Blood slowly came out of Exell's nose as he fell backwards to the ground, stunned by the strength of his boss's punch. "Victor! I'm sorry, I was betrayed by one of my own. If it weren't…" "Silence!! Enough excuses, I accept nothing less than pure perfection out of my subordinates! Or have you forgotten that Exell?! Your failure yesterday could have put my reputation on the line. "
Exell could only sit there, too ashamed of himself to say anything. However, Ross's attitude quickly changed: "Bah. Don't fret yourself over it. I have a new mission for you. Track down the traitor and kill him. He'll probably be on the run with Rally, since you burned her shop yesterday. Take her alive if at all possible, I want to personally deal with her. I have connections with the local PD, feel free to use them as you like." A wicked grin came over Exell's face.
Meanwhile, A weakened May stumbled her way to the smoldering remains of what used to be Rally's gun shop. "Rally…I hope you're alright. I'm fine, just lost a little blood is all…" Most people would consider it strange, but talking to herself in that way often comforted her. If anything, it helped preserve what faith she had left that her friend was still alive. "May? May, is that you?" She looked behind her to find Roy who had just finished his police report.
She hugged him: "Roy! Am I glad to see…You…haven't heard anything about Rally have you?" He returned her embrace: "No I haven't. I was hoping to ask you the same thing." She shook her head: "The last thing I remember was that I had gotten shot in the arm, and that Rally was staring down the barrel of a gun. Then one of the other gang members turned on the leader, named Exell. He shot him instead and then rescued Rally. I haven't heard from or seen her since."
Roy was shocked: "You mean to tell me that Rally was saved by one of the gang members who were trying to kill her? I wouldn't have expected that…" Just then, another police car pulled up in front of them. "Roy! We have a new warrant for an arrest." "Well private, who is it?" the detective asked.
"You're not going to believe this Sir, but the warrant is for Rally Vincent." May forcefully grabbed the paper out of the young officer's hand. "What for?! Rally has done nothing wrong!" Roy read the fine print: "Rally Vincent is wanted for handling and selling illegal weapons. It is known that she may also have supplied weapons for Chicago's notorious Demon gang? That doesn't make any sense, Rally had a certified business license to sell those guns."
May punched out the passenger side window of Roy's patrol car from her frustration: "She would never go into business with gangs and other low life's!" Roy was in deep thought: "Someone must really want Rally out of the picture. But who in the local PD could hate her that much?" May had a realization: "Roy? Could there be anyone within the ATF circles that could pull something like this?" He shook his head: "I don't think so. I know Rally isn't liked all that well, but no one there wants her jailed. I'll look into this and see what I can do. May, you continue to look, and warn Rally of this if you find her."
May nodded and the two began to investigate their own matters. Two hours later Rally and Smith decided to go to the local Starbucks Café to talk about what to do. They sat down next to each other by the window. "Rally, How do you think we should go about this? Should we talk to the police?" She shook her head: "I don't think so. If they find out about your past, they might take action. I have some friends within the FBI, we can go to them if things get out of hand."
"HQ, this is unit 34. You're not going to believe who just walked into Starbucks. Its warrant number 235, how should I proceed?" An officer who was at the back of the café radioed in. "235 is a high priority case, proceed with caution to apprehend the suspect. I repeat, 235 is a high priority case. Proceed with caution to apprehend the suspect." Head Quarters replied. "10-04 HQ, proceeding with arrest."
The officer got up and walked over to them: "Rally Vincent?" She looked up at him: "Yeah, that's me officer. Is there something you want?" To everyone's surprise in the café, he drew out his weapon: "Rally Vincent, you are under arrest. Get on the floor and place your hands behind your head!" Rally was shocked, she had done nothing against the law. The officer got impatient: "Did you not hear me? I sai-…!"
Anderson put his arm on the man's shoulder: "Excuse me Sir, but can you tell me what crimes she is accused of?" The police man shrugged: "Take your hand off me or I'll arrest you for interfering with an officers procedure!" Smith didn't like the sound of that. With a swift punch from Anderson, the officer fell to his knees: "Rally! C'mon, lets get the hell out of here!"
He grabbed Vincent's hand and ran across the road to her Shelby. Smith slid across the hood of the engine and got in as Rally tossed him the keys. She barely managed to put her seat belt on before he threw it in reverse and peeled out of the parking lot. "This is Officer Baltan! Suspect has resisted arrest and I am currently in a High Speed pursuit! Requesting multiple back up units! Suspect is driving a Blue 1973 Shelby GT 500 with white racing stripes!"
"Are you crazy Smith?! You just committed assault on an officer! That's a FEDERAL offense!" Rally scolded him as they flew around a corner at 50 miles per hour. He shifted the Shelby into fifth gear: "It was either that or watch you get put in the back of a swat car for no reason! Crap, it looks like we got more company." Smith saw in the rear view mirror two more squad cars join the chase. Rally sat back in the seat, she had to let her temper cool down.
She admired Anderson's driving, he easily weaved in and out of the thick Chicago traffic without even breaking a sweat. Suddenly, what sounded like a helicopter roared by just a few feet over them. "This is channel five local news, covering a High Speed Chase. A Shelby GT 500 is weaving dangerously in and out of traffic. As far as we know, there are two young people inside the car. A women we know to be Rally Vincent who is a felon wanted for selling illegal weaponry. The other is an unknown suspect, probably her accomplice. This chase has gone on for a half an hour now!"
May had just gotten out of the shower when she turned on the TV, and was amazed by what she saw on the news. She called Roy: " RALLY!! That's her Shelby, she's alive!!" She shouted at him through her cell phone. Roy had to quickly pull the phone away from his ear: "Yes May. At least now we know she's alive. But she's gotten herself in a hell of a predicament. I see Rally in the passenger seat, I wonder whose driving though? Whoever it is, the person has some skill. But they can't out run a news Chopper for long."
Smith turned on to a side street only to find a road block waiting for him. He slammed on the breaks just in time to find a small alleyway off to the side. He made the sharp left hand turn and proceeded further in it. Sparks were flying off the car as it was grinding on both sides of the wall. A Police car tried to follow, but got high centered on a dumpster and rolled over before it got too far. A grin came across Rally's face: "Ha! That's what you get for trying something stupid!"
Anderson smiled: "You seem to be having fun Rally." he noted as he left the alley and got back onto the main road. She laughed: "Are you kidding? I haven't had this much fun in awhile. Where did you learn to drive like this?" "When I was still a teen, I raced in NASCAR's Whelen Series on the weekends. Racing was a passion of mine that's never died. However, that won't help us out if we can't lose that fly above us."
Rally looked out the window: "You mean that News chopper? Take the highway entrance on Hyphen Avenue. That'll lead us to the airport. There's an abandoned underground parking lot there we can use." Anderson nodded: "News and Police helicopters can't fly in Airport airspace, thus allowing us to ditch the car underground for now. Nice thinking Rally."
"May, wait outside your house! I'm heading over there to pick you up. Rally is heading for the airport. I know her hiding spot there, we can meet them!" As Rally had thought, the choppers backed off as they entered the airport. By this time they had also lost their pursuers. She directed him to the abandoned parking garage and got out of the car. Rally opened up the back of the trunk and Smith helped put the tarp over the Shelby.
Rally hugged Anderson. Right now she needed someone to help make her feel more secure. "Thank you so much Smith. If it were ordinary circumstances I would ask you to go on a date with me. But seeing that all of Chicago is after me, this is the best I can do." She said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek." Caught off guard by Rally's affection, the only thing he could do was hug her back.
"Actually Rally, Not everyone wants you jailed." Anderson was about to Draw his weapon in Vincent's defense, but she stopped him. "It's alright Smith, this is my friend Roy." "RALLY!!" yelled out a loud and cheerful voice. May hugged Rally fiercely. Smith looked cautiously at Roy: "Are you the FBI agent Rally was telling me about?" He nodded; "That's right. But I should be the one asking the questions. Who are you, and what's your relation to Vincent?"
Rally let go of May: "Don't be so hard on him Roy. This man saved my life, and he also saved me from going to jail by putting his own reputation on the line. His name is Smith Anderson, and he betrayed his own gang to rescue me. He's also one hell of a driver." Roy smiled: "Yeah I saw that on television. I want to thank you for saving Rally, she's an important asset to the FBI and the ATF. What can you tell me about your current situation?"
Rally held Smith's hand, assuring him to be confident. Seeing this, May got a little jealous: "So, what do you two love birds plan to do when this is all over?" She teased the two of them. Rally playfully smacked May in the head: "Stay out of my…rather our personal business. Besides, we've only been together for a few days now, its not like we're married…yet."
Roy laughed: "There they go again. When it comes to things like this, they always get at each other." Anderson sighed: "To answer your question Roy, my old partner in crime Exell is hell bent on getting revenge for what I did. He's not to be taken lightly either. He's skilled in five varieties of Martial Arts, and he is a walking library on weaponry" Roy Bratier pondered: " I see. Its not going to be easy getting through this. Do you know whose pulling the strings?"
Smith crossed his arms: "Its Victor Ross, the current head of the ATF. He used his family's influence and power to get the position. This guy is cunning, he'll break every rule in the book to get his way. His money can buy out anything, there's no doubt in my mind he was the one whom paid off the cops at the Chicago police department to try and get to Rally and me."
May grinned: "I knew that it couldn't be true! I know Rally would never be in business with gangs!" Roy shook his head: "I can't believe things are this bad. I'll contact the FBI for a little extra help. I'll do what can to investigate Ross, but this is thin ice we're treading on. Anderson, I'm going to count on you to protect Rally until I get back to you with more information."
Rally smiled: "Don't worry Roy. Me and Smith make an unbeatable team. I have a thirst for revenge. Those bastards burned down my gun shop, and are trying to destroy my life. You know I won't let that happen. If Necessary, I'll take the fight to them."