A little treat for your 4th of July: an extra chapter!
Chapter 4
We're getting out of here? Where are we going? For how long? I had to be to work on Monday! I had a looming deadline on my story about the Dancing Grannies doing their thing Miami style, and if the story wasn't in my boss's computer by ten a.m., I was in big trouble. As I reached for toiletries like a blind woman, I realized that none of that mattered anymore. My life was in danger because now I was linked to Sam. The Russians wouldn't just let me walk back into my life as if Sam had never been here. I was in deep, and I needed to be thinking of where we could go to be safe. I had a more pressing deadline to deal with, and dead was the scariest part of that word.
"Nina!"
"I'm coming, Sam!" I grabbed my pink makeup bag that was really more like a small carryon. I loaded it with his stuff and mine, and I zipped it as I hurried to the bedroom.
Sam found my small suitcase under the bed and filled it with some of my things as well as the new clothes I'd bought him. I didn't have time to press the khakis, but he would just have to make do. Wrinkles were the least of his worries at the moment. He looked up and slapped the case shut, zipped it, and pulled it off the bed in one smooth movement. "Are you ready?"
"Yeah." The word came out more like a question and his eyes locked on mine.
The corners of his eyes crinkled as he said, "I'm sorry, Nina. I didn't want to drag you into this, but now I can't leave you here. They'll..."
"Shhh, it's okay. Let's just get out of here," I said. Somehow I managed to say it in a calm voice that put him at ease. "We'll take my car..."
"No! We can't take the chance that other guys saw you with your car. No, we need to find a different set of wheels."
I slammed the apartment door and made sure it was locked, not that it mattered with the window broken, but hey, old habits die hard. I followed Sam to the elevator, and while we waited I noted the look on his face. He was thinking of taking the stairs. "What do you mean, 'find' a car? You wanna steal one of my neighbor's cars?"
"I'm sorry, but we're in kind of a tight spot here," Sam exclaimed as he continued to look around. He spotted a figure and his entire body tensed as he dropped the suitcase and held up his weapon.
"Ahhh! Don't shoot, please! Neen, what's going on?"
I whirled on Gary. "What are you doing here?"
"I-I heard a crash a couple doors down and I realized it was at your place, so I was coming to see if you were okay." Gary responded with his arms up to block his face, and from between his forearms his gaze locked on Sam and the gun. He tried a weak smile but only managed to look more terrified. "Neen, uh, who's this? Is this the guy who was staying with you?"
"Gary, we don't have time for this," I said. "I'll explain later when I come back. Hey, can I borrow your car?"
"Uh, sure. Something wrong with yours?" He looked puzzled. His eyes never left Sam during the entire exchange, even though Sam had lowered his weapon.
"No, it's fine." I pulled the keyring from my purse and took my key off of it. "Here, we'll trade until I get back. How's that?"
You'd think Gary just won the lottery by the look on his face. Granted, my car wasn't anything expensive and fancy, just a little blue Hyundai that I treated myself to after my last bonus. It was like the one Fiona drove in season five. Gary owned an old Toyota, but at least it was in good condition. I worried that it might be a disadvantage if we had to do a Russian car chase. The Hyundai would have been better. Gary snatched the key out of my hand and dropped it into his pocket, from which he fished out his ring and gave me his key.
"Thanks, pal," I said with a warm smile and leaned close to place a quick kiss on his cheek. Just in time, the elevator dinged. "Okay Sam, let's get going. Thanks again, Gary. You're a sweetie!" The doors opened and I added, "Oh, can you be an even bigger sweetie and call the cops about the dead body in my apartment? Great. Thanks!" I caught a glimpse of Gary's slack jawed expression before I turned toward the elevator.
The doors opened and I gasped as two muscular, sour faced men took a step toward the open door with automatic weapons in their hands. Sam put up his arm and stopped me while he trained his gun on them. The Ogre Twins saw us and before either of them could get his finger to hug the trigger, Sam shot one and he went down. The other started firing at us. Gary ran screaming down the hallway. I reached for the suitcase that Sam dropped and turned to the stairs behind us.
"Sam, come on!"
He almost fell on top of me as I trotted down the stairs and he launched himself through the open fire door, but he turned, pushed it shut, and leaned into it while he used the butt of his gun to break the glass on a box containing a fire ax and a hose. I dropped my load to help him release the ax from its case.
"What are we going to do with this," I asked as I handed it to him.
"Hold the door tight." He bent over and turned the ax blade to face the door. The door bumped open a crack, but I pushed it with all my might back into place. "Keep him from opening it!'
"I'm doing my best!"
Sam got the blade under the door and kicked at it until it wedged underneath. The Russian pushed on the door again and effectively locked it long enough for us to scram. Inside, I giggled in glee, only wishing I could see his frustration. There was no time to waste, however, so I picked up the cases and followed Sam downstairs, my chest heaving with quick shallow breaths. We hit the lobby before the Russians and ran to the parking lot. I knew where Gary parked, always in the same space toward the back where he was guaranteed to have a cushion of empty spaces on both sides, unless someone was having a party. "Over there, Sam. It's the gold Toyota!"
Sam twisted at the waist as he ran. "Give me the key!"
With my hands full, I could only skid to a stop behind the car and drop everything before finding the key and giving it to Sam. He opened the trunk, I threw everything inside, and he went around to the driver's side. If things had been different, I would have been a little disappointed that he didn't open the passenger door for me, but a shot fired over my head brought me back to reality. We were running for our lives and chivalry could wait. As soon as I got in, Sam shifted into reverse and hit the gas. He came short of plowing into another car before he put the little sedan into drive and squealed out of the parking lot. I tried to get my seatbelt on, but it kept locking whenever he braked or made a sharp turn out of the lot. On a straightaway, I had more luck. The tinny click of the clasp was music to my ears. I wanted to breathe a sigh of relief but the Russians were behind us and gaining in a black SUV.
"We should have taken my car," I groaned.
"Don't worry, we'll lose 'em." Sam pressed the pedal to the floor, putting us well above the legal limit. I glanced at the speedometer and saw he was doing almost sixty five.
I looked up and saw a red light ahead. Go green. Go green. Go green! I ran the words in increasing desperation in my head, and a little squeak came out of my mouth. We were less than fifty yards from the intersection, the light turned green, and it was clear for us to zip through. My shoulders dropped in relief.
"Don't get too comfy, they're still behind us. Get ready in case we have to ditch the car," Sam instructed with a grim tone. "Can you shoot?"
"I've never even held a real gun in my life. But I can try."
He shook his head vehemently. "No, I've already gotten you into enough trouble. Don't worry, I'll lose them." He took a sharp turn on two wheels that screamed and got the attention of the bystanders on the sidewalks. I thought I saw someone lift a cell phone to their ear, most likely speed dialing 911. Sam kept going straight, veering around traffic when he needed to. I gripped my seat with both hands, fighting the temptation to close my eyes and wish this all away. Whatever dream I was in the middle of could stop at any moment before I had a heart attack.
"Oh. Oh no, Sam, train signal! Train signal up ahead!" Could this get any worse?
Through the closed windows I heard the train's moaning whistle as it neared the crossing. The gates were starting to go down, and I just knew we were about to wind up splattered all over the front of the freight train barreling down the tracks. Another shot rang out, and I lost track of how many rounds the Russians lobbed at us. This one shattered the back window and I ground my teeth. Gary would not be happy with me after this was over. A few bullets had already pierced the back end. The car would be a total loss by the time this chase ended. If any of this was even real.
"Sam, noooooo!" I screamed as he hit the gas and the car jumped forward.
I dared to look to the right and saw nothing but the front end of the train, heard the eardrum shattering blast of the horn, and a moment later, instead of seeing the white light, my eyes feasted on palm trees going by at too fast a rate. Tires squealed as Sam braked the car and it fishtailed into a half spin before stopping. Our breaths chugged in the small space as the train gave us one more scolding groan of its horn before speeding along the rails to its destination. Tires flashed between the breaks in the railroad cars' wheels, and between the cars themselves I could see the black SUV that the Russians used to pursue us. I could only imagine the looks on their faces, and a small hysteric laugh came out of me.
"I wouldn't get too happy yet, sister," Sam said as he turned the wheel and got us straight on the road. He drove at a more prudent speed away from the tracks. "We got away this time, but until we can take them all out, we're in danger." His eyes held sorrow as he glanced at me. "I am really sorry, Nina."
"Don't be. If I hadn't been around to help and get you some wheels, you'd be back there right now bleeding out on the pavement." I winked. "And we can't have that, because the world still needs Sam Axe."
