Kat felt her shoulder socket jerk as Patrick yanked her along behind him. She hadn't expected the mad dash towards the cave entrance so the surprise took her breath as he hauled her along with him. She could feel her fingernails digging into the soft flesh of his palm. Then the most terrifying sound she had ever heard rang out through the stillness of the night as they found the entrance and dashed through it. The gunshot echoed off the cave walls and reverberated back at them. The flash of the gunpowder exploded, temporally blinding her as she tried to stumble along to keep up.
She felt her dress tear on the rough wall of the cave as they dashed out into the moonlight. Patrick was pulling her along, seemingly with a plan in mind, so she followed, terror alone making her feet move. She stumbled again and realized it was because she had lost one of her heels in the commotion.
Patrick cast his eyes behind him, trying to figure out why she was hesitating.
" My shoe." She told him, though she couldn't even hear the words as they left her mouth. Her ears were still ringing with the sound of the shot that had been fired at them.
He seemed to understand, even though she was pretty sure he couldn't hear either at that point. He grabbed her into him and shoved her towards a large outcropping of undergrowth, hoping it would be enough to hide them for a moment. Once there, he reached into his pocket, withdrew a small knife and grabbed her foot.
For a moment she thought about jerking her leg from his hands. She had an idea of what he was planning and the thought of Bianca finding out he had destroyed her shoes made her wince. Then she realized how silly the thought was and let him do what needed to be done. There wasn't time for buckles. He slashed through the strap with amazing agility and let the first shoe drop. Then he grabbed for the one missing it's heel and gave it the same treatment.
They stood there silently for a moment. She watched as his eyes scanned the landscape, trying to ascertain where their pursers might be. Then his gaze seem to land somewhere not too far away. She was still too terrified to look herself, choosing instead to clutch to his vest and concentrate on the rising and falling of his panting breath.
Shit, she thought, absurdly, there were people chasing them. People, mean, evil people were shooting at them. It was as if her mind was finally catching up to reality and it only served to amplify her panic.
She watched a curse fall from Patrick's lips and she dared to take her eyes from his face so she could see the cause of his displeasure.
A policeman was coming towards them, followed by another. They were both dressed in their uniforms and they had their guns out, scanning the area as they searched for the source of the trouble.
Elation and relief filled her. Help had arrived. They hadn't even need to call. They had come all on their own.
Then the panic was back as she took in the scowl across Patrick's face. He certainly didn't look relieved or elated.
And suddenly she realized why. The police hadn't had time to get there yet. Even if someone had heard the shot and called.
" Are those the men that were in the cave ?" She asked in a combination of relief that her hearing was returning and dread that she already knew the answer.
He grabbed her to him and held her tightly against his chest, answering her with a slight nod as his eyes stayed fixed on the men that were looking for them.
" Why are the police shooting at us ? Aren't they supposed to be the good guys ?"
" Supposed to be doesn't always make it true." He muttered into her hair. " We need to run for it again. Can you do it ?"
She nodded numbly still trying to wrap her mind around what was happening. They were on the run from the police. Policemen were chasing them, intent on shooting them, in fact. The desperation of their situation was starting to dawn on her and she felt tears stinging her eyes.
Don't do this now, Kat. She told herself. You have to keep it together until you're safe. Then you can have your hissy.
" We're going to run for the car, okay ?" Patrick said, letting her go so he could look her in the eye. "I want you to stay close to me. You go first but don't get more than a step ahead of me."
She understood immediately what he was thinking. There was a wide expanse of open landscape between them and the car. It would be a dangerous run, giving the men plenty of time to shoot at them if they wanted. Patrick was planning on using himself as a shield for her just in case they took the opportunity.
" There's got to be another way. We'll go around and double back." She suggested, immediately vetoing his plan.
" We have to get out of here, Kat. The car is the best option." He argued.
" Wait!" She whispered urgently as a streak of brilliance came to her. She had her phone. They could call for help.
" What ?" He hissed, quickly losing patience with her.
" My phone. I have my phone." She told him as her mind tried to remember where she'd put her purse.
" You mean the one in your purse which is still in the cave ?" He asked, while she was still trying to work through the dilemma.
She nodded as her face fell. " Yeah, that one." She took a deep breath. " So the car it is. I assume you know how to hot wire it."
" What ?" He demanded. " Why would you assume that ?"
" You're the one with the reputation." She shrugged. " If you don't know how to hot wire the car, then I don't see how the car is going to do us much good since you gave me the keys when we got here and I put them in my purse."
" Fuck !" He exclaimed as he pulled his hand through his hair.
" Language." She chided him and instantly regretted it because of the scalding look he gave her.
" Fine." He rolled his eyes. " Fiddlesticks !"
She almost laughed. The sound was practically perched on the tip of her tongue. But another sound override it and it caused her blood to turn to ice.
" Katherine Stratford of 410 Huntington Lane." The menacing voice of one of the policemen rang out into the night.
" Fuck!" Kat exclaimed quietly.
" See," Patrick whispered as he grabbed her tighter. " Sometimes the situation just calls for it."
" I know you're out here somewhere, Miss Stratford." The man continued. " You can come out. We don't want to hurt you. We're the police. We're the good guys."
" That isn't what Lenny told me." She muttered under her breath and it caused Patrick's chest to shake. She glanced at his face to see he was laughing at her attempt at humor.
" You can't hide forever." The other man joined his partner. " You have to come out eventually."
They paced around the beach for a few more moments, searching for a hint to their location.
" I'm done playing with the children." The first policeman spat. " Why don't you go over to 410 Huntington Lane and find me something to inspire more cooperation ?" He told the other man.
Kat froze and looked up at Patrick's face in a full out panic. " My father!" She hissed. " Bianca."
" They're just bluffing to get us to come out." Patrick tried to reassure her, but the look on his face said he didn't believe it any more than she did.
Another voice joined the commotion around them. " Look, man, they're just some kids looking for a place to screw. Let 'em go. I'll tell you everything I know about the guy that took your stuff." Lenny was pleading their case with the officer and Kat felt a sudden rush of gratitude towards the swarmy little dealer.
" Alright, then, tell me about this guy." The officer said, putting his eyes on Lenny instead of the landscape while his partner still scanned through the trees.
" Yeah, let me think." Lenny stalled, shifting from one foot to the other. " He was tall. I remember that, a big guy. I mean a really big guy. Two-fifty at least." He paused to swipe a bead of sweat from his forehead. " And dark hair. He had a goatee and a tattoo."
" What kind of tattoo ?" The partner said, temporally giving up his search.
" It was an eagle with this ribbon thing in its mouth and the ribbon had a word on it."
Kat felt Patrick tense under her hands and she glanced away from the drama unfolding in front of them to give him her attention.
" What is it?" She whispered. " Do you know who he's talking about ?"
" The word, Lenny, what word did it have on the ribbon ?" The first officer was prompting as he gestured threateningly with his gun.
" Maggie."
Patrick clenched his eyes closed and Kat felt his heart falter in its beat.
" Who is Maggie ?" She hissed as loudly as she thought was safe.
Patrick glanced down at her as if suddenly remembering she was there. " My mother." He answered on a breath.
She was so caught up in him, she wasn't paying attention to the men outside of there sanctuary. But she quickly remembered as Patrick's hand came up and cupped the back of her head. He hauled her face into his chest and did his best to cover her ears with his hands a moment before another gunshot rang through the night. Her entire body jerked at the noise and her ears were ringing again, though this time not quite as loudly since they were further away from the shot.
In fact she found she could hear just find when the first policeman bellowed, " Now find those kids so we can get out of here and look for this guy."
Her eyes were clenched tightly closed and her head was still buried in Patrick's chest. When she tried to pull away so she could see the scene in front of them, he held her tighter and refused to loosen his grip. The panic was back now. What was he trying to keep her from seeing ? A sinking thought started to infiltrate the corners of her reasoning and suddenly she knew without having to look what was out there.
" They shot Lenny ?" She asked, though it was muffled by his shirt.
He held her head tighter and soothed her hair for a moment.
Taking a deep breath to steal herself she forcefully stepped out of his arms and purposefully averted her eyes from where the policemen were still standing. " We have to get out of here, Patrick. Let's make a run for the road. If we can make it there, maybe someone will pick us up."
" Then what ? What do we do then ? They know who you are and where to find you. They know what my stepfather looks like and he has a record. Its just a matter of time before they run his description and get a name." He insisted, heading into his own panic attack.
" Well, we can't wait around here to get caught. We'll end up like Lenny and I for one am not in the mood to die tonight. A hole and bloodstains will ruin this dress." She countered.
"Maybe we can get their stuff back. Trade it for them leaving us alone." He suggested.
" How do you propose we do that ?"
" We go to my place. I'll make my stepfather give me the drugs and we'll give them over to these guys."
" Because they seem so trustworthy. I'm sure they won't just kill us the second they have their drugs in their hands." She spat.
" It'll give us some time at least. We can come up with a better plan later. This way they'll stop shooting us for a minute anyway."
Before she had a chance to protest this idiocy of his plan further, Patrick eased out of the undergrowth with his hands in the air.
" I know where your drugs are." He announced as the first police immediately leveled his gun at Patrick's chest. " If you'll give me a chance, I'll get them and bring them back to you."
Both men were on him now, both guns aimed at him. Kat's head swam as reason abandoned her. She grabbed hold of a limb from the nearest bush and held in tightly in an attempt to fight against her instincts. Because at the moment her instincts wanted her to throw herself between the approaching men and Patrick. Her instinct was to save him by any means necessary.
" Right kid," The first man sneered. " And we're supposed to believe you because...."
Patrick shrugged and Kat was amazed at how nonchalantly he stood there while the two killers advanced on him. The tightness of his jaw was the only outward sign that he was distress at all by his situation.
" Because, it's a chance for you to get what you want and I've got nothing to lose. You can find me easily enough if I chose to run and it's not like I can call for help. You'd know as soon as I made the call. Who are the rest of the cops going to believe, two officers like yourselves or some kid with a habit for getting into trouble ?" He explained quickly, still with his arms held up in front of him.
The second cop eyed the first one, considering Patrick's plea. " He has a point."
" The girl stays here with us until you get back." The first said threateningly.
Patrick immediately shook his head. " No, the girl comes with me."
The first man picked up the point of his gun moving his aim from Patrick's chest to his head. " I could just shot you and get my own stuff." He reasoned. " You really aren't in any position to negotiate."
" She stays with me." Patrick told him through gritted teeth. " Or you can just shot me and take the chance or having nothing to find once you track down the man that took your drugs. You know users, man, the longer you wait the more chance of him shooting it all before you can get to him."
" You're Verona, right ?" The second cop said, stepping closer to Patrick. " I've picked you up before. Some petty little vandalism thing."
" Yeah, you have." Patrick nodded. " So you know I don't have anywhere to run from you. You know me, you know my girlfriend. You know where to find both of us if we don't keep our end of the deal."
" One hour." The first cop finally relented. " You have one hour to get back here with our stuff, or we pay a visit to your family and," He gestured towards the bushes where Kat was hiding. " hers."
" Two." Patrick countered. " I'm going to need time to get there and get away with it."
The man huffed impatiently. " Fine, two. But not a second more than that."
Two hours, Kat thought as Patrick turned to her and gestured for her to join him. One hundred and twenty minutes. She felt as if someone had just started a timer on her life, or flipped over an hour glass. She could practically see the sand sifting slowly towards the bottom as they got her purse from the officers and went towards her car.