I asked, “Why those particular places?”
“My most trusted, dependable resources are in those locations.”
Sara asked, “What’s our final destination?”
“We have to decide that. We have a few practical options available.”
II. HASTA LA VISTA!
The next day was nerve wracking. In the morning, Sara and I went and bought supplies for our trip, ostensibly for the cabin stay, picking up items that Addison requested and the normal snack foods and such. We took the truck and had it serviced per Addison’s instructions. Later, I made a trip to the office to wrap up a couple things, then we holed up and waited.
Addison went to pick up our ‘getaway’ car, across the state line — it would be registered and tagged in Arizona, the state of residence that was reflected on our passports, etc. After taking care of other details in preparation for leaving and picking up our newly-minted docs, she would rejoin us around 10 p.m. and would have our doubles in tow.
As prearranged, Sara checked in with her handlers one last time to let them know everything was a go. Also, per Addison, we made a show of loading luggage and stuff in the truck for our trip to the cabin. Around seven, I ordered pizza and had it delivered.
We ate in silence. Sara was fidgety, but didn’t speak up until we were finished eating.
“Ethan, I’m scared. I can’t believe this is happening. It seems so unreal. Tell me it’s going to be okay.”
“Honey, I’m scared, too, but I’m not worried. Addison has this under control and I trust her.”
“I trust her, too. That’s not what I was thinking about. I’m talking about us leaving our lives behind, starting over, in a strange place, and…are you sure about…us? Are you sure you want to risk bringing me?” she questioned in a shaky voice.
I stood and pulled her from her seat and into my arms, “Sara, look, we’re in this together. However things play out, I will take care of you. Why don’t I make us some drinks and let’s go outside and enjoy a last evening by the pool; go for a swim and take our minds off this.”
She nodded into my shoulder, “That sounds nice.”
It was a beautiful evening, on the hot side, but with a light breeze. I looked around the back yard for what I knew would be the last time. I guided us to lounges by the pool and we relaxed and sipped our drinks. After a while, we decided to take a dip and went and put on swimwear. Sara came out of the bathroom in a gray, leopard-print bikini that I remembered well. What a stunning body.
We headed to the pool. I immediately dove in and started doing laps. Sara got in and sat in the shallow end, watching me. After a few laps, I swam up to her.
“Better. I was a little keyed up,” I said.
“Ethan,” she started, hesitantly, “I was talking to Addison. She told me you were adopted, that your real parents died and left you that money. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I know. It sounds like I was hiding it all from you, but I wasn’t, at least not in my mind. I consider my adoptive parents my ‘real parents’. I hardly remember my birth parents, and I didn’t find out about the money till I was in college, and long before I met you. I had decided to not ‘go that route’, just live a normal life, do what I had started to do; then retire when the time was right. I was going to surprise you, but…”
“I know, I know. I screwed that up. I’m sorry. I know now, I should have just come to you when I found out about the money,” she lamented.
I admitted, “And I should have told you about the money sooner. But that’s all hindsight. We’re starting from zero here, okay. Let’s try, anyway.”
She fell into my arms and I held her close for the longest time, neither of us speaking.
At nine p.m., I received a text from Addison:
All good.
Shadows two houses down across street gray sedan.
Will arrive as planned.
Get ready.
We dressed in dark clothing and moved our stuff onto the back patio. A little after ten p.m., Addison and two others came over the back fence. We were sitting at the patio table when we saw them. I was surprised when they approached; the male with her could have been me, except he was older looking, but same physique, similar face and hair. The woman, also older, was similar in build to Sara, but was dark-haired and didn’t really look like her.
“Hi guys,” Addison greeted us and introduced our doubles, “Ethan, Sara — Jack and Roberta. They will be going to the kitchen and milling around in there, then to the bedroom, turning lights on and off. In the meantime, we will be loading up. I’ve swept the back street and it’s still clean. These guys are obviously comfortable that all is going according to their plan.”
“Sara, I’m sorry, but, um, Roberta doesn’t look much like me.”
“She will in the morning, dear — wig and make-up.”
“Oh.”
Jack spoke up, “We’ll be convincing to around 20 feet or so, and nobody is going to get that close to us. Once we’re in the truck, we won’t be stopping until we get to the cabin, and without giving themselves away, their nearest vantage point at the cabin is around 20 yards away. And from what Addison has said, these guys don’t want to spook you. They’ll wait till you’re isolated in the cabin and comfortable. We’re good.”
I asked, “And you’re sure you can get out of there safely?”
Roberta answered, “We were up there and did a trial run. From the time we enter the cabin, drop the suitcases, exit the back door and lock the deadbolt, it only takes 30 seconds. We disabled the inside latch on the deadbolt, so even if they came in right after us, and of course we’ll lock the front door on the way in, they would have to break out a window to get out the back or go back through the front and around.
The trail isn’t clearly evident and we took time to familiarize ourselves. They won’t be familiar and that would slow them down. There’s no way they can get to our car before we’re long gone. If they choose to run back to their car and try to catch up to us, they’re screwed. The road that our escape vehicle is on doesn’t directly connect to the road your cabin is on. We checked; if they get lucky and pick the right path of pursuit, they will be at least 10 minutes behind us; and they would most likely head back towards Albuquerque looking for you. We’ll be headed out of state another direction. We’ll be safe. Thanks for the concern.”
I responded, “Wow, okay. I guess Addison wouldn’t be working with anyone who didn’t know what they were doing. Sorry.”
“Reasonable question, Ethan,” Jack offered. He seemed personable enough. Roberta was a hard nut — wouldn’t want her mad at me.
“Truck is fueled and in good condition?” he asked.
“Yes. I stopped and had the oil checked, tires, everything, as Addison directed.”
“Good,” Jack patted my shoulder and reached to shake my hand, “I’d say ‘good luck’, but you won’t need it. You have Addison. We’re going to start our routine. Goodnight.”
“Thank you,” I replied.
Addison added, “Give Jack your cell phones. He’ll dispose of them when the time comes,” and headed for my office, “Let’s get going. I have to get the hard drive from your desktop, then we’ll load up. Your laptop’s packed, no discs or thumb drives left behind?” she asked over her shoulder.
“Laptop’s packed and I sanitized like you said.”
When she came out of the office, she handed me the drive, stepped past me and straight to Sara, who was shaking like a leaf.
She took her by the shoulders, “Calm down, sweetie. Easy, peasy, one, two, three, and we’re outta here.”
Sara assured her, “I’m okay, Addison. I am. I just got overwhelmed when Roberta was talking about the cabin. It suddenly got very real. I’m not scared-scared, just a case of nerves. I know you have this under control.”
“Okay, good. Last thing before we go, look around you. Ethan and Sara are no longer in this room. The last of their existence is in the kitchen raiding your refrigerator. Addison is gone. From now on, whether in public or private, use your new names — all the time, until we change in San Jose.”
She turned to me, “Okay, Lucas, you ready?
“Yes, Audrey.”
“Lisa?”
“Yes, Audrey, I’m ready.”
We grabbed our belongings and headed to the backyard fence. Addison went over first and we handed our things over; then I helped Sara climb over and followed. I didn’t look back. I wasn’t leaving anything behind that mattered…except my Miata…Crap!
Everything that mattered now, was in front of me and headed through the neighbor’s backyard. A dark-gray, late-model Toyota mini-van was parked at the curb.
“You start out driving, Lucas. I’m bushed, and I didn’t get dinner. We piled in. Got any chips or candy bars?” she asked as she got in the second-row passenger seat behind me.
Sara passed her a bag with snacks and bottled water in it, then settled in beside me.
From behind me, “When you get to Las Cruces, pull into a truck stop so we can eat. We’ll change our clothes there, too. Okay, you got it, big guy, drive ultra-normal.”
“Will do, Audrey.” I pulled from the curb and headed south down the street and out of the neighborhood, leaving my old life behind, and hopefully, the syndicate thugs on the street over.
I felt Sara’s hand on my leg and reached down and covered it, squeezing it reassuringly. I glanced over at her. She was looking at me intently and smiled when I looked at her. The smile didn’t reach her eyes, but she had calmed down.