A Perfect Escape

You left the successful life you had, your stay at home wife, your 2 beautiful children to start anew in another state. You had told your wife you were going deep sea fishing so you could get away without their being any evidence, a seemingly perfect escape. You had been gone months now, restarted in New Jersey. Now you were a small accountant instead of being a small town fish market owner. You were nowhere near as acquainted with everyone as you were in Hawaii. Who would've ever guessed you would need to run away from the life you had built. But that seems to be what happens when you get involved with the wrong people. New Jersey may have not been the best place to go considering that you had to run from one of the best known drug rings in North America. No way to change it now. You needed the money for the baby on the way so you agreed to help smuggle drugs from Mexico to one of their warehouses in Honolulu. One day there was a bump in the road so you had to get rid of the supply, leaving yourself thousands of dollars in debt. They wanted their money but you just simply couldn’t supply. Leaving you no choice but to leave everything behind and start a new life far away.

  One day you had gone to a baseball game, to get away from your stressful job for a little while. Too bad you had gone from the stress of people wanting you dead to being in a 9-5 job with a boss that never gives anyone any slack. The local team was playing another small team, so not too many people from out of state, if any at all. While you were there you had seen someone in the distance that seemed very familiar, but you had no way to tell they were just one small crowd in at least a thousand. His suit on this hot day had made it pretty clear he was wearing it for his job, not leisure. You immediately left the stadium, hoping to avoid who you thought you just saw; one of the drug lords hit men. Not to mention, the most well known, and most discreet out of all of them. You had his grimace that you faced months ago burned into the back of your eyelids, unavoidable. As you rush back to your apartment you almost run into a woman on the sidewalk, completely disregarding any caution. All you want is to be home. All you need is to be safe. For the next few days you called in sick to work, you don't even care if you get fired at that point. But you get a call from your doorman that your mailbox was full. So for the first time since that game you left the safety of your room for something. Slowly you flip through the pile of letters, bills mainly. Once you get through it you let out a small sigh of relief. If you had been found, they hadn't yet figured out where you lived. Hopefully it will be difficult. You had only been gone a few short months but after working multiple jobs you lived in one of the best apartment buildings you could in that small town in New Jersey. Finally it might be safe enough to leave the house again. Although life can finally return back to normal you become even more concerned for your safety the longer you are out.

About a week later you meet a woman, tall and sweet while getting a coffee. You both plan to grab lunch a few days later, she didn’t seem like a threat. During lunch everything was going great, you sat in a little mom and pop shop on the patio watching people pass by you while you conversed over lunch. Everything seemed okay until you saw her look over across the street. You followed her glance and there he was again. You tried not to break your cover and stay calm. You took the long way back to your apartment but now there was no doubt that they had finally found you. Before all of this they had found you before, shortly after you moved your entire family. Leaving little notes and warnings until they started knocking at the door. That would surely start again soon. Although you were under the impression they wouldn’t get past the doorman subconsciously you knew that they had enough money to get through any door they wanted to. You never saw that woman again under the fear that she was part of them too. Now you had to make it a routine to take a different way home everyday, making sure there was no one following every step of the way. This lead on for about a month and their were no more sightings of him. You tried to relax enough to get out of these ways but you knew you were no longer safe, but there was no more running. You didn’t have enough money to restart again no matter how desperate you would become. Days started to feel like months, just waiting for them to show up one day and kill you in broad daylight. So you went back into hiding, only leaving when there was no other choice. One day you woke up to a short, sharp knock on your door but before you could answer a letter slid under your door. 

It read; We know who you are, and who you are hiding from us. You don’t have long before they know your exact location. If you want help you are going to have to help us too. If you want to take this offer meet us at 986 west 1st street at 9 pm on Tuesday and we will see what we can arrange.

There was no name left but there was no longer any other way to fix this. You checked your mail Tuesday before you left. As you check your mail, you notice a letter that makes you stop in your tracks. “We know you’re here, watch your back.” It had started. You had been found. So this person offering to help was now a last resort. You went to the address and waited, until someone in a dark hoodie walked up to you and signaled to follow them. They offered you an escape, you still hadn’t seen their face. But once you asked what it would cost you they lifted their head and replied with 2 simple words.

“Your life”