Voicemail for Doc

Who: Eva
When: Afternoon
Where: The road outta town.

Eva wasn't normally a woman to curse, but she had a steady litany of swear words running through her mind as she threw clothes into a suitcase as quickly as a woman with a deep need for order and just as deep disdain for wrinkles could manage. The unthinkable had happened - the one contingency she hadn't planned for, the one she saw no other way out of.

She'd been found.

It had been months since her last heist, the one that had sent her to Michigan in the first place - the policia had appeared to drop the case, as they'd recovered most of the stolen goods, and she'd thought she was in the clear. Until, of course, she'd received the urgent call from Paulo at home that morning. The case had been turned over to Interpol, rounding up scattered members of their old ring as quickly as they could be found. And the more that were found, the more talked in hopes of lightening their own sentences, and they'd eventually stumbled onto the one person who'd known where Eva had gone. It was down to her and Paulo, and the authorities were hot on the tails of both.

She'd immediately begun packing, with a quick run to the bank to withdraw the contents of her accounts. She was truly running now, not just taking precautions, and it would be a while (if ever) before she could resurface with a new identity. She took her gemstones, the tools of her trade, and casually loaded everything into her car. She didn't think they'd be here this quickly, but she was wasting no time. Locking up the house and slipping a key under the mat, she slid into her car and pulled out of the drive, hitting the speed dial on her cell as she did. Eyes on the road, she sighed when it went straight to voicemail. She'd hoped for a goodbye, but she couldn't wait.

"Eric," she said at the tone, "please believe me when I say that this is the last thing I wanted to do. But the authorities know I'm here, and they're after me. It is entirely possible that they are aware of your existence; listen to this message and then delete it. Erase all records of this call if you can. I will be destroying this phone as soon as I hang up.

"It is very likely that I will be on the run for quite some time, caro, at least until my trail has grown cold. I do not know yet where I am going, but I have sufficient funds to take care of myself, so please do not worry. As soon as it is safe, if I can, I will find some way to get my contact information to you. Until I've shaken them, however, it is safer for you if you do not know. There's a key under the mat at the house; if you need anything, if the police do not get to it first, you are welcome to it.

"I am sorry, caro," she said, regret evident in her voice. "And I hope with all my heart to be able to see you again. Mi manchi già, Eric," she murmured after a brief hesitation, blinking away the stinging in her eyes.

Hanging up the phone, she removed the memory card before rolling down her window and tossing the phone neatly in front of the car tires. Two quick crunches later, all that was left was shattered plastic and metal to litter the road amidst numerous intangible regrets.