Fugitive

Chapter 26

Everyone was paying attention now. Mothers moved their children and stood in front of them protectively. It made me feel bad. That simple gesture made me feel like a real criminal. I turned quickly to run out but a large man had already taken position in front of the door. It was the only exit I could see. There would be a back door in the kitchen but I would have to scale the bench and the lady was already dialling 911. He had no muscle, only fat. An obese man, but even so I felt like any attempt to get around him would end with me simply bouncing off him. I ran at him anyway. It was my only exit. Despite the small audience, I was focused. I didn't care that they were watching. I almost expected the man to see my expression and move. He didn't. Instead he sort of swung at me but I ducked under his flabby arms. I punched him firmly in the stomach that caused him to move only a little. The force from the kick rippling up his body. Instead I aimed for the feet. I ducked another punch that came from his right hand. I went this time for a sweeping kick that caused him to stumble into a table nearby. He was already up and coming after me again, so I used his momentum against him. I stuck my fist out and bashed it into his nose. I didn't feel a crack but it would have hurt an awful lot. I could sneak past now. I ran out the door ignoring the bystanders. I kept running down the street, not looking back until I reached the next block. The food was still in my hand. My breathing was heavy. Once I was sure there was no one trying to follow me I stopped and caught my breath. There was a distant sound of sirens. Not close enough to worry about. They would be at the 'crime scene' now. I wandered down a few more random streets, looking behind me every few paces. Once I was satisfied that I was safe, I pulled my breakfast from the bag and took a seat on the sidewalk. There weren't too many people around there. I enjoyed a nice club sandwich for a makeshift breakfast. I skulled some water and thought about the current issue. I needed to find somewhere to meet with Dennis. Something about his attitude towards the meeting had me suspicious. I'd learnt from last time. It wasn't likely that Dennis was going to admit to killing Cat and Toby. In fact, the chances seemed incredibly slim. So, I came up with the idea to plant a bug. There weren't really any other options that I could think of. I thought about putting the bug in his house, which would be the best location. No wind so the audio would be clear. Plus, he would feel safe there. It's where he spent most of his time. After considering it more I decided it would be too risky to try to plant it. It would have to be somewhere central so I could see and hear him clearly. If he even had the slightest suspicion, he would be careful. I needed him to be open. Not careful. I could have waited for him to leave his home. I could have snuck around the back and then went inside as soon as he left. But there was no guarantee when that would happen. Or for how long. I wouldn't have needed long to plant the bug. It's the when I was really worried about. It could be days from now. I was not going to wait around his house until he left. He may not ever leave. He only left to meet me. One of his contacts actually came to his house. Many all his contacts come to his house. Then he would never leave. If his house was out, that only really left his person. I could put a bug in a box or something and send it as a package. That all seemed too difficult to pull off. He would notice it. People throw away the boxes once they've got what's inside anyway. That only really left his car. I know what his car looks like. I just had to make sure the location was far enough away for him to bring his car. Then, before the meeting I could sneak around and find his car, plant the bug and then talk to him. I would still leave my phone recording, just in case. If he didn't bring the car I was a little bit screwed. If I couldn't find it them I would try to plant it on him as he left. I just had to pick a location and find a bug. The only person I thought would have a bug, or be able to get one, that I knew was Tony. But I told him I wouldn't involve him. He helped me get away originally. I don't want him getting in trouble. Then again, it's been almost a month. Surely the police wouldn't think he's still aiding me? We haven't been in contact since I left. They have no reason to suspect he's been any help to me. I decided to risk it. I dialled his number on my phone. It only took a few rings before he picked up. "Hello"? he sounded a bit confused. He wouldn't recognise the number. I toyed for a millisecond about trying to code in some message and pretend to be someone else. Then I realised he was on the phone now and I really should have thought about that before dialling. It would have been the smart thing to do. But I didn't. "Tony it's me". "Jacob! Why are you whispering"? I hadn't realised I'd been whispering. I guess I didn't want anyone to know or hear that we were speaking so I talked quietly. "I don't know... sorry", I replied returning to a regular speaking volume. "How you doing man"? "Well I'm as great as a guy on the run from the police can be". Tony laughed. "I bet. I hear you're back in Jacksonville"? "Yeah, I know who killed Cat and Toby. He lives here. I almost killed him but I need a confession. So the cops still don't think it's me". "Who is he"? "Dennis Penfold. He hasn't been here long. He worked for the Russian Mafia when he killed them. They wanted to scare me into silence". "You've been busy", he laughed. "Silence"? "Yeah you know how I told you about a Russian man that I met in Afghanistan"? "No... oh wait yes. The one in the Bratva"? "Yeah, well while I was over there with him I learnt that Bratva had been selling drugs and weapons to the Taliban. They didn't want anyone to find out because it would lead to disagreements and conflicts between the Russian and American governments. They didn't want to kill me so they killed Cat and Toby to prove a point". "Wow, you really have been busy. So, what are you doing now"? "I'm meeting Dennis later tonight. I need a bug. He's never going to admit to killing them, I've tried that. So, I'm going to plant a bug in his car". "You want a bug"? "Do you have one"? "Nah, but I can get one. Just give me a couple of hours". "Okay great. Are you sure Tony? Cause I really don't want to get anyone else involved". "Man, I'm already involved. This is you we're talking about. I'll leave the bug in a bag underneath the bin in the bathroom of the restaurant we used to go to in high school". I made a mental map. It was quite far away. But I can catch up bus. I knew he didn't say the name in case someone was tapping the phone call. Even so it wouldn't take them too long to figure out what restaurant that was. All they'd have to do was talk to a few people. Or maybe go back a couple of years on social media. They would have a couple of places as options. But I know that place is special to all of us. "What time will it be there"? "Four, at the latest. You need anything else you'll call me yeah"? Tony offered. "Yeah man. Thank you". "Let me know how it goes". "Yeah, I will", I replied. "Bye man". "Bye". I looked up the bus timetable online. There was a bus that left for that general area in just over an hour. That didn't leave much time to find a location. I walked down the streets quickly trying to find some warehouses or back streets that would be suitable. It needed to be inside a building so he could leave his car outside while he went in. That way he wouldn't see me plant the bug. Somewhere high, so I had a bit of a vantage point. With a high building next to it so I could see where he parked his car when he arrived. I didn't want to run on the main streets because it would draw attention my way since I wasn't wearing typical active wear. But on the back and less populated streets I increased my pace to a quick jog. Or slow run, if you like. I was getting closer to bigger buildings. Kind of industrial. The area was also a bit busier so I had to slow down to keep my hood from flying back and revealing my face. I kept going, keeping an eye on the time. After a couple more minutes I started getting into the outer parts of town. The buildings got further apart. I found a big warehouse next to a few other industrial buildings. The warehouse was the only one that seemed unoccupied. I looked around a bit. It seemed decent enough. There was an electric scanner on the door with a pin number. There was some fine dust on the ground next to the building. I picked a bit up and held it in my palm. I blew the dust onto the keypad gently. It didn't work very well, but a small portion of the dust stuck to four of the numbers. 1, 4, 7 and 9. I tried a few combinations. 1,4,7,9. 1,4,9,7. 4,7,9,1. Finally one worked. 9,1,7,4. The light on the pin went green and I could hear a lock shift within the door. I turned the handle. It was dark inside. At first. The space was big and empty. Up some metal stairs was a bit that hung over the rest of the space. I went upstairs and in front of me was a wall of windows. It didn't go right to the ceiling but it was pretty cool. It let a lot of light into the space. I couldn't see the windows before. There wasn't much of a view. Just more buildings really. The meeting would happen here. I'd tell Dennis the address of the building, with the passcode and to meet me in front of the wall of windows. Perfect. I hope no one turns up between now and then. I doubted it. There was nothing in the space. No footprints in the dirt outside. No recent tire marks. I left the building making sure to lock the door properly behind me. I had to make it back to Dennis's ASAP. I would have to run a lot of the way, but first I just needed to find a place to wait and see where he parks. The building next to it had a fire escape. After a quick examination, I determined that it would be climbable. It could take me right to the roof if I needed to get up that high. After that I quickly ran back. It brought me back to the Marine training days. One of the most intense trainings in my life. I regulated my breathing and kept going. I remember once they got us to put tape over our mouths. It was supposed to increase our endurance, in terms of breathing. Since we could only breath through our noses. A lot of the boys came very close to fainting that day. Some of them did. Needless to say, it was hard. It was a new exercise they tried out with us. I'm not sure if they still do it or not. As I was running, I looked behind me. There was a man wearing black jogging only a couple of yards back. I pretended to stop and tie my shoe. He slowed to a walk and started stretching on the side of the road. I started running again as did he. Starting off slower before picking up speed. So he could keep up. He was following me. I stopped again. This time turning down another street and waiting on the corner. The man kept coming towards me. Getting closer and closer.