End of the Line?

Jack looked at his motorcycle and sadly shook his head, the local cops all know him and his bike, he needs something more discrete to vanish from the law. With a tear in his eye he sadly runs his hand down the side of his Firebird, yeah it’s fast, so fast, it passes everything but a gas station. The ‘Bird is built to race not for road trips.

With an exaggerated sigh he looks at his beater Dodge van with the bed in the back. Because a lot of people have vans his won’t stick out like a sore thumb. Luckily most of his stuff is already in the van, “Too bad the coffee urn won’t fit, ah well.”

Jack snags the tool box from the shop truck and puts it in the van for “just in case.” Reaching under his rollaway tool box he removes the money box that’s held in place with magnets. A quick count tells him he has just under twenty thousand dollars to run away with.

Most of the money goes in a hidden compartment under the bed, the rest in the driver side map pocket, a few hundred for the road. “Killing Chuck was a huge mistake, but the cops aren’t going to find me.”

Pulling the toolbox away from the wall he opens the hidden compartment, removes his guns, and puts all but the .44 magnum under his bed. The already holstered .44 goes in his waist band. He does a quick cylinder check before he holsters the loaded revolver.

As he is getting ready to start the van a familiar horn honks outside the barn. “Shit, I don’t need this aggravation right now, why is Sharon here?” Getting out of the van Jack heads into the barn and hits the button that opens the street door.

Sharon eases her Buick Wildcat into the barn and kills the engine, “Jack, what are you doing? We were supposed to go fishing today.” Jack shakes his head sadly, “Sharon, I have to go before the cops show up, I fucked up bad.”

Sharon give him a hug, “It can’t be that bad.” Jack barks out a laugh, “Oh yeah it is, I killed Chuck. A bullet to the head, and I rolled him into a ravine is his bumblebee Camaro, it’s only a matter of time until they find him. I need to vanish.”

With a gasp of surprise Sharon asks, “Where are you going Jacky?” Shaking his head Jack sighs, “I can’t tell you, you are the first person the cops are gonna question.” Blushing Sharon stammers, “They can’t question me if I go with you Jacky.”

After grabbing a bottle of Henry’s out of the fridge Jack sits down and chugs half of it, “I can’t take you Sharon, they will throw a kidnapping charge on top of the murder charge.” With a gesture at everything in the shop Jack shouts, “GODDAMMIT! I threw all of this away!”

Draining his beer he hurls the bottle at his tool box, the shattered glass scatters everywhere, “I have no future Sharon, you are NOT coming with me!” Staring down at Jack Sharon yells at him, “I am going with you, and you ARE NOT going to stop me Jacky, now tell me the plan?”

Filling his thermoses with black coffee Jack shakes his head, “South in the van, get down to Mexico or even further south. How’s your Spanish?” With a grin Sharon unleashes a stream of profanity in Spanish at him.

Jack can’t help but laugh, “Try not to get us into any fights, we don’t need the attention! Where on earth did you learn all that?” With a giggle she replies, “Mi abuela me enseñó a no contenerme.” Jack just shakes his head.

Sharon walks over to Jack’s painting, “Are you leaving a note?” Sighing, Jack shakes his head, “That would be a bad idea, they would give it to the cops. Fuck it, let’s go.” As they walk to the van Sharon sees her bag on the floor of the shop, “You left my clothes here? Thanks Jack.”

Jack chuckles as he opens the door to the van, “They won’t fit me, and I knew you would come back. You showed up too soon though.” Sharon slams her door shut and pouts, “Thanks Jacky, you know how I feel about you. Fuck it, let’s go.”

Jack pulls the van out of the gate, hops out to lock it, and with a sigh, throws his ring of keys over the fence. As they head towards the 605 south Sharon kills the radio, “Level with me Jack, what the fuck happened?”

Spotting an AM/PM Jack turns into the parking lot, “We need food, drinks, and ice.” Sharon points at the Food King, “They have better food for cheaper.” Shaking his head Jack heads to the Food King, and parks, “Fuck it, let’s go.”

In the store Sharon takes charge and loads up a shopping cart, “Too bad the van doesn’t have a fridge.” Jack just shrugs, “We can hit Kmart and grab an ice chest.” Sharon smiles as she puts milk, hot dogs, and a few other perishables in the cart.

With the van loaded they make a quick stop for an ice chest. Once Sharon is satisfied with how the groceries are stowed she climbs back in the passenger seat, “Fuck it, let’s go.” Chuckling Jack fires up the van and gets them back on the road.

While he drives Jack tells Sharon about Chuck, “The asshole followed me as I was doing a run for Sal, I thought I had ditched him while on the bike, but somehow he found me as I was grabbing a car. I took a detour up to Burro Canyon, I took one of those little side roads, and found a place to stop. When he opened his door to get out I put a .25 in his ear from the Jennings. His car was still running so I reached in and put it in drive. He went off the road and into a ravine, I turned around and finished my run for Sal. It was his own fault for chasing me. What kind of idiot races with an automatic anyway?”

Sharon looks shocked and blushes bright pink, “Jacky, I have a very important question, can the Jennings be traced back to you?” Jack laughs, “Fuck no, I found it in an auction car.” Sharon smiles, “So get rid of it, and if the cops ask about Chuck act surprised, you can do this. After all we were in Mexico for a few days doing the tourist shit.”

Jack looks surprised, “Why didn’t I think about this?” Sharon just laughs, “Because you are a bonehead, and probably in shock over what you did. Trust me Jack, without a witness, or the gun, the cops have nothing, my dad’s a cop, and he always bitches about criminals getting off because of lack of evidence. Relax, and don’t worry about it.”

Shaking his head Jack pulls off the freeway and into a parking lot, “You just hit me with a bunch of what ifs Sharon, what if there is evidence? What if there was a witness? What if I get arrested?” What if they find the gun?”

Sharon pulls out a map, “We take the coast road down to Plaza Del Mar and get on a charter boat, you drop the gun over the side and the police will never find it. This is going to work Jacky!” Jack stares at Sharon, “What do you know about Mexico?”

With a grin Sharon replies, “I have aunts, uncles, and cousins in Plaza Del Mar that we visit several times a year. Two of my cousins take me fishing on a charter boat too. Once I caught a huge marlin! It was a blast. Look Jacky, you are in no shape to drive, swap me seats.”

With Sharon in the driver seat she pulls out the maps, follows the 605 with her finger, and hits the onramp heading south. When she hangs a right on highway 22 Jack speaks up, “You went the wrong way, we needed the 405 south.”

Laughing Sharon responds, “Why do you want to take that boring ass freeway? Trust me Jacky, I know where we’re going.” Jack shakes his head, “Then why did you look at the map?” Sharon just grins, “To make sure we don’t get lost. Jesus, this van handles like a brick.”

Jack pats the dashboard, “What do you expect from a small house on wheels? At least we have our bed.” Sharon blushes, “Our bed Jacky? Does this mean you are starting to love me?” Jack barks out a laugh, “I still don’t know what love is. But because we fuck on it, it’s our bed.”

Sharon pouts as she turns left on PCH, “I hope I can change that Jacky, because I do love you.” Jack silently stares out his window. As they are passing through Long Beach Jack flips off the church next to the highway.

Jack stares at the houses until they get to Seal Beach. The smell of the shoreline fills the van as they continue south. When they reach a parking lot Sharon pulls in and parks the van. Jack looks at her, “Why are we stopping?” Sharon just points to the bathroom as she gets out.

Getting out Jack stares at the beach and ocean, ignoring the people while he relaxes slightly. When Sharon reaches him he mumbles, “My turn.” and takes off at full speed towards the bathroom. In the stall he vomits up his coffee and breakfast.

While they continue south Jack loosens up, “I am so sorry I got you involved in this shit Sharon, I don’t want to see you get into trouble for me. It’s bad enough that I am already on probation. Lee was right though, they will charge me as an adult if they arrest me. My dream of racing in a top full dragster will just die.”

Reaching over to pat his hand on the armrest Sharon slowly replies, “Even though my dad is a cop I will never rat you out Jacky. The shop wouldn’t be the same without you holding it together.” Jack takes her hand, “How do you figure that I am the one holding it together? Kris keeps things moving.”

Sharon laughs, “Come on Jack, you aren’t that boneheaded, the whole crew looks at you for guidance in the shop, you may be the youngest, but you are the glue that holds the misfits together. I mean look at how they treated me when you first brought me in. Nobody gave me shit for not knowing anything, not even Kris.”

Jack shakes his head before looking at Sharon, “I think you’re wrong, we’re a team of misfits that happen to work well together. If I wasn’t there they would keep going anyway.” Sharon shakes her head, “What about your brother, you keep his business going and making money for him.”

Smiling Jack slowly replies, “Andy knows and loves cars, after he damn near died at work he got a decent chunk of money and bought the junk yard. He hired Bugsy and Davy. They know cars, but inventory and organization was beyond the three of them.”

After a drink of coffee Jack continues, “I started showing up after school and on Saturdays to get away from home, and I came up with the original inventory system. It was fun. And then the Caddy showed up, and I fell in love.”

“That was about when Kris started. Nothing moves in or out of the engine shop without her approval. The barn was empty until I dragged the Caddy into it. Everyone said I was wasting my time with it, until Blair saw it when I had the street door open. He taught me bodywork and how to properly use lead to smooth body panels and bring them back to life.”

When the distinctive sign of an AM/PM appears on the right Jack has Sharon pull in for fuel and food. With the tank full they head inside where Jack picks up four cheeseburgers and four slices of pizza, “Grab whatever you want.”

Sharon picks up two cheeseburgers, “This will do it.” The couple eats standing next to the van. Sharon takes a bite of her burger, “Fuck Jacky, these are worse than what they serve us at school.” Jack laughs, “Why do you think I put jalapenos on everything? Open your burger.”

When Sharon opens her burger he takes some of the jalapeno slices from his pizza and puts them on her burger. After choking down her burgers she grabs an orange from the ice chest, “You should have one too Jack.” Holding up his coffee Jack replies, “I have this, thanks though.”

Jack starts the van and resumes following the coast towards Mexico and a way out of his current legal troubles.