THE BANDIT QUEEN - Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

Eden was taking her turn at the wheel when Phoenix appeared on the horizon. The lights from the huge city lit up the surrounding area for miles. Deakin was curled up in the passenger seat snoring softly. She pulled off at the next exit and stopped under a street lamp. She spread the map out on the hood of the car and searched for a route around Phoenix. She was hoping for a loop around the city but she was disappointed. She quickly folded up the map, and drove back onto the highway. According to the clock on her dashboard, it was 3:45 in the morning which, translated into Mountain Time, meant it was 4:45 in Arizona. If she pushed ahead, she could get through the city before traffic piled up and slowed to a crawl. Her only other option was to wait until 10:00 to drive through the city.
A pair of bright headlights appeared in her rearview mirror and temporarily blinded her. She changed lanes to give the car a chance to pass but it stayed close behind her. It stayed on her bumper for several miles. Eden slowed down about ten miles an hour and then speeded up but the car kept its position behind her. She was getting a little nervous now. This car could have been following them all across Texas, New Mexico and Arizona and now its driver might be feeling uneasy about keeping Eden in sight through the big city traffic. He obviously was making sure he stuck like glue to her bumper.
The closer she drove to Phoenix, the more cars appeared on the highway. Eden slid from lane to lane smoothly moving farther ahead of her pursuer. She poked Deakin in the shoulder enough times to wake him up. He sat up quickly and banged his head on door as he shook off his deep sleep. He groaned and glared at Eden.
“Why’d you do that? We’re not in town yet.” Then he noticed the tenseness of Eden’s hands on the steering wheel and the mulish set of her mouth. “What’s wrong? Is something wrong with the car? Or is someone following us?”
Eden nodded curtly and said, “They roared up behind me about ten miles ago. I saw two heads in the car. At least we aren’t the only two cars on the road. That’s probably why they got so close. They don’t want to lose us in the middle of Phoenix. They must not know about Sedona. I’m not even sure which car it is. I only really saw their headlights.”
Deakin turned in his seat and stared at the lights on the road behind them. They all looked exactly alike to him. “Poke me again when you think you see them.” Then he settled down in his seat again.
“Don’t you go back to sleep again. I need you to help navigate through this place. Find the highway to Sedona on the map. I think it’s 17.”
Deakin rattled the map and pulled out a flashlight. Just as he was searching for his place, the interior of the car filled up with light. Eden sucked in her breath loudly and said, “Holy shit, what in the hell are they doing now?”
Deakin peeled himself off the dashboard and scrabbled on the floor for the map and flashlight. Eden slammed down the accelerator and sped around the car in front of her. The bright lights behind her kept pace with her car and then closed in on her bumper again. She ran her speed up to 90 mph and searched the distance for some kind of help. Deakin turned around in his seat and stared out the back window of the car at the approaching headlights. Out the front windshield, Eden watched the approaching lights of the city.
“Quick, find us an airport. We need a change of plans. Here he comes again.”
Just as the car moved in close to her bumper, Eden changed lanes and dropped her speed. The other car shot past them and then slammed on its brakes. Eden chanced a quick look at the license plate and noticed the Arizona plate along with the decal of a rental company. The car picked up speed when Eden did and drove alongside her car. Deakin glanced up from his scrutiny of the map and noticed the side window being lowered. A long black gun barrel pointed in their direction.
“Gun, Eden, gun!”
He ducked down in his seat as Eden’s mouth dropped open. She turned her head to the left almost in slow motion and slammed on her brakes at the same time. The other car shot in front of them again and slid to the right into her lane. She pulled into the left lane and shot past the other car. She’d just reached the tail end of a line of cars and trucks heading for Phoenix. She wove in and out of the traffic and then slipped her little car in between two large trucks. She relaxed a little and took one hand at a time off the steering wheel and shook the tension out. Deakin took the time to check out the map again.
Deakin kept his eyes on the map and called out to Eden, “Stay on IH10. We go past Chandler and then at Tempe the highway curves to the left. Just after that there’ll be an exit for the airport. I’ll watch the signs and let you know in plenty of time.”
Deakin slid down in his seat so his head wouldn’t show and watched the cars zoom past in the left lane. More and more cars appeared as they neared the huge city and traffic slowed down. The truck in front of their car moved to the center lane when the highway broadened into five lanes. Eden pulled to the right of the truck and inserted her car in the middle of a large group of commuters. She wove through the traffic and always kept three or four cars around hers. Deakin spotted the car as it nosed past another large truck and moved ahead of them. Eden dropped back a little to stay in the shadow of the huge truck and watched them maneuver through the dense throng of cars and trucks. The car full of bad guys was a couple of hundred yards ahead of them as they headed into a large, swooping left –handed curve. Deakin began calling out street numbers as they drove toward the center of the city.
“40th Street coming up. Sign says 32nd Street is next. Okay, I see a sign for the airport. Two miles to the exit. Do you see the car?”
“Yes, it’s up in front of us, over there in fourth lane. Uh, oh, they’re blinking to move into the center lane. Why are they doing that?”
Deakin craned his head to the left and then glanced at the signs overhead. “Our exit is less than a mile ahead. When are you going to change to the right lane?”
“At the last second, that’s when. Someone will let us in. Okay, they just moved back into the left lane. They must have been passing a slow car. Help me look, ‘cos I’m changing lanes without turning on my blinker.”
Eden cut directly in front of a slowmoving RV and joined the long line of cars taking the airport exit. She drove directly into the long-term parking area and backed her small car in between a pickup truck and an elephantine SUV. Then she rested her head on the steering wheel and let her body relax a little.

Deakin slid out his door and inched his way to the trunk. He stuffed everything into two backpacks and slammed the trunk lid. Eden emerged with the laptop and they joined a small group of people waiting for the bus that would deposit them at the front door of the terminal. Eden looked around at the other people and then looked down at her own clothes. Her eyes fell on the knife hanging from Deakin’s belt. She nudged him to the back of the group and whispered in his ear. They waited until the small bus zipped up and they climbed aboard with the rest of the people. Eden led the way to the back seat and then sat down, leaving enough room for Deakin. Eden screened Deakin as he unthreaded the knife from his belt. He slipped it into the pocket of his jacket along with the one from Eden’s backpack. He walked immediately into the men’s room and checked for occupants. Then he washed his hands and dried them on a paper towel. He used the towel to take out the knives and wipe off their fingerprints. Then he covered each knife and scabbard with liquid soap. He wrapped them in a bundle of towels and pushed them to the bottom of the trash.
Eden had spent the time standing in line for tickets. Deakin stayed at the edge of the crowd and watched the entrances. He wasn’t sure what the men following them had looked like but he hoped he could pick out someone who’d just come in search of someone else. Several men scanned the crowd as soon as they entered the large building but they soon joined other men or family groups.
Eden touched his arm and spooked him into jumping away. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Let’s go. Gate 32A and a ride out of this place.”
Deakin fell into step behind her and they joined the line at the security checkpoint. Eden threw an interrogative glance over her shoulder and Deakin smiled in return. They turned right and joined the other travelers on the moving sidewalk. As they neared their gate, Eden turned quickly into a gift shop and just as quickly returned to Deakin’s side. She pushed a bag into his hand and nodded to the men’s room across the corridor. She disappeared into the ladies’ room and reappeared wearing a windbreaker from a famous golf course in the Phoenix area. Deakin emerged with a sweatshirt emblazoned with the logo of the University of Arizona. She checked them both in with attendants and Deakin followed her to the crowd waiting to board the plane.
Eden handed him his boarding pass and said, “You’re listed as Michael Boatman.”
Deakin nodded and stepped a pace or two away from her. From his taller vantage point, he scanned the crowd. Most of the passengers looked like businessmen and women who were completely decorated with bags and briefcases. Eden boarded the plane first and Deakin followed her. They settled in their seats along with the rest of the passengers and waited until the plane was in the air before they spoke.
Deakin stared at the seat directly in front of him and spoke out of the corner of his mouth. “Why are we going to Salt Lake City when we need to get to LA?”
Eden poked him in the ribs and said, “Those guys were too close so we’re going in the wrong direction first. We’ll get to LA as soon as we can. Maybe we’ll fly to Sacramento or San Francisco or even San Diego and then drive to LA. I’m trying to make it as hard as possible for them to follow us, but I don’t know what their resources are and ours are limited. I’m leaving a paper trail behind us because I used my credit card.”
Deakin took a glass of orange juice from the attendant and watched the clouds out his window. Eden pushed her seat back and closed her eyes. Out of the corner of her mouth, she said, “Finish your nap. We have nothing else to do right now.”