White Water Murder

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Title: White Water Murder
Author: Becca T
e-mail: Beksmfa2@aol.com
Rated: PG
Challenge: 170
Summary: Jesse is held hostage by a murderer whilst on a white-water ride.

"Mommy, are we there yet?" CJ whimpered, having had almost too long in the car for him to cope with.

"Nearly," Amanda replied, becoming less and less calm at having her son ask the same question every ten minutes.

"You'll have lots of fun when we get there," Mark soothed him, and receiving a grateful smile from Amanda as CJ cheered up a bit.

Mark, Steve, Amanda, Jesse and CJ were travelling to Hawke Canyon. Jesse and Steve planned on taking a three-day white-water rafting trip, whilst Mark and Amanda would take CJ along the river with the help of a guide. The long weekend had been planned well, and they were all determined that nothing would go wrong.

Soon, the five of them arrived at Hawke Canyon. CJ was relieved to finally get out of the car, as were the other four.

"Welcome to Hawke Canyon," a ranger greeted them as they unpacked their belongings from the car. "The Sloan party?"

"That's us," Mark said, taking one of the bags out of the trunk of the car.

"Right, we have two adult males taking the three-day course down the Canyon, and one adult male, one adult female and a child taking the roadway down the canyon."

"That's right," Steve said. "We meet at the end of it at Hawke Creek."

"Okay," the ranger said, reading his clipboard. "Would the party of three like to go with Ranger Lisa James, and the party of two come with me."

The two groups said their goodbyes, and promised that they would keep in contact by their cell-phones.

"Hi," a young woman greeted Mark, Amanda and CJ. "I'm Lisa, and I am going to be your guide. Are you all set?"

"I think so," Mark replied, mentally going through his bag.

"Right," she said. "I have a six-man tent, and that should be plenty of room for all of us. The jeep is waiting there. We'll drive away from the river to start with, because the shore there can be a bit unstable."

"Okay," they said, grinning as they saw CJ waving to Steve and Jesse, who were being prepared for their raft ride.

"Hi," the ranger welcomed them. "My name is Will, and this is David. We will be your instructors on the raft with you. Now, you both know how to swim, don't you?" Both Steve and Jesse nodded. "Just in case you get into difficulty, you will be wearing helmets and lifejackets all the time you are on the water. We will stop at least twice each day, more if need be."

The instructor carried on and explained about the trip. Will explained how the boat manoeuvred, and what paths they would take to get to their destination, Hawke town. That's where they would meet up with the other three.

"Are you both ready?" David asked, gesturing to the boat. Jesse and Steve nodded, and got in.

After half a day of calm waters, the boat hit the first set of rapids. "Remember what I told you earlier?" Will asked.

"Helmets on," David insisted as they approached the rapids. Then, gripping the ropes at the sides of the boat, Jesse and Steve hung on tight whilst the boat bounced up and down the rapid waters. They both wanted to yell out with delight, but they guessed that the exuberance of it had left them speechless.

"That was great!" Jesse exclaimed when he found his voice. He couldn't wait for the next lot of rapids.

Jesse and Steve were not the only ones enjoying themselves. Mark was taking in the beautiful scenery around him, and Amanda was having fun watching CJ enjoy the Jeep ride, and watching the river flow past.

"I am so glad that Steve organised this for us," Amanda said. "This is the perfect break away."

Mark nodded, looking up at the tall trees to his left. "It's nice that we can all have a break away at the same time. I wonder how the boys are doing."

"Probably too busy to answer a phone," she said, knowing how much Mark worried about his son. "Leave it until later, when its evening."

"Are we meeting up?" Mark asked Lisa.

"On the second night," Lisa replied. "The first night, we go it alone."

"Okay, I'll call them tonight," Mark said, taking his hand away from his bag containing the phone. He looked up. "Hey, CJ, do you see that bird over there? Do you know what that is?"

"Nope," CJ said, looking at where Mark pointed.

"That's a woodpecker," Amanda told her son.

"It's eating the tree!" CJ exclaimed as Mark, Amanda and Lisa laughed at the outburst.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Jess?" Steve asked as they sat around the campfire. David and Will had retired to their tents for the night, as they were tired from the rowing.

"Yeah, this is great," Jesse replied. "Thanks for inviting me along. I'm having the time of my life."

"Don't mention it," Steve replied, happy to see that his friend was having so much fun.

"No, really," Jesse said. "I wasn't meant to be on this trip. I'm happy that you went out of the way to let me come along, and I have to make it up to you."

"Really, it's okay," Steve reassured him. "Dad, Amanda or CJ wouldn't have enjoyed this white-water rafting outing like you and I are. You don't need to owe me anything."

Jesse wasn't totally convinced, but he left it alone for the time being. He would subtly make it up to his friend when they got back. He had something else on his mind.

"I am not so confident that David knows what he's doing," he told his friend in a low voice.

"What do you mean?" Steve asked, raising his voice higher than he should. "He's been a ranger here for five years. He's more experienced than Will."

"There's something about him that I don't like," Jesse persisted, not wanting Steve's voice to grow any louder than it was at that moment.

"Your imagination is on overdrive," Steve said. "You don't like it because he's not as excited as you. Remember, he's been down the course over a hundred times."

"Maybe," Jesse said, not really agreeing. "Maybe I just imagined it."

From inside the tent, there was a sinister sneer, and nothing else.

The next day, the weather was dull, and rain could be expected. "If it rains, then we'll stop," Will said. "The water is a bit choppy, so we'll go a bit slower than yesterday."

David just shrugged his shoulders. "It's your call."

An hour later, David called Will over to his end of the raft. David began to whisper to Will, and patted him on the back as Will nodded. Will then began to sink down into the boat, and apparently go to sleep.

"He was tired from rowing, and look at him," David said. "Out like a light."

"He looks a bit pale," Jesse said, moving to take a look at him. "He may be coming down with something."

"Hey!" David protested.

"It's all right, I'm a doctor," Jesse explained. David, with a withering look on his face, grabbed an oar, and knocked Jesse to the ground with it. A faint moan could be heard before Jesse completely blacked out.

"What the hell?" Steve asked, reaching for his gun. David all ready had it in his hand.

"Okay, Sloan," he said. "Listen good. You have instructions, and this is what I want you to do."

"And if I don't, you shoot Jesse?"

"You're a fast learner. Here are your instructions. About ten minutes from here is a thick bit of woodlands, and calm, shallow waters. When I tell you, you are going to get out of the boat, and take Will with you."

"He's dead, isn't he?"

"I am only going to say these instructions once, so you had better keep listening," David snapped. "When you get to the shore, you should find a shovel. With that, you are going to bury Will for me, somewhere deep in the woods."

"Then what? How do I get Jesse back?"

"You will then go to our meeting place in Hawke, and you will explain this. You will say that Will fell out of the boat on the rapids, and you swum out to save him. You couldn't save him, and you lost sign of the boat, so you decided to walk to the meeting place instead."

Steve knew that the criminal had not planned one detail very well, but he kept that to himself. He nodded, and agreed.

"If, by any chance, you do tell someone what I had done, you will never see your friend again. Got that?" That hit Steve hard. He hated to do what he had to do, but he had to do it for Jesse. What made it worse was the fact that Jesse didn't know what was going on, and he could give Steve any idea that he was okay, and wanted Steve to go along with the plan or not. Steve grimaced, and nodded.

So, just under ten minutes downstream, David rowed the boat towards the shore. He stopped it about five feet away. "You walk it from here. Like I said, anything goes wrong, your friend will be a memory."

"And if you hurt my friend, your life won't be worth living," Steve yelled back at him, taking hold of the heavy corpse of Will. He dragged it to the shoreline, and saw the boat disappear into the distance. He hoped that it would not be the last that he saw of his good friend.

Meanwhile, Mark and crowd had stopped for lunch when he got a call on his phone.

"This is LAPD," the voice said.

"What's the problem?" Mark asked, wondering why they should be calling him.

"We know that you and your son have gone with some friends to Hawke Canyon," the officer explained. "We have had reports that there is a murderer down there. We have traced this person from all over the country, and he has been here for about five years now. Is there a David Somers where you are?"

"David Somers?" Mark asked with panic. "He's one of the rafters on the raft with my son and friend!"

"Don't panic, Dr Sloan," the policeman calmed him. "Steve is a good cop, and he can look after himself with no trouble."

"Yes, you're right," Mark said, composing himself. "I'll call Steve, and try to assess what is going on. I'll report back with any information."

"Mark? What's wrong?" Amanda asked, seeing the look of anxiety on her friend's face.

"One of the rafters with Steve and Jesse is a murder," Mark explained. "We have to do something."

"Change of plan," Lisa said. "I think that instead of taking the scenic route, we should try and cut off the raft before it gets too far ahead of us."

"Thank you, Lisa," Mark said, grateful for her help. He picked up his cellphone and tried to call Steve.

After what must have been the hundredth time of trying, "There's still no answer," Mark said, about to throw his phone out of the Jeep with frustration.

"Steve!" CJ said, pointing to a figure emerging from the bushes. A wave of relief washed over Mark.

"Steve, thank God," Mark said as the Jeep slowed to a halt. "We were so worried."

"About what?" Steve asked.

"David Somers is a murderer. Half of America is looking for him."

"Oh," was all that Steve could say.

"I suggest that you get in, and we'll keep going," Lisa said. "That way, you can tell us what you know, and we'll tell you what we know. Deal?"

Steve nodded, and climbed in the Jeep.

"Wait a minute," Mark said. "Where's Jesse?"

"Keep driving," Steve told Lisa as she slowed down. "Jesse is still on the boat."

"You deserted him?" Amanda asked, thinking that it wasn't like Steve at all.

"It was either that or David killed him there and then," Steve told her. Amanda's face went a slight shade of green and white, all at the same time.

"You see," Steve continued, "David must have killed Will, probably with some kind of lethal injection. David then knocks out Jesse; he grabs my gun, and says that if I don't bury Will, Jesse dies. I didn't have a choice, Dad."

"Where have you buried him?" Mark asked, knowing the choice that Steve made.

"I haven't, really," Steve said. "I put him inside a log. That way, I'll know where to find him. Now all we have to do is get Jesse back."

"I think I can help," Lisa said. "I know these river ways like the back of my hand. I grew up here when I was a kid, and my dad…" she stopped, and averted the conversation. "Anyway, I know where we can head this guy off."

"Thanks, Lisa," Mark said. "We need all the help we can get to get Jesse out of this one."

"I don't know how we are going to get Jesse without David seeing us," Amanda queried.

"David said that I need to meet him at Hawke town, where he said that he would drop off Jesse. He said that I should meet him there tonight."

"That means that David is going to have to go through the rapids on his own, with no breaks, and get to Hawke by tonight," Lisa murmured. "It's a bold task."

"People will start asking questions," Amanda continued. "He'll never pull it off."

"Maybe," Steve said, "but what he'll do with Jesse is a different matter. If he panics and starts shooting, Jesse might not be able to get himself out of the firing line."

"Here's how we'll do it," Mark said. "Steve, you'll call LAPD and explain all this to them. Tell them about the rendezvous at Hawke. Tell them to send some officers over there by tonight."

"How will that help?"

"I have an idea," Lisa said. "Let me explain. It was used about three years ago. An expedition went down the James rapids that are just before the town. Those rapids are a side-stream, and not on your original route because of the danger. My guess is that David will take that route because it is faster, and he is experienced."

"But will he work on his own?"

"He will be willing to take the risk, and I am sure that he will tell Jesse to help out, because both their lives will be at stake. Anyway, when he gets down out of the rapids, he nears Hawke. What we do is set up a net concealed in the water. When the boat goes over the net, we lift one side of net up so the boat capsizes. Everything in there will fall out. This should give us time to get David to part with the gun and Jesse."

"It's a good idea," Mark said, "but what if Jesse is knocked out by then? He won't be able to swim."

"Someone moves in quickly to get him," Lisa explained.

"It's the best thing we've got," Amanda said logically.

"We'll go with it, and hope that it works," Steve said. Lisa revved up the Jeep and the five of them sped off towards Hawke town, ready to set up their plan.

Jesse slowly opened his eyes. Above him, he saw the blue sky and odd cloud drifting by. His head hurt so much, and it was hard to concentrate on what was around him. He heard noises that sounded like water washing up against something. He struggled, against the pounding in his head, to get up.

"Awake, are we?" David asked, sharpening two stones together to get a blade.

"What happened?" Jesse asked in an unsteady murmur.

"It's a long story," David said. "Basically, Will is dead, Steve has left the boat and you and I are stuck together."

"Steve left me?" Jesse asked in a voice of disbelief.

David saw his chance to make his hostage less reluctant to escape, and more willing to help him out of his mess. "He took his chances and left," he said simply.

Jesse couldn't believe it. With all that was going on, and the massive headache he had, he didn't know what to believe. He tried to stand up, but swayed a bit.

"Hey, I wouldn't if I were you," David said. Jesse stumbled, and hit his head on one of the oars as he fell. It knocked him out again, and he slumped back into the bottom of the boat.

"I warned him," David muttered, a slight grin on his face. He moved Jesse's body away from the middle of the raft, and started to row, as the water was calm and they were slowing down.

***

"How much longer will it take to get to Hawke?" Steve asked.

"Twenty minutes," Lisa said, sensing Steve's anxiety and pressing her foot further down on the acceleration.

"Have you made sure that the units are in place?" Steve asked his father.

"There are ready to react as soon as you give the word," Mark said.

"Have they got the net in place?" Steve asked.

"It's all under control," Mark assured him. "We'll get Jesse out of this."

"I know," Steve said. "I know, but I just keep worrying, in case something goes wrong."

"He'll get through this," Amanda said, putting a reassuring hand on Steve's shoulder.

"If he doesn't," Steve said, gulping, "it will be all my fault."

"Don't worry like that," Mark told him. "You did the right thing. If not, neither of you would have made it. Besides, Jesse will be okay and back with us before you know it."

"You can see the town from here," Lisa pointed out.

"Lisa," Mark said, hopefully about to answer a question from his mind. "Why do they call them the James rapids?"

Lisa began to squirm in the drivers seat. Amanda turned around and gave Mark a look that said, "Not while she is driving." Lisa answered anyway.

"I mentioned that I grew up here with my father. He was taking a group of trainees down those rapids one day, and something must have happened, because… I can't say, because your friend is there."

"Did anyone come back?" Steve asked her, knowing what happened to Lisa's father.

"The only one to lose their life was my father," Lisa said. "The rapids were too rough, and he was trying to save the kids, and he went overboard and he didn't make it."

"That makes him a hero," Mark assured her, trying to make her feel better.

"I know," Lisa replied. "The only thing is, since that happened, very few people have come gone down the rapids, and they have gotten rougher since then. Not many people make it without getting hurt. I'm sorry that I had to be the one to tell you that, but it gives you an idea of what Jesse is up against," she added, matter-of-factly.

"Very true," Mark said, hoping that the rapids would not hold the same fate for Jesse as they did for Lisa's brave father.

A few minutes later, they arrived in the town and were greeted by the LAPD.

Steve instantly turned into his professional and efficient self. "What's the situation?" he asked.

"Sir," one of the men said, "the rope is in place a hundred yards up the river, and there are four men to each part of the rope, ready and awaiting on your command." He handed Steve a radio.

"Right," Steve said. "Get everyone down here out of sight. There is a view of the town about where the rope is placed, and I don't want our man getting suspicious. Get the cars out of sight, and the men into the harbour office."

"One other thing," the man continued as the other cops jogged over to the office. "I have a runner posted before the net, so he'll run down and warn the guys on the rope, and they'll call you to tell you."

"Thanks," he called as the man ran to join the others.

"All set?" Mark asked, coming over to his son.

"Yeah," Steve said. "All we have to do now is wait."

"Where do we do that?" Mark asked.

"You, Amanda and CJ can go up there, in the bait shop. I'll stay down here. Take a radio. I might need you if Jesse needs medical attention."

"Okay," Mark said, taking the radio and hoping that he wouldn't need to use it.

***

Jesse had woken up again, and this time the pain in his head was less intense. He sat up, and David looked round.

"How you slept through that last set of rapids, I shall never know," he said. He was panting, obviously having just steered the boat through a rough ride.

"Where are we?" Jesse asked, not knowing how far to trust this man.

"About five miles from Hawke," David said.

"We're going fast," Jesse said, noticing the speed of the raft.

"We have taken a quicker route," David explained shortly.

"More rapids?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah," David said. They sat in silence, which was broken sometime later by a groan and a rumble from Jesse's stomach.

"In the bag," David said, referring to a leather bag sitting in the bottom of the boat.

Jesse opened the bag, and found a slightly stale sandwich in there. He longingly took a bite out of it.

"Listen, Travis," David said, getting to the point. "Before we get to Hawke, we get to go down the James rapids. These are the fastest rapids before Hawke, so I'm going to need your help to get down them. Understand?"

Jesse nodded with his mouth full.

"You had better understand, because if you don't, you die. That's not up to me, but people have died on those rapids, see?"

"I don't know how to steer or anything," Jesse told him. "You were meant to give lessons but you knocked me out before I got the chance."

"Okay, I'll give you some basic lessons, but don't get smart with me."

David spent the next half an hour teaching Jesse what to do in the raft. Jesse felt ready for anything after the lesson.

"Okay," David said. "We are coming up to the James rapids. You know what to do."

"Yep," Jesse said, not sure of what the danger was to him.

They hit the white waters, and Jesse felt a surge as he paddled furiously, trying to stay in control. It knocked a lot out of him by the time they got out of them.

"You're a fast learner," David complimented as they drifted into calm waters.

"Thanks," Jesse said, wondering where the sudden burst of energy came from. He now felt drained, and all he wanted to do was sleep.

"Go ahead," David said to him, seeing him curl up in the bottom of the boat. "No more rapids for the time being."

As David finished saying that, the boat moved above the water, nose first. Within seconds, the boat had been tipped upside-down, and David, Jesse and their goods were thrown into the water, the boat cascading down behind them. Jesse saw his chance, and took it. He swam with the current as fast as he could, but it was so difficult in clothes. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do.

"Get back," David shouted, but Jesse kept going. The water was getting faster; meaning Jesse had less swimming to do.

Jesse looked up, and stopped swimming. He could see a town up ahead. On the edge of this town, he saw a mass of police. Better still, he could see Steve. Steve, who had deserted him, had come back for him.

There was just one problem. The current was going too fast for Jesse. He had to do some powerful swimming to make it to the port, but he was already tired.

He decided to get to the other edge, the face of a cliff, where he was closest. He grabbed some of the red rock, and hung on as tightly as he could. People around him were shouting, but he was oblivious to it. All he could think about was getting to the other side.

The water dragging past him was almost freezing. It was numbing his entire body. Soon, Jesse was losing his senses. He found it hard to think straight. It was so cold, and it was shutting down his systems. He was losing grip on the rock, because his strength was weakening.

He heard a gunshot. Suddenly, he snapped back into reality. Were the police shooting at him?

"Drop the gun," Steve shouted to David. David refused.

"I am going to count to five," Steve growled. "If you still have the gun by then, we open fire. One."

Jesse tried to make sense of it, but he couldn't. He stared over to see what was going on, but he couldn't see David.

"Two."

Jesse gulped, hoping that the police weren't pointing their guns at him.

"Three."

Jesse closed his eyes and waited.

"Four."

Jesse lost his grip on the rock. He tried in vain to grab another piece of the cliff but he only succeeded in cutting his hand. He made a last effort, and summoned up all of the energy inside him before swimming as hard and as fast as he could to the other side of the river. He did so, and crawled onto the shore about a hundred yards away from where the police were. Mark and Amanda rushed over to him.

"Five. You had your warning," Steve called to David. Steve aimed and fired, but just made a warning shot. David saw that there was no way out, and he threw his gun away.

"Now, get out of the water," Steve said. David swum to the edge, where the police cuffed him. Steve, meanwhile, had run over to Jesse, who was now unconscious through cold and lack of energy.

"How is he?" Steve asked, fearing the worst.

"He's okay," Mark said. "He has a bad bump on the head, and some bad cuts, but nothing that can't be fixed."

Steve sat down beside Jesse's figure. Mark looked at him. "Want to talk about it?"

"I almost thought that we wouldn't pull it off," Steve said. "When I saw Jesse lose his grip on that rock, I thought we'd lost him."

"I did too," Mark said, "but he surprised us."

Jesse began to stir. A blanket had been placed over him to keep him warm. "The ambulance is on its way," Mark said.

Jesse opened his eyes. "I'm alive," he mumbled.

"And lucky for it," Mark said.

"You came back for me," Jesse said, trying to smile through the numbness.

"I didn't want to leave you," Steve said, "but he would have killed you there and then if I had stayed."

"He would have killed me?" Jesse asked, sitting up a little too quickly. Steve lowered him back to the ground gently as he fell backwards. "He had a gun and he was going to kill me?"

"Didn't you know?" Steve asked, looking as confused as Jesse.

"He said that you left the boat and that Will had died. I didn't really ask how I got knocked out."

"David killed Will, and he told me that if I wanted to see you alive again, I should bury Will and meet him back here. I did, but I brought some friends with me."

"So, I spent the best part of a day in a raft with that guy, with a gun, and he didn't kill me?"

"Looks that way."

"Remind me never to go white water-rafting with you again," Jesse said before shutting his eyes and drifting into sleep.

Steve looked at his father. "Don't look at me," Mark said.

Steve tried Amanda. "Don't even think about it."

"Hey, CJ!" Steve called. "How would you like to go in the boat with me?"

"Not a chance!" Amanda said, grabbing CJ and putting her hand over his mouth before he could say yes. As they watched Amanda struggle with CJ, Mark and Steve laughed to themselves as the sun came up for the first time since they started their trip.

End