Chapter 19 – In The Desert

Claude Speed, Metropolis Desert, Metropolis City, 2030

"Officer Diaz Sanchez to you!" he shouted "Now surrender, homies!"

"You don't have a first name Sanchez, you're just Sanchez!" Claude shouted

"Shoot them f-cking up, Claude" Maccer shouted still standing at the side with his hands up

"I can't Maccer, I know this man" Claude replied to Maccer "Sanchez, I was your friend, what has happened to you?"

"What ya talking about, homie, I've never met ya in my life, let us take them to the police headquarters!"

Claude dropped the twin Uzi's, he could not fight his old friend, he would have to surrender, find out how this had happened to Sanchez and then find out how to escape.

"Wise choice" the other policeman said responding to Claude's surrender. The policeman walked over to Claude and handcuffed his hands behind his back.

He had short dark hair and he had a goatee beard. He looked particularly muscular.

"Are you f-cking mad Claude?" Maccer shouted being handcuffed by Sanchez

"Sorry Maccer, it had to be done" Claude apologised

The policeman with the goatee beard suddenly took out his walkie talkie and said "Officer Roy MacNeil here, the place is swimming with drugs, looks like a Loonie to me, same old gang that causes trouble down in Vice"

The policemen lead them into the back of the police car. MacNeil locked Claude's door using the inside lock and jumped into the driver's seat. Sanchez locked Maccer's door when Maccer shouted in his thick Mancunian accent "Hey, will one of you bastards give me a cigarette!"

Sanchez pulled out a cigarette and threw it at him.

"Enjoy it, homie" Sanchez said sarcastically with a smirk. Sanchez shut the door and jumped into the passenger seat beside Officer MacNeil. Officer MacNeil pressed his foot on the accelerator and they watched as the desert rolled past them.

"So Sanchez" Claude began "what happened to you then?"

"Look homie, I have never met you before in my life, I'm a ZPF officer!" Sanchez shouted

"Okay then, Officer Diaz Sanchez, that's what you think" Claude finished closing the subject

Suddenly there was a large sound of a smash and everyone gave a yell as Roy MacNeil lost control of the vehicle and smashed into a tree by the side of the desert road. The entire left side of the police car doors was embedded with the tree.

"Let's get the f-ck out of here Claude" Maccer shouted

"Don't move homies, I'm armed" Sanchez shouted

Sanchez reached for his Colt 45 but his gun was nowhere to be seen. Due to the commotion the gun had been thrown out of his pocket and was now lying beneath Claude's feet. Claude could not reach it because of the handcuffs. Another smash was heard as Maccer broke the back window with his handcuffs.

"Let's get away from these bastards!" Maccer shouted heading for the window.

"Shoot them MacNeil" Sanchez shouted

MacNeil pulled out his Colt 45 and aimed for Claude. Maccer had jumped headfirst out of the car.

"Shoot him, homie!" Sanchez shouted

Claude clambered out of the window not daring to look behind him. Sanchez had tried to make a grab for him but had missed. Claude was now out of the car. He saw Maccer far ahead of him and he followed him, running as fast as he could. Maccer headed behind a wall of some shop a short distance away from the car.

"We're f-cking lucky, mate!" Maccer whispered to Claude

"We are lucky, Maccer, we have to get out of here" Claude said

"We've got to get these f-cking cuffs off man" Macce replied

They began to run away from the wall of the store. Until they saw the store was a hardware store. They ran in and hoped the two policemen had not seen them. Maccer headed for the back of the shop towards the metal saws.

"Claude, hold the bastard in your mouth!" Maccer shouted

Claude reached for the metal saw with his mouth and positioned it upwards just beside Maccer's handcuffs. Maccer furiously pulled his handcuffed hands over the metal saw. After a few good minutes Maccer was delighted when the chain of his handcuffs broke away and he pulled his hands forward. Maccer grabbed the saw and quickly broke the chain of Claude's handcuffs. They ran swiftly to the door and Maccer apologised to the owner of the store for the interruption. They ran as far as they could away from the store. In the distance they could see Officer Sanchez and Officer MacNeil had only just struggled out of the crashed mangled car. Maccer spied a rusty brown Patriot parked by the side of the road. He wasted no time and smashed the window in, pushed the lock up and opened the door. Jumping in, he hotwired the car and Claude climbed in. Maccer pushed down the accelerator and headed back for his desert shack.

"I'll tell you something, one of them bastards wasn't a real policeman, I'm sure of it" Maccer said

"Do you mean Sanchez?" Claude asked

"Why do you keep f-cking mentioning him?" Maccer asked

"He was my friend Maccer" Claude replied "he has somehow lost his memory, and I'm sure Zaibatsu are behind it, but it's the same person"

"I'm not talking about that one man, I mean the other one" Maccer replied

"Who MacNeil? I didn't know him" Claude said in shock

"I have seen plenty of f-cking policemen shooting before, and I've never seen one who hesitates in shooting two escaping prisoners" Maccer explained

"Maybe the gun jammed?" Claude said offering an explanation

"No, he didn't even get to pressing the trigger man" Maccer said "there's something up with that MacNeil"

The Patriot pulled up beside Maccer's desert shack.

"We can't stay 'ere for long Claude" Maccer said "this place will be swarming with ZPF soon"

"I think I'll go home now" Claude replied walking to his red futuristic car"

"Are you not going to Elmo to get paid?" Maccer asked

"I've had enough for one day, Maccer" Claude replied

The red car pulled into the driveway of Lee's house and a minute later Claude burst through the door.

"Lee" Claude shouted "you won't believe who I saw!"

Lee looked in shock, but he had been the same before Claude announced the news.

"Who?" Lee asked disinterested

"Sanchez" Claude said

"Claude I have something to tell you" Lee asked

"What is it?" Claude asked now worried

"There is a ship full of Russians heading for the shore" Lee replied

Claude had to take a step back to comprehend what Lee was saying.