Hating The FBI

Hating the FBI -- Great! --

Chapter 22 –

     “Really? What the hell are you doing here?” I moaned as I pulled myself up into a sitting position. I looked at Mozzie who shrugged and was carefully avoiding eye contact, the damn pineapple knew something.
“Well I thought I would get a hello seeing as I am your own flesh and blood.” Neal flashed his grin at me and all I wanted to do was punch it off his smug face.
“I haven’t seen in a year and a half and you never sent me a message to say you were okay. I guess you were too busy playing happy families with the suit and his wife and the damn dog.” Neal scowled at me.
“I thought you liked Sach?”
“I do, that’s the whole point. That damn dog is far too cute for his own good.” Neal chuckled and offered a hand out to me. I snorted and pushed it out of the way and pulled myself to my feet and looked around and was glad to see that I couldn’t see the island anymore. I walked straight passed Neal and took a seat next to Alex who handed me a cold beer. I looked at the beer puzzled and wondered how they ever managed to have time to put beer on the boat. I wasn’t complaining but it was still a mystery.
“Not speaking to him?” Alex asked with a big grin on her face as she took a sip from her beer.
“You got that right sister. I am not talking to that donkey face.” I spoke loud enough for Neal to hear me but he chose to ignore me. Alex bent over laughing as I frowned at her.
“What’s so funny?”
“Donkey face” She spluttered out between her laughs and I rolled my eyes knowing that she already had drunk too much beer. I turned and looked out to the ocean and wondered who wanted a bounty on my head, the enemy list was too long to even consider picking a contender so I knew that it was going to a surprise when I found out who it was. I was almost excited to find out who it was and to find out who loved me that much to put money on my pretty head.
“Moz, any idea who has this bounty on Alex’s head?” Neal called. Mozzie was the captain of my vessel and there was no way I was going to argue with his love of boats, not if I wanted to get my ear chewed off. Mozzie put the boat on a straight course and turned and came and sat next to me.
“Not yet, but I’m in the process of finding out, any idea of who it could be Alex?” I laughed.
“You know as well as I do that the enemy list is far too long for me to even make an educated guess, they all want me dead.” He seemed to ponder this for a moment and then nodded.
“Your right, it could be anyone. We need to find somewhere to dock and figure this out.” I grinned at Mozzie.
“Where are you going to take us captain?” Mozzie’s face lit up like a Christmas tree as soon as I called him captain and I thought that he might explode with joy and erupt with confetti. That would be awesome and I hoped that he would just so I could have some entertainment. He grinned and started to head towards the wheel.
“We my lovely Alex, are going to Miami.” I grinned and jumped up and started to happy dance.
“I love Miami Moz! And I have an apartment there, get us there Moz!” I yelled and Alex and Neal started to laugh at me as I continued to happy dance all the way to Miami.

        We still had a few miles to go before we reached Miami and I suddenly thought that America thought we were all dead apart from Neal. We had faked our deaths and it was too easy, I wondered what we were going to do when we got to Miami but knowing Mozzie, he already had a plan in motion. I glanced down at my ankle and sighed, I hadn’t worn the dog tag for long but it still felt like it was there, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the FBI still owned me. I kept looking over my shoulder the whole time we were in the Bahamas thinking that they were suddenly going to turn up. Even if they did, I knew that they couldn’t do anything but it still felt as if I was always being watched. It then dawned on me about Neal and his dog day. I looked at his ankle hoping to see the dog tag but couldn’t see anything thanks to his trousers. It seemed odd to me that I got a bounty on my head and all of a sudden Neal turns up on my boat as we were escaping. Where was the suit? How did Neal get out of the boundary and come to the Bahamas? I stood up and marched straight over to Neal and stood in front of him and stood there until he looked at me.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded. He smiled.
“What do you mean? I wanted to come and see you Ash, you still are my sister and I felt bad the way things were left.” My eyes narrowed as I knew he was lying.
“Mozzie stop the boat!” I yelled over the roaring engine and then there was a deafening silence.
“What’s wrong Ash?” Mozzie asked looking confused.
“Don’t you think it’s a little strange that on the same day I get a bounty on my head and escape the Bahamas, Neal turns up? We haven’t seen him for a year and a half!” I could see the cogs in Mozzie’s head turning as he thought about what I said.
“Ashley! Stop being so stupid. I wanted to come and see you that’s all.” I shook my head and took a step back.
“That is complete bull poopie Neal! How the hell did you get to the Bahamas? What about the dog tag you love so much? Where is the suit? Shouldn’t you be surrounded by the feds by now?” I trailed off as I saw the look in Neal’s eyes. I felt sick.
“How could you?!” I screamed. Alex just looked between us.
“What is it Ash? I don’t understand.” I glared at Neal.
“He is still wearing that dog tag Alex. He is out of his boundary on purpose. What do you think that means?” Her jaw dropped open like a goldfish when she jumped on the same page as I was.
“How could you do that to us Neal?” She yelled.
“I miss you Ash, I wanted you back in New York.” I growled.
“So you couldn’t write to me and ask me to come back? You had to make a break for it and drag us all down with you?” He looked away.
“America thinks we are dead for crying out loud!” I yelled.
“Peter knows that you’re alive.” He muttered and I wanted to punch him in the face.
“I know he knows that we are alive! I saw him at the airport when we left Neal!” He looked at me shocked.
“He was there?” I threw my hands up in the air.
“Yes! He was there and he did nothing to stop me leaving Neal! He knew it was the best thing for me to do.” He looked guilty and that was when I saw the flashing lights. Red and blue flashing lights. I groaned.
“Now they are about to surround us! I am not going back to prison Neal! Not for you! Not again!” I ran to the side and glanced back and Alex and Mozzie.
“Are you two coming or not?” Alex shrugged and came to my side. Mozzie didn’t look so sure, I sighed.
“Do you want to live in a cell for the rest of your life Moz?” He soon was next to me. Mozzie turned and looked at Neal.
“I didn’t think you would go this far Neal.” Neal looked pained and was about to say something when Peter’s voice boomed over a megaphone.
“Neal, stay right there!”
“I’m sorry this didn’t work out Neal. You could have gone about this a whole different way.” I turned away from him before he could say anything and before he could see my tears. I had been betrayed by my own brother. I took a deep breath and followed Alex and Mozzie who had already dived into the water.

       “You okay Ashley?” I looked up and gave a small smile to Alex.
“Yeah I’m fine.” I turned back and looked out of the window of my apartment. After we had left Neal, we managed to swim to shore and enter Miami without being seen. As soon as I got my bearings, we headed to a nearby clothes shop so we didn’t stand out by being dripping wet. Then we made our way to my apartment that was in the centre of Miami and I was forever grateful to myself for hiding an emergency key in case I had lost mine, which happened quite often. Once we showered and slept, Mozzie began to work out with Alex who had a bounty on my head and why. I just sat on my window seat looking out across the city wondering what was happening to Neal. I bet he got a scolding of the suit and they were back to solving their little crimes and playing happy families. I sighted, I didn’t know what had happened to Neal. We used to be so close and always had each other’s backs but now he had put me in prison and almost did it again. Miami suddenly wasn’t interesting enough for me to watch so I headed to the kitchen and broke open the emergency supply of whiskey that I kept in. I poured myself a large shot and knocked it back in one. I looked around and stopped when I caught my reflection in a mirror. I looked like I had aged ten years. I had my glowing tan thanks to the Bahamas but the rest of me didn’t match. I didn’t glow and I didn’t feel like glowing. My eyes looked tired and worn and I could see the hardship that I had faced show in them. I used to be energetic and alive but now I felt dead on the inside. I headed to the sofa and poured another drink and knocked it back. I could feel Mozzie and Alex’s eyes on me but I refused to look up and meet their eyes, they would only be full of pity and I didn’t want that.

        “Ashley? Ash? Ashley!” I jerked awake to be face to face with Alex. I pulled back to give myself a bit of extra personal space.
“Did you know that it is rude to wake someone up when they are peacefully sleeping and haven’t you ever heard of personal space?” I asked. She snorted and stepped back.
“Well someone is grumpy when they first wake up aren’t they?” I rolled my eyes and sat up looking around the room and discovering that Mozzie was gone.
“Where’s Mozzie?” Alex smiled before sitting across from me on my coffee table.
“He has gone to get coffee.” I nodded and then looked outside. It was light.
“What time is it?”
“Its 9:30am Ash, you have been out for a while.” I nodded slowly, waiting for her to make her point as I knew that she had one. I sighed when she didn’t go on any further.
“I know you have something to tell me so spit it out.” She laughed.
“You really are grumpy when you wake up.” I scowled at her.
“Okay. Here is the deal, we know who put a bounty on your head.” I grinned feeling suddenly perky.
“Great! Who is it?”