Nowhere to Hide

Almost Free@

Antonio wasn't sure what Romero was planning, and he wasn't going to stick around to find out. After warning his coworkers about the investigation, he decides to take the next flight home. He figures Columbia will be a perfect retreat since he knows a few people who'd gladly give him a place to stay and a posse of men that'll help him get rid of Romero if need be. He knows the man is notorious for making his adversaries disappear, and the way things ended so abruptly between them, he figures Romero would consider him a threat. He also realizes that his vast reach stretches far and wide. I'd be wise to watch my back until I know for sure that Romero is gone. 

Shoving the last bit of change into his pocket, he walks towards the lobby. Antonio figured the flight would take most of his money, but he'd much rather be penniless than be in prison for the rest of his life. 

Antonio starts to take a seat when he sees a cop walking towards him. He glances over and discovers a second officer heading his way. The police have an APB out on me already?  He'd used a fake ID to purchase his ticket, but with little time to spare, he couldn't do much about his appearance. Antonio suddenly recalls his buddy's odd gadget in his carry-on.

"This is in case you run into trouble during your flight," his friend explains. He holds up the three parts. "Each piece resembles an item found in a typical shaving kit, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting it through security, disassembled of course," Santiago assembles and then disassembles the weapon. He hands it to Antonio and urges him to try. 

Heavy footsteps tromping towards him, bringing Antonio back to the present. Looking up, he realizes the officers are quickly closing in. Good thing I assembled it before I came in. He stored it in a secret compartment undetectable by the scanners. Opening his bag, he reaches in and then tries to unfasten the false bottom. The small plastic zipper wouldn't move.  Antonio looks up to see a third officer heading towards them. A hostage is the only way  I'm going to get out of this alive, weapon or not.  He scans the crowd for a potential victim. 

The cops stop a few feet in front of him with their guns drawn. "Hold it right there," the largest of the three orders.

Realizing what's taken place, the crowd screams as they scamper to the far side of the room.

Reaching out, Antonio pulls a frantic passerby in front of him.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot," she cries, raising her hands in the air.

"You don't want it to go down like this, son," An officer warns as he takes an unsure step towards him.

"Put your guns down, and I'll let her go." Antonio lies. He's holding the portly lady in front of him with one hand while he's working on the fastener with the other. 

The officer shuffles closer. "We can't do that. So, let her go, and then we'll talk."

"I know your kind of talk, a bullet straight to my heart." Antonio's hand trembles as he tugs on the malfunctioning device. 

"No one will shoot you if you let her go."

"Why do you have your gun's drawn if you're not going to use them?" 

"Let her go, and we'll put our guns away."

"Put your guns away, and I'll let her go."

The officer motions the others to lower their weapons. "We did what you asked, so release her."

 "Not until you put your weapons away."

"I told you we couldn't do that."

"Guess she's going with me." He raises his gun to her head.