adrenalin flowing for him get hung up over it. He had to get on with the job.
James kept the speed down on the road leading out of the prison, but once he hit the interstate he couldnt hang about. The sporty little car had a firm suspension and the steering felt sharp. James got a sense of invincibility as he dodged between the three lanes of traffic.
The twelve-mile ride to the dirt road turnoff took less than ten minutes. A Ford Explorer with bull bars on the front was parked up, with its headlamps switched on, a few hundred metres past the junction.
Lrab the weapons,?James said to Curtis, as he pulled the Honda up alongside the Ford and flung open his door.
Lauren had left the engine of the four-wheel-drive Ford running and was already belted into the front passenger seat. James climbed into the drivere seat and hit the gas as soon as Curtis slammed the door behind him.
Hou got the car up here OK??James asked Lauren, as he pulled on to the dirt road.
Incle John didnt wake up,?Lauren nodded. i got his road maps and worked out the route to Los Angeles.?She looked behind. Ind you must be Curtis.?
Ney,?Curtis smiled. Lood to meet you Lauren. Wheret you learn how to drive??
Le and Dave taught her,?James explained. Le took her with us a couple of times when we were out on the rampage.?
it a bit short to reach the pedals,?Lauren added. But theree hardly any traffic on the road up from our house.?
Lhat you got in the backpack over there??Curtis asked.
Clothes, money, toiletries,?Lauren explained. i even managed to sneak into the bedroom and get Johne forty-four.?
Lete got a proper gun??Curtis asked. Lhere is it??
Curtis didnt need an answer; he spotted the huge revolver on the armrest between the two front seats.
The 4
Aorty-four magnum,?Curtis grinned as he picked up the gun. Cirty Harry special. You can blow a guy in half with one of these.?
Lauren looked out the window as the donut place whizzed by. Lames you tit, wete going the wrong way.?
Lhat??James gasped.
Hou turned the wrong way when we pulled on to the interstate.?
Irse.?
There was a metal barrier between the lanes. James started looking for a junction where he could pull off and turn around.
Cidnt you tune that radio??James asked.
Oh, yeah,?Lauren said, reaching forward and flicking it on.
Le saw the superintendent of our cellblock in the prison car park,?James explained. Lete not going to get anything like the four hours wet hoped for. We抣l be lucky if we get another twenty minutes before the police are on our tail.?
James spotted a break in the barrier and swung the tall car into a wide arc, across a strip of scrub in the middle of the road and into the opposite lane. A sedan car blasted its horn, as the driver slammed her brakes to avoid shunting them up the back.
Lhoops,?James said, as he floored the gas pedal and began slowly picking up speed. To how far is it to the border with California??
Lust under sixty miles,?Lauren said. 慙os Angeles is two hundred miles further than that. Ite a five-hour journey if we dont stop.?
Le抣l have to stop at least once, for gas.?
Traffic was light and the unlit road almost straight. When James checked the speedometer he was doing eighty miles an hour, which was over the limit, but in line with what most of the other traffic was doing at this time of night. If he drove any faster, het look conspicuous.
The radio station was holding a phone-in and the topics were Are there alien beings walking among us? and Who is the greatest popular musician of all time? As far as James could work out, most of the people who rang in believed that the answer to both questions was Elvis Presley.
The digital clock on the dashboard said 03:43 when the DJ cut off a caller and got seriously excited.
憛Wete picking up breaking news of an escape from Arizona Max. Two male escapees, both aged fourteen. Thate one four, folks, not four zero ?One prison officer is believed to have died during the escape. Arizona police are setting up roadblocks at strategic locations. The escapees are described as white skinheads, going by the names of James Rose and Curtis Oxford. Both are convicted murderers and police say that you should treat the boys with the same degree of caution as you would if you spotted a dangerous adult offender ?Thate red-hot news, listeners, stay tuned, because were gonna be keeping