Hide And Seek Chapter 1
Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I have watched a man die and been glad for it. I did not report the murderer but comforted him. I love this man who is my savior. He has saved me body and soul and nothing on this earth could make me betray him…But first, let me back this up a bit so you understand all the facts of what has happened in my life to get me to this point. Then you will understand (I think) how I feel.
My name is Jensen Ackles and I am a finder. A few months ago I was an ordinary teenager until a fateful accident. I was struck by lightning. Ever since then I have been able to find people using some kind of ability no one understands but many people want to harness. What happens is I see a picture of a person, any person, and if I see it long enough when I sleep my brain will find out where they are no matter if they are alive or dead. When I wake up I am able to pass on this information. If I don’t I end up in a world of hurt. Wellbeing brought up to be a nice upstanding guy I told people in authority what I know. All I wanted to do was help the people I “found” or the family who were looking for them. But my story, the fact that I was a finder got leaked to the press after some federal agents came to see me at my school. You would think this would be kinda cool. I was an instant celebrity. But this caused a lot of problems for me and my family who were besieged by people trying to find loved ones. Also by some religious nut cases and some con men and women. I couldn’t go to school, my family’s restaurant was turning into a madhouse and my own house was on the verge of attack by all the above-mentioned people. So to save my family and help me figure out what was happening to me I made a deal with the devil even if I didn’t know how bad it would get at the time.
I agreed to go to an army base for medical tests and to do my part as a patriotic American and help out the American people (and the Army by extent) if I could. A contract was worked out (but in the end wasn’t worth the paper it was written on) and away I went. It was only supposed to be for a few weeks at most. I would get first-rate medical care while I did my thing and helped find some people. Things started off okay but went downhill fast. The doctors started running experiments while the army shanghaied my skills to find people of interest to them that I or my lawyer hadn’t vetted instead of the kids and lost soldiers they had agreed on. When I wouldn’t give up what I know they began to torture me for the information. (Thankfully it was my definition of torture and torture lite for them not the real black ops sight kind of thing.) They forced me to see pictures of the people they wanted to be found and when I wouldn’t tell them the locations (besides the dead ones) I hurt myself.
There was one doctor there who tried to help me but she could do little without being fired and/or sent away. Luckily my best friend and my boyfriend are paranoid and had come up with a plan to break me out if things went sideways. I wrote all this down in a journal that is stashed away, safe for now. Maybe someday I’ll release it if certain parties haven’t done it already for me. This. This is what happened after I was left in pain to wait for my rescue. Again, I put everything that happened down for the record. Even the bloody law-breaking parts, the parts I can hardly remember through the pain and the personal stuff that may embarrass you for its sexual nature. But what else can I do when trying to explain what happened and hoping that you will sympathize and agree with me so that if I ever show up in public again I won’t be crucified. So let me begin where I left off last time. Me, locked in a bare room in pain waiting for either rescue or a time when I can’t take the pain anymore and kill myself before I can betray the people in my head.
It was evening, I knew this because the light outside the window I couldn’t reach was failing. I was going to be served food that I wouldn’t eat. Actually I wasn’t sure if I could eat it even if I wanted to by now. The pain had begun to mix with nausea and even if it wasn’t drugged and I was able to focus on hunger instead of pain I would probably throw it up which would put me back at square one. The only good thing was that Doctor Ferris was the one who stayed in my room to administer the food. As if thinking about her summered her there was rattling at the door signaling that it was being unlocked. Sure enough it opened and there was doctor Ferris and the guard. Doctor Ferris set the food tray on a wheeled stand she brought with her. My table and chair had been taken away. I was released from my restraints so I could sit up to eat. When I was able to sit up the guard went back to the door. He was within hearing distance and my room was wire anyway. Sound and most embarrassingly, video. They were taking no chances that I could get rid of the names and addresses they wanted without them getting that information. The only room not wired up for video was the closet they called the bathroom.
They had modified the bathroom when I had become a prisoner. All that it now contained was a standing shower, a toilet, and a sink that was the size of a sand bucket laid sideways. It was smaller than a campers' bathroom but it was private from prying eyes. It was still close enough to a microphone. I was to be attended by a male guard (really a military nurse but it’s all semantics to the one being watched) when showering so it really actually wasn’t that private. I suppose if I took my time (which was impossible since I was limited to about 5 minutes) I could trace out names and addresses on the tile or my body while I showered. I would just have to be careful and slow enough to not get caught by the guard. That was what he was there for. But I couldn’t let those people be lost forever either. I had been shown enough photos that I wouldn’t be able to remember them all if I wanted to find them again later. And I wanted a record of them just in case they did need real help from trustworthy people. So I kept the names and addresses in despite the fact that I was essentially committing slow suicide by not giving them up and was going to die in horrible pain if my brain didn’t explode (or more likely have an aneurism) or the stress gave me a heart attack or stroke. But I digress, back to the action (or pre-action) that was going on.
Doctor Ferris pushed the try over, hunching over it fussing with the food. When she presented it to me she leaned over the tray to talk to me. I found out later she had been blocking it from view and for very good reason. “I think you should eat something Jensen it will HELP you.” She emphasized the word help so I looked over what she had brought me. Oatmeal. Lots of oatmeal. With blueberries. They were arranged to spell out EAT and JAY. I looked up at her and she nodded slightly. So I picked up the plastic spoon and took a big bit with half the blueberries in it. “It might be hot so stir it up a bit if you need to” she sat down on the bed next to me. She and I both knew that the food wouldn’t be hot, not after the long walk to bring it out to me but I took it as another clue and stirred slowly. There was something else in the food. What I was supposed to do about it I had no idea. I couldn’t take it out and look at it with the camera and guard watching. I couldn’t think because of my headache so I took another big bite of oatmeal trusting that it wasn’t tampered with besides what Doctor Ferris had obviously wanted me to know about. “Not so much so fast you’ll make yourself SICK” again she was trying to help me by pointing out what I should do.
Now I’m not one who likes throwing up and it would not be that good for me in my state but I could do it if I needed to. But hopefully, I could get away with pretending to be sick. I ate two more small bits before I acted on the plan. I stirred the oatmeal and made sure whatever extra was in there was in my spoon before popping it into my mouth. Holding whatever it was to the roof of my mouth with my tongue I swallowed as much of the oatmeal as possible. Then I sat for a few seconds before making as convincing gagging noises as I could before jumping up and rushing to the bathroom with Doctor Ferris following. There was a movement of the guard to check on what was happening so as I bent over the toilet and make upchuck noises Doctor Ferris waved him off. When we were alone again Doctor Ferris started the sink tap and handed me a washcloth.
I spit out a wad of plastic with white inside I assumed was paper. I quickly opened it still leaning over the toilet. I was a small piece of paper that had been folded and rolled and took a bit to straighten out. The writing was tiny but it was Chris’s.
Coming tonight. Do as Doctor Ferris says. We have some inside help. Be ready.
I crumpled the note back up and dropped it in the toilet and then flushed it all away. Doctor Ferris gave me the washcloth and I wiped my face. She helped me back to the bed after that and we just sat for a few moments. “You should try to eat again,” she said to break the silence. So on autopilot I ate the rest of my dinner. But my mind or heart wasn’t in it. All I could think about (besides ways to numb my headache) was getting out of here. I didn’t know what their plan was or who would help them (besides the obvious Doctor Ferris) or when they would come. If the plan failed and I didn’t get out or they got caught I didn’t think I could take it. I would have to end things. Permanently. It would make a lot of people very angry and my family very sad but I just don’t think I could take much more.
When I was done Doctor Ferris let me sit for a while longer until the guard stuck his head in the door. Then it was time for her to go and for me to ‘go to bed’ (like that hadn’t been an option all day). I was restrained again and Doctor Ferris wheeled the tray to the door. “I’ll see you later Jensen” she smiled as she went out. Then I was alone again with my pain and the people in my head. I had no idea when my rescue could be but it couldn’t be soon enough.
I had managed to doze off when I was woken up by a hand on my shoulder. I couldn’t see well in the dark and I had no idea what time it was but it must have been very late. The door to my room was wide open so some extra light from outside filtered in but it still took a while for my eyesight to adjust. Doctor Ferris was undoing my restraints as quickly as she could. The guard was nowhere in sight and I hoped that an alarm wouldn’t go off any second. When I sat up she put something in my hand before bending down to help put on some shoes. I just stared at the machine in my hand that looked suspiciously like an old fashion walkman.
“Jensen, I need you to listen to me, you understand?” Doctor Ferris finished and stood up. I nodded still puzzling over the walkman. “I need you to start purging yourself of names and addresses.” I jerked my adrenaline spiking but she grabbed my shoulders before I could get away from her. “That is a recorder, so you won’t lose anyone. The recording in here isn’t working so it won’t hear you just the one in your hand. The government won’t be able to get the names you say unless they have that recorder and I don’t think you’ll hand it over willingly. It uses cassettes so it can’t be hacked like a digital one and you are going to take it with you tonight. But you need to be in good shape for what’s coming up in the next few hours. You need to be well to help with your escape,” she rushed through explaining and it filtered through my mind in bits at first. Once I began to put everything in order I opened my mouth and started to give up the secrets of the people in my head. It wasn’t easy and I stuttered and had starts and stops at first but then the names and addresses started to flow and I almost couldn’t get them out fast enough. While I did this Doctor Ferris closed the door until there was just the tiniest sliver keeping it from latching and went to the window to keep watch. I didn’t have time to wonder about the guard outside the door as I filled up the recorder. It seemed to take forever but When I was finally done I was exhausted. I curled up on the bed, shoes and all clutching the recorder to my chest and fell into a doze.
I don’t know how long I was out but it was some of the best sleep of my life and I felt like half the weight of the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I no longer felt the gut-wrenching life-crushing despair of just a few hours before. I was still in dire straights I knew but there was hope and that is all one really needs to survive. Doctor Ferris was by my side, her hand still warm on my shoulder so she must have woken me instead of it being natural. “It’s almost time we need to start moving.”
It was all the encouragement I needed to get up even if I wanted to lay and sleep for another week. I kept the recorder tight to my chest as we left. If I was caught they were going to have to break my fingers to pry it away from me. When we had reached the door Doctor Ferris checked her watch and checked outside. Within moments her watch gave a beep of alarm and we were off. I followed her out and saw that the guard was still at his post but he was fast asleep. A mug was at his feet and while it was right side up there was liquid on the ground so it must have spilled at one point. My best guess was that his coffee had been drugged and he either dropped the cup or had knocked it over and Doctor Ferris had replaced it correctly to avoid notice. How he sat so at attention even asleep to appear awake unless you got very close was anyone’s guess. I gave it no more thought as we headed towards the lab sticking to the sides and thus the shadows of the buildings. We only crossed small gaps of clearing and only after Doctor Ferris signaled that it was okay. Each time I noticed that any camera was facing away from us so she must have known the schedule or timing of the sweeps or someone else was helping her from inside some kind of security post.
When we got to the lab building we didn’t go inside but skirted around to the far end that was closest to the perimeter. There was a lot of open ground between it and us and there was the fence to contend with, more cameras no doubt and possibly some kind of alarm. Beyond the fence was more open ground and the tiny town for the military families. If by some miracle we made it off base without the guards catching us or just plain shooting us there were plenty of soldiers in town to stop us from getting away and there would be nowhere in town to hide. They would be able to search every crack and crevice in no time and the people there would let it happen.
I wondered what we were waiting for since Doctor Ferris didn’t seem to be in any hurry to move out into the open and I didn’t see anyone out in the night. Doctor Ferris kept checking her watch though so I know that whatever we or my rescuers were going to do was coming soon. For me though the waiting was agony. I was now quite cold since I didn’t have a jacket and had on only a short-sleeve shirt (the better to get at my arms and veins to give me shots) and thin scrub pants and slip-ons with no socks. My anxiety was also mounting by the second and my mind began to play worst-case scenarios in my head. If the guard was found and an alarm raised before it was time for my escape/rescue was continued. That Jared, Chris, and whoever was helping were already caught and we were about to be exposed as soon as we left the side of the building. That I would make it off the base but not away from the town. If that happened I and everyone involved could be punished and I would never be able to leave. The tape I had made would be taken and I would begin the torture cycle all over again. If that happened there was no way I was going to live through it. That I decided then and there. No matter what I wouldn’t go through the pain again, I would not give them what they wanted and I wouldn’t let them use me against my rescuers or them against me. Nothing could happen if I was gone.
I had been so lost in thought about it that I didn’t notice anything was going on until Doctor Ferris grabbed my hand. I looked around for what had gotten her attention since I didn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. Whatever it was I didn’t see it but a second later Doctor Ferris’s watch gave another beep. The beep had only just ended when an explosion came from somewhere behind us and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I whipped around and nearly ran into the wall I was standing so close to it, but I couldn’t see anything from my position. I wondered why we weren’t moving yet when another explosion rocked the night. After that, I was yanked from our place of hiding as Doctor Ferris pulled me towards the perimeter fence. I didn’t think we could climb it very quickly and there was nothing to protect us from the razor wire at the top. But I found that we didn’t need to climb as when we reached it Doctor Ferris reached out and pulled a section away from the post-it was supposed to be secured to. Someone had cut it earlier and had kept it down with what liked like bread bag ties. Doctor Ferris was pushing me down and shoving me through when I caught a glimpse of someone coming towards us from the houses. I couldn’t make out who it was besides that it was a male and they were unarmed. By the time I finally stood up on the other side of the fence the man had reached us and an arm went past me to hand something to Doctor Ferris. She was not following me but accepted what the man had held out. She noticed that I was just standing there instead of moving but didn’t pause in starting to patch up the fence. “Go! I have to stay behind. I’ll be okay but go!” Then she stopped paying attention to me.
The guy who had come to get me was already pulling me away before I knew what was going on and I stumbled a bit before turning all my attention back to escaping. A quick glance at him told me nothing about him. He was wearing a full bikers helmet, he had on gloves, riding leathers were over white pants and he had on a black leather jacket that was unadorned. He was to short to be Jared and I got the impression to old to be anyone else I had recently met that had stayed with me from my trip to Aces with Jared for our first date. We were headed towards the nearest set of houses but all I cared was that I was headed away from the base. Which was on full alter now as sirens wailed and there was an uproar of shouts. I didn’t turn to look back, it would only slow me down and in the slip-on shoes, I was likely to trip. The closer we got to the houses the more I could see what was waiting for me. Motorcycles. Lots of motorcycles.
There were lots of men to go with all these motorcycles too I saw as we reached the yard of the first house. A house that was suspiciously empty but I didn’t have time to question it. As soon as we reached the group of men and before I could say anything I was being manhandled into the same outfit they were all wearing. A black unadorned leather jacket was put on me hampered only by my refusal to let go of the recorder so the sleeve got stuck for a moment. I was all but lifted off my feet for two men to slide leather riding pants up my legs as someone shoved a helmet over my head. It was a tight fit and one of my ears caught for a painful moment. But in less then two minutes I was indistinguishable from the rest of them. I was handed leather gloves as another man grabbed me by my elbow and lead me towards a motorcycle. This was the only thing I recognized. It was Jared’s motorcycle. As I willingly hopped on the back hoping but not really knowing if it really was Jared getting on in front of me. I knew for sure as the engine kicked over and I leaned forward to wrap myself around my driver careful not to lose the recorder. (I’m really going to have to do something with it besides hang on to it with a death grip that might break it). I recognized his body, a body I had fantasized about since my first ride with him and got to touch him without it being weird.
Within moments though I am distracted by almost becoming deaf as all the other motorcycles around us coming to life. A quick glance and I see that all the motorcycles have two riders and that we all look the same. I am surrounded by at least forty motorcycles doppelgangers. When the army starts to chase us down (which I am surprised no one already has come at us) they will have to catch all of us to find me. And I have no doubt that it’s going to be very hard as we all start to move and as soon as we hit the main street leading from this cul-de-sac split into two groups. We are in the middle of one group and as we pass more streets more motorcycles leave the group. At some point, all the streets must come back together at least two points to get onto the highway and one other point to get on a back-highway. But until then we are spread out and harder to catch. There are still two motorcycles in front of us as I finally see army vehicles start their pursuit. There aren’t as many as I thought there would be but any is still too many. As we near the highway entry point I see a lot of the houses have lights on as opposed to the houses we started around. It’s odd but I guess I can find out about that later when I am safe. It’s not likely that anyone in the houses we pass are on any of the motorcycles helping us.
There is an army hummer in the middle of the intersection to the highway blocking the junction but it doesn’t stop us. Jared just cuts through the grass on the side of the road. I have no idea why they thought one Hummer could stop up when I hear a bang followed by a crashing, metal crunching sound. I look over my shoulder to see that a motorcycle that had gone on the grass on the opposite side of the Hummer is in a tangle on the road. A wheel is sticking up and there is what looks like a tank tread in it. It takes me a moment to understand it’s a spike strip. I’ve seen them in action movies a few times up in real life they look different. I guess I am lucky that there wasn’t one on our side of the Hummer as I think of a prayer for the two men who crashed and hope they are okay. Once on the highway, I can see several other motorcycles and assume that some have gone the other way and some on the back-highway. Every once in a while some leave the road for the trees and I assume there are dirt trails since they come out again at other points. Finally, it’s our turn to take a trip in the woods and sure enough, there are dirt trails. Hummers are chasing us as well as patrol cars now and as we near a city a helicopter. But the helicopter doesn’t have much of a chance as soon as we hit the city all the motorcycles start taking different roads. The local patrols are waiting and we all dodge more spike strips. But there aren’t enough local patrols and there aren’t that many army units that have caught up to us just yet to be able to catch us all. As we zig-zag through the streets other motorcycles are on the road and there are people on sidewalks watching, filming with cell phones, people in cars honking, people cheering, and booing from windows and street corners. We must be on the news and the city has turned out for the excitement. I have no idea how we are going to get out of this mess as the longer we stay within the city the more time the army and cops have to cut off exit routes and the better chance we have of getting caught. But I can’t tell this to Jared since even if I shouted I don’t think he could hear me through two helmets and the outside noise.
Before I can despair too much we turn down an alley after losing the patrol car that had been on our tail for three blocks and we lost thanks to some teenagers in a modified muscle car blocking most of a side street. Before we can come out on the other side we turn into an opening on the left. It’s the loading zone of a store. A dead end. We will lose time turning around and there might be someone waiting for us at the end of the alley or we could come out into a mess of people and cars and get trapped that way. But Jared doesn’t turn around. Instead, he revs the motorcycle's engine but must have changed gears because we slow down a bit. In a nerve-wracking bine jarring move that might also damage the motorcycle, he manages to get it up the stairs at the side of the loading dock. I think we are going to crash into the building wall but Jared turns the steering column so sharply we barely manage to not jackknife and get our legs taken off by the wheel but we turn onto the platform completely. Once straightened out he hit the breaks and then killed the engine when we were almost to the other end of the platform. Again, he turned and walking the bike we rolled into the open back of a delivery truck I hadn’t noticed was open. Once inside at the back, he pushed the kickstand down and we sat for a few moments.
I didn’t want to move my heart and brain were going a mile a minute and I’m sure that if I let go of Jared, I’d shake myself clear off the motorcycle. Standing up would not be an option anytime soon either. Jared was kind enough to just wait for a bit while I tried to get myself together. As soon as I loosened my death grip on him he eased out from my grasp completely. Getting off the motorcycle was hard for him but he did it, helping me to lean over the spot he had vacated. Making sure I wouldn’t fall off he went to the door of the delivery truck and pulled on the strap to bring the door down sealing us in darkness. I began to panic again but then a light appeared. It was a camp lantern and Jared lifted it up to hang it from a wire dangling from the ceiling. After that, he picked up another one and turned it on before coming back to my side with it.
Sitting down on a box next to me he finally pulls off his helmet and runs his hands through his hair. “Hey” is all he says as he waits for me to calm down. It takes another minute or two before I can sit up and pull off my helmet.
We just stare at each other for a while before I can get up the nerve to speak. “What now?”
“We wait” he shrugs. He pulls out a cell phone and sighs looking at it. “I’ll call Chris and he’ll come to lock us in and we just wait for a while until things calm down. Then the truck” he waves a hand around at our surroundings “will be driven away and that’s an escape.”
I let this sink in before really taking a look around us. There are lots of boxes but there are also two cases of water bottles, a stack of blankets, two pillows on top of those, and bags of food. I wonder if there are clothes somewhere in here too since I doubt that where we are going I want to be able to blend in when we get out and not look like either a biker or an escaped mental patient. When I look back at Jared he is pushing buttons on the phone and I have a moment to panic before I can remind myself that they will have a bunch of burner phones that they bought when I first went into custody. I will be safe, the army can’t trace us this way.
I am about to start looking for the clothes when I hear ringing and find that Jared has put the phone on speaker mode. It takes only two rings for Chris’s voice to come on the line. “You have him at the safe zone?”
“We’re here” Jared answers as he gives me a smile. All I can do is stare at the phone and try not to cry. It is finally really hitting me. I am free. Or at least part way there. “I think someone wants to say hello” Jared holds out the phone to me and I hesitantly reach out and take it in a trembling hand. Jared is here by my side and I love him for who he is and what he has done for me but Chris, my best friend and ally for years who is also taking such a big risk is only a voice. I can’t see that he is okay and safe like Jared and I are hidden away in this truck.
“Jensen” Chris sounds relieved and tired and still happy.
“I’m here” I barely get out as a whisper before I have to clear my throat “I’m here,” I say again louder this time.
“Stay put and no hanky panky I’ll be there in a while to lock you in for your journey and I don’t need to see that shit.” He is trying to reassure me but his joking is flat, his voice still strained.
“Okay, I’ll try to keep my hands to myself” I don’t sound all that excited either. Under any other circumstances, I might have been ecstatic at the prospect but not right now. Maybe that will change after I have seen him and know that he is really safe in return. I hand the phone back to Jared not knowing what else to say. Apparently, there isn’t anything because Chris repeats that he will see us soon and disconnects. We just sit for a moment before I shiver a little despite the leathers, and probably from some kind of delayed shock.
Jared sees and seems to get himself into gear of mother hen. “Oh I have some clothes for you” he gets up and rummages in a bag close to the bedding. He pulls out jeans and something grey which turns out to be sweat pants. “Weren’t sure if you wanted regular clothes right away or comfort for the ride.” I take the sweats figuring I can change again when we get to where ever it is we are going. With that out of the way, he turns back and pulls out a hoodie. “Warm, comfortable, and regular fair for street clothes.” With that, he gets up and goes to the far side of the truck which isn’t more than a few feet and faces the closed door.
I just sit confused for a moment when he doesn’t do anything else and I put voice to my confusion. “What are you doing? Chris said he wouldn’t be here for a while.” It’s all I can think of that would have him waiting by the door.
He looks over his shoulder at me and gives me a complete once over before looking at the floor. “I thought you might want a little privacy. I think your hot and all and sometime I would like to see you naked but I know they probably had you under pretty tight watch back there so I just thought,” he rambles before trailing off.
“Thanks” is all I can say to this thoughtfulness and my cheeks redden a little at his admission that he thinks I’m hot. He nods and turns back to her door. I look at the clothes in my lap for a moment before finally putting down the recorder next to me. It’s hard to let it go I’ve been holding on to it so tightly for what seems like forever now. But as long as it’s right next to me I figure I can let go and relax for a minute. I start to work on getting out of the leathers and clothes the army had me in. Once dressed I separate the leathers from the other clothes. I wonder if I can get Chris to take them away and burn them. I’d like to do that but who knows when I would get the chance. “I’m decent,” I say as I sit back down picking up the recorder and putting it in the pocket of the hoodie. I am and will be reluctant to let it leave my possession for a while yet even if it is just me and Jared here.
“You hungry? Thirsty?” Jared comes closer but doesn’t sit back down.
“I ate but I am a little thirsty” I’m not completely truthful because I am a bit hungry but I don’t trust myself to eat given the state of my stomach and my nerves.
Jared reaches over to get two bottles of water and hands one to me before opening the other and taking a big swig. I sip more slowly from mine and we wait. It doesn’t feel too awkward that we are silent and it lets me get myself back onto an emotional even keel, even if it isn’t perfect or permeant it will do for now. I have a feeling that I won’t be back to my pre gifted state any time soon. I don’t know how much time passes but I start to slump down and fight from nodding off when there is a knock on the side of the truck that nearly has me hitting the roof as I jump up in surprise.
“Hey easy it’s just Chris” Jared is up in an instant too and by my side trying to calm me. The knock comes again and Jared reaches over to the wall to knock back. After a moment the door opens and there is Chris.
He’s dressed in fitted dark clothes so I can tell he has put on some muscle since I last saw him and his hair is tied back but otherwise he’s the same as ever. I am moving before I even realize it and he steps forward to meet me in a hug. When we separate he holds me at arm's length and looks me over. “Glad to see you are okay. How has the giant been treating you?”
I assume he means Jared and I shrug “he hasn’t molested me yet so” I shrug again.
“Glad to see your priorities are straight” Chris lets go and comes further into the truck to sit on a box. “I only have a few minutes so let’s talk strategy.” Jared and I both sit down but it’s me who has to pay attention. Jared already knows where we are going, or at least I hope he does and it wasn’t left up to Chris completely. “This truck is headed out in a few hours so you might as well get some rest. Its destination is Louisiana and there will be a safe place there. It’s a church and as unbelievable as this sounds it’s run by a relative of Agent Carroll and he has agreed to give you sanctuary.”
I took me a moment to process that because I really almost couldn’t believe it just like Chris had suggested. I knew Agent Carroll felt bad for what had happened to me, she had even told me so on her only visit before she had been kicked out of the room. But then again, she had shown herself to be quite religious from what she had said and asked in our only two meetings where we actually talked about anything other than simple pleasantries. Her partner Mr. Heyerdahl (aka Mr. Dark Suit since I would not call him by his title of Agent) was the opposite. He had very much been in favor of what had happened to me. He was in with Doctor Shepard (who I’m sure would love to literally pick my brain) and Coronel Pellegrino who would love nothing more than to throw me in a black hole and torture me until I did whatever he wanted or rather found whoever he wanted.
“Can the church really offer sanctuary?” I struggled to think of how it could be possible but was coming up empty.
“I don’t know all the logistics but the church is in a sanctuary city and in the past churches have been able to grant sanctuary to those looking for shelter form governments and authority institutions in the past. They are kind of like their own little sovereign nations. Not all churches mind you but the really big and old ones that are recognized by a lot of people or historical societies. And apparently this church fits most of that criteria. Agent Carroll will have talked about it with her uncle who apparently is a reverend there and he knows more about it then her so they can answer those questions. And even if it isn’t all true at least you will be a state away and there will be people to help you hideout if they get a warning from our double agent.” Jared had been nodding along as Chris explained this. They let me mull this over for a minute (but truthfully I only took part of it in and had to ask Jared about it later so I could get it all correctly).
“How long is it going to take to get there?” I asked since I couldn’t process all of the plan and didn’t want to sound stupid by asking Chris to repeat it. I hoped I didn’t sound like a winey kid, like the one who in comedies always asks ‘are we there yet’.
“It’s going to take most of the day but the truck will stop and you will be able to get out to go to the bathroom.” Chris eyed the water bottles by our makeshift chairs “I’ll let you go before I lock you in.”
“Won’t people notice us when we use their restroom or be caught on security cameras?” I hoped that would be the worst of it and not be caught by some random cop or soldier who was likely combing the city for us as we spoke.
“You’re not going anywhere” Chris looked and sounded like I had just asked the dumbest question in the world.
“But where…” I started but was cut off.
“Just pee into the lot or use the wall just don’t leave the alcove here or go too far from the truck. It’s not like someone is going to see you and bums and drunks do it all the time” Chris explained. I just gaped at him and he smiled back “Don’t be such a prude it’ll be fine. Just imagine it’s like taking a piss in the woods but without the trees.”
I sighed and knew that I’d have to do it but that didn’t mean I didn’t have to like it. Chris was right I just felt bad for whoever had to work back here later. The smell on a hot day was not going to be present. “How is everyone at home doing?” I switched topics to something I hoped would be easier.
“They are holding out and doing as well as can be expected with the government basically holding you hostage. That fancy lawyer Mr. Brown has been a big help in making sure none of this, er, your captivity get out to the media in a bad light. The restaurant is doing good with all the people coming in based on your celebrity. Josh works and hides out but Mac is the worst. Your mom’s been homeschooling her and she stays inside most of the time. I sent over some stuff like toys and movies to cheer her up but…” Chris shrugged and looked sad and a bit guilty.
“Thanks, Chris that means a lot” I wished I could see my family and talk to them but it would be too dangerous to do so right now. If and when I talked to them I’d talk to Mac first. She was just a kid and she should have to go through this nightmare.
“Sure. Right, well, you’d better hit the john as I should get going and I need to lock you in because I’m not coming back this way.” He reached around and pulled a very thick envelope from his back pocket and handed it to Jared. Jared opened it and I saw that there was money inside. Lots of money. Jared whistled and was about to say something but Chris cut him off. “I know it’s more then we thought but it’s all good. There are instructions to your safe house in there and numbers for the next few phones if you should have to ditch this truck for some reason.” With that he reached to his other back pocket and pulled out a phone which he also handed to Jared. “That one first” then he pulled another phone out of a front pocket “and that one for later and then you’ll have to get your own.”
“Thanks” Jared put the first phone and envelope into his pockets and leaned over to put the second phone in a bag. “Let’s take that last bathroom break” he put his hand on my arm and guided me out of the truck. “You want the right or the left?” He asked once we were on the loading dock platform.
The whole lot is empty but the right of the truck is the most screened off area. Not that I think anyone will come in here but still. I can hear better then in the truck and there is still a lot of noise from our decoys and the revelers about town. “Right,” I say as I head off to a corner to take care of business. Peeing in a corner worrying that someone might see you or worse come and arrest you or take you into custody is stressful. I was also very thankful I had eaten little. When I got back up into the truck Chris was walking the motorcycle out. “What are you doing?” I moved in front of him to stop him.
“It’s okay,” Jared said as he came up next to me and pulled me to the side to let Chris pass. “We don’t need it anymore and if it stays in here it could fall over on us. Chris needs a getaway vehicle and we have one. We are going to lay low at the church until all this can be figured out. Besides if we need to get around later cars are easier to hide in.”
I could understand why this was a good idea but I still didn’t feel right about giving up the motorcycle.
“It will be fine I’m not going to get caught and I do need to go” Chris parked to motorcycle on the loading dock and turned back to us. “Your driver will be here in about half an hour to an hour depending on traffic but no later than that. Call me if there’s trouble but if not wait till you get to the church.” He reached up to pull the door down but I stopped him.
“Wait” I went back for the clothes I had worn while on base. “Take these and destroy them” I handed them over and Chris put them on the seat of the motorcycle.
“Stay safe and speedy travels,” Chris said as he closed the door. I could hear the handle being latched and locking us in. There are some scuffling sounds then the motorcycle roars to life and idles for a bit. The sound drifts before there are loud thuds which must mean Chris is going down the stairs. (why there wasn’t a ramp I have no idea but it seems like a bad design flaw to me). Then the engine sounds fade away and are gone leaving just me and Jared alone in the truck.
Chapter 2