18. SOPHIA
18
SOPHIA
We need to pick up some supplies. Ethan explains that he always has a go-bag packed with clothes and toiletries, which he grabs before heading out.
I didn’t pack anything since I didn’t know we were going or how long we’d be gone.
Along with essentials like a toothbrush, deodorant, and the like, I would need a few changes of clothes, so whatever we can get at Target or the local department store will be fine.
I worry about my family. I hadn’t talked to them, and they must be worried sick.
I wonder if they’ve contacted the police.
I’m not sure they’d be able to do anything. It was pretty obvious I had left of my own volition, but the circumstances were unusual.
Ethan told me our plans had changed.
Yiva had called just after noon and told Ethan she had published the first installment of our exposé. Things would start happening now, and we had to get out while we could.
I’d never been on the run before, I think with a touch of amusement as we pull into the parking lot of the nearest big box store.
I’m worried that I might be becoming a little desensitized to the danger. After all, for all the ominous things that had happened up to this point, I hadn’t experienced anything overtly dangerous, at least not yet.
I don’t want to get careless.
I grab my essentials, then go off in search of Ethan.
I find him in the sporting goods department, standing over a glass display case, which I notice contains ammunition.
“What the ...”
I didn’t finish when I noticed him giving me a look.
“In my go bag, just in case.”
He had a weapon.
Of course he did.
At least I know he knows how to use it.
“Nine millimeter, box of fifty,” he instructs the clerk when he walks up.
“Got your ID,” he asks matter-of-factly.
“Absolutely,” Ethan replies, pulling out his wallet and producing a North Carolina driver’s license bearing a name I didn’t recognize.
The clerk fills out some paperwork on a clipboard and checks a list before reaching under the counter, retrieving the ammunition, and placing it on the counter.
“That comes to thirty-five fifty.”
Ethan responds by pulling two twenties out and placing them on the counter as the clerk bags his purchase.
“Mr. Reilly?” I ask in a whisper as we walk away.
“Yeah. I happen to like it. Good likeness, right?”
“Guns, fake IDs, in a different state no less, I’m beginning to wonder about you.”
“What? Sophia, I’m an ex-Navy SEAL, you know that. You think I’m not prepared for almost any eventuality? Besides, with parents like mine, it’s good to have a plan B and C.”
We check out my items and head to the car. It looks like it might rain, and the humidity makes the place feel like a sauna. The newly paved parking lot smells of fresh asphalt, and the seagulls squawk at us from the edge of the roof.
As he opens the trunk, he asks me quietly, “Very slowly and casually look over to the left. About fifty yards away. See the blue sedan with tinted windows?”
Very carefully, I turn my head in that direction.
“I’m not sure,” he says quietly, “but I think someone might have found us.”
“Wha... how? We were so careful. How could anyone find us that fast?”
“I told you these people have resources. I don’t know how they found us, but for all I know, they may have followed us from Virginia. I thought I was so careful.”
“Ethan,” I say, reaching for his hand.
“Calm down. I might be wrong, but we’ll know for sure when we leave.”
He pulls an item from his bag. It’s black and heavy. I know it’s his gun.
Tucking it discreetly into his waistband, he closes the trunk, and we get in.
We pull out of the parking lot and take a right on the main highway out of town.
I look behind us and am temporarily relieved when I don’t see the car immediately following.
That relief is short-lived, however, when I see it in the distance, lying back but keeping us in sight.
“Mm, that’s what I was afraid of,” Ethan says, noticing the pursuers in our rearview mirror.
“What are they going to do,” I ask, the fear evident in my voice.
“I’m not sure, but I don’t want to find out,” he replies.
“I don’t understand. I thought you said we’re not in any immediate danger.”
“They’re probably wondering why we left town so quickly. Guys like Whitmore and Pierce, or my parents for that matter, they’re very suspicious people. If something is off, they go into damage control mode. The stakes are high.”
He drives along at a steady speed, apparently deep in thought.
I think about what he said to me that first night on the beach, about how you never want to indicate that you don’t have all the answers when you’re a leader.
I’m sure he’s coming up with those answers right now.
The countryside is becoming less and less populated. The houses and other buildings are farther apart, and that worries me.
I imagine that it would be unlikely for them to take action on a public highway like this. There isn’t much traffic, but a few cars are around—a few witnesses, but if they’re desperate ….
I can almost see the idea forming in Ethan’s mind as he drives, his expression changing occasionally.
Without warning, he suddenly turns off the highway, barely slowing down as he does so, tires chirping with the strain.
The car that is following us is far enough behind to be able to slow down before taking the turn.
The masks are off now. They know that we know they are following us.
We roar down the road, going more than ninety miles an hour as groves of thick forests zip by on both sides.
I’ve lost sight of our pursuers, but I know they’re back there.
“What are you doing?” I ask, worried that taking us off the main highway into a sparsely populated area might not be the best plan.
“These woods provide cover. Should just have time to set up an ambush.”
Ethan takes a surprise right down a gravel road.
What is he doing? He’ll surely kick up dust going this way. They’ll easily be able to follow.
The road seems to go on a long way before narrowing and ending in a dead end, a red and white striped barricade and yellow and black striped signs barring the way.
“Come on!” he shouts, leading the way into the woods.
The smell of dead and rotting vegetation assaults my nostrils as we move deeper into the trees. All I can do is follow his lead.
He stops and looks around before spotting a dry stream bed covered in tall grass and brush.
“There. Go down in there and keep quiet. I’ll draw them away.”
Seriously? That’s his plan?
It won’t take them long to find me.
Still, I obey and do my best to conceal myself as I hear another car pull up behind ours.
I look around, but I don’t see Ethan.
He wouldn’t abandon me—would he?
I hear the men exit the car. There are two of them, by the sound of it, trying to decide which side of the road we’re on.
“Come on,” one of them says. “They can’t have gotten far.”
They make their way into the woods, talking in low voices, apparently trying to be quiet, but with them making such a racket stepping on leaves and twigs, they might as well be shouting.
From my vantage point, I can see the men. They appear to be older, probably in their forties, armed with handguns.
“Come on out!” one of them shouts. “We just want to talk.”
If they just want to talk, why carry guns?
“What’s the deal, Blackwood? You talk with the girl, then you split town. You’ve got a lot of people very nervous,” the other man says.
They pause, and one of them points in my direction. I’m sure they will discover my hiding place.
Suddenly, there’s a distinct crack and the rustle of leaves, off in a different direction, drawing the men’s attention.
“What’s that?” the taller one says, snapping his head around.
“I don’t know, maybe a deer or some other animal.”
“What if it’s him?”
The shorter partner thought about it for a minute.
“I don’t think so. Remember, the kid was like a Navy SEAL or something. He’s too smart for that.”
“Are you willing to take that chance? Look, let’s check it out. If it’s not him, we can come back.”
They head off in that direction, weapons raised, looking and listening for the slightest sound before disappearing into the thicket.
It seems like an interminably long time, then I hear a shot in the distance. There is a pause, then two more in rapid succession.
Oh my God, what’s happened?
I’m frozen for a few seconds, then hear Ethan’s voice calling my name.
“Sophia?”
“Yes. Ethan, where are you?”
“Follow the sound of my voice.”
I walk several yards, then spot a flash of color through the trees.
As I emerge into a small clearing, I see Ethan leaning against a tall tree with two bodies lying on the ground.
I cover my mouth in shock, taking a moment to recover, then look over at him. “Oh, Ethan, thank God you’re alright. I was so worried.”
“Alright? Well, mostly.”
Then, I noticed he was leaning against the tree to support his weight. A spot of blood is visible on his upper right thigh.
“Oh my God, Ethan, you’re hurt.”
“I think it’s through-and-through lucky for me. A couple of inches higher, and it could have been worse.”
“Can you walk?”
“I think so.”
“Check their pockets,” he commands. “See if you can find anything that might tell us who sent them.”
Check their pockets? Me? But they were ... dead.
As revolting as the concept seems, I don’t want to show him what a wimp I am.
As I approach the bodies, I see one has a hole in the center of his forehead; the other has a wound I can’t see, but a massive amount of blood is pooling beneath his upper torso.
Doing my best to avert my eyes, I search the two men’s pockets but can’t find anything.
I shrug my shoulders.
“Pros,” he says. “About what I expected. It probably means they’re Whitmore’s men.
“Got ’em from up there.” He points to a crotch in the trunk of the tree. “Wouldn’t have got me if I hadn’t slipped. The little things can always get you killed, no matter how good you are.”
“Are you sure those were the only ones following us?”
“I’m not sure about anything, but if I had to guess, I’d say these guys were the only ones nearby. There are probably others on standby, but it’ll give us a good headstart to get away.”
“Where will we go?”
“Not sure,” he responds, “but I think inland is a better bet. They’ll probably think we like sticking close to the coast. We’re probably better off going the other way.”
I help him toward the car, letting him put his weight on me. I hope he’s right that we aren’t in immediate danger, but I can’t help but wait for the other shoe to drop.
As I help him into the car, I hear the cell phone in the glove compartment ping.
It’s from a number I don’t recognize.