Pinky Promises - Chapter 7
Connor had fallen asleep not long after dropping Fern off at school, the brightness of the laptop screen roused the dullness at the back of his eyes. When he woke up it was coming up to lunchtime and his mouth was sticky as he stirred with a yawn.
He ran his finger across the mouse pad to bring his laptop back from its snooze. The light didn’t hurt his head anymore but his body still felt heavy as he got up to fetch himself a drink of water. Connor couldn’t wait for the tap to fill the glass before he downed it all to ease the need to cough.
Just before he managed another, his laptop chimed and he could see a pinpoint dot across the screen. The tracker was moving. Jess had done it. That or Becker was on his way over with the device for a stern word about his last warning and how he had disobeyed a direct order.
Connor smacked his hip on the corner of the counter as he rushed to check his screen and the information that was being relayed to him in real-time. Or only a few seconds later.
He called Jess and she almost immediately answered in a sing-song tune that made it seem she was always happy to talk.
“Jess, the tracker. It worked. It’s moving, have you guys got an anomaly alert?”
“Well, hello to you too, Connor. That’s good. And no, it’s a quiet Wednesday here.” He could hear her typing in the background as if she suddenly questioned the technology in front of her. “Should we have one?”
“I’m not sure, why else is a Government vehicle leaving its operating base?”
“Maybe Lester ran out of Digestives?” She scoffed out a laugh. “All of the units are still being coordinated from home, so there’s no need for this one to be dispatched. I’ll go and have a word with the Transport Team.”
“Thanks, Jess.”
“I know this is Becker’s line but, please, stay out of trouble.”
*
Becker noticed an almost identical vehicle driving in the opposite direction at a speed much faster than the limit allowed. It went by too quickly to glance a view at the passengers but he watched as they drove away in his wing mirror.
“Jess? Who else have we got on this one?” He spoke to his earpiece, taking his foot off the accelerator slightly enough to slow down enough as he approached a junction he could turn in.
“Just Alpha Team, I am tracking you all now.”
“No one arrived ahead of us?”
“No, you’re the first reactors.” She confirmed.
“Okay, tell the team to carry on without me.” He pulled into the junction, taking it wide so that he could turn in one quick movement and pull out to drive in the opposite direction before the rest of the convoy could react.
“Becker?” He hated this tone. It wasn’t one he could usually ignore, because she wouldn’t let him. If he wasn’t pestered now, it would start again when he got home and he’d resign way too easily as she’d bounce around him on her tiptoes, eyes stern as he tried to avoid them. “Alpha 1, keep driving towards the anomaly. Await further orders upon arrival.” Her attention turned back to the soldier. “Becker?!”
“There’s a jeep, I could swear it’s one of ours.” He gave in.
“It is!” Jess almost squealed.
“Jess? I thought you said -”
“No, I did. Alpha are the only ones out there, but Connor…”
“Yes, Jessica?” Now it was his turn as he put his foot down on the accelerator to try and catch up with whoever might be driving away from the anomaly they had just learnt about.
“Well, long story short, someone’s been stalking Connor. Turns out it could be someone from the ARC. So, he built a tracking device, I planted it for him and just before this anomaly decided to appear, he called me to let me know it was on the move.”
“Stalking him?”
“Yeah, he thought it was you first, of course. Checking up on him and making sure he was staying out of trouble.”
“Have you checked with -”
“The Transport Team? Yes, of course, I have. Well… actually, I was on the way there before the alert.” Jess was typing away now, probably trying to follow his movements and track the team sent out to lock the latest rift.
“Look, you concentrate on the anomaly, I’ll handle this.”
“And?”
He’d let the anger he was trying to hold from showing change the tone of his voice as he clenched his jaw to stop from saying any more.
“Can we not keep secrets? We are on the same side here.”
“We know, but you did tell him to stay out of trouble.” Jess reminded him, as she often did about things he’d said and forgotten or forgotten to say.
“And this is staying out of trouble?” Becker was closing in on the jeep now as it swerved through traffic as if it was in a rush to get somewhere or away from a place it shouldn’t have been. “I want to prove his innocence, too.”
“Hold on.” She muted him from hearing her orders to the Alpha team as he tried to figure out what to do next. Was he just going to follow the vehicle to the ARC and confront the driver? Drag whoever it was to Lester’s office so he could see that the wrong man had been left redundant.
He blindly turned into a narrow street, copying the movements of the vehicle in front. Then the orange indicators let Becker know it was heading into a multi-storey car park. He followed.
The jeep slammed to a stop as soon as they got far enough from the entrance, forcing Becker to pull to the right to avoid crashing straight into its brake lights. The doors on the other side swung open and two figures made a run for the stairs before the vehicle sped off.
Becker opened his door and started his run towards the escapees. He drew his pistol from its holster, index finger stretched across the trigger guard.
The stairwell was closed now but he could hear their steps echoing down towards him as he forced his way through with his shoulders. His strides were wide as he chased, reaching the first landing before hearing theirs slowing.
He paused as he followed the wall, the next set of stairs stretching high in front of him stopping at a wall whose warnings reminded car owners to pay for their stay. He kept his weapon close as he approached the corner so no one could snatch it away from him if they decided to jump out. Becker's ears concentrated on the shuffling above him as it let him know they’d stopped running.
"Come down, I won't hurt you." He called, not stepping in front of the door that would lead him to the next floor.
There was panting but no answer. His eyes focused on the faint shadows on the wall in front, fifteen concrete steps and a landing between them as he kept tight to the wall behind him, wishing he could see around corners.
He couldn't hear their breathing anymore so let his finger rest against the trigger now in case it needed to be pulled. Before he could reach the next turn, the shadows turned black on the wall in front of him.
"Woah, wait!" He had his hands in the air as he reached the bottom of his set of stairs, surrendering to the soldier in front of him.
"Where's your friend?" Becker pressed, not lowering his weapon.
"What friend?" He recognised the man's - boy’s - face from the ARC. His hair untidy on the top from his brief run and a glint of sweat just reaching his eyebrows.
"Oh, don't play thick, mate."
"You mean me?" The voice came from behind him and he turned as quickly as his feet would let him, trying not to lose his balance on the stairs.
It was Jack, a tight smile on his face as his hand went to grab Becker's pistol. The soldier managed to snatch the weapon away from the reaching arm but was caught by the other man. Becker clipped Jack in his chin with his elbow, just enough to throw a fist at the ARC employee. He had a hold of Becker's wrist, pushing it away from his body so the pistol was pointed towards the top of the stairs.
Becker landed another punch in the man's abdomen, just enough to force him to loosen his grip around the soldier's wrist.
It was Becker that bent forward now, Jack's fist hitting him hard between the ribs. A poor shot but it forced the wind out of his lungs. As Becker managed to snatch his hand free from the grasp of the younger man, he tried to slow things down enough to stop the swaying in his arm so he could pull the trigger without the risk of ricochet.
Jack tackled him at the waist, forcing Becker to fall against the stairs. Ribs crashing against concrete. His arm was still stretched before him and as he went to turn the pistol towards Jack a boot stomped at his wrist. His hand was forced loose on the third crack, and the pain pulsed through his arm.
"Grab the gun!" Jack ordered and the man reached for the weapon now lying next to Becker's useless hand. "Shoot him."
"What?"
That's when Becker suddenly remembered the woman in his ear. She had unmuted herself at some point during the scuffle and was demanding answers from him. He wasn't sure if she had heard the command.
Becker went to push himself to sit using his elbow but Jack's boot then pressed against his ribs. The soldier tucked his good arm around the man's knee and pulled, forcing him to fall back as his balance was stolen from him. Jack swore, grabbing onto the railing to save him from tumbling towards the door he’d come through on the landing below.
“It’s okay, Jess,” Becker said, rushing to stand as the pistol rattled in the hand of the boy in front of him. “Don’t want to pull that trigger without a clear shot. You could hurt your friend.” He gestured towards Jack who was a few steps behind him.
He was very aware of his position. Stood between two men, one who had his weapon while he tried to still a broken hand and ignore the pain in his ribs. Becker had never been good at negotiations, and any skills he might have had were usually lost as he gave in to Jess or Fern.
Becker reached for the weapon, moving his arm as quickly as his body would let him but the man startled in his reaction and pulled the trigger his finger had been shaking against. The bullet missing the two men on the stairs and ending up somewhere behind him.
“Jesus Christ, Toby.” Jack was the first to speak, Becker wondering if his ears were ringing like his were or whether he’d been standing far enough away when the round had been discharged.
Becker tried to blink it away, his hand now pushing the pistol away from him as his fingers curled around the slide. He knew he wouldn’t be able to disarm the man completely, not without another hand to help him.
He supposed that was his mistake, his only good arm now stretched out in front of him with nothing to help him balance as the man lifted his boot to Becker’s chest and pushed. Becker slipped back, hoping to crash into Jack and ease his fall but the man was already waiting for him as he landed on the smooth concrete of the platform below.
When he managed to open his eyes, he saw more yellow posters asking him if he'd paid for his parking.
Jack wasn’t going to let him get up again as he started to kick at anywhere Becker would let his boot land. He used his good arm to protect his face from the beating.
“Jess…” Becker just wanted to let her know he was okay between his cries before he slipped into a sleep as his body wasn’t sure what to do with the pain.