‘Are you rich, Harry?’ Juno’s cousin smirked, grabbing his knee. ‘Please tell me you’re single.’
Harry turned redder as Brad got out with the money and the three girls howled with laughter. Rain streaked down Betsy’s windows as they watched Brad lean into a tent. A top-heavy woman in torn leggings came out, giving Brad a hug and a kiss on the lips that meant more than hello.
‘Oooh,’ Juno purred, her throbs of laughter rocking Harry. ‘Dirty boy, Brad! I’d bet you my last dollar he’s tapped that girl.’
‘She looks at least thirty,’ her cousin added. ‘Bet she’s on drugs or some shit.’
Juno shook her head. ‘How does Mel stand his nonsense?’
Harry looked between the front seats and drew some satisfaction from Charlie’s pained expression.
‘Is he really that bad?’ Charlie asked, looking round, trying to sound casual.
Juno and her cousin spoke in unison, ‘Worse!’ then cracked up laughing.
Serves you right, Harry thought.
The laughter died off as Brad got back in the car. ‘I’ll drive across to Walmart. You can buy your snacks and we’ll meet Emily when she comes out with our booze.’
Juno and her cousin took ages wandering around Walmart and it was close to Christmas, so the queues were epic. The sun was precariously low as they got back to OIL. Harry got out of Betsy, and grabbed his carrier bag of booze from the trunk.
‘Sorry my choice of movie sucked,’ Charlie said, giving Harry a goodbye hug. ‘I’m gonna keep working on my support officer. I’d really like to meet Kirsten, and your friend Matt.’
‘Sure,’ Harry said weakly. ‘Maybe next weekend.’
37 DIRTY SHAKE
Harry felt mournful watching Charlie and the others head inside to get drunk as he buckled up and told the car to drive home. Kirsten would be at work and the only thing he wanted less than their inevitable confrontation was an evening alone with his thoughts. He pressed a button on the central display to call Matt, who answered after a couple of rings.
‘’Sup, you big homo?’ Matt asked cheerfully.
‘Not much,’ Harry lied. ‘Just heading home from seeing Charlie. I scored a ton of booze if you’re interested in coming to mine later.’
Matt laughed. ‘Do you ever listen to a word I say?’
‘Mostly,’ Harry said.
‘Lana’s birthday? I’ve been talking about it all week. She thinks we’re going bowling with her sister, but I’ve—’
‘The fancy restaurant,’ Harry remembered. ‘I forgot. I’ve had a ton on my mind, with math, and Janssen, and …’
‘Don’t drink all the booze on your own,’ Matt said. ‘I’ve gotta dash. I’m at the cleaners picking up my suit.’
‘Have a good night,’ Harry said, looking at the road, then at the bag of booze down in the footwell.
Although the car was on auto, the law said drivers had to watch the road and react in an emergency. A siren sounded as Harry took both hands off the steering wheel, growing louder as he grabbed the bag and snatched the Jack Daniels.
The siren stopped as he looked back out at the road. Keeping one hand on the wheel, Harry clamped the bottle between his thighs, twisted the cap, then took a big slug. It burnt his throat and made him cough, but when his eyes stopped watering he saw a neon Shake Shack sign a couple of blocks ahead.
Arguing with Kirsten had nixed breakfast; the condom shock had crushed his appetite for lunch and the planned stop to get tacos had been replaced by the booze stop at Walmart. Harry realised that the only things he’d eaten all day were a few of Charlie’s Hershey Drops in the cinema.
He double tapped the handover button to take back control, pulled off the road and joined a queue at a drive-thru window. He decided to pig out, ordering a large salted caramel shake, cheese fries and a double bacon burger. It took a while for the order to come through, and as Harry waited he realised there was no way he’d get home before sunset.
Driving while eating would mean getting home faster, but it was a big shake and a messy burger. He wanted to enjoy it, and he’d heard a bunch of people at school say that cops let you off with a warning if they stop you after dark, and you act respectful and say you felt ill and had to use a restroom, or got stuck in traffic.
So Harry rolled into a parking bay. The world still felt like a crappy place, but the hot food was comforting, and the shake soothed the burn from the Jack Daniels. It soothed it so much that he experimented, tipping his fries out of their paper cup, and replacing it with a half inch of whiskey and a scoop of milkshake.
He loved the sweet shake mixed with the heat of alcohol, and made himself another, this time half filling the cup with whisky, topping with milkshake and stirring. Harry ate the last of his burger, watching people coming in and out of the restaurant as the light faded and drizzle trailed down his windscreen.
‘I love you, Charlie,’ Harry told nobody, necking more whisky milkshake and sniffling loudly. ‘I love you so much.’
‘Calling Charlie,’ the car said.
Harry knocked fries out of his lap as he reached for the centre console and cancelled the call.
‘Bad car,’ Harry said, stuffing escaped fries in his mouth as his eyes rolled. ‘This milkshake is strong.’
Rather than mix more in the little French-fry cup, Harry took the big shake cup and glugged in a quarter bottle of whiskey. This mix was stronger than before and the first gulps left him bloated and a touch queasy.
‘Why don’t you want me, Charlie?’ Harry sobbed, his head slumped on the steering wheel. ‘Why am I such a loser?’
Harry dripped tears and felt sorry for himself, until he got a call. Ellie’s name flashed on the centre console, but he was still suspicious. Kirsten might have asked him to call …
‘Answer,’ Harry sniffled after several rings. ‘Hey, Ellie.’
‘Harry, are you crying?’ Ellie said, worried.
‘All good,’ Harry lied, fighting to sound normal. ‘Good, good. I’m in the car, it’s probably a weak signal.’
‘I can’t stop thinking about our meeting yesterday,’ Ellie said. ‘I feel pretty bad. The way Janssen treated you was patronising and I was an ass to join in.’
‘And the fact you had the real meeting and ate breakfast before I got there,’ Harry said acidly.
‘I founded Vegas Local,’ Ellie said. ‘But it’s your nose for a story that gives the site its voice.’
‘Cheers,’ Harry slurred, wiping tears out of one eye.
‘I was blinded by the money,’ Ellie said. ‘I’ve been thinking about Janssen. Five rundown casinos and a bunch of strip malls doesn’t add up to the kind of influence he’s got.’
‘You just worked that out?’ Harry said, managing a laugh.
‘He’s definitely a drug dealer,’ Ellie said. ‘I hear he’s into prostitution. And are you flunking math?’
‘Maths,’ Harry said irritably, hissing the S. ‘In the UK we call it maths.’
‘Harry, are you drunk, or crying, or what?’
Harry ignored the question. ‘How do you know I’m failing maths?’
‘I had this jokey message from Janssen this afternoon. He said he enjoyed meeting us yesterday and yada-yada. But he made a remark that he’ll be more than happy to send one of his boys to have a word with your math – maths – teacher.’
‘How does he know stuff like that about me?’ Harry said, shuddering.
‘He knows my wife’s birthday too,’ Ellie said. ‘That’s what I’ve been mulling, Harry. I want to put food on the table for my kids. But do I want a sociopath as a business partner? If we have a major disagreement, does Janssen back down, or do I find myself being dangled from a third-storey window by one of his goons?’
‘Take his money, kiss his ass for a couple of years, then bail,’ Harry slurred. ‘The people you think are your friends betray you. Even the ones you think care about you.’
‘And what he did to Charlie and Deion,’ Ellie said, disgusted with hims
elf.
‘Charlie’s a slut,’ Harry shouted.
‘Harry, I’m really worried about you,’ Ellie said softly. ‘Are you driving right now? What happened.’
‘I’m pathetic,’ Harry sobbed. ‘I’m a loser.’
‘I’d say the exact opposite,’ Ellie said firmly. ‘Harry, I want you to be safe. If you’re driving, pull over.’
‘I’m parked.’
‘Great,’ Ellie said, gasping with relief. ‘But I want you to keep talking to me, and I’m going to get my wife to call your aunt, or someone else who can come and get you.’
‘Kirsten will want to say I told you so and Charlie’s probably got her legs wrapped around Brad as I speak.’
‘Stay on the line, Harry,’ Brad said. ‘I’ve been dumped by enough girls to know it’s brutal. But if all those girls hadn’t broken up with me, I never would have met my wife and made my four beautiful kids.’
Harry sniffed and laughed at the same time. ‘You’re always moaning about your kids.’
‘You’ve got me there, buddy,’ Ellie said. ‘Now tell me where you’re at.’
‘I don’t want Kirsten to come,’ Harry said, pushing out words between sobs. ‘Can you come?’
‘I’m six hundred miles away in San Francisco. I’ll call Sue-Ann, or if she’s not home … I’m not exactly sure, but I’ll find someone.’
‘I’m at the Shake Shack in North Vegas.’
‘All right,’ Ellie said, before repeating the location to his wife.
‘I really need to pee now,’ Harry said, realising how drunk he was as he reached for the driver’s door handle and missed. ‘I love Charlie so much, Ellie. I should have put my arm around her last week …’
‘Go inside and use the restroom if you need it,’ Ellie said. ‘Don’t wander anywhere else, though. Someone will be there soon.’
Harry had to hold the door frame with both hands as he stumbled out of the Mini, then he cut through two rows of parked cars. As he neared the restaurant entrance two big guys in golf clothes were coming out. One said goodnight, and the other turned and walked backwards, making a phone gesture with his right hand.
‘Golf, Tuesday. Tell that beautiful wife I said hi.’
The guy backed into Harry, stumbling drunkenly in the other direction. He was twice Harry’s weight, and the skinny teenager stumbled and bashed his hip on a concrete trash can.
‘Are you blind?’ the big golfer roared.
Harry reared up, way bolder than if there hadn’t been a pint of Jack Daniels in his bloodstream. ‘I’m not the brain-dead moron walking out of a restaurant backwards,’ he shouted back.
The guy had psycho eyes and bunched his enormous fists. Fear sobered Harry up as he backed towards the restaurant’s plate-glass window, with diners inside looking his way. Harry put his hands over his face, but the guy punched him ruthlessly in the side of the head. As Harry slammed into the glass, a left hook smashed his face.
‘Any more names you wanna call me?’ the guy roared.
But Harry didn’t hear. He was out cold, with a broken nose and three loose teeth.
PART THREE
TWO YEARS LATER
38 FREE FLOOR MATS
Vegas Local
* * *
FRIDAY’S HOT STORIES
WORLD NEWS – West backs UK government stance on LHV.
At his weekly White House press briefing, President West repeated his support for the British government’s position on the London Haemorrhaging Virus.
Despite nine thousand deaths in the two weeks since the synthetically engineered Ebola-like virus first appeared in the British capital, the UK government has refused to pay the £1 billion ($1.45 billion) the MGB group has demanded for the genetic template of a full antidote.
West said, ‘The only thing more dangerous than a world filled with synthetic viruses, is a world where the people who make them can earn billions of dollars through blackmail.’
The president said sixty laboratories around the United States are working with the British on a vaccine, and that the CDC had robust systems in place for the manufacture and rapid deployment of 350 million anti-viral doses.
FULL STORY AND LONDON VIRUS LATEST
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO – Angry Minnesota woman smashes car through dental clinic after cancelled appointment.
SPORT – QB Janssen upbeat on NFL draft prospects.
Former Rock Spring High and Texas Midland Quarterback JJ Janssen says he remains optimistic about his prospects of being an early pick in next week’s NFL draft.
Janssen’s performances have been under scrutiny, with college coaches and former NFL players claiming Janssen’s astonishing performances since his return from a horrific leg break are ‘too good to be true’ and may be a result of gene doping.
MORE, INCLUDING JANSSEN’S COLLEGE HIGHLIGHT REEL
* * *
ADVERTISEMENT – Summerlin Toyota. Spring Tent Event.
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VEGAS BUSINESS – Resorts braced for another quiet weekend.
The transatlantic flight ban is expected to result in another slow weekend on the Las Vegas strip.
Hotel bookings are down 30% on the same weekend last year. Resorts have slashed last-minute room rates by more than half. Along with the collapse in European visitors, fears that the London Haemorrhaging Virus may have already reached the US have led many to steer clear of airports and other busy locations.
A Las Vegas Hotel and Conference Association spokes-person said, ‘Las Vegas is super safe and open for business.’
FULL STORY
COUPON DEALS – EXCLUSIVE Taco Ranch 30% off ALL food.
Come for hottest local news; stick around for Vegas Local’s legendary coupons!
RED-HOT WEEKEND DEALS
VEGAS BUSINESS – Judgement leaves Elliegold Media clear for NASDAQ float.
A Nevada State judge ended a two-year spat between embittered casino moguls Kent Clark and Jay Janssen.
In a written verdict, Judge Marian Sanchez said she saw no wrongdoing when Kent Clark and British-born chef Kirsten Channing made an investment in Elliegold Media (the parent company of this website).
Janssen claimed that Ellie Gold reneged on a prior agreement to sell to Janssen Corporation.
Elliegold Media now outputs its successful blend of local news and discount coupons in 54 US cities and recently expanded into Mexico and Canada.
The business last reported quarterly profits of $6.2 million. The judgement clears the way for next month’s share flotation, which could value the company at more than $800 million.
In an angry statement, Jay Janssen said, ‘Kent Clark’s control of the Vegas Mirror and Vegas Local gives him a monopolistic grip on Las Vegas media, which he has used to mercilessly batter the good name of my family and the Janssen Corporation.’
VEGAS HEALTH – Keeping kids safe from synthetic nasties.
As summer returns, the threat of lethal purple wasps, itchy neon mites, poison-claw rats and other genetically modified critters is set to peak. But experts say your kids can still play outdoors, if you stay vigilant and follow a few simple rules.
FULL ARTICLE
WEATHER OUTLOOK – Downtown Las Vegas
Saturday Sunny. High 97° Low 68°
Sunday Some cloud early on. High 95° Low 70°
Monday Turning hotter. High 104° Low 83°
FULL 7-DAY FORECAST
39 BREAKING BAD
Charlie came down the steps of a thirty-nine-foot recreational vehicle, parked beneath the aluminium roof of a storage unit. She was seventeen now and wore blue nitrile gloves, jeans and a lab coat as she followed a thick yellow cable from the rear of the RV to a rusted electrical panel. Water dripped from a pipe above and Charlie feared a shock as she stepped tentatively into the puddle beneath.
‘Can you believe this?’
Charlie shouted, looking back at Juno’s chunky frame in the RV’s open door. Charlie found it hard to trust people after everything she’d been through, but she’d stayed friends with Juno, even after they’d both moved out of Obama Independent Living.
She took a rubber-handled electrical screwdriver out of her coat pocket and touched it against the fuse box’s metal door. The bulb in the end of the screwdriver didn’t light up, but she was still wary as she used the metal tip to open the fuse-box door.
The inside had a couple of dead spiders bouncing in cobwebs. Charlie checked carefully for live bugs before tapping the electrical screwdriver in several places to ensure she wasn’t about to get electrocuted.
The metal cabinet had a main power switch, three high-voltage sockets and a row of fuses. A drip hit Charlie’s arm as she studied the fuses. None were labelled, but the power sockets were linked to a bank of three switches along the bottom row. Two were on green, but one had blown out and flipped to red.
‘OK,’ Charlie told herself, nervously approaching the red switch and resetting the fuse by pushing the switch with the tip of the screwdriver.
‘We have light,’ Juno announced. But before her words were out, the fuse clicked back to red and the bulbs inside the RV died. ‘What about the diesel generator?’ she asked.
‘It’s not enough juice when all the equipment’s running,’ Charlie said. ‘I’m gonna try another socket.’
Charlie pulled the high-voltage RV hook-up, then locked it into another socket. The lights behind Juno wobbled, but this time they stayed on.
‘All righty!’ Charlie said, jiggling her ass as she shut the fuse box. ‘I didn’t die!’
She felt drained and frustrated as she headed back into the RV. She’d done a full day at high school, followed by baseball training, a supermarket shop and a microwaved dinner. Then, while most seventeen-year-olds headed out for Friday-night fun, Juno had picked her up and they’d driven out to the remote storage warehouse for a lab session that would last into the early hours of Saturday.
KILLER T Page 19