Chapter Eleven
October 27th, 8:40 PM
Erin looked out at the two cop cars, their lights blazing, saw an officer on the hood of each one, each aiming a pistol in her and Margot's direction. She saw Margot with her hands up to her face, trying to block the intense light. "Keep your arms up there," Erin thought. "Don't let them see your face, girl."
"LISTEN," Erin shouted. "Officers! This building is set to explode in ONE MINUTE! You have to step aside and let us through! And you have to run!"
The cops didn't flinch. She could hear the voice of one call to the other, "Hey, it's the Blue Lynx!"
She listened for the other cop's response. It was tough to make out against the noise of the siren. But Erin was fairly certain she heard the phrase "pretty hot" in it.
"Did you hear me?" Erin shouted. "You have to move! This building is going to BLOW UP!"
"PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!" the first cop called out.
"There's no way in hell I'm doing that again tonight," Erin thought. But how could she get these morons to move?
"Jesus!" she shouted. "I'm on your side! I'm not lying to you!"
"PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!" the cop repeated.
Erin had to move. "Fine!" she shouted, thrusting her hand into one of her belt pockets and returning with a handful of small pellets. She heard the cops cock their pistols. But she couldn't stop. If she did, she was dead.
"You guys have to RUN!" she said, throwing the smoke bombs at the cars. They exploded on impact, and the cops were suddenly enveloped in dense smoke. Erin could hear them coughing, could hear the blast of a single shot ring into the night. She grabbed Margot by the elbow and started running. She passed through the smoke and between the cars, shouting at the cops as she ran, imploring them to move.
"Fuck," she heard one of them cough. "Gotta get out!"
Erin emerged from the other side of cloud, gripping Margot tightly. The young women pumped their legs as hard as they could, not looking back to see the officers wander in their direction, their hands clutching at their eyes, trying to push out the smoke.
Erin saw Margot's car. "Hurry!" she yelled. "Move!" She felt like she was dragging her partner now. She heard Margot's labored breathing and the cops coughing. "Move!" she cried out.
They had arrived. In seconds, Erin had the car door open and was shoving Margot into the passenger's seat, her bound hands squished underneath her exhausted body. Erin slammed the door shut.
"Keys!" she yelled. "Where are the--"
And then, a deafening sound. Margot and Erin looked up. They could no longer see the factory, only a towering pillar of smoke. The cop cars flipped up and over and landed on their roofs; the cops blown back off their feet, returning to the ground on their faces. They felt the car rumble around them, seemed to feel the ground shake beneath them. Bricks and glass and wood blew out of the smoke, clattered against the cracking pavement. The girls watched breathlessly from the comfort of their car. They continued to sit there, in perfect silence, as the dust and smoke eventually cleared.
The factory was no more.
Margot was the first to speak.
"Damn," she said.
Erin looked at the massive smoldering heap of ash and detritus, at the ruined cop cars, at the two police officers ever-so-slowly coming to their feet.
"That was close," she whispered.
And then she remembered. There had been guards in there. Men she had left unconscious all around the factory. Men who were surely dead now.
"Oh shit," she said. "I think I just killed them."
"Who?" Margot asked. "The cops?"
"No," Erin muttered. "The guards. I had knocked some out before. They're all dead now."
Margot stared at Erin, and then back at the fiery ruin.
"No, Erin," she said. "They got out. Surely."
Erin shook her head. "When? When Hammerson and Sunny were tying us up?"
"Sure," Margot said. "Yeah, I saw some people leave then."
"Seriously?" Erin said.
"Yeah," Margot said, nodding. "Seriously."
Erin sat back against the driver's seat, exhaling. She took off her mask and wiped the sweat from her face. She sighed. She didn't believe Margot, not for a second. She knew Margot was just saying things to try to make her feel less guilty. Sure, it was Hammerson who had pressed the button, Hammerson who had sent the guards to their deaths. But it was Blue Lynx who had left them there helpless. If Erin hadn't been at the factory tonight, those men would still be alive.
She sniffed. "Margot," she said. "Thanks."
"Of course, partner," Margot said. "Now could you please untie me?"
Erin laughed. "Sure thing."
END OF PART TWO
Back to the Table of Contents
No comments:
Post a Comment