Chapter Twenty

Sam vs. The Bridge

Now, before I go into about how I saved Alex's life and totally saved the world like a boss, I think it's my responsibility to tell you something about myself that I probably should have mentioned earlier.

I, uh, tend to act like I've got a death wish or something. Not that I do, but Morgan said I was putting myself in harm's way. Which in my opinion is kind of unavoidable, when you're a spy. But he said I was doing it for the thrill.

I haven't decided if he was right or not. So…now you know.

The first thing I did when I left Castle was go home. With an earpiece, Morgan was able to tell me where all the bad guys were so I could avoid them. I managed to get inside through the bathroom window, slipping inside unnoticed. I went to my room and looked for the stuff I had kept in the duffel bag.

I had forgotten I had kicked them under my bed – I didn't want anyone else to find them. I picked up a small backpack and filled it with all I could find. If the bug spray was tranquilizer, then certainly these other things could be something weird and special, too, right?

I took about a five minutes to fully examine each individual item. The clothes were what they were – clothes. But the extra skateboard wheels? Apparently they are 'incendiary' which I don't know what that means but it sounds cool, and I was pretty sure normal wheels weren't incendiary. And that zit cream? Well, I couldn't really read the fine print, but I put it in my pocket all the same. But that bubblegum is super-sticky, like superglue, so I brought that with me. And those rubber bands felt like they were made of high-tensile steel.

I couldn't believe how freakishly awesome my mom was. How did she know I'd ever need this stuff? I kind of wished she told me sooner.

I left quick after that, ducking under a few windows and bushes to avoid the bad guys, who I could only call Big-Scary-Guys-With-Guns. Dressed as ninjas. I could even hear distant sounds of a fight. Apparently team Bartowski was making its way through the army of baddies.

Well, whatever. Right now, I wasn't even in Echo Park any more. I was, in fact, hiding in an alley behind Wilson Avenue. I still had twenty minutes, but I was so terrified of going out there that I couldn't move from my hiding spot. There were plenty of tall buildings here. What if there were snipers out there ready to get us? I mean, we'd be easy targets! And if that guy could get a bunch of guns to keep watch on the Awesomes without them noticing, they could probably do the same thing for us! And I'm sorry, but I wasn't going to let myself make another mistake.

So I tried to think of something. There had to be a way to save Alex without risking the both of us. Even now, if I peeked pass the wall, I could see Alex and a bunch of scary guys in black waiting at the opposite end of the bridge, along with that skinny interrogator guy. I needed a distraction.

That was when I decided to start a riot.

It was kind of the craziest thing I've ever done.

Okay, see, there was this old warehouse across the street, right? And there was a this club nearby, really loud. I could kind of understand why the baddies would want to meet us here: if there was a gunshot or two, no one would be able to hear it through that noise.

But I was pretty sure they'd be able to hear an explosion.

I read the small words on the wheels – press the button, giving yourself ten seconds before it set off. I was so scared that I couldn't make myself do it. But I sucked it up; You're saving Alex, and you can't activate a freaking grenade? What kind of lousy spy are you?

So I did it. I pressed the button, threw the live grenade, and watched it fly right through a window.

There was a tinkling of glass that I could barely hear over the noise of the club. None of the baddies seemed to have realized what happened. I counted down the seconds in my head, covering my ears and squeezing my eyes shut as I reached 3…2…1…

…Nothing.

I scowled, looking up. Oh, come on. Did I do something wrong agai –

FWOOOOMMM!

I was knocked backwards by the fiery explosion that shattered all the windows in a hundred yard radius. Glass rained from overhead, and I covered my head, shrieking in surprise. I should have brought something thicker than a dark hoodie to protect me.

My ears felt plugged from the explosion, and it took me forever to realize that the music in the club had stopped and that there were now people screaming in the streets. The warehouse was ablaze, as well as a nearby empty car. I jumped to my feet, shaking glass from my clothes, before running into the street. I briefly considered throwing another grenade just to cause more panic, but after I got smashed by three different people running in three different directions, I decided that this was actually pretty good.

Now there was no way I could get shot, and I was taking a chance in thinking that any sniper wouldn't risk killing an innocent just to get to me, if they could even spot me through the massive crowd running around.

Pandemonium reigned. And I relished in it.

The baddies on the bridge scattered as wave after wave of people stampeded to get out of the area. Was it just me, or were there more people around here than before? Because for a second I was under the impression –

FWOOOOSHH!

I whipped around, horror taking me as I watched a bunch of poorly dressed men set fire to a car. Others joined in, making it bigger. I didn't even wait around for them to tip it over. I just ran for all I was worth.

Those same baddies were now jumping off the bridge into a boat that I hadn't seen before, hiding under the bridge. Alex was still with him, struggling against his bombs. With the riot going on, the baddies were having trouble avoiding the rocks and shoes other assorted items being thrown into the air – this definitely wasn't a part of the plan. I managed to reach the edge of the bridge when the boat started to move. It was a small one, but certainly fast enough to get them out of here. I had barely seen Alex being shoved into the brig before making the split decision of leaping off the railing like Spiderman.

As I fell, I was afraid I wasn't fast enough. The boat was already picking up speed. But my feet caught the edge of the boat and I threw myself forward, into the boat and the back of one of the armed goons, knocking him out.

He was gone in a quick cry and splash, already several yards behind the boat, floundering in its wake, the gun pulling him down. I didn't even have time to smile in triumph before someone grabbed my arm and hauled me into the air. I gasped and struggled, my feet kicking in the air but not hitting anything.

I gazed into the face of a particularly ugly baddie, sneering at me. He had his other hand on a small gun. I realized what was going to happen and used my free hand to punch him in the face – it stopped his hand but not him letting go of me. Frustrated, I kicked him in the gut.

My feet hit the floor. Out of the corner of my eye I could already see another baddie coming for me. Thank God there weren't a lot – just for a trade off against a girl, they hadn't been very prepared. The second goon was still trying to overcome his broken noise and sudden lack of air, so while he was still distracted I shoved him, putting all my weight into the blow.

The man lost his balance, his knees hitting the edge of the small boat. He wobbled, and another push sent him over the edge. I had just enough time to duck before the third could wrap his gigantic hands around my neck. I dodged around him when he tried to grab me again, then kicked the back of his knee, making him collapse. A kick to the head kept him down.

I turned to the last occupant of the boat, the interrogator who was currently driving it. He seemed to be aware that it was just me and him, now. He sneered but looked triumphant for some reason. That was when I realized we had reached the ocean and the boat was now skipping over giant waves. I hadn't even noticed the extreme rocking of the boat.

While I was being distracted by the new change in scenery, a sudden force below my feet knocked me down. I didn't even get a chance to adjust before two hands had wrapped themselves around my neck and then I couldn't breathe. I tried to pry the hands off my neck, bite them, scratch them, but nothing could get rid of them.

Stars pressed against my eyes and I was getting lightheaded. The force pressing against my esophagus was so painful it was hard to think past it, forget about breathing. I kicked and struggled, but it was useless against the hulking 250 pound mass that I hadn't quite subdued as much as I thought.

Now I had a migraine, as if I hadn't had enough to freak out about. My struggling was getting weaker and my vision had faded to spotted black and white marks. I couldn't even hear past my own raging heartbeat, so I didn't hear anything when someone shouted.

Suddenly the hands disappeared and air rushed into my throat like a vacuum. I gasped, grateful, then started to hack and cough, rolling over on my stomach to overcome the wave of pain. I was still breathless even though there was nothing choking me. When I finally could take in air again, I was staring at two feet planted in front of me. I was vaguely aware of the fact that the boat was no longer moving.

"So, the one who had almost toppled a drug empire, the one who almost revealed us to the world, and make us a laughing stock for our competitors, was just a little girl playing spy. And look where you are now."

There was cold laughter. I was too exhausted to get up, to fight back and prove him wrong. I closed my eyes, just savoring the cold, salty air.

"Put her in the below with the other one. We're jumping ship."

I was as limp as a sack of potatoes as I was hauled up and thrown rather unceremoniously (it hurt!) into the brig. I landed with a splash, looking up as the door was slammed shut and locked, trapping me in utter darkness.

There was the sound of another boat approaching us. This one rocked as the other two occupants abandoned ship. I was so dizzy and slightly sea-sick that I couldn't stand up right, even as the buzzing sound faded away.

Then I remembered I wasn't alone. I called out into the darkness. "Hey, are you all right?"

For a second, the silence terrified me. Where was Alex? He hadn't been hurt, had he?
Relief flooded me as soon as he spoke, but that was dashed away just as fast. "Yeah, I'm fine. But we're not going to be, for very long."

"W…what do you mean?" I asked, trying to think past the migraine and the bruises around my neck.

"We're sinking."