Date: Mon, 25 Aug 2008 19:17:21 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Castle <mickcastle92@yahoo.com.au>
Subject: Running Scared Chapter 7

Joel was nearly in tears as he looked at me as though I had hit him. I
wanted to tell him that it would be okay. I didn't want the person on the
other end of the phone to know that he was with me. I needed them to think
that I had put Joel somewhere. I needed them to think that I was going to
kill him if I didn't get what I wanted.

The lady who had answered the phone, seemed to be in shock. She didn't
respond for a few moments, and then she finally said, "Jason Porter. As in
... the guy from Perth?"

The way she asked the question made me think that she didn't believe me. I
kind of understood her situation; I mean, it's not every day that someone
like me calls up a police station.

I wanted to hurry the lady along, but I knew I had to be patient. "Yes, I'm
the guy from Perth. I need to talk to a police officer and I need to talk
to them now." There was another silence as the officer thought about what I
was saying. The longer she took, the more nervous I got that we were going
to be caught.

I was still driving, as I held the phone to my ear. I thought that the lady
was going to ask me more questions, but I was pleasantly surprised when she
finally said, "Look, what I'll do is, I'll put you through to the
detective's desk; if you are in fact Jason, then they are who you need to
talk to; okay?"

She still didn't sound as though she believed me, but I knew this was
progress. I thanked her and she put me on hold. As I was waiting I looked
across at Joel and smiled at him reassuringly. He was still looking at me
as though I had completely lost the plot. I patted his leg and said, "Trust
me, buddy, this is the best thing to do." He again looked at me doubtful. I
knew that it was going to take a lot to convince him that I was right. But
I knew that I would have plenty of time for that after I had finished the
call.

Or at least I hoped I would. It took about a minute and a half, before
finally I was taken off of hold, and a young male voice spoke.

"This is Detective Nathan Myles. What can I do for you?" The guy sounded
barely older then me, and I wondered whether he was in fact a cop. But then
I realised how stupid a thought that was.

I took a deep breath as I tried to think about just what the hell I was
going to say. Finally I thought I knew.

"Detective, my name is Jason Porter. Do you know who I am?" I thought I
would start easy. I didn't want to go too far in without knowing what the
other person knew. I thought at least to start with defense would be the
best strategy.

I could hear the detective doing something in the background; it sounded
like typing on a computer. I assumed that he was looking up my records.

After a few more moments, the detective seemed to exhale a long
breath. "Jason Porter. It looks like you're in a spot of bother."

I almost had to laugh at the understatement. I wondered whether this guy
was unsure who I was as well. I wasn't sure whether he thought I was full
of shit or not, but I decided to continue anyway.

"Yeah, you could say that."

Nathan seemed unsure of what he should say. I wondered whether this case
was way over his head; I mean he sounded so young.

I was still driving and keeping a close eye on the rear view mirror; there
was still no sign of the police that I was certain was behind us
somewhere. The more I looked, the more concerned I became. I knew that if
my plan didn't work it was only a matter of hours before the police got us.

I looked at Joel who still looked concerned, but at least he was
concentrating on the road instead of me.

"So Jason, what are you calling for?"

I could feel the tension, but I knew that I couldn't say anything ... at
least not yet.

I could hear concern and worry in the other man's voice. I now knew for a
fact, that I was out of this rookie's league. But I also knew that I could
use that to my advantage. I knew that I could probably use his inexperience
in my favour. For that to be a factor I needed to get him on my side.

"Well, I suppose for a start, you could get the coppers off our tail."

Nathan let out a slight laugh, but he didn't realise that I was in fact
serious. I think when I didn't laugh, he realised that I was. There was a
silence for a long time, I waited for Nathan to respond, but it seemed as
though he wasn't going to.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, Nathan was again typing away at
a computer.

"Give me one good reason."

I smiled to myself; this as going exactly as I had planned it, or even a
little better. I knew that this guy probably wouldn't be able to call off
the cops without the permission of one of his superiors. But that was all I
needed. I also knew that if I could convince Nathan to go through with my
plan, his superiors would be more than happy to comply.

"Because, Nathan, I am willing to bring myself in ... once I reach
Adelaide."

There was a stunned silence, not only on the phone, but also in the car as
Joel went back to looking at me with his mouth open. He didn't say anything
as I placed a finger to my lips. Joel didn't look happy about me telling
him to be quiet, but he complied, and went back to looking out through his
side window.

Nathan finally responded after a few moments. "Okay, you want to bring
yourself in? Why don't you just stop the car, and let the officers arrest
you?"

The question was what I had been expecting. I knew that Nathan was trying
for the easy way out, and now came the important part.

"Because I don't trust them. I have reason to believe that some cops may be
working against me."

Nathan was again silent as he tried to figure out what I was talking
about. I knew what I was saying sounded quite far-fetched but it was the
truth,

After all, Joel had proven to me that there were at least two cops looking
for us, for reasons other than what had happened a few days ago. I couldn't
be certain that there weren't more. Realistically, I could be taking a big
risk even just having this conversation. But I had to take the chance to
get anywhere.

Nathan digested what I was trying to tell him, and he was silent for
several moments, before finally he asked, "You don't know whether you can
trust the cops that are following you? What makes you so certain you can
trust me?"

I was surprised that he didn't ask me why I couldn't trust the cops. But I
had the feeling that the question would come sometime soon. But for now I
had to concentrate on what we were talking about. "I don't know, but I've
realised that this is the easiest way for me to get out."

Nathan seemed to think about this for a moment. I could tell by his silence
that he was considering my options. I liked my chances of getting what I
wanted. But I still had a few tricks up my sleeve in case I needed them and
I had a feeling that I would.

When Nathan did respond I could tell he was hesitant. "Okay, so you want to
come to Adelaide and give yourself up; right?"

I again smiled to myself, but this time Joel saw me and looked at me
questioningly. I just smiled wider at him. I mouthed `It's going to be
okay. Just trust me.'

Joel looked at me and finally, for the first time in a while, Joel let a
small smile play across his lips.

I rubbed my eyes. I was becoming tired; after all of the fun of last night,
I hadn't had too much sleep. "Yeah, that's pretty much the one. If you give
me safe passage to Adelaide, call off your boys, and I'll meet up with
you." I threw the spanner into the works, to see if he would notice. Again
I knew that this was going to cause problems, but they surely had to
understand that I wasn't just going to hand myself over to them. And I
certainly wasn't going to just hand over Joel.

But Nathan seemed to be considering the idea. "Explain what you mean by
'meet with me'."

I had been expecting this. I knew that he wasn't going to be stupid enough
not to ask. But even though I had been expecting it, I hadn't yet figured
out how was the best way to answer it. I thought hard about it; I knew this
was crucial. If I stuffed it up, I had no hope of getting what I needed.

After nearly a whole minute of silence I decided on my words. I took a deep
breath, and prayed that this would work.

"Here's what's going to happen. I am going to arrive in Adelaide tonight,
and I am going to arrive alone. Then I want to meet with you, and YOU
alone. I will show you the reason why I did what I did; then, and only
then, we can discuss it from there."

I ended up saying it in a commanding tone that I hadn't actually intended
to, but it was too late to take it back. So now I just had to wait and see
what Nathan's reaction would be. I didn't have to wait long.

"Is that so is it? And why do you give orders?"

Bingo!!! That was exactly what I had been looking for. I knew that this was
the opportunity to use the other trick up my sleeve. "Because if you don't,
my hostage won't arrive with me."

Joel looked at me horrified, but I quite simply ignored him.

This was too important. I could hear Nathan typing away. "Do you have the
boy with you at the moment?"

I knew what Nathan was thinking, so here came the second lie. "No, he
isn't. He is in a safe place, but he's not with me."

Joel heard this, and a light seemed to go off in his head; he realised what
I was up to and he smiled.

Nathan on the other hand seemed to be losing his composure. "So I get the
cops to leave you alone, so you can arrive in Adelaide and make a fool of
us? Why should I trust you?"

I hadn't been expecting that, but it didn't really bother me. I drove past
a sign that said Adelaide was just over five hundred kilometres away. I
knew that it would take about six hours, which meant we would arrive about
seven in the evening. But there were things I wanted to do after arriving
before I met with the detective.

"Either you do it my way, or I keep on running and you have to worry about
what's going to happen to Joel."

I hoped that Nathan couldn't see past my lie. But I was more then slightly
relieved when he said. "Look, Jason, I can't call off the cops, but I'll
talk to my boss. Can I call you back?"

I sighed with relief; this was why I had been glad to get a young cop. But
I wasn't certain that it would work. I just held my breath. "That's fine,
but only you, okay?"

Nathan agreed and then we disconnected the call. I turned to Joel. "It's
working okay. He's going to convince his boss to let him meet me tomorrow."

Joel nodded his understanding.

I could see that he still had his doubts. I didn't blame him, I was puting
our lives in the hands of a cop, and Joel had been screwed over by cops on
more then one occasion..

After about ten minutes of driving, the phone rang again. I saw the number
was private. I pressed the talk button. "Hello."

Nathan sounded almost excited when he answered. "Hey, Jason, they're
calling off the cops that are following you. I'm allowed to meet you
tomorrow."

I was so happy that I couldn't keep the grin off of my face. I gave a
thumbs up to Joel but Nathan wiped it off just as quickly. "But I need
confirmation, that Joel will be there as well."

I had no idea how to do that without them knowing that he was with me. I
knew the only way I could pass this was to make a demand. Divert the
attention. "Look detective, he will be there. But if you don't come alone,
and I do mean ALONE, well ... let's just say ...  he will come back to you
a bit holey."

I was going to hang up for affect, but I needed to know where to meet
him. Luckily Nathan took my threat to heart, and said nervously, "Okay,
meet me at the state library. In the front area at eleven tomorrow
morning."

I was pretty sure that I knew what he was going to try and do. But I
decided to run with it. I knew that I could work it out okay. "Okay, I'll
see you at eleven."

Then I hung up the phone and turned back to the road with a smile on my
face.