“You took it,” Delvina said.
“I don’t think so. I don’t remember taking it.”
“You took it because I fired you. Thought you’d get away with it.”
“That’s insulting. I wouldn’t do something like that.”
“I want my money,” Delvina yelled at Mickey. “Give it to me.”
“I don’t got it. I swear.”
Delvina grabbed a double-?barreled shotgun from a gun rack on the wall. “This is your last chance.”
Mickey’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets. “That’s nuts.”
Delvina raised the shotgun and Mickey took off for the back door. I jumped away and Mickey ran out of the building, slamming the door shut behind him. BAM! Delvina blasted a cantaloupe-?size hole in the door. Mickey threw himself into the Town Car and cranked it over.
I looked down at my feet and told them to run, but they didn’t do anything.
Delvina kicked the door open and aimed at the car, but the car was already skidding out of the lot. I was standing behind the door and would have been hidden except for the big hole in it.
“You!” Delvina said. And he turned the shotgun on me.
I was total deer in the headlights. I was open mouthed, heart-?thumping frozen.
“Get in the office,” he said. “Go!”
I stumbled inside and tried to pull it together. I didn’t think he’d shoot me if I didn’t make any sudden moves. Diesel was the guy he really wanted. He’d use me to get Diesel.
Delvina took cuffs out of the top desk drawer. He dropped them on the desk and took a step back with the shotgun still trained on me. “Put them on.”
I cuffed myself with my hands in front. If you’re serious about restraining someone, you never do this. Hands are always cuffed behind, but Delvina didn’t seem to care.
“Okay,” he said. “Where is he?”
My mind was racing. I needed to get Delvina into a position where he’d be at a disadvantage. I was afraid if we stayed in the office, Diesel might walk in and get blown away. I decided my best chance at survival was to take Delvina to Rangeman and have Ranger’s crew come to my rescue.
“Diesel went to check on Snuggy and Doug,” I said. “They’re hidden in a parking garage downtown.”
“Then that’s where we’re going.” He motioned to the door with the shotgun. “Walk.”
I squinted into the misting rain when I stepped outside. I didn’t see Diesel. I didn’t see Mickey returning with an attendant from the psychiatric ward at St. Francis. What I saw was an armored truck.
“Get in,” Delvina said. “You’re driving.”
“That might not be a good idea,” I said. “I’ve never driven an armored truck before.”
“It’s like any other truck. It’s even automatic. Just get in before I shoot you. It’s raining on my aluminum foil. It’s real loud in my head. Like rain on a tin roof.”
I hauled myself up onto the driver’s seat and put my cuffed hands on the wheel. “You’re going to have to turn the key and put it into reverse,” I told Delvina.
I inched my way back, Delvina put it into drive, and I inched my way out of the lot. I had no rear visibility except for the
side mirrors. Narrow bulletproof windshield. My hands were cuffed together, and the monster drove like a freight train. I was afraid I’d run over a Dodge Neon and never know.
“Where did you get this?” I asked Delvina.
“Borrowed it.”