Karma

Sedric chuckled.
"I think it's impossible for me to not piss you off," he claimed, looking out. After two hours, he raised an eyebrow when he saw the sign indicating that they were now in Kansas.
"Kansas? Seriously? What the fuck are we doing in Kansas?" he asked, smiling when they stopped. He got out of the car and stretched languidly, walking around the truck for a few laps to stretch out his legs.
 
"It won't make any sense in a few hours, so I'll say it now." Lance snickered as he put on his best Dorothy mannerism, "Oh no, Toto! We're not in Kansas anymore!"

Lance zipped up his pants, sighing in annoyance.

"I live out west, Wyoming actually. That's where we're going. That way, if I do kill you, they're gonna have to find a warrant before I find a nice place to feed you to my dogs," Lance said, proud of his sick and twisted sense of humor.

But Lance's threats were becoming less heartfelt by the hour. That was the trouble with traveling with your target, you got attached. Lance was never any good at lying. If he had a fault, that was it. He was a hired mercenary, not an assassin really. Mercenaries just had to worry about the kill. Assassins worried about the sneaking, the deceit. That's how Lance saw it anyway. Lance scooped up a few ice creams from the back, along with some pre-made slushies.

"Time to go! It's too fucking hot out..." Lance said as he forsook his shirt, tossing it into the freezer.
 
Sedric slapped his forehead, dragging his hand down his face at Lance's impression.
"That was absolutely necessary?" he said, getting back into the truck. However, he couldn't help but laugh. Lance's lame jokes got even funnier, and even his death threats seemed to be funny. Sedric was quiet confident the man wouldn't kill him though. At the comment about the heat, he rolled his eyes.
"No fucking shit Sherlock, I hadn't even noticed," he said, looking out the window.
"We should stop at a hotel."
 
"Yes, Princess," Lance said as the car rumbled to life.

It was late when Lance finally stopped to rest. His proud stature had slumped to match his energy. His face was dirty from the dust blown into the windows, and a long-overdue 5 o'clock shadow scrubbed in over his face. Every muscle on his body ached from stiff posture. Even his smile was weaker from the long day. He was forced to play more arrogant, obnoxious music as the night dragged on before he pulled into the shady motel 6 like place. It looked like the place you came for hookers and an itch fed with a needle. The lonely pale light of the man behind the counter wasn't so lonely with the orangey-yellow lights that lit the pathways. Some flickered on and off. Other lights, from within the rooms, glowed different colors as the residents here shared a television and a warm bed.

"All right, wait here. I'm gonna see where I can charge up the truck. Gotta make sure the food doesn't go bad." he said, his voice cracking in exhaustion.

Within half an hour more, Lance was trudging up the stairs with his cool shirt slung over his shoulder. He mumbled about how much he hated driving, and also how much he hated Kansas. But his murmurings were secondary to the promise of a hot shower and an excuse to call a bed.
 
"Don't call me a princess."

By the time they pulled up to the motel, Sedric was actually so tired that he was wide awake. He was awake and felt the need to do something stupid. He waited like Lance he said, and followed the man up to their room. Once inside, he took a lot around.
"This place it really shitty," he said, quickly checking the bed, under and on top of the mattress.
"No bed bugs though. That's a plus," he said, sighing thankfully and flopping down, turning on the TV. He watched some while he listened to the shower running. Finally he got bored and got up, going into the bathroom and sitting on the floor.
"I'm bored. Will you talk with me for a while?" he asked, sounding like a normal person instead of a smart ass cocky bastard.
 
Lance groaned before he yawned, scrubbing his face with his hands and motel dime-shelf soap. He realized that he should have asked for a razor too. The water dripped down his head, over his tired eyes, and down his neck. Past that, it was simply heat and bliss that came with a hot shower that he could feel. He picked up the soap again, and scrubbed the hand towel with suds. He didn't think he'd done that bad. This Sedric guy seemed to forget the men who were after them checked credit cards, whether the cards were theirs or not. This run down place didn't ask for an ID. Didn't ask for a card if something went wrong, especially if you gave them enough money. Lance would ignore the broken tile floor and the stained carpet for the promise of a good night's rest.

"Sure, but as soon as I get out of the shower, I'm going to bed. I don't think that the promise of hookers, beer, and a million dollars could keep me awake right now." he moaned, enjoying the feeling of the rough cloth on his skin, "What do you want to talk about?"
 
Sedric shrugged, looking at the broken tiles and tracing the lines on it.
"Not really sure. Hookers are gross. Beer is even more gross, even though drink it still, and I already have a million dollars," he said, sighing lightly.
"I don't really think anyone would promise that to you though. They'd keep it to themselves, know what I mean? So, are we just driving tomorrow? Do you live in a fairly nice place?"
 
"I built my house myself. It's still registered to a friend of mine in case things go badly, like today. I give him rent each month and a little extra, he keeps my dirty little secret. It's not that far from here, I just couldn't drive any more... He does so much for me. I should really call him so my boys are back by tomorrow..." he yawned, "Beer, hookers, and money are all easy ways to forget that life sucks."

He rinsed the suds from his body and shut off the water. He breathed in the steam for a moment to soothe his dry throat. He leaned his head against the wall, wanting to fall asleep in the tiny tiled space. Lance slithered his arm out and grabbed the towel from the back of the toilet seat. The fabric was rough and uncomfortable against his more tender skin. The foreign feeling reminded him of the long time that existed between himself and the last time he'd actually gotten anything.

"Damn job... I haven't gotten laid since January..." he mumbled as he opened the curtains.

Lance ran his hands over his hair to loosen the water from his hair. Sleepy bags had formed underneath his eyes, begging for sleep. Lance sat on the toilet seat and looked at Sedric, uncaring that he wasn't wearing anything.

"I haven't been home in a while either. I didn't really stop between jobs, just kept on goin... My dad's probably making a fuss and blowing up my cell... Too bad I dropped it in a lake... But I need to sleep. I would recommend that you go out and buy a gameboy or something, because I will not wake up until sunlight hits my pillow in the mornin." Lance half slurred his speech, "The ride is short tomorrow. Don't worry."
 
Sedric remained quiet, then one of Lance's comments hit him.
"You said boys. Do you have kids?" he asked, watching the man get out of the shower. He looked over his practically naked body once, concealing a smirk that wanted to take over his face. He got up, opening the door and walking out.
"No, I was planning to go find a Best Buy in town and get myself a god damn computer... I can not live with out a computer, literally," he said, flopping back down on the bed.
"I'm glad the ride is going to be short though, that means I'll get to be in a house tomorrow and I'll be near a best buy so I can get a computer. Ugh, because of you I have to get my flash drives and he create all my programs. Do you know how fucking hard that is?" he asked, crawling under the blanket with a slight huff.
 
"I have two kids. They're both covered in hair and drool most of the time. One is named Spot and the other one is Buddy. He responds better to Idiot, or Dog though... And I never said that you were gonna be by a best buy." Lance said as the crawled into his bed.

He barely got to slip underneath the covers before he sighed. The bed had just felt so soft compared to the car seats and broken tile. He groaned at his mild taste in comfort and squirmed into the blankets. He closed his eyes and was unconcerned about the fact that he was still dripping wet. He was comfy, and that was all that mattered.
 
Sedric snorted.
"Dogs. Of course they're dogs," he said, pulling his Ipod touch out of his pocket. He put in his headphones and turned the whole thing onto shuffle. The first song that came up was Hate Fuck by The Bravery and he couldn't help but laugh at the slight irony.
 
Lance ran, forever forward, the world crumbling underneath his feet, it seemed. His footing was unsteady, shaky, and uneven. His breath echoed in his ears, the road he took stretching out before him like a badly made rubber band. Suddenly, the crumbling streets were gone, replaced by a darkened room, the bloody red spot in the middle consuming all the light. Lance turned around at the sound of echoing footsteps.

"You should have done your job," the mans voice said as a pistol came into the light.

There was a burst of light and a noise loud enough to wake the dead.

Lance shot up out of bed, covered in a cold sweat, screaming. His heart was beating a million miles a minute. He looked out the window, where the sun was shining in, a beautiful day in dreary Kansas. Lance didn't care that he left the towel in its place on the bed. He just cursed his way to his jeans and slipped them on.
 
Sedric blew a gum bubble, watching as Lance jumped nearly five feet in the air as he woke up. Sedric watched him with a raised eyebrow, music blaring in his ears. He popped the bubble, putting down his small pocket notebook which currently held about a million small doodles along with plans for computer programs and various schemes he had been planning. He took out his headphones, putting the song on pause and pushing his gum to the left side of his cheek.
"You've got some really vivid dreams there buddy. Who was telling you to finish the job?" he asked, putting his hands behind his head as he relaxed against the wall behind the bed.
 
"Fuck off," Lance snarled, in a sour mood, "Get in the truck before I throw you in the back again. I'm going to grab something besides ice cream for the way there."

Lance stormed out the door, shirt loosely hung on his shoulders, shoes untied, and the button on his pants undone. Once outside, he fixed his clothing, to avoid absolute injury. He needed to go for a quick jog to get it out of his mind. Fuck that, it was time to run. Get his heart pumping again, but this time, he knew where he was going. He'd seen a convenience store not too far down the road. A mile at best. Lance was eager to forget.
 
"Whatever," Sedric muttered, winding up the cord on his headphones and sticking the device in his pocket, along with his small notebook. He walked out to the truck, getting in and taking the cover off the stereo. He messed with the cords a bit before he gave up, realizing that if he plugged in his ipod, it would likely damage something. He sighed, putting the stereo back together and turning it on. He started bobbing his head to some song that came on. It was a heavy metal song, and he could hardly heard the words, but it was a welcomed sound to fill the truck.
 
Three grocery bags and a backpack later, Lance was on his way back, his bothersome nightmare a thing of the past as the sunlight beat down on him. Exercise always made him feel better, the pounding of his heart against his chest always made him feel steady. Even though after he sat down, his legs shook from exhaustion, he always took pleasure in knowing that he would come out stronger afterwards. As his feet rolled to the pavement and the heaviness of the food pounded against his back, he saw the truck. He couldn't wait to get home.

In a quick sprint, he ran up to the truck. He jumped inside after the backpack slammed into the passenger's seat.

"What is that crap you're listening to?" Lance joked, a smile on his face.
 
Sedric jumped when Lance jumped in, practically throwing the back pack at him.
"Heavy metal. Don't know the band, so don't ask," he said, noticing the extreme change in attitude. It was like night and day, dark and light, chocolate and vanilla, cat and dog...
"Are you bipolar?" he asked curiously, turning the music down some.
 
"I'm not bipolar, you just piss me off." Lance said with a smile.

Without another word, he started the car and started driving. He'd already had his bad moment for the day. The rest of the day wouldn't get any worse. He would make sure of it.

"There's actual food in the bag. Don't eat it all," Lance said as he turned on the radio to a classical station.
 
"Fuck you too Mr. Bipolar," Sedric said with a light smirk, digging some food out of the bag and eating it as if he had never heard of a fork or spoon in his entire life.
"So, how long is the ride today?"
 
"Two hours, maybe three. That's assuming that there's not cops in the area and I continue going the steady 70 miles an hour I've been going. We're leaving desert country soon and you'll see the landscape change really drastically. I live near the mountains in Wyoming. We're not far at all," Lance said, munching on some jerky from the bag.

"So aside from the whole money thieving thing, what do you do on your free time?" Lance said with a mouth full of dried meat.
 
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