The Manifest

Chapter 23

     Jessica was walking home after getting off the bus a few blocks from where she usually got off. It was a clear night and she needed to pick up a few groceries so she thought it would be all right to walk back a few blocks in order to pick up something half decent to eat. She was late getting off work as well because she had a long call come in at the very last minute that lasted almost an hour. Some moron couldn't understand the simple things about the product and was too slow to get what she was trying to say. She hated ending her days like that because it made her late to catch her usual pickup at the bus stop and she had to wait another hour for the next to arrive. After picking up something nice to nuke and eat that night, she started the short stroll home. It was a nice night, but she didn't seem to care as she quickly walked the distance, keeping to herself and knowing how to avoid the peddlers on the roads and certain alleys that are usually trouble. She knew her city and that was enough for her. Even though she didn't live in the best part of town, it was still ten times better than living with her father who would barely every acknowledge her existence.

     As she was walking down the street, she could have swore she saw something, but ignored it and kept moving on. She was about a block or two away from her building when something happened. She didn't see it coming because the person that grabbed her was just walking casually in the other direction. The man took her by the shoulders with one arm and then gagged her mouth with the other and quickly dragged her into the alley way that was right beside them. Her attack timed their passing intentionally so that it would be there for them to slip into with out any detection. She kicked and tried to wail and even bite the hand that held her, but he was strong and wouldn't let go. They were half way down the alley and she bit into the attackers hand so hard that she could taste the blood running into her mouth, and he finally let go of her mouth.

     Before she could let out a single sound from her freed mouth, another hand quickly replaced it and covered her up again. She took one look at the person in front her and then quickly went limp and gave up. Edgar was standing right in front of her and looked really tuckered out. Once she realized who had grabbed her, she had stopped fighting and finally Devon let go of her but not before whimpering over his hand.

     "Bloody hell," Devon cussed, "Couldn't you ease up on the chompers a little there, love?"

     "Sorry." She huffed as she wiped his blood from her lip, "You guys really scared the shit out of me. What the hell are you doing here?"

     "We're here to prevent you from joining your mother." Edgar said, and she could tell he was dead serious. She had never seen anyone so upset and yet so focused as the same time. He looked whipped but eager to keep going, "We've had an event tonight that gave us the impression that you might not be safe staying at home tonight."

     "What kind of event?" Jessica asked, somewhat concerned. She knew there would be a little danger, but still didn't think the response would be so quick. She was genuinely scared based on how long it too the men to reply.

     "We'd rather not say." Edgar answered, not in a very talkative mood.

     "You'll find out soon enough." Devon added, "But for now you need to get the hell out of here. We think someone is watching your place and ready to do the same song and dance we just beat them to."

     "Where should I go?" Jessica inquired, somewhat confused.

     "With us, we're all getting the hell out of here." Edgar said as he grabbed her by the arm and started to lead her down the alley.

     Devon didn't seem pleased with this response, "But what about the people waiting at her place? They're not going wait there forever!"

     "Yes, they will." Edgar said as he looked back, "They'll be there with the hopes that Jessica will eventually return. We need to get her back to the new location and make sure she's safe. Right now this has got to be our top priority. We can go back and look for those bastards later." Edgar grabbed Devon by the arm and looked him dead in the eyes, "I need you to watch my back, right here and right now."

     Devon was already incensed and ready to kick someone's ass. Jessica could tell by the flushed face he had that something had seriously set him off. Devon paused for a few moments and finally good judgment got the best of him, "Alright, let's go. But if we get our hands on one of the slimy bastards, I want the first crack."

     "Sounds all right to me." Edgar conceded as he needed to focus on the game at hand, they could fight about small stuff like that later.

     Jessica was getting rather frightened by the way the two men had been talking to one another and needed to know what was going on.

     "Are you going to take me back to the office?" she asked trying to pry as much information from them as she could.

     "Not exactly." Edgar said, as he led her back to his car that was waiting for them at the end of the alley. As Jessica was stepping into the car, someone came into the alley and started to walk towards them. Edgar was already in the car and Devon was walking around to the other side. When the man finally noticed who was in the back seat, he started to pick up the pace. He was wearing a black suit and started to run towards them.

     "Hey, you!" he called out to Edgar and Devon, "What are you doing down here?" the man's accusations sounded very formal, like an police officer would when questioning something suspicious.

     Devon wasn't exactly in the mood for pleasantries as he pulled out his 9mm and didn't even hesitate to pull the trigger. He fired multiple rounds into the alley, and the booming sound from his weapon gave more than enough warning to the man in the alley as he safely ducked for cover. Devon had a look of genuine anger and disgust on his face as he emptied the clip into the alley. He quickly replaced the clip, holstered his gun, and then quickly jumped into the vehicle. Edgar kicked the car into high gear and sped off. Jessica was crouched in the back and hiding, scared of what just happened. Half way back to their place of destination, Devon looked over the backseat and down to her.

     "Relax, love." Devon said, "I didn't hit him."

     "If he had," Edgar said as he jumped in, "It would have only required one shot. He fired those shots so that by the time he got to the end of the alley, we'd be too far away to take a shot at." He looked back to Devon. "A good thing you didn't hit him. He could have been a cop, you know."

     "Wearing a black suit in the middle of the night and not even willing to flash a badge? I think not my friend." Devon said, rather confident in himself. "That bastard had bad news written all over him. The only reason why I didn't stay to take him prisoner was the fact that there was likely more of them around. And you're right, we need to get her away from there and by firing at him, it gave us the time we needed to get out of the alley."

     "Still felt good to shoot at him, didn't it?" Edgar asked.

     "Yeah, it did." Devon agreed, as he was somewhat relaxed.

     "I appreciate your restraint," Edgar said as he kept driving, but didn't break any traffic laws. The key was to get there safely, not recklessly which would make them easier to notice, "If that was a cop, we'll know soon enough. He'll report the shooting."

     "Exactly." Devon agreed, "If no report is filed, then we'll know for sure if he was one of them.

     "One of whom?" Jessica asked, angry for being out of the loop. The two men ignored her as they kept talking.

     "I also sent a message to those wormy bastards." Devon said as he seemed proud of his work in the alley, "The next time one of them approaches me, they'll do it with a bit of caution. That hesitation will be to our advantage."

     This wasn't making Jessica feel any better, and she needed to know what was going on. She started to feel bad as well because all of this was her fault. If someone got hurt or worse, it would all be because she felt the need to search for the truth. Was it worth all this violence? She didn't know, but if someone was after her, it might be too late to reconsider. As the two men drove back to the new location, neither said a word to one another and that spoke volumes to her. Something had happened that night, and whatever it was it was serious enough for them to come running after her and for Devon to shoot as someone walking down an alley towards them. This scared her a great deal, but knew that eventually someone would tell her what was going one. She was hoping that someone like Tuck or Jerome would fill in the blanks for her when they eventually got to wherever they were going. Until then she would have to stay covered on the seat until they got to where they were going. After the hail of bullets, she didn't want to sit up and felt safe laying on the back seat until they reached their destination.