Hunted
A story of 3 criminals, who had retired but had to fight for there lives.
My name is Mike Shepherd. I am a criminal. I, my brother and my mate Katie, all rob money. We have been doing it for years. I suppose it was because of our childhood. We all grew up on the same street. I and my brother had a drunk for a dad and a mother that never really cared about us. We had always had to fight for ourselves. We were lucky to get a proper meal. But me and my brother, Rich, looked out for each other. We never left each other's side, even to this day.
Then I met Kate, who was my soon to be wife. She was the type of girl whose parents were a strict, law abiding people. She was not allowed to do anything dangerous. Well, their parents thought playing with anyone else who was not part of their family was dangerous. She wanted adventure, not being stuck indoors doing rubbish, boring stuff.
We met her when she snuck out one night when I and Rich were going to go and steal food from a little corner shop. She instantly felt sorry for us, so she helped us. I thought that she would turn us in first of all, but she did not.
After we turned 18, we had saved up a lot of money. $500. We brought a little apartment in the rough end of New York. After a couple of years living there and plenty of successful robberies, we had managed to get a million pound. I married Kate when I was 23, just us three in a little chapel. And then two years later, we had our first child, Derrick.
We moved into a bigger home and lived like a normal family for ages. We had stopped robbing because we wanted to raise our son properly. But then it all changed.
5:00 AM - Saturday.
Mikes eyes shot open as he woke from his sleep. His wife lay beside him, snuggled close to him, with her tail wrapped around his body. Mike smiled and then realised why he had suddenly woke up. His phone had been going off. Now, normally, if his phone was going off, it would have been for a score Rich had found, but they had stopped for a couple of years. Grumbling, he picked it up and walked downstairs to the porch and unlocked his phone.
He looked down and saw a missed call form Rich. "Odd" Mike thought. He called him. The phone rang once and then Rich picked up.
"About bloody time." Rich said with a note of panic in his voice.
"Whoa, bro, calm down. What happened?" Mike said calmly but with a note of worriedness in his voice as he poured himself vodka.
"Well where do I flipping start. First, some people shoot at my shop and second of all I get jumped in an ally way, and they beat the crap out of me. I had to kill them. This was not just some muggers, they were professional. Mike, I think I am being hunted. Hell, we all are." Rich said his voice shaking.
"What? Why would people be hunting us? I mean yea, we stole money, but hell that was years ago." Mike said furiously, pacing back and forth, his glass of vodka untouched.
Rich remained silent as Mike peeked out of the window. It was empty. Silent. A little two silent. He turned away and was about to grab his glass when he heard the sound of car going up the street slowly. He dropped the phone and ran upstairs as bullets shot into the house. Glass shattered; pictures riddled with holes, the glass of vodka shattered sending the vodka flying over the floor.
Kate woke up and screamed Mike's name. Mike came running in holding Derrick and pulled Kate under the bed.
"MIKE, WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!" Kate screamed at Mike.
"I DON'T KNOWE BUT ALL I KNOW WE HAVE PISSED SOMEONE OFF AND THEY WANT REVENGE." Mike screamed, his voice barley heard over the sounds of the guns.
Then it all stopped.
"Get some clothes packed and get ready to leave." Mike whispered, rolling out from the bed and ripped up a floorboard and pulling a steel box out. He opened it and pulled out a 45. Magnum. He loaded it and walked downstairs cautiously. The whole place was silent. But everything was full of holes. Bits of plaster board, dust and other stuff lay everywhere. Mike picked up a picture that was taken in UK at the Isle of White, now shattered. It showed all four of them, all smiling, waving, now a broken memory. Mike looked around, stepping on shattered memories. He picked up his phone, which was luckily not damaged.
"Abandoned Factory on North Twelfth Street" He said and hung up and pocketed it. He sighed, standing in his once beautiful home, now a wreck, and showing a memory he did never what to imagine to happen.
Kate walked down with a couple of bags.
"Daddy, what happened?" Derrick said.
"I-I do not know, son." Mike said sadly. "But whatever it is, daddy will sort it out."
Kate embraced Mike in a hug. Mike heled her close as she wept.
"It is a set up." Mike said furiously.
"How do you know?" Kate replied sniffling.
"Think about it, every score we did, we triple checked. And even when we were worried we checked a fourth time, to make sure that they were not connected to any mafia. And they FBI, CIA, police never knew it was us. Because if it was them, we would have been arrested by now." Mike said pacing but smiling. "It all makes sense. Think about it. If it was mafia, we would have been caught and killed."
Kate winced and Mike saw and hugged her tight.
"I swear to God I will protect you and Derrick. If they ever lay a paw pad on you w will make sure they pay for it." Mike said, looking into his wife's eyes.
Kate smiled and picked up the bags and headed to the car as Mike followed making sure the coast is clear. He put the bags in the car and started it.
"Where we going?" Kate asked still with a hint of panic in her voice.
"To our old base." Mike replied starting the car and driving off. "To meet Rich."
7:00 AM - Saturday Morning
Mike pulled up into the old warehouse and got out. Rich ran over and hugged tem both.
"You ok? They got you to?" Rich said quickly.
"Yes, yes they did." Mike replied.
"The showers working, go get yourselves cleaned up, and I will be in the main room, and then we can plan what we will do next." Rich said his face sunken from the recent experience. Hell, we all had been shook. We were worried, scared and probably unable to ever forget this. But we was all thinking the same thing. It's going to get worse.