FUGITIVE

CHAPTER 7

I drive past the farmlands and get to the other side of town. I glance at my tote bag and see the folders sticking out of it. I guess Lorenzo will have to do without his case files for now. The contents of my bag are sprawled across the seat from throwing it in when I was getting away.

Lorenzo's notebook, the hair dye, the scissors and the burner phone are in full display. I take a deep breath and take the exit, which shows a rest stop in 2 miles.

It's time for some change.

~

I stop at a gas station which looks like it hasn't been in use for years. There's nobody manning the store, which is left wide open. I walk past the entrance and go towards the back to find what I'm looking for, the toilet.

I take out the scissors and the hair dye, the deepest shade of black that has never been mine. My hair is naturally strawberry blonde, so the dye will definitely make a difference.

I cut my long, beautiful hair into a short, blunt bob and color it. As I see locks of my hair on the dirty bathroom floor, tears pool in my eyes. I hadn't cut my hair in years, because Luca liked it long and it was one of the many things which made him fall in love with me.

I sweep up all the hair into a plastic bag and discard it outside. I walk back to the truck and sit inside clutching the wheel as hard as I can. I know leaving was a dangerous idea and I certainly wasn't prepared for it. But staying there, with Lorenzo would have cost me my life. Whoever that was, trying to kill me, they weren't there by chance. Its highly likely that they were watching Lorenzo and waiting till I exposed myself.

I shudder at the possibility of being ambushed at the barn. I would have had no place or means to run and by now I would have either been dead or on my way to being tortured. I pick up Lorenzo's notebook that's lying on the seat. There's multiple numbers and dates written on it, but one stands out.

12/05 undercover, case: 85JXZ99102

He has underlined it multiple times and there's a cross next to it, with this word in Spanish, confidencial, which I'm guessing means confidential. Getting my hands on this file, would give me so many answers and would take me one step closer to finding Luca and getting him the hell away from Javier and his people.

I pick up the burner phone and dial a number I have known by heart all of my life.

As the caller on the other side says "Hallo", I switch to German.

"Gutentag bruder, Talia sprechen". I hear a scream and then laughter filled with relief.

 (Good afternoon brother, Talia speaking)

"Talia, my love! Oh, it is so good to hear your voice! Where have you been, how have you been? Oh, you have to come home right away!", Klaus says.

My heart flutters at his voice and I realize how much I have missed my family in the last 12 days. My eyes moisten with tears but I brush them away as I hear my brother gushing about how he has missed talking to me and simultaneously scolding me because I haven't called or texted in the past 2 weeks.

As I wait for him to finish, my mind flashes back to the past few days and I silently start sobbing. Klaus pauses and inhales a sharp breath.

"Talia, my love are you okay? Warum weinst du?"

(why are you crying?)

I take a deep breath and walk him through the past 12 days of my life. As I finish my story, his voice is boiling with anger. "I am going to kill that Luca. I always told you he wasn't good enough for you! Now see what has come of your relationship with him. You are hurt, you're alone in another country and he is nowhere to be seen", he yells.

"Stop bruder! This isn't Luca's fault. Somebody is definitely framing him. He is also in pain right now. I don't know where he is, but I am going to find him. I just wanted to hear your voice and get your segen", I say with conviction in my voice. My heart is pounding and my blood is rushing, but the fire to find my Luca is burning brighter with every passing minute.

Klaus sighs painfully. "Möge Gott mit dir sein, meine liebe Schwester", he says and cuts the line.

( May god be with you, my dear sister.)

My heart is burdened with pain as I sense the disappointment in my brother's voice. He has been my pillar of strength since I was a little girl, but at times like this I have to fight my own battles, even if that turns my whole world against me.

~

I stop at a convenience store at the next rest stop and purchase a map. If I'm going to be driving myself around, I might as well get some directions.

As the sun lowers and the sky gets darker, I realize that the wiser option might be to turn in for the night. I ask the cashier directions to the nearest motel and drive there. I have exactly 2 sets of clothes, one pair of shoes, a few packets of biscuits that I had saved from the stash Lorenzo bought, the burner phone, scissors, the files and a map in my possession. I have most of the cash that Lorenzo gave me, as I didn't spend much of it right away, but I might need it for gas, so I guess I'll have to start sleeping in the truck.

As I lie down in bed, I stare at the ceiling above me and my thoughts wander to Lorenzo. I feel guilty for abandoning him but under the circumstances, I was more focused on trying to save my life. Whoever was trying to kill me, did not intend to miss his shot.

I haven't been able to completely process things since I drove away, but I know now that if I have to survive, I have to hide.

Because somebody is looking for me and it seems like they won't stop until I'm dead.

~

Day 13

I vacate the motel and start driving towards the city. I need to get in touch with an old friend and my phone is running out of minutes.

As I drive past the houses, stranded in the middle of nowhere, my mind flashes back to my childhood. I remember driving my bike on similar streets in Germany, my brother and I fighting over who gets the extra piece of meat my mother always leaves for us, and my father patrolling the streets in his uniform and waving to me whenever I drive by. I remember flashes of blue and red, police cars around our lawn, officers talking to my mother and my father's ring in her hand.

I pull my attention back to the road when I notice a black sedan tailing me and I panic. I put the map on hold, and try to lose the tail. As I take the next exit, I notice the sedan zooming forward and breathe a sigh of relief. My senses are heightened and adrenaline is pumping through my veins.

I slow down to follow the map to the city and I realise that I haven't eaten in the past 12 hours. I decide to stop at the next rest stop and get some food into my system, just so I don't pass out from hunger.

As I enter the convenience store at the gas station, I hear the news running in the television set above the cashier. I go into the far aisle of the store and grab some beef jerky, some chips, coffee and a bottle of water and walk towards the cashier. As she quietly bills my items, the news runs with reports of a German woman gone rogue. She slowly turns around and my photo flashes on the screen and my heart pounds in fear.

The woman snaps her head to the front and looks at me with suspicion at the resemblance I share with the woman in the photo and my mind goes into survival mode. I look up at her and with my heart in my hand, I take a deep breath.

"Conoces alguna tienda de electrónica por aquí?", I ask her in Spanish.

(translation: do you know any electronic shops around here?)

"Estoy de paso y no tengo minutos en mi teléfono", I say pointing to my bag.

(translation: I'm just passing through and I don't have enough minutes on my phone.)

She smiles at me as she falls for my bait and breathes a sigh of relief as she gives me directions to the nearest store, 6 miles away.

She bags my items and as I walk back to my truck with shaking legs, I realize the most horrid truth.

I am officially a fugitive, on the run.