Ray lay sprawled out over the sofa. She eyed the TV, which was spouting information on the recent updates from the war. Sighing, she picked up the clicker and was about to change the channel, when the anchorwoman brought up a new topic that caught Ray's attention.
It was about the hurricane-like actions of that group of men she heard about. They were still on the run, and were considered highly dangerous. The hotline had been set up for information about them, blah blah blah.
Ray listened for the names, and grinned when they came up. Some face shots flashed on the screen and then the picture of their ringleader appeared.
"Elwood Blues…" Ray repeated after the announcer's voice. "What kind of a name is 'Elwood'? Jeez, I'd go on a spree too if that were my name," she laughed, changing the channel to some daytime soap opera. She scrutinized the plot for just a few moments before flicking the television off with a groan of disgust.
"Soap operas should be ordered to have at least some kind of story-line," she muttered as she stalked back into the kitchen. Her mother was back, stirring the soup with a blank look on her face.
"Mom? Are you alright?" Ray inquired, leaning on the wall.
"Oh, yes dear. Just fine. I just felt a little under the weather. All ready for summer vacation, dear?" Ms. Banning piped, cheerily.
"Um, yeah. About that…" Ray rubbed the back of her head. "I was thinking about taking a road trip…"
"Absolutely out of the question, dear. You have your job over at the theater! They're counting on you to be the head counselor, just like last year!"
"But Mom, Casey and Victoria are renting a trailer, and I already gave them my share of the cash! If I don't go, they can't go!"
"Then let them have your money. How much was it?"
"Five hundred bucks!" Ray demanded.
"Well, that's hardly too much. You'll earn two thousand doing your job."
"But-…"
Ms. Banning turned around, her hands on her hips. "Ray, honey, I know you might want to take that trip. But think about it. Where were you going to go? What were you going to see, besides cute guys? It is a waste of good money and a waste of gasoline besides. Inflation is bad enough these days without wasting gas on pointless trips.
"See if you can find someone else to go with Casey and Victoria. Then have them give you the five hundred dollars. It's easy enough, right?"
Ray groaned and rolled her eyes. Four years of high school, and she had wasted every summer of it leading a theatrical clinic at a local playhouse. Now, the summer of her senior year, she was being held back by her mother.
Technically she could tell her mother to go stuff it and Ray could be travelling the country by next week. She was, after all, eighteen and legally an adult. But she couldn't imagine doing that.
Ray turned back and grabbed her keys. Launching herself into the truck, she drove out of the small development and turned into her favorite pizza place near the end of the highway.
She ordered a slice of the greasiest, cheesy, crispy pizza on her side of the Mississippi and had just barely sat down when she heard the front bell jingle and watched as a troupe of men stomped in and ordered four large pizzas with various toppings. Ray took a bite and promptly choked when she recognized one of the men; the last one to walk in.
He was wearing a black suit, hat, and sunglasses, and his build was lanky and thin. He had a slight smirk playing on his face, and was speaking to two other men with suits on; one tall and stocky, the other slightly shorter and African-American.
The stringy cheese hung in limp streamers from her mouth as she kept her eyes on them. Realizing what she must have looked like, she wiped the excess from her chin and stared as raptly as she had been.
The men sat back in the large party room save for the three suited men and one kid in a suit and hat. They all planted themselves near the front door with their own pizza and began discussing whatever seemed important to them.
Ray continued eating, afraid to draw attention. After all, these guys were on the most-wanted list. They were there for a reason, and she wouldn't put murder past them, given their record. After all, what was one dead girl to guys who had the entire country after them?
She shrunk in her seat and prayed they'd leave soon. She sucked on her soda and realized it was empty. Her plate was clean. Staying where she was would attract confused stares from onlookers. Ray was stuck in a very uncomfortable scenario.
Suddenly, an old lady near her gasped and shrieked. "Oh my gosh! It's those men from TV! They're criminals! Someone call 911!"
Ray watched the seconds go by in slow motion. In less than a minute, the four suited men had stood and began for the door. But the guy behind the counter had put the door on lockdown and the thin, suited man acted as quickly as possible. He motioned for the large one, and Ray didn't have time to move.
The big one grabbed her and held her hostage. Ray screamed and kicked and fought his iron grip, but barely noticed as her captors kicked out the door and made for a police-esque vehicle. Unfortunately, she didn't see much more as she hit her head on the door-post when they dragged her through the entrance and promptly blacked out.