by M. Garnet
I went out and called for another cab. While I waited, I sent Steve an email saying I was taking a vacation. I hated to toss away my Blackberry, but it, too could be traced. I turned it over to pull out the battery just when I heard it ring. I was so surprised at a call in the darkness of early morning I almost dropped the phone. I turned it over and looked at the ID that said Unknown Number. I debated to answer or not. Finally, my curiosity getting the best of me, I pushed the button, put the phone to my ear, and listened. There was silence, but I finally heard a voice.
“Where are you going?”
I knew the voice. “How did you get my cell?” Sometimes I get sidetracked with stupid.
“Where are you going? I can’t protect you if you get too far away.”
I took a deep breath. If he had my cell number, then the Feds had it also, so I needed to get rid of it now. “Tim, if that really is your name, if you can’t leave town, then I can. Goodbye.” I quickly disconnected, pulled the back off the phone, and pulled out the battery. I also pulled out the SIM card. I went over to the first trashcan and dropped the stripped phone into the can.
When the cab showed up, I had him take me to another WalMart across town. I told him they said the item I wanted was at that store, but I had already researched it and found the store was within walking distance of the Union Station—Cincinnati’s only train station.
The first thing I did after getting out of the cab was to drop the battery and SIM card into the nearest trashcan. I now had two disposable cell phones, five hundred in cash and two changes of clothes with my laptop. This was what I had to escape Tim and my own Government. We had all heard, repeatedly, of the street people. How those who lived off the grid were able to exist. They survived, eating at soup kitchens and sleeping in boxes on heating transoms. I hoped it wouldn’t come to that for me, just enough time to discourage those that followed me.
I walked to the station. Now, I entered to sit and wait for the traffic to pick up. People always sit around in any public building like Train and Bus stations. Mothers with small kids with no place to sleep that were cheap, really scary looking guys who mumbled to themselves, teens on the run. There were always a couple of cops who walked through, but didn’t bother anyone.
Finally, around eight in the morning, some business people along with some tourists came in. I joined a line to buy a ticket to Washington, D.C. I went out to the loading platforms and found a seat against the wall. The Amtrak train was sitting there and a porter loading the luggage and extra items on the cars. A few people were getting on the train.
I just watched until I saw what I wanted. A couple of young men, looking like college kids, embarked on the train, laughing as they pushed to a seat in the middle of a car. I could see them having fun through the windows of the car. I got up and went to the same car, and found a seat across from them. Since the car was not full, I dropped my backpack into the seat by the window so I could sit down in the aisle seat.
I gave one of the guys a nice smile. I got busy pulling out my laptop, bringing up a downloaded game.
It only took fifteen minutes before I had the two guys in the seats with me. One moved my backpack to sit beside me while another took the other seat across in the seat that faced backward. I stole the ball cap of one guy with a laugh and had it on my head before the train moved when the first Fed came through the car and up the aisle looking for a girl with long hair, traveling alone. Oh, yes, they had monitored my accounts.
I relaxed and had a good time with the guys. They were both heading to a new job in Washington, all excited, but a little worried. They were also interested in having a little last minute fling on the way to wearing a suit and tie for the future work days. This trip was about fifteen hours to Washington, but there would be a couple of stops along with some beautiful scenery. Since the three of them didn’t have sleeping arrangements, they would be camping in this car. I meant to help them have a good time, but no sex. Sorry guys—no quickies.
It was almost eight hours with food from a cart before they came into a station. “Hey, guys, lets stretch our legs.” I gathered my stuff, bringing my backpack. As they left, one of the guys commented about me not trusting anyone. On the other hand, this wasn’t unusual. After 911, no one left any type of luggage lying around. Any official was suspicious.
“Actually, I probably have a chance on a sleeper. Sorry, the offer is for one lady, no extra guys.” I shrugged, giving them a big smile. Then, I got off the train with them. We walked into the small station. I pointed towards the front where we could see a couple of chain restaurants through the windows. We had a quick bite, then went back to the train. I entered with them, but went on through the car and through the next one. I exited off the wrong side, stepping down on a track. I ducked down, pushed under a car of another parked train, then pulled myself up onto the deserted platform on the other side.
I looked around to see the steps that led up to the cross-over. It looked too open for me, so I went on until I found a section marked Employees Only. I went down a few steps only to find I was on a sidewalk that went around the end of the building. It had areas that led around the end of the trains. It was quite a hike, but eventually I was around the train station itself. It was dark by this time as I heard the Amtrak train move out.
I was in the main part of town, so I looked for a decent chain motel. I soon saw the sign about three blocks away. It was an easy walk, so I hung around outside until another couple pulled up, then went in right behind them.
At the desk, they signed in and then, because there was only one guy on duty, I waited the twenty minutes it took to get them registered. As they walked away, I said to the woman, “See you later.”
She nodded at me and kept on going. The desk clerk was busy with his paper work so I just waited. “I need a room next to my friends if possible. Just for one person.” I smiled. I pulled out the wrong driver’s license. The clerk hardly looked at it as he worked on the computer. Fortunately, a businessman came in to stand behind me.
The clerk held out his hand. “Credit card?”
“Oh, can I pay in cash? “ I pulled out my wallet, starting to count out cash. I let him see the tops of my credit cards.
“Sure, oh, and you can pull your car around in back. Your room key will open the outside door.”
He told me the amount and I got change back along with the room key. I went out to get my non-existent car. I walked around to the rear door, entered, and went up one floor to my room.
I took a nice shower, then had an equally nice night’s sleep, only interrupted once by a dream of dark eyes. I sat up in bed expecting to see him in the room. Once my breathing had settled down, and I was able to make sure I was still in the room by myself, I went back to sleep, finally waking up in the morning surprised that I was rested.
* * * *
F. J. Franklin
Just when Franklin thought things couldn’t get any worse, they did. He was in a small town in Georgia. He saw no hotels, just single story motels, facing the highway with paint-peeling signs. Every other vehicle had a shotgun rack, filled, and a Confederate Flag decal on the rear bumper.
Most houses had vicious dogs in the yards. Not the pure bred Rottweilers used in New York dog fights. No, these half-starved mutts would attack in packs, the fighter and his owner, and when the fighting was over, they would eat both before they slink back under the front porches.
He had come in with a small team to meet a man who was reputed to be the power behind the Governor. The man was the epitome of white southern trash, but from what Franklin’s men had researched, it was all an act.
The man had a college degree, but played up the good ole’ boy routine for his elections. He had gotten his first money to invest from his own family. Somewhere along the way, he had changed his name, managed to put on a lot of weight, then surrounded himself with a group of down-home trailer trash, and probably some white supremacists. He threw in a couple of black lawyers j
ust to make the mix laughable and give the media something to talk about.
Franklin and his men had come in, driving a couple of civilian Hummers, which he found no more comfortable than the military ones, both with room for only one passenger in front. Evidently one of the men thought they would fit in with the guys who went hunting every other day, but they stood out as bad if they had driven up in bright red VW beetles. Next to all the mud-covered pick-ups, including the four-door that the brain stepped out of, now, the Hummers looked like show offs.
They followed the cavalcade of trucks accompanied by yelping, shooting-torn jeans-wearing men onto the red, dusty, unpaved roads deep into the high pine forests to a rolling log hunting cabin that had been added onto, complete with wraparound porch and rockers. He put up with the good ole boy jokes and ate the bar-b-q pig or whatever it was. Actually the meal was pretty good.
But there were the mangy dogs, flies in droves, and ants in the barren yard if you stood still very long. On top of it all was the heat that melted everything. As the evening moved in, the heat didn’t let up, but the humidity increased. Finally, the so-called Colonel suggested they move inside where, God Bless, he had an air-conditioned office.
Franklin watched through an unwashed window as his right hand man talked on his satellite phone pacing with a frown. That was a bad call. This was a bad meeting. The so-called Colonel was willing to cooperate on helping them locate a group that the US Marshals had hired them to find, but the cost was prohibitive.
Finally, he decided to call it quits with a bluff to find out what the call had been about, so he agreed to the Colonel’s price, made their excuses, shook hands, and got his men loaded up.
His man asked him if everything was agreeable. “Just keep smiling. Act like everything is wonderful. Get me out of this fucking hellhole. I agreed to his price to make sure that the whole thing was quits tonight, but that asshole will wait for another ice age before he gets any of our money. In fact, I want to put a hit on him. Let’s blow his ass off this planet and we will deal with his next in line.”
They finally reached the paved road. “You going to give me the bad news from that phone call?”
The aide looked out the side window for a moment and then just jumped into it. “Myers and the woman, Michelle Tompson, are off the radar.”
Franklin sat in quiet shock. As he thought, things got worse. Right now, he wanted to go back to take one of the bazookas in the back. He wanted to blow the shit out of the cabin in the woods. He wanted to inflict serious damage to anything and anyone. He saw nothing but red. He had been told that his blood pressure was pushing behind his eyes. He literally did see red because the veins were swelling. He also knew it was dangerous to his health—but, fuck, he really needed to kill someone.
“Take me directly to the airport. I will take the Jetstream back, myself. Have the team gather up my stuff. Everyone can bring it with them either in the Hummers or rentals.”
There was silence except for the driver, who called the airport to warn them that the Commander would be there for takeoff in about an hour and half. At the airport, he stood in the damp heat of night at the drop down steps to give his orders.
“Wipe out that southern bastard in a horrid manner that sends a message. Take out as many of his men as you can at the same time in one hit. Then, bring in everyone who is on this continent to find Myers and that woman. I don’t want to hear that there was any hesitation or worry about cost.” He turned, entered the plane, and they heard him give the order for his favorite whiskey.
The media around the world carried the headlines. One of the largest contributors to his elections had almost killed the Governor of Georgia. Due to some miscalculation and the fact that the Governor was delayed, a huge bomb was set off too early. It took out, not its intended target, but the so-called Colonel who headed up the plan along with several of his cohorts who were in the vehicle, planted on the route the Governor would take on entering the city. “The entire plan was later unfolded to State Police from several followers of the Colonel who were hunted down and arrested after a gun battle at a sequestered camp in the deep words of Georgia. Unfortunately, the camp was entirely destroyed by hidden explosives being stored at the sight. Although no police or Marshals were killed, several were injured and many of the camp’s residents died in the damage.”
* * * *
Michelle
I gathered up my things and got on the road. It didn’t take me long to get a ride going north with a trucker. The talk was pleasant, but best of all, he didn’t hit on me. I got almost half a day’s ride before we stopped at a truck stop. I decided it was time to cut out.
My next ride was with a salesman who did try to hit on me. He took me back to Ohio where I headed to Cleveland. I let the salesman think we were going to get into something important for him when we stopped at a Denny’s. I took my backpack with the excuse I needed to get refreshed, and with a wink, went to the women’s restroom.
Unfortunately, he was sitting where he could see me come out. I looked around, looked at the ceiling, and had an idea. I went into a stall, and locked the door. I climbed up on the stool so I could carefully lift up one of the ceiling panels. It was a drop ceiling, with a rough metal stud holding up the roof about four feet above the wires holding the panels. I stepped up on the tissue dispenser, then to the top of the stall. I hung onto the metal beams until I slid the ceiling panel back in place.
I worked my way to the back of the building to where I figured was the storage area. I carefully pulled up a panel and found out I was right. I was over a small dark room with metal shelves full of items. I did one of those acrobat hangs that I never could pull off, but this time it worked. I was on top of one of the shelves. Of course, I knocked over all kinds of jars and things that made a lot of noise. I climbed down just as a kid opened the door to see what was going on. I gave him a smile, said thanks and ducked around him to go out the back door, leaving him looking at the mess on the floor he was going to have to clean.
I went over a couple of blocks to avoid running into my disappointed salesman. I stopped at a Shell station to inquire about the bus station. I was in luck as it was close.
I also slept on the bus to Cleveland. I would always wonder what drew me to Cleveland. If I knew then what I know now, I would have gone to Florida, or Kentucky or anywhere else. However, at the time, I thought the area a safe destination that wouldn’t show up on the Feds’ radar since I thought they would be looking for me in Washington, or somewhere close to the Capital. Who goes to Cleveland, Ohio?
When I got to Cleveland, I did find it was not a grim a place as I pictured. I remember hearing about the river catching on fire and I pictured it looking like the City in Batman movies. Actually, it was like most mid country cities. Construction had halted due to the economy and there was a lot of unemployment. But the streets were clean and there were a lot of areas where I felt the crime was not too high. I found a couple of street kids who were walking and watching around them for anything that they could get in trouble or a fight with. I crossed over to them and finally decided to see if they would talk to me.
“Hey, kids, I need some help.”
The guy looked at me, but the girl still wanted to move on. “We don’t have any drugs.” He held out his hand, palm up, and open.
“No, I’m looking for a safe place to sleep.” They looked at each other for a moment, then seemed to reach an agreement.
“Follow us.” They took off, ignoring me.
I thought, okay, I am either going to get mugged or I am going to find a safe place to sleep. After a couple of blocks, we turned down an alley and went through a gate of a fenced-in yard. I looked up at the brick wall that was the back of some large building hidden by the dark. I didn’t see a lot of lights back here, but there was one over the door.
The kids knocked on the door and it opened immediately. They went in and I followed, finding myself in some type of large community kitchen tha
t was clean, but closed down for the evening. We walked through, following a man who was dressed for sleeping. He told us to keep quiet. Finally, we entered a dim room filled with cots, most of which were full. The man told us to pick one and be quiet. He whispered we were to be up at seven in the morning to help with chores.
I cautiously watched the kids, who seemed to know the ropes as they found a couple of cots together. I found one not too far away. Theytook off their shoes, tied them together and placed the looped ties over their necks. They then used their back packs as pillows, throwing the flat pillow on top and lying down, fully dressed. They pulled the threadbare blanket over their heads to block out the light and noise to settle down to sleep.
It seemed like a smart way to protect everything, and still get some downtime, so I carefully repeated every move they had made. I was surprised to find that I did sleep. The noise level was a low murmur and the blanket blocked out the light.
The next morning, I carefully peaked around my blanket as loud noises woke me up. My two guides from the night before were already gone from their bunks. I got up, gathered my stuff and followed the line to the bathrooms, taking my turn with several other women in using the very clean toilets. Oh, there were no doors for privacy, which also meant no hidden drug use. I brushed my teeth at one of the sinks in the row. These also were clean, so I made a point of taking a paper towel to wipe up after myself. I went out to pay for my night of sleep.
