I continue to sing aloud, but nothing happens. Could Matthew have changed his mind? Maybe he thinks that the plan is awful, with uncertain results. Now I’m singing with low voice because I want to hear any movements coming from the back of the van. Nothing. If Matthew doesn’t get in action within a few seconds, the game will definitely be over. I mentally countdown, when suddenly a male voice bursts between Jess and me.
«Stop the van immediately, if you don’t want me to blow your brain! »
«What...what do you... mean...» he blethers. I turn and see Matthew pointing the revolver at the back of Jess head. Because of the tension, the poor man looses the control of the van. It begins to skid dangerously. I have to hold myself not to bump my head against the windshield.
«Did you understand? I’m not joking. Stop it! » shouts Matthew, with his voice transfigured by anger.
He moves the gun and shot a bullet that stucks in the top of the van. So it wasn’t true that it was toy gun! If we stay alive, I’m going to find a way to revenge.
This time Jess can’t do but obey Matthew’s order. The van stops just in front the Chinese restaurant and Matthew starts threatening me: «Get out and open this bloody trap. »
«No, please, leave her alone. I’ll open it» implores Jess while sweating.
«Don’t worry, it’ll be all right» I whisper to him, lightly touching his shoulder to reassure him. I’m feeling sorrow for him. He’s so scared that he’s trembling all over his body.
«Give her the key and put the hands and the face on the steering» says Matthew. Jess obeys and I get out in a hurry to open the rear door.
Matthew jumps down and points the gun at my back, whispering to me: «Stay calm. There was only one bullet. »
I’d like to tell him that I put my life and my future in the hands of an asshole, but there’s no time. He leads me toward the basement under the Chinese restaurant. He knocks three times and the door opens right away. We go down some steps in the dark and there we are in a dirty room, filled with cardboard boxes.
«We chose this place because it’s owned by a friend and because, if they come to look for us, we can hide behind the boxes» Matthew explains while I’m looking around worried. In fact I’m not calm at all. There could be some rats. He stops pointing the gun and put it in his pocket.
Bart comes with the clothes, laughing aloud.
«I can’t believe it! You really succeed! I wouldn’t have bet a penny on your escape. »
«Cut it out and throw that bag. We aren’t safe yet. How much do you think it’ll take before the driver calls the police? »
Matthew pulls out the clothing and the other accessories, gives them to me and, noticing my shyness , shows me a sheltered corner behind the boxes. Bart controls the van from a little window.
«So far it seems all right, but there’s no time to waste. »
Yes. I have to move on, but my hands are hard and don’t seem to want to obey the orders. I can manage dressing and put the wig on, but I have problems with the colored contact lenses.
«Matthew, I can’t do it! » I desperately whisper.
He runs to me already prepared to resume the flight. He wears torn trousers, a trendy shirt and his beautiful features are mixed up by wig, contact lenses and black fake moustache.
Thank to his help, in a few seconds I’m ready too. We can hear a lot of police sirens coming from outside. Bart suggests moving on if we want to save our skins. We run in the opposite direction to that of the entrance. What’s Matthew’s intentions? How does he think to escape from the police? I don’t know what to think, and then I see it: a door that opens directly on another road. So I understand that maybe we can still hope for the best.
SECOND PART
CHAPTER 13
FRED
What a day! Between robberies and murder’s attempts there’s not a moment of respite. I sit and stretch my legs on the desk, smoking a cigarette. I know that I shouldn’t. The anti-smoking rules are applied to all workplaces. Especially here, where we have to enforce the law, not to boycott it. Anyway the legislators should understand the importance of a dose of nicotine, if stress reaches highest levels.
I smoke slowly, not bothering about the penalties or other possible consequences. I’m enjoying this moment of respite, with eyes narrowed and back relaxed. Yes, this is good. I’m about to allow myself a nap, when...
The phone start ringing constantly, waking me from the stunning sensation I was falling in. I answer and hear my girl friend screaming like an eagle. Damn! She’s still angry for what happened yesterday night. How can she not understand? I was invited at dinner by her parents and arrived two hours late, but I couldn’t stop the pursuit of a criminal to go to the appointment. I can’t understand how could I fell in love with a woman like that. She’s a pain in the neck...I’m not going to leave her just because of her heart-shaped butt, of the soft lips, of the warm legs that surrounds my hips. Every time I’m with her, I love the way she lets me take her, the way she rubs against me, the way she moans excited. And, as I put down the phone, it stays quite on its place while the thing that I have in my underpants stands to attention. Very bad! I can’t allow my lower part to put more tension on me. Fortunately, closed in the drawer, I always have Playboy to use in case of needing. I leaf through it searching for the inspirating muse, and then I go with my hand where the sun never shines and start the great maneuvers. A few minutes are enough to get rid; I use a handkerchief to clean my hand. It’s strange! These are the first 5 minutes of quietness since I entered the Police District today.
While I’m still enjoying the after-effects of my solitary sex, Jim, my comrade, comes in breathless.
«Fred, did you hear the new? They sent a radio announcement»
«What? I heard a buzz, but I was busy in a certain affair and...»
I understand that I’m going too far. It’s better to omit.
«They were transferring a detainee from Los Angeles to San Diego. He pointed a gun to the driver and escaped with a hostage. »
I’ll never get used to the monstrosity of this job. «The guy doesn’t know he got into a big trouble. If he’s got a hostage they are going to chase him and, as far as I know, he will end up with a bullet in the brain. »
«There’s not only this. The hostage is a penitentiary ward» presses Jim.
«Who is he? Maybe I know him.» I ask curiously. There are a couple of wards with whom I often go to have a cappuccino, when it happens to hand them the criminals.
«It’s not a him. It’s a she. Khyla Freemont. »
As soon as I hear that name, I jump up. I can’t believe it.
«Khyla? My Khyla?»
«Yeah, just her. The one that you fucked for eight months, the one who prepared you breakfast, the one who massaged your feet looking the TV. But she’s the one that you betrayed and thrown in the middle of a road... So it is Khyla, but she certainly isn’t yours. »
Why is Jim always raging at me? I already know that I acted as an asshole, I keep repeating this each morning. Khyla was sweetie and kind, a girl out of time, but Fanny...is a goddess came on earth; she’s so beautiful to take breath away.
«Now, Jim, it isn’t the case to put little thingies on the i. Mine or not mine, Khyla is really in troubles. Hell! I didn’t know she was working in the jail.»
«I did. I saw her some weeks ago, but she told me not to tell you. Do you know what she said? That she hates that job, but she needs money so much. Because of you, she was homeless and without job. So Mary, her old friend, found her a job in the prison and she accepted it. She had no alternatives.»
«Stop making me feel guilty. I did wrong with her, but now I can remedy. I’ll find and free her, and I’ll kill the bastard that kidnapped her. And you know that I never back off. »
«Good! That’s the way I like you best. Also because I asked Cooper: he allowed us to deal with the case. »
To these words I furiously go to the door.
«Very good! Let’s go then, t
here’s no time to waste. »
CHAPTER 14
KHYLA
Matthew opens wide the door and order me to go out. He doesn’t need to repeat it twice, I run in the open air, ready to escape but...
Wherever I look, I can’t see way out. We’re in a blind alley. What a plan! To come to this point, after all this chaos, is really absurd!
«What are we going to do, now? » I ask him, feeling my legs trembling under the weight of worrying.
He doesn’t answer, simply shutting the door in a hurry, not to leave tracks. As we’re near a very high wall, I begin to run toward the opposite side.
Matthew reaches me and grabs my arm.
«Where are you going? »
«I’m looking for a way out! »
«Don’t you know this way you’re going in the main road? If we go that side, the police will catch us. »
«I don’t see another way. »
«Of course there is another way. »
So, without letting me arguing anything, he brings me to the high wall again.››
«What do you mean to do? » I ask puzzled.
«Behind the wall there’s a car for us» He says with his shining smile. Why does he do it? Why does he show me his whitewhashed teeth? I’m hopeless, if in such a situation, I just need to mirror myself in his smile, not to be frightened anymore. Yet there’s something I don’t understand.
«There could be a car for us, but how can we get to the other side? I don’t see any passage!»
«Simple! We are going to over cross it! »
«Are you joking? It’s five meters high and I suffer dizziness! »
He shows me some roughness on the wall.
«If we use them as points of contact for hands and feet, we won’t need too much effort. »
Matthew talks as if it was the easiest thing in the world. Why doesn’t he understand? It’s too high! If I fell down from there, I could crash to the ground and of me it’ll only remain feed for birds.
«They are coming! Move on!» he says taking me by my shoulder and showing me the point where to start the climbing. I breathe deeper for a few seconds and prick up my ears to the noise from the basement...it’s becoming more and more louder. The police are probably looking in every corner, throwing everything everywhere. I’m imagining them armored till their teeth, ready to shoot at the slightest movement. Ready to kill Matthew and to save me. And it doesn’t matter if I’m guilty as him. They think it’s black or white, they’re not able to look at the shades. I know something about this after living for a while with a policeman.
I can here steps coming from behind the door we just came out from. Matthew is begging me to hurry up, but I don’t know what to do. I look at his desperate face, the worrying in his eyes, and so I decide to act. I hold onto the wall and climb as fast as possible. He is under me. With an hand he climbs, with the other helps me, even pushing me with the head under my buttocks, to give more power to the ascent. It seems to me that some minutes passed, but actually it’s been just a few seconds...fear provokes fast. Thank to his help I’m on the top of the wall. I straddle the wall ready for the descent. I’m not sure to succed. Maybe it’s better to let him go first. I look in his direction to see where he is and...
«Khyla! You shouldn’t look down!»
Yes, actually a very good suggestion. It’s a pity that my gaze over crossed him, and I’m now looking into space, submerged by a terrible sense of anguish. My head starts spinning like a whirl.
«Matthew, I can’t make it. I’m losing my strength.» I say desperately. I can feel my body disobeying to the commands of the brain. It goes limp under the pressure of fear and starts going down. And while it’s taking speed due to the gravitational force, I close my eyes not to see when I’ll crash against the hard asphalt.
«Khyla, please. Open your eyes. Khyla...»
I hear a voice afar. I’m trying to follow the rhythm and the strength of it. I know who’s speaking, but I can’t answer. I have to be death, it can’t be otherwise. I felt from a wall five meters high. I couldn’t survive the crash. Is this the hell? A dark and cold place in which Matthew’s voice resounds without break?
«Khyla, move on. There’s no time to waist. »
Yet again? Can’t you leave me alone, at least while I’m death? It’s because of your warm voice, and your grey eyes, that I’ve lost my place in paradise. Yet you don’t stop tormenting me.
A tud, and my right cheek is burning as if it was in fire.
I open my eyes and I see Matthew shaking me trying to rise me up.
«Did you slap my face? How dare you...» I say caressing my cheek.
«Oh God! Finally you’re here again. Let’s go now.»
So it’s true, I’m alive! Plus, it seems to me that my bones are all in their places. How could I survive? It’s at this point that I realize that there’s something soft under my back. I can’t believe it! I felt on a mattress!
I try to recover from the shock and to get up.
«How lucky! Somebody thrown a mattress just here! » I comment cheered up.
«Lucky doesn’t exist, Khyla. Only reason exist. The mattress had been put there by Bart, just to make our landing softer.»
«Do you mean that was all calculated?»
«Yes. Everything except your fainting. I didn’t know you were so scaring.» he sniggers, and I’d like to silence him by kicking his shinbone. Or maybe with a kiss...I’m still quite confused.
«Well, now that you recovered, we still have thirty seconds to reach the car and escape.»
He grabs my hand and lead me to the car. It’s from the ninety. What a coffin! Couldn’t he get something comfortable?
He starts the engine and squares at full speed.
«Wow, it’s fast!» I comment surprised.
«Of course, this car has Volvo’s body work and a race’s car engine. Bart thought about everything. Anyway as soon as we’re out of these tangled alleys, I’ll slow down. The more we go unnoticed, the more we have the chance to succeed. »
Matthew drives very fast and I have to hold myself firmly to the handle, otherwise I would bump against him. Plus, if he swerves at this speed, my meeting with death would just be postponed.
Yet I’m very happy and pumped up. In a few hours we’ll be over the border, free and happy. In a few hours a new life will start.
After turning a corner, I see it, the main road. Direction Mexico!
CHAPTER 15
FRED
My team is ready. We get on the cars and, constantly keeping in contact to each other, and go with sirens on through the busy streets of Los Angeles. I’m horrible afraid and it’s not for me. Usually I’m as tenacious and courageous as a lion. But the idea that Khyla might be injured or killed in a shootout is frightening me very much. I’m so frightened that I asked Jim to drive, while I shouts orders to the radio as if there was no tomorrow.
We get to the Chinese restaurant, park in triple row and I head to the van. In front of it I see a twenty-year-old boy, agitatedly walking back and forth and keeping his head as if it was crushed by a heavy weight.
«Are you Jess, Khyla’s colleague that warned us of her kidnapping?» I ask stopping in front of him with all my statement.
I probably wasn’t so reassurant because, instead of be relaxed, he looks even more agitated. He starts to winck the right eye and to nervously beat the foot.
«Khyla... it didn’t have to end like this...I wanted to go, instead of her...he pointed the gun to my head...»
This stupid is wasting my time. I’m not here to listen to his excuses. He’s not a real man, he’s just one who lets a helpless girl get kidnapped by a delinquent. But it’s not the case to point it out now. I change my strategy, showing him that I’m quite and serene.
«Listen, boy, you don’t have to worry about. Just tell me where he took her. Then you can go back to the jail. We’re going to handle it.»
He indicates a little door under the Chinese restaurant, so I get the transceive
r and start positioning my men for the assault. Everything has to be perfect. We can’t afford to go wrong.
«Are you ready? Remember...you can kill him, but I want her alive. Whoever fails, will have to deal with me.»
I send Jim first. He turns toward me confirming what I already supposed. The door is locked. I get a running start and with a good kick, I crash it. My men get in with guns in hands. We move all the boxes searching Khyla and the kidnapper. At first we try to be efficient but silence, to hear even the slightest moan or a suspicious movement. But the more we go further, the more we’re getting nervous, so the initial prudence turns into shouts and frenzy.
Where are you, Khyla? By now we don’t use any caution. We fling the boxes filled with rice spaghetti and dried algae, hoping to find them.
Then I see a door on the other side of the basement. Damn! That’s where they escaped from!
I shout to Jim to follow me and run to the door. We get out together in a blind alley and, while I’m trying to understand if this could actually be their escape route, I see something shining on the ground at my right side. I pick it up to look at it in the sunlight that filters throw the high buildings. A gold earring! Rather! Not a random earring, but the cross-shaped earring. Yes, it’s certainly Khyla’s. I gave it to her to celebrate our first month together. I’m happy to know that even though I betrayed her in the worst way possible, she didn’t get rid of everything I gave her.
I enjoy the sensation that this discover provokes to me for a moment, then I retake the reigns of the situation.
«Jim, this is one of Khyla’s earrings. That means that they were here and went on the main road. I’m going to chase them on foot. You do organize a roadblock, now! »
And without delay, I run to the main road. The possibilities to find them this way, throw chaos and mob, are nil, but with the roadblock they won’t have way out.
CHAPTER 16
I Don't Belong to You Page 7