Angelina studied the mountainside as she waited at a red light at Western. She could see the two hospital security cars behind her, the drivers talking frantically on their cell phones. Neither had the right to pull her over, and no doubt neither were armed and didn’t want to take the chance that she was. They looked like they were calling in their location to the police and the vehicle’s license number.
Further down on Western she could hear and see flashing lights as police cars approached. The traffic light turned green and she swerved right, heading up Western.
Neil had been silent for the past minute. “I don’t know if I want to be a part of this,” he said shaking his head.
“You don’t have to. But know this, I have been Sam’s babysitter and best friend for the past six years and I saved him from having his brain butchered by a bunch of sick, perverted freaks.”
“But where are you now going with this? In a moment more cops will be on our tail and you will be avoiding arrest, another crime. There’s nowhere to go! We should stop and rationally talk this through, okay?”
“Do you love me Neil?”
“I want to, but I don’t know anymore!”
“I know, I know. But please trust me on this, okay?”
“I’m trying to, but I got to tell you this is making me sick!”
“Okay, hang on tight. Sam, hold on to your seat. This could get a little bumpy.”
“Okay!” Sam yelled enthusiastically, having magically gotten over the terror he was under ten minutes earlier.
As they reached the entrance to Griffith Park at the top of Western, Angelina hit the brakes, slowing the SUV down as she surveyed the intersection. Like before, there were cop cars stationed sideways preventing anyone from entering the park. She guided the SUV up to the curb and hopped up onto the sidewalk and drove across the grass and around the barricades. A police whistle blew loudly and several police officers scrambled to attention, grabbing their radios.
Two other cop cars with their lights and siren blaring and the Kaiser Security vehicles came barreling onto the scene at the same time, one attempting to follow the SUV, but instead plowing into the side of a parked police car, blocking the entrance further.
Neil looked over and saw one of them shouting into a radio was his dad. It was instant recognition on both sides as they made eye contact. Lee stopped talking, staring in shock at the sight of his son sitting in the passenger seat of his own vehicle. His hand with the radio fell to his side.
The SUV bounced over the curb and skidded into the right hand lane. Angelina slammed on the gas and they shot forward, up the mountainside, passing under the large trees and by the fancy houses on either side.
◊
Paula was alone in the house with Tammy to keep her company. She was sitting on the couch resting her arm and nursing a cup of coffee. Lee had been called out to help direct traffic for the Griffith Park fire an hour earlier. She watched on the TV as the media cut from various aerial and ground shots of the fire, continually zooming in on the fast moving fire line as trees and chaparral were eaten up by the flames. It seemed each large Santa Ana wind gust pushed the fire further along, like jam being slowly spread on toast. She got closer to the TV, studying each aerial shot up close, finding recognizable landmarks that would tell her exactly what parts of the park had been consumed. She was dismayed to see the burning, but pleased to see their oak tree was still standing, though it appeared to now be in harm’s way. She was also pleased the media now had something else to distract them from she and her daughter.
The coverage switched to a “sudden developing story”. The helicopter camera panned back from the fire itself and zoomed in on a looping road at the park’s bottom where an SUV was driving, followed a hundred yards behind by several police cars with their lights flashing. An energetic reporter filled in the viewers with the details of what they were seeing.
“An SUV reportedly containing a young couple and possibly a kidnap victim have led authorities on a chase down Sunset Boulevard and broken through a police barricade at the Griffith Park entrance. The SUV has refused to stop and is now heading into the burning park.”
Paula stared hard at the SUV, a premonition rising in her. A zoom shot showed a split second hazy outline of the people in the front seat. No one but a mother could have possibly recognized that it was their daughter. Her jaw dropped open and the coffee cup crashed to the floor.
◊
Neil sunk in his chair. “That was my Dad and he saw me.”
“Oh no! My mom is going to be pissed.”
“My Dad is going to be furious! This is going to ruin everything! They’re going to break up and make us break up. It’s all over Angie. Let’s stop the car and end this craziness right now.”
“I’ll try to think of something.”
“LIKE WHAT?” Neil asked, thoroughly pissed. He was past anger, his words sharp and biting. “We are driving into a park that’s on fire with police on our tails. What could you possible think of?”
“Hey, you guys shouldn’t be fighting if you really love each other,” Sam interjected quietly from the back.
“Oh yeah,” Neil added sarcastically, “and we’ve got a kidnapped celebrity in our backseat!”
At that moment their cell phones rang and they simultaneously pulled them off their waists and looked at the screens.
“It’s my Mom,” Angelina said.
“It’s my Dad,” Neil said at the same time. “I can’t ignore it. He’s already seen me!”
“Let’s trade phones,” Angelina suggested.
“I’d prefer to talk to your Mom,” he said and added in a low voice, “and tell her how crazy you are. And maybe my Dad can talk some sense into you.”
As they bounced over a speed bump, causing Sam to squeal with joy, they traded cell phones and flipped them open.