Ours Alone to Conquer

“We have to leave, we can’t stay here any longer.” Mia pleaded with her husband David as he hurried her around to the passenger side of their car. He wasn’t listening, he knew she was hurt pretty bad and chose to focus on that instead of the greater danger they were in. Fear for her family blurring the pain she felt in her side, she ignored the blood soaking through her jacket as she tried to steady her husbands blood stained hands.

Shaking and scrambling for the right key, David fumbled the passenger door open for his wife, helping her to sit down gingerly as he swallowed the vomit threatening to rise in his throat. “I’m taking you to the hospital, you’re fucking bleeding!” He slammed the door and ran to get behind the wheel.

“We don’t have time! We need to get to Olivia, they’re at the house! Robin doesn’t know what’s happening!” Mia’s vision was starting to blur, panic finally setting in as her husband turned towards the highway that would take them to the nearest hospital instead of turning towards the direction of their home.

Several minutes passed as she pleaded with her husband to turn around, to take the next exit and to ensure that their daughter was unharmed. David assured her that their identity was still unknown, that his “boss” didn’t know where they lived and that one of the his men would be patrolling their neighborhood for added protection. He just prayed that his men were still loyal to him, but he couldn’t think about that now, not with his wife bleeding out next to him.

David cursed himself, “I should have never let you talk me into bringing you along tonight, what the fuck was I thinking!?” Mia knew her husband’s work was dangerous but growing up on the rougher side of town made her fearless and with all of the backstabbing she knew her husband wouldn’t be safe with just anyone as backup. Being military trained, she thought she could handle herself... she’d thought wrong.

Grabbing his phone from his side, David anxiously dialed Robin’s cell. “Hey, you’ve reached Robin,...” CLICK. REDIAL. RING... RING... “Hey, you’ve reached,...” CLICK. REDIAL. RING....

“Why isn’t she answering her fucking phone!?” David’s fist clenched, the plastic of the phone groaned under the pressure. “Let me try, you drive.” Mia held her hand out for the phone, clutching onto the door handle for stability as her husband peeled through downtown traffic towards the hospital. Her hands cold and shaking she continues to phone her life long best friend and Godmother to their daughter, praying she would answer and that all way well at their home.

.....

Less than 10 minutes from the hospital, now 30 minutes from their home, Mia sat panting and praying that Robin would answer the phone. Shakily, she tried to dial the home office number that her and her husband rarely used anymore. Struggling to remember the correct keys to press in the haze of pain she now floated in.

“What are you doing?” David demanded, frustrated that they still hadn’t gotten in contact with Robin. “I swear to God you better stay awake, damn it Mia!” Mia hadn’t noticed she was slouching down in the seat, the cold spreading up her hip making her shiver.

“Wh-what is the home phone number? Y-you don’t have it saved in your ph-phone.” Her teeth began to chatter, she swore she was already in shock but this was a new symptom, she ignored it for now. Focusing back to the task at hand, trying every sequence of numbers she could remember until she dialed the one she desperately needed.

David frowned at his wife, her condition declining faster than he anticipated. He hadn’t gotten a look at the stab wound but his wife had assured him it wasn’t deep, it had been too dark to determine how much blood she was losing as they rushed from the crowded club. She wouldn’t know if something critical has been nicked, nor would she disclose that information to him if she did know.

He thought hard for a moment, recalling that he’d written it on a form not too long ago as an alternate contact number. Rattling off 3 different numbers he finally settled on the one that sounded the most accurate. Mia, his wife struggled to type the number correctly, eventually getting it the second time.

RING... RING... RING... RING...

“Hello?” Relief flooded Mia as her daughter Olivia’s voice answered the phone. She could hear Robin in the background asking who it was. “O-Olivia honey, put Robin on the phone ri-right now!” She tried to calm her voice and stutter to keep from scaring Olivia but the urgency startled her daughter none the less.

“Mom?! What’s wrong?” Olivia asked, confusion laced her voice, unaware that time was literally of the essence at the moment. There was a rustling, a button pressed, as presumably Robin took the phone from Olivia, “Hello? Mia? Everything alright?”

Relief flooded her, finally they answered, where the hell was Robin’s cell? David placed his right hand on her thigh, gripping her right, needing to ground himself now knowing his daughter was ok. Tears that she hadn’t known were trapped behind her eyes began to flood as she prepared to explain the danger they could be in and that Robin needed to get Olivia out of there right now. They needed to head to meet them at the hospital immediately.

Together they would be safe, together they could disappear for a little bit while her husband sorted out their next move. Everything would be ok just so long as they were all together.

Relaxing her voice, Mia willed herself to sound calm. David squeezed the hand on her thigh for both of their combined comfort, sending her what little strength he could with that touch. Robin would pick up on the tone of her voice and freak out if she wasn’t careful. She had to make sure Robin remained calm and clear headed. Taking a deep breath, “Robin, I don’t have time to explain but...”

“FUCK!” An explosion of glass rained down on Mia as a large black van plowed into her side of their car, pushing them into oncoming traffic. With their combined speed, David was unable to regain control of their vehicle. They were thrown sideways as tires squealed and hitting the small dividing median between lanes sent their car rolling.

They slammed into the steel barricade along the edge of the road, separating the cars above from the vast beaches below. Balanced on the edge of the drop off, David gathered what wits he had and frantically tried to grasp the situation they were in, failing through the pain clouding his head.

They had just been hit, the vehicle at fault had come to a stop in the lane of oncoming traffic to his left. Grateful that this part of the road wasn’t busy at the moment, his blurry eyes met his wife’s frantic gaze as she stared past him. The ringing in his ears made it impossible to make out what she was saying. He dazedly watched as she fought the airbags for space.

As if in slow motion, Mia fought to get her seatbelt off in the midst of the wreckage in their car, screaming a warming to her husband that they were still in danger. His dazed and blank expression telling her he had a concussion.

What he didn’t see was that the occupants of the black van had just exited their vehicle, appearing mostly unharmed, but heavily armed. The passenger was jogging over to her husbands side of the car, gun drawn, lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth. The driver was pulling a large brick out of the back door of the van, bending over to situate it in his place.

The realization hitting all too slow and both of them entirely too helpless. She heard the blast of a gun, closing her eyes to the horror as the driverless van sped past the gunman who jumped out of the way just a moment before it rammed them, taking them over the edge of the bluffs and sending them crashing to the rocks and sand below.

The panicked voice screaming through the forgotten phone in the floorboard, calling out for an answer.