Later that afternoon, Doug returned to escort her to the clinic where the surgeon would perform the operation.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"Yes," she nodded.
"All right," he said, "Let's go."
They walked down the hallway toward the large garage where the van was parked. When they arrived, he slid open the door and she climbed inside. Once she was seated, he closed the door and drove off without saying a word.
They made their way through the city, heading north towards the highway. He followed the signs until they reached the freeway, where he merged onto the eastbound lanes. Suddenly she felt the van lurch to the left, and then violently sway to the right.
“What’s going on up there?!” She yelled.
Doug opened the partition, “We’ve got a tail! Some kind of government agent!"
"Why didn't you say something earlier?!" She screamed.
"I didn't know it was an issue until we hit the freeway," he replied, "Now we've got to go fast."
He slammed the accelerator down and the van shot forward down the highway. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, and he fought to control the vehicle as it careened down the road.
"Can you lose them?" she asked.
"No," he replied, "I'm doing my best, but I don't think I can shake them!"
"What are we going to do?" Lily asked.
"We're going to have to ditch the van," he said, "If we stay with it, they'll be able to follow us."
"But what about my implant? If I leave the van, they’ll find me for sure! What am I supposed to do?" she pleaded.
"We'll figure it out," he said, "For now, just sit tight."
The van swerved and lurched again, throwing Lily against the seat. She cried out in pain as her head struck the window.
Doug cursed, "I don't know what else to do."
She heard the screech of tires as the van accelerated suddenly.
"Hold on!" he yelled.
The van bounced wildly down the highway, and she clenched her teeth as she braced herself. The engine revved loudly, and she heard the sound of gears spinning as they struggled to catch up with the car that was pursuing them.
Suddenly, she saw headlights in front of them and a large black SUV barreling straight towards them. With no time to react, Doug slammed the brake pedal down hard and the van skidded to a halt at the side of the road. The SUV swerved to avoid hitting them, but they still clipped each other and careened into the guardrail.
The van came to a sudden stop and skidded sideways across the shoulder. Both vehicles stopped abruptly as the vehicles collided and spun off of the road. She heard a loud crunching sound as the van's rear bumper smashed into the SUV's front end. Their sides crumpled together, knocking Lily's head against the window.
Doug grabbed something from under his seat and and ran around to the other side. He opened the door and helped her out of the vehicle. He was holding a sawed-off shotgun.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said, "I think so."
"Good," he nodded, "Come on, we've got to get out of here."
He grabbed her hand and led her away from the wrecked cars and down the shoulder of the road. Almost immediately a series of alerts popped up in her NeuReality HUD the instant she was no longer protected by the Faraday Cage inside the van. She swatted the pop-up alerts away as if they were a swarm of flies.
“Halt!” She heard one of the agents yell, "Stop where you are."
"Run!" Doug shouted, dragging her along with him.
The two of them sprinted across the highway, causing several cars to swerve and collide into each other. Another car stopped abruptly as Doug pointed his shotgun at the driver.
“Get out!” he yelled.
The driver stared at him in shock. Then he turned and started to push the gas pedal down. An instant later, Doug fired the gun and the buckshot shattered the man's mirror and window and left a spatter of dents across the door.
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The driver slammed on his brakes again and raised his hands in surrender.
“I said get out!” Doug repeated, "Now!"
The driver jumped out of the car with a gasp and rushed away.
"Was that really necessary?" Lily gave him a dirty look.
"I didn't want to hurt anyone," Doug said, "But I had to do something. We can't risk being captured. Hurry! Get in!"
She ran over to the passenger side and climbed in just before she heard a gunshot and a bullet embedded in the door. Doug jumped into the driver's seat and slammed his foot on the pedal. They screeched away in the opposite direction, leaving behind accident scenes on both sides of the highway, blocking up traffic.
"Great," he sighed, "Now we've got to worry about the NSA shooting at us too."
"At least we got away," she said, "That's what matters."
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After her nerves had settled, she scanned through the messages that had appeared in her NeuReality HUD while Doug raced down the highway. Most of them were from Commander Arlington, demanding answers for why she had gone rogue. But there was also a voicemail from the Chicago South Jail. Curiosity getting the better of her, she played the message.
It was from Allan.
“Lily, honey. I know you’re probably mad at me right now, but I need your help. The police won’t believe me, but your boss Mr. Demyan tried to kill me! I honestly have no idea how I’m still alive, but he trapped me in a barbed wire cage until I escaped. It’s a long, crazy story. And now I’m being held in the Chicago South Jail for charges they haven’t even explained to me yet. Please call my firm and ask Brad to represent me! And Lily, I’m sorry for embarrassing you the other night. I love you.”
She turned to Doug, surprised, “Allan’s in jail.”
“He is?” Doug was surprised, “When did that happen?”
“I’m not sure. My HUD has been deactivated since last night.” she shrugged, “But he claims Timur Demyan tried to kill him.”
“Timur?" Doug exclaimed, "What happened?"
“I don't know, but Allan says he was locked in a steel cage until he escaped. Sounds a bit weird, but… I don't know, maybe he's telling the truth."
"Maybe," he said, "Let's go talk to him."
“And how exactly are we going to do that? The NSA is tracking my every move right now. They'll find us within minutes."
"Right." he groaned, "We have to be careful."
As they sped down the road, she noticed that the HUD was displaying a map of the area around them. She zoomed in on the highway where they'd just been driving and she saw a blinking yellow dot representing a civilian vehicle.
"Hey," she said, "There's another car on the freeway, following us."
"You're right," he said, "It's a black SUV!"
They drove down the exit ramp and onto the next freeway. As soon as they passed the exit, the SUV began speeding up. There were three vehicles chasing after them this time.
"We're dead," Doug said, "We can't outrun all those vehicles."
"We could always throw them off," she suggested.
"Throw them off?" he asked, "How?"
"Well, you can drive like a maniac and try to crash into them!" she said.
"Ha! No way!" he shook his head, "We need a plan."
"Okay," she said, "Here's my idea: They clearly don’t know we’re on to them yet, considering they’re still maintaining a distance. We get off the freeway at the next exit, then we speed ahead to the on-ramp and get right back on the freeway. They’re far enough behind that it might disorient them. Then at the next opening in the median, make a u-turn and head the opposite direction.”
“Good thinking, let's give it a shot!” Doug said.
As soon as they were took the exit, he floored the accelerator. The car shot forward as he sped through the intersection and back on to the freeway on-ramp. He sped past other vehicles and cut in between lanes, driving as fast as he could without risking a collision.
The highway was mostly empty, but he saw that the other drivers were beginning to notice their recklessness. One woman flipped him the finger as he roared past in a cloud of dust.
She looked over her shoulder and saw the black SUVs were gone. At least for the moment anyway. It wouldn’t be long before they figured out how they had slipped away.
Up ahead she saw an upcoming break in the cement barrier that was normally used for service vehicles and the police.
“Over there!” She pointed.
Doug braked suddenly and came to a screeching halt on the side of the road, and then quickly backed up into the opening, bringing them to the opposite side of the freeway. He made a sharp u-turn and they sped away.
Suddenly a new alert appeared in her HUD. Movement had been detected inside Allan’s house. She clicked on the pop-up, and activated the hidden camera system. She recognized the intruder immediately.
Timur? What is he doing there?
“I need you to take me to Allan’s home immediately.” she insisted.
He looked at her like she was crazy, “Are you sure? The NSA probably has agents staking the place out waiting for you.”
“That’s a risk I’ll have to take.” she sighed. “Timur is there. I need to confront him.”
“But if what Allan said is true, isn’t that a bad idea?” he asked.
“I don't care," she said, "I don't want to hear any more lies from that bastard. Plus, I can use this opportunity to get some answers."
“There’s probably an APB out for us already, and I’m sure this car has already been reported as stolen.”
"You're probably right," she said, "We have to hurry. I know the fastest way to get there."
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She jumped out of the car and ran across the yard, fumbling with her keys and dropping them. She picked them up, unlocked the door, and rushed inside. The front door opened to reveal a mess. Allan’s home had been ransacked, and she stared in shock as a set of books toppled off a bookshelf and revealed who the perpetrator was.
“Hello?” she called from the doorway.
“Umm…” Timur stammered in consternation. “Good evening, Lily.”
“How did you get in here?” She leaned on the banister and panted from running.
“I, uhh…”
“And why are you destroying Allan’s house?!”
“That’s a bit complicated…” He stammered. “When does Allan get home?”
“He’s in jail.” Her eyes betrayed utter contempt. “Why are you here?”
“I might ask you the same thing. Shouldn’t you be at the office?”
“I quit today,” she seethed. “Now get out of here!”
“Excuse me?! You can’t quit! I made you! And you haven’t given me proper notice.”
“On the contrary, Illinois follows the rule of Employment-at-will,” she cited, “which means an employer or employee can terminate the relationship at any time, without any reason or cause, with or without notice.”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh, come off it. This is about what I said yesterday morning, isn’t it?”
Lily’s eyes lit up suddenly. “Yes. Exactly.”
“You can’t be serious,” he huffed. “We’ve had this mutual playfulness for years. Why are you throwing a hissy fit now?”
She crossed her arms defiantly. “There’s been nothing mutual about your constant harassment!”
Timur forcefully grabbed her chin and shook her face. “I demand respect from my employees!”
She shook free of him. “In that case, I guess it’s a good thing that I’m no longer one of your groveling employees!”
“You stupid worthless wench!” he screamed.
He shoved her hard, and she toppled over the backside of the couch. Her face collided with the hardwood floor with a resounding crack and her world went black.
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