side, that should keep the co ps busy while we get rid of our load. On the downside, some poor bastards might well be heading to hospital and dozens more will have the pleasurable experience of negotiating with insurers and body shops.
Another set of offences to a ppend to the charge sheet; another load of guilt to add to the conscience.
Damn.
* * *
We’re five minutes up the road, cruising at the speed limit, movi ng out beyond the town into countryside, the highway lined by trees and the occasional open patch of grass surrounding large ranch style houses. Paavo hasn’t said a word. Jason hasn’t stopped babbling.
‘Did you see him, man? He zoomed up and,’ Jason slaps his hands together loudly, shouting ‘Bam!’ at t he same time. ‘Fucking awesome!’
‘Jesus, Paavo, you co uld have killed someone,’ I say, turning to face the taciturn Finn.
‘I was trying to.’
‘He bounced off those parked cars like a fucking pinball,’ Jason continues, slapping his hands on the dashboard, making crashing noises with his mouth.
‘ For fuck’s sake, Jason,’ I snap. ‘Shut the fuck up!’
‘Well, sor rrrrry,’ he whines.
I ignore him, turning back to Paavo. ‘ I mean someone other than Barry White and Junior’s sister.’
He shrugs and stays silent.
‘What if some kid was mangled in that pile up?’
‘Did you want them to follow us?’
‘No!’
‘Then it worked.’
‘You can’t just treat other people as collateral damage. We could be in big fucking trouble.’
‘We’re already in big trouble,’ he says calmly.
This whole mess of a morning has played havoc with my mind and body, but it seems to be water off a duck’s back to Paavo. It’s making me wonder what the hell he did in the army, so I ask him.
‘This and that.’
‘This and that? Did this and that involve killing people?’
‘It was the army.’
Fuck.
A phone starts to ring. It’s not my ringtone. Jason has Junior’s iPhone in his hand. He shrugs his shoulders. ‘I thought I might have another go at accessing it. It says it’s Denise.’
Damn.
‘Answer it,’ I tell him.
Jason slides the bar across the screen and says: ‘Yes?’
He listens then passes it to me. I put it to my ear cautiously. ‘Hello?’
‘You’re a dead man walking,’ Barry White says calmly, his voice sounding like a late night DJ who has smoked sixty cigarettes a day for the past thirty years. ‘I’m going to fuck you up so bad even your parents won’t recognize you.’
My balls have shrunk to the size of M&Ms.
‘My parents are dead,’ I manage to squeak.
Paavo turns off the highway onto a narrow paved road. It’s bounded by a mixed deciduous and coniferous forest.
‘And so will you be, motherfucker. You owe me a new car. And a million dollars.’
‘Have you told Denise that you killed Junior?’ I say timidly.
All I can hear is Barry White’s sonorous breathing.
I listen for a few moments then terminate the call. I’ve no great desire to keep talking to the psychopath. The screen goes blank. I press the on button, but all that happens is it asks for the four digit code and tells me that we’ve missed ten calls.
‘How come it’s not rung until now?’ I ask Jason.
He shrugs and lets another fart rip. ‘It’s been on silent. I didn’t have time to crack the code earlier. I tried the obvious ones – 0000, 1234, 9876 – then gave up.’
‘Shit.’ I give the phone back to Jason, who puts it in a pocket. ‘He says we’re dead men walking. That he’s going to fuck us up.’
‘Throw the phone away,’ Paavo orders.
‘Why?’
‘GPS. He can track us.’
‘Flip .’ I hadn’t thought of that. Still, having Junior’s phone might be useful.
Paavo pulls to a halt. He exits and walks purposefully round the front of the van and opens the passenger door.
‘Give me the phone.’
Jason hands it over just as it starts to ring again.
Another set of offences to a ppend to the charge sheet; another load of guilt to add to the conscience.
Damn.
* * *
We’re five minutes up the road, cruising at the speed limit, movi ng out beyond the town into countryside, the highway lined by trees and the occasional open patch of grass surrounding large ranch style houses. Paavo hasn’t said a word. Jason hasn’t stopped babbling.
‘Did you see him, man? He zoomed up and,’ Jason slaps his hands together loudly, shouting ‘Bam!’ at t he same time. ‘Fucking awesome!’
‘Jesus, Paavo, you co uld have killed someone,’ I say, turning to face the taciturn Finn.
‘I was trying to.’
‘He bounced off those parked cars like a fucking pinball,’ Jason continues, slapping his hands on the dashboard, making crashing noises with his mouth.
‘ For fuck’s sake, Jason,’ I snap. ‘Shut the fuck up!’
‘Well, sor rrrrry,’ he whines.
I ignore him, turning back to Paavo. ‘ I mean someone other than Barry White and Junior’s sister.’
He shrugs and stays silent.
‘What if some kid was mangled in that pile up?’
‘Did you want them to follow us?’
‘No!’
‘Then it worked.’
‘You can’t just treat other people as collateral damage. We could be in big fucking trouble.’
‘We’re already in big trouble,’ he says calmly.
This whole mess of a morning has played havoc with my mind and body, but it seems to be water off a duck’s back to Paavo. It’s making me wonder what the hell he did in the army, so I ask him.
‘This and that.’
‘This and that? Did this and that involve killing people?’
‘It was the army.’
Fuck.
A phone starts to ring. It’s not my ringtone. Jason has Junior’s iPhone in his hand. He shrugs his shoulders. ‘I thought I might have another go at accessing it. It says it’s Denise.’
Damn.
‘Answer it,’ I tell him.
Jason slides the bar across the screen and says: ‘Yes?’
He listens then passes it to me. I put it to my ear cautiously. ‘Hello?’
‘You’re a dead man walking,’ Barry White says calmly, his voice sounding like a late night DJ who has smoked sixty cigarettes a day for the past thirty years. ‘I’m going to fuck you up so bad even your parents won’t recognize you.’
My balls have shrunk to the size of M&Ms.
‘My parents are dead,’ I manage to squeak.
Paavo turns off the highway onto a narrow paved road. It’s bounded by a mixed deciduous and coniferous forest.
‘And so will you be, motherfucker. You owe me a new car. And a million dollars.’
‘Have you told Denise that you killed Junior?’ I say timidly.
All I can hear is Barry White’s sonorous breathing.
I listen for a few moments then terminate the call. I’ve no great desire to keep talking to the psychopath. The screen goes blank. I press the on button, but all that happens is it asks for the four digit code and tells me that we’ve missed ten calls.
‘How come it’s not rung until now?’ I ask Jason.
He shrugs and lets another fart rip. ‘It’s been on silent. I didn’t have time to crack the code earlier. I tried the obvious ones – 0000, 1234, 9876 – then gave up.’
‘Shit.’ I give the phone back to Jason, who puts it in a pocket. ‘He says we’re dead men walking. That he’s going to fuck us up.’
‘Throw the phone away,’ Paavo orders.
‘Why?’
‘GPS. He can track us.’
‘Flip .’ I hadn’t thought of that. Still, having Junior’s phone might be useful.
Paavo pulls to a halt. He exits and walks purposefully round the front of the van and opens the passenger door.
‘Give me the phone.’
Jason hands it over just as it starts to ring again.
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