Chương 154

Louis woke to Maeve's head on his shoulder. His neck was stiff from the awkward position. The bus had stopped moving. The driver's rough voice came over the speaker.

"Final stop. Ninety-fifth and Dan Ryan." Passengers stood and reached for their bags. Edward had already stepped out into the aisle and was moving toward the door. Maeve opened her eyes, looked out the window, then sat up quickly and winced. Across the aisle, Cherish stirred. Donya was asleep against her shoulder. Louis looked back at the others. Gladice stood, stretching. Willa, Savannah, and Angelique were already gathering their things. They filed off the bus. Elevated train tracks ran above the street.

A train passed overhead with a metallic roar. Cherish flinched, and Maeve stepped back.

"What the hell is that?" Maeve said.

"Public transport." Willa glanced up.

"It's everywhere in Chicago."

"It's louder than a broken turbine," Maeve said. Gladice laughed.

"Relax, Mae-Mae. We are not getting hit." Louis looked at the station sign.

"Ninety-fifth Street."

"Where now?" Savannah asked. Her voice had gone quieter.

"The Dominion Embassy." Donya checked the map on her phone.

"It's downtown. Near the lake."

"How far?" Gladice asked.

"About eighteen kilometers," Willa said.

"We can take the Red Line train from here."

"Train?" Maeve frowned.

"The thing that just screamed over our heads?"

"Yes." Willa pointed toward a set of stairs under the tracks.

"Up there." They followed the early commuters toward the station entrance. Louis noticed a few glances, but no one stopped or looked back. In their hoodies, dark jackets, sweatpants, and cheap shoes, they could pass for tired students or workers finishing a night shift. They stayed close enough to keep one another in sight. Donya bought eight fares on the transit app and scanned them through the turnstiles one at a time. Cherish hesitated before the escalator.

"It moves by itself," she whispered. Louis took her hand.

"Stand with me." She stepped on beside him, her fingers tightening around his as the escalator carried them upward. Maeve followed Willa and gripped the rail, keeping her body rigid. The Red Line train braked beside the platform, and the doors opened. Cherish froze again. The carriage was already crowded, forcing passengers to stand close together.

"Inside," Angelique said. Louis led Cherish in, and the others followed. The doors closed behind them with a chime, and the train lurched forward. Maeve grabbed a vertical pole with both hands.

"Fuck." Gladice laughed once.

"You stole a chopper and this scares you?"

"Shut up." Maeve glared. Cherish stood pressed close to Louis, one hand on his arm and the other on the pole. Her face had gone pale. Savannah stayed near the door and checked the passengers around them. Then she looked toward the windows and the route map above the doors. A black camera dome hung nearby, and several passengers already had phones in their hands.

"Too many people here. Too many cameras." Savannah kept her voice low.

"We are almost there," Donya said.

"Just hold on." Willa checked the phone again.

"We get off at Harrison." The train rounded a curve and swayed hard. Cherish stumbled into Louis, and he caught her around the waist. Maeve was thrown against his other shoulder. For a moment, he held both women upright.

"It's alright," he said.

"Just hold on." Cherish nodded, her eyes wide. Maeve muttered something and steadied herself on the pole. Angelique kept her balance with one hand through an overhead strap. Gladice smirked at them. The train jolted again. Louis's sunglasses slid down his nose. He reached for them, but another jolt threw his hand aside. The glasses hit the floor and slid beneath the opposite seat. No one reacted at first. Then a teenage girl sitting by the window looked up from her phone and stared at his face.

Her mouth opened slightly. The man beside her followed her gaze. A woman holding a book turned toward him as well. Louis pulled his cap lower, but the girl was already raising her phone.

"No way," she whispered.

"That's Louis Collins," she said. Heads turned along the carriage.

"What?"

"Who?"

"The Dominion president's son?" Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"Holy shit, that's him." One passenger stood, and several others raised their phones. Voices rose around Louis as people turned in their seats. A woman approached him.

"Are you Louis Collins?" Louis pulled the cap low.

"No."

"Weren't you kidnapped?" A student with a backpack asked.

"What happened?"

"Can I have a picture with you?" The teenage girl held her phone toward him, already recording. Angelique moved to Louis's side at once. Gladice stepped between Cherish and the nearest passengers. Savannah stepped forward.

"Back up," Savannah said. No one moved away. A young man stepped closer with his phone held high.

"Just one picture, man."

"No," Gladice said.

"Bodyguard?" The man laughed, still filming.

"Come on, this is insane." The train slowed toward the next station. A passenger near the door spoke into his phone.

"Yeah, I'm on the Red Line. Louis Collins is literally on my train. I'm not joking." Willa looked from the raised phones to the security dome above the door.

"Fuck," she said.

"They are seeing this live." Donya turned to her.

"Aegis Security will get the alert."

"How fast?" Louis asked.

"In Chicago?" Donya said.

"Very fast." The doors opened at the next station. A few passengers stepped off, and others boarded. Several noticed the raised phones and followed them to Louis. They stopped in the aisle around him before the doors closed again.

"We have to get off," Savannah said.

"No, we stay on until Harrison," Louis said.

"It is closer."

"Too late for quiet," Savannah said. The train continued north. Passengers whispered and typed on their phones. Some recorded Louis openly, while others kept their phones low and angled the cameras toward him. A woman looked past him and gasped.

"Oh my God. Is that Angelique Bourbon? The princess?" Angelique did not reply or turn toward her.

"Let me get a selfie!" A man pushed closer to Louis. Savannah stepped between them.

"Touch him and I break your arm." The man laughed nervously.

"I'm just a fan."

"You're in the way," Savannah said. Louis took Cherish's hand.

"Stay close." Cherish gripped his hand with both of hers.

"Why are they doing this?"

"Because they know who he is," Willa said, watching the raised phones.

"People are stupid." A station announcement came over the speakers.

"Harrison is next. Doors open on the right at Harrison." Louis looked at the others.

"We move the second the doors open. Stay together. Move fast." Savannah nodded and moved beside Gladice near the doors. Angelique kept hold of Cherish, while Donya raised the phone to guide them. Willa and Maeve closed in behind them. The train slowed. Louis looked through the door window as the platform came into view. At first he counted three Aegis officers in dark jackets. Then two more appeared. One spoke into a shoulder radio while another pointed toward their car. Savannah followed his gaze.

"Fuck." The train stopped. The doors opened.

"Go!" Louis drove the others toward the doorway. Gladice reached the platform first and rammed her shoulder into the nearest security officer before he could grab her. He staggered into the officer behind him. Savannah pulled Cherish onto the platform, with Angelique and Donya close behind. Willa and Maeve followed. Louis tore his sleeve from a passenger's hand and came through last.

"Mr. Collins!" a security officer shouted.

"Stop!" They ran. Passengers shouted behind them and kept their phones raised. Aegis officers pushed through the crowd, while another officer sprinted toward the stairs ahead of them. Donya pointed toward the far end of the platform.

"This way!" They took the stairs two at a time. Cherish nearly slipped, but Savannah caught her arm and kept her moving. Maeve stumbled at the landing. Louis grabbed the back of her hoodie and pulled her upright. Radio voices followed them down the stairs.

"Visual confirmed, Harrison station. Multiple subjects fleeing eastbound." They rushed through the turnstiles. Maeve caught her hip on one of them and twisted sideways. Gladice grabbed her arm and pulled her free. They ran out onto the street. Donya pointed east.

"That way!" They ran down Harrison. A security vehicle turned onto the block behind them with its lights flashing. A second pulled out near the station entrance. Pedestrians stopped and raised their phones as the group ran past. A man in a suit jumped back as Gladice nearly hit him. Angelique held Cherish's hand and pulled her through the crowd. Maeve was gasping, and Willa kept one hand on her back to push her forward. Louis looked over his shoulder. The security officers were gaining.

He pulled a wad of cash from inside his jacket.

"Throw the cash!" he shouted.

"All of it! Behind us!" He flung his bills over his shoulder. Around him, the others reached into pockets and backpacks and threw handfuls of Alliance dollars behind them without stopping. Bills scattered across the sidewalk and into the street. A woman bent to grab one, and several others followed. Pedestrians stepped into the officers' path as they reached for the money. A man lunging for a twenty collided with one of the officers and knocked him sideways.

The others tried to go around, but more people were moving into the street after the bills. A car braked hard. Drivers leaned on their horns. The security vehicle stopped before the crosswalk as people crowded into the road to grab the money.

"Run!" Louis shouted. They ran harder. The light turned red, but Donya did not stop. She crossed against traffic, and Angelique pulled Cherish after her. A taxi braked hard in front of Savannah. She slapped its hood and ran around the front. Maeve froze in the middle of the lane. Louis grabbed her wrist and pulled her forward as a bus sounded its horn behind them. He pulled her across Michigan Avenue between the stopped cars. The others reached the far side ahead of them.

Beyond the trees, he saw the purple-and-gold Dominion flag above a white building. More sirens approached behind them. Two security vehicles turned onto the avenue. Officers jumped out of the first before it had fully stopped.

"Halt!" someone shouted.

"Stop where you are!" They kept running. They crossed the bridge over the railway, and wind from the lake struck their faces. Beyond the bridge, Louis saw the embassy. The Dominion Guard soldiers at the gate raised their rifles.

"Stop!" one of them ordered. Louis tore off his cap. His lungs burned, and his legs were beginning to shake. He drew a breath and forced the words out.

"Louis Collins is here!" The Dominion Guard soldiers hesitated. Louis ran straight at the gate.

"I am Louis Collins!" he shouted again, his voice cracking.

"Open the gate!" One of the Dominion Guard soldiers stared at him. His eyes widened, and his rifle dropped slightly.

"Open it!" the soldier shouted.

"Open the gate now!" The Dominion Guard soldiers inside moved at once. A short alarm sounded inside the compound, and the steel gate began to roll sideways.

"Inside!" Louis yelled. Gladice shoved Donya through first, and Angelique pulled Cherish after her. Savannah and Willa followed. Maeve stumbled at the threshold. Louis caught her and pushed her inside. An Aegis officer reached the gate just as Savannah turned. The Dominion Guard soldier stepped between them.

"Get back," he said.

"This is an Alliance security matter," the Aegis officer snapped.

"These individuals are under arrest." The Dominion Guard soldier raised his rifle slightly.

"This is a Dominion diplomatic compound. Back away from the gate." Louis crossed the threshold last. The gate slid shut behind him, and the lock engaged with a heavy clunk. The Aegis officers stopped outside. They remained beyond the locked gate while the Dominion Guard soldiers held their positions inside. Cherish dropped to her knees in the courtyard and began to sob. Maeve stared at the closed gate with her mouth open. Savannah leaned against the inner wall and kept watching the officers outside.

Angelique turned toward Louis. He bent forward and tried to catch his breath. The pistol still pressed against his ribs. He looked back at the locked gate and finally believed they had made it inside. The Dominion Guard soldier nearest him lowered his rifle and stared.

"Mr. Collins," he said, his voice unsteady.

"Welcome home."