The violent storm had finally passed. The 97 Jeep Wrangler appeared to be engulfed in the infinite caravan of cars,trucks, and minivans. Vinny kept both hands on the wheel and prayed that nobody would accidentally side swipe him. Even though the traffic was heavy and they were packed in like sardines, the flow of traffic moved swiftly. Vinny unzipped the driver's side window, folded it inward, and breathed in the scrumptious Chicago air. It felt good to be in the big windy city. There were cars with no license plates and even cars driving without headlights. That's the way it was in Chicago. Cops didn't have time to pull people over for busted tail lights or broken headlights. Half of the drivers in Chicago didn't even have car insurance.
Cars were honking and people were waving their hands in frustration. The Gadget Man felt safe blending in with angry motorists. Despite the noisy streets of Chicago Tina was sound asleep slouched in the corner of the passenger seat. Her mouth was wide open and a slight trickle of drool slithered down her chin. The storm was over but the gusty winds were relentless. Vinny stuck his head out the window once more and sniffed the yummy smells of food that wafted through the air. Everything appeared perfect, just the way it should be.
Vincent made a left hand turn onto shoreline drive and enjoyed the vista of the upbeat city. Several miles ahead he could see blinking lights on a Ferris wheel looming in the distance at the Navy Pier. To his right he could see the soft glow of lights coming from the boats floating on lake Michigan. He looked at Tina. She was still sound asleep. Vinny made a right hand turn and pulled into the parking lot of a seedy hotel. Naturally of course it was not the Majestic Hotel that the judge was told to be at by midnight.
It was 10pm. Many people were still out milling the streets but in Chicago that would continue all night long. Vinny took up two parking spots because of his boat and trailer. He cut the engine then gently prodded Tina in the abdomen. Tina woke up abruptly.
"Stay in your seat for now. I'm going to stand outside and smoke a cigarette." He said opening a new pack. Tina nodded, yawned, then shut her eyes again. Before Vinny stepped out of the Jeep he put on his hoody and his UNAbomber sunglasses. The nicotine felt good running through his system. He hadn't smoked a cigarette in 5 hours and the Newport in his mouth felt pretty good. While he puffed on his cigarette his imaginative mind ran faster than a race horse as he tried to devise a plan. He reached into the hoody's pocket and pulled out the cell phone belonging to the cop he killed. Just half a mile up the road was the Majestic Hotel. By now the Majestic Hotel was probably crawling with cops. Suddenly the perfect plan hit Vinny like a lightning bolt. He finished his cigarette, put it out using the bottom of his shoe, and placed it in his pocket. He got back into the Jeep and rattled Tina like a kid would wake his parent on Christmas Day.
"What? What?" She cried like a nagging old crone. " I need you to get us a hotel room." He said while unbuckling her seat belt.
"I don't have my driver's license." She declared.
"Don't worry about it. This is Chicago. They're not going to care. Besides, I know just what you're gonna say." He said quickly conjuring a fabricated story in his head. Tina cracked her door open and stared at the heavy flow of traffic cruising up shoreline drive. She poked her head out the door and breathed in the scrumptious Chicago air.
"Mmm... Something smells good." She said licking her lips.
"Look, we don't have time to dilly dally. I need some time to set up my equipment." Vinny pulled out two hundred dollars from his wallet and handed it to her." You're gonna say that you and your boyfriend just got in a fight and you're giving him the night to cool down. You forgot to bring your driver's license and you can't go back and get it because he's still furious."
Tina bit down on her lower lip and counted the wad of cash." You sure this is going to be enough money?" She asked.
Vinny looked at her like she was a child asking a stupid question." Just look at this place. It's still being renovated. It's not going to cost much and they'll be happy for your business." Tina gazed at the seedy hotel. The big neon sign displaying the name of the hotel Eagles Nest was only partially lit. There was a scaffold at the front of the hotel with big sheets of plastic drooping down and empty buckets of paint scattered about. Tina fondled the bomb wrapped around her neck while watching some teenagers carry a case of beer up the fire escape.
" What about the bomb wrapped around my neck? Don't I have to stay within 40 yards of you?"
Vinny pointed to a pay phone right outside the front entrance." I'll be standing at that pay phone over there pretending to make a call. The front is right there when you walk through those glass double doors. That's way less than 40 yards." Vinny looked at his watch then got out of the Jeep." Come on, time is a wasting."
Tina got out of the Jeep and stretched her legs out. They were stiff from the long journey. She followed Vinny over to the pay phone. He was already pushing buttons on the cell phone he had stolen from the cop. When she caught up with him the pay phone was ringing. Vinny put his black leather gloves on and picked up the pay phone. He handed the cell phone to Tina." Here take this with you. I'll be watching and listening to everything that's going on so don't pull any tricks."
Tina put the cell phone to her ear and heard his disturbing voice." Oh, I almost forgot something very important. Ask for a room with a view of Lake Michigan. It is very imperative that you get a room facing the lake."
Tina walked under the canopy and pushed on the glass doors while Vinny remained outside hunched over the pay phone. The hotel was not like any hotel Tina had ever been at. There was no friendly bellhop there to greet her and take her luggage, ( not that she had any). The desk clerk wasn't wearing a uniform of any kind or a neat little bow tie like she was used to seeing. Instead she saw a scary looking man in his 30's sitting on a bar stool in the corner behind the desk reading a tattoo magazine. He had long black greasy hair pulled tightly back in a pony tail and he was wearing a white tank top revealing all of his offensive tattoos. The walls were painted yellow and the color seemed to fade at certain sections, especially near the ceiling. The desk clerk seemed to pay no attention to Tina walking through the door. It seemed he was infatuated with the tattoo magazine. He held it up closely to his face and scrutinized every page. Tina saw a little bell next to the cash register and gently tapped it. The scary looking clerk waited a good 30 seconds before he finally put the magazine down and walked up to the cash register.
"Can I help you?" He said with a steely look in his eyes. Tina felt that the man was trying to undress her with his eyes. She felt the same way around him as she did Peter who Vinny ended up chopping to pieces with a chain saw."Act like you're talking to your mother." Whispered Vinny into the phone. Tina stayed duteous.
"Okay mom, I'm getting a room right now." Said Tina into the cell phone while putting the wad of cash out in her other hand. Tina looked at the desk clerk who pretended not to be irked at her being on a cell phone. Tina continued to play her role.
"I need a room just for tonight with a view of the lake." She said while still chatting into her cell.
The desk clerk looked over a sheet of paper adjacent to the cash register." No problem. I've got plenty of them Lakeside view. Can I see your driver's license?"
Tina looked at him with imploring eyes and placed the cash on the desk." Look, my boyfriend and I sort of got in a fight and I can't go back there and get it. I'm only staying for one night."
The scary man's eyes glistened like maybe violence fascinated him. He carefully observed the knuckle prints on Tina's face and then asked," So that's why the turtleneck huh?" Tina ran her delicate fingers inside the collar of her turtleneck and lightly nodded her head." You're doing good." whispered Vinny into the phone. He was still outside watching the whole thing from outside. The desk clerk slithered his tongue like a snake causing Tina to take a step back.
" Well, since you're only staying one night I guess I can bend the rules a little bit. You're not going to invite a bunch of teenage punks and trash the place are you? Teenagers these days can't wait for their folks to go on vacation to throw a party in their own homes so they decide to come here and trash our hotels. We've had that problem a lot."
Tina pushed the wad of cash closer to him hoping he'd shut up and take the money." No, I won't be having any parties." She finally said.
The desk clerk picked up the wad of cash and then handed her back 4 twenties." Good, I'll put you in room 315. Enjoy your stay." He reached under the desk and pulled out a set of keys and handed them to her. Tina snatched the keys and headed out the door before he could change his mind. The scary looking clerk jumped back on the bar stool and went back to reading his tattoo magazine.