Chapter 14
Chapter 14
“ I am stuffed,” Carol complained, pressing her hand to her belly.
“Me, too. It’s the best,” Jones agreed, and they high fived. Despite the amount of food he’d eaten, it hadn’t been bad food, not in the usual sense. Lots of rice, veggies, and fresh fruit. His pancreas probably had no idea what to do with all the vitamins, minerals, and lack of red meat. “I don’t even know what I ate today.”
“It’s probably best that way,” she said.
He white-knuckled the steering wheel, suddenly apprehensive. “What did you feed me, Carol?”
“Nothing too out there, no monkey brains or civet. But there may have been some squid and octopus.”
“I think I might throw up,” he said, stomach tossing violently.
“You didn’t complain when you were eating it,” she said.
“That’s because I didn’t know,” he said.
“That makes no logical sense, David. You are fine. You were fine when you were eating it, and you’re fine now. And you’ll be fine later. You need to chill.”
“I need to chill? I need to chill? That’s rich, coming from the most uptight person I have ever met.”
“Me?” She pointed to her chest. “I am not uptight. I’m the most laid back person in the universe. Everyone says so. Hence the nickname.”
“I haven’t heard one person use your nickname. I only have your word for it that it’s even real. And so far the evidence is seriously out of reach,” he said.
She pulled out her phone and used her thumb to scroll her messages, facing it toward him so he could see, if he was inclined to take his eyes off the road, which he was not. Instead, she read out loud. “Sweetie, call me when you get this. Sweetie, hope you’re having fun on your latest adventure! Sweetie, message me about Christmas, trying to plan early this year. Sweetie, how do you make those cookies with the cashews? Those are from four different people.”
“Nope, no way,” he said, stubbornly shaking his head. “Also, how do you make those cookies with the cashews? Because I love me some cashews.”
“Sorry, I can only tell people who don’t insult me every time they open their squid-eating mouths.”
“Carol,” he said, pressing his hand to his gut with renewed horror. Squid. He’d eaten squid. What was she doing to him?
Of course she laughed at his misery, glancing out the back window with a smile. “Well, that’s a big SUV.”
“Ha, good one,” he said.
“Why is that a good one?” she asked.
“Because no one on the island has an SUV, no one but…” The sound of a loud muffler grew closer. Jones turned to look out his window and came face to face with what could only be a gang member. Not only were they the only ones with access to such expensive cars, but this one was currently pointing a gun directly into his face.
“Well, that’s not good,” Carol muttered, and if his brain wasn’t busy calculating twenty possible outcomes for their current scenario, Jones would have laughed. As it was, he slammed the brakes and did a 360 in the middle of the road, a bootleg maneuver he learned in defensive driving 101. The SUV streamed past, came to its own belated halt, and made a wide, swinging U-turn, sideswiping two other cars off the road.
By this time Jones had a good lead, but the powerful SUV began to gain on them, enough to fire off a few shots that had passersby screaming and ducking for cover.
“Do you want me to shoot at them?” Carol asked, gripping her hands tightly together in anxiety as she ducked low in the seat.
“Do you actually know how to shoot?” Jones asked.
“Of course not, David,” she said reasonably.
“Then no, Carol, I do not want you to touch a firearm,” Jones said, making a late turn onto a side road that would hopefully get them out of the crowd. It would be more dangerous for them, but less so for the multitudes of people on the street, some of them children.
“You’re a gun snob,” she accused, gripping the car door as he careened around a corner, tires squealing.
“Let me guide us unharmed through this current crisis, using the skills I spent a decade honing, and then you can ream me,” he said.
“I’m just saying,” she said. “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”
“You can’t catch any flies if you’re dead,” he replied.
“You don’t always have to have a retort for everything.”
“Not now, Carol,” he said, teeth gritted in annoyance. The Jeep’s tires squealed as he took another corner going fifty. If they were in a cartoon, he would be on two wheels right now. As it was, it took every ounce of strength and skill to maintain control of the vehicle. One wrong move and they would skid out of control, possibly flip and roll over. Carol gripped the door as if they were on a roller coaster, which they sort of were. Somehow he understood her greater fear matched his, not for their own safety but for that of all the hapless bystanders. Thankfully they were leaving the city. The streets were starting to empty and flatten. And while that was good news for others, it was bad news for them because it meant visibility was clear with nothing between them and their pursuers who were once again behind them and gaining.
“Carol, take the wheel. I’m going to need to do some fancy shooting.”
“Can shooting be fancy?” she muttered, but it was more a question to herself as she slid beneath him and he overtop her, momentarily mashing her into the seat when the wheel jerked as their feet traded places. Jones rolled down the passenger window, stuck the upper half of his body out, and took aim.
The first shot went wide, but the second hit the intended target, blowing out the windshield. It was possible he hit someone in the car, not the driver because it was too far to the side. Even so, the car careened and slowed.
The problem, Jones now realized, was that their car was also slowing.
“What are you doing?” he yelled, shooting Carol a frantic glance.
“I didn’t want you to fall out,” Carol said, darting him a nervous look.
He thumped the dash. “Don’t worry about me. Drive, Carol, just drive.”
She gripped the wheel and took off, flattening Jones into the seat behind him. He bonked his head, hard, but couldn’t complain because he’d asked her to drive like an insane person. Jones directed her on a circuitous route back to the resort. They made the drive in silence, pulling wearily up the resort’s long and winding lane. The guards at the gate regarded him with questioning glances. Jones nodded to them. Mind your business, boys. They had never seen him leave the resort with a guest before, an occurrence odd enough to invite curiosity and maybe even speculation. Jones was glad he felt the need to keep his business private because what could he possibly say? I accidentally yanked a tourist into a murderous disaster plot with armed gangsters? Also, I ate squid. Nope. Bad enough he’d had to fess up to Ridge. No way would he admit his error to his subordinates. Maybe someday it would be a fun anecdote. If we survive, he thought, turning to stare out the window with grim determination. They would make it through this. Somehow now, for better or worse, Carol was his responsibility. Certainly death couldn’t be worse than that. Could it?
Carol parked in his assigned slot and turned off the Jeep. “Zero stars, David, would not recommend,” she said.
Jones closed his eyes and took a breath. It was going to be a long couple of days.