Chapter
8: Crossroad
It was
nearly nightfall when Sara and company stepped out of the salon. She was getting
tired, but knew with the deal going down that night she’d have to stay awake
for a little bit longer. The next part of the plan was to head for Van’s place
so the guys could change, then it would be off to the club to meet Tommy Gallo
and friends, a thought Sara was already beginning to dread. She could feel that
tonight was not going to be a good night for them, especially not for her since
she had been forced to keep the gun concealed in a garter between her legs. Even
in the car, Sara remained uncomfortable, adjusting her position several times
until the gun finally felt comfortable.
As she
leaned back in the passenger’s seat, she stole a glance at the side view
mirror to make sure that no one was on their tail. That was when Sara jerked up
and twisted her entire body around to look out the back window, scaring Van in
the process.
“What?”
he asked, sitting up straight and looking at her, but she wasn’t looking at
him.
“That
damn car is after us,” Sara replied as she sat back down the right way, her
heart beginning to race.
“What
car?” Deaq questioned as he looked in his rear view mirror and spotted the
black Escalade that was following them. He began to speed up, but Sara put a
hand on his shoulder.
“Act
normal,” she ordered. “Let him follow. I think I have an idea. Where can we
get cornered?”
“Cornered,
what?” Deaq shot back.
“Do you
trust me?” Sara asked seriously.
“What do
you mean, do I trust you?” he replied.
“Do you
trust me? It’s a simple question. Answer truthfully,” she said.
“After
what happened with Van, I guess I’ll have to say I do,” Deaq finally
acknowledged.
“Then
let this guy corner us.” Deaq gave Sara another look like he thought she was
crazy, but then turned off the main road and into a side street. She reached
down and pulled the gun out from beneath her dress, pulling the safety.
“What
are you doing?” Van asked from the back seat, finally getting into the
conversation even though he would have preferred to stay quiet. It was just in
his nature to question things that didn’t seem right to him.
“Don’t
get in the middle of this fight, Van, ‘cause you’re gonna lose,” Sara
blatantly replied as she checked to make sure the car was still following them.
Deaq soon pulled to a stop and turned off the engine. “Have your guns ready,
boys. This might just get messy,” she added, getting out of the car and
pointing the gun towards the approaching Escalade. It stopped suddenly in front
of her.
“Get out
of the car!” Sara shouted. “NOW! Hands up!” The door opened, and suddenly
she began to feel that warmth radiating from the Witchblade telling her that
this person was okay to trust. As the driver stepped out of the car, Sara
lowered her gun and angrily yelled, “
Ian had
that “deer caught in headlights” expression on his face as he stared at Sara
in disbelief. She looked so completely different that at first he didn’t
recognize her. His head immediately went down when he realized that her partners
had stepped out of the car and joined her, their guns aiming straight towards
him. “I’m sorry to scare you, my Lady,” Ian softly replied.
“You
know what, you did? What the hell are you doing here anyway? I thought you were
going to stay in
“I
promised you I wouldn’t keep bothering you about your reasons for leaving
“Great,
so you show up in LA and shadow me like you always have. Don’t you know Irons
doesn’t control you anymore?” she reasoned, keeping her words in check to
make sure her partners didn’t get any ideas. “You don’t need to shadow me
anymore! I don’t want you to! I don’t like it! It scares me! Do you
understand?”
Ian came
up close to her and whispered, “My job has always been to protect the Wielder.
How can I protect you if you’re three thousand miles away in another city?”
Sara
gritted her teeth when he brought up her new titled as wielder of the
Witchblade. “I don’t need your protection,
“Even
when I have information pertaining to your current case?” Ian quickly turned
the tables on Sara.
“What
information?” she wearily replied before being so rudely interrupted by one of
her partners.
“Sara,
who the hell is this guy?” Deaq asked, never once glancing away from the black
clad man that now towered in front of him and began to wonder why Sara wasn’t
so afraid of the man. He looked menacing, a guy that nobody wanted to mess with.
“Guys, you can put the guns down. He’s not a threat,” Sara ordered as she slipped her own gun back to its holster near her inner thigh. “At least not yet,” she added, a sly grin coming across her deep red lips.
“So, who
is he?” Van restated Deaq’s question as the two of them came closer.
“Van,
Deaq, meet Ian Nottingham, Kenneth Irons’ ex bodyguard.
“Gallo
has a surveillance team on you, which was made clear earlier this afternoon when
one of his men tried to take out your partner,” Ian explained as he pointed to
Van. “I’ve taken out several others who have been trailing you ever since
you left the warehouse this afternoon.”
“What do
you mean, taken out?” Sara wearily interrupted, beginning to wonder what he
meant even though her sinking suspicions told her the answer was exactly what
she was thinking.
“You
know what I mean,” Ian answered, a gleam appearing in his eyes.
“You
didn’t!” she yelled, giving him an angry whack in the shoulder.
He smiled
and said, “No, I didn’t. I’ll disclose the whereabouts of their location
when it is necessary. Right now, they’re the least of your trouble. Gallo is
planning a massive attack on you at the club this evening. I strongly advise
that you to stay away.”
“No
way!” Van interrupted. He turned to Sara and added, “It took us too long to
get this close to him. We’re not aborting the mission just because he says
that Gallo is gonna try and take us out. I’ll just have Billie beef up
security. That’s all we need, more backup.”
“He’s
right, Sara,” Deaq replied. “It took us nearly six weeks to get this close
to Gallo. We can’t just throw it down the toilet because of one minor setback.
Since
Sara’s
eyes bounced from Ian to her partners, trying to figure out which side to take.
Finally, her gaze settled on Van and Deaq as she replied, “Sorry,
“Very
well, my Lady,” Ian said as he nodded and headed back to his vehicle. “If
you need my help, I’ll be nearby.” Sara nodded as he pulled away from the
dead ended alley and back onto the main road. She sighed heavily, his words
weighing upon her like a huge sandbag filled with lead.
“That
was weird,” Van said as he began making his way back to the car. “What was
with all that ‘My Lady’ crap anyway?”
Sara
merely shook her head as she slid into the passenger’s seat once more, the gun
beginning to bother her yet again as it shifted uncomfortably against her inner
thigh. Even as she tried to find a position that made the gun less of a pain,
Ian’s words ran loudly through her mind. ‘Gallo is planning a massive attack
on you at the club this evening. I strongly advise that you stay away… If you
need my help, I’ll be nearby.’
‘This is definitely going to be one of those nights,’ Sara thought, shaking her head unconsciously.