Chapter 8 #5
“Yeah, well, that’s a little disconcerting,” Rubin muttered, as he settled back into his seat. Then he twisted back around and suggested, “Why don’t you just go to sleep?”
“Yeah, why don’t I?” she muttered. “Seems as if all I do is get myself in trouble.”
“I don’t know if this is trouble that you’re trying to get into or trouble you’re trying to get out of,” Hayden noted, still laughing at her. “Either way, it’s good to see my partner completely flummoxed for a change.”
She smiled. “At least there’s some fun to be had in that. … What about Trent?” she asked suddenly. “And Oakley?”
“What about them?”
“Do they know?”
“Yes, they know what happened back there and where we are right now. We’ve kept in touch with them and with the rest of the team. Trent told us that Arlene left right after us.”
“Great,” Tricia muttered. “That bitch.”
“We don’t necessarily know for sure that she is helping them.”
“Yeah, you may not know for sure,” she snapped, “but, the longer I think about it, the more I’m pretty sure she’s been right in the middle of it.
That whole time she was sitting there, plotting how to make each of our lives miserable, only to turn around and gain from it.
” She was frustrated, and it was evident in her tone. “Who does that?”
“People who are desperate, people who are angry, people who have plans that do not include you. People who never did and never will give a crap about your life. Maybe she’s been blackmailed into helping pull off this operation,” Rubin replied.
“I’m not saying we have to become like them, but we do have to get our job done. ”
“Right, and aren’t you the guy who just stole a car?” Tricia asked.
“Hell no,” he replied cheerfully. “That was Hayden. He picked the lock. I just opened the door.”
That made her laugh out loud. “Oh, good God,” she said. “You guys are making me crazy.”
“Hey, we’re not making you do anything,” Rubin corrected, still chuckling. “You were already that way long before we got here.”
“You could be right,” she conceded, now curled up in the back seat. “I’ll try to sleep and forget about all this. And most of all, try and forget about that backstabbing bitch.”
“Arlene?”
“Yeah, that’s the one,” she muttered, with a yawn. “And her sleazy boyfriend. … Jeez, I can’t remember his name. It was something like Brandon, Braner? I don’t know. Something European maybe. It was a different name,” she added, and then sighed. “Wake me if you need me.” And she went silent.
Hayden looked over at Rubin and curled his lips into a smile. “Tricia’s definitely got some personality.”
“Yeah, you’re not kidding,” he muttered. “What the hell do you mean by that anyway?”
He laughed and shook his head. “You are one clueless son of a gun, you know that, right?”
“I have no idea what you are ranting on and on about.”
“She’s sweet on you, dumbass.” Hayden was serious, and Rubin did a double take, staring at him.
“Oh no, that’s not—”
Hayden cut him off. “And you’re sweet on her. Anybody can see that.”
“Oh no. No, no, no, no. You don’t get to say that,” he stated. “She’s the job.”
“Yeah, she might be the job, but you’re also sweet on her,” he replied forcefully. “And the sooner you get your head wrapped around that, the better it will be for both of you. And we’ll all be happy and move forward, the way we should be.”
“You are losing your mind,” Rubin muttered, his tone hard.
“Right, I’m the one losing my mind. Are you kidding?
” he asked, exasperation in his tone. “Whenever you two are together, you’re either touching or looking to get closer.
I don’t even think it’s conscious. The two of you are just gravitating toward each other, as if some magnetic pull is between you. ”
Rubin stared him down, but Hayden was not backing off an inch.
“It’s interesting to watch,” he noted. “I’ve seen it a couple times, and you’re not even aware that you’re doing it.”
Rubin shook his head. “No, you’re wrong.”
“Of course. You want me to be wrong. But pay attention, boss. … I’m not wrong.”
Rubin glared at his friend and hated it when he threw the boss card in his face.
Hayden laughed and laughed. “It’s a prime example. It’s all good. Relax.”
“I’m not looking for a relationship,” Rubin snapped, staring at him. “You know what our life is like.”
“Yeah, but we also know lots of people who have relationships and seem to manage them successfully. Look at Mason and Tesla. They are a fine example.”
“And lots of people don’t manage them successfully too,” he pointed out. “Why would you sign me up for that?”
Hayden howled. “I’m not signing you up for anything, buddy. You signed yourself up all on your own.”
He glared at him. “I did not.”
“Did so.”
And, just like children, they were off. When they finally slowed down, Rubin glanced into the back seat and muttered, “She’s so deep asleep that she never even heard us.”
“Oh, I’m pretty sure she is fast asleep.” Hayden laughed. “Otherwise she would have piped in over this last bit of joking.”
“Maybe,” he muttered, “or maybe she would just stay quiet. She seems pretty pissed at the idea of somebody who worked in her grad department having something to do with this.”
“Sure, the students are all sitting ducks in a way. And, if security was less than stellar in terms of their hiring practices, it was probably lacking overall in general. So you and I both know some blame is due there.”
“But the blame won’t solve the problem we’re in.”
“No, it won’t.”
“On the other hand, we have no updated intel on our pursuers either, do we? Anything from the team?”
“No, nothing from Trent since the Arlene update.”
“That sucks.”
“It would be nice if we at least had eyes on them.”
“Let me check in with him,” Rubin offered and sent off a text. He heard right back, and, lucky for them, it was good news. “Yes!”
“You look as if you won the lottery. What’s up?”
“Not that, but close enough. Trent’s on their tail.
He’s following them through the next town over,” he shared.
“I’ll just read his text to you. It appears that they’ve lost you guys, which is a good thing.
They’ve stopped multiple times, but every time the energy of that group appears to be rough, as if they’re not happy about the circumstances. ”
“Good,” Hayden replied, “not that it matters much. They keep finding us, sooner or later.”
“Maybe it’s simply a lack of satellite coverage here. Regardless, we’ve lost them at least for the moment, so let’s be happy, even if it’s short-lived.”
“But you and I both know that it won’t stay that way. As soon as they get wind that we’ve booked it somewhere, they’ll be all over us. We need to get as far from them as we can, as fast as we can.”
“Yeah.” Rubin snorted. “I don’t think this luxury car you boosted will suddenly go any faster.”
“Short of getting ourselves a spiffy new sports car,” he replied, “this is as good as we’ve got.
And honestly, she moves, and she really does get up and go.
On this highway, there doesn’t seem to be a speed limit.
I’ve been doing 130 without a thought, and God knows that’s been a real nice upgrade from a lot of the smaller streets we’ve been on with more traffic,” he shared.
“Let’s just keep going, and, with any luck, and a few changes in our plans, we’ll get Tricia safely to the next location.
” He looked at Rubin and asked, “You did get a location, didn’t you? ”
“I did, but it’s still hours away. Just stay on this highway for the next hundred miles or so.”
“I’ll keep moving until you tell me differently. And hopefully we’ll get there without any trouble.”
“That’s the hope.”
With that, Hayden turned the music on low and suggested, “Settle back. You might as well get some rest. If I need a hand, I’ll let you know. In the meantime, rest, relax, and just let life flow.”
“Right, that’s not exactly how I roll.”
“We can’t do anything more than we’re doing,” Hayden stated, giving him a sideways look.
“Trent, Oakley, and the others are out there keeping an eye out for us. Tricia’s sound asleep.
So, you might as well just let everything go for a while.
” And, with that, Hayden gave him a big goofy smile and teased, “Sweet dreams, Prince. Your princess is behind you.” He chuckled at Rubin’s reaction.
“No need to stare me to death. Come on. You might as well enjoy the moment. And thank me for pointing out the obvious.”
Glaring at his buddy, Rubin shook his head. “I’ll thank you not to go down that pathway.”
“Oh, but now that I know how much it bugs you, I have no choice but to be all over it.”
With that, and determined not to laugh at Hayden’s antics, Rubin closed his eyes, put his head back, and tried to grab a little bit of rest himself. He knew Hayden was joking. And, more than that, it was okay.
He also knew it was light relief for the nightmare they still could have up ahead. This line of work came with no guarantees, and, in a situation like this, it could get volatile at any moment.
If they happened to get overtaken, he had no qualms about how he would take care of their pursuers.
He would not waste a moment negotiating.
There would be a bullet between the eyes for anybody needing one, and that was it.
What he had to do was make sure Tricia wasn’t victimized again. He signed up for this. She didn’t.
Simply put, his job was to keep her safe. And, to do that, he was prepared to do everything he possibly could. The fact that there was some truth to Hayden’s teasing was completely beside the point.
Right now, absolutely no way Rubin would cross that line. She needed protection, and they didn’t know what was coming. He needed her to jump when he said jump and not even ask how high, much less argue.
It was simply a case of following orders because, when it came down to it, when things went south, they went south quickly and in a very bad way.
And, with that, he shut out the rest of the world.
He listened to the rolling of the tires as Hayden moved as fast and as far forward as he could, getting them that much farther away from anybody trying to take them down.
With a smile and one last thought toward the beauty in the back seat, Rubin let go.