The Hidden Two

by Kimberlee R. Mendoza

  “Is that so?”

  Steps silently moved through the room. There was no surprise attack. This would be head on. Myers peeked out from the curtain and nodded.

  Laura nodded back, pulling a knife from her boot as she readied herself.

  The door cracked opened. A boot came into view. Laura waited until he passed her and then slit his throat. He started to fall forward. Myers caught him and folded him into the shower, while stepping out. Now he was fully exposed.

  “Drake?” a guy said outside the door.

  Laura pointed to the dead guy.

  Myers grunted. “Yeah.”

  “Is it clear?”

  “Yeah. Using it.”

  Laura carefully twisted the lock as the footsteps moved away. That would allot them a tiny bit more time. The room erupted into talking again. Harding was naturally skeptical, and it was no wonder he came in like that.

  “Where’s Alicia?” someone asked.

  “With the rest.” Harding didn’t seem concerned.

  “You would sacrifice her. I thought she was your girl?”

  “You can always get more tail,” Harding said. “I was done anyways. She did her job.”

  Laura grimaced.

  The room erupted with laughter, then the TV flicked on. It sounded like sports or something with cheering.

  “How long are we down here?” another voice asked.

  “Until the coast is clear, and then we’ll use the back entrance to the tunnels,” Harding said.

  Myers mouthed, “Tunnels?”

  They were in the back entrance. Together, they began to scan the room, touching each object, fixture, and tile. Laura ran her hand on a wire that led to the back of the toilet. She followed it and yanked slightly. The entire wall started to shift to the left.

  Myers quickly flushed the toilet to hide the sound.

  “You almost done, Drake? I need to duce.”

  Myers grunted.

  The two of them didn’t wait. They ran down the tunnel as fast as they could. It was long and dark, but it eventually led to a storm drain. Almost free. They stepped out into the night sky. Medical response lights flashed about ten yards away. They climbed out of the hole and ran for the street. Suddenly, Deshawn flashed through her mind. Would they kill him when they saw she was gone?

  “We need to get Deshawn.” Laura stopped, out of breath.

  “We can’t go back in there.”

  “I will. You get the rest of the team and bring them here.” Laura started for the hole, and Myers grabbed her and spun her to face him. “I won’t lose you, Laura.”

  She touched her lips to his and smiled. “You won’t. You know that, right?”

  “You’re good, but there are four guys back there with one thought in their tiny brains—kill Laura Black.”

  “And one guy here who is going to go get my team and save the day.”

  He stared at her a moment. “Do not die.”

  “Yeah, I’ll give it my best shot.” She ran back into the darkness and toward the bathroom entrance. Maybe the best choice was to go all in. Did she wait for her team or take her chances?

  She pulled the body from the shower and laid it in the opening behind the toilet. Someone knocked on the door. “Hurry up, will you?” It was Deshawn.

  Laura tried to grunt with a deep voice before unlocking the door.

  Deshawn stepped in.

  Laura locked the door, pulled him to the hole, and hissed, “Run.”

  His eyes shot wide. “What about you?”

  “I’m not leaving here without killing Harding.”

  He stared at her a moment and then nodded. “Then I’ll stay.”

  She shook her head. “My fight. Not yours. Go. Be safe.”

  Deshawn took a moment to decide, then took off. After a few minutes, another knock came on the door. Laura waited, gun pointed at space. Suddenly, the door kicked in revealing Harding. No hesitation, Laura fired. The bullet hit him in the chest, causing him to fall back. Several goons came around, and Laura shot each one, dead. Within seconds, only Harding breathed.

  “So, this is how it ends, huh?” Harding laughed through bloodied teeth.

  “I suppose so.” Laura changed the ammo on her gun. “It didn’t have to be this way, you know.”

  “You had to know I couldn’t just leave you alone to live your life, Black. That isn’t how things are done in the agency.” He coughed a mouth full of blood, his breath labored.

  “You said before we attacked S.I.U. last year that you were going let us go. Now you’re saying that was never the case.”

  “Never the case.”

  “Why? Why do you want this, Harding? It’s vile.” She walked in front of him with gun still raised and knelt by his side. “I never wanted any of it. You knew that.”

  He reached out and touched her face with a bloodied hand. The warm blood felt sticky on contact. “I couldn’t let you win, my dear. You left me to rot in this awful place. I couldn’t let you wi—.” His hand dropped, and all light extinguished from his eyes.

  Laura breathed deep. She couldn’t believe how she felt. So much pain from this man now left to a pool of blood on the carpet. Tears ran down her face, mixing with his mark. Someone touched her back. She could barely feel it or discern its owner.

  “Come on, Laura,” came Myers’ voice through the cloud.

  Explosions rang out above. The ground shook. Dirt shifted. The hole began to collapse around them. Myers swung her into his arms and darted for the entrance. Deshawn was in front of them, running as fast as possible. Chunks of earth fell around them. Twice, Myers tripped but kept moving forward. At the opening, they fell hard to the grassy knoll. Charlie, Eri, Willow, and Teddy all greeted her with relieved smiles plastered on their faces. They had done it. Destroyed the beast.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Laura climbed in one of the agency vans and settled into one of the back seats.

  “I really want to name it,” Charlie said for the fourth time.

  “It’s a standard van. Why does it need a name?” Eri asked, maneuvering into one of the back seats.

  “Because then it feels loved and will take care of us.” Charlie petted the dashboard on the passenger side. “And we shall forever call her…Bullet.”

  “Fine, Bullet it is. Can we go now?” Eri slammed the side door closed.

  “Yes, let’s. Where to now?” Myers asked behind the driver’s wheel.

  “Yes, but how about we play musical chairs.” Charlie got out and joined his wife in back. Shaking her head, Laura climbed around and dropped into the passenger seat next to Myers. “Let’s go somewhere very secluded with lots of trees and streams and very few people.”

  Myers laughed and repositioned the stick shift to reverse. “I like the sound of that.”

  Teddy leaned forward from the second row of seats. “By the way, we saw Helena and Alicia escape before the explosion. They went with some EMTs in an ambulance.”

  Laura’s heart dropped. “Stop the car!”

  Myers touched the brake and turned to her. “What?”

  “I will not go into hiding looking over my shoulders anymore. We need to go find them now.”

  “Shouldn’t we rest up first?” Myers touched her hand. “It’s been a lot.”

  “Just one day.” She looked over her shoulder at Charlie. “But you find them, and you monitor them. Understood?”

  “Aye, aye, Capt’n.” Charlie flipped open his laptop and began typing. “I’ll have them again momentarily. You can count on me.”

  “You don’t want to wait, do you?” Myers whispered to Laura.

  She met his stare. Of course not. “What do you think?”

  “What has gotten into you today? You’re super chipper.” Eri eyed Charlie with suspicion.

  “I feel relieved. So, sue me.” It took a moment before Charlie said, “Okay, got them. Go north.”

  Myers accelerated and drove down the road onto the freeway.

  “Go about two mil
es, get off at the exit, and turn right,” Charlie said.

  Myers complied.

  “It’s that county hospital up there on the left.” A six-story beige building came into view. “Pull into the parking garage.”

  “Wait, I thought you said we were waiting one day?” Teddy asked.

  “Yeah, right. Are you sure you’ve lived with this family for the past year?” Myers drove past the stand, grabbed a ticket, and then parked about three levels up. “One day could mean they are long gone.”

  “Then why suggest it?” Willow asked.

  Laura and Myers exchanged smiles. She didn’t answer, just glanced back to Charlie. “Can you detect where they are from here?”

  “No, but we could probably guess.”

  “Emergency,” Teddy and Willow said in unison and then laughed.

  “Why do you say that?”

  Willow leaned forward on the back of the seat with both elbows. “She was pretty torn up.”

  “Then it’s probably a good guess.” Laura took a deep breath.

  “What should we do?” Myers turned off the ignition and slid to face the group.

  “Myers, you and I go in to see if we can find them. Eri, Teddy, and Willow, you stand further out watching the exits, in case they bolt. Charlie, you do you.”

  Charlie tapped his forehead with two fingers in a salute. “Roger wilco.”

  Eri raised an eyebrow and exited vehicle.

  They each went their separate ways. Laura walked past a car window and saw her reflection. She was a mess—hair stuck up in all directions, ash mixed with sweat smears around her face, dried blood lined the bottom of her nose. “Wait, we need to clean up.”

  Myers looked somewhat better, but he too looked pretty dirty.

  They walked back to the car. Laura grabbed a bottle of water and found some fast food napkins in the glove box. She washed down her face and handed some to Myers to do the same. “Charlie, can Myers borrow your shirt, and can I have your hoodie?”

  Charlie laughed. “You think Myers is going to fit my shirt?”

  “It’ll be snug, but it will look better than what he’s wearing now.” She looked at the stained olive shirt.

  Charlie handed out his black hoodie. Laura pulled it on, as Charlie crawled out of a brown shirt, labeled with some nerd phrase, and gave it to Myers.

  Myers held it up. For sure, it would be a size too small. He pulled it on. It was snug, revealing every muscle.

  Laura smiled as she smoothed her hair back with the water that was left in the bottle.

  “Don’t laugh,” Myers said

  “Who says I’m laughing. Maybe I’m admiring.”

  He stared at her a moment with an amused grin, then nodded. “Okay, Black. You do you. Let’s roll.”

  “Make sure you have a silencer on your gun.”

  Myers nodded. “Yeah.”

  They sprinted back toward the stairwell and skipped down to the bottom level. A red painted arrow on the side of the wall said emergency was to their left. They slowed their pace. Myers grabbed her hand as had always been Laura’s advice. Couples were less suspicious.

  The emergency room was littered with sick people. A line had formed at the front desks. Laura got in it as she continued to survey the space. Glass, lined with wire, filled one wall. A double door led to the back. A metal button lay on the side of the door, which was guarded by security.

  “How do we get in there?” Myers asked.

  A front desk person opened up to her right.

  “Magic.” Laura winked, crossed to the desk, and began to be frantic. Time to channel Teddy. “Excuse me. I just heard my little sister has been brought in. Gun shot to her torso. How could that have happened? She’s a good girl. Good grades. No trouble ever. Great friends. Well for the exception of that one boyfriend last year. But he’s not in her life anymore.”

  The woman held up her hand. “What’s her name?”

  Oh no, there was no way Helena would use her real name. “Try Aneleh Munez,” came Teddy’s voice. “She used it before. It means something to her.”

  “Aneleh Munez.”

  “Yes, you’re right. The cops where talking to her, but I think they are finished.” The woman clicked on a few buttons. “She is in bed seven. What is your relation again?”

  “My sister and that’s our stepbrother.” Laura glanced at Myers with wide eyes, then back to the lady. “Mack Munez.”

  “Go to the door, and we’ll buzz you through.”

  Laura moved away and whispered in the com, “Remind me to kiss you later, Teddy.”

  “I’ll take a hot fudge sundae, instead, if that’s okay,” he replied.

  “It’s yours.”

  The two of them walked behind the nurse, through the door, and down a hall. Laura fingered the knife sheaved in her waistband, ready for anything. They reached a sheeted stall at the end of the room, and the nurse stepped back. “She’s in here. We’ve given her something for the pain, so I can’t say if she will hear you or not. Please don’t stay long.”

  They both nodded as she moved away.

  Laura walked in first and acrimony filled her body at the site of their principal traitor. Helena’s eyes were closed and her skin pale. An IV ran from her arm and an air tube was tucked in each nostril. A monitor gauged her vitals.

  Myers pulled the pink sheet hanging from the ceiling farther around so they had complete privacy. He then moved to the left side of the bed. Laura walked to the right. An extra pillow lay behind her head. Could they do it here, with all these witnesses around? She glanced at Myers.

  He nodded.

  She reached for the pillow and pulled it to her chest. This would not be easy. As angry as she was at this woman, she had been her friend. She began to move it forward, when Helena’s body shifted.

  “I’m sorry,” Helena mumbled.

  Laura pulled the pillow back. “What?”

  “I’m sorry for everything. I know now that Harding killed my dad. I did all that evil for a lie.” A tear seeped down her face. “I don’t blame you two for hating me. I hate me. But I am sorry.”

  Tears welled in Laura’s eyes. This hurt.

  “Do it, please,” Helena cried.

  “What?” Laura asked.

  “What you came here to do. It’s okay. You have to.”

  Laura peered at Myers, unsure how to proceed. They both stood there a long while, no one talking. She couldn’t do it. Even though leaving Helena alive would put them all at risk, she didn’t know if she could take this defenseless woman’s life. Laura placed the pillow back on the bed and stepped back.

  “More mercy than I showed Bryce,” Helena said.

  The mention of his name incensed Laura. Maybe that was why Helena said it. Anger flowed through Laura’s veins, but still, she did not reach for the pillow.

  “Can I whisper you a secret?”

  Laura glanced at Myers, who shook his head.

  “I promise, I won’t hurt you.”

  Laura stepped forward, cautiously, and bent down to her side.

  “Can you love Myers for me? I took his love. I took yours. And for that, I am sorry. Please take care of him.” A quick tug from Laura’s knife and Helena sliced her own throat.

  Blood sprayed both of them. Laura and Myers stared in disbelief. For a second, she was numb, but then adrenaline kicked in. They had to go. This would look like their doing. Laura grabbed her knife, rubbed it on the side of the sheet, and then hurried to the other exit. She opened the door and gasped. Alicia stood in the stairwell on the phone. Laura didn’t hesitate. She reached for her gun and fired. The girl dropped over the railing and down the stairs, crumpling in a pile at the bottom. Luckily, she had put the silencer on.

  They took off running, skipping every other step. When they were close enough to the bottom, they leapt over the landing and hit the exit door. An alarm sounded. Not good. The two of them raced across the open parking lot.

  “Are you getting this everyone? We have to go!” Laura r
an away from the parking garage and down toward a suburb. “Charlie, we can’t come to you. You have to come to us. We are on Maple, turning onto Gold.” Gasping and holding her side, Laura glanced at Myers. “You okay?”

  He nodded.

  They ducked in an alley and ran until it ended in a clump of bushes. She described her location to Charlie and sank down to the earth. Her body shook with too much adrenaline and unbelief.

  Myers held her, gasping for breath.

  “I am so sorry,” Laura cried. Her heart leapt wildly in her chest, and her mind whirled in disbelief. “We are going to be fugitives for the rest of our lives. Normal will never be possible.”

  “Normal is overrated anyways.” He touched his lips to the top of her head. “It’ll be okay. We’ll be okay.”

  “Before we had anonymity. Now not even that.”

  “Yeah,” he sighed, “but where is the fun in that?”

  Sirens sounded in the distance. Both craned their necks to look toward the towering hospital. Time was short. Hopefully, Charlie would get everyone collected and make it out before the place was surrounded. A van screeched to their hiding spot and honked.

  The two of them peeked, then jumped from the bushes, got in, and slammed the door shut. The rest of the team stared at them wide-eyed.

  “What happened?” Charlie asked, as he sped away.

  “Don’t go too fast, or it will cause suspicion.” Laura used her old shirt from before to wipe her and Myers’ faces free of blood splatter. “Helena cut her own throat.”

  “What?” Eri shook her head. “Of course, she got one last dig in.”

  “But we got Alicia,” Myers said. “So, at least we are free from that standpoint.”

  “Silver linings,” Teddy said sarcastically. “Now what?”

  “This is a decision you will all have to make.” Laura glanced around at all her friends—her family. Never did she think she could love people so much. “Myers and I are now fugitives—first the viral video and now this. Everyone will know our faces. That life you wanted will not exist for us. We will always be running.” Tears pooled in her eyes and trickled down her cheeks. “I will not tell anyone to choose that with us. I actually discourage it. No one knows you. You could have a somewhat normal life if—”