A Family on the Run. 6th part

Sherry kept pressure on Leo's arm as best she could. She dabbed a cold towel across his forehead to try and keep him cool. Diana relieved her now and then to give her arm a rest. Tim leaned forward to listen to what Allyn and Frank were talking about.
"I knew the Sheriff was crooked. I could tell just by the way he reacted to my call."
"Frank, how did he know to call you? I am confused about that."
"He looked through your records from the court house, I am sure. He found someone that you might still be connected too and called. I am certain mine was not the only call he made.The problem we have now is that he will know soon that his men did not take us out. He seems to have resources at his disposal that get him where ever he wants to go. If the Governor is involved in this then he has unlimited aide."
"You mentioned a friend in the D.A.'s office."
"Not in the D.A.'s office, Allyn... he is the D.A. Straight as an arrow and true to his profession. He will make this all right. We just have to get there and the Sheriff isn't making it easy for us."
They drove on through rain and fog for the next several hours. Every car that passed them made them all go silent until it was out of site. The sign for Akron came up just as the Sun was doing the same. The Sun burned off the fog and the rain had stopped.
"Thirty miles and we will be there. I had lied to the Sheriff about my arrival time in hopes of surprising him but that was washed away when those friends of his tried to kill us. He will have a good idea of when we will get there now. Once we make it into town, things are going to be fast. I have to change my plans now that Leo is hurt. I am going to need all of you for this to work. I don't like putting your lives in danger but I..."
"Frank" Diana said as she touched his shoulder, "and we have been where with our lives since this started? Just tell us what you need. We are one tough family to kill."
"Thank you Diana. We are going to need to split up when we get there. Sherry, I will drop you and Leo off at the E.R. at Akron Medical. You need to tell them that he is your father. Leo has a false I.D. on him. Take it out of his wallet and that is who is is for now. They wont be able to pull much up on him except what we put in his files. You are Cloe. Stay with him and see that they take good care of him. Do not leave the hospital for any reason, please."
"I will stay right with him, Frank."
"Tim, you are going to go to the newspaper. I have all the information you will need. Give the papers to a Mark Longfield. No one else but him. Ask him if you can stay in his office as a favor to me. He will know what to do with the papers. Diana, I need you to go to the television station. Give the same papers to a Sid Mackey. He will keep you safe until he does what he needs to do. I am going to need you, Allyn, to be my back. We are going to go to the Sheriff's Office. It could get real ugly there so I am going to deputize you. If we pull this off, you will never have to worry about any of this ever again. We have one more stop to make before we do anything else."
Frank turned off onto a side road. He drove until he came to a junk yard.
"Stay here and I will be right back." Frank walked to a trailer used as an office. HE was met at the door by a man dressed in greasy clothes. He looked as if he had not washed in a very long time.
"Frank,what the hell brings you to this part of town? I thought you were living in Nebraska."
"Mike... I need a huge favor. You can't ask questions. I just need a van to borrow. I will return it as soon as I am done."
"Done with what?"
"See, you already asked a question. This is very important and I haven't got much time. Can you do this for me?"
"You got my brother and his girlfriend out of jail for me. I owe you big time."
"Well then it is pay-day, my friend. What you see you never saw, right?" "I understand, Frank. I will be right back."
Mike returned, driving a Chevy Blazer. "It's the best I have here right now. But the windows are tinted nicely. Had an idea you might want that."
"It will do just fine, Mike. Thank you." Frank backed the Blazer up to the van. Mike watched as they moved Leo to the back of the vehicle. The others piled in one after the other. "You need to hide this van somewhere until I come back for it. And remember, you never saw a thing here."
With a nod, Frank drove back towards town. There were police cars at nearly every intersection. Frank knew that was not the "norm" for the Sheriff. He was pulling out all the stops to catch them. He drove to the hospital and went inside and got a gurney. Loading Leo onto it, he squeezed Sherry's hand. "It will be alright, just do as I asked you to."
"I am good. I will make sure they take good care of him. Just bring my family back, please." Frank thought how sad it was that the teens had to become so very grown up in such a short time. He wished he could have done things differently for them.
He dropped Tim off first and after seeing him get inside safely, he dropped Diana off. "You take care of my husband, Frank. We still have a lot of living to do."
"I will bring him back safely to you. Just don't leave here without us." They watched her go inside and then headed towards Mid-town where the Sheriff's office was located. He saw Allyn look back towards where they had left Diana. "She is in good hands, Allyn."
"How do you know that for sure, Frank. Everyone and anyone could be a suspect."
"These men I trust with my life. They are good men and all served with me at one time or another. They won't let us down, that I do know. You need to focus on us now. If we don't do this right, then it will be you and I they are mourning for."
"What are we doing, Frank? You better let me in on the plan."
"Just follow my lead. Remember the Gulf War and you will be fine." Frank pulled up to the Sheriff's office. "You stay put and lay down on the seat for a minute. I will be right back out. If I don't come out, take this Blazer and go to the t.v. station. That is your safest bet. He will help get your family out safely." With that said, Frank got out of vehicle and walked inside the office.
"I need to see the Sheriff please." The deputy looked up at him and then back down again. Frank leaned forward and took the guy by the shirt. He snarled at him and said "Tell him Frank is here!" He shoved him back and the man got up and went to the back office.
"Frank" he heard someone say. He looked up and saw a heavy set man coming towards him. "I wasn't expecting you until later. What a pleasant surprise." He led Frank back to his office and shut the door. As the door slammed frank shoved him against the desk. "Listen you piece of... You aren't even worthy of a name! You knew damn well when I would get here. You sent those two goons to take me out long before I even got rolling! You can pick their remains up along the highway!"
"Frank, you are really in way deeper than you could imagine. You are a dead man walking."
"Is that what you think? You think I drove all the way here just to die!?"
"You must have... you came. Did you bring your friends along?"
"Oh, I brought them. In fact, you should be seeing them real soon."
"Let's not dance o.k.? We can be done with this and you can go back to your Omaha or where ever it is you live and forget about this whole thing."
Frank saw the sheriff motion to someone down the hall. The door opened and Allyn was tossed inside. Blood ran down his face as he looked up at Frank.
"Look what my men found while they were snooping around your truck. Now all we need is three more and we can be done." He walked over and kicked Allyn in the stomach. "This one wont be around to see the end of the show though."
As Frank lunged forward, the Sheriff hit his with his elbow. It caught Frank in the face and sent him backwards. "No, no Frank... you be a good boy or I will kill you first! Now where is the rest of this family!?!?! I am tired of this game!
"The rest of them? The rest of them are busy right now making sure that you never do this again. In fact, if you turn your t.v. on, I think you might be impressed."