The Circle: Fallon's Story (THE CIRCLE SERIES)

by Danielle Santiago

  “Yeah, Linx is my fucking husband…what about you, you know him?” the chick said in nasty tone. “Oh let me guess, you’re his girl and he didn’t tell you he was married with kids,” the chick laughed like Fallon was a joke. Fallon jumped up.

  “Hell yeah I know him and no bitch he never mentioned your raggedy ass or your raggedy ass kids. In fact, I fucking live with him! So where you been?!” Fallon boomed. Both Fallon and Linx’s wife were on their feet just inches from each other. The court officers immediately started rushing over.

  “No bitch you’re shacking with him. You’re his side bitch. He lives at home with his wife and kids!” the chick screamed.

  Fallon grabbed a handful of her weave just before the court officers reached them. Fallon dragged the girl forward by her hair and landed at least ten punches before Autumn pulled her arm.

  “Fallon! Let’s go before you get arrested!” Autumn screamed, trying her best to pull her sister away. “Let go! You can’t get arrested right now,” Autumn chastised. Fallon thought about the fact that her siblings were planning another heist that they’d finally put her back in the loop on. She didn’t want to chance making shit hot around them so she let the girl’s hair go. Fallon, Linx’s wife, his kids, and Autumn were all tossed out of the courtroom. Fallon had just narrowly escaped arrest, but that didn’t change the shit talking her and Linx’s wife exchanged outside.

  Fallon didn’t break down in tears until she was alone in the car with Autumn. She had been so stupid to ever believe anybody other than her siblings had her back or loved her unconditionally.

  “Fucking bastard. I can’t believe I was with him three years…since I was a kid and he never mentioned that he was married with kids. Who does that Autumn? Who plays with somebody else’s emotions like that? If I ever lay eyes on him again he’s a dead man and you can bet that on my unborn kids. I’m a Porter, I don’t get played and not get my revenge,” Fallon spat.

  “It’s real good to have you back sis,” Autumn said solemnly. This was the old Fallon she knew, not that crying, in love, sappy, mushy Fallon that had showed up yesterday. “Now let’s go move all your shit out of his house. We got a heist to plan,” Autumn followed up.

  “It’s real good to be back. I promise I will never leave ya’ll again for nobody. No matter what we won’t be apart,” Fallon said with feeling and she meant every word.

  ***

  When Fallon exited the bathroom she found Ben sparking yet another blunt. Fallon shot him an evil look and thought about the gun she had in her bag. She pictured herself taking that gun, shoving it into Ben’s mouth and pulling the trigger. He was so unbelievably dumb. Fallon quickly shook off her thoughts. Shooting Ben wouldn’t be an option…too loud.

  “Why don’t you go take a shower or something? We have a long ride ahead of us starting early tomorrow. I’m not going to let what happened keep me from getting to L.A. We are just going to have to be way more careful now, thanks to your stupid decisions,” Fallon said, annoyed that he was even in the same room as her. Ben was scared to even protest. He did as he was told and headed into the bathroom. Fallon climbed into the bed and got comfortable. The soft mattress felt like heaven to her tense body. Fallon looked over at the television and just as she flipped a channel she saw it; a picture of her actual face flashing on the screen.

  “Police in Nebraska says eight hours after a near deadly shooting of a Nebraska state trooper they have a lead. A police spokesperson reported that a lone fingerprint recovered from a soda purchased by

  the perpetrator just minutes before the shooting has come back to

  this woman, who police have identified as Fallon Alicia Porter, an

  escaped inmate of the Baltimore Detention Center in downtown

  Baltimore. Police say they believe the trooper may have identified

  Porter as an escapee and confronted her, causing her to fire the

  nearly fatal shots. There is a one hundred thousand dollar reward

  for anyone who can offer information about the woman’s

  whereabouts. Police says she is driving a black, Ford Focus, that

  may be a rental car from a Baltimore Enterprise rental car

  company. Nebraska police warn that the woman is armed and

  considered dangerous. It is believed that federal agents from the

  FBI and US Marshall’s service will be joining the manhunt for

  Porter.”

  Fallon jumped up from the bed and started pacing in circles. So long to getting down to the border low key. Thanks to Ben’s stupid ass, Fallon’s face was all over the news like a damn most wanted serial killer or something. Now she couldn’t even drive the same car. She rushed over to her duffle bag and quickly thumbed through her money. “Shit!” she huffed. There was only about two thousand dollars left. Not enough to buy a new car and make it all the way down to the border, which in her estimation was going to take another few days at least. Fallon heard Ben come out of the bathroom. She quickly stuffed her cash back under the stuff she had in the duffel bag and turned towards him. Fallon squinted her eyes into little dashes.

  “Hell yeah. I needed that shower. I feel much better,” Ben said all cheery and shit. Fallon shot him an evil look. If looks could kill Ben would’ve been dead that exact moment. Fallon felt like he was a weight around her neck and she didn’t like that feeling. She realized that Ben was her mistake. She’d made the dumb decision to bring him along, now she had to deal with it.

  “Yo…um…I’m gonna step outside and smoke a cigarette. I know how much you hate cigarettes,” Ben said snatching up his pack of Newports. He was too dumb to even sense Fallon’s feelings about him. Fallon didn’t even protest. She had no fight in her right at that moment. She still had to calculate how they were going to get another car and get out of the hotel before the news traveled about the car or them being there.

  Ben stepped out onto the room’s balcony and pulled the screen and glass door behind him. Fallon was still pacing. The sound of the television was grinding on her nerves because after every other commercial they would replay the information about the state trooper shooting. It was probably headline news in all fifty states. Fallon finally muted the TV. She sat down contemplating what she would do next. Fallon heard talking and turned her head to get a better listen. At first she thought dumb ass Ben was singing the lyrics to a rap song, but as she listened it became clear that he was speaking to someone. Fallon didn’t hear two voices though, only Ben’s.

  “Is this nigga talking to somebody on his fucking cell phone?” Fallon mumbled as she rose from where she sat. How much more stupid could Ben get? Cell phones were easily traced through cell tower pings and the GPS devices the government placed inside of them. He knew they had just committed the worst crime ever and he was on the fucking phone. Fallon stepped closer to the door about to scream at him when she picked up on some of his conversation. She paused and listened closely.

  “Yeah man we heading to L.A. out there where you at. That is perfect. She supposed to be going to pick up some real cash, I mean like a lot; from what she says anyway. Once I know where I can tell you and have you run up in the spot…..Yeah I believe her. But check it out…now after the cop shooting, they got a bounty on her head too…a hundred G’s. I don’t even think she knows about it because I saw it on the news while she was in the shower and shit…..Word. I’m serious. She just shot the fucking state trooper like bam!….. Yup all ruthless and shit. I couldn’t believe it, but yo, I was happy that she ain’t let me go to jail, because word up, I would’ve definitely told them I was with her and shit. Yeah, it’s that crime stoppers tip line or some shit like that. But you need to wait until we get there and let her pick up the money first. Then we rob her and when I’m gone you turn her in for the reward shit. You give me half of each take and it’s all good. So check this shit out too, I just looked through her shit and she’s going by the name Annette Baker…….That’s what I’m telling you this bitch is up to something, they said s
he escaped from jail in B’more. So the sooner I can get away from her and get that money, the better you feel me cuz? I’m kind of scared of the chick to be honest with you,” Ben said, doing a poor job of whispering.

  Fallon could not believe her ears. She shook her head to make sure she was hearing correctly. Corny ass Ben was trying to set her up. Fallon shook her head from side to side in disbelief. After he had already caused her to be in even more trouble, this dude was really trying to get her robbed and turned into the police for money?

  Heat rose from Fallon’s feet and raced up to her head. Her head immediately started spinning. Her cheeks turned red from the blood that had rushed to her face. It was like someone had pulled a red veil over her eyes, Fallon was so angry her temples throbbed. That was the last straw with Ben. If she didn’t know it then, she sure knew it now. Ben was a liability that Fallon couldn’t afford to hold on to. Fucking around with him was like playing in traffic or trying to hold a piece of dynamite between your teeth.

  Fallon bit down into her lip so hard she drew her own blood. She walked over where Ben had emptied all of the things from his pockets. There was a small folding hunter’s knife lying next to his wallet. Fallon picked up the knife, smirked and stuck it in her bra between her breasts. She may not have been able to shoot his ass, but she sure would take care of him regardless. She checked herself in the mirror and made sure the knife was hidden by the oversized t-shirt she wore. She got back in the bed, but she wasn’t resting at all.

  Ben walked back into the room with a goofy smile on his face. Look at this lying motherfucker acting like he ain’t just get off the phone planning my demise. Some niggas just don’t deserve to live because they don’t have any loyalty. Fallon was thinking and watching Ben at the same time.

  “You look mighty comfy and sexy as hell too. Can I join you?” Ben said with a phony ass cheeriness that made Fallon’s skin crawl. Not even five minutes before he had been on the phone plotting against her, now here he was acting like nothing happened. Fallon had zero respect left for Ben. In her assessment he was a waste of breathing air.

  “Sure baby. C’mon over here and lay down with me or do something else to me too,” Fallon returned the phoniness. There was an eerie kind of calm in her voice; however, Ben was too horny and too stupid to pick up on it. He looked at her strangely. He wasn’t sure if he believed her.

  “Why are you looking at me like that? I just need to feel you after everything we just went through. Come put this pussy to sleep,” Fallon said seductively with her eyes low. Ben’s face lit up like a kid in a candy store.

  “That’s what I been waiting to hear,” he said excitedly.

  He rushed over and jumped on the bed. He immediately tried to climb on top of Fallon. She put her hands up halting him.

  “Ut un, you know I like to ride that dick. I’m not a missionary type of girl,” Fallon said, pushing him away before he made contact with her chest.

  “Oh I’m down for that too,” Ben said stroking himself. His dick was already swollen and Fallon hadn’t even touched him. She guessed that it was the sight of her bare pussy that had done the trick. Fallon wanted him to be as comfortable as possible. Ben hurriedly took his boxers and t-shirt off and sprawled his body flat on the bed. Fallon smiled. Just like she wanted him—assed out and helpless.

  “Can I trust you Ben?” Fallon asked in a low, seductive voice that came out almost like a growl. “I mean trust you with my life?”

  “Hell yeah. No doubt you can trust me. You just saved my ass from going down for some stupid ass weed charge, that alone tells you I’m always in your corner,” Ben replied, the lies spilling out of his mouth on word after another.

  “Really?” Fallon asked, grinding her pussy against his dick. She looked down into his deceitful ass face. “How do I know I can trust you?” Ben couldn’t even look at her. He kept his eyes closed tight.

  “I’m giving you my word. I’m here for you and I would never do anything to hurt you. You saved me and I will always look out for you. I’m going to be with you until you reach your place in L.A.,” Ben said.

  “And will you always keep it one hundred with me? I mean about everything…and never try to cross me?” Fallon asked, grinding her hips hard into Ben’s pelvis. It was kind of hurting him because she was sitting and grinding on top of his dick instead of putting it inside of her.

  “One hundred,” Ben replied, wincing because Fallon was smashing his dick with her body. With that Fallon had enough of his fucking lies. She reached into her cleavage and retrieved the knife with one swift motion.

  “You fucking lying ass piece of shit. I heard you on the phone scheming on me,” Fallon growled and before Ben could react she brought the knife down across his throat with the precision and force of a surgeon. “This is why I trust no man,” Fallon hissed. Blood squirted up from Ben’s neck like a bubbling geyser. Fallon knew from the color and the way it spurted she had hit an artery in the neck. Ben’s eyes popped open and instinctively he grabbed for his neck. Thick, dark red blood spilled through his fingers and he was making a sickening gurgling sound. Fallon didn’t like that he was still alive. She stuck the knife in deep on the left side and pulled it across his neck again and again. This time the cut left a jagged, raggedy opening that damn near decapitated Ben. Finally his body went limp. The smell of the arterial blood threatened to make Fallon throw up. She had to move fast now and she knew it. She jumped up, got out of the bloodied t-shirt and raced to the bathroom. Fallon turned on the shower and jumped inside to get the blood off of her face, chest, legs and anywhere else it had splashed. It seemed to be taking forever to scrub it off. When she was done, Fallon slipped into Ben’s shirt, the sweats she’d had on for days and Ben’s fitted cap. She got a towel from the bathroom and tried her best to wipe the room clean of her prints. They say a killer leaves something behind at every crime scene no matter how hard they try to clean it, but Fallon was trying her best to make whoever investigated Ben’s death work hard to find any traces of her.

  Fallon took Ben’s iPhone and searched for transportation from Colorado to LA. She found that there was an Amtrak station three miles from the hotel. She’d have to take the train to Las Vegas, Nevada and then to California. It was the long, roundabout way to get to the border, but Fallon decided that she didn’t have a choice now.

  Before she left she smashed Ben’s phone into pieces. She was determined not to leave anything traceable behind. Fallon called herself a taxi to get her to the train station. There was no way she could take the rental car after seeing the news report that the police knew what type of car it was and by now probably had the plate number from the surveillance footage at the gas station. Fallon looked over at Ben and she was angry all over again.

  “All you had to do was fucking chill so I could get where I was going. But no, you had to fucking be so extra. Now between that fucking cop and you I caught a body and a fucking attempted murder charge. I got the whole fucking United States looking for me,” Fallon grumbled. Then she hawked a wad of spit on Ben’s dead body. “Go to hell you fucking weak bitch,” she said with finality slowly closing the hotel door behind her. She put the Do Not Disturb sign on first, hoping that would keep the housekeeper out for at least a day. Fallon rushed downstairs to her waiting cab.

  “Amtrak train station,” she instructed, keeping her head low and her eyes covered. Just as the cab pulled out Fallon saw at least five police cars pulling into the hotel parking lot. Damn! That was fast! Fallon said to herself. She felt like she was going to shit on herself seeing the fleet of police vehicles. Fallon knew exactly why they were riding gangbuster to the hotel. The front desk girl must’ve recognized her. Either that or someone had reported seeing the rental car there. Fallon shook her head in disgust. Either way it had been a close call for her. It meant she was really only a half a step ahead of the police.

  “Please drive faster. I don’t want to miss my train,” Fallon urged, peering nervously out of the cab windows every few seconds
.

  “Yes ma’am,” the cab driver replied.

  Fallon rested her head on the cab seat when she could no longer see the hotel in the distance. She was well aware that she’d barely escaped. Fallon surmised that the Baltimore and Nebraska police and probably every federal agency from here to Alaska were on her trail. Now it was up to her to stay one step ahead of them until she got to her brother and sisters.

  Chapter 6

  The Feds

  U.S. Marshall Veronica Torrence splashed water on her face in an attempt to wake up. “C’mon Roni you’ve been through worse. Much worse,” she whispered to herself. She splashed some more cold water onto her face, lifted her head, and stretched her red-rimmed eyes. When she looked up into the dull mirror that hung in the office bathroom she shook her head. This couldn’t be her reflection. Her usually smooth dark chocolate skin was pale and ashen. She even noticed a few worry lines cropping up on her forehead and at the sides of her eyes. She had huge, dark, puffy bags forming under her eyes that even makeup couldn’t hide anymore. Her hair was pushed back in a sloppy ponytail held in place with a cheap rubber band and some gel, surely not her usually well groomed locks. Torrence was running on less than three hours of sleep as usual. She’d tried taking sleep sedatives but those just made her dream about the past, something she had worked way too hard to forget.

  “Facial and hair salon…note to self,” Torrence said to herself out loud. She was just fooling herself and she knew it. The way she’d been feeling these past few weeks, she knew she wouldn’t make time to do anything nice for herself.

  Torrence had been spending most of her days and nights at the office since she had lost custody of her son and daughter to their father a month earlier in a nasty divorce. Being assigned to the US Marshall Service’s fugitive task force had drained every ounce of life from Torrence, but for the life of her and even for her kids, she refused to give up her job. Her ex-husband had warned her over and over that if she had not left the task force and started spending more time at home he was going to leave. He kept his promise, only he hadn’t told her that he was going fuck someone else only to turn around and make Torrence out to be an unfit mother and take away the only two people in the world she had to live for.