L.I.E. (Learn, Improve, Educate)

Capítulo sem título 28

The four of them – Julian, Ace, Lael and Edath – were already driving for forty minutes in the van. There was still missing half an hour towards the dock where they would take a special ship to another small island that was documented in the Bureau's files. Those weren't sold to the media, so no one except for them would know exactly where it was. Their plan was to start over in there, the four of them, so no one would be left behind and cede to social pressure to confess everything.

"Do you really think we will have to need these?" Ace asked, playing with the guns they had. Lael shrugged.

"Hopefully not, but we never know. I still have my handmade knife really well hidden, in case one of you tries something funny." Edath smirked, looking directly to Ace. He chuckled and locked the SIG Sauer P228 safety.

"I wonder how much time it will take until we arrived there." Lael sighed, rubbing his hands against each other and biting his lip.

"Are you nervous?" Edath asked, tilting her head. She unconsciously grabbed his hand and held it. He looked at her with a bit of surprised. Her hand was colder than his and also sweaty.

"Huh, I am... I'm guessing it is normal, we're fugitives now."

"And the worse ones because we killed our beloved parents. Or, I mean, our mother and your father." Ace leaned his head on the car's seat. He had a smug expression but Lael could see his legs shaking too.

"I still can't believe you actually did it." Edath said, looking at them with a surprised face. "I mean, it was for the best considering they weren't all good people and they could rat us if we thought about escape, but..."

"It was no big deal." Ace shrugged, speaking nonchalantly. "They were in the way when we tried to recover the files. Besides, it was for the best."

"You could have avoided being tailed like this though." Edath narrowed her eyes.

"Go big or go home." Ace laughed. Lael shook his head.

"He is joking but he puked." Ace was going to protest but Lael continued. "There was no way we'd leave the country with them alive. I – I mean – We just had to do it with the short period of time we had so we couldn't make it all professional or ask someone to do it for us."

Edath sighed and shrugged.

"I don't judge what you did, nor do I blame you." She suddenly realized her hand was warmer and was still with Lael's. She tried to take it away but Lael squeezed it softly and smiled at her. She smiled back, getting a sense of hope back in her heart. "Well, maybe wh-"

In a second, Julian drifted the van and a Wrangler jeep hit right into them on the side, making their van flip and turn upside down after a few tumbles. Lael was almost unconscious but still grasped his last energy to set him free from the seat bell. His head hurt and he felt sore from his legs. He noticed some wounds on his arms, especially on the right one which he had severe wounds. He cursed himself and looked to the others. Ace was passed out and Edath was waking up.

"L-Lael?" She coughed some blood. Lael hurried and helped her out of the van first. As soon as he was getting out with Edath, two undercover cops were waiting for them.

"Shit." He muttered as the cops began to point their guns towards them. He understood they knew who they were so there was no point in pretending in that moment. "There's more people in there." Aiken said, pointing his finger towards the van.

Lael saw some smoke coming out of their van's engine. He couldn't tell if Julian was dead or not, nor if Ace was conscious already. Edath was fainted in his arms. He looked around. Lael only saw the jeep which seemed to be the reason for their accident, since the Wrangler was in their side of the road. It was raining heavily at that moment.