eyes saddened and he fought at the threatening tears. A lump formed in the back of his throat, and he needed a minute to regain his composure.
“Did you do anything else besides blow things up and stop the bleeding?” she questioned.
He swallowed hard and then casually said, “Well, usually we trained troops in foreign lands in the ways of war, but we also had our own missions like hostage retrieval, reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, counter terrorism, that kind of thing.
“And how long did you spend in the military again?” She felt foolish for asking but after everything that occurred between them, she couldn’t remember this piece of information.
“I was in for eight years. I joined right after I graduated with my Bachelors in Political Science, when I was 22.”
“How old are you?” she wondered as she kept her eyes on the road in front of them. She knew she was pressing her luck by asking so many questions.
Playing twenty questions with her wasn’t getting old. He found he liked being interrogated by her. “Thirty, as of last June,” he smiled. “Why? How old are you?” he asked as he looked at her.
“I’m 28, also as of last June,” she returned his smile.
Depressing the knob for the radio, he turned it on and quickly found “Lips of an Angel” by Nickleback, effectively ending her interrogation. He allowed the station to play until it faded out. Then he tuned the radio to find another contemporary rock station which was playing “Alone Together” by Fall Out Boy. That was his favorite song and he had watched “The Young Blood Chronicles” videos, parts one through eleven, over and over again.
They drove on in enjoyable silence listening to bands like Linkin Park and The Killers. She was most surprised when he stopped scanning the stations at Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love.” He kept peeking at her during Adele’s song, and it was making her feel awkward. The song talked about love. She spent so much time in her head, she never allowed herself to feel. Could she have feelings for Michael; she wanted him; was that a feeling? She had heard those stories about love at first sight, but her head didn’t believe in such nonsense.
They had been driving for three hours when he sat up and took notice of a car following close behind them. His erect posture alerted her to danger. He started driving more aggressively, weaving in and out of traffic. She looked behind her and spotted an SUV trying to keep up with them. “What’s going on,” she asked breathlessly as she gripped the grab handle above her head.
“Hang on tight. We’re being followed. I’m gonna try and lose ‘em,” he explained.
She sat up straighter herself, turning to stare behind them. All of the sudden, the driver’s side mirror exploded as she heard a pop. “They’re shooting at us!” she screamed.
“Calm down. I will get us out of this,” he chided. If ever there was a time he needed her to trust him, it was now. He couldn’t be worried about her and this clown chasing them at the same time. “Just close your eyes,” he suggested as he overtook a Toyota and squeezed between two cars.
She couldn’t. The man was still on their tail and was gaining speed. Michael took the next exit off of I95 onto a two-lane road. The man kept up and took the same exit. “Damn it,” he exclaimed.
The SUV behind them started shooting again. This time Michael had to swerve or the bullet would have busted the rear window. “Turn off the music. I need to concentrate,” he demanded. She complied and pressed the button. Michael sped away into a small town and turned down an alley. The SUV followed. Michael wasn’t giving the car behind them any time to fire shots. He banked hard to the right and ended up on the road headed out of town. He made another quick left onto a back country road. Just when she thought they had lost the SUV, here it came again, even faster.
“Whoever this fucker is, he’s trained,”
“Did you do anything else besides blow things up and stop the bleeding?” she questioned.
He swallowed hard and then casually said, “Well, usually we trained troops in foreign lands in the ways of war, but we also had our own missions like hostage retrieval, reconnaissance, unconventional warfare, counter terrorism, that kind of thing.
“And how long did you spend in the military again?” She felt foolish for asking but after everything that occurred between them, she couldn’t remember this piece of information.
“I was in for eight years. I joined right after I graduated with my Bachelors in Political Science, when I was 22.”
“How old are you?” she wondered as she kept her eyes on the road in front of them. She knew she was pressing her luck by asking so many questions.
Playing twenty questions with her wasn’t getting old. He found he liked being interrogated by her. “Thirty, as of last June,” he smiled. “Why? How old are you?” he asked as he looked at her.
“I’m 28, also as of last June,” she returned his smile.
Depressing the knob for the radio, he turned it on and quickly found “Lips of an Angel” by Nickleback, effectively ending her interrogation. He allowed the station to play until it faded out. Then he tuned the radio to find another contemporary rock station which was playing “Alone Together” by Fall Out Boy. That was his favorite song and he had watched “The Young Blood Chronicles” videos, parts one through eleven, over and over again.
They drove on in enjoyable silence listening to bands like Linkin Park and The Killers. She was most surprised when he stopped scanning the stations at Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love.” He kept peeking at her during Adele’s song, and it was making her feel awkward. The song talked about love. She spent so much time in her head, she never allowed herself to feel. Could she have feelings for Michael; she wanted him; was that a feeling? She had heard those stories about love at first sight, but her head didn’t believe in such nonsense.
They had been driving for three hours when he sat up and took notice of a car following close behind them. His erect posture alerted her to danger. He started driving more aggressively, weaving in and out of traffic. She looked behind her and spotted an SUV trying to keep up with them. “What’s going on,” she asked breathlessly as she gripped the grab handle above her head.
“Hang on tight. We’re being followed. I’m gonna try and lose ‘em,” he explained.
She sat up straighter herself, turning to stare behind them. All of the sudden, the driver’s side mirror exploded as she heard a pop. “They’re shooting at us!” she screamed.
“Calm down. I will get us out of this,” he chided. If ever there was a time he needed her to trust him, it was now. He couldn’t be worried about her and this clown chasing them at the same time. “Just close your eyes,” he suggested as he overtook a Toyota and squeezed between two cars.
She couldn’t. The man was still on their tail and was gaining speed. Michael took the next exit off of I95 onto a two-lane road. The man kept up and took the same exit. “Damn it,” he exclaimed.
The SUV behind them started shooting again. This time Michael had to swerve or the bullet would have busted the rear window. “Turn off the music. I need to concentrate,” he demanded. She complied and pressed the button. Michael sped away into a small town and turned down an alley. The SUV followed. Michael wasn’t giving the car behind them any time to fire shots. He banked hard to the right and ended up on the road headed out of town. He made another quick left onto a back country road. Just when she thought they had lost the SUV, here it came again, even faster.
“Whoever this fucker is, he’s trained,”
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