Flambeaux & Staug Ch. 05

Nick and Matt quickly ran out of the police station and straight for the car. The rain was pouring harder than ever, and the sky had grown even darker. Nick made a Miami Vice-esque dive across the car's hood and hurriedly got inside. Matt turned the keys and sped off.

"You know how to get out of here?" Nick asked frantically. "Of course," Matt assured him. "I didn't just wake up here."

Suddenly, another thing occurred to Nick. "Do you have a watch?"

Matt chuckled. "We've got something after us, something that's more likely than not responsible for all the dead bodies lying around, and you want to know what time it is."

"Come on, it's important."

Matt sighed and looked at his wrist. "It's 9:30."

"Did you see the room?"

Matt started to get irritated. "What are you talking about?"

"In the room that was locked, when the door was open," Nick continued intently, "you could see inside. And it said on the wall that we have one hour."

Matt sneered. "We've got plenty of time," he said. "It'll take another five minutes, tops, and we're gone."

A wave of relief rushed over Nick. "You're right," he said. "Whoever this is can't take on the whole world."

Matt laughed. "You had me worried for a second."

The car began to fill with somewhat jovial conversation, until soon Matt realized that something was not right. "Nick," he began cautiously, "is it just me, or have we been moving in circles?"

Nick looked out the window and had to admit that despite the heavy rain many things seemed familiar. "The road was right down this street," Matt protested angrily. They went straight and stopped at a wall made of rock. Matt stopped the car and moodily lit a cigarette. "I know you don't smoke," Matt told Nick, "but I really need one right now, and there's other things for you to be bothered with."

Nick put his head in his hands as Matt manically puffed on his cigarette. They were going to die here. It was almost certain. Unless Matt could find another way out in another forty five minutes. Matt stubbed out his cigarette on the dashboard with a minute smile and slammed himself back into his seat. "How are we getting out of here?"

Nick shook his head. "Really our only option is to drive around and find another way out of town."

Matt sighed deeply. "Yeah, I thought of that too," he said agreeably, "but in case you haven't noticed, we haven't got very much gas."

Nick looked and saw that Matt was right; if they were going to drive around, they had to know where they were going and be quick about it. "Shit," Matt muttered. "How much of a choice do you think we've got? Let's just see where we can get."

Nick shook his head. "If this road is blocked, how do you know any others would be open?"

"How do you know they've gotten to them?"

"You're right," Nick agreed. "We've got to take a chance."

With that, Matt started the car and they drove back down the road they'd come up. Nick took a look at what was left of the radio in the car and tossed his head back. "Matt, can I have a cigarette?"

Matt let out a small laugh and handed him his pack. Nick pulled one out, brought it to his lips, and lit it. And coughed. Matt guffawed. "I'm sorry," he said between fits of laughter. "I've just never seen anyone take a drag off of a smoke for the first time."

Nick took another hit and felt himself ease up a little. He nestled back into his seat and calmed down. "We'll be fine," he told Matt. "I'm sure you'll be able to find another exit and everything will be cool."

Matt smiled. "There you go. I thought you'd never lighten up. Just kick back, and I'll get us out of here."

Nick started to feel a little light headed from the cigarette, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He shook his head in dismay, though, every time he looked outside. A dead body could still be found every here and there, and Nick felt his fear regaining its hold on him. He threw the cigarette butt out the window and looked forward, waiting for a street to lead out of this hellish place. It was 10:00.

* * *

"So what do you think?"

"He's obviously become quite a problem."

"Still, he's proved rather useful."

"Don't be ridiculous. He has nothing that we didn't give him."

"It's dirty work that we didn't have to do."

"Would carrying out that task seem that difficult to you?"

"Of course not."

"Then you must see that he's expendable. His usefulness has run it's course."

"Yes, I must admit that he's become a bit of a thorn in our side."

"Exactly. And there's no reason to carry any dead weight."

"I just..."

"Remember, this is an extremely intricate operation. He's become a loose cannon, and we can't let something we can spare jeopardize everything."

"Well, what should we do?"

"He seems to think he's in charge of the situation all of a sudden. He needs to be neutralized."

"Alright. I'll handle it."