I entered the Saint Lorde’s Catholic Church through the rear entrance and scanned the hall for anything suspicious. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary, to my left I saw Father Callaghan and nodded at him. We both entered the confession booth at the same time, and I knelt down and waited for the door to slide open.

“Forgive me Father for I have sinned, it’s been two weeks since my last confession,” I whispered.

“Why have you taken so long to confess your sins my son?”

“I’ve been working very hard.”

Callaghan slid a small piece of paper under the frame that separated the two booths and I opened it up, it read—The Shamrock is feeling lucky.

I cursed inwardly and crumpled up the piece of paper. This was not good news, I needed to get out of here, get to Alana and hit the road. Hanging around was no longer an option.

“I killed two men in cold blood,” I said.

“Alright, say five Our Fathers for your penance.”

“Thank you, Father.”

With that, I waited for him to exit first, no tap followed and I knew I was safe. Without looking anyone directly in the eyes, I headed into the back of the church, grabbed a nun’s robe and cape and put it on. It was a wee bit short, but for the time being it would cover me, mostly. I exited the same way I came. Time was of the essence now. If Shamrock, the head of the Bronx Raiders, was still in town, it meant that they had eyes all over. Retracing my steps, mentally I recalled where I had been in the last two hours. But nothing suspicious stood out. I glanced towards where my car was parked and then looked up and down the street. I didn’t notice anyone lurking around, but I knew using the car would be too risky. Instead I scanned the street for another car. Luckily, I spotted a cab and I flagged it down. The cab pulled up, and I slipped into the back seat. Immediately I pulled out my gun and held it against the driver’s head.

“Do exactly as I say, and no one has to die today,” I whispered through gritted teeth.

The cab driver froze and held up his hands.

“Keep dem hands on the wheel and head down 3rd, then take a left on Saxton Avenue. Once there, I’m going to drop you and take your cab.”

The driver nodded nervously and drove down 3rd while I sat back, keeping my head low and the gun pointed at the back of the driver’s seat.

“Don’t think of trying anything clever, I’ve killed for less,” I told the driver.

“Please sir, if you could just…”

“Shut the fuck up, just get to Saxton and I’ll let you go,” I promised.

We drove for 5 min then he turned into Saxton Avenue. I instructed him to turn into the next alley. The moment the cab came to a stop, I nudged the gun against the man’s head and said, “Now you stay dead quiet, any sudden moves will cost you more than just your cab.”

I got out and dragged the fearful man out of the cab then pushed him up against the wall. I held up a picture of his wife and kids, which I plucked from a string hanging on the rear-view mirror.

“See this, I know where you live. If you breathe a word to anyone, I’ll cut them up and feed them to the fucking dogs,” I growled.

The man nodded frantically, his eyes wide and full of tears. I pulled him by his shirt and shoved him in between the two dumpsters and hijacked the cab. It was already 8:42 AM, I had less than 15 minutes to get back to the cabin for Alana, and get back on the road before Shamrock and his men find us. The moment the cab driver gets to the police, it’s only a matter of minutes before Shamrock and his goons track this cab.

I couldn’t exceed the speed limit either, the last thing I needed now was to get pulled over for a traffic violation that would only fuck things up even more.

Soon enough I pulled up to the cabin, 9:10 am. I rushed up the stairs only to find Alana with the pistol pointed straight at me. Without thinking twice, I launched myself at her, carefully disarming her. She couldn’t follow a simple instruction to leave the cabin, was the first thing that crossed my mind.

“What the fuck Alana!” I shouted and unloaded the gun then flicked the safety back on, “Why are you still here, I gave you strict instructions.”

“I-I… I didn’t know if I should wait-oh my god, I almost shot you!” she heaved hysterically.

“Calm the fuck down,” I said and impulsively pulled her into my arms. On the one hand, I was pissed that she even considered taking the Bronx Raiders on, on the other hand I was relieved that I didn’t still have to waste time trekking to the bunker to find her before we could hit the road.

I pushed her away and held her at arm’s length, “Look at me, we have to get going. We can’t stay here any longer. I need you to pack what you can but pack lightly; you can use the backpack, we’ll stop at the next town and get the necessities,” I instructed and continued without a pause, “Are you okay on a bike?”

What the hell was I on about? Who cares if she was okay with a bike, but she nodded. Her eyes still wide with shock.

“Good, now hurry and pack what you can, I’ll get the bike.”