Chapter 8:
Chrissy shifted her backpack on her shoulders as she walked past the New Yorkers. Since Gaia had told her to meet her at the back entrance to cut lunch and go to Krispy Kreme, she'd gone last night to make sure she knew what she was ordering. It sounded lame when she thought about it, but she wanted to make sure Gaia didn't think she was a weak New Yorker, so she wanted to know where they were going.
Just then, Chrissy heard someone murmur her name. She turned and saw a man, who looked to be in his mid-forties, leaning against a wooden pole in a work area that was hidden behind white covers. She narrowed her eyes.
"What?"
"Can I speak with you for a minute?" Chrissy pursed her lips. Yea. She was going to follow a man she didn't know away from a crowd and into an isolated area.
"Sure." She didn't move.
"In private?" he asked quietly.
"No."
"It is quite an urgent matter." The man breezed his arm past his jacket, revealing, just for a moment, a .32 caliber gun. Chrissy stopped breathing for a second, but then forced herself to intake air. The man had a gun. And he was pretty much threatening her with it.
You know who this is about. You got yourself into this, Chrissy. Gaia told you there were some dangerous people around her. You were the one that didn't care. Chrissy forced herself to continue breathing, thinking quickly what she could do. "I just want to talk. We don't have to if you don't want to," he said. "But I am very good at disappearing if need be." The way he spoke was almost whispery, nearly inaudible over the New York noises.
Chrissy didn't see any other choices, she could run, but he would probably shoot her in the back. She assumed it was the purpose of him telling her he was good at disappearing. And she could always fight back if he tried something. She nodded and gradually walked past him into the secluded area behind the tarps.
The man sat down on a pile of extra wood. The site was empty of any workers and seemed eerily dangerous to Chrissy. He motioned to a stack of wood across from him and she slowly sat down, letting her backpack drop to the ground beside her.
"What do you want?" she murmured softly.
"What could you tell me about Gaia?" Chrissy hesitated.
"She's a good chess player." He pursed his lips.
"Anything else? How about that conversation you had with her yesterday?" She swallowed.
"Which one?"
"After you'd caught up to her when she'd run from you and Ed." Chrissy found it disturbing that he'd known exactly what had happened, as if he'd been right there and a shiver ran down her spine. Find a way out. Find a way out.
"I didn't learn much from it."
"Don't bullshit me," he whispered. "I'm not one to take it. You know about a few things you shouldn't, don't you?"
"Like what?" He leaned forward suddenly from his statue-like stance and she flinched.
"You know what I'm talking about. You're a smart girl." Chrissy bit the inside of her cheek. She realized that she really couldn't play dumb if he'd listened to everything they'd said, no matter how he'd done it. She'd have to be honest.
"Fine. Yea, I know some names. But as you heard, she didn't say anything else. She didn't want to. She just wanted to protect me. She's had a couple of past experiences that have hurt her. Although she didn't even tell me what. Do you plan to kill me because of what she told me?" He sighed.
"I don't want to. But I'm afraid she trusts you too much." Chrissy's chest tightened. "So you have a choice." She relaxed slightly. "You can continue to see Gaia, talk to her, hang out with her, or you can leave." She furrowed her eyebrows.
"Leave? As in New York City? Could I at least say good-bye?"
"As in New York City. Maybe even the state. As long as you've left. And no, you can't say good-bye." Chrissy suddenly thought of her mom and her gaze dropped to the ground. She'd just moved here because of the generous job offer she'd gotten. How could she tell her that they had to leave? "You don't have to worry about your mother agreeing with you. I've had her fired already." Chrissy suddenly looked up to meet his gaze angrily.
"You leave her alone or I swear to God I'll kick your ass." The man smiled, but there was no warmth behind it.
"I'd like to see you try." Chrissy swallowed. "I'm giving you an opportunity here. Are you taking it?" Obviously, Chrissy was going to take it. She didn't want to die. Then he took out his gun and, seemingly nonchalantly, put it on the ground in front of him. She stood up and started to back toward the way she'd come in. He stood up as well.
As soon as he did, Chrissy instinctively fell into a fighting stance. A smile flickered across his face.
"You want to fight?" She gnashed her teeth together. Did she want to fight? That was a very good question. It depended on how good a fighter he was. He could be cruddy or he could kick her ass. Gaia had. She thought for a second for a good bargaining chip. She knew he wouldn't let her stay. But she knew he also didn't want her saying good-bye.
"If I win, you let me see Gaia one last time. I won't say anything important. I just want to tell her I'm ok. If you win, I leave right away." His face was blank.
"If you say so." He took a fighting stance as well.
Chrissy didn't want to make the first move. So she kept herself completely aware of his position, his exact stance, every motion he made. They took step by careful step, circling around. She was ready for anything he threw at her. Or so she thought.
He suddenly lunged forward. It was less of a lunge and more of a strike. And after the first strike, almost like lightening smacking her on the side of her head, forcing her to stumble back, she knew she was out of her league. She might be a good fighter, but he was better. He was fast. Faster than anyone she had ever fought. Faster than she thought anyone she'd ever fight.
But she knew she had to keep fighting. For Gaia. She couldn't just give up. She'd never given up in a fight. And she didn't plan to start now.