Author's Note: I want to say again that none of my stories go together. They are all independent of each other. Hope you like this story. It'll be a little darker, but not too much for you to handle I hope. Hope you like it! And now that I'm done with chapter one, it's off to do some homework cause I have two exams this week…..
Chapter 1: Incoming Trains
Micky sat behind his drum set while his other friends played their own instruments. They were in their house practicing even though they didn't have any upcoming auditions; but they had to always be prepared. Davy stood toward the front of their makeshift stage shaking maracas in one hand and banging a tambourine against his leg with the other. Peter was playing his bass guitar while Mike was playing his own guitar and singing into one of their microphones. They were playing the song 'Papa Gene's Blues'. Davy was doing a little dance and suddenly cried out in pain and fell backward. He landed on Micky's drum set, but Micky was more concerned with why his friend had fallen. Mike and Peter immediately stopped and rushed over to the tangled mess of drums and man.
"Davy!" All three boys cried.
"What happened!?" Micky exclaimed helping to extricate his friend from his drums.
"I stepped on my ankle wrong," Davy winced out.
"Are you ok, buddy?" Mike asked putting down his guitar. Mike and Micky each took one of Davy's arms and wrapped it around their shoulders to carry him across the room to a chair.
"I probably just sprained it," Davy said.
"Peter, get some ice," Mike said. Peter nodded, put down his own guitar before dashing to the icebox. Mike and Micky helped lower Davy into a chair in the kitchen. Mike then pulled out a chair while Micky grabbed a pillow for him to prop his leg up on. Mike took Davy's boot off to look at his ankle as Peter came back with an icepack.
"Guys, it's just a sprain!" Davy exclaimed. "I don't need you to coddle me! I'm not a child!"
"Hey, man, we're just trying to make sure you're ok," Micky said.
"Davy's right," Mike said. "It looks like it's just a sprain. He should probably stay off it the rest of the day and keep icing it."
"Does it hurt?" Peter asked.
"Of course it hurts, Peter," Davy said. "But I'll be fine. I don't know if I can say the same for Micky's drums though. I'm really sorry, Micky."
"Hey, my drums come in second to you," Micky said patting him on the shoulder. "Well, ok, my drums come in fourth behind you, Mike, and Peter."
"How badly damaged are they?" Mike asked. Micky shrugged and walked over to the pile on the floor and started to pick them up. It didn't look too bad. He picked up the only piece that was broken beyond repair: one of his tom-toms.
"I'll need a new one of these, but that's it," Micky said.
"I'm sorry, Micky," Davy repeated.
"Hey, don't mention it," Micky said. "It was an accident. Like I said, I'm more worried about you. These are replaceable. You aren't."
"Well said, Micky," Peter smiled.
"Well, I suppose we can go to the store now before they close and get you another one," Mike said with a sigh. "Davy, you going to be ok here if Micky and I go?"
"I don't see why I wouldn't be," Davy answered. "But we don't have the money for a new one of those."
"We have the emergency fund," Mike answered walking over to the icebox and pulling out a jar of money.
"I didn't know we kept that in there," Peter said with a chuckle.
"Keeps it safe from robbers," Mike answered absently.
"Yeah, who would think to look for money in the icebox!?" Micky laughed. "Where did you think of that?"
"Nowhere," Mike answered. "Davy, do you want us to get you anything while we are out? Aspirin? An ankle bandage or anything?"
"No, I'm fine," Davy said. "I'm really sorry, guys."
"Davy-" Micky started again but Mike cut him off.
"Davy, Micky's right," Mike said. "We have the emergency fund for a reason. And the drums are replaceable. You're not. Stop apologizing."
"But, we worked so hard to save up that money," Davy said ruefully.
"This is exactly what it's here for though, Davy," Micky reminded him. "We can earn it back for the next emergency."
"But-" Davy started.
"Apologize to me one more time for a stupid broken drum and I'm hiding the step stool for a month!" Micky exclaimed. Davy immediately stopped talking and Peter hid a slight chuckle while Mike tried to hide a smile. They'd gotten a step stool for Davy last Christmas so he could reach some things on his own around the house instead of making one of them do it. But Micky had taken recently to hiding the step stool from Davy as a joke and it was beginning to annoy Davy.
"Are you sure we have enough money?" Peter asked eyeing the jar.
"I'm not sure," Mike said. "I hope so." He took the money out and began counting it. Micky waited anxiously until Mike finished. "I think we're about ten bucks short," Mike said.
"Oh man," Peter said. "How are we gonna get ten bucks to buy a new drum for our next gig when we don't even have a next gig to be paid for."
"What?" Micky asked. Sometimes Peter really confused him.
"Well, Micky and I can go down to the train station and try to perform for passengers," Mike said. "It's worked for us before."
"Yeah, and I don't need my drums today," Micky said. "We can get them tomorrow once we've raised the extra money!"
"Exactly," Mike said. "Let me grab my guitar and we'll go. Pete, make sure Davy stays off his ankle, ok?"
"Sure," Peter answered.
"I don't need a babysitter," Davy grumbled.
"No one says you do," Mike said putting his guitar in its case and closing it. "You ready, Mick?"
"Yep," Micky answered. "See you guys later!" Micky waved good-bye to Peter and Davy and followed Mike to the car. On the drive, they decided which songs to play so they could keep up with each other and Micky wouldn't be surprised. They decided on mostly songs for Micky to sing so Mike could focus on his guitar since that was their only instrument.
Once they pulled up to the train station, Mike grabbed his guitar and they went inside to decide where to set up. They picked a spot near the ticket booth, but when the man behind the counter shot them a dirty look, they decided to move a little closer to the train itself. It was pretty empty right then, but they started into their songs anyway. A few people stopped and looked at them, but most continued walking. Micky even heard one man in a suit whisper something about long-haired weirdoes bothering him, but Micky ignored it. A few people stopped and threw a quarter or two in Mike's guitar case.
They were at it for a few hours when Micky noticed a pretty young woman getting off a train. She seemed to be a little lost as she looked around. She carried a rather large suitcase with her over to a bench and sat down. She sat there for a while as Micky and Mike continued their performance. Another train pulled in moments later and the emerging passengers obscured the woman from view momentarily. A small crowd of teenagers walked up to the singing boys and each threw a dollar or two into Mike's guitar case when they finished their song. They clapped and cheered, but were soon ushered away by a very annoyed looking man who seemed to be acting as a chaperone to them.
"They gave us thirty dollars!" Mike said excitedly counting the money they had thrown in. But Micky's attention was elsewhere. As he had turned to look at the money in the case, he suddenly saw the woman who'd been lost again; and he didn't like what was happening. A large man had her by the wrist and was pulling her towards a hallway. Micky made a split decision when he saw the look of terror on her face as she fought against the man to free herself. Micky took off in her direction, leaving Mike confused behind him.
"Micky, where are you going!?" Mike called after him. But Micky didn't answer; he was focused on finding the woman. He made it to the hallway entrance and looked both ways for her, but didn't see her. He stood in the hallway for a second trying to think which way to go when Mike ran up behind him.
"I saw a girl," Micky started before Mike could say anything. "She's in trouble."
"Ok, where is she then?" Mike asked skeptically.
"I don't-" Micky started, but was cut off when he heard a scream from his right. He looked and saw a door partially open about halfway down the hallway and realized they must have gone in there. He took off toward the door and ignored Mike's protests behind him.
"Micky, wait!" Mike called packing up his guitar quickly and throwing the case over his shoulder by the strap. "What exactly do you plan on doing?" Micky reached the door and peeked through the small opening. Sure enough, the woman was in there with the man. She was kneeling on the floor crying. Micky moved to go inside, but was pulled back by Mike.
"Mike, she's in trouble!" Micky whispered.
"I can see that," Mike whispered back. "But you can't just go charging in there without a plan."
"I have a plan," Micky lied. "Barge in, grab the girl and run."
"And how are you going to grab her without getting attacked by that brute?" Mike asked.
"I don't know," Micky answered. "But I can't just sit here and let him hurt her."
"I agree with you, but we need to be smart or we're going to get hurt, too."
"So what's your plan?"
"One of us distracts him, while the other-" Mike started, but was cut off when the girl screamed again.
"Please!" she screamed. "I'm sorry, please don't do this!"
"I have my orders, darling," the man answered her.
"Please!" she begged again. "Think about what you're doing! You'd be killing an innocent baby!" Mike and Micky looked at each other.
"Baby?" Mike asked. Micky didn't wait to figure it out. If there was a baby involved, he wasn't going to dally around out here. Even though he hadn't seen it. Micky threw the door open and rushed toward the man. He only noticed the man was pointing a very small gun at the woman's head a second before Micky made contact with him. Micky knew he was only able to knock the man down because Micky had taken him off guard. The woman cried out in shock and Micky quickly jumped off the man after picking up the gun that had fallen to the ground. Mike reached his hand out to the woman on the floor and Micky quickly looked around. The room was empty save for the four of them.
"Where's the baby?" Mike asked also picking up on this. The woman stood up and that's when Micky realized what she had meant. She had a slight bump on her belly.
"She's pregnant!" Micky exclaimed.
"You little brats!" the man on the ground said as the shock wore off and he started to get up. Mike grabbed the woman's hand and pulled her out of the room with Micky close behind them. They ran from the room in the moments the man looked around for the gun he'd dropped, apparently not realizing Micky had grabbed it. He heard the man give up behind them and begin to chase them.
"Run!" Micky called ahead to Mike and the woman. He knew he really didn't need to, but did anyway. A man pushing a luggage cart passed in front of Micky making him slow down to avoid tripping over it, unfortunately that meant the man behind him grew closer. He felt the man grab the back of his shirt and he let out a yelp. Ahead of him, Mike heard the noise and turned just in time to see Micky being thrown into the wall by the brute.
"Where's my gun!?" he bellowed angrily grabbing the front of Micky's shirt. Mike stopped short despite Micky's wishes; he really wanted Mike to just keep running with the girl. The brutish man drew back his arm and despite the pain he was in, Micky ducked and the man only succeeded in putting his fist through the wall.
"Mike, just go!" Micky called as he wriggled away tearing his shirt in the process. Once he was free, he took off running again. He grabbed another luggage cart up ahead and rolled it at the man who had begun chasing after him again. "Go, go, go!" Micky called again. Mike turned back around and continued running once Micky started running again himself. Behind him, he heard the metal clang of the brute tripping over the luggage cart, but Micky didn't stop. Mike threw open a door and exited out onto the street. Micky followed him and slammed the door behind him, hoping to stall the brute even further. Mike turned down an alley and didn't stop running until they reached another open door. Mike quickly pulled the woman in it behind him and waited for Micky. Looking over his shoulder and not seeing the man following them, Micky ducked in through the door and Mike slammed it closed behind them. All three stood there for a few moments to catch their breath.
"I think we lost him," Micky said sinking to the ground. His whole body ached.
"Are you ok, Micky?" Mike asked him.
"Sore, but otherwise fine," he answered. "Are you alright, Miss?" Micky asked the woman who was still wide-eyed with fear.
"I'm fine," she answered. "Thank you. You didn't have to do that. You could have been killed."
"But we weren't," Micky said with a smile.
"They could still kill you if they find you," she countered.
"They?" Mike asked.
"Yes," she answered solemnly. "He had orders from above to kill me."
"Who are these people and why do they want to kill you?" Micky asked.
"It's very complicated, and I don't want to get you involved any further. I came here looking for my brother. I didn't know they had followed me."
"Where's your brother?" Mike asked.
"I don't know exactly," she answered. "I know he's here in the city somewhere, but that's it."
"What are you going to do until you find him?" Micky asked. He wasn't sure he liked her being out on the street with the danger she was in.
"I have a little bit of money for a hotel," she answered. "I know it's not much, but it's something. I don't think it'll take long to find him."
"This is a big city," Mike said skeptically.
"I know, but I know the kinds of places he likes to hang out. I plan to check those places out and ask people if they know of him."
"Well, I guess that could work," Micky said. "Are you sure you're going to be safe until you find him?"
"As long as I keep moving, yes," she said. "I shouldn't have stopped to take a rest on the bench at the train station, but I was so tired. I didn't know he was on the train right behind me." Mike carefully looked out the window.
"I don't see him, so I think Micky's right and we lost him," Mike said.
"Let us at least drive you to wherever you're going to stay," Micky said. "Make sure you get there safely."
"You don't have to do that," she answered.
"No one has to do anything," Mike said. "But I don't think I'd be able to sleep tonight if I let a pregnant woman wander the streets of a strange city all alone while someone was trying to kill her."
"I'm with Mike on that one," Micky agreed.
"You are very kind," she said with a smile. "Thank you very much, Mike and…"
"Micky," he finished for her. "And you're very welcome."
"My name is Patricia, but everyone calls me Patty."
"Nice to meet you," Mike said. "Although I wish the circumstances had been a little better. Let's get to the car before that guy finds us." The three of them carefully walked out of the room they were in and walked as quickly as they could to the car, Patty protectively in between Micky and Mike. When they got to the car, Mike put his guitar in the back seat and Micky stopped.
"Your luggage," Micky said suddenly remembering the suitcase the woman had.
"Don't worry about it," she answered. "Don't go back for it, please. It's not important at all. Just clothes."
"Are you sure?" Micky asked.
"Positive," she answered. "Not worth you getting killed if he finds you. I have the important things in my pocket. Money, my brothers picture, things like that." Micky nodded and he and Mike jumped into the car.
"Do you already know where you're going?" Mike asked from the driver's seat.
"No, I was hoping to find a cheap hotel," she answered.
"Lucky for you we know one on the other side of town far away from here and that man," Mike said as he pulled the car out and began to drive.
"Might be a good idea to duck down so he doesn't see us in case he's prowling around here," Micky said as he slid down from the seat to the floor. Patty nodded and slid down right next to him. Mike took his green wool hat off and tossed it back to Micky to hold on to before throwing on his large sun glasses to try and change his appearance slightly. They rode in silence for several minutes before Mike suggested they were well clear of the train station. Micky and Patty got off the floor of the car and buckled themselves into the seats.
"So you never told us why they want to kill you," Micky said.
"They belong to a large criminal organization," she answered. "I decided I didn't want any part of it anymore, so now they're trying to kill me cause I want out."
"Wait, you're a member?" Mike asked.
"Was," she corrected. "It's never been my choice. I was born into it. So was my brother. He got out a long time ago. He begged me to go with him, but I was too scared. But now…now I have to think about more than just myself. I have to think about what's best for my baby."
"What about the father of your baby?" Micky asked.
"He's already dead," she answered sadly.
"I'm so sorry," Micky said.
"He was a good man," she said with a smile. "He wasn't part of any of this. He didn't deserve to die. They killed him because of me. I found out I was pregnant a month later." Micky didn't really know what to say, so he didn't say anything. They drove the rest of the way in silence. When they reached the hotel, Mike and Micky both got out to say good-bye to Patty. Micky didn't feel right leaving her alone, but she assured them that she would be fine and she didn't want them to get dragged into this.
"Wait!" Micky said, suddenly remembering he still had the brute's gun. He took it out of his pocket and gave it to Patty. "Just in case," he said with a forced smile. He really hoped she didn't have to use it. She seemed hesitant to take it, but she placed one hand over her stomach and seemed to realize that she may need it to protect herself and her baby. She took the gun and put it in her pocket before walking into the lobby to get a room for herself with one last 'thank you' to the boys. On the way home Micky silently wished that she wouldn't need to use that gun and that she would find her brother without befalling any more danger.