sure we drive within the speed limit and obey all the laws."
Gardner laughed and said, more to himself than anyone else, "Obey the law."
Dempster glared at him. "Something funny?"
Taken aback and then humbled, Gardner frowned and turned away.
Dempster looked back at the map. "Is that really the best getaway, you think?"
"The downtown area is completely congested," Evan told him. "The streets are tiny with too many stop signs and too many people walking around because of all the bars and stuff around there. Taking the bigger streets makes the most sense. It's way too easy to get trapped otherwise."
"Okay," Dempster said. "Tomorrow we should all drive around the area. Test the route casually during the daytime, see how it feels, look for alternate routes." He walked around the table and put his hand on Gardner's shoulder. "You know what you're supposed to do, right? You understand your part in all of this?"
Gardner ran fingers across his brow and looked at Dempster. "Sure," he said, then licked his dry lips. "Yeah, I know."
Dempster looked the man over. He didn't like him and didn't trust him. The way he held himself, the attitude that seeped from his very being, the man was a determined amateur with little else going for him. Dempster still wasn't wholly confident with Evan, Clark and Jimmy, but he knew they at least understood the rules of the game. If things went awry, the first thing Gardner was going to do was talk. That was obvious just from looking at him. He would sing and sing and sing, but that was only if he didn't let the cat out of the bag earlier, before they even got started.
"All seems pretty good so far, I'd say," Clark said, looking over the layout again as he fished out a cigarette. "What'd you think?"
"I'm not concerned about the job itself," Dempster said. "I'm concerned about everything operating smoothly."
This drew pause from everyone in the room.
When Dempster saw he had their full attention he spoke. "Years ago I was on a job with some other guys in Indiana," he said. "One of these guys had a twelve-year-old son who managed to figure out what we were up to, thanks to Dad being a bit dim-witted and letting too much slip. When we got to the job site it was crawling with cops." He continued, though as he did he looked at each of them in turn. "Everyone knew what had happened," he said. "We cruised on by, forgetting the whole deal, stopped and picked up the kid and all rendezvoused back at the house we were using as a hideout. I don't want to bore you with all the details, so let's just say, to make a long story short, both father and son were buried in the cellar of that house." At the end of this last sentence he made sure he was looking good and hard at Gardner.
Already Gardner was wiping his brow again. It gleamed with perspiration. The look in his eyes was deep stark fear, as though he'd just discovered that the monster in his childhood closet was real, and after all these years it had finally revealed itself to be the man that now stood across from him.
"I imagine it's agonizing," Dempster said, "knowing you're digging your own grave."
Nervously Gardner looked into Dempster's eyes, then looked past him and into some other world as comprehension set in.
Dempster winked at the man, nodded to the other three, and left the room.
2
In bed that night, he almost felt paralyzed. Through the darkness he saw pictures on the ceiling above him. He wasn't sure if his eyes were opened or closed, but it didn't matter because the images were there anyway, and they made him anxious. Flickering images of what had been and what might be, cranking forward and back in time. Fact and fiction mixing together, swirling about, separating.
He saw himself standing outside of the Eldorado on the steps, gun in hand, cops and police cars surrounding him on all sides, guns drawn and aimed, trapping him, screaming at him. There was blood on the steps and he didn't know whose it was.
Sirens blared.
Innocent
Gardner laughed and said, more to himself than anyone else, "Obey the law."
Dempster glared at him. "Something funny?"
Taken aback and then humbled, Gardner frowned and turned away.
Dempster looked back at the map. "Is that really the best getaway, you think?"
"The downtown area is completely congested," Evan told him. "The streets are tiny with too many stop signs and too many people walking around because of all the bars and stuff around there. Taking the bigger streets makes the most sense. It's way too easy to get trapped otherwise."
"Okay," Dempster said. "Tomorrow we should all drive around the area. Test the route casually during the daytime, see how it feels, look for alternate routes." He walked around the table and put his hand on Gardner's shoulder. "You know what you're supposed to do, right? You understand your part in all of this?"
Gardner ran fingers across his brow and looked at Dempster. "Sure," he said, then licked his dry lips. "Yeah, I know."
Dempster looked the man over. He didn't like him and didn't trust him. The way he held himself, the attitude that seeped from his very being, the man was a determined amateur with little else going for him. Dempster still wasn't wholly confident with Evan, Clark and Jimmy, but he knew they at least understood the rules of the game. If things went awry, the first thing Gardner was going to do was talk. That was obvious just from looking at him. He would sing and sing and sing, but that was only if he didn't let the cat out of the bag earlier, before they even got started.
"All seems pretty good so far, I'd say," Clark said, looking over the layout again as he fished out a cigarette. "What'd you think?"
"I'm not concerned about the job itself," Dempster said. "I'm concerned about everything operating smoothly."
This drew pause from everyone in the room.
When Dempster saw he had their full attention he spoke. "Years ago I was on a job with some other guys in Indiana," he said. "One of these guys had a twelve-year-old son who managed to figure out what we were up to, thanks to Dad being a bit dim-witted and letting too much slip. When we got to the job site it was crawling with cops." He continued, though as he did he looked at each of them in turn. "Everyone knew what had happened," he said. "We cruised on by, forgetting the whole deal, stopped and picked up the kid and all rendezvoused back at the house we were using as a hideout. I don't want to bore you with all the details, so let's just say, to make a long story short, both father and son were buried in the cellar of that house." At the end of this last sentence he made sure he was looking good and hard at Gardner.
Already Gardner was wiping his brow again. It gleamed with perspiration. The look in his eyes was deep stark fear, as though he'd just discovered that the monster in his childhood closet was real, and after all these years it had finally revealed itself to be the man that now stood across from him.
"I imagine it's agonizing," Dempster said, "knowing you're digging your own grave."
Nervously Gardner looked into Dempster's eyes, then looked past him and into some other world as comprehension set in.
Dempster winked at the man, nodded to the other three, and left the room.
2
In bed that night, he almost felt paralyzed. Through the darkness he saw pictures on the ceiling above him. He wasn't sure if his eyes were opened or closed, but it didn't matter because the images were there anyway, and they made him anxious. Flickering images of what had been and what might be, cranking forward and back in time. Fact and fiction mixing together, swirling about, separating.
He saw himself standing outside of the Eldorado on the steps, gun in hand, cops and police cars surrounding him on all sides, guns drawn and aimed, trapping him, screaming at him. There was blood on the steps and he didn't know whose it was.
Sirens blared.
Innocent
Similar Books
![Jaguars' Reward [Impulse 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)](https://fs.collectorofbookboyfriends.com/511469/thumbs/152x264/jaguars-reward-impulse-3-siren-publishing-menage-everlasting.png)
