Lightning struck the celestial skies in almost perfect cadence. Rain drops pounded on the Jeep's roof as if they were trying to break in. Vinny and Tina were still heading west on Rt.322 piercing through the storm and enjoying the sites of Ohio. The constant clatter of the rain drops falling like bullets from the sky was getting on the Gadget Man's nerves. Tina wanted to sleep but the violent thunder storm was much too entertaining. The Happy meal that she had from McDonalds was meant for little children and Tina still felt hungry. Vinny fooled around with the radio but didn't find any good songs to listen to. Then he had a sudden idea.
" Want to hear some music I made when I was a kid?" He asked.
Not wanting to upset the Gadget Man Tina shrugged her shoulders and said " Sure." Vincent reached up above the visor and pulled out a CD and popped it into the CD player then turned the volume all the way up. Loud heavy metal music blasted through the speakers and Tina covered her ears. Then she recognized Vinny's voice coming on the speakers.
" I'll steal the flowers from their graves. I'm gonna smash their wedding cakes." Vinny sang along with the uproar and beat his fists into the steering wheel. Tina cringed in her seat still covering her ears and patiently waiting for the song to end. The chorus repeated." I'll steal the flowers from their graves. I'm gonna smash their wedding cakes." Tina looked into the side view mirror and saw flashing lights. Vinny was rocking back and forth in his seat singing along to the song completely oblivious to the cop behind him. Tina nudged him on the shoulder and pointed to the rear view mirror. Vinny immediately turned the music down, checked his speed, then put both hands on the steering wheel.
" I don't understand." He said," I wasn't speeding." He looked at Tina as if she might know the answer. Tina shrugged her shoulders and crossed her fingers where Vinny couldn't see them. Vinny saw an upcoming country road and he turned left onto it heading south on the barren road away from traffic. Most people when they get pulled over look for a public area with people to pull over to be safe. Vinny was doing the complete opposite. The cop following him assumed he couldn't see the flashing lights because of the boat obscuring the view behind them. The cop turned on the siren in hopes Vinny would soon pull over. Tina watched Vinny's hands shake incessantly on the steering wheel as they both listened to the siren screeching in the wind.
When it looked like all possible nosy onlookers were out of site Vinny pulled off to the side of the road next to a corn field. The cruiser's siren made two last beeps then shut off but the bubble gum lights remained on. A million thoughts raced through the Gadget Man's mind but he never once thought to consider a tail light might be out. Vinny had been pulled over several times before and knew that the officers usually sat in their cruiser for a while before they accosted their quarry. However, when Vinny looked in the side mirror he saw the officer holding his hat from blowing away in the wind and observed the officer trotting up towards his Jeep.
The portly, retired looking cop looked like he was in a hurry and rapped on the Jeep's plastic window. Vinny unzipped the window and folded it inward . The heavy set cop was still holding the hat down on his head to keep it from blowing away in the wind. The rain poured harder now and the officer squinted his eyes looking concerned but not threatened. The officer's hat was covered in plastic to protect the hat from the rain but his long black trench coat was getting soaked. Vinny saw doughnut crumbs on the side of his mouth. The gray haired officer looked way too old and out of shape to be a cop.
" Do you know why I pulled you over? What took you so long to pull over?" Said the officer.
Vinny cleared his throat and glanced at Tina. She had a worried look in her eyes." I'm sorry officer. I didn't see the lights because of the boat I'm hauling."
The officer rested his hairy fingers on the window sill then stared at Tina to see if she would corroborate the story. She watched Vincent furtively tap his wrist watch with his index finger as if to say Go ahead, screw this up and I'll blow you to smithereens. Tina nodded her head looking at the cop with imploring eyes then noticed the wedding band on his hairy fingers. She surmised that he probably had kids maybe even as old as her. The cop looked back over at Vinny.
"The reason I pulled you over is because you have a tail light out on the trailer. I'm going to need to see your driver's license and proof of registration."
Vinny bit down on his lip." Oh sure, absolutely officer." The rain continued to pour even harder but the cop pretended not to mind. Instead of reaching in his back pocket for his driver's license, Vinny reached over and opened the glove box. The cop looked back over at Tina. Tears were running down her cheeks.
"Mam, are you alright?" The cop asked with a look of concern.
Vinny pulled a 9mm with a silencer out of the glove box. At the last minute Tina saw what Vinny was doing and tried to grab the gun out of his hands. The Gadget Man was too quick and powerful. The cop went for his own gun but he didn't have time to unsnap it from the holster. Vinny fired twice into the officer's chest. The retired looking cop staggered backwards and the hairy fingers slowly slid away from the window sill. Tina screamed that annoying shrill that she always did and Vinny back handed her straight across the jowl.
Vinny became enraged." Shut up you sissy! His blood is on your hands. That cop died because of you!" Tina opened the passenger door and threw up. Vinny wasted no time. He reached into the glove box and pulled out a pair of needle nose pliers. The cop lay on his back in the middle of the street. The pouring down rain was already starting to wash away the blood leaking from the officer's chest. Vinny put black leather gloves on and jumped out of the Jeep. Then he got on top of the officer and used the needle nose pliers to pluck the two slugs out of his chest and then placed the slugs in his pocket. Vincent rolled the cop over and took his wallet and also found a cell phone that would later come in handy. The Gadget Man did a quick look around. Perfect. It appeared that nobody was watching.
Vincent drug the officer's body all the way across the other side of the street then stuck the cell phone and wallet in his pocket. The gusty wind blew harder and pellets of rain beat down on his face. Vinny got in the cruiser and parked it on the other side of the street facing the other way to confuse the police. The cruiser was equipped with a video camera which was recording everything so Vinny ripped that out as well and took it with him. Two minutes had passed and he had to hurry before someone would spot him. He changed the license plate on the trailer and replaced it with another counterfeit plate. Vinny popped the red plastic casing on the right tail light and tweaked the wires. The tail light came right on. He jumped back into the Jeep soaking wet and cursing up a storm. He turned the Jeep around and made his way back to Rt.322. Tina cried like a little baby. Her black eye liner trickled down her face.
She had knuckle prints on her face.