The Lion Tamer (Completed)

Chapter nine - Leaving Town

Chapter 9

Leo pulled the car away from the Six Shooter quickly, more quickly than he planned. The thought that he was going to be followed had crossed his mind, but as he checked the rear view mirror he could see that there was no tail on him. The club faded behind him and he felt relief grow in his chest.
John must have confident that he wouldn’t run as well. He had eyes and ears all over town and it wouldn’t be too hard to find someone who decided to go off radar and anyone foolish enough to try to run would also be asking for a lot more pain when caught. That would probably mean sending DropDead to handle the job and you didn’t want to have DropDead find you, not ever. Danny found that out and most likely so did Tommy.
He checked the mirror again and was convinced that he was not being followed but he still took a meandering route back to the abandoned building where Eddie was.
He thought of his brother and what had been ordered by John. No doubt the whole thing was a mess and John had every right to be pissed and Leo had no idea ultimately who John had to answer to but it was of no concern to him. He had to answer to John Pronti and that was all that mattered.
And now Eddie had to be taken care of, thought Leo.
That was what John thought was justice in this matter, a way to erase the major problem of Eddie and at the same time, teach Leo a lesson about who was in charge. He gripped the wheel tighter and circled the same block a few times. The image came up like an unwanted ghost; water pouring from Evan’s lifeless mouth, his lips white and loose, eyes closed and water running from his nostrils. Eddie crying like a baby and rocking himself back into his safer world, maybe the only one in the whole crew that felt an ounce of remorse for what they had done to the boy.
And it was an accident! Sure, a miscommunication of great proportions, but still it was an accident and the main culprit – Quiet Danny – was now quieter than ever, so that had gotten sorted out.
Everyone knows shit rolls downhill and, to be sure, it was my call, he thought.
Still, I had no idea that Danny was suddenly gonna get a boner and rape that girl, was that his fault too? Danny had screwed up the most and now he had paid for it, fine. Tommy? Well, he felt bad for him and there was even a dim hope that they only broke him up a bit and didn’t bury him somewhere. Unless, like Danny, DropDead had gotten hold of him and, well, that pretty much ended that line of thought.
He turned onto Eighth Street and drove closer towards the long-abandoned warehouse area, still checking each mirror to see that no one was matching his turns too frequently.
I need time to think, time to think, a voice inside his head begged. John gave me a week and I plan on using it…he probably won’t even send someone to look for me until the week is up, anyway. Need to get Eddie and get us both to a safe place until I can sort this all out, this whole fuckin’ mess that got served to me. Maybe John will have calmed down by then but I doubt it, he didn’t seem too willing to change his mind while he was pointing that cannon at my head back there. But I gotta get Eddie out of here, we both have to get somewhere where we’re not both looking over our shoulders, at least until the week is done.
A few minutes later he had the black and gray factory in sight and drove straight for it, turning down the same side street had the night before. He was relieved to see that no other cars occupied the side of the building and he quickly pulled up and got out.
He slid through the bars in front and raced for the front door. He climbed the steps two at a time until he reached the top floor where he found Eddie huddled near the portable heater, a long stick of beef jerky in one hand and a look of joy on his face.
Leo began quickly gathering the few things they needed and Eddie followed his instructions and began gathering up the heater and the bags that held what food was left.
“Leave ‘em,” Leo said as he rolled up the second sleeping bag. “We’ll buy some more food when we leave, somewhere.”
Eddie stopped for a moment, still with the half coiled extension cord draped over one forearm. “Aren’t we going home now?”
“Not really,” he said.
“Did you talk to John?”
“Yeah.”
Eddie stayed still and kept his eyes on Leo who finished tying the sleeping bag and slung it over his shoulder.
“What did John say? Was he really mad?”
“What the fuck do you think, Ed? ‘Course he was mad, hey?”
“Where are we going?”
“We gotta leave here and find someplace to go for a few days,” Leo answered.
“Where?”
“Would you stop asking so many fucking questions and help me bring this shit downstairs for Christ’s sake?”
Eddie still stayed motionless for a second or so, as if he was waiting for a cue from Leo and then slowly finished winding up the cord.
They came out to the car, Leo again relieved to see that no other cars were outside and they packed up the supplies. Leo slammed the trunk and they climbed in.
Leo put the car in drive and they headed down the street and Leo began plotting the route to get on the highway out of Philadelphia.
Leo pulled the car up to a small bank and, after instructing Eddie to stay in the car, went in and quickly withdrew enough cash to cover them for what he hoped was only a few days. He climbed back in the car and the two continued heading toward the highway which led west.
Shortly later, while the city was still visible behind them and the sky was beginning to show the blue above the gray and black clouds, Eddie spoke.
“What about mom? How are we going to let her know where we are?” he asked softly.
Leo ignored the question and looked ahead, to the strip of black that was helping put some distance between John Pronti and them. He was satisfied by now that no one was trying to follow them. The cars and trucks that slid from lane to lane around them looked safe and innocuous, filled with children, couples and single drivers.
Eddie reached for the radio knob.
“Don’t touch that. I need to think and it bothers me.”
Eddie stopped and leaned back into his seat, breathing out a sigh. He turned to look out the window. The trees on the hills were bare and brown and Eddie wished that they could suddenly sprout green leaves and that the air was warmer, that the sun would erupt from the clouds and send golden rays down to warm the ground. A car pulled up alongside and matched their speed and Eddie looked over to see a young girl bent over an open book. Her mother and father were in the front seat and it looked to Eddie as if they were yelling at each other. The girl winced occasionally but kept her head down as if reading but her shoulders began to shake and Eddie could see her eyes squeeze shut. She wasn’t turning any pages. She turned to see Eddie and he watched as a tear dropped from her cheek to her chin. She wore glasses and her hair was in a ponytail. The man and woman were still yelling and he watched as the car sped up and took her away from his sight. He leaned, trying to follow the girl, but it changed lanes and was lost among the other cars.
“Mom will be fine,” Leo finally answered. “We’ll let her know where we are when we get there. I think we’ll spend a few days out in the country, maybe see some cows or something, hey?”
Eddie nodded.
They drove for another couple of hours on the highway before getting off at an exit. Leo was simply making random turns when they presented themselves. The name of one of the roads they ended up on, Carriage Turning Road, particularly appealed to Leo and he stayed on it for as long as he could. It was a thin line of road, hilly and one lane each way, bordered on both sides by a small shoulder and then a drop off of a few feet. Small houses lay just beyond the cover of trees, making themselves visible at will, it seemed. Large hawks circled in the distance, winding and looping high in the sky, patrolling for movement below.
A few miles later, the road split and lying in the arms of the fork was a small, one level building that offered the sign, “Staedler Diner”. A few cars were parked in front and Leo cruised to a crawl before pulling into the parking lot and stopping the car by the side of the diner.
“Whattya want?” Leo asked. He watched as the door to the diner opened and a small family got out and made their way across the lot to their car. The small boy ran up ahead and waved at a dog waiting eagerly in the front seat.
“Can’t I come in? I’m hungry,” Eddie said with a brush of petulance in his voice.
Leo watched as the family loaded themselves into the car and pulled out onto the empty road.
“No, you’re too big,” he said. “People will remember someone like you, ya know? I’ll bring something out to you.”
Leo could tell that his brother was upset at not being able to get out of the car. He pinched his lips together and folded his arms. Eddie thought for a minute before answering. He asked for two cheeseburgers, two orders of fried and an extra large pepsi.
“Oh, and also some pie if they have it,” he added as Leo opened his door.
“What kind?”
“I don’t know, just some pie,” Eddie answered, his voice now leaving out any stain of bitterness.
Leo got out and entered the diner, holding the door for a young heavy woman as she exited.
Eddie waited anxiously as he watched the diner, the light reflecting off the windows preventing him from seeing any movement inside. He felt the dull push against his groin that told him he had to go to the bathroom. It came fairly suddenly but he dismissed the idea of getting out of the car. Leo, he thought, would yell at him again and he didn’t want to get him mad at him again.
He wanted to reach behind him and grab the Spiderman comic again but knew that by turning around in his seat, it would only have to make him go worse.
“C’mon, Leo,” he said to himself, and he began bouncing his left knee. The urge was becoming more powerful and he still saw no movement of the glass door to the diner. Movement to his left drew his gaze to a police cruiser rolling down the road toward the split where the diner stood. He watched as it approached and, although the front seat didn’t offer much room for him, he slid down as much as he could. The car passed by without slowing and disappeared from his view. A few seconds later the door opened and Leo appeared with a large white paper bag, his head turned to the direction that the car had traveled. He quickly walked to the car, opened the door and deposited the bag in his arms to Eddie. Eddie stomach immediately growled and he felt another urge to have to go. Leo turned the key and the car came to life once again.
“I gotta go, Leo,” Eddie said.
“Okay, we gotta get gas anyway, but hold it for a few minutes okay?” He glanced around and checked the road. It was empty.
He pulled the car out of the lot and turned it down the road that the cruiser had not chosen and brought the torino up to a cruise, making sure that he stayed within a reasonable interpretation of the speed limit.
Eddie was squirming in his seat now, both knees bouncing and he could not keep from pleading to Leo. “Leo, really I gotta go! C’mon, I gotta pee,” he said.
Leo saw the distress and pulled the car over to the side of the road.
“Hurry up, and don’t let nobody see you,” he said and Eddie hurriedly opened the door and climbed down the gentle embankment toward a copse of large trees.
Jesus, Leo thought, it’s like trying to hide Godzilla.
But he felt relief wash over him as he saw Eddie vanish into the woods.
Maybe we’ll be okay. Maybe nobody will ever find us here.