Snake put the hummer in park and shut down the lights. He was off the road and in cover with a good vantage point of the road in both directions. Plissken reclined the seat and closed his eye to get some sleep before meeting Marrs the next evening. He couldn't. As soon as his eye shut all he could see were the red numbers counting down to his death.
Plissken opened his eye and rubbed his neck, more out of instinct. He was still trying to feel something there. Like every other time there was nothing to be felt but the sore spots the size of a nickel where the needles had plunged in. The thought brought a shiver and goosebumps when Snake recollected that fear. He wasn't trusting of needles in the past and now the mere thought of one turned his stomach and simultaneously sparked a burning hate inside.
He needed to relax. Snake downed another of the painkillers given to him by the doctor and settled in again to attempt to relax. The numbers lit up in his brain again, 22. 22 was supposed to be 24 but he had been cheated. Should he be surprised? Snake didn't have time to answer his own question as the countdown clock sailed toward zero in his mind's eye. Panic settled on him, hours of stress boiled to the surface until the 00:00:02 flashed with impending doom. He couldn't shake the image. It remained flashing and he was held on edge wondering if his neck would explode, if Hauk would laugh as his body slumped to the ground. 00:00:01 burned with hate as he readied himself to kill if anything seemed out of the ordinary.
The numbers flashed in sync with his ever increasing heartbeat. The waiting was excruciating. Would it happen? Finally zero hit and Plissken felt pain in his neck, imagined explosions in the nightmare he had slipped into.
Plissken bolted upright in the seat slamming his head against the roof as he came to. It doubled him up against the door cradling his forehead but as soon as his eye closed the numbers returned pulsing now with the pain in his bad eye. The impact roused such an intense pain that Snake felt the world go black. He couldn't be sure how long but a welt had risen between his last memory and whatever time had passed.
Snake took a deep breath once more touching his neck. The after impressions from the nightmare remained causing Plissken to flinch under his own touch. There was a fear that he would feel blood. For all he knew the police could have left the charges, maybe they lasted 30 hours and his neck would blow out while he was driving. His paranoia played havoc for a moment before Plissken looked out at the glimmer of light that was starting to illuminate the road. He had slept longer that he assumed and more importantly he was still alive. His neck was intact, the government was fucked and Hauk was probably up to his ass in people bitching. It was a good thought to brush away the nightmare. The only way the day could get better was a stiff drink which was already planned in the near future.
Snake started up the police vehicle and smiled to himself. The whistling started as his mind imagined what Hauk's morning was like. The only shame was he couldn't watch Hauk squirm like he had watched Plissken on the exam table or when he'd jumped off the wall only seconds from dying. Luck only went so far and having his life was good enough for now. Hauk could be made to suffer all he needed was a little patience.