The Runaway Wife

Chapter 38

"What are you planning to do with me now?" John asked as he watched the tower get farther and farther away. He rubbed his hands together nervously as Jylie flew them into the forest, heading for the base. She waited a few minutes before answering.

"If Jackie's willing, I can find you guys a small house in a secluded area where no one will recognize you. I can bring you food and other necessities every week or so while you stay in hiding. Who knows, maybe in a few years everyone will have forgotten about you and you can let Angela live a normal life."

John looked down, worried that that might never happen. He'd made quite a reputation for himself over the years. "What's the catch?" he asked suspiciously, since she didn't seem like the type to help a murderer out of the goodness of her heart.

Jylie smirked. "Figured you'd ask that. I'm doing it partly because I like Jacelyn a lot and want to help her but . . . . . I also have a daughter who doesn't have a home. I'd take care of her myself but I'm always really busy so . . . . . . I'd like her to stay with a stable family for a few years. That shouldn't be hard, right?"

". . . . . I guess it's a small price to pay," he replied quietly, looking away. "Sure you trust me with your daughter?"

"Nope, but I trust Jackie. And I'm willing to forgive you and see where you go with this second chance. That's what heroes do, right? Forgive people? Plus, if you ever act like a jerk to my daughter, she won't stand for it since her dad was a total jerk too. Just a warning, since she killed a lot of people in her early years." She cringed, realizing how crazy that sounded.

". . . . . . . . . . Oh. Great. Thanks."

"No problem!" She grinned back, knowing how scared she was making him. She knew that if Jackie treated her husband too nicely, then their new family member would make up for it. He stayed nervous for the rest of the ride until Jackie radioed in to check on them, which caused him to brighten up.

"Are you guys doing okay?" Jacelyn called, sounding incredibly worried. If it weren't for Angela, she would have joined them in the fight and done what little she could but, as it was, she'd had to stay at the hidden base with the others, keeping the other women and children calm. "None of the boys got hurt, did they?"

"Nope. We're doing okay. We were actually on our way back now," Jylie answered before John could say anything.

"I'm glad. I listened to Roderick's speech. It's the first good news I've heard in years." They could hear Angela saying something gibberish in the background followed by a loud crash which caused Jackie to drop the radio and check on her daughter. It was clear that the chaos would never end with a child around. Hopefully, that was the most trouble this family would experience as they began their new life.

~~~

Six months later.

Jylie had been away for a few months doing other important stuff and was quite surprised when she walked up to the Hikari tower. It looked different somehow, even though its appearance hadn't changed. The people she'd run into said that the Red Dragons HQ was located on the top three floors of the tower while the rest of the building was used for the homeless shelter, the jail, and the court. All were in different areas, of course. When she reached the front gate, a long line of people were standing in front of the force field, waiting to be led in.

"What's everyone waiting for?" she asked a woman standing in that long line, holding a bag of potatoes over her shoulder. She hadn't expected them to still be using the force field since it seemed kind of . . . . scary.