Swan On A Wire:
The bright yellow beetle sputtered as it chugged the last of the gas fumes. The poor old car was running on empty. She managed to pull to the side of the road as it rolled on the gravel in order to avoid traffic if she got stranded. The radio played a soft melody. The blonde's tears blurred her vision. She couldn't accept the proposal of her longtime boyfriend on the spot. He had been patient with her, almost saintly. He had been with her throughout her mourning. She had lost her first love and their friend at the same time. That is why she was driving her old car. One last trip down memory lane. He had told her he could no longer live in the shadow of her lost love. So he gently placed the engagement ring on her finger and said, "Emma, I love you, but you need to say goodbye to him. If you come back to me wearing this ring, I will know your choice. If not, I will still be in your corner as your friend." It was a small break in their relationship for her to decide if she could finally move on or stay living in the past.
She knew it was time, but it was so difficult to say goodbye. She decided a road trip on her own would be the final hurrah. Yes, she wanted to reminisce one last time about her time with her beloved before she finally moved on with her life and put him to rest.
The bug finally stopped and her head slowly slumped and hit the steering wheel. She took a breath and exited the vehicle. She looked around and saw no cars coming; that was both good and bad. No traffic meant no help, but she wasn't going to cause an accident. She took out her phone, no signal. That was priceless. She walked to her trunk and opened it to see if she could find an old map from their old trips. He had collected so many maps. He would smirk and ask her, "What kind of navigator would I be if I wasn't prepared?"
She opened the trunk only to notice all his maps were gone. She didn't throw them out. It must have been either MM or David. She did notice, however, a brand new gas container and a box. She swiveled the gas container and it had gas. She opened the box and it was a GPS system with a note. "Emma, since we didn't know what route you were going to take, we thought this would help in case of an emergency. Be careful, love MM and David.
She smiled and at the moment loved her friends' overprotectiveness. She poured the gas in the tank and turned on the GPS. She had enough gas to get her to the closest gas station.
She arrived at a small, full-service gas station. She noticed a man in the mechanic shop. "Excuse me, sir?"
The man stopped working on the car and paused for a second, cleared his throat, grabbed an old worn-out cap from the table, and put it on. He slowly turned to face her with half his face covered from the cap and oil smudges.
With a lousy country accent, he muttered, "Ma'am?"
"I need to fill the tank; do I do that myself or will you? The sign says full service." She didn't want to upset anyone who was just doing their job. She looked at him and there was a familiarity. Her heart started beating faster. Familiar bright blue eyes. She looked at the dirty mechanic uniform for a nametag.
He noticed she was observing him. "I'll take care of it. Miss, you should get in your car."
He walked around her towards the car. His smile was completely missed by her. He pulled out the gas pump and went to fill the car.
She walked to the car, her heart pounding so fast.
He moved fast once the car tank was full. He washed the windows and once he reached the driver's window, he casually covered his lips with his elbow as he leaned on the car. "Your total is $23.32."
She smiled and handed him the money. "Thanks, Killian." She waited for his reaction.
He froze for a mere moment. "Ma'am, I'm sorry you've confused me with someone else. My name is James Rogers."
She stared at him and nodded. "I'm sorry, you just reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago."
He nodded and looked down at her left hand and noticed a big diamond. His heart dropped to his stomach. "No problem, good day Miss."
He turned and walked back to the mechanic shop. He closed the door and put the closed sign up.
Emma looked at the time. She was going to need to find a hotel. She put the car in drive and couldn't help but look in the rearview mirror.
Inside the mechanic shop, Rogers peeked out the window. "Bloody hell." He took out his phone and speed-dialed #1. "Keith, I need to be relocated. Again."
"What happened?"
"My ex somehow ended up at the gas station. She recognized me. I tried to convince her otherwise, but she is a stubborn lass."
As his conversation continued with his handler, Killian was running around grabbing essentials. He had his ever-handy backpack ready to go. Gods, he'd had to move so many times for different reasons.
Keith said, "I'm sending someone in the area to pick you up."
Killian couldn't believe his luck. He really liked the job and his boss the old man had been too nice to a scoundrel like him. He scribbled a brief thank you to the man.
Emma had driven away from the gas station unsure of what the hell just happened. She was sure it was Killian; his voice, she could never forget his voice. Emma arrived at her hotel dazed. Her heart was beating so fast. She was in danger of having a heart attack. She couldn't get the gas attendant out of her mind. He said his name was Rogers but in her gut, she knew it was her Killian. She needed answers. He left her behind after promising he would never leave her. Had he been in that town all this time? Did he know about Liam?
She parked outside her hotel and didn't get out. Instead, she made her way back to the gas station. It was too much. Her heart knew it was him. It didn't matter if he lied, he was not James Rogers, he was Killian. Because when you love someone, you just know and her heart was sure it was him. She needed to know why she had to grieve for him if he was obviously very much alive.
She drove back to the gas station, hoping he was still there. The street was dark. She parked her bug across the street waiting. She felt like a stalker. Was she one? If this man wasn't Killian she was going to be so embarrassed, but even the timbre in his voice was the same. The accent wasn't the right one but it sounded fake to her ears. She still had one last resort; he would have to show her he didn't have a swan tattoo covering his heart like a shield. She would not leave until he would let her see if he had it or not.
She was about to get out of the car but noticed the lights were off and the small building looked abandoned. She noticed a black SUV slowing down in front of the garage door.
::24 Hours Earlier::
The prison gate opened and a man emerged dressed in a leather jacket and faded jeans, quickly approaching the parked black vintage 77 Trans-am. He opened the door and sat down, turning his attention to the man in the driver's seat.
"No luggage?" the man raised a brow.
"Teach, shut up and drive."
"My, my, prison certainly rid you of your sense of humor," he said as he put the vehicle in drive and peeled off.
The ride was silent for miles.
"Did you find him?"
Teach kept his eyes on the road. "Silver, not yet but we will. My contact will let me know the moment he surfaces and when he does, we will finish this."
"He has to pay for putting me in that place. They fed us bologna sandwiches. That is disgusting!" Silver growled.
Teach couldn't help the snicker that left his lips. "We will do it ourselves."
Keith Nottingham sighed in defeat. His past had caught up with him days ago. He received a call giving him instructions to erase a witness; if not, his tainted past would surface. He would lose everything.
He cursed himself and did the only thing that ensured his survival and made the call after Jones reached out to him for relocation. The line rang once.
"Teach, I got him. He is working at a mechanic shop in a small town, and now we're done!" Keith growled. The line went dead after giving the location details.
If his old partner knew what he had just done, he would be disappointed in him. Nemo always saw the best in people. No one could ever know how low he had fallen, both in his past and just now. He had no choice.
Killian had been anxiously waiting for his contact for relocation to arrive. He liked the job and had worked out an agreement with his boss to stay in the small room above the garage. His boss occasionally stayed in the other bunk when they had a big workload. He couldn't risk Emma getting caught in the middle of the mess his life had become. Even after all the years that had passed, he still knew her, and she was still a stubborn lass that wouldn't give up easily. He was about to turn in for the night when he looked out the window and noticed a black SUV approaching the gas pumps.
Two men dressed in black got out and approached the door. Killian could see they were wearing suits as most agents did, but couldn't see their faces.
Killian opened the door wide enough to speak to the men. "I'm sorry, but the pumps are closed. They won't be running until early tomorrow."
"Interesting accent you got there," Silver said lowly.
Killian recognized the voice that ruined his life. He looked past behind the man to find his cohort glaring back at him.
Silver pulled out his gun and aimed it at Killian. "Any last words?"
Across the street, Emma had been watching the scene. Once she saw the gun aimed towards the man she believed to be her Killian, she reacted quickly. She did the first thing that came to her mind and pressed the horn until the men turned their attention her way before she sped away.
Killian made his move then; he ran inside the garage and slammed the door shut. He was frantic as he ran looking for his bag, but there was no time. He made his way to the back door. The narrow alley behind the shop was his best shot at escaping.
The dimmed alleyway clattered with discarded automobile parts. Killian cursed; he was supposed to clear that out, and now he was fighting to stay upright. He couldn't afford to trip and get caught.
He cleared the alley and reached the side street. He ran into the road, only to almost be run over by the yellow monstrosity Emma drove.
Emma slammed the brakes and pulled over. She stared at him through the window.
Killian winced as bullets missed him and hit the corner wall. He made his way to the car and tried to open the door as he felt a shot hit him in his butt.
"Emma, drive!" Killian groaned as he closed the door with a broken side mirror. He tried not to put his weight on his bum.
Emma hit the accelerator and they disappeared into the night.