place out for me. Bunch of idiots,
but they made me money.”
“Not bad,”
Trent said, feeling like he’d made the right decision after all. “But what
happens when we leave the tunnel?”
“See, that’s
where my plan really takes shape. We pop out and find a vehicle, then drive to
a small airport not too far from the city. I had some pilots who were junkies,
and they made runs for me so they could wet their beaks. I bet one of those
planes is still there, and I know where the keys are. We grab it and fly to
wherever we damned want. Oh, and there might be some meth left behind in the
tunnels, too. Can use that for barter along the way.”
Trent’s eyes
widened and his teeth clenched slightly at the mention of the drugs, and
Marquell saw the cop’s other major weakness. This would be easier than he
thought.
“I take it
you can fly?” Trent asked as they entered yet another empty room, finding
countless cobwebs and storage lockers. The smell of mildew was thick and the
air felt dirty.
“Never have,
but I could play flight simulator when I was high on some dank-ass weed. The
real thing can’t be much harder. It’s just pitch control, banking, power
control and shit like that.”
“And
landing,” Russ added, becoming the unlikely voice of reason.
“I find your
lack of motherfuckin’ faith disturbing.”
A smile
crossed the trucker’s lips that was off putting when paired with his vacant
eyes. “Hey, that’s from Star Wars . Are you a fan?”
Marquell
grinned back, showing off the charming side he could produce at will – the hallmark
of a true psychopath. “You damn right. Baron Lando Calrissian was a pimp. If
that shit was real, though, he’d a turned Princess Leia out in a minute.”
“God, I
thought I was done with the dumbass conversations,” Trent said with a groan.
“Let’s move.”
“Not as long
as I’m around,” Russ said. “Marquell, you kinda remind me of a young Eddie
Murphy, before the tranny incident. Not judging him, mind you, I had my own
run-ins with a few over the years when I hauled gravel for a living. You gotta,
and I repeat, gotta check for the Adam’s apple. That’s always a dead
giveaway.”
“Eddie
Murphy? What decade do you think this is? You achy breaky vampire
motherfucker—”
“Zombie,”
Russ corrected him emphatically, very proud of his affliction.
Marquell shut
his mouth and followed them farther into the maze of rooms, content to put up
with their insults and ridiculous actions for now. He’d gain their trust, learn
their idiosyncrasies, and even entertain them if he had to. But when the time
was right, Marquell would kill them without a second thought.
Chapter
5: Girls’ Night Out
Cindy hung up
her phone and looked at the other girls in the bachelorette party with a
bemused expression on her lovely face. “Jim just told me they’re at a pizza
place right now. The funny thing is I could hear the distinct sounds of a strip
club in the background. I could almost smell the cotton candy perfume.”
Jen, the
bachelorette and Blake’s fiancée, took out her own phone. “Yeah, he’s full of
shit. Watch this,” she said and placed a call of her own, taking a drink of her
umpteenth martini as she let it ring.
In the midst
of getting a lap dance at The Sugar Shack, Blake picked up and did his best
impression of a bored, sober guy. “Yeah, we’re at a taco place at the moment,
getting ready to turn in after we grab some nachos. It’s been a pretty lame
night.” In the background, someone shouted obscenities in broken English.
Something about Cheetos and boobs.
“Sounds kind
of loud for a taco place,” Jen said.
“It’s one of
those late night—”
There was a
fumbling sound over the phone and a man with a thick accent got on. “I have a
hairy balls.” It was Vidu. Drunk, horny, angry, and a bit confused. Just a
normal Friday night.
Jen rolled
her eyes and hung up, not realizing it would be the last time she ever talked
to her