Committed Chapter 21

Part IV: Labyrinthus

“As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world – that is the myth of the atomic age – as in being able to remake ourselves.”

– Mohandas Gandhi

The roadway ahead of them was clearing up.  With one o’clock having come and gone, most commuters were moving off the road and back into their cubicles, their classes, or their homes.

            Ariadne took advantage of the newly available space and pushed the Audi easily to one-hundred and twenty.  The Audi was a streak of white on the road, curving easily in between cars.  A half-dozen police cars had joined the chase now.  Red and blue lights formed a new sun.  At the head of the line of police was the unshakeable Mercedes, its dark driver relentless in his pursuit despite the questions swimming in his head.

            But Ariadne was not concerned with any of them.  The chase had escalated too quickly.  There was very little chance of them losing their pursuers now without loss of life as well.  Two of those lost lives might end up being her and Paris if she didn’t figure out what to do soon.

            Paris continued to watch their pursuers through the rear windshield of the Audi while Ariadne thought.  She followed routes across the city on the map in her head, searching for the path that would lead them to a good hiding place.  She couldn’t see it.  All of the Audi’s speed was rendered useless in the closed streets of the downtown and the twisting roads of the suburbs.  Even if they got out onto the highway and left the city they would have nowhere to hide without off-roading, which was definitely not in the Audi’s repertoire.

            “This cities a labyrinth!” Ariadne cried.

            “Major déjà vu,” Paris replied.

            “What?”

            “Nothing, never mind.”

            Ariadne thought back to that morning’s chase with the police.  It was hard to think that this was the second high speed pursuit she’d been involved in that day.  How easy it was for her to think of running from the police cruisers in her rearview mirror as natural.  She had no way of knowing that the entire police force wasn’t on Janus’ payroll by now.

            She thought back to the SUV that they’d ditched on the roadside earlier.  While the Audi had power, that SUV didn’t stick out like a sore thumb like the luxury sports car did.  Even if they did lose the police the Audi would be easily identified by any conscientious citizen who saw it.  And anyone reporting it would think they were helping to save her from Paris.  They’d have to lose the car.

            That’s when it hit her.  They’d have to lose the car, but there was no reason why they had to lose the police before they lost the car.

            “You’re not going to like my plan,” Ariadne cried.

            “I already love it.”

            “Hold on.”

            Ariadne slowly let the Audi lose speed.  The Mercedes began to grow larger in her rear-view mirrors, but the man behind the wheel seemed to sense something was off and began to back off as well.  The police, not so smart, began to close the gap.  Their flashing red and blues were spread out across all three lanes behind Ariadne while she occupied the middle one.

            Finally, having dropped to seventy, Ariadne glanced at Paris.  “This is the part where you hate me a little.”

            “Do it.”

            Ariadne slammed on the gas again.  The car’s engine roared.  She yanked the wheel to the right and held it for three seconds before yanking up the emergency break.

            The Audi spun, back wheels spinning like mad and tearing up rubber.  Ariadne kept the wheel cranked to the left until the car did a complete one-eighty.  Smoke from the burnt rubber filled the air around them and out of the mist police cruisers shot past.

            The cars had tried to follow her turn, not expecting the complete reversal, and the crown victoria’s stood no chance of copying the Audi’s move.  Ariadne gritted her teeth as cars shot past her, one glancing off the front right bumper.  When the last had overshot her position, Ariadne hit the gas.

            The police cruisers were now all facing in the wrong direction and struggling to turn themselves around.  Ariadne shot out of the mist left by her burnt tires and headed back in the direction that they’d come from.

            But out of the mist, more spectral like because of the billowing smoke that seemed to cling to its gray sides, came the Mercedes and its driver.

            “This guy’s unbelievable,” Paris cried.

            “Then we’ll just have to be unbelievabler…” Ariadne frowned.  “Let’s pretend that I said something way wittier.”

            “Already have,” Paris assured her.

            Ariadne planned out her moves ahead.  She knew there was construction ahead on one of the side streets.  What had been the name?  She remembered seeing it from the back of the cab when it had taken them from the library to her father’s office.  What was the name?

            Brunswick Street.

            She saw the name on the green rectangular sign at the corner of the upcoming four-way.  She gritted her teeth and checked her rear-view mirror.  The police cruisers were still back in the distance but the Mercedes was still on her heels, but it was holding further back than she expected.

            “All right, hold on,” Ariadne said.  She decided to take the turn at an angle.  The construction was just visible around the corner.  She hoped she was right about the kind of construction they were doing.

            “Wait, what’s that?”

            Paris was pointing through the window and Ariadne noticed that there was a police cruiser parked, partially hidden, behind one of the poles holding up the traffic lights.

            “What are they…” Ariadne’s eyes widened as she spotted the jagged black line against the ground.  “Oh shit!”

            Still pointed towards the street with construction, Ariadne slammed on the breaks but it was too late.

The Audi hit the spike-strip and the tires exploded.  Rims wailing on asphalt the Audi kept on all fours for a few meters, skidding forward on its own momentum, before the back wheels began to drag.  The Audi spun so that it was side-ways, still moving towards the street.  The rims skipped and the Audi flipped, rolling across the ground in a spinning hunk of metal.

            It passed through the intersection, barely missing a car parked just before the lights, and careened through the orange pylons the construction workers had set up to direct traffic around their work.

            Men and women dove out of the way as the Audi slammed with a crash of metal on metal against a pick-up parked within the construction area.

            The Audi gave a groan as it rested at last onto the ground.  The sides were crumpled and dented from the impacts.  All four tires were patches of shredded rims with chunks of the destroyed tires hanging off of them like rags.  Foreboding black smoke rose from the crumpled hood.

            Achilles pulled up and climbed out of the Mercedes, ignoring the startled cries from the construction workers all around him.  He raced forward, drawing his weapon from his shoulder holster as he approached the Audi.  He could smell the gasoline leaking from the Audi but was unafraid of a sudden fireball consuming the wreck.  The car might catch on fire, but an explosion was pure Hollywood.

            Achilles stepped up to the driver’s side door and peered inside.  He frowned with confusion and glanced into the back of the car as well.  The car was empty.

            Achilles hurried around to the other side of the Audi and saw that the passenger’s side door was open.  A couple of meters from that was a manhole cover which had been opened as part of the construction.  Signs with rotating orange lights warned people to be careful of the fall.

            Achilles rushed over to it and peered down into the darkness.  He could see the top of Ariadne’s head as she dropped off the ladder and took off down the sewer tunnel at the bottom.

            Cursing, Achilles holstered his gun, and lowered himself into the sewer after her.

Paris was groaning in pain.  Ariadne could feel blood mixing with sweat on her forehead as she helped him along.

            “Come on Paris,” Ariadne encouraged him.  “Remember everything you were saying about not giving up?”

            “I take it all back,” Paris replied.  “I want a nap and I don’t want to have to move for at least a week.”

            “After, I promise.”

            The sewer was almost pitch-black but Ariadne could still see by the light coming from the man-hole behind them.  Also, there were emergency lights every five meters or so providing the dimmest source of light possible.  But it was enough.

            She hurried to the end of the corridor they were on and glanced left or right.  To her right was a chain-link fence with a gate set into it.

            “Come on Paris, come on,” Ariadne said.  She pulled him along, one of his arms over her shoulder.  He was cradling his right arm against his chest in a funny way and it was amazing that he had managed to make it down the ladder without falling.

            “Ariadne Helen!”

            The voice that called out her name from behind them was a deep baritone amplified by the enclosed space.  It bounced around them so that it seemed like their pursuer was coming at them from all sides.  But a quick glance behind her told Ariadne that he had just jumped off the ladder and was racing towards them.

            “Paris, Paris, come on,” Ariadne said.  She picked up the pace as they headed for the gate.  The door set into it was already open and she prayed it had some sort of lock on it.  Something to keep their pursuer back.

            “Ariadne!”

            She ignored the voice of their shadow and continued to whisper to Paris as they half ran together.  “Don’t give up on me now.  Just a few more meters.  Just a few, I promise.”

            “Drop me,” Paris moaned.

            “Now you’re talking crazy.  Just keep going.”

            Ariadne could feel their pursuer getting closer with every second.  She imagined his hand was reaching out for her, only a few centimeters away from grabbing her shoulder.  She might be able to fight him off but she was struggling not to let her own bruises and bumps from the car crash keep her from collapsing.  Only adrenaline and the fierce determination to keep going that had taken her over in the car kept her on her feet.

            Finally, they passed through the gate door.  Ariadne dropped Paris to the ground.  He cried out in pain as he rolled against the wall.

            “Sorry!” Ariadne cried.  She turned back to the gate and saw the mysterious man only a few meters away.  He was running at full speed, feet slapping the ground as his arms cut through the air.

            Ariadne grabbed the gate door and swung it closed.  The feeling she felt was akin to a divine visitation as she saw the gate had a lock.  She slipped the lock through the door clasp and clicked it shut, taking a step back as the mysterious figure hit the gate.

            He shook it with frustration as Ariadne stooped and forced Paris back onto his feet.

            “Come on, we gotta go,” Ariadne whispered to him as she hurried him down the path away from their pursuer.

            “Ariadne!” the mysterious man shouted after her.  “Ariadne, wait!”

            But Ariadne didn’t wait.  She kept going, getting Paris as far away from him as she dared.  Finally, the sound of his voice faded.  The darkness seemed more complete.  For the first time, she noticed the smell.  She lowered Paris to the ground, more gently this time.  Then she collapsed beside them and drifted in and out of consciousness.