Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

by Brennen Tammons

  Detective Henderson continues to roam through the downtown streets, wondering if the men have taken the vehicle to a chop shop nearby the bank, that many perpetrators in his past cases have used. The men could have possibly done this, to evade capture to get rid of their getaway vehicle. It is possible he could gather information on the men who dropped the vehicle off. This might turn out to be dangerous and risky, but it’s one he’s willing to take and gamble with that. A chop shop would be the most logical place in order to get rid of a getaway vehicle, without the authorities finding out.

  Detective Henderson drives down several side roads and streets. He quickly arrives at a worn down factory building, a couple blocks away from the “First Federal Bank”. This is a chop shop where people who steal cars, but the businesses is being fronted as a junkyard and scrap metal recycle factory. As he doesn’t have a warrant or any probable cause, Detective Henderson cannot enter the building and search for the getaway van. He stares out the window, and questions as to whether or not he should leave. Also considering if he should approach the intimidating looking men that are standing outside the entrance of it. There are several gangsters standing outside the building, and again with Detective Henderson not having a warrant, it’s going to be difficult for him to proceed. It seems unsafe for him to carry on. The detective ultimately decides to drive away and investigate elsewhere. He pulls around the back corner of the chop shop, and doesn’t see a vehicle matching the one the robbers used.

  Detective Henderson raises the volume on his scanner radio, and he is told that all the barriers are now set up on mostly every major street in the surrounding areas of the bank, and they are in the process of having highway roadblocks to question any vehicles that match the description, and any suspicious looking people. Detective Henderson readies himself to directly report to any roadblock location that updates him on new findings, so he can check out the scene himself as part of the investigation.

  Russell, Brian and Jesse continue to escape from the police, trying to reach the unit as fast as they can; unaware that a witness caught their vehicle. Brian on the other hand, starts to panic that there is a chance that someone might have seen their getaway vehicle. He’s not completely sure, but it’s a feeling he has, and most of his intuitions are usually right. As he’s going down the highway, Russell continues to holler and scream out in pain, from the bullet wounds located in his chest and in his arms. His face is extremely pale and white. Russell although conscious and breathing, is not blinking, and his eyes are completely still. He also loses the grip he had against Jesse’s hand, as he has no strength left. Jesse starting to feel concerned about Russell, begins to take Russell’s disguise completely off. Russell’s whole body temperature is cold; he is also sweating heavily.

  Jesse removes Russell’s jacket, revealing his white polo shirt, which is completely bloody and the gunshot wounds are still actively bleeding. Jesse also removes Russell’s disguise pants, in which Russell is wearing black sweatpants under that. Jesse lifts up Russell’s shirt, and sees how terrible the bullet wounds look. Jesse then sits Russell up on the seat, and uses the snow jacket disguise, to wrap around his chest, shoulder and arm to stop the bleeding. Jesse then takes off his own disguise, to which he’s wearing a blue t-shirt, and cargo shorts under. Jesse looks at Russell’s face again, and is under immense horror and depression from seeing him in this condition.

  Noticing that Russell is not moving his eyes, he takes the sunglasses used apart of Russell’s mask, and puts them on Russell’s face. Jesse then puts his own sunglasses on, to hide the mental pain he’s feeling. Jesse takes the snow jacket he was wearing as a disguise, and rips it up, forming a blanket. He then covers Russell’s entire torso up. Jesse is noticing the large amount of blood that Russell is losing. Jesse then holds onto Russell tightly, and starts to cry out to Brian very loudly.

  “He’s gonna die if we don’t get him to a hospital now! He’s gonna die! He has lost so much blood, and he’s not even moving his eyes! He’s is still breathing! What are we gonna do?!”

  Brian who has removed his mask, but still has his disguise on, punches the steering wheel with great force, and continues to speed down the road. He fires back at Jesse.

  “We can’t take him to the hospital. If we do, they are going to know it was us, so we can’t take him to the hospital. I know it’s still far from here, but maybe Max can help him. I’m praying that he can. I’m sorry Jesse, I am doing all I can do. I hope that Russell can hang in there a bit longer. This is a tough spot were in. Shit. Nothing is going right at all.”

  Jesse looks down towards the ground, and shakes his head. Right then, Brian starts to gain an idea in his head, that he feels might make the current situation easier. In addition to feeling worried about Russell’s condition, Brian has a feeling that they are somehow being followed. Most of it is him worrying too much, but it’s still something that concerns him. Without telling Jesse any of this, Brian makes a sharp turn out of the highway, pulling onto a secluded underpass.

  Jesse looks around puzzled, not knowing what Brian is currently doing. Russell continues to scream and yell from the pain he’s in, and Jesse remains holding onto him. Brian drives down a stretch of dirt roads, next to many industrial buildings, and quickly pulls the car over; adjacent to a bunch of salvaged cars. There aren’t any people present in this area, and it’s a completely serene environment located on a dead end strip off the highway.

  Brian opens up the glove compartment of the vehicle he’s currently in, and takes out a slim jim tool, used to break into vehicles. Brian then runs out of the vehicle, and walks towards one of the more reliable salvaged cars. Brian struggles to break into an early 90s Mercedes E 500 using the tool. Jesse looks at him for a split second in the rear window confused, and Russell hollers and screams, punching Jesse from the pain. Jesse then turns his view back to Russell, and rub’s Russell’s hair, and the side of his face. Jesse then cracks the car door open on the side Russell isn’t laying on, and screams to Brian while he’s comforting Russell, who is screaming out in pain.

  “What are you doing?! Please tell me whatever you’re doing is going to help us out!”

  Brian successfully breaks into the car, and starts to hotwire the vehicle. Within a few seconds, he’s able to start the car. After the ignition comes on, Brian walks out of the car and opens the rear door, and tries to grab Russell out of the car. Jesse is still puzzled, but gets out of the car, and helps Brian move Russell. As they lift him up, Brian speaks to Jesse.

  “I think we’re being followed. I’m probably over reacting, but in case I’m wrong, I want to do this anyways. I don’t think Russell is going to make it, but if he does… I want you to take him to Max immediately, explain to him what happened, and if Max can’t help Russell, then…”

  Brian and Jesse then sit Russell in the back seat of the Mercedes, with his body still being covered by the snow jacket. Jesse sees that there is a wool blanket located in the rear seat of the car. He wraps that around Russell’s body, making sure his arm and chest are still wrapped up by the makeshift splint he created using pieces of Russell’s disguise. Jesse throws away the black jacket Russell was covered with before away in a nearby dumpster. Brian runs over to the other vehicle and grabs the duffle bags, and opens the trunk latch from inside the car. He sets the bags inside the trunk. Jesse cannot keep up with how fast Brian is moving, and continues to freeze up, currently in shock.

  Brian then starts to undress out of his disguise, to which he is wearing a blue polo shirt, and denim jeans under. He throws his disguise, and the remaining articles of Russell and Jesse’s disguises away into a nearby dumpster. Brian then reaches into the glove compartment, and throws at set of keys belonging to Max’s unit, at Jesse. Jesse catches the keys, and looks at them with a puzzled face. Brian then opens the door to the other vehicle, and screams out to Jesse.

  “You know the way back to the unit right?! I’m going to go down a separate path! Just

  get him back a
s fast as you can! We’ll meet up later! I trust you with the money, get him to Max quick, or else he’s going to die! Make sure you keep the car running at all times, and you don’t drive too slow! Just keep driving until you get there! I hot-wired it, so it might not start back up on if you drive too slow, or put it in park! I’m sorry, I have to go now! Good luck!”

  Brian hesitates for a moment, standing at the door of the vehicle, and runs over to Jesse to hug him. Brian then within seconds, immediately sprints back to the other vehicle, gets inside, and speeds off from the scene. Jesse cries out in fear, even though Brian cannot hear him.

  “Wait! Brian! What the fuck, don’t leave me here! Shit! Don’t leave me! Fuck!”

  Jesse then looks back at the Mercedes Brian stole, and watches Russell continue to scream and holler from the pain he’s experiencing. Jesse gets into the car, and starts to speed off back into the highway. At this point, Jesse tries to calm himself down, so he can get Russell back to “Home Base.” From how badly he’s crying, Jesse is having a difficult time driving, due to the depression and mental stress he’s having. He’s worried about Russell, not knowing if he is going to live or die. The fact Brian has separated from them makes everything scarier to deal with. Jesse has too much to deal with. Having to direct Russell to Max before he bleeds to death, still trying to escape from the heist they were in, and having to keep the car in the drive gear at all times as it’s hot wired. If Jesse drives too slow, it might cause the car to stall or cut off. He doesn’t have the key to this car, so that would be an unfortunate occurrence. Jesse while he’s driving on the highway, makes sure he’s not speeding to cause attention, but drives fast enough so the car won’t stop. As he’s driving, Russell’s screams and cries become even louder, which makes Jesse start to feel upset, and not focus on his driving. Russell is completely knocked out from the blood loss, and is very close from slipping out of consciousness. Jesse speaks to him.

  “Russell, I know. Just hold on, I’m going take you to Max. Just hold on for a while.”

  A few minutes later, Jesse looks down, and sees a police barricade in the road. Officers are stopping every single car, and profiling all of the drivers and passengers. Jesse knows that they are the reason behind all of this, and cannot believe what is going on. In his mind, he knows he’s going to have to fib about basically everything, and act as natural and he possibly can. Jesse’s heart immediately beats a million rates per second, and he struggles to think of what he should do. Jesse is afraid that if he stops the car at the police roadblock, he won’t be able to start the car again. That’s also a trivial concern as well; they are currently fugitives at large, for armed robbery and murder. Having to face the police scares Jesse. It seems that Jesse doesn’t have a choice, and he is going to have to halt to the officers at the roadblock. Running away from the police, doesn’t seem like the smart decision. Jesse pulls in closer to the barricade, and starts to pray that the car doesn’t turn off as he speeds down. The car remains in drive gear, which causes Jesse to feel relieved and happy. He still however has to deal with this police roadblock, and has to idle his car; which Jesse fears will stall the car. He tries to stay calm and carries on. An officer signals to Jesse with his hands to creep up to a designated area, and to stop moving the car. Jesse reaches the correct spot, and the officer uses his hands to inform Jesse that he’s at the correct position. Jesse puts the car into park gear, and thankfully it doesn’t stall. The car continues to remain in drive gear with the ignition on, and Jesse has successfully stopped the car moving, without the engine turning off. Jesse now has to think of how he’s going to talk himself out of this current ordeal. He rolls the window down, as the officer walks closer to his car. The police officer then talks to him very softly.

  “Good afternoon sir, we’re currently doing a simple welfare check, and I can’t go into all the details, but we’re making sure that everyone passes by is not up to anything suspicious.”

  The police officer who stopped Jesse, is a bald young African-American man. The officer turns his view towards Russell who has his sunglasses on, and is wrapped with the wool blanket. The officer looks at Jesse again with a confused face, and Jesse already knows what the deal is.

  “Yes officer, as you can see my roommate is ill. He has the flu, and he’s been sick for the past several days. I’m taking him to the emergency room right now.”

  The police officer continues to profile Russell with a puzzled face. He then looks at Jesse.

  “Sir, can I see your driver’s license, proof of registration and insurance please.”

  Jesse even though he has sunglasses on, his eyes show nothing but fear. Jesse does not have his license with him. It’s in his tote bag back at the unit. Jesse looks away from the police officer at the windshield for a few seconds, not knowing what to do. The officer then crosses his arms. Russell who is knocked out, screams and cries from the pain he’s in. The police officer turns his direction back at Russell again, and Jesse then turns and responds to the officer.

  “Why do I need to show you my driver’s license? Am I being suspected of a crime? Am I being detained? I’m a legal American, and so is my roommate. We’re not criminals. I’m only trying to take my roommate to the emergency room sir. That’s all, and that’s it. Am I free to go?”

  The officer takes a deep breath, and while looking at Russell, responds to Jesse.

  “Sir, I’m doing my job. As I said, we’re just checking out suspicious activity. I’m looking at your roommate, and he’s not looking that well. But you’re taking him to the hospital. So as long as you promise me that you’ll take him straight there, I’ll let you go. You can carry on sir.”

  The police officer then signals his hand for him to go, and Jesse then responds to him.

  “Thank you so much officer. Yes, I’m going directly to the hospital. Thank you officer”

  Jesse then drives away from the roadblock, and continues on his way towards “Home Base.” That could have turned out much differently than it did, and Jesse is glad that he caught a break that time. He begins to worry about Brian, and wonders how he’s currently doing. Brian is taking a different path down on a separate highway to get to “Home Base”. The reason why he separated himself from both Russell and Jesse, is that he feels it’s safer for them to split up. In case Brian is cornered by the police, he doesn’t want to get Russell and Jesse involved. He is slightly worried on Russell’s health, and to whether Jesse can make it to Max in time. Brian after all murdered a police officer out of impulse.

  He has never killed anyone in his life, but being angered after seeing Russell and Victor shot, Brian took the officers life. Brian then realizes that he forgot to hide the guns from the robbery. He was able to think fast enough to put the money bags into the vehicle Jesse is driving, but completely forgot that the guns are still in the vehicle. Brian drives down the highway, hoping that he isn’t stopped or accosted by the authorities. Driving as fast as he can, heading towards the unit.

  However, Brian soon runs into the same dilemma that Jesse did. Brian notices a large police roadblock in the highway. Brian also starts to feel scared, as he’s using the same vehicle the men have used in the heist, and that automatically will bring suspicion to the police. Brian starts to shake his hands across the steering wheel, and is in complete fear from not knowing what to do, and how to act. The police officer, who is a silver haired Caucasian man, signals for Brian to stop at the barricade. The officer notices the vehicle matches the description that they are looking for. A black Chevrolet Tahoe with tinted windows, without any license plates. However, the police can’t go on this alone. They need to make sure everything is tied exactly to their investigation, so an innocent person isn’t framed. Brian stops the vehicle where the officer tells him to. While the officer is walking to the window of the vehicle, Brian quickly thinks of a way to get out of this. He then starts to blame himself for choosing to stay in this vehicle. He could have easily gotten himself another vehicle, likewise as he did with Je
sse. Hindsight is of course twenty-twenty, and Brian simply wasn’t thinking at that particular time. Brian then notices something that seals his fate. The guns the men used during the robbery, are clearly visible from the driver’s side window. Brian rams his head to the back of the seat, realizing how much in trouble he is in. His only hope is that the officer doesn’t notice the guns that are positioned in the back of the vehicle. The officer tells Brian to roll down his window, and he does. Before the officer can speak, Brian then pleads and cries out to the officer.

  “Officer, I’m a cable guy and I’m late for work. I have a wife and kid, and I need to get to work. I bought this car from a guy off craigslist a few days ago, so I don’t have my plates, and I didn’t go down to the DMV yet to clear it off. I gotta get to work officer, so I need to get going.”

  The police officer looks at Brian, as if he can tell he’s lying and not doing a good job at it. When he notices the officer look at the guns in the back of the vehicle, Brian responds.

  “In my spare time, I like to go to the shooting range. I have a permit for those guns, I left it at home though. It’s my constitutional right to have guns’ sir. Like I said, I’m a cable guy, I need to go to work which I’m actually late for. So if you can let me move ahead please. I…”

  The officer raises his eyebrows at Brian, and stops him by waving his hand at him.

  “Sir, I need for you to get out of the vehicle right now please. Step out the vehicle sir.”

  Brian looks down at the ground, and starts to feel scared. He knows that his only choices are to be honest and fess up to everything, to continue to coax the officer to believe his fib, or to run away. Brian looks back at the officer, and tries to continue to fib and sweet-talk him.