Alex gripped her backpack tighter, and Sam took hold of her hand as added protection. Though crime wasn’t prevalent in Vietnam, petty theft was undoubtedly rife. The pair walked the crowded curbs with caution until they found the street Mr. San Yeng-Pho directed.
“I think this is it,” Sam said. “Yup, this is the street. I just don’t have the foggiest which house it would be. There aren’t any numbers anywhere.”
The street was located in downtown Tri Ton, and there wasn’t a tourist in sight. Instead, it was crowded with locals and very seedy looking bars with half naked woman serving drinks at the tables. Heavily tattooed men were laden with gold chains, and clouds of cigarette smoke lay thick in the air. Above the bars were dingy looking apartments decorated with laundry hanging from just about every window balcony. Suspicious stares greeted them as they past the exposed bars.
Sam gripped Alex’s hand tighter and moved his other hand over his tummy where he had secured his revolver under his shirt in his denim’s waistband. Being out at night amongst the tourists in the uptown streets was relatively safe, but being out here, required a different kind of courage.
“I think we should turn back, Sam,” Alex whispered.
“I agree. We’ll turn up there.”
They had trailed off down the road too far to turn around. The end of the street was in sight. Alex glanced sideways into one of the nightclubs. A grubby looking Asian man shot up in plain sight. On his one knee was a topless prostitute cheering him on and hanging over his shoulders was another one pulling the rubber band tighter around his arm. He looked up and winked at Alex, sending uncomfortable quivers through her spine. Nervous tremors paralyzed her legs slowing her pace as she tried to keep up with Sam who pushed through a drunk crowd in front of them. Suddenly Sam stopped, and she bumped into him from behind.
“What the hell, Sam? Let’s get out of here!”
Sam didn’t answer. Instead, he hurriedly changed direction and pulled her across the street. The scene on the other side of the road was much the same; lined with seedy bars and clubs. Sam’s pace quickened. His attention seemed to be pinned to something up ahead.
“Sam? What’s wrong?” Alex urged.
“We’re being followed,” he answered abruptly. “Pick up the pace, Alex.”
A flustered Alex turned to see who he was referring to and spotted two Asian men behind her and two more on the opposite pavement. They bore a striking similarity to the thugs on the motorbikes.
“It’s the same guys that were on the bikes, Sam!”
Sam didn’t answer. He knew that already. They squeezed through the crowd bumping several drunk locals who shouted in anger after them. Sam scoured the area in search of an escape route but every street he looked up, was as sleazy as the one they were in. He spotted an alleyway up ahead and glanced to his left to eyeball the trackers. Alex watched for the ones behind them. They gained ground. If they kept straight, the thugs would impede them ahead. If they turn back, they’ll run into the ones behind them. That left them with only one option; the alley. By now both Alex and Sam were in a light jog as they raced to get to the alley before the thugs got there. They had no idea where the narrow passageway would lead them, but it was their only chance of escaping them alive.
Sam picked up the pace. His long strides jerked Alex into a run to keep up. The group of men picked up speed too and started closing in on them. Sam pulled Alex by the hand even harder. By now she was a dangling mess behind Sam as she tried to keep up. She gripped the cord of her rucksack over her shoulder to stop it from hitting against her back and throwing her off momentum. They got to the alley first. A good twenty meters ahead of the trackers. It was deserted, dark and reeked of danger. Sam pulled Alex beside him.
“Run, Alex! We need to gain ground!” He let go of her hand affording a more comfortable running stance. Their feet hit the poorly paved road with thunderous thumping that echoed off the walls on either side of the narrow passage. There wasn’t a human in sight anywhere. The buildings on either side had several wooden doors and windows that were shut tight. It was dangerously dark. They had no choice but to run. Alex looked back and saw the men turning into the alley.
“Sam! They’re right behind us! What do we do?”
Sam looked back. The guys were a good fifty meters behind them. They had a slight advantage.
“We keep running, Alex! As fast as our feet can take us! Don’t look back! Just RUN!”
On cue, Alex propelled forward into a sprint keeping her eyes on the neon lights at the end of the alley. It was a good hundred meters ahead. Forcing herself not to look behind her, she was aware of the men’s feet thumping on the tar road behind them. If they’re in luck, the street up ahead should be the main street separating the tourist neighborhood from downtown. Directly in front of them was a thigh-high barrier closing off the alleyway to the main road. They would have to attempt to jump over it. There’s no time to stop now. Alex silently shot up a prayer that her five foot seven body would make the jump. Fear gripped her throat as she came closer to the barricade. She had no choice. Ten meters or so on the other side of that obstruction lay their freedom. As if Sam sensed her fear, he yelled, “You can do this, Alex! One high jump!”
Her breathing was unstable and her lungs burnt under the strain of her full sprint as she came closer to the barrier. Panic strangled her throat as she tried to figure out which leg to extend in front of her. Adrenaline soared through her veins as she leaped over the barricade. Seconds later her chin hit the tar, and she felt the burning pain in her knees and hands as it grazed against the gravel. In a panic, she looked back at the men who were fast gaining ground. She felt Sam’s strong hands in her armpits as he pulled her up from the ground and threw her over his shoulder. She wasn’t quite sure what hurt more; her bleeding wounds or Sam’s shoulder piercing through her stomach as he ran toward the lights. She had no way of seeing how far they were from the main road. She lifted her head and lay eyes on one of the men pointing his gun directly at them.
“Gun! Sam! They’re going to shoot!”
Sam panted heavily, unable to speak under the extreme burden of carrying Alex at a full sprint. She couldn’t reach his gun that was tucked under his shirt in front of his pants. A bullet whooshed past them, followed by a succession of the open fire. Sam ducked and ran for cover from the middle of the road. The neon lights were right in front of them. He needed to be on the opposite side of the road to turn up around the corner to get to their car. Shots resounded as the bullets whistled through his feet and legs. He couldn’t go any faster. Though Alex was small framed and feather lite, his feet couldn’t gather more speed. His thighs were on fire as his muscles took strain under the run. They were out of options. He had to risk the firing bullets and cross the street to get them to safety. He swerved to the left, almost throwing Alex off his shoulder. She groaned as his shoulder pushed into her stomach leaving her gasping for air. The bullets seized just as they turned the corner on the pavement and rammed through a group of festive tourists who soon after realized what they had been running from.
Frazzled screams echoed in the night air as a number of people were bumped out of the way.
Alex and Sam crossed the busy street in a final attempt to disappear amongst the crowd. Their car was just ahead. He had to keep going until they were safe. Stopping now wasn’t an option. Alex lifted her head and surveyed the entrance to the alleyway behind them that now lay bare in their wake. They had lost them. The thugs were nowhere in sight.
“I think they’re gone, Sam. You can put me down now. I think I can walk.”
Sam ignored her. He wasn’t sprinting anymore, but he wasn’t slowing down either. Alex looked sideways and recognized the bar that was opposite their parked car. There was no mistaking it. It took up substantial space and was open to the road. Enormous tiger-head ornaments decorated the sides of the building with a dozen more smaller ones hanging over the elongated bar counter. The lights were a brilliant white; illuminating most of
the street which is why they parked the car there in the first place, thinking it would be safest under the bright lights.
Alex’s calves hit the hard metal of the car before she propelled backward onto the hood. Sam circled the car and yanked open the back door before coming back around to pick her up. It all happened so fast. Before she could object, she was thrown into the back seat with Sam jumping behind the wheel and speeding off. He hadn’t said a word and was gasping for air. His foot slammed down on the accelerator; clearly still governed by adrenaline.
“We lost them, Sam. It’s ok,” Alex said with a broken voice as the tears pooled in her eyes.
Sam looked in the rearview mirror and caught sight of Alex’s consoling eyes. He slowed the car down. Blood gushed from her chin and trickled down her neck.
“We lost them, Sam,” she repeated. His eyes were the size of saucers; evidence that he was still in shock.
“Are you ok?” he asked; speaking for the first time since the chase started.
Alex nodded. “You?”
Sam wasn’t sure. He patted his chest and arms and stopped as his hand felt the saturated patch on the side of his thigh. A pool of blood lay on the seat under his leg.
Noticing something was amiss, Alex sat up and leaned forward.
“You’re shot! Bloody hell, Sam! They shot you!”
Alex frantically climbed between the seats and sat down in the passenger seat to get a better glimpse of his leg.
“Damn it, Sam! You need to pull over. There’s a lot of blood.”
Sam’s face had already turned a pale white.
“Don’t you pass out on me, Sam Quinn! Do you hear me! Pull over!”
He did as she instructed and pulled over in a no parking zone; scraping the front wheel against the curb.
Alex jumped out and ran around the car. She yanked open the driver’s door and noticed the extent of the wound for the first time. It was bad. Very bad. His jeans were drenched in blood. Sam was quiet. She pulled her belt from her pants and tied it just above the wound to stop the bleeding. She bent down and drew her pocket knife from her boot and sliced through the wet fabric; ripping it open to expose the gaping gunshot wound.
Alex fought to hide the shock on her face; drawing back a quick breath as she looked down at the exposed flesh and gushing blood. “Sam. This is bad. It’s really bad. We need to get you to the hospital.”
“No.” Sam groaned. “They’ll find us there. You’re going to need to remove the bullet. Get us to a hotel.”
“You’re insane! Have you lost your marbles, Sam Quinn? I’m not a doctor! No way!”
Sam gripped her hand and pinned her eyes with his. “You can do this, Alex. I’d need a steady hand not to pierce an artery and will most likely faint from the pain. I’ll guide you through it as far as I can. We need to go now before I lose too much blood.”
Chapter Eight
Alex couldn’t breathe. Her mouth was dry, and her heart was still beating in her throat. As the adrenaline wore off, the panic set in. She couldn’t allow herself to lose control now. Sam needs her. For once, he needed her! She looked at his face as his head lay back against the seat’s headrest. He wasn’t looking well at all. His face was deathly pale, and he was losing a lot of blood. She grabbed her backpack from the backseat and pulled out her headscarf. Sam groaned each time she tied it tighter around the wound. She had no idea where she learned to do this, but it seemed to help somewhat. She stood up and frantically looked left and right for a place of shelter. She’s going to have to find a smaller hotel so she could slip him past the front desk unnoticed. But where? She had no idea where they were.
“Ok. Think, Alex,” she said out loud to herself. Seconds later she ducked back down into the car and pulled Sam by his arm. He was in a semi-conscious state.
“Sam!” She patted him against his cheek. “Sam, come! I need to get you into the backseat so I can drive.
She tugged on his arm again, but it had minimal effect. He was tall and heavy. She pulled on his opposite arm and slapped him gently on his cheek to wake him up.
“Sam! Wake up. You can’t sleep now. I need to move you.”
Sam opened his eyes, and she pulled his arm around her neck and over her shoulders. His body was heavy on her tiny frame even with him doing most of the standing on his own.
“That’s it. Steady now.”
With great effort, she finally managed to get him into the backseat and propped his wounded leg on top of her backpack before settling behind the steering wheel. The pool of blood on the black leather seat made a gushing sound as she sat down behind the wheel of the car. She felt the still warm liquid instantly penetrate her pants; drenching it within seconds. There was no time to clean up now. She had to find shelter. It was dark outside and there were very few buildings and lights where they were parked next to the side of the road. Seatbelt on and engine running, she caught sight of the stick shift. Damn it! She hadn’t driven anything other than an automatic car. The figure H on the knob gave her some guideline but getting it to move into first gear proved somewhat challenging.
“She apologized out loud as the gear made a screeching noise while she frantically tried to get it into the right gear. A couple of attempts later she got it and slipped the car off the pavement and back onto the road causing Sam’s leg to bounce off the backpack. He let out a despairing groan as the pain soared through his wound.
“Oops!” She offered apologetically glancing at him in her mirror. His face told her exactly how much pain he was in. Barely lucid now, he settled his head back down and closed his eyes. Tiny beads of sweat trickled into his hairline. She would have to get cracking; before it’s too late.
The road was relatively quiet as they drove away from the village. It wasn’t a big village, to begin with, and apart from a few hotels, there weren't a lot of choices. She would first need to find supplies to clean the wound with, she thought. Removing a bullet requires more than just a towel and water. Her stomach turned as she realized she had no idea what supplies she would need. She could hardly ask the pharmacist for advice on how to remove a bullet. Her eyes searched frantically on both sides of the dark street. There had to be a shopping mart of some kind open somewhere, Alex thought. The buildings on either side of the road started to become less frequent. Alex realized she was too far out of town. She’d have to go back toward the clubs. The car screeched again as she dropped a gear to turn the car around and head back down the street toward the village. A small distance further, she turned another corner and went down a road with a couple more rowdy bars and flashing lights and spotted a barely visible shop tucked between a closed gas station and a clothing boutique. The neon yellow ‘OPEN’ sign in the window flickered on and off. It looked like they might be open. The lights were on inside but there was no movement. She decided to at least try so she pulled the car over next to the curb.
“Stay still, Sam. Be back in a jiffy.”
Sam didn’t react. He was deathly pale and barely conscious. She jumped out and ran up to the door. The soft chimes of a bell startled her as she pushed the door open. A young Asian woman behind the counter briefly looked up from her mobile phone and nodded. Then looked at Alex’s bloodstained pants and pointed to the back of the shop.
The shop was long and narrow with rows of tightly packed products ranging from essential consumables to pet food. Alex lowered her head and squeezed through the confined shelves to the back of the shop where there was a small dispensary section. Her heart skipped a beat as she noticed the assistant’s eyes on her bloodstained pants. She scoured the shelves for anything that might be of use. A couple of glass bottles of clear liquid stared back at her. The labels were written in Mandarin, but she recognized the word for alcohol in the content list. She had no clue what the rest of the words on the bottle meant. She bit her thumbnail and then decided to take the one with a picture that resembled a band-aid. A pack of bandages lay on the shelf next to the bottles of which she grabbed two and then snatched a packet of
five sterilizing cloths off the shelf next to it. She bent down and moved her eyes rapidly over several baskets on the bottom shelf that were filled with all sorts of paraphernalia. She was looking for a pair of tweezers or small pliers she might need to pull the bullet out with. She startled when the shop assistant suddenly appeared next to her and handed her a shopping basket before taking her place again behind the counter. The basket contained a bottle of whiskey, several rolls of cotton swabs, the pliers she was looking for along with a new pair of pants and some painkillers. Alex wasn’t sure if she felt embarrassment for getting caught or joy that she got help. Either way, she headed to the cashier with a bashful smile. The woman merely nodded, popped it into a brown paper bag, and slid it across the counter. Alex nodded back self consciously. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this woman had done this before. That was very obvious. Without a further word exchanged between them, Alex paid and picked the bag up from the counter. The woman’s hand slammed down on the bag sending trembles of fear down Alex’s spine. She looked up at her in horror. Did she want money in exchange for her silence? Alex took out a couple more notes from her pocket, but the woman ignored it. Instead, she reached under the counter and pulled out a business card then popped it into the shopping bag and handed it back to Alex. Stunned Alex grabbed the bag, threw her a smile and, with trembling legs, hurried back to the car.
In the safety of the car, she locked the doors and looked back at Sam, whose condition was still unchanged. The road was too quiet for her liking. The place gave her the creeps.
“Hang on Sam. I have everything we need. At least, I think I do.”
She pulled the business card from the shopping bag and read the name of a motel and address. Could she trust this woman? She had no choice. She popped the address into the GPS, screeched the gears into place again and sped off.
Five minutes later they pulled up next to a dilapidated motel in the middle of nowhere. The name sign out front hung by a single black wire and all the lights were off. There was no sign of any life. The unpretentious parking lot in the front was an empty patch of sand, but she pulled into it nevertheless. She switched the car off and suspiciously stared at the quiet building. It was derelict and backed up against a forest of tall trees and dense shrubs. From the front it had a single blue front door and windows on either side. It was extremely basic and certainly didn’t look anything like a motel of any kind. Build entirely from wooden planks, it rather resembled an old run down shack in the middle of the forest. She looked at the business card again and checked the GPS. It was indeed the right place. As if to prompt her to get on with it, Sam whimpered soft moans in the back seat. She would have to risk it. The woman from the shop had been quite agreeable and very helpful. She had no reason to doubt that she was leading her into a trap.
ALEX HUNT and The Golden Urn_An Archaeological Adventure Thriller Page 8