Read Skarzy for Free Online

under the bed.
    Sat there with
his hands on his temples. Waited.
    He was hot.
Still burning. Still not feeling well.
    Look at this
pressure. Look what he was getting himself into. Maybe he should just kill
them.
    Skarzy paused.
Forced a smile. Yeah.
    I still got
the power.
    1,500. Halfway
there.
    He could take
that back to the car, and then go to the Casino. Chuck it all on Red. Test his
luck. Wouldn’t have to fuck with the night anymore.
    He looked
outside. All was silent.
    It has led me
here, he
thought. The Higher Power was angry. Or upset.
    Or frightened.
    They know my Power.
    They want me
to stop.
    Skarzy fell
back onto the bed.
    The Higher
Power…
    He didn’t
really believe in that shit. Total nonsense.
    This house
wasn’t meant to be. The proposition wasn’t saving lives.
    It was just
random. All of it.
    He was still
hot. He took off his T-shirt. Wondered if these rich people had put the heat up
in the room.
    Wondered if
that old guy was gonna try and fuck him.
    Skarzy wasn’t
gay. But he knew there was that risk.
    He looked
under the bed again. Took off his pants.
    All bets
covered.
     

 
    15
     
    He lay there for a while. At first he
didn’t mind they were taking their time. It’d given him enough to figure out his
reflexes if things went bad – figure out whether or not he would wave the gun
at them regardless. There was the rum too. That felt good. And after a while,
he realized he wanted more. Eventually he stood up and went to the window. He
could see his car from there.
    His car and
the cop car.
    COP CAR???
    Skarzy’s jaw
fell to the floor.
    What the fuck
is that doing there? How long’s it been there?
    HOW LONG HAVE
I BEEN JUST SITTING HERE???
    Skarzy went
for the door. Locked.
    Set up.
Fucking rich pricks.
    He could hear
them now too. Coming up the stairs.
    Would they
come in shooting? Did they know he had a gun?
    Skarzy picked
up the clock radio and tossed it at the window.
    Not hard
enough. Barely made a crack.
    Outside the
door: “Shit! He knows!”
    “Quickly, open
it!”
    Skarzy went
for the bed. Picked up the revolver. Fired it at once at the window.
    “He shooting
at us!”
    “YOU’RE FUCKED
NOW, TERRENCE!!!”
    Hole went
straight through. More cracks. Skarzy fired again.
    This time it
shattered.
    There was a
thud outside the door. They must’ve dropped.
    Skarzy ran for
the windowsill.
    Jumped.
    He landed on
the carport. Upstairs they were firing.
    Skarzy jumped
again.
    Pavement. He
was stung.
    He ran. Jumped
at his car.  
    Made for the
handle. Went for his keys.
    “HHHHHHRRRRRRR!!!”
    The front door
was opening. Men were shouting.
    Skarzy ran
wildly. He could barely feel the road on his feet.
    Other people
were coming out of their houses now.
    There was no
place for him to stop. Time was against him.
    The deadlines
were real.
    He remembered
Thomas knocking on Albert’s window.
    Tap, tap, tap.
    Oh, the panic.
There hadn’t been time for him to put on underwear.
    Skarzy ran and
it was raining now.
    He was back
where he started.
     

 
    16
     
    Only he wasn’t. Not quite. There was
one significant difference between his first run into Mentone and now. Skarzy
had a gun.
    He ran for
almost ten minutes straight before he stopped. He ran through houses, and over
fences. Down streets and sidealleys. Through a reserve.
    He stopped at
the end.
    The cops were
long gone.
    But with a
great sense of dread, Skarzy realized they had him this time.
    Pressed up
against the wall.
    The phone.
    That one
blasted message.
    How long would
it be before they traced his phone number?
    Spoke to
Vostle or Lucy?
    Well … he
doubted they would tell them much.
    But they had
his name now didn’t they?
    Skarzy?
    He had
mentioned that in the message, had he not?
    Skarzy gritted
his teeth. He opened the gun’s cylinder.
    One bullet.
One bullet remaining.
    In many cases
the gun would have been enough.
    But not
anymore.
    Skarzy slowed
down. Walked. He was nearing the corner of the reserve.
    What time was
it