by William Oday
“Come on, already!” someone near the back of the line yelled. “We’re gonna die of old age in here!”
The boy waved in apology while scribbling furiously on a piece of paper.
Lily found the bathroom sign and headed toward it. She threaded through the aisles, relieved to see them filled with products just like they would be on any normal day. The next question that rose in her mind put a damper on that though.
How much longer would that last?
She got to the bathroom and filled the canteen. She was about to leave but paused.
How much longer would water come out of faucets?
Especially in a city in the middle of the desert. She vaguely recalled her dad saying that it depended on the design of the municipal water system. In places with water towers, gravity could keep the water flowing for a few days. Until the towers ran dry and there was no power to refill them. In places that depended on pumps to distribute water, faucets could go dry in hours.
Which meant she needed to drink all she could while it was easy to get. She gulped down the whole bottle, filled it up again and drained that one too. Sure, she’d have to pee in half an hour, but she’d be hydrated. She filled it up a last time and headed out.
She stopped in the food aisles, scanning the options to decide how best to spend her limited cash. There was more in the Get Home Bag back at the hotel, but this was it for now. A part of her wanted to buy ice cream and cookies. A pretty big part, to be honest. And she would have if this had been a normal night.
But it wasn’t normal and so she had to think about it with a different mindset.
What would provide fuel and calories to burn?
She snagged a couple of candy bars because they had lots of calories and she was craving one anyway. She also grabbed up a handful of beef jerky. The protein would be good. She added a jar of peanut butter because that had loads of protein and calories and the oil was high in fat. A few protein bars and she cued up at the end of the line.
There were fifteen or twenty people in front of her. Most of them looked frustrated, but were doing their best to remain calm. Most, but not all.
A few were making comments loud enough to reach the boy up front. He finished with a customer and waved the next one over. The line inched forward.
“I swear to God if you don’t hurry up, I’m going to walk out of here without paying!” The same guy that had been yelling when she came in. He was in the middle of the line.
“Do you hear me, pimple-face? Hurry your shit up!” He spun around a second later and glared at the guy behind him. “Did you just say something? You wanna say it to my face this time?”
The other guy mumbled something and took a step back, clearly not wanting to get into a confrontation.
He didn’t get what he wanted.
The complainer set a case of beer on the floor and, as he rose up, took a swing and connected. Hard. He jumped onto the guy and drove them both to the ground, already landing more punches.
The guy underneath covered up and flailed around trying to escape.
People yelled and screamed. Some trying to stop it. Others egging it on like it was an after school fight and they wanted a good show.
The security guard raced inside with a baton held high. He brought it down on the back of the complainer.
The guy groaned and fell over. And then a revolver was in his hand.
The guard reached for his gun, but had no chance.
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Three shots hit him in the chest. He stood for a second, clutching at the navy blue shirt. And then collapsed.
A few people in line ran for the door, carrying away the things they had been waiting to purchase. As soon as they made it, most everyone else did the same.
Lily edged behind an aisle shelf, eyeing the exit and wondering if the insane guy with the gun would shoot her on the way out.
He stood up and turned to the man he’d attacked. He pointed the gun at his face. “You shoulda kept your mouth shut!”
Pop!
Lily took off, knowing a bullet would find her next.
18
Lily raced back to the car and found Piper inside with her knees gathered up and her face buried between them. She moaned as a spasm shuddered through her.
“Piper?”
She looked up with tears in her eyes. “She’s gone.”
Lily looked over and saw the truth of it. She went around to the other side and leaned the woman’s head back against the seat. She felt for a pulse on the carotid artery in the neck, but there was none. She blew out a breath. “Piper, we have to go.”
Piper’s head dropped between her knees.
Lily circled around and helped her out of the car.
A pained grimace hung on her best friend’s face. “Why is this happening?”
Lily didn’t know if she meant why North Korea or Iran or whoever had attacked them or if she was asking why bad things happened. It didn’t matter either way because she didn’t have the answer.
“I don’t know, but we need to go. And Piper,” she said as she held her by the shoulders and leveled a serious look, “we can’t stop for anyone else. The longer we’re out here in the dark, the more chance there is of running into trouble.”
“Okay,” Piper said and the two started south toward the hotel. “How far do you think it is?”
“A couple of miles. We should be there in forty to forty-five minutes.”
“I’m supposed to walk for a couple of miles in these?”
Lily bit back a harsh reply. Getting into an argument wasn’t going to help. “We can break off the heels. It wouldn’t turn them into comfortable sneakers, but it would be an improvement.”
Piper crossed her arms over her chest and pointedly didn’t answer.
They continued south a while and Lily breathed a sigh of relief when she recognized the silhouette of the hotel a few blocks away. Piper was slowing down in those ridiculous shoes and if she got any slower, something was going to have to be said.
A whistle pierced the air.
“Hey, ladies! What are you doing out at this hour?”
Lily turned to see a group of five gangster-looking guys walking toward them, right down the middle of the cross street. Pants hanging low, faces hidden in the depths of oversized hoodies. A few of them carrying half empty bottles of booze. The one in front with a thick gold chain hanging from his neck. Their flashlights converged on the girls like a spotlight.
“Piper, run.” She pushed her in the opposite direction.
Piper took two steps and landed wrong. A shoe twisted under her and a heel snapped off. She hit the pavement knees first and cried out in pain.
Lily dragged her up and they ran as best as they could, which wasn’t great with Piper limping along with bloodied knees and one shoe missing a heel while the other was still intact.
“Where you going, baby?”
Gruff laughter and then the pounding sounds of pursuit.
Lily spotted the entrance to New York New York on the left. The doors were closed and the interior dark. The same with the Beerhaus next door.
They kept going. Bits of glass crunched underfoot as they weaved through a knot of wrecked vehicles and emerged into a sculpture garden. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the gangsters catching up.
There was no way they were going to outrun them. They had to lose them and fast.
“Squid, go around that way!”
Lily scanned left and right as they kept going. The store fronts were dark and doors shut. If they stopped to try one and it turned out to be locked, that would be it.
She glanced right and saw one of them coming up an alley. They were closing in. She saw an escalator going up to the second floor of a parking garage. It wasn’t a great option.
It was the only option.
Lily steered Piper toward it. “Go up!” she yelled as they arrived at the stationary steps.
Piper’s shoes clacked against the metal steps as they rac
ed up. They made it to the top as the leader with the gold chain arrived at the bottom.
He smiled, and not in a friendly way.
Lily’s heart hammered against her ribs, her breath coming in heaving gasps. They ran into the shadowed interior of a packed parking garage. They crouched low trying to stay beneath the roofline of cars as they cut through the maze of vehicles. An idea came to her and she tried a door handle.
Locked.
The leader arrived at the top of the escalator. “We’re coming for you, hot mamas! And we’re gonna have some fun when we catch you!” The others laughed with malignant glee.
“We have to find a car to hide in,” Lily whispered as they continued on. She tried a few more cars with no luck. Then the handle on an old gray Honda Accord clicked. “Here!” she hissed. She carefully opened the back door, terrified that it would squeak and broadcast their position.
It was quiet enough.
A foul odor hit her in the face and she wrinkled her nose in disgust. The back seat was piled high with all kinds of junk. Newspapers, magazines, books, wadded up paper napkins, bathing towels, stuffed animals with their insides spilling out, clothes, shoes, blankets, crunched up beer cans, a styrofoam container with the lid open. A pizza box with the moldy remains of a slice inside.
Someone was living in this car. A hoarder.
Lily guided Piper inside and followed her in. They had to dig their way through the mountain of debris. She closed the door and fumbled around in the dark for the lock. She tapped the button a few times but nothing happened.
Of course!
She cursed at herself for the stupidity. “Push the lock down,” she whispered to Piper as she took care of her side. “Check the front too.” They both ensured all four doors were locked and then sank into the shadows behind the front seats. The pile of junk filling the rear seat completely covered the back window.
“You trying to hide from us?”
She recognized the voice now. The one with the gold chain. The ring leader of their perverted posse.
A beam of light flashed over the window, but thankfully didn’t stop.
An explosive shatter and Lily realized they must’ve smashed out a nearby car window.
“We know you’re in here! Come out now and I promise we won’t hurt you!”
More laughter and loud banging on cars. They were whooping and celebrating like their team had just won the Super Bowl.
“Spread out and check under the cars! They’re in here somewhere!”
Piper was curled into a ball, crying hard but barely making a sound. She understood the danger.
Lily found her hand in the dark and it was shaking uncontrollably. She squeezed, trying to offer some reassurance that she didn’t feel herself.
A shadow passed by the side door glass and then was gone.
Minutes passed as they listened to the ongoing search. The terror of being found and knowing they were trapped. The stench in the car so thick it was hard to breathe.
“They must’ve got away, man!”
“Bullshit! They ain’t wizards! They can’t just up and disappear!” The leader again. “They’re hiding in a car! That’s it! Search the cars!”
19
Donny bit off another bite of burger and tossed the remainder onto the dash. He chewed a few times and then spat it out the window. He liked Big Macs as much as anyone, but this one had been tasteless from the beginning. It wasn’t McDonald’s fault.
It was the casino’s.
They’d stolen his money.
Not just what he’d won fair and square, but what he’d come in with too.
Lady Luck had done him wrong. That was no surprise. He’d always had to make his own luck and make his own way. Sure, this time left him lower than usual because he’d never been so close to having it all.
When that steel ball had landed on black, he’d completely lost his mind. It was like the clouds opened and a ray of sunshine came through. For the first time in as long as he could remember, something went his way.
It was a turning point.
It was the start of the future he always knew was out there waiting for him.
And then just as fast, it was gone.
Snatched away by some kind of freak power outage.
Talk about bad luck.
Talk about Lady Luck taking a huge dump on his head.
“You gonna finish that?” Zeke said, his eyes darting to the discarded Big Mac.
“Go for it,” Donny said. He wasn’t hungry. Nothing was going to taste like anything ever again until he made it right with the bastards that stole his money.
Zeke wolfed it down and wiped his mouth on his sleeve like a two-year-old.
Donny flung a stack of napkins at him. They flew apart like a flock of birds and perched all over him with white wings spread. “Use a napkin for once in your damned life! I swear to God I feel like your mother sometimes!”
Zeke kept his mouth shut and used one of the napkins, now that it didn’t matter and the special sauce was streaked on his sleeve.
Donny blew out an exasperated sigh. Not for the first time, he wondered why he chose to hang around with such a loser. And also not for the first time, he remembered that he didn’t have any other friends. And that they had a long history together. From escaping an abusive foster home in their early teens to growing up on the streets together.
They’d always had each other’s back.
There had even been a time or two when Zeke pulled both of their butts out of the fire.
Donny smacked the steering wheel and then silently apologized to the Mino.
“What’s up?”
“I’m pissed about what happened!”
“Yeah, that was messed up.”
“You got any crank left?” Donny could already feel the emptiness growing inside. The need that started out small but didn’t stop there. He was pretty sure he had a secret stash back home, but that didn’t count for much right now. There was a tiny rock in a baggie hidden up under the dash. Barely enough for both of them to get fried.
“Nope,” Zeke said as he gathered up the napkins and then tucked them into the glove compartment.
Donny took a long pull off his soda and shook the cup to feel how empty it was. About right. “You got that rum?”
Zeke grinned and reached under his seat. He pulled out a brand new bottle of Captain Morgan Spiced Rum. Zeke was too much of a coward to pull off a proper heist, a fact that Donny brought up after each and every one of his successful convenience store jobs, but he did have a special talent at boosting merchandise.
He never left a store empty-handed. Well, the hands might’ve been empty, but the pockets and waistband weren’t.
After Zeke paid for burgers at McDonald’s, he’d only had a few bucks left. All the cash that was left for both of them. They’d gone to the liquor store and Donny bought a pack of smokes while Zeke wandered the aisles. Even with an employee tailing him the whole time, he’d somehow managed to lift that bottle of rum.
Zeke spun the lid off and passed it over. “Go ahead. You can say it.”
Donny snatched it away and filled his cup. Half rum, half Coke was about right. Too much Coke and you lost the burn of the islands. Too little rum and what was the point?
“You’re good,” Donny said as he swirled it around with the straw. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.”
Zeke poured and mixed his own drink. “Say what again?”
“Shut up.” Donny sparked up a smoke and drew in a hot, deep breath. The end of the cigarette glowed orange with the air crackling through it. He tossed the pack over because there was plenty for now and also because technically it was Zeke’s cash that had bought it in the first place.
He opened his mouth and let the smoke seep out. He blinked away a tendril that curled up into his eye. Another long drag and he waited for the nicotine to kick in. It was no substitute for speed, but it was still good.
They drank and smoked in silence for a few
minutes while Donny stared at the casino across the street. He knew what he wanted to do. The problem was that it was crazy. Knocking off a few convenience stores didn’t make him an expert.
Casinos were another level. They were famous for having tight security. A tweaker he used to run with had found that out the hard way. The idiot snatched up a bunch of chips and ran for it. Might’ve just gotten a beat down for his troubles.
But then he pulled a knife and the security muscle took that real personal.
The moron ended up in ICU for months. When he finally got out, he couldn’t talk right. They’d permanently scrambled his brain. He vanished a while after that. Maybe he took off or maybe that casino finished the job.
It didn’t matter either way. They’d made an example of him. A broadcast that made the rounds loud and clear. Trying to rip off a casino was a high risk game. And failure was a lot worse than spending time in the county lock up.
Donny had never seriously considered knocking off a casino, even before that happened. The risk versus reward just didn’t make sense. Sure, it did in Hollywood movies, but not in real life.
But it was different this time.
They’d stolen his money and he couldn’t let that go. Besides needing it to pay off Jax, it was a matter of respect. If he let this pass, word would get around that he was a chump. Life on the streets was hard enough without everybody thinking you were an easy target.
No, he had one and only one choice.
“Donny, what are we going to do? Jax is going to kill you for sure.”
Donny blew out a cloud of smoke at his friend. He turned back toward the casino. “He’ll get his money.”
“How?”
Donny flicked the butt of his cigarette out the window. “We’re going to go over there and take what’s mine.”
20
Donny hauled a duffle bag out from behind the seats and settled it in his lap. He slid the zipper open and fished around inside. His fingers found the cool metal of a barrel. He pulled out a pistol and held it out.
Zeke shook his head. “Are you crazy?”