Savages

111

Ben’s phone rings.

“Yes!”

Pull back on to Fairview, they tell him.

Go two lights, take a left.

Two more blocks, take a right.

Go now, we’ll call back.

Ben drives, a new mantra in his shaken brain—

Two lights left, two more right.

Just before the second right, the phone rings again.

“See the fish store?”

Ben looks around …

The fish store, the—

—then sees the sign with the cartoon fish, bubbles coming up from his mouth; the place sells tropical fish for home tanks—

“Yes, I see it.”

“Take the right, then right into the alley behind the store.”

He does it.

Pulls in to the alley.

“Put it in park and get out.”

“Should I shut off the engine?”

“No.”

He does what he’s told and gets out of the car.

It happens real fast. A car rolls in, two guys jump out the back. One of them grabs Ben, shoves him against the shop’s back door, and presses a pistol to his head. The other snatches the phone out of his hand.

“One word, one move, one sound. You die quick, the girl dies slow.”

Ben nods as best he can with the hand around his neck, his cheek pressed against the metal door.

“You take our car, we take yours. We see anyone following us, we see a cop, a chopper, anything, the girl is dead.”

Ben nods again.

“Wait a minute and then go home. We’ll call.”

The hand lets him go.

He hears the van drive off.

Ben gets into the car, a CRV. The keys are in the ignition. A duffel bag is set on the passenger seat. He opens it up and sees

Cash.

A lot of cash.

They paid for the dope.

Ben heads back to Laguna.