Vengeance in Blood (Book 2): Tribulations

by Thomas A. Watson

  Kenneth shrugged. “Don’t know. The way they were blocking us off didn’t make sense. Have you been in something like this?”

  “Which time?” Besseta asked, letting out a laugh. “I was chased through Paris by a troop of knights and in London by a mob.”

  “That sucked,” Tiffany chimed in.

  “During the day?” Kenneth asked, seeing the road ahead full of traffic.

  “Yes,” they said in unison.

  Kenneth stopped and turned around, looking at them. “What did you do?”

  “Hit the sewers,” Besseta told him. “It’s dark, giving us strength and slowing them, and it leads out of the city.”

  Tiffany nodded. “If I wouldn’t have been following you, I would already be down there.”

  Snapping his fingers, Kenneth said, “That’s where they were driving us. I’ll bet they have nice traps laid out down there, no witnesses and easy to move stuff. It would be perfect.”

  They just looked at Kenneth until he spun around and walked toward the road. “You sound awful certain,” Besseta said.

  “It’s the only thing that makes sense. They were blocking you two, not me,” Kenneth said as he stopped and turned to them. “When we walk out, I want you two to act like call girls, okay?”

  Tiffany nodded with a grin. Besseta’s face hardened. “You want me to act like a whore?”

  “Call girl,” Kenneth corrected.

  Besseta crossed her arms. “Whore.”

  Sighing, Kenneth said, “Besseta, it’s an act. You know I would never see you that way.” He adjusted the earpiece. “They’re after the SUV.”

  “Can you tell me why?” Besseta asked.

  He waved his hands around. “We are walking out of a collection of abandoned buildings; what other reason would we have for being here, Besseta, besides drugs, and we aren’t dressed for that.”

  She walked past him. “Fine, but I’m expensive.”

  Trying not to laugh, Kenneth walked past her. “Follow, not lead. If I run, you need to see where, and I need to know where you are in case I have to shoot.”

  “Sorry,” Besseta said, feeling bad about that.

  When they reached the street, Kenneth waved down a taxi. Running to it, Kenneth let the girls in then climbed in and shut the door. Pulling out his wallet, he handed a hundred through the slot. “My wife has a private eye on us; just haul ass or I lose everything,” Kenneth said.

  The driver took the money and stomped the gas, throwing them back. “Dude, what you takin’ high-end girls there for?”

  “Wife had the Sheraton under surveillance,” Kenneth answered, looking around. “Only place I could go, and the Jag got a flat when we saw the private eye, so we took off.”

  “Man, you need to dump that woman and hook up with one you have now.” The driver grinned, looking in the rearview mirror.

  “I plan on doing just that,” Kenneth said, leaning over and kissing Besseta.

  “That’s going to cost more.” Besseta smiled.

  The driver busted out laughing. “Damn, fine and smart. Where you heading?”

  Kenneth thought for a second. “North end of Oak Street. Just drop us off, and I’ll sneak home.”

  “Will do,” the driver said, weaving through traffic.

  Kenneth passed two more bills through the gap. “I’m sure the private eye has the radio monitored. How about we keep this fare off the books?”

  The driver reached over, taking the money. “What fare? My seat’s empty,” he said, turning off the meter.

  Twenty minutes later, the taxi left, leaving them on a sidewalk in a nice neighborhood. Kenneth weaved his hand through each girl’s arm with one on each side. “We are now snotty people looking at the neighborhood,” he said, leading them in a walk.

  “Man, we are so spies,” Tiffany grinned. “What form were you using when you beat those shits down?”

  “Krav maga.” Tiffany nodded as Kenneth listened to the radio. “They haven’t caught the SUV yet but are getting close.”

  Besseta didn’t have the heart to tell Kenneth that they could hear the radio in his ear as she looked around. “What are we really doing here? Shouldn’t we be getting out of the city and not deeper in?”

  “Yes, but we need a ride, and if we steal one from a business, the person will report it when they get off in an hour. Steal one here, and it’s not reported until they get home,” Kenneth explained, stopping beside a car. “Tiffany, will you?” he asked.

  The car started, and the doors thunked as the locks popped. Kenneth opened the driver’s door and climbed in. “A black Dodge Charger; now this is what you steal,” Tiffany said, climbing in the back. As Besseta shut the door, Tiffany griped, “Besseta, scoot the seat up. I don’t have any room, and you don’t need much.”

  “You aren’t that much taller than me,” Besseta shot back.

  “You’re not even five feet tall, and I’m six inches taller than you,” Tiffany moaned.

  Reaching down, Besseta slid the seat up as Kenneth sped out of the neighborhood, feeling like a parent. “You two get down; they’re looking for three people,” he said as both laid down.

  When he hit the interstate, he announced, “They caught the SUV.” Keeping his speed at the speed limit, Kenneth kept looking around. All of a sudden, he started pounding the steering wheel. “There’s no fucking way!”

  Stomping the gas, he flew down the interstate, weaving in and out of traffic. Besseta and Tiffany sat up, alarmed. “What is it?” Besseta asked and cringed as Kenneth drove between two cars.

  “They just put out we were seen in a black Dodge Charger heading west on the interstate!” he shouted. “There’s no fucking way!”

  Suddenly, Kenneth leaned down and looked up into the sky through the windshield then his window. “I don’t see any helicopters,” Besseta said, wanting him to keep his eyes on the road.

  “Okay, shit,” he said to himself. “It has to be something in the air; that’s how they are following us.”

  He continued to blow through traffic. “Ah ha,” he snapped, yanking the steering wheel and shooting across five lanes of traffic to an exit ramp.

  “Kenneth, there’s a black SUV like we stole coming up behind us,” Tiffany told him. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he saw the giant vehicle approaching then heard it call over the radio.

  Whipping around the traffic, Kenneth darted into the flow of it and stomped the gas. When he saw the SUV behind him hit a car and shove it out of the way, Kenneth knew this was bad. Down shifting, he darted over into the oncoming lane, making Besseta grab the dashboard.

  Playing a running game of chicken with oncoming traffic, Kenneth glanced up and saw the SUV was following him. Looking up, Kenneth darted out of the way of a semi, and to Besseta’s credit, she never shouted at Kenneth to turn. Seeing a side street ahead, Kenneth locked the tires, spun the steering wheel, then stomped the gas to power out of the turn. Behind him, Tiffany was clapping with excitement as she bounced in the seat.

  In a residential area, Kenneth blew down the road and took another turn looking in the rearview mirror to see how much of a lead he had. Hearing the radio in his ear, Kenneth hit the steering wheel. “This is bullshit,” he said, pulling out his pistol. Yanking the wheel right just as the SUV turned on the street, Kenneth turned onto a side street with tires squealing. With the engine roaring, Kenneth turned back in the direction of the SUV. Taking another right and rolling down his window, Kenneth circled the block and came back to the road he had pulled off of and the SUV was on.

  Roaring out into the street, Kenneth locked up the brakes, aiming his gun out the window to see the SUV barreling down on him. Aiming at the driver, Kenneth started squeezing the trigger, seeing the window of the SUV spider web out. Then bullets punched through, leaving holes until a red splash hit the windows, and the SUV veered left, slamming into a parked car and flipping over on top of another.

  Stomping the gas, Kenneth sped out of the neighborhood as he changed magazines. “Y
ou want to tell us what that was about?” Besseta asked.

  “They were converging on us. Two more units came in from the west and were working toward us,” he said, putting the pistol in his lap. “They are coming at us too fast. I think they have a drone over us.”

  Sticking her head between the front seats, Tiffany asked with a grin, “You mean a small spy plane?”

  “Yeah, it’s the only thing that makes sense,” he said.

  “What are you doing then?” Besseta asked.

  Yanking the wheel, Kenneth pulled back on the main road, squealing the tires. “Heading to the airport. Air traffic can’t cross into it no matter how high they fly,” he said, weaving around a line of cars. “Boston PD has been ordered off. Homeland announced we are terrorists they want to apprehend.”

  Approaching a red light nearing triple digits, Besseta closed her eyes, and Kenneth stomped the pedal. “Come on, be lucky!” he shouted, stiffening his arms as they blew through a gap of the crossing traffic. “Yeah, baby, we are bad!” he shouted, and Tiffany started bouncing again in the backseat.

  “This is fucking great!” she screamed, punching the roof of the car and howling with joy.

  Seeing a sign to the airport, Kenneth locked the tires, turned right, and followed the sign. Pulling onto the road, he looked in his mirror. “Well, they are persistent if nothing else,” Kenneth said.

  Turning around, Besseta saw an SUV weaving through traffic coming up behind them. Glancing over at Kenneth, she saw him pick up his pistol. “When that truck is beside us, everyone shoot at it. Just don’t hit me,” he told them.

  As the SUV got closer, it pulled into the next lane to pass as Kenneth stomped the brake, and the SUV passed. Then Kenneth stomped the gas, pulling up beside it. Holding his gun in his right hand, Kenneth squeezed the trigger and watched holes appear in the passenger door. Besseta leaned over and aimed beside Kenneth.

  Behind them, Tiffany aimed through the sidewall of the roof behind the driver and started squeezing off rounds. The SUV swerved under the hail of lead with everyone in it wounded or dead. When the rain of lead stopped, Kenneth yanked the wheel toward the SUV, crashing against the front tire.

  The SUV shot over the median into oncoming traffic and was hit by several cars, sending the SUV rolling sideways down the road. Dropping his empty pistol, Kenneth hit the gas and saw a traffic light ahead.

  Aiming between the stopped row of cars, Kenneth was certain they could get through. Besseta dropped her pistol and grabbed onto the car as the light changed, and the line of cars in front of them started to move into the intersection.

  Moving over a hundred miles an hour, the Dodge blew between the rows of cars, sending out screeches of metal and sparks. Free of the narrow gauntlet, they hit the intersection and felt a dip as the road rose up, and the car went airborne.

  “Whoo hoo, we are fucking flying!” Tiffany cheered in the back.

  Gripping the wheel tight, Kenneth braced for impact as the Charger slammed back to earth, sending sparks everywhere and making the Charger swerve back and forth down the road until Kenneth had control. Behind him, Tiffany was laughing her ass off, and Besseta had cracked the dash, leaving holes where her fingers were.

  Speeding down the road, Kenneth saw a plane landing ahead. Noticing he was coming to a parking garage, he slowed and pulled in, stopping at the ticket machine. When he pulled the stub out, the gate swung up. He pulled into the first spot and got out.

  Trying to calm her nerves, Besseta felt around the floorboard until she found her pistol. Getting out, she found Kenneth beside an H2 Hummer. He held his pistol beside his leg. “Tiffany,” he said as she came over. Again, the vehicle started, and the doors unlocked.

  They all climbed in as Kenneth backed out. Looking at the Charger, steam hissed from the hood, and several fluids were pouring out under it. “Well, it held together,” Besseta nodded.

  Kenneth pulled up to the booth, handing his ticket and a hundred to the clerk. “Keep the change.” Kenneth smiled, and the gate swung up. Easing back on the road in the new ride, he looked over as he pulled out his pistol and changed magazines. “You two did awesome.”

  Seeing that, Besseta dug in the backpack and pulled out two magazines, passing one back to Tiffany. “Is it my imagination, or are they trying to keep us in the city?” she asked.

  Putting his pistol in the holster, Kenneth smiled. “Look who is the detective now.”

  “Well, I had the best teacher ever,” she smirked. “Also the sexiest.”

  Tiffany poked her head between the seats. “Sorry to interrupt, but this is the best day EVER!”

  “If you say so. I would rather be on that boring ass plane,” Kenneth admitted, looking at the rearview mirror, almost expecting pursuit but didn’t notice anything.

  “Planes left,” Besseta told him.

  Kenneth hit the steering wheel, making Besseta wonder what he heard now. “That pisses me off; we don’t get that money back,” he said with a serious face.

  “Hey, we are alive and not captured. I’ll take the loss of cash.” Besseta grinned. “Where are we heading?”

  “A place with a lot of people,” Kenneth said. “Hang around and wait till dark; then, one of you can give me a piggy back ride.”

  “So we giving up on driving out?” Besseta asked.

  Glancing over, Kenneth admitted, “I don’t know how they keep finding us. We won’t stay lucky for much longer if we keep getting in car chases no matter what Tiffany thinks.”

  Besseta relaxed and listened to Kenneth’s multitude of thoughts slowly dissipate, and she felt he was afraid not for himself but for her. “Baby, they aren’t smarter than you. They have more money than I do, so they can afford more stuff. They have entire governments behind them. Sometimes, like I’ve told you, numbers win.”

  Sighing, Kenneth nodded. “This isn’t right; they had sightings of wolf-like beasts in Boston a month ago. They already searched here, so why are they here?”

  “Beats me, but they can stay here. When the sun sets, we are gone,” Besseta told him.

  “You can’t follow roads,” he said, shocking her.

  She thought for a minute. “Well, I’ll take the waterways.”

  Not even going to ask how, Kenneth just nodded. “Here we go,” Kenneth said, pulling over to the exit lane. Besseta looked up, seeing a massive mall ahead.

  “You really think this is a good time to shop?” Besseta laughed.

  “Yeah, for a hiding place.” He grinned. Pulling into the mall, Kenneth drove past the outdoor parking, heading to the parking garage. Finding an empty spot, he parked. “Stay close,” he said as he got out.

  Besseta looked at her watch and saw they had over three hours until sunset. Walking around the back of the Hummer, she slung the backpack on. Getting on Kenneth’s right, Tiffany moved over to his left as he led them inside.

  When Kenneth led them to an employee’s entrance that went behind the stores, Besseta was shocked, expecting to just wander around. Walking down the long hallway, Kenneth stopped beside a ladder. Making sure no one was coming, he scurried up the ladder and opened the door. Looking around, he saw the wiring over the tile of the store’s roof below. Liking the maintenance area to hold up, Kenneth smiled.

  He climbed up, motioning them to follow. When they were in, they looked around as Kenneth sat down. “Let them find us here,” he challenged.

  “If a vamp or wolf shows up, they will,” Besseta reminded him.

  With the wind blown out of his sails, Kenneth slumped his shoulders. “It’s not fair; the other side has those to.”

  Feeling bad, Besseta moved over to him. “Don’t worry; this should hide us till dark.”

  “I want you two to stay here,” Kenneth said, moving to the hatch.

  Moving over to block his way, Besseta asked, “Whoa, where are you going?”

  “Going to get you two something else to wear and find a map of this place. I don’t like being somewhere I don’t know how to get out o
f,” he said, opening the hatch.

  “Let us come with you,” Besseta said.

  Kenneth smiled. “This is what I do; don’t worry.”

  Besseta moved back as Kenneth dropped down the ladder, and she closed the hatch. “Don’t worry; Kenneth is a total bad ass,” Tiffany informed her.

  Not able to deny that, Besseta said, “Yes he is, but I’m sure they are getting ready to send in the ones we need to take care of.”

  Letting out a sigh, Tiffany lay down and said, “Well, that was still exciting.”

  Chapter 20

  Almost an hour passed before the hatch opened up, and Kenneth climbed up. “Put this on,” he told them, handing over bags. Tiffany ripped off her dress, startling Kenneth and making him spin around. Besseta laughed, stripping off her dress and opening the bag.

  Inside, she found khaki slacks, a polo shirt, and a blazer with black tennis shoes. Dressing quickly, Besseta looked up to find Tiffany dressed just like her. “Put your ID in your pocket, and pull your hair back to look like agents,” Kenneth told them. They did what he asked and tucked their guns in their backs.

  “Follow me, and don’t step on that white tile, or you will fall into the store below,” he warned, leading them down the catwalk.

  “What did you find out?” Besseta asked, giving up trying to listen to the roaring thoughts in Kenneth’s mind.

  “They’re here,” Kenneth answered, dejected.

  Besseta ran up, grabbing his arm. “You heard it on the radio?”

  He shook his head. “No, saw two of them. I think they are putting out false reports now, knowing I’m listening.”

  “Change frequency,” she suggested.

  “How about let’s just get the hell out of here?” he offered.

  Nodding, she said, “I like that plan better.”

  Kenneth led them to the other side of the mall and headed to the other end from where they entered. Finding an access point, Kenneth listened but didn’t hear anything. He looked up at Besseta.

  “I don’t hear anything down there,” she told him.

  Opening the hatch, they climbed down and continued heading to the end of the mall. As they walked down the hall, Kenneth started getting nervous. They hadn’t passed any employees. As they came to a junction, a figure wearing a silver metallic suit with a hood that had a large, one-way window stepped around the corner followed by two men carrying large flashlights.