Chapter 280 - 280 Escape from Texas

280 Escape from Texas

“Ahhh!” I screamed in fear, as my bottom dropped onto the ledge, then slipped off to where only my hand was holding on.

“Oh, brother,” Brie muttered as she approached me, amidst the terrified screams I was eliciting.

“Bring up your hand,” she said. I had no choice but to, but even then, the retraction of my hand caused me to stoop even lower than before.

As if the screams weren’t louder, they were bellowing louder than a wolf.

“Oh my—are you serious? Just bring your hand up!” Brie shouted, now flaming with annoyance. I tried and persisted, but my hand could barely even raise. It was as if the bones gained an amplitude of weight from that fight.

“Oh, my Lord, get my hand!” she shouted, as I steadily granted my hand to her, which she grabbed firmly.

She pulled me up, although the sheer weight was a bit of an obstacle for her.

“Alright, let’s go,” Hans said, as we climbed down the ladder. We dropped down onto the parking lot and dashed towards the taxi.

“Put the briefcases in here,” Hans said, unlocking the trunk. It sounded a little beep, as the trunk unlocked, which Brie rose up the trunk, as I put the two briefcases inside.

.....

She slammed it down, before gesturing to get inside the car. I opened the door, taking a seat in the middle to which Hans entered the driver seat, while Brie joined me in the back.

“Move over to the far left,” she whispered. I followed her order, in which Hans abruptly stomped the gas pedal, driving us out the driveway before we headed onto the street.

As we did, a bundle of black vehicles pulled in on the scene. Those must have been TSA vehicles, hoping that they neutralized us, but I doubt that they even know that this green taxi is holding their suspects.

“Stay down,” Hans said, as we lowered down under the window.

I think we passed on a lot farther than the hotel, based on the multiple buildings drifting by.

“Okay, first of all, who were those people?” Hans asked, glancing back at us. I stammered, barely able to dig up any words that I could say.

“It’s a bit hard to explain—in fact—we can’t,” I said, immediately regretting my decision. Hans shook his head. “How can two children have something secret that they cannot tell an adult. In fact, it’s best to tell an adult. What is it?”

“Please, trust me, you cannot know.”

Suddenly, he stopped the car, as the rear end of the vehicle lifted forward, then returned to its ideal level with a thunk. Hans leaned back in his seat, his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on us.

“Listen, I saved your behinds back there. Come on, Jamie,” he said, directing his view towards Brie.

Brie muttered to herself, sighing between each mumbling remark she made.

She looked back up and nodded. “Listen, what if we made a deal? You get us to California, then we tell you what’s happening.”

He paused for a moment, thinking about our offer. Slowly, he began to nod, then his eyes fixed on us. “All right, but I better get my answer or I’m going to deliver you to those people,” he said.

I nodded slowly, now a little nervous.

I knew that his threat was not an idle one, so I took a deep breath and replied, “We understand. We’ll give you our answer as soon as possible.”

“All right, don’t disappoint me now,” he said as we drove on. For a brief moment, silence filled the room before a question entered my mind. “Wait, are we going to rest somewhere for a moment, or are we just going to go straight to California?”

“Do you want some snacks? Given our current situation, don’t you think it would be nice to turn this into a road trip?” He asked, turning his head briefly before returning his gaze to the road.

“We can rest and grab some snacks before hitting the road again.” And, yes, a road trip sounds like a great idea; we can stop along the way and enjoy the scenery,” Brie replied with a smile. “What do you think, Connor?”

“Perhaps,” I murmured, doubting that I was actually hungry enough to eat anything at all. Hans chuckled before taking a left turn onto the street, which led straight ahead for a long period of time. We passed through multiple intersections, going straight ahead, before we reached an intersection: Winco Foods.

“A grocery store, like Costco. “”Wait, I don’t think you have a Costco in Venezuela,” I said, which she didn’t find offensive. She chuckled. Instead, she replied, “No, we don’t have Costco here, but we have similar stores where we can buy things in bulk.”

“Oh…” I muttered.

I had assumed that Costco was a global brand, but it seems like it’s not as ubiquitous as I thought. I wondered if there were any other assumptions I had made about the world that were actually incorrect. It was a humbling realization.

Hans moved his head down, and although I was unsure what he was looking at, it was probably his left rear-view mirror, because he immediately looked back in confusion. “Wait, what’s going on?” he muttered to himself as he drove past Winco Foods.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Brie asked, looking behind us, and I ultimately had to follow. There were these black cars, just like the ones from the highway, that were right behind us, I replied, feeling a knot form in my stomach. “I think we’re being followed.”

“We need to stay calm and think of a plan,” Brie said, her voice steady. “Let’s take a few turns to try to lose them, and if that doesn’t work, we’ll call the cops.”

“And do what?! Let them arrest us?”

“For what, we didn’t do anything?”

I gave her a look, which she eventually followed. I shook my head and whispered, “No, we won’t let them arrest us. But we need to leave this place before things get worse.”

“What do you mean by arrested?” he inquired. “Did you guys murder someone, Jamie?” Brie shook her head and ultimately shook her hands in refusal. “We didn’t do anything wrong, but we were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Brie explained. “We need to get out of here before we get caught up in something that isn’t our fault.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be happening soon,” I said. Quickly, Hans took a hard right, which the three black cars behind us followed closely. One of them was in the lane to our right, while the other was in the lane to our left. “I suggest we try to lose them by taking the next exit and finding a place to hide until they pass. We can’t risk getting involved in a car chase and endangering ourselves,” Hans explained.

“They’re advancing,” I warned, my voice getting a bit tense.

A bar of light reflected off the window of one of the cars. Inside the window, a man was barely visible due to the dark tint. The only thing that confirmed my suspicion was the suit. It was the TSA spies, and they caught on to us. “Hans, speed up,” I said, as the chasing cars began to overtake us. I could feel my heart racing as I realized the severity of the situation. We were in big trouble, and I knew we had to come up with a plan fast. Hans increased the vehicle’s speed, darting through traffic, and the pursuing cars entered a new phase, cutting lanes and dodging cars in their path. I frantically searched for any possible escape routes or hiding spots, but the city streets were too crowded.

We needed to find a way to lose them before it was too late. Hans made a hard turn to the right, heading through the city marketplace, I assume. I held on tight as we weaved through the stalls and vendors, hoping that the pursuing cars would lose us in the chaos. But as we emerged from the marketplace, I could see that they were still hot on our tail, and we needed to come up with a new plan quickly.

“Hey, anyone got any plans?” Brie exclaimed, moving her gaze back and forth between the cars before she finally set her eyes on me. I shrugged, unsure what to say or claim, as her gaze darted back and forth between the cars before settling on me. I shrugged, unsure of what to say or do. I quickly scanned the area and noticed a large 18-wheeler truck nearby. “There!” I pointed and said, “Let’s drive through there and lose them. Maybe this truck could act as a shield for us.” My friend looked at me suspiciously but started the car anyway.

As we drove towards the truck, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of relief that we might finally escape our pursuers. But I was wrong—completely wrong. The car suddenly shook from the back like an earthquake, and I was thrown into the front seat.