Stacy shifted herself in the hard saddle beneath her. It seemed as if they had been riding for hours. She wasn't even sure how far they had come, just that the endless stretch of brown grass never ended.

"How much further is that city anyway?" Lou mumbled behind Jimmy. Sure she had made a run to Kansas City before, but she chose to take the more "northern" route. Lou wondered if any of the others felt as hot, tired, bored and stiff as she did.

"We should be there in a couple of hours." Came a quick reply from one of the men that Lou couldn't distinguish from behind. Terrific, a couple more hours of being shoved around by some scummy men. Lou thought to herself. She wished so much that she could ride up alongside Stacy, at least for someone to talk to.

Almost as if her thoughts had been heard, one of them called out. "We'll stop for a while and water our horses." He glared over at Jimmy. "And that means don't try anything stupid."

Jimmy slid down and felt the hard ground crunch beneath his feet. "Wouldn't dream of it." He said, letting contempt in his voice ring out.

Kid continued on, only being able to hope that he was headed in the right direction. He should have found out more about what was going on with Stacy before he left on his ride, and he was kicking himself that he hadn't. The empty pit in his stomach didn't make matters any better.

As horse and owner traveled a bit further, Kid's keen senses picked up on the smell of a smoldered fire. He instinctively followed it, and was lead to what was obviously a old campfire. Kid searched diligently for any signs of what he could only hope had been the most recent site of his three friends.

He looked around the stirred dust that was on the ground and tried to figure out how many different people had been there. After some careful investigation, he still couldn't figure it out. "Man I wish Buck were here." He said outloud. "Come on, you must have left something!"

Just as he was about to give up, Kid walked towards Katy, but stopped as he peered over towards some tall grass and noticed a piece of cloth, which was torn at the edges. It didn't look familiar to him, but there was a scent on it that was. He recognized it as one of those purfumes that seemed to be quite popular back East. "Stacy. Oh, please still be heading towards Kansas City!" Hastily he hopped onto his mount. "Come on girl, we've got to pray we can beat them there, or at least catch up in time."

"I said back away from each other!" Matt yelled. Lou looked at Stacy and slowly backed off.

"We were just talking." She argued in their defense.

He stepped closer........intimidatingly closer. "I don't care, just stay away from each other."

Jimmy had been watching the scene from a short distance. He was just itching for the chance to do something to one, no both of those men. He knew the timing had to be just right though. He wasn't going to blow what could be their only chance. Back at the campsite he tried to signal Stacy to duck so that he could take a shot at the man behind her, but obviously she hadn't gotten the message.

"Is it alright if we talk from a distance?" Stacy asked, arms folded. She refused to play these games any longer.

He looked at them both for a moment. "You, sit, right there. And DON'T move." Matt motioned for Lou to sit on the ground where she stood. "Now if you stay that far away from each other, you can do whatever you feel like." He smiled mischievously. "Just don't get too settled in, we'll be moving on in a few minutes."

Stacy cleared her throat and dusted off her pants. "Mess this of out get to how on ideas bright any got?"

Lou looked at her as if she'd gone crazy. She shook her head in confusion. "What did you just say?"

Stacy shot her friend a dirty look. She couldn't believe that Louise didn't remember the game they both used to play in the orphanage. "Lou, come on, think, I know you remember this. Do you recall the time we used to play all of those silly GAMES?"

Lou's eyes brightened at the memory. She thought back on what Stacy had just said. That's right! Got any bright ideas on how to get out of this mess! They had played the "backwards" game for hours on end. In fact, speaking backwards had become like a whole new language to she and her friend. In fact it was just so easy, but sounded strange enough, that nobody else ever figured it out. "Town to get we before something with up come better we but, no."

They giggled at the memories that brought back. Jimmy looked over at them strangely, trying to repeat the words that they had said. Before he could ask about it, Matt and Bobby hollered to them. "Mount up, now. We're not stopping until we reach Kansas City, our final destination!" He smiled at the thought of his own success.

"Oh I wouldn't be getting too cocky yet." Stacy said under her breath. She noticed Jimmy was watching her walk towards her horse. "You ok?" She asked as she passed him.

"Yeah. Just stay alert, and be ready." Was his only reply.

Stacy wasn't about to ask him what that was supposed to mean, but instead of dweling on it, she turned to Lou. "I guess I'll talk to you on the other end of this mess."

"Guess so."

They're forcing me into something that I'm not sure about. Joey couldn't have been involved with something sketchy! I refuse to believe it! I don't know how, but we have to break free. Stacy wordlessly resumed her position in leading the others as she was being forced to do. She prayed that someone would come after them........but she also knew that their leaving was of no surprise to anyone back at the station. Shoot, Louise had left a note for Kid saying that they were going. The situation looked hopeless and grim. Even if they did make it to Kansas City and find those documents, they wouldn't be coming back alive. Of that much she was sure.

On to Part Ten