The Hitman's Last Job(10)
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“Urgh….where are we?” Anna woke up with a stiff neck.
“We’re somewhere near St Louis I think,” Carl yawned and fidgeted in his seat.
It was pitch black outside and they were parked at the side of the road. Too tired to drive anymore, and having no idea what to do, Carl had eventually given up and pulled over for the night.
“Do you know where we’re going?”
“Nah….” was all Carl could say. “They’ll be onto us. They’ll be looking for our car and they’ll have every bagman and hitter in the state looking for us,”
Anna realized the danger they were in and her face was stricken with fear.
“So…. What now? We can’t just sit here waiting to die!” Anna shivered and pushed her toes into the floor to try and drive some feeling back into them. She looked down and saw that they were turning purple.
“Well what do you suggest?” Carl asked angrily.
“Torch it,”
“What?”
“Torch the f*ckin’ SUV Carl! It’ll be the first thing they’ll be looking for. Hopefully if they stumble across the burnt out husk of the vehicle whoever finds us will think someone got to us first. But at the very least it’ll throw them off track, make them hit a dead end.”
“You’ve been watching too much TV,” Carl smirked.
He looked to her face that was so sweet and innocent yet had just been so forthright. She was a real hard ass and could take care of herself more than he’d given her credit for. And the more he thought about it the more he realized. Her childhood was a crazy catastrophe of living the Mob life with a drunken father who treated her like an animal, who brutalized her and kept her in squalor but she rose above that with grace.
“I bet you know what you’re doing?”
“Er….kinda,” Anna hesitated as she fiddled with a rag she pulled from the trunk, pushing it into the gas tank. “Right ok…pass me your lighter,”
Carl handed it over and watched as she expertly set the end alight.
“Now RUN!” she screamed.
And the pair pumped their legs headlong down the empty road. They made it about 200 yards away before Anna had to stop to catch her breath. Her feet were in tremendous pain from running barefoot and she was breaking out in a nervous cold sweat. They watched from a distance as the SUV caught alight. Giant auburn flames grew up into the air like fiery tendrils that were reaching for the stars.
“Any second now,” said Carl as he hoped they were far away enough.
Anna prayed that no one would accidentally stumble on them out there, but she doubted it. All around her was wilderness and frost. Nobody apart from them had any reason to be stranded out here.
The two watched the flames for a moment as if hypnotized by the beauty of the fire and just as they relaxed into the vision….BOOM! The noise was deafening and flocks of sleeping birds instantly flew screeching into the night. The stars were quickly hidden by the smoke that trailed from the vehicle and the flames grew even taller as they gained a new lease on life.
Carl looked on sadly as he thought about all the time he’d spent driving his prized car, but his and Anna’s life weren’t worth risking over a heap of metal and glass. He was however glad he’d taken the precious seconds to grab his trusted backpack. He’d rescued it from the flames at the last minute as if reaching for an old friend and that’s what it felt like as it hung from his shoulders. It was his only remnant of his former life and as the two walked away he began to wonder what his next life would look like.
“First thing tomorrow I’m gonna get you some clothes. Promise,” Carl put his hand on Anna’s back to comfort her.
“Thanks…” she said weakly. “I’d appreciate that,”
CHAPTER 7
They’d walked for nearly 4 miles and Anna was on the brink of passing out when they reached the lonely motel at the edge of St Louis. Carl had gotten them both a double room with separate beds and as soon as Anna’s head hit the pillow she fell into a deep sleep. Carl wasn’t so lucky though, and he wriggled in his bed trying to alleviate the pain that was striking into his back like a flaming dagger.
He felt like he needed more than painkillers, he needed a goddamn drink. He couldn’t believe the situation he had found himself in, but as he looked over to Anna he felt it was worth it and he’d do it again if he had to.
Anna’s toes were poking out from the side of the bed and Carl could see the cuts and blisters. She was a tough lady though and never complained once despite the fact she had to walk barefoot in the cold for miles through the country. But it was probably just a walk in the park for her and as he thought about all the violence she must have experienced growing up, he felt angry. So angry, that he began to swell with pride at the thought of killing her father. Bastards like him should always get what’s coming to them. His only regret was not taking his time with him. If he knew what a monster he was he would have used a knife instead… or his fists.
He flicked on the TV just to hear some noise. He wanted to feel some normality. An old movie was on. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but he knew it was something he saw as a kid because it instantly reminded him of his own parents. He missed them both terribly.
Anna started to whimper in her sleep and he looked over to see her struggling as if pinned down by a ghost. She was a having a nightmare and Carl could guess what was happening. Her whimpering turned to loud cries and soon enough she started to flail her arms around. She was petrified and he couldn’t watch anymore.