On the Lam

[CarlBeli]

All right. I admit it. I was guilty. I _did_ try to rob that jewelry store. But for God's sake, I wasn't armed! The store owner had a damned shotgun under the register, I was just taking it out when the cops came bursting in. It wasn't my first crime, but I have never, ever hurt anyone.

And then getting twelve years...I can't do that time. I can't. I love the outdoors, I can't survive inside, the eight months I did in juvie when I was 16 were hell on Earth.

Thank God for bail. I had one last day to take care of my affairs, and I took the chance to run like hell. So, here I am, Carl Bell, wanted fugitive.

The sun beat down on my face as I walked along the Texas freeway, sweat running down my face. "It must be over one hundred degrees out here.", I whispered weakly, as my destination, the last gas station between here and Mexico, came into view.

It was hot. What can I say? Sure, I guess I should have looked around for a police car before I staggered inside to take a shower and get something to eat, but, well, I didn't.

I was just stepping out the front door, clean, fresh, and full, when the state police car pulled up in front of me. I turned and ran like hell, but I'm just not a very fast runner, and it wasn't long before I felt a weight slam into my back, and cuffs clamp on my wrists. "Got you, slippery...", I heard a female voice exclaim triumphantly.

 

[Guest]

I spun him over and looked into his face - young, angular, made ugly by a snear. It was him alright. Just a lucky break for me, I guess, running into him here. But not for him!

I pulled him to his feet and prodded him towards the cruiser.

 

[CarlBeli]

She threw me into the back of the cop car hard enough to give me rug burn from the seat, and then got in the front compartment. I got myself back to a sitting position as the cruiser pulled out onto the interstate.

My first thought on looking at her for the first time, really, was how hot she was. The second was, you're about to be locked up with 300 pound serial rapists, the last thing you need is to be checking out Officer...uh, Davis.

"Please, you can't send me to prison...you don't have to tell anyone you caught me. I _can't go_!"

 

[Guest]

Sally half turns, keeping her foot hard on the gas pedal.

"Don't need to tell anybody? C'mon sonny. I'm a police officer and you are my big break. At least, my break for today. Are you gonna try and bribe me now? That'll add a few years to the sentence."

Sally looks in the mirror at Carl. Not so ugly now without the snear. Guess he's realized what a mess he's in. And those eyes. They're really...kinda...mesmerizing.

 

[CarlBeli]

"If I had that kind of money, I'd...have gotten a better lawyer...", I muttered, smiling wryly at myself just a, still looking right into the very dark and lovely eyes of Officer Davis in the mirror. _Might as well look at a non-psycho while you can,_, I thought, _Especially one that's so nice to look at._

I finally shook my head. "I suck at crime. I really, really do. I can't even come up with insults for the cop who busted me...wish I'd stayed working at Burger King."

 

[Guest]

Sally blinks. Good job he shook his head when he did or I wouldn't have been able to take my eyes off him. Wow! Those eyes. Hypnotic.

"Burger King? What a job! No wonder you took to robbery!"

"I'm gonna have to stop at the gas station coming up. You need the washroom or anything to drink? Don't even think of doing anything funny. I'm a Tai Kwan Do black belt. And I got a gun."

 

[CarlBeli]

"I could use a drink, thank you." I go back to staring at her. To my own surprise, I'm trying _not_ to ogle her at this point. There's just something about her, I can't quite take my eyes off her. Maybe because she's the last actual human being I'll meet for the next...oh, sixteen years, with the four years for escaping.

"If it's not too forward, I'd like to know the name of the woman who's taking me to jail...you already know my name, after all.", I say, smiling just a tiny bit.

 

[Guest]

Sally pulls the cruiser into the gas station and turns in her seat to look at Carl.

"You can just call me Officer 9208 Davis. But it's Sally to my friends." Sally half smiles, then blinks again, and resumes in her brusque voice, "OK, what are you wanting to drink?"

 

[CarlBeli]

I'm a bit puzzled by her reaction, so I keep eying her closely..."Oh, just some water..." As we look at each other for a moment, I notice something. "You must want something too...Officer Sally Davis, it's getting so hot in here."

And it is, I can feel a line of sweat on my back, even in the airconditioning, and see the same thing on her.

 

[Guest]

Sally heads over to the convenience store. Carl sees her talking to the clerk, buying a few things, talking again. Now and then she glances over towards the cruiser. Finally she steps out carrying a whole bag of provisions.

Sally strides back to the car and opens the door. "You better come and sit at the picnic table where I can keep an eye on your hands." She helps Carl out then leads him to the picnic table, finally setting a bottle of water down in front of him and uncuffing his hands.

Sally pockets the cuffs and walks around to the other side of the picnic table and sits opposite Carl. "So..." She pulls a carton of milk out of her bag and opens it. "I read your case report. Interesting story you got there. Like you say, you must have had a cheap lawyer. Not imaginative enough to think up something more plausible. Surely you could see that claiming you found the gun under the cash register wouldn't work. We know the jewelry store owner didn't have a gun."

 

[CarlBeli]

I move my hands carefully (This table is so isolated, almost any aggressive move would look like an escape), and take a tentative sip before replying. The cold milk feels very good going down, and I can't help but smile gratefully at Sally, looking right into her remarkably lovely eyes as I talk. "He did, and the only reason he said he didn't was, well..." I snort and mutter, then go on, "My lawyer decided to attack _him_, saying he was a fence. I'm surprised the judge didn't tack another five years for that kind of crap."

I lean forward across the table, sounding as intent as I possibly can, not quite noticing how my hand brushes hers. I'm not sure why I'm still arguing this, but Sally's the first person since the jury that I want to know the truth about me. "I just want to get away, now. This stuff scared the hell out of me, all I want is go somewhere and...I don't know. Work at El McDonald's or something."

 

[Guest]

Sally half-smiles. "The water was for you. The milk's for me."

"No, it's ok, don't worry. I got another." She pulls out another carton of milk, opens it and takes a drink. "You seem to have a thing about hamburger joints. First Burger King, then McDonalds. I wonder what it all means." She grins a little maliciously. "But hey, maybe you can get a job in the prison cafeteria."

"You see, all prisoners just want to get away. Noticed that? It kinda goes with the territory." She sighs a little, almost sympathetically, "But what can we do? You brought it on yourself."

 

[CarlBeli]

"Wonderful." I moan and bang my head on the table. "I finally find a sympathetic ear, and I steal her milk. See, I am worth releasing, I'm so incompetent at this stuff that I'd manage to lower crime just by being on the street."

Sighing, I raise my head, and actually manage a smile. "I'm sorry, there's nothing worse than a whiny criminal in your job...actually, this is nice." Our hands seem to still be touching. "If I am going to hell for however long I am, it's nice to be with a human being for the last time."

 

[Guest]

Sally laughs and raises her eyebrows slightly. She can't believe she's tempted to flirt with a criminal. It's those eyes.

"So tell me," she says, "if the justice system has got it wrong and you don't deserve jail for the next 20 years, what _do_ you deserve?"

 

[CarlBeli]

To my own surprise, I find myself thinking about that for a while before I respond. "The Mexican Army." I go on, quickly, before Sally can burst out laughing. "The pay is lousy, it's almost impossible to rise above buck private, the benefits are terrible, they spend most of their time down in the hot, steamy jungles chasing drug traffickers or rebelling peasants, they've got an enlistment period of at least five years, and they don't ask questions. I could go in, come out knowing more than how to pick locks, be a bartender or something in a little desert town..."

I snicker at myself. "Dishonest and crazy, must be what you're thinking..."

 

[Guest]

Sally looks at Carl through narrowed eyes. She doesn't respond to the Mexican dream. "You pick locks huh? That's how you got into the jewelry store. How long does it take you to get into the trunk of a car?"

A plan - audacious, daring, and illegal - forms in Sally's mind. She watches Carl closely, and wonders if it could work....and how much she could trust him.

 

[CarlBeli]

I look at Sally, curiously, and think. "The most expensive car, with the best security...oh, about a minute and a half. Less if the car is older or cheaper, I once did a VW Bug in ten seconds."

I know I probably shouldn't, but I have to at least try. "Why do you ask?"