Drive (3 page)

             
“You mean do I frequently get abducted at gunpoint and forced to treat GSW’s to the chest in the front seat of my ambulance because my patient is a criminal who can’t go to the hospital? No, this is a first for me.” Jordan stood up to get more supplies. From what she could tell the bullet had gone straight through, but the wound would need to be cleaned and stitched up if she wanted to get it to stop bleeding anytime soon. And since she didn’t have any blood on hand to give him a transfusion, sooner would definitely be better than later.

             
“So, given your, uh, predicament, I don’t expect you to give me your real name or anything, but there’s gotta be something I can call you other than gun toting stranger. It just seems so impersonal, and quite frankly, it’s too damn long.”

             
His blue eyes watched intently as Jordan cleaned up his shoulder, using one had to cut away a section of his shirt for better access, while still keeping pressure on the wound with the other. When she lifted his arm to try and remove the sleeve of his jacket, it sent a piercing pain through his chest and he coughed out loud.

             
Finally he said, “Sawyer. My name’s Sawyer.” His voice was hoarse and strained and Jordan was certain he was in more pain than he was letting on. She had already given him something to try and make him more comfortable, but there was only so much she could do given the circumstances. So, she kept him talking while she worked, cutting away sections of his jacket to grant her better access and hoping the distraction would help until the meds kicked in completely.

             
“Sawyer it is then. My name’s Jordan by the way. Not that you asked, but I’d personally prefer you call me that over ‘crazy bitch’, which I imagine is what you’ve been silently referring to me as since we first met.”

             
Sawyer studied her curiously.

             
“Why are you doing this? You could have delivered me to the cops by now.”

             
Jordan finished what she was doing and looked up at him.

             
“I may still do that. Just seems inefficient to drop you off in such a mess when I have the means to clean you up a bit first.”

             
Sawyer reached for her wrist and held it.

             
“I’m serious.”

             
“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m pissed at my boss and this just seems like a good way to stick it to him, I guess.” She tossed the bloody gauze pads into the trash and stripped off her gloves. She had done all she could for the time being. “Just tell me that you didn’t shoot any women or children - or innocent people, period - and I can pretend this whole thing never happened.”

             
Sawyer sighed loudly.

             
“I promise there were no women and children. And
nobody
there was innocent.”

             
Jordan nodded, satisfied with his answer. She was about to suggest they get him up off of the floor and onto the gurney in the back when the glare of headlights caught her eye.

             
“That’s weird.”

             
“What?” Sawyer was straining to try and see out the window.

             
“No, it’s just, I’ve never seen anyone here at night. We park here quite a bit when we have some down time, and it’s always completely empty.”

             
As she spoke, the car slowly cruised up beside them. Hearing the quiet hum of the motor hovering outside his door, Sawyer reached for Jordan’s arm and yanked her toward him.

             
“Get down!”

             
Jordan didn’t even have a chance to process what was happening when an explosion of bullets came crashing through the passenger side window.

             
“Who is that?!” she shouted over the noise.

             
“I’ll explain later. Right now we need to get out of here!” Sawyer yelled back. Jordan couldn’t argue with him there. Keeping her head down, she crawled backwards until she reached her keys and the gear shift. She couldn’t hear the motor over the gunfire, but she could feel the vibration of the engine as she shifted out of park. Without hesitating, she used her right hand to press down on the gas with as much force as she could, sending the ambulance flying through the parking lot in reverse and stunning their unknown attackers just long enough for the bullets to cease. Jordan took advantage of the momentary silence and took her seat, putting her back in control of her own destiny as well as anyone else’s, should they decide to get in her way.

             
It took less than thirty seconds for Jordan to steer the ambulance back onto the main drag. As tempting as it was to flip the switch and activate the lights and sirens to guarantee her a clear path ahead, it just didn’t seem logical to stand out like a shining beacon in the dark of night while someone was following them, bullets flying and all.

             
“Where’s my gun?” Sawyer called over to her.

             
“Glove compartment,” she replied, nodding in its direction but never taking her eyes off of the road.

             
She was coming up on the busy parts of the city now. Even at night it meant there would be traffic, plenty of commotion to get lost in, but also plenty of obstacles to have to get around while in a hurry. The other option was to cut through the commercial district where it was mostly factories and old plants which about equaled a bunch of empty warehouses on a Friday night with the exception of a few isolated shops that ran twenty four hours a day. It would be easy to fly through there and reach the other side of town within a matter of minutes, only problem was, it would be just as easy for anybody else.

             
Jordan glanced into the side mirror. A black sedan was quickly catching up to them. Sawyer used his good elbow to knock out what was left of his window and facing backwards leaned himself out as far as he could in an attempt to return fire and ward off their attackers.

“Damn it!
There’s too many other cars out!” Sawyer yelled.

Jordan made her decision in a split second and veered left, taking Orange Avenue straight into downtown. She was counting on her driving skills to be superior to whoever was behind the wheel of the sedan and desperately hoped that she was right.

              “Start talking!” she demanded without ever taking her eyes off of the road.

             
Sawyer had barely managed to slide himself back into his seat and was still struggling to get the seat belt on the way she had instructed him to after their last little ride together. He already had an inkling that this trip could very easily end the way the last one had with him flying head first into the windshield and he wasn’t particularly keen on experiencing a repeat.

             
When he finally got the buckle to click into place he turned to face her.

             
“Okay. Look, you deserve to know the whole story. The truth is, I’m a cop.”

             
For a split second Jordan peeled her eyes from the pavement in front of her and allowed them to land on Sawyer like darts on a dart board.

             
“WHAT?”

             
“I should have told you right away, I’m sorry, but I couldn’t risk my cover getting blown. I’ve been working this case for the last two and a half years, moving my way up the ladder trying to get close to the head of one of the biggest organized crime families in the country. If anyone were to find out who I really am, I’d be as good as dead…and so would anyone within a ten foot radius of me.”

             
“Good to know,” Jordan said as she exhaled loudly. She had switched lanes at the last intersection and was now busy making her way upstream into oncoming traffic. Her eyes continued to tread back and forth between the windshield and the side mirror, carefully tracking the black sedan behind them. Whoever was driving it definitely seemed to be struggling to keep up. Feeling a burst of confidence, Jordan sped up and flew around the next corner. If she could find a way to steal even a second or two out of their line of vision, she would be able to find a place to hide and let them pass her by all together. Gaining headway after the next turn, she took another immediate left. Just a few feet further and she could pull into the car wash at the old 7-eleven on Princeton. Most people didn’t even register it anymore because it had been out of order for so long.

             
Jordan checked her mirror one last time as she pulled into the gas station. There was still no sign of the black car. A mili-second later, the ambulance was carefully tucked away behind the long blue bristles of the massive scrub brushes that had once been used to wash cars on a daily basis.

             
Jordan had barely shut off the lights and engine when she and Sawyer saw the black sedan speed by on the street in front of them, completely unaware that they were passing their mark.

             
Sitting in the dark, Jordan looked over at Sawyer.

             
“Okay, so if you’re a cop and your cover hasn’t been blown, then who are they and why are they after you?” She was pointing out at phantoms in the night as she spoke.

             
“Someone set me up. I don’t know who or why, but I wound up in an ambush and someone got killed. A member of the Esposito family. Now they think I did it, and that’s going to mean bad news for a lot of people.”

             
“Did you?”

             
Sawyer shook his head.

             
“No. He was already dead when I got there. But it doesn’t matter now. What matters is that the Esposito’s are out for blood. Mine mostly, but they’ll happily spill the blood of anyone who blocks their path along the way.”

             
Jordan stared out the front window of her rig, her eyes gazing at the street lights until they began to blur.

             
“So, what now? What about the family you work for?”

             
Sawyer’s eyes followed hers until they locked on the same bright lights.

             
“Gino Mancini? Nah, he’s old school. You fuck up, you might as well pull the trigger on yourself. The Mancini’s and Esposito’s fought for power for generations until they finally established a carefully constructed truce. With Rocco dead, there’s going to be an all-out war. And not just between the two families. This is going to shake up the organized crime in this city from the top dogs all the way down to the delivery boys.”

             
Jordan blinked her eyes several times to make them focus again. Then she turned the key and started up the engine.

             
“It’s been a while, I think it’s safe to get going again.”

             
Slowly the ambulance crept out from the safety of the busted car wash and rolled back into the road where it blended in with the steady stream of late night traffic.

             
Sawyer remained alert as he watched the traffic going by, checking his own mirror regularly.

             
“Where are we going?”

             
Jordan flipped on her signal light and made a left turn.

             
“The police station.”

             
If Sawyer could have jumped out of his seat and tackled her, he would have.

             
“What? No! I told you, I CANNOT blow my cover!”

             
Jordan scowled at his tone. She hated being talked down to.

             
“Why not? According to you, you’re as good as dead anyway! At least this way you can give a full report to your boys in blue before the mob sends you to sleep with the fish.”

             
Sawyer ran his hands over his knees repeatedly, trying to release the frustration he felt.

             
“You’re not listening. They’ll take down anyone associated with me. Do you know what that will mean for the people who try to help me?”

             
“Um, you mean like ME?!”

             
Jordan was shouting now. After the words passed her lips she had to take a mental account of what was motivating her escalated emotions. It wasn’t fear. It was never fear. No, this was definitely anger. Just because she had decided a long time ago that there was little to differentiate living from dying, didn’t mean that he got to be so careless with her life. Not when he barely knew her. It wasn’t much, but it was still
her
life and therefore hers to sacrifice. As of yet, she wasn’t convinced Sawyer was worth it. A mother and three children, sure, she’d choose them over herself every time, but him? That remained to be seen.