FUTURITY

RUNNING IN COLORADO SPRINGS

"It's time to wake up, kid."

A steady hand gripped Jason's shoulder and shook him. He groaned and opened his eyes. Sleep still lay over him like a thick, warm blanket. Staying awake till at least three in the morning had caught up with him.

"What time is it?" he gasped, stretching in his seat.

The answer was abrupt. "It's seven in the morning."

The sun shone through the windows, and the sky was changing from a light pink to a soft blue. Leon Weston sat up straight in his seat and ruffled his black hair. His eyes studied the street through the windows—his verdict: a growl.

The neighborhood they'd parked in began to stir. Cars pulled out of driveways, and joggers passed. The smell of dew vaguely reached Jason's nostrils through the car vents.

Jason started to rub his warm face with his hands, but then remembered his cuts. Leon turned the key in the ignition. The car rumbled to life, and Leon turned off the side of the neighborhood street.

"Where are we going now?" Jason asked.

"I'm hungry," Leon said and drove on.

Twenty minutes later, Jason was munching on an egg, cheese, and sausage biscuit from McDonald's. It was manna from heaven, or at least unhealthy, good-tasting manna compared to the protein bars he had been eating lately. They'd gone through the drive-thru and parked the car to eat. Leon sat in the driver's seat, crumpling the empty wrappings of another biscuit.

Jason took a sip of his orange juice and sighed. "Thanks."

Jason glanced out the window for a moment. Then he turned to

Leon. Leon caught his look and raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Why are you helping me? Why do you care?" Jason asked.

A few moments of silence passed. Jason waited while Leon's jaw clenched and unclenched over and over again.

"Eighteen or so years ago someone very close to me died on the asphalt, bleeding. I saw you sitting on the asphalt in that alley behind the bar, and I knew I couldn't let that happen to anyone else." Leon got out of the car, grabbed the bag full of trash, and threw it away.

Leon hadn't explained anything, but Jason chose not to annoy. He sat up straighter when Leon got back into the car. "I never thanked you for saving my life back there." He smiled. "Thanks."

Leon ignored him, and silence filled the vehicle again. Jason looked out the window, thinking.

"How old are you, kid?"

Jason shrugged. "I'm almost seventeen. Do you have a family?" Leon nodded but said nothing.

"So . . . do you just wander around all the time?" Leon nodded again.

"How do you get money?"

Without another word, Leon turned the key in the ignition and backed the car out.

"Where are we going now?" Jason asked, glancing toward him.

"Our next stop is Colorado Springs, Kid."

Jason nodded and turned on the radio. The news was on.

". . . and he was last seen in southern Montana. He's a murder suspect and fugitive from the law. If you've seen Jason Sorn, please call—"

Jason turned the radio off. His mind raced, and his back felt suddenly clammy. He was wanted for murder. Either Agent Brown was dead, or that other agent who'd been shot. Maybe, they both were dead.

Home never felt so far away. Jason was a wanted criminal. And everything he'd hoped for was gone. Hopes of acting, seeing Aunt Debbie and Uncle Max and Shane—and Kiera—again vanished.

Jason rubbed his temples and sighed. No.

Leon said nothing, and Jason felt grateful for that.

Around 2:00 a.m., they arrived in Colorado Springs. They stopped at a gas station to eat something. Jason barely noticed the surveillance camera in the corner of the room.

                                                                     ***

Jasonopened his eyes. It was morning, and the sun shone through the window. Thered-brick buildings of Colorado Springs surrounded the car, which was in agravel parking lot. Glancing toward Weston's seat, Jason stiffened. 

Leon was gone.

His heart began to pound in his chest. When had they last stopped? Jason closed his eyes and thought. The gas station. Then he looked all around the lot. No, no one was there.

Jason grabbed his backpack and hopped out of the car. "What should I do?" he asked himself in a whisper. His mind raced out of control, as fast as a car on Germany's Autobahn. Why would Leon leave without telling me? Did he go for food?

Panic swirled around Jason like a mist. Come on, think, think, think! His eyes still roved around the parking lot just as Leon came into view from around one of the tall buildings. Another man appeared just behind Leon.

"Leon!" the man called.

Leon turned and faced him. They began to talk in lowered voices.

Jason tensed, studying them. He began to creep from vehicle to vehicle, getting closer to the two men. Jason winced every time his shoes crunched on loose gravel. He reached the nearest car to the men and could now see that Leon held a bag from Subway. He knelt and listened.

"I've come to offer you a deal."

Jason peeked over the hood of a car and jolted. The man who spoke to Leon was Agent Fischer. Jason felt sick.

He'd found the FBI mole.

"I didn't realize you were in that kind of business," Leon said.

"You know what we want, don't you?"

"You don't work for Red Sky anymore, do you?" Leon asked.

Fischer laughed. "I've moved on, Leon. I work for two entities at the moment. Red Sky didn't pay the bills, so now I work for more powerful authorities, the FBI included. But another agency—not the FBI—wants Jason Sorn, and I'll get them, Jason Sorn. They will stop at nothing to acquire their subjects."

"Do I look like I care? And anyway, aren't you afraid I'll reveal your disloyalty to the FBI?" Leon said.

"Will a million dollars make you care? Plus, you're an accomplice, helping a fugitive. That's not a very convincing card in your deck if you know what I mean."

Leon laughed. "I guess not. But I'm not taking your money and

I'm not giving you the kid."

"Just remember, when the FBI has Jason, he still won't be safe from us."

Jason flung his backpack over his shoulder and stood. "What's up, Leon?"

Leon's whole frame tensed, and he turned. When he saw Jason, he nodded. "Kid, let's go to the car. We're not going to stay," Leon said.

Fischer smiled, turned, and disappeared around the building.

Jason and Leon hurried to their car. Leon glanced back in Fischer's direction multiple times. 

"Run, Jason!" he said.

VROOM! A black armored truck raced into the lot, tires squealing. An FBI symbol shone on its side.