BAM! Right back with another chapter. I'm too good. Now if only I could update like this from the beginning. Anyways, here's a follow up to Chapter 16. This is in Phil and Owen's perspective and something happens that could get them into a whole lot of trouble. What is it? Read on and find out. Enjoy!

Chapter 17

Phil sped down the 11 freeway at 75 miles per hour as Owen leaned his head out of the window, trying not to throw up. He groaned, "Phil, could you slow down please? You know I'm car sick." He wretched again.

"No time for that Owen. We might too late as it is. I said 15 minutes." Phil said and stepped on the gas, surpassing a Chevrolet Malibu as it honked loudly. Phil was driving like a madman, weaving in and out of different lanes, barely missing a collision with the other cars.

"Watch where you're going jackass!" a driver yelled as Phil swerved past him, almost hitting his Honda truck. Phil didn't care. His eyes were fixed on the road in quiet determination. This was it. The final time he would ever be speeding down this freeway in pursuit of Darius and he was going to make sure of it regardless of the fact that probably one of them was going to make it out alive. He gripped the steering wheel and sped up. Thankfully, the freeway was traffic-free so he sped down with ease. Owen wretched again and Phil winced. "Try putting your head between your legs" he said, changing lanes again. Owen turned to glare at him.

"Or, you could slow the hell down. You're hitting 85! I'm surprised the Highway patrol hasn't caught up with you yet" Owen said. And just as he said that, loud sirens abruptly started just behind them.

Owen's eyes bulged out. "Holy shit." He said and turned to Phil who was now glaring daggers at him.

"Pull over to the shoulder. Now." A voice seemed to come out of nowhere making them both jump a little. Phil swore and began to slow down and pull over to the shoulder. When he came to a full stop, he punched Owen once in the arm.

"Ouch!" Owen hissed. "What was that for!"

"You just HAD to say something. Now look what you did! This isn't even our car!" Phil whispered back. He looked in his rearview mirror and saw the cop come out of his car and start advancing towards his driver's seat window.

"Well it's not like he was listening and waiting for a cue to just show up! You were hitting 85 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour freeway. You douche!" Owen said and pinched Phil's arm.

"Ow! Well just shutup and put a smile on your face. And look as innocent as possible so that he doesn't sense just how guilty we really are…" Phil trailed off as the cop finally approached his window. Phil's smile faded when he saw the cop's heavy frown transfixed on his face. The cop took off his aviators and glared at Phil with blue eyes-which completely contradicted the rest of his scary appearance. He was tall and athletic with a vein throbbing in his red neck and a scar under his right eye. He looked like he might have been a wrestler at one point.

Finally he spoke up, "License and Registration please?"

Phil smiled and said, "Good day to you sir. And how has it been going so far?"

The cop stared straight into Phil's eyes and his frown seemed to deepen. He took a deep breath and said again, "License and Registration. The faster you present it, the less of your time I will take and the faster I can get on with my life. Now do you want to present it or should I write you up and arrest you right now?"

Phil's smile faded again and he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out his wallet. Owen opened the glove compartment and started searching for the registration. Phil took out his driver's license and presented it to the cop.

The cop looked it over once and glared at Phil. "You do know this license expires in about 3 days right?"

Phil gulped and said, "Yes sir. I'm aware."

The cop cleared his throat and said, "Well make sure you renew it in time. And where's the registration?"

Phil blinked twice. "The what?"

The cop sighed and rubbed his forehead, "The regist-"

Suddenly his radio cackled loudly and a female voice came on it, sounding frantic. "Calling all units! Calling all units! A high-speed car chase heading down the 15 Freeway heading into the 11 freeway. Cars 56 and 78 are on it and they are requesting more backup. Car 72, where is your location?"

The cop picked up his walkie talkie and spoke into it saying, "Car 72 here. I am currently on the 11 Freeway. I'll take care of it." He then gave Phil his license back and said, "I'll let you boys off with a warning this time. But next time, just stay within the speed limit." The cop then jogged back to his car and seconds later, zoomed past Phil and Owen at such a speed, it pushed Phil back into his seat.

Owen let out a deep sigh of relief and said, "That was too close for comfort."

Phil replied, "You're telling me." Then he smirked and added, "Thank you God for high speed car chases." He chuckled and put the gear of the van into "drive" and started out slowly again on the freeway. This time he stayed at a little over 60 miles per hour.

Within 5 minutes of rejoining the freeway, he saw the Yates Avenue exit. His heart skipped a beat and breathing became incredibly hard for him. He merged onto the exit and turned right at the next street light he saw, hoping it was the right move. Soon enough, he saw a warehouse looming in the distance and 7 vans just like the one he drove were parked outside in a parking lot adjacent to the main warehouse building. Phil brought the van to a stop on the side of the street directly in front of the warehouse and he just sat there.

Owen looked over at Phil and he could sense his nervousness. Gently he placed an arm on Phil's shoulder and said, "I just want you to remember something Phil. I've got your back on this. No matter what happens."

Phil turned to face Owen and he smiled. It was a tense smile. "I know buddy. I know. I just hope we're not too late. I don't know what I would do if they hurt Keely or Seth."

"Well, I don't think sitting in the van is gonna help them much. I say we burst in there and kick some ass! Because that Darius punk has been pissing me off ever since High School, man. Him and his jock friends and his jock personality and his 'its fun to be a boy' haircut. Boy, I'd like to just go in there and shove that 'wannabe tough guy act' right up his-"

"Whoa calm down Owen!" Phil said. "Save that for inside the warehouse." He laughed.

Then suddenly, he was serious again. He grabbed the pistol he stole from the first thug and, after a few seconds of looking, found 3 rounds of bullets in the glove compartment next to the driver's seat. He tossed one round to Owen and quickly started loading his pistol with the bullets.

A friend of his dad's from the hardware store had taught him how to do this. His name was Larry Brooks, he remembered. Larry was a World War 2 veteran who had been recruited when he was just 19 years old. One summer afternoon, Larry taught Phil how to load bullets into a pistol and a machine gun and how to remove the bullets. Hell, he even taught him how to aim and shoot at a shooting range just miles from Pickford. Of course, Pickford wouldn't have any shooting ranges.

Phil always wondered why he had randomly decided to show him how to do those things. It's not like you're ever gonna need to shoot someone, Phil. Jesus Christ, I would hope not. But I just want you to know how to do it. Every man needs to know how to do this. Larry had said.

Well, Uncle Larry, I need it now more than ever. Phil thought as he loaded the last bullets into the pistol. Owen was done and already out of the van, waiting on Phil. Now how Owen had learned to work a gun, Phil had no idea. All he knew was that he was glad. Phil took the van keys out of the ignition and shoved them into his pockets. He jumped out of the van and together, him and Owen quietly made their way to the entrance of the warehouse. Owen went ahead to the door handle, ready to pull it open. Sweat trickled down Phil's forehead and he gripped the pistol tighter. Ready or not Darius, he thought. Here I come.