Chapter 21

Uh oh

Previously: Zack and Sydney find a way to stay ahead of police pursuit and Sydney learns that leaving isn’t as simple as she might have thought…

Sydney slept under Zack’s hoodie while Zack wound through the beautiful national park. Dark forests surrounded them, brooding pines and firs lined the highway. Mountain rivers and glacial lakes passed by, illuminated only by the pale headlights of the Subaru. A sparkling night sky lay wide open above them.

It was as though, just for a time, they were the only people in the world.

Zack yawned. It had been a jam-packed adrenaline roller coaster. It was hard to believe that in the morning, Zack had been waiting to talk to Morgan about the inconsistencies in the audit. Now they had driven off and were on the run.

Zack drove down the long hill that led to the Trans-Canada Highway. It was bound to be busier here, but Zack’s eyes were trying their hardest to close. He pushed the button and rolled the window down, just enough to get some cold air into the Subaru and keep him awake.

The loud wind whipping through the cab stirred Sydney and she perked up for a moment. “Where are we?” she asked.

“Just about at Lake Louise,” Zack replied. He stifled another yawn. The little green clock on the dash said 10:45 p.m. He rubbed his eyes and strained to watch the road.

Instead of continuing on, Zack drove over the overpass and found a little spot to park the Subaru. He backed the car behind a garbage bin that was stuck near a blocked dirt road and turned off the headlights. They should be safe for a couple hours of shut-eye.

Zack turned the ignition off and slunk down into the seat. Sydney was already sleeping and Zack closed his eyes.

Tap tap tap. Tap tap tap.

Zack cracked open bleary eyes and stared up into the face of a dark-skinned man. The sky had lightened and the dawn was just about to break. Zack jolted upright. The man stood at the side of the car, peering into the driver’s side. He wore a Canada National Parks jacket. His finger reached up to the window again. Tap tap tap.

Zack rolled the window down.

“Good morning. Did you happen to notice the no parking sign?” the man asked, pointing to a no parking sign that was just a meter away from where Zack had parked.

“No…sorry.”

The man nodded and put his hands on his hips. “No park pass either, eh? Did you know that staying in the park without a pass carries up to a $25,000 fine?”

Zack’s eyes widened. “No…sorry. I…I was falling asleep at the wheel. I just needed a place to crash for a bit. For safety, you know.”

The man glared and sucked at his lip. “Huh. I can’t fault you for that, and you aren’t staying in any campground. Maybe we could look the other way today. For the future, you need to have a park pass if you intend to stop at all in the park.”

Zack grinned a sheepish grin. “Thank you. I’m sorry about that.”

The man furrowed his brow and studied the Subaru. “Say, where are you coming from?”

Zack smiled at the man. “Have a great day!” he said, rolling up the window. Zack turned the key and started the ignition before the man could say anything else. Zack waved as he pulled away. The man had his phone to his ear.

That couldn’t be good.

Zack merged onto the Trans-Canada Highway. There were some cars traveling either direction, but it was too early for the road to be busy. The early light diffused through the trees and sparkled on the dewy tree branches. Zack looked at the clock in the Subaru—6:40 a.m. He frowned. “Awfully early to be ruining someone’s day,” he muttered.

“Mm?” Sydney said from beneath the blankets she huddled under.

“Oh, nothing. You just missed a bit of excitement. I talked us out of a $25,000 ticket, actually. You’re welcome.”

“Serious? For what?”

“Staying the night with no park pass,” Zack said.

Sydney grunted and slowly lifted her head. “Ugh. I feel stiff and sore. Where are we?”

Zack kept his eyes on the road. “That’ll happen when you sleep curled up in a car. We are just outside of Banff. It’s only about an hour or so from here.”

Sydney sat up and pulled her laptop out of her backpack. They drove in silence for a while, and Sydney tapped on the keyboard.

“So,” Sydney broke the silence, “when we get there, we will need some supplies. Specifically, money. I’d like to send some cash to my dad, if that’s okay with you, but we also need to hit up a few stores to get the stuff we need.”

Zack frowned. They only had a little more than four hundred dollars. “We need to figure out how to turn some of that money into Canadian. I—”

Sydney straightened. “What’s that?” she asked.

Zack squinted and stared down the highway. The trees were beginning to get shorter and gnarled, bent in the ceaseless winds of Alberta. The huge mountains in the distance had mellowed into rolling foothills. Up ahead, there was the unmistakable red and blue flashing lights of police.

Zack felt a wave of anxiety flutter through his body. They raced closer and closer to the police car.

“What should we do?” Sydney asked.

They were coming into Canmore. Zack’s eye caught on the Highway 1A exit sign. “I know,” he said.

As they passed the police car on the side of the road, Zack couldn’t help but stare as the cop walked back to her cruiser. The car pulled over was a blue Subaru Impreza, complete with BC license plates.

Sydney’s hand crept over and grabbed Zack’s. He looked down at it, and then at her. “We are going to be alright,” he said. “Duck down. Just in case.”

Sydney slunk below the blankets that she had and Zack moved across the lanes and exited onto Bow Valley Trail. Zack’s eyes darted back and forth between the road ahead and the police cruiser behind them.

There had been too many close calls.

“Our priority has to be getting rid of this car and getting something else. They know what we are driving and where we are heading. If we want any chance at all, we need to change things up.”

Sydney nodded.

Zack shifted in his seat and let go of Sydney’s hand. “I don’t know if we can send your dad any money. Yet.”

Sydney sniffed and Zack glanced over. Her eyes were brimming with tears. He reached back and grabbed her hand. “Yet, I said. That’s got to be a priority. We just need to be safe first. Okay?”

Sydney’s chin quivered, but she nodded. “Okay.”

“We will find a spot in Calgary where we can maybe sell it for cheap, or if we have to, just abandon it. It would be cool to blow it up or something. Like the movies.”

Sydney frowned. “I love this car!”

Zack smiled and navigated the Subaru down the road. The Bow river snaked and sparkled as it followed the highway. “I’m just kidding.”

Zack’s mind raced as he considered how to get rid of the car. Would they be able to sell it? Where would they find a new one? If they only had a few hundred dollars Canadian, would anyone take foreign money instead? It seemed unlikely. Zack had watched some crime TV, but he didn’t actually know anyone who would buy a car that the cops were looking for. The only ways he had thought to try would probably make any real criminal think he was actually the police.

Zack daydreamed of different ideas while he drove. The road, which had been so windy through the mountains, had straightened out to the straight roads that Alberta was famous for. Maybe he could steal a car or something. He scoffed to himself. He didn’t have any actual skill with that.

As the Subaru climbed a small rise, the engine suddenly made a deep clunk noise. Zack looked over at Sydney who stared back at him, wide eyed.

“What was that?” Zack said.

“I…I…I don’t know. The mechanic said the Subaru burns oil. Maybe that’s the issue? Can cars run out of oil?”

Zack scratched his head. “Yeah, that’s bad. When did you last add any?”

In answer, white smoke started to billow out from under the Subaru’s hood. Zack pulled onto a dirt road that ran alongside the highway. The Subaru sputtered and the lights on the dash flashed.

Then the car died.

They both sat there in silence as the white smoke flowed out and obscured their view out of the windshield. Zack opened the door to the car and got out. There was a highway distance sign just ahead that said CALGARY CITY CENTRE 24 KM.

Sydney’s door opened and she popped up out of the passenger side. “Do you know how to fix cars?”

Zack shook his head and rubbed his face. “No. Do you?”

Sydney put her hand over her mouth and her other hand on her hip. “Oh my God,” she said.

Zack hopped back in the car and tried to start the Subaru, but it was toast. It churned and revved a little bit, but then it just made a horrible grinding sound.

“It’s fucked,” Zack said.

“We should try and hail a cab or something,” Sydney said. “Get us somewhere less…exposed.”

Zack sat back, the open driver’s door causing the car to ding annoyingly. “Yeah, we wave someone down and say, ‘hey, we are fugitives on the run. Any chance you could call us an Uber or something?’ We are trying to stay under the radar, remember?”

“What, you think we should walk?” Sydney replied.

“We don’t have any other money, either. Actually, this could be a good thing. We don’t have to worry about ditching the car,” Zack said. He tried a placating smile.

Sydney growled. “We have a lot of shit. How far is it until we get somewhere?”

Zack sighed. “I’ll carry as much of it as I can. I’m pretty sure there is a C-train station up ahead. We could hop on that and get downtown. Find somewhere to stay. Like a hotel or something.”

Sydney looked around. The traffic on the road was getting a little busier, and Zack watched her stiffen as a police pickup truck zipped past. “This had better fucking work, Zack. A lot of your ideas so far have only thrown more shit into the fan. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

“I know,” Zack replied. “I would love to look at you and promise that I know what the best move is, but the truth is, I am just trying to get us out of trouble. But, teamwork makes the dream work, right? You and I together can overcome anything.” He popped the trunk and started unloading all of their luggage. It was a lot, but they could carry it.

Sydney looked around the wide, flat landscape. “You are such an idiot Zack,” she whined. “But, I don’t have any better ideas.”

Zack slammed the trunk. “Alright. Grab whatever else you want from the Subaru. Let’s go.”

Zack stooped to pick up their stuff, then his eye caught the license plate. He sighed, and then knelt to remove it. It might be useful.

Sydney sighed. “Should we at least wait until it’s dark? Then we would be less likely to be seen.”

Zack twisted the coin, pulling out the screws that held the plate. “And waste a full day? We need to get our plan together and then stay ahead of the cops. We keep moving.”

“Okay,” Sydney replied.

After they’d stripped the Subaru of everything they could think of needing, Zack lugged and dragged the bags along the road, and Sydney struggled behind. Cars swept by, close enough to have the wind push them, just a little off balance. Zack grit his teeth and stared into the rising sun.

“We can do this, Syd,” he said.