Fearless: No. 2 - Sam (Fearless) by Francine Pascal Page B

her feet on the pavement and stood firm.
    He stood up tall and puffed out his chest in indignation, even as he attempted to crush her trachea. He was at least six feet four and very powerfully built. His hair was dark and thinning on top. He looked like an ex-offensive lineman. Unless he was some kind of wretched, hypocritical wife beater, he probably wasn't used to fighting girls.
    "Kids like you gotta be kept off the street," the man told her. "I don't want to hear any sob stories. You can save it for the cops."
    Gaia sighed. Things were not going her way. "Look, sir," Gaia said reasonably. "I don't want any more violence tonight, but if you won't let me go, I'm going to have to force you, and it could hurt."
    The man looked at her in disbelief. Then he laughed dryly. "You're going to hurt
me?"
    "I don't want to. I realize you're just trying to help out. I appreciate that."
    He laughed again.
    "I'm serious," Gaia said. "Let me go now."
    He stared at her with undisguised amusement. "You're scaring me."
    "Sorry, then," Gaia said flatly.
    She gave him about ten more seconds to withdraw. She actually did feel bad, but what was she supposed to do? She wasn't getting booked and spending several more hours of her life in a police station. It brought back memories of the worst hours of her life. There was just no way.
    She placed both of her hands on the man's arm that circled her neck. Without any more force than necessary, she took a deep breath and flipped him over her shoulder onto the ground.
    He landed hard, what with being so huge and old. He let out a terrible squawk. As he lay there writhing in discomfort, staring at her as if she'd grown second and third heads, all traces of amusement disappeared from his face. She hoped very genuinely that he would feel better tomorrow.
    "Sorry," she said again before she ran off.

NO MORE THINKING
    "THAT'S HER! THAT BLOND GIRL!"
    Gaia was rounding the corner of Bleecker Street less than sixty seconds later when she heard another commotion behind her. Gaia turned her head partway, and out of the corner of her eye she saw two policemen pointing after her. The big man in the suit had managed to sic the cops on her in record time.
    She didn't turn her head any farther or slow her steps. The cops hadn't really seen her face yet, and she meant to keep it that way.
    It was wrong and bad to run away from cops, but Gaia was really tired now, and she hadn't done anything illegal, except maybe flip the balding guy, but he was strangling her, and he deserved it. Furthermore, she had given him ample warning.
    She would just run away from them this one time, she promised herself. In the future she would be extra friendly and helpful to the police.
    She was coming up on her favorite deli when she had a brainstorm. The hatch to the basement, a sprawling black hole in the sidewalk in front of the store, was open. She could disappear without having been seen, and the cops would probably be happy to forget about the whole thing. Were they really going to blame a high school kid for roughing up a guy three times her size? She practically dove into its darkness. She pulled the heavy metal doors shut behind her and clung to the top of the rickety conveyor belt used to stock the supply rooms. She heard footsteps banging along overhead. Hopefully they belonged to the cops.
    Ugh. The place was pitch black and smelled awful. It was unfortunate to be winded and gasping for breath in a place where the air was thick with dust and rotting food. There were certainly rats down below, but she didn't want to think about that too much.
    Gaia glanced at the glowing hands of her watch. Five minutes took several hours to pass. At last she opened one of the doors a crack and peered out. Never had New York City air smelled so fresh. No sign of any police.
    She opened it another few inches. She was either home free or a very easy target. Still no sign. Time to make her move. She threw open the hatch door and climbed out. Once