Lady in Red Ch. 16

Amber had the camera on a tripod as she stood in front of it with Gwen. The voice in her ear told her she was going on in ten seconds. She counted down and turned to Gwen.

"What can you tell us about this situation, Gwen. What has happened here?"

"A dark man with a heavy accent and a gun stopped my sister, Lisa, in the parking lot of the Sparta mall a short while ago. He demanded that she text my boyfriend, Steve Hammer, telling him that she needed him outside. When he went out to see what Lisa needed, the gunman told Steve he had to submit to having his hands bound and to get into the gunman's car or he would shoot both Steve and Lisa.

"Steve told the gunman that he would kill him if he harmed Lisa, but if he let Lisa go, Steve would agree to being bound and leave with him. As he secured Steve's wrists, my sister was able to flee the area. She is unharmed but pretty shaken.

"We called the police immediately and they are doing their best to find the gunman and Steve. The man had a heavy accent, so I would guess that he may be connected to the recent terrorist attack. The fact that he wanted Steve, the man that single handedly killed five terrorists in that attack, leads me to conclude that the two situations are connected."

"What do you expect to happen now? Do you think the police will be able to bring this to a quick conclusion?" asked Amber.

"What do I think will happen? When that man threatened my sister in front of Steve, he signed his own death warrant. Steve will kill him. I have no doubt," replied Gwen calmly.

"With his hands tied and the other man carrying a gun? You believe that Steve will somehow kill the man and escape?" asked a surprised Amber.

"Yes, I do. Steve is a very capable man and very dangerous to killers, rapists, and bullies. He's got Navy SEAL blood coursing through his veins. He absolutely loves me, and my family. As I said, when that man pointed a gun at Lisa, he may as well have placed it to his own temple and pulled the trigger. Steve will not allow that man to live. His only chance is to turn himself into the police as soon as possible."

"That's the situation here. We'll try to speak with the police and get that report to you as soon as possible. Stay tuned to Channel 5 for the latest news on this possible bizarre twist to the recent terrorist attack," reported Amber as she signed off.

It was destined to be a very long night for the Anderson family and their friends. Amber O'Leary called her father to see if he could help. He promised to do everything he legally could to help Steve. The she called her fiancé, Brad Hunter, and explained to him what had happened.

Lisa was beside herself with worry and guilt. She apologized to Gwen numerous times. "I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have texted Steve. I was so scared I didn't know what to do, so I did what the guy told me. I should have known better. I put Steve in danger! Gwen, I'm so sorry!"

"This is not your fault, Lisa! Steve will be okay. You had no choice. Who has a better chance of survival with that nutcase, you or Steve? Of course it's Steve. He'd trade his life for mine, yours, or Kate's without blinking an eye. That's one of the reasons we love him so much. Now you have to have faith in him. He saved you and now he has to save himself, and he will. I know he will."

It was midnight by the time Ted and Paula herded their daughters into their family home. Even at that hour, Diane, Will, and Stephanie stopped in, knowing that no one would be sleeping until they received word on Steve.

Kate turned on the TV at five AM to find out how the news was handling the abduction. She was amazed to see what looked like Steve's life story being shown. The clip covered the river rescue, the championship game, the Lady in Red dance, the inauguration of the governor, the shootout with the terrorists, the songs from the memorial and ended with Steve singing to Gwen the previous day.

As the clip ended and the station went to commercial, Kate noticed that Gwen and Lisa were standing behind her. Lisa was crying uncontrollably and Gwen was angry.

"That almost sounded like an obituary! Steve is not dead and he will not die any time soon!" spat Gwen in the direction of the television.

Gwen's resolve was going to be tested far more than she could have dreamed. The weather turned bad with a blizzard blowing through the mountains to the north. It was bad enough to drop eight inches of snow in Sparta and make travel difficult. Sunday wore on with no word from the police. By Sunday night, the Andersons were too weary to stay awake, so they went to bed hoping for better news the next morning.

School was cancelled because of the snow covered roads, so Gwen spent the day with her family again, waiting for the police to call with news. Governor O'Leary called around noon to speak with Gwen and promised that every asset of the state would be pressed into service to find Steve. By afternoon, the roads were cleared and Paula's parents arrived to offer their support.

The Andersons, with Diane's family and Gwen's grandparents, were seated in the living room quietly talking when the phone rang. Paula was sitting near it and answered. She listened for a period of ten or fifteen seconds and then responded with a "Yes, Sir," and handed the phone to Gwen.

Everyone in the room listened intently to Gwen's side of the conversation. "Mr. President! Thank you so much! Yes. It's been difficult, but he'll be okay. I know he will. I appreciate that, Sir! Yes, he is. Thanks so much for calling!"

After she hung the phone up, Gwen turned to her family and managed a weak smile. "That was the president. He said that he has Homeland Security and the FBI working on Steve's abduction. He told me that Steve was an exceptional man and would survive this ordeal and that we needed to stay strong and keep our faith in Steve. I'm going to vote for him next election."

"The President of The United States calls you?" marveled Paula's mother. "He knows you and Steve, and called to offer his support? You kids are incredible! With the whole government working on this, Steve should be rescued any minute!"

That was destined to be the highlight of the day. No good news was forthcoming. Once again, the family retired for the night hoping that the next day would be better.

Gwen was up early, only to find Ted sitting at the table sipping on a cup of coffee. "The police found the car the guy abducted Steve in. It was in a garage a couple miles from the mall. They think the guy had a different car stashed there and stole the one he used to abduct Steve. That's one reason they haven't found him. They've been looking for the wrong car."

Gwen decided to attend school rather than wait at home. Lisa had not returned to class and was becoming extremely depressed. At school, kids were supportive and kind to Gwen. She had difficulty concentrating in class, but it helped the time go faster.

That afternoon, shortly after she returned home from school, Gwen answered the doorbell. Standing on her stoop was Amber O'Leary, along with Brad and Jason Hunter.

Gwen flew into their arms and hugged the two men tightly. Somehow she identified with these tall strong military men and she felt safer just seeing them.

"I'm so glad you came! Lisa needs some cheering up. She feels responsible for Steve being abducted. She needs men that think like Steve to explain to her how men are and how Steve was glad to risk his life to save hers. Come on in. I'll get Lisa."

Lisa came down the stairs when Gwen called for her. When she saw Jason she ran to him and hugged him as hard as he could as she sobbed into his chest. Jason held her and rubbed her back as she cried.

"It's my fault. I was afraid of the man and texted Steve like he told me. I was such a coward. Then Steve never even acted nervous. Steve just told the guy that if he hurt me, he would kill him. Then he agreed to be tied up and go with the guy if he let me go! It's my fault!"

"I know you're upset, but I won't have you disrespecting Steve like this," stated Jason firmly. "He made his choice, the same choice any man would make. He was honored to have the opportunity to help you. He could do nothing less and still be a man. He doesn't need or want your pathetic self pity. He needs friends that are strong. Can you stop thinking about yourself and think about Steve?"

Gwen was shocked at Jason's harsh words to Lisa. She had hoped that he'd help Lisa through a difficult time and now he was brow beating her. To Gwen's surprise, Lisa stopped crying and stepped back from Jason.

"What can we do to help him? I want to help him any way I can. You're right about me. All I could think about was what I had done and not what a brave, selfless thing Steve did to protect me. He deserves better. That's why Gwen is his girlfriend. I don't deserve a great guy like that until I get my head out of my ass and start thinking straight."

"That's why I'm here, Lisa. I'm going to remove your head from that dark place and show you that you do deserve a great guy, and that great guy is me! I'm here for you."

The phone rang and Gwen answered it. She listened intently, asked a few questions and then hung up. "They think they found the car used after the guy switched in the garage. It's way up in the mountains, not too far from Big Bear Ski Lodge. The car was over a cliff and blown to pieces. They've recovered two sets of DNA. One is Steve's!"

Paula, Kate, and Paula's mother had entered the room in time to hear Gwen's statement. Brad broke the silence. "That doesn't mean that he's dead! Hell, I bet the FBI could find my DNA in that rental car I just drove here. The fact that they only found DNA is a positive thing. He might be walking back right now."

"They had a blizzard up there a couple days ago. There's two feet of new snow and the temperatures have been in the teens with a strong wind since then. Steve must be in that weather, trying to survive after blowing that bastard to hell. He'll need help!"

"I have some connections," declared Brad as he headed out of the room. "Let me make a few calls and see what I can find out."

Ten minutes later, Brad came back into the living room. "I called in a few favors to get this information. They found body parts all over the wreckage, but none were Steve's. They did find blood on some of the wreckage that was Steve's. They feel it's possible that he's alive and on foot in the Burns National Forest. Amber's dad tried to send the National Guard in with helicopters and other equipment, but couldn't because there's another blizzard bearing down on the area right now. They can't risk more lives, so they have to wait it out. They think it'll be clear by the weekend, or maybe Friday and they'll go in then."

"Steve's been through one blizzard and he has to go through another one?" asked Gwen incredulously. "This is not acceptable! I'll go up there myself and look for him. I have good boots and a warm coat. I can take a backpack and..."

"You're not going up there, Gwen, but I sure as hell admire your spirit and determination. This is extremely dangerous. I spoke with Amber's Dad and he's sending a helicopter here as we speak. Jason and I will be dropped off where the wreckage was located and we'll find Steve for you."

It was Amber's turn to gasp. "You're going to go out in a blizzard? I thought you just said that they won't risk more lives to look for Steve in this weather."

"They won't order anyone out, but Jason and I are volunteering. It'll be a walk in the park for us. We grew up in Vermont so we're used to snow and bad weather. And we're trained for this by the United States government. They'll have all the gear we'll need on the chopper."

"That's why I fell in love with you, Brad! You're so masculine, yet so compassionate. You've volunteered to be dropped off in a blizzard to help a guy you've only met once. I know you brothers will look after each other and won't have any problems, but I love you even more for doing this. My husband-to-be is a real man and I'm extremely proud of him."

"You're going with Brad to look for Steve?" asked Lisa with awe. "You'd do that for a person you only met once? Why?"

"There are several reasons, really. He's very important to you, so he's important to me. I know you love him, although he's your sister's boyfriend. I also know that some women have a tremendous capacity for love and I'm hoping we'll find him, and that'll make you fall in love with me. Then there's the matter of how he took out those terrorists and saved hundreds of lives. He sure as hell deserves all the help we can give him. And I like the way he and Gwen sing and dance. How's them reasons?"

"Jason, I was falling for you already. That you'd risk your life for Steve is pretty much going to seal the deal as far as I'm concerned. Steve told me that you were one of the good guys. As usual, he was spot on in his judgment. He's amazing, and you remind me of him an awful lot. Just know that I really, really appreciate what you're doing," said Lisa as she reached up and kissed Jason briefly.

The sound of a helicopter landing near the house quickly changed the mood. The two men began pulling their coats back on. "Just a minute! You two can't leave before I thank you for what you're doing for Steve, and for us. If you bring Steve back to me, I'll forever be in your debt and will love you with everything in me. Please be careful, but bring him back to me!" cried an impassioned Gwen as she hugged and kissed each man on the cheek.

Everyone was surprised to see Amber Stahl on the lawn videoing the helicopter landing. Then she swung her lens toward the group stepping out of the house. "Gwen, can you tell me why that helicopter is here and who these two men are?"

The men headed for the chopper, but Gwen stopped near Amber and responded to her question. "Those two men are Brad and Jason Hunter, US Army Rangers, or soon to be, in Jason's case. They've volunteered to be dropped into a driving blizzard in sub freezing temperatures to locate and return with Steve Hammer. That's the kind of men they are, and I thank God that we have friends like them!"

Brad Hunter hurried back to Gwen with a small phone in his hand. "Take this, Gwen. It's secure and the only time it'll ring is when I call to tell you that we found Steve. Keep it close and wait for our call."

Paula, Kate and Paula's mother had silently watched and listened to the entire exchange between the girls and Brad and Jason. "My God, your girls really attract some gorgeous men! Look how they carry themselves and the courage they show. You put Steve in with them and you could take on an army. I don't know how Steve could survive a crash and a blizzard, but if anyone could, it's him. If he doesn't Gwen will never be the same. Men like him don't come along very often."

"Grandma, Steve will be okay. He's the toughest, smartest, strongest guy I've ever seen. He's practically a Navy SEAL and those guys laugh at blizzards. It's another day at the beach for Steve. You just wait and see!" stated Kate with great conviction.

Gwen returned to school Wednesday with high hopes that Steve would somehow be found. She wore the phone Brad gave her on a small chain around her neck. She explained to anyone that asked what the significance of the phone was. Wednesday evening found Gwen and Lisa losing some of their optimism, but determined to stay the course. Thursday came and went with no news of any kind, except that a major winter snow storm was passing to the north and dumping a lot more snow in the mountains. Gwen had never listened to weather reports with so much concern.

By Friday, Gwen was extremely tense. Charlotte spent the morning trying to comfort her and keep her spirits up. Gwen tried to be stoic and strong, but fear was weighing heavily on her. It was mid afternoon in a study hall with Ms. Summers. Gwen's phone suddenly rang.

Everyone knew the significance of the phone ringing. The room became silent as Gwen removed the phone from her neck and answered it. Charlotte found herself holding her breath as she watched her best friend. Gwen never said a word after answering. She sat in a daze and nodded her head. Then she gently set the phone down and broke into huge sobs. Both Charlotte and Ms. Summers hurried to Gwen's side.