Chapter 2
"Daria!"Jane shouted,seeing her friend slump against the seat as the car came to a dead stop by the side of the curb and the steering wheel's airbag inflated.There was a sizable dent in the driver's side front door,and from where she was standing Jane could see bits of broken glass strewn on the dashboard.
Instantly,she turned to her brother and instructed him,"Call 911 now.I'm going to stay with Daria until the EMTs get here."Trent nodded,then raced back into the house to get the cordless phone.Jane,meanwhile,bolted down the street to the wrecked car and found Daria clutching a broken arm.
"Damndamndamndamn..."Daria groaned through clenched teeth,grimacing in pain."I hurt like you wouldn't believe."
"Take it easy."Jane said,trying to sound reassuring even though she was actually scared out of her mind."The ambulance'll be here any minute.Trent's on the phone to the dispatcher right now...you just stay put and save your strength."
"Trust me,Jane,I'm not going anywhere."Daria replied,wincing from her injuries.
Lawndale Fire Station #3,4:12 PM
The crew of Rescue Company 7 was debating the merits of boxers vs. briefs when the firehouse alarm began buzzing.At the first buzz,the debate had already stopped dead in its tracks;by the third,most of the EMTs had already climbed into the ambulance and the rest were getting aboard,pulling the doors shut behind them.
"What have we got?"one of the EMTs shouted to the driver from the rear of the ambulance.
"TA with injuries,24 Gorman Street."the driver called back over his shoulder,raising his voice slightly to make himself heard above the wail of the sirens."911 just got the call...."
Lawndale Police squad car 38-L,on patrol at Main Street,4:22 PM
The officer at the wheel vigilantly watched the intersection in front of her,looking for any sign of a vehicle matching the stolen car description the dispatcher had given all units earlier that afternoon.She wanted badly to catch whoever had swiped it,partly out of a sense of duty and partly because headquarters was getting tired of its owner calling the station every fifteen minutes wanting to know if it had been recovered yet.
She was about to pick up the mike on her car radio to request further instructions when a blue-gray sedan whipped around the corner near Pizza King.Though it was going at incredibly high speeds,she could distinctly make out its license plate:277-EKX.Its driver,not seeming to notice or care that he was being watched by the cops,zipped past the squad car,trailing glass and metal fragments behind him.In the back seat two passengers,apparently both young men,were in the midst of a heated argument.
"Looks like we've got our car thieves."her partner said,turning on the sirens as the squad car took off in pursuit of the stolen sedan.
"And they've got a lot of explaining to do."she replied,pointing to what looked like part of another car's fender hanging from the rear-view mirror of the sedan.Noticing that the car was swerving dangerously back and forth across the road,she added,"If they don't get themselves or someone else killed first."