THIRTEEN JAY #3
No sooner had I said those words, images of Jay, Parker, and Micah appeared with the images of a burning building behind them.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out they were blaming them for the bomb, just as they tried to do with us.
Then another set of images showed up with our faces looking back.
The image they used was from my student ID at Ryevick.
The only way they could have gotten that was from someone on the inside.
“Things just got so much worse,” Hudson muttered. “It’s better we keep moving.”
“You know this proves that it’s someone inside the Elementi that has fucked us over, right?” Brayden growled as we hurried along.
It was tricky to move quickly and not draw attention to ourselves as we did so. “Are you sure we can’t take a taxi or something?”
“Not after our faces have been plastered on the news,” Hudson pointed out.
“Guess I’m not good at this whole fugitive thing,” I mumbled as I realized how stupid that question had been.
“The base is outside the town. It would be much easier to get to if we had a vehicle of some kind,” Brayden reasoned. “There has to be something we could try.”
Hudson paused and turned to face us. “If we’re lucky and that’s the first time they’ve showed the images on TV, we might have a chance, but do you really want to risk it if it’s been running for the past hour we’ve been driving here?
They want us in jail or otherwise detained. We can’t make it that easy for them.”
Brayden cursed and kicked at a cup someone had missed throwing into the trash can.
It skittered out into the street only to get crushed by a car driving by.
I couldn’t think of a better representation of how I felt in this moment right now.
Every time we got out of one situation, we ended up in another that was even worse than the last. The Dark Lord was doing a bang-up job in keeping us out of his way, even if we weren’t captured.
Having a manhunt for us was effective in its own way.
“What if we call Cami and see if she can reach the base and have them send someone to come get us? If the guys are already there, they can make sure it happens,” I suggested. “I feel like us running around the streets is going to get us caught faster... unless one of you can steal a car?”
Hudson and Brayden both looked at each other unsure but I knew it was the best option we had. Ducking into a side street, I huddled behind a dumpster and pulled out my phone to call Cami.
“We just saw the news. Please tell me you’re at the base,” Cami answered.
“Close, but we need an assist. We’re in Paarl but we need someone from the base to pick us up so we don’t get caught by the police, or worse,” I answered.
“I tried calling the guys but knowing Jay, he had them toss their cells.” Cami sighed.
“Makoto doesn’t like to play nice with the Elementi, even though he’s one of us, claiming his men are better than ours.
Anywho, I will reach out to the base. We might have better luck with the guys there pushing for them to get you three to safety.
Hold tight and I’ll call you back as soon as I can. ”
Hanging up, I shrugged as they looked at me questioningly. “She’s gonna do what she can. I guess Makoto is a prick to everyone, not just me.”
Hudson snorted, shaking his head and Brayden grinned.
“Angel, we could have told you that. The good thing is that Cami doesn’t play fair and won’t give a rat’s ass about being nice when it comes to you being in danger.
Once Cami claims you as one of her people, she does whatever it takes to keep you alive,” Brayden added.
This made me think about her telling me about her girlfriend who died. She’d dealt with so much loss and heartache, I totally understood why she was so protective.
Thankfully, it only took ten minutes before my phone rang. I picked it up right away. “Please tell me they’re alright and sending someone to get us?”
“I’m sorry, did you doubt my skills, Lala? I’m offended!” Cami said with a gasp as I switched her to speaker. “Of course someone is coming to get you. It won’t be the boys, because they’re wanted as well, but they are sending a few men after you. Where are you now?”
“We got dropped off at the Horizon Inn and then we headed east a few miles,” Hudson answered since I had no idea how to answer that question.
“Can you tell me some street names so I can send them right to you? They don’t want you wandering about, drawing more attention to yourselves.”
Brayden got up and jogged to the end of the alley and rounded the corner. It didn’t take long for him to reappear with the information we needed.
“Alright, guys, hang tight and I’ll pass this information along. Be safe and text me when you get to the base,” Cami requested before she hung up.
Now that I knew we had a way out of this and to safety, I sagged against the brick wall, letting my head rest on Hudson’s shoulder.
“You know, I used to think I was missing out for not traveling the world. Now I would give anything to be back in Wisconsin with you guys, relaxing on the beach. Is this what things have been like for Jay when he goes on missions?”
“I’m not sure what his missions are like but I don’t think he’s normally hunted by the police for blowing up a building,” Brayden pointed out.
I glanced at him surprised. “That was a very Parker thing to say. What’s got you upset, other than the obvious?”
“None of this makes sense,” Brayden started.
“How did they know we would be here and meeting with Pride? We made those plans on the plane and contacted the company at the last minute so something like this wouldn’t happen.
We didn’t even tell Pride who they were meeting with until they confirmed they could fit us in when we wanted. ”
That got me thinking. This time when we flew there was only one staff member on board besides the pilot and he’d been on all the previous trips.
I couldn’t say that I kept track of who the steward or stewardess had been for each of the flights to know if this woman was different or not.
Micah wasn’t one to leave things to chance though.
No one would be on that plane if they weren’t safe.
“Brayden, who does Micah use to charter his plane?” I asked, knowing Micah told him everything.
“It’s the same company that the Elementi uses. Many of them are Elementi who want to help but don’t want to be on the front lines,” Brayden answered.