The Broken Agreement

  Ingrid leapt into the passenger side of the taxi and said, “Follow that car.”

   That car’s backend was receding quickly. Ingrid knew it would be out of reach soon. “Come on, follow it.” She ordered. She pulled all the money she had in her little purse and slapped it on the dash. But the taxi would not move. “He’s getting away. Will you please follow him?”

   Ingrid looked to her side but there was no driver in the taxi. The car ahead was almost three blocks away. Where was the driver? She checked the backseats and found no driver there, either. The car ahead was getting away.

   She spotted the keys still in the ignition. She did one last look around, then slid herself over to the driver’s side, started the taxi up, and drove after the car. She was lucky, the car ahead was slowed at a busy intersection further up.

   She could hear yelling behind her. The cabbie was spilling a bottle of pop while chasing her and his taxi. A number of men in suits were beginning to appear behind the cabbie, running to stop her. 

   The man in the car ahead was turning. Her man. Vincent Sandvik, a so-called international student, six foot two, blonde hair and bug-eyed attractive. Also arrogant, and a professional liar. She was warned not to have anything to do with him, that no one really knew him, and better he went back to his country before someone got hurt.  

   But Ingrid made an agreement with him, and after months of planning, everything was in place for today, and now Vincent was running away to leave her to deal with the fallout, alone. What had made him panic and run? Why hadn’t she seen the signs? Did someone tell him she was the one not to be trusted? Ingrid didn’t think she had put a foot wrong with him, but did she?

   Vincent turned the corner, and Ingrid cut a block early from his intersection and raced around to catch him on the next street, and to get away from the others who were chasing her on foot. Vincent went through the next intersection and Ingrid tracked him parallel for a few blocks.

   The final block led Vincent to a highway onramp and that slowed his progress. Ingrid caught up, and got almost two cars behind him. She was grateful not to be racing in the city any longer. She rolled the window down and waved her arm to see if she could catch his attention in his review mirror. Because if she could get his attention, she could begin to threaten him and really express her anger. She wanted Vincent to know she was coming after him, and that he was going to pay the price for betrayal.   

   She honked the horn, but it only caused the heavyset man in the car immediately in front of her to honk back. The traffic on the ramp was slowing, the highway was packed. Ingrid honked again. The heavy man rolled down his window to shout at her, and give her a hand signal. This time she honked specifically at the heavy man.

   The heavy man got out of his car on the ramp and started towards the taxi. Ingrid held her hands palms up to him as if to say, “What are you going to do?” Looking closer at her the heavy man was embarrassed and got back in his car.

   She was almost ready to get out and catch Vincent on foot, but he cleared the ramp onto the highway. When she got on the highway, she picked up pace, but she wasn’t getting any nearer to Vincent. Then she began to wonder, why the highway? Was he making for the airport? He once claimed he was a bio-engineering student, but was he? He was mature for a student. He claimed he had taken a few years off to travel Europe. Was any of it true? She didn’t even know what institution he was supposed to be from. She only knew about him, what he had told her.

   As she drove, she could see him removing his tie, his jacket, as if to abandon all traces of his past. She shifted to the passing lane, but he quickly did the same.

   Then Ingrid could hear horns behind her. The others must have followed her. Mostly the men in suits. They were waving for her to pull over, to give up. She drowned out their horns in her head and kept determined to catch Vincent. To punish him.

   She then heard the sirens and knew the police were coming for her. She had not meant for this to be so public. She had planned a quiet escape for both of them and this played no part in it. Stealing a taxi was not part of the plan, nor Vincent running out when they were so close to finalizing the deal.

   The police waived her onto the shoulder. She could see Vincent speeding away. The others were piling in behind the police. It was over. It was really over. Vincent would get away and she’d be left with nothing. Then she saw a second police car speed past and overtake Vincent. He was being pulled him over, too.

   She watched as an officer approached Vincent’s car. The officer had not drawn his gun, but he had his hand on it. He motioned for Vincent to get out.

   Ingrid ignored the officer at her window, who was busy waving the others to get back into there cars along the shoulder before they got hit by oncoming traffic. The others were not going to take a chance on Ingrid driving off again. They approached, but granted the officer a bit of distance.

   Ingrid watched as Vincent step out of his car, finally, his ruffled white shirt and tuxedo pants looking strange in the middle of the day on the highway.

   Ingrid’s officer interrupted her view. “Miss, I need you to step out of the car, please. Please, step out of the car.”

   Ingrid felt triumphant, but angry. She slowly stepped out of the taxi, but it wasn’t easy, her wedding dress kept catching along the seat and steering wheel as she got out.