Chapter 23: Escape and Divulge

"I'm afraid there isn't much for us to find about this Jostens character," Bruce said as he closed the final search engine. "The only smudge on his record was a lawsuit because of procedures he performed on animals that progressed to human testing. He lost, surprisingly, paid the money up front in cash, and was never heard from again."

"Until now," Terry said as he paced back and forth.

"You're wearing a hole in the floor McGinnis."

Terry stopped. "Sorry," he said. He leaned against the computer. "I just can't stop thinking about Ry. The last thing I said to her…" He didn't finish.

Bruce looked at him seriously. "Terry, you can't change the past. Let's focus our efforts on Jostens so that you can change what the outcome of all this might be."

A thought came to Terry and he turned to Bruce. "Jake Reynolds said something to one of the nurses about a procedure."

"And?" Bruce asked.

Terry began typing on the computer. Bruce watched the screen with curiosity as information ran across it again. When Terry had found what he was looking for he stood back.

"According to this," Terry said. "Jostens' procedures increased his subjects' speed and strength. There were also additional qualities that the subject chose such as animal traits like the splicers or anything else Jostens had come up with. One of his own creations was…"

"Hypnotic eyes," Bruce finished the sentence.

"Exactly, which means…?"

"Jake knows Jostens."

"Or at least knows ofhim." Terry began pacing once more. "But what does he want with Rylana? More testing for his procedures?"

"In Jostens' file it said that he had perfected the art of those particular procedures; that was one of the main reasons so many people were against it and why he was served with a lawsuit because of it. It's not likely that he wants her for one of these procedures. He's most likely using her for testing, but for what is the thing that we need to find out."

Bruce noted the troubled expression on Terry's face. "We've done enough for today," he said, turning the computer off. Terry looked at him. "Don't worry," Bruce told him. "We'll pick it up again tomorrow."

Terry nodded and grabbed his back pack.

"Are you sure you don't want to spend the night here?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. My mom and Matt will be home late tomorrow night, and besides I promised my mom I would leave the house unattended for too long. There have been some break-ins in the neighborhood recently."

"If you change your mind…"

"I'll let you know. Thanks."

Terry then turned and left the cave.

THREE HOURS BEFORE…

"Here he comes," Rylana whispered as the sound of footsteps grew louder. "Get ready."

Jake, Alex, and Rylana had come up with a plan. Every day at noon a guard would bring the prisoners their lunch. Breakfast was served before sun up, and the time for dinner varied. Lunch time was the only set time that was the most probable choice for an escape.

"He's unlocking the door," Ry told the other two.

Due to the location of the teens' prison, the guard had to open the door wide enough to slip a tray of food into the room, rather than using a "doggie door" of sorts to serve them their meals. This gave the three of them an advantage. If the guard was forced to open the door further, without causing too much of a problem, they could easily get out.

The door began to open and just as the guard set down the tray of food on of the wooden crates that Ry and the other two used to sit on smashed against the wall.

"You little punk!" Alex yelled. "I told you to stay away from me!"

"It was you that got us into this mess in the first place Alex! It's always your fault!"

The argument was beginning to take a violent turn and so the guard was obligated to put a stop to it.

"Hey! Knock it off, both of you or I'll be forced to take you both out," he threatened. Just then a second crate came crashing down upon his head. As he fell to the floor unconscious Rylana tossed the pieces of wood that remained in her hand onto the floor.

"That was easy," Jake said.

"A little too easy," Alex commented.

"Just watch your step and keep your eyes open," Rylana said as she stepped over the unconscious guard. She leaned down and grabbed his set of keys and then turned to the boys. "Let's go."

They stepped out into the hall. To their left was a large picture window and to their right the hall continued for about five yards and then turned left. They ran down the hall, taking the turn at the end and found two more guards that had heard the commotion. Rylana jumped up and high kicked one while Alex punched out the other.

The teens kept on walking, meeting two more guards on the way and taking them down as well. They finally reached a winding staircase and began to descend when they heard not one or even two, but ten, maybe twenty pairs of feet running up the stairs towards them.

"Ready?" Ry asked.

Alex and Jake nodded. When the first of the group came into view the teens charged. The staircase provided them with an advantage, since they were a step or two above their opponents. However, as they reached the bottom steps they saw more guards rushing into the room below. Had the space below not been enclosed they would have had a fighting chance, but under the circumstances, none of them, not even Rylana, could have taken them all on.

"Go back!" Rylana told the other two and they hurried back up the stairs and down the hallway, hoping for a missed door that they could sneak into, or another way out. They soon found themselves back where they started, standing outside their holding room.

The group that had been pursuing them turned out to be twice as large as they had anticipated, and while Rylana, Alex, and Jake were cornered, it was better than being trapped at the bottom of the staircase. Well, sort of.

The sea of guards began to part and Jostens walked through it towards his captives.

"Tisk, tisk, tisk," he said shaking his head. "I had hoped that you would be more cooperative than this. I guess this means we shall have to activate the machine immediately."

"You won't take us without a fight," Alex said taking a defensive position.

Rylana put a hand on his shoulder and he looked at her. Jake watched her too.

"The window," she whispered.

"We're on the second floor," Jake whispered back. "You really want to jump?"

"I won't—the two of you will."

"No way Ry," Alex said.

"The effects of Jake's procedure haven't completely worn off yet, so he'll make it alright. You've done it hundreds of times and so you'll be fine too. Besides, if one of us stays here then Jostens will have no choice but to hold off on the machine's activation until he finds the other two. If all of us leave he'll move his operation and disappear again. We have to keep someone here if we're going to stop him."

"Are you sure?" Jakes asked. "One of us can stay…"

"I'll be fine. Just do it." She paused and then added. "Find Terry, Terry McGinnis. The place I was staying at is his place. He'll know what to do."

Rylana then turned to face the guards. She waited a moment and then charged, knowing full well she could not beat them, but hoping it would cause enough of a distraction to get Alex and Jake out.

Alex and Jake stood rooted to the spot watching Rylana anxiously. She saw her two friends and yelled, "GO!"

Freed from their dazes, the two boys ran at the window and jumped through the glass. The fall felt endless and they soon discovered that the place where they had been was along the edges of a cliff over looking the ocean. Luckily their jump was enough to project them far enough into the open space that they didn't hit the rocks below.

When the boys had jumped Rylana stopped fighting, allowing her self to be caught. Jostens and some of his men ran to the broken window. All they could see below were the ripples caused by Alex and Jake hitting the water, and the lightly rolling waves hitting the cliff.

"Stupid children," Jostens spat.

"What do you want us to do sir?" one of the guards asked.

"Search for them."

"Sir?"

"The fall wouldn't have killed them; they're special in that way. I want you to tear the city apart if you have to and find them, before they are able to get any help from the police."

"Yes sir, and the girl?"

Jostens looked back at Rylana.

"Take her to my personal chambers. It shouldn't take you long to find her little friends. Besides, that part of the house has security cameras; I wouldn't want her running off."

Rylana did not like the idea of going to this man's personal chambers. Throw her into a lion's den, a viper pit, either choice would be better. Being taken to a man's "personal chambers" never was a good thing.

She threw her elbow into the stomach of one of the guards holding her, and thrust the heel of her shoe into the shin of the other. However, before she had a chance to get in anymore hits something hit her in the head and she fell to the floor. Try as she might se could not keep her vision from going black.

About fifty yards away, and two hundred feet below, Alex pulled himself onto the shore. He was breathing heavily trying to recover from the fight with the waves he had just been in. After a minute or two passed he sat up and looked around for Jake. At first he couldn't see any sign of him, and he worried that he hadn't survived the fall. But he soon found him about ten yards down the beach from where he himself had landed on shore.

"Jake!" he called out. His friend didn't respond, or even move. He ran over to him. "Jake," he said again, turning the latter over onto his back.

Jake stirred and opened his eyes. "Ry?" he asked.

"She'll be fine; we've got to hurry if we're going to get a hold of this Terry before anything does happen to her."

Jake nodded and, with Alex's help stood up. The two of them then got a bearing on where they were exactly, and then headed for the apartment complex where Terry lived.

The elevator dinged and Terry stepped out onto his floor. He was exhausted, even though he hadn't really done any crime fighting that night. Rylana's disappearance and the search for her were weighing on his mind heavily. And even though Bruce had advised him not to, he still couldn't stop thinking about what he'd said. He had left her with the knowledge that he did not believe her, and that he was siding with Bruce on the matter of her mother rather than with her, or even taking a neutral stand on it.

He sighed and pulled out his keys. He fumbled a little with the lock and then realized that the door was already unlocked. Had he forgotten to lock it before leaving earlier that day? But he could distinctly remember locking it. He slowly pushed the door open, half expecting to find the place trashed, or the thieves responsible for the other burglaries rummaging through his mother's jewelry box. Instead the house was in perfect order and it was completely silent.

Even though everything seemed alright, Terry was still ready to take on anything that might jump out at him. He turned on the living room light and took a fighting stance when he saw two people sitting on the couch. They stood up and turned to look at him. He recognized them immediately.

"Where's Rylana?" he asked, his tone slightly demanding.

"She told us to come and get you," Alex said. "Jostens is holding her prisoner at his mansion outside Gotham."

"And the two of you just happened to get away and leave her behind huh?"

"She told us to," Jake said quietly, holding his arm. Terry noted that his shoulder was out of place.

"What happened," he asked, inclining his head towards Jake's injury.

"We jumped out the second story window of Jostens' house, Ry's idea."

Terry held back a smile. It would be Rylana's idea to risk their lives in an escape attempt.

"Ry told us that once we got out we were to come find you. She said you'd know what to do."

Terry nodded. "I think we should fix your arm first before going anywhere."

"I'm fine," Jake said.

"Stop being noble and let him help Jake," Alex said. "We should at least set your shoulder."

"I agree, but we can't do it here," Terry told them.

"Why is that?"

"Someone is bound to hear him scream, and since the cops are looking for both of you, it would be better not to get found, don't you think?"

"Then where do you suggest we go?" Jake asked.

"I have a friend who is handy with injuries, not to mention I know he won't turn the two of you in."

"Alright," Alex said. "Let's go see this friend of yours and then head out. I don't like the thought of Ry being alone with Jostens."

Terry gave a brief nod and then the three of them snuck out of the apartment, Alex and Terry checking to be sure no one saw them.