Kelly came out. “Dalton, we can give you a ride.”
“No, I’ll catch an Uber,” he said. “I need time alone to think.”
He wandered over to a vending machine and inserted coins to get a can of Coke. It clunked as it hit the bottom. As he was taking the can out, the same sedan that had pulled up outside the restaurant rolled into the parking lot on the far side. He squinted thinking it was just a vehicle that looked the same but it wasn’t.
Dalton burst into a sprint. The driver saw him and accelerated to cut him off. Brakes squealed, and as the vehicle swerved, Dalton launched himself over the hood and continuing on until he reached the motel door. He banged on it just as the driver hopped out. Kelly answered the door.
“Change your mind?”
Dalton shoved her in, kicked the door closed behind him, put the chain on and backed up. “They’re here. They’re here,” he said as he frantically moved to the rear of the motel room and looked out a window to see if they could escape.
Kelly frowned. “Who’s here?”
“Who do you think?”
Her eyes widened just as three gunshots rang out, rounds drilling through the front door. Dalton hurried to open the back window as that was the only way out. He beckoned Kelly to climb out. She grabbed her bag and tossed it as Zach reached behind his back and pulled a Glock.
“Where the hell did you get that?” Kelly asked.
“It was Sanders’,” he replied, not wasting a second to return fire. “Go!” he said, firing a round to hold the men at bay. Kelly and Dalton clambered out the window and waded through thick underbrush. Fortunately the rear of the motel wasn’t easy to access from the front thanks to fencing and woods.
“Zach!” Kelly yelled.
He was smart enough not to play the hero, he practically dove out the open window. He landed in a heap, the gun flying out of his hand. Kelly snagged it up and Dalton gave Zach a hand to his feet then they took off into the tree line that surrounded the motel.
They kept moving until they heard the sound of sirens drawing near.
“Great, now the cops are going to arrest us,” Kelly said.
“We didn’t do anything,” Zach said. “We’ll be fine. We’ll go back and explain and…”
“Are you serious? You do that and you’re liable to find yourself behind bars. You returned fire, remember?” Dalton said.
“Self-defense.”
“Yeah, with Sanders’ gun. Think about how that will look.”
Zach for once didn’t have a comeback for that. They trudged through the heavy woods and circled around with the hope of getting a better look at the scene. Crouched in the tall underbrush, Dalton observed the chaotic scene. Two cruisers were parked outside the motel, an ambulance arrived shortly after but thankfully it didn’t look as if anyone was taken from the scene. More likely the owner of the motel was being checked over. The door to their motel room was open and a cop emerged only to head over to the owner and speak to them. A few seconds later they watched the two of them head into the office. “Please tell me you paid in cash,” Zach asked.
“Actually I did.”
“Thank God for that. And you booked in with a false name?”
“Of course not. Why would I do that? I didn’t expect this to happen.”
Zach pawed his face. “Just when I thought you were learning. You don’t go giving your actual name when you book into a motel with cash. That’s the whole point.”
“Oh I’m sorry I don’t carry around fake ID.”
He sighed. “Well if we can just get the vehicle, we can get the hell out of here,” Zach said. “Let’s hope the owner didn’t….” His hope faded as the cop came out of the office and walked over to the rental car and peered in through the window on the driver’s side. “Of course. You gave them your license number.”
“The clerk asked for it. They don’t just want anyone parking in the lot,” Kelly said.
Instead of berating her or making her feel bad, Zach just shook his head.
“Well that’s that. We might as well go hand ourselves in. At least we can tell them our side of the story,” Kelly said. “Hopefully they’ll assume the holes in the door came from the men.”
“You want to go over there, be my guest. Not me. I’m hitching a ride out of town and to the nearest bus station then heading back to the airport. This vacation has been nothing but hell,” Zach said walking away.
“Zach. The gun?” Dalton said.
He took it out of his waistband. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll dump it in the river.”
“No. I can use it. Let me take it.”
Zach’s brow furrowed and he was reluctant at first but gave it to him.
Dalton looked over at Kelly. “What you gonna do?”
“Go down there. I don’t have much choice. You guys can go. The room is in my name.”
“You sure?”
“Trust me. It’s not the first time I’ve talked to police,” she said swallowing hard. “I’ll be in touch and let you know how it plays out.”
Dalton nodded. “Stay safe.”
She gave a strained smile as he took off trying to catch up with Zach.
After the sun waned behind pine trees that evening, patients received their medication and some gathered in the day room to watch TV. Jack headed for Mack’s room, curious to know how to escape. He could hear singing long before he saw him. As Jack rounded the corner into the room, Rocket Man was lying on his bed. He had an entire room to himself. Jack had come to learn that not everyone shared rooms. Depending on their situation, threat level, time inside
