by William Oday
“Good morning.”
Piper scrubbed at her puffy eyes. “You sure?”
Lily rolled her eyes. Piper was famous for hating on mornings. “The sun is up. We need to go. I want to get on the road by nine.”
Piper looked around in confusion. “Where’s Officer… what’s his name?”
“Rivera. I don’t know. I woke up a few minutes ago and he wasn’t here. Maybe on an urgent bathroom break.”
She nodded. “Reminds me I have to pee.”
“Me too.”
They got up and around and picked through the parts of the buffet that didn’t require refrigeration. There wasn’t much left. Olives, crackers, some cheese that was still good, chips and salsa.
Piper popped the last olive into her mouth. “Breakfast of champions. At least it’s free.”
“I wonder what’s taking Manny so long.”
“Manny?”
“Officer Rivera.”
“Oh. Yeah. Let’s go find the bathrooms and yell at him for scaring us.”
Lily presented the mismatched sneakers she’d scavenged. “Put these on first.”
Piper looked at them and then at her like she was crazy.
Lily waited, tapping her foot to emphasize that this was taking too long.
“You want me to wear someone else’s mismatched shoes?”
“This isn’t a discussion. Your heels are ruined and they’re terrible for walking anyway.”
Piper glanced at her shoes by the couch. They were indeed ruined. “Fine.” She put the sneakers on and then made a face. The are you happy now? one.
“How’s the fit?”
She stepped back and forth a few times. “Not bad. I look ridiculous, if you care about that.”
“Ready?”
“Sure.”
Lily slung the backpack over her shoulder and grabbed the flashlight.
She pulled the door open and morning light flooded in. She clicked it off, but kept it handy because it was two foot long and heavy and that meant swinging it at somebody would do some damage.
The chaos of the night before was even more evident in the morning light. How many people did the arena hold? And how hard would it be to get that many people out in a calm and orderly fashion?
Clearly, pretty hard.
They found the women’s bathroom and both relieved themselves. They both guzzled a ton of water and Lily topped off her canteen and a water bottle before leaving. The men’s bathroom was a little ways down and they stopped at the entrance.
“Hello? Manny?” Lily called.
No answer.
“Officer Rivera, are you in there?” Piper said as she tip-toed closer and peeked around the corner. “Oh my God.”
Lily went around and saw the reason for the reaction.
Lying on the concrete floor by the sinks was the man that had saved their life. He was dead. Throat cut with a puddle of blood surrounding his upper body.
His gun was missing. Whoever killed him had taken it. Must’ve snuck up and slit his throat.
Lily dragged Piper out.
She was already starting to hyperventilate and not far from melting down completely.
Lily was barely keeping it together herself, but both of them falling to pieces wasn’t an option. She held her finger to her lips.
“Quiet”, she mouthed.
Piper’s eyes went wide. She understood.
What if whoever killed Manny was still there?
“Let’s go,” Lily whispered.
They tip-toed through the wide halls, down the stairs, cringing every time a misstep made a noise.
Lily shoved the door open and they fled outside into the bright light. They kept running. All the way to the giant black pyramid that was the Luxor Hotel.
There was the Mandalay!
Piper pulled Lily to a stop. She leaned over, holding her knees, breathing hard. “Let me… catch my breath.”
The Mandalay was less than a block away!
But Lily resisted the urge to drag her forward. It was light out and there were even a few random people hurrying around on whatever business a morning like this had for them.
Lily stowed the big flashlight in her backpack and waited for Piper to recover. Piper wasn’t exactly the athletic type. She loved her curves and claimed that too much exercise would ruin her figure. Hating every form of exercise might’ve had something to do with it too.
It was fine. They could afford to take a minute to rest.
They’d finally made it back.
Tires squealed down the street.
An old primer-colored car jumped the median and roared up the wrong side of the street. It raced around abandoned cars and nearly lost control, before straightening out.
It was headed right at them.
26
Donny was having the best damn dream of his entire life. He knew it was a dream and it didn’t matter. He was laying on a reclined chair by an enormous pool, those fancy ones where the edge just disappears. A couple of topless honies were splashing around in the water, giggling and carrying on.
The pool was accompanied by a mansion. His mansion. Though he didn’t recognize it, and he couldn’t remember ever having lived in anything remotely like it.
One of the girls popped up out of the pool like a seal. Water streaked down her boobs and Donny knew he’d paid for them. And they were worth every cent.
She wiggled over to him because that was what walking did to her. It made her wiggle in the best way. She leaned over him, showing off a new angle that reaffirmed the thousands spent. “Donny.”
“What?”
“Donny.”
“What?”
She moved and the sun blasted him in the face.
“Donny, wake up.”
Donny’s eyelids peeled apart and it was horribly bright.
“Donny, wake up, man.”
Donny turned to see Zeke in a sorry state. “You look terrible.”
“You got the smokes?” Zeke asked.
“What?”
“The smokes, man! You had them last.”
Donny blinked a few more times, still adjusting to the idea of being awake, angry that the dream was already fading. He let out a yawn and looked around. They were in the Mino parked out front of McDonald’s. He spotted the pack of cigarettes on the dash. He tapped one out before tossing it over. He lit it up and drew in a long breath.
The warm smoke seeped into his lungs. The first hint that maybe today was worth living. He drew in another to be sure. The dream had been so real. It was already fading fast but he remembered enough.
The girls.
The money.
The power.
It was like a vision of his future. A vision that could become real if he just reached out and claimed it. Everything he’d ever done had gotten him to this point. And before passing out last night, he’d finally for the first time in his life understood why.
Why was he dead broke sleeping in the Mino with this junkie loser for his one and only friend?
And why was a man like Jackson Cook running things? Why did he have all the girls, all the money, and all the power?
Because he could.
That was why.
The revelation had come through so clear and obvious. Donny had always thought small and so lived a small-time life. Jax thought big and so it was no surprise that he was big-time.
Donny took another drag as he considered his next move. He still hadn’t landed on the next big score.
“I killed a man, Donny,” Zeke whispered.
Not this again. Zeke had carried on half the night wringing his hands like a little school girl. Donny was sick to death of hearing about it. “It was him or me, man. You did what you had to do.”
“I guess so.”
“There’s no guessing. It’s his fault if you get down to it.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t have shot him otherwise.”
“See? Exactly. Now, shut up and let me think.”
They
finished their smokes in silence and fired up a couple more because Donny wasn’t done working through the problem.
He was racking his brain for the solution when he looked up and there it was.
Two girls standing out front of the Luxor hotel. One bent over, probably barfing through a hangover. Both young and both good looking.
One of Jax’s many business ventures was selling girls to upmarket clients. Sex slaves. He’d get them hooked on H, break them in until they were nice and compliant, and then move the merchandise for a handsome profit. Runaways mostly because they didn’t raise any flags when they went missing.
Donny fired up the Mino and slammed his foot on the gas.
With all the insanity going on, with cars and phones not working, it would be a lot easier for folks to simply disappear.
And unlike sticking up convenience stores and casinos, the risk would be next to nothing. No guns blazing at them as they dashed out the door.
Donny’s head smacked the roof as the Mino jumped over the median. He jerked the steering wheel over, barely missing an abandoned car. He steered around a few more and nearly lost control when the Mino fishtailed sideways. He somehow managed to get it under control and hammered the accelerator.
The girls were staring at him like deer in headlights.
He wrenched the wheel over and slammed on the brakes. The back of the Mino whipped around and nearly took the girls out.
“You drive!” Donny yelled as he jumped out with a pistol in hand.
He grabbed the curvy girl around the waist and lifted her.
The other one jumped at him but he smashed the butt of the gun into the side of her head and she fell to her knees.
The curvy girl came to life, but he slapped her hard and she calmed down. He shoved her over into the bed of the Mino and went back for the troublemaker. She was still stunned, so it wasn’t too hard to dump her into the back too.
Some guy in the parking lot at the Luxor shouted. “Hey! Stop!”
Donny fired in the general direction and vaulted into the back. “Go!”
The Mino peeled out as Donny dropped on top of both girls. One was still not all there. She’d be trouble when she woke up. But he could handle trouble.
He turned to the curvy one and grabbed her by the hair. “Keep your mouth shut and stay down or I’ll kill you both!”
She whimpered in response.
He saw the terror in her eyes. She’d do as she was told.
Wind whistled overhead as the Mino picked up speed.
Donny could’ve shouted for joy. He’d never imagined it could be so easy. And that was exactly the problem.
He’d never dared to dream.
Well, that was history. The future was a whole different thing. He had a lot of big ideas and this was just the start.
27
Twenty minutes later, the Mino pulled into a driveway in a mostly empty neighborhood near the intersection of Balzar Ave and N. Martin Luther King Blvd. If there was a rougher area in the city, Donny didn’t know about it.
This particular neighborhood, Wayward Pinecrest, hadn’t always been so run down. Years ago, it had been filled with working class folk doing the best they could to make a life for themselves. Then the housing boom swept through the city like a tsunami, upending everything and everyone. Developers came in buying up empty lots and buying out folks that had never seen so much money flashed in their faces.
The old houses disappeared and cookie-cutter, mini McMansions sprouted up. And then it all went bust. The for sale houses stayed that way and the occupied ones slowly emptied out through foreclosures and evictions. The cheaply built new houses had been abandoned and crumbling for years. Now and then, the city would come in and bulldoze one to the ground when it was deemed too unsafe to ignore.
It was a tragedy for most people.
But not for Donny and Zeke.
For them, it was rent free living.
Zeke jumped out, raised the garage door and pulled the Mino in. He had it slammed shut a few seconds later, which was a good thing because the dark haired girl had been giving Donny trouble.
Donny backhanded her across the face. “Shut up! No one’s coming for you!” She wanted to claw his eyes out, he could tell. But she couldn’t because he’d taken the opportunity while she was zoned out to zip tie her ankles and wrists. He’d done the same to the curvy girl and she hadn’t even resisted. Not after he grabbed her by the throat, anyway.
He and Zeke marched them into the living room and shoved them down onto a grubby old couch. They’d scored it on the side of the road and hauled it back in the Mino. It wasn’t no bed, but it was way more comfy than sleeping on the floor.
The dark haired one stared at him like he was the one who should be worried.
Donny knelt in front of her and squeezed her face hard enough to know it hurt.
She didn’t let on that it did.
“I like your spirit. Jax is going to like it too. He enjoys breaking the strong-willed ones.”
She spat in his face and tried to bite him.
He jerked away just in time and then walloped her with a closed fist this time.
She fell back onto the couch, stunned and moaning.
“We got a wild one here, Zeke.” Donny ripped up some cloth and cinched it around the girl’s head to keep her quiet. He did the same to the curvy one to cover his bases.
A can of beer cracked open and Donny turned to see Zeke chugging a PBR. “That’s the idea, man! Let’s celebrate!” He grabbed one for himself and emptied half the can before taking a breath. He swiped at his chin, grinning from ear to ear. “We’ve got Sugar and Spice and everything nice!”
“What?”
Donny pointed at the curvy one. “That’s Sugar and that’s Spice.”
“How much you think Jax will pay us for them?”
“Pay us? Don’t you mean me? This was my idea, after all.”
Zeke’s expression hardened.
Donny pinched his cheek. “I’m kidding, man. Of course, us! Don’t sweat the details. This is the start of something big. And you’re in on the ground floor. You’re going to be swimming in more money than you seen in your entire life!”
“That’s only if Jax doesn’t kill us both.”
Donny smacked his shoulder. “Good point. And that’s where you come in.”
Zeke was already shaking his head.
And Donny was already nodding his. “You have to go to talk to him. Let him know I haven’t been ducking him. Tell him about the merchandise. He’s a businessman. He’ll know profit when he sees it.”
“What about our end?”
“He pays half a grand for skank runaways.” Donny gestured at what they had to offer. “Sugar and Spice will get twice that each. At least.”
Zeke’s eyes sparkled. “Two grand? Really?”
“Well, there is the matter of the debt and he’s probably tacked on more interest.”
Donny thought of the baggie of speed he had hidden in the bathroom. “Tell him we want some more crank too. Enough to have a proper celebration. Maybe we’ll even give Sugar and Spice a taste to get them in the mood.”
Zeke nodded enthusiastically. They were both feeling the emptiness building inside. The terrible gnawing hunger that had to be fed before it turned ugly.
“That should still leave us plenty in our pockets.” Donny finished the beer and tossed it at Spice’s head.
She ducked to the side and glared at him.
“See? Spice.”
Zeke laughed so hard he blew beer bubbles out his nose.
Donny grabbed another can and dropped into the ratty old recliner they’d scavenged. “I’ll stay with these two while you set up the deal. The keys are on the counter.”
“You want me to go now? I need something to eat and a few hours of sleep.”
Donny leapt out of the chair and swiped the keys up. He peeled open Zeke’s fingers and slapped the keys into his palm. “Yes, now. And don’t come back until it’s done.�
��
Zeke nodded and turned to leave.
Donny slid into the recliner and cracked open another beer.
The door to the garage opened.
“Zeke!”
“What?”
“Take care of the Mino.”
“Yeah, okay.” The door slammed shut.
Spice looked around the room, her eyes landing on the sliding door to the backyard.
Donny pointed his gun at her. “You think you’re faster than a bullet? I don’t. But you’re welcome to find out.”
28
Cade jerked awake with someone standing over him. Not fully aware yet, he grabbed the shotgun and brought it up at his assailant.
Hudson threw his hands up and backed away. “Don’t shoot! It’s me, Hudson!”
Cade blinked through the cobwebs and realized who he was. He lowered the weapon and set it on the couch. “Right, sorry. Was having a bad dream. Still in it there for a second.” He glanced at his watch and then out the floor to ceiling window.
The sunrise on the eastern horizon cast a warm orange glow across the sky. It was beautiful. The promise of a new day. The kind of scenery that inspired artists and gave people hope. Unfortunately, the situation down on the ground didn’t reflect that feeling.
Cade stood and stretched, working feeling into his aching muscles. “Bathroom?”
Hudson pointed down the hall. “Second door on the right.”
Cade relieved himself and returned to find Hudson poking through the groceries they’d picked up the previous night. He went to the sink and tried the faucet.
Water came out, but it was a quarter of the regular flow.
How much longer would even that last?
He filled up a glass and drained it and then another. He planned on covering a lot of miles today and every day that followed. As many as it took to get to his daughter in Las Vegas.
He looked in the fridge and found a couple of styrofoam containers. They were still cool to the touch. Spaghetti with meat sauce in one and garlic rolls in the other. “Hungry?”
Hudson shrugged. His bloodshot eyes narrowed to a slit.
