Chapter
12
Marie
and Ellie approached the scene in complete shock.
There
were police cars, flashing lights, barricades, and people all over the place.
News crews had started to arrive, and were being warded off by other policemen.
Marie screamed.
“Oh
my God!”
Ellie
had a similar reaction.
“Shit!”
she screeched. “What the hell is going on? What’s happened? Marie, what the
hell is going on?” She grabbed Marie’s hand and dragged her over to the nearest
person.
“I’m
sorry miss, we have a situation here,” he said in a pompous, official sounding
tone. “You are going to have to keep
clear.” He put his hands out in front of him with his palms
facing
out, in some strange attempt to ward them off. Marie would have none of it.
“Fuck
no I’m not keeping clear! What the hell is going on?” she exploded.
“Our
friend might be in there,” Ellie said tightly. The cop eyed them for a moment,
and then decided their reaction couldn’t be anything other than genuine.
“Come
with me.” He led them over to a small group of people who were gathered at the
far edge of the commotion. There were three younger looking men and two cops,
and they were having a heated discussion.
“Excuse
me sir,” the officer said, clearing his throat. “These young ladies claim to
know one of the hostages.” Both of the policemen standing there turned and gave
the two girls their full attention. Marie spoke up hesitantly.
“My
roommate left to go pick up some cold medicine about an hour ago and she never
came back. We came to look for her.”
Howie
glanced up at the new voice, and upon seeing them, swallowed hard. He had no
doubt the girl they were referring to was the one who had been injured.
“Her
name is Lila,” Ellie spoke up. Does anyone know if she is all right?”
The
police exchanged glances.
“We
do have a hostage situation here. We don’t have as many details as we’d like,
but we know that five people are trapped inside with two thieves who failed in
a robbery attempt. There is one injury, and we know that someone is dead.”
“No!”
Marie shrieked. Howie took the opportunity to step in.
“I
think your friend is alive.”
Marie
and Ellie turned their heads to him, hope leaping into their faces.
“They
let me speak to a friend of mine who is in there too, and he said that he and
my other friend were watching over a girl who… who had been shot.” Ellie
gasped. “If that’s her,” Howie continued quickly, “She’s hurt, but she’s not
dead.” He was careful to avoid any mention of who his “friends” were. Marie
looked close to tears.
“Oh
no,” Ellie moaned. “Please tell me this isn’t happening.”
“Relax,
miss,” one of the cops said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “We’re doing
everything we can. We’ll get your friend out.”
Marie wavered for a moment, and reached out
for something to steady her. She found nothing, and almost fell. Kevin reacted
the fastest, and caught her before she hit the ground. He steadied her, and she
shook her head a little to clear her thoughts.
“Are
you all right?” he asked, concerned.
“She’s
my roommate. Please, God, let her be ok."
“We
know how you feel,” he said quietly. “We have two friends stuck in there.”
Marie
nodded, glancing up in his direction. There was something familiar about his
face, but she was too distracted to think about who he reminded her of. One of
the officers guided them over to one of the cars, and opened a door to let
Marie sit down on the seat. She leaned against the doorframe, her legs dangling
outside the vehicle, trying to comprehend what was happening. Ellie stood
beside her, leaning against the car.
“We
have to tell Becca and Julie what’s going on,” she said after awhile.
“I
know.”
Marie’s
thoughts churned around inside of her. Lila had been shot. Lila was in trouble.
At least she knew someone was looking after her. Who were those guys, anyway?
Her thoughts returned to the man who had caught her. Why did he seem so
familiar? Suddenly it hit her.
“Ellie?”
“Yeah?”
“If
Lila is the one who got shot, I’ll bet she’s the happiest girl on earth right
now.”
Ellie
stared in disbelief. “What the hell do you mean by that?”
“You
know those three guys over there? The ones who said they have two friends in
that store?”
“Yeah.”
“Those
are the fucking Backstreet Boys.”
“You’ve
got to be kidding me.”
“I
swear. You remember that Kevin fetish that I had Freshman year?”
“Do
I ever,” Ellie muttered dryly.
“Kevin
was the one who caught me.”
“This
is not the time to joke about this,” she warned.
“I’m
not joking,” Marie said seriously. “I am absolutely not joking. You remember
her complaining that we didn’t get tickets for their show tonight? They’re
here. That is them. I’ve lived with her for three years, and unfortunately I
know what they look like.”
“If
this wasn’t so serious, I’d be laughing my ass off right now,” Ellie said with
a sigh.
“Me
too. I hope she’s all right…”
***
