Nowhere To Run
Chapter Seventeen
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Sorry it's taken so long to update!! Work has occupied 18 out of every 24 hours! Yukk!! We're coming into the homestretch here folks!! Just a couple of chapters to go. ^_^ And thanks as always for the kind reviews!!!!!
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Katie ran frantically up the stairs. She had about 5 to 10 minutes to gather what she could and exit the house. They were on their way and it was her own stupid fault. She couldn't believe how careless she'd been. She'd used the computer in the house to look up Frank's file. An encoded file at that. How could she have not thought about the consequences of that action. *Slick move Katherine Marie!!! You've managed to evade the law so far and here you go thinking with your libido instead of your brain!! Stupid! Stupid!*
After collecting only what was essential, her weapon and a few changes of clothes, she slowly made her way to the back door. Senses now on full alert, she opened it and peered around the back yard. No movement and no sounds out of the ordinary reached her. She proceeded quickly to the back fence and with a modicum of effort she was able to scale it. She dropped down onto the grass of the facing house and stopped just briefly, waiting to see if the occupants had seen her. When no one exited the house demanding to know her intentions, she figured that she was safe. At least for the moment. She slowly scooted around the outside of the building making her way toward the other street. Frank had said to head toward the street to the south, so after reaching the sidewalk she briskly headed in that direction.
After reaching the road that he'd specified, Kate began to look around for his car. She knew that he wouldn't have had time to get his own car back, so she scanned the area for the silver Acura that he'd arrived in that morning. Many minutes passed and her panic level began to rise. What if they'd already caught up with him? Even worse, what if he wasn't coming for her? She tried to calm herself as best as she could, but as the seconds ticked by, her heart rate began to escalate. Just when she thought she couldn't take any more, she spotted his car rounding the corner, practically on two wheels.
Frank screeched to a halt a few feet away and reached over to open the car door for her. "Get in! Now!" he nearly shouted. She'd barely gotten in the vehicle before he immediately pulled away from the curb. She quickly slammed the door shut and glanced over at Frank. His face looked like it was set in stone. Jaws tightly clenched. Eyes never wavering from the road ahead.
"Frank," she began timidly, "I………I'm so……….I'm so sorry." She knew that the predicament that they were in was entirely her fault. Instead of acting like a highly trained professional, she'd been behaving like a love-sick schoolgirl trying to find out all she could about her new "boyfriend". And her actions could very well lead to the end very quickly.
She continued to stare at him as he wound through the suburban side streets. If he'd heard what she had said, he gave no indication of it. He just maintained his vigilance of the road ahead pausing only briefly from time to time to glance in the rear view mirror, no doubt looking for tails.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked quietly. "Don't you want to tell me how stupid I am? How I jeopardized everything without thinking? How disappointed you are with my actions?" Frank quickly shot her a look but turned his attention once more to the street.
"What do you want me to say, Kate?" he replied in a controlled tone. "I'm sure there's nothing I could possibly say that you haven't already said to yourself. Yes, it was a stupid move. Yes, you should have known better. But the truth is, anything I say isn't going to make the current situation go away. I wish I could, but I can't."
Kate turned her head to look out at the passing buildings. She tried desperately to control the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm her. Tears glistened in her eyes, but she willed them not to fall. She knew that she'd let him down, but crying like a baby wasn't going to fix the situation.
"So where are we going now?" she finally asked.
"First," he began, "we have to ditch this car." And with that he pulled into the parking lot of a local office building. "I'm sure that I wasn't followed earlier, but eventually they may come looking for me and then they might find out from my neighbor that I took his car instead of using my own. In any case, we need to be careful."
Frank parked the car near the end of the lot and got out telling her to slump down in the seat and wait for him to return. Kate did as he instructed. She was practically sitting on the floor but from her vantage point she could still see out the window. She watched as Frank nonchalantly strolled through the lot glancing from time to time to this car or that. Suddenly he stopped and dropped down out of sight. A few seconds later she heard an engine roar to life and a few moments after that she saw a black Ford Taurus pull up to the back of the Acura. She gazed over the seat back and saw Frank motioning for her to exit the car and join him. She did so quickly sliding into their new mode of transportation. He then took off and they were once again on their way.
"You know," she began, "…….if this Justice Department thing doesn't pan out, I think you have a bright future in auto thefts." Frank shot her a quick look and smiled briefly before returning to his previously stern expression.
"So what now?" she asked once again.
"We have three more stops to make and then we'll head out of town."
"Where do we have to stop?" she asked curiously, amazed at how this man's mind worked. He already had a game plan when she would have still been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off.
"First……..we need to fill up the tank. Whoever owns this car obviously believes that you don't have to fill up until the needle is solidly on E. Second……..we'll grab some food at a local convenience store. Enough to tide us over for at least a day or two, because like it or not, we may be sleeping in this car as well. And finally……..let's just say, I want to make doubly sure that we're not spotted in this car." Kate had no idea what he was talking about, but she trusted him enough to know that he knew what he was doing.
A few miles later, Frank pulled into a gas station and as luck would have it, there was a little Mom and Pop grocery store next to it. "Ok here's the plan…….I'll fill up the car," he started, "and you run over to the store and purchase what we'll need there. And if we're lucky, we'll be out of here in fifteen minutes max."
Both exited the vehicle and before Kate headed over to the nearby store, Frank handed her $50 in cash. "That should be enough for now. Don't go overboard. And don't buy all junk food," he said with a smirk. Kate gave her best mock exasperated expression before heading over to the next building.
Less than ten minutes later, Kate exited the store and found Frank parked directly across the lot waiting for her. She opened the back door, placed the bags on the back seat and then slid into the front seat next to him. Immediately after that, they were off and heading towards the outskirts of town.
"So what's this last stop you need to make?" she asked quizzically.
"Eventually this car too will be reported stolen. Then they'll find the Acura and put two and two together. Then they'll put an APB out for a black Taurus with this license plate. So we need to change the license plates. Not that that will keep them from finding us forever, but it'll slow them down at least."
Kate nodded her appreciation of his thoroughness. "Clever, Agent Donovan………very clever."
When they had the interstate in sight, Frank pulled the car into a restaurant parking lot. He pulled around to the back of the building where mostly employees would park. Before leaving the vehicle he turned to Kate and asked, "Do you have the change from the $50 I gave you earlier?"
Kate looked at him a little bewildered, nodded her head and scrounged around in her pocket for the money. She handed it to him and he quickly discarded the paper instead sifting through the coins. He quickly found what he was looking for and then handed the rest back to her before opening the door and slipping out. She was about to ask what that was all about, but he'd left before she had a chance to. Several minutes later she saw him walking back toward their car with something concealed under his jacket. He bent down at the front of the car and after a minute or two headed around to the back. Before she knew it, he had finished and they were once again under way.
"Mind telling me why you needed the coins I handed you earlier?"
Frank dug around in his jacket pocket and pulled out a now fairly mutilated dime. "Makes a great screwdriver in a pinch," he stated smugly.
"Nice one MacGyver. Can't wait to see what you can do with bubble gum and a match stick." Frank smiled in response but never took his eyes off the road. They were approaching the on ramp to the highway. A perfect place to set up a roadblock. His eyes continually scanned the area looking for signs of law enforcement of any type. When they were within a couple of blocks, Frank spotted a couple of Chicago police cruisers near the entranceway.
"Damn it!! I should have figured that they'd have had time to set up a trap for us!"
"Are you sure they're looking for us? It doesn't look like the traditional roadblock."
"It's not a roadblock. These guys are just there to alert the Bureau if we head this way."
"We're not in the same car. Maybe they won't even look at us as we pass."
"Maybe…." Frank mulled over the possibility. "I'm just not willing to take that chance." And with that, he turned down the next side street instead of proceeding onto the highway.
"OK……..now what?"
"Well it's a safe bet that just about every major roadway will have the same type of surveillance set up. They'll have already staked out the airports and bus and train stations as well." He continued to drive through the neighborhood streets, while scanning area after area.
Kate sat across the car and stared at Frank. They were trapped. He hadn't said it, but she knew that it was the truth. Because of her stupidity, they were being hunted down. Hunted down by men who wouldn't stop. Not for anything. The hopelessness of the situation suddenly overwhelmed her and the tears once again threatened to fall. She was trying her best not to give in to the hopelessness, but it was a battle she was quickly losing. She turned her face away from him trying to conceal her emotions, but when she felt his hand reach out and gently take hold of her own, she couldn't hold back any longer.
"I'm so sorry Frank," she said through sniffles and tears, "I'm so sorry to have gotten you involved in this. If I'd just stuck to my original plan, I would have been miles away from here. Probably in some exotic foreign country hiding out. And your life would have never been put in danger."
"Hey……" he started trying to get her attention, "If you would have kept on running……then I would have never had the pleasure of getting to know you."
Kate snorted in response. "Oh yeah…….I'm sure getting to know me has been the highlight of your life!" she answered sarcastically. "I've done nothing but cause you one problem after another. I've torn apart your team. I've put your job in jeopardy. I've put your life in danger……….yeah…….I can see how getting to know me was a really great thing."
Frank said nothing for quite a while. He simply held on to her hand, brushing his thumb across the back of her knuckles. "You're forgetting one thing though," he finally said.
Kate turned toward him, tears still shimmering in her green eyes. "What's that?" she asked softly.
Frank took his eyes off the road ahead just long enough to look her in the eye and say, "I love you."
Kate stared at him in disbelief. After everything she'd put him through, he still loved her. She was stunned, pure and simple. She knew that she'd done nothing to deserve his loyalty let alone his love. She held onto his hand a little tighter and then leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"I……I love you too," she said in a hoarse whisper. Then she leaned back and continued to stare out the window at the passing houses. She saw people going about their everyday lives. Women shuttling their children off to school. An elderly gentleman raking leaves in his front yard. An appliance delivery truck pulling up to it's next appointment. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, knowing that she would never be able to live an ordinary everyday life. The second she'd elected to go down her chosen career path, she'd shut the door on the possibility of any semblance of normalcy. She'd pondered a different life before, but until she'd met Frank, until she'd fallen in love with him, she'd never truly mourned the loss.
When she'd collected herself enough, she once again asked, "So what now?"
Frank pondered her question for a few moments. He'd been mulling over the same query ever since they'd been unable to get on the highway. He knew that there was now no way for them to simply break loose and run. With every major exit to the city under the watchful eye of the Chicago PD and every other authority that the Justice Department could drum up, there was no simple way for them to get away. He considered driving as far as they dared and then taking off on foot but realized that they'd be in more danger that way without a fast means of escape. They could always hide out in some little dive hotel for a while, but with limited cash that would only work for so long. Without being able to use a credit card or ATM card, they're choices were limited. They had to come up with something unconventional in order to survive.
"What made you decide to hide out in Chicago?"
"What?" she asked perplexed by the question. She'd been expecting some brilliant plan, not a question about her past moves.
"What made you choose such a populated urban area as Chicago?"
"I don't know…….I guess I just figured that instead of running all around the world, it might be easier to get lost in a large crowd. That's why I cut and dyed my hair. I wanted to take on a new identity and then try to blend in." She finished her explanation and glanced at Frank trying to figure out in which direction his mind was headed.
"In other words……..you wanted to hide in plain sight. Is that it?"
"Pretty much. I would have worked too except I had no idea that you and your group were based out of Chicago. If I'd known that the very team that was after me was in here, I would have chosen LA or Dallas, maybe even New York."
Frank thought through her answer for a few moments and then smiled. "That's it. That's what we'll do."
"What's what we'll do?" she asked confused.
"Where would be the last place that they'd expect to find us?"
"Ummmm……..I don't know……….your place? The FBI headquarters in Chicago? Any police station?"
"You're close. The last place that they'd look, is back at the Nest."
"You're kidding me, right? You're not seriously considering going back there."
"Think about it. If I know the Bureau and the CIA for that matter, the minute they got a fix on where we were, they mobilized everyone and sent them off in a hundred different directions. Right now, they're everywhere. Everywhere but there."
Kate stared at him transfixed. He was right. There were probably a hundred or more agents out and about as they spoke and the odds of running into one of them was escalating as the minutes ticked by. And those same agents would continue their patrols until more evidence was found.
"OK……..let's just say that you're right," she started. "We go to the warehouse. How do you know that you'll still be able to get in? Didn't you say that the place was bugged? How long before someone comes back there?"
"First……I doubt that they've thought about changing access codes to the building. Like I said, it'll be the last place that they would think that I would go. Second…..the place is bugged. But again unless they expect someone to be there, no one will be monitoring the feed. Third……I wouldn't expect them to return for at least a while. They're all out and about looking for us. Including Cody and Monica, who I assume they'll have following Jake and Alex around town while they pursue us. And even if by some chance they were left behind, they're on our side, remember?"
"Alright. You convinced me. So do we head there now?"
"We're going to get close, but I want a little while to observe the place just to make sure. There are some other buildings in the area that where we can conceal ourselves at least for a short while. Then after I'm sure that everyone is gone, then we'll enter the warehouse."
"OK…….you're the mastermind of this operation. If you think it'll work then I'm with you."
Frank quickly glanced in her direction and smiled. "It'll work. Trust me."
"I've said it before and I'll say it again…………I do trust you. It's the rest of the world that gives me nightmares." And without another word, Frank turned the car in the direction of the Nest.
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About the time that Frank was stealing the Taurus, Jake had finally arrived at the house that Frank had used to hide Kate. He'd broken about every traffic law to get there, and more importantly to get there first. He had to do this. He had to be the one to bring them in. And with that single-mindedness, he slowly approached the two-story home, gun drawn. He snuck around the back and tried the back door. To his surprise, it was unlocked. He got an anxious feeling as he turned the knob and entered.
She wasn't there. He couldn't explain how he knew it, but he could sense that she was gone. The unlocked door had clinched it. There was no way that she or Frank would have left the entry unlocked. Still, he had to make a thorough search just in case. And so he proceeded. Room by room. Top to bottom. And by the time he'd finished his exploration, the other Justice Dept. vehicles had shown up. He made his way to the front door.
"They're gone."
Director Lindford had barely made it to the first step of the porch when Jake had opened the door and made his announcement. "What do you mean they're gone?"
"I mean…….they're gone. Not here. Vacated the premises. Ran off. High-tailed it. They're gone."
"I don't think I like your tone, Agent Shaw."
Jake laughed brusquely. "Why the hell does my tone matter? They're gone pure and simple and varying my tone isn't going to change that fact." And as he said that, he walked past the Director and headed to his truck.
"And exactly where do you think you're going? There is evidence in there to be analyzed. They could have left behind vital clues that will lead us to their whereabouts."
Jake paused before entering his vehicle. "You're right. There probably is some sort of clue in there. But that's why you and your boys are here. You go over the evidence with a fine tooth comb, but in the mean time, they're out there, and I'm going to be the one that finds them." And before the other man had a chance to reply, Jake had started the engine and pulled away.
When Jake was a mere block away, he pulled out his cell phone and placed a call.
"Hello?"
"Alex…….it's me. I need your help. You know, like we talked about the other day."
"Jake what's going on? I mean, I get here this morning and Cody's starts babbling about a dozen agents and how they all took off after they found something on the computer. He also said that you were with them."
"I was with them. Then we got a lead about where we could find Katherine. We found the house where Donovan had her stashed, but by the time we got here, she was already gone."
"Jake?"
"Yeah?"
"How bad is it?"
Jake sighed heavily and then replied. "It's bad. Before they only suspected that he was aiding her, now they have evidence. They're out to nail him to the cross on this one, Alex. Seriously, they're out for blood."
"What do we need to do?"
"First of all, I'll be there in about 15 to 20 minutes to pick you up. And while you're waiting, get Cody and Monica ready to roll. They may not want to help to hunt them down, but tell them they don't have a choice. Either we bring them in quietly or things are gonna get bloody fast. Got it?"
"Yeah…….got it. We'll be ready."
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As soon as Jake pulled away from the house, Daniel Lindford placed a call of his own.
"Hello?"
"Tom……..it's Daniel. We need to put our little plan into action. Immediately. You have about an hour to get your things together and check out of that posh little hotel you've been holed up in."
"Where's the target?"
"Well…….there seems to be a little snag at the moment, but I have every confidence that a new lead will be found any minute now."
"Fine…….I'll be ready." And just as Tom was about to hang up he heard one more thing.
"There is a slight change to our original plan though. The woman is no longer the biggest threat here. We want you to take out her accomplice."
Tom was stunned. He'd been prepared to take out the woman but he'd just been ordered to kill a friend, a man that he known and worked with for over ten years.
"Tom? Did you hear me?"
After regaining his composure, he finally answered, "Yes……I heard you. Take out the accomplice."
"You don't have a problem with that, do you?"
"It's just another job, Daniel. It's just another job."
"Good. You'll be hearing from me soon."
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Chapter Seventeen
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Sorry it's taken so long to update!! Work has occupied 18 out of every 24 hours! Yukk!! We're coming into the homestretch here folks!! Just a couple of chapters to go. ^_^ And thanks as always for the kind reviews!!!!!
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Katie ran frantically up the stairs. She had about 5 to 10 minutes to gather what she could and exit the house. They were on their way and it was her own stupid fault. She couldn't believe how careless she'd been. She'd used the computer in the house to look up Frank's file. An encoded file at that. How could she have not thought about the consequences of that action. *Slick move Katherine Marie!!! You've managed to evade the law so far and here you go thinking with your libido instead of your brain!! Stupid! Stupid!*
After collecting only what was essential, her weapon and a few changes of clothes, she slowly made her way to the back door. Senses now on full alert, she opened it and peered around the back yard. No movement and no sounds out of the ordinary reached her. She proceeded quickly to the back fence and with a modicum of effort she was able to scale it. She dropped down onto the grass of the facing house and stopped just briefly, waiting to see if the occupants had seen her. When no one exited the house demanding to know her intentions, she figured that she was safe. At least for the moment. She slowly scooted around the outside of the building making her way toward the other street. Frank had said to head toward the street to the south, so after reaching the sidewalk she briskly headed in that direction.
After reaching the road that he'd specified, Kate began to look around for his car. She knew that he wouldn't have had time to get his own car back, so she scanned the area for the silver Acura that he'd arrived in that morning. Many minutes passed and her panic level began to rise. What if they'd already caught up with him? Even worse, what if he wasn't coming for her? She tried to calm herself as best as she could, but as the seconds ticked by, her heart rate began to escalate. Just when she thought she couldn't take any more, she spotted his car rounding the corner, practically on two wheels.
Frank screeched to a halt a few feet away and reached over to open the car door for her. "Get in! Now!" he nearly shouted. She'd barely gotten in the vehicle before he immediately pulled away from the curb. She quickly slammed the door shut and glanced over at Frank. His face looked like it was set in stone. Jaws tightly clenched. Eyes never wavering from the road ahead.
"Frank," she began timidly, "I………I'm so……….I'm so sorry." She knew that the predicament that they were in was entirely her fault. Instead of acting like a highly trained professional, she'd been behaving like a love-sick schoolgirl trying to find out all she could about her new "boyfriend". And her actions could very well lead to the end very quickly.
She continued to stare at him as he wound through the suburban side streets. If he'd heard what she had said, he gave no indication of it. He just maintained his vigilance of the road ahead pausing only briefly from time to time to glance in the rear view mirror, no doubt looking for tails.
"Aren't you going to say anything?" she asked quietly. "Don't you want to tell me how stupid I am? How I jeopardized everything without thinking? How disappointed you are with my actions?" Frank quickly shot her a look but turned his attention once more to the street.
"What do you want me to say, Kate?" he replied in a controlled tone. "I'm sure there's nothing I could possibly say that you haven't already said to yourself. Yes, it was a stupid move. Yes, you should have known better. But the truth is, anything I say isn't going to make the current situation go away. I wish I could, but I can't."
Kate turned her head to look out at the passing buildings. She tried desperately to control the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm her. Tears glistened in her eyes, but she willed them not to fall. She knew that she'd let him down, but crying like a baby wasn't going to fix the situation.
"So where are we going now?" she finally asked.
"First," he began, "we have to ditch this car." And with that he pulled into the parking lot of a local office building. "I'm sure that I wasn't followed earlier, but eventually they may come looking for me and then they might find out from my neighbor that I took his car instead of using my own. In any case, we need to be careful."
Frank parked the car near the end of the lot and got out telling her to slump down in the seat and wait for him to return. Kate did as he instructed. She was practically sitting on the floor but from her vantage point she could still see out the window. She watched as Frank nonchalantly strolled through the lot glancing from time to time to this car or that. Suddenly he stopped and dropped down out of sight. A few seconds later she heard an engine roar to life and a few moments after that she saw a black Ford Taurus pull up to the back of the Acura. She gazed over the seat back and saw Frank motioning for her to exit the car and join him. She did so quickly sliding into their new mode of transportation. He then took off and they were once again on their way.
"You know," she began, "…….if this Justice Department thing doesn't pan out, I think you have a bright future in auto thefts." Frank shot her a quick look and smiled briefly before returning to his previously stern expression.
"So what now?" she asked once again.
"We have three more stops to make and then we'll head out of town."
"Where do we have to stop?" she asked curiously, amazed at how this man's mind worked. He already had a game plan when she would have still been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off.
"First……..we need to fill up the tank. Whoever owns this car obviously believes that you don't have to fill up until the needle is solidly on E. Second……..we'll grab some food at a local convenience store. Enough to tide us over for at least a day or two, because like it or not, we may be sleeping in this car as well. And finally……..let's just say, I want to make doubly sure that we're not spotted in this car." Kate had no idea what he was talking about, but she trusted him enough to know that he knew what he was doing.
A few miles later, Frank pulled into a gas station and as luck would have it, there was a little Mom and Pop grocery store next to it. "Ok here's the plan…….I'll fill up the car," he started, "and you run over to the store and purchase what we'll need there. And if we're lucky, we'll be out of here in fifteen minutes max."
Both exited the vehicle and before Kate headed over to the nearby store, Frank handed her $50 in cash. "That should be enough for now. Don't go overboard. And don't buy all junk food," he said with a smirk. Kate gave her best mock exasperated expression before heading over to the next building.
Less than ten minutes later, Kate exited the store and found Frank parked directly across the lot waiting for her. She opened the back door, placed the bags on the back seat and then slid into the front seat next to him. Immediately after that, they were off and heading towards the outskirts of town.
"So what's this last stop you need to make?" she asked quizzically.
"Eventually this car too will be reported stolen. Then they'll find the Acura and put two and two together. Then they'll put an APB out for a black Taurus with this license plate. So we need to change the license plates. Not that that will keep them from finding us forever, but it'll slow them down at least."
Kate nodded her appreciation of his thoroughness. "Clever, Agent Donovan………very clever."
When they had the interstate in sight, Frank pulled the car into a restaurant parking lot. He pulled around to the back of the building where mostly employees would park. Before leaving the vehicle he turned to Kate and asked, "Do you have the change from the $50 I gave you earlier?"
Kate looked at him a little bewildered, nodded her head and scrounged around in her pocket for the money. She handed it to him and he quickly discarded the paper instead sifting through the coins. He quickly found what he was looking for and then handed the rest back to her before opening the door and slipping out. She was about to ask what that was all about, but he'd left before she had a chance to. Several minutes later she saw him walking back toward their car with something concealed under his jacket. He bent down at the front of the car and after a minute or two headed around to the back. Before she knew it, he had finished and they were once again under way.
"Mind telling me why you needed the coins I handed you earlier?"
Frank dug around in his jacket pocket and pulled out a now fairly mutilated dime. "Makes a great screwdriver in a pinch," he stated smugly.
"Nice one MacGyver. Can't wait to see what you can do with bubble gum and a match stick." Frank smiled in response but never took his eyes off the road. They were approaching the on ramp to the highway. A perfect place to set up a roadblock. His eyes continually scanned the area looking for signs of law enforcement of any type. When they were within a couple of blocks, Frank spotted a couple of Chicago police cruisers near the entranceway.
"Damn it!! I should have figured that they'd have had time to set up a trap for us!"
"Are you sure they're looking for us? It doesn't look like the traditional roadblock."
"It's not a roadblock. These guys are just there to alert the Bureau if we head this way."
"We're not in the same car. Maybe they won't even look at us as we pass."
"Maybe…." Frank mulled over the possibility. "I'm just not willing to take that chance." And with that, he turned down the next side street instead of proceeding onto the highway.
"OK……..now what?"
"Well it's a safe bet that just about every major roadway will have the same type of surveillance set up. They'll have already staked out the airports and bus and train stations as well." He continued to drive through the neighborhood streets, while scanning area after area.
Kate sat across the car and stared at Frank. They were trapped. He hadn't said it, but she knew that it was the truth. Because of her stupidity, they were being hunted down. Hunted down by men who wouldn't stop. Not for anything. The hopelessness of the situation suddenly overwhelmed her and the tears once again threatened to fall. She was trying her best not to give in to the hopelessness, but it was a battle she was quickly losing. She turned her face away from him trying to conceal her emotions, but when she felt his hand reach out and gently take hold of her own, she couldn't hold back any longer.
"I'm so sorry Frank," she said through sniffles and tears, "I'm so sorry to have gotten you involved in this. If I'd just stuck to my original plan, I would have been miles away from here. Probably in some exotic foreign country hiding out. And your life would have never been put in danger."
"Hey……" he started trying to get her attention, "If you would have kept on running……then I would have never had the pleasure of getting to know you."
Kate snorted in response. "Oh yeah…….I'm sure getting to know me has been the highlight of your life!" she answered sarcastically. "I've done nothing but cause you one problem after another. I've torn apart your team. I've put your job in jeopardy. I've put your life in danger……….yeah…….I can see how getting to know me was a really great thing."
Frank said nothing for quite a while. He simply held on to her hand, brushing his thumb across the back of her knuckles. "You're forgetting one thing though," he finally said.
Kate turned toward him, tears still shimmering in her green eyes. "What's that?" she asked softly.
Frank took his eyes off the road ahead just long enough to look her in the eye and say, "I love you."
Kate stared at him in disbelief. After everything she'd put him through, he still loved her. She was stunned, pure and simple. She knew that she'd done nothing to deserve his loyalty let alone his love. She held onto his hand a little tighter and then leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek.
"I……I love you too," she said in a hoarse whisper. Then she leaned back and continued to stare out the window at the passing houses. She saw people going about their everyday lives. Women shuttling their children off to school. An elderly gentleman raking leaves in his front yard. An appliance delivery truck pulling up to it's next appointment. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, knowing that she would never be able to live an ordinary everyday life. The second she'd elected to go down her chosen career path, she'd shut the door on the possibility of any semblance of normalcy. She'd pondered a different life before, but until she'd met Frank, until she'd fallen in love with him, she'd never truly mourned the loss.
When she'd collected herself enough, she once again asked, "So what now?"
Frank pondered her question for a few moments. He'd been mulling over the same query ever since they'd been unable to get on the highway. He knew that there was now no way for them to simply break loose and run. With every major exit to the city under the watchful eye of the Chicago PD and every other authority that the Justice Department could drum up, there was no simple way for them to get away. He considered driving as far as they dared and then taking off on foot but realized that they'd be in more danger that way without a fast means of escape. They could always hide out in some little dive hotel for a while, but with limited cash that would only work for so long. Without being able to use a credit card or ATM card, they're choices were limited. They had to come up with something unconventional in order to survive.
"What made you decide to hide out in Chicago?"
"What?" she asked perplexed by the question. She'd been expecting some brilliant plan, not a question about her past moves.
"What made you choose such a populated urban area as Chicago?"
"I don't know…….I guess I just figured that instead of running all around the world, it might be easier to get lost in a large crowd. That's why I cut and dyed my hair. I wanted to take on a new identity and then try to blend in." She finished her explanation and glanced at Frank trying to figure out in which direction his mind was headed.
"In other words……..you wanted to hide in plain sight. Is that it?"
"Pretty much. I would have worked too except I had no idea that you and your group were based out of Chicago. If I'd known that the very team that was after me was in here, I would have chosen LA or Dallas, maybe even New York."
Frank thought through her answer for a few moments and then smiled. "That's it. That's what we'll do."
"What's what we'll do?" she asked confused.
"Where would be the last place that they'd expect to find us?"
"Ummmm……..I don't know……….your place? The FBI headquarters in Chicago? Any police station?"
"You're close. The last place that they'd look, is back at the Nest."
"You're kidding me, right? You're not seriously considering going back there."
"Think about it. If I know the Bureau and the CIA for that matter, the minute they got a fix on where we were, they mobilized everyone and sent them off in a hundred different directions. Right now, they're everywhere. Everywhere but there."
Kate stared at him transfixed. He was right. There were probably a hundred or more agents out and about as they spoke and the odds of running into one of them was escalating as the minutes ticked by. And those same agents would continue their patrols until more evidence was found.
"OK……..let's just say that you're right," she started. "We go to the warehouse. How do you know that you'll still be able to get in? Didn't you say that the place was bugged? How long before someone comes back there?"
"First……I doubt that they've thought about changing access codes to the building. Like I said, it'll be the last place that they would think that I would go. Second…..the place is bugged. But again unless they expect someone to be there, no one will be monitoring the feed. Third……I wouldn't expect them to return for at least a while. They're all out and about looking for us. Including Cody and Monica, who I assume they'll have following Jake and Alex around town while they pursue us. And even if by some chance they were left behind, they're on our side, remember?"
"Alright. You convinced me. So do we head there now?"
"We're going to get close, but I want a little while to observe the place just to make sure. There are some other buildings in the area that where we can conceal ourselves at least for a short while. Then after I'm sure that everyone is gone, then we'll enter the warehouse."
"OK…….you're the mastermind of this operation. If you think it'll work then I'm with you."
Frank quickly glanced in her direction and smiled. "It'll work. Trust me."
"I've said it before and I'll say it again…………I do trust you. It's the rest of the world that gives me nightmares." And without another word, Frank turned the car in the direction of the Nest.
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About the time that Frank was stealing the Taurus, Jake had finally arrived at the house that Frank had used to hide Kate. He'd broken about every traffic law to get there, and more importantly to get there first. He had to do this. He had to be the one to bring them in. And with that single-mindedness, he slowly approached the two-story home, gun drawn. He snuck around the back and tried the back door. To his surprise, it was unlocked. He got an anxious feeling as he turned the knob and entered.
She wasn't there. He couldn't explain how he knew it, but he could sense that she was gone. The unlocked door had clinched it. There was no way that she or Frank would have left the entry unlocked. Still, he had to make a thorough search just in case. And so he proceeded. Room by room. Top to bottom. And by the time he'd finished his exploration, the other Justice Dept. vehicles had shown up. He made his way to the front door.
"They're gone."
Director Lindford had barely made it to the first step of the porch when Jake had opened the door and made his announcement. "What do you mean they're gone?"
"I mean…….they're gone. Not here. Vacated the premises. Ran off. High-tailed it. They're gone."
"I don't think I like your tone, Agent Shaw."
Jake laughed brusquely. "Why the hell does my tone matter? They're gone pure and simple and varying my tone isn't going to change that fact." And as he said that, he walked past the Director and headed to his truck.
"And exactly where do you think you're going? There is evidence in there to be analyzed. They could have left behind vital clues that will lead us to their whereabouts."
Jake paused before entering his vehicle. "You're right. There probably is some sort of clue in there. But that's why you and your boys are here. You go over the evidence with a fine tooth comb, but in the mean time, they're out there, and I'm going to be the one that finds them." And before the other man had a chance to reply, Jake had started the engine and pulled away.
When Jake was a mere block away, he pulled out his cell phone and placed a call.
"Hello?"
"Alex…….it's me. I need your help. You know, like we talked about the other day."
"Jake what's going on? I mean, I get here this morning and Cody's starts babbling about a dozen agents and how they all took off after they found something on the computer. He also said that you were with them."
"I was with them. Then we got a lead about where we could find Katherine. We found the house where Donovan had her stashed, but by the time we got here, she was already gone."
"Jake?"
"Yeah?"
"How bad is it?"
Jake sighed heavily and then replied. "It's bad. Before they only suspected that he was aiding her, now they have evidence. They're out to nail him to the cross on this one, Alex. Seriously, they're out for blood."
"What do we need to do?"
"First of all, I'll be there in about 15 to 20 minutes to pick you up. And while you're waiting, get Cody and Monica ready to roll. They may not want to help to hunt them down, but tell them they don't have a choice. Either we bring them in quietly or things are gonna get bloody fast. Got it?"
"Yeah…….got it. We'll be ready."
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As soon as Jake pulled away from the house, Daniel Lindford placed a call of his own.
"Hello?"
"Tom……..it's Daniel. We need to put our little plan into action. Immediately. You have about an hour to get your things together and check out of that posh little hotel you've been holed up in."
"Where's the target?"
"Well…….there seems to be a little snag at the moment, but I have every confidence that a new lead will be found any minute now."
"Fine…….I'll be ready." And just as Tom was about to hang up he heard one more thing.
"There is a slight change to our original plan though. The woman is no longer the biggest threat here. We want you to take out her accomplice."
Tom was stunned. He'd been prepared to take out the woman but he'd just been ordered to kill a friend, a man that he known and worked with for over ten years.
"Tom? Did you hear me?"
After regaining his composure, he finally answered, "Yes……I heard you. Take out the accomplice."
"You don't have a problem with that, do you?"
"It's just another job, Daniel. It's just another job."
"Good. You'll be hearing from me soon."
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