Jesse can feel sweat rolling down the back of his neck, soaking his shirt so the fabric sticks uncomfortably to his skin. This was typical for the desert. The sun is at it's highest point, heating the asphalt on the road so it radiates back up at them. He had to get out of the desert. Go somewhere green.
He takes the last drag from his cigarette and looks at his partner next to him. He's a large man, hunched over in the passenger seat with an unpleasant downturned expression permanently affixed to his face. He goes by Blue. Jesse hadn't worked much with him in the past, but he was good for trips like this. Intimidating. For all Jesse's skill, he was still too young to look like much in a fight.
Jesse clears his throat to catch the man's attention, "We need to stop for gas." He gestures ahead at a distant gas station sign, "Grab something cold."
"Make it quick." Blue replies roughly, "Boss won' like it if we're late."
Jesse nods slowly and leans back against the leather seat. He feels like he's being cooked alive against the heated material. He just never got used to the desert, not in the summer anyway.
They pull into the old gas station. It has a sign that's mostly been worn away, and the building is looking like it's seen better days. He pushes the door to the truck open, hoping for some kind of breeze. No such luck, the air outside is just a hot as the inside. He slides out of the door like he's melting from it and makes his way toward the store front. His brooding partner hadn't made any move to join him.
Jesse pays for the gas inside and grabs a couple bottles of cold water. He presses the plastic to his forehead and breathes out slowly. He hated these jobs. The ones that had him driving all night toward a vague destination with no real guide lines. Don't lose the cargo. That was the main thing. Lose the cargo, and you're a dead man.
He makes his way back to the truck and tosses a water to his partner. Blue eyes it and looks up at Jesse, "Beer's just as cold."
"It's over a hundred degrees out here. Beer's not gonna help you with dehydration." Jesse retorts and goes to fill up the tank. He leans against the truck and looks around them. There's not much out this far. Off in the distance he can make out some broken down trailers, and they're surrounded by some sad looking joshua trees. It's the same thing for miles.
He finishes filling the tank and hops back in, starting them up. They continue on down the road for hours. Everything they pass is the same as where they came from. It makes the drive seem longer, especially with a partner who hardly says two words and no radio.
The sun finally starts to set behind some far off mountains, changing the colors in the sky from blue to briliant pinks and purples. It's Jesse's favorite time of day. Still hotter than hell though.
They pull up to their destination not long after sunset. There are no buildings for miles, just a semitruck parked off in a dirt clearing. There's a small team of men standing around it, keeping sharp eyes on the perimeter. Jesse pulls the truck around, and his partner wastes no time jumping out.
Jesse slides out and walks toward the group, tipping his hat at them, "Evening." Blue moves so he's positioned just behind Jesse. His whole job was intimidation. It was better to avoid the violence if possible, so it helped to have someone there who inspired other members not to get too hot headed.
A lanky man with a large gun strapped to his hip steps foward, "You it?" He gestures at Jesse.
"Yeah...we're it. We can move whatever you got for us. Boss wouldn't 'ave sent us otherwise." Jesse says evenly. He's used to the attitude. He got it from everyone in Deadlock, and always had.
The man shakes his head, "He took out a lot o' men. A lot. Took work to get him here. You fuck this up..." He points at Jesse, "They'll do worse than kill you. Hear me?"
"Got it." Jesse says with a tight grin.
The man waves for Jesse to follow and leads him back around the semitruck. He unlocks the doors to the trailer and pulls them open. Jesse is met instantly with a wave of cool air. He basks in it for a moment before he manages to focus in on the contents of the trailer.
It's mostly empty but there's a bench fixed to the back of the truck. Bound, gagged, and secured to said bench is an unconscious man with three guards seated nearby.
Jesse leans in close, letting cool air roll off of him, "He the cargo?" He asks. The man appeared to be asian...Japanese if Jesse had to put money on it. They have him in some plain cotton pants and a matching light weight shirt with long sleeves. Even with the simple clothing, Jesse can tell looking at him that he comes from money.
The lanky man hops up into the truck, "Yep. And he's a mean son of a bitch. Like I said...took some work to get him here. You'll want to keep him drugged." He snaps at one of the guards and they hand him a small black bag. He tosses it to Jesse in turn, "There. Shoot him with that every couple a' hours. You wont have any issues."
Jesse looks down at the bag and back up to the man bound in the truck, "Sure.."
"Pick him up. Put him in their truck." The man snaps at the guards. The guards hop into action, unhooking the captive from the wall of the trailer and carrying him out.
Jesse steps out of the way, "Just put him in the back.." He frowns. He knew better than to ask questions. Questions got you into trouble, and no one would be likely to answer them anyway. He tips his hat once more and jumps back out of the trailer. He's sorry to get away from the cool air. He's sure his new passenger wont care for the downgrade in transportation either.
Blue is standing out and waiting for him in the same place he had been earlier. Jesse pulls a cigarette out from his pocket, "Let's get goin'. Long drive back."
"Remember what I said. Anything happens to that cargo...it'll be your head, Kid." The lanky man says from behind him.
"Yeah...got it." Jesse calls back. He gets back into his truck and looks at the man in his backseat from the rearview window. He can't help but notice how beautiful he is. There was no other word for it. Jesse had never seen anyone quite like him.
He lights his cigarette and takes a long drag, "Gonna need to stop at a motel when we find one. Two days straight driving is gettin' to me. Unless you want to take a shift?"
Blue just sneers at him in response. Jesse just shrugs. Motel it is then.
It takes them until sunrise to finally find a place to pull over. It's a crappy little run down motel in the middle of an even worse looking town. Jesse goes in to rent the room on his own. He's dead on his feet by the time they get into the room. Blue carries their unconscious passenger in behind him.
Jesse kicks off his boots and pulls off his hat to drop on the table. Before he falls into bed, he cranks the AC unit sticking in the wall up to high.
Blue drops the 'cargo' into the chair by the table, "Can't stay long."
Jesse burries his face into the stiff pillow on his bed, "Fuck...I know. Just give me a few hours, alright?"
The larger man grumbles something unintelligable and makes his way back to the door, "Goin' fer food."
Jesse turns his head, "Where the hell you gonna find food out here?" Blue doesn't answer though, he just marches out the door. Jesse looks back to the man in the chair and sighs, "Fine...yeah...I'll keep an eye on him." He falls back into the pillow.
He's not sure when he falls asleep, but he wakes up just as fast when he hears his gun click somewhere behind his head. He raises his arms slowly from the bed. Somewhere in the back of his mind he realizes he never dosed the captive with the next dose of tranquillizer.
He turns his head and licks his lips. Sure enough, the man had somehow gotten out of his bindings and taken Jesse's gun. It wasn't like Jesse to be so careless...even exausted, this was a massive mistake.
The man says something to him quickly in Japanese, and he sounds angry. Rightfully so...getting kidnapped would put anyone into a mood.
Jesse swallows hard and tries to think quickly, "Hey...why don't you put that down. Right? No need for that. Can't shoot a man with his own gun...ain't right."
The man steps back from him slowly, "Where are we?" He demands.
"Likely a long way from home for you. I'm going to sit up, ok?" He tells him, relieved that he can speak English. He pushes himself up slowly, not making any sudden movements, "What's the last thing you remember?" He wonders absently when his partner will be back. He's not sure how long he's been asleep.
"Give me your phone." The man demands.
"Don't carry a phone. Too easy to track." Jesse replies patiently, "Look...I'm not here to hurt you. Ok? Put the gun down, we can talk. What's your name?"
The man shakes his head firmly in response, "I'm leaving." He starts to back away.
Jesse holds his hands in front of him, "Bad idea, Darlin'. You looked outside? We're in the middle of the desert...a whole lot of nothing out there. For miles. Got money for water? Gas? Have any idea where the next town is?"
The man falters for a moment, "You are an American..."
"Yeah...and you're in America. Reckon they had you drugged up for a good while if you don't know that." Jesse tilts his head to look behind him, "How'd you get out of those binds?"
The man ignores him and moves back to the window, moving the curtain out of the way so he can see out, "Is that your vehicle?" He asks.
"That old truck? Yeah, that's me." Jesse nods.
"Good...stand." He orders, still pointing the gun at him. Jesse notes that even though the man was from money, he still moves like someone who knows how to fight. He doesn't doubt he'd shoot him if he needed to.
Jesse shifts carefully and stands from the bed without argument, "Now look...if you're lookin' to do what I think..."
"You will transport us. To a place my family can find me." He says sharply, "Do that...you won't be killed."
"Maybe not by you.." Jesse mutters, "I can't just...drive you out of here. We're deep in Deadlock territory. You understand? They caught you once...they will do it again here. Easy."
"I can shoot you here and drive myself." He offers as alternative.
Jesse glances out once more, wondering where in hell Blue had gotten too. He sighs heavily and nods, "Yeah..fine. We're gonna need some water an' food first. I'm hungry, and we won't last in that truck without water."
The man nods stiffly at him and motions with the gun for him to move. Jesse walks around him slowly to grab his hat from the table and to get his boots back on. It's only when they start out toward the truck that he realizes the man's moving sluggishly, probably from the drugs in his system.
Jesse takes the wheel and the unnamed man sits next to him with the gun sitting low in his lap. It's only once they're on the road again that he looks back and finally sees Blue walking back toward the motel.
Jesse wonders how long it will take Blue to figure out he's not coming back. No one was stupid enough to cross Deadlock. Jesse's pretty sure he's a dead man.