Chapter 10.5
Ash burped loudly and tossed his beer can out of the window as the Delta rolled down the highway. Kelly made a disgusted face from the passenger seat.
"How you are supposed to be this heroic 'Jefe' is beyond me," Kelly said, shaking her head.
"Well, you know what they say, Kelly," Ash exclaimed nonchalantly with one hand on the wheel of the Delta. "You don't look a gift horse in the mouth."
"I have absolutely no idea how that is supposed to apply here," Kelly said with a roll of her eyes.
"That's 'cause you ain't the Jefe, chica," Ash said as he turned to Pablo in the back seat.
"Yo, Pablo," he said. "How about passing me another one of those beers?"
Pablo looked a bit uncertain.
"Not so sure that's a good idea, Jefe. You're already three beers in, and we are still a few hours away, so maybe you oughta pace yourself…"
"Hey now," Ash cut in. "Ain't nobody knows more about alcohol tolerance than yours truly."
Ash gestured to himself with his robotic hand that Pablo had made for him.
"In fact," he continued. "I basically wrote the book on the art of sobering up. Wouldn't've graduated high school if I didn't master that fine art."
Kelly rolled her eyes for the second time.
Pablo shook his head. "I guess if you say so Jefe…"
Pablo reached into Ash's duffel bag and began rummaging around, attempting to find the cool can of alcohol. His fingers brushed against some plastic, piquing his curiosity. Slowly, Pablo pulled out the item.
It was a Ziploc bag, and through the clear plastic, Pablo could see several burnt pieces of metal and a folded sheet of paper inside.
"Hey Jefe," Pablo asked with a frown. "What's this?"
Ash twisted in his seat and saw the bag in Pablo's hand.
"Be careful with that," Ash said, surprising Pablo with his sudden seriousness. He pointed at Pablo to emphasize his point.
Pablo was taken aback.
"Why? Wha-what is it?" he asked warily.
"It's a last resort. Ya know, just in case things get out of hand, or you're up against impossible odds."
Kelly smirked.
"What?" she asked. "Big bad Ash can't handle everything?"
"Oh ha. Ha. Ha," Ash said sarcastically, looking over at her. "I know it may be hard to believe, Kelly, but there a few things out there that are bigger than even me. And that there…" he pointed to the bag of shrapnel. "…is something you do not take lightly. If you ever have to use that bag, then you are in deep deep DEEP shit."
"Ok, ok, I get it!" Kelly said throwing her hands up. "Don't use the bag unless absolutely necessary."
Pablo suddenly didn't want to hold the bag anymore, and he quickly put it back into Ash's bag before reaching for the beer. Hopefully, he would never need to use it.