I'm racing down these dark, deserted streets hoping to escape the law. I've been trying to flee from these unwavering detectives for what seems like a lifetime now. Every fiber in my being is screaming in pain and my heart feels like it's going to pound out of my chest. I want to put an end to this merciless manhunt, but Jen and the boys will be in grave danger If I do. So, with every ounce of strength, and determination I can muster, I keep moving on. My name is Tommy Campbell, and this is my story.

***

It all began on what seemed to be a typical hot July day. The temperature was in the mid-nineties, but the soring humidity made it feel like it was in the triple digits. I'd just clocked out for the day when my phone rings. Little did I know that answering the call would change my life forever.

"Hello?" I wipe the sweat from my brow as I continue across the parking lot.

"Mr. Campbell, this is Dr. Sigmund from Mercy Hospital. Your wife has been in a car accident."

I feel the color drain from my face, hear my heart pound furiously in my head. I push the phone against my ear and manage to stutter, "A ... A car accident, is she alright?" ... "I'm on my way."

I see my mother-in-law crying in the waiting room. In a state of panic, I jog towards her. "Where's Jen is she alright?"

"I'm so sorry, Tommy," she sobs, pulling me close.

The smell of liquor is so overwhelming, that it makes me gag, I push her away. "Sorry about what? Where's Jen, is she alright?" I anxiously look around.

"None of this would've happened if I'd picked her up like we'd planned," Mary sobs.

"What wouldn't have happened?" I ask, more frightened than before.

"Jen was in a terrible accident and they're not sure if she's going to make it. I'm sorry I didn't give her a ride, Tommy, so, so sorry," she cries.

I glance down the cold, sterile hall. "Where is she, I need to see her?"

"They've taken her to surgery."

"Surgery?"

"They're trying to stop her bleeding."

"What about our baby and the boys?"

"The boys are at home with their sitter."

"And the baby?"

"The doctors aren't sure they can save her."

"It's a girl, we're having a girl?" I plop down in the chair. After having three boys we finally get a girl. "She has to live, she just has to," I say, throwing my head in my hands.

"I'm so sorry, Tommy, so sorry this happened," Mary bawls.

The totality of the situation hits me, I spring from my chair. "This wouldn't have happened if you'd done what you promised instead of boozing it up at the club." Mary looks toward the ground. "Your drinking has gotten out of hand, Mary, way out of hand."

"I know, Tommy, I know."

"You say that now, but I bet you won't do anything about it."

"I will, I promise."

"How many times has Jen and I heard that before?"

"I mean it this time, Tommy, I swear."

"Yeah, right. The only time you'll stop drinking is when you're six feet under." A similar conversation I had with my dad replays in my mind. His memory becomes so unbearable, I turn away.

"That's a lie, I can stop any time I want." Mary took to the bottle after Jen's dad left. She's been going through booze and men like their water ever since.

I spin back around. "Prove it." Seeing one of the doctors step into the waiting room I run towards him.

"How's Jen and the baby, are they going to be alright?"

"You are?"

"I'm Jen's husband, Tommy."

The doctor glances over at Mary, she nods. "Jen's condition is stable for now."

"For now?"

"She has a condition known as cardiomyopathy, which is an enlargement of her heart."

"Yes, yes, I know. She's been taking medicine for that"

"The disease has become life-threatening."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Your wife is going to need a heart transplant as soon as the baby is born."

"The baby, how is she?"

"We've given your wife some medicine to stop her labor, We're hoping to keep the baby in utero as long as we can. The longer she stays, the better."

"Won't this put Jen in danger?"

"She'll be kept on bed rest, and monitored closely the remainder of her pregnancy. When it's time to deliver, I suggest we do a C-section, so your wife and baby won't have to endure the stress of labor."

"When can I see her?"

He glances at his watch. "Our next visitation starts in half an hour."

I storm towards the front door. "Where are you going, Tommy?" Mary questions.

"I'm going to get some money together for Jen's operation."

"What about visitations?"

"I'll be back before they begin."

We've looked into the cost of transplants when Jen was first diagnosed. Since my health insurance only covers a small portion and we're not eligible for financial assistance, my only option is to gather the large sum on my own. Besides winning the lottery, there is only one other way I know to accomplish the task; do illegal jobs the way I did as a child. Only this time I'm not going to ask Hernandez and his gang for help. Not after having to pay them a large sum of money to get them to leave us alone.

Yeah, you heard me right, I've been on the wrong side of the law since I was the ripe old age of ten. I tried to make money the legal way, with a legitimate job and all but no one was willing to hire a child, not for a real job anyhow, besides Hernandez of course. A few of the townspeople gave me odd jobs, raking their leaves, taking out their garbage, things like that. I appreciated their charity, but it wasn't enough to put food on the table or pay the bills. Since Dad uses all his money for booze and mom left us, it's up to me to make ends meet. So, I did the only thing I could and that was to steal.

I pull my phone from my pocket as I head towards my car. "Hey Vinnie, it's me, Tommy. I have a business proposition for you." Vinnie, Larry, and I did some major looting in our younger years and I was hoping we could do it again. Vinnie's voice blares through the phone. "What would you say if I told you that you'll never have to work again?" ... "Yeah, I'm serious."... "No, it's not another crazy scheme like the others." ... Meet you at our old place in ten and I'll explain."

I pull up to our old hideout a few minutes later. Vinnie is waiting for me by the door. "So what's this great plan you've cooked up?" he asks, pulling me inside.

"I've been setting this up since I first found out about Jen's poor health." Seeing the inquisitive look on his face I continue. "I've been placing cameras in the customer's homes when I install their satellite."
"What's wrong with Jen?"

'She has a heart condition. The doctor said the only way she'll get better is if she has a transplant."

"I'm sorry to hear that, man."

"I need to do this job, so I can get the money for her operation."

"What kind of job is it?"

"Robbing houses." Seeing he's about to protest, I hold up my hand. "I know what you're going to say; it isn't worth the time, normally I'd agree, but the houses I have set up will put us on easy street in no time. I guarantee it." I pull out my phone and start running through the pictures. "What do you think about them?"

He takes the phone away and starts looking for himself. "They're beautiful and all, but I bet they're locked up tighter than Fort Knox."

"That's where my surveillance cameras come in."

"You've been watching these houses?"

"Inside and out. I can tell you the security codes to every door and every safe on the premises. I can also tell you the best time to hit."

"Why do you need my help then?"

"I want to share this great opportunity with my friend."

"So what's my take going to be on these jobs?"

"We'll split the profit equally."

"You really think we'll make bank, robbing these houses?"

"I know we will."

In the far distance, someone is watching, waiting to make their move.