Wake Up ||ONC 2021|| GxG

9. Takeout, Wait, The Food or The People?

"Nevaeh, I think we need to go," Esme whispered urgently. She tried to flag down their waiter, but he was nowhere in sight. "Do you have cash?" The contents of her bag rattled as she jammed her hand into it and felt around. Coins, so many coins, a few crumpled bills, all of which she tossed onto the table.

"I don't think I have enough to cover this," she sighed. Navaeh dug into her purse anyway, sliding what she had to Esme. "What's going on?"

"That man behind you, no don't look," Esme hissed, gripping the other woman's hand tightly. She was keeping the pair in her peripherals, not that it mattered. There was no way they didn't know she'd spotted them. The very public space was what she assumed was keeping them in their seats. "We should have driven here; I so can't run in heels... I think."

"Only psychos can run in heels anyway," Nevaeh scoffed, rolling her eyes. Her eyes flicked down to Esme's phone when it buzzed its way across the table. "Well you're popular aren't you?"

"I hate this phone, so much," Esme snapped. She snatched it up and all but slammed it into her ear. "What Easton?"

"Chill out there bird, you sound like a deranged seagull," Easton answered. "In two minutes I'll be outside the front doors and I suggest you be there if you'd like to make a quick exit."

"Excuse me?" Esme pulled her hand from Naevaeh's, realizing she'd had a death grip on it still.

"Wrap up your leftovers and get out of there Essie, you're having takeout," Easton grunted. Squealing tires came from his end, followed by a few honks and shouts.

"Get up out of your seat now, your waiter is about to make a grab for you," another voice broke in over the commotion. A woman's voice, one that Esme was having very mixed feelings about. She both wanted to obey the order to the letter, but also felt it deserved a fair bit of complaining and sass.

"Who is this?" Esme sputtered.

"Behind you! Now!"

Esme spun in her seat, salad fork in hand. The waiter was nearly on top of her with a pitcher of ice water poised to splash over her. She jammed the tines into his thigh and shoved his shoulders when he doubled over. The pitcher hit the floor and shattered. Ice and glass spread across the floor in a wave of water. Every eye was on them now, including the pair at the table.

"Time to go," Esme grabbed Nevaeh's hand and jerked her up and towards the entrance. Water splashed up, soaking the ends of Esme's slacks. She nearly slid when she had to skid to a stop to avoid the second man grabbing her. A brief trill of pride ghosted through her when she saw his wrist in a brace. "You should really stop trying to grab people."

"Why don't you come with me and I won't have to do anything more than grab you?" he grunted, pulling a gun up in his uninjured hand.

Esme froze, focus narrowing to a pinpoint as she considered the best way out. She could throw Nevaeh at him. She could dive forward and slam her hands up to angle it at the ceiling. Maybe he'd manage to hit one of the chandeliers and-

Navaeh grabbed a tray from a nearby table and smashed it over his head. He went down like a boulder and Esme grabbed the gun as it went skittering away. "Did I just do that?"

"You just did that!" Esme shouted. She grabbed Nevaeh's hand again and they raced for the entrance as fast as they could manage. As promised, Easton was waiting out front half parked on the curb. There was a long scratch across the side of the car facing them and Esme could hear the distant sounds of sirens.

"In, get in get in," he urged, rolling his window down and raising his own gun.

"What is wrong with you people?" Esme shouted. She dove into the backseat after Nevaeh and tugged the door closed. The car sped off before she could even get herself properly seated. One particularly sharp turn sent her flying into Nevaeh, pinning her to the seat.

"Is now really the time for this?" Nevaeh teased.

"I wasn't doing anything," Esme huffed, pushing herself back up. As she did, the back window shattered, sending glass flying over them. She ducked again, dragging Nevaeh along while Easton tried to keep his head down in the front seat.

"You wanna maybe take them out there Essie?" Easton shouted back. He jerked on the wheel making another tight turn down a side street. His eyes met hers in the rearview mirror and he snapped his fingers. "Come on then mush brains, point and shoot."

"Shoot? The gun? You want me to shoot people?" Esme screeched, her voice a match for the tires skidding over the asphalt.

"No, I want you to take pictures of them. Yes shoot them!" Cars blasted their horns as they sped through another red light. A bus turned sharply to avoid them and teetered on it's right wheels before settling back down. Easton swerved behind it but there was no losing that other car. "Turn your head around and take them out before they catch up."

"I don't know how to shoot," Esme snapped. Another bullet hit one of their taillights and she flinched further away from the windows. She risked a glance out of the back window and saw them much too close for comfort. "Point and shoot?" Her voice quavered as she shifted the stolen gun in her hands.

The grip felt strange in her hand, larger than she'd have preferred. Esme raised it, letting her forearms rest on the top of the backseats as she lined up the front sight with the windshield of the car behind them. Little by little, her world quieted as she put all her attention on the cars' movements. Easton tapped the breaks, the remaining taillight flashing red and she fired.

They swerved, and Esme took in the sight of the blood splattered across their broken glass as if watching a movie. One more sharp turn and they were out of sight.