Them

Just as Janelle was having horrible doubts that she was actually on the roof of a safehouse of any kind when the drone landed with her strapped to the bed that was in it, she was on the move once again. She was confused at first, but given the way the officers shouted and pummeled the drone door frantically, she thought that whatever was happening was some kind of accident. Flying around in the thing once again but unable to sit up and get a sense of her surroundings, Janelle was left to wonder where the hell she would land next. She just hoped that wherever it was, it would be in one piece. Once she managed to get safely on the ground and intact, she would deal with the police and any potential bullshit from them later. Oh, she meant it too, when she promised herself that if she was ever trapped by them, she would do all she could to escape, and escape she would! She just didn't know that a couple of people beat her to it, and that the law actually worked in her favor for once instead of against her. The next time the drone landed, it was on a residential street. Janelle had no idea where she was or how the hell she got there. All she could see was a block wall on one side of her and a white van pulling up with a loud screech on the other. The driver opened the sliding door of the van after he hopped out. She thought it would be the police, but instead, it was Evan from the hospital. He and his mother, Lila, were nurses there. But what in the world was he doing here? Still expecting the police to come running any second, Evan clicked something he held in his hand and then opened the door in a split second without any issues. Before Janelle could ask him what was going on, he quickly unstrapped her and ushered her into his van. “Hurry up! Stay down,” he ordered as he quickly pulled away. Janelle did as she was told as sirens blared in the distance. “Can I talk?” she asked. “Sure, you can talk. Just stay down and out of view.” “Are those sirens connected to me?” “They sure are, I'm afraid.” “So I really was being lied to all this time about a deal.” “You sure were.” “So where did I initially land?” “On the rooftop of the city jail in the city where you were last living.” “I should have fucking figured,” said Janelle. “I mean, I had my suspicions, but I guess you still don't want to believe that the police, of all people, are lying, crooked bastards.” “Well, they sure are, and my mom and I believe you've had enough of the railroading, so using my computer and electronics knowledge, we devised a plan.” “I can't thank you enough for rescuing me.” “It's no problem, but we can't hide you out forever. We're going to work on a plan to get you safely on your feet.” “How do I do that if I’m wanted?” “Montenegro.” “What?” said Janelle, confused. “Montenegro,” Evan explained. “It's a fairly easy European country to get into, and they don't have an extradition treaty of any kind with the U.S. So even if they knew you were there, they couldn't touch you.” “Wow, really?” “Yeah, so long as the laws don't change. So when we figure out how to get you over there, you’ll still want to lay low if you can. The first thing is to do what you can to alter your appearance. I know it's hard for you to keep weight off with your health conditions, so we think changing your hair color and style would be a good place to start.” “OK,” said Janelle. “Whatever it takes.” “It will be a while before you can move anywhere. You've got to lay low because remember, we took a huge risk in helping you, and we don't want to be implicated in aiding and abetting a fugitive.” “Oh, I don't blame you. Together, we'll do all we can and make sure none of us gets caught. Believe me, I am forever in your debt for this.” “Now don't worry about it. We've been following your story for a while now, and you getting railroaded over a letter and given a sentence most rapists don't even get was bullshit.” “Oh, I know it,” said Janelle, heartily agreeing. “Threatening or not, as you said, you didn't force anyone to read it. It was just words on paper. I also agree that they only came down so hard on you because the so-called victim was Black, and I believe you when you say you were provoked.” “I sure was.” “I know exactly the trouble they can cause firsthand. I've never been arrested, but I've had the race card played on me before, too.” “I'm sorry to hear that. Where's your mother?” “She’s still at the hospital. She had to stay there and relay as detailed information as possible as to when you would be taking off. In the meantime, I drove to the jail a few hours ago to be ready to jam the signal and reroute the drone.” “Well, you were just in time, my friend, because they were trying to open the door.” “There was no chance of that. It's just that the longer it took to get you out of there, the more tempted they may have been to smash the door, and we wouldn't want them taking any drastic measures.” “Definitely not,” Janelle agreed. “I would have eventually escaped, but this is a much better solution.” “Hey, no doubt,” said Evan. “Hell, they railroaded you. They lied to you. They've even shot you.” It was then that things began to really click in Janelle's mind. Should she really be so surprised that Boris and the police had complete disregard for all she'd been through and lied to her? She also realized she was right to suspect that Lauren never liked her. Her actions never went with her words, after all. Now she understood why Lauren reacted the way she did when she had made a comment about wanting to leave the area because no one would know who she was other than in connection with being the call-out at the compound. It wasn't anything she had said, but her body language had suggested she was wrong to assume this. She was angry that she had been lied to and nearly lost her freedom before Evan pulled her out of the pigs’ grasp, and she would have had to escape on her own, however long that might have taken. But she pushed her anger aside to deal with later. Right now, she was in survival mode—and very grateful to Evan and his mother.