Loving The Temperamental Adonis
Chapter 117: The hunt for the escape convict

Chapter 117: The hunt for the escape convict

Back within the room, Neil had finished dressing up. After putting on his face mask and sunglasses, he prepared to make his exit. Though he had some doubt in his mind if his plans of diversion would work for long or that he’d ever reach his first destination before he was killed.

But none of that mattered right now. At the moment, all that mattered was that he was temporarily free and that he was practically on his way to cross Novaria’s border, a ninety miles journey to the north. If he made it that far without being apprehended, he might be able to make it to his next destination, a distance of only fourty-five miles.

Then somewhere high in the mountains was his first destination, a secluded mansion deep in the woods that he had long ago bought and had forgotten about it’s existence until now. He would use it as a hideout for a while.

Between now and then, all he had to worry about was crossing the borders of two states, getting to the safety of that mansion without being noticed by anyone, and once he got there, he would controll his impatience and wait until the initial furor over his escape died down so that he could embark on the second stage of his plan.

Neil picked up the gun, rammed a full clip into it, checked the safety, and put the gun in his coat pocket along with a fistful of dollar bills, then he grabbed the backpack and car keys and opened the door. He was going to make it, he assured himself as he stepped into the cold.

He walked around the corner of the building, heading toward the gray car that had been kept for him. However, he stopped dead in his tracks, momentarily unable to believe his eyes.

The car he had been happy to see a moment ago was now being pulled away by a tow truck. Neil stood there, immobilized, watching it being pulled away through the road. Behind him, he heard someone shout to the other, "I told you that the car had been abandoned. It’s been parked there for days. It has no owner, we should have taken it the other day, now see."

Their voices snapped Neil’s brain out of its temporary paralysis. He could either go back into the building, change into his prison clothes, leave everything behind, and try to reschedule everything for another time or he could improvise now. The choice was really no choice at all. He wasn’t going back to prison; he would rather be dead than be back in that place!

Neil made up his mind and did the only thing he could think of. He dashed toward the corner, looking for the only other sure means of getting out of Novaria before the military would come after him.

He flagged down a bus and climbed aboard. Despite wearing a face mask and sunglasses, he made sure to avoid people’s eyes by turning his face towards the bus window. Almost everyone in the country knew who he was after the court case that took place five years ago. His face was recognized all over the world. He couldn’t risk showing it to anyone.

For twenty agonizingly slow minutes, the bus moved through the heavy traffic of Novaria, making stops at nearly every corner. When the bus made another annoying stop at a junction, Neil had no choice. He angrily climbed down via the rear doors and began walking toward the intersection a mile ahead where he knew would lead to the main highway that would take him out of Novaria.

Hitchhiking a ride was his only option, and that option would only be good for a maximum of minutes. Once Jason or the soldiers realized he was gone, every authorities and military in Novaria would be looking for him and focusing their attention on any hitchhiker on the road.

Neil stood by the roadside and raised his thumb to hitchhike a ride. Snow clung to his hair and swirled around his feet as he bent his head into the wind. Several cars roared past him, the drivers ignoring his upraised thumb, and he fought down a panicky feeling of impending doom that rose to his stomach.

Traffic in Novaria was heavy on the highway because of the snow, but everybody was evidently in a hurry to reach their destinations before the snow storm struck, and they weren’t stopping for anything or anyone.

Neil resumed to walk down the roads. Up ahead at the intersection was a small modern restaurant that was built with glass walls with two cars in the small parking lot; a red BMW 7 with a white family bus. Carrying his backpack, he walked up the parking lot and when he passed the restaurant, he glanced carefully through the glass walls at the occupants.

There was a lone woman, whose face he couldn’t see because her back was turned to the wall, and sitting next to her was another woman holding a baby in hand. He cursed under his breath because both cars belonged to women, and they weren’t likely to pick up hitchhikers from the look of how rich they seemed.

Without slowing his pace, Neil continued toward the end of the restaurant where the two cars were parked, wondering if the keys were in the ignitions. Even if they were, he knew it was insanity to steal one of those cars because he would have to drive it right past the restaurant in order to get out of the parking lot.

If he did that, whoever owned the car would have the authorities come after him sooner than the military, and he would be caught before he even made it out of the state. What’s more, from Inside the building, they could see which way he drove to. Maybe he could try to bribe one of the women in the restaurant to give him a ride when she came out. However, judging from the expensive cars, they didn’t seem like people who lacked money.

But then If his money didn’t persuade her to agree, he had a gun that could convince her. Damnit! There had to be a better way to get out of here than to threaten one of the women.

In front of him, cars roared down the road making miniblizzards with their wheels and causing the snow to fly around and cloud the air. Neil dusted the snow off his hair and glanced at his watch. Nearly an hour had passed since he had left Kai!

He didn’t dare try hitchhiking any more. If Kai had followed his instructions, Jason would be sounding an alert to the military in no time. And as if his thoughts had caused it to happen, the authority cars suddenly appeared from the distance and slowed down in front of the restaurant, then turned into the parking lot a few feets away from Neil’s hiding spot, coming toward him.

Instinctively, Neil crouched down, pretending that he was inspecting the tire on the red BMW 7, and then an idea suddenly struck his head as the tire came into his view. Too late perhaps, but he would give it a try.

Neil quickly took out a switchblade from his backpack and struck it into the side of the car’s tire. Then he ducked to one side to avoid the explosion of air. From the corner of his eye, he watched the authority car glide to a stop behind him.

Instead of demanding to know what Neil was doing loitering around the restaurant with a backpack, the police rolled down his car window and drew the obvious conclusion.

"Sir, you seem to be having trouble with that tire."

"Yeah, I am," Neil agreed, slapping the side of the tire, careful not to look over his shoulder despite the face mask he had on. Hearing the police man open his car door, Neil’s breath caught short in his lungs. But he didn’t let it show and continued to say, "My wife tried to warn me about the tire but I didn’t listen and now I’m having this trouble."

"Let me see if I can_" the police man began to approach while speaking but he stopped dead in his tracks as his radio beeped in his pocket. Then without paying anymore attention to Neil, he turned back and rushed back to his car and roared out of the parking lot with its siren wailing.

A moment later, Neil heard more sirens coming from every direction, and then he saw the authority’s cars racing across the roads, their warning lights revolving.

The authorities, Neil knew, were now aware that an escaped convict was on the loose. The hunt for him had begun even before he left Novaria.