Taking the Highway

GUNS SHOULD BE LOUDER, Talic thought. They should roar like cannons, the way that guns did in old west movies. Guns should blare and holler and command attention and let everyone know they’d been fired.

Today’s weapons were far too quiet for something that put holes in people. Even a good service weapon like the Guardian only squeaked and popped. If it weren’t for the extreme pain in his left ankle, the searing sensation that seemed to burn its way up his calf, you’d hardly know the gun had been fired at all. Sonofabitch it hurt. It felt like every nerve in his body was clustered at his left ankle, and all of them had been ignited at once.

The coffee cart in the corner sported a stack of paper napkins and he’d already used every single one to staunch the blood. A white linen cloth lined the cart, and he pulled it from under the pot and cups. He sat on the floor and tied it around the ankle, trying not to look at it. The more he looked, the more his heart raced and his palms felt clammy and the rest of him felt cold. He could pass out later. Now, he had a job to do.

He held the Guardian loosely, but pointed it enough in Madison’s direction to give her the hint. He jerked his head toward Sofia. “Untie her.”

Madison didn’t move.

“Do it. Or I’ll put you in her place.”

Madison turned to him and clapped her hands together. “Okay, listen to me. I have a safe house in Chicago and drop accounts in Toledo. I will wire you the money. But damn it, Jae Geoffrey, you have to let me go right now.”

Talic sighed and lifted the Guardian, aiming it squarely at Madison’s face. “I said, untie her.”

“Fine. Your funeral.” Madison found scissors in the desk and stood behind Sofia. She left the tape over Sofia’s mouth, instead working on her ankles and wrists. Talic was glad of that. He didn’t want to hear what Sofia had to say. That last thing he needed was a thirty-year old Sergeant telling him how magnificently he’d twisted his own dick.

Talic scooted himself the few meters to the wall. Even moving that much made him feel like his ankle was being hacked with dull picks. He leaned his back against the wall and caught his breath, waiting for the dizziness to pass. He wouldn’t be moving again any time soon.

Sofia stood and pulled the tape off her mouth. “Ah, shit!” She bent over and spat. “That hurts.” She stood and rubbed her cheeks, caught sight of Madison, and stomped one foot toward her, chuckling as Madison shied back.

Sofia grabbed the roll of duct tape from the desk, then snatched up two plastic spoons from the coffee cart. She broke the handles off the spoons, lined them up on either side of her pinky and ring finger, and used the duct tape to splint it together.

Talic watched Sofia’s actions, keeping Madison in his line of vision at the same time. Careful. No sudden movements. Nothing that would spook either of them.

Sofia gingerly touched her left eye, which had swollen nearly shut.

“You okay?” Talic asked. “Can you even see?”

“I’ll be fine.” Sofia glared at him out of her good eye. “No thanks to you.”

“Hey, by the time I got here, you were already in the chair. I played the hand I was dealt.”

“You mean the hand you dealt yourself.” She nodded at the Guardian. “You got this? Because I need some water.”

“Bring me some.” Talic slowly bent his right knee, trying to get comfortable. His left leg, stretched out in front of him, throbbed with every heartbeat, a stabbing pain with every breath.

Madison swatted the blades of the scissors against her palm a few times, then put them back in the drawer. She fiddled with everything on the desktop, lining up the pens, the potted plant, and a series of power cords. Her movements had become jerky and manic.

Talic rubbed the handle of his gun with his thumb. He wanted to make Madison sit down and shut up, but his resources were limited. If he didn’t want to pass out, he had to sit still, conserve his energy. So he remained silent while she paced and muttered.

Madison patted her hair into place and headed toward the exit. “That was a nice little show, pretending to be on her side, but do you really think it will fool anyone? You’re not a good cop. You’re barely a good man. You’re lucky I’m taking care of you.”

Talic grabbed her ankle as she passed. With his other hand, he flicked off his weapon’s safety. He made a show of reading the load indicator. “If you get anywhere near that door, I will empty this gun into you. I’ve got seven bullets. I’m going to start with your legs, one bullet for each. Two for your arms. Two for your chest. Then I will stand over your dead body and use the last bullet to shoot your face off.”

Madison yanked her ankle out of his grasp. She took a step back, tottering on her high heels. “Two for my chest?”

“Not sure you have a heart. Better shoot twice.”

The door slammed open and Sofia burst into the room. She rounded the desk and turned on the companel there, flicking through options.

Talic stared at her. “Where’s my water?”

Sofia turned the screen to face him.

The corner of the screen showed the CI newsnet logo, but the voice was Ugly Ben, one of those moron spinners always trying to stir up trouble. He was shouting, but that didn’t mean anything. Spinners shouted about the weather. Talic ignored the jumbled words and focused on the visuals. The low-resolution image bounced in and out of focus as whoever held the camera walked through the scene. This was no edited spin, this was live. Even with the poor image, he recognized the 75/375 interchange, both highways empty of cars.

Highways were never empty. Never. Another Overdrive crash must have stopped traffic further upstream. But two highways at once? And why did Sofia look so happy?

Madison sagged onto her knees. She crossed her arms and gripped her shoulders, leaning forward. She seemed to have forgotten Talic, more horrified at what she saw on the screen than the threat to her life.

The spinner finally shut his mouth and a legit anchor took over the report. The camera swung around to an on-ramp, where men in suits and ties stood arm-in-arm, body-blocking the on-ramp.

“We have reports that the fourths have stopped traffic from entering 75 near East Grand and the 375 spur,” the anchor was saying. “Hundreds of fourths, perhaps thousands, have joined the effort. It isn’t clear how the fourths knew that Overdrive had failed, but their quick thinking and coordinated effort have saved countless lives.”

“No,” Madison whispered. “They can’t do this to me. They can’t.” She stood and turned to Talic. “Stay. Go. I don’t care. I’m leaving.”

Talic shot once, a tiny, stuttering pop from his weapon that seemed to boom into the room.

Madison froze, staring at the hole in the floor a centimeter from her foot.

“Well, shit,” Talic said. “I’ll have to kill you with six.”

Sofia advanced on her with the duct tape. “You are, as of this moment, under arrest. You have the right to remain silent.” She ripped off a piece of duct tape and pressed it to Madison’s lips. “And I’m going to make sure you do.”