Rogue Angel - Footprints Part 65

Otherwise, Annja would have to handle two gun-wielding drug runners by herself.

And that didn't sound like a good plan at all.

Chapter 33.

With the mess at the hotel cleaned up, Tom and Sheila ushered Annja and Jenny to the back of the hotel. The sun was starting to set, and as it dipped toward the horizon it painted the area in reds and oranges.

Annja looked at Tom. "So is this where you're going to do it? Right out here in the open?"

Tom smirked. "You must really think we're stupid."

"It's crossed my mind a few times. Hooking up with someone like David. All of this for the sake of peddling narcotics. Yeah, I guess it's reasonable to suggest I think you're both dumb as rocks."

Sheila put her pistol up to Jenny's head. "Shut your mouth, or I'll put a slug through your pal's head."

"That's original."

Tom pointed to the Chevy Tahoe. "Get in the truck."

"You're taking David's ride?" Annja said.

"He doesn't need it anymore."

Annja nodded. "Good point."

Tom glanced at Sheila. "You drive while I keep a gun on these two."

Sheila frowned. "With that thing? Make sure you put them both in the backseat. If that cannon goes off, better to blast the back than me."

"Don't worry about it. I got it under control."

"Sure you do."

Tom frowned but didn't retort as he gestured for Annja and Jenny to get in. Then he shut their door and hopped into the front seat, training the shotgun on them from there. Without taking his eyes off them, he said to Sheila, "Go slow getting us out of town and watch the b.u.mps. I don't want my trigger finger accidentally squeezing too much." He grinned at Annja. "That'd be a shame, huh?"

"I'm sure you'd lose sleep over it," she said.

Sheila started the engine and slipped the truck into Drive before pulling out onto the main road. Annja glanced around but, as usual, the place seemed pretty deserted. "How long have you two been here intimidating people and stuff?"

"Few years. But Dave was the guy who intimidated folks. Give people an authority figure they think they can't fight and folks either accept it or else they just up and move away. If we tried to do it, they'd just go to the cops in another town. In that case, our plans would have been screwed."

"Smart," Annja said. "Smarter than I would have given you all credit for."

Jenny looked out of the window. Her face looked gloomy. Tom nodded at her. "What's her problem?"

"Man trouble," Annja said.

Jenny glared at her. "Annja, how could you?"

Annja shrugged. "No sense lying to the guy."

"Let me guess, was it Dave?"

Annja nodded. "Yeah. Guy was a charmer. And he got his hooks in good with Jenny."

"It was all an act," Sheila said from the front seat. "Dave was with me the entire time. Jenny was just a p.a.w.n in the plan."

"Which one of you cooked that up, anyway?" Annja asked.

"Dave did," Sheila said.

"I kind of thought he did," Annja replied.

"What's that mean?" Sheila asked.

Annja shrugged. "Just that for someone so devoted to you, it sure seems like he made a big effort to get any other women out here that he could. You should have seen the way he was talking to me last night at his place. You would have thought the guy had never been with a woman before he was so eager."

"You're lying again," Sheila said.

"Think that if you want, but the guy had a roving eye. It's probably better your brother shot him dead without consulting you first. Saved you both a whole lot of trouble."

Sheila glared at Tom. "You didn't have to kill him."

"Yes, I did. He was becoming a problem. Besides, this drug thing was never meant to be a long-term partners.h.i.+p. Just enough to make us a few million so we could go south and disappear forever. We've got that."

"But Dave was supposed to come with me," Sheila said.

Tom sighed. "Look, sis, you're going down to Latin America. You'll find another guy there."

"But Dave was the first guy to love me for who I am, weight and all."

"And those Latin dudes think chunky women are hot. Trust me, okay? By the time you get down there, you'll forget all about Dave and his broken wrist."

"I'd better." Sheila snapped her eyes to the front and stared hard out of the winds.h.i.+eld.

Tom kept his eyes focused on Annja. "You're not going to turn her against me. Might as well stop trying."

Annja ignored him. "Where are we going, anyway?"

"Back to the site of your untimely escape earlier this morning."

"The cavern? Why not shoot us someplace else? What's so special about that place?"

"It's not you guys," Tom said. "We've got another reason for needing to go back there. Our final s.h.i.+pment of drugs is waiting for us to pick up. Once we have it, we'll make the rendezvous and the exchange. In the morning, Sheila and me will drive down to the bank in Edison and make our final withdrawal."

"Taking the money and running, huh?"

"You got it. We've got an appointment to pick up our new pa.s.sports tomorrow afternoon and then an evening flight down the coast to San Francisco. From there, we pick our choice of destinations, preferably someplace with no extradition treaty. Then we vanish into the pages of history."