Chapter 3

After reluctantly opening the door for a fraction of a second and ushering her guest in, Sophie had wasted no time in patching up his wounds. He'd sustained ugly gashes to his wrists and hands and also skinned one elbow pretty badly. Apparently he'd hijacked a motorbike to get there and come off at high speed. If that was true, she realised he'd gotten off lightly. Still, it took most of her first aid kit to fix him up properly and it made her very glad that used first aid supplies were paid for by the motel. She still kept her gun close at hand, though. If anything started happening fast, she couldn't rely on her own physical state. Only seven months ago, she'd had several ribs broken when a wrecking ball had smashed through their apartment wall. She could run now, but her breathing wouldn't sustain that for more than a few seconds. She also still couldn't lie on her front or hold her breath so if anyone used tear gas she would be defenceless. And she knew from experience that it wasn't paranoia if they were really out to get you.

Once Alan was patched up, she stood up and took a second to regain her breath. She turned back to the computer and started scrolling through what she'd been brought, staring at it disbelievingly. The information on the screen was a solid wall of text, but she didn't have to pick through all of it to know what she was looking at.

"This is the technological infrastructure for all of Seattle." Her voice sounded hollow even to her own ears.

"It is." Alan nodded as he finished rinsing his hands off and wiped them on the towel she'd thrown him, wincing as the coarse fibres rubbed against the skinned patches. With that done, he threw it in the wash hamper and went to the mirror. His sandy-coloured hair was sticking up all over the place and made him look like he'd stuck his finger in a light socket. "And the Prescott logo is stamped on every page."

"But what does this have to do with me?" she asked, turning around and shrugging. As far as she was concerned, she was done with all that. As done as she could possibly get, anyway. There was no healing the scars of that day. The only thing she could do was distance herself as much as possible and try not to lose anything or anyone else.

"Here." Alan moved over and started tapping on the computer, calling up a different file. "This was a recording from a hidden camera taken without either subject's knowledge. It was from about three years ago." The video file popped up and Sophie flinched involuntarily. From Katie's memories, she knew that this was the office of Harry Prescott. That was also how she recognised the woman he was talking to- the same bitch who tranquillised her sister.

"Mr Prescott, I think it's you who doesn't understand his situation. I represent an organisation with resources you're too moral to imagine. But this doesn't have to be ugly. You can reap in the resources we offer as well- elite PMC security, all-areas access and a seat at the high table to name but a few- and you can leave the rest to us."

"But what do you get out of it?" Harry asked. He was nervous. That in itself caused Sophie to feel Katie shift uncomfortably in her head. For good reason, too. He hadn't even been nervous when Joey was aiming a gun at him and Lola was ready to make a move if he twitched. Or hadn't really shown it, anyway. Was it because Joey was blind so he didn't expect him to pull the trigger? Had he just not taken Joey seriously enough? Or was this woman something else entirely?

"We know the Pan Estates project is due to be voted on soon." The woman walked over, gently running a fingernail across his chin like she owned him. "We also know the Prescotts provided most of the tech structure for Seattle. They're your family and they left you in charge of things here. All we need is the login that your family must have given you and we'll be able to anonymously give Pan Estates a little digital push towards being voted for. In return, we'll continue to keep monitoring all of Seattle until the project is complete. Once that's done, we'll be one step closer to achieving our goals and you'll be a wealthier man than you even dreamed was possible. You'll make Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk look like they should be queueing for the food banks." There was a pause as Harry considered his options. Even though the camera view was from mostly a top-down angle, Sophie could see the calculations running across his face. Eventually he turned to her and extended his hand.

"I always knew you were a good scientist, Sofia. But I never knew you were such a good saleswoman."

The recording ended there. Sophie stood back and let out a breath as she tried to process what she'd just seen. It was next to impossible. Whoever this Sophia woman was, she really knew her stuff. And she'd then taken a job as Harry's receptionist to keep watch over the project. And probably him as well.

A noise from outside made her look up and move to the window. She lifted the curtain at one side and looked out, only to see four men moving through the parking lot outside. Each was visibly armed, but their clothes were what drew Sophie's eyes. They'd deliberately chosen outfits that looked as normal as possible while remaining as hard as possible to see at night. As darkness was just about to fall, those outfits would be perfect before too long. Four motorbikes were leaning against the back wall and the keys seemed to have been left in. Perfect for a quick escape. They were clearly professional and definitely out for something. And unless someone else had just had a guy show up on their doorstep with a USB full of confidential information, it wasn't hard to guess what.

"I thought you said you were alone!" she hissed angrily, causing Alan to peek out of the other side and see what she was seeing.

"Ah. I guess they were harder to lose than I thought. Okay, that may not have been completely accurate."

"God fucking dammit!" She pulled her 1911 out and grabbed the USB stick before moving to the door, just in case the people out there started knocking too aggressively. "Well thanks for that! So much for staying in hiding!"

"Can you drive?" Alan asked. Sophie had to do a double-take. Of all the gall someone could have! He'd shown up, blown her isolation to pieces and then wanted her to be able to drive them out of it!

"What?" Her voice was dangerously flat. That tone worked on most people, but not on him it seemed.

"I can't drive like this! Can you?" He held out his hands to illustrate his point and she mentally slapped herself for forgetting. She was only just bandaging him up!

"Never driven in my life." The admission carried a lot of weight to it as Katie's mind raced along with hers. Together, they worked through all their possibilities. But there weren't many left. "Can you shoot?" she asked.

"I think so." She felt relief flush through her as she started to form a plan. Okay, so the cars in the parking lot were all pieces of crap and needed keys they didn't have anyway. But the motorbikes had keys and were ready to go. All he had to do was distract them while she made it to a bike. Then she could pick him up and he could shoot while she drove. Assuming she could manage to drive the motorbike, anyway. "Where do you keep your guns?" That one innocent question burst the bubble instantly.

"You mean to tell me you aren't even packing?" Sophie glared at him. "Can you honestly do anything right?"

"Can't I use yours?" Sophie had to fight hard not to laugh at that.

"Fuck no! I'm not giving you my dad's gun!" She let out a heavy sigh and tried to come up with another plan. "Okay, here's what I'm thinking: I'm gonna go and grab one of their bikes. You're gonna play gun bait until I can get to one. Once I'm on, you run to me while I start it up and then we're going to pray to anything listening that I can keep us upright long enough that we can get away."

"So what am I supposed to shoot back with if you won't give me the gun?" Alan demanded.

"You brought armed men to my doorstep and didn't bother bringing one of your own!" Sophie snapped. "You figure it out!" With that, she threw the door open and jumped through it, crouching behind a nearby plant trough. She heard the tell-tale click of gun safeties being disengaged and was pretty sure they were taking aim at her. The plant trough was made of concrete, but she knew it was old and brittle. It wouldn't really last any time at all and the soil alone wasn't going to stop bullets.

Right on cue, Alan darted from the motel and ran across the walkway. She was in the far left room, so he was having to dart to the right, further away from the bikes. The men wasted no time in opening up on him, their rounds hitting the cars parked along the walkway. Sophie moved right, down the side of an old yellow Sedan and past the world's most beaten-up Toyota, popping up and looking through the filthy window to make sure that their attention was entirely focused on Alan. She was in luck. They hadn't seen her yet. Running for the nearest bike, she grabbed it and started pushing it towards the parking lot entrance. Once she was near enough, she jumped on and turned the key.

The engine noise caused the men to turn. Seeing that their bike was about to be stolen, they raised their guns to fire. Just then they were distracted as one of them was struck in the back of the head by a rock. Two of them whirled to fire at Alan again just as Sophie raised her gun. As she did, she called on the last useful piece of advice her father had given her. The note that had been included with the gun was in Vietnamese so that very few other people would be able to read it, but it saved her life in that moment.

'People say don't point a gun at someone unless you intend to kill. Bullshit. In a situation where you have the option, shooting to wound is better. Every person you wound, it takes another person to tend to them. That makes two extra people who can't shoot at you.'

In that moment, Sophie put that advice into practice. She opened fire, nailing one man through the ankle and another through the kneecap. The confusion and panic she'd just created among the group bought Alan the time to catch up with her and jump on behind her. She gunned the engine and pulled out, trying to keep it in a straight line and stay upright. It wasn't the fastest she'd ever gone and was far from the most stable. In the end they made a block and a half before she wiped out. She managed to slow down considerably before they fell, but she still hit the ground hard. Her arm struck the curb painfully and she heard a horrific snap coming from it as she tried to tuck and roll. Behind her, Alan seemed to have taken the fall harder than she had. She staggered to her feet and tried to check herself over. Her left arm was busted and not moving, dangling uselessly from her side. The gun was still tucked in her back pocket. She didn't know how it had stayed there, but she wasn't about to complain. Her injured arm wasn't in any pain. That was good because it meant it wouldn't slow her down but bad because it meant the damage might be quite severe. And by some miracle, she wasn't bleeding. Alan appeared to have ripped open one of the gashes on his arm. She could see him bleeding through the bandage she'd put on it.

"You have really fucked my day up. You know that?" It was spiteful and she knew it, but the thing playing on her mind now was where she could go. The laptop was a piece of crap, so she wasn't too unhappy about that. It was all the food she'd just bought, her cash stash and the few personal items she'd been able to hang onto that she was pissed about. There was no way she could ever go back to get any of it. Armed men now knew where she lived and she'd just shot two of them. If they didn't try and come back for revenge it would be nothing short of a miracle.

"Do you know somewhere we can go to get patched up?" Alan asked, clamping a hand over his arm to try and stem the bleeding. Sophie considered for a moment. Only one option was springing to mind. It was a terrible option, but it was all they had. "Hey!" Alan called out, bringing her back into focus. "Can they help or not?"

"Yeah." Sophie sighed, resigning herself to her fate. "Yeah, they can help. The question is: will they?"

Author's Note: This chapter was a lot of fun to write. I always love that thrill I get when writing as I near the main point of the story. Hope you're all enjoying it so far. Again, please feel free to review and let me know what you think and I'll see you all on Thursday for the next update.