A/N: Sorry for the delay! I've had a busy week and another busy one this week but I wanted to get something up! I have so many awesome ideas it's frustrating not getting the time to write them all out. Anyways, please be patient with me and enjoy the next chapter! Thanks for you reviews!
No Way Out
Punk's father and girlfriend left Thursday evening after dinner and Punk and April had a relaxing rest of the weekend. They laid around in bed, went on a hike, got lost for hours, hung out in the bath tub and were finally ready to head back to reality. Punk hadn't been sleeping since his night terror and that didn't go unnoticed by April.
"What's going on with you?" April asked as Punk drove in the middle of the night down the highway.
"Nothing." He said quietly.
"I know you, Phil." She pointed out. "Tell me. You haven't been acting yourself."
"I've been fine." he said pulling off the highway which caused her to frown.
"Where are we going?" She asked confused.
"I haven't been able to sleep since I had that dream." He told her keeping his eyes on the road.
"I've noticed." April said looking around as he drove. "Phil." She warned getting a bad feeling.
"Something is very wrong." He told her. "John wants to dangle you in front of James Sawyer, but I kept thinking to myself, 'what would be the point?'." he told her. "I mean, he's a free man so he's allowed to gawk at you legally so why does John want to taunt him using you?"
"I don't know." April whispered seeing planes flying low which meant they were close to an airport.
"I know James Sawyer sees you as the one who got away." Punk said to her but never looking at her. "He's obviously curious about you so what does John get out of it? Then it hit me. He needs James to do something in order to arrest him again"
"So?" April asked.
"So?" Punk asked back but again not daring to look back at her. "He needs James to hurt you or kill you. That's the only way he'd get to him."
"I haven't even seen James." April insisted growing anxious. She knew what was happening. "He's never even spoke to me! I told you it was over after I testified! We're normal."
"We're not." Punk said shaking his head. "I want to be, more than you'll ever know-"
"Phil, please" She pleaded as she began to cry. "Don't do this." but he didn't respond.
"I had this dream we were living in the house." Punk told her. "And I came home and he killed you. I can't be with you all of the time and thanks to your lack of testimony I can't legally offer you protection."
"John has Marshal's watching me." April reminded him.
"They're not watching to protect you." Punk said shaking his head. "I can't let him use you to get Sawyer. I won't."
"So I'll just file a complaint or something." She told him.
"The threat is still out there Ape and you're not safe. I've been selfish and living in denial because I just enjoy spending time with you, because I love you." He said looking at her as he said the last three words.
"I love you too." She whispered as her bottom lip trembled.
Punk drove into the airport but not to the entrance. There was another car parked a few feet away.
"You're going to die if you stay here and I'd rather be alone and miserable than you being dead." He said looking straight ahead as he turned the car off and she shook her head.
"I won't go." She told him. "I'm not leaving you."
"You have to." Punk told her. "I thought about ways to do this. I thought about breaking up with you, I thought about getting you fired- but you deserve the truth."
"If you want to breakup let's just breakup." April said to him. "You'll change your mind and I can be there to-"
"I don't want to break up with you." Punk said still not looking at her. "I love you so much that it hurts. I just can't lose you forever."
"So? I go away until you get James Sawyer?" She asked him. "That might never happen." She reminded him.
"It won't happen overnight but I can't let you be the reason I get him." He told her. "I cant let him kill you and then lock him away because it wouldn't be worth it."
"He won't kill me." She insisted.
"I knew it from the start. Not killing you in the loft, letting you run in the woods- watching you now." Punk said to her. "And without Marshal detail I can't guarantee your safety and even if I could I don't want you living a life in fear."
"I'm not afraid when you're with me." She argued. "I'm fine-"
"You're not." He told her. "You deserve the best life. You deserve that white house with the red door and ten dogs."
"I want that with you." She whispered as tears fell from her eyes.
"I want that with you too. And we'll have it." Punk said looking at her now and he was holding back his own tears. "But what I need you to do is get in that car." He said nodding ahead. "My friend, Davis Burnett- he trained me- he's going to give you an ID, cash and get you out of town."
"To where?" She asked.
"I don't know and I won't know because it's safer that way. You're going to be safe." He promised her.
"What about my parents?" She asked.
"You'll get a prepaid phone and can call them to check in." Punk told her. "You can't call me."
"Why?" She asked hurtfully.
"Because if I hear your voice I'm going to want to bring you back home." He said still not looking at her. "It's also safer for you if I don't know."
"Phil-" She began.
"You have to do this." he told her.
"We had a really great weekend and these last few months with you have been the best of my life even though it's been dangerous. I'd rather risk my life than not be with you." she told him firmly and he shook his head looking ahead.
"You have to go, Ape." he said sternly.
"What happens if you never catch him? We just move on with our lives?" She asked him. "I don't want to move on. I want to be with you." She cried.
"I'm going to bring them all down. But I need time and no distractions. I can't risk you." Punk told her. "I need to know you're safe."
"How will you know when you won't even know where I am?" She asked him. "What about my stuff?"
"You'll get new stuff." He said simply. "You'll be in safe good hands."
"That's your hands!" She argued.
"You need to get going." Punk said to her.
"I'm not leaving and you can't make me." She said folding her arms.
"This is your life!" He yelled. "This isn't an argument. You can go willingly or I can drag you out of this car."
"Why do you hate me?" She asked him.
"I don't hate you! I just explained it to you!" He yelled looking at her.
"You're making me leave because of some stupid fucking dream!" She yelled taking her seat belt off. "I'm not going with your friend but I don't want to stay with you anyway." She said jumping out of the car and Punk jumped out next.
April ran out of the parking lot and was back on the main road which was empty but held her thumb out.
"Stop!" Punk yelled grabbing her by her arms and forcing her to face him. "You are the most infuriating person I have ever met in my entire life! I'm trying to keep you alive so we can have a life together!"
"What's the point when we're going to waste all of this time?" She asked him.
"Trust me." He said placing his hands on her upper arms. "I'll get him, I'll get his father but I need you safe. This is above me, it's more than I can handle and I need you to be safe."
"What if you meet someone while I'm gone?" She asked him.
"Meet someone?" Punk asked with a laugh. "I've been waiting my whole life for you I don't think I'll meet anyone else."
"Aren't you scared I'll meet someone?" She asked.
"How long do you think you're going to be gone for?" he asked amused.
"Years." She told him.
"I'll be motivated. A few weeks, maybe months." he told her. "This isn't witness protection you can leave but I'm asking you not to. I'm asking you to put your trust and life into my hands."
"What about my job?" She asked him. "How many times am I starting over?"
"This is the last time." He promised her. "You'll have money while you're away, you'll have your freedom. You just need to do everything Davis tells you in the beginning. He's the best at this."
"But I'll miss you too much." She told him.
"You'll see me again." he promised. "Just give me a little time to make things right for you."
"If I would have testified-" She began.
"Then we'd be right here because his family would have come after you for revenge." He told her. "This is no easy out here, it's going to take time and patience."
"Will you visit?" She asked.
"I can't, Ape" he told her. "You leaving is going to piss off John and James Sawyer- I have to deal with that fallout and they'll both be looking at me for answers"
"Doesn't sound safe for you." She said to him.
"I'm fine as long as you are." he told her. "I'm going to miss the hell out of you." He admitted. "I don't want to do this. If I could I would run with you."
"Why don't you?" she asked hopefully. "We can just start a new life together! We'll move somewhere in the mid-west and have a big farm or something and you can sell comics or something and I can waitress and we'll be bored but we'll be alive and happy."
"If I thought running with you would be the safest option for you, I'd do it in a heartbeat." He told her. "But your safest option is me looking for James Sawyer and trying to get him on something and keeping John away from you."
"What if John is on to something? So what if he dangles me in front of James-" She began.
"Never." he said cutting her off. "I already have a plan." He told her. "I just need you to behave."
"What's the plan?" She asked.
"I'll tell you about it when I come to get you when it's all over." he told her.
"Are you sure I have to go?" She asked trying not to cry. "I can stay in your family cabin or just go home to Jersey."
"Those are the first two spots they'd look for you." He warned her.
"What about Christmas?" She asked.
"What about it?" He asked confused.
"I don't want to spend it alone." She said to him. "I want to be home in the loft."
"You might be." He said to her. "I need the Sawyer family to obsess over another target, another problem- I've got this." he assured her.
"I feel like you're going on a suicide mission." She said to him.
"If I was, I'd be saying 'move on and be happy'." He teased. "I don't want you to move on with anyone, wait for me. We're going to have it all."
"Ok." she forced out and Punk nodded towards his friend in the car. "He's smart, listen to him." he told April who nodded. "I love you." he told her and she looked up at him sadly. "I'm doing this for us."
"I know." She whispered and he grabbed her face and kissed her. "If you take too long I'm coming back." She warned him as he pulled away.
"Just be patient, please." he pleaded.
"I love you." She told him crying then walked to the car and Punk waited for her to get in and for the car to drive off before getting back into his car. He was doing the right thing.
Punk was back at work for a few days and it was the hardest few days of his life. He didn't even leave his office and avoided home. Going back into the loft and not having April there was more difficult than he imagined.
"Where is she?" John asked walking into Punk's office.
"Who?" Punk asked innocently.
"April." John stated coldly. "She hasn't shown up for work, she hasn't been home-"
"We got into a fight and she left." Punk shrugged.
"No fucking way." John said shaking his head. "You're hiding her. You're fucking up my case!"
"We got into an argument and she left." Punk repeated to him calmly.
"You're a bad liar." John spat. "She's not under Marshal protection so where did you stash her? That house out of the City again? Maybe your family home in Vermont?"
"You can look in all of those places but you won't find her." Punk shrugged. "You'll never find her."
"You son of a bitch." John said in disbelief. "Do you work with Sawyer too?"
"If I worked with Sawyer I would have handed April off to him." Punk said to him.
"There's been not activity on her phone or credit cards." John told him and Punk narrowed his eyes at him.
"You really have been keeping a close on her." Punk said to him. "You really were willing to get her killed to get your guy. That's fucking sick."
"Not as sick as hiding her." John shot back. "I wasn't going to let her get killed!"
"You've been doing this unsanctioned. Spoke to the Chief about it yesterday." Punk said to him. "I'm taking over the James Sawyer case and with April gone there's no conflict of interest-"
"This is my case!" John yelled.
"No, it was your case." Punk corrected. "It's my case now."
"You're going to drag this out because of April, we could have had them." John argued.
"April and I got into an argument and she left." Punk grinned as he told him the lie again.
"I'll file a missing persons report. I'll have every officer in the country searching for her." John threatened.
"They'll probably call her parents and I think her parents have heard from her." Punk shrugged with a grin. "I would imagine April keeps in touch with them often but April isn't dumb. She probably uses an untraceable prepaid phone that she switches so tracking her parent's phone line won't help either. But good luck with your missing persons report."
"I'll find her and bring her back." John warned him.
"And I'll kill you." Punk responded in the same calm voice. "Don't test me boy scout." he threatened. "Go back to taking orders, your time in the sun are over. I'm back in charge and I'm not letting anyone die."
"I wasn't going to let her get killed." John repeated coldly.
"So, what was your plan? Let him hurt her a little?" Punk asked. "Force her to testify again? Then we'd be back in the same situation where they'd threaten her and she wouldn't testify-"
"She's the key to this investigation." John told him.
"No she's not. You're making her the scapegoat because you're too lazy to find another way." Punk told him. "You would have gotten her killed. And the worst part is I don't think you'd even care if you did."
"I know how to do my job." John told him. "This is how we catch a felon."
"No, it's how you do it and it's wrong. April is an innocent civilian." Punk reminded him. "You were risking her life for this and it was cowardly."
"Cowardly is backing out of testimony." John shot at him. "That's what your girlfriend did."
"April didn't testify because me and her family were threatened." Punk reminded him. "She knew they would probably kill her and she didn't give it a second thought. That's not cowardly. Cowardly is using a young woman to do your job."
"Fuck you." John spat. "And what is your great secret plan?"
"I wouldn't tell you if you were the last Marshal in this office." Punk told him honestly. "If I find out you're searching for April I'll have your clearances revoked. Go do some real fucking work and leave Sawyer to me."
John didn't even respond he just stormed out of the office.
Across town Adam's cell door opened and he looked up confused.
"What is going in?" Adam asked the guard and then Punk appeared.
"You're going to earn your way out." Punk told him.