Sam, go now. There are at least ten guys about to reach the corner.
Joshua’s voice in his ear was the signal that shit was about to hit the fan. Instead of answering the woman, he grabbed her elbow and ran in the opposite direction. The only problem with the plan was they’d be in the open once they rounded the building and reached his motorcycle hidden nearby.
“Wait! What are you doing?”
She’d been following him without question until then, but before he could answer, gunfire came from behind them. Acting on instinct, Sam pulled Orla to the ground and covered her with his body as he took out his gun and fired back. Gang wars were rarely predictable. The mob had arrived, and they weren’t happy, but Sam’s accuracy downed three of them, which slowed them and made them reconsider long enough for Sam to find better cover. Sam rolled and pulled Orla behind several garbage cans. Not much cover, but it would do.
“Hey, buddy, I’m gonna cause a distraction. That should give you time to escape. Get ready to run.”
Sam looked around and positioned himself for a better angle as he waited for Joshua to get back to him with further instructions. Whatever Joshua had in mind, some of them could still get past. Orla remained silent and ready to bolt, which was more than he’d expected. In extreme situations, people tended to fall apart, but not this lady.
Twice more he fired, holding the bad guys around the corner. He didn’t want to stay there longer than necessary because one of them may have the idea of doubling back to trap them from the other direction.
“Get ready to run.”
Orla jumped at his voice and nodded.
Sam couldn’t wait any longer, and rose to his feet, ready to make a run for it. A detonation sounded from the other side of the building, the earth vibrated, and noise rang in his ears, knocking him backwards. Joshua had set off a grenade. Gunfire sounded again, but the direction had changed. Joshua had drawn the mob away.
“Now!” Sam sprinted toward the side street, Orla on his heels until he saw the bushes where he’d hidden his ride. When he got on his nondescript but improved where it counted Harley-Davidson, it roared to life.
He turned to Orla and gestured for her to get on the bike behind him.
“I think I’m safer on my own.”
Sam knew full well a white woman alone at night in Auburn Gresham wouldn’t go undetected for long, and he was about to drag her onto the bike, kicking and screaming if necessary, when a man shouted from the parking lot. “I can see them! They’re here!”
Without a word, Orla jumped behind him and hooked her arms around his waist as he took off. The situation went south fast when he saw two cars speed out from the bar and close in on them. “Hang on tight; I need to lose our tails.”
Sam didn’t wait for bullets to fly to take a sharp turn to the right. Orla didn’t have a helmet or protection of any kind. His priority was to escape with minimum risk to his passenger, and as he’d hoped, his guardian angel’s voice echoed in his ears.
“Hey, Sam, it’s Devin. Hang on tight, and I’ll find you a way out.”
Sam slowed down at an intersection, before he twisted the handle, hit the gas, and flew past a few vehicles, barely acknowledging the strangled yelp of surprise from Orla. He would have preferred to drop her somewhere safe, but if his pursuers didn’t see a second person on the bike, there was a risk they’d try to find Orla, and on foot, she didn’t stand a chance.
The woman was holding onto him hard, and if he hadn’t been wearing body armor, Sam was certain he’d be sporting bruises in the morning. He wished he could reassure her, but nothing was certain.
Devin came back in his ear. “Okay, stay on your current course and head straight for the 94.”
The two men thought alike, but heading straight, there was too much of a risk. They would be sitting ducks.
“Sam? Do you acknowledge? You’ve turned again.”
“Secondary option. Lead me to the 94, but not in a straight line. She’s behind me, and they’ve already fired on us. I need to keep buildings between us.”
“Who are you talking to?”
There was no way he was going to answer her questions now. The less she knew, the better. Two additional cars joined the chase, and he knew he’d made the right decision.
He made another turn and lost them for a few seconds before they appeared in his mirror again. He needed another way to add distance between them.
“Joshua is on his way. I can send the others too if you need back-up.”
Devin’s voice was a matter of fact, but Sam had already made a decision. His priority was to protect Orla and to do that, he needed to take the men down. “No, better not. I’m gonna blow them up.”
He felt Orla stiffen, but didn’t give her time to say anything. He slowed and fished a small ball from his breast pocket and after a quick look to make sure there were no civilians about, threw it over his shoulder. Only then did he hit the gas.
Less than a second later, he took a hard left and heard the explosion, but they were away. The entrance to the 94 was just ahead, and once there, they’d be safe.
He didn’t slow, ignoring the risk of being pulled over by the cops. With his modified bike, there was no way they’d be able to get them.
Reassured they were finally alone, Sam took the next exit. The neighborhood was a tad safer than Gresham, and when he reached a back alley between two buildings, he stopped and turned his engine off.
Orla was still holding onto him, and despite his gear, he could feel her shake. It was cold, and at the speed he’d been going and the danger they’d gone through, he wasn’t surprised she was in that state.
Gently, he unhooked her fingers from his waist and helped her off. Her legs were wobbly, but she soldiered through.
“Are you all right?” Sam knew it was a stupid question, but he wanted to know if the adrenaline rush hadn’t masked the pain of an injury.
Apart from the two red flags on her cheeks, she was pale as a ghost, her blue eyes feverish when she finally looked at him. “Can you turn off that Batman voice? It’s creeping me out.”
Sam had absolutely no intention of giving her any clues to his identity. “What did you learn about Phantom.”
At least that got her attention to the point she stopped shaking. The woman was a true reporter, through and through. “How did you know about that?”
“I asked you a question first.”
Her frown deepened. “I’m not giving you squat until you tell me who you are.”
Sam snarled and took a step forward. When she took a step back, he knew his words would get through to her. “Who I am is not important. Stopping Phantom’s distribution and getting rid of the monsters who’ll spread it like a disease over this city is. Now, tell me what you know. Why did you meet with Damon Evans at the El Diablo tonight?”
And there it was, the air of defiance he’d seen in her. “I’m a reporter, not a snitch. If you don’t know how to get information on your own, maybe you shouldn’t be wearing that suit.
Anger flared, and he pushed her hard against the brick wall behind her, not to hurt her, but enough to rattle her. Keeping his gloved hand on her sternum to hold her still, he hunched himself until he could look directly into her eyes, even though she couldn’t see his behind his mask.