Twenty Five

Archer shows no remorse when he cracks and breaks the window of a Jeep parked in front of the apartment building. He knocks the glass in with his elbow and then reaches in to unlock the door. Unfazed by the glass on the seat, he gets in and leans over to unlock the passenger side door for Maddy to get in.

She opens the door slowly after looking over her shoulder to see if anyone saw them. No one around. She gets in as Archer pulls a panel off from underneath the steering wheel. He picks at the wires with the tip of his knife before tugging on them and twisting them together until the engine coughs to life. Archer picks the panel up from near his feet and snaps it back into place before sitting up and looking over at Maddy. He laughs out loud and outrageously when he sees her fastening her seatbelt. He shifts the car into gear and races down the street.

"You should wear your seatbelt too," Maddy says to him as she leans back against her seat.

She plucks a shard of glass off the center console and drops it by her feet. She folds her arms over her chest, looking around her to inspect for more glass.

"Ja, or else I'll get a ticket from the police?"

Maddy sighs. Archer looks over at her again.

"It's safer when you're wearing a seatbelt."

Archer lifts his shoulders. He continues driving with his eyes straight forward for a few minutes before deciding to put his belt on. The feeling of a strap across his chest and lap are foreign to him. He thinks back to the last time he wore a seatbelt, and the more he mulls over it, the more he's convinced that he's never actually worn one.

Maddy sees him put the belt on and she smiles gratefully as she rests her hands on her thighs.

"Ja ja," he kisses the back of his teeth. "Don't go rushing around telling anyone about my heart of gold, huh."

Maddy smirks. "Where are we going?"

"Airport."

"What airport?"

"Where Ameni has his plane."

"For what?"

"I know he's got more stones and cash in his plane," Archer tells Maddy.

"Archer," she frowns. "I thought you said you had enough."

No response.

"Archer."

"What, Maddy?"

"You said you had enough."

"What are rocks to a dead man, huh?"

"Pretty soon you'll be a dead man," she protests. "And then what use will you be?"

Archer bites down on his bottom lip.

"Turn around and go back to the UNICEF camp. We'll have food and water and a place to sleep while we wait for the press plane."

He shakes his head. "I need those stones, Maddy."

"How do you know that man's friends aren't waiting there to kill you when you arrive?"

"What friends?" he scoffs. "I was all he had."

"How do you know that?"

"I know," he says confidently.

"What if there isn't anything in the plane?"

He raises his shoulders.

"What if there isn't even a plane!"

"What about if the airport is gone too?" Archer asks her mockingly.

"Archer," she frowns.

"Just relax, a'right?"

With a sign, Maddy surrenders and turns her attention out the passenger side window. Archer continues driving in silence with one thumb on the bottom of the steering wheel and his other arm hanging out the window. They race along the sandy streets in the stolen Jeep for almost an hour before Archer pulls into the hangar's parking lot.

"Stay here," Archer says as he looks over at Maddy.

"I'm coming in with you," Maddy responds.

Archer shrugs a "suit yourself" shrug and gets out of the Jeep with Maddy following close behind. They enter the hangar to the sound of their own footsteps echoing around the vast space.

The hangar is filled with over a dozen small domestic planes, Ameni's plane among them. Archer rushes over to it as soon as he spots it. He pulls the keys out of his pocket and unlocks the door to pull himself up into the cockpit. He rummages around while Maddy stands under the wing looking around the hangar with her heart in her throat.

Archer's money and diamond search comes to a quick end and he emerges from the plane a moment later holding a wad of cash and a small velvet sack. In his back pocket, he has his passports and papers, all of which he found under the plane seat. Archer is grinning with self-satisfaction as he hops down and approaches Maddy.

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

He nods as he shoves the cash and velvet sac into his already bulging pockets. "Ja, Miss Bowen, I did find what I was looking for."

Maddy is sure that on his person, he's carrying millions of dollars worth of diamonds. The thought scares her. She shakes her head at him and rubs the sides of her biceps.

"Let's get going then."

Just as Archer turns to shut the cockpit door, the metallic clink of a bullet ricocheting against steel sounds through the hangar. Archer lunges forward and grabs Maddy's arm to pull her down to the concrete floor.

"Chris," he growls as he pulls his gun.

"I told you, Archer!" Maddy exasperates.

"Shut up, Maddy, please!"

He pushes Maddy towards the landing gear as he looks around. He fires a single shot. More bullets are fired from the offender's gun in response, all of them bouncing around the hangar threateningly. Archer keeps a bullet count in his head as he fires a second shit. Three more shots are fired before there's a lull in the gunfire.

Archer reaches over and grabs Maddy's trembling hand to yank her up to her feet.

"Run and stay low," he tells her as they make a break for the door to the Jeep.

The silence lasts for only a few more seconds before another round of gunfire begins. Archer keeps looking behind him at Maddy as they weave between planes to keep themselves sheltered. Just as the Jeep comes into sight, Archer feels Maddy let go of his hand and he stops himself. He turns around quickly, and much to his vexation, Maddy is on the floor writing around holding her thigh.

"Christ, Maddy," he drops to his knees beside her and moves her bloody hands from her thigh. "Let me see, Maddy, let me see."

"Archer," she whimpers with panic. "Archer!"

"Move your hands, let me see how deep the shot is!"

Archer fingers her pants until he finds the bullet hole in them. He tears it wide open with a sharp tug and looks her thigh over. The bullet has only grazed her thigh, but the simple fact that she's injured leaves a sour taste in his mouth.

"A'right, come on," Archer gets up halfway before pulling Maddy over his shoulder.

Maddy yells out in pain as Archer continues his dash out of the hangar. Trying to be as careful as possible, he tosses Maddy into the back seat before climbing into the driver's seat. He changes gears aggressively before speeding out. The back window is shot out and Archer keeps his head low as he steers out of danger.

"There's glass all over me," Maddy cries.

He turns his head around to look at her. "You're fine, Maddy," he tells her as he turns to face the road again.