it. Deadly at close range. Accurate at twenty to fifty feet. Beyond that, even a good shot had the potential to miss. Add to that moving bodies, moving cars, other obstacles, unfamiliar terrain, and other people with guns, and anything could happen.
Janie said, “Try to keep Eddie safe.” Her voice had that pleading quality again.
Hank looked at her. His own mission was clear, and he couldn’t afford to have it compromised with other, collateral concerns. More than once it had crossed his mind that he might have to kill everyone at the warehouse to ensure the story stayed buried. His eyes met hers and he said, “The only sure way to be safe, is to not be here at all.” He looked past her, into the brush, and added, “When people start shooting, in the heat of the moment, there’s no time to think. Anything can happen.”
He hoped that would end it. He couldn’t make her promises, about anything, and her eyes told him she understood. She nodded and checked her watch. “Well,” she said, “it’s getting late. I better get out of here before someone shows up.”
Hank didn’t speak. He just watched her get in the car and drive off. A look of fear and anxiety came over her face as she looked at him through the windshield. It was the look of someone who suddenly realized everything in her life could go wrong.
When the Camaro disappeared over the hill, Hank looked around and questioned his motives for coming. He knew he didn’t have to do anything at all. He could simply sit and watch what happened. They would give Ron the money, maybe he would threaten them, maybe he wouldn’t. Hank doubted he would kill one of them. He needed them to keep the operation running. But with the body getting found in the desert, maybe it was time to shut it down. Maybe Ron would kill them, take the fifty grand, and be happy to have it over. There was no way to know.
But the problem was that it was Friday. If the payoff was made, Hank had no ability to guess where Lugano might be. He might not come home at all. Maybe he’d take the cash and go to Vegas or LA and live it up for a few days. Anything was possible. That would leave Hank sitting in Nickelback through the weekend, trying to figure out where Lugano was and trying not to draw attention to himself. He needed to finish the job. He needed it to be over. At least he knew for certain where Lugano was going to be just after four o’clock. That meant he couldn’t sit back and watch. He would have to finish it then.
He went around the side of the warehouse to wait. He dragged an empty barrel over to the wall and sat on it, looking through the hole at the interior of the building and the parking lot out front. He waited, brushing the dust from his gun. He’d only been there a few minutes and he was already filthy.
Janie drove the car back out to the main road, thinking about what Hank had said. There was no telling what might happen. The only way to be safe was to not be there at all. She sat at the crossroad for a few minutes, thinking it through. Then she turned the car and started heading into town.
She’d barely gone a hundred yards when she saw an old oil truck coming toward her. She slowed as it approached, staring up at it. She could see Eli’s bushy hair blowing in the wind from the open window as it came near and then went past her. She felt a relief come through her. She’d managed to get away from the warehouse in the nick of time.
And then the obvious occurred to her. The easiest way to stop Eddie from getting hurt was to stop him from being there. The easiest way to do that would be to simply sit and wait. She pulled the Camaro over on the opposite side of the road and waited.
Eddie would come along soon and she would flag him down, stop him from going on. One way or another, the whole operation would be over by the end of the day and it would be time for the two of them to leave Nickelback for good.
But as she sat, she thought about Hank. How confident he seemed that everything would be fine. Despite