Risk

by Raquel Belle

  Kenneth nods like a grade school kid being disciplined. I count $160 and leave a twenty.

  We start moving faster now that we seem to have a bit of a system going and everyone is relatively at ease. They don’t feel overly threatened. Jack has somehow managed to make them feel like they’re going to have a fun story to tell their friends instead of making them think they could’ve been killed. By the time we work our way around to Stacey’s part of the room I see her giving me daggers and watching me like a hawk.

  She’s standing in our path with her arms folded and doesn’t seem intent on moving. Jack calmly puts a hand on her shoulder and says, “Ma’am,” but she still doesn’t move until he makes the order clear, “take a seat please,” and she does, angrily.

  We get through the rest of the customers but it’s slim pickings for the most part. Some of them I’ve met, some not. Most of the regulars wanted to meet the new girl when I started here—even though Stacey told Jimmy that I shouldn’t serve them.

  We come back to table one, final tally $2430. Jack has been shepherding me the whole time with his large hand on my right hip. He looks down at Jimmy and says, “I apologize for the inconvenience, sir.”

  Jimmy just nods with a frown as if to say—what can you do?

  “Good job, everybody. You handled yourselves very, very well. You should be proud. Now, what I want you to do is, when I say so, start counting, altogether and out loud, from one to a hundred. When you get to one hundred, you can go about the rest of your day. Can I get a yes boss?”

  “YES BOSS!” I can’t believe he’s trained the whole room in just a couple of minutes.

  “Outstanding.” Jack takes a good, long look around the room, then says, “Alright, COUNT!”

  “ONE, TWO, THREE…”

  Jack puts his arms around my waist and pulls me close. I gaze into those gorgeous blue eyes of his as he stares in to mine. “Looks like I won’t be back this way after all,” he says, and then he kisses me like I’ve never been kissed before. Our tongues dance in each other mouths. I’m so hungry for him I don’t want to stop. We change angles at least three times. It’s ravenous and intense and passionate and deep. The chorus of numbers in the background is like New Years in reverse, my whole body is on fire, our hands are all over each other, it’s like I’ve been waiting for this kiss all my life…and then he pulls away, and I feel bereft. They’re already at seventeen when we stop. I’m dizzy from what Jack has just done to me and my mind is blank. My eyes are still closed.

  I come to my senses only once I hear the bell from the door closing behind me. It takes me all of two seconds to decide. I run to the office as fast as I can and grab my bag from under the cot and then hightail it back to the front door. They’re still counting.

  I’m about to yank the handle when I remember Jimmy. I give him a quick kiss on the cheek, “Thanks for everything, Jimmy.” He waves me off like nothing in life could surprise him at his age.

  I dash outside just in time to see the ugliest old Chevy cruise by. “WAIT!” I shout at the top of my lungs. “TAKE ME WITH YOU!”

  The taillights burn red.

  Chapter Three

  Jack

  When I woke up yesterday morning I sure as hell didn’t think I’d wind up riding west with some crazy kid in his beat-up old Chevy…and now this smoking hot waitress. We’re speeding along on the 15, windows down, just brown landscape flying by, and she’s in the back seat changing out of her waitress getup. Pete’s driving—it’s his car—and I’m in the passenger seat. I pull down my visor so I can use the mirror to sneak a peek. Shoulder length brown hair, hazel eyes, petite body, an adorable heart shaped face with a light sprinkle of freckles. Damn, look at those legs. I could just eat her up. Gorgeous.

  “I didn’t think you had it in you, Carly Tanner, throwing in with a couple of outlaws like us.”

  “Well, you’d be surprised,” she says as she tugs into her jeans, “and my name’s not Carly Tanner. Deanna Madison. Nice to meet you.” She thrusts out her tiny hand, I turn around and take it. God, she’s magnificent, she tastes like summer.

  “Now, that is a surprise. I did not see that coming.”

  She offers her hand to Pete and he awkwardly shakes it without taking his eyes off the road.

  “Can I assume there’s a riveting story attached to the fake name?”

  “Oh, hell yeah. But it’s a really long one. What about you guys? Are you just rolling around knocking off diners?”

  I laugh, “No, no. That’s just Pete’s thing.”

  “Really? You were the one doing all the robbing back there, Pete just held the gun.”

  “That would be what I call controlling the situation. Trust me, I didn’t even know he was going to do that.”

  “I was just doing like you told me, Jack,” Pete says. “You said the game is rigged. The government is a business run by corporate America and they’re the ones making the laws that make us slaves. They give us just enough to give us hope so we can keep paying taxes. You’ve got to live by your own laws. You’ve got to take what you want in this life. Only thing that makes a crime illegal is getting caught. That’s what you said.”

  “Jeez, kid. I was drinking a lot last night. I had a lot on my mind. I said a lot of things. I didn’t say anything about robbing honest, hard-working folks out of their wage.”

  “Trust me,” Deanna says, “none of those guys are going to lose any sleep about the money we took. You probably gave them the most exciting story of their lives,” she laughs, “In fact, I doubt they’ll even call the cops on you.”

  “One horse town like that. Sheriff likely wasn’t even up yet.” I say. Pete looks a little pissed off. This kid…what do I do with him? “What is it Pete?” He doesn’t say anything for a while and then…

  “If you thought what we were doing was wrong, then why’d you go through with it?

  “Well, we’d have looked pretty stupid if I didn’t.” I say, hoping he’ll leave it at that.

  “That’s not a reason Jack,” Pete says.

  “Look, kid, when you’re in a unit you back your partner’s play. Even if sometimes it’s the wrong one. Simple as that. Like Deanna said, they’re not going to be too upset about a few bucks. In any scenario where we didn’t go through with it, they’d definitely have called the cops on us and I need to get where I’m going. This way they’ve got a story to tell their friends and you’ve got a bit of cash in your pocket. That’s what you wanted, right?”

  “I guess,” he says, sullenly. And now the car is quiet. It stays that way for a couple of minutes…tense…and then Deanna pokes her head between the seats with a huge smile on her face.

  “And I helped too?” That certainly changes the mood. It makes me laugh.

  “Yes, you did,” I say and hand her the brown paper bag, “you looked pretty nimble with that counting, why don’t you split that three ways for us.”

  “It would be my pleasure, all we need to do now is knock off about five-hundred more diners and I’m all set.” Her laugh is telling.

  “Sounds like you’ve got a really interesting story to share.”

  She changes the subject immediately, I let her. “So how long have you guys been doing this?”

  “I met Pete just last night. I was in Colorado, we happened to be in the same bar. We got to talking. Maybe we should let Pete tell it, he can probably remember it better than I can. I think he had just two beers the whole time we were there. I’m a little fuzzy on the details.”

  “Well, you see Miss Madison—”

  “Deanna, please.”

  “Well, you see Deanna, my Dad died about three months ago, it was a work accident, I don’t really want to talk about it. It was just him and me. We didn’t have a lot. My Mom passed ten years ago. Anyway, with the debt and all, the bank is taking the house. He didn’t have life insurance. He was only fifty, he didn’t see it coming. All I’ve got is this piece of shit Chevy Laguna and a .44 Magnum. My Dad was a big Dirty Harry fan. You know t
hose Clint Eastwood movies?”

  “Yeah I do.”

  “Anyway, my Dad and I didn’t agree on a lot but we loved watching movies together. I’ve always wanted to get into acting since I was a kid but he said it was just a pipe dream and I should stick to school and try to get into a good profession.”

  “A bit harsh, but it’s always good to have something to fall back on,” Deanna says.

  “Well, my grades weren’t that good and we didn’t have a lot of money for a good college and any of that.”

  “Oh.”

  Silence.

  “I didn’t have nice grades either. I left home before graduation and bounced around for years until I tried to make things work at home. It’s nice to know what you want to do in life. I still don’t know what I want. Why acting though?” Deanna asks.

  “Well, I love the movies and last night when Jack and I were talking and he explained about how all the big business empires are all about generational wealth and natural resources being monopolized and how actors are basically lottery winners in contrast to that, everything sort of seemed to click and I decided that…well, since I’ve got nobody and nothing to worry about anymore…I’ll just drive out to LA and take my chances. Jack said he was headed the same way. I didn’t have much money so I thought I’d take a chance and rob the bar. He helped me out when the bartender pulled out a shotgun. We got away and here we are.”

  Deanna lays a penetrating gaze on me. I feel myself squint. “There are parts of that that sound familiar.”

  Really, it does, I don’t remember talking that much but I remember grabbing the shotgun. He’s just a kid, he didn’t mean it. He’s just short on cash. If those guys had money to spend on liquor, how much damage is the kid really doing? It’s partly my fault. I was in a bad place and spouting rhetoric to him. I must’ve gone through enough booze to kill a horse. I think I slept through most of the six-hour drive getting to Littlefield, excluding the one rest stop we had to freshen up.

  Seriously. What was I supposed to do? Let him get shot over a few dollars? All I wanted today was to have a nice breakfast and drive on through to LA. I didn’t think he’d be stupid enough to try his routine again.

  Again, silence. This is turning into an uncomfortable ride. She probably thinks I filled Pete’s head full of garbage and turned him in to…whatever he is now. A career criminal thespian?

  “The food at the diner was really good by the way,” I say.

  All I get is a raised eyebrow.

  “I noticed you didn’t go for the cash register,” Deanna says. “You know it’s quite a gamble holding up a room full of people like that. Any one of those guys could’ve been packing heat. There are way too many people to control. I mean, not that I’ve got a wealth of experience holding up places, but that’s a hell of a risk you took.”

  “I saw it in a movie,” Pete says, “Pulp Fiction.”

  “Right,” she says, dragging the word out. She keeps sorting the money on the back seat while she talks. “And what about you, Jack? What’s all that yes boss stuff about?” I chuckle.

  “That’s an army thing. My C.O. did it with me when I was green and then I ended up doing it with my guys. Became a tradition I suppose.”

  “Well it worked. You had them eating out of the palm of your hand.”

  “It is an effective positive reinforcement training tool.” I say.

  “So, LA huh?” Deanna asks as she slips a wad of cash into both my pocket and Pete’s.

  “Yup,” Pete confirms.

  “Shit. Well if we stay on the 15 we’re going to pass through Vegas, we might as well stop for a recharge. My sister owns that town. I guess I’ve got to face the music anyway,” she sighs, “shouldn’t take more than an hour and a half to get there. I spy with my little eye, something beginning with r.”

  Chapter Four

  Deanna

  The drive to Las Vegas is never boring. From endless nothing you start to the see the oasis in the desert. You start passing the first buildings, tiny at first, then they grow in size till they’re all monsters of glass, steel, neon and concrete everywhere you look. It’s like a gigantic theme park. Theatricality is never in short supply and time doesn’t exist here. That’s why it’s the only place I know where you can spot a day-time hooker.

  We arrive at the Fortuna around 9:30am—the hotel & casino where my brother-in-law won my sister. It’s a long story. Pete pulls up to the curb in his ghastly Chevy and I get out with my bag. I’m about to start walking when I realize that no one is with me. I turn back, “You guys coming?”

  There’s a moment of hesitation before Pete says, “I think we’re going to head straight on to Los Angeles, Deanna.”

  “You sure, Pete?” Jack asks him.

  “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  “We can get rooms and food for free and rest for a while before moving on?” I say. I really don’t want Jack to go. I want to see what else he’s got besides that kiss.

  “Nah, I want to keep moving,” Pete says.

  Jack looks at me for a long moment, like he’s thinking the same thing I am, then turns back to Pete. “Pete, I think I’m going to hang out with Deanna for a little while. If you need to reach me…you can find me here I guess,” he points at Fortuna. “Here, here’s my cut from the diner, probably better if we split up anyway, they’re going to be looking for two guys with our descriptions. It’s a lot safer like this,” Jack slips the money into Pete’s top pocket, “you stop robbing people now, you hear?”

  “Thanks, Jack. You’re a good friend.”

  “You too, kid. You too.” Jack gets out of the car with his rucksack and taps the door twice after closing it. Jack hasn’t taken three steps toward me when Pete calls out to him.

  “Hey, Jack!”

  “Yeah?”

  “Here,” Pete scribbles something down on a dollar, “for when you make it down to LA.”

  “Good thinking, kid. Be safe.” Jack taps the hood of the car one last time and Pete pulls out in to traffic.

  We sling our bags over our shoulders and start walking. “What’s on the dollar,” I ask.

  “Phone number.”

  We enter Fortuna. It’s noisy…the way casinos are meant to be. You can hear all those hundreds of slot machines playing happy trance inducing melodies in the key of C. It brings back a flurry of memories. Things I love and things that I hate—things I hate about myself. The exquisite marble floors and glittering chandeliers tend to lose their luster when you’re a loser. And when I lose, I lose big.

  As we approach reception, the blonde at the front desk gives me a quizzical look, tilts her head and says, “Mrs. Milner?”

  Jack looks at me with a furrowed brow, “How many names do you have?”

  I shake my head. “You must be new here,” I tell her.

  “Darlene left on maternity leave three days ago, I’m filling in, I’m Julia,” she offers me her hand.

  “I’m Deanna Madison, Mrs. Milner is my sister. We’re twins.”

  She laughs, “Oh, that explains it! I just saw you, I mean her, and you were wearing something different. I mean Mrs. Milner was.” She looks shocked. Her mouth is hanging open.

  “What?”

  “I’m just… Wow, you’re identical.”

  “Yes, Julia. That’s what they mean by identical twins.” God. I swear. Every. Single. Time. She’s still looking at me like I’m a science experiment. “Could you find Terry for me please? Tell him I’m down here?” Terry is my brother-in-law’s right-hand man. He pretty much runs this place.

  “Of course, just a moment.”

  If I can avoid seeing David or Lilly till I get us a room, that’ll be amazing. I don’t want to have them going off at me in front of Jack. “Here,” I point Jack toward the lounge area, “we can wait over there.”

  After we sink in to the soft, dark leather couches. I see Jack scanning the room. It’s rather palatial, he looks impressed. “So, your sister and her husband own this place, huh?”

&n
bsp; “David had Fortuna and another casino, Destino, before they met. After that he bought another business in Monte Carlo. My sister owns a place called Ruby Restaurant. Food is her thing.”

  “Uh huh, and what’s your thing?”

  “Getting into trouble,” I say as I see Terry approaching me—with Lilly in tow. I’d know that shiny, bald, ebony head with the Harry Potter glasses anywhere. Aww, come on, man. You couldn’t stall them for five minutes? I think he sees the look of disappointment on my face because he gives me a look that says—I tried.

  Terry is in his usual black suit and red tie. Lilly has a strappy, flowing beige dress on with matching pumps. I stand to greet them. Jack does the same.

  Terry and I have always been close because he was the one who checked me in and out of rehab two years ago. He used to visit me and bring me care packages. He stops short so that Lilly can get to me first.

  She comes straight in for a hug, “Deanna I was so worried about you!” Okay, this isn’t so bad. Hmm. She’s not letting go. Wow, she really was worried. She holds me at arm’s length to look me over.

  I look at Terry and he comes in for a wordless hug. It’s brief and dignified, true to form for Terry.

  “Where the hell were you?” Lilly harmlessly slaps at my shoulder.

  “I wasn’t far, I was in Littlefield. Look, before we get into all of that, could we get a room please?” I gesture to me and Jack.

  “Who’s this?” Lilly asks.

  “Jack Morton, ma’am.” He says, and extends his hand.

  “He’s a friend,” I say, “he gave me ride down here so I told him he could crash for the night.”

  Lilly cautiously shakes his hand. Terry does as well, but in a much more firm, businesslike manner.

  “So, a room?”

  “Two separate rooms?” Lilly asks. This…coming from the girl who lost her virginity over a card game. Granted it was worth $1.3mil, but still.

  “How about just a family suite?” I say, “I know you hardly use those and you’ve got a lot of other guests who need single rooms.” The family suite has one master-bedroom and two singles. They very rarely get booked.