Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Wednesday Briefs: The Sheriff #52 (12.4)

Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.

After dropping off Denver with Rye, Dustin and Roy find themselves in a difficult situation - it looks like Jordan is hot on their trail, and he's probably pissed. Can they get out of this without getting hurt? Find out what's going on in this week's chapter of The Sheriff. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what they've been up to. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!

The Sheriff #52 (12.4)

At first, Roy hadn’t thought anything of there being a car behind them. To be safe, he kept an eye on it. The vehicle never turned off, maintaining a steady distance between them. Roy decided to test a sudden apprehension and switched lanes. The other car did the same. And when Roy moved back to his original lane, so did the strange vehicle.

He felt Dustin’s hand on his leg tremble slightly. He started to tell him not to worry, but his common sense said they should be worried. If this was Jordan, as he feared, there was no telling what he might do.

“Do you think it’s Jordan?” Dustin asked. Roy was glad to note that he didn’t sound frightened, that was a good sign. He needed Dustin to keep control of his wits at all times. Roy glanced into the rearview mirror again. He noted that the other car was closing the distance between them, coming up fast. Good thing traffic was sparse at this time of night. Even so, they needed to find some place less dangerous than a moving vehicle for the showdown he suspected was coming.

“I think  so,” Roy said grimly. “Brace yourself. Hold on tight.” He felt Dustin’s hand dig into his leg, even as his body grew taut. The lights were getting closer now. If he didn’t take evasive action, they’d be rammed.

Roy watched the rapidly approaching lights, timing his action until the very last second. He spun the wheel  hard to the right, tires screeching in protest. The truck leaned precariously for a moment before righting itself once again.

Roy glanced behind them. If he’d had any doubts that this was Jordan, those were removed when he saw the car duplicate his maneuver, following them onto the side road. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, tossing it to Dustin.

“Dial 9-1-1, tell them you’re a deputy and they need to patch you in to the sheriff right now.”

“I’m not a deputy—”

“You are now. I hereby deputize you. Now make that call!”

Roy only half listened to Dustin’s frantic phone call, intent on staying two steps ahead of the asshole behind him. He knew this guy was pissed, but was he armed? That was the big question. Roy didn’t want to find out the answer the hard way. Which meant he had to lead Jordan as far away from other people as possible. Good thing he knew Tucker Falls like the back of his hand.

“I have Sheriff Sinclair on the line,” Dustin said. “On speaker.”

“Good thinking,” he praised Dustin. “Harlan, can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, Roy. What’s the situation?”

“I have that asshole Jordan behind me. I think he’s been following us for a while. I’m going to play cat and mouse with him until we get away from most everyone else.”

“Copy that.  What’s your twenty?”

“Heading west on Jackson, toward Brewer. Then I’m going to head north on Brewer. Back toward the old Hamilton factory. Want to meet us there?”

“You got it, Roy. On my way.” The phone went silent.

“That place is shut down, isn’t it?” Dustin asked.

“Exactly,” Roy said as he made a hard turn onto Brewer. They passed fewer and fewer houses. Roy knew this part of town was more industrial, and mostly vacant now. Especially at this time of night.  For a moment, he thought maybe he was wrong. The road behind them was pitch black and empty. But then a pair of headlights broke the darkness, and he knew that was Jordan.

And he knew he’d do whatever it took to bring him in and keep Dustin safe.

to be continued

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