Flying Free

by Abigail Davies

  Just as I’m about to press the screen to call her, Daley comes running into the room, his face full of panic. “He’s gone!”

  “What?” I frown. “Who’s gone?”

  “Madden, he’s disappeared. The eyes I had on him haven’t seen him for a few hours so I sent them inside to check and he’s gone.”

  “Fuck!” I stand up, my hands clenching into fists as I squint my eyes at a spot on the wall, trying to think what we can do from here. “I’ll gather the guys, call in your eyes. We need to work out where he’s gone.”

  Daley follows me out of the room and down the hallway as I shout for everyone to get into the main room. “He left traces of an explosive device.”

  “Dammit,” I curse under my breath and wait at the front of the room for everyone to come back.

  “What’s up?” Jason asks when he walks in, his eyes flicking to Daley as he talks to someone on his cell.

  “He’s gone,” I say, gritting my teeth and trying to keep my cool.

  We need to find him quick because nobody builds a bomb not intending to use it and if he’s moved location, that means he may be going to wherever he intends to set it off.

  “On their way,” Daley says when he pockets his cell and comes to stand next to me. “Let’s look at his known connections and start from there.”

  “Yeah,” I say, shuffling through the files we have on him and tilting my head at Chad for him to do his thing on the computer.

  “We’ll look into his time line and where he’s been to try and find out where he’s going next.”

  “Ava?” I hear in the distance. I ignore it at first, not being able to see where it’s coming from and carry on walking through campus. It’s the dreaded Thursday shift today and instead of staying at Corey’s tonight, I decide to go back to the apartment. I don’t fancy going all that way, not at this time of night anyway.

  “Ava!” I hear again, only this time louder. I stop and turn, searching for where the voice is coming from and spot a figure behind one of the trees.

  My heart starts beating harder in my chest and my palms begin to sweat. This is where I should run but my feet stay rooted to the spot as the person comes closer.

  “Ava,” the person says again and my nerves turn into anger when I recognize his voice.

  It’s him, the sorry excuse I have for a dad.

  “I told you to stay away from me,” I grit out, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. “I’m not helping you, dig yourself out of the hole that you’ve made.”

  I spin around, starting to walk away but his footsteps get closer and faster before his hand comes out and grips onto my arm, spinning me around with strength I didn’t think he had.

  “What the...”

  “Please, Ava,” he says, his voice whiny and pathetic. “They found me and hurt me.”

  I grit my teeth and breathe through my nose, trying not to breathe in too much of his rancid scent. I squint my eyes as a light flicker’s on over us and illuminates his face.

  Gasping, I pull away and search his eyes. There have been times where he’s given himself a fat lip just to get my sympathy but this time I have no doubt that someone has beat him up. His hand is clutching his side too so I’m assuming that he has bruises there as well.

  “What happened?” It’s out of my mouth before I can even think about it and he must see the concern on my face because he starts to tell me how sorry he is about everything and that he wants to have a real relationship with me.

  If he thinks I’m going to fall for that then he’s stupid. I have no illusions that all he wants is money to pay his debts.

  “Don’t fill me with bullshit,” I say, holding my hand in front of me and looking down at the ground, trying to think about what I should do.

  Guilt swamps me as I stand here. He may have done some really questionable things and wasn’t a father in the slightest but... he’s still my dad.

  “How much?” I ask, lifting my head back up and watching as he looks away.

  “Three,” he whispers, barely audible.

  “Three hundred?” I ask. I try to figure out how much I have in my savings account. I’m sure I can manage that. If it will get him out of my life again, once and for all, then it’s worth it.

  “No.” He shakes his head and shuffles his feet. “Thousand.”

  My eyes go wide and my mouth hangs open. “Three thousand?” I ask, shaking my head. “You want me to give you three thousand dollars?”

  “They said they’ll kill me, Ava... Look at what they’ve already done to me!” He points at his face, his eyes squinting at me in mirth. “If they kill me, it’ll be your fault.”

  Years ago, when he would say that to me, I genuinely believed that it would be my fault but now? I know damn well that it won’t be my fault.

  It’s his fault. He’s the one who’s a druggie, he’s the one who can’t control himself. Not me.

  “Here’s the thing...” I say, straightening up and stepping closer to him. “I may have fallen for your guilt trips in the past but I’m not that person anymore. It won’t work on me. Why don’t you go and ask your son?”

  “What-”

  I take a step back, watching his eyes go wide at what I said.

  When Thomas told me that he was my brother at Corey’s apartment, I didn’t know what to think or what to say. He started rambling things through the door. How he was sorry, that he didn’t know about me, that he came to find me and took up a position at the college.

  I didn’t want to hear his excuses. They weren’t worth anything and for all I know, he could be lying. So I left him stood outside of the apartment building and locked myself in Corey’s apartment for the rest of the night, not going back out until I had to go to another lecture a couple of days later.

  “Yeah,” I sneer. “Didn’t think he’d tell me, huh? Well, newsflash, he did. I don’t know what sick game you’re both playing but this is all on you. I won’t let you guilt me into helping you.”

  “Yeah?” he asks, his mouth growing into a smirk. “You’re the reason I’m hooked on these things. If your mom never would have had you then she wouldn’t have been depressed. It was her that made me take the drugs, she got me hooked.”

  Throwing my head back, I laugh. I laugh so hard that tears start to run down my cheeks. “That’s some messed up logic right there.”

  “Nothing messed up about it,” he grinds out, his mouth taking on a grim line. “It’s your fault, Ava, and you need to help me.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think so,” I huff and turn, walking away from him. If he really needs my help, then you would think he would at least be nice about it instead of flinging accusations and blame at me.

  I get three steps before chills run down my spine at something he says and I turn around. “What did you say?” I ask, feeling the blood drain from my face.

  “I said...” He steps forward and invades my space. “I know who you’re afraid of and he’s been asking for you.”

  “W... what are you talking about?”

  “Those scars he left?” he asks, raising a brow and chuckling. “He has pictures you know, he says that he needs to find you. That you’re his. See, he has a reward out for your location, so...”

  My breaths come in pants and my head starts to spin as I process what he’s trying to say.

  “You’ll go to him if I don’t give you the money?” I ask in shock but I really shouldn’t be shocked. He’ll do anything to save his own ass.

  Shrugging, he turns his back on me and starts to walk away, taking a couple of steps and then looking at me over his shoulder. “You have two days, I’ll let you know the location.”

  Where am I meant to find this kind of money? It isn’t like I have a job that pays really good so there’s no way that I’ll be able to borrow the money from the bank. I have one day left to find this money, the alternative doesn’t even bear thinking about.

  Would he really tell him where I am?

  I don’t even know why I qu
estion it because he will, I know he will.

  My head feels like it’s going to explode and I’m so confused, I don’t know what to do. One minute I’m panicking that I need to get this money and the next I start to wonder whether I should. I mean, he’s in jail so it’s not like he can get to me anyway.

  But what if he sends someone else after me?

  I’m driving myself insane.

  Then there’s the whole thing with Thomas. I didn’t know what to believe until I saw dad’s face, then I knew, he was who he said he was. I have no idea what to do about it all and I really want to talk to Corey about it. But I can’t because then I have to explain about my dad turning up and then the money and... everything. I just can’t do that; I need to deal with it myself.

  I scroll through the contacts on my cell and just as I’m about to debate calling Charlie the thing vibrates in my hand, scaring the life out of me.

  “Hello?” I ask, shaking my head at myself as I wonder why I didn’t even look at who was calling.

  “Hey, baby.” Butterflies take flight in my stomach at the sound of his voice and I’m left speechless for a second.

  “Hey,” I say on an exhale, my lips spreading into a wide smile as I lean back on the couch.

  “I’ve missed your voice.” I hear something squeak in the background and then he says. “How’s things going?”

  “Yeah, good.” I shuffle in my seat, my mind still stuck on what I’m going to do. “How’s the job going?” I ask, moving the subject off me and trying to distract myself. I don’t want to tell him what’s happening, I want to be able to sort this out myself.

  The conversation is so stilted and I know it’s because I have so many things on my mind but when I try to act normal, I swear I just act weirder.

  “Yeah, it’s okay,” he huffs.

  Knowing that he can’t talk about it with me, I try to change the subject again.

  “So... J has booked a band for Friday.” I smile, thinking about how much of a success it’s going to be. I’ve never seen a band live before and I can’t wait to see them. I really want Jess to come with me but with how she’s acting at the moment, I doubt that she will.

  “Yeah?” he asks, his voice taking on a different tone. “You’re going, right?”

  “Yeah.” I stand up off the couch and pick up my laptop, opening it up and moving my finger on the mouse pad. “I’ll see what the band’s name is, one second.”

  I tap away on the keyboard and bring up the website for the bar and scroll down into the events section.

  “DNT,” I say and close my laptop. “They’re meant to be really good.”

  Corey stays silent for a few minutes and I pull the cell away from my ear to make sure that the call hasn’t dropped.

  “Corey, you still there?”

  “Huh?” he says, startled.

  “You okay?” I frown, looking down and running my finger along the edge of my laptop.

  “Yeah, I just wish I was there with you.”

  I nod, wishing that he was here too. I thought I missed him before but talking to him now makes me miss him even more. It’s even worse being able to hear his voice and not see his face.

  “I do too.” I take a deep breath. “Do you know when you’ll be home?”

  “Couple of weeks?” he asks, obviously not knowing the answer to it himself. “Shit... I’ve got to go, baby.”

  “Okay,” I whisper as tears prick the back of my eyes. “Will I speak to you again before you come back?”

  “I don’t know,” he huffs and I can just imagine him running his hands down his face in that way that he does when he’s stressed. “I’ll try.”

  “Okay...” I keep the cell pressed to my ear, not knowing what to say now. “I’ll speak to you soon?”

  “Yeah, baby. I...” My heart speeds up as he stops saying what he is about to and then he says. “Talk soon,” and the line goes dead.

  Dropping my chin to my chest, I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

  The welcome distraction helped for all of a couple of minutes but now my head is whirling with ideas on how to come up with three thousand dollars.

  I stare at my cell with wide eyes as I let the call drop. I nearly let it slip and I didn’t even realize that’s how I felt but now that I think about it, I should have known.

  It isn’t just because I’d taken her virginity, I felt like that beforehand, I just never admitted it to myself. I can’t believe I nearly let the L-word slip, I would have regretted saying it for the first time over the phone.

  I want to do that shit properly, not half-assed.

  Shaking my head, I lean back on the bed and run my hands down my face.

  Today has been a complete nightmare. We went to search the targets apartment and the place was destroyed. He’d obviously left in a hurry and he’d been sloppy with what he’d left lying around.

  We were able to see where he was going next, within minutes.

  It was easy. Too easy.

  People like that don’t leave tracks, they cover them as much as possible. It only took us a couple of hours to track him down and before we left, I wanted to call Ava, needing to hear her voice before I step into this job fully, not knowing what’s about to happen.

  Now though, I wish that I hadn’t called her.

  Hearing her voice made me want to go back home and wrap my arms around her. To breathe in the sweet smell of her hair, to feel the curve of her hips against me.

  Fuck... I really shouldn’t have called her.

  Adjusting myself and sitting up when someone knocks on the door, I shout. “Yeah?”

  “Time to go.” Daley’s head comes around the door, his face serious and his brows drawn down into a frown. That’s when you know shit is about to get real, when his face takes on the no-shit look.

  I push up off the edge of the bed, grab my bags and throw them over my shoulder.

  I sit and wait on the couch for Jess to come home. I’d messaged her earlier and told her about the band at the bar, asking if she wanted to come with me. She’d replied with a simple, ‘be home at 8’.

  It’s now half past and she still isn’t here.

  I pick up my cell and stare at the message that my sorry excuse for a dad sent me earlier. I still didn’t have the money but I came up with an idea on how to get it, I just needed more time.

  Telling him this didn’t go down well and I practically had to beg for a couple of extra days. He said I had until Wednesday so I needed to work fast on getting the money.

  Having had no sleep isn’t helping me in the slightest. I can’t concentrate on anything and all I want is to be able to talk to somebody about it but I can’t.

  “Hoooooney, I’m hoooome!” Jess shouts as the door bangs shut. I hear her footsteps coming closer and steps into the living room, shouting, “Let’s get our rock on!” She attempts to make a rocking sign with her hand and sticks her tongue out.

  “They’re not a rock band, Jess.” I chuckle, shaking my head as I lift up off the couch. I’m glad to see her being her usual self again.

  “Say what? Then what are they?” Her face falls and I look at her leaning against the wall and start to think this may not be such a good idea as she’s obviously been drinking already.

  “They’re an indie band.” I walk closer to her and put my hand on her arm. “You okay, Jess?”

  “What? Me?” She points at her chest, her movements slow and sloppy. “I’m fine... Are you okay?” She lifts her brow high on her head and assesses my eyes.

  “Yeah.” I give her a funny look. “I’m good.”

  We both stand here, awkwardly staring at each other. Both of us know that neither of us are okay but we don’t expand on it and instead we just silently acknowledge that we’re both dealing with something that we don’t want to talk about.

  “Ready?” I ask and step away from her, tilting my head to the door.

  “Sure.” She grins and hooks an arm through mine, most likely to hold herself up.

>   We get into a cab and Jess doesn’t stop talking the whole way there, filling me in on all the cheerleading gossip. When we finally get to the bar, I’m glad to get out of there because she’s got louder and louder the longer we were in there.

  “Evening, Miss Ava,” the man on the door says.

  “Hi, Stan.” I wave and give him a big smile.

  Coming here all the time means that everyone knows my name now. People knowing who I am makes me feel safer. A bar isn’t exactly the best place to be, especially on a night like tonight where the line is as far as the eye can see. It gets busy and fights break out and if you’re not careful you can get caught up in it. Knowing that I can escape to Corey and J’s office means that I feel more at ease here.

  In fact, I’d rather be here than at home lately.

  “Ava!” Jackson shouts, jumping up on the bar and leaning over to wrap his arms around me. “Feels like I haven’t seen ya in ages!” His voice goes high pitched and he pulls a face before pulling back and grabbing a glass to pour me a drink.

  “On your own tonight?” Jackson asks.

  I shake my head and look around for Jess; she was right behind me. “No, Jess is here with me.” I frown, not being able to see her in the crowd and spin on the spot. I finally find her on the dance floor, dancing to the music that’s playing through the speakers.

  “Ah, she’s over there,” I say and smirk at her sloppy movements.

  “Thanks,” I say when Jackson hands me my drink and I turn around, seeing J move towards the stage, showing the band where they need to set up.

  She spots me at the bar and waves me over. Shaking my head, I try to tell her ‘no’ silently but it doesn’t work because she puts her hands on her hips and stares at me, giving me that ‘get your ass over here right now’ look.

  Huffing, I push up off the bar, holding my drink tight in my hand and making my way through the small crowd that’s gathered to watch the band set up.

  “Hey!” she shouts over the music and pulls me into a tight hug. I hug her back as best as I can without spilling my drink all over her and give her a big smile when I pull away.