by Rhea Wilde
I muttered to myself as I saw Derek disappear around the corner, the three men chasing him in hot pursuit. I looked around, trying to figure out what to do when I saw the bike in front of me.
It had been years since I drove a motorcycle.
“Why didn’t he just get a car?” I said as I hopped onto the bike.
I looked at the panel and searched for the ignition to start it.
“Just like riding a bicycle… Just a plain, old bicycle…”
My heart pumped hard inside of my chest. Sweat covered my palms as I gripped the handles. After the engine finally started, the vibration of the vehicle made my whole body shake.
“Just like riding a bike—”
I twisted the throttle and bike sped off down the street. I immediately felt a lump in my throat as I weaved away from the traffic. After managing not to crash, I put my head up and tried to figure out where Derek was.
Derek had to escape them completely, otherwise they would still be able to follow us.
Come on, Eva.
I knew these streets as well as anybody. Knowing Derek, he was probably running through the alley, leaping over fences and bouncing off walls. I drove through traffic, thinking about him while at the same time trying not to get myself killed.
He’s over here. He has to be.
I made my way down the streets, turning corners and hoping that I would eventually find him and cut him off.
Over here.
I made a sharp turn down one street and pulled up to the curb in front of an alley. Just as I’d expected, Derek was racing toward me. There were several fences between us but I could see him coming closer. The three men chasing him appeared to be getting closer. Derek cleared one last fence before jumping onto the bike behind me.
“Go!”
He shouted at me and I pushed the throttle. We sped off down the street like a rocket. I turned around just long enough to see the men just exiting the alley. Agent Neville had his weapon up but he was too far to fire it. The other men were hunched over, trying to catch their breath.
Once we’d gotten away, I slowed down enough to pull over completely. I parked along the curb and got off the bike as quickly as I could.
“What’s wrong?” Derek said to me. “What are you doing?”
“Here,” I replied. “You need to drive. Next time get a car, okay?”
“I wasn’t expecting a situation where you would need to drive. Technically, this is your fault.”
“My fault?” I exclaimed. “How is it my fault?”
“That never would have happened back there if you didn’t have a craving for coffee.”
“Well, I needed it because I was hungover.”
“Also your fault.”
I turned my head to the side and looked away from him. Even from the corner of my eye, I could see him staring at me.
“Fine,” I said without looking at him. “You’re right. If it’s any consolation, they interrupted me before I finished my breakfast sandwich.”
“They were just doing you a favor.”
“Riiight. Empty calories and all.”
I glanced at him just long enough to see him looking at me with that same faint but obnoxious smile on his mouth. I rolled my eyes at him then hopped on the bike behind him.
“Come on. Let’s just get the hell out of here before anything else happens.”
Chapter 21
DEREK
“You have to watch over him… Keep him safe… For me…”
I got us back to the hotel room before she could even say anything else. Nobody could have been following us with how fast I drove.
When we arrived back in the room, Eva exhaled a deep sigh of relief.
“Wow,” she said, collapsing on the bed. “I can’t believe we made it back in one piece.”
I didn’t say anything. I just took a seat and monitored all of the electronics on the desk. Eva was silent.
I knew she had to rest but I had to point out the obvious.
“You shouldn’t have done that.”
I leaned against the edge of the desk, my arms crossed as I watched her sit up.
“I shouldn’t have done what?”
“You attacked federal agents. You impeded their investigation.”
“I didn’t attack them… It was more of a distraction.”
“You heard what Agent Neville said. It’s his responsibility to take me in. I’m a criminal. You’re an accomplice.”
“I was just trying to—”
“I know what you were trying to do,” I cut her off. “And… I appreciate it. But the next time something like that happens, just let me handle it, okay?”
“I don’t see how you would be able to handle it. Even you’re not fast enough to dodge a taser.”
“Maybe not. The point is I don’t want you to put yourself in danger. We both know we’re in deep as it is.”
“You’re right,” she sighed. “I guess it is my fault, too, with the whole coffee thing and all.”
“Let’s make a deal then. From now on, you don’t leave the room until we’re going after Reese, okay? Can we make that deal at least?”
“Sure thing, partner,” she said, giving me another sarcastic salute with two fingers. “I have to tell you though… I’m pretty upset I didn’t get to finish my sandwich. What if I get hungry?”
“Order a pizza.”
I took a seat back at the desk and began working on the laptop again. I transferred some files to Owens’s phone while Eva sat on the bed.
“What do you think will happen to me?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” I replied, not looking up at her.
“I got in the way. Those CID guys look pretty scary. I know it’s not a priority right now but I know it’s serious.”
“There’s no telling what they’ll do. Criminal cases in the military aren’t the same as civilian cases. When it comes to Neville, I honestly couldn’t tell you.”
“That’s just great…”
Eva let me work in silence while she laid on the bed. I was focused. Right now, tracking Reese was the only thing that mattered now.
I didn’t think much of it when Eva disappeared into the bathroom.
I could hear her on the phone. I was curious about her conversation but it wasn’t any of my business. I was the last person to complain about someone else keeping secrets.
It didn’t matter. I was so buried in my work that I barely noticed when Eva finally came back out of the bathroom.
“Is everything all right?” I asked.
“Just fine. I was just… I was just talking to my friend… Mya… I wanted to double check to see if the autopsy on the body at Sinful matched with what we just saw at Garden Street.”
“And did it match?”
“Yeah… It matched.”
I listened to her sigh. From the corner of my eye, I could see her sitting on the edge of the bed, watching me.
“Do you have an idea how much longer it’s gonna take?” she asked.
“I don’t have an exact time. This is tricky stuff. I can only estimate and it’s going to be at least a few more hours. Maybe not until morning.”
“…Did they teach you that?” she asked. “Was this all a part of your training?”
“Most of it.”
“It doesn’t seem like part of your training.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I turned to her and raised an eyebrow.
“I mean… I figured you’d spend all your time eating red meat and lifting weights and wrestling bears.”
“Is that what you think of me?”
My eyes widened in surprise.
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “I’ve seen you in action. I’ve seen you fight. I’ve seen you kill somebody. It must take a lot of time to learn something like that. All of that training… Then you have to learn how to hack phones and computers. Seems like a lot of work.”
“It is a lot of work.”
“That’s what’s so… remarkab
le about it. You’re a remarkable guy, partner.”
“Thank you for the compliment, partner.”
I winked at her and got back to work, laughing softly to myself.
“How long have you been doing this?” she asked.
“Let’s see… I’m 28 now… I enlisted when I was 18. Been a Green Beret for about five years.”
“Do you enjoy it?”
I raised my head up then slowly turned to face her, furrowing my brow in confusion.
“Why are you asking me all these questions?”
“I don’t know if you noticed but I’m bored,” she said. “I’m stuck in this hotel room until you’re finished tracking down Reese. What else am I supposed to do?”
“You can have a glass of water to stay hydrated. You can lie down and rest because I know that hangover is still bothering you.”
“Now that you mention it…”
She leaned back on the bed, resting her head on a pillow.
“Good,” I said. “Stay right there. I’ll be right back.”
Her eyes opened and she shot up from the mattress.
“What?” she exclaimed. “What are you doing?”
“I have to head out,” I said, heading for the exit. “I forgot something.”
“You forgot something? What, did you leave your wallet at the coffee shop?”
“It’s important. It’s a part of the plan.”
“Oh, I can’t believe this!”
She threw her hands up near her head and closed her eyes.
“You tell me to stay in the room and now you’re leaving.”
“I’m not leaving to get coffee.”
“Look… If you’re gonna leave, you have to at least tell me where you’re going.”
“I can’t tell you that.”
She stared at me. It hurt me that I couldn’t tell her where I was going. But I couldn’t worry her. Not when she already had so much on her mind.
“Listen,” I said as I took a seat on the edge of the bed next to her. “I know we’ve been through a lot so far. I should have been honest from the start. I’m sorry about that. But I’m being honest with you now. I can’t tell you where I’m going. You just…”
I paused for a moment. I was about to say something stupid but I had to say it.
“…You just have to trust me on this, Eva.”
She had every right to scoff at me.
But she didn’t. She and I both knew I had to do this, even if she didn’t know what it was.
I looked into her eyes, hoping to find the trust I was looking for.
“Just get back here fast,” she sighed.
“I’ll do it as quickly as I can.”
“Maybe you can stop and get me something to eat before you come back. Maybe a six-pack?”
I stared blankly at her.
“Fine,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Go do what you have to do, secret agent man.”
She fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes. I stared at her for a moment before leaving the hotel room.
Chapter 22
EVA
“Eva.”
I heard a voice in my sleep but ignored it. I didn’t want to dream. I only wanted to rest.
“Eva.”
I heard my name again. The bright lights of the hotel room woke me, making it hard for me to open my eyes. When I did, I saw a strange sight standing before me.
“Eva.”
He said my name again, checking to see if I were coherent. I blinked my eyes then stared at him.
It was Derek. He looked just as he did before he left. The only difference was he was holding a large pizza box in his hand.
“Did you order a pizza?” he asked.
“It was your idea.”
“I wasn’t serious.”
“Serious. Joking. I can never tell the difference between the two with you.”
He placed the pizza box on a nearby table then took a seat at the desk. I collapsed onto the bed for a moment, yawning and stretching to try and get comfortable. But the smell of the pizza was too much for me to resist.
When I rolled my head over to the side, I looked out the window and saw the sun had gone down.
“How long was it?” I asked.
“Not that long. Just a few hours. When did you order that pizza?”
“I don’t remember when. I must have ordered it and fell back asleep.”
I made my way over to the table where the pizza sat and looked down at the box.
“You didn’t hear him knocking?” Derek asked.
“Who?” I said.
“The pizza guy. I don’t know how long he was standing there but he was knocking on the door when I arrived.”
“I’m sure you scared the piss out of him. You didn’t do anything to the poor kid thinking he was one of Reese’s men trying to kill me, did you?”
“The thought had crossed my mind.”
Derek shifted his eyes toward me. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. I was too hungry to try and figure him out.
“Can’t tell whether you’re serious or joking…” I muttered to myself.
I flipped the pizza box open and sighed at the sight of it. Pepperoni. Tomatoes. Cheese. Peppers. Olives. Onions. I grabbed a slice and took a bite. The taste of it made me close my eyes and exhale a satisfied breath through my nostrils.
I made my way over to Derek and leaned up against the desk while he continued to work.
“How come it takes so long?” I asked. “I thought phones are faster these days.”
“Phones are faster,” he replied. “Computers, too. But this isn’t my equipment and I’m not used to working with this program. We have specialists who do this sort of thing. Since this isn’t exactly an official mission, I have to figure things out by myself.”
“Isn’t that something you’re used to, thinking on the fly?”
“Sure. But most of the decisions I have to make our split-second ones. It’s usually over faster than you can snap your fingers. This… This isn’t something I usually do. Don’t worry though. I’ll manage.”
He looked up at me and I took another bite out of my pizza.
“Why don’t you take a break?” I said, holding my slice of pizza to his face. “There’s nothing you can do to make it go faster, is there?”
“No, I suppose there isn’t.”
“All right. Go ahead and help yourself to a slice.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Come on. It’s the best pizza in the city. Pepperoni, onions, peppers… When’s the last time you ate something? You’re a growing boy…”
I would have reached forward and pinched the flesh on his high-cheek bones but I couldn’t read his mood at the moment. Thankfully, he wasn’t in the mood to argue with me.
“Okay,” he said as he stood up from his seat. “Hot dogs, coffee, pizza. Is the best food this city has to offer all junk food?”
“I don’t know,” I said with a shrug. “I’m sure there are some nice places around here. I’m not into the fancy things, if you couldn’t tell.”
“Oh, I could tell.”
He winked at me, forcing me to smile with my mouth half-full of my last bite. I watched him take a slice of pizza in his strong hands and take a bite out of it. Then he moved over to the couch and took a seat.
“There you go,” I said. “You’re finally learning to relax a little bit.”
“I can’t relax. Not until we’ve cracked this case.”
“I wanna finish this just as bad as you do. Believe me, I’m not interested in hiding in this hotel room for much longer. But we have to make do for now. Your words, not mine.”
“Yeah,” he said as he took another bite. “You have a point.”
I finished my slice then headed back to the pizza for another one. When I turned around and looked at Derek, he sat stoically on the couch, staring out of the window while he chewed silently on his slice.
“So, what do you like?” I asked.
“What do you
mean?” he said, his eyes shifting to me.
“I mean, everybody has to eat. You have to have a favorite food.”
“I eat what I need to get by.”
“What about when you were growing up? Your parents ever make you anything you loved? Was your mom a good cook?”
“My mom did a great job. My father, too. There was always food on the table.”
“You were close to them?”
“Yeah. It was just me. I suppose that’s why I joined the army in the first place.”
“Why’s that?”
“I wanted to make something of myself. I wanted to serve my country and make them proud. It was a straightforward opportunity, so I took it.”
“That’s where you met him… That’s where you met John…”
He nodded to me then turned his attention back out to the view of the city.
“What was he like?” I asked.
“John? He wasn’t like any guy I’d ever met. I figured I’d met everybody when I was in high school. I played football, so there were all kinds of characters on the team. But John… he was something special.”
Derek looked out of the window, his body unmoving except for his stomach as he took slow and deep breaths. I stared into his eyes but he was gone, looking into space and searching for a memory.
“There was this course during basic. You had to pass it just to get a chance of even being considered for special forces. They called it the Eraser.”
“The Eraser?”
“Yeah because everybody who went through it got erased. It didn’t leave any trace of you. Nobody ever got through it without being turned into a pile of mush. It pushed your body to the limit.
“The COs all told us not to get cocky. They said if you were serious about going through with it, you had to know you were going to have to push yourself.
“I didn’t listen. I figured I could handle it. I knew it wouldn’t be easy but I’d been through everything they’d thrown at us before. When the time came around to deal with it, I pushed as hard as I could. I wanted to prove everybody wrong.”
“So, you did it? You got through it?”
Derek chuckled softly to himself, his eyes still staring into the distance.
“I didn’t even come close,” he said as he shook his head softly. “I got erased along with everybody else. The COs all pointed their fingers at me and got in line to tell me ‘I told you so.’ I had to sit there and take it because they were right.”
