FUGITIVE

CHAPTER 9

I struggle as the man clasps my arms behind my back. I feel a knife sticking into back and I stop moving, not wanting to provoke him to stab me. I don't have any weapons on me and an injury would only slow me down.

My eyes spot a van standing in the distance and as we move towards it, my mind runs through every self-defence class I've ever been to and I wait for him to lower his guard. As soon as he bites the bait, I send a backward kick to his shin and when he crouches down in pain, I twist my arm so that my arms are straight and his are entangled among his own. I knock the knife away from his hands and bring my knees up to his chin.

As I deliver a strong kick, he bites his own tongue and his mouth and nose start bleeding. While he is distracted by the blinding pain, I knock him out by punching him right in his throat.

He lies, writhing in pain on the ground, gasping for air while I search his pockets for anything that might be useful to me. I find his cell phone and pocket it. Before heading over to my truck, I pick up the knife from the road. At least I can strike one thing off of my list.

I start my engine and drive. My head is pumped with adrenaline and my heart is racing. I shudder when I think what might have happened if I had been sleeping or caught off guard. Its most likely that this man was sent by the same people who got a shooter to try and kill me.

I chuckle as I run the fight in my head. Lorenzo wanted to teach me how to fight. If only he saw me tonight, he would have been proud. Thinking about him, tugs my heartstrings a little. I have no idea where he is or what he's doing. I have absolutely no way of contacting and I'm sure I can't. He will find a way to find me and there is absolutely no way I can work with him. Lorenzo is a part of my past and it's better for everyone if he stays that way.

~

I drive around for a while, just in case there was anyone following me. The attack tonight just confirmed one thing, somebody definitely wants me dead. The shooter at the market was not a mistake or aimed at the wrong person.

I get sleepy as I drive into the night. I stop near an abandoned gas station in the outskirts of the city, just a few miles away. I'm scared to fall asleep. The past few days have been crazy and scary, but nothing has gotten me to the point where I'm afraid to close my eyes in the safety of my own truck. I have absolutely nothing to protect myself with except for the knife that I took from my attacker.

I decide that the first thing I'll do in the morning is call Anton and tell him the list of things I need and have him arrange someone to deliver it to me.

Day 14

I wake up screaming. The nightmare seemed so real, I have to touch my lips to convince myself that i wasn't actually bleeding. Luca's bloodied face keeps flashing in front of my eyes and my eyes well up with tears. I have absolutely no idea how long I was out after they attacked me in Germany, so it has definitely been more than 2 weeks since I've seen him. I don't even know if he's alive or dead.

Luca has always been there for me, no matter time or day. He is the love of my life and the fact that he might be hurting right now, is breaking my heart into a million little pieces, every one of which, belongs to him.

For his sake and for my own, I have to figure this out and get him out of this mess. There is nothing more important to me than getting Luca alive out of this. As I close my eyes and take a deep breath to prepare myself for the day, I hear a whisper in my ear;

"Fight, Talia."

~

I call Anton and he picks up on the second ring.

"Somebody just tried to kill me last night, so please tell me you have something for me."

I hear a sharp intake of breath on the other side.

"I'm working on something, but I need a little more time, Tal. I can't give you wrong information. That just might be the thing that gets you killed."

I sigh. I rub my eyes as I think about my next course of action.

"Okay, sure. Take your time. You have all the damn time in the world", I say sarcastically.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know it's scary, but I honestly don't have anything right now, Tal. I'm working hard here, just to get you something that might be useful."

"Useful. Okay, I need you to arrange a guy to get me some things. If I'm going to survive this, I'm going to need things to protect me. And, I need cash. Lots of it. Today Anton. I'm desperate", I tell him.

I prepare myself for the Why Are You Getting Yourself In Trouble speech, but instead he surprises me.

"I'll call you with the pickup location in a few hours. Text me the list."

~

Still surprised with Anton's response, I drive around aimlessly. Without protection, I can't really do anything so until I meet Anton's man, I've got enough time to think and plan.

The first thing I have to do after I'm all set, is to get my hands on the old case files. If I have to even get access to talk to the officers, I need an identification number. I rack my brain to try and remember the number that Lorenzo had given. I could pretend that I'm calling on behalf of Lorenzo, give them a fax number and get the files. Hopefully it should be as easy as that.

I check the phone I had taken from my attacker last night. Any information on it might lead me to the people who are trying to kill me. Thankfully, it is not password protected. As I unlock the phone, I have a strange feeling of apprehension in the pit of my stomach. I open the call log and see just one number, dialled just minutes before the attack, probably to inform them he got me.

Noting down the number in Lorenzo's notebook, I check his gallery, which is empty. I open his text messages and there are 2 threads. One from the number in his call log and another from the service provider.

+34 634982368 22:38

Position?

Me 22:39

Following. The eagle has spotted the prey.

I scoff. He hardly looked like an eagle to me. The next thread is from the service provider. I almost don't open it, but I change my mind, just out of curiosity about his data plan.

Yoigo 08:13

Recarga exitosa. Ahora tienes 3 GB de datos válidos durante 28 días.

I almost squeal in joy. This guy has a data connection, which means things have just gotten easier for me.

I google the nearest internet café with a fax machine and take a screenshot of the routes. With any luck, I'll have those case files with me by tomorrow.