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Alex was very nervous about talking to Louise tonight. She didn’t know how to tell Louise what she had done before they left Brooks. Eric had been a big help to her. He had made her practice for her performances and had a long conversation about what she was going to talk to Louise about. Maybe she should try to talk to Louise before the performances tonight. She quickly discarded the idea. What could a couple hours hurt?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Kid, Buck and Noah were searching St. Jo to find Brooks. They had checked to see if anyone by that name worked for Russell, Majors, and Waddell and also if there had been any inspections scheduled. They weren’t surprised to find out that he didn’t work there and the company had never asked for any inspections to be done. As long as the mail got out, they were happy."Kid, where’s Lou?" Both Buck and Noah had been surprised to have Kid catch up to them. It had taken awhile, but Buck had finally gotten up the courage to ask. "She wanted to spend some time with Jeremiah and Theresa by herself. So I dropped her off at the orphanage." Kid knew he wouldn’t be able to just sit around and wait for the hours to pass so he had looked all over for Buck and Noah to try to keep from worrying. He almost wished he were back at the station so he could chop some wood. "When do you have to go and pick her up?" Buck had a feeling that something wasn’t quite right. He hoped it was wrong. "Well, I should probably head over there. Why don’t you guys come with me? We could all have dinner together and I’m sure the kids would love the attention." "Sounds good Kid. We’re not having any luck finding Brooks anyway." Noah also wanted to meet Lou’s siblings. He was impressed at everything she had done for them. As the guys rode into the orphanage, they saw a very upset Jeremiah and Theresa, but no Lou. "Jeremiah, what’s going on?" Kid had a very bad feeling. Lou should be here. "Kid, I promised not to tell, but Lou went out to do some shopping. She said she’d be back in an hour. That was almost two hours ago." Jeremiah had tried to stay calm, but he knew something was wrong. He felt bad enough that he had to break his promise to Lou, but he was really worried. "Oh no! Why can’t she just listen for once? She’s the most bullheaded person I know!" He should’ve known that she’d try something like this. How were they going to find her now?
Chapter Fourteen"Now Louise, what have you done with my money?" Brooks had been working on Lou for hours and gotten nowhere."I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about!" Lou didn’t understand what was going on. She had never taken anything from Brooks. How could he think that she stole from him? Brooks didn’t like the answer she gave. He hit her too hard this time. As her head snapped back, he realized he’s knocked her unconscious. "Damn!" "Problem Mr. Brooks?" Jack had heard the ‘discussion’ going on and knew there must be a problem. "I hit her too hard that time. It’s going to be awhile before she wakes up, so I’m going to head to town to listen to Ms. Maxwell sing." Jonah wasn’t worried about Louise. She wouldn’t cause any trouble while he was away. "Have a good time. She’s extraordinary!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ As show time approached, Alex got more and more nervous. She had a feeling that something was wrong. She thought it was just because of the talk she was going to have with Lou later, so didn’t think much of it."Alex, are you ready to go on? It’s just about show time." Eric knew she was getting worked up over this conversation with Lou, but he also knew that she was too hard on herself most of the time. "I just feel like something is wrong. I don’t know what it could be, but something just isn’t right." "You’re just nervous about the talk you’re going to be having with Louise later. Everything is fine." "I know you’re probably right, Eric. I’ll just try to ignore it until the time comes for the talk."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Kid! Where do you think you’re going?" No one had gotten Kid to say anything after they left the orphanage. Noah had stayed behind to keep an eye on the kids. They wanted to make sure that no one came after Jeremiah and Theresa. The boys had to promise the kids they would let them know as soon as they found Lou."I’m going to find Lou. I don’t know what she’s up to this time, but when I find her she’s got a lot of explaining to do!" Kid couldn’t believe it when Jeremiah told him that Lou had left. He was trying very hard not to be mad at her until after they found her. "We know you want to find Lou, Kid, but where are we headed?" Buck couldn’t figure out why they were headed to the theatre when they should be out combing the streets to find a sign of Lou. "I think we can find some answers here." Kid knew that Alexandria Maxwell probably knew what was going on and why Brooks would be looking for Lou. He hoped she wasn’t already on stage. It was about time someone told him exactly what was going on.
Chapter Fifteen"Show time Alex! Knock ‘em dead!" Eric gave Alex a quick kiss before she headed on stage.As Alex walked on stage, Kid and Buck came in the door. They started looking all over for Alex. Kid was almost unreasonable. He grabbed several people and demanded to know where Alex was. Eric heard the commotion and rushed back to see what the problem was. "What are you men doing back here?" Eric thought one of the men looked like Louise’s boyfriend, but he couldn’t remember for sure what he had looked like. He had only glanced at the guy. "I’ve got to talk to Alex. Where is she?" Kid wasn’t going to take any excuses. He was going to do everything in his power to find Lou. "She’s onstage right now. Is there anything that I could help you with?" "No. I’ll wait for Alex." Kid couldn’t believe this his luck. He hoped Alex was almost finished. "Does this have something to do with Louise?" Eric had a feeling he should’ve listened to Alex when she told him something was wrong. "Lou is missing. We’re hoping Alex can clear up some questions for us." "She’s just about to take her break. We’ll talk to her then."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ As Alex walked off stage, a man in the front row caught her attention. She stopped in her tracks as she realized who he was. "Oh my God! I hope he doesn’t realize who I am!" She thought. Eric met her right at the edge of the stage."Alex, we’ve got a problem. Some friends of Louise’s are here. She’s missing." As Eric told her what was going on, she knew she’d have to come clean fast. She’d tell Louise’s friends everything and then go and get Louise. She was the only one who knew where Brooks would be holding Louise.
Chapter SixteenWhen Louise woke up, she couldn’t remember where she was. She knew she was hurt and she couldn’t move. As her head cleared, she slowly remembered what had happened. She started working on the ropes to get out. After a few minutes, she realized it was pointless. The ropes were too tight and she couldn’t maneuver. She needed to figure out what Brooks could want from her. She hadn’t taken anything except what was hers when they left. She had a feeling that Alex would know what he was looking for. She just hoped that Kid could find out what it was and get to her in time.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Kid was getting very impatient waiting for Alex. He knew that she had finished her act for the night, so where was she."Kid, calm down. She’ll be back here shortly. Once she’s here, we’ll find out where Lou is and what’s going on." "I know Buck. I just can’t sit still. Lou is out there somewhere and in danger. Alex better be able to help us. If she can’t, I don’t know what I’m going to do." Kid was at his wit’s end. He just knew he shouldn’t have left Lou at the orphanage by herself. He should’ve realized she was up to something. He blamed himself for what happened. "She’ll be fine Kid. We’ll find out what we can from Alex and then we’ll find Lou." Buck had never seen Kid this bad when something happened to Lou. He knew they’d have to find Lou soon or he didn’t know what Kid would do. "Sorry that took so long. Alex, you remember Kid and this is Buck Cross another friend of Louise’s." "It’s nice to meet you Mr. Cross. Eric has told me why you’re here. Kid, has Lou told you about how we met and got separated right?" "Yes she has. What would Brooks want with her? He was posing as an inspector for Russell, Majors, and Waddell to try and find her." "She doesn’t have what he’s looking for, I do."
Chapter SeventeenAs the singer walked off the stage, Jonah thought there was something familiar about her. He couldn’t quite place where he’d seen her before. He knew that he should know the face. Maybe a nice cigar would help him clear his mind. He’d think on it some more when intermission was over.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "What the Hell do you mean you have what he’s looking for?? I want some answers!" Kid couldn’t believe what he had just heard! Lou was missing and this woman was the key to everything. She better tell everything and fast so they could save Lou."First I better tell you that Brooks is here tonight. I saw him in the first row when I was walking off stage." "Alex, I don’t think you should finish tonight’s show. We can tell the audience that you’re ill and will give another performance when you’re feeling better." Eric didn’t want to take the chance of Brooks realizing that Alexandria was also Alex. He didn’t want to have to go through the same torment that Kid was going through now. "Good idea. Buck will you follow Brooks and let us know where he’s hiding Lou?" Things were starting to look up Kid thought. "No problem Kid. I’ll wait outside to follow him after the announcement has been made." Buck headed out to get his horse. "Eric will you please tell the audience that I’m ill? Be sure to make them understand that their tickets will be honored at a later date and as soon as I’m feeling better we’ll post that date." Alex didn’t want Eric to know what she was about to do. "On my way Alex. I’ll be back in a few minutes." "Kid, I know where Brooks would be hiding Lou. His ranch isn’t far from here. He can’t get anything from her…or me. The money I stole is gone. I used it to fund my singing trip and I can’t think of a better way for it to be spent. Any money I’ve earned on the trip was given to churches or orphanages along the way. I didn’t need the money as much as they did." Alex knew she wasn’t quite telling Kid the truth. There was a lot of the money left and if they made it out of this alive, she planned on giving half of it to Louise. "Alright, give me directions to the ranch, I’ll get Lou out before Brooks can get there." "No, I’m coming with you. Don’t shake your head at me! I won’t be left behind. It’s all my fault Lou is in this mess and I’m not going to let her down now." "Save me from independent women!! I should’ve known you were just like Lou! C’mon let’s get going."
Chapter Eighteen"Ladies and Gentlemen, I regret to inform you that Miss Maxwell will be unable to finish tonight’s show. She is ill. As soon as she is feeling better, we will do another show. The date and time will be posted. Please be sure to keep your tickets because they will be honored at that time.""She didn’t seem sick to me" The crowd wasn’t taking the announcement well at all. Eric was worried this could be a lot harder than he thought. "I apologize about this inconvenience, but she was feeling unwell before the show today. She thought she could’ve completed tonight’s show, but her voice gave out during intermission. She wanted me to assure you all there will be no problem with you using your tickets at a later date. She is very disappointed that she couldn’t finish her performance for you." Brooks was a little suspicious of the announcement. It seemed so sudden. He still couldn’t place where he’d seen the singer before. He was hoping that he’d recognize her after intermission, but he’d just have to think about it. This did give him the perfect opportunity to work on Louise a little more. She couldn’t hold out much longer.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Alex, you do know where you’re going right? We’ve been circling for awhile.""You don’t want to get caught do you? I’m taking the long way to avoid the guards. Lou and I explored this place so much when we worked here. We had the time when we were training the horses, so why not look around. I just hope Brooks hasn’t changed things around much." Alex didn’t want to tell Kid that things looked a lot different from when she and Lou worked here. She knew they were getting very close, but everything was so different.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Brooks made it very easy to be followed. Buck didn’t think the man had even considered trying to hide his tracks. Either that or he didn’t care. In front of them, Buck saw a large compound. It reminded him of when they had to rescue Lou from her father. It was the same kind of set up. As Brooks rode through the front gates, Buck decided to wait for Kid before he went in."Buck, I didn’t expect to see you out here so soon." Kid was a little worried now. He had hoped to get Lou out before Brooks got back. If Buck was here, that had to mean that Brooks was too. "Brooks didn’t wait long after the announcement to leave. He didn’t’ try to hide where he was headed at all. What’s Alex doing here?" Buck was surprised to see that Kid had let Alex come with him. He knew that Kid wouldn’t have wanted her to come along. "I didn’t give him a choice. It was either take me or stay at the theatre." "Wow, she’s just like Lou. Kid, you didn’t stand a chance." Buck couldn’t help laughing at Alex’s statement. There was no way Kid could’ve convinced her to stay behind. The same thing happened between Kid and Lou all the time and he never won that battle. "Very funny! Alex, what’s the best way to get in?" "Well, to tell you the truth, I’m not sure. The walls weren’t up when Lou and I were here. They probably went up shortly after we left." Alex felt so defeated. She couldn’t believe they were this close and couldn’t get in. "Alright, we’ll just have to come up with something." Buck noticed the determined look in Kid’s eyes after he said that. Buck knew they’d be in before the end of the night.
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