Chapter 3: Not Just Paranoia
Take a break, Theo had said. Go out and explore. Try something different.
It was going to be the last time he followed Theo's recommendations.
Provided he ever saw him again.
No, that was being a little dramatic.
Nothing had happened.
Yet.
The park had seemed like an innocuous place to go, but so far… it was turning into probably one of his worst ideas to date.
Alex kept jogging, because he wasn't sure what else he was supposed to do.
Someone was following him and it wasn't paranoid delusions.
It couldn't be.
The first three miles of his run had been completely uneventful. The park was pleasantly active, but not so much that it felt overwhelming. People were out enjoying the long weekend and the good weather.
As the sun had gotten lower to the horizon, more people drifted away, but he wasn't on his own.
And then, the creeping, crawling sensation on the back of his neck had kicked in.
The knowledge that someone was watching him.
Any attempts at not giving into the paranoia flew out the window the moment he turned a corner and saw the tall, dark watcher not so stealthily staring in his direction.
Out of place.
No family.
No casual relaxed stance.
No attempt at blending in with other joggers or walkers in the park.
Alex forced himself to look away.
To not stare.
To keep going.
Because stopping everything would let them know he was on to them.
Whoever they were.
He had a gut feeling that finally, someone had slipped through Byrne's carefully formed network of spies and was going to make a move.
Ex-SCORPIA, most likely.
Alex's eyes caught on the only other person in sight – another jogger a good distance away. Heading away from him.
And paranoia or not, Alex needed an escape route.
He kept running, letting his footfalls press into the pavement.
He couldn't keep going all night long.
Eventually, he was going to have to stop.
The park would empty out.
He would lose the security of the few other people.
All they had to do was watch and wait.
Going further out into the city wasn't a good option either.
Plenty of unmarked vans could come and get him that way.
Running off the path was a bad idea as well.
There were no good options.
No matter what he did, someone was going to have an excellent shot to take at him.
He kept running.
As the sun crept below the horizon and Alex was racking up his fifth mile, he knew he was at a breaking point. He could keep running, but the park itself would be unsafe.
More figures had crept into the sidelines, until there were at least four people that were most definitely out of place. His best option would be to make a move that would surprise them all. And if it was all just paranoid delusions, well… he would have a good story for Theo at their next session.
He had a fairly good understanding of the area – and it wasn't like he was going to get lost. The park wasn't that big.
They were closing in on him, creeping closer with every twisting route Alex took through the park. No one made eye contact, didn't get within twenty yards, but they were there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Alex drifted to the far side of the path, hugging the outer curve, and just barely drifting out of direct eyesight.
No doubt they would reposition themselves momentarily, but Alex had no plans to be where they expected him.
There was a brick wall that divided the park from the city streets. Just tall enough to be troublesome to outright jump, but just short enough that with enough momentum he should be able to do it.
And if he didn't… well, only his watchers would see him fail at this point.
Fifteen yards.
He picked up the pace slightly, angling toward the wall.
Ten yards.
He yanked his sleeves down so they completely covered his forearms. No need to scratch his arms all to pieces.
Five yards.
He adjusted his heading ever so slightly, elongating the natural length of time he would be out of sight – and then he sprinted for it. He threw himself at the wall, fingers driving into grips that were almost non-existent, letting his feet scrabble at the wall for purchase.
Ten seconds before they notice.
He pulled up on the smallest crack, throwing his arm across the top of the wall.
It was nothing worse than climbing a vertical cliff – which admittedly, he had only done once on a dare from Uncle Ian when he was ten.
Five seconds.
There was just enough leverage for him to pull his shoulders up and over, until his feet were all but dangling against the wall. His hips pressed painfully against the edge and something poked into his thigh, but nothing damaging.
Thankfully, no glass on top.
He threw his legs over and hardly stopped for a moment as he came down on the other side.
It was a busy street and the watchers would have noticed that he had deviated from the path. They would be coming after him and would know exactly where he would head – the station.
So, he was going to do the opposite.
He sprinted away from the closest transit station, heading for one he figured was more or less in the opposite direction but a little further away.
He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. No missed messages from Byrne. No phone calls. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Running and punching out a message were not two activities easy to do at once, but he had more or less learned the feel of the numbers on the phone. And he had long since memorized Byrne's number.
202-530—
Someone crashed into Alex from the side, knocking him off balance and sending the phone flying. It clattered to the ground, in the gutter, far out of reach.
"Rider—"
Alex scrambled against the person trying to hold him down and aimed a kick at their crotch.
The figure howled and pulled away just enough to let Alex scramble to his feet and start running again. He wasn't going to let them get to him.
There had to be somewhere safe in the city.
And even if this had somehow snuck under Byrne's radar… Alex knew the man would figure it out quickly enough.
Nothing seemed to get past him.
Alex just had to keep running and stay out of sight long enough.
He skirted through the neighborhood, heading down side streets randomly, in the hopes of throwing anyone off his tail. There had only been the one in the streets, but there was no telling how long it would take for others to catch up.
Away from the closest transit station would hopefully be the opposite of what they expected.
The houses and buildings were pressed so close together that once he got onto a street, there really was no turning back. No convenient alley ways to jump into. No shadows between houses to blend in with. Just sheer walls on either side.
He kept sprinting, breaths catching in his throat. Stopping would be his worst enemy at this point.
He turned down another side street, heading in the direction of the bay. There would be more options out there. Alex slowed as he approached a larger intersection and pulled up the hood of his jacket. It wasn't good camouflage, but it was something.
What he needed was to find a secure location and contact Byrne. But that would require stopping long enough to find a phone – and it wasn't like pay phones were a thing these days.
Someone was definitely after him.
It wasn't just paranoia.
He fell into a walk, slouching his shoulders and bobbing his head as if he were listening to music. Anything to throw off a glance in his direction.
Tracks went down the center of the road – Judah St. – and Alex turned to follow them. There would be a transit stop eventually. Surely they wouldn't try to kidnap him in a highly visible location, with other people potentially around. Once he found the transit, he could get back to the heart of the city – where it would be safer.
There was another lone pedestrian much further down the sidewalk, but they were wrapped up in their own little world.
After dark in this part of the city, it was just too quiet.
Alex couldn't help but cast a glance over his shoulder, feeling prickling on his neck once more.
They couldn't…
Not already…
There was nothing there.
Nothing to see.
No cars, no people.
He glanced forward again, but the other pedestrian had disappeared.
Alone.
Alex picked up his pace. The transit sign was almost visible in the distance. From there, he would be able to get to the counseling center. There was always a night guard there. They offered on-call services to their patients, after all. Though Alex had never made use of that particular service, Byrne had made it clear that it would always be a secure location to contact him from.
He just had to get there.
The prickling feeling remained.
16th Avenue.
17th Avenue.
He kept walking through the crosswalk at 18th Avenue, even though the red light was lit. He wasn't going to stop.
If only he had waited to pull out his phone.
If only he had given into his suspicions earlier.
If only…
If only…
The transit stop was less than a block away.
There was no telling when the next one would come through though. And it didn't look like there was anyone there waiting currently.
Alex hunched his shoulders and crossed the street.
Warning.
Danger.
Threat.
But there was no one there.
Until there was.
Squealing tires as an SUV appeared on the crossroad and skidded around the corner had Alex dropping to the ground, just as someone opened fire with a semi-automatic gun. The bullets bit into the side of the building and parked cars along the road.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Guns were something he was absolutely, 100%, not prepared to deal with. Most people didn't want to risk permanently damaging him. The bosses always wanted him alive. Assassination had been taken out of the cards months earlier.
This though… Making it to the transit station wasn't going to change anything. Not if they were aiming to kill.
They clearly didn't care about waking the locals either.
The SUV screeched to a stop in next to him and Alex didn't bother waiting for the next move. He pushed up from the ground and started running again, zigging and zagging as much as possible. A moving target was harder to hit.
They were just as fast.
Once again, someone slammed into his side, knocking him off balance.
Off kilter.
He wrapped his fingers into their jacket and yanked, trying to pull the other person off balance as well. They landed in a tumbled heap on the ground and Alex kicked at his assailant.
He managed to get up again.
To start running.
But he was too slow.
Sound ricocheted around him, bouncing off the walls of the buildings.
Hot fire ripped through his bicep, sending him spinning into the wall.
The gunfire didn't stop though.
He felt it, only for a second. Deep, burning pressure in his lower back.
Then, nothing.
Fiery, burning pain.
Something deeper.
Something not right.
He couldn't breathe.
No, he could.
He could breathe just fine.
"—not supposed to—"
It felt far away.
Like underwater.
As if in a dream.
He couldn't feel his legs.
His legs!
His legs were gone!
That was the only acceptable response.
He tried to move, tried to kick with his legs, but—nothing.
Nothing but nothingness.
"—valuable resources cleaning up your messes!"
A mess.
That's what he was.
He couldn't move.
Hands grabbed his shoulders, pressed his face into something.
That, he could feel.
Bits poking here and there. Like little scalpels driving into his skin.
He couldn't see.
Couldn't think.
Couldn't feel.
Trapped.
Then, there was pain.
Real pain this time. Pain working grooves into his back and upper legs. Feeling like his flesh was trying to crawl off his body.
Alex screamed.
A/N: Thoughts? Comments? Predictions?