FirstLineFiction beta

from Contest #6

 

Almost everyone thought the man and the boy were father and son. Almost everyone. Both sported lean bodies and black hair. Both moved over the earth with the same swiftness. Their faces mirrored the same cheek bones and facial structure. The man watched the boy with piercing gray eyes.

The boy smiled. "Hey Mickey. What are we doin' tomorrow?"

Mickey mumbled to himself. Would the kid ever shut up, he thought.

"Well Mickey?" The boy waited.

"We'll go see a friend of mine," Mickey said.

"Oh this is goin' to be fun. Me and you, Mick-"

"Shut up, kid!" Mickey yelled. He thrust his hand through his black hair.

"But Mickey," the boy whispered.

Mickey glowered at him. "Go to bed!"

The boy sighed. Shoulders slumped, the boy shuffled down the hall. A door shut softly in the distance.

Mickey paced the living room of the three bedroom trailer. "I can't believe I let her talk me into this," he hissed.

A car pulled up along side the trailer and Mickey checked his holster under his left arm. He touched his gun and hid behind the front door.

The door opened an a woman walked in. Mickey grabbed her. The woman gasped and wiggled to get free.

"Mickey! Let me go!" The woman cried. She kicked his shin.

Mickey groaned and released her. "Hi, Liz," Mickey said, rubbing his shin.

Liz glanced around. "Where's Jimmy?"

Mickey pointed down the hall. "Bed."

"Good. Were you followed?" Liz whispered.

"Yes." Mickey said. "A big black van followed me from the school. I tried to lose them." He shrugged.

Liz exhaled. Her face turned red. "I told you to..."

Mickey interrupted. "I teased you." He smirked.

"Mickey!" Liz slapped him. She shook her head. This whole things had been easy. Too easy.

"I'm gonna check on Jimmy," Liz said.

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Liz sat on the edge of Jimmy's bed. Tears puddled in her eyes. "You are so big, Jimmy. I'm never letting you out of my sight again."

Liz wiped the wetness from her eyes. She had to stay together. Falling apart is a sign of weakness, but where her son was concerned Liz lost all part of reason.

Kissing Jimmy's forehead, Liz left his room and closed the door. The captain had picked well for her partner on this case. Mickey knew every person in the case backwards and forwards.

The case. Getting Jimmy from his father, arresting Liz's ex-husband James Michael Stone Sr, and Liz and Jimmy starting a new life, flashed through her mind.

James, a ruthless criminal accused of everything from robbery to homicide, eluded police until Mickey found Jimmy at a school in a small town near Austin, Texas. Liz and Mickey moved in and took the boy. Their hideout in the rocky Mountains kept them safe, but Jimmy began to grow restless.

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Before the sunrise peaked over the mountain top, Liz and Mickey crept from the trail with Jimmy wrapped in a blanket in Mickey's arms.

"Where are we goin' ?" Jimmy asked sleepily.

"A friend's." Mickey smiled.

Jimmy fell back asleep, his black hair wet and sticking up all over his head.

"You two do look so much alike," Liz stated once the car started its trip off the mountain.

"Not our eyes," Mickey said.

"No, Jimmy has my brown eyes and James' hair and face. Both of us know he's a handsome little boy," Liz said, smiling.

The two adults grew silent for a time. Mickey glanced over at Liz, her profile showed off her high cheek bones and a thin scar. Mickey clenched his jaw in anger, the scar evidence of the abuse Liz had endured at her husband hand. He swallowed down the bile the image of Liz's bloody cheek resurrected. 

Mickey sighed quietly. He wanted and wished he had permission to...his thoughts stopped. He really cared for Liz. And Jimmy? That little seven-year-old got at his heart and his nerves. He smiled into the rear view mirror at Jimmy. This felt so right. I feel really bad about yelling at Jimmy last night.

"Mommy?" Jimmy said from the back seat. He rubbed his eyes.

"Yes, honey?" Liz smiled back at him from her seat.

"I need to go," Jimmy whispered.

"Hey Buddy, we'll stop in a few minutes," Mickey said.

Mickey parked the car five minutes later. Liz held Jimmy's hand on the trip to the gas station to find a restroom. Mickey scanned the area.

A black car pulled into a space next to Mickey's Toyota Camry. A back door opened and a black haired man stepped out. "I'm goin' to the john, Louis," the man said.

"Okay, Jay," Louis replied.

Mickey studied Jay for a minute. He looked like a grown up version of...

"Jimmy," Mickey whispered. He pondered and searched his brain for a plan to get Liz and Jimmy out safely. I need help, he thought. "I'm not a praying man, God, but I could use some help," Mickey breathed.

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Liz waited at the bathroom door for Jimmy. "Hurry up," she called, knocking on the door. Footsteps stopped in front of the back hallway. Liz followed the shadow. Her eyes widened in fear and shock.

"Hello, Liz," James M. Stone, Sr. mumbled.

"Hi," Liz whispered. Oh dear God, she thought. Get us out of here!

"Where's the kid?"

"With a friend," Liz whispered, praying Jimmy wouldn't talk from the bathroom.

"Yeah? Where at?"

"You aren't getting him, Jim," Liz said trembling. She hoped her voice sounded normal.

"This guy's taken long enough," Jim said. He jiggled the knob.

"I'm coming, Mommy," Jimmy said. "I couldn't get my pants buttoned."

Liz cringed. "Jim, I..."

"You...you lied to me, Liz," Jim yelled. "I'm gonna..." Jim slapped her face.

Liz swallowed. Her eyes stung and her cheek felt on fire. She slumped to the floor.

"Mommy!" Jimmy cried kneeling next to Liz.

Jim craned his neck. A siren's wail filled the gas station. Jim grabbed Jimmy by the waist and picked him off the floor.

"No! Jim!" Liz screamed rising from the floor. She raced after Jimmy. Tears blurred her vision. She brushed the tears away with her hands.

A black car sped out of the gas station lot. Liz heard gun shots. She gazed at Mickey. He knelt with on knee on the ground by a telephone pole, his gun pointed at the car. The black car sputtered to a halt 500 feet from where it started with two flat tires.

Mickey and a half dozen other policemen with guns pulled arrived at the car before the occupants could emerge. 

"Come out with your hands up!" Mickey yelled. He gestured to one of the men to cuff Louis.

Jimmy stood next to his father with his hands up. Tears streamed down his face. "I don't want to go to jail," he whispered.

Mickey handcuffed Jim and turned him over to a police officer. "Not you, Jimmy. You didn't do anything wrong." Mickey smiled at the boy.

Liz sighed with relief. She grinned the moment her eyes met Mickey's. 

Mickey and Jimmy strolled over to Liz. "Hey Mickey. What are you waiting for?" Jimmy said a devilish smile on his face.

Mickey furrowed his brow. Liz shrugged her shoulders.

"Kiss her already!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"But I..." Mickey stammered.

Liz cradled Mickey's face in her hands. "I'll show you." She kissed his lips softly.

Jimmy clapped hands. "Go Mommy!" He whooped and danced beside them.

Mickey and Liz laughed. Jimmy held their hands as the trio headed to Mickey's car.

Jimmy stared at the cop cruiser that drove away with his father in the backseat. "I'm not gonna be like him, Mommy. I'm gonna be a cop like you and Mickey," he said with a grin.

 

back to Contest #6