Crossing Boundaries

The Parking Lot

Sang and Dr. Reed drove for another 15 minutes until they hit what seemed to be the outskirts of a town; the smattering of houses steadily getting more congested as they got nearer to their destination. Dr. Reed was muttering to himself as he was trying to find the right place. After a few turns, of which Sang tried to memorize as much as she could, they arrived at an empty parking lot. The parking lot looked abandoned and dilapidated, with mostly broken street lamps and grass growing through the cracks in the concrete. Everything had a seedy appearance to it, and it looked as though anything could be hiding in the shadows. Dr. Reed stepped out of the car and looked around, waiting for something. A lone streetlight shone above them and theirs was the only car that Sang could see at the lot. Sang kept still inside the car. She was holding her breath though she didn't know why. She hoped that Mr. Blackbourne and whoever else was still listening through the phone. Without taking her eyes of Dr. Reed, she pulled her phone out from under her and checked the screen. The call was still going on. She let out her breath and crossed her fingers that they were on their way.

After waiting for another 5 minutes or so, Sang saw the faint lights of a car approaching them. It was black non-descript car that had seen better days. The car came to a halt beside them and Dr. Reed motioned for Sang to stay put in the car. She quickly slid the phone back inside her bra, making sure the speakers turned away from her body. It might not be loud enough to pick up the voices, but it was something.

A man got out of the other car and Sang squinted her eyes to make out his features but the shadows made it too dark to see anything. But something about the man's stature and form seemed familiar to Sang. She had seen him before somewhere. The man spoke out from the darkness with barely suppressed anger and frustration; "Meeting like this right after what happened is a risk. You know better than to have come here. Are you sure no one was following you?" That voice sounded familiar as well.

"I made sure the entire way over here and I took some back roads to lose anyone who might be following me." Dr. Reed did not sound so sure of himself. He sounded nervous and helpless. For a second Sang felt sorry for him. This man who looked so young was caught up in something that clearly was over his head. He had made some mistakes and took some wrong turns, which eventually led him to this side of life. Desperate to mean something and to make something out of his life had led him to this corner of crime and destitution.

"Everyone has been caught?" This was from the man who hadn't dropped the harshness in his tone of voice. Sang could not tell if he was a higher up or something along those lines. All she knew was that he sounded dangerous, more so than Dr. Reed.

"Ah...who...whoever was in the warehouse."

The man sighed, "I suppose this will delay things a bit...Now, what is this about a girl."

The man stepped closer to Dr. Reed and their car. Sang gasped at the sight of the man as he appeared under the light. She had definitely seen him before; it was Mr. Hornet from the shelter, the man who showed Mr. Blackbourne and her around. Sang hid as much of herself as she could inside the car; hopefully Mr. Hornet would not be able to recognize her. After all, she was just a volunteer at the shelter that day.

Dr. Reed blocked Mr. Hornet's view into the car; thank God for that. "She...she was hiding in the bushes outside the warehouse. When I escaped through the window, I saw a movement in the bushes. Saw her and saw my ticket out of there."

"Tony, are you mad? This is a huge risk. Not only are you involved in all this business but you're also going to get charged with kidnapping." Mr. Hornet was beyond upset. From what Sang could see, crouched from her seat, Mr. Hornet's face was scrunched in displeasure. This did not bode well for Sang or for Dr. Reed.

"She was just there, Kyle. I don't know; it seemed like a good idea."

"Listen you dumbass, we need to find a way to get rid of her."

"We could just leave her here and get out."

"No, she's seen too much and knows too much." Mr. Hornet had a contemplative look on his face. He moved around Dr. Reed and peered into the car. Sang shrank even further back; she was absolutely terrified. What did that mean? How would they get rid of her? Mr. Hornet's face came closer to the window. He scrutinized what he could see of Sang's face from the dim interior of the car. Suddenly, Mr. Hornet's eyes grew wide in recognition. He yanked the car door open and grabbed Sang's hand. Sang made a whimpering sound and tried desperately to evade his grasp. Mr. Hornet hauled Sang out be her arm and tossed her to the ground. She hit the ground on her hands and knees and searing pain shot up from them. She gasped out loud and twisted herself up to meet Mr. Hornet's facial expression contorted in anger.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Mr. Hornet raged. With spittle flying out of his mouth, he looked like a fearsome dragon breathing fire. Sang scuttled backwards in fear. She felt every cell in her body screaming out for her to get the hell out of there now. This was how it had felt when Mr. McCoy had cornered her in the girl's locker room. "Where is that boyfriend of yours? Is he here?" Mr. Hornet glanced around everywhere to make sure they were alone.

Dr. Reed started forwards, unsure what to do. He was puzzled as to why Mr. Hornet was behaving in this manner. "Do you...do you know her?" He stammered out. Mr. Hornet gave Dr. Reed a piercing look. "What was she doing at the warehouse? Did you see a boy with her? Glasses and dark hair? Looked like some sort of fucking suit with a pole up his ass."

Dr. Reed thought for a bit but honestly with everything going on, he didn't really pay much attention to anyone besides trying to make a quick getaway. Mr. Hornet, getting impatient, had turned back to Sang. "We can't get rid of her now, not in the way we want to. At least not yet. Clearly she was there at the warehouse for a reason." Mr. Hornet paced back and forth. Sang still cowered in half fright, half disbelief that her night had ended up like this. Mr. Hornet grabbed up Sang and shoved her towards the car. He popped open the trunk of the car and thrust her inside. "Look little girl, I don't know what you're doing here but I hear a peep out of you and the inside of this trunk is the last thing you're going to see." Mr. Hornet thumped the trunk shut enclosing Sang in darkness.