The End of Nowhere

The Killer known as "Slim Shady" sat in the backseat and had me drive...I turned on the radio, but he made me turn to a station that played classical music...He had his .45 trained on me between the seats...He carefully ordered me to drive the speed limit...

"No tricks ace...You get cute and I'll kill you right here in this car." he said as we sped from Philly to New Jersey over the Walt Whitman Bridge...

"Why are we going to New Jersey?" I asked.

"Because I have a place I like to take my uh victims...It's a quiet place...Nobody will hear you scream.." he said and laughed...

"Your cop training teach you that?" I asked.

"You know I was a cop?" he asked.

"I know all about you Christopher Louis Cummings...Marine Corps, Gunnary Sgt... Expert Marksman, sniper, Detroit Policeman, Detroit Homicide Detective..Now, suspected contract killer." I said.

"Wow!  I was told that you are good...You are....Private Investigator eh?  Were you ever a cop?" he asked.

"Nope...I was a Marine like you though....and an NCIS Investigator." I said.

"Ohhhh...Semper Fi baby!." he said.

"Semper Fi" I said.

"Why did you stop investigating homicides and start committing em?" I asked.

"I love death...From the time I was a kid, I liked killing small animals and watching that moment when life drained out of them...I fought in Iraq....I had twenty six kills...I'm damn good.." he said.

"So you figured, you'd make more money actually killing people then investigating other people who kill people?" I said.

"You got it..." he said laughing...

"And you think that's funny?" I said.

"I think it's hillarious...Since we are playing questions and answers...Why do you do what you do? You have a pretty lucrative company...You got a gorgeous wife...I seen her and her business partner going to work this morning....I could have picked her and her partner and those two guys you had guarding her off if I had wanted to...but I was only paid to kill you...But as I was saying...You got a good job, pretty wife..and plenty of money to boot..Why do you do P.I. work?  " he asked.

"Same reason you kill..I am curious by nature...I like finding things out..." I said.

"Yeah....I see...Your cop friends and your FBI friend love you...You've helped them crack some very tough to crack investigations...Helped them put away some real heavy hitters..You're the best I've ever seen..a real natural..." he said.

"And now you're going to end that career right?" I said.

"Yeah unfortunately....I mean ,I considered you a challenge...Most people I kill are pretty easy prey...But you?? You somehow knew about me from the beginning and was able to allude me better and longer than most... Hunting you has been a pleasure." he said.

"The pleasure was all mine." I said.

"Love your sense of humor...Shame I have to kill you...In another time and place , we might have been friends." he said.

"I don't think so." I said.

II-

"No way we could stop at a rest stop could we?" I asked...

"Nice try...Keep driving..." he said.

"So I hear you stand to make three million off of this eh?" I said..

He was astounded...

"You know too much about this...How do you know?" he said.

" I'll never tell." I said.

"Am I bein set up?" he asked.

"Could be." I said.

"Nah...Nahhhhhhh...I already got half...That's too much for a set up." he said.

"I don't know...Big Uncle is pretty treacherous and Philly Pierce is even worse."I said.

"Alright...Pull over..Pull the hell over." he said.

We pulled over to the side of the road... He looked around...He checked me for a wire..

For once,I wasn't wearing one and I had no way of anyone tracking me anywhere...I was going to have to keep my wits about me and try to outsmart this guy...

"Alright , get back in the car." he said..

I got back in and began to drive...

III-

"Come on man...we been listening to Classical music the entire trip...Can't I turn to something else?" I asked.

"No...Classical music is relaxing....Don't worry...You aint gotta hear it much longer..." he said.

It didn't seem like we had been driving that long...but we finally arrived in Atlantic City....

"Oh wow..AC." I said.

"Just keep drivin...We aint stayin here." he said...

And I did...way past Atlantic City... I didn't know where I was now...

IV-

We finally came to a stop...We were some miles outside of Atlantic City , near an old dusty mine shaft...

"Okay partner...let's bring it to a halt." he said.. He put the nozzle of the gun to my neck...

"Where is this place?" I asked.

"The End of Nowhere ace...This is to be your final resting place...No one and I mean no one will ever find you...You will never be seen or heard from again...Right about now...Some Cop has discovered your Lexus back in Philly.." he said.

"With the keys on the front seat, your two guns and your vest and your trauma plate in the back seat...They will probably figure out that you're dead by now and soon you will be..They'll look all over Philly, they'll search the river, the Airport, everything...and they'll never know what happened to Kevin Morris.." he laughed.

"You sure of that Chris...I mean Shady?" I said.

"Even if they come to me..They can't prove a thing...Nobody saw me in Philadelphia....Nobody...and I got three or four people who will swear that I was in Atlantic City all week...They won't have a thing...Now come on...Get out the car..I'll make it quick and painless." he said...

I smiled..Then I put my foot on the gas pedal and floored it!!

He wasn't expecting that....He jerked forward and I grabbed his arm and pulled him over the seat...With the car still moving...I punched him in his face five or six times so hard that his nose and lip were bleeding profusely and his eye was swollen...The car jerked wildly and then crashed into an embankment...I took my foot and kicked him out of the car..

We tussled on the ground as I struggled to get that gun from him...finally ,I did and kicked it away from him..
He was a tough one....

Strong as hell..He was squeezing the breath out of me and practically lifting me off of the ground...I took what strength I had left and kicked him in his groin as hard as I could...He grunted, but he loosened up his hold just enough for me to elbow him in his jaw, snapping his head back and sending him flying...

I didn't have the time to catch my breath before he was heading toward me again......

 I landed some good lefts and rights to his body, but he was equally good with his hands...he landed some good lefts and rights to mine...I countered and landed some lefts and rights to his face, but he equaled me with some well placed lefts and rights to mine...

I cracked him hard in his jaw and saw blood trickle from his mouth...I cracked him again and saw the sweat fly off of his face...I hit him in his stomach and he bent down in obvious pain..I landed some more lefts and rights to his jaw which sent him flying...

Unfortunately....He fell near his gun, which he quickly retrieved... but he was hurt ,from the beating he had just taken and obviously dizzy...I picked up some sand and threw it in his face and went running into the mine shaft....

He fired three shots that missed wildly...If I was going to make my play, it was going to have to be now...

Game on !

(DEFINITELY TO BE CONTINUED..)