Innocent on the run. Part 30.

Ricky dodged back into the shadows of the building and ran up the alley alongside it. He circled around the back of the building and crept down the alley on the other side. Stopping at the corner, he poked his head around the side. Shifty had stopped talking to the docker and was walking away in the opposite direction ! Ricky leaned against the building, his heart thumping like mad. If Shifty was here, so were the other two. He'd have to watch his step now. After a while his heartbeat slowed and his feeling of panic subsided. What to do for the best? He couldn't hide in a motel for very long, because he needed to be at the docks every day. He could go to a different port and find a ship, but he didn't know where or how far the next port was. It was too dangerous to hitch hike, or go to the bus depot. It was dangerous enough being on the streets, now that the three men were out looking for him. Slipping back down the alleyway he made his way along the back of the buildings, through the accumulated rubbish and piles of chains, ropes and junk metal that was strewn around. He knew that there was an exit from the docks about a half mile away, and he hid behind a large drum, keeping the gates under observation for ten minutes before going out onto the Strand and mingling with the crowds. There was a delicatessen nearby and he went in and bought bread, cheese cold meat and a can of coke, which he put in the bag. Keeping his eyes peeled, he continued walking North, putting distance between himself and the dock. At a news stand he bought a paper and two books to read that evening. He had decided to find a motel and lay low until the following day. Half an hour later he booked in to a motel and lay on the bed reading. The time dragged, and he ate a lonely supper before showering and turning in. Chapter 10. Ricky woke up and looked at his watch. It was nine a.m. He lay there trying to decide what to do. He eventually came to the conclusion that the docks was his only chance of escape, and he rose and got washed and dressed. There was some bread and cold meat left so he finished it off. He picked up the holdall, checked out of the Motel, and walked back towards the docks. The streets were crowded, and he took the same route as the previous day, keeping his eyes peeled for any of the gang. When he got to the docks he slipped in without being seen, past a huge truck that was stopped at the entrance. Keeping alert and ready for instant flight, he continued his search for a British ship. It was midday when he spotted it. The red duster. It was flying from a very rusty cargo ship, and he approached a building about a hundred yards away from the ship to watch. Positioning himself at the side of the building, in the shadow that it cast, he had a good view of the dockside. She was loading up with something but he didn't know what it was. Large crates of something or other, but there were trucks waiting in line a short distance away with farming implements on their backs. He could identify combine harvesters, tractors and ploughs. The crew were busy on deck and the dockers were positioning the crates in one of the holds. He had to find out when she was leaving, but didn't want to risk asking one of the dockers, and he didn't want to draw attention to himself by standing too near the ship. Going around behind the building and walking along the backs of several others, Ricky eventually spotted the heavy trucks at the end of an alleyway. He waited at the end of the alleyway, watching a group of the drivers talking and laughing together. One of them turned from the group and made his way to the front of the building that Ricky was stood by. He went inside, and Ricky came out from the shadows when he saw the door opening again. The driver came out and Ricky said, 'Excuse me, that ship, do you know when she's sailing.' 'Soon as she gets all this farming stuff on her, tonight sometime.' 'Thanks.' His heart gave a leap. Tonight. He could be on her and away from here. Walking back up the alleyway, he made his way into the town around the backs of the buildings. He couldn't hang around the ship all day, and he would have to buy some food to take with him if he was going to stow away. He would have to stow away, there was no sense in approaching the Captain direct without any documents. If Ricky told him that he'd lost his passport, the captain would send him to the British Consul to get a replacement. No, the only way out was to stow away. Busy with his thoughts, he wandered straight out through the dock gates, forgetting about caution, and only by chance looked up and spotted Dan, about a hundred yards away, staring straight at him. He fled. Startled people on the pavements made way for him as he ran, panic stricken, dodging and weaving through the streets. He collided with a display of fruit outside a shop and sent boxes of apples, pears, grapes and oranges flying in all directions. He tripped and fell over some fruit, scrambled to his feet, not daring to look behind him, hearing the shopkeeper cursing after him as he slid, then gained his footing and ran like the wind, head back and legs pumping. He spotted an alleyway between two shops, skidded into it, and ran to the end. It was a dead end. The wall at the end was about eight feet high. There was a rubbish bin handy so he dragged it to the wall, climbed up on it, sprang for the top and swung himself over. Dropping to the other side he ran across the backs of the buildings, looking for an escape route. There was a path alongside one house and he ran up it and into the street. Crossing the road he shot up the drive of another house and jumped over the fence at the bottom of the garden, landing in a vegetable patch. He ploughed his way through the vegetables, with clumps of mud sticking to his boots and ran through the garden, down the path and out on to the street. A car screeched to a stop, the driver mouthing something at him as he ran into the road and up the path between two houses, which brought him out onto a tarmac play area. Some kids were playing basketball, and they shouted at him as he ran across their pitch. There was another alley off the play area and he ran up it and came out on to a street. He ran to the end of the street and took a right turn into a busy main road. People and traffic was what he wanted, and he turned and looked behind him, tremendously relieved that there was no sign of Dan. His breath was returning as he walked through the throngs of people, looking for a place to hide. There was an all day cinema across the street, so he went in and bought a ticket, sitting through the show twice, hardly taking note of the films, busy worrying how he was going to get away. They would be watching the ship, he was sure, knowing that it was his only chance. He looked at his watch again, saw that it was nine o'clock and decided that he had to stay another hour to make sure that it was dusk. The film came on again and he sat, keeping low in the seat, until it was ten o'clock, then got up and went outside. Standing alongside one of the pillars in the foyer, he studied the street, but there was no sign of either of the three men. Going in to the nearest delicatessen he bought a pile of bread rolls and a pound of cheese, some sliced ham and some tomatoes. In the fruit store next door he bought apples, pears and bananas. His holdall was pretty bulky with all the food in it, so when he saw a taxi cruising by, he hailed it and was taken to the dock gates. He asked the driver to go into the docks and as they came to the gates, Ricky kept low in the back seat. They were not stopped, and when they were a little way inside the docks he asked the driver to stop at the front of a building and got out. As the taxi pulled away, Ricky went behind the buildings and headed towards the British ship. It was pitch dark and he had to be careful not to trip over anything. He could see the lights on the deck of the ship from the end of the alleyway opposite, and he was pleased to see that all the trucks had gone and the farming machinery was on board. Two large harrows and a plough were secured to the top of the hatch covers. There was no activity on deck, but the gangway was still down and a Seaman was at the top of it on gangway duty. She was getting ready to sail, as there was a lot of steam and smoke coming from her funnel. Ricky peered around the corner of the building, looking both ways to see if there was movement anywhere, but as far as he could make out, there wasn't. The quay was deserted. He waited, trying not to breathe too heavily, scared that the watchman on the gangway would remain at his post, preventing him from getting aboard. After ten minutes the watchman put a cigarette in his mouth and patted his pockets for a match. He turned away from the gangway and walked down the deck, disappearing into the accommodation. Ricky stepped out from the shadows and ran towards the gangway. A voice shouted, 'Hey,' and a body hurled itself violently from the doorway of a building on his left, cutting off his route to the gangway. He slithered to a stop and turned away from the gangway and sanctuary, and raced away from the ship, across the quay and down the alley alongside the building. Footsteps were pounding after him and the man was shouting, 'Over here, over here,' at the top of his voice, as he raced up the alley after Ricky. Ricky turned at the corner of the building and ran full tilt down the back of the buildings. He knew there was a rubbish bin outside the next block, and he tipped it over as he reached it. Racing on he heard the man curse as he tripped over the dustbin, and the noises as he went down among the garbage. He heard a bang and the bullet screamed off a piece of steel to his left. Christ, he was shooting at him. Copyright Deric Barry 2005. Deric on hubpages: http://scarytaff.hubpages.com