Night Sun

by Tom Barber

  The clergyman had stopped dead, seeing the damage to the lock, when the door suddenly opened and a gaunt, dark-haired man in a black suit and white shirt snapped into a view, holding a shotgun. The reverend was just as taken aback as Dr Ramesh Tejwani and Barry Marsh had been, and his hands went up like Barry’s had at that lookout point near Erie.

  ‘Are you alone?’ the man with the twelve gauge asked.

  ‘Yes. Yes.’

  ‘Come inside,’ Nicky told him. ‘I’m not gonna hurt-’

  Then he got shot.

  The sound of a gunshot close by a split-second earlier sent birds who’d been congregating in the trees into the air as blood sprayed against the wood and wall of the church. Nicky reeled back and fell against the door before hitting the ground. The bullet that had come from the tree-line had ripped open the skin on the side of his neck just under his left ear, but the fact it was a rifle and not a shotgun had saved his head from being removed from his body.

  As the reverend in front of him turned in shock to see who’d shot the Gatlin fugitive, Nicky clutched a hand to his neck but apart from a stinging pain found he could still breathe, his throat not torn open. From his position in the doorway to the church, he caught sight of a bulky man in camo gear emerge from behind a tree and start moving towards him, a rifle in his shoulder.

  Nicky had just been found, and not by the cops.

  The Gatlin fugitive let go of his neck, brought up his shotgun, and as the hunter who’d shot at him ducked behind a tree Nicky blasted a shell into the trunk, blood starting to dampen the collar of Barry’s white shirt. But then in his left peripheral vision he saw another figure emerge and dropped before a shotgun shell punched a splintered hole into the church door where his head had just been. Nicky racked the pump on his own twelve gauge and blasted a shell back as the second man went for cover behind another tree, like his friend. Not cops or the Loughlins, but locals who must’ve recognized him when he was walking here from the gas station. And who’d probably decided to claim the bounty on his and Kat’s heads.

  The reverend had already dropped to the ground, his previously peaceful morning just having taken one hell of a turn. Staying low, Nicky ran over to the prone man, pulled open the rear door on the car and pushed him inside. ‘Keys!’ he hissed, the rear window shattering. He swung round and fired back through the window with another couple of shells, racking the pump and riding the kick of the shotgun as blood leaked down his neck. The terrified clergyman was still holding his keys and Nicky snatched them before getting in behind the wheel.

  He reversed around the building in a giant half circle, then got out and ran through a side door he’d unlocked from the inside earlier in case they’d needed a quick escape. He sprinted over to Kat, who was awake again and looking very scared.

  ‘They found…us?’ she asked, as he grabbed the heist bag, swept her up and ran back outside, her eyes on the injury to his neck.

  ‘GET OUT!’ he told the reverend, who quickly did as he was told. Nicky got her across the backseats just as the pair of hunters were reappearing at the edge of the building, and he fired at both with his revolver to force them back out of sight before getting in and spinning the wheel to drive onto the road. He took the route from where he’d walked just a few minutes ago, turning onto the main road and almost hitting another car, then sped off at high speed, just beginning to breathe again when he saw his luck had now completely run out.

  A local town police cruiser with flashing lights was coming towards him, but the officers inside had seen the speeding vehicle almost hit another car and pulled a sharp turn across the road to block his path. The two cops got out and pulled weapons as they aimed them at Nicky from behind their vehicle; local officers who’d just happened to be patrolling the area, and who’d been responding to reports of the sounds of shooting at the church.

  Nicky made a U-turn, but then saw a truck blocking off any hope of escape behind him, his two attackers from the church inside. He looked around desperately, his neck burning and bleeding, then saw where they’d come to a halt. He pulled the strap of the heist bag over his shoulder, the blood from his neck now soaking his shirt, and using the door as cover, got out and pulled Kat free from the back.

  Ignoring shouted warnings from the police officers, who couldn’t shoot with the two local hunters and other traffic in their line of fire, Nicky hustled to the railing on the side of the bridge, took a step up and with Kat in his arms, jumped.

  Three nights previously in West Virginia, an uninjured Archer and the civilian driver he’d saved had landed feet first into the Kanawha River, but despite the drop being shorter, Nicky and Kat were both in far worse shape. They hit the water hard then caught by the current, immediately started to be washed downstream, Nicky fighting to keep his head above water while trying to do the same for Kat, the bag still strapped over his shoulder and trailing behind them. Gunfire came from the bridge, a bullet ripping through the bag, but neither of them were hit.

  They were swept rapidly downriver for almost a minute before Nicky smashed into a rock, which stopped them dead with a painful jolt. Gasping from the sudden pain, he felt solid ground beneath his feet and fighting against the powerful flow of the water, he staggered towards the riverbank, now out of sight of the bridge. He wondered who’d get to them first, the cops or hunters.

  Cold, soaking wet and exhausted, he heaved a limp Kat up into his arms again and started to head into the woods, hearing shouts from further upstream where they’d just been. Strategy had gone out the window.

  This was now down to pure survival.

  FORTY SIX

  ‘Report coming in locals and cops are engaging with Reyes!’ a sergeant at the Oneida County Sheriff’s Department called out and moments later, officers and deputies were sprinting from inside the station towards squad cars, Archer and Marquez right behind them.

  Neither had a radio but they didn’t need directions, Archer following the other police vehicles. It wasn’t Lupinetti who’d been called in, but it was two of the five fugitives, and the wanted pair might very well have a good idea about where Frank and the Loughlins could be.

  So he spun the car out of the lot and they joined the others speeding out onto the road.

  Downstream from the bridge which Nicky had jumped off with Kat, the local boys in hunting gear who’d first seen the Gatlin escapee at the gas station had worked their way along the riverbank, and about half a mile downstream had just found footsteps in the mud leading into the woods.

  They also saw a piece of clothing, a black suit jacket held against a large rock by the force of the flowing river. The two men were cousins and had been stalking game in the area together since they were kids, so without the need to speak, one took the lead before both moved forward silently, following the trail.

  But not for the first time over the past few days, Nicky had conned his pursuers. He’d carried Kat out of the water and propped her against some rocks before he ran into the woods until he reached a drier grassy spot, sheltered by trees where footsteps would be hard to track; he quickly looked around and after choosing a suitable spot for the task at hand, he’d then doubled back, taking care not to leave any obvious tracks. Lastly, he peeled off Barry’s suit jacket and left it trapped against one of the rocks just to make sure the people hunting him couldn’t miss where he’d come ashore. That trail leading to nothing might be enough to give him and Kat time to escape one more time.

  He’d taken her with him back into the water, allowing the current to carry them downstream, and five minutes later waded out of the river for the last occasion. After moving through some thicker woodland, he reached an open hillside and saw some houses at the top where he knew there’d be a car, so he started carrying her up the slope.

  The noise of police sirens in the distance were getting louder as he climbed, each step becoming more of an effort. He’d exercised in Gatlin to stay healthy and help pass the endless monotonous hours, opting for bodyweight stuff like push-ups, chi
n-ups and dips rather than heavy weightlifting, so had good conditioning despite the shitty food he’d lived on for the past decade, but the events of the last few days had worn him down, the mental and physical pressure taking a tremendous toll.

  His arms, legs and lungs were burning, and his and Kat’s clothes were sodden, making the task even more difficult. He pictured the Loughlins somewhere listening to the sirens, the focus off them for the moment, guessing that he and Kat had been located and were taking all the heat. The thought fueled his anger, driving him onwards. After all this, he refused to fail.

  He’d almost made it to the top of the rise when he heard the sound of a helicopter; he looked around for cover and staggered towards a small copse to their right. He’d left the woods along the riverbank behind but these few trees further up the slope would provide some momentary shelter as long as the people in the chopper weren’t using infrared. If they were, he and Kat were screwed.

  He lowered her to the ground before leaning against a tree to recover his breath, but then saw she was deathly pale and shivering. He shrugged off the holdall and immediately sat behind her before enveloping her in his arms to try and share what body warmth they had.

  Drawing in huge breaths, his heart thumping and needing to rest a moment before they moved on, Nicky looked out at the landscape ahead, water from lakes in the distance catching the midday light.

  Night sun. That’s what it’s gonna be like out there for you once you cross that wall.

  Shaking from the cold, he felt Kat’s hand slowly move to his, something in her palm. It was the key for the padlock on the deposit box, which she’d managed to unloop from around her neck.

  He knew what the small gesture meant without her having to say anything.

  ‘We’re almost there,’ Nicky told her. ‘Just hang on for me. We’ll find a way.’

  Kat didn’t reply and he saw her hand had dropped limply to the ground.

  It was then he realized her shivering had also stopped, her body feeling heavier as she lay against him.

  On that September morning, the sun had just gone down.

  But only for Kat O’Mara.

  A mile away, the two hunters who’d been trying to pick up the false trail through the woodland had just been confronted by law-enforcement. Some county sheriff deputies who’d been in the area to hear the emergency callout had rerouted and they were the ones who’d located them.

  ‘WEAPONS DOWN!’ one of the deputies shouted, aiming his handgun. The two locals did as they were ordered slowly, then straightened with their hands up.

  ‘We found that guy and woman!’ one of them said. ‘We’re just following their trail.’

  ‘So where are they?’

  ‘Chopper’s got him,’ another deputy interrupted, listening to a report coming over the radio.

  Stopping Kat from carrying out her plan, then keeping her alive and them both out of custody had been what had driven Nicky ever since he’d broken free from Gatlin. He’d had to fight like a junkyard dog all the way and had never felt like giving up until now.

  But the torch which had been burning so brightly inside him was now almost extinguished. Still holding Katherine, he looked down at her face, pale and still, showing no signs of the pain which had dogged her for the last forty eight hours of her life. He quickly remembered first meeting her when they were teenagers, the good times together in Cleveland before he was sent to prison; how she’d never stopped visiting, the only person from the outside world who didn’t forget he existed or cut ties with him after he was sentenced. The way her father had treated him and his dad, and the opportunity Thomas O’Mara had given them at a better life.

  Now totally alone, he knew she’d have been furious with him if she could see him now, sitting there holding her body rather than continuing to run. Get out of here, Nick, he could hear her saying. I’ve slowed you down enough. You can’t do anything for me anymore.

  GO!

  RUN!

  From its position directly overhead, it seemed that the helicopter had found him but despite that, Nicky decided to make one final push; if he could make it to the houses at the top of the hill, he maybe stood a small chance.

  Laying Kat down carefully against the tree, he looked at her one last time then turned and ran on up the slope.

  Two minutes later, he found a back door open for one of the closest houses; desperate, he ran inside ready to confront the owner and demand car keys, but the place was empty. He checked through the windows and heard the chopper hovering, but then looked out front and saw there was no vehicle parked outside, his tired mind realizing that was only logical if there was no-one here.

  The sound of sirens drew closer as he saw red and blue lights appearing on the road leading towards the houses. He slumped against the wall, his head bowed and breathing hard as he closed his eyes.

  It was over.

  Less than ten minutes earlier, Marquez and Archer had split up; she’d joined the officers conducting the hunt not far from the river, responding to rolling reports from the chopper’s birds’ eye view of Reyes’ location. Then the cops she was with found Kat O’Mara’s body.

  As an officer called it in, his pistol drawn, another knelt beside Kat with cuffs in his hand but then checked her for a pulse before shaking his head, putting the set of bracelets away. Marquez looked down at the dead young woman. Her clothes were soaked, her white shirt stained red, some bandaging clear through the damp fabric from a wound to her right side. Reyes was nowhere to be seen, but barring a miracle, Marquez knew this was shortly going to be the end of the line for him too.

  Always was a quitter, Blair had described her stepdaughter. Looking at the dead girl, who’d paid the ultimate price and given up everything for a bank deposit box, Marquez took out her phone and called Archer. ‘Kat’s dead,’ she told him. ‘She’s down here on a hilltop. Reyes can’t be far aw-’

  ‘Chopper tracked him running to a house up the hill from you guys. I’m almost there. Units are surrounding the home.’

  Marquez looked up to see more police cruisers arriving outside some properties near the top of the hill; she recalled Prez’s descriptions of Nicky and also what he’d done to sabotage the Loughlins’ bag at the fairground last night. Reyes had done a lot of illegal things in the last few days, but he and Kat had never felt like the true villains here. They hadn’t murdered police officers, extradition bus agents, State troopers or slit the throats of pregnant women after sexually assaulting them.

  ‘Think he’ll surrender?’ she asked. ‘Or take suicide by cop?’

  ‘Depends how desperate he is. Or what he thinks he has left to live for.’ As Marquez listened, she saw the officer who’d knelt beside Kat was checking the inside of a holdall resting against the dead young woman’s leg.

  The bag was empty.

  As blue and red lights flashed outside the house where he’d taken refuge, Nicky stepped away from the window and closed the blinds, seeing armed law-enforcement officers and deputies surrounding the home. It was then that he also heard movement from the stairs; he turned quickly and saw a terrified young woman holding a small child.

  He was wrong, the house wasn’t empty after all.

  She stood there staring at him uncertainly, frozen on the stairs, clearly not daring to make a run for it.

  Then the phone in the room suddenly rang. Nicky stayed where he was, still wet from the river and with both his and Kat’s blood staining his white shirt; he eyed the landline for a moment, aware it could be a trap to draw him into the scope of a sharpshooter outside.

  He stayed low, crawled across the floor then reached up and pulled the phone down to the floor before picking up the receiver.

  ‘Reyes?’ a County Sheriff’s sergeant said from the fleet that had encircled the house; a neighbor had given him the number to call, the other residences on the block being quickly evacuated. ‘We want to resolve this peacefully. We’re not gonna come in unless we have to. But is there anyone else in the house?’
>
  Pause. The sergeant looked down at the phone and swore.

  ‘What he say?’ a cop from Phoenix PD asked.

  ‘He hung up.’

  ‘Let’s roll in and take down this asshole,’ another deputy said, just as more vehicles arrived, Archer’s Ford among them. ‘We got him covered.’

  ‘Neighbor says she thinks the woman who lives there is still inside with her kid,’ another officer replied. But just as the police were deciding on their next move, the front door opened and a woman ran out hugging a child close, officers grabbing her and rushing them both to safety.

  Closing the door, Nicky slumped back down again with his back against the wall, the phone in his hand; he knew police might think to look at the call log which would potentially lead to problems at Gatlin for a certain friend of his, but he needed to hear a familiar voice.

  He dialed the number he’d memorized the night before his escape and lifted it to his ear, hoping for an answer.

  He got one.

  ‘Hey old man.’ Nicky paused, his eyes stinging from sweat, silt and shotgun smoke as he closed them. ‘Talk about a morning.’

  ‘Where are you?’

  ‘They got me in the end. I’m trapped.’

  ‘Just you?’

  ‘Kat’s gone.’

  Pause. ‘I’m sorry, kid.’

  ‘I did all I could.’

  ‘I know. She’d have known too.’

  You can’t show any weakness in this place, the biker had taught him all those years ago on Nicky’s first morning inside federal prison. Wrap the feelings up, lock them in a box and save it for when you get out. He was out but not for much longer, back to fighting for survival for the rest of his life among some of the worst of humanity locked away from society; he closed his eyes, the muscles of his jaw under his blood-stained, stubbled face tightening. Tears almost threatened to seep through his closed eyelids, but he forced them back.