Author's Note: Third chapter's up! Much thanks for all the reviews! You've already seen the disclaimer and the rating so here it is!
Once the elevator doors slid open, Matt and T.K. raced towards the parking lot. Being as quite a few people were at work, the lower level was virtually vacant, except for a few cars. Matt recognized the dilapidated sedan right away and had an idea. He ushered T.K. over to their father's car and opened the passenger side. He wasted no time and picked the small child up and set him in the front seat, only sustaining some slight resistance on T.K.'s behalf. The young child hated when people did that to him without his permission. He was old enough to get in the car by himself, but because of the situation he immediately dismissed it.
"Stay here T.K. I'll be right back." He whispered.
"Where are you going Matt?" T.K. whimpered.
"I'll be right back!" Matt repeated, "Don't leave the car and stay down!" he said rather forcefully. T.K. did not want to disobey him. Before Matt shut the car door, he reached over to the glove box and popped it open. He dug around inside of it until he had found what he was looking for. Matt clamped his hand around his father's utility knife, while T.K. eyed it with worry.
"What are you going to do with that Matt?" he said near tears as the many possibilities raced through his head.
"I'm going to give us a small advantage," he said and shut the car door, locking it from the outside. T.K. pressed his face up against the window and watched as his brother ducked in between some cars.
Matt cautiously navigated his way between and around a few parked cars before he finally made it back to the sedan. He glanced around suspiciously, double-checking that the two hadn't made it to the parking lot yet. He hoped that they were searching the other floors for them.
Matt gazed down at the utility knife and crouched down near one of the tires. He had never stabbed anything before. Matt clutched the knife in one hand and poised it over the tire, then closed his eyes and brought it down with tremendous force, creating a large gash in the sidewall. Once the damage was complete, he heard the echoing of footsteps coming down the main corridor. Matt jerked his head up and saw two dark figures heading towards him. As he was about to turn and run back to his father's car, he heard a loud bang and flinched as something went whizzing past his ear. Matt stared in horror at the bullet hole in the side door of the car directly in front of him.
"They have guns!?" he yelped, the thought never crossing his mind until that very moment.
He turned to run as more bullets sizzled through the air, each one nearly missing him. Matt dove behind a small pickup truck and started to crawl on his stomach underneath the line of parked cars that led to his father's. Matt's heart was pounding in his chest and it felt like it would burst through the skin at any moment. He had broken into a nervous sweat when the gunshots ceased. At least when they were firing he could tell where his pursuers were
"That little brat slashed our rear tire!" one man shouted. As he bent down to inspect the damage, he cocked his head and glanced under the vehicle. He then smiled and signaled to his partner, pointing and mouthing the location of Matt's hiding place.
Matt lay still for a moment, contemplating whether he should make a move or not. It was too quiet now. He looked on ahead of him; his father's vehicle was only two more cars down. Matt started to place one hand forward when a pair of black boots stopped him in his tracks, his face paled. A hand reached down and grabbed onto his wrist and hoisted him into the air. Matt's trembling eyes stared at his captor in horror. The man laughed as he slammed the child up against the side of the vehicle he had previously been hiding under.
Matt winced in pain.
"Thought you could escape, did you?" he teased.
T.K. had heard the gunshots and was now sitting in the car petrified. He hadn't heard anything in what seemed like a long time and began to think the worse. He knew Matt had specifically told him to stay in the car, but what if he was in trouble and needed him. T.K. was becoming very confused, his emotions were spinning inside him and he didn't know what to do, so he did the only thing that came naturally, he coiled up in a tight ball and began to cry.
The tall man grabbed Matt by the throat and slammed him up against the car again. Matt's eyes began to turn a reddish hue and tears streamed down his cheeks as he fought to get air. The evil man seemed to take pleasure in Matt's suffering and tightened his grip on the young boy's throat, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut in pain. Matt choked and started to cry out. He clenched his fists and his eyes shot back open. He was still holding the knife. In one desperate effort, Matt threw his arm up and slashed the guy across the face. The tall man released Matt and clutched his face in surprise, blood trickling between his fingers.
Wasting no time, Matt shoved past him and headed towards the car. The other man came running up to see what was wrong with his partner. Using that distraction, Matt was able to make it to the car, and T.K. opened the door for him. The older boy jumped in and buckled his seatbelt, and instructed his brother to do the same. He jammed the key into the ignition and glanced down at the floorboard, trying to remember which pedal was the brake. Matt closed his eyes and guessed, then jammed his foot on the pedal nearest to the left and turned the ignition key. The car roared to life, then Matt fumbled with the gear shifter and finally got it in Reverse. He reached over and disengaged the emergency brake, then slammed down on the accelerator. The car shot backwards at an alarming rate, and Matt slammed on the brakes once he got the car wheeled around facing the exit. Both boys lurched forward, but were held back by their safety harnesses.
The two men looked over in shock at the moving car. They both pulled out their guns and began to fire on the vehicle.
"Get down T.K.!!" Matt hollered and ducked as the back window shattered behind them. He threw the car into drive and hit the accelerator. The back tires spun for a few seconds and the car peeled out of the parking lot and made a herky-jerky entrance onto the main street. Matt hadn't realized it, but T.K. was crying the entire time.
"It's okay squirt," Matt soothed, once they were far enough away from the apartment building. He peered over the dashboard. "We got away from those bad men, they can't hurt us now." Matt hadn't realized how wrong he was.
T.K. wiped the tears from his eyes and began to sniffle. "Do you know what you're doing?" he asked tentatively.
"Not really," Matt admitted, but they had gotten this far, so he must be doing something right. The blonde boy looked down at the pedals. Thank God this wasn't a manual transmission, he thought, otherwise he would have never had enough time to figure it out and get away from those guys.
After T.K. had calmed down, Matt began to relax as well. His grip on the steering wheel when they left, was so tense that his knuckles had turned completely white. He began to feel more comfortable and relaxed his hold on the wheel. This wasn't very hard, he mused. He would have somewhat enjoyed it, if it were under different circumstances though. Matt felt very odd driving his dad's car and propped himself up in the seat and tried to look as grown up as possible while the other cars on the road passed him and the other motorists gave him puzzled looks.
Their father's work was only a few blocks from the apartment, so they did not have to travel far. Matt was relieved. He hadn't wanted to go very far anyway, it would have put them at a higher risk of getting spotted by the police.
Once they had arrived at the news station, Matt attempted to park the car as best he could. He had nearly collided with another parked car on his first attempt, so he just left the car sitting at an angle, one wheel up on the curb. The two boys hopped out of the vehicle and shut the doors simultaneously. Matt inspected the damage to the back window.
"Dad's not going to be too happy about this." He muttered as the two children pounded up the front steps of the building.
Matt and T.K. stood amongst a throng of chattering people, scurrying all over the place. Every time they tried to get someone's attention they were ignored. Matt couldn't stand it anymore. He had risked nearly getting himself and his little brother killed trying to get over here. He decided to be blunt and with his usual amount of tact, he cupped his hands over his mouth.
"THERE'S A BOMB IN THE BUILDING!!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. All the faces turned and stared in bewildered amazement. Then a stampede ensued as co-workers piled out of the front doors and emergency exits in fright. Matt picked T.K. up so he wouldn't be trampled and let the small boy ride atop his shoulders as he shoved through the masses.
"I think dad's on one of the top floors!" Matt shouted, trying to be heard over the hysterical screams and shouts of the panicked employees. They finally managed to push their way to the elevators and Matt set T.K. down once they stepped in. He hit all the buttons and the doors slid shut.
"Why'd you do that Matt? Now it will take forever to reach dad." T.K. whined.
As much as he wanted to ensure the safety of his father, Matt knew that there were other lives at stake as well, and they needed to be warned too.
"There are other people in this building too, T.K. We have to warn everyone on each floor. How would you like it if you were some poor kid whose parents or relatives got killed because people were too selfish to warn them?" he questioned.
"I wouldn't like that at all Matt." T.K. replied dismally, he hadn't thought about it that way. That's why Matt was the leader in their little partnership; he always knew what to do. T.K. wanted to be just like him when he grew up.
The boys went to floor after floor, stirring up the same panic as the previous floor, but at least people were evacuating the building.
A run-down looking sedan sped up the road, and the driver slammed on the brakes at the sight of terrified people running through the street screaming and flailing their hands wildly. The car screeched to a halt.
"Dammit!" he cried, slamming his fist on the dashboard in anger.
"Look!" his colleague pointed to the car parked up on the curb.
"At least they won't survive to tell the cops who did it!" he laughed and pulled out a small device that looked like a garage door opener. He pushed the red button down with his thumb and a loud explosion sent debris flying everywhere, as the news station began to crumble to the ground amid a torrent of smoke and flames.
To be continued…
Oh no! I left you at a cliffhanger! *gasp* begins to laugh evilly. No worries, the next chapter is coming soon!