The Badlands: Part X -- - - - V O X -

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Date Posted: 16:57:15 09/24/99 Fri
Author: Maveric
Subject: The Badlands: Part X

Installment 10
***
Red had managed to choke down the Mondo burger and was just starting on his Mondo fries and Mega shake. Throughout his drive out west all he had to sustain himself was fast food. By not Red was sick of the stuff. A man can only take so much cardboard-thin hamburger and limp oily french fries. Enjoying his meal was the last thing on Red's mind. He had a choice before him. Join up with Murphy and his vigilante friends or continue with his dead end shell of a life.

He was in the process of mulling this over in his head when out of nowhere Lillian came up, set her cola down and sat beside him. "Hey" she said. Red managed to stammer out "uh, Hi." She took a sip from her drink and brushed some stray hairs out of her face. "Murphy told me about him asking you to join up. So are you gonna stay or what?" When she said this, Red started to wonder why she was so interested in him. Maybe she wasn't so hard boiled after all. "I'm just asking because if you do stay I'll have to do some major modifications on your car to get it battle ready. Honestly, how can you let a great vehicle like that go to pot?"
Well that really burst his bubble.

"I haven't decided yet. I...I really don't have anywhere else to be. I never really felt I belonged before. These guys-- they seem so accepting. As a kid I never really fit in. Dad was in the military so we moved a lot. Hard to keep friends when you're in a new city every two months."
"I know what you mean" she said.
Red looked up at her. Just now he noticed she had the most stunning green eyes he ever saw. "What do you mean?" he asked. At once it was like that hard shell had just cracked. "I come from a racing family. Dad was a NASCAR champ. So were my brothers. Mom headed the pit crew. We travelled all over so dad could compete. Christ. I never made any friends. All I was told to do is study study study. The family wanted me to go into law, get out of the car business. All I ever wanted was to fix cars so I bolted. I wound up in Texas and answered an ad about a mechanic job. Somehow I got hooked up with these guys..."

Red stared deeply into her eyes. She stared back. They both knew there was something going on between them. Red reached to take her hand in his. Before he could Lil got up and brushed herself off. "Yeah. Anyway, I can't sit around talking all day. We can trade sob stories some other time." There was the shell again. Red went to get up but then slumped back down, defeated. She was already gone. Murphy saw all of this from across the yard. He set his Mondo-dog down and went over to Red.

Murphy held his hand out to help Red up. "Come on. Iah'm goin' fer a gas run an' ta pick up some supplies. Ya'll wanna come with? It'll take yer mind off her."Red got up by himself and nodded. They began to walk towards Murphy's truck. "Don't feel too bad. That there's one tough lady but she's got a soft side. She just don't show it to many people. Give it some time. She'll come around." They got in the truck and Murphy started the engine. Just then a though struck Red. "Hey Murphy" he said. "If I do decide to stay, so I really get all this tricked out gear put on my car?" Murphy chuckled. "Heh. I suppose so." Red smiled. He relished the thought if a missile launcher strapped to his hood and nitrous oxide boosters at the touch of a button.

For a while Red and Murphy's banter filled the inside of the truck. Then all of a sudden they fell upon one of those awkward silences. To kill the uneasy quiet, Murphy switched on the radio. "Find somethin' ya like" he said to Red. Red took the knob scanned through the stations. You wouldn't think it, but there was a surprising amount of variety on the Texas air waves. One station was playing old-time Elvis. Another was a religious program. The host of the show was spouting some crap about the oil crisis being part of the Apocalypse and Autofelons being the first wave of impending destruction. Red grimaced. Maybe it was true, but whatever, Red didn't want to think about it. He tried yet another station. K-BILLY's Super Sound Weekend. This was more like it. A little bit a soul, a good helping of funk and some rock thrown in for measure.

Cut to 35 minutes later. Down the highway from "The Ranch" there was an abandoned drive-in movie lot. Hot in the 50's, these places died out over the years. An unlikely place as any for black market weapons drop off. Red and Murphy stumbled to Murphy's truck with their arms full of boxes of slugs. "Ya know Murphy, when you said �supplies' I thought you meant groceries." Shoved the boxes into the back of the Clydesdale and wiped their brows. "You'd be surprised how much ammo we go through in a week." Murphy had been a long time haggling over the price. Along with the boxes of slugs Murphy had procured a couple of mysterious black crates. Red he no idea what was in them but Murphy had paid a mint for them. No questions asked.

They had began the drive back to the ranch house when Red decided tell Murphy he had made his decision. After all that happened, ever though he had been welcomed with open arms, he was going to turn the offer down. Red didn't need the danger the lifestyle involved. As for Lillian, Red knew he would never had a chance with her in the first place. "Hey Murphy, I gotta come clean..." Just then the CB cut in. "Mayday Mayday! Code 3-0-4! Repeat, code 3-0-4!. All vigilantes respond!"

"Shit shit shit!" Murphy sore under his breath. Red was getting concerned. "What's up? What's code 304?" Murphy gritted his teeth and stood on the gas. "Code 304: headquarters under attack, vigilantes down. In other words, some creepers are hittin' the ranch. We gotta get back there ASAP." Red's thoughts went back to Lillian. He couldn't stand the thought of her getting hurt.

"Murphy, get this goddamn truck in gear. We got some creeper ass to kick!"
***

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SWEET! (Cartman Style) nt (NT) -- Apollyon, 12:24:19 09/25/99 Sat