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the staff across his waist and took his own helmet off.  It felt heavy and wet in his hands.  He realized he’d been sweating profusely.
    “Yeah.”
    “Nice work with the hanbo.  Another second and that guy would have put a bullet into each of us.”
    “I didn’t see him until the last moment.”
    She nodded.  “You reacted well.  We have to get out of here now.  Our best bet for staying safe is to get as far away as possible from those guys.  Understand?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Good.  Put your helmet back on.”
    Jimmy fastened his strap.  “Where are we going?”
    “You are going to the airport.”  Vanessa got off of the motorcycle and headed into the dense bushes along the side of the road.  She reemerged a few moments later wheeling an exact duplicate of the bike Jimmy sat on.  She brought it up on to the road and cranked the engine.
    Jimmy shook his head.  "Wait-you're leaving me?"
    Vanessa grinned.  "Two bikes, Jimmy.  Two trails they'll have to follow.  That means your chances of reaching our objective are better than if we stay together."
    "Yeah, but I don't even know what's going on."
    Vanessa pointed at the highway. "You follow this road for twenty miles.  Take the interstate into the city and you'll see signs for the airport.  Once there, put the bike in the long-term parking area and you'll bump into some friends of mine.  Just play it cool and they'll handle everything.  Do what they say and you'll be fine."
    "What if I don't find them?"
    "They'll find you, Jimmy.  Trust me."  She gunned her bike.
    Jimmy had to shout over the roar of the engine.  "But I don't even know how to drive."
    Vanessa slid her visor back.  "Jimmy, stop lying about what you can and can't do.  I know full well that you taught yourself how to ride that motorcycle you stole back in Chicago.  And as long as you keep your helmet on and stick to the speed limit, you shouldn't have any trouble with the police."  She grinned.  "I'll see you again before you know it.  If you get into trouble, trust your instincts.  From what I've seen, they're not half bad."
    "Gee, thanks."  Jimmy glanced down at the red buttons.  "I don't suppose you have any more rockets for this thing?"
    "They weren't rockets.  That's a garage door opener I rigged to detonate the explosives I'd planted near the trees."
    He started to say something but his voice was drowned out as Vanessa cranked the motorcycle again and shot off.  In a moment, she'd vanished around the bend.  
    Jimmy sighed, revved his own engine and then felt the tires bite into the road beneath him, carrying him off into the unknown.
     

Chapter Four
     
     
    Jimmy kept his head down and steered the motorcycle along the side road for twenty miles.  He spotted the interstate onramp and eased the bike into it, throttling back as he did so.  While he rode, he thought about what Vanessa had told him.
    She knew that he'd stolen a motorcycle in Chicago.  But how?  He frowned.  That time in Chicago had been when he was feeling at his worst.  He hadn't wanted to be at that foster home and the father had smacked him around once or twice.  The family wanted nothing to do with Jimmy unless it was to get their monthly check from the government for being a foster family.
    They'd lived on the outskirts of the city in a rundown split-level house with vinyl siding that had been caked over with green mold.  The whole house stunk of cigarette smoke.  He'd been forced to share a room with the baby, and the place reeked like putrid diapers.
    Jimmy had started stealing initially to feel like he had some measure of control back in his life.  But later, he saw it as a means of escape.  If he got into just enough trouble, then perhaps they'd send him elsewhere.  Or at the very least, his foster family would decide the money they got for taking care of Jimmy wasn't worth the frustration of making frequent trips to the police station.
    He switched lanes, guiding the Ducati over to the