On the Run by M Zeigler (short story to read TXT) 📖

road in front of the diner. At that point your going to shoot the target in the mail box so they will run up towards the police department, at that point I will step out and lure Devon my direction. Everyone else, your primary job is to massacre the Duke, his and Devon’s henchmen and not get killed. Basically beyond the point Devon is out of sight it’s play it by ear, this is likely going to turn into a massive shoot out so be as prepared as you can be.” Bonnie explains as she points out different locations on the town map, Montgomery nods that he understands.

“This is going to cost a fortune, you’re basically going to level the town with just two of these targets, especially when the car ignites and blows up due to the gas tank.” Montgomery warns Bonnie knowing that her badge is going to be online for going through with this plan.

“Blow up the town? Let’s do it!” Louis exclaims turning to high five Leo who turns and high-five’s Gregory’s face. “Ugh.” Bonnie groans giving a disapproving head shake, then looks at Montgomery with a sincere look on her face. “I am so sorry, how do you deal with these four? It’s like The Dukes of Hazard on steroids.” Bonnie says pathetically to Montgomery and his boys. “Amen to that, honestly never thought I’d be working with the boys in a grand scheme to eviscerate the town.” Montgomery replies equally as saddened as Bonnie sounded with her comment.

“Okay, team break, get the first bomb set before we get there.” Bonnie says handing one box over to Montgomery and the other two to my two idiot brothers, Gregory is un-cuffed moments later where he quickly joins Louis, and Leo on their fast run to their old black truck. “We’ll be in place by the time you get there.” Montgomery amends as him and his boys head to their respective patrol cars.

“This is it Barrette, its do or die this time.” Bonnie says menacingly as she watches our team leave us heading towards my home town. “We are going to make it through this just fine, Bonnie, we already discussed this. The rest of town is safe in the old community center having a small town throwdown which we’ll be going to after we get the bad guys.” I say to Bonnie as I reach out taking her by the waist pulling her into my arms where I give her a kiss, her lips respond to mine but not the way I want her to. Pulling away from her and looking into her sapphire eyes I realize that she doesn’t believe she’s going to make it through this. I guess I’ll just prove her wrong that way she’ll completely understand how devoted I am to keeping her here; it’ll sway her into staying with me on her own accord.

“Barrette.” Bonnie says my name with a very intense sincerity. “Yeah darlin?” I reply curious as to what she has to say. “I love you.” She says as quietly as she did back in Floyd, but this time I know for a fact she spoke the three dangerous words. She steps out of my arms leaving me to head back over to Mustang where Grandpa Coon is filling up the gas tank in the fastback. “Thank you sir.” Bonnie thanks Coon when he looks up to see who is approaching. “No problem, it’s the least I can do for getting those boys under control.” Coon replies then gives me a warning look that I advert my attention from knowing that I did wrong by throwing that shoe at my brothers. “Actually it was Montgomery who got them under control.” Bonnie says as she leans in to hug Coon, the old timer gives a happy go lucky smile back to me then mouths the words this one’s a keeper.

“Barrette, saddle up.” Bonnie says as she gets into the driver’s seat, Coon watches as I walk to the passenger’s side to see Bonnie loading her revolvers and a S&W five hundred. “Nice, I didn’t know you had that.” I say to Bonnie as I’m fastening up my belt, she smiles and tucks the gun into her combat uniform that she changed into while we waited for Montgomery to show up. I even changed into mine while waiting for him, even in a time of town wide emergency those boys can manage to take forever to arrive someplace.

“You don’t know a lot of things about me.” Bonnie replies in a teasing manner as she reaches up to start the Mustang, to my surprise and Coon’s Bonnie actually drives out of his yard at a normal person’s driving speed. However when we hit the dirt road outside the yard, she hits the gas pedal enough to bring the car to a loose drift through each turn leading back to the main road.

As we are moving towards the main road I reach down the CV police radio that Coon leant us for the mission and radio up to Montgomery. “We’re on the move.” I inform. “Alright, we’re in town we’re mixing the charge. But I have a question; ask Miss Bonnie how much Sulfur to add to this batch?” I hear Richard respond. “Half the bag, eye ball it it’ll explode nicely either way.” Bonnie informs me to pass along as we arrive at the main road.

Looking back in the direction we came in from I see several high end sports vehicles heading this way but they are still a good distance down the road. “Hang on cowboy, this is about to become one wild ride.” Bonnie warns just as I’m passing along her response to Richard. “Half the bag! And we are on the roll! The goons are at the tail lights!” I shout over the sound of this car’s powerful engine.

“Affirmative! Lead em on in!” Montgomery calls back through the radio as Bonnie shifts up into high gear and puts the pedal to the floor. Once the Mustang reaches Maximum speed Bonnie moves her right thumb over what should be a cruise control button, when the engine is about to hit its highest rpm Bonnie pushes the button on the steering wheel easily engaging the two high performance tanks that she hooked up earlier today.

In a flash the Mustang jumps to a speed that I’m not even going to look at, Devon and his guys are left in a cloud of dust. I give a silent prayer to the man upstairs that this time Bonnie and Clyde don’t die on a two lane highway in an ambush. However, just as I finish that thought I hear heavy gunfire hitting the car. “Holy hell! He’s shooting at us!” I shout as I look to the side mirror to see a car, not Devon’s, that is leveling back at about twenty yards and shooting at us. “It’s Hugo. Try this on for size.” Bonnie says wrenching the S&W from her belt, she hands it over to me and I smile boldly, with the gun in hand Bonnie does me the favor of rolling down the window and slowing down enough that I can lean out without being sucked out the window which also in turn lands Hugo right on our tail.

“Go!” I shout back to Bonnie once I’m in position outside the window, she swerves into the oncoming traffic lane and I take the shot at Hugo’s car just as we pass, the bullet shatters the wind shield but does not hit Hugo. “Shoot out the right front tire!” Bonnie shouts out to me, I very briefly wonder why she wants me to take out the right tire but I do as asked. The tire blows out on the passenger’s side causing Hugo’s car starts to veer to the right but he steers into it enough to gain control and guide away from the guard rail, instead of hitting the guard rail he veers into the same ditch I hit many years back rolls the car eight times, I watch with amazed eyes as he is ejected through the back windshield and slams into the same tree I hit way back when. Then grimace with an instantly upturned stomach when Hugo’s neck snacks and his head splits open, dead on impact, it truly is a miracle I did not die that day.

Back inside the car I hear Bonnie on the CV radioing in the dead hit man that is dead in the place where I should have died. “Hugo is down, I repeat Hugo is dead.” Bonnie says into the radio as I roll up the car window. “We gotcha, the explosive is set in the Green new bin.” I hear Montgomery laugh sarcastically. “Very funny guys.” I say after Bonnie hands the CV over to me. “We thought so to!” Montgomery calls back. “Damn it all Leo if you hit Gregory with that ballclub one more time!” I hear Richard in the background shouting at my brother’s right when Montgomery is about to say something. “Bonnie I’m heading over to the police station now, everyone else is getting into place.” Montgomery warns. “Affirmative, we’re about five minutes out with the good close behind. Maintaining radio silence.” I reply to Montgomery. “Radio silence.” The officer says before both of our lines are shut off, Bonnie looks at me with a look of preparedness. “Let’s do this.” I say encouragingly as she starts to down shift the car allowing Devon and the Duke to be noticeable in the rearview mirror. Within a couple minutes we see them in the car mirror, Bonnie picks up speed just enough to keep a three hundred yard distance between us until we hit the Christianson city limits.

The moment that sign blurs past she slows down to a hundred and fifty miles an hour, Devon and the Duke plus one black SUV immediately close in to a hundred or so yards away. “Barrette, get your guns ready and can you put two more rounds back in the five hundred?” Bonnie asks as we round the bend that will lead us to the off ramp into Christianson.

The sun is setting on the far off horizon casting a blood crimson red glow on the town, for the first time in this entire trip I feel a sense of deep hateful grief, I feel as if I know we are not going to make it out of this alive. I push down that feeling quickly, both Bonnie and I have a lot left to live for and I refuse to give up now.

As Bonnie free runs down the off ramp I look over to her to see that her face has hardened to stone, I’ve never seen this look on her before. In this moment I realize that this look suits Bonnie much better than I do, she’s the type of woman who truly does not need anyone in her life, she just so chooses to have people around. I also realize that the woman I’ve been riding with is a woman of many faces, she can be the girly girl, she can be the child, she can be a mother, a lover, she can be any person she wants, no, she is all of those things. You don’t walk a life like she has and come out as just one person, she has had more ups and downs than most people, that intense roller coaster ride has forged her into someone who is entirely unstoppable, uncontrollable, but most of all, this life has made her someone all can love and admire, they may not admire her as a whole, but there will always be some part of her personality that someone can adhere to. She is the modern day Bonnie Elizabeth Parker, both feared and loved.

My thoughts are brought to an earth shattering end when Bonnie drifts the ninety degree left hand turn, the only real turn in town to be