Chapter 7: Chase
A few days after the incident with Drew (no, no one bothered to tell him they were joking), Chris was walking to his house with him after school. His parents had gotten back early and, needless to say, they hadn't done very much as the Burke's. They decided to take a detour and grab a hot dog.
Chris wouldn't admit it, but she was really starting to like Drew. And she could tell (well, at least she hoped she was right about being able to tell) that he was starting to like her too. They were walking slow, talking and joking, in no hurry to get back to his house and do homework.
"So, who is Zac?" Drew asked after a moment of silence. She spun around to face him, smiling widely.
"No one. Well, no one you can prove existed." His face paled again. She laughed loudly. Over his shoulder, she saw a man turn to face her. For a second, she wondered why he looked familiar. Then the memories of Peter's case files flooded her mind. A devious kind of smile crossed the mans face. He put his hands on his hips, pushing back his jacket and revealing a gun. Her eyes widened. Still smiling at her, he started towards them.
"Run," she said to Drew, starting to back up.
"What?" he asked, confused.
"Run!" she exclaimed, grabbing her friend's wrist and spinning around, bolting in the opposite direction. Unable to break her grip, Drew ran with her.
"Chris, what's going on?"
"I'll explain later," she promised, turning, "we just have to get out of here." And they ran, pushing past annoyed New Yorkers. Chris looked over her shoulder. Sure enough, he was still following them. Chris turned suddenly, pulling Drew with her into traffic. A car screehed to a halt to avoid hitting them. She turned and stopped, holding a palm out.
"Sorry!" she shouted. "Sorry!" And they started running agian. A few streets away, Chris pulled her phone out of her pocket. She started scrolling through her contacts. She looked around, catching sight of a street sign.
"Gia," she said into the phone.
"Chris, what's up? Are... are you running?"
"Yeah. I need you to call Dad, or Moz. Whichever. Tell whoever to get to Sunday. And bring Peter."
"Got it."
"Thanks," she said before hanging up.
"What was that about?" Drew asked as they turned a corner.
"Nothing. Just keep running." He nodded. It was almost ten minutes (adrinaline was the only thing that kept them going) before Chris slowed. She pulled him into an alley. Casting a glance over her shoulder, she made sure no one followed them in.
"Keep watch," she commanded before pulling out a bobby pin and picking the lock to a door. He nodded and watched. No one came and they were in almost a minute later.
"Chris, would you mind telling me what this is about?" Drew asked as the sunk to the floor after relocking the door. She nodded, still trying to catch her breath.
"We were being chased by a man with a gun." Drew blanched. "This man kidnapped my dad, making us think he was dead. Dad got away and led him down to Mexico. Guess he didn't take the bait."
"Why did he kidnap your dad?"
"Dad really has been convicted of a felony, just not for murder. He's a very talented forger. The man who was chasing runs a forging ring." That's when Neal, Mozzie, and Peter ran in.
"Chris," Neal said, running over to them, "what's going on?"
"We were just chased by an armed Charlie Turnway."
