“Shit! It’s my uncle!” Misty stared at her phone. “I should pick him up.”
“No! Misty, don’t answer that!”
Misty frowned as she watched it ring. She was having anxiety about not answering, “Lauren, I have to! It’s like a rule in my family. A cop calls you, you answer the phone!” So she did. Lauren rocked back dejectedly into the couch as she kept her eyes on Misty.
“Uncle Jesse! How are you? Is everything ok?” She tried to sound cheery into the phone, and not let on that she was watching a shake-down begin in her very own home. Her uncle was never a fan of her relationship with Jasper Connor, so she was sure he would disapprove of her involvement in blackmailing the notorious Whitey Smith.
“Yes, yes sugar. Everything is fine. Don’t know if you’ve been watching the news, but Jasper Connor escaped from prison, and he killed four guards during the escape.” He neglected to mention the other bikers that were killed. The sheriff didn’t care much for bikers. “I was wondering, did he come see you Misty?”
Misty ran to grab the remote control, and swung it around like a divining rod toward the TV. The TV popped right onto the news, and there it was, scrolling across the bottom of the screen: ‘Jasper Connor escapes prison. 6 dead. Search continues …’
Lauren jumped up off the couch, grabbed the remote from Misty’s hand, and tried to turn it up. Misty spoke into the phone, “Just turned on the TV. No, I had no idea he escaped. I haven’t seen him or heard from him, Uncle Jesse.”
The Sheriff looked around the crime scene. Blue and red sirens spun light beams through the air. The bodies were now gone, taken off to the coroners, but the forensic teams were still combing the area. Sheriff Wilkes spoke back into the phone, “Listen here, Misty. This is a serious matter. Jasper Connor is armed and dangerous. If he contacts you, I need you to stay away from him and call me. You got that, sugar? Now, don’t go taking this lightly. I need to know you got it.”
“I get it. I definitely get it.” She hung up with her uncle and looked at Lauren, “This is bad, Lauren. Really bad. Do you think he killed those people?”
“No. I know he didn’t kill those people. Misty, can someone watch your dog? It isn’t safe here. We should go.” This whole situation was completely out of hand now. Lauren had to get in touch with Jasper, and the only way she could do that now, is to get in touch with Georgie. On her knees, she slid back toward the coffee table. She shut the laptop and started stuffing everything on the table into her bag, including the stuffed horse. “Misty, we need to go NOW!”
Misty wasn’t arguing. She was chasing the dog around the house, trying to grab him and stuff him into her dog carrier, “Do you know where we are going?”
Lauren nodded, “Yep. We’re going where everyone else is going … to see Whitey Smith.”
***
“You ready for this, brother?” Georgie was loading guns into a duffle bag. He and Jasper were out in an old underground bomb shelter that Georgie’s grandfather had built back in the 60’s. The opening was well- hidden, and while the town rumored the shelter’s existence, very few actually ever saw it, and even fewer remembered how to get to it. They were safe for the moment.
Jasper nodded and kept packing ammo and loading guns, “I’m ready. It’s time Whitey gets a dose of his own medicine. I’m going to take him out lightning quick. Then, I’m grabbing Lauren and getting the fuck out of Dodge.”
Georgie nodded and lifted his eyes to the muted TV. His father made some updates to the shelter so they could get a signal underground. Sometimes it would glitch, but now the screen was perfect, “I’m surprised the cops aren’t here yet.”
Jasper looked up at the screen. He scowled as he watched his name scroll across the bottom of the screen, while the news special showed a montage of his photos growing up. “Jeezus. Where did they get that photo? The cops probably don’t know about you yet. The guys you hired are all dead. The warden isn’t going to admit he was in on it.”
“Nonetheless, they’re going to be here soon. We should hit the road. This will be the real test …” Georgie said it as he moved toward the ladder hinged to the hatch. As he got to the third rung from the top, his phone went berserk. “There we go.” His thumb scrolled his missed calls. “Lauren called a few times.” He looked down at Jasper to gauge a response.
Jasper sighed as he packed up a second duffle bag, “I don’t think we should talk to her right now.” He didn’t offer more. He didn’t need to.
Georgie moved his thumb over the phone number, but changed his mind about pressing it at the last minute. “Yeah, she’ll probably just make things complicated.” He slid down the ladder like it was a firemen’s pole and stuffed the phone back in his pocket. “How do you want to do this?”
Jasper started slinging bags over his shoulders, “I want to go right through the front door, blow his fucking head off, and walk right back out the front door. Did you get passports?”
Georgie nodded, “Yeah.” He patted the zipped pocket of his vest. “If I get shot, don’t forget to take them with you.”
Jasper stopped what he was doing and walked right over to Georgie. He grabbed him by the face and looked into his friend’s eyes. They were the eyes of a true brother.
“You’re not getting shot today. I can’t do this without you. You have been a true brother, and I know what you’ve risked for me, Georgie.”
The two men embraced, each giving the other a hard pound on the back before disengaging.
“Ok, then let’s go kill this sumbitch.” Georgie smiled and slung two bags over his shoulder, as well.
They locked down the shelter and made their way to Georgie’s black van. After loading it up, Georgie slipped into the driver’s seat while Jasper set up the passenger’s seat. He got the first round of guns ready and easy to grab. Georgie’s phone started ringing again.
“It’s the warden.”
Jasper laughed, “Definitely hit the ‘fuck you’ button on that one.” He pulled a cap down over his eyes, then slapped the dashboard, “Let’s do this.”