Hold The Line -Evan Buckley-

Chapter Ten

Author's note- I'm going to try something different with this chapter. I'm going to write it in the third person and see how it goes. Please let me know if you prefer it this way or the first-person perspective. If the majority doesn't I'll change this chapter back to the first person.  So please let me know!

Mabel was feeling frazzled at the moment. It had been several hours since they had discovered Chimney was hurt and Maddie missing. She shifts in her seat, unable to get comfortable in the backseat of Athena's Denali. This was partially due to the leather seats, but also from the anxiety of the situation at hand. 

The trio rides mostly in silence. Every now and then Athena will take (or make) a call to get updates on the investigation from Detective Marks. Each time the phone rings Buck perks up, sitting straight in his seat and clutching the door handle as if he's bracing himself for a crash. Whether that be physical or metaphorical. 

Their first stop had been to the EMS dispatch headquarters. Mabel offered to stay in the car, the adrenaline she was experiencing had worn off and was replaced with exhaustion. When the two returned to the vehicle they had a lead on Doug's cell phone. It has been pinging off of towers leading out of town on a busy highway. This at least gave them a place to start. 

Now they were rapidly approaching the tracker on the cellphone, only a few miles away. Mabel notices Buck's nervousness. She wonders what could happen if he came face to face with Doug. Would there be a struggle? Does Doug have a weapon? Her heart begins to race for what seems like the thousandth time today when she thinks of him ending up like Chimney. Before they had left the hospital Cap made him promise not to do anything reckless or illegal, and he had agreed, but Buck is Buck. He's impulsive, passionate, and a slight bit airheaded, so you never know what to expect from him. 

The intensity inside the car rises as a police cruiser rushes past them with lights and sirens blaring. Athena had called in a favor, and they are assuming that the favor has arrived. The cruiser disappears just over a small hill in the road, and as they approach, the trio sees a semi-truck pulled to the dirt on the side of the road. The police cruiser just in front of it. 

"Something doesn't feel right here." Mabel expresses, trying to make sense of the scene in front of her. Buck scratches at his neck and jumps out of the car with no hesitation. Mabel and Athena follow behind him. 

Detective Marks and an officer are speaking to the truck driver, Mark's hand clutching the cellphone that once belonged to Doug. 

"Found the phone. No sign of the suspect or your sister." Detective Marks says approaching them.

"Yeah, but he has Doug's phone. How?" Buck accuses, pointing an arm out towards the man.

"Well, driver left Salt Lake City yesterday. Been on the road ever since. Say's he's got no clue how the phone ended up in his truck."

"Sir," Athena addresses, strutting towards the man standing beside his truck. "You make any stops?" 

"Gas station, just before sunrise." The driver states. 

"Did you see anyone while you were there?" Mabel questions, standing beside Athena. 

"When I was leaving, saw a couple going into the store." 

Athena turns, her lips pursed as she faces Buck. "He knew we could use the phone to track him. Probably dropped it in his truck at the station." 

"To try and throw us off his trail." Mabel realizes, expressing her thoughts aloud. 

Athena nods at the younger woman. After feeling that they were so close to catching up, Mabel starts to unravel. She's feeling that the search may never end and now they were back at square one. Her shoulders slump, and she's finding herself agitated.