Chapter 35 of Tessa and The Stranger in the Plane

[ Reply ] [ The Indyfan Fan Fiction Forum ]

Posted by Goodsport from adsl-216-102-199-185.dsl.snfc21.pacbell.net on October 10, 1999 at 01:02:01:

: Chapter 35 [Things Start Getting Interesting] (written by Indy)

: Indy, Aragorn and Goodsport pulled into the hospital and took Goodsport to the emergency room. As soon as he was away on a stretcher, Aragorn and Indy sat on a bench and proceeded to wait. After a couple minutes of silence, Indy opened his mouth.
: "I've gotta go get Short Round. He's in great danger."
: Aragorn looked up. "I know Indy, but first we need to figure out what happened to Jerico and Meg."
: Indy suddenly looked surprised. "Oh shit! They've been gone for too long!"
: Indy pulled out what looked to be a pager from his cargo pants pocket. He pressed a button, and without taking his eyes off the black pager, said "Meg's here."
: Aragorn looked surprised. "What? Where??"
: "According to this, Meg is rightÖ" he paced around the room then stopped. "Above us!"
: Aragorn kept his eyes on Indy. "Maybe Jerico's with her. You go check, and I'll stay here."
: Indy walked for the doors, then stopped. "Aragorn, if I find Jerico and Meg, I'll go with them and get Shorty back."
: "I'll contact you Indy. And you better get some guns."
: Indy nodded and ran out of the room.
: Aragorn sighed, and picked up a magazine.

: - - -

: The Fiddler pulled into an empty parking lot. He had just realized that he went the wrong way. "Dammit!" He yelled as he pounded the steering wheel. He put the car in gear, pulled out of the lot, and hoped he'd make it there in time.

: - - -

: Indy got out of the elevator and saw a figure wearing a black trenchcoat standing next to a door. He looked harder, and then recognized it.
: "Indiana Jerico!" he yelled as he ran the last few steps. "What happened? Where's Meg?"
: "We had a problem in the library. Meg got shot."
: A look of fear washed over Indy's face. "Oh GodÖ. Is she all right?"
: Jerico sighed. "Thankfully, yes. It hit her in the shoulder. Go on in."
: Indy opened the door quietly, and saw Meg looking out the window. The door squeaked, and she turned to look. Meg smiled.
: "Indy!"
: Indy walked over to Meg, and was about to give her a hug when he thought twice about it.
: "Hi Meg. Sorry about the shoulder."
: "Don't be. I was stupid. I got in the way of Indiana Jerico's business." Her green eyes looked out the window, then back to Indy. "So, how's everyone else?"
: "Oh, fine," he said sarcastically. "Goodsport got shot, the Lamberts escaped and captured Short Round, and the rest of us almost died."
: "That good, huh?" she said.
: "Yeah. Meg, I wish I could stay longer, but Indiana and me need to go get Shorty. And all of us need to get to Tessa. We'll contact you."
: "OK."
: "Bye Meg."
: Just as Indy was about to open the door, Meg opened her mouth.
: "I'm coming with you."

: - - -

: Brett Lambert waved the old Colt Combat Elite he had found in the bike at Short Round. "Wish we'd found this earlier, James. We could have blown those sons of bitches away."
: Indiana James looked at his brother. "Yeah, it's a shame."
: Brett picked up a cell phone and tossed it to James. "Call Indiana Jerico. Tell him we have Short Round, and if he wants him back, he'll have to pay usÖ one million dollars!"
: James looked up. "Really? One million??"
: Brett came back to reality. "I don't know, we'll figure it out."

: - - -

: Indy walked past Meg, then looked at Indiana Jerico, and then back to Meg. They had let Meg rest another couple of hours.
: "You can't come with us. You just can't. For God's sake, you just got shot!!"
: Meg stood up. She had gotten dressed with the help of a nurse, and was now wearing black leather pants and a black tank top, as well as a sling over her left arm.
: "The doctor talked to me. He said it wasn't as bad as he had originally thought. There's no shattered bone! Look, the doc gave me pain killers! I can go!"
: Indiana Jerico looked at Meg. "Are you sure??"
: "Yes I'm sure! Look!" Very slowly Meg moved her arm up. "Owwww!! But I can do it! The doc looked at the X-rays. And I'm right handed, so I can shoot!"
: Indiana Jerico looked at Meg. "I don't think so, Meg."
: "Fine," Meg said. She looked over at Indy. "Indy, as your commanding officer, I order you to take me with you."
: Indy looked at Jerico, who just stared in disbelief.
: Suddenly a smile came over Indy's face. "Never argue with women. They're always right."
: Meg laughed, and then followed them out the door.

: - - -

: A spatter of blood hit the golden-brown hay. Short Round groaned in agony.
: Brett Lambert shook his fist. "I already broke your nose. Now I'll break your face, you little dork."
: Indiana James walked in from another end of the barn, carrying the cell phone. He looked at the old sign in the back of the barn. It read "Farmer I. Jones and Sons Produce"
: He looked back at Brett.
: "Easy there! We don't want him to die."
: At this point, Short Round was a bloody mess. His face was purple in spots, with bruises. He looked like a smashed plum.
: Brett shook his fist again, and without taking his eyes off of Shorty, asked, "What'd they say?"
: "I couldn't get through. No answer, nothing."
: "That's odd," Brett said. "Find the number of Meg's cell and call that."
: Indiana James smiled. They were gonna be rich soon.

: - - -

: "We need guns. We don't know what's gonna happen, so we better get guns," Meg said dryly.
: Indiana Jerico disarmed the alarm on the red Beamer, then popped open the trunk.
: Meg whistled. Indy grinned.
: "Now this is what I've been looking for." Indy picked up a large black pistol and examined it.
: "Nine-millimeter Beretta automatic. 15-round mag, one in the chamber. Just like the gun Mel Gibson carries in 'Lethal Weapon'. Yeah, I'll be fine with this," he said as he walked to the passenger-side door and leaned against it.
: Indiana Jerico grinned and said, "Well Meg, you want anything?"
: She looked over the weaponry and picked up a Colt Trooper .357. "I thought they stopped makin' these."
: "We have a few," Jerico said. Meg grabbed some extra rounds. Just then, Indy came back to the trunk.
: "I need some more clips for this thing. Ah! There they are." He picked up a few clips and shoved them in his pocket. "We better get go- what's that? An MP-5! Why didn't ya tell me you had this?!" Indy snatched it up, along with several magazines, and returned to the front seat.
: Meg walked to the back passenger seat, and Indiana Jerico climbed in and started the car.
: Along the way, Indy explained to them what he, Short Round, Aragorn, and Goodsport had gotten into. Meg and Jerico also told him of what happened in the library.
: "So, now Goodsport got shot in the left shoulder too??" Meg asked in disbelief.
: "Yeah," Indy said, "and we need to get to Tessa, fast!"

: - - -

: The telephone rang, and The Man with the Hat picked it up. He and Tessa had just eaten room service, and The Man had 'explained' everything to Tessa. She was now taking a shower.
: "Hello," he answered as he put the receiver to his ear.
: "Man with the Hat, this is Deirdre. I'm in Warsaw to make sure you don't screw up."
: "I won't," he said. "I was about to kill her right now."
: "Good thing I called when I did. New orders. Nobody wants Tessa alive."
: "What?"
: "Just don't kill her! I want you to meet me in 30 minutes."
: Deirdre then gave The Man directions to an old warehouse.
: Just after The Man got off the phone, Tessa walked out of the bathroom. She was wearing blue jeans and a white shirt.
: "AhhhhÖ I needed that," she said.
: The Man with the Hat looked at the directions, then put them in his pocket.
: "So you're trying to tell me that Goodsport and some other people are trying to kill me?"
: "Yeah. He has a team. Luckily, I'm with you. Listen, Tessa, I've gotta go talk to my, uh, colleague. She needs to talk to me."
: "OK. I'm not going anywhere. I'll lock up."
: The Man stood up and walked out the door.

: - - -

: The Fiddler looked into his rearveiw mirror. "What theÖ?"
: A red BMW had just rounded the corner, and was gaining on him.
: Meg looked out the windshield, and squinted. "Who's that?" Meg asked.
: Indiana Jerico looked out the window. "I dunno."
: "Let's find out," Indy said. "Pull up along side them."
: Indiana Jerico started speeding up. He pulled the car right alongside the Audi.
: "Hey!" Indy yelled, "that's the Fiddler! He was with Indiana James! He's the one who escaped!!"
: The Fiddler looked over at Indy and did a double take. "Shit!" he yelled. Indy smiled at him, and made the motion for him to put his window down. After a couple of seconds the Fiddler did. "May I help you?" the Fiddler asked sarcastically.
: Indy flipped him off and the Fiddler glared at him; then slammed his Audi into Aragorn's BMW.
: Indiana Jerico winced. "Aragorn's not gonna like this."
: Meg looked at him. "Neither do I."
: Indy Jerico bashed the back of Fiddler's Audi, and the Fiddler immediately returned the favor.
: Indy pulled out his Beretta and was about to raise it to shoot, when Meg spoke up.
: "Indy, no!! We need him alive! We need to know what he does!!"
: "Then how we gonna stop him," Jerico asked.
: "I don't know. But we need to, and fast!! He may know where Tessa is!"
: "I have an idea," Indy said dryly, "just try to keep the car steady."
: Indiana Jerico sighed. "Everyone's a hero."
: Meg looked at Indiana Jerico and said, "Maybe, but he's pretty good at it."
: Indy started climbing out the window, and tried to grab the Fiddler. Fiddler slammed his Audi into the Beamer, nearly smashing Indy. Jerico kept alongside him, and Indy jumped onto the Audi, holding onto the rack on top of the car. Fiddler pulled away, and Indy heaved himself on top of the car, clenching the rack bars. The Fiddler began swerving from side to side, trying to shake his unwanted passenger off. From inside the BMW, Meg yelled, "Make him stop swerving! He'll fall off!"
: Jerico looked over to the Audi. "I'm workin' on it. I'm workin' on it!!"
: He pulled towards the Audi, ramming it once more. Both cars shook violently, and Indy almost fell off. But it worked. The Fiddler had Meg and Jerico on one side, a ditch on the other, and Indy above him. He hardly had any room to move. Indy pulled out his Beretta, and put his head down into the passenger side window.
: He looked at the Fiddler as he smiled and said, "I'd like to see your drivers license and proof of insurance!"
: "Here it is!" the Fiddler said as he pulled his Glock out. Indy definitely saw it.
: "You really should keep both hands on the wheel, ya know," Indy suggested mockingly and lifted himself up just as Fiddler fired at the window. While he was firing, Fiddler lost control of the vehicle and almost went into the ditch. The car hit a rock and bumped up hard.
: "SHIT!!!" Indy yelled as he fell onto the passenger side of the Audi. He was just barely hanging on.
: "Well, I'm not doing that again," Fiddler said to himself.
: Indiana Jerico and Meg saw Indy fall off.
: "Oh my God!" Jerico yelled, "Is he still there?!?"
: Meg looked behind them, then looked over at the car again. She saw Indy pull himself back up onto the roof of the car.
: "He's still there!" Meg yelled as she pointed at Indy.
: The Fiddler began to slow down a bit, and got up right along side the rear passenger side window of the BMW. He reached out, grabbed Meg, and began pulling her out of the car. If she had two arms, she could have done something; but with this it was either die or go to the Audi. The Fiddler rammed the front of the Beamer, and Jerico was forced away. Meg held on to the door as hard as she could, and yelped in pain. Indiana Jerico held his breath. Indy noticed Jerico pulling away, and didn't see Meg. "Meg!!" he yelled.
: "Ahhh!! Help!!!", shrieked Meg.
: Indy lunged to the other bars and secured his grip. "Hold on!!" he yelled. He positioned himself so his red Doc Marten boots were lodged in the other side of the rack, and reached over to grab Meg. He looked up for a second and saw Jerico watching nervously. He looked back down, grabbed the back of Meg's pants and started to lift her up. Thankfully for both Indy and Meg, the Fiddler had let go to avoid another near-accident. Indy lifted Meg up onto the roof as she grabbed the rack with her one good arm. Indy held her with one of his. "Ya know what?" he yelled.
: "What?" Meg yelled back.
: Indy smiled at her. "You have a nice butt!"
: "Well, I jog," she said as she smiled back.
: Seeing that Meg and Indy were safely on top of the car, Indy Jerico pulled up on the Audi again. He glared at The Fiddler, knowing that there was nothing he could do. The Fiddler smiled and closed his window. He knew they wanted him alive, so he thought he was safe. When the Fiddler wasn't paying attention, Jerico leaned over towards the passenger window and yelled out. "Indy!! Indy!!"
: Indy looked over with a confused look on his face.
: Indiana Jerico smiled. "Stop the son of a bitch. Just stop him!!"
: Indy smiled back. Meg looked at him. "What'd he say?!"
: Indy pulled out his Beretta and switched off the safety. "He asked me to have fun."
: Meg looked at him, puzzled. She decided to find out.
: "Stay here," Indy said.
: "Where the hell else am I gonna go!!" Meg replied.
: Indy pretended not to hear the comment and said to himself, "Hope I don't fall off."
: Holding onto Meg with his left arm, he put his right arm up in the air, aiming for the hood, and started firing. The Fiddler jumped at the sound of gunfire, and saw holes being ripped into the hood. He didn't know what to do. Before he could think of anything, the engine burst into flames, sending the hood flat against the windshield. The Fiddler screamed, but heard other screams as well. On top of the car, Indy and Meg were forced back from the rush of the hood. They both yelled, and Jerico watched in horror as he kept the Beamer close to the Audi. Inside the car, Fiddler struggled to keep control of the car. "Dammit!!" he yelled as he almost lost control. On the top, Indy looked at Meg. "We need to jump. It's our only hope."
: Meg nodded. "What about my arm?"
: "What about our lives?"
: Meg gave him a worried look.
: "On three. OneÖ" The car jerked to the right, and they almost fell off. Indy stood halfway up, holding Meg against him. "Two." It shudder again, hitting a bump.
: "THREE!!!"
: Indy and Meg leaped as hard as they could, sailing through the air. In mid-flight, Indy saw a pile of brush and pushed Meg away. She landed roughly but comfortably with a 'fwoomp'! Unfortunately, when Indy pushed Meg away, he forced himself to land on the ground. Before he could even swear, everything went black.
: As soon as the Fiddler felt Indy and Meg jump off the Audi, he looked out the passenger window to see how close to the ditch he was. Seeing that he was almost in it, the Fiddler pulled away quickly in a panic, forgetting about the BMW and Indiana Jerico on his left side. Jerico had been watching Meg and Indy, and was about to stop and turn around when the Fiddler pulled in front of him. The last thing Jerico remembered was a huge flash of white.

: - - -

: Right after The Man with the Hat left the hotel room, Tessa waited a few seconds, and then peeked out the door. She saw him get into the elevator, so she took the stairs down to the lobby. Keeping her face hidden, she followed far behind The Man, keeping him in sight. He was easy to spot with the fedora. After walking for several minutes, Tessa saw the Man with the Hat turn a corner. She peeked around and saw him enter a warehouse. After a few seconds, she slowly opened the door. She moved her way to another door, and peeked inside. Nothing. She heard voices from a short distance away, and walked towards them. Creeping on the floor, Tessa made her way behind a large wooden crate and looked around it. Standing there was The Man with the Hat, an Asian-looking woman, and someone else she didn't know. He was white with short blonde hair. He looked very strong and was wearing an Indy style fedora, a long black trench coat, and dark sunglasses. He looked like a 1920's bootlegging mobster.
: The Man with the Hat seemed uncomfortable.
: "But Deirdre," he stammered. "You wanted her-"
: "Shut up!!" Deirdre roared, "I've had enough of you!" Deirdre looked over at the other man and nodded. "This is where Mack comes in."
: The Man with the Hat looked scared. "What! What's goin on?!'
: Without warning Mack took a revolver from his jacket, and shot The Man with the Hat in the left side of the chest. He fell to the ground. Tessa cried out in horror, and Deirdre and Mack looked over and saw her. "That's Tessa!!" Deirdre yelled. "Get her!!"
: As soon as they had spotted her, Tessa sprang up and bolted out of the warehouse. Mack and Deirdre followedÖ

: - - -

: "It rang, but no one answered," Indiana James said.
: "OK," Brett said. "Here."
: He picked up an M-16 rifle that they had gotten from the hideout, and handed it to James. "You think they'll come for him, James?"
: "Definitely," Indy James replied, looking at Short Round. He was sitting in his chair, battered and beaten. They had finally stopped hitting him. "They saw the road we went up on, Brett. They'll come, and soon."
: Brett pulled back the action on his pistol. "And we'll be ready."

: - - -

: Aragorn tossed down his magazine and sighed. "Wonder how the others are doing?" he said to himself.

: - - -

: Indy slowly opened his eyes. The bright sunlight blinded him, and he blinked. After he had adjusted to the bright light, he saw Meg standing over him. "Are you okay," she asked.
: "I dunno," he said, rubbing his head. "Do I look okay? How you doin'?"
: "I'm fine," she replied as he got up.
: "You sure," he asked as he looked her over.
: She nodded, then leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
: "What was that for?"
: "Saving my life."
: Indy smiled then said, "Hey! Not bad! All I have to do is save your life a few more times and then I can getÖ." He decided not to finish the sentence.
: She smirked, then looked around for the first time. Indy did too. Down the road about 100 feet was the BMW and the Audi, in a mess. Not too badly beaten up, but a pretty bad accident. Meg and Indy were shocked. As they ran over Meg yelled. "Indiana Jerico!! Indy!!!"
: They reached the BMW and opened the door. Indy looked over at the Audi to check on the Fiddler. He was gone. "Meg, the Fiddler's gone!"
: "We'll worry about that later! Help me!"
: Indy ran over and looked at Jerico. He was lying in the airbag, stirring.
: "He's okay!" Indy said excitedly.
: Indiana Jerico opened his eyes, and saw nothing but white. He gathered his bearings in a couple seconds, and realized the white flash he saw was the airbag. Then he remembered Meg and Indy and the car chase. Indy started shaking him. "C'mon Jerico! We gotta catch bad guys today."
: Jerico looked up and smiled. "You guys are all right!"
: "To a point," Indy mumbled.
: Meg reached over and hugged Jerico as Indy helped him up.
: "What happened to the Fiddler," Indiana Jerico asked.
: "He got away," Meg said, "but I think we should go get Shorty."
: Indy nodded. "We already passed the road to where the Lamberts went. I have a truck back at the hideout. These cars areÖ uhhhÖ out of order."
: Indy Jerico shook his head and sighed. "You do?"
: Meg looked around and said, "He keeps one in the back. For emergencies or somethingÖ I dunno."
: Indy laughed and said sarcastically, "Plus it makes hauling dead bodies easier."

: - - -

: Tessa ran through the hotel doors, not believing what she had just seen. The Man with the Hat had lied to her, and she didn't know whom to trust. She figured to herself that Goodsport's group must be the good guys. She wasn't sure though. Tessa ran down the hallway to her hotel room, scared for her life. I'll lock myself up, she thought, and call the police. She walked through the door and closed it quietly. She looked through the peephole and saw the coast was clear. Breathing a sigh of relief, she turned around and saw Mack and Deirdre standing there, Mack pointing his gun at her.
: "Don't worry Miss Zarycki," Deirdre said grinning, "the boss wants you alive. For now."

: - - -

: Indy walked behind the building, started up his brand new silver Ford F-250 and pulled it around front to get Indiana Jerico and Meg. The wreck was only about 100 yards from the hideout, so it wasn't much of a walk. He came around front and got out. "There's only room for two in the front; Meg's injured and I'm driving. Plus we could use you in the back with a shotgun, Jerico," Indy said as they started loading equipment into the back. They had managed to salvage Indy's Beretta, MP-5, a shotgun, Meg's Colt, and four pieces of body armor.
: "I suggest we each put one of these on," Meg said as she picked up a piece of body armor. "Be sure to wear an undershirt, though. I'm gonna go inside and change. I've got the shoulder, so it'll take me a while."
: Meg walked inside, and Indy took off his shirt. He looked at Indiana Jerico and asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"
: Jerico looked up. "Yeah, just got a headache."
: Indy pulled a white shirt out of the truck and said, "You need another shirt, Jerico?"
: "No," Indiana Jerico replied, "I'll just wear it under my coat."
: Indy put on the white shirt, then strapped on the body armor. Jerico took off his black trenchcoat and put his own piece on, picked up the shotgun and loaded eight shells into it. It was an assault shotgun, sawed off, 12-gauge. Indy took his fedora out of his truck and placed it on his head. Indy Jerico saw him putting it on and chuckled, "How original."
: Indy ignored the comment. Meg walked out of the house; good as new.
: "We better get going," she said, "we don't know what they're doing with him."
: Jerico climbed into the back of the pickup, and Meg and Indy got in front. Indy turned the ignition, and drove off in a cloud of dust.

: - - -

: "Is he gonna be all right?" Aragorn asked. The doctor had just come out to tell Aragorn the news about Goodsport.
: "I am afraid," the doctor said in excellent English, "that your friend has shattered bone in his left shoulder."
: Aragorn gasped, and the doctor continued.
: "He'll live, but he's not going to be doing much as far as I can see."
: Aragorn's phone rang, knocking him out of the trance. Before he picked it up he said, "Thank you doctor. I'll be in to see him soon." The doctor nodded and walked away.
: He picked up his phone and put it to his ear. "Aragorn here."
: "I know where Tessa is."
: Aragorn was startled. "What!? Where!? Who are you?!"
: "A friend," Mack said. "She is in Warsaw."
: Aragorn continued to listen as Mack explained directions.
: "And be careful, my friend," Mack said.
: "Thank you, whoever you are."
: Back in Warsaw, Mack hung up the phone and looked at Deirdre. "He bought it."
: Deirdre smiled. "Good. He'll show up, along with the rest of his friends. Try and find Indiana James and the Fiddler. And get us some more help. It's not gonna be easy to kill them all."

: - - -

: Indy pulled the F-250 to a stop in the woods. Through the trees and foliage, he and Meg could just make out the barn. Indy reached back and opened the window. "This is it. He's probably in there."
: Meg nodded and flipped open her Colt. It was loaded.
: "Meg, you stay here," Indy went on.
: "Yeah," Jerico spoke up. "If it looks like we're in trouble, come and help us."
: "Fine," Meg said, a little disappointed. Indy handed her the keys.
: Indiana Jerico jumped down from the back of the truck, carrying the 12-gauge. Indy got out of the truck and went to the bed. He opened a box he had and picked up a satchel. He tossed one to Indiana Jerico. "What's in here?" he asked.
: "That's my bag 'o' tricks," Indy said as he smiled.
: Jerico opened it up, and inside found a flare gun, two flares, a grenade, some rope, a grappling hook, and two throwing knives. Jerico grinned and took the bag. Indy slung his satchel over his shoulder, grabbed his MP-5 and put the magazines in it. He put his Beretta in the back of his pants and slung the MP-5 over his other shoulder. He grabbed another satchel, and handed it to Meg. Jerico chuckled, then said, "Boy, you aren't kidding, are ya?"
: Indy didn't reply and just told Meg to be careful.
: Indiana Jerico grabbed his shotgun and they walked away.
: Meg watched them, and wished she hadn't gotten shot. She was already missing the action.

: -----


Follow Ups:



Post a Followup:

Name:    
E-Mail:  
Subject: 
Comments:

Optional:

Link URL:   
Link Title: 
Image URL:  


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Indyfan Fan Fiction Forum ]