I do not own Fastlane. I merely TiVo it off G4 and curse at the bad breaking spots they pick for commercials. I also do not own "Creeper Kamikaze" by The Exies. They are a helluva band so check them out. Sorry it's been literally like a year since I updated this. I am going to proof read this again later so don't mind the errors. It's 2:11 AM and I have work tomorrow.

Chapter 4

Deaq acted casual as he walked through the hotel entrance. The swagger in his step gave off a look of confidence. He observed coolly all that was around him without looking as if he was searching. It had been days now since Van had run. He was beginning to worry his partner might never come back. A grimy looking man behind the front desk looked up at him from behind a newspaper. He was greasy in a way that wasn't purely physical. Sizing Deaq up and smirking at his mix of designer khakis, dress shoes and ghetto dew rag, he spoke. "If you're another cop looking for the scrawny kid with the wannabe mullet and watermelon green car he checked out of here this morning. He must have run the liquor stores dry and moved on to greener pastures." At this point Mr. Greasy Hotel Guy resumed reading his newspaper.

"Any idea where he went?" Deaq was exasperated. He knew Van would do this. He knew he'd make him chase after him like an overdramatic girlfriend. After ten seconds of no response and the turn of a newspaper page Deaq tried again. "Yo, I asked you a question. Any idea where he went?"

The man looked irritated but he put his newspaper down once more. "Look, kid, if you haven't noticed we really aren't the kind of establishment that asks a lot of questions. How long would you and your hooker like this room? Will multiple parties of drug dealing gangsters be joining you later on? Would you enjoy a rollaway bed or two for the orgy you will be hosting at our fine establishment? People who come here don't want to be asked questions and I oblige them. Your buddy just kinda shoved the key at me this morning with a Benjamin rolled into the key chain and walked out. He didn't say a word and neither did I."

"Great. Just great." Deaq had only a few desperate ideas of where Van might have gone. "If he comes back call me right away." He said as he scribbled down his cell number. As Deaq held out the number the man cleared his throat. "Oh for Chrissakes…" he grumbled as he dug out a twenty to accompany the information. It was probably a waste anyways but Van out there running scared, disillusioned and erratic was a big problem. He didn't want to leave anything to chance. He figured he and Billie could put their heads together and figure out a direction to go in. He left the hotel and headed back to the Candy Store.

Billie pored over a stack of telephone transcripts from her coke smuggler case. There were hundreds of pages. There was little known and it had been a fluke that Van and Deaq had collared one of them. They had come through for her and she bit her lip thinking in their haste things might have gotten out of control. It was blowing up in their faces. While they had been sent a red herring concentrating on the docks one of their suspect's low level cronies had been sent to get personal. It was a sure demonstration that they could hit home..literally. She surmised that they had targeted Van because he was the most vulnerable. Poor Van..she really felt bad. Must be going soft in her old age. He was a cop through and through. She had recruited him specifically for his boy scout heart and low social dominance scores. She simultaneously resented and admired his ability to give out emotion so freely. He could lie to a mark and yet on some level be genuine. It gave him charm and believability. Those were priceless assets with the people they were dealing with. Too bad all of that feel good stuff was also his Achilles heel.

Deaq walked into the Candy Store with his usual swagger but Billie immediately could tell things were worse. "He skipped out, Billie. I need you to try and locate him."

"Well I called his cell phone but he turned it off yesterday. He hasn't turned it back on since so no GPS tracking. I can try to track him through his credit card again." She leaned over her computer. Several hundred keystrokes and ten minutes later Billie triumphantly displayed Van's Visa activity. "Great. He took seven hundred out of an ATM in the northern part of L.A. He knows we'd track him so now he's using cash. Well at least we know he didn't run off to Mexico."

"You never know, Billie. He's crafty enough he might do it and circle back just to put us off the scent."

"You're right. Christ, we've resorted to tracking him like a common criminal." Billie ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "I'm worried, Deaq. I don't think he's going to snap out of it this time. You don't think he'll do anything stupid, do you?"

"Billie, I have the utmost faith..that he probably will. Any luck digging up something with the cocaine smugglers?"

"No, none at all. Everything is deadly quiet with them. I'm afraid they've caught on to us. I didn't think it could be them before but now I'm sure they had to be involved with targeting Hilary."

The melody was haunting. A few bits and pieces of lyric came to him over the sound of the wind as it whipped past him. He was lost in the scenery. It was pristine and unreal. Van realized this was probably due to the fact he was lost in his own drunken hallucination. There had been no other cars on the road and the sun was hovering just above the horizon. It had been doing that for close to three hours now. He chided himself for focusing on the realities instead of getting lost in the serenity of his own dream.

Where you're heading there is no return

You're Hell bent on a crash and burn

It was like they were driving in circles. He didn't mind because he was in no particular hurry to get to wherever they were going. He was just enjoying this, enjoying the escape from where he was REALLY going.

You think you're winning but you won't be free

Until you realize there's no enemy.

Billie, no scratch that, Dream Billie, smiled at him as she accelerated into a turn. This Billie didn't fight with him. She didn't bust his balls. She just enjoyed his company and offered to drive away with him.

So live, live on through me

it's time to forget the creeper kamikaze

He felt her downshifting the car as they slowed a small bit. The highest part of the cliffs was before them. The car roared up and shifted again. He watched her concentration with intense interest. Billie whipped the car around another hard turn. He felt it in the pit of his gut. She rounded a bend gunned it. He watched her more intently. Something was definitely happening. She slid the car to a stop from 75 mph and it stopped inches short a rail looking off from cliffs. She unbuckled her seat belt and looked at him with a wide grin. She opened the car door and hopped out. He followed and stood close behind her overlooking the waves below. He placed his hands on her hips. She turned to him not quite startled but only slightly surprised.

And give,

give yourself to me

And everything you believe

It's the creeper kamikaze

His gaze was steady and intense. Van studied this concoction of his mind. He had his share of romances. Emotions and passion ran high. No one knew whom to trust and he used the promise of a brief connection with another human being to pull the wool over the eyes of a mark more than once. In those circumstances things had been intense. This was ten times more so. For a moment looking into her eyes he pretended this was real. He pretended this wasn't the shredded pieces of a broken man attempting to gain some solace. Van placed his hands on either side of her face and gently tipped her face towards his. His eyelids grew heavy as he came closer to her.

So forgive

The things you cannot hide

Cause when the truth comes in

Your soul opens wide

Billie gasped as his lips made contact with hers. His hands became buried in her hair as their lips crushed against each other. One armed encircled his neck as the other tucked around his back. They leaned against the car as he swore his knees buckled. She was pulling him closer to her in a frantic need for intimacy. One hand dropped around her waist to pull her further against him. Their kiss had gone from passionate to electric. His whole body was affected. He held her against him like he was clinging on for dear life. In a way he was. There was nothing left to anchor him now. She was it.

So live,

Live on through me

Its time to forgive

The creeper kamikaze

So forgive

So forgive

So forgive