On the Run

by Charlotte Greene

  “There,” she said as Annie took it. “Now we both have one, and we can put them away. I’ll put mine in my jacket pocket, and you put yours back in your purse. Deal?”

  “Sure,” Annie said. Both of them waited for the other one to move first.

  Finally, Gwen laughed. “Are we going to sit here like two assholes with our dicks in our hands, or are we going to start making a plan?”

  Still, Annie hesitated, so Gwen moved first, slipping her gun into her pocket. She’d had the right pocket specially altered to fit this piece. She kept her hand on it for a second and then held them both up, palms facing Annie.

  “There. You have a gun and I don’t. Are you going to shoot me now?”

  Annie’s eyes were stony, still almost angry, and she genuinely seemed to consider the question. Finally, they flickered away from Gwen’s, and she reached over and grabbed her purse, stuffing the gun inside. Gwen was fairly certain she could get her gun out faster than Annie could, which had been her plan all along. But she decided to ride this out a little longer—keep pretending. After all, if the money was real, she could certainly use it.

  She stood up and unfolded the map, laying it opened on the bed. “Let’s take a look at this again. We already know at least some of the roads into town are blocked, and all the roads out of town are. We’ve checked all of the ones with circles here. Do you see anything else?”

  Annie stood and peered down at the map. “No—I don’t. That’s the whole problem. That’s why we stopped here.”

  “Where’s the money?”

  Annie paused and then touched the map. “Here—it’s downtown.”

  Gwen bent down, studying the map before standing up again. “What about this neighborhood, here? If we turn early enough, we should be able to avoid the barricade where we were stopped first. We’ll have to wind around a bit, but look—we’d end up like five blocks behind the police. What do you think?”

  Annie examined the route for a full minute before nodding. “You’re right.”

  Gwen smiled and slapped her back, making her flinch. “See! If we work together, we might get through this. We’ll still be stuck here in town, but at least we’ll have the money, right?”

  Annie nodded, but her expression was dark, uncertain. Earlier, Gwen had known that she was lying about something regarding the money, but she was starting to think there might not be any at all, or, even if there was some—a much smaller amount than Annie had mentioned. Annie was also likely to turn on her the moment they had it. So what are you doing? she asked herself.

  She had no idea.

  Chapter Five

  Gwen stopped at a Goodwill they’d passed a few times for new clothes. Annie’s rumpled suit was too conspicuous. Already, Gwen was afraid they would stand out walking around downtown this time of day after business hours. Annie, however, had insisted on going there now rather than waiting until tomorrow, so Gwen was forcing the issue on the clothes.

  “Think of it like a makeover scene in a movie,” Gwen told her as she parked the car. “A transformation, if you will.”

  “A disguise,” Annie said coolly.

  Gwen lifted a shoulder. “If you like. I thought a makeover would sound more fun.”

  “So what kinds of clothes should I get?”

  “Uh-uh. You’re not getting anything. I’m going in without you. Your face has been on the news for hours now. Someone might recognize you.”

  “You’re leaving me here?”

  “Yes. It’s not the best plan, since it’ll seem pretty strange if you’re sitting out here in this heat. If I’d thought about it earlier, I’d have come without you.”

  Annie still looked uncertain, and Gwen held out the keys. “Here—you can keep these, just in case.”

  Annie stared at them without doing anything, her eyes flickering back and forth between the keys and Gwen’s face. Finally, she took them. Gwen turned to leave, and Annie grabbed her arm, squeezing it painfully.

  “Are you—are you going to tell someone about me? In there?”

  Gwen pried her hand away and had to force herself not to fling it away. “I already told you—I’m not going to turn you in. You have to trust me, just like I have to trust you not to drive away.” She tried to give her a smile, and Annie appeared to buy her reassurance as she relaxed a little back into her seat.

  “Here,” Gwen said, reaching into her inner pocket. She pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. “Take these.”

  Annie took them, brows lowered. “What for? I don’t smoke.”

  “Neither do I. They’re for blending in. Pretend. Light one, and blow on it once in a while to keep it lit. It gives you an excuse to wait out here. Keep your sunglasses on, and try to keep your chin down, like this, so no one sees your face.” She demonstrated what she meant. “And try to clean your face a little bit. You’ve been sweating and crying all day.”

  “Okay.”

  “What are your sizes?”

  “Two, extra small. Petite, if possible.” Her cheeks were slightly pink as she spoke.

  Gwen grinned at her. “All right. What about your shoe size?”

  “Five.”

  “Jesus Christ,” Gwen said. “You’re like a gnome.”

  She started to leave again, but Annie touched her arm, lightly this time. “What kind of clothes are you planning to get?”

  Gwen laughed. “You’ll see.”

  She walked the aisles of the store as quickly as possible, looking for a shirt and pants. She didn’t see jeans as small as she needed, so she ended up hitting the children’s section. The glare outside was such that she couldn’t really see the parking lot, so she didn’t know if Annie had decided to leave. Gwen was half hoping she would, but the other half of her was eager to get back to her as soon as possible.

  She relaxed when she saw the car there, still parked where she’d left it. She could smell the cigarette smoke as she approached, but with the heat, it probably hadn’t been necessary anyway. No one was out here, and very few cars were on the road. She saw Annie toss the butt out the window once she spotted her.

  She got back inside and threw the bag of clothes into Annie’s lap. “Get changed.”

  “What? Here?” Annie asked, clearly alarmed.

  Gwen laughed. “Where else?”

  “Back at the hotel.”

  Gwen shook her head. “It’s already too late, Annie. I told you that earlier. Business districts close down at night. Even restaurants are closed once the office workers go home for the day. We might find an after-hours bar or two, but even if we do, we’ll stand out like sore thumbs. If we wait until after dark, it’ll be that much worse.” She checked her watch. “We have maybe two hours before the sun sets, and we should try to get the money before then.”

  Annie was clutching the plastic bag to her chest, her eyes wary, but she finally nodded. “Okay. But won’t someone see me in here? I thought we were trying not to stand out.”

  “No one here but us chickens.”

  Annie glanced around and nodded. “Fine.” She met Gwen’s eyes. “Are you going to watch?”

  “What? No. Sorry,” she said and covered her eyes with one hand, feeling instantly foolish.

  The bag rustled for a while.

  “What is this shit?” Annie finally asked.

  Gwen laughed. “You said you wanted a disguise.”

  She heard her sigh, and more rustling, the bag and then the clothing. Annie’s arm brushed her a few times as she struggled in and out of her clothes. She cursed several times under her breath as she changed, struggling in the small space.

  “You can look now,” she said finally.

  Gwen had to blink a few times for her eyes to adjust to the light, and she smiled when she saw her. Annie was now wearing an overly large, black band T-shirt, dark jeans, and a pair of boys’ cowboy boots. She’d taken her hair out of her neat coif, and it lay in almost white, tangled, damp ringlets past her shoulders. Her face, now free of makeup, coupled with clothing, made h
er appear much, much younger. She’d be carded for a beer if she tried to buy one.

  “Are we supposed to be twins or something?” Annie asked.

  Gwen laughed. “You’re the one that said we’re related. We’re still going to the family reunion in Phoenix after this, right?”

  Annie smiled for the first time in hours. “Right.”

  “Anyway, it works. You’re unrecognizable.”

  Annie nodded, plucking at her shirt. “It’s true. I’ve never worn stuff like this.” She gave another smile, this one spreading to her eyes. “Thanks. I wouldn’t have thought of it.”

  Gwen didn’t respond, her heart suddenly tight. She turned her attention to the car to hide her embarrassed pleasure, keying it on and pulling out of the lot. She didn’t talk to Annie for several blocks, waiting for the strange, almost buzzing excitement in her chest to die down.

  “Turn there,” Annie said, pointing left.

  Her arm brushed Gwen’s as she pointed, and the feeling she had been suppressing intensified. Stop it, Ramsey, she told herself.

  She turned into the neighborhood, following Annie’s directions at the end of every block. They had to stair-step their way through neighborhood roads lined with large homes with brown lawns. Children were playing in the streets, and they were forced to slow down several times to let them get out of the way. They passed a nice little park with a well-maintained playground and green, manicured grass. Some teenagers were sitting on a picnic table smoking, but the smaller children around them largely ignored the teens, intent on their games. Many of the children were throwing popping fireworks on the ground, others squealing in dramatic anger or joy when they landed too close to bare feet. She glanced at Annie and thought she saw something wistful in her eyes as she stared out at the kids. Longing, maybe, Gwen thought, or something like it, anyway.

  “Wait at the next stop sign for a sec,” Annie said a few minutes later. “We should be able to see the main road from there.”

  Gwen stopped the car at the intersection. The two of them peered to the right, craning their necks, but even from here, she could tell the road was empty.

  Annie turned her way, smiling broadly. “It worked.”

  Gwen was less certain, but she returned the smile. “Told ya.”

  Annie rolled her eyes. “Just drive, genius.”

  Gwen turned left once they made it to the main road, away from the police barricade some ten blocks behind them. She was surprised that more cars weren’t sitting here on this road, waiting to get through, especially now at rush hour. Maybe they were waving people through a little faster now, rather than stopping them, probably a little less careful with cars driving away from town than toward it. After all, there were secondary roadblocks on the highways outside of town.

  Annie directed her downtown, and as they neared the business district, Gwen wasn’t surprised to see emptier and emptier streets. Hardly anyone besides a few homeless people were walking around down here this time of day, exactly as she’d expected.

  “There’s a parking lot about a block from here,” Annie said, pointing at a sign with a large “P” that pointed to the left. “I think it’s free this time of day.”

  “How are we going to get the money back to the car?” Gwen asked. Annie didn’t reply, and Gwen didn’t push for a response. She turned toward the lot, saw it, and parked in the spot nearest the road. She turned the car off, and it clicked and rattled for a minute or two as it cooled down.

  Finally, she looked at her. “It’s time, Annie.”

  “Time for what?”

  Gwen gestured outside. “Time to cut the bullshit and tell me what we’re really doing here. Let me guess—there’s no money. Right?”

  Annie, her eyes dark and frightened, shook her head. “Not as much as I said, no. Ten thousand dollars.”

  Gwen shook her head, disgusted. She’d known something like this would be the case, but she’d almost started to believe otherwise, especially after they’d gone through so much crap to get here.

  “That’s it? Ten thousand bucks? Nothing else?”

  Annie hesitated. “No. A new ID, too. Then, once I get set up somewhere, I call them—my business associates—and they’ll give me my share of the money. One point five million, like I told you.”

  Gwen laughed, surprised to realize that none of this upset her. After all, she’d suspected this would happen all along, and anyway, what difference did it make? Had she actually planned to take stolen money? Was she really that low?

  “What’s funny?” Annie asked.

  “Oh, nothing. The world is tripping me up, as usual. If I hadn’t picked you up, I’d be halfway to California by now. Instead, I’m here,” she gestured around them, “in a crappy parking lot in Texas.”

  “What’s wrong with Texas?” Annie asked, eyes narrowed.

  Gwen laughed and held up her hands. “Nothing, nothing. Sorry—I always forget how touchy Texans are about their state.”

  Annie grinned, somewhat sheepishly. Still staring, she asked, “So are you still going to help me? After all this?”

  Gwen watched her for a long, quiet moment. After all, she didn’t have any reason to help this woman. Five thousand dollars wasn’t worth this kind of risk. If they were caught together, she’d be in a shitload of trouble, far worse than she already was. So why bother? She could leave Annie here and make it to New Mexico, maybe even Arizona, by tonight.

  “I’ll help you,” she heard herself say.

  Annie’s head snapped her way. “What? Why?”

  Gwen didn’t answer right away. She didn’t know how to put it into words. She touched the back of Annie’s hand. “I want to. Isn’t that enough?”

  Annie didn’t immediately respond. Instead, she seemed to search Gwen’s face, almost as if trying to read her thoughts. Finally, her expression cleared. “Maybe you are a Good Samaritan, after all.”

  “So much so that I’m helping a bank robber escape prison.”

  Annie smiled. “Okay. Maybe not.”

  Gwen continued to return her smile until her stomach starting doing the funny flipping trill again. She had to look away, and she slapped her thighs. “So are we doing this thing, or not? I want my five thousand, and no offense to Texas, I want to get the fuck out of here.”

  “Okay. Let’s do this.”

  “Let me grab my things.”

  Once out of the car, they walked away from it at a fast clip, almost as if trying to escape. Gwen was glad to leave the car behind and half hoped they wouldn’t have to pick it up again. Not many cars were parked in the area this time of day, but several of those she did see were far nicer than that piece of junk.

  “There,” Annie said after a couple of blocks, pointing. “The package is in that building.”

  Across the street, a three-story office building was under construction, scaffolding out front, windows on the ground floor boarded over.

  “How are we supposed to get in?”

  “In the back. There’s a door that’s never locked.”

  “Never locked three years ago,” Gwen said.

  Annie shook her head. “No. Someone put a package there a week ago.”

  “One of your business partners?”

  Annie nodded.

  Gwen didn’t like any of this. Too many people were involved, people she didn’t know. This kind of thing took trust, and even Annie seemed skeptical. They’d spent all afternoon trying both to leave and enter El Paso, so obviously she had some doubts. Once Annie had realized she wouldn’t be able to get here very easily, she’d been willing to desert whatever was in the package, but the roadblocks had stopped them from leaving or coming here.

  “Okay, let’s go,” Gwen said.

  They walked past the building to the alley in back, turned down it, and picked up the pace, dodging trash and assorted construction materials. Several other office buildings shared the alley, but Gwen thought they’d be safe back here this time of day.

  “It’s here,” Annie said, point
ing at a door. She seemed to hesitate and then pulled on the handle. For a second, it seemed this was all a ruse—the door refused to budge. Then, after throwing Gwen an embarrassed glance, Annie depressed the button on top of the handle, and the door opened.

  This was a big step. If Gwen went inside, she was breaking the law. After all, until recently, she’d been held hostage. If they’d been picked up, she could have claimed she’d been a hostage all along. Going inside with her was different—criminal. Annie waited, eyes worried, and Gwen shook her head, motioning for her to keep going. It was too late to turn around now.

  They stepped inside, and once Annie pulled the door closed, pitch-darkness enclosed her. Annie cursed next to her.

  “Hang on a sec,” Gwen said, and opened her bag. She dug around inside, feeling her way through the various tools, and pulled out a flashlight before turning it on.

  Annie jumped a little and grinned. “You’re like Mary Poppins with that bag.”

  “After this, we can go fly a kite.” She glanced around. “So where are we supposed to go?”

  “Upstairs. It’s in a little desk up there.”

  Even with the flashlight, it was hard to navigate the crowded space. They had to walk very close together, arms touching, and very slowly through loose nails on the floor, piles of boards and bricks, as well as assorted shards of broken glass. It took them several minutes to find the staircase, and when they did, they both stopped to stare. The stairs had been ripped out in places, leaving gaps, and even in places with steps, exposed nails pointed upward.

  “Jesus,” Gwen said.

  “You don’t have to come,” Annie said. “I can take the flashlight and be right back.”

  “And wait here in the dark? Are you kidding?”

  Annie lifted an eyebrow. “Afraid of ghosts?”

  “Spiders.”

  Annie turned to the stairs again. “So how are we going to do this?”

  Gwen glanced around, spotting a plastic sheet thrown over a pallet of tile. She pulled it off, motioned for Annie to grab the other side, and they folded it into a small square. They did the same with a blue plastic tarp lying on the ground and put the first on the bottom step, the blue one on the second, and so on. The gaps were fairly narrow, so that by balancing with their hands on the wall to their right, they could stretch their legs across the gaps. The climb seemed so interminable that when they finally reached the top, Gwen wanted to lie down and go to sleep.