the rage in him climbing. He came forward with more consideration. He threw a left that Ben blocked, then a quick right catching the Mountie just barely on the cheek. Ben danced forward and landed a solid right hook to the man's chin. Roy slipped on the dirt and went down on one knee. Ben took the opportunity to swing again and knocked Roy on his back with a well placed jab. Ben was feeling pretty good though he knew he shouldn't revel in the other man's defeat. Then a hard blow took him from behind. As he was falling, he twisted around to see Daniel holding the shotgun like a bat. He scrambled backward searching for something to defend himself with. He threw dirt up but the sky took that moment to let go with all its fury and washed the flurry of dust to the ground. Daniel stepped forward and brought the bat down as Ben turned catching the blow in the hip. He cried out, surprised by the sudden pain and then numbness that coarsed down his leg. Roy lifted him, pinning his arms back while Daniel jabbed the gun into his stomach repeatedly. As he began to lose consciousness, Roy dropped him complaining that he was too heavy. Lying on the ground with the rain drenching him, he looked up to see the butt of the gun above him once more. He put up his arm to protect himself, screaming when the metal met the bone with a horrible crunch. He curled up, cradling his arm, wishing the darkness would take him. He could feel it so close. He cried out again when they lifted him, dragging him back into the house.

He moaned behind clenched teeth when they dropped him on the bedroom floor. This time they did leave them alone in the locked room.

Riding in a helicopter with the federal agents, Ray was told the details of the kidnapping. Apparently, one or two people crept into the upstairs window of the nursery in the house of Nathan Brand. They used the trellis to climb up and down. They took Ethan who had fallen asleep on the floor of the nursery as he had often done since the infant's arrival. They also snatched the infant, a female named Rebecca. They left a note behind but no demands. The note read, "Debt Paid". The parents were frantic, of course. They were going over everything and everyone they could think of that might take their children. The list was longer than it should have been due to Brand's previous position as a "headhunter" meaning he downsized large corporations. He had made a lot of enemies although he ceased that particular career nearly ten years earlier.

In following leads, the agents discovered a newspaper story regarding one of the men Brand had fired. The man's name was Richard Gates. He was a forty-two year old executive in a major retail chain. The man was earning over a hundred grand a year in a position that barely required attention. However, given Gates twenty-year tenure with the company, Brand was hesitant to fire him. In the end, though, the company decided that they could save his salary and Nathan Brand gave him the bad news. By all accounts, Gates was calm when he left the building. He went to his million dollar home where he lived with his wife and three young sons. He called all of them into the den. He had the boys line up with their hands behind their backs in a military fashion. Then he took a gun from his desk, shot his wife before she could realize what was happening and then shot himself in full view of his children.

The boys were not discovered until the following day when a friend came over to visit. All three were sitting in the livingroom with the television on. The friend described them as frozen statues staring at the screen. Eventually, they were put in the foster care system. They remained together and received counseling but all three spent their teenage years in trouble with the police. The middle son spent time in a juvenile detention facility. The oldest spent two years in prison for armed robbery.

They were a good lead to follow so the agents flew into the area to question them. The brothers were living together in an apartment in Chicago. They found the apartment abandoned. Then they started looking for other places and discovered the brothers had used their trust fund money to purchase property. The problem was, no one seemed to have an address on the property. All they had was a general area to look in. At this point, they were still looking.

Ray and the agents arrived at a small motel where the agents had set up a base. Inside were several other federal agents and some local police. Ray was surprised as he stood in the doorway watching the activity when a woman touched his arm. She was attractive with dark hair and fashionable glasses. She wore a denim dress and white sneakers. She looked at him closely and Ray knew immediately that this was the mother. Her eyes were bloodshot and rimmed in red. Her skin was pale.

"Please, is there any news?" She asked softly.

"No, mam, I'm sorry."

"My husband is still in the car. He didn't want to face anyone just yet. He's so afraid this is his fault."

"I'm sorry, mam, would you like to come in and sit down?" Ray was surprised by her honesty. She seemed to want to talk and he guessed that she chose him because he was standing away from the others.

"No, I just, I just need to explain something because I'm afraid if I don't, then you won't understand how important my children are."

"I assure you, we know..."

"Please, just let me tell you this."

"Of course, uh, why don't we...yea, there's a bench over here." Ray led her to a small green bench sitting next to the wall of the motel facing the parking lot. She sat down with a grateful smile. Her expression turned serious as she faced the detective.

"I had a son. He would've been nine years old this year. His name was Nathan, just like his father. When he was born, he was perfect." Her voice was shaking but strong, "And then when he was eleven months, he started to get sick. We took him to the doctor and he, he had leukemia." Ray swallowed hard. "It was very advanced and very serious. By the time, he was eighteen months, he was living in the hospital. I wouldn't leave him. I just sat there with him day after day watching him slip away from me." Her voice cracked as tears sprang into her eyes. "He never saw his second birthday." She was crying openly. "We never expected another chance. Ethan was a miracle. A wonderful miracle. He came so soon after Nathan that we weren't even certain we were up to having him. I mean, we were so afraid to take another chance. But, I was pregnant and there was nothing more to do but wait and see how things turned out. But, he was perfect. He's been perfect since. He is so smart and so sweet. He's very sensitive, doesn't like the dark, worries too much for such a small boy, but he's the sweetest child. And then just six years later, another miracle happened and Becca came to us. I've built my life around my children. I just don't think I can lose them. I'm so afraid that Ethan is in the dark or that Becca isn't being cared for. They're so small and fragile." Ray didn't know what to do. He wanted to tell her that if Fraser was with them, he was taking care of them. He wanted to tell her that if Fraser was with them, then the children were safe. But, what if Fraser wasn't with them? It would be cruel to give her false hope. Instead, he put his arm around her shoulders. She turned her head into the shoulder of a stranger and cried. Her husband walked up a few moments later. He looked no better than she did as he gathered her into his arms. Ray nodded at him as he returned to the motel room, giving them some privacy.

He called Agent Weckstein aside and asked her for a vehicle. He wanted to go up to Fraser's campsite. He knew if Dief saw him, the wolf would come to him. Maybe finding Fraser would lead to the children or maybe it wouldn't but he'd feel better if he could find his friend.

Ben stayed on the floor for a long time. Breathing hurt. He did not want to imagine what standing would feel like. His arm was broken. The pain was like a huge, throbbing toothache pulsing through his arm. He turned his head slowly and saw the deformity of the bone. He used his other arm to check his ribs, his face and his hip. Nothing seemed broken there. Ribs were hard to judge. They may be broken or they may be cracked or just bruised. It was hard to know for certain.

How would he bring the children to safety, he wondered. How could he save them if he couldn't stand or move or even breathe?

Somewhere through the fog that was settling in with the pain, he could hear sniffling. He called out to Ethan though his voice sounded unusually weak and strained. Soon, the boy was kneeling at his side with a tear-streaked face.

"Are you all right?" Ben asked. The boy ran a hand under his nose and nodded. "Why are you crying, then?" He shrugged. "I'm kind of scary like this, aren't I?" The boy shrugged again. "Well, it's still me. And I'm still here with you, all right?" Ethan nodded. "Good, now I could use some help, can you do that?"

"Sure, I help my dad sometimes." Misunderstanding, Ethan grabbed Ben's good arm and attempted to yank him off the floor. Ben yelled out in agony and the boy jumped back. Darkness swam behind his eyes. He lay still, his breath coming in gasps. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Ethan yelled in a panic.

"No, no, it's all right." Ben whispered fighting to stay conscious. Bile rose in his throat. He pushed it back, afraid he might choke, afraid of the pain it would cause to retch. He continued timing his breathing until he finally felt he could try again.

"All right, Ethan. This time just do as I ask, please. I need you to pull the sheet off the bed, then see if there are scissors in the room, so you can cut it into strips."

"I'm not suppose to play with scissors."

"Well, we're not playing, are we?" The boy opened drawers in the dresser and the nightstand. He went through the shelves in the closet. Then he made a sort of cheering noise and came back to kneel beside the Constable.

"I couldn't find scissors but I found this." He held up a small steak knife with a serrated edge.

"Well done, Ethan. Would you be so kind as to cut the sheet up for me? Make the strips about the length of your arm. And take care not to cut yourself." The boy jumped up. With something to do, he was full of energy.

"Uh, Constable?" The boy said, "What do I do with Becca? She's sleeping on the bed."

"Have you ever held her before?" Ben asked, unable to turn and look in his direction.

"Only when I was sitting and Mama gave her to me."

"All right, you should put one hand under her back and one hand under her neck and head. It's very important that you support her neck and head. She can't do that for herself yet. Then when you have a good hold on her, lay her on the floor on her back. Put the pillows on either side of her."

"What if I drop her?"

"Are you planning to drop her, Ethan?"

"No, Sir."

"Then you won't. Be very careful and you'll be just fine." While Ben listened to the movement behind him, he hoped Becca would not awaken. Ben could not care for her until he bound his arm and even then he wasn't certain. A few moments later, Ethan reappeared by his side dragging the sheet with him. Ben watched him peripherally as he ripped up the blue striped fabric. He worked vigorously at his task and soon had the sheet completely shredded.

"You did a fine job, Ethan. Now, tell me, do you know how to tie a knot?"

"You mean like my sneakers?"

"Yes, like that."

"Sure, I'm seven."

"Right you are. Now, the next thing I need is for you to unscrew two of the chair legs from the chair by the window and bring them over here." Ethan hopped across the room on one leg and turned the chair over. The first leg was too tight but the second and third came off easily. He stopped long enough to look at Becca, then returned to Ben's side.

"All right, you're doing very well, Ethan. Now, this next thing will be hard. We have to set my arm and it's going to hurt quite a bit."

"Hurt me?" Ethan asked, puzzled.

"No, son, hurt me. But, we have to do it. Now, I'm going to try to be very brave and I need you to do the same."

"I don't want to." The boy said, fear showing on his face.

"I don't want to either, but after it's done, I'll feel better, all right?"

"You will?"

"Yes." Ethan considered for a few minutes before he asked,

"What do I have to do?"

"First, I want you to lay the chair legs on either side of my arm. And then take four pieces of the sheet and slip them under my arm and under the chair legs, okay?"

Ethan laid the piece of wood beside the twisted arm. It looked wrong, the way it was turned. Next he started slipping the cloth strips under his arm. The Constable was holding his breath for this.

"Okay, okay, I'm done." The boy said. Ben exhaled. He took several breaths trying to steady himself. Cold was setting in with a vengeance. His clothes were wet from the rain and he imagined he was going into shock.

"Well done, Ethan." He waited another moment, then said softly, "Now, I'd like you to tie the sheets around the chair legs and my arm. Tie them as tight as you can."

The boy followed directions well. He tied the sheets using all his strength for each knot. He concentrated completely on the task so he did not see the agony of his patient. When he was done, Ben was drenched in sweat and shivering. He felt his fragile hold on consciousness slipping away. Finally, he gave into it as Ethan's face slipped into the darkness.

Agents Spencer and Weckstein arrived at the Ranger's station with Ray. Ranger Bill Spears offered to walk them down to Fraser's campsite. He said he had not seen the dog since yesterday. He returned that afternoon with two other rangers but searching around the river and the surrounding area gave them nothing.

"Are you familiar with the Gates brothers?" Weckstein asked.

"Daniel and his brothers? Sure, they have a cabin a few miles downstream. I haven't seen them in a few months though."

"We'd like to see their cabin." Spencer said.

"They involved in this somehow?"

"We don't know yet. We'd just like to speak with them and we've been told they have a cabin up here.

"All right, I'll take ya. But, none of you look like you're ready for a hike."

Ray was dressed in a gray Armani suit with a gray and yellow button down. He was wearing black, dress shoes. The agents were in their navy suits. Spencer wore brown, dress shoes and Weckstein wore navy pumps.

"How far is it?" Ray asked.

"Four miles to your friend's camp. Another three or four miles to the cabin. It's not real rough terrain but I don't think your clothes are gonna help you. And after the rain this morning, everything is going to be muddy and slippery."

"Do you have an extra pair of boots around here?" Ray asked.

"No, Sir."

"Then, we'll have to make do." Ray took off his tie and laid it over a chair. Spencer followed suit. The three men looked at Weckstein's three-inch heels.

"All right, I know I'll just slow you down." She said, "Jeez, I hike every other weekend, I ice skate, I ski. I'm sorry I didn't anticipate tramping through the forest on a Sunday afternoon." She sat down next to the radio.

"We'll keep in touch." Spencer said with a smile.

With that the three men headed out. Spears retrieved a handgun from a locked drawer. He assured everyone the weapon was licensed and while he rarely carried it, he did not like the idea of going to the Gates' cabin unarmed. He described the family as strange and quiet.

Spears led them down a path that was not the fastest route but given their footwear, it made the most sense. They spoke little to each other. Ray asked for a recounting of Spears encounter with Diefenbaker but learned nothing new. Ray watched for the wolf. Since Dief was deaf, he was depending on the wolf's sense of smell and sight to find him.

Ray was trying hard not to imagine what became of Fraser. His friend was an experienced outdoorsman. Ray smelled the rain in the air. The shower had lit the forest with a fresh aroma. Benny came to the wilderness for a simple fishing trip. He should be at his campsite, throwing out his line and communing with nature. This was a vacation. Now, he wondered if Benny met a mean bear or fell in the river or somehow became disoriented and was wandering around lost in the forest. Was he wet, freezing in the 50 degree cold? Or had he actually met up with the kidnappers? And if he had, was he still alive? Ray had to believe he was. If he were dead, Dief would not have been seeking out help. He always imagined the wolf would just return to nature if anything happened to Fraser. But, of course, there was no way to really know.

Two hours later, they reached Fraser's campsite. Ray recognized his friend's belongings. Spears pointed out that the fire pit had not had a fire in it on Saturday. It was unusual for a camper not to make a fire at night and in the morning. They looked around for any clue to Fraser's whereabouts but there was nothing there that Spears had missed during his earlier visit.

Dief bounded out of the forest at such a pace that Spencer drew his gun thinking they were under attack. The wolf jumped on Ray, muddying his pants, whined, barked, circled him and jumped up again. Ray petted him warmly, not caring about the dirt or the excited greeting. The wolf's fur was wet and he smelled bad, but Ray didn't care about that either. Spencer and Spears looked on with amused expressions.

"Take us to Fraser, boy. Take us to Fraser." Ray said. The wolf barked again and started off down the trail. Ray ran after him, followed by the FBI agent and ranger.

When Ben woke up, he found Ethan sitting beside him. The boy had covered him with the extra blanket from the bed and moved the heater beside him. He was damp but drying and no longer cold. The boy was sobbing. Ben reached out his good hand. Ethan took it gratefully.

"What's wrong?"

"Did I do somethin' wrong? I'm always messin' stuff up."

"I'm sorry for frightening you. You did a fine job." Ben said, weakly. "I'm better now. My arm is better. Can you help me sit up?" The boy looked at him, surprised. "I'd rather you didn't pull me up, if you don't mind. Just push me a bit from behind while I rise."

Ben sat up slowly with the boy's help. His ribs shifted uncomfortably in his chest and he had to bite his lip to keep from making noise. Ethan was mostly there for support and balance. Once Ben arrived to sitting, he waited a few moments for the nausea and dizziness to pass before he attempted standing. The whole process took several minutes but the splint on his arm held and as long as he didn't move too quickly, the pain was bearable. He sat on the bed.

"How's Becca?" He asked.

"She woke up but Chris came in and fed her. She's sleeping again."

"How long have I been...asleep?"

"A long time."

"Are you all right?"

"I'm a baby." He said miserably. "A scared little baby."

"Why do you say that?" Ben asked softly.

"Cause I'm cryin' all the time. And that mean one makes my tummy feel funny. And, there's somethin' else but I don't wanna tell ya. You'll think I'm bad."

"I doubt that, Ethan. Why don't you tell me what's on your mind."

"You'll think I just don't like her."

"Like who? You mean Becca?" The boy nodded. "I think that you do like Becca. You have looked out for her for several days. I've seen you."

"But, what I did..." He said, a slight whine in his voice.

"What did you do?"

"I left her. I jumped out that window and ran away and left her."

"Was this yesterday morning, when you came to the river?" He nodded. "You were running away from Daniel and the others." He nodded again. "But, you didn't take Becca with you."

"Mama said I couldn't take her outside."

"Your mother was right. Becca is very small. She would not be able to live outside even if you were taking the best care of her."

"But, I left her."

"You were looking for help, weren't you, Ethan? If you found me or someone else before Daniel came, you would have said that bad people had your sister, wouldn't you?" He nodded. "Well, then, you did exactly what you set out to do. You found me and I've helped, haven't I?"

"Yes, but..."

"Then you succeeded in what you intended. You've been a good brother. You have no need to feel guilty."

"I'm the reason you got hurt." The boy said sadly. Ben shook his head, then regretted it. Slowly, he said,

"I'm the reason I got hurt. I chose a course of action, just as you did when you went through the window. What happened to me was a result of the action I took. I take responsibility for that. Not to worry, Ethan, we're all going to be just fine."

Ethan leaned against Ben's good side and closed his eyes. They both were startled when Becca started to cry. Ethan looked up and sighed tiredly.

"Would you get her for me and set her on the bed? We'll need to see what's bothering her."

Ethan disappeared to other side of the bed. Just as he was told, he lifted her, carefully supporting her head and neck. He frowned when he felt the wet blanket. He set her down beside the Mountie.

"She's really wet. She's always wet." Ben held back a laugh.

"I'm afraid you'll have to change her. I don't think I'm capable with one arm."

"Oh, man, gross."

"Please go retrieve a diaper and I'll help you. She'll never quiet down until she's comfortable."

"Eat, sleep, go potty. That's all she does. And cry. She does that a lot too." Ben chuckled to himself while the boy complained. Together they managed to put her in a new diaper. Then Ethan wrapped her in a dry section of the cut up blanket. He picked her up and set her in the crook of Ben's arm. She was tiny. Ben could hold her competently with one hand. He rocked her slowly though the movement pulled muscles he would rather have left alone. She was not ready to sleep so she cooed and waved her hands at him. She reached out and touched the buttons on his shirt, then became entranced by the light sitting on the dresser. Ben spoke to her softly, responding to her noises. He blew air into his cheeks and tilted his head. Ethan laughed at him.

"You've never seen the puffin face?" Ben asked. Then blew air back into his cheeks.

Ben thought he caught movement from the corner of his eye. He did not want to startle Ethan so he asked the boy to take Becca. Slowly, Ben stood up while Ethan made the "puffin face" at his sister. He winced silently as he rose. He walked slowly to the window and looked out at the new rain starting. Diefenbaker bounded out from behind a bush. Ben smiled at the reinforcements. He had not wanted to send Ethan through the window by himself but with the wolf nearby, he could depend on the boy's safety. The wolf ran up to the window and whined. Then he turned around and dove back into the trees. A moment later he appeared again. Then there was Ray behind him. Muddy, wet and complaining, but that was Ray.

Ben wanted to break the window, yell to him, cause a commotion, but he didn't. He called to Ethan to lay Becca in the middle of the bed and come to him. The boy saw the wolf and the man. He looked at Ben excitedly. Ben started to lift the window slowly. By the time he heard Ethan gasp, it was too late. Roy seized him by his broken arm and threw him to the ground. Adrenaline pumping, Ben started to get up, only to be kicked full force in the chest. He landed on his back, gasping, his breath gone. Ethan landed roughly next to him while Roy hissed at both of them to stay down.

When Ray entered the clearing for the cabin, his gun was in his hands. His internal antennae buzzed at full power. Dief would not have led them here, to the Gates cabin, unless Benny was here. And that was too much coincidence. Spears was circling to the back. Agent Spencer was walking straight across the front walk to the door. Ray glanced at Dief near the side window. He saw Benny lifting the pane, then some kind of commotion followed. He moved carefully past the open glass as if he was heading for the front, then carefully ran to the side of the building. He shimmied towards the window with his back to the cabin.

The first shot landed about a foot in front of him kicking up mud. Ray ducked. The second shot hit the ground but this time it was closer. Ray kept himself plastered to the wall as a third shot ricocheted off a rock and embedded itself a foot from him. Then there was a crash. Ray watched a man come halfway through the glass with a shotgun. Then he pulled back through the glass violently. Ray took his chance as he ran forward. Through the window, he could see Benny struggling with Roy. Ray knocked the broken shards of glass away and identified himself. He ordered Roy to stop. The man rammed the shotgun barrel into Fraser's chest and the Mountie went down with a gasp. Ray yelled again. Roy looked at him. Neither saw the wolf until a streak of gray shot past Ray, through the broken window. Diefenbaker landed against Roy's chest with the force of a homerun baseball. The shotgun dropped a couple of feet behind him. Ray stood stunned for a moment. Then he trained his weapon. Dief growled, keeping his face close to Roy's.

Once that was accomplished, Ray surveyed the room in a glance.

"Hey, Benny, you all right." At first there was no answer, then he heard his friend's voice softly. "What? I can't hear ya."

"He said it was good of you to come." Ethan said, sitting up. Ray shook his head.

"Where else would I be? Hang on, I'll be there in a minute."

Ray wanted to go through the window. Seeing his friend curled up on the floor, cradling a crudely splinted arm was almost too much for him. But, there was no way to climb in through the window and maintain a watch on his prisoner. On the bed, the small boy huddled over his infant sister. Ray held his place until Spears burst through the door, gun in hand.

"It's all right, Spencer's got the other one."

"Watch my prisoner, I'm coming around." Ray said.

He ran around the building replaying Spears' arrival. Did he say Spencer had the other one? Weren't there three brothers? Just as he turned the corner of the front porch, Daniel Gates stepped into view. He was carrying a shotgun. Ray stopped in his tracks.

"Police," He said, "Drop your weapon."

"Why?" Daniel said.

"Drop it now." Ray said, "Or I will shoot you."

"Not...if...I...shoot...first." Daniel said, squeezing the trigger. Ray fired a moment sooner. The bullet caught the oldest Gates brother in the chest. The shot from his gun jerked harmlessly into the ground as he fell backward.

Spencer appeared on the porch, gun drawn, eyes wide. He looked at Ray who was staring at the dead man and shaking his head. Deifenbaker appeared a moment later with a whine. Ray knew he would have to feel this later. Right now, he wanted to see Benny.

Inside the front door, the youngest Gates brother was lying face down on the floor. His hands were handcuffed behind him. He was crying softly, his body trembling. The bedroom was another matter.

Spears had his gun placed squarely into the chest of Roy Gates. Roy's hands were handcuffed but he was still walking forward defiantly. Spears continued backing up, clearly uncertain what to do. Ray knew. He placed his gun at the base of Roy's neck and ordered him to lie on the floor. Roy hesitated. Spencer was standing in the doorway with his gun trained on him as well. The middle brother argued with himself internally until finally they saw the change in his face. He knew he was beaten. He knelt on the floor and Ray shoved him on to his stomach. Spears lowered his gun with a sigh. The man was nearly as white as Spencer's shirt.

The Ranger lifted Becca and took Ethan by the hand. The boy strained to look at Ben as he was led out of the room and then out of the house.

Ray knelt down beside the Mountie. He could hear ragged breaths as if Benny had asthma. He didn't dare turn him over for fear of rattling something that might be broken. Instead he talked to him, tried to reassure him, promised to stay close to him. Spears came back to say he called for an airlift.

Ray walked down the hospital corridor carrying a fast food bag with three sandwiches and two bags of potato chips inside. He looked over a pretty nurse when she walked by him, admiring her moves in the starched white uniform. Taking a breath as he reached Benny's door, he pushed it open.

Ben was sitting in a chair, staring out the window. Diefenbaker sat by his side. He whined and licked Ray's jacket to greet him.

"Ah, Ray."

"Hey, Benny, I brought you lunch. I figured you must be tired of hospital food by now."

Only two days had passed since they flew Benny out of the wilderness. The helicopter landed in a clearing near the river. The rescue team had to carry Fraser nearly a mile to reach it. Every step was agonizing for both of them. Ray walked beside them, talking constantly while Benny tried not to show the pain.

Then the unthinkable happened as one of the rescuers slipped in the mud. The mobile stretcher thudded awkwardly to the ground. Benny yelled out in surprise and pain.

He called to his friend, the pain and fear overtaking him. Ray took his hand telling him he would be all right. He didn't stop talking until they sealed his friend into the helicopter.

Ray found the children with the Ranger. Spears had shielded them from the rescue. He was holding the infant and talking to the boy. Spencer remained at the cabin with several other agents while they waited for another helicopter to take the three brothers into custody.

Ray took the second transport with the children. Weckstein had returned to the motel and then flew in to assist. They arrived on the hospital roof where Nathan Brand and his wife waited, clutching hands. Ray lifted Ethan to the ground. The boy ran to his parents while Weckstein carried Becca to them. The family was huddled together crying when Ray passed them to look for Benny.

The break in his arm was serious and required surgery. The last shot Roy gave him to the chest broke two ribs. He was bruised and battered over most of his body. He spent the first twenty-four hours drugged with pain killers. He spent the next day coming to terms with his recovery.

"Were you able to check on Ethan and Becca?" Benny asked.

"Yep, they're both fine. Doctors checked them out, said they were in good health. Ethan was a little undernourished but nothing serious. I spoke to their parents and they're anxious to meet you. Apparently, Ethan thinks you 'hung the moon' or something."

"And the child brokers?"

"We set a trap for 'em. Two men in custody. One of them is talking. We expect to have the whole network wired up in a couple of weeks."

"Good." Ben said. In his head, he could still hear Becca crying from cold.

"You don't seem like it's good." Ray said.

"Oh, sorry, Ray, of course, it's the best possible thing."

"But?"

"I'm sorry?" Ben asked rubbing his thumb over his eyebrow.

"Something's bothering you."

"Have you gotten any information from the Gates brothers?"

"Yea. Roy isn't talking, but the younger one, Chris, he's treating us like we're priests. Wants to confess everything."

"What has he said?"

"Well, the short story is they decided a couple months ago to take Rebecca Brand from the hospital when she was born and ransom her back to the parents. But, when they tried, they were interrupted by nurses. Apparently, they hadn't done their homework on hospital procedures. So, then they decided they weren't gonna do it at all. I guess Roy lost his job around that time and that started 'em all up again. They were still blaming Brand for their parents' death and the more bad things that happened, the angrier they got. That's around the time that Daniel met up with an old prison pal who just happened to deal in selling babies. According to Chris, everything just fell into place. They were suppose to nab Rebecca and deliver her to Daniel's friend, a guy named Nick Carson. But, the night they grabbed her, they also grabbed Ethan. That was one complication. Then Carson got busted. So, Daniel had to find his friend's connection because now they had two kids and no where to take them."

"That explains why they were so ill prepared."

"Yea, they were having problems all right. Anyway, Daniel did find the connection, a low level mob guy named George Brennan, but Brennan didn't want to do anything right away because of Carson's arrest. Brennan told Daniel to lay low for the weekend and on Monday they'd all meet at Daniel's cabin."

"That was an unusually remote location."

"Well, what Chris and his brothers didn't know was they were being set up. The plan was to meet at the cabin and just take the kids. Brennan had no intentions of paying them anything. When our guys met them on Monday, it looked like they were planning a small coup from all the weapons they were carrying."

Ray frowned and pulled a chair up next to Ben. His expression was clearly asking for an explanation for his friend's distraction. Ben sighed. "I'm not certain I can explain this adequately." He thought a moment. "I was...affected, I suppose, by the children. The memories that Ethan will carry with him are terrifying. He's very young to have to live with those memories for the rest of his life. When I first arrived at the cabin, the infant, Becca, had been left in a room without proper covering. She was screaming from cold. And I wonder if that memory will imprint itself on her brain. I just wonder if they are forever damaged."

"I don't know, Benny. Stuff like this is hard. But, I can tell you that their mother loves them. Their dad too. Ethan is going to get counseling. And I know you made a difference, Benny. The kids trusted you. You gave them something solid and safe to hold on to. That's gonna go a long way."

"You think so?"

"Yea, I do."

Ben nodded. He wanted to believe Ray but he carried scars from his own childhood that nothing seemed to erase. Still, he thought, to manage in spite of them, to make something of yourself regardless of your history or perhaps because of it, perhaps that's all that can be expected, all that should be expected.

His stomach growled and he eyed the paper bag of food. Ray noticed. He retrieved it, tossed a sandwich to Dief and the three ate in companionable silence.