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480 Words
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From her hiding place in a clump of brush just at the edge of the woods, Corliss watched as the little procession wended its way across the meadow and disappeared into the trees. The three men were all but invisible at this distance in their camouflage outfits, but Amy stood out with her bare white skin and black t-shirt. The small binoculars Corliss was carrying were good enough for her to see the frightened, fearful expression on Amy’s face above the wide strip of tape that sealed her mouth, the length of chain padlocked around her slender neck, even the shiny handcuffs fettering her wrists.
‘Everything guys would need for a camping trip’ she thought to herself. She saw Amy take one last look around before she was dragged along into the woods. The man bringing up the rear did the same before he disappeared behind her.
Corliss looked at her wristwatch and waited until it had ticked off two solid minutes before she dared to move. It was very quiet, and any careless noise she might make could be heard a ways off. She wasn’t going to take any chances that might land her in the same predicament as Amy. This bunch seemed to be much better organized than she’d first suspected, and Amy’s captors looked like they were perfectly at home in the great outdoors. She didn’t dare risk following right after them, but after studying the maps and old aerial photos that she’d dug up of the area she thought that she had a pretty good idea where they were headed. She was sure that she could reach another good vantage point ahead of them and find another patch of cover to conceal herself. Amy was slowing them down a lot.
She felt a twinge of guilt about setting Amy up as bait like that, but her scheme had worked after all. With just a little luck she’d be able to break this thing wide open. The men weren’t likely to hurt Amy in the meantime. Most likely they were just trying to scare her, but in any case a fit, pretty, long-legged young woman like Amy was just too…um…valuable. As to what else they might do to her besides scare her, well that was out of Corliss’ hands now, and it was best not to think about that too much. Anyway, Amy was a PI the same as she was, and they both had to know that the job entailed risks. Corliss slipped into the woods, moving quickly but carefully. She had everything she might need: Canteen, compass, knife and gun. She hadn’t been able to find any camo gear, but she was dressed in drab greens and browns that ought to serve almost as well. She didn’t expect the 9mm automatic she carried to be much use against the well-armed men with Amy, but she was also carrying a cell phone, and that ought to be very useful in the near future.
- Writer
