“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.