Chapter Eleven
A/N: I don't own N.T. Alright, back to that car chase I promised you guys!
The Ferrari swerved around traffic as Ann, Jon, and I all hung on for dear life. I tried to squirm around into a more comfortable position, but instead found myself somehow sitting on top of Jon. I made myself as small as possible as another gunshot was heard. The Ferrari veered to the side, bumping me into Jon more. I glanced up at him sheepishly.
"Something tells me that your dad has done this before." I gave a weak smile.
"A few times." He shrugged.
"Hang on; we're making an illegal u-turn!" Riley told us.
"We're what?!" Ann screeched.
Riley flipped the steering wheel around, turning us straight into the oncoming traffic. All of us were screaming as we watched the streetlights above us swirling around dizzily.
"Dad, what are you doing?!" Jon yelled as I slipped back down onto the floorboard again.
"Just trust me!" he yelled back as he hit the gas.
"Tell me when it's over…" Ann moaned as she covered her eyes, trying to squiggle down onto the floor with me.
I climbed back up into the seat, trading places with Ann as the black car sped by, careening around to follow us again. I grabbed for Jon's hand as the traffic in front of us veered out of the way. My breathing was uneven as I tried to not be sick. Riley pressed down on the gas even more as he cast a worried gaze over his shoulder at the black car that was steadily gaining on us.
"Uh… Dad…" Jon murmured weakly as he stared in front of us. Riley turned back around quickly.
In front of us was an eighteen wheeler, and it was not moving very fast. Riley's face paled, but only for a second. Then, he rammed his foot down on the gas even harder. I gulped, grabbing for Jon's other hand as well. The semi blared its horn as it came to a stop.
"Dad, it's not going to move!" Jon tried to get his dad to stop. Riley didn't respond.
"Um, Mr. Poole? I'd really like to not die!" came Ann's muffled plead from beneath me and Jon.
"Everyone just trust me, alright?" Riley told us sternly.
"You're not really giving us much of a choice here anyway." Jon muttered as his face paled.
The semi's bright headlights blinded me as we grew close, and then I duck down, burying myself into Jon's jacket with a whimper as I thought we were about to crash head-first to our death. Suddenly, I felt us swerve out of the eighteen wheeler's path, the blaring horn rushing by our heads quickly.
I glanced up, still clutching Jon's arms in fear. We had swerved just half a second before crashing headlong into the semi, and were now continuing down a less-crowded side street. I glanced back just in time to notice the black car speeding behind us, still caught in the semi's headlights. It spun out of control just before it ran head-first into the truck, crashing into at least three other cars as it skidded to a stop.
Riley gave a small victorious laugh as he turned back around with a slight nod.
"Works every time." He smiled. Then, his glance turned to the three of us. "What are you guys doing down there? Come on, get up into the seat at least!" he patted the back of the passenger seat as the sports car slowed to a normal speed. We all fearfully crawled off of each other.
Ann peeked out from her hiding spot on the floorboards, smoothing her frizzy hair with a shaky hand. Glancing over at Riley, she gave a small smile.
"Hey, I'm Ann Helder, Charlie's foster mom." She reached her hand out for Riley to shake.
"Nice to meet you." Riley nodded back.
I gave a relieved sigh as I saw my house down the street. Char had finally calmed down, trying to find a position that wasn't so awkward in the cramped front seat with me and Ann. She was now sitting almost on top of me. Ann was still curled up on the floor.
"Thank goodness we're finally here." I murmured, leaning my head back as the Ferrari came to an uneven stop. I heard the front door of our house swing open. Glancing behind me, I saw my mom rushing over towards us. "Uh oh…" I breathed.
"Riley, Jon, you've been gone for almost two hours! I've been listening to all the news stations and there was some sort of high speed car chase and… what is Charlotte doing here?" she asked, stopping just outside the sports car.
"Hey," Ann poked her head out of the floorboards, frightening my mom a little, "I'm Ann Helder, Charlie's foster mom." She reached her hand out to shake. My mom grabbed it hesitantly.
"Nice to meet you. Riley, don't tell me that you were caught in this car chase…" she trailed off as she noticed the busted rearview mirror. My dad stepped out of the car with a grimace, gathering his backpack up.
"Can we get out now?" Char asked softly, still trying to find a better position to be in.
"Oh my… don't tell me that you- I can't believe this!" my mom cried, backing away from the car.
"Margaret, honey, please just listen to me first," my dad tried to explain.
"No Riley; I thought I told you, no more high-speed car chases!" my mom yelled back. "I mean, and you had people in the car, and they could've been hurt. At least no one had a gun…"
My dad winced, causing my mom to stop with raised eyebrows. The three of us watched silently as this little battle continued.
"There were guns…" mom sighed as she glanced once again at the busted mirror, the only scratch on the whole car.
"Yes, but only one." Riley tried. Margaret threw him a glare. My dad hung his head as she thrust the passenger side door open. The three of us tumbled out, falling over on top of each other again.
"Get inside; we'll talk about this later." She stated. Riley walked dejectedly to the front door. My mom shook her head as she turned to us. "Now what is this all about Jon?" she asked me. I fidgeted nervously.
"Well, someone broke into the curio shop and Ann and Char were inside with whoever it was, and Dad and I were just trying to save them. We called the police, but we reached the store first. I mean, we almost didn't make it out of there in time. And then, this black car shows up out of nowhere, shooting at us, and…" I shrugged. "Here we are, somehow still alive."
"I'm so sorry about this whole mess," Margaret turned to the frazzled Ann.
"No, don't worry about it. I'm really glad your husband and son showed up, otherwise I don't know what would've happened to Charlie and me. Whoever was inside our shop wanted us, not any of our stuff." Ann explained as calmly as she could. Margaret nodded thoughtfully.
"I think we need to call the police again." She said absent-mindedly as she started to lead us inside.
"But- what do you mean I can't get in? It's my store!" Ann argued over the phone as Jon and I sat on the stairs, watching her pace. She gave a huff and ran a hand through her unkempt hair. "Okay, I get that it's a crime scene, but still! I mean, where am I going to stay, what am I supposed to wear? I don't even have my own toothbrush! How do you expect me to brush my teeth?!" she cried, sinking to the floor as she rested her back against the wall. Finally, after a moment of silence she gave a small sigh. "Yeah, okay, I understand. Thanks anyway…" she hung the phone up. "…Jerk."
"Let me guess…" I started. Ann looked up at me and Jon, "We're not allowed to go back?"
"Not until tomorrow at least." Ann stood slowly.
"You guys can stay here if you want. I mean, I'm pretty sure my parents won't mind." Jon suggested. Ann gave a weak smile.
"Thank you so much Jon; I'm so glad that Charlie has a friend like you to take care of her." She said. I glanced up at her quickly as Jon stood.
"Let me just go clear things with them first." Jon nodded down at Ann, and then me. I watched him disappear upstairs to his parent's room. Then I turned back to Ann.
"What was that for?" I asked her quietly.
"What?" she blinked.
"The whole 'I'm so glad that Charlie has you to take care of her' business!" I whispered back quickly.
"What? I am, he's a good friend… who happens to be a boy…"
"Ann!" I hissed, my cheeks flushing.
"What's with you two anyway?" she asked back.
"What do you mean?"
"Come on; I saw you in the car. You practically threw yourself on top of him!" she rolled her eyes as a smile grew on her face.
"I was thrown on top of him because we were in a high-speed car chase! And besides, I was scared. You were the one who was hiding in the floorboards!" I reminded her.
"MmmHmm…" Ann nodded with a smirk as she closed her eyes, "Whatever you say Charlie…"
I was unpacking my backpack in our bedroom when Margaret came in. I had my back turned to her, but I could hear the door shutting softly. Then I could smell her faint perfume as she wrapped her arms around my shoulders.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you down there; Jon told me what happened." She murmured. I turned my head towards her.
"That's okay… I probably shouldn't have tried to be all heroic." I told her as I forgot about my backpack full of security equipment.
"Ann told me that you saved her and Charlotte; it sounds like you were a hero after all. Just make sure that next time you're more careful." She told me, her warm brown eyes staring up at me.
"I know, I just- I'm so sure that Charlotte has to be… connected somehow to Ben and the treasure…" I tried to explain. Margaret shook her head and turned away.
"Riley, you're relying on suppositions and conclusions that you've jumped to. I want you to stop trying to solve Ben's problems before they become your problems too." She told me, opening one of the drawers in our dresser.
"But…" I started to come back in with a full explanation just as a knock sounded on our door.
"Can I come in?" I heard Jon ask. I sighed.
"Yeah, come on in." I told him.
Jon opened the door and stepped hesitantly into our room. His gaze shifted between me and Margaret nervously as if he could feel the tension between the two of us. I gave a small smile as Margaret turned back to me.
"What is it Jonathan?" she asked him.
"Well, Ann and Charlotte aren't going to be able to go back to the curio shop tonight, so I was wondering if they could stay here tonight." He told us.
"Of course!" I jumped in, "It is not safe at the curio store for them anymore. Whoever was there tonight came after them very aggressively, and I don't think that they'd stop after their first try to get what they wanted." I explained.
"Do you think it's the same guy that attacked me?" Jon asked.
"That has to be who it is, unless there's more than one creep after Charlotte and Ann." I gave a shrug. "I think the safest thing would be for the two of them to stay with us until we know that they'll be safer."
I banged the door with my fist, startling most of my men. They all stared at me in nervous anticipation. I had lost Charlotte again; but not the next time. No, third time's the charm. We'll get her… it was only a matter of time. I turned to my men with an evil smirk.
"Who did you say was driving that red car Phil?" I asked the man next to me.
"It looked like it was… oh, who was Ben's sidekick?" he wondered aloud.
"Riley Poole." Piper answered from across the room. We all turned to her. "Riley Poole was the co-finder of the treasure." She told us coolly.
"Then Riley Poole we'll find; he'll lead us to that girl… and, who knows? Maybe the treasure too." I gave a small chuckle as I tossed my gun onto the table carelessly. I nodded to Piper as I stalked off to my room. That girl was handy, no doubt.
A/N: Ooh… suspense. No more cliffhangers (At least, not this time)! Another chapter will be coming soon, so take this time to review! I appreciate everyone who is taking time to read this story. If you like this one, you might like some of my other N.T. fanfics. Check my profile if you're interested. Thanks again to all who're reading and reviewing. Keep up the great work guys!
