Almost Free

Antonio's heart races in his chest as he speeds towards his prey. I'm going to end this shit once and for all, he thinks, pushing the pedal down more. 

Seeing an ambulance coming up behind him, he pulls to the shoulder of the road. He's about to pull back on when a second and then a third appear. 

There must've been one hell of an accident up ahead, Antonio thinks, watching the emergency vehicles zip down the road.

"Continue south on I 44." the phone repeats.

He glances down and discovers Abby is just a few feet ahead. An evil smile creeps across his face. I bet she's in the middle of that mess. A horrid thought suddenly comes to mind. What if she managed to escape? 

When the last emergency vehicle passes, he pulls onto the road. Traveling a little further, Antonio sees a woman identical to Abby lying on the ground. A fresh puddle of blood pooled around her. Checking for signs of life, the paramedic shakes his head. A second one covers her head.

I don't have to worry about her anymore, Antonio thinks. Using a through the area in the median, he heads back the way he came.

***

Rachel and Jerry dodge around all the foot traffic towards the back of the station. Making it to the empty hallway, Rachel scans the crowd. "I didn't think we'd ever get through there."

"Me, either."

"Well, let's find out what the captain wants to do." Rachel taps on the door. "I have something you need to see, sir."

Joe notices the perplexed look on the sergeant's face when he glances up. "What is it?"

"It's a list of Romero's associates." She hands him a piece of paper before she continues. "We might cause an all-out war if we proceed. 

Joe quickly reads through the list of names. "I never would've believed that any of them are that corrupt." 

"I didn't want to believe it either, sir, so I rechecked the evidence, and Rachel's findings are correct." 

"So, do you want us to continue, captain?"

"Berryville will never be the same again if you do."

"I know, sir. That's why we came to you." 

He shakes his head. "No one should ever be above the law. So, go ahead, do what you have to do." 

"Are you sure, boss?" Jerry questions.

"They knew the consequences when they agreed to work for the mob." 

Rachel takes the paper from his hand. "You're the boss."

"Guys." 

The two turn around. "Yes, sir."

"I want everything, and I mean everything by the book."

"Anything else, boss."

"I want you to check and double-check all your work down to the tiniest piece of evidence. And I don't want anyone arrested until you have an air-tight case."

"Copy that captain."

"And guys, you better learn how to duck because shit is fixing to hit the fan." 

***

Antonio wasn't sure what Romero was planning, and he wasn't about to stick around to find out. After warning his coworkers about the file, he buys a one-way ticket for the next flight home. Antonio figures Columbia will be a perfect retreat since he knows a few people who'd gladly give him a place to stay and a posse of men to help him get rid of Romero if needed. Antonio knows oh too well that Romero is notorious for making his adversaries disappear, and the way things ended between them, he figures Romero would consider him a threat. 

Shoving the last bit of his change into his pocket, he walks towards the lobby. Antonio figured the flight would take most of his money, but he'd much rather be penniless than behind bars for the rest of his life. 

Antonio starts to sit in the lobby when he sees a cop walking towards him. He glances over and discovers a second officer heading his way. The police have an APB out on me already? He'd used a fake ID to purchase his ticket, but with little time to spare, he couldn't do much about his appearance. Antonio suddenly recalls his buddy's odd gadget in his carry-on.

"This is in case you run into trouble during your flight," his friend explains. He holds up the three parts. "Each piece resembles an item found in a typical shaving kit, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting it through security, disassembled, of course," Santiago assembles and then disassembles the weapon. He hands it to Antonio and urges him to try. 

Heavy footsteps tromped towards him, bringing Antonio back to the present. Looking up, he realizes the officers are closing in. It's a good thing I assembled it in the car. He stored it in a secret compartment undetectable by the scanners, a little secret Romero showed him years ago. Opening his bag, he reaches in and tries to unfasten the false bottom. The small plastic zipper wouldn't move. Antonio looks up to see a third officer heading towards them. A hostage is the only way out, weapon or not. He scans the crowd for a potential victim. 

The cops stop a few feet in front of him with their guns drawn. "Hold it right there," the largest of the three orders.

Screaming, the crowd scampers to the far side of the room.

Reaching out, Antonio pulls a frantic passenger in front of him.

"Don't shoot, don't shoot," she cries, raising her hands in the air.

"You don't want it to go down like this, son," An officer warns, taking an unsure step towards him.

"Put your guns down, and I'll let her go." Antonio lies. He's holding the portly lady in front of him with one hand while he's working on the fastener with the other. 

The officer shuffles closer. "Let her go, and we'll put our guns away. I'll even put in a good word with the judge, telling him what you did."

"I bet you will."

"I will, son, but only if you let her go unharmed."

"Yeah, I know how you cops work. I'll let her go; it will be open season on me." Antonio's hand trembles as he tugs on the malfunctioning device. 

The officer motions for the others to lower their guns. "No one will shoot you if you let her go."

"Lower your weapon, and I will."

The officer holsters his gun, raises his hands in the air, and takes a step toward him as he says, "We did what you asked, so let her go." 

 Cocking his gun, Antonio raises it to her head. "Take one more step, and she gets it in the head." 

The officers freeze. "Put your gun down, and let's talk about this."

"Once I'm out of the States, I'll let her go. Any heroic moves on your part, following me or stopping the plane, and she's dead, capish."

"Let her go, and we'll let you leave."

"No can do. She goes with me."

 A sprint-sized woman creeps up behind him. She lifts her suitcase-sized purse and swings it around. The deadly object whacks the back of Antonio's head.

A dazed expression crosses his face. His arms fall flaccid—he and his weapon tumble to the floor.

The lady nods, crosses her arms in front of her, and says, "No one be messin' with my kid."