Dark Visions (6 page)

Maybe
North Face
was meant for her to
face north. She looked up and down Birk Street. How was she
supposed to know who was going to be kidnapped and who was going to
do the kidnapping with all these people hanging around?

This precognition seemed to have more
unknowns than the others. They never were too clear, but at least
on other precognitions she was given an article of clothing, a hair
color, or something specific to watch for, like
Bring
Hammer
.

Not this time.

She turned to her right and walked down
about half a block. She saw it was 9:10pm from a clock on the wall
inside a closed barber shop.

A door sat recessed in a way that it was
hidden from the street in shadows. Sarah stepped up, turned around
and leaned against it. From her vantage point she could almost see
the whole north side of Birk Street, including the entrance to the
theatre and the pizza joint where it seemed most of the people were
converging. She could smell the pizzas cooking from where she
stood.

While she waited, she reread the note about
tonight.
I'm as prepared as I can be
, she thought to
herself, trying to quell her stomach.

A sneaking suspicion that the danger
Esmerelda referred to only caused her to wonder what the hell she
was doing here. If this was the danger, she could be in a lot of
trouble. Maybe the police should be the ones watching this street.
She may not like them or trust them, but not all cops were bad.
They could have the street surrounded at this very moment if she
told them what was going to happen. She'd have more credibility if
she revealed who she really was. The television news anchor would
broadcast her as a hero and the other people she saved would verify
her story. So it seemed irrational for her to not involve the
police.

But yet, she couldn't.

She didn't want to be a public person and
she had no trust and a lot of hate for cops.

She leaned out and glanced in the barber
shop window.

9:20pm.

In three minutes, someone will be kidnapped
on this street and not only does she not know who yet, but she
doesn't know where.

Chapter 11

He sat in the passenger seat wondering why
his brother was being such a dick. They have been staking out the
theatre for about an hour, waiting for their intended victim to
show up. The subject of his discontent had come up again, only to
have his brother knock it down.

He'd done all the hard work on this one;
scouting the place out, following the girl. He almost got caught
watching her house. He always obeyed commands because of the
respect he had for his older brother. If it hadn't been for Matt,
he wouldn't be doing this at all. He'd probably be in jail by
now.

But Matt was the one who handled the boss.
He was the one barking the orders and he was the one who always got
paid more money.

Enough is enough. Gert wanted a little
something. He wanted to play around a little with the next girl
they took. He didn't care how old she was. If she was old enough to
bleed than she was old enough to breed.

"So, how about it? Why not?"

"No way. You know what the boss thinks of
that stuff. Personally, I think the boss would have you taken out
if you were too rough with any of the subjects."

"Where's the fun in just kidnapping them?
Why can't we have a little something on the side?"

"I'll tell ya what. The next time I'm
talking to the boss, I'll hand you the phone. You ask."

Gert shook his hands back and forth, waving
that notion off. "Forget it. That's like asking permission to get
laid. No way. Not me. I don't ask permission for that."

"Since you're asking me then, I think there
might be a reason you want permission. Could it be because of the
additional charges if we're ever caught?"

"You mean arrested?"

"Yeah, dummy. If you never touch the girls
then they can only charge you with kidnapping. You fuck one of
them, and now, not only do they get you on kidnapping, but they'll
have you on a whole slew of sex related charges. Those are the ones
where you do real time. And while you're doing time, someone claims
you as his bitch and rips you a new one for touching a little
girl."

Gert looked at the dash clock and saw it was
9:21pm. It was time to talk about something else because he didn't
like where this was going. "Once we take the girl, is the place
ready for us?"

"Yes. I talked to the boss earlier and it
looks like it's all set up, or getting set up. Something like that.
Either way, we got the go-ahead to move the subject there after we
pick her up."

Gert looked down at the floor boards. One of
these days he was going to do his own thing. Why couldn't he kidnap
these stupid rich teenagers on his own, set up the money
arrangements and keep every penny for himself. He was practically
doing all of it on his own as it is. He could even have his way
with the girl for a week or two while she was tied up in a basement
or a cage.

Matt smacked his arm and put the car in
gear.

"This is it. I'll handle the girl. You keep
the boyfriend off our back. Let's do this and be quick about
it."

"I still want to fuck her."

Chapter 12

The area was getting busy as a movie was let
out. Dozens of people were milling around, waiting to get in for
the late show. A girl wearing a blue vest and what looked like her
date hanging off her shoulder walked right by Sarah. The girl
looked up and locked eyes with her. Sarah stared as the couple
turned toward the street, looked both ways and walked across to the
north side.

Something about the girl bothered Sarah. The
vest was too warm for a night like this. The streetlights gave off
enough light to see the logo on her vest, but not the name. It
consisted of two edges that looked like an "L" with each tip of the
"L" connected by a half circle. It was a familiar brand, but she
couldn't put her finger on the name.

Sarah stepped back into the recessed doorway
again. Darkness covered her.

A dark colored Chrysler pulled away from the
curb half a block down and started a slow advance toward the pizza
joint.

The North Face
. She snapped her
fingers. That's the name of the company with the logo on the girl's
vest.
The North Face
.

So she did get an identifier for the
intended victim and she missed it. The girl had been right beside
her not one minute ago and now she was across the street loitering
in a small crowd in front of the pizza shop.

Sarah stepped out from the recessed doorway.
She had to get to the other side of Birk Street. She had to warn
the girl to take cover, get away and hide. Without looking at
another clock Sarah was pretty sure it was 9:23pm.

She stepped onto the street and went to
cross.

Her heart skipped and pounded out an extra
beat, as if it was struggling to break a rib. She caught her breath
when she looked into the windshield of the Chrysler moving her way.
Both men were staring at the
North Face
girl as they eased
along.

What shocked her was the man sitting in the
passenger seat of the car.

She recognized him.

It was the same guy from six months ago. The
one who tried to kidnap Mary Bennett. Mary had turned and ran back
to her dad's car after Sarah pleaded with her to run. This guy was
in a van that night. The side door open, ready to pull Mary in as
the van trolled by. Sarah remembered how he'd grabbed at her for
interfering. He'd ripped her bandanna off her head and then reeled
back at the sight of her missing hair. That was the only reason she
escaped his grasp.

One of her most dangerous exploits to date.
She would never forget his face. It had been her first and almost
her last.

They hadn't spotted her yet. She could make
a run for it. She could still get away. But what about the kidnap
victim? Could she live with herself if she didn't try to stop
this?

She put one foot in front of the other and
started across the road. Time stood still. The night air covered
her, cooling her skin. This moment was akin to being in the
zone.

Indecision wasn't an option.

The two men had pulled to a stop by the
sidewalk fifteen feet from the girl and her boyfriend.

Sarah felt her call to duty. Somehow, she'd
been chosen. She was being given these messages for a reason. She
had no idea what the reason was. What she did know was she could do
something about it.

She made it to the other side of Birk just
as the two men came out of their car. They had parked by the curb.
The engine was still on. Sarah assumed this was to get out of the
area fast.

She looked back at the victim. The girl was
too far away.

They'd get there first.

She couldn't run and draw attention to
herself. She was lost. What could she do now?

She had failed.

She hustled anyway, staying close to the
wall of the building she was passing. She had to think of
something. All hope wasn't lost as long as she was there and the
girl hadn't been taken.

Both men reached into their inner suit
jacket pockets in unison. It looked rehearsed. Everything seemed to
slow down. The timing was perfect. The girl and her boyfriend had
stepped away from a small crowd and were by themselves for a moment
standing in front of the theatre doors. Sarah was close enough to
hear the two men from the Chrysler say they were police
officers.

She could see both men were showing badges
of some sort.

There was nothing she could do.

So she decided to get rid of their getaway
car.

While they were busy, she turned and headed
towards their idling vehicle. Maybe the best thing would be to
snatch their car keys.

She looked down at her legs; they felt weak
with the power of the adrenaline making them shaky.

She glanced sideways when she was halfway
across the street.

The man she recognized from six months ago
looked right at her.

Their eyes locked.

Her feet faltered a little. Oh, shit. Okay,
run, grab the keys.

Before she turned away, she saw him slap his
partner's arm. Both men were watching her now.

She bolted. One look over her shoulder told
her everything.

It was ruined.

She would never get to the car, reach in,
turn and pull the keys out and escape in time. No way. He'd be on
her before she got her hands on the keys.

She was only a dozen feet from the car.
Footsteps pounded hard and fast behind her. They sounded close.
Even if she ran up the street, they'd still catch her. His touch
was coming at any moment. She didn't waste any energy to look
behind her again.

The only thing left was the car.

She had to take the car.

In the second it took her to think it, she
was diving into the front seat. She grabbed the driver's side door
and pulled hard. Her pursuer stuck his hand in to keep the door
open. His fingers yanked out at the last second before Sarah closed
and locked it.

Gasps of air came from her mouth. She was an
okay driver, but not good yet. The guy was banging on the door's
window with one hand. She looked up at him. His other hand was
pulling keys out of his pocket.

Spare keys.

Sarah grabbed the stick beside her leg and
tried to push the car into drive.

It wouldn't move. Then her index finger felt
a button on the underside of the stick. She put her foot on the
brake, depressed the button and dropped the car into drive.

The door's clicked. They were unlocked.

She didn't know when she started to scream.
It was just coming out of her mouth.

Everything was going wrong. It never happens
like this.

The driver's side door pulled away from her
arm.

He was in.

She threw her leg at the accelerator. When
she looked through the windshield she saw the man's partner
standing in front of the car.

"Get back here, you bitch!"

The man's hand found a small batch of hair
sticking out from under the bandanna as the car thrust forward. Of
all things to pull. She would've normally laughed at the guy for
helping her along with what she'd started years ago, but that many
hairs at once, stung hard. Her eyes watered up.

The sudden pain from the loss of hair caused
her to wince and reach a hand back to the injury in reflex.

That left one hand on the steering wheel.
Not enough to complete a small turn. She saw the corner of the car
clip the guy who'd been standing in front.

His head bounced against the hood like a
basketball. Then he disappeared from Sarah's view. She hit the
brake pedal and stopped the car.

She couldn't quell the shaking. A part of
her reasoned she would be safe now. No one would try to hurt her
with all these witnesses.

She could feel something dripping on her
shoulder. She pulled her hand away from her head. It was covered in
blood from where the hair was missing.

The guy she'd recognized walked past the
open driver's side door. His interest in her died off for the
moment. His face was a mask of shock like he was dreaming in
silence.

Sarah eased herself out of the car. People
had stopped their vehicles. Pedestrians were coming off the
sidewalks. Someone yelled for someone else to call an
ambulance.

Sarah came around to the front of the car,
still holding her head where her hair had come out. Her vision was
blurred by the tears the pain was causing.

The man she hit was on the ground. His eyes
were open wide. As far as Sarah could tell, he was dead.

She'd killed him. Her stomach started to
rebel. She felt faint.

A man was now dead because of her
actions.