by Mike Ryan
“Don’t look at that,” Lamb said.
Brooke fixed her eyes on Lamb’s face, who seemed to have a calming effect on her. “What now?”
“Now we gotta get out of here.”
“Are you OK? What about your shoulder?”
“I’m fine. Are there any other cars here besides the one parked out front?” Lamb asked, walking over to a piece of cloth sitting on an end table. He picked it up and crumpled it up, placing it inside his shirt by his shoulder to prevent more bleeding.
“Uhh, yeah, there’s a couple cars in the garage.”
“Can we get there from here?”
“Yeah, it’s that way,” Brooke said, pointing.
“OK. Lead the way. One more thing, if we run into any trouble: if I say down, you hit the floor as fast and as hard as you can, got it?”
“I will.”
Brooke led Lamb through a couple more rooms before coming to a door that led out to the garage. She was about to turn the handle and walk in when Lamb grabbed her arm and stopped her. Not knowing what was on the other side, he wanted to clear it first before potentially putting her in harm’s way. He didn’t want to talk and give themselves away if anyone could hear them inside the garage, so he nodded to her to stand on the side of the door, out of the line of fire.
Lamb took a deep breath, then with his left hand, turned the handle on the door. Instead of opening it a little, and trying to do it slowly, he thought it was best to just throw the door open as quickly and violently as possible. As soon as he pushed the door open, he stepped back and took cover along the wall. It was silent. He didn’t hear any voices, no guns firing, nothing. He looked at Brooke for a second before making his next move. Just because it was silent so far, didn’t mean no one was there. They could’ve just been more patient than the others, or saw what happened to their friends and decided to take up a different strategy.
In any case, Lamb knew they had to move forward. They had to take one of the cars to get out of there. Getting away from the house on foot wouldn’t get them very far. It was a fairly large garage, housing two cars and having some space to spare. But outside of the vehicles, there wasn’t much else for someone to hide behind. If they were there, the only place they could be was on the other side of the cars or underneath them. It was one of the cleaner garages that Lamb had ever seen. Almost no junk or storage littered the ground.
Lamb slipped into the garage, both hands firmly gripped on his gun, holding it out in front of him as he readied to use it. He got down to one knee and looked down underneath the cars to see if he saw any legs beyond the vehicles, or bodies lying underneath them, but didn’t see anything. He walked around both cars, looking inside them just to make sure there were no surprises lying in wait. After a few short minutes, he cleared the garage of any intruders and called Brooke in.
“All right, get in, I’ll see if I can hot-wire it,” Lamb said.
“It’s locked.”
“Oh. Well, step back and I’ll smash the windows.”
“You could just use the key, you know. It’s hanging over there on the wall,” Brooke said, pointing to it.
Lamb felt a little silly, having the girl point it out to him. “Oh. Well, I guess if you wanna do it the easy way.”
Brooke smiled, the first time she’d done so since they met. Lamb walked around the back of the car and grabbed the key off the hook on the wall and unlocked the passenger side door, letting Brooke get in. He was initially planning on just smashing through the garage door, but saw a button on the wall and figured it’d probably be easier to just let the door go up on its own. As the door lifted off the ground, Lamb rushed around to the driver side and hopped in, instantly turning the key to start the ignition.
As the garage door completely lifted, Lamb looked out and saw a clear path. Part of him had expected another guy or two to be waiting on the outside somewhere. He was happy and relieved to see no one. At least not initially. He would have hated to run someone over in front of Brooke and have her be a witness to it.
“Is there a button in here somewhere that operates that front gate?” Lamb asked.
“No, not in here. There’s one on the outside part of the pole inside the gate, though.”
Lamb grumbled a little, not really wanting to get out of the car again, just in case there was another shooter lurking around. “Ehh, didn’t really wanna have to do that. Don’t wanna take the chance of catching another bullet.”
“Oh.”
“It’s all right. We’ll just smash through it.”
Brooke’s eyes lit up, partly in fear, the other part excitement. She’d seen a few movies involving high speed chases or cars running through objects. She never figured she’d be a part of something like that.
“Keep your head down,” Lamb said, worried that there still could be another man or two looking to fill the car with lead.
Lamb floored the gas pedal, peeling out of the garage at maximum speed. Though he took a quick glance to see if he noticed anybody milling about, he didn’t spend much time focusing on it. His main focus right then was just smashing through the gate. He kept picking up speed as he drove down the driveway. Once the car got near the gate, he warned his passenger about the impact they were about to experience.
“Brace yourself,” Lamb said.
Though Brooke kept her head down, she peeked up a little, just enough that she was able to see them crashing through the gate, splitting it open in the middle as the two sides swung open from the force of the vehicle.
“Wow,” Brooke said.
“Pretty crazy, huh?”
“Yeah.”
Lamb kept checking the rearview mirror to see if anyone was in sight, but there was still no one visible. Even as the tires squealed as they burned down the street, driving away from the house, he still kept checking to see if anyone was following. It was still clear. Lamb breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that they got over the first hurdle. He knew they probably weren’t done looking for him, though. There would most likely be others. But for now, for the minute, they were safe, it appeared, at least for the moment anyway. They had successfully escaped.
7
Knowing that the criminal underworld was going to be looking for them, Lamb had to be careful about where they went next. Going to a hotel would be dicey, Lamb thought. After all, they’d found him in one already. And though he could give a different name, he wasn’t sure that it was the best idea. He drove around for an hour, just trying to buy themselves a little time as he thought of his next move.
He tried engaging Brooke in some conversation to keep her spirits up, but she didn’t have much to say. Most of her thoughts were of her parents lying in the pool, and of the dead bodies she saw in the living room of their home. She was mostly looking down at the floor where her feet settled in, her mind alternating between the events she just witnessed, and a few of some happier times with her family. Lamb periodically looked over at her and felt bad for what she was having to go through. He tried to compare it to his own rough childhood, and couldn’t figure out which one of them had it worse. Was it worse having to live through physically and verbally abusive parents who were still around, or was it worse to have parents who seemed to care for you, and murdered in front of your eyes? He didn’t know the answer. He grew up with parents who he was convinced hated him, and she’d wind up growing up with no parents at all. Brooke was wearing a short sleeve shirt, so Lamb noticed that there were no bruises on her arms. There were no bruises on her face either. Thinking of his own situation, he often found himself looking for signs of abuse on others when he saw them. One of the tics he had that he could never shake loose.
As Lamb thought about her situation, he figured there was no way that she’d come out of this without damage. He could keep her physically safe, but mentally, emotionally, how do you recover from something like this? He didn’t know. He didn’t know if it was even possible to recover, at least not completely. He hoped she wouldn’t carry around this big emo
tional scar inside her for the rest of her life, being angry at the world, and everyone in it. That would be a tough price to pay for surviving this. But it was probably left for someone better, and more qualified than him to decipher and help her through. All he could do was his part, the first part, and that was making sure nobody hurt her. He was about to try and talk to her more, to lift her spirits, but his phone started ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Garner asked.
“Oh, you know, just the usual gunfights and such,” Lamb replied, not wanting to be too graphic with his young passenger listening.
“I just got a phone call about twenty minutes ago from a concerned party. They told me that four of their men wound up dead inside the Swanson home.”
“Oh? Wonder how that happened.”
Garner laughed, knowing exactly how it happened. “Yeah, right. I also heard that Lawrence Swanson and his wife were terminated.”
“That’s right.”
“I hear the girl is now missing.”
“Not missing. I know exactly where she is.”
“Yeah, that’s what I figured. What are you planning to do now?” Garner asked.
“I don’t know. I figure the less I tell you the better. Not that I think you’ll give me up, but if they call and ask you questions, you can’t lie about something you don’t know.”
“Well, thanks for that, I guess. Can I give you some advice?”
“Sure.”
“Don’t go to any hotels. They already asked me where I think you might be heading with the girl and I told them to check the hotels first. I said you probably wouldn’t stay long in one if you do. So, avoid them at all cost.”
“Appreciate that.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Lamb looked over at his passenger and tried to turn his head away from her, putting it as close to the window as possible to try and keep her from hearing what he was about to say. “Is she still in danger?”
“You know she is.”
“But why? She doesn’t know anything. The shooters are all dead so she can’t identify anyone. What’s the point of getting rid of her?” Lamb angrily asked, though keeping his voice down.
“Eric, you know how this works. They don’t care about any of that. They just want the whole family eliminated. Who knows how much she knows about her father’s business? You know as well as I do some parents involve their children in this line of work much earlier than some people would realize. Maybe Swanson gave his daughter some vital piece of information as a safeguard.”
“He didn’t.”
Garner sighed, knowing his friend was emotionally involved. “You don’t know that. I know you’re caught up in this now, but you know the game. They won’t take chances like that. It’s easier for them to just get rid of everybody.”
“I know,” Lamb said, frustrated, but knowing how the business worked.
“Can I tell you one more thing?”
“Never needed to ask before.”
“You gotta get rid of the girl as soon as possible.”
“What?”
“I don’t mean like that. The longer you’re on the run with her, the tougher it’s gonna be. You can’t continue fighting against these people with a kid in tow. You’re gonna be more concerned about protecting her than staying alive yourself,” Garner said.
“So, what do you suggest?”
“I dunno. Take her to the authorities or something.”
“I don’t know if you know this, Ross, but I can’t exactly just walk into a police station and hand her over and expect to walk out again.”
“I know that. Figure out another way.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“What about that FBI agent? The female one. The one who almost killed you.”
“Dunn?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
“What, you wanna give her another crack at me?” Lamb asked.
“She knows you.”
“How would I hand her over to Dunn? She’d shoot me the moment she put eyes on me.”
“Well, that’s a problem for another time, I guess. But you gotta do something. You can’t just stay out on the lam with a kid. We both know how that’ll turn out. Quite possibly with both of you in a box. You can get out of this, but only if you’re not dragging around an eleven-year-old with you.”
“All right, all right, I get the message.”
“I’m just trying to look out for you, kid.”
“And I appreciate it. You’re not getting any blowback for this, are you?”
“Me? Nah. Told you, I can handle it, don’t even give it another thought.”
“All right, well, I’ll try and figure out what I’m doing for the next few hours,” Lamb said. “If it seems like the best way, then maybe I’ll call Dunn and figure something out.”
“I really think it’s for the best. Not only for you, but for the kid. The sooner she’s in police protection, the better off she’ll be. The longer she’s with you, the more bullets she’s gonna have to dodge, you know that.”
Lamb nodded before finishing his conversation with his friend. He put the phone down on the seat between his legs as he looked out at the road, continuing to drive. Hearing part of the conversation, Brooke looked over at him, wondering what was going to happen to her. She could tell that he was trying to talk lower so she couldn’t hear him, but she still could. And she could tell that he seemed a little frustrated at whatever was being said.
“Are they coming after me now like my mom and dad?” she asked.
A lump went down Lamb’s throat as he tried to figure out how to answer the question. He wanted to be truthful with her, but at the same time, didn’t want to let her know the exact specifics of what was going on. No eleven-year-old should have to think and wonder about that, he thought.
“Don’t worry. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you,” Lamb said, trying to sound as worry-free as possible.
“So, what’s going to happen to me?”
“Nothing. I’m gonna keep you safe. I promise.”
“But where are we going to go?”
“I don’t know yet. I’m still thinking on that. We can’t go to a hotel, they’re checking them now, looking for us.”
“Oh. I have a couple aunts and uncles we could probably go to.”
Lamb smiled, appreciating her idea, even though it wouldn’t work. “No, we can’t go there. That’ll be one of the first spots they’d look. And all that would do is put the rest of your family in danger. You don’t wanna do that to them.”
“Are we going to have to hide out forever?”
“No,” Lamb said, shaking his head. “Just for a little while. Just until I can figure out what I can do with you, you know, where I can put you where I’ll know you’ll be safe.”
“You’re going to get rid of me?” Brooke asked, a fearful tone in her voice. “I can’t stay with you?”
Lamb looked at her, sadness in his eyes as he thought about her question. “The most dangerous place you can be right now is next to me.”
“But I don’t wanna go with anyone else.”
“Brooke, listen, you need to be a big girl right now and understand what I’m telling you, OK? The people who did this are very dangerous people. And they’re not gonna stop coming or looking for us. Especially me. I killed four of their men and interrupted their plans and took you away from them. That makes me their number one enemy right now. They’re never gonna stop looking for me. Ever. As long as you’re with me, you’ll always be in danger. I care about you too much to let that happen.”
Though she was disappointed, Brooke nodded, understanding what he was saying. She still wished there was a way she could stay with him. She knew without him, she wouldn’t have been alive at that point. Now she’d have to trust other people whenever it was that Lamb dropped her off. After driving a few more minutes, Lamb figured they could stop to eat somewhere, hoping that would help to lif
t her spirits a little. He could tell she was down after telling her that he planned on leaving her eventually. But he figured telling her the truth now, and getting her prepared for it, was the best strategy. The kid had already been through enough without him piling on to her troubles by lying to her.
“How ‘bout some breakfast?” Lamb asked. “You hungry?”
Brooke shrugged, not bothering to verbally reply.
Lamb thought about going to a restaurant where they could go in and eat, but eventually thought better of it. If their exploits were now on the news, then it was likely that Brooke was listed as missing. Or kidnapped. And him walking into a restaurant with her, if someone noticed her picture or something, that would be one more headache he didn’t need at the moment. It was better if he went through a drive-through somewhere and they parked and ate. He was still hesitant about someone peeking into the car and noticing the girl sitting there, but he figured most fast food workers were more concerned with getting the food out in time and moving on to the next car. He pulled into a fast food line and ordered without a problem, nobody seeming to notice either of them. Just to be on the safe side, though, he drove another five minutes and found a different parking lot to sit and eat in.
Brooke didn’t say much as they ate. She still had that disappointed look on her face and was wearing a frown. Lamb couldn’t tell whether it was because of what he told her, or if it was because she was reminiscing about her family. Whatever it was, he was content to leave her alone for a few minutes. After she was done her breakfast sandwich, she had more questions.
“Why did you save me?” Brooke asked, looking at the floor.
The question took Lamb by surprise and he had to think for a minute for his response. “I guess I figured no kid should have to worry about stuff like this.”
