Page 24 of Brighter than the Boss
I nodded my understanding of the plan even though he couldn't see me. If I knew Cain at all, he wouldn't feel right leaving someone behind, even if they were repeatedly warned and ignored those warnings.
While we drove over to the next cluster of people who hadn't left the beach yet, Cain's radio kept squawking with updates from the team of lifeguards. Tower nineteen, the one on the farthest edge of our territory, was completely cleared and the tower was closed up. Two other towers called in that everyone was in the parking lots and off the beach.
Looking at the parking lot, there were still around half the cars that hadn't been able to leave the lot. A man leaned out of the driver's window to yell and gesture lewdly at another driver, clearly panicked that they hadn't been able to get out of the traffic congestion enough to get to safety. Horns blew sporadically as everyone tried to leave at once.
I leaned left to peer over Cain's huge shoulder and saw the countdown on his wrist.
We had twelve minutes.
12
Cain
We finally had the beach cleared all along the south side of the pier. Except for Jackass, the guy Sunny had already warned. Apparently he was hoping to have his fifteen seconds of fame by recording the tsunami, if there actually was one. The genius hadn't exactly thought through how he'd get his little video when he would be washed away the minute the tsunami hit.
But my job was to save lives on the beach and in the ocean, no matter their intelligence level. So once we'd gotten everyone into their cars in the parking lots, Sunny and I doubled back on the ATV to deal with Jackass.
"Let me deal with him, okay?" I called over my shoulder. She nodded in response, her beautiful face tucked up against my back. I'm sure we could have split up by this point to better cover our territory, but being the selfish bastard I was, there was no way I was letting her out of my sight. I had to make sure she made it off the beach when the clock ticked down to zero. Best way to do that was to keep her with me.
We slid to a stop and I hopped off, instantly regretting not having Sunny's arms around me any longer. When this was all over, I'd never feel those arms around me again, so I had to lap it up while I could.
"Hey, bro!" I called out to the man as I approached.
His eyes flicked to me but didn't turn away from his phone aimed at the ocean.
"Dude, we gotta get you out of here before this thing hits land. The Weather Service is saying it should be in eight minutes. Let's go." I moved to stand in front of him, blocking his precious view.
"Hey! I can be here if I want to. Get out of the way!" He shifted to the left, agitated by my interference.
"No can do, buddy. We've got orders to evacuate all citizens, which includes you. Let's go." I made to reach for his phone, but he jumped out of the way and finally gave me his full attention, phone still recording.
"You can't make me go, asshole." His face was twisted up and he was breathing hard, like I was stomping all over his constitutional rights to be a dumbass instead of trying to save his damn life.
"Actually, I can in an evacuation order. I'd prefer to keep this peaceful, but I'll do what I have to do to protect my lifeguards and the citizens of Huntington Beach. I suggest you leave now and we'll forget about all this."
I stepped closer to the man, ready to subdue him and drag him across the sand to the police waiting in the parking lot if I had to. He danced back a step and then came back at me to shove my chest. I swatted his hand away like a pesky gnat on a hot summer day.
"I would suggest not starting a fight with me, young man."
He spit out a laugh. "Whatcha' gonna do. Hit me?"
He shoved me again and I tried out a move I learned not too long ago. I grabbed his hand and whipped it behind his back, catching him so off-balance he fell to his knees on the sand. He yelped his surprise as I twisted his arm painfully, but I didn't let off the pressure. That was payback for mouthing off to Sunshine.
"Are we leaving now?" I asked him again.
"Ow! Okay, alright."
I lifted him back up to his feet, keeping his arm torqued behind his back while we walked across the beach toward the parking lot. He kept complaining, no longer the tough guy, but I tuned him out, too focused on what needed to be done in the minutes left.
When I reached Sunny on the ATV, she winked and muttered, "That move looked familiar."
I didn't even get a chance to reply before she fired up the ATV and left us in the dust. That little minx. She'd used that exact move on me in her Jiu Jitsu demonstration with Shasta last month. I typically just settled things with my fists, but I was starting to see the benefit to this martial arts stuff. Besides my knuckles were still a bit raw from hitting that guy two nights ago outside the bar. Not that I'd ever admit that.
When we finally got to the parking lot, I left Jackass with one of the cops, letting them know he was leaving and to make sure he didn't come back. I glanced around, seeing mayhem everywhere I looked. Cars kept honking and people were shouting at each other in their hurry to leave the area. The sun was high in the sky, the beach as beautiful as ever. It was hard to believe that disaster was imminent.
I spotted Sunny down on the cement strand, radioing it in that her tower was closed up. Her smooth voice was loud in my ear, but she was too far away for my liking. I started moving in her direction, trying to weave my way around pedestrians fleeing on foot, bikes trying to ride between obstacles, and cars idling bumper to bumper. Two men on bikes collided in front of her and she jumped at the sound of their shouts. The first guy to gain his feet swung at the other guy, dropping him back down to the ground. I wasn't surprised as there were quite a few people in this town not in full control of their mental faculties. Add in panic and it was natural for fights to break out.
Sunny jumped into the fray to try to pull the guys apart. My heart seized and I saw everything in slow motion, knowing I was too far away to get there in time. The first guy, too amped up to know who was tugging on him, twisted and swung again, this time off-balance. The closed fist clipped her in the shoulder as she tried to pull back.
