by Ivy Knight
We now have a clear path next to the truck so Alec gets closer. I tuck the gun into my waistband and throw my helmet at one of the cars. My hair keeps getting in my face but I ignore it climbing onto the bike, "Jump Summer, now!"
I jump and my fingers curl around the thin bar across the truck while my feet stand on a skimpy platform sticking out. Looking down at the ground passing by at the same speed as the treadmill this morning, makes me nauseous. I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
You can do this, Summer.
I let out a breath and look forward. I'm only a few feet away from the front. Slowly, I start making my way.
"Ugh!" I groan when a bullet punctures a hole right beside me in the truck.
"DON'T FIRE AT THE TRUCK! THERE'S GIRLS IN THERE!" A voice on the microphone yells. My mind goes wild.
Girls? I can't do this, not to them. They don't deserve it.
"Summer, I swear if you stop, I will skin you alive," I hear Kai's voice through the earpiece.
You need to earn his trust, Summer. It's just another mission. You'll make it through if you do this.
My whole body tenses knowing I have to go through with this. I continue walking. Once I'm at the side, I open the door and take a seat next to the officer. He tries shooting me, but I hit the gun out of his hands and punch him in the gut before kicking him out of the door. I close the door and take control of the wheel, steering it back on the road. Straight ahead, I can see their headquarters so I press down on the brake. The truck skids before coming to a full stop. I turn the wheel around and step on the pedal, now driving the opposite way.
"I'm in."
"FBI's back up is here, so we'll meet you at the lake. If anything happens to our supply, I'll make sure to give you their side of the pain. Don't make us regret letting you in on this," Kai warns. I've never heard him talk so seriously before.
I don't reply. My emotions are mixed up. I'm in no state to say anything to anyone, so I type in the location of the lake and follow the GPS after making sure no one is following.
As I drive, I hear the sound of the girls crying in the back. They must be so lost, not knowing what what's happening. Two minutes away from being saved, yet they'll never know. This feeling of guilt is going to eat me alive if I don't see myself to this.
Turning into the lake, I hear the engines of the three motorcycles. They all pass by in a blur as I turn in slowly. I stop in the middle of the parking.
"Cole," I hear pounding from behind me, "Cole, please let me go."
My heart skips a beat. The voice is oddly familiar. Odd, because I thought I would never hear it again.
"A-A-Alice?"
There's no response.
"Alice, is that you?"
Am I just hearing things? They killed her. I heard the gunshots.
But you didn't see her body.
If she's in there, then why won't she reply to me?
"Summer, come out," Cole orders.
I forgot the bluetooth is still in my ear. They probably heard me, but I don't care. I want to see what's inside now. If she's dead, they won't mind. With one last look at the wall, I climb out of the truck. I pull the contraption out of my ear and crush it under the weight of my foot. When I look up, I meet eyes with Kai.
"I wanna see what's inside. I wanna see it now."
"That wasn't Alice, we killed her. Stop fooling yourself."
"Stop trying to fool me. If she's dead, then let me take a look inside and I'll believe you," I reply with force. Taking no for an answer, isn't an option.
"Don't be stupid, I'm not letting you open it," he replies. I kick him back and run to the back. Stupid of me, I know. But I have to take my chances. Just as the door slides up, I'm pulled back. The door closes again and Kai shoves my back up, against the metal. The thin platform digs into my spine. His hands wrapped around the bruises on my forearms, causes tears to form in my eyes. "Five seconds. You have five damn seconds, to get on that bike and come home with us or I can shove you into this truck and send you off with them."
"Who'd really be losing, Kai?"
He'd be losing an asset while I'll be let out. Those stupid camps can't keep me in for more than a day.
Kai's face glistens with sweat under the moonlight looking ready to kill.
"Show her," he spits. His dark eyes challenging me. He takes a step back, turning around, "Cole, open the door."
I rub my arms from the pain watching Cole's jaw clench. His hands form into fists and his eyes drop to the ground. It looks like he doesn't wanna see what's inside. Like he's running away from it. As he walks behind me to open the door, I take a step away, giving him room. The door slides up about three feet before the sound of sirens fills the air. He lets go of the door and I curse internally.
I turn around to spot the cars pulling in. They surround us and the officers climb out, standing in front of their cars blocking any gaps. Almost fifty guns are pointed at us. Their blinding flashlights all directed to our faces.
"Put your hands up and surrender!" a male voice yells.
In response, Kai's arm slips around my neck while his other hand holds a gun to my head, "Let us go or she dies."
His hold against my neck is strong making me struggle to breathe. The smell of his cologne still lingers through the fifteen minutes of high speed driving. In a way, the smell is calming, "Let her go, we have clear proof of you being involved tonight, Kai Black."
I feel his body tense hearing his name. If anything, I wish he surrenders or the police decides to shoot, I just need those girls to be out.
"Five seconds or she dies."
All the officers exchange looks before putting their weapons down.
"Cole, take the truck," Kai instructs him.
The officers watch as Cole gets into the truck and leaves.
"One mistake and you're dead," Kai whispers to me. He lets me go, but the gun is now pointed at my spine as I walk over to his bike. He gives me the keys and tells me to drive. I turn on the engine after he gets on. Telling me to speed up, Kai unpins a grenade and throws it at the herd of policemen. Thirty seconds later, I hear the blast.
All I know is that this is the least of the damages that are going to happen tonight.
Chapter 18
"One mistake and you're dead," Kai whispers to me. He lets me go, but the gun is now pointed at my spine as I walk over to his bike. He gives me the keys and tells me to drive. I turn on the engine after he gets on. Telling me to speed up, Kai unpins a grenade and throws it at the herd of policemen. Thirty seconds later, I hear the blast.
All I know is that this is the least of the damages that are going to happen tonight.
"Tell Cole to bring the truck downtown behind the abandoned factory," I demand.
"You're in no position to order us
around, Summer. Stop on the side and let me drive," Kai shoves the gun deeper into my spine.
Angry, I turn the bike around at high speed. This causes Kai to fall off, onto the cement. I turn back and drive low enough to grab his gun off the road. I then stop a few feet away from his body.
He stands up dusting himself off. His eyes full of rage. His leather jacket ripped, I can tell I'll be earning a harsh punishment after tonight.
"Tell Cole to bring the truck where I said or I can kill you, find Cole and then kill him too. If Alec feels like helping any of you out, he can die too."
Kai's jaw clenches. He has no other option and he knows I'm capable of doing what I've laid out in front of him. I can't be messed with right now, he knows it.
"Cole, you heard her."
Once I hear what I needed to, I tuck the gun beside the other one. Then, I drive past Kai.
"You can catch your own ride," I state. From the side mirror, I watch as he kicks the ground in frustration.
There is no way I'm letting that truck reach its destination tonight. Whether Alice is there or not, those girls are all going home.
Going at a hundred and fifty kilometers per hour, I make it beh
ind the building just as Cole pulls in. We both park our vehicles. I climb off and make my way to the back.
"Summer," Cole says exiting the driver's side.
He grabs my hands and turns me around. I wince and he lets me go, "You can't handle what's inside and you definitely won't be able to handle what happens after you open the door."
I look into his eyes. They're full of regret and fear. I don't know what he fears, but I know he deserves every bit of it. "You don't care about me, Cole. You care about yourself. If Alice is inside, you know I'll get her out and you'll have to see the hate in her eyes for you. I don't know why you do what you do. I won't question it either, but you should know everything comes with a consequence. If you can't handle what's going to happen after I open the door, then no one's stopping you from leaving."
Cole's head falls to the ground. I take that as my signal to continue on. As I reach the back of the truck, Alec drives in with Kai.
Kai's eyes are glued to me as I lift open the door. My eyes widen. Almost forty girls are in here. All in horrible condition, clothes stained with tears and hair full of knots. These girls look terrified.
At the back of the truck sits a girl with her head in her knees. She has the same hair I remember Alice having. My heart sinks at the sight. If this is Alice, I'll be torn and even if it isn't, I'm still going to break. With the little hope within me saying it's Alice, I climb inside of the truck and walk towards the girl.
It feels humid inside the truck and reeks with blood and sweat. As I make my way over to the back, the eyes of the other girls follow me. Each of their eyes beg me to help them. When I'm standing right in front of the girl, I close my eyes getting ready for what happens next. The only thing I can hear is the beat of my heart against my chest.
I kneel down and touch the girl's back.
"Alice?"
She lifts her head. It's not her. Instead, it's a girl with a face I don't recognize. A look of sympathy washes over my face as I watch a tear slip from her eyes. My eyes wet with tears, I try to hide it by turning my head the other way.
Disappointed, I'm about to turn around when the girl grabs my forearm. I hiss from the contact. Her face fills with fear as she apologizes.
"It's not you, th-," I clear my throat," they're just bruised."
"He-he took h-her a-away, b-but sh-she knew you'd come for her," the girl whispers. She lifts up her right hand revealing a silver anklet. It has the same elephant I got put on the anklet I got for Alice's birthday last year.
"Sh-she wanted y-you to have this, and said that she'd b-be okay as long as y-you k-keep fighting," the girl finishes. I take the anklet from the girls’ hand and stuff it into my jean's pocket. I take a deep breath trying to process everything.
She's alive?
She's alive.
A lonely tear slides down my cheek and I wipe it off.
"Thank you."
Alice is alive and she was here.
When I get up to leave, I hear the girl say, "Don't look for her, Summer."
Knowing that she's right, my head slightly bobs in response. I look outside of the truck at the three men curiously eyeing me. It's not anger that fills their eyes, but relief.
They're relieved that Cole had taken care of Alice before he came here. I don't know where she is. I might never know, but for some reason, something inside of me says that she'll be fine after today.
I jump onto the ground and stand inches away from Kai, "Let them go."
"You're just full of demands, aren't you?"
"If you did your job right, I wouldn't be," I reply.
"Now this is how it's going to play out," he starts. "Cole's going to drive this truck back to base while Alec, you and I get on our bikes and drive home. I'll decide what to do with you once we're there."
I scan his features; calm and curious. He clearly doesn't know me, because I'm not planning on doing anything he just said.
"How about you hand me your phone, I call nine one one, and then we leave this truck behind while we go home. During this process, I'll pretend like I don't have a gun on me and even if I do, I don't know how to use it."
His dark eyes penetrate through me. I'm not giving up. These girls don't deserve anything that's coming for them.
"Okay, say that I let them go. Then what? What are you going to do to fix the damage that you're going to cause."
I think. All I have to do is stall. What does Kai want most? Money and power.
"I'll give you America," I say. My mind processes the words after they're out. His eyebrows rise in question, "The gangs are all at war for territory and I'll help you take them all down."
"What if I said I already have a plan that doesn't include you."
"Then I'd say you're making a mistake. You don't know me at all, Kai. I know things that you never will. I can help you get America on one term. No more trafficking once you're in control," I nervously wait for his response. Everything I said, has no truth to it. It's all words and nothing else. If he accepts, which I hope he does, then I need to do more planning.
I'm not stupid enough to give him all of America.
"No more trafficking, does that start before or after I'm in control?" he questions.
"Before. From my calculations, you get enough money from drugs to keep your gang at the top."
"Enough isn't enough," he spits.
"Then we should start as soon as possible, don't you think?" Kai takes a step closer.
His head shifts past my shoulder, "Cole call nine one one, we just ended our trafficking business."
"Are you fu-," Alec stops when Kai stares him down.
"It's not up for discussion. As for you-," he looks back at me, "this is your last chance. Empty deals are not my thing, so for even a moment, if I speculate that you have a hidden motive behind this deal, I will give you hell that's worse than the day your own mother did the day she decided to give birth to you."
I turn around and face Cole, "Give me the phone."
He gives it to me and I climb into the truck. The girl who passed me the anklet looks at me with a small smile as I approach her.
"Call the police and don't tell them anything about us. Say that three guys and a girl helped you out and you couldn't see anyone’s face," I instruct.
I stand up and look around at the girls. "All of you are being let go. Don't take this for granted because the second we find out that one of you has pitched useful information to the police against us, your days will be numbered. Hopefully, that day never comes and for your sake, I hope we never cross paths again."
With that, I take my exit leaving behind girls that are scarred for life, but then again, at least they have one.
The three men have their bikes ready. Alec and Cole drive off as Kai waits for me. I get on the bike sitting behind him. My arms curl around his hard torso and I take a deep breath.
As we exit, I hear the girls yell thank you. Even after what I did, the weight on my heart remains. Alice is alive and the only way to find her is to win this battle.
Can I win it? Who has the advantage right now? Them, with Alice? Or me, with my past?
...♛...
It takes us almost three hours to get back. Kai pulls up between Cole and Alec's empty bikes. I get off the bike and start making my way in.
I'm stopped when Kai takes a firm hold of my right wrist. He pulls me back and I hit his chest just before he pulls my head back with a grip on my hair.
I bite down on the insides of my cheeks keeping myself from yelling. He's finally letting go of the anger he's been holding back. He can't top anything I'm already going through so let's see him try to do worse.
"How dare you question my orders in front of those girls like that? How long will it take you to realize your nothing compared to me? Do you need to suffer through more?" he questions. I don't answer.
"Answer me!"
"No!" I yell back. My power is limited, but with whatever amount I have left, I use it to push Kai back. "You don't deserve an answe
r because your too foolish to realize that it's right in front of you! Why do you think I did what I did tonight? Because I was trying to prove something to you? No. I'm human, Kai! I thought Alice was alive and I needed to see for myself if I was wrong. If I had let you take those girls back to base, then I couldn't have taken that guilt. I had the ability to help those girls and so I did."
"You do know what you signed up for when you said that you're going to help us take over America?" Kai questions. "Yesterday night I declared war and since then, almost three hundred innocent people died during cross fire. You volunteered yourself to be a part of that. When we go out, should I be worried that you won't pull the trigger because you're too scared to face the guilt that comes along with it? Because I am more than willing to pull the god damn trigger right now," he takes out a gun pointing it at me.
The wind blows hair in my face as I stare at the metal in front of me.
"Do it," I dare him.
"Not going to fight to stay alive?"
"You need me," I state.
"You're over confident," his finger presses down on the trigger. The gun is empty.
What the fuck.
Kai's lips form into smirk as he drops the gun.
"Know that the day I decide to kill you, will be much more painful than today. I'm not merciful, Summer. Killing you now would say that I am," he says.
"One more day to get your fucking act together or you're back in the basement. You're first mission is tomorrow at this time exactly," he warns.
He leaves, making his way inside and closing the doors behind him. I take the steps up and try to open the door, but there's no use.
"Kai! Kai, open the fucking door!"
It's hopeless. He isn't going to open the door for me. I'm stuck outside. Alone in the cold with nothing but the thoughts of how.
How did I get myself here? One day I started the morning off as every other, getting ready for the first day of senior year, and then the next thing I know is I'm fighting to stay alive.
Not just that, but I've promised to help give all of America to a man with no heart. A man with no mercy. I can't do it. I'm not letting him control America under any circumstance.
