Fallen

#23

C-Note was the first one to reach the vehicle. He and Darius exchange a quick greeting before everyone piled into the car. The ride to the house was silent. I think that everyone was afraid to say anything in the event that they jinx the situation. I was silent mostly because I couldn't believe what I had just done. Not only was I aiding six fugitives, I had assaulted a police officer! I was not worried that the guard would be able to I.D. me, I was still wearing the ski mask. However, he had undoubtedly gotten a good look at Darius, James, and the Escalade.

As unprepared as I may have seemed for the escape and the events that would take place afterward, I wasn't. At least when it came to C-Note. When Darius, James, and I first met I asked Darius why C-Note demanded the things he did. Those things being, desert camouflage, and anything else from Iraq that I could get my hands on. Darius explained to me that rather than disappoint his family C-Note told them that he was being shipped off to Iraq to fight the war. I knew that once it was uncovered that they had escaped, it would be all over the news. Thus, undoing all of C-Notes hard work to keep his real location under wraps from the ones he loves.

So I took it upon myself to make sure that that wouldn't happen. I had done a little searching and came across "Freedom Nation", a program created by some billionaire that provided random soldiers and their families with all expense paid vacations. So, I called Kacee, C-Notes wife, and said that I was from that company and that their family had been chosen and that there would be two tickets to the Bahamas waiting for she and her daughter at the airport, and that they would be met by her husband a day or two later. I was later informed that they had left on a plane three hours before the escape.

After what seemed like ages, we arrived at the house. It really was a beautiful place. It was a two story farm house, complete with five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large kitchen, dining room, living room, along with a basement much like the basement at my house in town. Which would help to keep everyone from going stir crazy, or at least I hoped that it would.

Darius pulled into the garage next to my car that was already parked inside. I was the first one out of the car, followed by Darius and James. Hesitantly, the others emerged, still silent. I stopped at the door that led from the garage to the house and turned to Darius. "Stay here. I'm going to make sure the place is clear." He nodded in response. I unlocked the door, took the gun out of my jeans, and entered the house.

Michael's P.O.V

I couldn't believe it, we made it out! Lincoln made it out, and no one got hurt. Well, except for the C.O. who I was sure would have been found by now. Besides, he was lucky, most people who had three guns pointed at them don't make it out with only a broken nose! I didn't know where we were headed once we got into the car. I was pleasantly surprised when we pulled up to a nice two story house, out in the middle of nowhere. Until the garage door opened to reveal another car already parked inside. I could only hope that the owner of the car wasn't home, the last thing I wanted or needed was to end up in some sort of hostage situation! The men that had picked us up seemed nice enough, I was surprised to see that the one who had taken out the C.O. was a woman. After seeing her draw her gun and enter the house I began to think that we were going to end up exactly as I did not want to. With hostages. The fact that she was still wearing the mask said one of three things to me, either she had forgotten that she was wearing it, she didn't want the home owners to be able to I.D. her, or she didn't want us to I.D. her, and to be honest I thought it was the second one.

She had been inside for about five minutes when the man whose name I had learned to be Darius' phone rang. "Yeah?" he said into the receiver. "Alright, cool." He said before hanging it up and turning to the rest of us. "All clear" he said as he opened the door and led us into the house. First we passed through a large kitchen, then through a dining room, and into the living room. I glanced around the room and noticed that there were not family portraits, no personal effects anywhere to be seen. This eased me some; it appeared that we ended up in an empty house. Thank God! "You did it, Fish!" Sucre exclaimed, the impact of his weight bringing me from my thoughts as he hugged me. This started a chain reaction of congratulations, hand shakes, and a few hugs. I stood shaking Westmoreland's hand when I heard Sucre say, "Damn I knew white girls was crazy, but taken on a Bull like that!" He made his way past me toward the staircase that was behind where I stood. There was a laugh; it was a familiar laugh, one I hadn't heard for years. "Yeah, well you gotta do what'cha gotta do right?" she said. That laugh, that voice, there was only one person on Earth who they could have belonged to, but it couldn't be her. Could it? Slowly, I turned toward the voice. The sight before me resulted in my breath catching in my throat and my heart skipped a beat. How could it be? How could Sucre be holding none other than Cali Donovan?