The Flight Plan
287 Words
Ethan’s pulse pounded. Halden’s g*n gleamed in the half-light.
Behind them, footsteps echoed—the building wasn’t empty after all.
A voice called from the stairwell: “Ethan?”
Lila.
Halden’s mouth curved into a smile. “Perfect.”
Ethan’s eyes darted to the window. It was only a ten-foot drop. “Run,” he whispered.
Lila’s scream broke the air as a gunshot cracked through the dust. The bullet tore into a file cabinet. Ethan grabbed her hand, yanked her toward the window, and they jumped.
They hit the wet ground hard. Pain shot through Ethan’s shoulder. Lila gasped, half-pulled to her feet as another gunshot shattered glass above them.
“Where—where are we going?” she cried.
“Anywhere but here.”
They ran through the rain toward his car parked down the block. Ethan threw open the door. “Get in!”
As the engine roared to life, Lila turned to him, drenched and trembling. “You knew him, didn’t you?”
Ethan didn’t answer.
“Who are you really, Ethan?”
He gripped the wheel. “Someone trying to fix a mistake that started before I was born.”
Behind them, headlights flared—Halden’s sedan giving chase.
The tires screamed as Ethan swerved into a side road leading out of the city. They drove in silence for miles, the storm masking their fear.
Finally, Lila whispered, “If you’re hiding something, I deserve to know.”
He looked at her, rain streaking the windshield. “I’ll tell you everything. But not tonight.”
As they disappeared into the night, Halden’s voice crackled through his radio:
“They won’t get far. I have friends on both sides of the ocean.”
- Writer
