by Natalie Reid
Griffin went up to the door, which was now opened a crack and had a hole blasted into the side where the door knob used to be. He peeked inside through the hole. No one was in the front room. So far so good.
Staying low to the ground, he crouched inside. His eyes jerked to the hallway, hearing men speaking over the loudness of Ward’s voice. Then, before he could go any further, a pair of footsteps hurried down the hall. A moment later a man in a gray uniform was standing in the entrance to the room.
The man began yelling to his comrades in the back room, and Griffin threw out all his plans and hard work and did the only thing there was to do… he ran. He ran out of that room and bolted for his bike. As he started the engine, he saw the door to the building swinging open, and the same agent burst outside, yelling at him to stop.
Griffin froze for a second as the agent stared at him. Then he started towards him, and Griffin’s hand went for the circuit board, pressing the silver button. The metal ball had been on the ground by his feet, and when it enlarged, the man tripped and stumbled over it.
More men appeared in the doorway. Griffin finally came to his senses and lifted his legs from the ground to take off on the bike. Through the pounding of his heart and the droning of the President’s voice echoing in the streets, he could just hear as the men shouted for back-up.
Soon he knew he could expect the hum of bike engines and the black dot of a helicopter in the horizon as it would try to hunt him down. He gulped down a knot in his throat. This was not part of the plan. He had to think, improvise, create. Like it or not, he had just become part of a fugitive chase through Aero City, and he would need to think fast if he didn’t want to be shot down in the middle of it.
* * *
The speaker on the wall of the north entrance into the city had finally quieted when two figures appeared, outlines against the backdrop of the forest behind them. A moment later, another figure drew out from the shadows and into the dim light of the flickering street bulb.
“I expected you from the other direction,” Ritter said, trying to get a look at the two figures that were not yet in the light.
They hesitated for one moment, and then Jessie stepped forward. Nel gripped onto her hand, standing behind her in the shadows. Ritter tilted his head to search his daughter’s face, but her features were hidden from him.
“This way was safer,” Jessie told him.
He took a step forward, but Nel gasped and held Jessie’s arm tighter. Ritter stopped in his tracks, stunned by his daughter’s reaction.
“What…?” he asked, looking up to Jessie.
“I brought her up here so you could see her,” she explained. “But I’m afraid she’s not coming with you. I promised her she wouldn’t.”
He gripped his hand into a fist and ran his other through his hair in agitation. He lifted his eyes to search for Nel’s once more, but again she hid in the shadows.
“She’s safe, Ritter,” Jessie said, drawing his attention back to her. “She doesn’t need to be rescued from the Resistance. She’s living a happy life. You can’t take her away from that.”
When she stopped talking, Nel peeked out from the shadows and said, “Tell her where her mom is now!”
“Nel,” he said, staring at her. His face melted into sad longing, and once more he took a step forward only to have his daughter shrink back in the shadows.
“I wouldn’t go back home if I were you,” Jessie warned. “Jason’s sent men after you. He wants to use you to find The Thirty.”
“This wasn’t our deal,” he said, pointing a finger at Jessie. His voice was not as firm and menacing as it normally sounded, but she still knew to be wary of him.
“I wasn’t the one that told him to go after you. I tried my best to dissuade him.”
He ran his hand through his hair again and paced around in a circle, trying to think.
“Ritter, where is my mom,” she demanded calmly.
He looked over at her. “You didn’t take my advice the first time. Why would you listen to it a second time?” She shook her head in confusion, and he explained by pointing a finger up to her eye. “You didn’t carry a gun. I tried to warn you what would happen. You got yourself taken out of the game.”
“You know what this is?” she asked, pointing to her eye as well.
“Let’s just say I wouldn’t envy you if it had time to finish the job.”
Suddenly a man stepped out from the wall behind them, announcing, “Actually, I wouldn’t envy either one of you.”
Ritter swung around to see the man that had spoken. There, underneath the street light, standing alone with his hands casually stuck in his pockets, was his boss, Commander Vin. Ritter backed up to where Jessie stood, positioning himself so that he was blocking Nel from Vin’s line of sight.
“I knew for some time now that you were keeping something from me, Ritter,” Vin announced from the mouth of the wall. “I just didn’t think that it would be this. Partnering with Chance… after all the work you put in to making people believe she had turned. I have to say that’s not what I expected to find here tonight.”
“You didn’t know you were being followed?” Jessie whispered angrily into Ritter’s ear.
“Just shut up. Don’t say a word,” he whispered back.
He dug his hand into his back pocket, and drew attention away from his movements by asking, “Who did you expect to show up here, then? I’m curious as to what you would believe me capable of.”
“You think I’m enjoying this?” Vin asked. From far off in the distance, sirens blared and a helicopter circled in the air. “You were my second in command. You think I’m priding myself on finding you out? After trusting you for so long?”
Something clicked in the shadows behind Ritter, and Jessie tilted her head to see a pair of handcuffs linking Nel’s hand with Ritter’s. Nel was too frightened to move or do anything about it. Jessie caught Ritter’s eye for a brief moment before turning back to Vin.
“The rest of the guys will be here any minute,” Vin told them. Then, with a sad shake of his head, he added, “Ritter. You know how this is going to end.”
As Vin continued to explain to them that it would be in their best interest to give up now and let themselves be taken, Ritter leaned over to whisper in Jessie’s ear, “You know what I did. You know only one of us is getting out of here. And I know you’re not going to let her be taken.”
Jessie forced herself to snuff out the anger she felt towards him. She knew he was right. And in order to save Nel, she was willing to do what he was asking.
The sirens grew louder.
“Are you even listening to me?” Vin asked, taking a step towards them and pulling out his gun. It was lowered to the floor and not at them to let them know it was only a warning.
Jessie nodded to Ritter, and in one moment he was scooping Nel into his arms and running away, while Jessie was running straight towards Vin. He was only able to raise his gun and fire a shot at her, which went wide, before she crashed into him. She slammed his body against the wall and brought his arm up to dislodge the gun from his hands. It fell from his grip, but he fought back. He raised his leg to knee her in the stomach, and she dodged it just in time.
She had to resist the urge to start running away from him. If she left too quickly, he might have time to catch up with Ritter and Nel. She needed to keep him there a little while longer. Long enough for them to get away, but before the rest of the force showed up. It would be a small window of opportunity, but she knew she could do it. She needed to trust that she could.
Vin fought her back with everything that he had. He was the Commander of Task Force, and he fought like no other opponent she had ever gone up against. Despite her speed, she couldn’t block all of his attacks, and each one was driven with such force that just a few punches left her bruised. But with each blow she received, she told herself she couldn’t leave things the way they were. She couldn’t be taken there that night.
* * *
&n
bsp; The helicopter spotted Griffin travelling south down a side street at the edge of the business sector and the west end. A whole slew of Task Force bikes were not far behind him. He only managed glimpses behind his shoulder, but every time he looked, he saw an army of spinning blue circles. Now that the helicopter had its light on him, he knew it was only a matter of time before he was taken. The helicopter was low enough to the ground that he could see when the side door opened. There were tall buildings around so they couldn’t fly too low, but they were already close enough that they could shoot him.
Griffin was starting to think that breaking into a Task Force building was just about the stupidest thing he had ever tried to do. He had always thought that it would be Harper that got him killed in one of her crazy schemes, but it was only now that he was alone that he truly got himself in life-threatening trouble.
He turned down the next street, causing the helicopter to head upwards in order to avoid hitting a building. When they came back down again, Griffin was ready for them. He threw one of the balls from his pocket, and as it flew through the air, he enlarged it. This caused it to charge forward, right into the spinning propellers. The blades slowed down, and the helicopter started to swerve about. Griffin put more distance between them, trying to head south. The agricultural district was south. There were fields and green houses and gardens and small forests where it was easy to get lost in. It was his only shot at getting out of this thing alive.
* * *
Tom stared out through the balcony on the house at Aileron Street. A helicopter was dodging through the air in the distance, looking like it was in danger of crashing. His stomach tightened into a knot, and the blare of sirens made him even more anxious.
It had been five days since Jessie had come to see him. Five days, and she said she would be back. Said she would be finished. But now Task Force was out, obviously chasing someone through the city, and Tom couldn’t shake the feeling that Jessie was in trouble.
Rushing back inside, he went to the study to find Harper. She was on her computer, staring intently at something.
“Harper,” he demanded. “Which way are they heading?”
She picked up on his line of thought and asked, “You think they could be after her?”
“Which way?” he demanded, louder this time.
“South,” she blurted out. Then she squinted her eyes at the screen and typed something else in. “Oh, wait.”
“What?”
“There’s another helicopter, but that’s heading east. I don’t know if it’s part of the same chase or not.”
A loud pair of footsteps crashed through the hall, and soon Denneck appeared in the doorway.
“Come on you two,” he said. “Carver’s got a car. We’re going to find her.”
Harper scooped up her computer, and Tom touched a hand to the top part of his jacket to make sure he still had Jessie’s CD in there.
They were out of the house and into the waiting car in a few quick seconds. Carver pulled away from the house before the doors even closed.
“South east,” Tom managed to tell him as they were pulling out onto the main street. “Head south east.”
* * *
When Ritter and Nel were around the wall and through the woods a safe enough distance away from the city, he finally put her down on the ground. He tried to keep running to put more ground between them and the Task Force squad that would be chasing Jessie, but Nel dug her heels into the ground.
“Sweetheart, we have to keep running,” he told her.
She shook her head vigorously and grabbed onto a nearby tree. “I’m not going anywhere with you!”
“Nel, it’s me, it’s your dad,” he told her, but she hugged tighter to the tree.
“I’m sorry, we have to go,” he said firmly, losing his patience.
He reached over and grabbed her, yanking her from the tree and hoisting her over his shoulder. She screamed and kicked out, and he could only walk a few more paces before he had to put her down again.
The second she was back on her feet, she pointed back to the city, saying, “Save her! Go back and save her!”
“We can’t!” he exclaimed. He pointed a hand towards the city as well. “She stayed back so we could get away. We can’t go back.”
He tried to pull her forward again, but she resisted once more.
“If you save her, I’ll go with you wherever you want!” she exclaimed.
Ritter looked down at her in shock, and tears fell from her eyes as she stared up at him.
“I won’t resist,” she said in a small voice. “I’ll do anything you want. Just as long as you save her.”
“Swear…swear to the skies?” he whispered.
She held up a hand, pointed it up, and then brought it back down to her heart. Ritter placed a fist to his mouth and clamped his lips shut in a tight line. Then with a gulp and a breathless nod, he grabbed the key to the handcuffs and unlocked their hands. Nel rubbed absently at her wrist as she looked up at her father.
“Stay here, okay?” he said. “Don’t run away. I’ll bring her to you.”
She nodded and hugged the trunk of a nearby tree as she watched her dad racing back towards the city—towards the lights and sirens and threat of broken promises and failed returns.
* * *
Jessie had left Vin unconscious on the ground before Task Force showed up. She stayed in what little shadows the city offered her, but it was a fact of inevitability that Task Force would eventually find her when they knew they were only a minute away.
In order to escape, she had two options. She could try her luck with the Resistance tunnels and hope that the people down there wouldn’t realize that she betrayed them by taking Nel to her father. But then that also ran the risk of Task Force finding their way to the Resistance, which could in turn spark an all-out battle between them.
The other option was not as simple as just slipping into a hole, but it didn’t put as many lives at risk. She would need to head south towards the agricultural district. This district was nearly half the size of the rest of Aero City, and had many places for her to hide. She knew this well, for she had hidden in one of its fields for the first twelve years of her life.
It was there she finally started to head. It was the right thing to do. It’s what her mother did all those years ago when she found she had to hide from the government. Now she just had to hope it would work for her as well.
Jessie ran through back alleys, jumped over walls and went through back doors. However, she couldn’t move as fast as she did without making noise. Soon a bike spotted her, and several more followed on the street as she raced down back alleys.
With so many obstacles in the way, she realized she could run faster on the regular street. Hopping over several walls and going through a building, she came out onto a main street. Luckily she had put some distance between her and her chasers, and it took them a while to realize what street she had turned down. When they spotted her again, she was already half-way down the block.
Though she could run faster than anyone in Aero City, the bikes were closing the distance between them fast. She knew she needed to grab a bike in order to have a chance at getting away.
Up ahead, she saw the sign for the street names. One of them read Wings Courtyard. It was a wide open square in the business sector that was populated with several high-end restaurants and lounges. It was the easiest place to find yourself hemmed in on all sides by pursuers, but it was also the most likely place to find a parked car or bike. If she was fast enough, she could steal a vehicle with Red’s ID card and exit the other end of the courtyard before they had a chance to enclose her inside.
She made the turn onto Wing’s Courtyard, sprinting as fast as she could. Her legs were moving so quickly that she almost couldn’t stop when she saw something coming right at her.
Chapter 17
Collisions
The late-night inhabitants of The Jardo were all regulars that, by this time of night, had
consumed enough alcohol that their hands all moved with a characteristic shake. Only a few men that had reserved seats at the bar counter were stoic enough not to let their intoxication show. These were men that could breakfast at Mercury’s and drink down shots of hard liquor not as a means of getting drunk, but of sobering up.
The man sitting in the far left corner table of The Jardo, however, was not one of these men. He held onto his wrist to keep his hand from shaking as he mumbled to the waiter above him to “flame” his drink. The waiter gave him a tired look that told him it was a bad idea, but that he did not have the energy to argue with him.
When the top of his drink was set alight with fire, he turned around to face the room. No one else had the guts to flame their drink. He looked to the men at the bar and saw that not even they had opted for this bold selection.
As he carefully peered across the room, wondering how many people would notice his drink, and perhaps even start a chant for him to chug it down like some sort of alcohol drinking hero, he saw something flash out of the corner of his eye. He drew his attention away from the people of the restaurant for just a moment to look outside. There was a whole squadron of Task Force lining up around the courtyard, and even more on the other side. From up above he could make out the light of a helicopter.
The man began to grow nervous, for obviously something dangerous was happening just a few meager yards away from him. Then he saw two figures in the center of the courtyard heading straight for each other. One of them had black streaked across his face, and he looked as wild as a…
Bandit.
Suddenly the word rocketed through his head, and he forgot about all else. He forgot about the men at the bar and the woman in the white dress near the entrance that had been eyeing him all evening, and he even forgot about the flaming drink in his hands. Sweat and terror raced through his skin, and all he could comprehend was that he was in danger.