Week 233 – Waiting for answers

Pain throbbed through her stomach. It was worse with Cooper covering her body with his own, pressing it into the floor of the van. She knew he was trying to protect her from the bullets but still she squirmed trying to escape the pain.

“We’re going for a little drive, when we get there I’m sure everything will be crystal clear,” someone said, and then she heard the van door slam closed.

“Any idea why our boss wants you dead?” Walt asked.

“None. Sarah, honey, you doing okay?” Cooper asked as he moved his body off hers.

“He shot me,” she murmured, clamping her teeth together to stop them from chattering. She was cold, her body trembling, and all she wanted to do was sleep.

“I know, darlin, I’m so sorry you got dragged into this mess. You just hold on okay, I’ll get you out of here.”

Sarah doubted any of them were making it out of this alive, but she heard the sorrow in Cooper’s voice, the guilt and recrimination, so she forced herself to reach out to him. “I believe you.”

“Darlin, are your hands free?” he asked, hope edging into his tone.

“Yes.”

“Ankles too?”

She moved her feet, wincing at the pain in her abdomen. “Yeah, ankles too.”

“The rest of us are tied up, do you think you can try to undo the ropes on my wrists?” Cooper asked. “No way we’re going to just hang around waiting for answers, we need to get ahead of him.”

“I can try,” she agreed, hating that the pressure to get them all free rested on her. She wasn’t cut out for this.

“I’m going to move so I’m right by your hands, don’t try to move too much, you’ve already lost a lot of blood and we don’t want you to start bleeding worse.”

When Cooper had shifted into position, Sarah lifted her shaking hands and did her best to ignore the pain pulsing through her body, and the rocking of the van as it drove that made her stomach churn, and tried to focus on untying Cooper.

She was maybe halfway when suddenly the van stopped moving.

“Lie still, Sarah, let him think you’re still unconscious so he has no reason to hurt you again,” Cooper ordered, shifting away from her.

She tried to do as he said, knowing he was going to do whatever it took to keep his boss’ attention on him, but that didn’t sit well with her. Cooper had saved her life in the river earlier, she couldn’t just lie here and let him put himself in danger for her again.

Was she brave enough to try to stop this crazy man herself?

“We’re here,” Cooper’s boss said cheerfully as he opened the back of the van and stepped inside. “Isn’t it nice everyone is here so they can all see what kind of man you really are, Cooper?”

“Leave the others out of this,” Coop growled.

“But they’re right in the middle of it, aren’t they?”

Hands curled around her and she felt herself being lifted up. If she wanted a chance to try to take him down there was never going to be a better one than this.

“Put her down, Hunt, she’s innocent, she only just met me,” Cooper said, and she could feel him straining to get to her even though her eyes were closed.

Hunt didn’t listen, and Sarah waited, biding her time. When she felt his balance shift as he went to step down out of the van she seized the opportunity. Wrapping her arms around his neck she squeezed as hard as she could.

Cooper’s boss stumbled, sending them both crashing to the ground. She cried out as pain shot through her but kept her focus on her goal, getting possession of the gun.