Fifty seconds had passed since the explosion; they had to escape prior to the arrival of witnesses. But how, their transport was a tangled and burning shell. There was no way out, they were cornered.
Jess opened her hand to reveal the evidence she collected from beneath where Tyler had lain. Meredith saw the phone. She knew it didn't belong to Tyler so she guessed it was the killer's. She banked everything on that assumption. She texted four words, 'Trapped, need a chopper.' She forwarded the message firstly to Daniel's cell phone and secondly to the most recent sent call. She believed the phone had GPS fitted. At Arthur's insistence, they placed the phone back into the burned out vehicle and took up a hiding place a quarter mile away.

They heard the aircraft before they saw it. It displayed neither night time lighting nor identification. It had to be military. It was coming in low and fast. Arthur's belief had been vindicated. This wasn't a rescue mission; destruction of evidence and surviving witnesses was its sole purpose. The precision and intensity of the attack defied belief. Machine guns ripped the vehicle apart in a matter of seconds. The chopper, identified by Arthur as a Black Hawk, vanished as quickly as it arrived. Mission accomplished. Someone in Washington would sleep easy tonight. The assassin and her targets were now accounted for.

Meredith's fear mounted. Who had the authority to authorise such an attack? Had the order originated from Langley or a military base? Who could be trusted?

Meredith heard her phone ring. The caller ID listed an unknown number. Should she answer? Was it an enquiry of survival? Or was it Daniel? She ignored it. Hoping if it was Daniel, he'd call back.

"Any suggestions on how we get out of here?" asked Arthur. "I've no doubt they'll come looking for bodies first light tomorrow."

"What about trying to hitch a ride with a trucker," said Kenni? No one noticed Tyler open his eyes.

"That might work for you girls," said Arthur. "But uglies like me and Tyler might be stuck here for a week." Jess cradled Tyler's head on her knees. She bent down to kiss him.

"Would you like us to leave?" said Kenni.

"What happened?" He sniffed the air. "Did they really hit us with a gunship? I'd recognise that smell anywhere." Arthur provided the details. "I'm starting to get the impression they want us dead.

"I'm getting too old for this," Tyler continued as he struggled to get to his feet. "Go girls. Get this broken down old man, and my tennis playing friend a ride."

"Don't forget your mother." Laughter greeted Meredith's comment.

"North, away from the capital or south back towards Washington," asked Kenni.

"Your call, Tyler," said Arthur.

"I could do with a day or two to recover, so I'd suggest north."

"North it is."

The first two trucks honked their horns but didn't slow. The third driver stopped. "Where to ladies?"

"Wherever you're heading, cowboy," said Jess. In an instant she had perfected the accent. She was Dolly Parton without the enhancements.

"I'll take you to heaven if you leave your ugly sister behind."

"No one talks to my lady like that, arsehole," said Arthur as he flung open the driver's door and dragged the driver from his seat.

"What's going on?" Fear had replaced lust on the trucker's mind. Arthur had him pinned to the ground.

"I'm going to tie you up, but do as you're told and you'll survive the ride." The driver appeared far from convinced. "Cause trouble and we'll deal with you the way we deal with all troublemakers."

Arthur slid behind the wheel. Already they had ascertained the rig was heading for Chicago. An hour into the journey, Tyler was sleeping, the driver was also secured in the sleeper while the three girls squeezed onto the passenger's seat beside Arthur.

"What's your name, brother," asked Arthur. "We're in for a long night, so we may as well talk. I might even tell you what this is all about."

"Reagan." The reply was short and sharp.

"After the President," said Jess.

"Yeah."

"Guess that makes you around thirty," said Arthur.

"My name's Arthur Ashe..."

"I know who you are." Arthur detected the man's anger. He wondered what caused it. "I once played you in an inter-college challenge. You flogged me 6 -- 0, 6 -- 0, didn't even raise a sweat." Was it envy? "And then when it got tough against the big boys, you spat the dummy and quit. I busted my arse to get a scholarship and then lost it because I wasn't good enough." Arthur now understood.

"Let me assure you Reagan, I might have won that match but you won in the end. I was nothing more than a wind-up puppet programmed and mastered by two very demanding parents. I was winning the matches they couldn't win. Winning the money they believed they deserved. Don't get me wrong, they were good parents but they were living their life through me. And that's the reason I quit. I needed my own life. I'm not a quitter Reagan, never have been and never will be.

"And when this is all over, I'll find you and finish my life history."

Meredith took over. "Reagan, there are two sides in every story. In the past couple of days the media has told you one side. I've been identified as the killer of my father. That's not true. And Tyler back there has been painted as a cold-blooded killer. That's another lie.

"Guess I should now introduce the two hitchhikers, Jess and Kenni. Kenni, by the way is also on the run. According to the media reports, she's a rogue police officer.

"Would you like to hear the story from beginning? I promise you it's true in every detail."

"I've got nothing else to do, and I've always enjoyed a good story." For the next hour, Meredith told the story from beginning to end. The trucker continually shook his head in disbelief.

"Don't you have proof?" asked Reagan. "There must be witnesses somewhere."

"Every witness who had any knowledge of us is now dead," said Arthur. "So when we get out of your rig, I would strongly suggest you lose all memory of ever meeting us."

"I can't believe this kind of shit goes on in our country."

"Wherever there's power, there's corruption, Reagan. I know, I've spent my entire life trying to expose it and weed it out," said Meredith. "And now, I'm, in fact we're all fighting the liars to clear our names. And time is running out."

"What's your next step?"

"Before or after we kill you?" Tyler was sitting up and smiling.

"Ignore him," said Arthur. "With his memory shot, he now thinks he used to be a comedian. The only thing he kills now is jokes."



"Arthur," said Meredith. She had just seen a sign indicating a town named Warfordsburg some minutes earlier. They had crossed the state line into Pennsylvania. "I think it's time for us to bid Reagan goodbye." She studied the reaction of the restrained driver in the sleeper. Fear had returned. "Take the next off ramp and find us someplace where we can talk."

"I won't say nothing, I promise," said Reagan.

"Promises mean nothing, Reagan. Survival in our line of work depends on maintaining secrecy and history proves there is only one way to ensure absolute secrecy and that is to silence anyone who knows the truth." Reagan's fear had turned to panic. Meredith also saw the impact her words were having on Kenni. The policewoman was shaking her head, her policing ethic opposed to what she feared Meredith was about to suggest.

"But in your case, Reagan, I know our secret is safe because the minute you open your mouth, you too become a target. And believe me, Reagan, they will hunt you down." Meredith watched relief flow onto two faces, Reagan and Kenni. The Director had learned a valuable lesson, the ethical difference between citizen protection and national security. Any thought she had of seconding Kenni vanished. The policewoman had a conscience.

Arthur drove into a fast food parking lot. Tyler untied Reagan then wished him good luck. Prior to driving off, Reagan had one final question of Arthur. "When this is all over, can we have a rematch?"

"Sure thing." Reagan and his rig disappeared into the night.