I Don't Belong to You

by Samantha Restrew

  That is what he really wants. He doesn’t want to stay with me far away from the prison that intoxicated him inside. He just wants Tracy and his son. He admit this with so much candor, that I would feel tenderness for him if he didn’t treat my feelings. Yes, he was always sincere to me, but to hear him saying these words, when he’s pointing a gun to his stepfather’s temple, really makes me understand that the idea to stay forever with him one day is just an illusion. No. I don’t belong to him and he doesn’t belong to me. I shake my head disconsolate and focus my attention on George who, with a challenge air, is throwing fire words, hitting Matthew directly in the deep.

  «About your son is too late. He was born dead. We buried him in a little cemetery in Los Angeles before Tracy leaved and started her new life. You’re a piece of shit. You ruined her existence, that of your son and that of your mother. Since you went in prison she is in and out the psychiatric hospitals.»

  I see that Matthew is falling under the weight of those revelations. I try to approach him cautiously.

  «Matthew, let’s go away. We’re only complicating our situation. If you had followed my advice, at this time we would be in Mexico.» I use a sweet tone not to disrespect him, but actually I’m really upset and I too need to be reassured and comforted. Why can’t he forget the past once and for all? I’m here, imploring for his love and he still thinks about Tracy.

  To these words George head to Matthew with a bad grim. «This is the love you have for my daughter. You want to see her and meanwhile you go with another woman. And I should let you meet her again? Never!»

  Matthew suddenly cross the desk and points the gun to George’s forehead.

  «Khyla is just a friend. She’s helping me. I love her but this feeling has nothing to do with the one I have for Tracy.»

  Once again Matthew is killing me with his words. There’s nothing to say or to add to this peremptory declaration. He loves me as a friend, an adventure companion, nothing more than this. Why life has to be so unjust?

  Matthew continues: «George, I told you I don’t want to kill you, but this costs a bit. You have five seconds to tell me where Tracy is, or I’ll kill you without mercy.»

  «One... two... three... four... fi...»

  As he counts, I close my eyes not to see. I really think it’ll be impossible to stop his fury.

  «She is in Nevada, by an aunt of my dead wife... you’ll find the address in my agenda.»

  Matthew calms down, but is still pointing the gun to George’s head.

  «Good, you’re reasoning now. Khyla, take the agenda and put it in your bag. Then pull a wire from the computer and use it to tie this bastard. Can you?»

  I don’t answer. Of course I’m able to do it... I’m an expert about inextricable knots. I was head-scout at high school. Matthew goes back a few steps to let me tie Tracy’s father.

  «Now, Khyla, bring the chair near the desk. Then you’ll active the intercom and George will say to the receptionist that he has a buisiness to be carried out and that he doesn’t want to be disturbed till 10 o’clock.»

  «What if I won’t do it?» George tries to protest.

  «At your own risk» exclaims Matthew, approaching the gun to his head.

  «Ok, ok...»

  I active the intercom and George pronounces all the words that Matthew suggested.

  «Now, Khyla, shut his mouth with the adhesive tape.»

  «Don’t you think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, Matthew?»

  «Khyla, what do you think? If you’re not going to do as I said, as soon as we’re out he’ll start screaming and we will be arrested.»

  Actually there’s no other choice. So I shut his mouth with the tape. Matthew puts the gun back in the pocket and tells me to go out. We open and close the door as quickly as possible to prevent anyone from seeing the president gagged and tied up.

  Fortunately they are all too busy to see what’s happened. We go away with extreme naturalness, as if nothing had happened. Even though in my heart the Third World War has broke out.

  CHAPTER 24

  FRED

  The lift is occupied, so I decide to go up the stairs. Even though I go to the gym four times a week, twenty floors are not easy to climb, but I haven’t got many choices. As soon as I was near the building, I saw a Volvo parked in front of it. That means that I’m about to catch them.

  I arrive breathless in the office. The employees look at me as if they had seen a monster. I can’t speak because I’m breathless, so I show the badge to all those who come to see if I’m a crazy armed man or just a fool. As soon as I can breathe again, I ask for the president’s office. A young man with a design in his hand indicates me a big room at the end of the corridor.

  There’s a girl sitting out of the office with a cup of capuccino in her hand. She’s really beautiful with red hair and emerald eyes... if I wasn’t on a mission, I’d ask her to come out with me and have lunch together. Instead I ask:

  «Are you the secretary of George Mason?»

  «Yes, but in this moment I can’t let you in. He told me not to accept appointment untill ten o’clock.»

  I shake my head and put the budge right under her nose. I pleasantly notice that as soon as she reads the department I belong to, the snooty expression disappears from her beautiful face dotted with freckles. Maybe she is of Irish origins.

  «What’s the matter?» she asks worried. I’m observing that her beautiful eyes suddenly take umbrage. I think that she’s worrying because of my job. That’s saying something. Probably mister Mason is in a bad business round and she knows it. My sixth sense is never wrong. Anyway this is not the right moment to investigate about this. Everything is in its own time.

  I tell her the reason of my visit.

  «I’m pursuing two fugitives and I think they’re here. They had an appointment with your boss.»

  «Who? Mr. Grasshopper and his companion?»

  «Yes, just them.»

  «They entered fifteen minutes ago.»

  «Are they still in?»

  «I don’t know...I went away for a few minutes to grab a cappuccino. I’ll ask the president. »

  She speaks in the intercom and asks if I can go in. Nothing... nobody answers.

  «That’s strange. Maybe he’s at the bathroom.» she justifies.

  I approach the intercom and qualify myself as a cop in looking for two fugitive. The silence become oppressive.

  I go and open the door. The receptionist follows me in the attempt of stopping me, and so we both see mister Mason tied up at the chair and with a tape on his mouth.

  I run toward him and brutally move the tape away. He screams with pain, but I can’t waste my time. I have to know right now.

  «You are a policeman, aren’t you?» he asks with glossy eyes.

  «Yes, I’m Alfred Valentines. From Los Angeles P.D..»

  «Are you looking for Matthew? He was here with the his girl friend. I didn’t want to tell him, but he pointed his gun on my forehead...»

  «What did you not want to tell him?»

  «Where my daughter is. He wants to go to see her. Save her, please. That boy already ruined her life once. Please, don’t let him see her again.»

  «Don’t worry. Just tell me his direction.»

  «In Nevada, to my sister in law.»

  As I get him rid of the wire, he orders to the secretary to write down the exact address and she gives it to me.

  I take it and run down the stairs. If I move on, I could catch them before they fled from the city again.

  As soon as I get out, I see that in place of the Volvo there’s a white Range Rover. Angrily I pull out the address and the cell phone from the pocket.

  Jim answers promptly.

  «I was waiting for your call. Were they there?»

  «Yes, but they escaped like when soap slips out of hands. But I know what’s their direction. They are going to Hawthorne in Nevada.»

  «Good, I’ll call San Francisco PD. We’ll block them all the ways of
escape. This time they won’t flee. What are you going to do? Are you coming back?»

  «No, I don’t want to surrender. I want to be the one who delivers that asshole to justice and to release Khyla.»

  «Excuse me, but are you sure that she is an hostage? It seems strange to me that she followed him through people without trying to get rid of him.»

  «Yes, I’m sure. Khyla would never accept to be the accomplice of a crap like that.»

  This is not true, I’m not sure at all. The more I go on investigating, the more her behavior seems suspicious to me. But I don’t want to think about this now. I’ll draw conclusions in due course. Now the important thing is to find them as soon as possible. This is why I run to my car and drive fast toward east. Toward Nevada...

  CHAPTER 25

  KHYLA

  The Volvo travels on the streets of San Francisco dodging obstacles at a crazy speed. I keep myself at the seat as I did when we ran away from Los Angeles, but this time I know there is no way to slow down. Because of Matthew’s absurde plan, we surely are going to be unmasked. We certainly have little time before they find George gagged and bound. And as soon as someone releases him, he’ll tell them that we’re going to Tracy. I’m feeling oppressed by a weight that holds my heart, today more than yesterday, and I realize that the more I go further in this crazy journey, the more I feel violated and vilified. Yet I can’t leave Matthew. Is this love? Full self-annulling? Does someone in love become a walking ectoplasm? I don’t know. I don’t know anything. I just know that this blind and desperate feeling is ruining me. There’s no happy ending. Even if we saved ourselves, he would choose Tracy and I would stay alone with my bag of broken dreams, yet I can’t get away from him. I still need to breathe his same air, to mirror myself in his glacial eyes, to feel the warm touch of his hand.

  I try to absorb his tranquility and to make it mine. Despite everything that happened so far, it seems that nothing can scratch Matthew. But there are too many accumulated emotions, so I can’t stop the tears and start crying desperately.

  Matthew turns to look at me for a moment, then back to look at the road. He drives in silence, while I keep crying. When I almost lose my breath because of the sobs, he touches my knee and whispers: «What are you crying for, Khyla?»

  «Why? Because our flee is useless. They’ll catch us, I’m sure...»

  «No. This won’t happen. It’s not all lost, yet.»

  «Are you crazy? Of course they’ll catch us... In all probability the police already talked with Tracy’s father and they probably know that I helped you to escape.»

  He laughs and I would like to kick him. There’s nothing to laugh about in this shity situation.

  «I knew that after talking to George our cover would collapsed, so I already arranged the reserve plan.»

  «And what exactly is it?»

  «Wait and see.»

  I wipe my tears and try to find the right peace of my breath. What a stupid I am! His slight reassurances are enough to make me feel better. Why am I continuing to trust him after all he’s done?

  Matthew parks the car next to the station. What are his intentions?

  «Khyla, be ready to get out of the car as soon as I tell you to go.»

  I nod and bring myself in the right position. As a bus stops beside us, Matthew orders to get out. We open the doors at the same time, he grabs my hand and leads me between the large group of people who dropped from the bus. We walk with them for about a hundred meters toward the entrance of the station, then we get into an empty taxi.

  «Where do you want to go?» asks the driver a little bit bored.

  «Turk Street, number 10, please.»

  We start travelling San Francisco’s streets to the west. I’m trying to understand Matthew’s plan, but it’s not easy. Fortunately the driver doesn’t care about us and the radio is off, otherwise I don’t think we would have many possibilities to save us. In this moment they are probably spreading our identikits through all the media. The sooner we take shelter somewhere, the better.

  «There we are» says the driver laconically. Matthew controls the taximeter and gives the sum to the driver.

  When we get off the taxi, I see that we are in front of a car hire.

  «Is this your great idea? Who do you think is going to rent us a car, knowing we are wanted?»

  He doesn’t answer and ring the bell of the next door. Steps are resounding inside, then the door opens. A nice man about thirty with south American features, is telling us to enter. As soon as the door is closed, Matthew and his friends hug, giving each other pats on the back. I remain silent and then join Matthew, so he decides to make introductions.

  «José, she is Khyla.»

  «Yes, I saw her on all the media. You are both more famous than Beyoncé. Let’s go in the apartment, so you can rest a bit» says our host, ahead of us on the stairs. My look focuses on the sensual movement of his back which is like that of Ricky Martin. Is he a dancer, too? He let us into a simple but clean room, with a modern fireplace in a corner. I immediately revive the flames trying to warm my hands that have frozen in these crazy days of escape.

  «Do eat something» says José, bringing two plates of cheese macaroni.

  I’m so hungry that I devour my portion. As soon as I finish eating, I begin to ask questions to understand what I should expect in the future.

  «Have you known for a long time?» I ask, having noticed the great complicity between the two.

  «Matthew and I were neighbors and went in the same school. I moved to San Francisco for work shortly before Matthew was arrested. I knew the facts from the newspapers, but I always believed he was a victim of a plot. That is why, when Bart told me the plan, I immediately declared my willingness to help.»

  At least I’m not the only fool to trust him. Now I’m feeling better.

  «And how do you think to help? Are you going to hide us up here untill the police stop looking for us?»

  He smiles.

  «I gladly would, but unfortunately is not what Matthew wants.»

  He goes to a dresser, pulls out a bag and put it on the table. I see that inside there are other wigs and I understand right away. Matthew wants to continue the flight with a new identity for both.

  «What will be my name, this time?» I ask annoyed.

  José gives me my new identity document so I can read the name that is printed on it.

  «Laura Scott. I like it. It’s better than Rose.»

  I also look at Matthew’s new passport.

  «John Scott? Why do we have the same surname?»

  While I’m asking, my mind already knows the answer.

  «Should we pretend to be relatives?»

  «Actually brothers» says Matthew.

  «I don’t like it...» I whisper more to myself than to him. I was glad to be his girl friend, even though we were pretending so.

  «We don’t have much choice, Khyla. We have to find a way to get to Nevada and talk to Tracy.»

  Hearing these words I get up and angrily move away from the table. Here it is, clear as the sun, his crazy plan. Now I wonder if I would have helped him anyway, knowing that he just wanted to get back together with Tracy.

  «Stop joking at me. We aren’t forced to run to Nevada to see your ex girl friend. Our only duty is to save our ass. If you were wiser, you would run away in Mexico with me.»

  «I’ve told you that I have to see Tracy. I don’t want to run away in Mexico or anywhere else without speaking to her, first.» he answers with an equally altered tone of voice.

  «And how do you think you can go in Nevada? By now all the roads are surely blocked. »

  «We will go through the Sierra»

  «What? You’re crazy! There’s a lot of snow, now.»

  «I know it...and also the police know it. In these weather conditions, it’s almost certainly the last road they would patrol looking for us.»

  «You are crazy. We will be frozen and, even though we saved ourselves, it’s going to be a
long way before we can get over the Yosemite Park.»

  «It doesn’t matter. We could spend months, as far as I am concerned.»

  I can’t believe what he’s proposing to me. I really put my life in the hands of a mad man.

  «José, please, try to make him reasoning.»

  «I think that’s impossible» he says smiling. «When Matthew decides something, good or bad, it’s difficult to succeed in moving him from the idea. The only alternative is to let him go away alone. If you want, you can stay with me while things calm down.»

  And he winks behind Matthew’s back.

  «Khyla comes with me» he answers as hard as a rock, throwing fire glances at José while holding my hips.

  «Yes, I was just joking. Don’t get angry.»

  Meanwhile Matthew continues to hold my hips, in a way that expresses possession. I admit that I feel so good in his arms that I immediately soften... and I have the confirmation that, any madness Matthew will propose to me, I will never have the power to oppose his will.

  I will go to Nevada with him or wherever he wants, following him even to the end of the world, if this is necessary.

  CHAPTER 26

  FRED

  «Good morning, Inspector Valentines. I’m agent Smithson. I was waiting for you» a pretty police-woman with a sweet smile and the most beautiful thighs.

  «You can call me Fred.»

  «Ok Fred. I’m Raven.»

  While pointing the leather armchair on which I should seat, she turns the computer on to show me a recording.

  «This is the video I had mentioned by phone.»

  I see Khyla and the kidnapper coming out from the Volvo together, holding each other’s hand and mix themselves with a bunch of travelers just got off from a pullman.

  «As I said, the images are somewhat confusing, but to me it seems they have come into the station with the other tourists, probably climbed on some train, and this is why we’ve been ordering to increase controls on the different trains. However, our efforts have turned out to be useless. It seems that the two escaped have vanished into nothingness.»