Jennifer

As soon as the door closed Jennifer reached for the knife. They hadn't bothered frisking her, just took the gun.

What else would a skinny girl hide in jeans and a T-shirt?

The cheap dollar store knife was in the right back pocket of her Wranglers. Alex had ground off the belt clip and it was less than half an inch thick. It probably wouldn't last long in regular use, but the serrated blade, almost four inches long, would do the job.

If I can get close.

It was difficult to get it open with her hands tied behind her, but she managed it. They had put a zip tie around each wrist and connected them with a third. She was glad they hadn't had any of the disposable handcuffs cops used - using the knife would likely be impossible.

Carefully she got the blade inside the tie on her left hand and sawed through it. Her hands free she cut off the one on her right wrist.

OK, what now? Deciding what to do with me? A skinny girl with a dollar store knife and two big guys that both look like they've been in a few fights? No way I can take them both. One maybe, with the element of surprise. Maybe.

She closed the knife and put it back in her pocket.

The one who had brought her to the room and locked her in was the smaller, but still could easily overpower her even if unarmed, which he wasn't. He had Glock that looked like the one Alex had taught her to shoot with.

Call him Joey. And the other one Vinny. Since I have no idea who they are.

Joey seemed to be in charge. He seemed less dangerous than Vinny, as if he wasn't comfortable with the task.

Because he figures they're gonna kill me?

Vinny had remained in the front as Joey herded her down the hall to this room. It was one of several on either side, all with doors closed. The room was empty, except for her.

If Joey came to get her, alone, she might take him. Get the gun. Then what? If it was just the two of them she might have a chance.

Gonna die if I do nothing, that's for sure.

Voices outside, one coming closer, but not the other. Was Joey coming for her? She didn't know how much time had passed, it might have been minutes or an hour.

"Alright, alright. Just a minute."

The door opened. Joey. Was Vinny still down the hall? She pulled the knife out and opened it, careful not go move her arms enough to let him know they were free.

"Come on," he said, advancing to within a couple of steps.

It was difficult to stand anyway, keeping her hands behind her. She got to her knees, made as if to stand and sank back to a kneeling position, her right leg out slightly to her right.

Now give me a hand, big guy.

Joey reached for her left arm, grabbed it and pulled. As he did she straightened her legs and used her right to push towards him. She brought the knife up and around, plunging it into his neck, aiming for the carotid artery.

They went down, Joey on his back and Jennifer on top, twisting the knife and sawing for maximum effect. She got her left hand under his head and held tightly as blood spurted over her.

"Once at the enemy, you should not aspire just to strike him, but to cling after the attack."

Alex had read Musashi's Book of Five Rings with her. He didn't just give her the book and tell her to read it, he sat with her and discussed each passage and how it related to everyday life.

I'm getting soaked with blood clinging to this one.

Joey was not moving. Again she had lost track of time. How long since Joey had entered the room? Vinny could be getting impatient. She freed the Glock and racked the slide, and ejected a cartridge. Most people who carried double-action autos had them ready, but best to be sure.

"What're you doin' in there?"

Vinny. And closer now.

She wiped the her hands and the butt of the Glock on the cleanest part of her jeans and moved back towards the wall, sat back on her heels and waited.

He'll be looking at eye level, give me a second. And when he sees Joey first, maybe another.

Vinny didn't speak again, just opened the door. The door she was aiming at. Jennifer fired and he staggered, reaching for his gun.

Lucky these guys aren't very smart.

She fired again, tracking him as he fell to his knees and fired again. He fell face down in the doorway.

Weren't very smart. Now they're dead.

Was anyone else in the building? The place looked deserted, as it had recently built and never occupied. There had been no other vehicles in the parking lot when they arrived.

Check that first.

She was beginning to shake, and felt cold.

Stay calm. I've got a chance now.

She moved out into the hallway, went to the front. The entry door was glass, and she scanned the parking lot. The only vehicle was the one Joey and Vinny had brought her in. She opened the door and walked out. The warm sunlight didn't do much for the chill she was feeling.

I just killed two men. I need my phone.

Joey or Vinny probably had it, and the idea of searching their bodies didn't appeal to her, but it had to be done. One of them probably had the keys to the car as well.

She went back to the room, stepped over Vinny and knelt beside the body. He was wearing a windbreaker, probably to cover his weapon. She found a phone in an inside pocket. It was hers.

Yes! Now who has the keys?

She hadn't gone out to check the car, expecting Joey to have taken them since he was driving. She went to check his body. Luckily the blood was mostly around his neck, and going through the pockets was at least not as messy as it might have been. She found a keyring with a Cadillac logo on the fob.

That's gotta be it. Now what else? Call Alex before anything else.

He answered on the first ring, evidently waiting for it.

"Hey punkin, where are you?"

"I don't know. Can you locate me?"

"Use your maps app to give me your GPS coordinates," Alex replied. "Let me pull up a map.. OK.. go ahead."

She read them and he repeated them as he typed.

"OK," he said after a minute, "I've got you on Bridger Road west of 95. I know where that is. Are you in some kind of industrial building?"

"I don't know. Maybe. It seems that way, all metal and empty. We're the only ones here."

"Who's we?"

"Me and two dead guys."

"Fuck! Sorry, damn girl, I'll ask what happened later. For now we've got to get you out. That building must be new, I don't see any business ID."

"I think it is. It's all empty."

"Can you go outside, where you can see the highway? It should be just a couple hundred feet away."

"Hang on."

She went back to the front and outside.

"OK, I can see it."

"All right, almost straight across there should be big building, old and faded. Like a factory building."

"Yeah, I see it."

"OK, it may be faded, but does it have 'Meyers Brothers' on it, in big letters?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Good," Alex said. "You seem pretty calm, try to stay that way. I can have someone there inside of twenty minutes. It's gonna seem like forever, but help is on the way. Hang on.."

She heard him briefly speak to someone else.

"OK, I'm back. While you're waiting, can you find another exit? There should be at least one. At the back, maybe some on the sides. Better yet, how is the outside. Is the ground clear all around?"

"I remember it seemed to be from the front and sides. "I'm not sure about the back."

"OK, good. If anyone comes before we get there, you may be better off outside. Can you take a walk out and around back?"

"Sure, hang on."

The building was about two hundred feet long, and she talked to Alex as she walked.

"OK," she said as she turned the corner. "More of same, like the parking lot. About a fifty feet or so away it's trees."

"Good, see any doors?"

"I passed one on the side and there's a big rollup door, and a small one beside it."

"Excellent. If someone comes and you're out front and the see you, it will be too late to run around back. How do the woods look for a hiding place?"

"Not bad from here. Let me take a look."

She walked the short distance, and in a few steps was in a position in which she would be invisible to anyone out in the open. The ground was firm and dry.

"I should be good here," she said. "I won't attract any wild animals, will I? I'm kinda covered in blood now."

Alex was silent for a moment.

"Got it," he said. "I'm tracking our guys. We're looking at fifteen minutes. I'll keep you posted. If you can move in a little deeper. How are you armed?"

"A Glock G22. A forty, from the kick. I didn't take the other guy's gun. Or check for spare magazines."

"That's cool. You shouldn't need it. I'm going to conference us with Jessica. She's out at Southfork. Hang on."

"Hi Jen, how you doin' girl?"

Jessica. So good to year your voice.

"Better than I was a few minutes ago. And alive."

"Hang in there," Jessica said. "Help is on the way."

"Ten minutes," Alex said. "Or less. Hang on kid."

Jennifer moved further into the trees, until she was no longer able to see the building.

"Let me know when they arrive," she said. "What kind of vehicle are they in?"

"Hang on," replied Alex.

She waited. Her perception of time during her escape seemed skewed. Ten minutes. Alex should notify her again at five.

"They're in a white GMC," Alex said. "Crew cab four-by-four. There's a team a couple of minutes behind them in a late model Pacifica. Dark green."

"Gotcha," said Jennifer. "There's a black Cadillac there, the one they brought me in. If there's any others they arrived later."

"I'll advise them. Five minutes."

Time to move. She moved back towards the edge of the woods.

White GMC. Green Chrysler. Anything else no bueno.

She knew there would not be anything else. Three hundred seconds, less now. She had the shakes again.

"If you the the shakes afterward, that's normal and good," Alex had told her. "You didn't lose it and you survived."

Her escape was already beginning to seem unreal, and she was wondering if it had happened. A dream.

I've got blood all over me. Not a dream.

Time to go. She moved to a tree at the edge, where she would be visible to her rescuers. A bloody yellow T-shirt should get their attention.

The white truck rounded the corner and she ran to meet it. The doors on the side nearest her opened and two men leaped out. One helped her into the cab and got in beside her, the other resumed his seat in the front.

"All clear," said the driver. "We're gonna wait for our escort, be a couple of minutes. You all right?"

"I am now. Thanks guys."

"We'll have you home before long," he said.

Her connection with Alex and Jesica had broken as she ran to meet the truck. She took out her phone and called him.

"Good work kid," he said. "We've got you. Just relax, you're almost home."

The green minivan arrived and the convoy moved out. She leaned back and closed her eyes.