by P Nelson
“No fucking way.” Nick said. Flynn nodded. “You’re a piece of shit.” Nick spat at Mr Asshole who remained standing a few meters away while the rest of his team converged on them.
It happened so fast, Flynn could only shake his head. One moment Mr Asshole was standing in front with a stony expression. The mention of the Reverend’s slayings didn’t sit well with him or his part in it. The next he was lying on the concrete floor passed out. Nick was in motion before Flynn registered the fact he needed to haul ass. Linkin came into view like a Hollywood movie and Flynn blinked a few times. The tranquilizer they used on him must still affect him.
“Get up, let’s go.” Linkin shouted right at him. The order had Flynn’s limbs in motion without the will of his mind. Soldiers scattered around Nick and Flynn went to help the man fight their way out of the warehouse. Fuck. He hoped Calla had luck with transport outside. They needed to get as far away from these assholes as possible and to a safe house quick. All their lives depended on it if the Canadian Government was hunting them.
Flynn went into the melee like a bull. He relied on instinct to fight his way to Nick’s side knowing Linkin was right behind them in support. A couple of punches to the kidneys had him doubled over, but everything halted when Linkin let off a couple rounds from his semi automatic.
“Good. I’ve got your attention.” Linkin walked up to the nearest soldier and grabbed his gun. Nick did the same thing, and Flynn followed suit and divested the surrounding soldiers. “Now. I’ll be taking these so you can all fuck off.” He headed for the door Calla had disappeared through minutes before. Flynn’s heart slammed against his ribs following him out into the night.
&
Calla’s feet slammed into the pavement and her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest. She could hear the melee behind her, but didn’t dare turn back to help Flynn and Nick. There wasn’t much she could do without a gun and she wasn’t sure the taser in the waistband of her skirt would even work. Nick had inspected the weapon and told her not to rely on it. She pulled the night vision goggles off her face and threw them on the ground.
Her first thought was they were at a port of some sort. Huge stacks of containers people made into homes these days spread out before her like a game of jigsaw. There wouldn’t be any vehicles for her to steal out there. Not that she had any idea how to steal a car. The overwhelming prospect of failure closed her throat and Calla fought to keep her hard-won cool. Flynn and Nick were counting on her. She slowed down to a jog and did her best to stay in the shadows of other buildings. There was no sign of the city in the distance, meaning they weren’t at the Port of Vancouver. The smell of the ocean and the huge container ships in the distance showed they were near the ocean.
Amongst the warehouses, Calla tried the doors of the buildings hoping one of them might be unlocked but not sure what she might find inside. A tank would be nice. A YouTube video on how to operation one. Calla’s frantic brain seized onto the tank idea and the fantasy of her busting through the side of the warehouse with the music from the A Team played out several times in her head. She shook her head. Calla was no hero. Tears threatened until she came around the corner of the last warehouse and her heart stopped.
Her feet halted their forward momentum and Calla was thrilled no one was here to see her stunned expression. A parking lot of cars met her eye. Spread out as far as she could see by the large lamps set at intervals in the big space.
Thank you, Universe. Calla repeated repeatedly in her head. But there was also a vicious reminder of the fact she did not understand how to break into one of these cars let alone start it without a key.
“Everywhere water, but not a drop to drink.” Calla repeated the old quote in her head. A light lit up outside at a door on the right appeared to be a part of the parking lot. Calla ran forward and tried the door handle. No such luck. Calla stared back at the cars as she reasoned her next moves out.
If it connected the building to the car lot, there would have to be keys inside. No question. How the hell did they move them around? Onto transport trucks? A building that had a bunch of keys in it would have an alarm. So even if she broke into the building an alarm would go off alerting the soldiers back at the warehouse of her location. But it might also bring the police.
She wasn’t sure if the police were friendly at this point. But she would rather see Flynn in jail than a grave. There was no way she could pick the lock like Nick had done earlier. Calla pivoted and searched around the lot for a weapon of some sort. Workers left many things behind. She hoped to find garbage behind the building, so she took off around the side of the small building. It was darker around back, only lamps in the distance.
Parked in a neat row were several older maintenance trucks. Nick had instructed her to check every vehicle. The hairs on the back of Calla’s neck stood on end as she walked further into the darkness. She had run across the deserted port to get here, but this was the first time her instincts were telling her of danger. Calla stopped and looked around. Determination forced her eyes to see into the gloom. She cursed herself for not keeping the damned night vision goggles. Nick instructed her earlier to keep everything she found if it wasn’t a hindrance to her movements.
Her head shaking, Calla focused on the task at hand. She hurried to the side of the first truck. With shaking hands she tied the handle, with little hope. Surprise froze her brain for a second when the door opened. Heart in her throat Calla climbed into the large maintenance truck. It smelled like coffee, cigarettes and the miasma of men sweating from hard labour. This was no time to be squeamish. Calla searched the sun visor, the centre consul and the small change dish. She leaned over to look in the side pockets.
“Are you searching for these?” A woman’s voice scared the hell out of her. Calla jumped off the driver’s seat of the truck and accidently set the horn off in the truck. “Christ. Do you want to bring the whole fucking port down on us?” The woman sarcastic tone filled the silence of the cab.
“Screw you, Melanie.” Calla eyed the keys in the rear-view mirror. She was holding them up between manicured fingers. “What do you want?” Calla had only met Flynn’s ex wife once, the day the woman had warned her away from Flynn. Not long after he had broken the thirty-day training contract with her. Flynn had told her and Nick Melanie was some Russian spy.
“What I’ve always wanted.” She smiled and put her hand down without breaking eye contact with Calla in the mirror. “Flynn’s money. And now he knows of my chequered past, Flynn isn’t going to keep paying me alimony. Probably make an argument about trying to get his money back.” Melanie mused. “It doesn’t matter. Because I now possess the one thing he will pay to protect.” The smile curving Melanie’s lips held no mercy. Shots were fired in the distance and Calla stopped breathing.
&
“No sign of Calla.” Nick stated once Flynn helped Linkin secure the door of the warehouse.
“Which way would she have gone?” Flynn asked staring around at the port. His goggle pressed to the top of his head. “We’re not anywhere near downtown.”
“Delta.” Linkin grunted. He was taking apart the guns in his possession. “Good job on the distractions boys.”
“You must thank Calla too.” Nick was throwing parts of the guns out into the distance. A distance banging sounded on the doors.
“This way.” Linkin turned to the right and jogged away from the warehouse where they’d been held. He threw the last piece of gun away. “Assholes.”
“Are you sure Calla came this way?” he questioned and stared behind them for a minute before they turned a corner.
“Instinct would’ve brought her this way.” Nick explained from behind them. “The left was dark. Calla wouldn’t have been able to get very far without light. She left her night vision goggles by the door.”
“We will find her.” Linkin asserted. “Everyone is back at the warehouse. It’s protocol now for them to regroup before coming after us. They’ll want to get power back to the
building and find their team.”
“It’s not like in the movies where they’ll keep coming and there will be a big chase scene right at the end where the henchmen get killed in a fiery explosion.” Nick added.
“Those boys back there are our boys.” Linkin’s jaw tight. Flynn realised the man who jogged beside him was furious for a reason other than having been kidnapped. “They are not fucking puppets used in the games of federal ass wipes.”
“True, boss.” Nick agreed. Flynn heard the resignation in the other man’s voice and realised this must be a familiar rant.
Flynn tuned out the two men’s conversation and focused on the surrounding warehouses. None of the doors were open even though they tried the handles of each one. Would Calla have gone into one if the door had been open? Flynn did not understand. The fact she was running around a big fucking port in the middle of the night with no protection scared the shit out of him. At least back at the warehouse, Flynn knew where the danger was from. He did not know if there were men or women around here who might take advantage of her.
She didn’t have the training Linkin had given him. Linkin argued for Calla to attend private sessions with him. Flynn had refused. She would never be in danger. No need to teach Calla something she didn’t need. The argument ridiculous now.
“Here.” Linkin held up a fist. Neat rows of brand new cars spread out before them. He scanned them, but saw no movement.
“Calla wouldn’t know what to do with one of these without the keys.” Flynn pointed out. His sub had never been a delinquent.
“I bet her bitch mom could show us a thing or two.” Linkin’s comment held a note of admiration.
“Don’t talk about my future mother-in-law that way.” Flynn said back. Both Nick and Linkin turned to stare at him.
“You can comment when you’ve met her.” Nick nodded his head. “And take my advice. Go for the care free, hot guy with no brains approach. She loved me.” Flynn stared hard at the younger man, doubting every word he said. A truck starting up caught Flynn’s attention. Al three turned towards the noise.
“Maybe she broke into the building over there by the front door.” Linkin observed. They jogged over.
“Do you think she did it?” Flynn hoped Calla made it to safety.
“Either that, or someone else is here.” Nick’s grim tone caught Flynn’s attention. The three of them ran up to the front of the building. Linkin motioned for Nick and Flynn to go down the right side while he took the left. Headlights swung around, causing shadows and light to dance over the buildings. Nick grabbed Flynn’s arm, and they pressed against the building and squatted down to a crouch. A big work pickup truck lumbered down the lane in front. It appeared the driver was taking their time.
“Must be Calla.” Flynn whispered to Nick. He made to jump from his hiding place and open the driver side door.
“You don’t know for sure. And what if she’s not alone?” Nick threw back.
“If someone is in there, all the more reason to find out.” Flynn stood.
“Just fucking wait.” Nick held onto Flynn’s sleeve. “Your sub was much better at following orders during life-threatening situations than you.”
“She’s the sub. I’m the Dom.” Flynn shot back.
“And some fucking attitude.” Nick shook his head. The truck’s driver side window came into view. Calla was at the wheel. But Nick had been right. She wasn’t alone.
“How did she get down here so fast?” Flynn’s hand fisted. Melanie could fuck up anything.
“She didn’t waste time talking to the feds.” Nick replied. “We get into the back of the truck. Move like you’re a ninja. Lie down on your back once we’re there. We’ll see where this goes.”
“I don’t want Calla breathing the same air as that bitch.” Flynn pleaded. “She’s a murderer.”
“That’s why we’re doing it this way.” Nick ran at a crouch. Flynn followed behind him. How the fuck was he supposed to get into the bed of the truck like a fucking Ninja?
&
Melanie continued to point the gun through the front seats of the pick up truck aimed right at Calla. As for Calla, she was doing her best driving the large vehicle, but she was much more accustomed to her compact car. And she only had one good hand. It made it awkward to shift gears when she had to release the steering wheel, reach across her body and shift.
“You have no survival skills, do you?” Melanie asked from the back seat. Calla thought she’d glimpsed someone at the rear of the truck, but did her best to stare forward? She wasn’t sure if she’d seen anyone or whether they were friend or foe.
“What’s your deal?” The psychologist was speaking now. After all, they had met after Melanie booked an appointment with her. Calla needed to think of Melanie like a patient who needed her help rather than a kidnapping murderer.
“The same as yours right now. Survival.” Melanie stare moved from Calla to out the windshield in a meticulous pattern. Calla felt like Melanie was searching for someone.
“Where are we going?” Calla asked.
“I’ll let you know when we get there.” She responded. Calla slammed on the brakes. The whole truck rocked forward and back again a few times. Calla resisted the urge to check the rear-view mirror. She didn’t want to tip Melanie off to anything.
“We will not get very far unless you tell me whether I’m going straight, right or left.” Calla kept her voice patient. Like she was instructing a child.
“Left. Follow the road to the gatehouse.” Melanie spat out.
“We’re not going back to see your friends?” Calla knew Melanie had her own agenda. She had told Calla already. But the more information Calla had, the better.
“They are not my friends.” Melanie sneered. “Those assholes think to control me.”
“But you allow no one to control you? I think I know that song.” Calla shot back.
“Mouthy, aren’t you?” Melanie gaze zeroed in on Calla’s face in the mirror. “How does Flynn put up with such a naughty sub?”
“You’d have to ask him.” Calla replied. There was no way she would discuss Flynn with this lunatic.
“I caught him by being the perfect sub.” Melanie stared out the front of the windshield. Calla concentrated on keeping the big truck inside the lines drawn on the road to guide traffic. “But he got bored. You must be a brat on purpose to keep him.”
“He didn’t get bored with you Melanie.” Calla saw a booth along with gates out of the port. “Flynn saw through your shit. There’s a difference.” Calla wondered if there was a soldier in the booth checking to see if the escapees tried to leave this way. She’d bet her life on it. Melanie hadn’t bothered to frisk her or even do a visual check to see if she had any weapons. Her assumption Calla wasn’t a threat gave Calla a small advantage. The taser was still shoved into the front of her skirt.
When she put the truck in park, Calla would pull the taser out and use it on Melanie. If the taser worked and Calla got a shot off, she’d have time to get out of the truck and run for help. If she missed, or the taser didn’t work… well. She decided not to think about it. At this point she focused on her only two options. Calla had to choose whether to leave the port or go back and try to find another truck. She would not get very far if there were soldiers in the gatehouse, anyway.
“How do you know we will get through?” Calla asked Melanie.
“Because I do.” Her reply unhelpful in the extreme.
“I mean aren’t there soldiers posted all over the place?” Calla glanced out the side windows of the truck.
“You keep your eyes ahead. I don’t like the way you drive.” Melanie ordered.
“I’ve got both hands on the wheel!” Calla’s stress and frustration boiled over. “How you ever were the perfect sub is beyond me. You’re crazy.”
The grip on her hair pulled Calla’s head back. Strands came loose and tears filled her eyes. Instead of slamming on the breaks, Calla hit the accelerator.
“I’m no
t crazy.” Melanie let go of her hair alarmed. “Now slow down.”
“No.” Calla wasn’t leaving here without Flynn and Nick. Melanie pointed the gun at her head. The sound of the trucks engine galloping forward filled the cab. Adrenaline shot through Calla’s system. This was her chance. Now or never. She slammed on the brakes. Melanie’s body shot over the front seat as her momentum carried her forward. Shock registered on her face before she hit the inside the front windshield.
Calla’s seatbelt dug into her chest holding her back from coming into contact with the window too. Her fingers bit into the steering wheel unmindful of her previous injuries. She used her forearm to brace against the other side of the steering wheel since her grip was useless. In one swift motion the truck came to a halt.
The force threw Melanie back into the truck. Calla shifted in her seat just in time for the woman’s body to miss hitting her. The truck rocked to a stop. For a full ten seconds, Calla thought time stopped. It all came rushing back as Melanie moaned. Panic set in and Calla jammed the seatbelt release. It came away. The gun Melanie had used was nowhere in sight. But Calla didn’t care. She opened the truck door to give her some space before grabbing the taser out of her skirt waistband. Her hand shook so, Calla knew she would miss if she didn’t fire close to Melanie’s body.
“Bitch.” Melanie swore. She groaned and shifted. Calla pointed the teaser, closed her eyes and pressed the button to fire. A scream rent the air before gargled noises filled the cab of the truck. She opened her eyes and stared in horror at the woman convulsing in front of her.
Chapter Twenty Two
“Overkill, don’t you think?” Nick opened the passenger side of the cab and stared at the same scene Flynn was watching. First, he wanted to give Calla shit for almost killing him and Nick. They had hit the cab of the truck hard and Flynn thought his head was still ringing. Calla twisted in her seat, her hand shaking, and eyes wide.