John woke up the afternoon at the sound of his alarm clock. He groaned and sat up in his bed. He was still dressed fully. He rubbed his eyes roughly with his knuckles and tried to remember what had happened earlier that morning. It came back in a fast moving blur.
He bit his lip anxiously as he remembered his partner that he worked with at the police department depositing him on the living room recliner and setting the alarm clock to three in the afternoon.
He knew word would have gotten around the small town by then. He would have to face the town eventually over Carol’s abrupt departure. But he did not have to do it just then.
He ate some food and got himself dressed as slowly as he possibly could before making his way outside. He started the not too long trip to the police station.
That was one of the blessings of living the small town of Natow, Kansas. One could walk to everything in town. Unfortunately, they were too far away from any cities encase they needed anything real. He made a mental note to himself. He needed to find a used car that he could buy or possibly rent. He certainly had enough money to get the extra vehicle and he would even need it. He knew that he could probably borrow a car from someone and go out dealership hunting later.
He entered the building with his eyes downcast. No one paid him any mind straight to his face. However, when he walked by them, he could feel their eyes on his back.
His partner stood over their desk and seemed to sort through paperwork so intensely that he could not see John standing over him watching him work.
“Hey, man,” John said finally. Kirk Burns pretended to jump a mile or so before settling down back in front of his work.
“Oh, hey,” Kirk casually looked up at him. “How are you feeling?”
“Better,” John lied with an exhausted smile. “Not as good as I could be, though. Carol ran off last night with Jessie. I haven’t heard from her since. She been around here?”
“No, sorry,” Kirk did not have to say it, but John felt fairly sure that he already knew about Carol before getting told. “So what happened? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.”
“No, no, I don’t mind. See, me and Carol had a little disagreement. I came home a little wasted at midnight or so and she bolted with the baby. Usually she doesn’t care if I do all my drinking late at night. Tonight though, she seemed to mind. She took the car and left.”
“Wait a second,” Kirk’s eyes widened in amusement, but he strangely managed to keep his voice sympathetic and pitying. “So you have no ride now?”
“Yeah, I walked to work,” John growled. He hated the fact he had to deal with the admitting stage of divorce. Even though he knew that it was his fault, he did not like it.
The front door opened and closed. Their conversation faded into silence as the bell rang and two people walked inside the station. The first, John had become used to seeing. The social worker often came in with kids to either put in jail or advocate adoption for. He wondered which one the worker would request as he stared at the second person following him.
An older teen aged girl walked behind the case worker with a rather nervous expression. She clutched a purse to her chest and glanced around her as if she could not believe that she stood inside of a police station. She shook her head as locks of her bushy, curly long brown hair fell into her icy blue eyes. Occasionally, she would run on tan hand over her long, dimpled face to tuck her bangs back into place.
The case worker and the girl walked up to the Caption’s desk.
“Take a seat,” the case worker said as he sat down in the other one of the seats. John was able to hear the conversation because everyone else in the room had fallen silent to listen into the stranger’s talk.
“Yes, sir,” the girl’s voice sounded strangely high pitched and clear without a touch of accent as she obeyed him.
John looked away from them and picked up the first paper in his work pile. Kirk noticed and started working as well. He looked into the newest evidence that his team had dug up and included in the file. He worked at keeping from bursting out into an angry rant.
His team had worked for almost six months and still could not figure out where a notorious hit and run driver had gone to. The driver seemed to keep returning and seemed to get a blast out of hitting random pedestrians before bolting to some city outside his jurisdiction. This very case was what fueled him to drink at the bar after each unproductive day. Even though the method was so simple, the death toll had risen to three with another possible six in other near by cities.
His patrols had no luck catching the perpetrator either. They seemed to wait until the officers were busy switching shifts and then strike.
“Officer Wasser,” the Caption’s voice broke through the focus that John had tried to wrap about himself.
“Yes, sir?” John approached him.
“This here is miss Helen Ter. She is new here. I have a feeling she is connected to your case. Would you like to interview her? It is your case after all,” the Caption asked him.
John frowned at him. He knew the fatherly man only asked him the question because he felt bad about Carol leaving him. Still, he took a glance at Helen’s worrying face and agreed with a nod.
He led her into one of the two interrogation rooms. He set up the camera and the microphone as she sat down.
“What do you know?” John asked her.
She leaned in close to him. “Everything, sir.”

John had no idea how it happened. He sat in the front passenger seat in his partner’s squad car. Helen Ter sat in the back seat on her way over to his house. John was her new foster parent, at least for the moment. He volunteered to look after the young adult until a more appropriate parent could be found or room in the children’s house opened up.
He could not say that he despised the strange girl that had caused him to offer her his house in impulse. Helen certainly could charm her way into anything.
She had sat down in front of John and poured her heart out about the man she saw run her mom over. She left the room with an offer to live at John’s home if she had nowhere else to go.
His Caption had to pull some strings to get him approved for foster care. They conveniently forgot to mention the fact John had been drunk coming in. But for some reason, the Caption did not think that would be too big of an issue for a girl who would come of age in four months anyway.
Kirk Burns dropped them off in front of the spacious, yet paint peeling house and drove away. John and Helen waved at him until he disappeared.
They walked inside the house. Helen walked slowly and did not talk as she took in the sight of her new home. She waved her hand over the wall as she walked so that she could feel the texture.
Finally, John found he did not like the silence anymore and spoke up. He cleared his throat. “So, how do you like the house?”
“Oh,” Helen jumped at the sound of his rough voice and answered with a huge smile. “It is the best house I have ever seen.”
“Yeah?” John raised his eyebrow with a amusement. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes, sir. My mom lived in a studio with me. You could fit about four of our space into your home.”
“What about your dad?” John asked. She had yet to tell him anything about him. So far, she had simply gushed about her mother. He had not been told her father was dead, so he simply assumed the parents divorced or something like that. However, the look on Helen’s face showed that was not the case at all.
“I don’t know him very well. He abandoned us several years ago. Occasionally, I spend some time with him, but he doesn’t want me. He works with the government.”
“Sorry,” John said awkwardly. “I had no idea.”
“It’s okay,” Helen said with a shrug of her shoulders. She pushed a bit of hair out of her eyes. “I am over him. I learned not to trust the government.”
“Ain’t that smart,” John muttered. He went to the kitchen. His stumach rumbled. Even though it was close to seven o clock in the evening, they had yet to have dinner. He looked through all the pantries, but saw nothing appetizing. The day was Thursday and that was usually Carol’s shopping day and she obviously had not stocked the kitchen before she left.
“Wanna go out to eat tonight?” John asked a little guiltily. He knew he would have to keep the cupboards stocked better for the girl.
Helen smiled as if she would rather do nothing else. “Sure.”
They turned around and walked back out of the house. They had a short conversation while they walked to the restraint. He told her about the public school she would attend and she gave him her opinion on what car he should get.
The days turned into weeks as the two of them developed a routine. Every morning, John would go to work and Helen would sleep in as long as she wanted before walking to the station to spend the rest of the day with him. Or she would go to the library for a few hours and meet him there afterward. Then they would jump in the little Honda Fit and go to one of the nearby cities and shop for the random things that Helen needed to live with him.
He found himself growing attached to the young woman. She was the daughter he never had and she more than filled the empty hole in his heart that Carol and Jessie had left.
She occupied the guest room on the lower floor and he kept the master bed he had shared with his ex-wife. By then, the divorce became official and he received a court order in the mail telling him he could not see his daughter ever again. They included papers for an appeal, but he did not have that kind of money.
Helen sat at the kitchen table and rubbed his shoulder as he cried when he told her the news. Helen also looked a bit upset. She had told him that she wanted to meet the woman he had fallen in love with and possibility convince her to stay. But they never heard from her for several weeks after that.
One day about a month later, a cell phone call came in for John.
“She’s yours now,” the case worker said into the mic. He sounded exhausted. “I’m sorry it took so long. The state was not cooperative considering your lost of custody. But I stood up for you despite the alleged verbal abuse Miss Wasser’s lawyer says you gave her.”
“I did no such thing,” John spat loudly into the phone. Helen sat next to him in the passenger seat of the car. They were on their way to the city and she gave him a concerned look as she eavesdropped. He gave her a reassuring smile and told himself to keep his temper under control.
“I know. And I have told her that. Anyway, she stormed down my office today and she’s mad about the increase in income you are getting. She’s standing next to me if you want to talk to her,” the case worker sounded a bit worried as if Carol stood over his shoulder at the moment. And knowing her, which he did, she probably was standing next to him and threating some sort of lawyer move on him.
“How could you,” her voice hissed in the phone before he even answered the social worker.
“How could I do what?” John played stupid for a moment and then started on her before she started on him. “You mean, how could I move on with my life and help someone who really needs it?”
“You didn’t do it because she needs the help. You did it because you are obsessed with your work and she is the last link you need in your case.”
“Sorry you feel that way,” John felt a smile on his face over Carol’s anger. It felt good for him to transfer some of the frustration that she had caused him back onto her.
“You think that you can just replace your family like that? Why do you want a new daughter? You already have one. You just can’t do this to me,” Carol’s voice rose a few octaves. John did not know why she felt so offended. Still, it amused him to make her mad.
“I thought you took her from me. Besides, I am not replacing Jessie. I’m just helping out a friend in need.”
“Or maybe you aren’t replacing your daughter. Maybe you are replacing a wife.”
John choked over the accusation. He pulled the phone away from his ear to compose himself for a second.
“Ask your lawyer-lover how much trouble such slandering can get you. By the way, this call is recorded and I’ve also got me a lawyer,” he added the last fib suddenly. He felt it was brilliant. Carol’s reply back only made that feeling of victory stronger.
“Goodbye, John,” she said and the unexpected dial tone showed that she hung up on him.
He smirked to himself as he replaced the phone into the cup holder.
“Well?” Helen asked. She leaned over the arm rest to look at him. She was careful not to touch his arm while he drove down the highway.
“Nothing anymore,” John assured her.
“Hmm,” Helen recoiled back into her seat without arguing, but did not look convinced.
Despite her uncertainty, John felt completely confident. He would not lose another daughter. Especially after he just found her.

They returned to the house and retired for the night.
“Good night, John,” Helen called as she went into her bed room. She had stopped calling him “Mister John” a few weeks ago.
“Night, Helen,” John called as he made his way up the stairs. He went to his bed and laid down for sleep.
A few hours later, he awoke to a frantic knock on the door. “John! John!” Helen called through the wood. She sounded scared. John sat up with groggy eyes and rubbed them.
“Hold on,” John pulled on a bathrobe and opened the door. Helen stood in front of him. Her normally clear, icy blue eyes looked red and puffy as if she had been crying.
“Helen, what’s wrong?” John asked, trying not to sound annoyed. He thought that she looked like she had just had a nightmare or something.
“We need to leave the house now,” she hissed.
John stared at her in surprise. “What?” he began.
“Shh,” she glanced nervously over his shoulder and into the window overlooking the road below them. A beam of a headlight shined as it went by them and then turned off in front of his house. He looked at the window in confusion and walked over to it.
“No, John,” Helen whispered as if she felt worried about who would see or hear them.
“Just a second, honey. I need to see who’s out there-”
Helen’s hand pulled him away a split second before a bullet shot through the window and ended up in the wall behind him.
“Let’s go,” she begged him. John nodded and turned away towards the door. His police training came in help to him. He calmly went to his dresser drawer and pulled out a .9 mm gun. He checked the magazine to make sure it was fully loaded. He turned towards his door and saw Helen leaning nervously over the frame.
“I hear someone,” she whispered as he came up behind her. He stained his ears and heard someone thudding along through the hall under them.
“Stay close,” John said from the corner of his mouth as he cocked his gun and got ready to walk. Helen dug her fingernails into the back of his rope and allowed him to pull her along. He walked down the hall with his gun outstretched. They made it down the stairs with no issues. They went out to the garage and climbed into the Fit.
“Lay low,” John told her as he started the car. “I’m about to open the garage door. I don’t know who’s going to try to shoot at us.”
“Right,” Helen slid down on to the floor in front of her chair. The back door to the house opened and bullet rained through the rear windshield.
She put her hands over her head as glass fell over her. John slammed on the gas and they went straight through the garage door. Bullets rained after them. John swung the little sedan around and down the street without stepping on the brakes. As soon as he got to straight road, he made the tires squeal as the peeled in the unaccustomed speed.
Helen sat up after a few minutes and swirled around in her seat to look at the broken window behind them. She looked pale. John turned onto Main Street and pushed on the brakes. He started to turn into the police station, but Helen grabbed his arm to get his attention.
“They know you are a cop and they know you will stop there,” she shook her head at him. John did not answer her and continued to go there. He jerked the wheel away when he saw the strange black cars parked in the lot. Their owners leaned over the hood of the car and watched Main Street traffic going by.
“How did you know that?” John asked her. He glanced nervously into the review mirror and saw the black cars pull out into the road behind him. He tried to keep the paranoia under control, but three years of police training and ten years of experience would not let him disregard the following cars.
“Because I know that,” Helen spoke slowly and smiled rather grimly. She looked like she confessed something important that she did not like to talk about.
“What do you mean?” John barked.
“There is something I did not tell you. Please don’t be mad at me,” she added the last sentence as if desperate for him to understand.
John took a glance at her and firmly pursed his lips together. “Tell me what is going on, and then I’ll yell at you. I’ll keep an open mind though, until you are done.”
“Well, I told you that my father was working with the government, didn’t I?”
“Yeah,” John started carefully.
“Well, that is only part of the truth. My father was part of a secret military project. The idea was to see how much a person can know, remember, and always use as much as possible. They used a lot of genetic modifications within these generations of tests. My daddy was the forth generation. Both his parents were also part of the project. The project has been around since the thirties. Daddy decided that was long enough for kids to get their brains messed with and we escaped. We went separate ways because it was safer than staying together. He went one way and I went the other. I am the next part of that project. I figure they either wanna force me to stay in it, or tie up any loose ends.”
John clutched the steering wheel with a death grip as he listened to her finish her story. He took a moment to respond to it. “You should have told me.”
“I know, sir,” Helen said quickly. “But I couldn’t. Not only would that have put you in danger but also—”
She paused there and did not continue.
“Yes?” John said after a few seconds.
“You would not have taken me in,” she finished. Her voice cracked as if she wanted to cry, but would not allow herself to. “Please, sir. They will kill me or worse. I had no choice. And I have no where else to go. Please, I promise, I will make this up to you. If you help me, then—”
“Helen, Helen,” John interrupted her. “You don’t even have to ask. Of course I will help you. But I know nothing about being on the run. What do you need me to do?”
“Pretend me be my father,” Helen answered. She sounded like she had already thought that through.
“I was not aware that I was pretending,” John answered with a raised eyebrow.

John pulled off into the parking lot of a rather rough looking hotel. He turned the car off and sighed. They had driven for around four hours before he decided that he just could not take the lack of sleep anymore. He glanced over at Helen. She slept in the passenger chair in a tense little ball. She clamped her hands to her ears and shivered as if she were cold.
He turned on the heater and she pulled her bath robe tighter against her. He waited a second, and then tapped her arm. She awoke with a jump and sat up slowly. She stretched and looked around them.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“No idea,” John muttered. “I just drove.”
“Ok,” Helen muttered. She opened the door and stood out. She did not look like sleep still clutched her. Her face screwed up into concentration as she shivered in the light breeze.
“We need to get inside,” John opened the car door and walked up behind her.
“Yeah,” she nodded. “Do you have anyway to pay that can’t be traced?”
“Of course. You are talking to the head detective of Natow. I have a couple hundred dollars in cold cash under my seat just for situations where we can’t use a card or check.”
“You mean when we are chased across state by gun point?” Helen joked with a teasing smile. John could not help but smile at her grim humor. He could see her point. It did look like he had prepared for the attack early.

More coming as I write/edit it.