Guns for Hire - Script Twenty Five

Highway 15, Utah 2.31pm - 18/01/2016

After a brief & sullen stop for gas Vrasten tucked the Dodge in behind the RV & made small talk with Skinpin filling him in on the ins & outs of the UCPD's view of loose gunplay, overhead neither Vrasten or Skinpin or for that matter Alex, Mariusz or T Bird noticed the UCPD chopper that occasionally slid across the sky above them, funnily enough as well as being oblivious to the eye in the sky nobody had clocked the micro transmitter attached to the muscle cars rear plate.

Highway 80, Nevada 5.59pm - 18/01/2016

As afternoon slid into evening Alex eyed the road side sign welcoming all to the state of Nevada & stretched wearily, whilst the RV was pretty comfy to drive it wasn't going to crash any speed traps, on the spur of the moment Alex decided to hell with driving none stop to NC, after all what was the point, they'd crossed the state line so presumably Nordskov was off the hook & besides she was in no particular hurray to hit NC, overhead the chopper turned tail & headed back across the state line into Utah.

A couple or miles or so later Alex pulled of the highway & in answer to Mariusz's questioning looks pointed to the to the signs for the Ruby Mountain Recreational Zone,

"Just looking to chill out & relax for a couple of days, there's plenty of beer in the fridge & I ain't in no hurry"

Grinning Mariusz looked towards the rear screen,

"Lets hope Vrasten feels the same way about life shall we"

Vrasten hummed along to the tunes Skinpin had loaded onto the Dodge's stereo & followed the RV down the slip road, he was feeling pretty good really, the tick in his cheek almost invisible for the first time since entering Wingers Grill & Bar the day before in Spanish Fork, as the RV swung south on the 93 Mariusz's voice came over the intercom informing the two of the decision to park up for a couple of days & take stock, none plused Vrasten smiled & agreed it sounded like a mighty fine idea.

Ruby Mountain Recreational Park, Nevada 12.09am - 21/01/2016

For the last couple of days they'd bummed about the various stop over points around the state maintained parkland, there weren't many other campers about, it was far to early in the year for that & in most cases the tourist lodges were still closed down from the winter lay over, all in all however a bit of winter fishing, a couple of BBQ's & a few beers was almost enough to put there disagreements behind them, almost enough.

Alex didn't exactly throw out the red carpet to Vrasten but nor did he exclude him from using the RV's facilities, Vrasten even acknowledged to T Bird that maybe things had turned out for the best & that there were no grudges as far as he was concerned, they even managed to agree a split on Frank Uzzitt's money although to keep the peace with Mariusz she didn't offer Vrasten all that he was likely due, besides Alex confessed, how'd they think she'd paid for the RV.

Over another beer it was eventually suggested that pretty as it all was it was time to head back to NC & see about picking up a contract although the appeal of nurse maiding some chicken shit suit to scared to go out at night in case the bogey man turned up didn't really appeal to any off them, it was finally agreed that come tomorrow they'd head west.

Ruby Mountain Recreational Park, Nevada 2.09pm - 22/01/2016

Winding back north with the range to their east they finally turned west & slipped back up onto the highway mid afternoon, at a steady 55 they'd be in NC in plenty of time to catch a beer or two in the Hope.

Alex let Vrasten & Skinpin take the lead dropping the RV in behind the Dodge, Mariusz, relaxing, lounged in the back of the RV cleaning the Sturmkarabiner & mulling over his impending fatherhood whilst trying to ignore T Bird's crooning as he attempted to work his way into Alex's pants, despite T Bird's prompt action back in Spanish Fork he wasn't yet 100% about this guy, grinning to himself Mariusz new he was never 100% sure about anyone anymore, reverently replacing the SK19G back in the rack Mariusz sat back & started to clean the Giscard.

In the Dodge, Skinpin, ever the peace maker, rolled another joint & lit up, casually he offered a toke to Vrasten, who, as usual, declined, ah well thought Skinpin, more for me I guess, staring out of the quarter light he watched as a beaten up van undertook them, he was sure it wasn't the first time it had done so but what the fuck, closing his eyes he squirmed into a more comfy position & inhaled deeply.

Highway 80, Nevada 6.17pm - 22/01/2016

Alex , for maybe the third or fourth time brushed T Bird's lingering hand aside & wondered just how big a jerk he really was, she'd been impressed with his actions so far but if continued in this vain she'd sure as fuck open one up for him, carotid maybe. Flipping the mp4 player on to random play , Alex, distracted by T Bird's attentions, missed the plume of smoke rising a mile or so ahead until Vrasten's one unbroken tail light ahead of the RV flickered into life, glancing in the wing mirror she could see several vehicles behind dropping back as her own taillights lit up apart from one wanker of a van driver who sailed past them before it too broke hard in front of Vrasten, fucking twat thought Alex.

As the traffic slowed to a crawl all could see the thickening column of black smoke rising from where a eighteen wheeler had collided with the next bridge abutment effectively cutting off its lane as well as the hard shoulder, slued across the remaining two lanes a pick up, on its roof, ensured the highway was well & truly blocked off.

Ahead of Vrasten the erratically driven van squealed to a halt some 100 yards from the rear of the immobile tractor unit & trailer, prodding Skinpin into some sort of wakefulness Vrasten cursed the misfortune of the hold up & stared glumly out of the front screen. He could see a few people milling about in his wing mirror but didn't feel particularly inclined to go ahead & assist, he'd got himself into a enough shit lately without going & looking for it.

From her raised vantage point in the RV Alex watched as the driver's side door of the van in front of Vrasten swung open & the driver slid out, stretching he stood hands on hips looking ahead for a few moments then turned, grinned & raised his arms before dropping them at his sides in exasperation, something however just didn't seem on the level, distracted however as both T Bird & Mariusz stared over her shoulder to see what all the excitement was about, she couldn't help but feel that T Bird was actually more interested in ogling her tits.

Suddenly from somewhere ahead a voice, probably enhanced, blared out,

"Please just do as we ask & everybody gets to go home tonight, just get out your trucks & step away nice & easy like, we just want what you got & nobody gets hurt OK"

As the voice tailed off the rear doors of the van in front of Vrasten were thrown back, inside, strapped into a gunners seat, was a man wearing a large grin & shouldering an RPG.

Looking forward several other partly concealed figures could now be made out to those in the RV including a second RPG team on the bridge. As both Mariusz &
T Bird crashed into the back of the trailer hastily grabbing flak jackets & guns, Alex took time to watch events unfolding behind in the wing mirrors, to her rear & left the overweight driver of the battered saloon behind the RV's trailer lumbered out & broke for the inclined concrete rampart that lined this stretch of the highway, before he'd gotten even a half way though there was the splatter of gunfire & Fatman hit the deck, terminally. Spitting a warning to the others that there was more bastards behind Alex began to tool up, no fucker was going to take the trailer without a little spilt blood.

Vrasten, mouth agape, stared into the open back of the van ahead, all he could see was the moron's toothy grin & the RPG pointed determinedly at his front screen.

If Skinpin had had his wits about him he might of realised something was going badly wrong from the vicious tick in Vrasten's cheek or the spittle running over his lower lip, as it was he was just to wasted to give a fuck.

Vrasten came to a decision, he gunned the 375BHP 5.7L V8 & dropped the clutch, fishtailing towards the van, Vrasten belatedly remembered Skinpin was dosing in the seat beside him & screamed a desperate warning to put his seat belt on, by the time Skinpin's addled brain made sense of it all & reacted it was just to fucking late.

Slipping on a flak vest Alex watched fascinated as the Dodge took off crossing the yards between it & the open backed van in seconds, she could see the grin turn to a look of horror as the bozo with the RPG realised just what was about to occur, unable to tare her gaze away Alex winced as the dodge rammed the back of the van & near pee'd herself when the Dodge's impact caused Vrasten's would be assailant to jerk the trigger back. The rocket propelled grenade traveled little more than twenty seven inches before it ripped through the Dodge's bell mouth air intake, instinctively Alex flinched as the resultant explosion lifted the back of the van clear of the tarmac & flipped the Dodge through 180º onto its roof.

Slowly Vrasten gained a sense of where he was, it was disorientating as first he realised he was alive albeit deafened, secondly he was, amazingly, unhurt & thirdly he was upside down suspended in the Dodge's safety harness, turning he realised that Skinpin wasn't there anymore, it was only as he struggled to first undo then cut himself free of the harness that he saw Skinpin's bloody legs stuck through the splintered front shield.

Within moments of each other Alex, Mariusz & T Bird slipped out of the RV's doors, Mariusz from the front passenger side, T Bird the rear right hand main exit & Alex the off side mid length exit, near simultaneously all three picked out targets & opened fire, Alex dropping a figure crouching in the rear of the trailer of the eighteen wheeler & pinning down the machine gun hijacker crouching behind the wrecked van whilst T Bird peppered a third figure sheltering behind Fatman's abandoned truck. Protected from incoming fire by the bulk of the RV Mariusz couldn't really see what was happening elsewhere however he could see the second RPG team peering over the bulky concrete parapet on the bridge, flicking over the selector switch on the SK19G he launched a underslung grenade in their general direction, whilst he didn't expect it to take them out, they were to well covered, he hoped it'd at least ensure they kept their heads down, to his satisfaction he grinned as it struck & exploded on the concrete upstand just to the left of them, immediately he launched a second grenade into the rear of the fucked van, again it might not take anybody out he thought but it sure make the fuckers keep their heads down.

Skulking forward T Bird reloaded & pumped a second clip into the figure slumped behind the Fatman's truck, if the fucker wasn't dead before considered T Bird, he sure as fuck wasn't going to shoot back know.

Alex realised she was caught between gunfire from both the goon sheltering behind the twisted rear door of the wrecked van & a couple of stooges beyond Fatman's truck however she was confident that her flak vest would bare the brunt of anything they could throw at her, well anything other than an RPG, before she could decide which way to go however the wrecked van was again thrust upwards as second explosion ripped open the vans sides, the goon who had up to that point been sheltering behind it suddenly lost all further interest in events as his mangled & bloody body was thrown onto the hard shoulder, the decision made for her Alex spun to the rear & opened fire.

Vrasten, dazed & somewhat confused, crawled out of the broken & twisted Dodge & nervously checked out Skinpin, he was pretty relieved that whilst Skinpin wasn't moving there was a weak but definite pulse, he didn't however like the look of the bruising & watery blood running from Skinpin's nose & left ear. Standing unsteadily to his feet Vrasten's ears finally stopped ringing, although if he didn't no better he'd have sworn he could hear sirens.

As the others listened to the rapidly approaching Nevada Highway Patrol the remaining would be hijackers made a run for it, Alex managed to pick off a couple that appeared from beneath the trailer unit although several others from the rear made it up & over the highways inclined sidings.

Moving forward Mariusz confirmed that apart from a couple of bodies & one wounded the remaining hijackers had flown the nest whilst T Bird unceremoniously dragged the half dead & bloody body from behind Fatman's pick up intending to ask him a few polite questions, in his current state however there wasn't going to be much of a reply.

Alex joined Vrasten in pulling Skinpin's bruised & battered from beneath the Dodge, almost immediately the recriminations began however as the gun toting cop peered through the central reservation security fence Alex broke off from lambasting Vrasten & turned her wroth onto the uniform demanding urgent medical aid for Skinpin. It took several minutes of near screaming to convince the bronze that Skinpin was neither dead nor one of the would be hijackers however when she finally did so the he quickly summoned the approaching MediCare® chopper to land adjacent to the overturned Dodge.

Oozing efficiency the MediCare® paramedics quickly hooked Skinpin up to a mobile life support unit before sliding him on board the chopper for immediate medivac, Vrasten quickly tucked himself in behind Skinpin as the chopper lifted off.

With Skinpin, hopefully, taken care off Alex, Mariusz & T Bird along with several other drivers who had been trapped behind the RV in the failed heist reluctantly spent the next couple of hours providing statements as to the events leading up to the arrival of the cavalry, Alex, struggled to contain her contempt for the officers endless questions, especially when one particularly obnoxious officer insisted that should the owner of the Dodge Challenger not meet the costs of removing the vehicle from the highway a writ would be served against him, she was somewhat mollified about this when the officer let slip that there would likely be some reward forthcoming for both the dead & apprehended hijackers as they were likely part of a nomad outfit who had carried out several similar raids in the last couple of weeks.

Highway 80, Nevada 8.41pm - 22/01/2016

With this in mind Vrasten & Skinpin's kit was stashed in the RV & with the overturned pick up dragged out of the way they set off in search of the Winnemucca County Hospital.

Winnemucca County Hospital, Nevada 9.03pm - 22/01/2016

Vrasten kept out of the way & watched as Skinpin was rushed from the helipad into the hospital, from what he'd overheard the paramedics communicating to the attending doctor Skinpin was being prepped for immediate surgery.

As Vrasten attempted to navigate the coffee machine he realised that the nurse at the reception counter was gesturing towards him, trying not to spill the scalding coffee he made his way over. Brusquely the nurse quizzed Vrasten for details of the admitted patient, not wanting, or for that matter knowing, Skinpin's real name Vrasten kept matters as vague as possible, things got a little more trickier when the nurse asked for Skinpin's medical insurance details, Vrasten solved the dilemma by simply handing over one of his prepaid debit cards,

"Just charge his bill of this Miss, if there ain't enough credit on it just let me know"

Pyrenees Motel, Nevada 9.29pm - 22/01/2016

Alex pulled the RV in to the parking lot of Pyrenees Motel, the neon sign confirmed that there were vacancies however Alex had no intention of using its facilities other than as somewhere to shack up in the RV for the night, they'd managed to get hold of Vrasten & even told them where they were however Vrasten wasn't sure what the crack was as yet with Skinpin so didn't know when he'd catch up with them.

As Alex leveled up the RV for the night Mariusz decided to spend a night in a real bed without the noise of other people snoring or having to listen to T Bird's futile efforts to screw Alex, grabbing his overnight kit he trundled off to the motel reception. T Bird watched Mariusz disappear across the parking lot, with a grin he slicked back his hair & joined Alex outside,

"I'm gonna go see what I can find to drink around this place, I'll pick up some chow while I'm about, Chinese OK with you"

Pyrenees Motel, Nevada 10.37pm - 22/01/2016

Mariusz relaxed on the bed, he was munching on the last crust of the pizza that that the receptionist had ordered in for him & wearing nothing but a clean hotel bath towel having just emerged from the steamy shower cubicle, as he lay back flicking through the satellite TV channels the bed side phone shrilled,

"Er excuse me sir, I'm sorry to disturb you sir" said the receptionist " but are you familiar with the people who own the camper van that arrived just before you checked in this evening sir"

Briefly the receptionist explained that it was against the motels policy to allow people to overnight in the motels parking lot, for a second Mariusz hesitated before answering,

"No, I'm sorry, I'm afraid can't help you"

Shrugging, Mariusz put the phone down & settled back selecting to watch a rerun of the 2011 classic, "Star Trek IX - Vulcan Revenge"

Winnemucca County Hospital, Nevada 11.23pm - 22/01/2016

Feeling pretty shitty about things & again troubled by a throbbing headache Vrasten leaned back & rested his head on the cool wall of the waiting room, the six month old magazine that had failed miserably to sell him the American dream slipping to the floor. Startled, he awoke, for a instant unsure of where or who he was, a young black orderly holding a plastic cup of steaming coffee for him to take,

"The Doctor he said to tell you you're friend is OK now, he is sleeping & can not be disturbed, he says you should go home now & come back tomorrow"

Vrasten rubbed his face & collected his thoughts, hastily he drank the scorching excuse for coffee & wandering back through to the reception area, having check out what the orderly had told him was correct he made his way outside in search of the Pyrenees Motel. Passing an ATM in the hospital's lobby he keyed in the code for the card he'd handed over when Skinpin was first admitted, the screen confirmed a charge against it so far of nearly $10K.

Pyrenees Motel, Nevada 11.48pm - 22/01/2016

T Bird realised that the conquest of Alex was not going to be easy, he'd spent at least $50 on her so far, more than it usually took him to charm his way into the bedroom, maybe she was a dike, a real challenge, before he could test the theory however there was a knock on the door of the RV. Alex, gratefully stood up & opened the door immediately having to shield her face as a flashlight swept across the RV's interior, from outside a voice asked,

"Excuse me Miss, is this your vehicle"

Some ten minutes later the officer finished explaining just why the motel weren't happy that Alex was camping in their parking lot & how life would be easier for everybody if Alex just moved the RV a few hundred yards to the public parking area further along the street, reluctantly Alex agreed that this would be easier but, with a smile, announced that she'd had best part of a bottle of wine to drink & she didn't think it would be very responsible to drive in her obviously intoxicated condition, with a sigh the young officer asked for the keys & obliged by driving the RV himself. As T Bird muttered about the interruption he spotted Vrasten walking across the lot in the sweep of the RV's headlights,

"Fucking great"

Winnemucca, Nevada 10.05am - 23/01/2016

The following morning a call to the hospital revealed that Skinpin was stable & sleeping comfortably but really wasn't in any condition to be discharged, realising that they were going no where fast they settled in to wait. Alex announced that she was going to pay a visit to the local PD to see if what the bronze had said about a reward was true, smiling T Bird said he'd accompany her.

Winnemucca County Police Department, Nevada 10.39am - 23/01/2016

Thirty minutes after stepping into the cool interior of the WCPD lobby Alex, tailed by T Bird, walked back out on to the street $14,000 0r so the richer & clutching a sheaf of information & application forms about how to register as a State of Nevada bounty hunter, the bored civilian assistant she'd spoken to had explained the appointment process & the need to go before a regional state judge, from the sound of things it had sounded a real pain in the ass. The desk sergeant had been pretty helpful however, he'd filled them in with what he could about the recent spate of hijackings that were being attributed to a nomad pack who had moved into the area in the last month or so, he added that they went under the moniker of the Black Jack Ketchum Road Warriors.

Winnemucca, Nevada 2.12pm - 23/01/2016

Back at the RV Alex threw the stack of paperwork in the trash,

"More pissing trouble than its worth I reckon"

Vrasten added that he'd run a search of recent media files on the spate of hijackings, there wasn't much to tell over & above what they already knew other than they seamed to be centered further West than Winnemucca but were definitely confined to the main highway, briefly they discussed hunting the fuckers down for the hell however it was left that it really wasn't worth the hassle.

As afternoon drew towards evening they decided to go pay Skinpin a visit.

Winnemucca County Hospital, Nevada 4.47pm - 23/01/2016

Skinpin dozed under the administrations of a cute looking nurse, he'd sleepily told the others that he didn't really have much recollection of what had happened, the last thing he remembered was offering Vrasten a smoke. The ward nurse had checked Skinpin's file when quizzed by Vrasten, she'd confirmed that the surgeon had had to drill his skull to relieve a cranial embolism but according to the records all had gone in accordance with procedures & the doctor was happy that he'd be fine, the patient just needed plenty of rest. Looking at Skinpin however he wasn't very pretty, the side of his head had been shaved & apart from all the general scrapes, bruises & swelling there were several sets of pretty neat stitches running across his temple. Deciding to leave well alone they snuck out whilst Skinpin slept & went in search of food.

Back at the RV Vrasten & Mariusz were surprised when Alex divided up the balance of the funds they'd got from Frank Uzzitt, she then handed Vrasten the bulk of reward money collected the day before,

"This should cover Skinpin's medical charges, oh, & by the way, the money we got from Frank as a down payment, its gone, all of it, I can't give you any even if I wanted to, how'd you think I paid for the RV"

Winnemucca, Nevada 9.03am - 24/01/2016

The next morning Vrasten was woken by the ringing of his mobile, it was Skinpin,

"Vrasten, yeah it's me, no shut the fuck up a minute & listen, I don't give a fuck about what happened OK, what's done is done, just get you're fucking shit together yeah, get the fuck down here & get me the hell out of this fucking place"

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