Transcontinental (17 page)

Overwhelmed by the situation, Leroy laid back down on the tarp. The violence seemed to shut part of him down, just like when Woods had threatened him with the gun. He couldn’t think, couldn’t speak, he could hardly react. All he wanted was to curl up and sleep.

“Perhaps you would like to utilize Gerald’s sleeping bag, Leroy, as you do not seem fond of the tarp. I doubt he would mind, right Gerald?”

“Be my guest,” Gerald answered with salt in his voice.

Leroy felt awkward slipping into the sleeping bag, but if he wanted to get any sleep, he knew it was his best chance. He twisted onto his right side, rested his head on his hands, and shut down.

Sitting where Ant had pointed earlier, Gerald glowered.

Ant smiled at him. “Pleasant dreams.”

* * *

Leroy was surprised when he awakened. Not because he awoke to Ant’s eyes boring into him, or because he and Ant were the only two left in the jungle, but because it meant he had slept. He sure didn’t feel like he had. His head throbbed, and there was a strange pain in his spine.

In the same spot he’d assumed last night, Ant looked worse than Leroy.
 

“You get any sleep?”

“That would defeat the purpose of supervising.”

“How’d you get them to leave?”

Ant shouldered his bag. “We need to leave, too.”

As always, Ant led, and Leroy followed.

“How long ago did everyone leave?”

“Approximately two hours.”

“You could’a slept that whole time.”

“It would not have been safe,” Ant admonished. “We do not know what Gerald is capable of, even relieved of his knife.”

“Wait, you
kept
his knife?” Leroy was again astounded by Ant’s boldness, which he lamented his lack of. “How the hell’d you pull that off?”

“Gerald is a military man, he knows when he is defeated. Without his knife, he lacked the leverage to make requests, let alone demands.” Ant slipped the knife out of his waistband. “A fine souvenir, really.”

“So you threatened him with his own knife.”

“I had no intention of using it.”

“Isn’t that bad? Like, you stooped to his level?”

“I was keeping the peace. One must have leverage to do so.”

“Leverage. Right. And what if he had another weapon?”

“I rummaged through his bag. There was none.”

“Could’a had one in a pocket. Or in his waistband.”

“Evidently, he did not.”

“What if he
did
, though? He could’a had a gun. Could’a shot you.”

“What was my alternative? Let him carve Eddy like a turkey?”

“We should’a just ran. You made an enemy.”

“Somebody had to stop him. I did.”

“One day you’re gonna hit a brick wall, someone you can’t stop.”

“And on that day, I will rest easy with a clean conscience.”

“I thought jungles were safe. Everyone’s a friend in the jungle, you said.”

“Regrettably, the rules I spoke of are from another, more decent era, increasingly separated from the modern age.” Ant slowed to let Leroy catch up. “Last night was a fluke. It was a poisoned atmosphere. Ultimately, I blame myself. I should have taken us elsewhere as soon as Gerald raised his knife.”

“He cut up that man’s head,” Leroy uttered, avoiding the lumpy roots of the smaller palmetto bushes. “What kinda psycho does that?”

“To be fair, Eddy did steal from him.”

“You’re
defending
him?”

“I could never. The bastard slept like a baby last night,” Ant said through gritted teeth. “I am saying Gerald had every right to hold Eddy accountable for what he did. However, instead of justice, Gerald sought vengeance.” Ant hiked onward. “There is nothing to gain from vengeance. Trust me.”

“So what about Eddy? You think Gerald will get him?”

“I doubt it. I gave he and Maggie a half hour head start before I returned Gerald’s possessions. He would be a fool to pursue them.”

As they passed through the last of the palmetto brush, the tail end of a train pulled away from the undersized station, horn blaring.

“You think that was ours?” Leroy asked.

“That train was southbound, which is where we came from. Best case scenario we want northeast, but north or east will work.”

The prospect of waiting hours potentially for another train ride that would take hours longer made Leroy weary to his bones and sapped his motivation. “Why’d we leave the jungle if we gotta wait more? At least it was shady,” he whined.

Turning back, Ant said “You ask a lot of questions, you know that?”

Funny, he’d never heard that before. He supposed he had come out of his shell around Ant. “Sorry. There’s things I gotta know, so I ask.”

“Frustrating as it may be to those around you, curiosity is a beneficial quality,” Ant said. “We left because a train pulled onto the northbound tracks beyond the station shortly before you awakened.”

Ant led Leroy through the station to a vending machine where he purchased three packets of powdered donuts with change, offering one to Leroy, who turned it down on the basis that they were dry and plain. Tearing the plastic and popping a donut into his mouth, Ant approached an idle crewman.

“Excuse me,” Ant said through crumbs, swallowing hard. “Do you know where the northbound train is headed?”

“Just up to Fallon,” the man said curtly.

Ant clapped his hands together, startling the crewman. “Beautiful! That route passes right through Reno.” Holding the door open for Leroy, he said “I am convinced you are good luck. I have never caught out with such ease.”

Leroy didn’t know whether to say ‘thank you’ or deny the compliment, because it didn’t ring true for him. Still, he grinned.

Chapter 5

Reno, NV

One of them had to stay awake and look for the sign.

It wouldn’t have been fair to ask Ant to do it after he’d spent the night playing sheriff. Still, it’d taken effort not to. Leroy ached, mind, body, and soul, as he clung to the side wall of the empty gondola, watching Ant doze at the bottom, jealous of his dreaming. He slept flat on his back, arms sprawled. Leroy could never sleep like that.

Before passing out, Ant had ordered Leroy to keep an eye out for the road sign upon crossing into Nevada; which could be a challenge, he’d claimed, because the sign sat atop an embankment nearer the highway than the tracks, although the warm hues of the painted sunset should be distinguishable from the earthy sand and pine backdrop.

So for an indeterminable length of time he’d sat clinging to the wall, craning his head in observance. To add to the list of ailments afflicting him, a sore stiffness had developed in his neck and shoulder from the awkward position. He was on the cusp of waking Ant and asking him if he knew where the hell they were, when flashes of red between trees caught his eye. Focusing, he saw the sunset Ant had spoken of, as well as a lone prospector with a pickaxe, surveying the land before him. In that moment, Leroy felt like the prospector. He’d come from afar on the off chance that he might find gold in these hills. Welcome to Nevada, indeed.

* * *

Standing on the strip, Leroy was overwhelmed, gawking at the playful cityscape surrounding him. It wasn’t until that moment, as he absorbed the curves and textures and lines and shapes, that he realized buildings could be beautiful, not just practical. The best ones, he realized, were probably both. He wondered if he could design a building, lines intersecting and shapes falling into place in his imagination, but he quickly put it out of his mind.

A smattering of people and cars bustled around them. Beside Leroy, Ant squatted on a bench, counting a small wad of twenty-dollar bills that he’d produced seemingly from nowhere, when a bus pulled up to the curb in front of them. The doors opened and people streamed out.

“Do most hobos have a wad of cash?”

“Professors do get paid, believe it or not, albeit not nearly enough.”

“You saved that for ten years?” Leroy asked skeptically.

“There was significantly more back then, but yes. It is my special occasion fund.” Satisfied with the count, Ant pocketed the cash and rose.

“You don’t mean…”

“Oh, but I do,” Ant grinned. “I must.”

“No, no, no. We don’t have time for that.”

“We are in Reno. It would be inappropriate
not
to gamble. Besides, Rehema is here, in the city. I think we can spare a few hours.”

From inside the bus, the driver called out to Ant. “You coming?”

“I apologize, we are not,” Ant said before the bus pulled away.

“So you’re just gonna blow all that cash? Such a waste.”

“The idea is to make a profit, not to lose the money,” Ant said.

Leroy remained unconvinced, unresponsive.

“I will save a portion for food and necessities.”

“Won’t they ID me in the casino?”

“Not if I tell them you are a minor.”

“They won’t let me in if I’m a minor,” Leroy proclaimed.

“I am not a minor. You are with me.”

“Nah, I gotta put my foot down. If Ms. Stacey hasn’t reported me yet, she will in a few days. Even if Rehema is here, it could take that long.”

“What could take that long?”

“To, you know, get the process started.”

“You refer to adoption?”

Leroy hesitated. “Yeah.”

“You are betting it all on this woman, huh? Do you even have a plan B?”

“There can’t be a plan B.”

“And what if she is not here? Are we not entitled to have fun once in a while? Should we not make the trip worth our time?”

“
You’re
gambling, not me. The more time we waste, the less safe I am.”

“Leroy, do you really think the police would waste their time pursuing an interstate search for a black orphan boy?” Ant asked.

Leroy glared at him.

“Glare at America, glare at society, at humanity. Not at me.”

They stared each other down.

“I deserve this,” Ant insisted, then turned and headed into the casino.

Leroy dropped his head, then followed.

The bouncer was probably the biggest man Leroy had ever seen, but he was nice enough. He let them in, but made them store their bags in a locker. Leroy chose number eight. He always chose number eight.

 
Ant cashed in two-hundred dollars for chips, headed to the poker room, signed in for Texas Hold ‘Em, and took a seat among the empty chairs.

* * *

It took a light jog to keep up with Ant’s hurried stride, but Leroy understood why Ant was angry; he would be, too, if he’d just lost two hundred bucks.

Aside from his pace, though, Ant showed no signs of anger. His face bereft of lines or frown, his hands planted in his pockets, he’d thanked the dealer and left. He had to be upset though, Leroy thought. How could he not be? Two hundred dollars was no insignificant sum.

Leroy was just eager to get back on track. Ant had his fun. Now, there was a woman in town who may or may not be the key to his happy future, and he intended do everything he could to find her.

Before reaching the lockers, though, Ant made a break for the chip room. Leroy couldn’t reach Ant before he’d shoved his last forty dollars through the gap in the glass between the employee and himself.

As Leroy clomped to a stop beside him, the woman handed Ant his chips.

“What the hell are you doing?” Leroy demanded.

“Getting my money back.” He gathered the chips and dashed out.

“We need that money!” Leroy said behind him.

“It is
my
money.”

“How are we gonna eat? What if she’s in Tampa?”

“When I get the money back, we will have more than enough.”

“You’re not
gonna
get it back!”

Ant signed back in and was escorted to a different table, but switched to his previous table when the woman left. The dealer, a short man with an underbite, blanched mid-shuffle at the sight of Ant. “Look, sir, you lost. That’s the game.”

“I am not here for vengeance,” Ant said, sitting. “I am here for justice.” He slid his chips onto the board. “Deal me in.” Next to him, another player guffawed, fanning himself with a cowboy hat.

“Looks like we’re eating from the trash tonight,” Leroy said. “Thanks.”

Smirking at Leroy, Ant tossed a chip to the dealer. “Did I ever tell you about the time I put together a dumpster buffet for some friends?”

* * *

“Honestly, I want you to hold onto it,” Ant said, closing Leroy’s hand on the cash as they wandered the road outside the casino. Neither Leroy nor the cowboy at the table could believe it, but with his last chip Ant had won over a hundred dollars back. Ant, of course, acted as if it’d been his plan all along.

“I dunno why you’re so cheery when you just lost half your money,” Leroy said, begrudgingly shoving the bills in his bag.