Perfect Sacrifice (11 page)

"Okay," she whispered, drawing Leon's attention. "When we turn that corner, start running."

"That's your plan?" he asked, not seeming convinced.

"For now," she responded with a small smirk. "I wanna see what they'll do first. I'll come up with something better as we go along." Leon just sighed, realizing that he didn't have much of a choice in the matter. It was either follow her command or get caught by those men. He would much rather risk his life by running than go down without putting up some kind of fight. Still, if it were up to him, he wouldn't be in this mess right now. He was starting to regret following Ray.

"You sure seem to find trouble easily," he mumbled in annoyance.

"You're wrong," she told him softly, preparing to put her plan into action. "It's trouble that finds me." They slowly turned the corner. "Go!"

Both of them began to sprint, moving as quickly as they could. They needed at least some kind of head start, or they would be caught easily. However, the sound of approaching footsteps couldn't be heard yet, so Ray quickly glanced back, wanting to see just how big of an advantage this had given them. Just then, as the ten or so men turned the corner, they also began sprinting. It hadn't taken them long to figure out the ace knight's little trick.

Ray cursed and turned her attention back to the street. All this movement wasn't good for her healing arm, but she really didn't care right now. Getting away from those men was currently at the top of her list. She noticed that they were slowly gaining. Eventually she and Leon would be overtaken. There was at least one way that she could think of that would give them an advantage.

Ray looked to her bag, debating on her next plan of action. She decided that she might as well give it a try. Things couldn't really get too much worse if this failed. She glanced at Leon, praying that she wouldn't have to leave him behind.

"Leon," she called to him.

"What?" he asked without looking to her.

"Do you know how to rollerblade?" she asked as she began to unzip her blue bag. Leon looked to her in confusion.

"Rollerblade?" She pulled out two sets of four wheels, the same kind that she had hooked to her boots before.

"Well, do you?" she asked him again, needing an answer now.

"Yeah…"

"Good," she said as she handed him the two sets of wheels. He examined them, obviously confused.

"What do I do with these?" he asked as he watched her pull out another pair. She glanced at him, a small grin on her face.

"They'll connect to the bottom of your boots if you press that button," she explained, pointing to the black button near the back of each. "Do you think you're up to this? I don't have another pair, so the first time has to be the last."

"What do you mean?" he asked, still confused about what she wanted him to do. She had yet to just come out and say it. However, he was already nervous, knowing that whatever she had in mind was going to be in no way easy.

"We can't slow down, so we'll have to time it just right," she explained. "Press the button, throw them down in front of you, and step on them while you're running. Don't slow down."

"What the hell…? I've never done this before," he told her with a pinch of worry in his voice. "How do you expect me to get it on the first try?"

"Because if you don't, they'll catch you," she answered bluntly, glancing back at the men who were still closing in on them. This really was their only chance. Pretty soon, their pursuers would be on top of them, and they couldn't allow that. Normally she wouldn't go through all this trouble. Men like these were nothing. They could easily be taken out with a few well placed punches and kicks. However, she was in no condition to get into a fight, and even though Leon had proven that he was good, he wasn't enough. These were trained professionals. Only a knight stood a chance against them.

"Fine," Leon sighed exasperatedly. It wasn't like he had a choice in the matter anyway.

"Okay, now watch," she demanded. "I can only do this once."

"I never shoulda let you come with me," he told her accusingly. Ray only smiled as she pressed the black button on each set of wheels. She watched her feet as she ran, trying to time it just right. In a split second, she threw one skate right after the other, stepping onto them perfectly in time and then taking off.

Leon was in a small state of shock right now. She had actually done it and without hesitation. Now the question was if he could. There wouldn't be too much time to debate it though. Ray was speeding up, slowly leaving him behind. She turned around, now skating backwards.

"Come on, Leon," she coaxed. "Hurry up." He looked down at the skates in his hands. His eyes were quick, but he wasn't sure if they were quite that quick. This was an acquired skill, one that involved the sharpness of a person's eyes along with their reaction time. He narrowed his eyes as he began to concentrate. He had to do it. If he couldn't do something like this, then how would he be quick enough to defeat the ace knight? However, he had to get away from Ray's stalkers first.

"Here goes nothing," he said to himself as he pressed the black buttons. He watched his feet, listening as Ray urged for him to hurry up. In two quick motions, he threw down the skates, and in another two motions, he was on them. The sudden switch caused his balance to falter, but he quickly regained it.

Leon fell into step beside Ray as they turned the corner, the men now getting further and further behind. Ray and Leon both smiled, believing that they were in the clear. However, as they passed by a stationary black car, Ray glanced through the window, catching sight of yet another man sent by her enemy. She cursed again. She could just never get a break. This really wasn't her week.

"Speed up," she told Leon as she began to work twice as hard to move. He did the same although he seemed slightly confused.

"Why the rush? Aren't we ahead?" he questioned.

"We can outrun them, but we can't outrun that," she answered, pointing behind her. Leon glanced back and watched as some of the men got into a black car.

"Damn," he cursed as he realized why Ray was rushing. "How are we supposed to outrun a car?"

"Just keep going," she told him. They turned the corner, dodging people, signs, benches, whatever happened to be on the sidewalk. It wasn't long after that the black car sped around the corner, coming after them. Ray glanced back and narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

"What now?" asked Leon. Ray went over her options. If she were alone, she'd be risky and skate into oncoming traffic. However, she had another life that she was accountable for right now. She wasn't about to let something happen to her current companion. The only problem was that she didn't have a lot of options left.

They turned another corner, and Ray saw a familiar restaurant. She smiled, remembering that Sam worked at this one today. He had so many restaurants in the city, and he was stationed at a different one each day.

"Finally some good luck," she said, happy that something had gone her way. What with all these attacks being launched on her as of late, even something as small as this coincidence was a sign to be thankful for.

"What?" questioned Leon, not understanding just why she suddenly seemed so happy. They were still being chased.

"Just follow me and don't ask questions," she commanded as she took a right, ramming her good shoulder into the nearby door, shoving it right open. Leon followed her into the building, fighting back the urge to question her actions. All eyes were instantly on the two of them.

"Ray?" questioned Sam at the front desk.

"No time to talk," she told him. "We need to use the backdoor." She skated right past him and towards the door in the far back. He didn't make a move to stop her or question her actions. Just by the look on her face, he knew that something was seriously wrong.

"Be careful!" shouted Sam.

"We will!" Ray called back as she shoved open the backdoor, leading into the alleyway behind the building. Leon followed after her as she turned to the left and began to sprint down the passage.

"Where are we going?" he asked her.

"I thought I said no questions," she told him as she kept her eyes focused on her destination.

They soon reached the street again, stopping to catch their breath. Both of them were panting from their exertion. Lucky for them there was no sign of the black car. That was indeed good news, because they really needed to rest a bit. Ray was a bit better off than Leon was, but that was only because of who she was. She wouldn't be as physically capable as she was without her training as a knight. And on top of that, these kinds of cat and mouse games were common for her. Leon probably had never been stalked before.

"I think we lost them," said Ray. Leon only nodded in agreement, finally catching his breath a bit. Luck wasn't on their side, however. From around the corner came the black car, going slowly as if looking for something. A window rolled down, revealing a pistol. One shot was fired. It hit the side of the building by Ray, coming only inches from her head.

"Damn," she cursed. "Come on!" She began to sprint again with Leon right next to her. Now she was back to square one, plus the men had guns. Another bullet was fired. Ray ducked instinctively.

"Now they're shooting at us," complained Leon, sounding rather frustrated. "When this is all over, I want an explanation." Ray cringed, knowing that she couldn't tell him anything about this no matter how badly he wanted to know. She wasn't about to put his life in any more danger.

Ray looked around, trying to find a way out of this situation. There had to be a way to escape from their pursuers. However, her options were running slim. She had to think of something. Her eyes strayed to the street full of cars, a smile playing on her lips as yet another idea formulated. The only question was if Leon could handle it.

"How do you feel about traffic?" she asked him. He quirked an eyebrow, giving her a sideways glance that clearly stated his confusion.

"Traffic?" he questioned. She pointed to the streets where quite a few cars resided. Leon's face paled. "You want us to skate out there?"

"It's the only thing I can think of," she told him. "At least it's not oncoming traffic." Another gun shot rang out, hitting the mailbox that Leon had just passed. That did it for him. They had a better chance of surviving if they could lose the car. At this rate they'd both be shot.

"Alright," he sighed, realizing that there wasn't another choice at this time. Ray quickly took a hard left, heading right out into the traffic. Leon followed after her, trying not to show the fact that he was panicking. After all, he had never done something this reckless before.

The street was slowly becoming more populated by vehicles as they went on. Ray was swerving between cars and motorcycles, all the while picking up speed. She constantly glanced back to make sure that Leon was still following her. He was actually managing to keep up with her pace. She was thanking God that the speed limit wasn't very fast, and that the stop light was now red.

They swerved around more cars that were now waiting for the light to turn green again, which made this much easier. Ray quickly glanced back and noticed that the black car was forced to slow down. However, the window soon rolled down, and a man held out a pistol, aiming towards the two of them.

Ray halted so that Leon would catch up. The second he reached her, she grabbed his wrist.

"Come on!" she shouted as she pulled him to the side, heading down a different street. The pistol was fired, but the bullet missed both targets, hitting the side of a building instead.

Ray and Leon were now skating down a back road after turning quite a few corners. Eventually she released his wrist, allowing him to glide down the abandoned street next to her. Both of them were wearing a smile.

"I can't believe it," said Leon.

"Can't believe what?" questioned Ray, slowing her pace.

"We actually got away. For a second there, I wasn't sure if we'd make it." Ray just smirked as she turned her attention back to the empty street in front of her. This was an unpopulated back road that would eventually lead to the park. From there she'd be able to reach her Geno and get out of the city. The last thing she needed was to get captured by her enemies.

They continued on in silence for a while, but the screeching of tires soon shattered their serenity. Both of them stopped dead in their tracks. Ray began looking around. There were tons of alleyways that connected to the main streets, and they were all wide enough for a normal sized car to fit through. As luck would have it, the black car sped out of one a good distance in front of them, spinning to a stop.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" shouted Ray out of pure frustration. These guys obviously didn't know when or even how to give up.

"What now?" asked Leon, once again fearing for his life. Ray glanced around, spotting a nearby alleyway.

"Come on!" she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him down the dark alley. As expected, the car began to follow, the screeching of its wheels being the evidence. They sped down the alleyway, taking whatever turn Ray decided on. Leon followed closely behind her, having to push himself to keep up with her fast pace.

A gun fired, and they both ducked down out of instinct as they kept going. They both began to swerve randomly to avoid whatever shots were fired. Luckily the men didn't seem to have that great of aim or that great of knack for getting around the obstacles in the alley.