Conner and Jackie followed Sara closely as she led them through the ancient walls that wove through the outer building. Finally, she took them to the back of a structure that was historically a barn for horses, then later converted into a garage for cars, and even used for a while as a distillery. It sat empty now, unused and derelict.

"This is where the slaves from the old railroad would be led through the woods to a waiting wagon, and freedom if they made it this far west."

The bitter wind and the snow fell nearly parallel to the ground. They ran through a thickly wooded area and quickly made for the parking lot in the back of the hotel where the employees kept their cars.

"Skinny's car isn't here," said Sara. She opened the doors of her Ford Pinto, and they got in.

"This is all the FBI gives you?" asked Jackie. "A lousy Pinto?"

"B-A-R," she sounded each letter. "Anyway, I had to look the part of a poor prostitute," and as she started the car and threw it into gear, she looked at Jackie sitting next to her and Conner at the door.

"Stay low," she said, "just in case we're spotted. They'll think I'm just heading out somewhere. But if they see either of you, we're screwed."

Then she drove slowly away from the hotel. The sound of the gravel beneath the tires seemed to resound in the open lot at night. The sun would rise in half an hour, and there was barely enough light to navigate away from the hotel without using her headlights. Conner felt more vulnerable this time than he did the last time he drove away from the Arapaho. "So, who was that in the hallway? Maybe they aren't onto us just yet."

"You could be right, but that Shithead is a pretty resourceful fellow. He just looks stupid. He could have freed himself and come after us if he knew where we went."

"He could figure it out."

"Not necessarily. I'm not sure anyone here knows about the secret passage, not even Skinny."

"But you do?"

"Well yeah, but that's because I got the floor plans from the archives back in DC. This house is a historic site because not only was it part of the underground railroad, it once housed the governor of Wyoming. All of the records for it went to Washington after he lived here. I thought it would be helpful to know everything about the place."

"How thorough," said Jackie.

She drove her rust-colored Pinto skillfully through the lane to the main road. Once they reached the road she turned on the headlights and navigated the curvy mountain roads, taking the exact turns that Conner and Harry took when they left the first time with CJ in the Bug.

Conner looked in the back of the hatchback and saw sleeping bags, hiking boots, and somewhere under it all, he thought he saw the butt of a rifle.

"Where are we going? Turn here."

Sara drove in the other direction, heading away from where Conner and Harry had gone.

"If we are going to catch up with Harry, we have to follow him," Conner said.

"We need help. I have a chance to close in on the whole operation. There is a ranger station up the road here a ways, and we need them. I'll call the office when I get there, and they can advise us."

The sun crept over the horizon, but barely enough to make it through the trees. In the occasional breaks, there was a view of the distant landscape: a hill, a valley, the sun's red light shining along the surface of the world.

"Well, I know what to do."

"We need their help, Conner," said Jackie. "Daddy can help." She told them both that her father was a police officer in a town about 40 miles away.

They drove on. The road tightened up as it wound through the trees. A car came toward them from the opposite direction, its headlights still on, driving slowly. It was a large Chrysler Brougham complete with Skinny in the driver seat. He was alone. They could do little to hide their faces and he passed them before they could react.

"Did he see us?" said Conner. Sara was looking in the rearview mirror for some sort of reaction from Skinny.

"No I don't think he saw us. At least he didn't stop the car."

Jackie was looking out the back window the whole time.

They all began to breathe again when the car Skinny drove disappeared over the rise and into the forest. They placed their attention on the ranger station.

"How much more is it to the station?" asked Jackie.

"It's been a while since I've seen it, but I think it should be another ten miles or so."

At that moment, the Pinto lurched forward with a sudden jolt. They turned to see Skinny smiling as he forced his car forward crashing again into them. He laid on the horn.

"He's saying something to us," said Jackie looking back. She was hysterical, breathing heavily as she gripped the dashboard in front of her.

Conner turned to see. "I think he wants us to pull over." He flipped the middle finger.

The car pulled closer quickly.

"Step on it," he yelled. And they took off.

Skinny swerved in the wet road.

They rounded a corner, and for a few seconds it looked as though they lost him. But he reappeared, roaring toward the helpless trio, and without regard for oncoming traffic he pulled next to them as the road straightened out.

"Here he comes," said Conner. Then he pushed Jackie's head down and braced for impact. The huge car headed straight for them.

There was nothing she could do but drive as fast as she could, but Skinny's car came on and made contact with them. Their bumpers had conjoined, and now the two cars moved as one.

Sara screamed, unable to steer her own car.

Conner was about to yell a warning when he looked back at Skinny and saw the angry pimp smiling and laughing as he drove them to the edge of the road.

Jackie was turning white with fright.

Sara tried desperately to regain control of the car, applying the brakes, and turning the wheel wildly, but there was nothing she could do to control it anymore.

The cars approached a sharp turn in the road, and Skinny slammed on his breaks separating the two cars and sending the Pinto—with Conner, Sara, and Jackie in it—over the precipice. It slid and hurdled down the steep embankment crashing through tall grass and small saplings, bouncing off one young tree and finally hitting a ditch, which sent the car sliding down the ditch and coming to rest in the midst of a grove of aspen.