As the first shots smashed through the rear window, buzzing inches from Alec and Shane's ears into the windshield, the car finally kicked over and the two were off.
The package was secure in the trunk - luckily the fools didn't think to shoot there - and they had enough gas to get them out of the state. As soon as they did that, Alec would pick another car that appeared inconspicuous enough, hotwire it, transfer the package once again, and they'd be off - never to be found again.
"Come on, let's take it out, I want to play with it," Shane said, sounding like a five year old the night before Christmas. Alec played the part of the stubborn father, telling his child to go to bed.
"You want to play with it. And just where, pray tell, did you plan on playing with it?"
"I figured, you know, the back seat. Come on, nobody would see. I really just want to hold it; I've never had anything like it before."
Alec took his gaze off the road, fixing a cold stare onto his partner, "Listen, if you take it out and start fucking with it, you're going to break it. That's all there is to it. No, there will be no moving it until I get us another car and we're safely on the road again. Mr. Sanders is expecting it, and if it arrives any different than he remembers, then it's our asses."
"Oh come on, Colonel Sanders won't care if I just look at it!" Shane knew that Mr. Sanders hated being called the Colonel, but would never actually say it to his face, knowing what would happen if he did.
"Shane! What's your problem? Clean out the wax, man. No can do! Just sit tight and if you need something to do with your hands, go in the back seat and play with yourself. We should cross into Oregon in another hour. Why don't you get some shut eye, because once I switch cars, I'm not driving."
Begrudgingly, Shane rolled towards the passenger window, shoving his coat up against the window as a pillow.
Since the radio didn't work, the next hour went by in complete silence. Alec drove the car into Portland, with the gas gauge dangerously under E, until he found the location he was looking for. The neighborhood was most definitely not quality, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that law was no where near and there appeared to be any number of capable cars that would not be searched for too strenuously.
When Alec pulled to a stop, Shane was still fast asleep. He didn't bother waking him, preferring to work in silence. His tools were in the trunk, and as he pulled out his briefcase, he took a longing look at the package with a funny smile on his face. He could see why Shane wanted to hold it - it took all his will-power to leave it be. When he first heard about it, Alec didn't believe the powers this object held, but now he started to wonder. He felt like one of those damn Hobbits with that stupid ring.
In less than five minutes, Alec had the car door open and engine started. After he pried open the trunk, he went to transfer the package, but found it was gone. Alec took a look inside the car and, yes, Shane was gone as well.
Alec yelled Shane's name, running down the alley the way they'd come, taking a look down both ways of the cross street. No dice. Shane was gone. Alec ran back to the car he'd just hotwired and slammed the door shut with a "Fuck!" The U-Turn he made, wheels screeching, should have alerted the owners of his presence, but no one took any notice this late in the night.
Alec spent the next hour driving around the radius, going wider with each passing minute. When he realized that Shane would never be found, Alec decided to make tracks. Obviously south was out of the question. Mr. Sanders roamed prominently throughout most of the state. One of his goons would surely be waiting at the border for the precise moment that he crossed to escort him home. After driving south a little ways, Alec took the first freeway going east and never looked back.
"I can disappear, no problem," he thought. "I'd like to see Shane do the same. He'll find him. He'll find him and gut him and you know what, fuck him! Shithead cost me half a mil, he deserves everything he gets!"
Current Music: Aerosmith - Toys In The Attic (Live 1978)