The Deadline

by Kiki Swinson

  “Come on. We have to run,” I grunted, frantically jerking the little girl along. “We can’t stop! Keep moving!”

  “Bitch! Stop! Stop!” the man yelled after us, finally moving his feet to chase us. I guess it finally registered with him that we were not going to listen to his ass. Even with the terror squeezing all of my organs inside, I lifted my legs up and down, up and down, and kept it moving. I hadn’t run track in high school, for nothing. If it wasn’t for that little girl, I would’ve been even faster. I finally saw a door that led to a stairwell. I hit the door so hard, it slammed open and hit the wall with a loud bang. After busting through the door, we hit the steps. The little girl was keeping pace with me too. It must’ve been the fear moving us down those steps like true athletes. Within seconds I heard the door slam above us. I knew the man had entered the stairwell and was hot on our heels. I could hear his stampeding footfalls coming behind us. With every stomp my heart dropped lower and lower into my stomach.

  We weren’t going to make it all the way to the bottom. The man was gaining on us and I could tell the little girl was getting tired. Barker was smart. He’d had us put on a high floor for this same reason. He wanted to make sure if anyone slipped away, it would take forever to get to the bottom and out of the hotel. I can’t front, Barker and his people were pretty thorough with their shit. But, still, they weren’t smarter or sharper than me.

  “Follow me. C’mon,” I puffed out, barely able to catch my breath, much less speak. I must say, she was staying in step with me, one for one. We spiraled down the stairs at a rate so fast, it was a wonder we didn’t go tumbling down. I couldn’t even feel my damn legs, I swear.

  “Don’t make me shoot you, bitches! You better stop! Stop, I said!” the man huffed.

  He was losing his wind, I could tell. He was no match for the two of us with the movement. That’s because he was big like a bear and that fat belly was a hindrance to him moving that fast.

  I decided to take a chance. We weren’t going to make it outside, but I had to make sure we got away. By the time we got to the fifth floor, I busted into the door that led to the hallway where all of the rooms were. I started yelling at the top of my lungs.

  “Help! Help us! Please! Anyone!” I screamed as we ran down another long, never-ending hallway.

  I knew the dude working for Barker and his people wasn’t going to keep pursuing us, because that would’ve brought too much attention to them and ultimately to him.

  “Come this way,” I huffed, pulling the little girl into the little room with the ice machine and vending machines. She was crying hysterically; her face was a messy mixture of tears and the very adult makeup the slim girl had put on her in the bathroom.

  “We are going to die,” the little girl cried. She was trembling so hard, she could barely stand straight. “I don’t want to die. My mother is in El Salvador. She won’t know if I die!”

  “Shh, think positive. I’m going to get us out of here,” I told her. “You just have to follow my lead, okay?” I said, trying my best to calm her down, although my whole body was shaking too.

  I texted Kyle to tell him I was leaving the hotel and for him not to come there, no matter what. I didn’t tell him what was really going on; if I did, I knew he’d come running there.

  I grabbed the little girl and gave her strict instructions on how she needed to act. She nodded in understanding. We carefully left out of the room we’d been hiding in and I tapped on the first door next to it. I looked at its number, 511, and prayed that today it would be my lucky number. With my heart jamming against my chest wall, I said a silent prayer. Finally, an older woman opened the door. Her face immediately fell into a frown.

  “Can I help you?” she grumbled, looking from me to the little girl and back again.

  “We are in trouble. There are some very dangerous men upstairs that are after us, but they won’t come to this floor,” I blurted, moving uneasily on my legs. “Please let us in. Please,” I begged.

  The woman looked hesitant, but then the little girl piped up. “Please! She saved me. He . . . he was going to rape me,” she cried. Her words looked like they’d sent a bolt of electricity through the lady and she quickly let us inside her room.

  She pointed to the small sofa and table inside. “Um, m-make yourselves comfortable,” she stammered. I could tell the woman didn’t know what the hell to think, say, or do.

  “I know this seems crazy, but I’m a reporter,” I explained. “I went undercover for a story and I found this little girl being exploited. We made a run for it,” I said, trying to tell her enough, but not too much.

  The woman clutched her chest and widened her eyes. “Oh, my goodness,” she gasped. “You poor little child. What can I do to help?” she asked.

  My mind was racing, but I knew the first thing I had to do was get the hell out of the area.

  “Do you have a car?” I asked.

  “I do,” she replied.

  “Can you drive us away from here? I just need to get as far away with this little girl as possible. These men are dangerous and they’re not going to stop pursuing us now,” I said, the words falling out of my mouth at rapid speed.

  “Why don’t we just call the police?” the woman asked, reaching over for her cell phone.

  “No! Please!” I blurted, almost rushing into her to keep her from calling 911.

  She looked at me like I was out of my mind. I could see suspicion creeping back into the features of her face.

  I let out an exasperated breath. “I know how this seems. Trust me, it’s the stuff movies are made of, but these same men have police on their payroll. If you call, I’m afraid some of the dirty cops will show up and we will be handed right back over to the men who want to kill us. It’s complicated, but I can’t risk it,” I told her.

  “Oh . . . um . . . okay. But how will we get out?” she asked, her nerves showing in her shaky words.

  “Do you have clothes we can use?” I asked. “We can put on disguises and calmly walk out to your car,” I suggested.

  I could actually see the fear dancing in the woman’s eyes. She paced a bit with her hands on her hips. “How in the hell did I end up in the middle of something so crazy?” She suddenly chuckled, but I could tell she didn’t find anything funny at all.

  “Maybe God had you open up the door for us. You were meant to save us today,” I said.

  The woman walked over to the window and peeked out of the curtains. She quickly put the curtain back in place.

  “What do you see?” I asked.

  “There are men out there walking around like they’re looking for something. They’re looking for you two,” she replied.

  I walked over to the window and peeked for myself. She was right. There were two or three guys roaming around. Barker’s motorcade cars were still out there too.

  “Maybe we can just wait them out,” I suggested.

  “I have to check out in a few hours,” the woman replied.

  “Shit,” I huffed. Now I was pacing. I had to think. There was no way for us to make it outside without those dudes forcefully stopping us to take a look at us. But, on the other hand, the sun had come up on Barker’s little perverted activity, so I knew they wouldn’t be there for long. They’d be scouring the streets for an unknown girl with hazel eyes and sandy hair and a little girl, but at least we’d still be alive. At least until I could get to Shara and get the video, put it together with the material Kyle and I had amassed thus far, get to the studio safely, and then force Christian to break the story right away.

  Shit! Just thinking about all I would have to do had exhausted me.

  I went to open my mouth, but loud knocks on the room door startled us. The little girl jumped to her feet; her eyes were wide. I whirled around and stared at the door. The woman covered her mouth with her hand and looked at me with flared nostrils.

  “Housekeeping!”

  All of our shoulders seemed to relax at the same time. I breathed out loudly.


  “No, thank you,” the woman yelled out without opening the door. “I . . . I . . . have to get you-all out of here. This is not good for my nerves.” The woman was panting; sweat dripped down the sides of her face.

  “Can you call and get a later checkout?” I asked, biting the hell out of my nails. I had to do something before this woman just got sick of being scared and pushed us out of her room—or, worse, called the police on us.

  “Yes. Yes. That’s a perfect idea,” she said, rushing her words out.

  We were able to buy two more hours of time. Just like I suspected, Barker and his caravan left, but he left two guys behind to look for us. There was no choice left: We were going to have to dress in disguises and leave.

  “I will definitely repay you,” I told the lady as I put one of her scarves around my head and changed out of my tight dress into an old-lady walking suit she’d given me.

  “I don’t need anything except to get out of this alive,” she said, shaking her head.

  I dressed the little girl in different clothes provided by the lady too. We turned the shirt into a dress by adding a belt to it because it would’ve looked obvious if we tried to leave it as a shirt and added pants to it. We were also given another printed scarf, so we made it work since, they were all we had at that moment.

  I looked at myself and the girl from every angle. We definitely looked totally different than we had when we’d run from Barker’s room. My heartbeat sped up from the possibility of us getting caught, but equally from the potential of us getting away and me reporting on the biggest story of my life.

  “Are you ready to do this?” I asked after we were all in disguise.

  “Oh, my God, I’m ready, but I will say that I am terrified,” the woman said honestly.

  “I’m ready,” the little girl spoke up. One of the rare times she’d said anything.

  “All we have to do is follow the plan. I will hold on to you like you’re my mother or grandmother and she will hold on to me. We have to walk fast and get to your car before any one of those dudes can think anything of seeing us—got it?” I prattled off, going over the plan I had come up with one more time to be sure. The woman and the little girl both nodded their agreement and followed me with their eyes as I paced and spoke. I looked at my cell phone. It was already heading toward noon. I hadn’t answered Kyle’s calls, so I knew he was probably worried sick and was going to be furious with me. I just couldn’t take the chance that he would come running there and get himself into danger. I also couldn’t risk anything messing up the story. I was so close to blowing the lid off Anton Barker, Detective Keith, and all of their criminal cronies. I could almost taste the satisfaction I would feel when I watched them marched out on TV in handcuffs. I just could not wait. But first, I needed to get the hell out of that hotel alive.

  “Okay, then. Let’s go,” I said, looking around one last time.

  We all followed the plan. I was a little shocked at how well the woman helping us played her role. She bent her back and walked as if she needed assistance. With my eyes covered in shades and a scarf covering my hair, I held her up and escorted her through the lobby. The little girl held on to my other arm so tightly, our pulses were almost synced. We were almost to the door leading to outside when a man’s voice from behind called out.

  “Miss! Miss!”

  We all froze for a second. I was too afraid to turn around. The woman was too. I held my breath. My head immediately began to pound. The woman slowly turned around.

  “You dropped this,” the strange man said, extending a room key toward the woman.

  She smiled and nodded. “Oh, thank you,” she said, taking the key.

  Boy was that a close call. Thank God hotel guests don’t get penalized for taking hotel card keys with them because I was not going to let her go back in the hotel to return it.

  Either way, that was our signal to beat feet to the car. We picked up our pace and finally made it to the woman’s car. I helped her into the driver’s seat for good measure, and just in case eyes were watching us. The little girl climbed into the back. I rushed around the front of the car, and just as I was about to sit down in the passenger seat, I heard it.

  “Yo! I think that’s her! The girl that ran!”

  I felt like everything was spinning around me and I could no longer control my breathing.

  “Aye! You!”

  I slammed my body into the car. “Drive! Get out of here! Drive!” I screamed at the woman.

  “Oh, my God!” she screamed, throwing the car into reverse and hitting the gas pedal hard. The car lurched backward as the two ran up on it, guns drawn.

  “Agh!” the little girl screamed.

  “Drive!” I hollered again. “Drive!” Even from where I sat, I could see the shock registering on the lady’s face and in her voice.

  “I’m driving, gotdammit!” she screamed.

  “Fuck,” I gasped, gripping the door so hard my hands hurt.

  I heard the first gunshots ring out and hit the taillight on the woman’s car.

  “Oh, shit!” I belted out.

  The woman had the gas pedal to the floor and finally we were out of the parking lot. Those dudes still had to run to their car.

  “Turn left!” I screamed at her. I did that several more times until we were far enough away to slow down. I couldn’t afford for us to get stopped by the police and have any of Barker’s people alerted.

  Once we lost the goons, the woman drove me home. I thanked her and asked for her contact information. She wasn’t comfortable giving it to me, so I gave her mine.

  “You’ll see me on TV soon. Just know that you helped me big-time,” I told her. I took the little girl inside my apartment with me. I told her to make herself comfortable. I rushed into my master bathroom and fell to my knees in front of the toilet. My body bucked and I wheezed as the hot, acidy vomit spewed out of my mouth. When it was all out, I fell back onto my butt. I closed my eyes and pressed the balls of my hands into my eyes. I hadn’t even realized how hard I was crying. I lay on the floor and turned onto my side and sobbed hysterically. Seeing my life flash before my eyes, yet again, was physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. It was a while before I was able to get up and gather myself. I walked to the mirror over the sink and splashed water on my face.

  I knew the message would be sent to Anton Barker that I had taken one of his exploited children. She was now the person who had firsthand knowledge of what was going on behind the scenes with Barker, which would cause a chain reaction that, I hoped, would hit Barker directly. I knew, though, this would also drag me and her right into the middle of it. Although I wanted this story really badly, I was seriously considering how much of my soul I was willing to sell for success.

  10

  CASUALTIES

  “Bitch! Open this door!”I heard the deep voice, loud banging, and then deafening kicking on my door. My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. A hot flash came over my body at the sound of his voice—the familiar voice.

  “You’re going to die! You messed with the wrong nigga!” the voice boomed again.

  I moved around and around in circles, not knowing whether to go left or right. I didn’t know how they had found me, but here I was . . . trapped. I planned to be the fuck out of Dodge before Barker and his people could get wind of my deeds.

  “Open this door!” the man’s voice boomed again, more angry urgency in it this time. He started banging even harder and jiggling with the doorknob. “Bitch! I’m about to take this door down and you’ll be sorry!” the man barked. “You crossed the wrong motherfucker. You wanted to sell your soul to the Devil—well, here I am!”

  This time I could hear something heavy hitting up against the door.

  I slid down to the floor, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. I started praying to God to give my mother and Kyle peace if I died.

  Wham!

  “Oh, my God!” I blurted out when I heard the front door slam open with a clang.

  I jumped
out of my sleep covered in sweat. I whipped my head around and touched myself to make sure I had been dreaming and that no one was really coming through my door to get me. My chest was pumping up and down and my head pounded from jumping up out of my sleep like that. As my eyes adjusted in the dark, that’s when I heard it. There was actual pounding on my door happening, just like in my dream. No wonder I was having that crazy-ass dream.

  My brother was outside my door, banging like he didn’t have any good damn sense. “Khloé! Open this door now!” I heard Kyle barking from the other side of the door. He pounded the door like someone was chasing him.

  I frantically shrugged into my robe and raced through the apartment. The little girl, who had been sleeping on my couch, was sitting up with the blanket pulled up to her eyes. She looked terrified. She darted her eyes from me to the door and back again. I could tell she was probably already traumatized from being forced into damn sex trafficking. I walked over to her, bent down by the couch, and touched her arm.

  “Don’t be scared, okay. It’s just my brother. He’s not going to hurt you or do anything to you or me. He loves me and is probably a little upset with me for what happened. I can handle him. Trust me, I’m not scared of him,” I comforted, smiling afterward. She seemed to calm down a little bit, but I could still feel her trembling slightly. That was to be expected, I guess. She’d been through a lot.

  I turned my attention back to the door. In my assessment there was no reason for Kyle to be carrying on like that, unless his ass was on fire or he had a gun to his fucking head. He was scaring me with the way he was carrying on.

  “Open the door!” Kyle screamed again. I was shaking all over. Between my dream, which had shaken me up completely, and now Kyle’s booming voice, I was a mess. I could tell he wasn’t fucking around—either that or he was being chased.

  “Shit!” I whispered as I started for the door, then stopped and contemplated hiding the little girl. I whirled around aimlessly, but soon realized that there was no time because Kyle would probably storm through my place to look around anyway. I didn’t know what exactly he had heard, but I knew he was pissed at me. There was nowhere for me to go but to that door and face it. There was nowhere for me to send the little girl either. I had only one choice, and that was to let my brother in and deal with his wrath. It wasn’t like he hadn’t been mad at me before.