OFF AND RUNNING

written in 2000 by Dennis Landmann

Chapter 3 - Danger Ahead

     "What the hell happened?"
I didn't know. I wanted to find out.
     "Do you think we should call the police," Lacey asked. I didn't know. If we would call the cops then they would search the entire room and ask us if something is missing. Was there? I didn't know.
     "Not right now, Lacey. I think we should first look for our stuff and find out if something nothing is missing," I told her. She agreed on it and we started looking for our stuff.

VISITORS

     "The money. Where is the money," Lacey asked me. I kneeled beside the bed and looked under it. The backpack hadn't moved. I left it under the bed when I left for the mall.
     "Money's here," I assured Lacey.
A sign of relief showed up on her face. I could feel she was relieved. So was I. But I was still wondering what happened to your room and why everything got turned upside down. I didn't think I would find an answer.
Then suddenly a knock on the door. I turned. Lacey turned. A surge went through my body. Lacey threw a look at me. I shrugged. One last look under the bed. Backpack has not moved. Just making sure. I got back up and walked toward the door.
     "Who can it be," Lacey wanted to know. Was she scared? Couldn't tell.
     "I don't know. Stay behind me, all right," I instructed. Lacey went behind me. I moved toward the door. I touched it with my right hand. Then I moved my hand on the door knob. I turned it. I pulled the knob. Two figures (Agents) were standing in the hallway. I looked at them. Lacey looked at them suspiciously. They pulled out guns. Lacey froze. I was terrified. I jerked back. They entered the room with their guns pointed at me and Lacey.
     "Sit down. Don't move," Agent Fame insisted.
     "You both know why we're here. I'm Agent Tame. My partner is Agent Fame. You do exactly as we say or you'll be punished," Agent Tame insisted. I didn't know why they were here. Something crazy must have been up their heads. They had guns for corns sakes. I wasn't a criminal. I haven't done anything wrong.
     Wait.
     Stop.
     Pause.
I wasn't a criminal. Then suddenly, I wasn't too sure about that anymore. It crossed my mind so fast like a helicopter that would chopper over dope fields. The only thing that made sense at the time was that they came not for us. Instead, they probably came for the money. But who were they? I wanted to know.
     "What do you want," I asked Agent Tame. Agent Tame's gun struck my head. My head was shaking. I fell on the bed. My head was hurting. I fell asleep. But my hearing sense was still active. It's the last thing you lose when you go into surgery or whatsoever.
     "Now you tell us what you know," I heard Agent Tame say.
     "Know about what? What do you want," I heard Lacey say. What were they going to do with her? My mind couldn't think because it was hurting and I was too weak to do anything. I was just able to barely listen.
     "What did you do with the money?"
     "What money?"
     "The fucking million dollars you little bitch," I heard Agent Fame say. I didn't like the sound of that.
     "A train. We found it on a train. It was going for Toronto. We found it there. What is this. What are you going to do," I heard Lacey say with fear. I was afraid they would never answer that burning question.
     "The money doesn't belong to you. We have to get it back. If you don't tell us where it is we have to kill you," I heard Agent Tame say. Shite.
     "Don't kill me, please. If I give you the money will you let us go?"
     "First hand it over."
     "No. I want to know if you let us go," I heard Lacey trying negotiate a deal with these cowards.
     "Yes. We'll let you go. Now hand over the damn money." What happened then I didn't remember. My hearing went dead. My head stopped hurting. I must've been sleeping like a dead man.

2000: A FICTITIOUS APOLOGY

     A microphone clicks on. Some chatter. Some laughing. Some coughing.
     "What you're about to read is based on a story created by this author. The author of this fictitious story wants all readers to know that he apologizes for any inconvenience caused in some parts of Part 2. After several threatening e-mails and chain letters send to the author he suddenly felt sorry for his effort in trying to make Part 2 a cool segment. But then again, he doesn't give a shit what readers tell him or think of his story because he has high self esteem and he's a cool guy. So, without further disrupting the flow of this already-high-anticipated Part 3, let me introduce you to the author," someone (Franz) says in the background.
     A second voice belonging to a guy named Dennis (the author) says: "Dammit now. This story is fiction and so what happened in Part 2 won't happen again because I have come up with a far better and cooler idea for the duration of his whole story. It involves the lives of both Lacey and Danny. I'm thinking you do not want me to say anything more. You're right. I should just go on with the damn story. Well. That's no problem. I'm out. Following this ridiculous paragraph is the continuation of Part 3 (E.T. still isn't home and YOU might be the ONE who can help him accomplish his journey. Good luck!)."
     "Hey Dennis. Nice little speech there. Well, my name is Franz, all right. I used to be the guy who published this story on the webpage. So, uh, I guess I'll just let the author finish this piece of fiction and then I might just put this up on the webpage," says Franz.
     "Biliv dat!"

ESCAPE

     I woke up. I woke up early. It was time I woke up early. Beside me, on the bed, was Lacey. I opened my eyes and caught her with red hair. Whoa.
     "Hey Lacey. What happened to your hair," I asked. Wooooh.
     "I died my hair red. Do you like it," Lacey asked me. Uh, I wasn't too sure about that. Maybe I liked it. Maybe I didn't.
     "It looks... fine. Oh, man. What happened. Do we still have the money? What happened to you. Your chin is swollen. Did those cowards hit you?
     "Let's not talk about it. Please. Uh, I don't feel like talking about it. I gave them the money," Lacey said.
Whhaaat? Shite.
     "Did they threaten you?"
     "Yes, Danny. They did. They left immediately after I gave it to them. I don't think they will ever come back."
     "When did they leave?"
     "Thirty minutes ago." Shite.
     "What do you think we should do know, Lacey," I asked Lacey for advice. She looked away. I stood up. I touched my head. Still hurting. It wasn't too bad.
     "We should go. They might still come back," Lacey said softly. It was a good idea considering that they might kill us should they come back.
     "Okay. Let's do it."
     They came running toward us from the elevators. Lacey and me turned around. I ran down the hall toward the window. I opened it. Climbed out. Lacey had some difficulties but I helped her. I looked through the window and saw one of them shooting. Several bullets shot by me. I made sure I wasn't hit. Then I pushed Lacey up the emergency stairwell. I looked up. Three more stories to the roof. Lacey was in front of me. She was climbing the ladder too slow. That slowed both of us down. I suddenly became a target for bullets. I took a look over my shoulder. Agent Tame and Fame weren't wasting any time. They climbed the stairwell quite fast. They shot at me. They jammed in new clips and didn't waste any time. Then Lacey reached the roof and I did, too. I escaped the bullets that would've killed me. I looked around the roof. Construction equipment was lying next to the ladder. I took some things and threw them over the edge. I was sure that would slow the Agents down. I didn't look down to make sure. I just assumed it slowed them down.
     "We have to get down from here," I said. Lacey damn well knew that, too.
     "Let's try the other end," Lacey suggested. Lacey followed me to the other end. I looked over the edge of the building. Nine stories down there were two trash dumpsters. Next to me was a small escape ladder. Very small. Not very safe.
     "Come on, Lacey. Down this ladder. Then we jump," I said. Lacey went over the edge and started to climb down the ladder. I looked back to the other end. Agent Tame and Agent Fame were running toward me. Shite. I saw Lacey was already far down the ladder. I wasted no time and started to climb down the ladder when suddenly a hand grabbed a hold of my arm. I looked up and Agent Tame's face caught my eye. Fuck, I thought. I bit his hand. He jerked away his hand and screamed. Yes he screamed. I bit his hand real bad. I looked at the dumpsters. Then back up. Then I did it. I let lose of the ladder and jumped down. Each of the nine floors passed by extremely quick. Then I landed in the dumpster.
     "Shit. Lacey. Jump. Do it now," I yelled. She jumped. She already reached the fourth floor so her fall was shorter and less painful. She landed in the dumpster next to me. I climbed out and so did Lacey. I looked back up. Nothing but bullets coming my way.
     "Run. Run as fast as you can," I said. I ran like a monkey. Fast like I never did before. Lacey was just behind me. Man, she seemed to be a fast runner. Then we reached the street. I looked for a bus, a cab, a police cruiser, anything that could take us to another place. I took Lacey's arm, kissed her softly, and then crossed the street which was packed with cars. Rush Hour it seemed. We made it to the other side. Both Agents came out of the alley. They looked for us. I knew it. I ducked behind a car. So did Lacey.
     "They're looking for us. Don't move," I said. Lacey nodded. In front of us was a Liquor store. I looked inside. Again I took Lacey's arm and then I ran inside the store. In the back of store was a door. It opened. The store owner came out.
     "Can I help you," he offered.
     "Yeah. Does that door lead to the outside," I asked him in a hurry. The man nodded. Lacey followed me trough the door, past some rooms, past the a kitchen, trough another door, then to the outside. Another alley. Across from us was the back door of a Chinese restaurant. I ran inside. Lacey followed me past the kitchen, the restroom, the bar, and some people. I kicked open the door. I looked around. A cab was coming out way. I ran to the edge of the sidewalk and called it over. The cab stopped in front of me. I opened to the door. Lacey jumped in and I did the same thing. The cab raced over an intersection. We escaped them stupid agents.

HELP FROM THE INSIDER

     "Thanks for stopping," Lacey addressed the cabby.
     "No pro'lem, ma'. So, where you wan' to go," the cabby asked. Oh no. The cab was going damn fast. I couldn't help but thinking that this was the same cabby we have met before going to the hotel. I looked at the cabby and saw it was indeed the same, dangerous cabby.
     "The Mall. The big one. Fast," I told the cabby.
     "Mall, ha? Ya, okay. I can ta'e you 'here. So, how fas' you wan' to be 'here, ha? I can brin' you 'here in five minute. Sounds good, ha?"
     "Yeah. Sure. Just drive, man. Don't talk. Thanks. I looked at Lacey.
     "Can you believe we ended up with this guy again," I asked Lacey. Lacey laughed.
     "No."
     I paid the cabby his five dollars. Then Lacey and I went inside.
     "Wan' ta know goo' place to shop, jus' call me, ha," the cabby said. I ignored that comment. I wasn't here to shop. Lacey and I ran past shops. Lacey opened the door to Pizza Hut and I followed her inside.
     "Yo, Andrew. You here," I called out. Lacey ran toward the kitchen.
     "Andrew. Where you at," Lacey called out. Then suddenly someone tapped my shoulder. Fuck. I turned around. I was about to hit the someone when I saw it was Andrew.
     "Damn, man. Don't scare me like that, all right. Hey Lacey. Andrew's over here. Come on." Lacey came back from the kitchen.
     "What are you two doing here," Andrew wondered. I chuckled.
     "We need your help," I told him.
     "You have to get us out of Seattle," Lacey added. Andrew smiled at her. Lacey's face expression remained serious.
     "Andrew, we're serious. We're in bad fucking trouble. You have to help us. If you don't, well, then I'm afraid we have to kill you," I said. He could do nothing but laugh at that. I would've laughed at that too if someone told me I might be killed if I don't help. Well, it was time for us to clear him up on things. Lacey told him how we found the money on the train and how we took it. Then I told him about the Agents and that they were after us. Lacey then told him he doesn't help us get out of this city than we might be in a lot of danger. Those Agents didn't waste time. I thought about it. They could be searching every place now, every house, street, mall, alley, dumpster, etc. Looking for us. It was time for us three to leave this city.
     "I understand. Okay, let me get my shit and then we're out of here, all right," Andrew said to us. Andrew disappeared from view.
     "Do you think he can help us," I asked Lacey.
     "I hope he can. He knows this city. We don't," Lacey admitted.
     The person in front of me paid for the ticket and went on. I took some bills out of my pocket. All I had from the million dollars was three hundred. I told the ticket lady to give me three tickets for the ferry. I paid her the fifteen dollars and took the tickets. I passed one to Lacey and one to Andrew. Lacey, Andrew and I approached the ferry.
     "Now. This ferry will take you to the other side of this river. From there we should be able to catch the train station in a matter of less than twenty minutes," Andrew said. Great. I followed Andrew and Lacey onto the ferry. We walked past older people. They were mostly between the ages of 50 trough 60 it seemed. Us three walked up some stairs to the top of the ferry. There the wind caught our hair. My eyes blinked. The wind made them watery. It was windy. And when I looked up into the sky I could see the dark clouds forming above the city. Forming only for one reason. To rain down. To ruin this once-sunny day. This day was by no means perfect anymore so rain wouldn't have made it better or worse. Andrew and Lacey sat on chairs lined along the handrails. I didn't pay attention to them at the moment. I didn't listen to them. I knew they were talking, though. About what I didn't care.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

     "Excuse me, Mr...," a voice said. I looked around. No one but us three was on top of the ferry. At least I didn't see anybody else.
     "Excuse me, sir," a voice said. I turned around. There stood this younger man by the stairs that lead to the level below. Somehow his appearance was familiar. His smile, maybe. His body, maybe. His whole face, maybe. The younger man walked toward me. I eyed Lacey in the corner of my left eye. She was still talking to Andrew. Andrew laughed. Eyed the younger man with my right eye. He came closer. I didn't think he was harmful so I didn't back down. I greeted him. He returned it. His smile slowly began to fade. I didn't notice it, though, after it was too late.
     "I understand. I would have done the same thing if I was you. It didn't give you the right to take it because, believe it or not, fact is that it didn't belong to you. Now I understand you took it anyway. But now I've come all the way. I've searched every little shithole just to find you and your girlfriend. Now the time has come. I want it back. I want it back now. And you best believe I will not shy away from killing you for it. So. I leave it to you. Should you choose to hand it over I will let you go unharmed. Should you choose not to hand it over I will take hard measures," the younger man said in a slow but firm tone.
Oh shit. He's here for the money. I couldn't tell Lacey. She wouldn't understand now. Andrew wouldn't understand a word. He wasn't in on this whole money-stealing-shit.
I looked at the young man. His smile was completely gone. But then it came to mind: A young man enters. He is in his 30's. He closes the door and sits down opposite the old man. They exchange a look. Both nod. Of course. This is the young man from the train. How the fuck did he find me here. Some kind of sentinel? I didn't know. What was I going to tell him? How could I tell Lacey I'm in trouble over here without letting him (young man) see or hear?
     "Uh, well, the thing is I don't have the money anymore," I confessed. The young man turned his head.
     "What happened to the money you little brat," he said. The young man put his right hand into his jacket. Left it there.
     "It's been taken from us." The young man took on a grim face.
     "Now if you could tell me by whom then that'd be really great." I eyed Lacey. Then Andrew. Oblivious of everything.
     "Agents. They work for the government as far as I know.:
     "Names. Give me their names," he demanded. The younger man's hand still remained in his jacket.
     "Agent Fame and Agent Tame. Uh, they, they almost killed us. They took the money from us. That's all I can tell you." The younger man's hand emerged from the jacket with a gun.
     "Now don't make me use this piece. I want that fucking money. Where's the fucking money you shithead," he said with a fierce voice. I knew I was in some bad fucking trouble. I couldn't let Lacey or Andrew know about any of it. Shite.
     "I told you I don't have it." I was talking like an idiot.
     "I give you two days to get it, all right. I will find you. And you know I will kill you if I do. I will come back in 2 days. You better show up with the money then. I'm not fucking around," he said. He left so quick I was godamned relieved.
     "Lacey. Shit. We have to get off this ferry now." Lacey stopped talking to Andrew.
     "Why. What's up," she wanted to know. Like I said, she didn't know a thing that just happened.
     "Did you notice the man I was talking to?" Lacey shrugged. Andrew shook his head.
     "He's the young man from the train, Lacey. He came for the money. He wants it back or he'll kill us both. We got 2 days to get the money."
     "Oh no. What are we going to do?" Andrew was confused. I could care less.
     "We will have to make contact with the two agents. No other way left. It's what we have to do. If we don't get the money from them we'll be dead in two days flat."
     "How do you know this man will find us again," she asked. I didn't know how he was going to find us again. But I knew he found me today, here, right here on this very ferry. He found me today. He would find me again. Somehow I just knew it.
     "I don't. But I have this feeling he will. And that's why we have to do everything we possibly can do get that damn money back. And Andrew. You will have to help us. If you want or not. You know too much already so it's best for you if you stick around. All right. We'll get off the next stop. Also, I know this is hard to do but we got nothing to lose, well we do, but, you know what I mean," I said.
I felt like a hero or something. Not a hero. I felt like a solider or a spy. With a mission. A mission impossible. A mission with a deadline. I didn't know how I was going to do this. I was totally unsure of everything concerning the money problem. I didn't know that some money, rare money it seemed to me at least, can get you into the most exciting but dangerous scenario. There wasn't anything I could do to give it back. I couldn't turn back time and put the money back. What if I never touched it in the first place? I should've just talked to Lacey in the train and sit tight until reaching Toronto. Well, nothing could've helped me know. But I knew then that I decided to make a few changes.

CONTINUE: Chapter Four