"HEY, I'm talking to you, I need the toilet!" Danny demanded
"Well you can go in the bushes over there, or do you want someone to come help you find it!" the officer jokingly replied.
"OY! You don't make fun of me! And its not that kind of need for the toilet."
"Fine, Harry, take Danny down to the village and see if you can find a Public Toilet."
That was the last time Mike ever saw Danny and Officer Harry Mackenzie. After they left, Mike could see the fear in the remaining officer's eyes. He tried not to show it and stood up straight with his neatly creased clothes, but the fear was evident.
The sky clouded over and it started to rain, but the men kept digging. About an hour after Danny had left with the officer one of the other prisoners, called Harry Belefontay, who had been put away for life for committing murder of the first degree, started an uprising, and challenged the remaining officer. This moment had been clouding the officer's mind for the past hour. The attack had been imminent, and now it had begun. Belefontay jumped up and with no warning at all, hit the officer cleanly over the head with the spade, knocking the officer out cold, and sending him flying across the road until eventually he hit the side of the prison van.
The same thought went through almost everyone's mind,
"Escape!"
Barry wasn't coming though. He only had two weeks worth of porridge left to serve. As fast as Mike could, he left the scene and headed for the woods about a mile away down the hill. He was tired but knew that he couldn't stop. This was his chance, he had to go to prove his innocence.
CHAPTER TWO; HOME FREE
Running footsteps echoed through the hills as Mike ran through puddles and swamps of mud. Getting dirty was the least of his worries at the moment. Right now he was wondering, 'should he have escaped? What would happen if he were caught? How on earth was he going to prove his innocence?' He thought the best way to start would be to head for home first. He would get going in the morning. He knew that the police would go to his house first to question his wife, but hopefully they would only get to the scene the following morning. The light was beginning to fade from the sky, the horizon was a beautiful shade of orange as the sun turned to the distant mountains. He entered the woods and all of a sudden he was thinking properly again, like he had been taught to. An army veteran would surely know that the woods would be the first place the police would search. He turned back and headed back toward the village he had just come through. At least in the village there would be more cover.
Mike could keep up the pace no longer and found a dark alley and some old boxes he could hide in for the night. He took a long awaited, and deserved rest before sleeping the night away.
When he woke, the sun was just rising, coming out from it's hiding place over the horizon. It had already started warming the earth and the glistening beads of dew, which had settled on the grass during the night, were reflecting the sunlight and amplifying the heat. Mike guessed that it was about five o'clock as it was still a little dark. The police had stolen his watch from him when he was caught and put in prison. Mike struggled to get up. He knew that he had to start moving but unfortunately his legs didn't and they were aching with tiredness. He started with a slow jog and then sped up. He was running for about quarter of an hour until he decided he would steal a car. He didn't like the idea as he had always tried to work on an honesty basis, but this was an emergency. It was an old car, as he didn't want it to look too suspicious. It didn't have any dents or anything which was actually quite good for an old nineteen eighty-seven Ford. He popped the hood and connected one of the wires from the battery to the coil and crossed the starter wire with one of the battery wires. The car roared into action, Mike jumped inside and sped off down the road, away from the escape scene, first stop, home. He realised he was now a fugitive but then he had been for several hours now.
Mike pulled up around the corner from the house and walked round the back in case a surveillance team had already been set up. He had not seen his wife for several months now and a bead of sweat rolled slowly down his face. He flicked it away with one swift movement of his hand. Suddenly the sun disappeared, the wind whistled and rustled in the leaves whilst the sky clouded over and it started to rain once more. The cold raindrops made a gentle patting sound as they found their target, washing away the sweat from Mike's rough old face that had been painted with dirt and soaked with sweat.
He opened the back gate and walked through into the garden and shyly knocked on the door, now doubting whether he should have. Marge, his wife, appeared, staring through the window. She stood there for a second and then walked back out of the room. She couldn't believe her eyes, and she had to come back for another look. She had heard over the radio that some prisoners had escaped from the jail where Mike was being held but she had no idea that Mike was one of them. She opened the door slowly,
"Oh Mike, you came back! You must be careful, but it's so good to see you again!"
"I'm sorry Marge, I can't stay long, the police could arrive at anytime, but when I come back I will not be going back to jail, I promise. You do believe I'm innocent don't you?"
"Mike! Of course I do!" Marge claimed, sounding very unsure. Mike seemed a little warped at the moment as his eyes, wide open, darted around the room inside, avoiding his wife's gaze.
He walked inside and went upstairs for a shower as though he had lived in this house for every minute of his life.
When he came back down-stairs he was wearing a pair of neatly ironed black trousers and his old army vest. Marge was downstairs making him a sandwich and a drink. The television was on, and it showed the news. They were reporting the accident from earlier. Two of the four men who had escaped with Mike had already been caught and they were now showing a picture of Mike and the two other fugitives, warning people not to go near any of them and to call a number if they should be seen.
"Where are you going now?" Marge asked frustrated that her husband would be leaving so soon.
"I cannot say as I am not sure myself. I will not be long but I will need to borrow your car in the mean time!" Mike replied secretively.
"Sure just be careful."
And Mike took the keys and left without saying another word.
First stop was the train station. He had left his army stuff there for safekeeping just in case the worst case scenario ever did happen, which it had. He calmly walked in and opened the safety deposit box. Inside was his old desert eagle he had received during Vietnam for bravery beyond the call of duty. His dog tags and beret, which he had worn with pride, were still there. He decided not wear them now, as what he was going to do would not be completely legal, or honourable.
CHAPTER THREE; THE CLUE
Mike was now refreshed and ready for action, but he had no idea where he was going to start. Where to go? The villains could be anywhere. He needed a clue, a little help just to get him started. He went down to the river where he had a boat. Marge would surely have kept it. As he went through the park gates he could just about make out the lake. He drove a bit further up the road and sure enough, there was his boat, the 'Lady of the Lake', just sitting there peacefully. He parked the car and climbed on board. He reached underneath the loose board in the cabin and there were the keys. He pushed them into the ignition, turned the key, and it choked,
"Come on, don't fail me now, come on!"
And with those few words of encouragement she roared with excitement. Her captain was back in town, and her engine was ready for action. Mike sailed her out to the middle of the lake, lowered the anchor and pulled out his fishing rod. He sat back and started thinking. That was the problem with Mike and fishing, he found it too hard to keep his mind on the task put out in front of him. It had been so long since he had had this much freedom that it only took him ten minutes and he was out like a light.
It was evening when Mike woke up. The moon and stars were out and the light coming from them was immense. The lake was calm and it looked like the boat was floating on air as the lake was so clam. Mike was still unsure what to do but something in his dream was trying to tell him something, but he didn't know what. Either way it was trying to help.
"Go to work." It kept saying.
But Mike wasn't employed. The petroleum company had fired him when he was arrested. All of a sudden, something clicked in his mind. The message was starting to make sense. He was supposed to go to the room in which this escapade had all started.
When he pulled up outside, all of the lights were out. The guards were already out on their night shift. Mike jumped quietly over the fence and crept inside the nearest building and by luck it was the building he wanted. He climbed the stairs like a shadow, and as quietly as a mouse. When he reached the door he hesitated for a few seconds before entering. He was still afraid, traumatised by the experience. He had to go round the room several times before he found the clue. It was a matchbox, he hadn't taken any notice of it the first time he saw it, but then something made him take a closer look. On the inside was an address written in ink. It wasn't much to go on but he decided that it would be the next stop. Suddenly he heard footsteps coming from outside the door. He quickly looked around and saw a cupboard in the corner…
The door opened. The guard must have heard something and he walked around the room. Just as the guard was about to leave. He also noticed the cupboard in the corner. He swung the door wide open and held up his gun. The cupboard was empty. The guard left the room almost disappointed. It was as if nothing unusual ever happened and he was hoping for a little action.
A hand appeared on the windowsill outside and Mike pulled himself up and climbed back into the room. He had got this far and he didn't want to be caught now. He was getting too close.
He drove himself to a nearby hotel where he managed to get a room for the night. He cleaned himself up, put on the television and spread himself out on the bed. It had been years since he had been on a bed this comfy and so he promptly fell asleep.
The following morning Mike paid the Manager and quickly left in case he was recognised. He clambered into a new car this time, as the police would be almost certainly looking for the Ford already. He decided he would go for luxury rather than camouflage this time and he chose a Jaguar. He didn't mind now, he had relearned the art of driving in the Ford and he was now sure that even if the police did see him, he could comfortably out-run them.
Mike pulled out of the car park of the hotel, but the police were waiting for him and were immediately hot on his tail. The manager of the hotel must have recognised him and called the police. Mike gave a small chuckle of delight, nought-to-sixty in eight seconds. He screeched round the first corner taking it amazingly well. Dodging the civilian cars, he dived down a small alley. He looked in the mirror and saw that the police car had ploughed into the side of a van,
"Well that was easy!"
As usual he had spoken too soon, and there were five more black and whites round the next corner.
Mike jumped in his seat as the first of the police cars dived around the corner, nearly hitting the Jag in the side. Mike got a little nervous now and took the next corner onto 24th street too early. He dived across the pavement, scaring the hell out of the nearby pedestrians. The car scraped the wall leaving a massive scratch on the side. Mikes took his eyes off the road for a second to try and see the damage through the broken mirror, which was now hanging down from its wires. Mike could see two police cars left in the pursuit. Mike skidded smoothly round the next corner, followed closely by one of the police cars, the other came round the corner a second later but much too fast and its black, rubber wheels skipped along the surface of the road until the car rolled over onto its side. Mike glanced at the mirror seeing it on its side whilst the bystanders rushed over to help the policemen out. Another bad mistake. When Mike's attention was diverted back to the road he saw a big petrol tanker reversing out of an alley. It was too late, Mike ducked and the jag went under as the top of the car was ripped off. Mike poked his head back above the dashboard of the newly acquired convertible. His eyes jumped up to where the front mirror used to be, to see if the police were still chasing him. Unfortunately the mirror was now lying in the wreckage on the floor behind the big petrol tanker. Mike hoped he wouldn't be around when the owners went to reclaim their car from the Police Pound where the police would keep it when he no longer needed it. The noise from the sirens started to die down as Mike sped up away and from the petrol tanker. Mike started to decelerate and turned down a quiet street. He looked back behind him but no one was following.
CHAPTER FOUR; REVENGE
The address on the match box took him to a large warehouse. There were two guards posted at the gates and even more wandering around. Mike thought to himself ' this has to be the place. No one would hire guards unless they had something to hide.' He had already evaded guards once in the last two day, he could surely do it again. He carried on driving past the front gates and pulled up in some trees about five hundred yards further up. The road was lined with trees and it was very dark as there weren't any street lamps around. Mike looked at the fence. It was three metres high with barbed wire on the top and Mike didn't have any wire cutters handy. There was no way of getting in, or was there.
Mike reversed back up the road and stopped about hundred yards before the front gates. He then opened the door and sneaked quietly up to the gates and glanced in. He saw a large compound full of different sized buildings. It looked like an impenetrable fortress, but Mike had come too far and was going to try to sneak in. The guards were talking about someone called Dean and about a shipment on Friday. Mike retreated back to the car, thinking that this information could be used to his advantage but without a battle plan it would be no use at all.
Five minutes later Mike crept back up in front of the gates, Mike demanded,
"I want to see Dean! It's about the shipment next week."
The guards appeared puzzled and one disappeared inside a nearby hut to make a phone call.
"Hold on a minute sir, we just need to check something."
The first guard then came out of the hut and called,
"Come right this way sir" and gave a light chuckle,
The gates opened, there was no turning back now.
There was gunfire from behind a building to the right and Mike dived for cover in the guard hut that was next to him. His story hadn't been convincing enough. Pandora's box had now been blow right opened and hell was now unleashed.
Mike reached into his pocket, pulling out his gun, and resting his forefinger neatly on the trigger. He then jumped out from his hiding place and released two bullets from the Desert Eagle, before rolling out of sight behind a bush to the right. Both bullets found their target and the gate guards were now down. Mike could hear a helicopter, its blades whisked the area above him whilst the sky rained empty bullet cartridges. If Mike stayed where he was he would be as good as dead. More guards were coming out from nowhere, and bullets were ricocheting off everywhere. Mike had to run to another hut about fifty yards away as a grenade went off behind him. As he ran for the next hut, bright white sparks were flying off from the ground where the loose bullets had fallen short of their target. Mike shot off another three bullets, all missing the target in the corner warehouse by inches as the guard ducked behind a miscellaneous box. Mike saw in the corner of his eye a guard's uniform on the wall of the building he was in. It had an Uzi beside it with two grenades. Mike clawed over to them and picked up the grenade and Uzi. He then whipped his arm around, pulled the pin out of the grenade and threw it toward the nearby group of guards. Three seconds later a cloud of smoke went off and a guard was flying through the air. Mike took this chance and ran for better cover in the larger building toward the right whilst bullets churned the air next to him. He used the smoke from the grenade as cover, it smelt like a thousand barbecues, all burning their unattended meals.
Over the noise of gunfire and grenades, the screeching of police sirens could be heard. The guards' attention were drawn to the police. They considered them a greater threat to them than Mike. Mike's plan was working. He had called the police earlier telling them he could heard gun fire so that when he entered the enemy compound, he would only have to hold them off for a while until the police arrived. The guards would then fire at the police and Mike could then go and find the big boss.
Inside the building Mike had taken cover in what must have been the main building as it was the biggest. He found himself in front of a flight of stairs going down and as he didn't have a clue where to go this seemed to be the best place to start. He staggered down them as the guards caught up with him and once again bullets were flying everywhere. At the bottom of the stairs he found himself in a large corridor. He took the last grenade and placed it skilfully underneath one of the metal steps and ran down the corridor. The timing was excellent. Just as the first two guards reached the door the grenade went off. Mike found the handle to the end door of the corridor and opened it.
He found himself on a walkway above a large room which had a large, rectangular, wooden table in the middle. Around it were several groups of men discussing something that seemed to be upsetting one of the groups of people. It was amazing how they had not heard the explosions upstairs. All of a sudden one of the men looked up,
"Good evening Mr Fletcher, I have been expecting you," he said
Mike reached for his gun but the man warned him not to,
"Oh come on now Fletcher, there's no need for that. Well, I'm sure that you'll remember me, but you do not know my name, I am Henry Bolarchy." The man claimed.
"I do not see the point in wasting time so lets get this over with." Bolarchy picked up a pistol from the table.
"Just before I shoot you, do you have any last requests" Bolarchy asked
Mike suddenly remembered this guy was one of the men from the room where the trouble had started.
"Yeah, I don't want much. I just want a full confession, that’s all, just to hear a criminal confess. To know how you conducted your ingenious plan" Mike asked, with the plan to not only buy time in his mind.
"Yes, I was rather excellent. Fine, I'll will grant you this one request."
Bolarchy then went on to explain the whole thing and how it had actually been a lucky accident for him that Mike had arrived when he did.
The police had broken through the guards attempt to stop them and they burst into the room. It was strange how not a single person shot a single bullet, everyone gave in straight away, it wasn't like it was in the movies. Fortunately for Mike he had brought a mini tape recorder with him and recorded the whole confession. Mike still went back to prison though for another two weeks, for carrying an unlicenced weapon, the permit had expired two years before.