The Hitman's Last Job (11 page)
Read The Hitman's Last Job Online
Authors: Max Freedom
“
Yes please,” Anna held out her mug.
“
Say I heard you talking about old Squeaky out there,” she
pointed to the crazy guy in leathers. “He givin’ you
trouble?”
“
He just scared us that’s all,” Anna’s voice was
horse.
“
Ah don’t worry about him. He’s a weird kid but everyone round
here knows him. He’s just special, he don’t mean no
harm,”
“
Oh, I see,” Anna smiled timidly.
“
He probably just likes you cos you’re pretty and he’s not seen
you around here before. Are you on vacation?”
“
Yeah kinda, just passin’ through,” Anna tried her best to make
normal conversation.
“
That’s nice. You two make a cute couple,” the waitress smiled
but as she turned to leave there was an almighty screech of tires
and the revving of an engine.
of the gravel was so loud and as the vehicle spun its tires at
speed, small stones were thrown in the air and hit the diner
windows like miniature gunshots. Carl stood up outraged and
angry.
“
That fucker’s stolen my car!” he yelled.
battered Hyundai was soon disappearing into a speck on the
horizon.
CHAPTER 12
The phone was
answered on the third ring and Jerry spoke jovially.
“
Hey pal? Callahan?”
“
That’s me!” the parochial accent came thick.
“
It’s Jerry,”
“
I know that voice anywhere,” Callahan laughed. “What’s the
matter?”
“
Well… we’ve got a little situation over here,”
“
Oh no…”
“
Yuh like… we need ya to do us a favour,”
“
Well I guess I ain’t got a choice have I?” Callahan
joked.
“
Ha you’re funny. But no. You do not have a choice,”
exhaled deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Tell me
straight Jerry. What I gotta do this time?”
“
We’re looking for someone. An ex- Navy Seal on the run, a Carl
Reiner. You gotta help us find him,”
“
What am I supposed to do? Put out an APB?” Callahan was
laughing but he felt like crying.
“
Just do what you gotta do,” and Jerry hung up.
“
Shit,” Callahan threw the phone on the desk.
“Fuck!”
Carl and Anna
raced to the parking lot but all was left of the car was the smoke
that had drifted from the tires. The waitress was in hot pursuit in
her heels and she seemed angrier than the both of them
“
That son of a bitch! I’ll have to tell his mother about this,”
she fumed. “I’m so sorry folks,” she turned to the couple. “Let’s
call the police,”
“
NO!” they both shouted in unison.
“
I mean no thanks, we’ll do it ourselves,” Anna touched the
waitress’ arm as a sign of good faith.
“
Well if you’re sure,” she didn’t seem convinced.
“
Yeah we’re sure,” Carl interrupted. “But thanks,”
waitress shrugged and walked back indoors thinking they were
odd.
“
Shit! What are we to do now?” Anna was panicked.
“
I don’t know… but I guess that car has the worst luck in the
world,”
“
Where are we anyway?”
“
I’ll have to look it up on my phone. Two seconds, it’s in my
backpack,” and he quickly hurried into the diner to grab
it.
out while searching through it frantically.
“
Shit I can’t find my phone!” he emptied the contents of the
bag onto the ground and ran his fingers through everything. “Oh my
God please don’t let it be true,” but it was. “My God damn phone is
in the car!”
kicking at the earth and screaming. She wanted to just give up and
lie in the middle of the road. She wandered away from Carl for a
moment to take a deep breath. On either side of the diner laid vast
expanses of empty road. She turned her head from left to right and
back again. Wherever they were going next was on foot and it was
going to take forever.
“
How the fuck are we going to get to Mexico from here?” asked
Carl as he joined her.
“
I guess we’ll find out soon,”
“
I’m sorry,” Carl wrapped his arms around her. He wanted her to
feel safe.
“
What for?” she looked up to him.
“
I’m a real lousy protector. I took you to save you and now
look at us,”
“
Hmmmm…. It’s just crazy,” no other words seemed to make sense
of the situation. “But if it’s any consolation. If we’re lost, then
so are the Mob,”
“
What do you mean?”
“
I mean if we can’t even find where we are then what hope have
they got. I reckon they won’t be having much luck
either,”
“
I guess not,” he felt a little better seeing her
logic.
“
So what now?” he asked.
“
That way’s south right?” she pointed down the road.
“
Yup,”
“
Well we’ll walk that way,” and she placed her hand in his.
“Let’s go,”
Jorge was
blowing plumes of thick smoke up from the basement floor. He was
sat cross legged in front of Reiner Snr with a wicked smile on his
face. Exhaling again he tried to make the smoke reach the
detector.
“
Yo man. You need new batteries. Been blowin’ into it for like
two days,”
raised his head a few inches but then collapsed.
“
Still no word from your kid… Guess you must have done
something real bad for him to hate you like this,”
and saw a tear fall from the old man’s face.
“
Hey why you always cryin’ man?” he kicked the old man in the
shin but he didn’t flinch this time.
began to make a quiet croaking sound as he struggled to speak
through his parched throat. Jorge knelt down beside him and held
his ear close.
“
I…. love my son,” the old man rasped. “Tell him
that,”
didn’t have time for soppy sentimentalism. Instead he spat on the
ground as he stood up.
“
Ah shut the hell up. Like I give a shit,” and he threw his
cigarette end on the floor. “You gotta tell us where he is old
man!” and he pulled his gun out and pointed it to his
head.
“
But I don’t know,” Reiner croaked. “I just don’t know. I
promise,”
was telling the truth. He’d beaten him endlessly and threatened him
at gun point, starved him and denied him water and still the old
man said he knew nothing. But it wasn’t Mob style to leave people
alive. He knelt back down and whispered into his face.
“
Carl knows we got you, old man, and he doesn’t care. He wants
you dead…. And so do I,” and Jorge pulled out his favourite knife
from the inside of his snakeskin boots.
“
Who was your high school crush?” Anna asked Carl as though
they were on a normal date meandering through the trees.
“
Oh God! Her name was Cassie Yates and I swear to God she was
the hottest thing ever when I was twelve. Everyone fancied her but
she had braces and makeup that was like this thick,” he held out
his thumb and forefinger. “I hear she has six kids now,” he looked
into the distance. “What about you?”
“
His name was Brody McKenzie. He was a real dork but that’s
what I liked. He wasn’t a jock or a bully or one of the weird goth
kids,” Anna laughed. “He was real sweet to me,” and she shoved her
hands in her pockets. “This is a real nice place,” she looked all
around her. “And it’s not as cold as Chicago. Shame we’re not here
for fun,”
“
Don’t worry about that. Once we’re sorted and settled I’ll
take you all around the world,” Carl kissed her cheek and she
smiled.
silent for a moment and all they could hear was the sound of their
own footsteps interspersed with the chirping of wild birds.
“
I think they’re circling us,” Anna joked.
“
I hope not,” Carl looked up into the sky.
“
Hey… So I gotta ask you now, or I won’t ever,” Anna blurted
out quickly.
“
Go for it,”
“
That briefcase you carry everywhere. It’s got money in it
hasn’t it?”
“
Yes it has,” he nodded.
“
The money you got for killing my father?”
“
Yeah,” he looked to the ground ashamed of himself.
“
Well at least he’s good for something,” she grimaced at the
thought of him.
aback by her attitude. “You constantly surprise me you know
that?”
“
Why’s that?”
“
You just take everything in your stride,”
“
And I always will,” Anna shrugged.
walking and stood idly in the center of the empty road. Carl
brushed his fingers through her hair and held her face. They kissed
sweetly under the midday sun. They were enjoying the moment so much
that they barely heard the sound of a car horn tooting furiously.
As they pulled themselves apart, Anna took the chance and flagged
down the car. A tremendously unhappy gentleman in an old tweed suit
was behind the wheel.
“
What the hell were you doin’ out there? Just kissin’ were ya?
Just kissin’ in the middle of the damn road?” he raged.
“
We’re so sorry sir. We’re very lost and well…,” she trailed
off
car eyed them suspiciously.
“
Where are you headin?” he asked just so he could look at Anna
for a little while longer.
“
The plan was to get to Mexico,”
“
Oh really?” the man was even more suspicious now. He eyed them
up again and saw their lack of belongings and their exhausted
demeanour. “Hmmmm…. How old are you?”
“
19,” smiled Anna.
“
And you?” the man pointed to Carl.
“
32,”
man behind the wheel grew even more suspicious.
“
Well… I can’t say Jesus would approve of your public cavorting
and your delinquent ways. But I’ll drop you a little closer – I’m
not taking you to no damn Mexican town. Get yourselves in the back
there,”
“
Thank you so much!” Anna was delirious with joy.
climbed into the back of the car they instantly felt the pain being
relieved from their limbs.
“
Urgh… we’ve been walking for hours,”
“
You weren’t planning on walking to Mexico were
you?”
“
Maybe,” Carl said dryly.
“
Well I’m goin’ as far as Austin, Texas. I can drop you
there,”
“
That is so kind of you. Really, just so kind,” Anna gripped
the man’s shoulder.
“
Any chance to be a Good Samaritan,” the man smiled in the rear
view mirror at Anna. “I’m Gerald by the way,”
“
Please to meet you Gerald,” mumbled Carl before he leaned back
and fell asleep.
Detective
Callahan felt the acid reflux rise within him as he sat at his
desk. Reaching into the top drawer he pulled out an almost empty
bottle of Pepto-Bismol and drank from it thirstily.
“
Urgh….” he rested his head in his hands and sighed
sadly.
second time he had been asked to do dirty work for the mob and just
like the first time it scared the hell out of him. He knew they
were using him for the type of dirty work he was supposed to
prevent, but what could he do? If he said no they’d kill him, but
if he said yes and his chief found out he’d be fired and he’d
probably lose his pension too. The thought of explaining that to
his wife Cathy was painful and he could hear her nagging voice
already. It made the acid reflux return and he finished off the
bottle.
All he had on
this Carl Reiner was what Jerry had told him. He was an ex-Navy
Seal and he was in Chicago somewhere. He ran his name and saw that
he had one conviction a couple years back, a DUI. It was his only
offence and it was just after he’d been discharged. Since then it
looked as though he’d been keeping his nose clean… well not really,
if he was wanted by the Mob. The licence plate for the vehicle he
was in at the time of arrest was in the file and he ran that too. A
result popped up quicker than he thought. He grabbed his phone and
called Jerry back.
“
Hey. I got somethin’,” he was eager to finish this whole
thing.
“
Gimme it,”
“
His SUV was found on the edge of St Louis two days
ago,”
“
St Louis? Was he there?”
“
Nope it was just the vehicle. And it was burnt to a crisp. I
mean destroyed,”
“
I see….” Jerry was in deep thought. “And a girl?”
“
There were no bodies in the vehicle. It was really just the
husk left,”
“
Can you gimme the exact location?”
“
Yuh… Two seconds,” there was a ruffling noise on the line as
Callahan searched through the file. “It was really in the ass end
of nowhere pal. I mean two point five miles northwest of a town
called Brunton on Gibson Rd. Nothin’ but fields
everywhere,”