Nowhere to Run - Chapter 23

They were on the road again at ten the next morning.  Michael didn't normally like getting such a late start but he couldn't bring himself to leave her bed. Some illogical part of him wanted their time here to last forever.  He knew the next few days could be his last here on earth and he wanted to savor the love he had found with Evie awhile longer. Leaving the warm cocoon they had made in that hotel room was the hardest thing he would ever do.

Once they set this plan in motion he knew there was no turning back. 

Stopping at a sporting goods store, they purchased some basic supplies. Including a small two-man tent, a couple of sleeping bags and some camping items. Michael also added two boxes of ammunition for their arsenal. They were seven miles outside of Richmond. It would be best to stay out of the main part of town until they were ready to move.  

     They spent the night camping on the James River. Finding a small clearing near the water and nestled in a ring of trees they pitched the tent, rolled out the sleeping bags and Michael built a fire.

“It’s kind of romantic.” Evie said as the darkening shadows descended on them.

Michael sort of half smiled then turned away leaving

Evie to wonder if she had said something wrong. They prepared a dinner of hotdogs and potato salad. Holding the hot dogs over an open fire on sticks Michael had whittled into points. A cold beer topped off the meal. It wasn’t fancy, but it was quick and they were both too tired to care.

It was past midnight when they were done eating and climbed into the sleeping bags that Michael had so thoughtfully zipped together.

As Evie lay in his arms that night she sensed he was holding back something. He had been so quiet since they hit Virginia that she wondered if it was the proximity of The Team’s headquarters that was bothering him.

     “Pillows,” Evie murmured as she settled in. “We forgot to buy pillows.”

     “Here.” Michael shifted closer so she could use his arm to rest her head.

     Evie waited patiently. She wanted to reassure him they were doing the right thing, but she wasn't so sure herself. It was going to be the most dangerous and crazy thing they could do, but it was also their only hope. 

Listening to the rhythm of his breathing she could tell he was still awake.  Was he worried, too? Or was he so distant because he knew what they were doing would never work. She shivered. It was their only chance at a normal life. She had to believe they could do this.

     “Evie?” Michael propped himself up on one elbow to look at her. “Tell me about Scott?”

     Evie lay still. How had he known? She had never once mentioned her ex so why would he ask her now about him now?

     “Evie?”

She was silent. Scott had been her nightmare. She didn’t want to think about him. Not now, while she was lying in Michael’s arms.

“You don’t have to tell me about him if you don’t want to.”

     Evie shrugged, unsure of what to say. How to explain. It was hard to resist the urge to lean back against him and tell him everything. To settle into his warm embrace and let him understand how it was, why she left and why she had to hide. Thinking of Scott made her realize how safe she felt with Michael in spite of all they had been though. Maybe she owed him something.

     "How did you know about Scott?" she asked.

     "Janerone. The Team knows everything about you."

     Evie shivered and Michael held her closer.

     “Why did you wait so long to ask?”

     Michael was quiet for a moment then, “I thought at first it wouldn’t matter.”

     “But?” Evie prodded.

     “You were hiding from him, right?”

     Evie was silent, considering her answer.

     "You don't have to tell me. I understand." He knew he shouldn’t have asked her.

     "Michael…"

     "It's okay. If you don't want to talk about it, but I was just wondering why you never even mentioned it."

     "Does it make a difference?" she asked.

     "It shouldn’t"

     "But…" she prompted.

     "Do you know he was released from prison?"

     “Yes.” She said softly. “One of the police officers who helped me called to warn me.”

     “That was nice of him.”

     Evie nodded. “He was one of the cops who came that night w-when I was taken to the hospital.”

     Michael hugged her.

     “We’d been dating for over a year when my mother died. I never—I mean, he never was—well, he was different after I moved in. He always wanted to know where I was going, who I talked to, and things like that. When I would get mad and tell him to back off he—“

     “He hit you.” Michael finished for her.

     “Yeah.”

     “And he didn’t stop until he put you in the hospital.”

     Evie nodded, the words caught in her throat.

     “How long were you with him?”

     “I didn’t—“

     "Evie, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. It's okay. Maybe I shouldn’t be asking."

     "I want you to understand, but…I just..I've been trying to forget." She choked on her words.

     Michael tried to make it easier for her. "Janerone said he threatened you during his sentencing.”

     "They knew that?”

She could feel Michael nod.

“He said he would make me pay."

Her words hung in the air and Michael tensed with anger.

He wanted to kill the bastard. 

"I figured I could leave. My mother left me some money

after she died, so I would be alright. Only when I checked the bank account—“

     “It was empty.” Michael guessed.

     “So, I ended up at the boarding house. Made friends with Mrs. Rodriguez and life got better.”

     Evie didn’t know what else to say and Michael didn’t know what else to ask so he simply said, "I love you." And that was enough. He kissed her.

                               ****

     Saturday they planned to spend preparing for the next day. Michael figured Sunday would be the best time to hit The Team offices as they only had a skeleton staff on weekends. After breakfast, Michael insisted on teaching Evie the basics of self-defense.

“If I don’t come back, you may have to run on your own and you should know how to defend yourself.”

“Don’t talk like that.” Evie protested.

     “Every woman should know the basics.” He explained, “One day you’ll be happy you took the time to learn.”

He ran through a series of stretches. “Do these every day.”

“Everyday?” Evie could feel the pull in her hamstrings and decided that she didn’t think she could do this absolutely everyday. Maybe every two days. Or ten days, or ten months. She felt like a pretzel as she turned and bent and twisted.

“We have to be ready for anything.” Michael took his time, covering everything from how to get out of a hold, relieving someone of a weapon and how to sweep someone off their feet. An hour later they were working on the proper way to throw a punch and Evie was ready to quit.

     "Remember Evie," Michael said as they stood facing each other. "Make a tight fist."

     She balled up her fist and poked it in his direction.

     "No, thumb on the outside." It was the tenth time he had to remind her of that.

     "I know!" Evie fixed her thumb.

     "Check your stance." He said before she could try again. “Feet shoulder width apart for balance.”

     Sighing loudly, she did as she was told. 

     "Try again."

     She punched at him.

     "No. Remember don't throw it from your shoulder. It has to come from your whole body. Pivot your foot, lean into it."

     "I am leaning into it."

     "Not just your shoulders, your whole body has to do this."

     "I know."

     "Again." He waved her forward, holding out his hand as a target, and she punched.

     "Not bad. Again."

     She punched out again and hit his hand with a loud smack.

     "Good, that’s it. Do it again."

     "Michael, I'm tired of doing this. My arms hurt."

     "Just a couple more." Michael coaxed, "You need the practice."

     Heaving another great sigh Evie fired three rapid punches at the hand Michael held up for her. Right, left, right! Smack! Smack! Smack!

     "Good, you're getting better."

     "Better? They were perfect!"

     "Well, perfect is an over statement."

     "What was wrong with them?" Evie asked indignantly. "They were perfect."

     "No power. You have to learn to put power behind your punches or the only things you'll hurt are mosquitoes and butterflies."

     "Hmph!" Evie crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. Here she was working her butt off and all he could do was criticize.

     He moved on to the basics of killing a man and she cringed at the thought. He told her to be tough.

     "Don't get scared when someone comes at you. Get mad," he told her. "Get real mad. Think; How dare they touch you."

     "It's not that easy." She said, remembering. "When I think about the pain…"

     "Don't think. React. Think about this; one will live and one will die…which one do you want to be?"

     "It's not that easy," she said, a bit put off that it could be so easy for him. "You're not a woman. You could never understand."

     That stopped him. Her ex-boyfriend had hurt her bad, and instilled a fear he would never understand, deep in her soul.

     "Okay," his tone softened a bit, "How about if you repeat to yourself something like; No one hits me! Saying something like that over and over might put you in a tougher frame of mind."

     She looked at him a moment and then nodded. "I'll try it but I don't think it will work."

     Michael reached out and tapped her on the shoulder.

     "I'm hitting you!" he taunted, and tapped her again. "Got you again."

`    She swatted his hands away.

     "Are you mad?" he asked, and tapped her head.

     She balled her fist and took another poke at him. He dodged it easily.

     "Say it Evie," he tapped her chin.

     Feeling foolish, she said it anyway, "No one hits me!"

     "What? I can't hear you." Michael dodged just out of her way. "Are you saying something?"

     "No one hits me!"

     "What?"

     Evie felt the fire start up inside her as she aimed again, "No one hits me!"

     She said it over and over as Michael dodged this way and that, just avoiding her fists. Finally she was shouting, "No one hits me!"

     With a fake of the right Evie brought her left square into Michael's midsection, catching him by surprise and knocking the wind out of him. He doubled over and held his gut.

     "Oh no, Michael!" She hadn't meant to hurt him. "I'm so sorry!"

`    "No, you’re not," Michael gasped. "That was great. Don't forget that."

     "Are you okay?"

     "Of course." He straightened as he gulped in air, "Next lesson."

Convinced Evie knew how to punch, Michael went on to teach her the most vulnerable targets on a man's body. How to bring him down with just one hand and how to line up a good shot. He knew she would never remember everything but he hoped if just a fraction of it sunk in, she might be able to do a fair job defending herself.

     "Why don't I teach you how to use your legs."

     "My legs?"

     "Yeah, this is one all girls should know."

     Evie smiled, "I think I know that one."

     "Oh you do, do you?"

     "Yeah!"

     After considering her a moment Michael went to the tent and retrieved their duffel bag.

     "Here. You can kick this."

     "What's the matter? Don't you trust me?" she asked innocently.

     Holding the duffel in front of his vitals, Michael said, “No.”

Then he explained that it was her attacker and she should let him have it. She was glad to comply.

     After bringing her knee up, she added a quick right, left, right punch to the abdominal area of the duffel.

     All Michael could say was, "You kick better than you punch."

     Evie stuck her tongue out at him.

     They worked on the self-defense for another hour or so before Evie begged off and refused to do one more kick or punch.  She retreated to the tent to rest what she said was a body full of torn ligaments and pulled muscles. 

Michael smiled. The woman wasn't a black belt, but if she remembered half of what she did today, she might have a fighting chance. If anything happened to him she was going to need every resource she could gather. He'd give her an hour to rest then he was going to teach her a few things about guns and explosives.

     He spent the rest of the afternoon perfecting their arsenal. Cleaning and reloading, making sure everything was in good working order. He was glad he had kept the guns he took off Janerone and Bart at the house. The way things were going, it looked like they may be useful after all.