To Catch a Thief

"To Catch a Thief" is the 2nd episode of Sweet Escape.

Summary
When food begins to run low after Joanna eats everything, Alison, with the help of Josh and Joe, decides to use her past skills get in possession of some more. Meanwhile, in flashbacks, we are shown the story of how Alison and Josh met.

Plot
Josh is seen driving the fugitive’s hippy van down Route 66 in New Mexico after having successfully fleeing Arizona. Ali is sitting in the passenger seat whilst everyone else tries to make themselves comfortable in the back. Leaning over her chair, Ali turns to the criminals and tells them that she’ll briefly explain what’ll happen when they reach the headquarters in Utah. “Once we arrive you’ll immediately be given new identities; new names, a new appearance, new background… new everything. A frustrated looking Mary asks if they have any choice in the matter, so Ali smiles at her, saying she thinks it’s a bit too late to turn back. Mary begins crying into her hands, so Ali sternly asks her “What life do you really expect to have back there? You were arrested for possession of child pornography! Your life as you knew it was over. This is the only way you can be free”. Mary glares at her saviour and tells her she didn’t do it. With a hint of a smile, Ali tells her that why they’re here. There is an awkward silence within the van for a few minutes as Josh continues to drive. Liz makes her way to the front of the van, sitting in between Ali and Josh. “So…we didn’t really have a proper catch up” the ginger points out to her old friend. Ali smiles at Liz and tells her it’s good to see her. Liz smiles and says “You too”. Liz looks at Josh for a moment and then turns back to Ali before asking if they’re a couple. Ali nods, smiling at Josh, who shares a smile in return. Liz smiles at the happy couple and then leans slightly in “So how’d you meet?”. Ali thinks for a moment “Where to start…?” she sighs before telling the story.

Ali is sat in an office in a flashback, waiting for her employer to enter the room. The confused girl is unaware about why she was called in so is feeling slightly nervous. After a short while of waiting, the door finally opens and her employer enters, taking a seat behind his desk. Once he’s sat, Ali stands and raises her hand to him to greet him “Good morning Mr. Sapphire” she says nervously before he nods in response. They shake hands and then she back down. He opens up his laptop and begins looking up some information, all the time quiet. After a few moments pass, an awkward Ali shrugging her shoulders asks why she was called in. Jack Sapphire ignores her question and continues to look at his computer. He then turns to her and sighs. “Miss Morris, I’m just going to cut right to the chase” he says, filling Ali’s heart with fear. “You’re fired” he finishes. Ali is in shock “What?! Why?” she gasps. “To put it gently, Miss Morris, we’ve uncovered some inappropriate information concerning your past”. Ali is confused and asks what he’s referring to. He turns his laptop around to Ali and asks her if the article he has open is correct. A horrified Ali begins stuttering and trying to explain herself. “Y-You don’t understand, sir… That was years ago… I-I had no money, I had no choice. I’ve moved on with my life” she says, holding back her tears. “Do not tell me what I do not understand, Miss Morris” he says angrily, slightly intimidating the blonde. “This is non-negotiable. Pack your things and leave. We do not accept the likes of you here”. Ali timidly stands up from her chair and walks slowly out of the office, Mr. Sapphire not even giving her a glance as she leaves. Once she leaves the room, she breaks down crying.

The group have parked the car on the side of the road to take a break from the heat of the car. Everyone is doing their own thing until suddenly, the loud of punching and groaning is heard coming from behind the van. Everyone rushes around and is shocked to see Ben and Rena engaging in a fist fight. Josh and Ali run up to them to break them up, and once the two men have calmed down Josh asks what’s going on. “Miss Thunder Thighs has been fucking eating all of our food!” an infuriated Ben yells while pointing at Joanna. “What?” Ali asks, looking at Jo, who is sat nonchalantly eating a Twinkie. She shrugs her shoulders, stating “What? Bitch gotta eat”. Ali sighs. Rena explains that Ben was being intimidating towards Joanna so he defended her. “Mhm, it’s true. He was all up in my face thinkin’ he a match for me. I woulda knocked him cold out if it wasn’t for Mr. Death Row saving his ass” Joanna hums. Elizabeth explains to the black woman that the food was supposed to last them until Texas. “Sorry girl, I got cravins” Joanna responds. A frustrated Ben asks what they’re gonna do for food now since they haven’t got that much money, and the money they have needs to be spent on fuel for the van. Josh thinks for a moment and then turns to Ali and Joe “I’ve got a plan” he smiles.

In a poor and deprived part of California in an flashback, Josh is stood at a stall which is selling cheap food to the residents in the area to help in what little way he can. An elderly woman walks up to the stall and is greeted by a smiling Josh “Good morning, Joan” he says cheerfully. The woman, named Joan Belle, seems to know Josh and greets him with a smile too. “What is it you’ll be having today then?” he asks politely. “Oh, just the usual. But I think I’ll take some of those apples too, cook you up a nice pie” she smiles. Josh is flattered but tells her she doesn’t need to do that, but she points out that he’s down here almost every day doing charity work so it’s the least she can do in return. “Well thank you” he says humbly. After Joan finishes paying for her items she begins to walk away. However, as she leaves, she is suddenly knocked to the floor by a person fleeing past her as they’ve just stolen from the floor. Josh rushes to Joan’s aid and once noticing she’s fine, pursues the hooded thief. He chases the thief down a few alleys, avoiding trash cans that have been knocked over as obstacles, until finally catching up to them and tackling them to the floor. He removes the hood and is shocked to see a beautiful blonde woman, Alison Morris. He shrugs off the fact that she’s a girl and then pulls her to her feet, demanding to have the food back. A guilty looking Ali silently returns the items and then after a slight pause, adds “I’m sorry”. A seemingly less angry looking Josh holds the food in front of Ali and states he should call the police. At the mention of the police she almost begins crying, begging him not to and stating that she was just so hungry and desperate because so many people have ruined her life. She falls to her knees and then begins crying, making Josh feel sympathy for her. He helps the crying girl to her feet and then calmly assures her that he won’t call the police. “You won’t?” she asks slightly happier. “No” he smiles, “I’m going to help you. You want food? I’ll take you out for dinner” he adds confidently. Ali can’t help but smile at the offer given by the handsome man.

Josh parks the van on the side of the road and then he, Ali and Joe (now dressed in normal clothes) emerge. Everybody else waits, hidden, inside the van. The trio head towards a small convenience store and Josh states “Remember, we’re a family”. An excited Joe, who has never stolen in his life, says he understands and that he’s ready. The happy family enter the shop and they’re greeted by the shop keeper. Josh and Joe head to the back of the store and Ali walks up to the counter. “Hi, I’m Taylor” she says shaking his hand. The shopkeeper greets her back and tells her he’s called Gavin. Ali introduces her “family” to the shopkeeper (with false names) and explains that they’re doing a road trip of Route 66 so she’s just wondering if he knows any cool places to stop and see. He suggests all the alien and UFO sighting spots and then recommends a small diner in Texas, stating he grew up not too far from it and it’s “just perfect”. Ali feigns interest in his stories while Josh and Joe fill up several backpacks with food for the road. However, as they do so, the shopkeeper spots them and yells out to them to stop. Ali turns to see who he’s shouting at and notices they’ve been caught, so turns around and punches him in the face, knocking him to the ground. The trio then grab as much as they can before making a run for it and speeding off in the van.

A fair distance away from the shop, the fugitives slow down and begin to relax, knowing they’ve got away successfully. “That was close” Joe smiles with an adrenaline rush. “You can say that again” Ali says, holding her fist in pain. They begin packing away the food and Ben tells everyone to keep an eye on Joanna. She gives him an evil glare. They continue driving in peace until suddenly, a sound sends a chill down everybody’s spine. A police siren. Josh looks in his rear-view mirror and sees a police on a motorcycle close behind him. Knowing he can’t possibly outrun him, Josh decides to play it cool and pulls onto the side of the road. The officer stops too and then begins walking to the side of the van. As he approaches, Ali signals for the six fugitives in the back to hide, Mary gets a look of determination on her face and realizes this is her way out, but Joanna notices and grabs her mouth so she cannot shout out. They all proceed to hide under blankets. When the officer reaches Ali’s window, she rolls it down and nervously says “Evening Officer… Balk” whilst reading his name tag. He nods and says “Evening ma’am”. Josh asks why they’ve been stopped, so Officer Balk explains that there was a report of a robbery and the suspect is a young couple and a child. Josh shows around his van and says that it’s just the two of them so he’s got the wrong people. “Uh-huh” the officer says, staring into the back windows. “Mind if I take a look?” he asks suspiciously. Ali puts on a smile and tells him of course he can. She secretly pulls out her handgun and begins to clutch it tight. As he steps towards the back door to open it, she clutches the gun even tighter, ready to shoot. But suddenly a car zooms past the van and officer, going way over the speed limit. Officer Balk’s attention is drawn to the speeding car and then rushes to his motorcycle, ready to chase it down. Once he’s gone, Ali and Josh share a glance and sigh with relief. The fugitives come out from underneath the blankets and then Joanna lets out a massive fart “Oh god that feels good, you don’t know how hard I had to hold that in”.

Months after meeting Ali, in a flashback, Josh is seen in the middle of the street knelt down on one knee with his hands held in front of him holding a ring in a box. Ali is filled with joy and tears of happiness as she shouts “Yes! Yes I’ll marry you”. She grabs the engagement ring and proceeds to put it on her finger, but before she can, a large person, who is running at a fast pace, makes their way through the happy couple and uses their hand, which is wielding a knife, to push Ali out of the way. Alison falls to the floor with a cry of agony as her whole chest has been sliced. When she hits the floor, the ring drops out of her hands and falls down the drain. A horrified Josh crawls towards his injured fiancé and begins calling out for help.