The Hit

Chapter Twelve

 We passed through Fargo North Dakota late sunday night.

 "We better get through here fast!" Alissa exclaimed. "I don't want to end up in a wood chipper."

 "Funny." I stated dryly.

 "You're fuckin boring, you know that?"

 "Boring! Who else was going to take you on a road trip and pay for everything? Sounds fun to me!"

 "You were going to kill me! Then you decided to kidnap me instead and move me to Edmonton fucking Canada! Thanks for the change of clothes though, will you buy me a pet moose when we get there too?" She was angry but I let out a small chuckle. "Oh... I see. It's only funny if I'm angry." She said.

 "No it's just.... the wood chipper thing was funny too. I'm sorry."

 "You're scared." she said, looking at me, waiting for verification.

 I stared straight ahead. Fuck yes I'm scared! "We need to stop soon. Get some rest." Disappointed in my response, she turned to stare at the road.

 We stopped West of Fargo in another small motel, this one resembled Bates Motel more than the last one had. The irony of yet another movie in which people are killed in horrible ways was not lost on me. We even had the big stack of cash. The lack of taxidermied animals was a little reassuring. I employed the same strategy as the night before. It wasn't a good one but it was all I had.

 I woke the next morning to find Alissa sitting on the end of the bed. The duffel full of cash, at the end of the bed where I had left it, was open. Alissa was holding one of the Glocks I had put in the bag, staring at it. I started to get up.

 "It's not as heavy as I thought it would be" she said.

 "Do you know how to use one?" I tried unsuccessfully to quell the nervousness in my voice.

 "Point and shoot." A simplified answer but not entirely wrong.

 "I can teach you. Assuming you aren't about to shoot me."

 She stood up and tucked the pistol into the back of her jeans as she had seen me do multiple times by now. "Not yet. But I'll hang on to this."

"I guess I can't blame you" I conceded.

 It took just over four hours to get to the border. I looked at Alissa, waiting for her to respond. She caught my gaze. "Listen" I said. "You have to be cool. We can't afford suspicion. Remember your name is Sharon White, we are friends who went to the U.S. to visit, we just wanted to see the sights. You shouldn't have to say anything but just in case you do, we have no firearms or large sums of cash."

 "Got it Carl Harris." she said with a smirk. She could rat me out right then and there. She would probably end up in protective custody and I would be in prison. Or dead.

 The border service agent asked us the usual questions after accepting our documents. Alissa sat quietly, looking around a bit, doing a pretty convincing job of looking indifferent to the situation.

 "I'm going to have to go check on something" the agent said, turning around and walking towards a small shack next to the lane we were waiting in.

 Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

 "Umm.... what's going on." Alissa said nervously.

 Think, THINK! "Hand me the envelope." I said pointing to the passenger floor board, the twenty thousand dollars still there from Friday night. Alissa quickly handed it to me, the agent taking up his position next to the car as I poured the contents onto my lap.

 "Sir, Ma'am, I'm going to."

 "I'm sorry sir!" I said interrupting him. "I didn't realize I had forgotten the rest of the paperwork" lifting the money into sight. His eyes locked on to the stacks of cash. We were either royally fucked or he was a dirty agent. Anxiety filled every fiber of my being. Alissa squirmed, clearly uncomfortable with the choice I had made. At least she still had a story to tell. A convincing one too if it came to that. The seconds seemed to go on for hours as he contemplated the decision.

 "Alright then kids." he finally said, reaching through the window and swapping our documents for the money. He lingered long enough to stuff the cash into a pocket inside his wind breaker. "Welcome home and have a safe rest of your journey."

 I pulled away quickly but cautiously. Alissa stared straight ahead, shock filled every feature of her face. I watched her, wondering what she was thinking. A slight smile began to crease the edges of her lips.

 She slammed a fist into my shoulder. "You gave away my twenty grand jackass!" she said laughing.

 "I'll tell you what. When you're safe you can have whatever is left in the duffel bag."

 "Well don't give anymore away! I want a BMW and a house with a swimming pool."

 "Good choice. Maybe that moose too." I laughed. A real laugh. A genuinely happy laugh. I hadn't laughed like that since I was a child.

 "Holy shit we really just did that!" Alissa laughed again. Ignoring my moose comment.

 "I told you I was fun!"

 "You're fucking insane! What would you have done if he didn't take it?"

 "I honestly don't know. Drove really fast I guess."

 "Let's break more laws! I'm thirsty!" she said excitedly. I looked at her, excitement lit up her eyes.

 "What do you drink?"

 "Anything really. But this seems like a beer kind of event don't you think?"

 "I sure do!" I said. Damn, this woman is perfect.

 We stopped at a liquor store, got a case of Moosehead, and drank all the way to Edmonton. I don't think I looked at the speedometer once. It reminded me of being sixteen, on the back roads of a small Northern Minnesota town. It wasn't wise, but Alissa was enjoying herself, we were having fun. I couldn't possibly know if we would make it out of this entire ordeal alive. I decided we would make the best of times when we were having fun. It was late when we arrived, so I found a place to park where we would be left alone and we both passed out.