Every so often your luck’ll run out, no matter how good it’s going. You never see it coming either, it’s just you think you’re doing alright, and then you’re not. Something doesn’t go your way, then another thing, and then you’re here, where I am.
Simon and Hess oughta be looking for me by now. There’s a slim chance they didn’t stop by Angel’s on the way home. No, they definitely got the message. They had to. I have to ditch this box now.
I turn a corner, slowing down for it. I’d hate to spin off the road in this rain. Dumb reason to get caught, yeah. Should have a couple hours, maybe at least one. No mistakes you goddam slob, you can do this.
There’s one way out of town. It goes on like that for forty minutes, then finally the road splits into two directions. Simon’ll expect me to go North, no doubt about that, and Hess will go South for sure because any guy with sense would go South.
Damn. If they drove together, they’ll need Angel’s car. Should’ve grabbed the keys when I was there. Didn’t. Damn.
So I go North. Hess knows these roads better than anyone, so I’ll stand a better chance of getting away from Simon, I’ve at least been here longer than him. So far that’s the entire plan, trying not to get caught even though that’s going to be damn short of possible.
I have got to get rid of this box.
Okay, think about this, what’s North? The river is South, so is Digger’s Death Canyon. Crap, everything is on the other side of the river! There’s nothing but tight goddam windy roads North! Why the Hell did I go North?!
Headlights behind me. They’re getting closer. Goddam this old minivan! No sense running any more, I pull over to the side of the road and run to the back door. There’s Angel’s box right there, black and steel and the reason I’m going to die.
By the time I get it out of the back, Simon’s already on me, just as I figured, his beady goddam bloodshot eyes staring me down, and his gun leveled right on me.
What the Hell happened at Angel’s, he asks.
I tell him what I know, but he doesn’t believe me. Not that he would, none of it makes sense unless I admit that I told Angel to do what he did.
You shouldn’t have run, he says. We trusted you until you did that, even Hess. Maybe even more than Angel.
That’s a goddam lie, I say. Both of those bastards hated me since what happened at the Cantina. They’ve just been waiting for a reason.
Simon moves to the side, doesn’t take his eyes off me. Not true, he says. Look in the box.
It’s all there. Angel was out soon, I was in.
Would’ve been in, anyway. Ain’t how it is now.
Hess said he wanted to see you first, he says, raising his gun. But I don’t think that’s such a hot idea.
And like that, all my luck just drained right out and all over the highway.
