Chapter twenty seven
“Help me.” The captain begged as Paul, Derek and Nathanial drew closer. “I-I think my leg is broke.”
Gasoline dripped from the undercarriage of the car and smoke trailed upward from the inside. The electrical system sparked and sputtered both from inside and underneath the car. Any moment the whole thing could burst into flames.
“Help you? You mother f-“ Nathanial started to say but Paul put his hand up signaling him to be quiet.
Derek was speechless.
“We want answers.” Paul said coolly.
“Y-yes, yes, I’ll tell you everything just please get me out of this car.”
Derek was surprised to see the speed in which the Captain, faced with his own pain and mortality, transitioned from vicious killer to sniveling coward. Derek felt no pity for him. All he felt was anger, anger and hatred.
“We want answers first.” Paul persisted.
“Y-yes anything.”
The Captain was still struggling to remove himself from the wreckage but every time he tried to hoist himself out through the window of the car his arms gave out and he would land back down on his broken foot.
“Aaahhh!” He screamed. “I-I’ll tell you whatever you want but p-please, please…..”
“I know you Tom. You wouldn’t risk exposing your slimy, piece-of-shit side so flagrantly unless there was a lot of money involved. Who hired you? Who are you working for?”
“P-Pinion – Max Pinion.”
“Bullshit. Max Pinion doesn’t have that kind of cash and as much of a creep as he is he sure as shit doesn’t deal with killing women and kids.”
“M-Max works for another guy.”
“Who? Who does Max work for?”
“I don’t know.”
“Then fry.” Paul said and he turned his back on the wreck and started to walk away.
“N-No! Wait – p-please.”
Paul stopped walking and turned around. “Yes?”
“I-I think his name is P –“
Derek saw a brief flicker of light flash across the Captains face before the side of his head exploded. Derek froze, watching the man’s hair and blood covered skull fragments fly through the air.
“Sniper!” Paul yelled and grabbed Derek by the arm yanking him with him behind the captain’s car. Nathanial hustled behind there as well.
“What the fuck was that!?” Nathanial asked, huffing and puffing.
They all hunkered down as small as they could behind the smoking car.
“Someone who’s a damn good shot that’s what.” Paul answered.
“Where is he?” Nathanial asked.
“By the trajectory of the bullet that shot through Wilkins head I would guess he was up on the highway – but he won’t be there for long. Any suggestions?”
“Leave?” Nathanial offered.
“Brilliant.” Paul said.
The three of them crouched down and made their way around the side of the building. Once they were around the corner they all stood and ran to the car.
“I’m pretty sure we can’t out run the guy in this.” Paul said.
Derek, coming out of his reverie, noticed lights off in the distance through the early morning mist, a truck-stop about a quarter of a mile away. It was in the opposite direction of the highway. All they would have to do is hop a fence, then run across a field and cross a road. The field didn’t offer any cover but the highway looped around and away from it. The shooter would have to drive ahead then at the very least get onto the exit to get a decent shot.
“There.” Derek pointed to the truck-stop.
“We’ll have to move fast.” Paul said.
Hopping over the fence was not as nearly difficult as Derek had thought it was going to be. They were lucky enough to find some barrels and thick cardboard tubing close by to give them something to step on. It was the sprint across the field that had him wondering if they were going to make it. Nathanial was faster than Derek would have guessed but all the extra jiggling got the wound on his back to open up more and as they reached the street the blood was literally trickling down his leg. Regardless they didn’t stop until they were next to the truck-stop.
Derek looked up at the highway just in time to see the shooter back up the exit ramp and take off. He knew who it was. There was only one person left. The one who had killed his mother. The one they had called Jack.