Chapter 15

“Shannon,” Barbara growled as she looked in the rear view mirror, “I’m dead serious this time.”

Shannon sat in the passenger with arms crossed and a permanent scowl on her face. She also told her mother, “how many times have you told me that already?”

“Plenty,” Barbara said with a very biting tone as she pushed the gas pedal a little bit further down.

With a facetious tone that Barbara was all but too familiar, Shannon asked, “and have I shut up yet?”

“Not in fourteen years,” Barbara told her. She kept looking more and more at the rear view mirror. She also mouthed off, “shit.”

At the same time, Shannon was paying very little attention too her mother. Shannon was way too busy with her own train of thought as she asked, “so why do you think I’m going too now?”

Barbara reached over and pulled on her child’s belt just to make sure it was good. Then she put the car into a hard left and told her child over the squealing tires, “because this time I’m serious!”

To Barbara’s surprise, Shannon did not scream one little bit. When the car straightened out she actually looked behind them and saw another car repeat almost the same quick turn that they had. That car made it but, did not have quite as much luck. It almost hit another car and made it only because that other car swerved radically at the last second.

Shannon looked back to her mother, “punch it!”

“I’m working on it dear,” Barbara said in a very aggressive guttural tone. Barbara had tried to make it sound polite but, it did not even fool herself, let alone, Shannon.

Then Shannon surprised her mother again, “give me your gun Mom! I’ll shoot their tires out or something.”

Barbara’s eyes widened. She looked at her daughter. Shannon looked away to the road and then said, “MOM!” Quickly, Barbara put her attention back on what she was doing and swerved to miss the light pole that had somehow jumped out at them or, at least, that was going to be her story, later. Right now she had to think of more important things.

They had been on their way to Wally’s Merchandise and Delivery. WMD’s was about the only place of any consequence that was open on holidays and Barbara needed to pick a few things up before they went home and changed. Well, now she was going to just have to be out of laundry soap. Then Barbara realized something. That was exactly where she still needed to go! She stepped on the gas, made a hard right this time, and headed for the underpass of the L-5. She held her breath until they sped right through the three lights leading up to it. Barbara even managed to catch one of the lights as green but, it was not what she had been worried about. Usually that underpass always had traffic backed up around it.

As the L-5 was behind her, in the rearview mirror, Barbara let out her breath and mumbled, “thank god for holiday traffic.”

Shannon, not having really thought the matter through, was not as impressed, “they’re still back there Mom.”

Now Barbara was worried for a different reason. She took as quick of a glance at her child as she could. Then she just had to ask, “you’re not scared?”

Shannon came right back with, “you got a gun. Let’s take the bastards.”

“What did you just say,’ Barbara grunted.

“I said you got a gun,” Shannon thought about it and then meekly replied, “let’s take ‘em.”

That made Barbara think for a second. She stopped that bad habit just as soon as the left turn came up with the four lane divided road. She had to weave right, to make the left, and to avoid a car that was also speeding along in the nearest lane. That put Barbara driving over the grass medium before finally getting into traffic that was goin in the direction she wanted.

It also gave her a little bit more time. The car that was following them probably could not take a grass medium like her four by four. They also elected to wait for a few cars to pass instead of trying their luck with just darting out blind. Barbara knew it was a good thing too because of what she was coming up on.

Because WMD’s was the only place of it’s kind, that was open today, it meant it was the busiest. That meant more traffic in the lot and around the store. What Barbara had not anticipated was a line of traffic at the next light. It was a right hand turn into the parking lot and she had figured that she could just go right on in without stopping. Now she was stuck at the light with the other car making it’s way right towards her.

“Come on! Come on! Come on!” Barbara stepped on the gas when the light turned green and the following car rolled almost up on her rear bumper. She stayed in the straight lane until the last second. Then she cut a hard right and skipped the right hand turn lane altogether. It did not succeed in getting rid of the tail. She had not really expected it too but, she could always hope.

Then Shannon began complaining about their new situation. She kept pointing out the window at the parking lot around them, “um, MOM! There’s like cars and people and sh… junk. Sure we should be here?”

Barbara had counted on all of that but, she also saw a complication and it was one she had not thought of. Standing in front of the store were several Wehrmacht soldiers and they were definitely on duty. She was really starting to wonder if this was a bright idea but, unfortunately, she was now committed. She turned the car down one of the parking rows and hoped she would get this right on the first try. She was pretty sure they wouldn’t get a second.