For a low definition of 'safely'

Rick checked as they exited the house, noticed the guy Tanya had shot was apparently still unconscious but also still breathing, and then raised his voice. "I have sealed off the leak. But it will take time for the gasses to disperse so I suggest remaining outside for another twenty minutes. In the meantime, I have a couple of people who've inhaled too much gas and I'll be taking those to the hospital."

"Want me to call an ambulance?" an attractive Hispanic lady they'd rousted from one of the neighboring homes asked.

"Thank you, that won't be necessary. It'll be faster if I take her myself."

He loaded Kat, Usha and himself in the second truck, the one not marked with gas company logos, and then called out to the technician. "Clear out and you were never here."

"Got it."

"Where to?" Donna asked.

It was a hell of a good question. In about ten minutes the shaveheads would figure out they'd been had. And when that happened, every cop in the metroplex would be looking for the fake gas crew... and for Rick who'd been identified.

"No clue," Rick admitted. "How about Oak Cliff. There are some by the hour motels there we could regroup in."

Tanya had been ducked down in the front seat but she sat up now. "Good shot, huh?"

"What did you hit him with? That .22 should have killed him from that range. As for a shotgun..."

"Beanbag round. Except I changed out the lead for actual beans. The lead rounds kill too often."

"You hit that asshole with a bag of beans?"

"Yep."

"I suspect the two of you should lay low for a few days, also. Not that I don't trust your friends but the cops will be leaning on the gas company and someone is bound to have taken photos that will include the license plates."

"No problem," Donna said. "We changed them."

"Huh?"

"Remember when we stopped for gas? We stole a couple of license plates from parked cars. When we get clear of this neighborhood, I'll change this one back."

"We won't be able to use our cars though," Kat said. "Cops will have descriptions and license numbers."

"Your problem," Tanya said. "We got your friends out. You're on your own now. Unless you want to party sometime. I'm good for that."

"I'd like that," Rick admitted. "But for now, I think none of you has ever seen us."

Donna pulled into a seedy-looking motel off I-20 and hopped out to change her license plates back. While she was doing that, Kat shook Usha awake.

Usha awakened screaming.

"From now on," Rick said, "the three of us are sticking together."

Usha nodded.

He led the two women into the motel lobby, paid for three hours in the motel with cash, and headed for their room. After a couple of hours of sleep and showers, they could start to figure out what to do next. Because maybe it was time to give up on everything, adopt a new identity, and start a new life. There were, Rick thought, worse lives than living with two attractive and highly sexual women.

"Don't even think about it," Usha said.

"What?"

"Those assholes were going to rape us until they got tired of us and then kill us. No way are we going to let them just get away and rape and murder other women. We're going after them."