I’m running on reflex, panic, adrenaline. The old lady is still in the cop’s face, blocking him as he tries to lunge toward me. So I’m able to grab the package and messenger bag. Then I’m on the bike, praying that it will still ride.
I dodge around the cars in the traffic jam, headed the wrong way up a one-way street. The cop is yelling for me to stop. Not a chance. How the hell can I explain the package? If I just hand it over, I’ll get dragged into whatever scheme Viktor has going, probably get booked as an accomplice. But if I run, maybe I can ditch the package. Maybe the cop didn’t get a good look at me. Maybe I can get away clean.
Pretty quickly, I figure out that this isn’t going to be easy. I stick to alleys, taking shortcuts through underground parking garages, staying out of sight. Hiding in the shadows every time I see a police cruiser. Which happens more than I would like. After an hour of this, I’m totally freaked out. Totally exhausted. And I don’t know where I’m going, I’m just running. Finally, I find a locked-up loading dock and hide behind a garbage container. Curling into a ball to try and stay warm, I pull out my cell phone. There’s only one person I want to talk to.
“Hello?” Robin answers, happy. From the music in the background, she must be celebrating after the alleycat race at a club or something.
“Robin, I’m in trouble.”
Her mood changes quickly when I explain about the dead run. About the money. About the cops.
“I can’t make the drop now. The cops will totally catch me, stick me in jail,” I say. My teeth are chattering. “I think I should ditch the package. Stuff it in a Dumpster. End it, right here.”
“You think the clients are going to be okay with that? No way. They’ll just come after you.” There’s silence for a moment while she thinks. “You need to get the package back. To Viktor. This is his problem to fix.”
Maybe she’s right. But that means getting out there again, dodging cops. I watch the rain start to come down, making ripples in the puddles. Far off, I hear a siren and wonder if they are looking for me.
“Robin, I don’t know if I can do this.”
“Shut up, Sam. You know you can. I know you can.” I hear what she’s trying to do, but it sounds flat and false. Still, maybe it helps.
“Look, I’ll meet you at Champion, okay?” she says. “Just focus. Twenty minutes. I’ll be there. We’ll deal with Viktor together.”