The Hitman's Last Job (10 page)
Read The Hitman's Last Job Online
Authors: Max Freedom
“
That’s a shame. But you can go anywhere you like now…” Carl
trailed off as he realized the ridiculousness of his statement.
She’d never be able to live normally.
eerie silence in the car and all that could be heard above the
sound of the engine was the heating as it pumped hot, dusty air
into the vehicle. Anna was looking straight ahead at the future and
couldn’t believe the things that had happened over the last few
days. She nibbled on a fingernail and shivered into her coat,
feeling the constant need to keep glancing at Carl as though he’d
disappear if she looked away too long.
“
Hey. What’s up?” he sensed her unease.
“
Just thinking…”
“
About what?”
“
About a million things,” she looked back to the road and all
the cars they were passing. She wondered where the people were
going. Were they in as much trouble as her?
“
I hear ya kid. I got countless things runnin’ through my mind
too. We’ll be ok though. Just don’t look back. It’s not where we’re
headed,” and he reached a hand out and squeezed her
thigh.
weakly at him with her thumb still in her mouth.
“
But you gotta stop this,” Carl pulled her hand down. “Try not
to be so nervous,”
“
I can’t help it!”
imagine how terrified she must have been. He’d make things alright
for her soon though. They just had to get over the border.
The hours
passed by quickly and soon they were the only car on the road. Anna
was scared they they’d break down and not be able to get help or
worse… they’d be found by the Mob and have no method of escape. But
she calmed herself down eventually and dismissed her thoughts as
childish.
As she looked
into the darkness of the highway it seemed as though everything
came to a head, or rather, she was suddenly conscious of her
situation and the reality of everything hit her. For the first time
she was acutely aware that her father was dead. She surmised that
this was because the shock of the situation was eventually wearing
off and leaving her raw with emotion. She looked to Carl, her
saviour and her father’s murderer. She had given herself to him
freely but did she even know who he was.
He sensed her
anxiety straight away and looked to her:
“
What?”
“
I don’t know very much about you at all Carl Reiner…. If
that’s even your name,”
“
Where did this come from, eh?” he seemed amused at her
befuddlement yet also offended. “What’s up? You can ask me anything
you know,”
“
Fine,” she thought for a second. “You said I reminded you of
an old girlfriend, who was she?”
in his seat anxiously and felt a twinge in his back.
“
She was… she wasn’t really anything,” he lied.
him in disbelief.
Jesus, this girl can already see right through me…
He thought to himself.
“
Listen. I wasn’t gonna say anything but actually…. Your
situation was so much like my old childhood neighbour. But she
wasn’t so lucky. Her father killed her,”
“
Oh……” Anna didn’t know what to say about that. “That’s
terrible,”
“
It was awful. It’s stayed with me forever. I always dreamed of
saving her, you know, but I was too late. But at least I wasn’t
with you,” he looked to her tenderly.
tremendously special all of a sudden. “Thank you,” was all that
came out. No words were good enough to describe what he’d done for
her.
“
Anything else you’d like to know?” there was a hint of
annoyance in his voice because he didn’t understand why she cared
about his past.
“
Your family, you never talk about them,”
“
I don’t have a family,”
“
Not even a mother or father anywhere? Or a random
cousin?”
“
I’ve got no one but you kid. Like you said earlier we’re just
orphans in an evil world,” his words came out sounding
venomous.
resumed to the car and Carl lit a cigarette with his eyes still on
the road.
“
Actually I’ve not been entirely truthful,” he exhaled smoke
over the windscreen.
him suspiciously.
“
I have a father….and a mother”
“
Oh? Was your father as bad as mine? Is that why you never
mentioned him before?”
“
Not quite. In fact my Dad was pretty much perfect growing up.
We were the best of pals. And he was prouder than anything the day
I signed up for the navy,”
“
So what happened?”
“
Well… when I came back from Afghanistan… I had my problems for
sure and not just my back. Just like you Anna, I have nightmares
that haunt me every night. I can’t close my eyes without seeing
them. But my Dad didn’t understand. Thought that all that crap was
in my head and it was! But he thought I was just being
overdramatic, that I was weak, that illnesses in the mind didn’t
really exist,”
out the passenger window with unflinching sadness. “I’m so sorry to
hear that. That changes everything then,”
“
No, it doesn’t,” he wound down the window and tossed his
cigarette end into the road. “Anyway the last time I saw him, he
said I was a lazy good for nothing for not being able to hold down
a regular job after I was discharged. Said I enjoyed pretending to
be ill, that I was doing it for attention. I’ve never spoken to him
since.,”
felt profound to Anna as she looked to the man beside her. She’d
finally found someone that had stuck by her happiness and sorrow.
In that second as the little car sped down the empty highway there
was a palpable sense of trust between the new couple. They held
hands and looked straight ahead.
“
It won’t be long until we’re there. Just gotta keep going,”
Carl nodded as he spoke.
Don Angelo was
in his favorite bathtub watching his favorite movie, ‘It’s A
Wonderful Life.’ The tears always came to his eyes at the same
point like clockwork and he was getting himself ready. He always
loved ending his day with a luxurious soak but wished at times that
he had someone to share it with. A nice lady perhaps, but he was
rather romantically illiterate and often had to resort to paying
for a woman’s company. It turns out that money can’t always buy you
love.
He lay back
and lifted his eyes to the gold ceiling as if he could see into
heaven. He wondered if his parents ever looked down on him and felt
proud of his wealth. They had the best marriage and were together
until the very end. What he wouldn’t do for a love like that…
There was a
knock at the door and it interrupted his thoughts.
“
Who the fuck is it?”
“
It’s Jerry!”
“
Yeah yeah, come on in,”
tubby man walked in with a plateful of fries.
“
You read my mind pal, I’m starvin’” and Angelo tucked in. “Any
news on Carl?”
“
Nothin’ nada,” Jerry waved his arm passionately. “With any
luck he’s wacked himself and that girl too,”
“
Chance would be a fine thing,” the Don mumbled with chubby,
food filled cheeks.
watched the TV for a few minutes until Jerry interrupted.
“
This shit’s miserable pal. You watch this all the time and cry
like a baby,”
“
I can’t help it. It’s beautiful. Anyway… listen. I think I
have an idea,”
“
Oh yeah?”
“
That cop you know… the Irish one,” Angelo thought
hard.
“
Callahan?”
“
Yup, him. I think you oughta pay him a visit. Maybe time we
enlist some more help,”
“
Sure thing, I’ll call you if – I mean when - he agrees” and
Jerry closed the door quietly to not disturb the movie
anymore.
The sun was
beating off Anna’s face as she woke.
“
Fuck,” she rubbed her neck. “How long was I
asleep?”
“
Ages. Like 6 hours,”
“
Urgh… must have needed it,” she looked about at the unfamiliar
landscape and then to Carl who had dark circles under his eyes.
“Where are we?”
“
Somewhere on the edge of Oklahoma city,”
“
Looks kinda bleak?” she looked out to the country.
“
Bleaker than Chicago?” he laughed. “I think I prefer it here,”
and he quickly pulled off the highway into a diner. “You hungry
kid?”
“
Always!”
kissed her on the cheek. She hugged him tight and kissed him
back.
“
Hang on, I just need my backpack,” and Carl moved round to the
trunk.
the briefcase, then his backpack, something tumbled out but he
didn’t notice. He never realized as he closed the door, that his
phone had toppled out and fallen into a little nook in the trunk.
The couple ventured inside and sat down ready to order.
“
What can I get ya?” asked the overly polite waitress with the
ginger Buffon.
“
Coffee, black and pancakes,” Anna yawned.
“
And I’ll have the same,” Carl nodded and smiled.
scribbled down their order while batting her false eyelashes before
sashaying away into the kitchen in her kitten heels.
“
She must get up real early to look like that first thing in
the morning,” Anna thought out loud.
“
Well I guess you’re lucky to get the chance to lie in
then,”
to make small talk through their exhaustion but it was
excruciating. There was no excusing the situation they were in.
They were surviving hour by hour on the run in a stolen car and
they hadn’t even known each other 3 days. Carl especially was
feeling the pressure and as he looked to the young, gorgeous girl
across the table, he couldn’t help but think of what would have
happened if he killed her. He’d have his freedom, his house, his
savings, his car and his life. But the more he pondered on it the
more he thought he’d done the right thing in sacrificing all of
those things for the safety of Anna. For the rest of his life he
could sleep easy knowing he’d done the honourable thing.
However, in
the moment Carl’s thoughts were scattered and bordered on paranoid.
He felt that everyone was looking at them, and he saw danger in the
eyes of all the diner’s customers. He began tearing at a sugar
packet and pouring its contents onto the table. When he finished he
opened another one.
“
Hey,” Anna held his hand to soothe him. “What’s goin’
on?”
“
Just stressed out. Just feel like I’m goin’ crazy,”
“
I get it. I feel the same,”
“
Of course you do. But I can’t help shake the feeling that we
stand out. That people are noticing us,”
“
Well I think that crazy crackhead over there is watchin’ us
for sure,” she signalled with her eyes and Carl turned
round.
immediately met by the wide eyed insanity of a matchstick thin man
in leathers.
“
Shit. He looks…. Interesting,” Carl grimaced.
the man and saw him scratch wildly at his hands before muttering to
himself and drinking a mug of coffee in one go.
“
He’s freakin’ wired,”
“
Poor guy,”
“
Yeah. Some folk get all the luck,” Anna thought about how
things could always be worse. “Well at least we’ve always got our
health,” she held Carl’s hand.
strode over with the pancakes and winked at Carl before she left.
Anna was instantly infuriated but did nothing. Instead she chewed
on the cuff of her coat and began chopping up her pancakes into
little pieces with her fork.
“
You eat like a child,” Carl laughed.
“
I wish I still was a child, kinda,” she mumbled into her
plate.
his mouth to speak but was quickly interrupted by a figure passing
by the table. He looked up to see the poor, crack addicted man walk
slowly past the table while making intense eye contact. He then
twitched maniacally and started to scratch at the inside of his arm
like a wild animal. Then as mysteriously as he disappeared he left.
The couple watched him exit the diner furtively.
“
That was…. Weird,” mumbled Anna with a mouthful of
pancakes.
uneasy feeling he couldn’t articulate. There was something about
the guy he didn’t like. Something he just couldn’t trust.
“
You look like you’ve seen a ghost baby, what’s up?” Anna asked
him worriedly.
“
I just really don’t like the look of that guy,”
looked out the window to see him standing in the parking lot with
his eyes darting all over the place.
“
You think he’s connected to the mob in some way?”
“
I doubt it. I mean they notoriously hate junkies and
degenerates. But there’s something about him. It’s like he’s onto
us,”
“
I thought that too,” Anna agreed.
waitress came back over.
“
Refills?”