The Gambit (46 page)

Someone grabbed my shoulders and pulled me through the shattered window of the Tahoe. Before I could process the chaos around me, the man who pulled me out took out a pair of bolt-cutters from his backpack and cut the chain connecting my handcuffs. He put a black jacket on me, and a black helmet. I now looked like him. I glanced down and saw the jacket had concealed the metal of the cuffs. I felt the blood smear on the helmet padding when I adjusted it, and I could tell I had a massive headache. I hadn’t looked to see if I was cut anywhere else. But for the most part, I felt all right. He dropped the backpack and the bolt cutters.

“Get on,” he waved his hand toward the street bike. I glanced down and saw the emblem immediately—Yamaha R1. Adrenaline shot through my veins at the thought of riding again. Regardless of what this guy may have believed,
I
was the better rider.

“Trust me,” I said. “Pull my arms which direction I need to go.”

“No man, get on behind me!”

A bullet whizzed past us and we both ducked.

“
Listen
to me,” I growled. “If you drive we will get caught. Trust me.”

I glanced up as I heard the loud whirr of helicopter blades above us. A news cameraman was recording the scene from the side opening.

The man nodded.

I hopped on the bike, and the man jumped on behind me. “Go! Go! Go! More cops are coming!” I slammed my weight down and sped up in first gear. The moment I began to drive off the other bikes followed. We were all together, weaving around traffic. I could have sworn there were more bikes…but now, there were two people on each bike.

“Crisscross! You have to crisscross!”

I weaved around and between the other bikes, and they did the same thing. All the bikes were the same color, and we were all wearing black. We all looked the same…
fucking genius
. We were crisscrossing so the news and the cops lost track of which bike I was on. We were approaching an intersection, and the guy tugged on the sleeve of my right arm. I cut right and sped up, and the other bikes followed suit. We merged onto an expressway, not to the liking of other drivers because we were met with blaring horns. We continued to weave and crisscross between each other, and I could still hear the chopper blades slicing through the air above me.

I had no idea our destination, but with another tug on my sleeve, all the bikes exited off the off-ramp. We slalomed through the stopped cars and turned into an intersection. I heard scraping from behind and saw in the mirrors someone had lost control in the turn and was sliding across the pavement. We came to a busy intersection and the man pulled my left sleeve. I whipped left and barely missed being clipped by a car. I saw in the rearview that the bikes did not follow this time. They went in other directions…

I didn’t hear the chopper blades anymore. We must have been close.

“Hurry!” the man shouted over the rushing air. I shifted into the highest gear and sped up easily into the hundreds. The man began tugging at my right sleeve.

“There! That driveway!” he pointed. I clamped on the back brakes and decelerated quickly, and in a driveway on my right, Luke was waving his hands, directing me into an open garage. I slid in, and my back tire fishtailed as I zipped up the driveway and into the garage.

My passenger slid off the bike before I even came to a complete stop. There was a white Dodge Charger with its engine idling beside us. Luke had a panicked look on his face, and I had no idea whose house we were at. A crack of lightning struck outside, immediately followed by thunder that shook the ground.

“Get in the back!” Luke shouted. “They know what to do!”

“Where’s Vinny?” I asked. I noticed he was the only one missing.

“He was the one driving the Hummer…”

I choked on my breath from the realization of what that meant. Vinny was probably in handcuffs by now. He let himself get caught. All in efforts to keep me out of
their
hands…and for us to find the truth before it was too late.

I scrambled around to the opposite side of the car and popped open the back-right door. Luke hurried me by pushing me down into the seat. He held open the door for a second. “Get the fuck out of Florida and don’t look back! Don’t worry about us, Rachel. Okay?”

He slammed the door closed. Briana backed out of the driveway and turned into the street. Grey was in the front seat, and he stared straight ahead. He didn’t say a word. We were going the opposite direction I had come from on the bike. It began to downpour. Briana slowed to assist her vision, and it was like a monsoon. Everything was gray, and the fat raindrops sounded like they were marbles.

“How far are we from the turnpike?” I asked.

“Not far,” Briana answered. Her voice was solemn.

I licked my lips and tasted blood. I leaned over and glanced at myself in the rearview mirror. I had tiny pieces of glass along my hairline, and everything beneath my nose was stained in dried blood. The pain was slowly starting to settle in. I hadn’t felt anything until now. I heard Rachel rustling around in her purse, and she pulled out some wipes.

“Turn around,” she said lightly. Her satiny voice was different. There was sadness in her tone. She gently wiped around my mouth and nose, the wet wipes being stained a pale red. My eyes darted across her face as she cleaned me. I stayed quiet, not wanting to break the silence. Sometimes I wished I could hear her thoughts, even if it be just for a moment. Maybe then I would know what was going on in that beautiful mind of hers. She noticed me staring, and a half-hearted smile tugged at her lips. I tried to return it, but it probably looked more doleful than hers.

Last night we were literally on top of the world. Forty stories above Miami Beach, looking out at the city as if we were kings. Now, after all of this, we were back to square one. Our plan failed. We merged onto the turnpike, heading north. I had no idea where we were going, nor did it matter. The energy in the car was nonexistent. Our morale was crushed, and no one would dare discuss the reality of the situation. We all knew the truth…that time was running out. There was a little over two weeks before the election, and we weren’t any closer to finding out who was behind this lie. Mine and Rachel’s futures didn’t look so bright, and without any conversation in the car, it was difficult to ignore. My pains amplified, as did my anxiety. No matter which direction my mind wandered, I couldn’t think of any ways to get myself out of this dilemma. It felt like the car was crushing in around me. This degree of misery was the same as the night Cole passed away—I felt hopeless…

“Ma’am, we’ve lost him…” The man’s words slipped out just above a mumble. We
all
knew what was to come. Veronica’s chest rose and fell rapidly with her uneven breath. I caught one of her eyes begin to twitch and her hands slowly clenched into fists.

Veronica let out a piercing, guttural scream. She slammed her fists against the desk multiple times and kept screaming until she was out of air. The whole room stared. Most of us had furrowed brows and scornful looks on our faces. She stomped and one of her heels broke in two. She let out the same childish scream again.

“We had him!” she pouted. “We fucking had him in handcuffs!”

No one said a word.

“Oh, they are going down if it’s the last goddamn thing I do!” she growled and ran her fingers through her scalp. Her eyes were wide and her teeth were clenched. She was livid—beyond livid, actually.

“Ms. Hall, they followed the paths of as many bikes as they could. Four riders were arrested, and the guy who drove the Hummer is already in the slammer. They tried.”

That poor soul just shot himself in the foot. Veronica scowled at him. I thought she might have ripped his head off if she could.

“I don’t want to hear it! Shut your goddamn mouth! Yeah, they arrested everyone
except
Owen! The President doesn’t want to catch the people who helped him, he fucking wants
Owen!
”

Her voice trembled with rage.

“No, no! This shit does
not
fly with me. We are done fucking around trying to
catch
Owen.” She whipped around, and with an outstretched index finger she pointed at all of us. “Effective immediately, we want him brought in dead or alive.”

I felt the blood leave my face. Her words struck me like a dagger in the heart. All the freedoms I served to protect during my tours overseas were being tossed aside casually. No right to a trial. No lawyer. She wanted him
dead
. I cringed at the thought. The saddest notion was that the American People would never know what
really
happened. In their eyes, he
was
a terrorist, and if he died, his death would be perceived as justice. The punishment would fit the crime.

It was the furthest from justice you could possibly get.

“All the double shifters, you are relieved! Go home, now!”

I stood up and slung my briefcase over my shoulder. She didn’t have to tell me twice. I could barely stand being in the same room as the wretched bitch. I would finally be able to see my wife and kids. I glanced down at my watch. Ahh, I would get to see the sunset. It had been almost three days since I saw the sun. I hurried for the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. The elevator shot up ten floors and a ding sounded. As the doors slid open, the daylight that spilled through was blinding. I walked out slowly to let my eyes adjust. When they finally did, I made my way through the lobby and headed for the main entrance. The receptionist gave me a warm smile as I neared the revolving door.

“Get some rest, Lucas.”

“I plan on it,” I replied and let out a laugh. The October air was nippy, and as I walked across the street to the parking garage, I noticed I could breathe easier. I wasn’t as tense. The stress of working under that evil woman was killing me. I smiled, because I had decided my fate in the moments after mine and Veronica’s exchange of words. She threatened me, and I kept my cool. I
still
had my badge and my ID. I knew I would never step foot in that building again. I was done with the CIA forever.

I would use my power for the greater good. I was finished sitting on the sidelines, helplessly watching this great country crumble before me. It was time to join the resistance. Owen was not alone in his endeavor. I, Lucas Bolden, was plus one in the fight to save us all.