“
Hello?”
“
Yuh… Chuck? Dude, it’s Carl. You know Carl Reiner?” he asked
with his fingers crossed behind his back.
“
Holy shit dude! Carl! My God, how are ya buddy?”
“
Well good. I mean no, not good. Actually things are
rough,”
“
Damn man, that don’t sound great,”
“
Yeah… well it’s not. And I’m so sorry to ask but… you think
you can help me out? I seriously wouldn’t’ ask if it wasn’t a
proper emergency,”
“
Well sure! I mean… I owe you a lot buddy,”
“
Aaw man, thank you so much! You have no idea what this means
to me,”
“
Save your words pal. Just get your ass here and old uncle
Chuck here will take care of ya,” he chuckled.
“
Sweet, thanks,”
“
So where are ya? Chicago still?”
“
Actually I’m right here in San Antonio, at the bus
station,”
“
You’re kidding right? Holy Hell I’ll be right there! You still
rockin’ that buzz cut?”
“
I sure am,” Carl laughed as his money ran out and he hung
up.
Now that his
plan was in action, he had a spring in his step and he could
finally tell Anna that things were gonna be ok. That they’d be in
Mexico and on their way to safety in only a matter of hours but as
he ran back into the station - he saw she was gone.
CHAPTER 21
John Reiner’s
back was aching tremendously as he shuffled in the driver’s seat.
He couldn’t believe that a man of his age in his condition was
driving this far, but he wasn’t your average guy. Braking at a stop
light he shifted in his seat again to try and eliminate the pain
but it was no use, it only seemed to make it worse.
Changing gear
though was more painful as he leaned down, stretching his broken
ribs. Every few hours he’d pull open his shirt to inspect his
injuries and it always looked steadily more grotesque. His side was
now covered in a mottled purple that got more inflamed and angrier
with each passing mile.
Soon though he’d be south of the border and that either meant
he’d have Carl back or he’d have some place to rest and recover.
Hopefully he’d have both those things, but he tried to stay
realistic. The light turned green and he pulled away. As he
approached St Louis he couldn’t help but notice a giant scorch mark
in the road and he wondered what caused it.
Probably just some car torched by vandals,
he thought as he carried on moving.
He reached
another stoplight and cursed himself for managing to hit every
single red light along the road. But he took the moment to pull out
the photo from his inside jacket pocket. It was of Miriam and her
eyes were so bright that it looked as though the photo was alive.
He kissed it for good luck and placed it back in his pocket.
“
We’ll find him baby. We’ll make sure he’s ok,” and the light
turned green.
~
Jorge and
Jerry were holed up in the Evergreen Motel. The manager was
confused at first as to how the two men knew each other. The last
he’d seen of them Jerry was bundling the little Puerto Rican into
his car. But as the two men entered reception and asked for a room
the manager wasn’t dumb enough to question it. He handed over the
keys with a smile and scratched nervously at his head as they
left.
Now each of
them lay on a single bed and stared blankly at the small TV at the
bottom of the room.
“
This place isn’t the four seasons now is it?” Jerry said out
loud to himself as he nursed his broken hand.
“
Yeah… so what?” Jorge pulled his knife out from inside his
boot and began cleaning his teeth with it.
“
Hey, you better have cleaned that thing since you took it out
of old man Reiner,” Jerry laughed and his enormous belly jiggled up
and down.
Meanwhile
Jorge thought back to the old man and how he’d let him go. He felt
conflicted at letting him live. He’d never cared about a victim
before. Still didn’t, really. But something at the back of his mind
told him he’d done the right thing.
“
Hey, what you look so serious for?” Jerry asked with genuine
concern. “Looks like your mind’s all churned up in
there,”
“
Ah just nothin’,” Jorge lied and resumed cleaning his
teeth.
The news came
on the TV but neither of them paid attention. They were too lost in
their thoughts and too exhausted. Jerry’s phone rang and he pulled
it out his pocket.
“
Shit! It’s Don Angelo!”
Jorge’s eyes
were wide like saucers. Jerry answered the phone and immediately
started babbling.
“
Boss…. Not a good time boss. We got him. We’ll bring him to ya
soon. Just tidying up some of the messy stuff you know,” and he
giggled nervously like a child.
Jorge rolled
his eyes and turned his gaze back to the television. Images of a
flood somewhere in the East flashed before him but he didn’t care.
He was just hoping Jerry wouldn’t say anything stupid.
“
Yeah OK Boss. See ya soon,” and Jerry threw his phone on the
bed as if it wouldn’t be able to hurt him that way.
“
So?” Jorge looked to him expectantly.
“
So…. Angelo thinks we got him already. He asked for us to
bring him his head…. Like right away,”
“
Cool….. So ….. Well done there Jerry,”
“
What the hell was I supposed to say?”
“
I dunno,” Jorge picked up his pack of cigarettes. “You coulda
not answered the phone. You ain’t his lap dog,”
They both went
silent as they felt equally fearful and frustrated. Turning their
eyes back to the television as if they were somehow connected to
it, they tried to distract themselves from the impending shit
storm.
Jerry prayed
they’d find him somehow, that Carl would just appear out of thin
air. Jorge on the other hand was more cunning. If his father
wouldn’t lure him away what else would? He thought to his old Navy
Seal buddies and immediately dismissed the thought of paying them a
visit. They would be trained and impenetrable and also probably
didn’t know where he was. Carl wouldn’t have burdened them with the
trouble of housing him. He respected them too much for that.
But there must
be something or someone else. Then an idea went off in his head
like a firework.
“
Jerry!” he said a little too loudly making the fat man jump.
“You were friends weren’t you? You and Carl? He trusted
you,”
“
Yuh… Knew him for ages, thought of him as one of the boys you
know,”
“
So… He’d probably think that you would be on his side right?”
Jorge grinned.
“
What exactly are you getting at?” Jerry leaned in
closer.
~
Carl was in
panic mode when he returned to the empty bench. An old woman with a
stick and a blue rinse sat nearby and he approached her.
“
Excuse me ma’am. Have you seen a girl here? Red hair, real
pretty?”
“
You mean that little scoundrel! She went that way,” and she
pointed a bony finger in the direction of the confectionary
kiosk.
“
Thanks!” and he raced to find her but what did she mean by a
scoundrel?
As he made his
way through the crowd he caught sight of a mass of red hair that
blew in the wind.
“
Anna!” he grabbed her from behind but as she turned to face
him Carl was confronted by an angry woman.
“
Hey! Who the hell are you?” she popped gum in his face but
instantly softened when she saw what he looked like. “Oh hey…. You
lookin’ for company?” she grinned widely and showed a fuchsia pink
lipstick smudge on her cracked, front tooth.
“
Sorry ma’am,” he pushed her away.
He ran the
length of the bus station three times but still he couldn’t see
her. His heart was beating hard and his mouth became dry. The city
seemed to be swirling around his head as intense fear set in. But
then from one of the entrances came a voice he had learned to love
so much.
“
No! Just leave me alone. I’m waiting on my boyfriend,” Anna’s
voice danced over to him.
As he walked
over, he saw her being cornered by a teenage boy with pants
fastened half way down his thighs.
“
Hey, what you think you’re doing?” Carl pushed the kid in the
chest and he almost fell to the ground.
“
Sorry man. I was just saying hi,”
“
Yeah well don’t,” Carl shouted and the kid scuttled away into
the distance.
Cark
immediately dropped his things and grabbed Anna tight. He pulled
her close to his chest and felt the relief of her warm body against
his.
“
Thank God you’re ok. I should never have left you alone! I’ll
never do it again,”
“
I’m fine!” she protested and looked up to him with her eyes
sparkling. “I just needed the bathroom but that guy wouldn’t leave
me alone,”
“
Ah, that’s the price you pay for being as beautiful as you
are. I should keep you on a chain,”
And Anna
raised her eyebrows. “Oh yeah? And then what would you do?” she bit
her lips and smiled.
“
Oh God don’t do that…,” and he laughed. “Now this way, the
plan’s working,” he grinned as he picked up his bag and
briefcase.
And he led her
out the building. As they walked he couldn’t help but notice that
he’d heard her refer to him as her boyfriend and it made him smile.
They turned a corner and Carl was immediately confronted with the
wild, curly hair of his old friend Chuck.
“
Shit Carl! I’ve been walkin’ around all over lookin’ for you,”
the young man was complaining but still had a huge smile across his
face.
He pulled Carl
into a bear hug and smacked him on the back.
“
Long time no see buddy,” he ran his hand through his
curls.
“
Yeah, it’s been a while,” Carl was still holding onto
him.
Then Chuck
noticed the impossibly pretty girl next to his friend and grinned.
Meanwhile Anna looked him up and down cautiously.
CHAPTER 22
Carl and Chuck
were becoming reacquainted and spoke quickly as they updated each
other on their lives.
“
Yeah man I was discharged a few years back,”
“
Ah, that’s tough. Hey, I can’t believe you’ve not met my wife
yet,”
Meanwhile Anna
was lagging behind with her hands stuffed into her pockets. She
worried about who the new guy was and why he was suddenly an
addition in their runaway plan. Feeling like a third wheel, she let
the guys get on with their catching up.
She watched
from behind at the way the new guy walked. A mean swagger propelled
him forward with his arms swinging wildly. Anna thought he looked
more animal than man especially with the shock of fair, curly hair
that swung in the wind. And she couldn’t decide what look he was
going for. Giant leather boots with huge metal buckles travelled
halfway up his legs and a baggy, black coat covered the rest of
him. He must have been part of some type of subculture but Anna
hadn’t been exposed to any of them.
Chuck pulled a
big set of keys from his inside pocket as they approached a
warehouse somewhere on the edge of the city center. Anna
immediately didn’t like the look of it. The building was dark and
tall with bricked up windows and barbed wire covering the
perimeter.
“
What’s with all the secrecy?” she asked Chuck.
He tapped the
side of his nose. “Shhh…. I’ll tell you once we’re inside,” and he
looked nervously to a delivery truck that drove passed
innocently.
Anna thought
he was insane or at least paranoid. She watched as he rolled up a
metal shutter. The noise made her jump but Carl squeezed her hand.
He looked down to her.
“
It’s ok. I’ve known this guy forever,”
“
Why didn’t you tell me about all this?” she was angry and
whispered through gritted teeth.
“
I just… just wasn’t sure it would pan out,”
“
Whatever,” she let go of his hand and crossed her arms in a
huff.
“
This way guys,” Chuck spoke softly and led them inside the
building.
From what Anna
could see it was a warehouse and as he rolled down the shutter
behind them she jumped again.
“
Welcome to my humble abode,” Chuck bowed dramatically and
laughed.
“
Still good to see you’ve got the operation up and running,”
Carl walked over to a large piece of metal equipment.
Anna didn’t
know what it was and she joined him, running her hand over the
smooth surface.
“
What’s this for?” she asked.
“
It’s a printing press,” Chuck explained. “You never seen one
before?”
She shook her
head.
“
Well there’s a first for everything,” he smiled and moved in
closer to her.
Anna edged
herself away. “What do you print? Like newspapers?”
“
Almost…. Magazines,”
“
About what? Why is it all so hidden? What’s going on?” she
looked up to Carl angrily.
He moved next
to her and kissed the top of her head. Taking hold of her hand
again he looked into her eyes and then nodded at Chuck.