Explosive Getaway

“Excuse us, please,” shouted Frank, as he hurriedly tugged his girlfriend, Anne, down the terminal corridor. “Sorry,” as they barely touch someone and got a dirty look. They were minutes from missing their flight.

They arranged to meet at the airport two hours prior to their flight, giving them plenty of time to get through security and make it to the gate. However, their plans went askew when Anne called Frank, telling him she was running late. She would explain when she got there.

At last, they made it to the gate with seconds to spare. “You two made it just in time. We were about to close the doors. Let me process your tickets and get you on your flight.”

They showed their phones to the attendant and she scanned the electronic tickets. They walked through the tunnel to the plane, placed their bags in the overhead bin, and plopped into their seats.

Frank looked at Anne, and asked, “What happened?” Frustration showed on his face.

“My boss knew I was leaving early today for our long weekend get away, but he insisted on talking to me about some paperwork that wasn’t needed until next week. I explained to him that I had to leave, but he grabbed my arm and forced me into his office. He demanded that I give him the forms and he’d fill them out himself. He pushed me into his office chair and told me to use his computer to pull up the forms. Dumfounded at his actions, I did as I was told. He claimed the work needed to be done today.”

“Your boss is an ass. You need to start looking for a new job when we get back. This is not the first time he has kept you from leaving early for some stupid reason. You put in extra time to make up the for leaving early and then he finds excuses to stall you.”

“I know, Frank. I’m sorry. Please, let’s forget this and enjoy our romantic getaway. I’ve been looking forward to this all week.”

“Sorry, babe. I know it’s not your fault.” He took her hand and kisses her knuckles. “I made a few plans for our trip. I hope you like them.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

“Oh, sweetie. I’m at your mercy.” She kissed his cheek and buckled the seat belt for takeoff.

Two hours later, they arrived in Asheville, North Carolina. Anne had found a brochure claiming, “Cabins to rent for a Romantic Getaway,” in the break room. Included with the cabin, was a pickup car at the airport. After disembarking and getting to the pickup area, they found a man holding a company sign. They made their way over to him.

“Hi, I’m Frank Belcher and this is my girlfriend, Anne Stoltz.”

The man nodded and took their bags to SUV waiting outside. He opened the back door and they got in. The driver never said a word the whole drive to the secluded cabin. He unlocked the door after retrieving their bags from the vehicle.

Placing them inside, he turned to them and said, “If you have any concerns, the contact numbers are on the table inside the door. I’ll be back on Sunday to take you back to the airport. The cabin has been stocked with food and water. A complementary basket of goodies is on the counter. Enjoy your stay and see you on Sunday.” He sounded like a robot speaking.

He returned to the vehicle and left before Frank or Anne could say anything to him. “Well, I guess we won’t be disturbed. Are you ready for your first surprise,” asked Frank.

“I’m ready for you.” Anne walked into Frank’s arms and brought his head down to kiss him. Their kiss ignited a flame, and Frank pressed her against the door. While kissing her lips and neck, he flipped the dead bolt.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her to the bedroom. He tossed her on the bed and the fun began.

Frank had requested to have a few things on hand. He found the whip cream and strawberries in the refrigerator. They had fun playing with both and playing with each other.

In the middle of the night, Anne woke up. She slowly got out of bed, so as not to disturb Frank. As she walked across the room, the cabin vibrated. Frank woke with a start and reached for his gun that wasn’t on the table next to him. He remembered he had to leave it at home. He saw Anne scrunched on the floor.

“Are you okay?” He walked around the bed to help her stand. She was shaking like a leaf.

“Yes. I was heading in there.” She pointed, with a trembling hand, to the door that led to what was once a bathroom. Now, it led outside, with debris scattered everywhere. The explosion left a lot of smoke but no fire.

“Get dressed. We’ll call 911 when we get outside.” They put on the clothes they were wearing earlier and headed out the bedroom door. As they entered the living space, automatic gun fire started. They ducked and got behind the couch. The shots came from the front of the cabin.

“What’s going on, Frank? Who’s shooting at us?” She took her phone from her pocket. “My phone has no cell service.”

“Calm down, honey. We’ll get out of this.” He only hoped he was telling her the truth. He had a nagging feeling he brought this trouble on them from his last undercover assignment. “I’m going to crawl to the door and get our cases. We’ll need our hiking shoes to get away.”

Slowly, he made his way to the bags and quietly dragged them back to her. While Frank retrieved the bags, Anne crept to the kitchen, returning with a few bottles of water. They pulled out what they needed and prepared to leave out the back door. Frank emptied his backpack and loaded the water and some snacks he found lying on the floor after the gun fire toppled the gift basket.

Keeping low, they made it out the back door as someone broke in the front. He heard voices, thinking one sounded familiar. He recognized it as belonging to the one man who escaped from his latest assignment. He knew that was going to come back to bite him. Frank had eyes on him and then he didn’t. He couldn’t see where he went. The team looked everywhere, but they found no sign of him.

“I’m sorry, babe. I’m going to hide you in the woods and try to get a weapon. We need something to protect ourselves.” They reached the tree line. He stopped to verify that no one noticed which direction they went. It’d would be only a matter of time for them to be found. He had to work fast.

“I found a pocket knife in the cabin. I can whittle small branches to make some spears while you do your thing.” He looked at her in amazement, gave her a big kiss, and headed off to find a vulnerable scout.

Keeping inside the tree line, he found the first scout. He slowly worked his way behind him and grabbed him around the neck, in a choke hold. He held it tight until the man crumbled. Frank grabbed his gun, extra ammo, and his radio. He returned to Anne, who had two spears ready to go.

The radio crackled and he heard the voice say, “We’ll find you, Frank Belcher. We’ll tie you up and let you watch while we take turns with your little girlie. You mess with us and you are fair game.”

Frank was silent. He looked at Anne and saw fear in her eyes. “Don’t worry. He’s not going to get you as long as I’m alive. Let’s go.”

Frank and Anne walked for miles until they came across another cabin. They stopped short of exiting the tree line and watched as two big SUVs roared up the path. Anne gasped and collapsed behind a tree.

“What’s wrong?”

“The man driving the second SUV is my boss. He knows about you. Didn’t you tell me you thought someone gave the man on the radio information about the authorities closing in? Could it have been Mr. Beemer?”

“It appears so. If he saw a picture of me with the gang, he would’ve told them all about me. They might have heard my last correspondence with my team. It would make sense why I lost Alphonso in the all the confusion.”

“Oh, Frank. I’m so sorry. I had no idea. How are we going to get out of here now?”

He hugged her, and said, “This is not on you. I know to be more careful. Your boss must have produced that brochure for you to find, giving them the opportunity to set up this little operation. I didn’t do my due diligence. I should’ve check the company out. No wonder the driver was so quiet on the ride in. Let’s head toward the road and try to flag someone down. Before we go, let’s take the battery out of our phones, so they can’t track us.”

After dismantling their phones, they turned to walk parallel to the path up to the cabin. Once sighting the road, they stayed hidden and walked in the direction the driver brought them. Taking short rest breaks, they walked until they found a gas station.

“I’m going to the store and ask to use the phone. I’m going to call an old buddy of mine that lives near here. He’s one of the reasons I agreed to the trip. I already told him we’d be in his neck of the woods, so he won’t be surprised about my call.”

“Frank, are you sure it’s safe? They may have someone checking out the station.”

“I’ll go in the back way. I want you to stay in the trees and walk around to the back. If I don’t come out, here’s the number you should call.” He took a business card from his wallet. “Use your phone, call the number, tell him the problem, and dismantle the phone. You’ll have to leave and head further into town.”

“I can’t leave you. There must be another way.”

“Sweetheart, if you don’t see me in fifteen minutes, I’m probably dead. Please, do this for me. I need to know you’ll take care not to get caught. These are nasty people.”

“Okay. I’ll do as you say. You come back to me, do you hear me.” She kissed him and started walking around the store.

Frank ran across the short span and entered the back. He didn’t hear anything. He peeked around the corner and saw the store was empty. He walked to the counter and told the clerk his car broke down and he needed to call a friend.

The young, pimply face kid put the phone on the counter. Frank quickly dialed the number, all the while, looking for anything suspicious.

When someone answered, Frank said a series of numbers. “What’s up, Frank? I thought you were on a romantic weekend.”

“Z, there’s trouble with a capital T. I need you, man. I’m at The Gas and Go on…” Frank looked at the kid and got the name of the road. “State road 49. How fast can you get here?”

“I’ll be there in twenty. Keep hidden. I’ll be in a green Humvee. Be safe.”

Frank hung up and hurried out the back to Anne. “Help is on the way.”

Twenty minutes later, a green Humvee and a black SUV arrived from different directions. Frank noticed Alphonso walk into the store. “Come on Anne we need to head further down the road. You go ahead, I will try to get Z’s attention to let him know.”

Frank took a mirror out of his pocket and signaled the green vehicle. He saw the response, and he ran after Anne. He caught up with her and led her closer to the road. He heard a vehicle and checked behind them. It was Z. He stepped out and the Humvee stopped. Anne and Frank got in the car and left the area.

“So, what happened?” asked Z.

“The leader of the group I infiltrated escaped when the authorities came in. I’m pretty sure he was tipped off by Anne’s boss. They blew up part of the cabin and put hundreds of bullet holes through the front. We escaped out the back and came across another cabin. Alphonso and Mr. Beemer showed up at that cabin. Do you have a phone? I need to call this in.”

“I know some men that can help us right now. They have an office close by. You can call your people from there and they can coordinate with this group. We can get the bad guys quicker, before they abandon the cabin.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Frank relaxed back in the seat and pulled Anne closer. Help was coming and they would finally get Alphonso off the streets.

Z pulled into a warehouse area and stopped. He turned in his seat, and said, “Let me talk with them first. I’m coming unannounced, so they may be a little skittish. I’ll explain the situation and everything will be cool.” Frank watched as he walked up to a solid metal door and knocked. Z looked up to the camera and smiled. Someone opened the door and Z walked in.

“Everything will be fine, Anne.”

“I hope you’re right. I’m not liking Mr. Beemer at the moment. I think I’ll take your suggestion and find another job,” she joked. Her smile was the sweetest think Frank had ever seen. He’d never tire of seeing it. He noticed motion at the door, and Z waved them in.

Once they got to the door, Z said, “Call your guys. We’ll do the ground work here, and they can meet us at the airport for the exchange.”

“Okay.” Frank called and told his superior the situation. His boss wanted to talk to the person in charge. They conversed for a few minutes and hung up.

“Frank, you can go with us to show us the location. Anne, you will stay here and be safe. Nobody can get in or out of this place without the codes.”

“Alright, let’s roll.”

Frank directed them to the cabin, the men infiltrated and capture all the men. Alphonso and Mr. Beemer tried to leave out the back, but they were caught. A quick stop at the warehouse to pick up Anne and everyone rode to the airport. When everyone was unloaded from the vehicles, Anne saw the driver. She nudged Frank and he nodded his head. All bad men accounted for. The private jet landed and Frank’s boss shook his hand. “Glad you wrapped up your case. Sorry it messed up your plans. I’ll give you two weeks off. Enjoy them, have fun. I think your woman needs a quiet, relaxing vacation.”

“Thank you, sir. I’ll see you in two weeks. We’ll make plans from here and go incognito.”

Frank and Anne walked hand in hand to the airport terminal to plan their romantic getaway.