Gateway to Chaos (Book 2): Seeking Refuge

by Payne, T. L.

  Scott stepped into the road and walked west to the street leading into the Sam’s Club. When he reached it, he walked back and forth for a few seconds then waved them over.

  “They went west,” Scott said, moving to an abandoned Escalade parked with its tail end sticking out into the street. The car door had been left open. The contents of its center console and glovebox had been ransacked.

  JJ crouched by the tire of a Ford Focus as Scott scouted ahead to make sure they were still heading the right way. She could feel the flash drive in the bend of her leg. She was struck that the enormous problems she faced just two weeks ago seemed to pale in comparison now. She’d felt confident that with her insurance policy—the flash drive—she’d be able to find a way out of her problems. She’d imagined entering a witness protection program and living out west somewhere. As unpleasant as all that sounded at the time, she’d much prefer those problems over what they were facing now. Every step they took and every decision they made dealt with life and death.

  She glanced over to Raine. She looked so young and fragile. JJ wondered how someone like her would make it in this new world of kill or be killed. Lucy pulled an electronic cigarette from her coat pocket. JJ furrowed her brow and shook her head. Lucy mouthed, “Oh. Okay.” She placed the Juul back into her pocket. She looked like she could handle herself. She walked with a “Don’t F with me” attitude. She’d likely do all right.

  Scott poked his head around the front fender of a silver truck about one hundred feet ahead and gestured for them to join him. After following the tire tracks in the snow for several more blocks, the tracks turned right.

  “Scott,” JJ said, pointing at the big brick building.

  “Oh my God!” Raine yelled. She took off running as fast as she could toward the Home Depot where the rest of her group was waiting for them.

  “Scott!” JJ yelled. “They’re going to think it’s us.”

  Scott ran ahead, pistol held out in front of him. Lucy ran past JJ and caught up with Scott. “We have to be strategic. If we run up in there, they’ll—” Lucy started to say.

  Pop! Pop!

  “Sheena!” Raine screamed. She froze in place. Her hand shot up to cover her mouth. JJ stopped and grabbed her by the arm.

  “DeAndre,” Raine whispered.

  “We don’t know that it's them,” JJ said. “Let’s go. We can’t stand out in the open like this.”

  JJ took Raine’s hand and the two of them caught up with Scott and Lucy in front of the Home Depot’s garden center.

  Pop! Pop!

  JJ jumped and spun around. The gunfire was coming from behind them at the opposite end of the strip mall near the home decor store.

  “Scott! Back there,” JJ yelled, pulling on Scott’s sleeve.

  Across the parking lot, JJ could see at least four men running away from the building. A fifth man was chasing them firing a short-barreled shotgun. None of them looked familiar.

  Scott pivoted and started to take off after the men.

  “Scott, stop! We need to find the SUV,” Lucy said. No more had the words come from her mouth when they heard the engine fire up. A second later, the Suburban slid around the corner of the building and barreled straight toward them. The driver made a sharp turn and sped off after the shooter and the four men running from him.

  “Sheena! I’ve got to get to my friends,” Raine said. She took off around the side of the building by the garden center.

  “We should go, too,” JJ said, tugging on Scott’s arm.

  JJ, Scott, and Lucy ran to catch up with Raine as the Suburban sped across the parking lot away from them.

  “Raine. Stop!” Scott yelled. “We need to check it out. We don’t know what we’ll be running into.”

  Scott stepped in front of Raine, pressed his back against the brick wall, and peered around the corner of the building.

  “It appears clear,” Scott said, stepping away from the building.

  The back door was ajar.

  “Sheena! Antonio!” Raine called out.

  “Shush! We don’t want to give ourselves away if Suit’s men are in there,” Scott said.

  He poked his head through the door then stepped inside.

  “See anyone?” Raine asked.

  “Not your friends,” Scott said.

  JJ steeled herself for the scene she feared she’d see inside.

  A body was on the floor in the middle of the room. JJ didn’t recognize the man. She followed close behind Scott as the group moved through the loading bay to the interior door. Scott stopped and scanned the aisle before proceeding. They made their way back to the room where Sheena and the others had been sleeping. No one was there.

  Raine stepped back into the corridor and whispered, “Sheena. Antonio. Gage.”

  Everyone stood perfectly still—listening.

  “Raine,” a male voice whispered. “Is that you?”

  “Tom. It’s me. Where’s Sheena and DeAndre?” Raine asked.

  “We’re here,” Sheena said, stepping into view. Her bright periwinkle coat stood out in the darkness.

  “Gage and Antonio?” Raine asked.

  “We’re here, too,” Gage answered.

  Antonio and DeAndre stepped out from behind some boxes and stood beside Sheena. Raine released a sigh of relief. Although JJ didn’t really know any of them, she too let out a sigh.

  Raine ran over and threw her arms around Sheena. “I thought…”

  “We’re okay,” Sheena said.

  “When the Suburban pulled up, I looked through the peephole in the delivery door. I didn’t recognize the driver, so we all went and hid,” Tom said.

  “We heard guns,” DeAndre said.

  Raine placed a hand on his shoulder. “We aren’t going to let anything happen to you.”

  Scott moved in closer. “We should get out of here before they come back.”

  “What about Ms. Abbey and her people?” Sheena asked.

  JJ turned and looked down the dark aisle. “Where are they?”

  “They locked themselves in the manager’s office, I think,” Tom said.

  “Wait here,” Scott said. He turned to Lucy. “Come with me?” She nodded, and the two of them headed down the aisle and disappeared around a corner.

  “What happened after they pulled up? Did they start firing immediately or did they try to come in?” JJ asked.

  “I think they were chasing some of Abbey’s men. That guy in the blue parka ran in and started yelling for everyone to hide,” Tom said. “When I asked him who it was, he said it was the group from the grocery. He’d captured another of their guys and was trying to bring them back here when the Suburban appeared out of nowhere.”

  “Did he say where he’d captured them from?”

  Tom looked skyward and bit his lip. “I think he said Sands.”

  “Could it have been Sam’s?” JJ asked.

  Tom nodded.

  “Yeah. That’s it. Sam’s.”

  “Those mother…”

  “Did they follow us?” Raine asked.

  “Must have,” JJ said. “They screwed us good.”

  “Does that mean we can’t get the SUV now?” Alicia asked.

  “That pretty much guarantees we won’t be able to steal it now. Once they find out that we tampered with the trucks, they won’t be so lax in their security. Our plan only worked because they were stupid and didn’t have enough guards,” JJ said.

  “Why in the world did he lead them back here?” Raine asked. “Didn’t he know that he could get everyone killed?”

  “I think he was only concerned for his own life,” Tom said.

  “Where is the mother—” JJ looked down at DeAndre. “—bleeper now?”

  “He grabbed a couple of guys and went out to confront them. They haven’t come back,” Tom said.

  “That must’ve been who they were chasing in the parking lot,” JJ said.

  Scott and Lucy returned a moment later. Whatever Abbey told them, Scott seemed in an even
bigger rush to get away from there. “You got your stuff?”

  Sheena pulled on the rope tied to her bedroll, hefted it onto her back, pulled one end over her shoulder and across her chest, then slid her arm through.

  “We’re ready,” she said.

  The others grabbed theirs and fell in behind Sheena.

  Scott waved his right hand over his head then pointed toward the door. “Let’s get out of here then.”

  “Where are we going?” Raine asked.

  “Back to the office building where we left Brandon.”

  “He’s gonna be pissed,” Raine said.

  “Why?” Sheena asked as she pulled the knit hat down over DeAndre’s ears.

  “We left him guarding a prisoner. We were supposed to go back for him before we hit the trucks,” Raine said.

  Instead of going back to the office building the way they’d gone before, Scott led them across the parking lot and back to Manchester Road. They waited and listened for a few minutes before crossing the street. Scott ran and crouched beside a city bus. He waited until everyone had caught up before proceeding across the other two lanes and entering the woods on the other side of the street. They ran south on Dietrich Road then followed a creek to the driveway behind the DSW shoe store. Twenty minutes later, they emerged from the woods by a self-storage facility at Barrett Station Road.

  JJ could see the office building where Brandon was standing guard over their prisoner. They listened for the sound of the Suburban or anyone walking nearby. Having snow on the ground had its benefits. They could hear anyone approaching them. But so could their enemies. No matter how hard she tried, JJ found it almost impossible to walk silently in the crunchy snow. In the absence of manmade noise, even the quietest sounds traveled further than you’d think possible.

  Scott crossed the street first and ran to the woods bordering the street leading to the office building. He stepped through the trees and disappeared. JJ could clearly hear his footfalls. She hoped that Suit’s men couldn’t, if they were near. A moment later, Scott exited the woods in the middle of the street and waved for them to follow. JJ ran to a small parking lot on the right side of the street and dropped behind a white Subaru SUV. Scott had weaved his way through the parked cars to the end of the lot.

  After finally reaching the building where they’d left Brandon, Scott led them down the hall. He opened the door to the adjacent office and motioned for the others to enter.

  “Wait here. I need to check on Brandon and our friend,” Scott whispered as JJ eased past him.

  Chairs lined two walls facing a reception desk. While the group took seats in the reception area, JJ went down a short hall and entered an exam room. The blinds were closed. Very little light shined through them or around its edges. JJ turned the knob slightly, opened the blinds, and scanned the parking lot. Their footprints in the snow concerned her. They’d need to find a way to hide them to conceal their presence there.

  JJ followed her snow-covered prints back down the hall to the reception area. Her companions were busy knocking snow off their pants and changing out of damp socks.

  “Did you see a bathroom?” Sheena asked.

  JJ shook her head. “Just exam rooms.”

  “I need to change out of my wet shirt. I feel like I just got out of the shower after that walk,” Sheena said, grabbing a plastic grocery tote bag and heading toward the hall, DeAndre on her heels.

  “That’s smart. If you have dry clothing, now is the time to change out before you get more chilled. Hypothermia is nothing to mess with,” JJ said.

  “Yeah. I’m not laying next to you naked to warm you up, so you better do as JJ says,” Sheena said.

  Antonio laughed.

  Chapter 26

  Barrett Station Office Suites

  Manchester, Missouri

  February 22nd

  Scott eased the door open with his foot.

  “Brandon?”

  “It’s about damn time. What took so long?” Brandon said, pulling the door open for Scott.

  “Is he secure?” Scott asked, pointing to their prisoner.

  “Yeah. What’s up?” Brandon asked.

  “Let’s join the others,” Scott said, not taking his eyes off the boy.

  Brandon appeared surprised to see everyone. “Will someone tell me what’s going on?” he asked.

  Scott allowed JJ to fill Brandon in. He needed to think. He had to work out a new plan.

  From a third-floor window, Scott scanned the horizon. He couldn’t believe their bad luck. Scott fought to rein in his fury with Abbey’s men for following them and foiling their plan. He was so close. Just a few minutes earlier and he would have gotten the Suburban. He would have been on his way to find Lily. Now, his plan just got a thousand times harder. Unless they were total idiots, Suit’s group wouldn’t be so cavalier about their security after having two of their vehicles taken out of commission. They’d be guarding the Suburban from now on.

  Scott shoved a pencil holder and tape dispenser aside, hopped up, and sat on top of the desk. He racked his brain trying to think of what Suit’s men’s next move would be. They had a mission. Would they lie low for a while or push forward or put extra guards on vehicles? It was hard to know. They didn’t seem like the brightest bunch. Since Suit’s group had more firepower, Scott would need to outsmart them. He just needed to make a new plan. He had to. He needed that Suburban if he had any hope at all of making it to Florida.

  It wasn’t going to be a walk in the park even with the SUV. He’d need to find fuel along the route. It would no doubt take twice as long as before the lights went out. The interstates were out. They’d be clogged with abandoned cars. He’d need to avoid heavily-populated cities. They’d be too dangerous for a man traveling alone. He could get ambushed easily without a second person to help him watch the road. That only left the long route on backroads and through small hamlets. He would likely be backtracking to find routes around roads blocked with vehicles.

  Scott removed his hat and ran a hand through his greasy hair. Getting to Florida was overwhelming to think about. So many unknowns lay ahead of him. After he arrived in Tallahassee, he’d likely have to go the rest of the way on foot. How would his wife—ex-wife—react to him showing up? Would her husband make a scene? Scott didn’t care. One way or another, he was going to be there for his daughter. No one was going to keep him from it. No one!

  Anguish tightened his chest. Scott scooted back and sat cross-legged on the desk. He placed his elbows on his knees and planted his face in his palms. He couldn’t fail Lily. There had to be a way to salvage his plan to steal the SUV and get on the road to her. The lack of sleep and food made his thinking slow. He felt so on edge that it was hard to concentrate.

  Scott stared out the window watching a starling murmuration. The flock’s dazzling cloud of swirling and pulsating movement was mesmerizing. Scott was always in awe of the aerial spectacle of the synchronized birds in their ever-changing patterns in the sky. He loved how they appeared to work in unison.

  A plan formed in his mind as he watched the birds work together in their aerial acrobatic display. First, he’d need to convince JJ and the rest of his group and then they’d have to present the plan to Abbey and the group at the grocery store. If they could get everyone involved in taking down Suit and his men, he stood a chance of getting the Suburban.

  “Guys? Where are you?” Scott whispered as he entered the empty room where he’d left his companions.

  “Down here,” a voice called back.

  Scott found them down the hall in an interior exam room. The exam table had been pushed against the door. After Scott entered, Antonio pushed the table back into place. Wet garments had been placed across the table to dry. Everyone was curled up in their makeshift sleeping bags made of two pieces of radiant barrier and giant trash bags. A saddle blanket poked out from the top of DeAndre’s. They looked cozy and warm—or at least warmer than they would have been without them. He wondered how long it was before so
meone succumbed to the cold. The longer they went without food, the more likely it was that hypothermia would take someone out.

  Scott was less sure of his plan as he sat across from the weary group. They were just as tired as he was and just as hungry. After marching through the snow all day, his energy was next to zero. Thinking about fighting Suit and his men even sounded crazy to him at that moment.

  Scott leaned against the wall near the door and lowered himself to the floor. He glanced over to JJ then looked around the room. He considered that now wasn’t the time to discuss a plan, but he had to know what their next move was going to be.

  “Okay. Here is how I see things. Our plan to stealthily steal the SUV and get on the road was thwarted by Abbey’s guys following us to the Sam’s Club.”

  Scott paused and looked at JJ. He’d need her on his side if he had any hope of convincing them of the merits of his plan. She looked impassive. He knew that she was equally anxious to get on the road to her folks, though. That might work to his favor.

  “Anyway. We were able to disable their two remaining vehicles, so we did have partial success. The next time, we won’t have to repeat that task.”

  Lucy huffed. “Next time? You think we’re going to get a second opportunity to get the jump on them and steal the Suburban?”

  “I know. They’ll be more guarded now. But the plan will still work. All we need is—”

  “All we need is to get the hell out of this town. We need to head south away from them,” Alicia said.

  “We can’t fight them, Scott. They have guns. We don’t. Maybe we can find another running vehicle somewhere else,” Sheena said.

  No one spoke for a moment.

  “They’re right, Scott. We can’t afford to get into a gunfight with these men on the chance that we can get the SUV. Alicia says that we’re only four miles or so from her house in Valley Park,” JJ said.

  Scott’s heart sank. He’d counted on her to back him. She knew what the SUV meant for him. It was his one real chance to make it to Florida. He couldn’t give that up. He wouldn’t just walk away from the opportunity. He may never have another chance to get a running vehicle.