YOU CAN TRUST ME

Christopher paced up and down, waiting for good news. After a while, he called the men he had sent and asked, "Have you gotten them? Do you have the flash drive?"

"Not yet, Stallion," the underling replied. "We were told that they're now at the market, we'll soon be there. Once we get there, we'll surround them and get the flash drive. You will get good news from us very soon."

Christopher hung up and sat down, "Just you wait, Queen. Once I get a hold of you, I'm going to break your neck with my hands."

From the shop where they were hiding, Queen noticed some of the thugs and realized that more had appeared.

"Oh no!"

"What is it?" Shawn asked.

"They're more men here. I knew it, I said it, I saw them."

"Shh, just relax," Shawn said. "Remember, we're pretending to blend in. They won't know we are here."

"I know, but it seems they're searching the shops one after the other. Why don't you call for backup? You're a cop, after all. Call for backup."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Shawn replied.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm running this off the books. I can't ask anyone to help me."

"That's bad." Queen looked around and thought of what to do. She finally said, "I have an idea, come with me."

She went to a side of the shop and began to take out some clothes, weird-looking clothes.

"What do you think you're doing?" Shawn asked.

"We're going to dress like clowns," Queen said.

"They'll figure it out the moment they see us," Shawn replied.

"No, they won't. Look out through the other window."

As he followed the direction of Queen's gaze, Shawn saw that there were different people in the market dressed like clowns. He didn't understand why, but he smiled, realizing that she had given him a good idea.

They bought some of the clothes, and fortunately for them, he had his card with him, so he was able to pay for the clothes. Afterward, they went into the changing room, one after the other, and changed their outfits to look like the clowns who were outside.

When they were done, Queen stared at Shawn and asked, "What if they still figure out that we are the ones after this?"

"They won't, and the secret to that is walking right through them. Come on, let's go."

Because only her eyes were exposed as Queen had covered most parts of her body, the underlings who had been searching different shops did not suspect that she was the one.

She walked separately from Shawn and they met up once they walked out of the market safely. They kept going until they were out of the underlings' view.

"I can't believe that worked," Queen said, amazed.

"Why? It was your idea from the start. Are you telling me that you doubted it would work?"

"Of course, I doubted, what do you think?" she asked.

He smiled. "Okay, come on, let's keep going."

After walking for a while, Shawn suggested that they start running because it was only a matter of time before the underlings figured out that they were no longer at the market.

They began running until they got to where Shawn's bike was parked. Seeing that it was still in one piece, he smiled, took out his keys from his pocket, and got on the bike, while Queen sat behind him.

"Where are we going to now?" she asked.

"Somewhere," he replied. "But for now, we need to leave here."

After driving for a while, he stopped by a payphone as his phone had been ruined during the attack. He dialed a number, and when it was answered, he said, "Hey Joe, can you get the boat ready for me and a friend?"

"Of course, I can," the voice on the other side replied.

"And also, do me a favor," Shawn added.

"What?" The person asked.

"Get some male and female clothes." He replied.

"Sizes?"

"Male clothes for me and female clothes..." Shawn stared at Queen briefly and said, "It should be around the size of your daughter."

"Okay," the man said.

"Hold on," Shawn said, "you do know the kind of clothes I like to wear, right?"

"Of course, I know that."

"Alright, as for the girl, she prefers T-shirts and trousers, jeans precisely," Shawn explained.

"Okay, I'll get them ready. Everything should be ready in one hour."

"Alright, I'll meet you soon."

After the call ended, Shawn said, "Okay, now we're going somewhere we're sure they won't find us for now."

"Where is it?" she asked.

"Just come with me, and you'll find out."

Queen got on the bike, and Shawn drove until he finally arrived at the port.

Queen looked around and asked, "So, are we here to meet someone? What are we doing here?"

"Be patient," Shawn replied. "You'll find out soon."

She nodded and said, "Okay, I'll be patient."

When they arrived at the port, they waited for more than forty minutes, and finally, an old man arrived. A smile appeared on his face the moment he saw Shawn, and Shawn also smiled at him.

When they went closer, Shawn hugged him.

"It's been a while," the man said.

"Yeah, it has," Shawn replied.

"I got the clothes," the man gave a bag of clothes to Shawn.

"Come on, let's go," Shawn said to Queen after receiving the bag.

"Where are we going to?" Queen asked.

Shawn pointed at a boat and said, "There."

"We're entering the boat?" She asked.

"Yeah, we need to leave this city for now. It's for our own safety."

Queen stared at him for a while, unsure of what to do, and finally said, "Fine, let's go."

They got on the boat, and the old man began to sail it.

"We'll get off when the boat gets to Michigan. Once we get there, we'll figure out what to do." Shawn said.

Queen nodded. She took a seat while Shawn went inside and came out with a first aid box.

"You're bleeding, I'll tend to your wounds," he said to her

"You're also bleeding," Queen replied. "Weren't you shot?"

He smiled. "Ladies first."

He began to tend to her wounds, wiping out the blood and applying methylated spirit. She contorted her face in pain when the liquid touched her wounds.

"I'm so sorry," Shawn said.

While he was cleaning, Queen stared at him for a while and looked away.

When he was done cleaning her wounds, he took off his shirt, and when Queen saw where he was shot, she gasped, "It must hurt a lot."

"Yeah, it does, but...wouldn't be the first time. Do you know how to take out a bullet?"

"I guess I can try. I haven't done it before, but I've seen it in movies."She replied.

"It's okay. Here," He gave her a forceps, a small bottle of alcohol, and lit a candle. After sterilizing the wound, he explained what she had to do and she said she understood.

She soon dug out the bullet using the forceps while Shawn groaned in pain before finally searing the wound. Afterward, he took some painkillers and sighed in relief.

Queen stared at him while he rested and when he looked at her and realized that she was looking at him, he asked, "What? Is there a reason why you're staring at me?"

She shook her head, "No, you saved my life three times, thank you very much."

"You're welcome," he replied.

After a while, he got up and wore back his shirt.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

Queen knew that a bullet wound was painful, so she concluded that Shawn had a high threshold for pain.

"Yes, I am hungry," She replied.

He nodded, "Okay, I will get started in the kitchen."

She smiled, "Good because I'm a bad cook."

He smiled back and went to the kitchen.

As she sat outside, she held the flash drive that was resting on her neck. As she stared at it, she recalled the conversation she had with her dad years ago.

She was sixteen at the time and had asked, "Why do we have to protect this flash drive so much?"

Her father had smiled and said, "This is very important, Queen. In the hands of our enemies, it is our destruction— all our deals, secret accounts both offshore and otherwise, safe houses all over the world—everything you can think of is here. This also holds the key to bringing down all the gangs. Whatever information you want about them, you can find it in here.

This has been passed down from one generation to the other for years, and each generation makes sure they compile more secrets and more dirt on the other gangs. It's for our safety, you know."

"Passed down for generations?" Queen had asked. "Why should you keep something that can be used to destroy you? In my opinion, as long as it can bring you down, you should destroy it."

Her father laughed and said, "Listen, Queen, if someday something happens to me and I'm not here to protect you, the information on this flash drive can help you find your way. You should protect it with your life.

As long as you have this, you'll never be lost.

Once you turn eighteen, I'll tell you about the fifth password. It's the most important layer and it contains the most important information."

Queen smiled, "Well, I'm more than ready to learn, as long as you are willing to teach me."

She opened her eyes as she came back to reality.

"You never got around to telling me the last code, Dad," she said to herself.

She became lost in thought as she tried to come up with ways to save her parents once she got all the information she needed.

"What's in there?" Shawn asked from behind.

She snapped out of her thoughts, got up, and turned to stare at him.

"It's the information that can help me find my parents and do much more," she replied.

"What exactly does that mean?" Shawn asked.

Queen turned her back on him and stared at the water. "Does it really matter? Right now, only one person can help me, and that's the person I need to meet."

"Okay, I get it," Shawn replied.

He walked closer to her and turned her so she could face him, "I want to know everything, Queen. Tell me, what is in here? I risked my life for it, and so did you. I deserve to know.

I promise you that you can trust me."