6

The exit was flawless. Under the cover of darkness and Vlad's invisibility spell, Vlad, Cliff and their slumbering prisoner made it back over the wall where to their waiting Maid Rite van. Koto and Shimmer arrived moments later, protecting the rear against any possible attack. There was none. They hadn't even been noticed.

Koto hooted and hollered as the Maid Rite van pulled on to the highway. His cheers reminded Vlad of the sound that Tito Durante made when he won the '56 World Series.

?" Shut the frag up back there, will you?" Cutter called back from the drivers seat. He seemed disturbed and nervous. Moreso than he'd been before the run. Moreso than Vlad was even. He turned up the volume on the radio. The song that was playing was one by the pop-rap band 'Wicked Styles'. Cliff sat beside him in the front seat, grinning from ear to ear at a job well done.

?" Sorry man, don't have a cow right here on the highway all right?" Koto pleaded. "What's the big deal anyway, hell we just made the score of a lifetime!"

?" We're not out of the woods yet. We won't be until we can get our money and get rid of that girl." Cutter responded.

?As far as Vlad was concerned, the job was practically done. Babysitting an overweight 15 year old couldn't be that tough. Especially with five guys to handle the task. If he was lucky, he wouldn't even have to stick around for that. Ms. Johnson had only ordered him to help them get the kid. The sooner he got away from these guys the better. They had already made him soft. He eyed Cliff with a look of disdain. He'd started to trust that one and nothing good could come from it.

" Change the station will ya? Try 93.5" Koto asked innocently, readjusting his Knight Errant baseball cap.

Cutter watched Cliff change the radio station with a surprised stare. He waited until Cliff was through. " There are two things you should never do in life Cliff."

"Well, I'll tell you. First, you never frag with another mans joygirl…" Cliff knew that. Hell, everyone knew that. But why was Cutter telling him now? He played along to find out.

" You never, ever change the drivers tunes!" Cutter spat the words angrily and jabbed the button. His song screeched back to life.

" Christ, Cutter, will you chill out already? You've been ridin us since we walked out of the joint. Why don't you try enjoying the victory for a while?" Koto yelled again.

" Ease off of him Koto." Shimmer broke into the argument. " He's only trying to keep us sharp. We've still got to sit on this kid for a while." As if on cue, their victim's eyes popped open.

" Girl's awake." Vlad observed. He'd been resting quietly against the van's back door until then.

" Want me to narc her?" Koto asked and then reached for his narcojet pistol.

" Naw chum, we can't." Cliff replied. " I narced her once already. Another dose of dat stuff and she might end up takin de long nap. "

Cutter joined the debate in a suddenly calm voice. Too calm, Vlad would remark later. He said: " Let the girl be. She's gagged so she can't make any noise. We have something more important to deal with right now. We've picked up a tail."

" Drek." Cliff moaned. Shimmer crawled up to the front seat and peered out of the side view mirror. A Lonestar police cruiser had joined them on the highway. Its lights were flashing red and gold, but its siren was not on.

" It'll pass us. It has no reason to pull us over." Shimmer contemplated aloud. Everyone else fell silent.

" It's not passing us." Cutter objected after a moment more. " I think they want us to pull over."

Cutter edged the van over to the side of the road, but left the engine running. "Ok, we'll play this cool. I don't want a firefight on the highway with Lonestar. We can't afford the drekstorm that they'll bring down on us if we take out a cop. I'll just get out of the car and talk to them. The plates are clean so there shouldn't be any problems. " Cutter stepped out of the van and walked back towards the Lonestar cruiser that had parked behind them. Shimmer climbed into the driver's seat the moment he left.

" Whats going on?" Koto asked. Vlad climbed up to the front seat to watch the events unfold with the others. He told Koto to watch the girl.

" Somebody tell me whats happening please?" Koto pleaded again. Vlad looked on from the driver side view mirror with Shimmer. Cliff was watching from the passenger's side. Two officers had exited the cruiser. They were talking to Cutter but neither Vlad, Shimmer nor Cliff could make out what any of them were saying.

" Hey I asked you guys what--" A loud 'thump!' interrupted Koto's final plea. All of them looked back to see what had happened. The girl had kicked the side of the van. She pulled her bound feet back and tried to do it again.

A gunshot sounded from outside. Vlad spun his head back around toward the side view mirror just in time to see Cutter slump to the ground. The cops had their guns drawn and they made a move towards the van.

" Go! Go!" Cliff screamed. There was no need. Shimmer had already floored the accelerator. The force of it rocketed Vlad to the back of the van. He landed on top of Koto and the girl.

" Wait! Where are we going? What about Cutter? Where's Cutter?" Koto squealed helplessly from beneath the pile.

" Cutter's dead." said Vlad, the words echoing in his mind. Cutter's dead.