Man of Steel

by Dave Conifer

  There was no turning back, though, and he knew it. Reno was expecting him to be there and she would have to take irreversible risks to meet him. Besides, there was still an outside chance that Braden hadn’t had time to mobilize his team. There would never be a better chance to get away. He started the engine when it was time for Reno to appear. His eyes were locked on the loading dock as time passed, second by agonizing second. Finally, after he’d waited for nearly ten minutes, he decided to go inside and find her rather than let any more precious time slip away.

  The men on the loading dock were completely disinterested as Jonas stepped through them. “Hey guys,” he said without breaking stride, determined to look like he belonged there. He dodged a load of empty jugs being wheeled out the door before walking inside

  Not surprisingly, Reno wasn’t there. Since he had no idea where her room was there was no point in heading upstairs, at least not before giving her a little extra time to show up. His thoughts were interrupted by encroaching footsteps from the stairwell. Regardless of who was coming down those stairs, the worst mistake he could make would be to look out of place. As the footsteps grew louder he looked around for a way to hide. Parked against the wall was an unattended hand truck. He reached for it with his left hand while pulling the bill of his baseball cap lower with his right. Seconds later a policeman strode past without saying a word. Just after the officer disappeared at the other end of the hall he heard the sound that changed everything.

  “Joe! In here!” The voice was unmistakable even though it was a whisper. He turned and looked at the double wooden doors of a utility closet. “It’s me! Abby!” the voice hissed. “Open the door! I’m locked in!”

  Jonas grabbed the brushed-chrome handle and turned it easily. When he pulled the door open he was face to face with Reno. For the first time he believed that there was a chance they could survive. All that was left was the escape.

  The closet was dark. She shielded her eyes and shrank towards the back when the door opened, but he got a clear look at her nevertheless. She wore a loose white hospital gown that ended at mid-thigh. There were flimsy paper slippers on her feet. Her hair was pulled back enough that he could see a stitched but unbandaged gash between her temple and eye. The cut was curved and was nearly three inches long. It had been so dark in the car that night that he hadn’t fully understood how badly she was injured. No wonder she bled so much, he thought as he walked into the closet and carefully hugged her. “Abby! Are you okay? Who locked you in?”

  She drew a finger over her lips. “I did it myself,” she whispered. “There’s no knob on the inside. I thought somebody followed me down so I hid in here. Are they after us?”

  “Yeah. I’ll tell you about the cops later. I’m so sorry about this,” he said as he tenderly traced near the edges of the wound with his finger. “I’ve been worried sick about you.”

  “Well, I was pretty worried about you, too. At least you knew where I was. I had no idea how I got here at all, let alone what happened to you. I figured, well, you know.”

  “How’d you know it was me out here?”

  “I could see out through the crack. And I knew you were coming. That big guy told me, don’t you remember? Who was that?”

  “That was Darius.”

  “Yeah, but who’s Darius? I have so many questions I don’t know where to start. I see you picked up some new clothes.”

  “Speaking of that, here’s some for you,” Jonas said. “But they’re not new.” The brown grocery bag rustled as he opened it and pulled out a handful of clothing that Robin had given him. “You’ll blend in better in these. Then we’re getting out of here.”

  “Thanks. I’ve had enough of these hospital duds.”

  “I got the article published. It came out this morning so now’s the time to go. I’ll explain it all later.”

  He pulled the door partially closed. Knowing how particular she was about what she wore, he allowed himself a smile in the darkness. She couldn’t be happy about putting on clothing she couldn’t see.

  “You got it printed? How’d you do it?”

  “Darius did it. So how many people were following you?” he asked.

  “I think there were two of them. I don’t even know why I was running away. It’s a habit, I guess.”

  “Probably the cops. They chased me out of here the night I brought you in. The nurse took one look at you and decided that I did it. You were bloody as hell, Abby. They treated me like I was a wife beater or something. She called the cops on me and they’ve been waiting for me to come back. That’s why it was Darius that came to see you instead of me. I guess they think you’ll lead them to me.”

  “Who is Darius?” she asked again. “Is he from The Sentinel?”

  “No, he’s a reporter from the student newspaper. It’s the best I could do, but I think it’s working.”

  “They told me I was only here two nights. Is that right?”

  “Yeah, that’s right. Look, if the coast is clear, we’re just going to walk down the hall and out the door. Do you think they’ll be back?”

  “How should I know? I don’t even know where I am.”

  “At least you won’t stand out so much now that you’re dressed. The car’s just outside. You won’t have far to walk.”

  “I’m fine. Except for these awful clothes. Where’d you get them, a flea market?”

  “Nobody out there,” he said after peeking. “Let’s go now. They could be back any time.”

  “Slow down. Hold on to me while I get these giant pants on.”

  “I think you should let your hair down so nobody can see that cut.”

  After her pants were on she reached back and plucked out the clip that held her ponytail. “Hey Joe, why don’t we just turn ourselves in? Why are we running from the police? They could save us from all this running around.”

  “No. First of all, they’ll arrest me. I think I killed somebody back in that motel room. You can bet the cops got an anonymous tip about from Braden and his boys. To them I’m a murderer and a wife beater. To Braden I’m the guy who wants to rat them out. We don’t need any new snags. But anyway, nothing’s changed, Abby. We could have done that anytime. What good would it do us? We still don’t really know who’s after us and we can’t even prove that they did anything wrong. The law just isn’t an option for us. They can’t protect us. Not forever, anyway. It’s no way out, or it isn’t for me, anyway.”

  “Then it isn’t for me, either,” she replied. “Who’s Braden?”

  He poked his face into the hallway again. “There’s still nobody out there. We have to go. Are you ready to run for your life again?”

  He stepped out of the closet first, followed by Reno. They had taken only a few steps toward the loading dock door before stopping in their tracks. The same cop who’d bustled past Jonas a few minutes earlier popped out at the other end of the hallway. It was obvious by the look on his face that this time he wasn’t going to be as cooperative. He looked at Jonas, then Reno, and then Jonas again. “Both of you!” he shouted. “Hold it right there!”

  They weren’t about to be caught so easily. “Come on,” Jonas said to Reno, who didn’t look like she understood what was happening. He took her hand and pulled her in the opposite direction. “I know you’re hurt but we have to fly.” Suddenly energized, she stumbled ahead of him through a doorway and up a set of stairs. Before he knew it she’d reached the ground floor.

  “Go up another level!” Jonas yelled, his voice echoing in the stairwell. She reached the second floor landing before he caught up. “We’ve got to work our way to the back, where the car is,” he said as they panted. “Lucky for us they don’t know that.” They walked down a hallway and around a corner with their heads swiveling as they looked for escape routes and pursuers.

  “Here’s more stairs!” Reno said. “Let’s go back down!” Jonas nodded his agreement but she had already charged ahead. He was glad to see her acting more like her old self, and her decision had been a
good one. After descending they came to a door to the outside. A sticker on the glass indicated that the door was alarmed, but they never slowed down. This was the only way out for them, alarmed or not.

  Reno pushed the door open and they shuffled through. “Which way?” Reno asked when they were on a sidewalk outside.

  “Back there,” Jonas said. “Across the grass. Then I can see where we are. Let’s slow down so we don’t attract too much attention.” They crossed the grassy patch and rushed through a small grove of evergreen trees. “Look! There’s the car!” he said. “We’ve got a clear shot!” They quickened their pace to a jog, knowing that speed was once again more important than stealth now that they were out in the open. “Just get in on this side and slide over!” he yelled when they reached the car.

  Jonas saw a different cop on the loading dock watching them and speaking into his radio. “Shit! We’ve been spotted!”

  The officer started towards them but gave up when he saw the fugitives squeezing into the Plymouth. Realizing he was too late, he doubled back in the direction he’d come from. “He’s heading for his car,” Jonas said as he jammed the key into the ignition. “We might be screwed. I thought we’d be gone by now.”

  “He’s in the car,” Reno reported as Jonas slammed on the gas. The Plymouth lurched backwards out of the parking space. “Lights on, siren on. It looks like we’re in for a car chase.”

  Tires squealed as Jonas searched frantically for a way out. “We can’t win a car chase but we have to try!” The car skidded as Jonas headed to the right where he saw an exit.

  “Yes!” Reno suddenly shrieked. “He got blocked! He’s stuck!”

  “So did we, damnit!” Jonas snarled as they waited behind a red sedan that was also exiting. “Come on!” he shouted at the driver. “Is the cop moving again?”

  “No. The guy pulled in front of him and stopped before he could get going. Now they’re putting the hood up. Looks like somebody had car trouble at just the right time.”

  “Fuck this,” Jonas said. The eight-cylinder engine roared as the Stodgy but powerful Plymouth swerved around the sedan and onto the shoulder of the road. The driver of another car blasted his horn when Jonas flew past him on the shoulder. The sound of gravel knocking against the chassis filled the air as Jonas floored the accelerator and cut onto the roadway. “Is the cop following?” he yelled.

  “No. I told you, he got blocked in!” she shouted back. Jonas drove even faster. It wasn’t long before the hospital disappeared from view. “We really got lucky for once, Joe. Really lucky.”

  “Wait a minute,” Jonas said as they raced away. “What kind of car was it?”

  “It was a blue pickup truck. I couldn’t tell what kind. It was all beat up.”

  A wide smile crossed his face. “Abby, I have a lot of explaining to do. I’m pretty sure that was more than just a lucky break.”

  -- Chapter 43 --

  Reno stared at Jonas, who had an amused look on his face. “Are you trying to tell me you had that whole thing planned?”

  “Not even close. I just made some really good friends while you were in the hospital. They’re looking out for us.”

  “Who was in the truck?”

  “No time, Abby. We’ve got too much to do right now. If it goes the way I think it will, we’ll be free in about an hour. But you’ve got to trust me because there’s no time to explain.”

  “Okay. I don’t think I’m ready for it yet, anyway.”

  They stopped talking when they reached an intersection. He considered driving on the shoulder and bypassing traffic but decided against it. The seconds that it would save wouldn’t be worth the unwanted attention.

  “Here’s what we’re doing,” he said after turning right and heading back towards downtown. “We figured they’d be back on patrol looking for us by now, so Rob planned an escape route. We’re crossing the river into Westover and swapping this for another car he rented. Then we’re getting onto I-79 from over there at an exit he thinks they won’t know about.”

  “Somebody rented a car for us?”

  “A friend of Rob’s runs a repair shop,” Jonas said. “Not exactly Avis, but it’ll do.”

  “Where are we going after that?” Reno asked. She stared out the window momentarily. “Wouldn’t it have been a good idea to get the rental car before you came to get me? Then we could have just disappeared. Maybe that’s what we should do now.”

  “Maybe,” he conceded. “This is a rush job. We didn’t have much time to plan. We were worried that the cops would spot us in this car at the hospital, and we were right. Remember, it’s the police who knew enough to be waiting at the hospital, not Braden and his men. It’s good that we’re changing cars, and it’s good that we’re taking the back way out of town through Westover. All we have to do is get across the river and we’re gone. Forever.”

  “I can’t believe you know them by name now,” Reno said.

  “A lot happened while you were in the hospital.”

  “The same guys are chasing us. That hasn’t changed has it?”

  “No. And Braden’s people don’t know about this boat we’re driving. They’re probably looking for the Impala.”

  “ I’ll bet that cop got the word out pretty quick. They know.”

  “True,” he answered. “Damn. I wonder if Braden listens to the police chatter? We never thought of that.”

  “It’s a good thing we’re on the move,” she said. “What’s next?”

  “After we get across the river we turn left and drive along the river bank for about a mile,” Jonas continued. “Rob says we’ll see some old warehouses. We’ll hide this car in there. Then we walk across the road and cut through some woods on foot. When we get out of the woods we’ll see a Texaco station. That’s where the rental car’s parked. I have the keys right here in my pocket.”

  When Reno didn’t respond Jonas looked over and saw her staring blankly ahead. It worried him that she’d suddenly turned so vacant, and it wasn’t the first time he’d noticed it since he picked her up. Hopefully she’d been listening.

  He squinted at a road sign when they reached a cluster of trees and then veered onto another road. “Stewart Street. This turns into College Avenue. At least that’s what Rob said. It runs down the side of this ridge and then right in front of the Mountain Lair.” He looked from side to side as he accelerated. “I sure hope knew what he was doing. It seems like we should be taking back roads.”

  “These look like back roads to me.”

  “Right now, maybe. But we’re going to come out right in the middle of campus. You’ll see. It just doesn’t seem right.” The car hurtled downward through residential areas that became increasingly dense as they descended. Gravity pushed the car down the mountain, forcing Jonas to pump the brakes to regulate their speed while negotiating curve after curve. The road finally leveled off when they reached the mast of the U.S.S. West Virginia, planted prominently in Oglebay Plaza. Jonas slammed on the brakes and they skidded to a noisy stop before he pulled Rob’s instructions from his pocket.

  “I remember this,” Reno said as she watched book-toting students pass in all directions. “We were in there a few days ago, weren’t we?” she asked, pointing to the glass and marble-strutted face of the Mountain Lair. “Seems like years ago.”

  “We need to go straight through here but then head down a hill,” Jonas said as the car began to move again. “We’re close. Make sure I don’t run anybody over, okay? I’m looking for the sign. We want Route 119.”

  “Uh, Joe, we might have trouble.”

  “Here it is,” he said when he saw a Route 119 shield and turned. “What happened?”

  “A car that looks kind of like the one we stole just pulled out behind us. I don’t know where they came from but as soon as they saw us they were in a big hurry.” She twisted and took a good look through the rear window. “Did I say it looks ‘kind of like it’? It’s the exact same car.”

  “Just stay cool. It could be a
coincidence.” But when he saw the black sedan for himself, two cars behind them as they approached a traffic light at the bottom of the hill, he knew it wasn’t. This was no time to take any chances. Time to hide.

  “There’s the goddamn bridge, too, right there,” he said, looking ahead past the traffic light. With a clogged intersection looming ahead he turned into an alley. “Hey, that’s the hotel we stayed at,” he said as they neared the back of the tallest building in the city. A block-long parking garage abutted the hotel. Just before he pulled inside he caught sight of their pursuers in the rear-view mirror. Damn. Another two seconds and I’d have lost them.

  The sound of their own engine and squealing wheels boomed off the concrete walls but faded after Jonas parked the car between a support column and a blue van. “We’re getting across that bridge,” he vowed. “I don’t even know what will happen once we do, but we’re getting across. Can you drive?”

  “I guess,” Reno stammered. “Where are you going?”

  “We’re just switching seats.” They could hear the sounds of the tail car careening around the garage as its occupants searched for them. They didn’t move until the sound of the other car had faded away. Once in the driver’s seat Reno drove slowly back to the entrance.

  They crept out of the garage and up the alley the same way they came in. “Hold it here for a second. I’ll try to time the light in that intersection. When I say go, fly down that hill no matter what you see. Don’t stop for anything. Everyone else will just have to get out of our way. Do you remember everything I told you about where the getaway car is?”

  “Park by the warehouse and walk through the woods.”

  “Good. We might get split up. If we do, let’s meet at the Texaco. Make sure you hide the car real good.” He reached under the seat and pulled out Bremer’s guns. One he left on the floor. The other he placed carefully on the seat between him and Reno. “And bring your gun and the walkie-talkie, okay?”

  She didn’t have a chance to answer. “Go! Now!” he shouted.