{"id":1683,"date":"2012-07-23T10:00:20","date_gmt":"2012-07-23T14:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/?p=1683"},"modified":"2022-08-03T13:16:58","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T17:16:58","slug":"ventura","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/fiction\/ventura\/","title":{"rendered":"Ventura"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pontiac had been a project of mine for a while. I had taken out the original 307 motor, which had about 150,000 miles on it, and put in a 454 from the rusted-out Chevelle SS my stepdad left in the garage. He\u2019d be pissed, but he\u2019s also locked up for a while, so I wasn\u2019t worried. The Ventura is basically the same car as a Chevy Nova, and mine was a \u201971, mostly black except the hood still primer gray. I needed to finish painting it but I was broke from the transmission. Needed a new radio too, the AM\/FM dial was lousy and wouldn\u2019t pick up much of anything. But the car was fast with that big engine in there.<\/p>\n

Reggie never was that good a friend of mine, but he knew I spent a lot of time working on the car. He had an apartment not far from where I lived with my mom. She\u2019d been having a hard time with Dale locked up, and I was happy to stay with her and save rent. Reggie would come around the house every now and then wearing his backpack, looking like an overgrown school kid. He\u2019d drop by to talk and bum cigarettes, probably because I smoke Winstons and he only had generics. He always asked me about the car, how fast it would go. He said he had a Camaro once but totaled it drag racing after a pint of Jack. He didn\u2019t have his license anymore and he could never hold down a job. He\u2019d work a couple of weeks doing construction, get paid in cash one day, wind up in jail that night.<\/p>\n

But lately he\u2019d been good. He cut his hair short and got a job at Jimbo\u2019s doing oil changes. He\u2019d been there six weeks I think, so I figured he\u2019d reformed. Reggie came to me one day asking for a ride.<\/p>\n

I was smoking on the porch when he walked up in his ratty jeans and bust-up sneakers. I knocked one out of my pack because I didn\u2019t want to hear him ask again. \u201cThanks,\u201d he said, scratching at his scruffy neck like a dog. \u201cHow\u2019s the Ventura runnin\u2019 today?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJust fine. I got the tranny shifting real smooth now. No slips.\u201d<\/p>\n

He clicked his tongue against his teeth. \u201cBet you could get it up to a hundred real quick.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRacing ain\u2019t my thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell amigo, I got paid today. You mind runnin\u2019 me to my bank?\u201d<\/p>\n

He shifted under his backpack, which was kind of slung over his right shoulder. I always figured Reggie to be the type of guy who\u2019d cash a check at the liquor store. But I had the day off and nothing else to do. \u201cGuess not,\u201d I said. \u201cWhat bank you use? First America?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNaw, I\u2019m at Heritage, over there on Cheatham.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell just let me get my wallet. I want to get a sandwich while we\u2019re over there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHey that\u2019s fine, buddy,\u201d he said. \u201cTell you what, I\u2019ll buy you lunch for the ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t expect Reggie to be a generous guy either, but I wasn\u2019t one to refuse a meal. We got in the car and I fired up the engine. \u201cThat\u2019s got a good sound,\u201d he said, pounding his fist on the dash. \u201cLet\u2019s see how fast we can get this thing goin\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n

I kind of sped through the neighborhood but I didn\u2019t go as fast as he probably wanted to. It was summer and there was kids running around. We hit the main strip and he kept pushing on me to gun the car faster and faster. And I did go fast, faster than I usually would, but I knew my car would do a lot better out on the highway. I should\u2019ve been worried about getting a ticket, but something about Reggie made me feel like I could do anything I wanted and get away with it.<\/p>\n

We got across town pretty quick. I started to pull into this barbecue shack, but Reggie asked me to take him to the bank first. Outside the bank Reggie said to just pull up by the door. \u201cI\u2019m just running in and out,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can wait here.\u201d He grabbed his backpack and left the door open. I turned on the radio and looked at my watch. It was 3:56, Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n

It was goddamn hot in the vinyl seat and I had to squirm around to keep from sticking. I messed with the radio and found an Allman Brothers song, lit a cigarette and looked out at the road. There wasn\u2019t too much traffic even at this hour. I was hungry. All I wanted was some pulled pork with slaw on it and a large sweet tea.<\/p>\n

It really shouldn\u2019t have surprised me to see Reggie run out the bank with a stuffed garbage bag in one hand and a bigass pistol in the other. It really shouldn\u2019t have surprised me at all, but goddamn it did.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you fucking serious?\u201d I yelled at him.<\/p>\n

He jumped in the car. He was smiling the whole time. \u201cCome on, Barry! We gotta go!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the fuck, Reggie!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAin\u2019t no time for that, man,\u201d he shouted. \u201cMove your ass!\u201d<\/p>\n

I threw the car into drive and sped out into traffic. I could hear a cop siren already in the distance, so I gunned it straight out of town and soon there wasn\u2019t much around us at all but the pines.<\/p>\n

\u201cHey Barry,\u201d Reggie started, ass-up and looking through the rear window even though there was nothing to see. \u201cI\u2019m like Butch Cassidy, and you\u2019re the Sundance Kid!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat the hell you thinking, Reggie? Getting me mixed up in this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got the car, man. What else you need this fast-ass car for?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about getting to work?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe won\u2019t have to work one day more after this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou didn\u2019t shoot nobody, did you?\u201d<\/p>\n

He sat back down and lit up one of his generics. \u201cCourse not, man. It\u2019s just to scare \u2018em, is all. It\u2019s all old-timey, see, but it still works. You want me to shoot it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFuck no. Where\u2019d you get that?\u201d Thing looked like it was straight out of the Civil War.<\/p>\n

\u201cGot a buddy at work.\u201d Reggie set the gun down on floorboard and opened the bag. There was a lot of money in it. I had no idea how much and I don\u2019t think Reggie did either. I\u2019d always figured he\u2019d go down for robbing a convenience store over sixty bucks or something. Not something like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey get all the deposits from restaurants and businesses and shit like that. Over there at the Heritage Bank.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChrist, Reggie\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew they was about to get all their cash out for the truck. I\u2019d cased the place, you know, I took this real serious. I\u2019d checked it out and knew if I got there right then I\u2019d just have to walk in looking all tough and shit and tell them what to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

I listened to him go on about how goddamn smart he was for twenty minutes, speeding through the countryside and passing the two or three cars that wound up in front of me. I thought about how I\u2019d get arrested and wind up in prison, right next to my stepdad, how he\u2019d yell at me through the bars and give me all kinds of hell about the Chevelle SS. I thought about my mom all alone. I thought about turning us in, turning Reggie in.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe gotta get rid of that money, Reggie. What if it\u2019s got one of those paint-bombs in it or something?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNaw,\u201d he said. \u201cI was watching them when they put it in there. I saw em try it with some kind of dye thing like you\u2019re talkin\u2019 about. But I told her if she put that shit in there, I\u2019d come back and rape her and kill her.\u201d<\/p>\n

He was probably serious, I thought. I mean\u2014I\u2019m sure he said it, but now I wondered if he really meant it, because I couldn\u2019t put nothing past him anymore. I didn\u2019t say anything for at least thirty or forty more miles. It was too loud in the car anyway with hot wind blowing through the windows. I just watched the needle vibrate around a hundred, watched the afternoon flicker in and out of the trees. If I had been alone or with anybody else, I might have actually enjoyed myself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We came up on a little unincorporated town. I slowed down when the signs dropped the speed limit in steps from fifty-five to thirty. There was a diner and a motel there\u2014one of those empty, family-run, small-town joints. I told Reggie I was hungry even though it was a lie. My stomach was all knotted up. \u201cHow about you buy me some lunch now?\u201d<\/p>\n

There were two semis parked at the side of the diner near the motel. The lot was empty except for those big rigs and my Ventura. I started to park away from the buildings so I could take off at high speed if I needed to. Then I thought, I ain\u2019t making no goddamn getaway; I\u2019ll come out hands-up if I have to. I parked nose-in right against the window. \u201cYou think they\u2019re gonna know it\u2019s us in there, Reggie? You think they\u2019ll know it was you?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese folks don\u2019t know shit,\u201d he said. \u201cProbably one cop in this whole town. Barney-fuckin-Fife with his one bullet in his shirt pocket.\u201d He put the pistol under the seat and left the car carrying the bag of money. \u201cOpen up the trunk for me,\u201d he said, pounding on the metal. I\u2019d taken all the locks off when I was painting and I told him so. He tossed in the bag and slammed the trunk shut. \u201cGuess we\u2019ll just have to watch it out the window. C\u2019mon, let\u2019s eat.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were two truckers smoking cigarettes in a booth in the corner but they didn\u2019t seem to notice us. The place smelled thick with bacon grease and it made me kind of hungry and made me kind of want to puke. A girl sat behind the counter reading newspaper comics and chewing gum. Reggie and I went to the other end of the restaurant. The girl got up and strolled over like we were just a couple of nobodies, which I guess we really were.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat y\u2019all want to drink?\u201d She kept chewing her gum. She was a pretty girl even without makeup. She had a few freckles.<\/p>\n

\u201cCherry Coke,\u201d Reggie said, with that big, dumb smile on his face. \u201cAnd what\u2019s your name, darlin\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStacy. You know what you want to eat?\u201d She smacked the gum in her mouth.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I do, darlin\u2019. I\u2019d like a T-bone steak and eggs. Over easy. You get them make the eggs nice and runny for me. You got some onions and cheese to put on \u2018em? And some hot sauce?\u201d<\/p>\n

I ordered a BLT and some water and she walked away. \u201cNice little piece of ass there,\u201d Reggie said. \u201cGive me a cigarette, man.\u201d I lit one for myself as well. Reggie smoked and stared across the diner at the girl. \u201cMaybe we should get us a room here at the motel,\u201d he said. \u201cThis\u2019d be a good spot to lay low.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re fucking crazy,\u201d I said. \u201cYou think this is fun or something?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKinda, man. C\u2019mon, we\u2019re gonna be livin\u2019 large real soon. Steak and eggs, Barry. And hell, with your share\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo how much is my share?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShit, man, I ain\u2019t even counted it yet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat percent?\u201d<\/p>\n

Reggie looked at me through the smoke. \u201cHow about twenty?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow about half.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know I did all the work,\u201d he said. \u201cI had another buddy backed out last minute and he only said thirty. Hell, he helped me plan the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never even asked me about all this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShit, man, I asked you for a ride<\/em>.\u201d Somehow Reggie made it seem like it was my fault I was in all this, and I suppose it was. Reggie was a goddamn liar and nothing was going to change that. He didn\u2019t have any friends, either. He probably stole that gun from the flea market. \u201cI\u2019ll take forty, then. I drove the car.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook man, I don\u2019t want to dick around no more. I don\u2019t even know how much is in that bag.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want my fair share,\u201d I told him, \u201cOr you\u2019re gonna find yourself in some serious legal shit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat you tryin\u2019 to say?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m saying they\u2019ll go easy on me if I turn you in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reggie put the cigarette down. \u201cYou listen here,\u201d he said. \u201cWe been friends a long time, Barry. But if you ever even think about goin\u2019 to the police I will blow your goddamn head clean off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat, with your old cowboy gun?\u201d<\/p>\n

Right then the girl came back with our food. Reggie\u2019s plate had a thin brown slab of meat and two bright yellow eggs. He stubbed out the cigarette and smiled at his plate like a little birthday boy. \u201cYou are sweet as pecan pie,\u201d he said to the girl, looking her up and down.<\/p>\n

She seemed to like that, blushing a little as she walked away. Reggie picked up the steak knife and broke open one of his yolks. \u201cThirty-five,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that\u2019s all we\u2019re gonna talk about it. After we eat, I\u2019ll go get us a room.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

READ THE REST
\nIN THE NEW
\nBULL NO. 1<\/a><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWe been friends a long time, Barry. But if you ever even think about goin\u2019 to the police I will blow your goddamn head clean off<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[261,110,260,118,262],"class_list":["post-1683","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction","tag-adventures","tag-guns","tag-jealousy","tag-money","tag-roadtrips","writer-ryan-glenn-smith"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1683","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1683"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17682,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1683\/revisions\/17682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}