Page 13 of Chrome Poppies
“Are y-you sure it was Jensen Grimes you saw?” I asked and noticed the shock on the other men’s faces upon hearing this.
Bear leaned into where Bernie sat with a newfound fear in his eyes, “The boss shot that fucker between the eyes, we all saw it.”
“Unless he has a twin,” Bernie responded as he shuffled nervously in his chair. “This dude responded to the name Jensen. Said he was heading to Texas.”
“Bear!” I yelled out, “Meet me behind the bar.” I gripped my cane and slid off the chair, limping over behind the bar, tapping the metal crate underneath it. Bear pulled out the crate filled with guns and ammo. “Men, all of you, except Bernie and Steven, arm yourselves.” Bear was choosy when deciding who got which firearm, while I loaded a Glock semi-automatic handgun.
Bernie roseand waved, “Hey, what about us, bro?” He called out as he approached the bar. “Don’t Steve and I get a gat too?” I answered his loudmouth with a shot to the head and smiled with deep satisfaction as his body collapsed to the floor.
Steven tripped over the chairs, attempting to run away, but he got a bullet in the head too. “We don’t need those two running to the hotel to tell Grimes we are onto him.” Let’s get a few hours of sleep. We need to be at the hotel before sunup to stop Grimes before he hits the pavement. Bear, you’re the cleaner, take care of the bodies.”
Bear bowed his head and dragged Bernie next to Stevie. I wasn’t certain how he cleaned up the bodies; I didn’t want to know how and headed upstairs to get some sleep. I seriously doubt these two idiots saw Jensen Grimes, unless they were on some serious drugs that cause hallucinations. If they did, I wanted to get a leg up on him sooner than later and make sure he was deader than a mother fucking doornail.
TEN
EZEKIEL
I never stopped monitoring Jensen and Emilie. It warmed my heart to see he was a tender-hearted soul with her, and I knew, without a doubt, he’d have no problems getting her to Napa, California Earth safely. Well, that was until I saw on the monitor that two of the Chrome Poppies men spotted him outside the hotel.
Franklin offered to stay and help with the monitoring but human shows on YouTube distracted her.
At one time, she showed an interest in being part of the Heaven Security department. After training started, her interest waned when she learned there was a lot of paperwork and standing around. She wanted to kick some angel ass.
When that failed, she wanted to work in the forestry department because she loved animals. That lasted a day when she and a couple of other angels were chased by a bear. What I never told her was I simulated the bear and programmed it on what to do.
I gave up and decided it was just best not to give Franklin any duties at all; she was too indecisive to carry them out and certainly too flighty.
“We’ve got a problem, Franklin,” I said as I circled my finger to reverse the footage on the holograph monitor. “Please look closely and tell me what Jensen stuffed in the saddlebag.”
Franklin slipped a pair of glasses, far too big for her face. She looked adorable, but I had no idea she wore glasses nor where they came from. However, she felt she needed some help in seeing more clearly. It was preposterous since she was an unearthly angel who was perfect in every way.
“Can you make me a cup of tea while I investigate this?” Franklin asked with a sweet tone as she rested her hands on the table and leaned in closer to the monitor.
“A cup of Earl Grey coming up—peppermint mocha creamer and extra sugar, right?” She gave me a thumbs up and I continued preparing her tea, though peering over my shoulder to see her doing strange gestures with her hands. “What are you doing?”
She looked at me, her eyes widened like a deer in headlights. “Nothing, it’s dark and difficult to get a good picture.” Suddenly she gasped then moaned, “Ooooh, Ezekiel, he bought her a doll. Oh no, a couple of dolls. What a sweet man to put little Emilie’s interests first.” Franklin stood up and crossed her arms over her chest, “Did you think he was stuffing guns into the saddlebags?” I shrugged at her question. “Ye of little faith, Zeke. Jensen Grimes wouldn’t do anything to blow his chance of staying in Heaven. Okay, I must go now, bye.”
“What about your…” I called out as Franklin rushed out the door, “Tea?”
Franklin was out the door too quickly and now I wasn’t sure if she was being honest with me. I turned my attention to the monitor and rewound it to Jensen loading the saddle bags. She was right; he was stuffing it with toys for the child, and this act of kindness brought a single tear to my eye.
ELEVEN
JENSEN
The next morning, Emilie filled up on breakfast. I had no idea what she liked and brought two plates of everything from the breakfast bar. She was thankful and still hungry, though she didn’t want to sit at the table and eat. I wasn’t one to fight with a child, so I let her sit on the bed, while she engaged in some mindless kids’ show on the television.
Paranoia ate at me after seeing Bernie and Steven last night. I knew they would run and tell Levi. I’d have to take a different route to Napa, sensing this was going to be much longer than the easy six-hour ride I had expected.
“How are ya doing there, kiddo?” I asked Emilie as I walked past the beds to the closet. I opened my bag and rummaged through to find a tablet. Ezekiel was right, he packed everything under the sun and surprisingly, it was fully charged. “It looks like we are in for a long ride to your aunt’s house.”
“It’s okay, I guess.” Emilie muttered in monotone, completely submerged in the world of SpongeBob.
Of course, it had to be okay. It was either live with her relatives or be thrown into foster care and I would not have that. The only thing that mattered to me now was keeping this child alive, for her sake and for mine. I wanted to make a homestead in Heaven, but I wanted to ensure Emilie had a comfortable home where she wanted for nothing.
I pulled up Google Maps, looking for an alternative route that would keep me off Levi’s radar. I couldn’t assume he would not trail me, since he was predictable like that. He’d also make sure his men were armed to the hilt.
I laughed at the notion that the Chrome Poppies members were comparable toStormtroopersin thoseStar Warsmovies. The men were poor shots and missed their target a large percentage of the time. Normally, Levi would need to step in and finish the job his shiftless men couldn’t.