CHAPTER 22
Vincent exited the parking lot of the gas station and headed back in the same direction from which they came.
"Why are we going back the other way?" Asked Tina.
"We have to because we left a trail for them to follow. They'll never expect we'll go back the other way." He said with certainty.
Tina found an unopened bag of pretzels lying next to her feet. She picked up the bag of pretzels and examined them.
"Go ahead and help yourself." Said Vinny. He rolled up his window to light a Newport.
While she was munching on the pretzels Vinny suddenly placed his hand over her head and pushed her head down into her lap. Just before her head went down she saw flashing lights.
"Cops!" Warned Vinny holding her head down. The cops sped by and he finally took his hand off of her head.
Here I am! Come rescue me! Thought Tina to herself.
"From now on if you see cops you put your head down. Do you understand me?"
Tina nodded her head. When they drove past the site where they destroyed the van Vinny cursed up a storm.
"I lost a lot of explosives because of your incessant chatter."
Tina couldn't believe her eyes. There were pieces of the van scattered everywhere and some of the pieces were still on fire. A fire truck was at the scene and some fire men were hosing down a tree that had caught on fire. Vinny snuck furtive glances at her while she ate the pretzels, the bag was almost empty.
"I'll bet you're pretty thirsty." " Yeah." She softly replied.
"We'll be home in about 20 minutes. You'll be fine."
When they got off of Rt.68 and got on Rt.10 the ride became a lot bumpier. They drove past a lot of farms and cornfields. Before long they were traveling down a long windy gravel road that was surrounded by a tree farm. They slowly eased past a brown double wide trailer in need of repair. The stones spit and spat as they circled around the trailer and headed towards a small old barn. The grass looked like it hadn't been mowed in months.
Vinny parked the truck in front of the van and then unlocked the huge sliding door to the barn. He pushed the sliding door over far enough that he could park the truck in the barn. Tina looked surprised when Vinny pulled the truck into the barn and cut the engine. There were no horses or stacks of hay like most barns usually have. Vinny had turned the barn into one giant garage.
Off to the side was a red 97 Jeep Wrangler with a trailer hooked up to it. A small boat sat on top of the trailer but she could only see the bottom of it because the top part was covered in a blue tarp. Up near the front of the garage was a huge work bench covered in appliances that had been all tore apart. Among those parts was a microwave and a vacuum cleaner. On the walls hung a bunch of license plates that had been cut in half and then welded back together with pieces from other halves. What Tina really couldn't understand was the hundreds of model rocket engines off in the corner that had been taken apart.
"Are we going to the moon?" She said jokingly. It was clear that this was where Vinny spent most of his time.
"Just take a seat on the couch and I'll bring you something to drink." He said ignoring her humor.
Tina walked over to the sofa and dusted off a sofa cushion before she sat down. Vincent walked over to a refrigerator that had a crown emblem on it and pulled out 2 Budweisers.
"Do you want one?" He asked," It will go good with the pretzels you ate."
Tina paused before she answered and then figured why not? Perhaps a beer would take the edge off things.
"Sure, I'll take one."
Vinny twisted the cap off and handed her the bottle. She nervously sipped from the bottle while she peeled at the label between sips. What was going to happen next? What was this long haired freak with the eye patch going to do to her? She watched Vinny pick up a cordless phone and dial a number. He waddled over to the work bench and ran his long sausage fingers through his long unruly hair while he waited for the other end to pick up. After 5 rings he heard his acquaintance mumbling on the other end.
"Hey Peter it's me Vinny, I just accidentally lost 20 sticks of dynamite and I need more." Vinny paced around and reached in his pocket for his cigarettes." Yeah, tonight would be great. I'm going to bed soon so just leave it on the back porch of the trailer."
Tina finished her beer. She had completely torn off the label on the bottle without even realizing it. What kind of dire scheme was Vinny planning? She missed Steve so much it hurt. Every time she would try to relinquish the thought of him something terrible would happen to her and she would think of him.
Vinny saw her beer was empty so he brought her out another one. She found a People magazine to read while Vinny tinkered with electrical gadgets over the work bench. The smell of burning wire was starting to annoy her but this was no longer her show. She knew Vinny had the upper hand now and she had had her chance earlier on to shoot him but she blew it. She was better off pretending to be his girlfriend and stay vigilant for a chance to escape.
An hour passed and Tina had already drunk 3 Budweisers. She really had to go pee and crossing her legs didn't seem to help. She looked over at Vinny who was still soldering wires onto a circuit board.
" I really have to go pee." She finally said.
Vincent dropped the soldering gun and looked disappointed." There's no bathroom in here. I usually piss out the back door but I guess I can take you inside the trailer."
This time he let her walk on her own free will without grabbing her arm. Tina looked around the yard and noticed a bunch of dead birds and squirrels scattered throughout the grass. She looked up at the full moon which seemed to be laughing at her. Vinny walked behind her and she knew he was probably staring at her butt. She walked a little faster towards the trailer but then suddenly slowed down realizing if she exceeded 40 yards of distance between them she would blow up.
When she got to the trailer she let Vinny step in front of her to open the door. The door creaked when Vincent opened it and a nice sized rottweiler was there to greet them. Tina Stuck out her hands and the dog duteously licked her hands.
" It's this way." Said Vinny pointing towards the back. He was jealous of the dog liking someone else.
Tina almost tripped on the dirty laundry bunched up in the hallway. It was clear that Vinny was a bachelor because the place was trashed. Tina slammed shut the bathroom door before Vinny could give instructions on how to go to the bathroom.
The inside of the toilet bowl was completely brown. She wondered when the last time it was when Vinny cleaned the toilet. Next to the toilet was a toilet brush in an empty peanut butter jar. It looked like at one point the dog had chewed on it. Tina chuckled when she read the sign above the toilet which read "Step closer it's shorter than you think." She checked herself out in the mirror real quick before she finally sat down and did her business.
Vincent waited patiently outside the door and whistled thinking maybe that would help her get started.
" Just make sure you put the toilet seat back up when you're finished." He shouted loud enough for her to hear.
It made him think of the rules in prison. Every inmate knew that upon completion of doing a number 2 the toilet seat was to go back in the upward position. He remembered the time he accidentally left it down and his celly pissed all over the seat to teach him a lesson and advised him to never leave it down again.
When Tina was finished she used her foot to flush the toilet. There was no way she was going to touch anything. When she opened the bathroom door her jaw dropped and her pupils dilated as she let out a shriek.
There was Vincent standing there wearing only his boxer shorts.