Cat and mouse

Cat and mouse

The cold steel pressed against my left temple.

“Drive, bitch, and no fancy tricks.”

I glanced at the man sitting to my right. His breath smelt of stale tobacco. A scar on his chin glistened in the sunlight. He wiped the back of his left hand across his nose and looked around nervously at my four-year-old daughter sleeping in the seat behind.

I looked back at the road. Sweat ran down my forehead.

The car approached an intersection. The light was green, but now it turned amber.

“There’s not enough time to get through the lights. I’ll have to stop.”

At that moment, a siren sounded.

“I told you to keep going. The cops are following. Put your foot down.”

I ran the red light.

A car came from the right and swerved just in time to avoid a collision. A truck approached from the left. There was a loud hiss as the driver slammed on the brakes. The truck slowed, but it was too late. It clipped the rear of my car and sent it spinning. I struggled for control as the car skidded towards a van waiting at the lights on the other side.

“Don’t accelerate or brake,” he said. “Quickly, turn the car to the right, and then counter steer left to stop the turning and stay on your desired path.”

I did as he told me and regained control.

The siren sounded closer.

“Can you please take that thing away from my head?” I screamed.

“No, bitch! I told you, just keep driving.”

“Where to?”

“Central Station. I’ll jump out and lose the cops in the crowd. I’ll take a train.”

“I know a short cut to the station. I think I can lose the cops too.”

“Do it!”

I made a sharp turn right into another street. This one was much narrower than the highway we’d just left, but there were fewer vehicles and no lights. I accelerated. Just then, a cat ran across in front of me. I slammed on the brakes and swerved around it. A young boy on a bicycle shot out from a side road. I swerved again. The car snaked from side to side. A motorcycle approached from the opposite direction. Its rider ended up in the ditch.

At that moment, my daughter awoke. “Mummy, who’s that man sitting next to you?”

I looked in the mirror and gave a reassuring smile. “Sammy, don’t worry. He’s just a friend. He wants me to drive the car to the railway station.”

“Why’s he holding a gun?”

“It’s not a real gun, silly. He’s just pretending.”

He pulled the toy away from my head.

I turned to face my little girl. “Now you’re awake, I’d like you to meet my new friend. He’s been pretending to be a criminal running away from the police.”

“Hi, Sammy. I’m Rod. Would you like some chocolate?”

I reached for the mouse and clicked on ‘Exit’. “That’s enough play for the moment.”