Dealing to a Stranger

2.5 feet away

"I'll be right back." Sam smiled hugely, he stood, pulled his chair in closer, leaning the back against the table. He turned from her, smiled at the Leering Man and then hammered him right in the side of his head.

Kim was still smiling as she heard the man's skull crunch under the impact of Sam' fist over the cacophony coming from the tables and machines. The man dropped sideways off the chair and fell between two tables, almost into the pit area. Some people chuckled thinking a drunken player had fallen off his chair. The blow Sam had given the man had been a blur his fist out and then back to his side so fast. Kim had been right there, just feet away, she wasn't even sure she saw what had just happened. Sam moved like greased lightening, he was between the tables in an instant, stepping over the man's body. Missy had just turned, she had started to smile at Sam, then frown at one of her customers lying on the floor almost at her feet. Sam was on her fast, he tapped the side of Missy's neck, Missy dropped like a rock, crumpling on the floor. Kim was looking down at the man on the floor in shock, his eyes were open, his head was misshapen and blood was starting to come out of his mouth and nose. Sam was on her quick, he grabbed her arm, yanking her off her step, "Run Kim, if you love me, run."

She did.

They cut through the pit area, Denny yelled at them to stop as he went to Missy. They went about another 12 steps when the first scream came, it was quickly followed by others. A man in front of them rose from a machine next to the stairs leading into the lobby and out to the exit, he was trying to pull something from a pocket. Sam clotheslined him, slamming him hard on his back to the ground. Sam dropped to a knee, holding the man's body down with his fist ready to strike and kill the unconscious man. He rose quickly without striking, pulling her up the stairs. Two security guards came at them, both starting to pull their guns. Sam let go of her arm and it seemed instantly he had moved six feet between the two guards. Sam touched both, "He's having a heart attack." Both guards ran towards the fallen man even after having seen Sam slam him to the ground, re-holstering their half drawn weapons. Sam grabbed Kim's arm again and pulled her towards the door. An older man, a way younger woman came through the doors, arm in arm. Sam dragged her around the couple and out the first set of doors. He slammed open the second set of doors to the front entrance, the valet was walking around the Lexus the couple had just exited. Sam yanked the passenger door open and threw Kim inside the car. He quickly walked around, grabbed the keys out of the valet's hand, gave it a squeeze, "Sorry. She feels sick." she heard him say. He slid into the open driver's door of the car, jammed the key in and had the car moving by the time his door had slammed shut.

Something thumped the top of the car as Sam smoked the tires just barely missing two people coming around one of the posts of the entrance, the car's engine screamed before Sam slammed it into second gear. The tires smoked the parking lot again, then again as he found third gear. They headed straight at the RV parking area and the exit there. Men started pouring out of two RV's, armed men. Small lights flashed at them. The front windshield stared twice, then again, something whined by her head, the back window exploded as Sam whipped the wheel over and jammed the gear shift back into second gear. The car started thumping quicker, the window beside Kim also exploded, sending safety glass spraying over her and inside the car as something hit the roof behind her head. The engine screamed again as they smoked around in a tight turn throwing Kim against the door of the car. A car came out of nowhere trying to hit them, Sam dodged left, the back of their car clipped another parked vehicle, Kim was thrown against Sam's shoulder hard, then back against the door. Pieces of safety glass flew thru the air like a deadly hailstorm. She looked back over her shoulder as the other car's lights centered on them. Five or six more loud thumps came, and the winking lights from the men finally quit as the other car got in their line of fire. Sam headed for the main entrance with the other car in close pursuit. They had almost made it out of the parking lot when he reached over. Using his hand he pushed her hard, back against the car seat, then stomped the clutch and the brake. The car screeched to a halt, smoke pouring around it. If Sam hadn't of held her, she would have been thrown through the windshield. His hand dropped, he slamming the gear into reverse and it was back on her chest as he accelerated going backwards pushing her again back into the seat. He jinked the car sideways some and rammed the following car with a rear quarter panel right in the middle of its grill. His hand was off her as they went back into first gear and they shot out of the parking lot, missing a passing car. They hit the concrete divider for the four lane road and were in second gear when they hit the other two lanes, fishtailing as they blew through a stop light just missing another two cars. By the time he was in 5^th gear, the divided highway had went back to just four lanes, the world outside was a black blur, they rocketed down the road with the lights off gaining more speed.

Kim looked behind her, she was scared out of her mind to look forward, as the car continued to accelerate down the highway with its lights still off. "You didn't kill Missy too did you," she screamed over the roar of the engine and the rush of air from the shot out windows?

"No, she's fine" he yelled back at her. "I just blanked her mind of anything about me." He looked at her as the car sped down the highway, they had to be doing well over a hundred, no lights, no streetlights, just a quarter moon and a whole bunch of stars. He acted like they were out for a slow Sunday afternoon drive in the country. They shot through another red light at an empty intersection, "One of the extra options I have installed, I was going to tell you about them as soon as I could."

"You killed that man!"

"He was a government agent Kim, and the things he was planning to do to you were horrific, disgusting, I got a little mad. It was a trap, somehow they knew about me. Us."

Kim yelled over the wind, looking back not seeing any lights behind them, "Why didn't you kill the other one?"

"He was just doing his job, do you want me to tell you some of the thoughts the other one had about you? What he was planning to do to you after they had taken us into custody?"

"No Sam, I don't. I trust you Sam, I guess with my life now. What about Missy, is she going to be OK?"

"She will be just fine when she wakes, should be by now. I didn't know if there were more, too many people inside for a clear reading and I was thinking about you. And if they had started shooting inside, I didn't want her to get hurt, so I put her to sleep. I blanked out all parts you told her about me, she won't even remember my name, even under truth drugs or hypnosis. All she'll remember is her best friend ran off with some mysterious rich guy wanted by the law, that you never talked to her about. Oh, I did leave the part about her needing to keep being the Birthday Bunny," he laughed out loud. "Cute one, beats letting all that money go to waste."

Kim glanced up and out the shot up windshield, she cringed, "Sam slow down, or at least turn on the lights, your going to kill us."

"That is exactly what I am trying not to have happen to us. I see fine, another option. My eyes have been modified somewhat, that's why the seem to glow. Just like a nocturnal animal's, a cat or dog's. Slightly slivered, they collect more ambient light, though you might want to put on your seatbelt in case I have to make any more evasive maneuvers."

Kimberly buckled up, she tried to relax, she could make out the road better now that her eyes adjusted to the night, she glanced over her shoulder. There was a car's lights behind them, but they seemed to be receding, not staying the same or coming closer. She turned back around, a couple of miles, over the emptied cotton fields, she could see traffic going north and south on Highway 61. She could just make out the red of the stop light at the intersection there. Two sets of lights turned on the access road for Sam's Town and the other two casinos. They were coming up on the intersection fast, Sam was in the far right lane, as far over as he could get as the two sets of lights approached them quickly, side by side. They were just less than a quarter mile away when Sam seemed to jerk at the wheel.

"Hold on Kim," he yelled at her as he started steering left. In seconds he was in the oncoming traffic lanes, straddling their center line. 300 hundred yards, one of the approaching cars hit their high beams, "Cross you're fingers," he yelled as he flipped on the lights and hit the high beams on the Lexus. He managed to flick the high beams a couple of times before the vans were on them. The one on the left swerved off the road and into a ditch, falling to its' side, digging a furrow out into a picked cotton field. The other had also swerved to miss the black rocket coming at them, it also fell over and started rolling down the lanes of road they had just been in, over and over again. Sam calmly flipped the lights back off and raced towards the intersection without even taking his foot off the floored, gas pedal.

"More of them," Kim yelled over the wind to Sam?

"Yeah, they were using their radio, I could hear them, another option," Sam said. After a few more seconds he flipped the lights back on, slowing down for the intersection ahead. They waited for the light to change, before turning left, heading north up 61.

'At least', Kim thought, 'he's keeping the lights on and doing a little under 10 miles over the posted speed limit of 65'.

A couple of cars passed them, she saw some of the passengers look over at the shot up Lexus. Another came up slowly, passing them in the left lane, it was almost past when it slowed some, two guys were in the Toyota. Both the driver and the passenger gaped at the bullet riddled car. Kim smiled at the two guys and waved as they accelerated away from their car.

Sam shook his head at her, "Looks like we are going to need a new ride."

Kim smiled back at him, "Hey car theft is car theft, hang the next left. I know where a whole bunch of cars are parked."

9 minutes later

Sam finished measuring and re-sizing the 4^th hole's green flag, he had snapped the fiberglass pole like it was a matchstick. Kim stood around and watched the road that ran beside the golf course. The Grand Casino's lights flickered from half a mile away. Sam climbed in the Lexus, adjusted the pole while holding the clutch in, propped the pole against the driver's seat edge and the gas pedal as he leaned sideways. He eased out the clutch and let the car gather momentum down the top of a small mound on the border of the green. He rolled out of the car's door as the darkened Lexus splashed into the water trap. It floated for a few seconds till the water level reached the shot out windows and then sank like a stone. A few bubbles popped on the surface and just a very small part of the back of the roof was still visible when it hit the bottom of the pond.

He came back to her dusting himself off, "Should be good until the first golfers hit this hole in the morning."

He held out his arm to her, "M'Lady."

"Why thank you gallant knight."

Kim came back serious after a few minutes of strolling along the dark golf course, "How long are they going to chase us Sam?"

"Till they catch us Kim."

"Can we ever have a moment of peace Sam?"

"If we get to our island Kim, we'll be safe there, we might have to change our identities to be able to go other places. My friends started working on that a couple of months ago, we just have to get there one way or the other. I have to get to a phone and warn them that they at least know about me. Us."

"I told them about us Sam," Kim said sadly. "I called your office about a month ago. It now makes perfect sense. I started noticing that guy a little after the call there. I'm so sorry Sam, I led them to us."

Sam rounded on her, he gave her his quirky smile, "That would indeed explain away the US part, but it doesn't come close to the ME part." He took her arm and they started walking again, Sam mused, "They had to somehow know about me to be able to setup the monitoring to catch you when you called. I wish Tilly had said you called for me, I would have came for you right then. I was also sort of tipped off when a couple of done deals with the military for satellite systems suddenly were cancelled. Then Mr. Theurer called Tilly saying people where inquiring, discreetly, about the transferred funds. I was trying to send you a warning for the last two days, I know how to track your amulet. You could have left, if you understood my warning, I would have found you."

"I told Tilly not to leave you a message Sam."

"Guess I can't blame her then. Still, there has to be a connection, something had to tip them to me. I was so careful. I should have flipped over like Ccrsst and Trassaa did. I got greedy, thought it might hurt the growth of the companies, screw up our plans. Then all I could think about was you Kim."

"What do you mean, flipped over?"

"Nothing really, I should have used another identity, passed the reigns to the other person. I pressed my luck and lost. Now I have brought the bastards down on you, and they don't know when to quit."

Sam was quite for a few more minutes as they approached the Grand Casino's parking garage. Kim didn't want to bother his thinking, they left the golf course and walked the few yards into the parking garage before he spoke again.

"My friends are going to meet us in Washington, they're there now waiting. We had a meeting set up for tomorrow night, then we all were going to fly out. I have to warn them that they know about us. We might have to scrub the meet. Bad part is that I only have about 1500 dollars, plus my company's credit cards. My passport is in my suitcase in my car. The flight to the island will take way more than that for two people. And I am sure they are monitoring the credit card accounts. If I use them, it will draw them to the island. That's really our only refuge." They walked around the parking lot looking like they had forgotten where they had parked their car. "We have to get to the airport quick before they sew it up tight. And unless I can call our emergency number and get a hold of them, we are either going to have to drive a stolen car to Washington, or chance flying on a card that might be monitored. We'll pay cash from there and use the money to get to the west coast. We are going to need for my friends to get us clean passports and airline tickets. I had one for you with my stuff in the car. They'll wait a couple of days thinking we might be making up for lost time. Let's get something and stop between here and the airport, give them a call and cross our fingers."

"I'm yours Sam, I'll follow you to hell if we have go there."

"I'm going to try and not let that happen either, Kim."

CHAPTER 24

Friday the 1^st of November, 12:02 AM

Their new stolen vehicle wasn't what Kim expected, a mid-60's, white, Ford pick-up truck. Sam had calmly walked up and pushed the old style wing window open, the level snapped off the window so hard, it almost broke the widow on the opposite side when it hit there. He leaned over and opened her door. He found an old ballcap hanging on a empty gunrack, gave it to Kim and told her to push her hair up inside the cap. While she stuffed her hair under the cap, he grabbed the steering column and ripped the top off. Next he twisted the ignition key guide till it also broke and came off in his hand. He pushed down a rod and the truck fired right up. They drove at the speed limit going north again on 61. He stopped and made a phone call at a 7/11 store, went in and came back out with a t-shirt that had 'I LUV MEMPHIS' printed on its front. Sam told her to swap shirts and get out of her casino work shirt as they hit the road heading into the southern part of Memphis, Tennessee. Cops seemed to be everywhere, hardly a mile went by without them seeing one, nobody even gave the old truck, with the two guys in the front, a second glance.

"I gave them an emergency code and changed the meeting to the monument mall area, half way down the north side of the pond there. They'll get the page and at least go in, wary for trouble." He drove once around the airport departure area, driving slowly like they were looking for somebody. "I didn't get any danger signals, doesn't mean they're not here. Too many people to be sure. Up to you, you want to go for it Kim?"

"I guess Sam.

"When I'm closer I can tell better, at the first sign of trouble, I'll give your arm two small tugs and we are out of there." He pulled into the parking lot, took a ticket from the machine, placed it on the dash and found a spot near the exit going out. They walked slowly inside the terminal. They went to the monitors showing arrivals and departures, Sam studied the screen for a few seconds, "There's a red eye to Washington leaving in about half hour, American, let's go."

"Sam, even I know that you have to check in at least an hour early."

He smiled, "Can't hurt to try."

They walked by a questioning look from a TSA agent at the empty luggage check-in for American Airlines and approached the lone ticket agent at the desk. Sam reached into his wallet and pulled out a card, he handed the ticket agent the card, also touching her hand. "We are two FAA Air Marshals, we need to be on the Washington, Regan Airport flight leaving next."

The ticket agent handed Sam back his Exxon gas card and started tapping at her console. She looked around and then called Bill the TSA agent over to her desk. "No luggage officers," she asked them handing them the tickets, they both nodded no, "Bill FAA security, guess it's over that Tunica crap, they need to make flight 904 at gate 15. We don't have anything else till the 4:05 AM to New York. I'll watch the station, can you walk them through security and make sure they make the flight?"

"Will do Polly," he turned to them. "Your not carrying are you?"

Sam shook his hand, "No Bill, were just assigned as monitoring, report if seen. They just tell us as much as you, go here, do that. Any idea what this is all about Bill? All we saw were some photos"

Bill walked them around the TSA security check point, explaining to the TSA agent watching the concourse exit that they were FAA Flight Marshals and they weren't carrying. The TSA agent waved them through his checkpoint. "All we have heard is a man and woman tried to hold up a casino, killed three security guards and fled. We haven't even gotten the photos of the perps yet."

All three hurried down the concourse, Sam said, "You think they would finally integrate all these agencies and get their act straight. We've seen the photos and you guys know the reason, this is no way to run an airline." All three chuckled as they passed gate 5.

21 minutes later

The landing gears whined into the wheel wells as the L-1011 climbing out of the busiest airport in the U.S. Of course 80 percent of the flights started coming in after 11 PM. One FedEx jet after another and another, 2 minutes of separation between flights for the next 2 and half hours, the process started again with outbound flights starting around 4 AM and went on for another 3 hours, east coast first and then west coast.

Kim had tried to talk to Sam about his being able to manipulate people when he touched them. She wanted to know if she was one of those people he had manipulated, she knew in her heart she wasn't. He had touched her when he took his chips from her, but she was already well into falling for him by then. They sat two rows from the back with an almost empty plane in front of them. The roar from the jets engines on pods outside carried into the cabin area as a loud, high whine, talking quietly wasn't easy. She finally asked the stewardess for a pillow and a blanket. The adrenaline surge from their flight from the agents had worn her out. She slipped off into a troubled half-sleep. Her last sight before drifting off was Sam, staring ahead, deep in thought. She reached out her hand and found his.