Tom Brand Escapes

3-Escapes NJ

Brand caught up with Leah near the corner. He grabbed her by her elbow.

"You want to tell me what that was all about?" he asked her.

Leah was wide-eyed and shaking, "I don't know. I don't know."

Brand pulled her into a dark doorway. "Okay, Leah. I need you calm. I need to figure out a way to get us far from here. Fast."

"What?" she asked. "You don't have a plan? Were we just going to board a scarlet bus?"

Brand shook his head, "I had a plan. We were supposed to meet our ride outside the bar. Gunfire changes plans."

Brand then removed his phone from his pocket. He read the text from Petras and then flung the phone against the building, smashing it to pieces. Police cars, lights flashing and sirens blaring flew past them and screeched to a halt in front of the bar. The crowd, which had dispersed, was building again as patrons at local clubs flowed onto the streets.

"Come on," he said to Leah, his hand still firmly holding her elbow. They walked east toward Peterson Street. People were milling about, curious about the disturbance. Brand surveyed the crowd, looking for options.

"Are you okay, Miss," a man standing near them asked her. Brand looked at her. In the better light he could see that her face was red and streaked with tears.

"She's a little drunk," Brand said to the older gentleman. The man nodded and seemed to pay them no further attention.

Brand reached into his pocket and pulled out a napkin, "Wipe your face, Leah, and try to pull yourself together. We're going to have to find a car."

Leah's eye's grew wide again, "You mean steal one?" she asked.

Brand nodded, "Have you got a better idea?"

Leah wiped her face with the napkin and then again with her shirt sleeve. She looked around, "How about that?" she asked.

Brand turned to see four very drunk twenty-somethings getting into a car with a small magnetic sign posted on its done that read, "Uber." Further up the street another car with the same identifying placard pulled in and put on its flashers. Brand hurried toward it hustling Leah along with him. He opened the front passenger door and pushed Leah onto the seat. He then got in the back and slid himself quickly behind the driver. He put his gun to the driver's temple.

"Give me your phone," Brand said to him. The young man quickly turned it over. He seemed exceedingly calm. "No problem, bro," he said to Brand, "Be cool."

"You be cool and I'll be cool," Brand replied. "Drive."

The kid put the car into drive and Brand settled back a little, punching a number into the phone. He needed to reach Petras and give him the new rendezvous. Hopefully, Petras was already on the move.

Petras' gruff voice answered, "I've been waiting ten minutes to hear from you."

"We've been compromised," Brand said.

"No shit," Petras said, "There are police everywhere. What the hell happened in there?"

"We were being watched. I missed it."

"Did you extract the subject?"

"Yes, but there was a shooting."

"How many were there?"

"Just one."

"Neutralized?"

"Not completely."

"Why not?"

Brand could hear the disgust in Petras' voice. A person who shot at Petras had very little chance of not being completely neutralized.

"I kept her alive. I'd like to see if or where she pops up again and if I can find out who she's working with."

"Brand, you know better than this. When someone shoots at you, pop them. Otherwise, you're just begging for trouble."