15. Unlikely Allies

This chapter is a little long, but there's LOTS of action.

Chrissy pulled Becka along by the arm as they walked down the hallway to Benjamin's apartment. They reached his door and Chrissy was preparing to knock when they heard a sharp cry of pain come from inside. She reached for the doorknob.

“Wait!” whispered Becka.

They heard a man's heavily accented voice shout, “Where is the card?! Tell me!” It was followed by another cry of pain. Chrissy drew the gun from her belt and burst into the apartment. Benjamin was seated in a chair in the middle of the living room. A strange man was standing over him with his back to Chrissy. When Chrissy entered he spun around and pointed a pistol at her and fired two shots. Chrissy ducked, fired a shot in return and dove back out into the hallway. She rolled once and came up into a crouch off to the side with the gun pointing toward the apartment door. Becka was standing next to the door, flattened against the wall. They both flinched when they heard another gunshot come from inside the apartment followed by a crash.

After several seconds of silence, Becka whispered loudly, “Is there a back door to his apartment?”

Chrissy nodded.

“It sounded like he went out that way,” she said.

Chrissy got up and very carefully entered the apartment, holding the gun in front of her and sweeping it around the room like she'd seen them do in police dramas on TV. Becka cautiously followed her. Benjamin was lying face down on the floor. Chrissy slowly continued searching the rest of the apartment. She soon returned, tucking the gun back into her pants.

“You're right,” she said, “He ducked out the back way. He left the door wide open.” Becka was standing over Benjamin. Chrissy furrowed her brow. “Is he...?”

“He's still alive. Untie me!” Becka demanded.

“No way!”

“Jonathon trained me in first aid, especially gunshot wounds. I can help him!”

Chrissy paused for several moments, then grabbed Becka by the arm and hauled her into the kitchen. She opened a drawer and rooted through it until she found a paring knife. She cut Becka's bonds with it. Becka rubbed her wrists and shook her hands for several seconds to get the circulation going again, then grabbed a dish towel and hurried over to Benjamin. She carefully turned his head to the side. His face was cover with blood.

“Was he shot in the head?” asked Chrissy. She was worried that she might have accidentally shot him when she fired at the other man.

“No. It looks like he tried to make a break for it and was shot from behind. He must've hit his head on the coffee table on the way down.”

“He was shot in the back?”

“A little lower,” Becka answered as she tugged his pants down.

“Oh... I should call 911.”

“Don't bother,” responded Becka, “I'm sure half the building has already done that by now. We probably only have a few minutes before the cops show up.” She used the towel to apply pressure to the wound on his right buttock to stop the bleeding. “He's waking up!” she said.

Benjamin groaned. “Ohhh... what happened?”

“You were shot,” answered Becka.

“Where?”

“Right here in your apartment.”

“No, I mean where--”

“Benjamin!” Chrissy interrupted him, “Did that guy get the memory card?”

“No. How come it doesn't hurt?”

“Oh, it will once the adrenalin wears off, believe me!” replied Becka, “Where's the card?”

“Who is that?!” he asked suspiciously.

“She's with me,” answered Chrissy, “Where's the card?”

“I filed it under 'O' for Oppressed Peoples of Myanmar.”

Becka gave Chrissy a puzzled look. Chrissy just shrugged and started looking around the living room. “Which filing cabinet? There's... half a dozen of them.”

“No,” he said, “Encyclopedias.”

Chrissy looked at the massive bookshelf against the wall and saw an old set of encyclopedias. She grabbed the one marked 'O' and opened it. While she searched, Becka saw a young man cautiously peering into the apartment through the front door. She pointed at him.

“You!” she ordered, “Come here!”

The young man began backing away, shaking his head. What Becka did next surprised everyone and even made Chrissy pause her search to look at her with surprise. She went hysterical. “Oh, my God!! My boyfriend's been shot! He's dying! Help me, pleeease!”

The young man came back into the apartment. “Boyfriend? I thought... he was gay.”

“I'm dying?!” Benjamin asked in a worried voice.

Becka grabbed the young man's hand and placed it on the towel over Benjamin's wound. “Apply pressure here to stop the bleeding,” she said in an authoritative voice.

“But... I... wait...” he stammered.

Becka became hysterical again. “Oh, my God!! Pleeease help him! He'll bleed to death!”

“Okay! Okay! I'm pressing! See?”

“I found it!” said Chrissy triumphantly as she held the card up. “Would you believe it? They actually have an entry in here for Oppressed Peoples of Myanmar.”

Becka jumped up. “Let's go,” she said.

They were almost to the door when Becka grabbed Chrissy's shoulder and asked, “Can I have my gun back?”

“No!”

“Then at least make sure the coast is clear before you run out there!”

Chrissy carefully peeked out the door and peered up and down the hallway. All she saw were several other heads peeking out of various doors like a bunch of vertical prairie dogs to see what all the commotion was. “It's all clear!” she said.

They ran to the stairwell. “Hey!! What about me?!” shouted the young man helping Benjamin.

On the way down, Chrissy asked, “Who was the guy with the gun?”

“There's a couple of Serbs after the memory card, too. I'm guessing he was one of them.”

“How did he know Benjamin had it?”

“How should I know?! They probably hacked into your voice mail or something. That's child's play”

They reached the lobby and ran for the front door. As they exited they found a police cruiser parked in front of the building with its lights flashing. An officer was approaching the front door cautiously. Chrissy quickly hid the gun behind her back. “Great!” she muttered, “What do we do now?”

But Becka didn't even hesitate. She ran up to the police officer, grabbed him by the shoulders and started shaking him. “My boyfriend's been shot!!” she wailed, “You have to help him!! Pleeease!!”

“Now, calm down, Ma'am,” he replied, drawing his service weapon, “Who shot him?!”

“Some man tried to rob us! He shot my boyfriend and ran out the back way! My boyfriend is in apartment... uh...” She looked at Chrissy.

“312,” said Chrissy.

“Apartment 312!” continued Becka, “Help him! He's dying!”

The policeman gently pushed Becka aside. “Alright, alright. I'll go check it out.” He started up the front steps. Before he entered the building, he turned around and pointed at them. “You two stay right there!” he ordered.

“Hurry! Pleeease!!” keened Becka. As soon as he was inside, Becka slapped Chrissy's shoulder and said, “C'mon! My car's right around the corner.” Chrissy was starting to acquire a grudging respect for Becka.

They both ran to her car and Becka hopped into the driver's seat while Chrissy got in the passenger side. Becka started the motor and pulled out into traffic. “Where's my Blue tooth?” she asked.

“I... um... guess I lost it,” answered Chrissy.

“Great! Get my phone out of my purse!” she ordered.

“Hey! Do I have to establish who's in charge again?!” snapped Chrissy.

“Pleeease?!” replied Becka sarcastically. Chrissy dug Becka's phone out of her purse and handed it to her. Becka punched some numbers and put the phone to her ear. “Jon? It's Becka. There's been an 'incident'. Someone got shot... a friend of Chrissy's. I think he'll be okay, but now the cops are involved. I'll give a full report when I get there... Chrissy has the card and she's with me. I'm bringing her in now.”

“The hell you are!” said Chrissy, pointing the gun at her, “We're going to Hiram Park!”

Becka ignored her. “Uh-oh,” she said, looking in the rear view mirror, “Looks like someone's following us.” Chrissy turned around and looked. She saw several cars behind them. She wondered which one Becka was talking about. “Of course I can lose him,” said Becka into the phone, “After all, I was taught by the best... We'll be there in about twenty minutes. Bye Jon.”

She disconnected and tossed the phone into Chrissy's lap. “I'd buckle-up if I were you,” she said as she stomped the accelerator to the floor.

Author's Note

Suggestions and constructive criticisms are always welcome.

Reviews

[C. Rose]

Telling: She was worried that she might have accidentally shot him when she fired at the other man.

Very amused by how they drew in the young man to take care of Benjamin and then left.

Missing punctuation after "That's child's play"

It was not easy finding this again. I had forgotten the title and there are many many Craigs on this site. Luckily I remembered that one of your chapters placed in my "To The Death" contest. Glad I found your book again :)

[Craig2591]

Thanks. Glad you are continuing it.

[SpeedyHobbit Armstrong]

Nice! Twist! I did imagine they could be friends or at least allies and once I saw the title... wham! Knew it had to be those two. Let's see if they actually stay allies. And poor Ben, jeez, that had to suck!

[Tina Kline]

Nice chapter...action packed and exciting. I can't help wondering now who is in charge...Chrissy or Becka. Good writing and good overall story.

[Craig2591]

Thank you very much. I think under different circumstances they might make good friends.

[John Lauterbach]

I imagine Ben has to be losing his mind. Serbians shooting him, strange women in his apartment and the police all in a few minutes.

I like Chrissy's imitation of cop dramas to check the apartment and the vertical prariedogs. I feel like Chrissy rolling to the doorway after being shot at is a little much. I've never been shot at, but I imagine it's terrifying and I wouldn't want to roll anywhere afterwards.

Good chapter, I'm curious whether the relationship with Becka will hold or not.

[Craig2591]

I was thinking the same things about Ben and might work that into the story. Thanks for the review.

[Nienor Niniel]

This is the first time I've been on in a week, and I've just finished reading the last three chapters. Excellent! The pacing and development of the plot is perfect. I thought the Ian-Vs.-Jonathan chapter was very sweet. The chemistry between Chrissy and Becka is right on the money.

[Craig2591]

Thank you very much!