Virtual Reality: Dark Days

The Worst Best Plan

Shamar had awakened in the passenger seat of the car he used to help himself and Alex bust into the Virtual Reality Headquarters. As far as they could tell, the law enforcement weren't anywhere in their sights. The two had managed to escape before anyone could arrive to have them arrested. It had been a massive fight they'd just been in and Shamar was definitely starting to feel the effects, which is why Alex was the person driving. The battle had taken a lot out of them both but somehow Alex wasn’t struggling as much as Shamar was, possibly due to the one and only stab wound he received from Tobias.

The time for rest came to an end for Shamar. His body ached from the extreme things he'd done to stay alive. Usually it was things that happened in the real world that caused his awakening, but this time it was different. He was dreaming. But this wasn't one of those good dreams. It was a reflection of the past. A nightmare.

For years, he'd been haunted by the same visions of the past. Images of how he'd remembered that night always floated around his mind. Shamar had been in a lot of relationships, but the one he had with Kaylen was special to him. So special that he feared that day he'd lose her. Tobias' presence in his life again resurrected something within him. Something he laid to rest years ago. What he'd experienced that day had never truly affected him that often anymore. The video game helped that much. Visions from the past had returned. As much as he wanted to end Tobias's life, there was no point to it. The night had turned into a failure. Jason had escaped. If they had only planned to attack from the top instead of the bottom, Alex may have succeeded in killing Jason. But Jason was alerted of their attack as it was all going on in his tower.

“How are you feeling kid?” Shamar asked the young gamer, hoping that he’d be a little more optimistic.

“I remember,” Alex said softly and painfully. “Going into that building. Up the elevator. In the hall. The office door. I remembered something because of it.”

“Like what?” Shamar asked curiously. This was the first time the kid had opened up to him about his memories in a long time.

“Jason,” Alex said. “He felt something for me.”

“Huh?” Shamar didn’t understand which type of love Alex was referring to. Could it possibly be that Jason had been after Alex this entire time because he loved him?

“I remember one day,” Alex continued. “It was a beautiful day. Jason had called me into his office and asked me if I’d like to go out for a coffee break. I had never known anyone to receive an invitation like that. So I agreed and he took me out to this little coffee place in town. He bought me anything I wanted and promised me it wouldn’t be any problem. I felt terrible because I've always hated it when people would go out of their and buy me things. I should have noticed how carefully he was treating me. We sat down at the table and talked about things we wanted for the future. When it was my turn, he looked at me with such grace. Every word that came out of my mouth genuinely moved him. I thought the dude was just really happy to talk to someone real like me. He touched my hand and, in an awkward way, I moved my hand away from him. When he saw that my eyes didn’t share the same look as his, he left me at the table and never spoke to me again.”

“Whoa.” Shamar could only muster those words. Nothing more. The fact that this man was so angered by what Alex did to send a bunch of people to kill was insane.

“Yeah.” Alex was also shocked. Spending time on the road allowed him to come to this memory. “I would have said the same thing if I were in your position. Jason had a crush on me and I denied him.”

“Look kid.” Shamar began to get honest with Alex. “If this dude is after you because you rejected him, we need to get the hell out of this city.”

“What?” Alex couldn’t believe this was the first place Shamar would go to. “No way! We can’t just run because I hurt this man's heart! He has to pay for all of this.”

“You’ve done more than you know!” Shamar said. “He’s gotten the message! You killed all of his subordinates. He’s basically all alone. You’ve nearly ruined his life as much as he’s ruined yours. The best thing to do now is to run.”

“What about you?” Alex was curious as to whether Shamar would want to go on this runaway journey with him.

“I’m going with you.” Shamar began to get cocky. “You’re going to need as much help as you can get.”

While running wasn't his first thing, Alex knew going back home wouldn't be an option. There was something about being with Shamar that made him feel safe. Running was the only option left. He could never return home. His name would be branded as a criminal and a murderer forever. Jason had grown tired of all this. He wanted Alex, no matter the cost. Alex had become aware of this with all the people that tried to kill him. Even though he was merely protecting himself at certain times, the law wouldn't see it that way. There was a line that no one should ever cross. Alex had just taken a huge step over that line with his recent events. This was the best course for him. Get away and never come back.

“Alright!” Alex smiled as he looked forward at the road. “But first, let’s get some gas. We’ve been driving for nearly an hour.”

“Jesus.” Shamar said. This was actually the perfect moment for Shamar. “Stop at the nearest gas station.”

Alex had driven over to a gas station. Here, they'd get the car ready for the trip out of state. This place was no longer safe for them anymore. Escaping was the only thing they could do now. All that was left was putting some gas into the nearly empty tank. Some place no one would ever recognize them. Shamar left Alex to take care of the gas while he headed into the bathroom. But it was a lie. Shamar had allowed Alex to believe that the tension from their previous stop got to his stomach and needed to be released. Alex did believe it. He knew he could trust Shamar with his life at this point. Alex saw no reason for Shamar to ever lie to him for any reason. Unfortunately, Shamar had to make a change to their plan. Jason is a resourceful man.

No matter how he did it, Alex would always be chased. He'd always be found where he hid. Even if Alex had decided to turn himself in, he'd be killed by a dirty cop. Tobias was a federal agent that did dirty work for Jason. There was no telling if there were others that Jason could bribe to hunt down Alex. There are dangerous people in the world. Each of them skilled to the brim. No matter how far Alex went, Jason would always try to find him. With no one else to really turn to, Shamar took out his cell phone and began to call Tabitha. Maybe there was a way to bring Alex in and avoid getting the boy killed. He got the bathroom keys from the worker inside the store and made sure that no one could hear his conversation.

“Tabby.” Shamar said the moment Tabitha answered the phone. “I got the kid.”

“Oh my God.” Tabitha couldn’t believe Shamar would even consider making a call like this after what they did last night. “You both are on the wanted list in my own precinct. Do you understand what that means?”

“Yes.” Shamar knew that they’d be hunted by every police officer in New York. “But I’m turning us in.”

“What?” Tabitha didn’t expect this from Shamar. She actually expected him to tell her goodbye before disconnecting his cell phone forever. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because,” Shamar said. “I know Callahan is going to send Dunn after us. Plus, I wounded the dude, so he’s going to be pissed. We’re going to need to be taken in by the police before something terrible happens to us.”

“I understand.” Tabitha feared what would even happen to the two once brought in by the police. “Just give me your location and I’ll try to get there fast.”

“Okay.” Shamar began to send her their location through his cell phone. “Tabby, hurry.”

Now all that had to be done was to sit and wait. He knew Tabitha would come through and find them. But he never thought that getting arrested by her would be something he actually wanted. Times have surely changed for him. He was no longer the guy with the badge. Now he was the guy being hunted by badges.

While Alex had been pumping gas into the car, someone had begun to catch onto him. The worker inside the store had the news channel on during his shift but never paid much attention to it. He knew for sure that Alex looked familiar but couldn't tell why. It bugged him so much that he began to scratch his chin. Every now and then he'd look at Alex to see why his face bugged him so much. During one of the moments that he looked away from Alex, his eyes placed themselves on the magazine shelf.

Jason Callahan was on the cover of one of these magazines. It was one of those spotlight types that told stories about great minds of today.

In big bold white letters, Jason's name was stretched across the cover. Right underneath his name was the man himself, in a suit and arms across his chest. They went as far as to consider Jason as the future. All gaming companies would soon fail to meet the standards that his company has created.

There was no reason for his mind to be working this hard to figure something out, but it was. He couldn't even ignore it. All he thought about were the magazine, the head, and the kid outside.

That's when it hit him. He couldn't even move a muscle after this revelation. He now understood why all of this was on his mind so much. He remembered. The moment he came into work, that piece on the news broke out for the public to know. While he only paid half attention to it, he remembered the grainy pictures of the culprits who broke into Jason Callahan's gaming building to attack him. Shamar had just walked back inside to give the bathroom keys to the store clerk. All he could do was stare at Shamar, who found it weird that this man was speechless just by looking at him. Shamar left, weirded out, and the store clerk remembered the face of Shamar on the news next to Alex's face. The worker took out his cell phone and began dialing 9-1-1. The criminals outside were still parked outside. With the two still outside pumping gas into their car, he now had a chance to call the police. Especially since they have no idea he knows who they are, they'll be arrested in no time.

“I found them!” The worker shouted into his cell phone.

The police had begun their preparation for the arrest they were about to make on Shamar and Alex. They couldn't be sure, but seeing how things were with the Virtual Reality headquarters assault, the police weren't taking it easy on how lethal the two could be. They knew that Alex had been a very slippery person to grab since his killing spree began. Moving fast and being armed was their top priority. The hunt began. Each officer that set out had never been armed this much. They were all doing something they'd never truly done before.

Tabitha had been included in the hunt but every part of her was working outside of it. At this point, getting to Shamar was a bigger deal than it had been before. They intended to kill them if they made one wrong move. She wasn't sure, but not every officer in the precinct was trustworthy when it came to their weapons. She had to warn Shamar and warn him fast. If they could meet anywhere else, that would make things a lot easier. Because right now, an army was coming after them.

Jason had learned about Shamar's location thanks to a police officer that was part of the hunt and on Jason's payroll. This information would be vital for Tobias. The phone call they had was quick. Jason gave Tobias everything he needed to be ready for Alex. Their new window of opportunity had arrived. If the police got Alex before Tobias could, there would be no way the officer on his payroll could kill Alex. Nor could Tobias sneak into the precinct and kill him. The young gamer would be protected. This was a challenge Jason was not ready to take. Jason began to wonder. He questioned the fact that Alex may have gotten his memory back. That alone would allow Alex to win if this all went to court.

“I know you’re hurt.” Jason told Tobias over the phone. “But this has to end. They need to be put down. Get yourself together and handle them. If not that man, then Alex. He needs to die most of all.”

The wound Shamar inflicted on Tobias hurt his body and soul. He didn't want to do anything anymore. Seeing the look in Shamar's eyes reminded him of that day. Every move Tobias made only caused greater pain in his body. The wound was too deep to ignore that much the agent knew. But Jason was starting to get serious. More serious than he'd ever seen him. A part of Tobias didn't want to see how much further his emotions could take him. Letting the past die was all Tobias wanted at that point. Finishing this job was the only way he could truly find peace in his life again. There was no time to heal. He had to move. But it was going to take a lot of mental power to get him back into the mood. This was going to be his last time taking on Alex, that much he knew. While the thought didn't amuse him, the thought of taking a vacation far from this city made him that much more eager to end this. With his gun holstered, he headed out to find Alex one last time.

Shamar learned of what was about to happen. His mind scrambled to find a solution to it all. He knew it had to have been the store clerk that snitched, but he wasn't too surprised. After seeing the way he treated him, Shamar should have gotten the hint that he was aware of everything. There was no time to think back, he had to get them out of there fast. The police were coming. Shamar alerted Alex of the nearby threat. As feared, the situation became worse. Alex removed the gas nozzle from the car so they could make a quick getaway. The two began making their way back into the car when the store clerk approached them with a double barrel rifle in his hand, pointed back and forth at the two of them. He blasted the gun at the car to warn them that he was not playing around. Nothing had prepared them for this. Alex and Shamar were now unable to escape the way they planned. The police were closing the gap between them and their minds understood that they were helpless right now. They were stuck.

“I’m sorry.” The worker said happily. “But you’re not going anywhere. Don’t worry, they’ll be here very shortly. You can’t protect yourself from me and my weapon. It’s just too bad that you decided to show your faces after committing such a terrible crime. You sure are dumb.”

“Old man,” Alex said. “Just let us go! We’re on a mission and it doesn’t concern you!”

“Yeah,” Shamar replied. “Whoever you just called will not make it in time. You f*****g i***t! Not even knowing what the hell you've got yourself into! You better turn your ass around and let us go!”

Nothing Shamar and Alex said seemed to get through to the store clerk as he simply just smiled at them. This was all very humorous for the store clerk. Never had he come across two wanted criminals before. He laughed at them. They reeked of desperation. Alex and Shamar wanted everything possible to get away from this man. Alex and Shamar both looked so desperate right now, he wanted to shoot them out of pity. They were trying as much as they could to get him off them. No matter what they said to him, the store clerk was going to hold them there until the police arrived. They would consider him a hero for this and possibly place him on the news, or so he believed. Shamar could feel their time running out. He had to find a way to get them out of there before the police arrived. As the wind blew, he felt something hard in his jacket pocket press against him. He glanced down at it for a second and remembered.

He had a gun. A hand gun that was loaded and useful enough to get them out of this mess. As much as Shamar wanted to take this time to attack, he knew the store clerk would freak out and shoot him or Alex. Neither one of them could afford to die at this point. Shamar had to be smart about this. He examined the store clerk for any signs of a way to get out of this mess and saw the way he held the gun. It was almost perfect, except for one small thing. His hands were shaking. Shamar hadn't pieced it together until now. This man could very well have slower reflexes.

He held the gun in a way that made him seem well trained, but that was long ago. He was now staring into the eyes of people he had to shoot if they made an unnecessary move towards him. There was no for sure knowledge that this was correct. While it seemed the store clerk couldn't move that fast, it could have all been for show and the moment Shamar made a wrong move, he'd be killed. This stressed Shamar out. So much that he nearly let time fly. The more he stood there thinking, the closer the police got to their location. No matter how fast this man was, Shamar had to be faster. He whipped the gun out of his jacket pocket and blasted a bullet through the waist of the store clerk.

The wound was painful enough for the store clerk to drop his weapon and apply pressure. He bled, but not enough to die. Shamar had intended for this to happen. The store clerk hit the ground screaming in agony. This allowed Alex and Shamar both to get into the car and get away. But leaving the store clerk alive would become their downfall. Before they could even get too far away, he reached for the rifle and pointed it ever so steadily at the back right tire of the car. With the pull of the trigger, the gun was shot and it shattered the tire. His work was done.

Shamar and Alex were unable to move. They couldn't even get that car moving if they wanted to. The possibilities of escaping were limited. No amount of energy would allow them the luxury of freedom. In a matter of no time, the police would arrive and their lives would be in the hands of Jason Callahan. Alex wasn't ready to give in just yet.

“Maybe there's a spare tire!” Alex said with a bit of hope in his voice.

“Good idea!” Shamar ran over and popped the trunk open.

They searched the car for a spare tire but found no sign of it. It was possible that the car was already using a spare tire. Now it was truly over. If they truly wanted to get away from Jason, they'd have to run and run fast. The police would be all over the city looking for them. Their legs wouldn't be able to out run them. But sneaking around the city and finding a way out was their only choice.

Shamar had shared his location with Tabitha only during their run. No matter where they hid, police cars were patrolling the streets. Anytime a siren was heard, the feeling of tension would set in more than what it was for the two. Populated areas were off limits to them. Since they had already tried that at the gas station, their plan was to avoid a similar situation to it. Everyone knew about Alex and Shamar. Anyone with a phone knew what their faces looked like. The public were aware of Alex and Shamar in everyway possible now. The state was going to make sure everyone with a cell phone knew about them.

Exhaustion took over Alex and Shamar. Dodging the police became uneasy. While alleyways helped to blind their appearance from the police, civilians had begun to watch them carefully. It was starting to seem impossible to get out of the city without being noticed. The two of them together stuck out the more they tried to hide. Those that passed by could clearly see them. This plan was failing by the second and Tabitha was nowhere near them.

“What are we gonna do?” Alex had no idea where else to go or what else to do.

“We’re going to have to wait.” Shamar wanted to honestly tell him about Tabitha, but he wasn’t sure if now was the best time to tell him that he had told a homicide detective about their whereabouts.

“Wait?” Alex asked. “Wait for what?!”

“Do you want my help?” Shamar asked him coldly. “Or not?!”

“Fine.” Alex was wondering what was actually going on here all of a sudden.

The location Tabitha had wasn't that much further now. At most they'd probably have to wait for ten minutes. He knew he could hold off for another ten minutes. But then he wondered if that was even true. Shamar watched his surroundings. He was aware of every police car that passed by. Not a single person that stared at them as they walked by wasn't noticed by Shamar. He was going to make sure that no one dangerous to them would go unnoticed.

Tobias was in his car when he spotted Alex and Shamar. His eyes were too great for the two fugitives to go unnoticed. He had been on the search for them before the police even arrived at the gas station. But since Alex and Shamar left no clues as to where they'd go, it now became harder to find them. When he found the two hiding in the alleyway, the excitement of the kill kicked in hard as he quickly parked his car and got out to finish this. Tobias thought of every way he could kill Alex and Shamar. His gun was the only weapon he possessed. The civilians around them would be drawn to the scene the moment he pulled the trigger. He had to be quiet about all this or he could be arrested. This was highly legal, what he was doing and if he were to get caught, his days as an agent would be over.

With the slightest of movements, he placed a silencer barrel on his hand gun. He came up with many different scenarios of how he was going to kill them. While his main objective was to kill Alex first, he wanted to end Shamar more than ever. Not out of anger or revenge, but simply because Shamar reminded him of what he did and how he didn't like to do it. He was a person that needed to be gone for him to be able to move on and be at peace.

Every step he took, Tobias was reminded of the wound he received from Shamar. While killing Shamar would bring him some form of peace, the wounds would not. Shamar's death would become meaningless. He'd always be reminded of the wound Shamar inflicted upon him. He would have the wound on him forever. He tightened the suppressor and took a deep breath. Alex needed to die first.

The alleyway was dark. He couldn't really see who was who. Two bodies shrouded in darkness stood in the alleyway. There was no sense of direction of where they faced. With little time to try to figure out who was who, Tobias picked a target and aimed his gun at them.

Tobias had taken too long to shoot. Alex saw Tobias appear at the entrance of the alleyway with his gun pointed at him. Before Tobias could even shoot, he jumped from the wall he leaned on.

“f**k!” Alex cursed as soon as he saw Tobias making his way toward them.

Tobias had the two of them trapped with only one way of escaping. Even if they did run, Tobias would be able to pick them off. Alex tried to think of a way to get out of this, but nothing came to mind. He was completely petrified of who he saw coming. Tobias' arrival was a complete mystery to him. His death may have come sooner than he expected.

Shamar knew that Jason gave Tobias strict orders to kill Alex first. If he got in the way of that, Tobias may miss his chance of killing the young gamer. He stepped up, blocking Tobias's shot at killing Alex. He was once again taking a gamble on his life for someone he barely knew.

“You’re a fool if you think I would shoot you through him.” Tobias said with a smirk on his face. “Step aside. You’re second on the menu.”

“Dunn,” Shamar said, looking his old partner and friend in the eyes. “You can’t do this! You don’t know what this is all about! This is a bigger fight than the two of us! The boy has done some f****d up things, but nothing compared to Callahan! You know this!”

This conflicted Tobias. Shamar was now trying to appeal to his better nature. The nature of a man who had done terrible things for money. No matter what Shamar tried to do, Jason had control over Tobias. Things that could get him put in prison if Jason wanted to.

“You have to think about this.” Shamar pleaded. “How many more people are you going to kill for this man? How many innocent lives are you going to take before he takes you down with him? Come on!”

Tobias had heard enough. He was now stuck in his head. If he killed Alex, he'd be able to kill Shamar and never have to deal with this again. But if he let them live, there was no telling if they'd succeed in killing Jason. Tobias stood unsure of what he wanted and Shamar could read his old partner's face. Somewhere, the man Shamar once knew was still there. Hopefully, there was enough of that man to make a decision that favored the two fugitives. It was all on Tobias now to make the next move...