SIX

The best way to get to get there in a hurry would be to grab a rental car and head straight out. But a guy who chooses not to use credit cards and won't carry a driver's license loses that option. It was fine back in Knoxville. He didn't know why but it was fine back there. So, Angelo was back in a cab, heading for the train station. He paid off the cab and pushed through the crowd to the doors. Down the long ramp and out into the giant concourse.

He glanced around and craned his head to read the departures screen. But his mind was what his wife called, "la-la" land. It was the computer that meant the most. The cursor, patiently blinking in the middle of a word. The open door, the abandoned bag, that was almost normal. Office workers usually take their stuff and close their doors, but not always. But…curiosity killed him, he wondered if anyone would leave computer work unsaved. Which meant she got up from her desk without clicking 'save', which is like breathing to some people he knew.

That put a very bad complexion on the whole thing. A few minutes later, Angelo was standing, with a twenty-ounce cup of coffee he had bought from a vendor. He jammed the lid down tight and squeezed the cash roll and roll-ups in his pocket. He walked back and around to the track where the next train was waiting to leave.

Same road, same direction, no turn, but the complex dynamic of heavy traffic means that if one driver slows down more than the average, then the highway can back up dramatically, with hundreds of people stalled way behind, all because some out-of-towner a mile ahead become momentarily retarded. Danny sat behind the wheel, one hand dangling out the window, holding a cigarette. He knew exactly where he was headed. He was going to where Ms. Skyler lived. Nobody else went along for some reason but it didn't bother him.

He passed the train station and was on his way…

The expresses do not run any faster in terms of speed, but they stop less often. They make the journey last somewhere between forty-nine and fifty-two minutes. The locals stop everywhere, and the repeated breaking and waiting and accelerating spin the trip out to anywhere between sixty eight and eighty one minutes. Angelo was of course, on the express, he was sitting down on the floor- literally - without a care as if he owed the thing, wired from too much coffee, his head leaning on one of the seats.

Angelo sat there, thinking…What if I came with her? What if I prevented it from happening? If I did…I wouldn't be sitting here going to nowhere. I would be with her…with the kids…He wondered exactly where the hell he was going, and why, and what he was going to do when he got there. And whether he would get there in time to do it, anyway, whatever it was.

The car curved gracefully away from the river to run behind this street. It was a fast enough road. Not exactly racetrack material, because it curved and bounced around too much for sustained high speed, but it was clear and empty, a patchwork of old sections and new stretches carved through the woods. There were housing developments here and there, with high timber fencing and neat painted sliding and optimistic names carved or painted into mailboxes.

The car hustled along, and started hunting a left turn. He found it and swung head-on towards the river, which he sensed ahead of him, an empty break in the landscape. Danny then started hunting for the address. Not easy to find. The residential areas were scattered. But Danny soon found the right road and made all the correct turns and found the right street. The car slowed and cruised through the thinning woods above the river, watching the mailboxes.

A smile crept on Danny's face as the car came to a stop in a kerb…

It was seven o'clock pm when the train finally arrived. Angelo's eyes were closed. The empty coffee cup on his hand. Something else was crumpled up in his hand. He stirred as the trains slowed. The stout, black American woman looked at him, and approached him with sympathy. "Poor guy." she said to no-one in particular, having noticed the item on his hand.

Reluctantly, she gently shook him. His eyes blinked a couple of times before opening, he straightened up a little bit when he realized where he was. "Are you okay, hon?" the woman asked softly, concerned. Angelo exhaled. "Yeah." he replied, tiredness dripping off every word. No 'Of course I'm okay, you dumbass.' or 'No, but I feel better knowing I'm not as stupid as you.' Actually, no insults. Just 'Yeah.' and nothing else. That felt good knowing you haven't put anybody down with insults.

The lady helped him up, he said thanks and got out of the train, two hours after getting in. He ran up the stairs and across and down to the taxi rank, There were five operators lined up, all nose-in to the station entrance, all of them using old-model Caprice wagons. First driver to react was a nervous Indian man who raised his hand nervously. Angelo approached him and recited Skyler's address. "You know where that is?"

He whistled. "That's a long way away, mister. Ten miles."

"I'll give you sixty bucks…" Angelo paused and did the math., trying to remember how much money he has. "…and fifty cents." The guy seemed to relax slightly, smiling. "But I gotta be there now." Angelo continued. The guy nodded, smiling. Angelo sat in front, next to him. The car stank like old taxis do, sweet cloying air-freshener and upholstery cleaner. It was a mix of a living room and a cultural place thing…or a religious thing…Oooooh yeah, what was that place called, again? Oh, that's right!--…a church.

After some time, the guy settled to a fast tune. He turned on the radio and listened to some music, a second later, after realizing that Angelo was there, he turned it back off. Angelo turned it back on, the guy smiled at him, and he turned it up. "The place overlooks the river. It is quite beautiful." the guy said. Angelo nodded, "Yeah. I heard." and then, Angelo surprised him with what he said next, "What's your name?"

"Rajah." the guy replied. Not as nervous as before, but surprised. Angelo leaned back and smiled to himself. Rajah cruised for a quarter of an hour, passed by a couple of streets and then slowed, looking for a particular left. Hauled the huge car-boat-church-thingamajig around and headed west. Angelo could feel the river up ahead.

"Should be along here somewhere, mister." Rajah said. It was a narrow road, domesticated with ranch fencing in rough timber and tamed with mowed shoulders and specimen plantings. There were mailboxes a hundred yards apart and poles that hung cables through the treetops. "Well, this is it." Rajah said with his accent. He eased up the taxi into the driveway that was almost empty, except for the black car in the kerb.

"Ok?" Rajah asked. Angelo checked the place out. "Yeah. Okay." He got out of the car and Rajah was about to drive away, without Angelo having to pay him. "Hey. You forgot your fifty bucks." Rajah laughed slightly, embarrassed. Mentally slapping himself across the face. Angelo laughed along with him and noticed the family photo by the rear-view mirror. His smile faded as he looked at the smiling faces. "You know what?" Angelo said, faintly, turning to Rajah whom stopped laughing. "How about I give you sixty…your family looks nice."

Rajah's face brightened. Angelo smiled, a hint of sadness in his eyes. He paid Rajah who kissed the photo before driving off. Angelo watched him go then turned to look at the house in front of him, unsure. He heard a car whine away in reverse. Looked at the mailbox. There was a name spelled out in the little aluminium letters along the top of it. As he read the name, everything just got a little more clearer.

Danny sat behind the wheel. Un-fucking-believable, he thought. He was pissed. And he was happy. Amused and very entertained, actually. He was back. No wonder Conan told him to do this. Fucking bastard just wanted to annoy him. The cell phone started to play that annoying ring tone Conan liked so much. He answered it and heard a maniacal laugh from none other than Conan, himself. "He-he-heeeyy, son. Did you get my gift wrapped little present?"

Danny winced at the word 'son'. "I hate it and I love it."

"Ah, so you did get it. Whatcha gonna do now, Wes?"

"I'm going to stick with it." Danny said, deadly serious.

There was a slight chuckle from Conan, "If you can actually go in the same room as him."

"I can…and who said I was? He'll eventually leave and she'll be the one who stays since it's her godamn house. If he leaves, I'm gonna let him go. If he doesn't…" A pause.

"…then, I'll waste him."

Angelo stood awkwardly outside the house, his hand a few inches from the wood of the door, his knuckles almost touching it. But he didn't…No, he couldn't have gotten the wrong address. This was kind of… 'it'. His eyes were cloudy. And I tell you people, this is no joke.

Then, the door suddenly opened. It was a young woman, maybe the same age, dressed in a large black t-shirt with the words 'All men are Jackasses and I'm looking at their king', she was pale and strained, but very beautiful. Achingly beautiful. Very slim, tall even in her sneakers, long legs in faded jeans. Fine blond hair, long and unstyled, green eyes, fine bones. It was obvious that she had been crying. She looked at Angelo.

He opened his mouth to speak but no words came. He lowered his hand and stood in the uncomfortable silence. "Hello Spencer," She said, softly. He looked at her. She knew who he was. And he knew who she was.

I'm searching for something, it's so hard to find. I'm falling off the chain, I can't seem to climb. I keep driving down highways that don't have an end. I can't find the signs so I'm lost again…

"Hello, Kathryn." he said, his voice hoarse, low and strained. Sad, like the scene around him. There was another silence. "I'm…I'm looking for somebody."

But I'm looking forward to seeing her smile. We've been strangers, lost for a while. A new day was coming, a change at last. All my problems fade away in the past…

"I know." she said in the same, saddened tone. "…Ms Skyler, right?"

"Yeah. Is…is she here?" he stuttered.

You're the king on his throne with his eyes torn out…

You're the blind man looking for a shadow of doubt…

"I'm Ms. Skyler."