Bernard DeLeo - Cold Blooded

“Drive the speed limit. Don’t pick up any hitchhikers.”

Rachel barked out a quick laugh, which turned into a sob as she covered her face. Nick reached in and took her hands.

“Training or no training we’ll get ahead of this thing, Rach. No more chances-no more playing house. I really screwed the pooch last night. You go on now. I’ll follow shortly in their van after I change the tire.”

Rachel nodded, taking the handkerchief he offered through the open window. She started the Cadillac and watched him jog back to the van in the Escalade’s headlights.

“Mom, where’s the Terminator going?” Jean peered anxiously over Rachel’s shoulder with Deke’s head next to hers.

“With us, Baby, with us,” Rachel answered, driving away from the roadside.

When Rachel reached Nick’s house, she parked outside. She waited until he arrived before getting out with Jean and Deke. Nick remote-opened the garage door and drove the van inside. He exited the van, walked out of the garage, and closed the door. He walked over to Rachel and Jean, fending off Deke on the way.

“You look like shit, Nick.”

He flashed a tired grin. “Hey, thanks. You and Danger don’t look like a bowl of Rice Krispies either. We’ve only begun. Let Deke do his business, then take him inside. Bypass the mess. Everyone go upstairs to pack like we talked about. If you could sweep up the broken glass, Rach, I’d appreciate it. I’ll clean everything else. Let’s go. We have a lot to do. After we leave their van near the border, I want to make it a ways down Interstate 40 before we stop for the day.”

“I’m scared, Nick,” Jean said suddenly.

Nick knelt down in front of Jean. “Look, Danger, I know getting kidnapped every other day is the pits. I promise you this, the next time you or your mom gets taken, it’ll be because I’m dead. We Terminators are awful hard to kill.”

Jean hugged him. “I’m glad you came. I…I didn’t feel much like a Terminator.”

“Me neither, kid.” He hugged her back tightly. He then held her at arm’s length. “What say we blow this town?”

Jean nodded enthusiastically. Rachel took her hand, touching Nick’s shoulder as she went past. Inside the house, Rachel took Jean and Deke upstairs and began packing. Nick went out to the garage. He loaded the other two bodies, dragged from the house earlier, that were stacked behind his Malibu into the van with the others, and covered them with a tarp. He loaded magnesium flares on the van’s front seat and opened the garage door. After backing out to the street and parking the van, he drove the Cadillac in and shut the garage door again. He spent the next half hour loading equipment into the false floor in the cargo area. When he went back inside, Rachel was already cleaning up the broken glass.

“We’re all packed Nick,” she paused to tell him, gesturing at the three suitcases. “Jean is taking a shower. I’ll go in after her. Then it’s all yours.”

“Good deal.” He took the first two suitcases out and loaded them. Rachel met him at the door with the third one, giving him a quick kiss before returning to her sweeping.

It was nearly ten o’clock in the morning by the time Nick had put a tarp over the broken patio door and finished his house cleaning. By ten thirty, he had his bags packed and in the Escalade with the rest. Rachel, Jean, and Deke sat together on the couch watching a movie when he came down the stairs after showering. He carried the clothes he had worn through the early morning hours with him.

“We’re all set, crew. I think it would be better for you to follow me. It’s still daylight, so I’ll have to drive this damned van out a ways off the road before doing some final touches to it. When you see me turn off into nowhere, pull alongside the road right where I leave it and I’ll join you as soon as I get the van taken care of.”

“Okay, Nick, we’ll be out front.” Rachel switched off the TV. She walked outside with Jean and Deke into the Las Vegas heat.

Nick backed out of the garage, sealed up the house, and handed the keys to Rachel. By the time he gave everything the once over, Rachel had the Cadillac ready to go with Jean and Deke in the backseat. He gave her a wave, and carried the small shoulder bag he had packed to the van.

After passing a town called Cloride, Nick looked for the first available spot to turn off. Five miles down the road, he turned into the desert, keeping the van speed up to avoid getting stuck. He made it in nearly two miles before the rear of the van sunk to the axle. Taking papers, match booklets, and charcoal lighter fluid out of his bag, he doused the clothes he had worn earlier and the front seat area with lighter fluid. He opened the van's cargo doors, pulled aside the tarp, and threw two of the unlit magnesium flares from the front seat onto the bodies. Nick coated everything in the cargo area with lighter fluid. He lit a booklet of matches, and threw it into the back, closing the doors. After igniting the front in the same manner, he left at a dead run with his bag.

He made it to the Escalade soaked in sweat, having run the two miles in brutal desert heat, pouring water from a quart container over his head every hundred yards. Rachel drove off the second he closed the passenger side door. They were nearly a quarter mile down the road when the van exploded. Nick had been watching for it. With the magnesium flares, he figured it would burn white hot until nothing of any consequence was left.

“Can you give me about an hour, and then I’ll take over for you?” Nick reclined his seat.

“Oh sure, I do all the hard work and you sleep it off,” Rachel deadpanned.

“I’ll make it up to you later, Nikita,” he promised, his eyes already closed.

Nearly an hour later he woke up, looking around tensely. He relaxed when Rachel smiled over at him.

“What the hell! You have a built in timer or something?”

“Inner clock-perfected over the years.” Nick stretched. He looked back at Jean and Deke. Jean sat with her head against the seat, sleeping soundly, while Deke lay across her lap. “Want to make a pit stop and get something to eat?”

“I was hoping you’d say that. A sign we passed just before you woke up claimed there’s gas, food and lodging up ahead about five miles. How far did you want to go today?”

“Flagstaff, if we can. The guy I questioned convinced me they were selling the drives to a rival outfit called Fletcher Exports. If those guys were independents then we’ve bought some time. We’ll make Sarasota ahead of schedule. We needed more work in the desert before pulling off what we have ahead, but it can’t be helped now.”

“Do you think there are any more free lancers out there?”

“I’m sure of it. As long as we keep on the move, I think we’ll be okay. Hooking up with Suzan was a blessing and curse. She nearly killed us all, but if we can get together with her husband once we retrieve the flash drives, our bargaining position will be greatly improved. I better call her, and then Grace.”

Nick pulled his satellite phone from the bag at his feet. He called Suzan on the throwaway cell-phone he’d given her. She answered a moment later. “It’s over, Suzan. You can take the kids home. Our deal’s still on, but we won’t be seeing you until the drives are in our hands. It probably won’t matter, but did anyone see those guys visiting your place yesterday?”

“I can’t say for sure. They came after dark. They’re really…gone for good?”

“No more surprise visits,” Nick told her. “Will your husband be coming home on time?”

“Yes, he called earlier.”

“I’ll give you a call this weekend sometime after you get a chance to talk with him.”