" Stop! Stop the bus!”
When he heard the shout, Lavare Singleton’s attention snapped to his rearview mirror. Near the back of the bus, a girl stood at her seat, a look of pure panic in her big blue eyes. One of the little cuties from Bellanova Prep.
Come on, kid. Maneuvering a ten-ton hunk of steel through afternoon traffic is tough enough without you giving me grief.
Chances were pretty good her dilemma wasn’t much more urgent than a forgotten history book. These kids got rattled over the dumbest stuff.
“What’s the problem?” Lavare sighed, not bothering to hide his irritation.
“You have to stop, call the police,” blue eyes said. “I think…” She paused and looked around. Everybody on the bus was staring at her. “I think I’m being followed.”
Oh, for criminy sake, Lavare thought. You’re on a bus, you little twit. Who the hell could be following you? The two blond chipmunks on the seat behind you?
Lavare kept his foot steady on the accelerator, not about to surrender to her demand. “I’m sorry, miss, you’ll have to sit down. I’ll let you off at the next stop.”
But blue eyes didn’t sit down. “Listen, you jerk. You think I’m making this up?”
Lavare scowled. Jerk, huh? Little bitch.
“There’s a guy driving next to the bus,” she said. “He keeps looking at me. I’ve seen him before. I think he may be stalking me.”
“Look,” Lavare said, “just sit your butt down and we’ll take care of it at the next stop.”
Blue eyes continued to protest. She was babbling on about this imaginary stalker being some kind of fugitive, when a maroon Suburban cut in front of Lavare and screeched to a halt.
Son of a bitch.
Lavare stiffened and shifted his foot to the brake pedal. The bus yanked to a stop, air brakes hissing. His passengers reacted audibly, and blue eyes nearly toppled over into the next seat.
A few of her classmates giggled.
The Suburban sat in the middle of traffic, blocking Lavare’s path. What the hell was this all about?
He angrily slid the side window open and leaned out. “Hey, fool, you wanna move that piece of tin before I mow it down?”
More giggles rose behind him. At least somebody was having a good time.
The Suburban didn’t budge. Instead, the driver’s door flew open and a guy with a ponytail climbed out.
Uh-oh, Lavare thought. Road rage alert.
Only he had no idea what this guy’s beef was. Traffic was bad, sure, but he hadn’t cut anybody off for at least half an hour.
Not that it mattered. It was Lavare’s experience that these nut bags didn’t need much provocation. Their whole day was centered on confrontation, the more the better.
If Lavare had it his way, he’d be happy to oblige.
Unfortunately, CTA policy made it clear that in tense traffic situations an operator must always use wisdom and diplomacy and keep an even temperament. Calling the guy a fool probably hadn’t been too wise or particularly diplomatic, but Lavare was more than willing to do a little backpedaling to avoid any job-threatening situations.
The guy with the ponytail walked past the windshield and came around to the door. Lavare studied him through the glass, but didn’t see any sign of rage on his face. In fact, he was smiling. As friendly as a neighbor looking to borrow your lawn mower.
Then it hit Lavare.
Had blue eyes really been serious? Could this be the somebody she claimed was stalking her?
The guy kept smiling and gestured for Lavare to open the door, but Lavare didn’t budge. He had to think this thing over, figure out exactly what was going on here.
Behind him, a voice said, “Jessie, what’re you doing?” and Lavare checked his mirror again.
Blue eyes was in the aisle now, working her way toward the gap in the middle of the bus where the side door was.
Lavare was about to tell her to get back to her seat when he heard a rap on the glass and returned his attention to the guy with the ponytail. Smile still intact, ponytail gestured again to open the door.
Something wonky was going on here and Lavare wasn’t about to start speculating what it might be. Instead, he picked up his two-way and clicked it on.
“Base, this is Unit 219. Looks like I got me a situation.” No judgment calls for Lavare. Leave them to the brass. “Unit 219 to base, do you read me?”
He was waiting for a response when the guy with the ponytail pulled a handgun from behind his back and pointed it at the glass.
Jessie heard a firecracker pop, then glass broke, and the bus driver jerked backward, his chest bursting blood.
She screamed. The bus erupted in panic, passengers looking around in confusion as others immediately ducked in their seats and covered their heads with their hands.
The forward door slammed open with a loud crash. Mr. Ponytail came up the steps carrying an ugly black gun, then turned and looked directly at Jessie, his smile gone, his eyes flat, reptilian.
Stranded in the middle of the aisle, Jessie dove for the side door. She tried desperately to pry it open, but Mr. Ponytail was on her in seconds flat. Grabbing her by the hair, he yanked her out of the door well. Needles of pain shot through her skull.
Jessie cried out and stumbled backward, losing her footing. Mr. Ponytail readjusted his grip, pulled her to her feet again.
Jessie winced, the pain nearly unbearable. “Please…” she cried.
Mr. Ponytail leaned in close, his breath hot against her cheek. “Make a fuss, sweet pea, and this is only the beginning.”
He released her hair, then grabbed her collar and jerked her backward. Jessie struggled to remain standing as he dragged her toward the front door.
Off to her side, a big guy in a Megadeth T-shirt started to rise, a threatening look on his face. “Let her go, asshole!”
Jessie heard another firecracker-this one loud and close to her head-and a hole the size of a dime opened up in the guy’s neck. He flew backward, slamming against his window.
Jessie screamed again. A half dozen passengers echoed her, including Laura, Karen, and Kathy, who sat riveted to their seats, their faces twisted in terrified disbelief.
Mr. Ponytail spun Jessie around now and shoved her toward the steps. She stumbled down them, glass crunching beneath her shoes. Feeling his hand on her back, she stepped through the doorway and onto the blacktop.
Horns were honking, angry drivers oblivious to anything but the snarl of traffic backing up behind the bus and the Suburban. All along the sidewalk, startled pedestrians stood frozen in place, gaping at Jessie.
“Somebody help me!” she cried. “Get the police!”
A hand smacked the back of her head-“Shut up, bitch”-and a burst of hot, white heat shot through her brain. She stumbled again and Mr. Ponytail grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the Suburban.
Take control, Jessie, take control. Don’t let him get you into that truck.
She tried to wriggle away, battering his shoulder with her free hand, screaming again for help. A couple of men in business suits started toward her, but froze in place when Mr. Ponytail waved his gun in their direction. “Think about your loved ones.”
An arm slipped around Jessie’s waist and jerked her off her feet, nearly knocking the wind out of her. Then the Sub-urban’s rear passenger door was yanked open and Jessie was thrown inside as if she were nothing more than a sack of cement.
“Ladies first,” he said.
She fell hard across the seat and the door slammed shut, nearly clipping her left foot. The engine idled beneath her, but there was nothing soothing about it.
Mr. Ponytail climbed behind the wheel, popped the gearshift into Drive. “Get your clothes off.”
Jessie tried to catch her breath. “W-what?”
“Get your fucking clothes off, now,” he said, then hit the gas pedal.
Jessie stared at the ugly black gun in his hand, knowing he wouldn’t hesitate to use it. Too stunned to cry, she reached a trembling hand to her regulation Bellanova Prep sweater and fingered the top button.
All control was lost now, relinquished to the stranger behind the wheel.
Help me, Daddy.
Please help me.