He kindly picked up her bags for her and replaced them in the car. "Don't worry, April. I can promise you one thing, though. I would never hurt you or put you in danger, because I understand you don't trust me."
She stared at him wide-eyed. April? Did he just call her April? She had told him her name was Haddie not April, so how did he get to know her name? Or perhaps, Lana must have sung her name as she went around with her picture. "I told you my name is Haddie, but you call me April. Why?"
"You told Rosita your name is April, dear." he opened the car door for her to step in. "And I wonder why."
"Rosita? Who is Rosita?"
Kyle whistled. "You are kidding, right? Don't tell me you don't know the name of the manager you worked with all day."
She remembered. "Oh, my bad. I'm sorry. You are referring to your sister, right? If I am not mistaken." she said.
"Yeah. My sis." He held the door impatiently. "Listen, I am not a good fighter at all, and could really be a scaredy cat when I want to. I am the last child of my family after all. So, please, get into the car. If we are here, we have to remain as inconspicuous and invisible as we can be. Because when you look around, this area is quite lonely and more dangerous than you can imagine. We both know if anything were to happen now, we wouldn't have a Saviour." He cajoled.
His point was clear, and April didn't wait to be told twice, as she hurriedly hopped in, taking one last glance at the drunk who was still on the floor, a few metres away from the car. Kyle shut her door as he walked around to get his as well. He had barely shut his side of the door when they sighted a group of guys in black, coming by. From the look of their flair and dress code, it was obvious the drunk man on the floor was in the same league with them.
"Shit. Damn it." Kyle cursed silently under his breath as he wind up the windows speedily. Luckily, the glasses were all tinted. Next, he reclined their seats backwards as much as he could, and ordered April to stay still.
"Do you know them?" she whispered in fear as they came closer.
"They are one of the dirtiest gamblers and drug dealers around. You don't ever wanna deal with them or show yourself around. Their only major weakness I know are pretty girls. They set their eyes on you, and all they need is to have you on their bed, and every damn thing is settled. But of course, no girl or lady would be fool hardy to want to take advantage of that and steal from them. They are extra cautious. Besides...." Kyle rambled on as April's attention drifted from his endless talk to the guys.
They stood right in front of the drunk and tried to heave him up, but he played sluggish, and rather pointed a finger at Kyle's car, uttering something incoherent to their hearing. All the guys turned to the car at once, and one of them pointed at it.
"Hey, you've got a gun there with you?" Kyle whispered to April. His tone held some urgency.
"Are you real? Do you really expect me to be with one, right now?" She was stunned that he would ask her such. Now what he said about being a scaredy cat and the last child of his family, re-echoed in her ears. He was not kidding afterall. They held their breath as the guys came nearer.
"How about you just start the car and drive off real quick, huh?" she suggested. "I don't see them with any vehicle whatsoever." she suggested as she observed.
"Well, the thing is, if I should start this piece of junk, believe me, half a dozen vehicles are just gonna appear from the blues. First, you would see a hot bike at our heels raining bullets on the tires."
April got his point. And once they began the race, it would be a continuous one, a race between life and death. One of the biggest of them, the tallest and strongest looking, with huge muscles, strolled towards the car, along with three others flanked behind him like bodyguards.
Kyle tapped her. "Look. Get back. Go on to the backseat and see how far you can squeeze yourself in the trunk, quickly."
Like a speed of lightning, she obeyed at once and squeezed herself close to the trunk as much as she could, while blocking her view with the cereal cartons.
The muscular men had approached the car already and rapped their knuckles calmly at the window.
Kyle counted ten seconds.
They rapped again.
He counted another ten seconds.
What the hell was he up to? April wondered, as her heart pounded in her ears from where she hid. She really hoped he would be fine, if not, her life might as well be over tonight.
They rapped the third time, getting impatient.
This time, Kyle counted just five seconds before finally opening the door. He yawned and stretched himself wildly, giving the impression that he had been asleep. "Good morning, officers. I'm sorry, do you wanna offer me a parking ticket? I'm sorry, but my car suddenly broke down in the middle of the road." he yawned wildly again.
They chuckled among themselves. "This dude seems to be speaking from his dream." The biggest one with the muscle, who appeared to be their gang leader sneered, "But then, we might as well wanna wake him up." He dealt Kyle a deafening slap on his cheek as he spoke.
April closed her mouth with a gasp to refrain herself from screaming. Though she could see nothing from where she hid, she heard everything clearly and whimpered in fear.
Kyle rubbed the offending cheek and stepped out of the car, shutting the door. "Oh, my bad. I'm sorry, I mistook you for the cops."
"Really? And who are you? What's your name?" Their gang leader growled at him.
"Isn't it obvious? His name is Ham Sorry." One of his cohorts joked, and the others laughed. Their boss put a hand in the air to signal total silence, and a hush fell over them.
"Listen here, dude. What you doing here? Why the hell is your freaking piece of junk blocking the way, huh?" Though the car was parked by the side of the road. "And lastly, tell us. Where is she? The chick with you."
"We uhm .... We had an argument and she left." he replied, still rubbing the offending cheek.
"You say, what? You two had a fight? And she headed where? By this time? You're kidding, right?" he pushed him out of the way without waiting for a response. "Rip the car to pieces, boys! He must think we are fools to believe him."
Kyle found his voice. "Believe me. Ask the fella on the floor. He didn't meet her in the car, he met her outside with her bags, leaving."
One of them snorted as he held up April's purse. "Indeed. Then I guess this belongs to you or your godmother, huh?"
"It belongs to her. But because I didn't let her go, she decided to leave without a pin and come back for her things later." He muttered.
"You are only fooling yourself, dude. Rip the car, boys! She's gotta be somewhere in the trunk or backseat!" Their boss ordered more aggressively this time.
"Alright, fine. I will confess. I will tell you the truth." Kyle pleaded desperately. April literally stopped breathing. "She took a lot of junk as you can see here," he pointed to the candy wrappers and food littered in the car, which he had consumed earlier. "So, she got a stomach upset and went up the road to use that public facility we see down there. I bet your noise must have scared her off by now. I bet she must have sighted you guys."
Their leader growled in fury. "What are you guys still standing here for?! Go get her quickly before she goes far!!" He yelled.
They left the car at once and scampered away. They had barely gone a few feet when a police patrol van appeared. Like lightning speed, they split directions at once and took a run, including their boss and the drunk one who had just managed to lift his heavy self from the ground. While the police officers ran after them, their leader approached Kyle with a long flashlight, flashing it all over him and the vehicle.
"Are you okay?"
Kyle nodded. He was super relieved on one hand, but on the other hand, now with their presence... he hesitated.
The officer stood in front of the car and flashed his light inside all over. "So...what are you doing out here by this time of the day?" his flashlight settled on the junk food now. Kyle held his breath, because next to it, laid April's purse.