"Hey!" Tony shouted after him. "Get back here!"
Chuck decided to ignore him for personal reasons and slammed through the back door and into an empty lot. It was so hot outside, with the sun almost directly overhead, that Chuck could see the air shimmering a few dozen feet in front of him, making the ground look wobbly. His undershirt was already sticking to him because of the heat.
There were some stairs leading down to ground level to his right, but he hurdled the railing instead and hit the ground hard. He fell to his hands and knees and was shaken up, but scrambled to his feet and took off. Tony shot out of the building behind him and hopped over the railing as well, rolling with the impact and running after Chuck.
Chuck glanced back over his shoulder in time to see a short man who must have been Rizzo jog down the stairs lazily, holding a lit cigarette in one hand. Chuck yelped when he saw Tony's murderous eyes and his adrenaline kicked up. He could feel the flash drive bouncing around in his pocket and he could hear the growling and panting of Tony behind him. Tony was a monstrous human being, yet he was still able to keep up with Chuck. He might even be faster too. He was definitely stronger, and scarier, and bigger, and...
Chuck decided that this line of thought wasn't helping any and shut it down.
He was headed down the side of the store toward the front parking lot. He could hear Tony's heavy breathing behind him and he tried to tune it out. Sweat dripping down from his hairline made his eyes sting. His heart was pounding erratically, and a stitch was growing in his side. It sent pain shooting through him with every step, but he knew he couldn't stop running.
He finally rounded the side building and skidded to a stop. Several black vans were parked out in front of the sliding doors of the Buy More. A few men stood talking to each other near the doors. One had a pistol out and was casually checking the magazine. The other two were arguing animatedly, occasionally gesturing to the third man. A fourth leaned against the passenger side door of the van closest to Chuck, smoking a cigarette and watching.
Chuck was frozen for a few seconds until the sound of Tony's footsteps behind him spurred him into action. He took off toward where the Nerd Herd cars were parked, on the far side of the parking lot.
Tony rounded the corner and slowed to a stop, his hands on his knees. "Hey!" he shouted. "Jake, Preacher, shut up and get him!"
The two guys who had been arguing looked at Tony, then turned to see Chuck charging across the pavement. They shared a glance, then sprinted after him. The man with the gun shoved the magazine back into his pistol and moved to the close side of the van. He watched, amused, as Chuck saw the gleaming metal and yelped.
The first plan that had come to mind was to hop in the Nerd Herder and get the heck out of there, but that plan was slowly becoming impossible, for two reasons. First, there were now three men actively chasing him, as well as one watching with a gun. Second, he only now realized that his keys were in his bag.
His bag was currently sitting on the ground next to the Nerd Herd desk in the Buy More. Therefore, his brilliant plan to run for his life was now, without a doubt, impossible. On top of all that, his stomach was growling at him for forgoing the sandwich he had stashed in the store fridge.
As this thought crossed his mind, he veered away from the white and red vehicles parked only a couple dozen more feet in front of him. He had no real destination in mind, other than away from the psychopaths chasing him with guns. His mind on autopilot, he simply focused on keeping his legs moving, staring at the ground in front of him. Despite the burning sensation in his thighs and the stitch in his side, it wasn't as hard as usual. The men behind him kindly kept sending bullets whizzing past him that kept his legs pumping.
One such bullet did more than just fly by him and scraped across the side of his ribs. A fiery pain spread through his torso, but he gritted his teeth against the pain and kept running. He dodged around a couple of parked cars and made a sharp turn. He was still running solely due to the adrenaline pumping through his veins, but he couldn't rely on it forever. He was going to break down eventually, and when that happened, he knew he couldn't count on mercy from Tony.
Chuck finally raised his eyes and saw that his feet had instinctively brought him to Sarah's frozen yogurt store, the Orange Orange. Chuck had always wondered why it was called that. It made no sense, really. But, then again, he supposed it didn't really need to make sense. It was a frozen yogurt shop, and barely even that. The yogurt didn't even taste very good. It really only existed as a cover for Castle, and-
Castle. Of course! It was the only safe place for him right now, and it was only a few dozen feet away!
But a few dozen feet was no guarantee when guns are involved.
Chuck's side was burning fiercely, screaming at him to stop moving. He ignored it and focused on reaching the store. Another bullet shot past him. He could hear it as it passed, and it galvanized him into speeding up for the last ten feet.
He slammed into the glass doors and pushed through them, stopping long enough to turn and lock them behind him. He glanced through the glass and shrieked when he saw Tony's face, dark with fury.
Chuck sprinted behind the counter and ran into the freezer. He grabbed the handle and began to slide the massive door into place. As he reached halfway, Tony reached the door. Chuck had counted on him being stuck for at least a few seconds as he had to get past the lock on the door, but he had completely overlooked one crucial fact.
The door was made of glass.
Tony crashed through it with a full head of steam. He slammed into the wall, unable to stop in time, but then he turned and charged toward Chuck, followed by four more hulking men. Chuck yelped again (and made a mental note to stop making such high-pitched noises when facing such masculine mountains of meat as Tony) and pulled harder on the door, fueled by desperation and fear. It clanged shut, and Tony rammed into it. He bellowed and tried to open it, but Chuck locked it the instant it shut, and Tony wasn't going to be able to get through it with pure muscle any time soon.
Chuck made eye contact with him through the small window and, despite his better judgement, he made a face at the enraged mob member. Tony's eyes hardened. He said something, no doubt very menacing, but Chuck couldn't hear him through the door. "What?" Chuck shouted back. He gestured animatedly with his hands to convey the message that he had no idea what Tony had said.
Tony sighed visibly, then repeated in a louder voice that was still muffled, "What now? You're stuck in there! We'll just wait out here for you until you freeze!"
Chuck made a point to let panic flash in his eyes before pretending to try to hide it. He looked around, as if just realizing his predicament, and Tony laughed uproariously. He said something to the other men, who joined him in laughter.
Chuck backed away and stifled a few giggles of his own. Who knew he was such a good actor? He then walked to the back of the freezer past several shelves packed with yogurt, ice crystals crunching under his feet. He made his way to the secret door and found the scanner. As he placed his hand on it, he had a sudden thought- What if my hand isn't good enough to open the door? What if they haven't added me to the database yet? I'll be stuck in here with only below-average yogurt inside and murderous men outside.
But all his worried were assuaged when there was a single beep, and the door opened with a hiss. He stepped into the elevator, relieved, let the doors close, and descended to Castle.
Tony glanced into the freezer again. He no longer saw the man with the ridiculous curly hair (what was his name? Birkenstock?), but there was nowhere he could have gone. He locked himself in a freezer, for god's sake! It's not like there's some secret passageway or something. He was in a yogurt shop. And even if there were, what were the odds that a Buy More employee, a Nerd Herder, would know about it? The word "nerd" was in his official title!
Tony tried to shove the doubts to the back of his mind and relaxed against the door, watching Jake and Preacher continue their fight from earlier. Preacher always got so worked up over such trivial things, and Jake was more than ready to supply said trivial things. Rizzo and Grant had already returned to the store. Tony wasn't quite sure why he kept three men over here, himself included. The little string bean in the freezer wouldn't be able to take out even the smallest member of Tony's team. He knew that, everyone knew that.
But he couldn't shake the feeling in his gut, the feeling that something was off. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something wrong with what he had just witnessed, the whole thing. He replayed the previous hour back in his mind, searching for it, but eventually gave up. If he was wrong, there was nothing to worry about. If he was right, well, that was what Jake and Preacher were there for.
Tony fingered the trigger of the gun in his hands. It wasn't his only weapon, of course. He couldn't forget the gun strapped to his ankle, or the knife in his sock, of the pistol in the back of his waistband, or the holster under his arm. Good thing there are no metal detectors in electronic appliance stores. Or else the entire store would have lit up like a Christmas tree. And then I would have had to light up someone else like a Christmas tree. He chuckled at his little joke, then sobered a little as he thought, Well then, next time we should go visit someplace with a metal detector, then, shouldn't we?
His small smile broadened into a malicious grin at the thought.
Guys, I really appreciate all the reviews you've sent in. It means a lot that you took the time, and I appreciate those of you who have given me pointers (boxerman, I'm mostly just looking at you). I'm trying to write the best I can, and any help is always good.
Sorry these updates have been pretty randomly spaced out, but I'm pretty bogged down with life at the moment.
Also, I know that this is a very short chapter, but I wanted to clear something up before I go any further. Someone brought up that they would like to see some multiple P.O.V. stuff (like in my first story), and I'm up for that if y'all are. Honestly, I was considering it already. I have a few ideas bouncing around in this crazy head of mine. Problem is, if I decide to do that, I'll have to go and rearrange some plot, and this story will take longer to finish.
If you think this is a good idea, please let me know. If not, rest assured that Sarah and Casey are going to make their way into this story anyway. You will see more of them, but only Chuck's P.O.V. I'm willing to write it either way. Please let me know as soon as possible, so I can get going on whatever version y'all prefer. I need to know soon, because it will change the next chapter drastically.
Thanks for reading.