The Altercations with 24

This Can't Be Goodbye

Casey eased into the next lane, dividing her attention between the road and the cop car. The cruiser stayed where it was so Casey entered the next lane. The cop car moved into the lane she just exited and drove a few cars behind her. Casey cursed under her breath. She'd been caught. There was no way she could go back to the hotel now. Even if she warned the Beast and they killed the cop, they could never go back to the hotel. Casey didn't know how many people the cop had alerted and if backup was coming.
 

Casey took a shaking breath, knowing what she had to do. She took the turn away from the hotel and began driving as far away she could get. The cops may have got her, but they were not going to get the personalities. Not while there was still work to do. The car turned with her, still keeping its distance. Casey glared at the car, angry that they were going to take her away from her true family. She grabbed the phone from inside the cup holder and dialed the only numbers programmed.
  

Dennis answered after the first ring. "Casey." He said. 

"They found me." Casey told him, sniffing. "There is a cop car following me right now. I don't think they know I saw them. Don't worry, I'm leading them away from the hotel." Casey told him, wiping away a falling tear. 

"Don't worry about that. Try to lose them. We can come and get you." Dennis said and Casey could hear the hurt in his voice. 

"No. I can't risk it. I can't risk them finding you guys. You have a mission to do." Casey explained, changing lanes again and watching the car follow.
 

"We can take a cop." Dennis stated. Casey gave a small laugh. 

"I know. But we don't know how many cops know my location. There are too many variables and none of them look good for us." Dennis is the reasonable one. She knew that he would agree with her. This is what she had to do.

 "You're right." He almost whispered, as if he was talking to himself. 

"I know." She said. The two remained silent for a few minutes, each one in denial. 

"We've come a long way since I was your prisoner." Casey told him. Dennis gave a small laugh and agreed with her. 

"Take care of yourself." He told her. Another tear fell onto Casey's cheek.

 "I will." Casey was about to hang up when another voice came on the phone.
  

"Casey." The Beast said suddenly. She took another turn before she answered him. 

"Hey." She said, barely keeping herself from crying. "What happened?" He asked, the fear and hurt clear in his voice. "Someone recognized me. I'm leading a cop car away from the hotel. Don't worry, I won't tell them anything." She told him as she watched the cop car reappear again. 

"That's not what I'm worried about. I'm worried about you." Casey wiped away another tear. "Don't. I can take care of myself. You taught me well." The silence on the other end of the phone was deafening. 

"We'll get you out. We'll find a way." The Beast promised.
 

"Don't. Finish what we started." Casey told him as she took another turn.

 "We'll make you proud." He promised her. 

"I know you will." Casey let out a small sob and she hoped that he didn't hear her.

 "Don't cry. They have nothing on you. You'll be home soon." She wasn't so sure about that, but she tried to hide her true feelings from him. 

"Yeah. Yeah, you're probably right. Don't worry. I'll make up a good story. They'll never be the wiser." She wished she could see what he was doing. She wished she could hold him and kiss him one last time.
 

"This can't be goodbye. This just can't be." She looked behind her and saw the cop car was just two cars behind her. The driver had to know that she saw him. She just didn't understand why he didn't pull her over.

 "This isn't. You'll be there for the end of our mission. Understand?" He told her firmly. She smiled at his optimism and nodded. 

"I understand. I need to go now." She told him. 

"Okay. Be safe. Give them hell." He knew that she was tough enough to get through this. He had to believe that she would come back to him. 

"I will. I love you." She said as she hung up the phone.
   

Casey didn't regret the last words she told the Beast. She didn't know if she would be home soon, so this was the best time to say it. Besides, not every girl could tell the guy she loved those three words while being followed by a cop car. Casey broke the phone in half and smashed the battery in half. There was no way they could trace her call. The phone was now rendered useless. She threw the phone on the seat next to her and looked for a place to pull over.
  

As she did, she thought I'd what was to come next. Would they try to send her back to her uncle? Would he be called? The questions they were going to ask her would be rough, but she knew she could take it. They wouldn't get anything out of her besides lies and ridicule. In a weird way, she was looking forward to their questioning. She never got to be Mean Casey, especially to cops. She smirked at herself in the rearview mirror and started pulled over.
  

She came to a complete stop and turned off her car. The cop car pulled up behind her and came to a complete stop. She watched as he got out of his car and walked to her. Casey rolled down the window and put her hands on the steering wheel. "Casey Cooke?" The cop asked, leaning down to her window. 

Casey turned to him and smirked. "You got me."
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Hey guys! Sorry to do this to you, but I won't be updating today. I'm starting my first day at work and wouldn't have enough time to write the next chapter. But I'll tell you a spoiler: it focuses on the Beast.