NINE

On the car’s tape deck Sunnyland Slim was singing, “I’m gonna buy me a Johnson Machine Gun… and a carload of explosion balls… I’m gonna be a walking cyclone from Saginaw to Niagara Falls…”

“Where in the hell is Saginaw, anyway?” Genesis asked, tossing her smoldering Virginia Slim out of the window.

“Someplace in Michigan,” Lupita said. “Never been, but I don’t imagine it’s anyplace special. You know something Genesis? You gotta stop smoking those bitch-ass Slim cigarettes. They don’t suit a tough girl like you. You ever smoked a cigar?”

Genesis shook her head. “Nah. My daddy used to smoke ’em and I always hated the stink. He smoked a pipe for a while too, and I didn’t mind that so much ’cept that I always thought he looked pretty ridiculous puffing on it. Made him look like a college professor, which is ironic considering he didn’t even finish high school. And anyway, I ain’t tough Lupe, I’m just resilient. There’s a big difference.”

They were sat in Lupita’s idling Eldorado, watching the comings and goings at The Friendly Drugstore. It was almost six thirty, and the place was due to close any minute. Friendly’s was a tiny little place tucked away in an anonymous strip-mall. It was sandwiched between a Thai take-out and a liquor store. Lupita had been keeping an eye on this drugstore for a while, paying special attention to Friendly’s clientele. It was a mom and pop operation, still limping along despite competition from a CVS five minutes away.

Lupita had paid several visits to Friendly’s over the past few weeks, buying gum, cigarettes and Band-Aids. The pharmacist was an elderly Asian man, bald and rail-thin with prominent ears and wispy white eyebrows that looked like they were made of cotton candy. Both girls she had seen working in there were young and disinterested. They looked like they wouldn’t cause any trouble. She’d hoped for a little more time to case the joint, but Paco’s murder made the need for money, drugs and a quick exit from Reno all the more pressing.

“So, you ready or what?” Lupita asked.

“As I’ll ever be, s’pose.”

“You getting nervous? It’s okay if you are. Only natural, it being your first time. If you don’t wanna do this… you don’t have to. You could wait out here, I don’t mind going in alone.”

“No. I’m not nervous I guess. Just want everything to go okay. And anyway, if I’m gonna come with you then I want to contribute.”

Lupita smiled. “That’s cool. And it’ll be fine, girl. The pharmacist is as old as Confucius, and those bitches he has working there ain’t gonna do shit. Not when they get an eyeful of the ladies…”

On their laps were the “ladies”. A Heckler and Koch P7 self-loading pistol for Genesis, and a SIG-Sauer P-225 police issue pistol for Lupita. Lupita had a real fetish for the power and efficiency of German handguns. Each gun was fitted with a silencer.

“I got a good feelin’ about the haul. They got a pain clinic just down the ways there, next to the business park. Plus, there’s been a ton of old fucks hobbling in and out of this place on walkers an’ shit, picking up all kinds of pain medication. The oldsters got the key to the candy shop man, least as far as prescription meds are concerned. Not to mention the middle school two blocks away.”

“What’s the middle school have to do with it?”

One of Lupita’s painted-on eyebrows arched extravagantly. “Adderall, girl. Or Ritalin. Dexedrine. You know most of those little fuckers are doped up on something. Nah, Genesis, I got the feeling that this place could be a gold-mine.”

Genesis took a deep breath. “I’m ready,” she said. “I’m fuckin’ ready, let’s do it.”

It hadn’t been too tough to convince Genesis that knocking off this pharmacy would be a breeze. After all, Lupita told her she’d robbed dozens in her time, never getting caught once. The staff in those places are trained not to interfere with a robbery, Lupita explained, they were supposed to just hand the shit over without trying to be a hero. After all, they’re all insured up the wazoo.

“So long as you’re prepared, organized, and you don’t go in there dope-sick and desperate,” Lupita insisted, “there’s not a lot that can go wrong.”

Still, Lupita had half expected Genesis to cop out at the last minute. After all, it’s one thing firing guns at a paper target down at the shooting range, it’s another to walk into a drug store and point it at another human being. But so far Genesis’ desire to get out of Reno and hit the road with Lupita seemed to be keeping her nerves in check. Lupita would never have ordinarily considered roping in an amateur on a pharmacy job, but the girl was strong-willed and serious. Lupita had a strong gut feeling that Genesis would have what it takes, so long as she did what she was told and didn’t lose her nerve at the last minute.

“Okay. Let’s go through it one more time. First step is we go in, and you lock the door and put up the closed sign.”

“Yeah.”

“I head straight to the back of the store. It’s a tiny place, four or five aisles of crap, pharmacy at the back. I show ‘em the gun and the bag, and tell ‘em to hand over the dope and the money. You cover me from the back. If you don’t wanna say shit, you don’t have to. Just listen to how I do it, what I say, and how I say it. Just keep that fuckin’ gun pointed at them. And Genesis, if anyone tries any bullshit – they won’t, but just supposin’ they do – let me take care of it. I don’t want you panicking and accidentally hitting me with a fuckin’ bullet, okay? In a place that size, a bullet could ricochet and hit you or me in the face.”

“Goddit. I just keep it pointed at them.”

“That’s right. We’ll be in and out in five minutes, tops. When we’ve got the shit we need we use the handcuffs to slow ’em down, give us time to split. We leave the engine running, and get the fuck outta here. And that’s all she wrote.”

Genesis nodded. Lupita reached out, and caressed her earlobe. “The first one’s the hardest. Once you get this one over with, the next time’ll be a breeze.”

They pulled the red bandannas over their faces and their baseball caps low over their eyes. Lupita had insisted on red bandanas, muttering cryptically about red being a protection against the evil eye. In their new motel room in Carson City she had already constructed a miniature altar out of religious artefacts, votive candles, and figurines of Catholic saints. What the hell, Genesis had figured, everybody’s got their quirks. The fact that she suspected Lupita was some kind of religious nut was small potatoes. Lupita was smart, beautiful, and her ticket out of Reno.

They pulled the car around and drew up in the empty space in front of the drugstore. They were confident that the place was empty of customers. The last one – a black man wearing a hard hat and overalls covered in concrete dust – left over ten minutes ago. The guns were cocked and loaded. They looked at each other one more time and then hustled toward The Friendly Drugstore, slamming the car doors after them.

They strode inside purposefully, a tinkling bell over the door announcing their arrival. Genesis closed the door roughly, snapping the lock in place. She flipped the “Closed” sign over. Lupita headed to the back of the store, gun drawn, stopping when she got to the counter.

She pointed the SIG-Sauer P225 at the pharmacist’s chest.

The old man just stood there, his mouth flapping open, paperwork fluttering from his hand to the floor. He was wearing a colourful sweater and bow tie underneath his white lab coat.

“Drugs and money,” Lupita said, tossing the empty bag onto the counter, “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Without a word, the pharmacist walked over to the counter and picked up the bag. Lupita noticed with satisfaction that his hand was trembling.

“Don’t shoot,” he said.

“Drugs and money,” Lupita repeated.

Genesis was standing next to her now. She kept her gun on the pharmacist, too.

“Where’s the girl?” Lupita asked.

The old man stood there gawping at the guns.

“You can fill the bag while you’re talking, granddad. The girl who works here. Where is she?”

Meekly, the old man pointed toward the back of the pharmacy. “Bathroom,” he said cautiously.

Lupita sucked on her teeth, scowling.

“Stay on him,” she said to Genesis, gesturing toward the pharmacist. “Make sure he doesn’t try any shit. Keep him filling the bag. I’ll go check on the girl.”

Encouraged by the expression of terror on the pharmacists face, Genesis told the old man to move it. She led the pharmacist at gunpoint to the narcotics drawer, while Lupita walked back through a tiny corridor cluttered with boxes, until she came to the bathroom. She placed her ear to the door. She could hear someone humming softly to themselves while they pissed. The girl obviously hadn’t heard what was going on. Off in the distance she could hear Genesis saying in a monotone, “Hurry up, old man. We’ll take whatever you got.” Lupita smiled to herself, a feeling of pride filling her chest. Then she kicked the bathroom door solidly, busting it wide open.

Inside the tiny bathroom a young woman with frizzy red hair and acne scars was sitting on the toilet. She was wearing a white lab coat and sneakers. Her tights and panties were around her ankles. Her purse was on the floor, and she was reading a copy of In Touch magazine. She looked up at Lupita, her mouth frozen in a silent “oh”. She dropped the magazine.

“Glad to see you’re not on your cell-phone, Annie,” Lupita deadpanned, “I’da really hated to have to kill someone while they’re sitting on the can.”

The girl, whose nametag read “Sienna”, just sat there stunned. There was no colour in her face. Another weak trickle of pee hit the toilet bowl.

“Come on, bitch, this is a robbery! Get your ass out there. Piss break’s over!”

Cautiously, the girl went to reach for the toilet roll at her side.

“You can wipe later, okay honey?” Lupita cocked the gun. “Right now you got some work to do. Pull your fuckin’ pants up and move it.”

The girl stood, pulling her underwear and tights up quickly. She said, “I got a kid at home, please don’t shoot me.”

“Then do exactly what I fuckin’ say. Move it, and keep your damn mouth closed.”

When they made it back to the counter, the old man was done emptying the drugs into the bag. Genesis handed the bag to Lupita. Lupita glanced inside and whistled. Then she shoved the bag into the girl’s hand and said, “Empty the fucking register.”

Lupita and the girl went over to the cash register. Genesis sat the pharmacist down on a swivel chair, keeping the gun on him. “Don’t look at me,” she said. He averted his eyes.

“Okay, we’re done here,” Lupita yelled. The bag was zipped up, slung over her shoulder.

She led the girl over to the pharmacist and told her to lie down on the floor at his feet, face down with her hands behind her back. She knelt on the girl’s back, making her grunt a little in protest, and cuffed her, tight. Genesis cuffed the old man to the chair. Lupita ripped the phone from the wall, and stomped on it until it broke into pieces. “Okay, let’s go.” They both headed towards the exit. “You count to fifty Mississippi before you get up,” Lupita yelled back at them. “If I hear that you fuckers got smart and tried to follow us out I promise I will come back and waste the pair of you, goddit?”

They were by the door when Lupita said, “Stop.” She reached out and placed her hand on Genesis’s shoulder, with an expression calculated to give the impression that she’d just remembered something vitally important.

“What is it?”

“Peek through the door. We still clear outside?”

Genesis put her face up to the glass. “It’s deserted. Let’s go.”

“No. There’s something… somethin’ I gotta do.”

Lupita looked back toward where the pharmacist and the girl were tied up.

“What?” Genesis whispered, “What’s wrong?”

“Look, don’t panic, okay? There’s just something I’ve got to do, and I need to you keep watch for me, okay?”

“What do you have to do? What’s goin’ on?”

“Wait here, okay? If you see anything outside, holler.”

Genesis watched Lupita walk to the back of the store and make her way behind the counter. Cursing to herself Genesis peeked out of the door again, anxiously watching the street. Lupita stood over the pharmacist and the girl. She felt her breathing get deeper, infusing her whole body with a terrible power. The pharmacist had his eyes closed tight, muttering to himself, his forehead a mass of wrinkles. The girl, however, was staring up at Lupita with eyes that seemed ready to pop out of her head. Her mouth was pursed and she silently shook her head back and forth. Lupita raised the gun and put it to her lips in a shushing motion. She tucked the gun in her waistband and knelt down, leaning in so their faces were only inches apart. She could feet the girl’s jagged breath fluttering against the bandana that covered her face. Lupita whispered, “How old is your kid?”

The girl didn’t answer. Instead she let out a small, terrified moan.

Off at the front of the store Genesis looked back. Now that Lupita was crouched down, she was out of sight completely. Swallowing hard, Genesis hissed, “Come on! Lets get the fuck outta here!”

Lupita turned her head and in a low voice – the kind of low, guttural voice that Genesis recognized from when they made love, a voice that dripped with desire and heat – she said, “I’m coming, hun. Gimmie one second.” Then, turning back to the girl, “How old?”

“F-four,” the girl whispered. “My daughter… is four years old.”

Lupita smiled. She reached up to her face and pulled the bandana off. Exposed, she smiled benignly at the girl and whispered, “Kiss me, mami.”

The girl just lay there, trembling. Lupita leaned in further and forced her lips against the girl’s mouth. The mouth was hot, feverish. As she crushed her lips against the girl’s she grabbed a handful of that tangled, red hair and wrenched some out of the scalp. The girl let out a muffled squeal, and Lupita felt her jaw trembling underneath those soft, furnace-like lips. They broke apart. Lupita stood and tucked the handful of hair into the pocket of her jeans, before drawing the gun.

“Gracias…” Lupita whispered. She winked at the girl and then casually shot the pharmacist twice in the chest. The girl opened her mouth to scream.

Before she could make a sound Lupita shot her in the face. The bullet blasted the steaming contents of her skull all over the floor.

At the sound of the muffled gunshots, Genesis came running. She saw the pharmacist and the girl dead, blood splattered all over the floor. She clamped her hand to her mouth to keep herself from screaming. Lupita looked at Genesis blankly and said, “What the hell’s the matter with you? You look like you seen a ghost.”

“Th-they’re dead!”

“Uh-huh.” Lupita seemed oddly calm. “I was talkin’ to the girl, making sure that she knew what the consequences would be if she talked. All of a sudden the bitch tries to bite me. She didn’t get me, but she pulled the bandana off my damn face with her teeth. Once they’d seen my face, hun, I had no fuckin’ choice. It was them or us.”

Genesis just stood there, looking at the bloody corpses. Lupita tucked the gun away, fixed the bandana over her face again. She grabbed Genesis by the shoulder. They locked eyes.

“Listen to me. I had no choice, okay? That’s the goddamned truth. I had to kill the both of them. It was out of my hands. They saw my face.”

Genesis nodded quickly.

“You understand?” Lupita hissed, “Because if this is a problem we can go our separate ways right now. I had to do it.”

“I understand,” Genesis whispered.

“Enough talking, then. Let’s get the fuck out of here before we have to explain it to a judge.”

*

When they made it back to the motel, Lupita headed straight for the altar. She lit a votive candle and sat cross-legged in front of it. She held the long strands of red hair she had taken from the dead girl over the flame. They sizzled, sending a distinctive smell and wisps of black smoke into the air as Lupita dreamily recited a prayer in Spanish.

Genesis watched all this from the bed, a sick, heavy feeling in her gut. Observing this odd ritual the thought had occurred to her that Lupita might be insane. She had killed three people in the short time they had known each other, and in Genesis’s experience anyone this obsessed with religion was usually using it as a cover for some kind of darkness inside. But, Genesis mused, when Lupita wasn’t killing people or praying to plastic statues of the Virgin Mary… she seemed so normal.

Lupita caught Genesis’s gaze on her and asked, “You okay?”

Genesis nodded quickly.

Lupita gazed at the candle’s flickering flame. A pained expression came over her.

“I don’t like to kill, Genesis hun. Taking someone’s life... it’s not something I do easily. But it was them or us. If she’d have just listened to me and acted cool….”

There was an awkward silence. Then Genesis spoke cautiously.

“What were you doing there? I mean, with the hair.”

“Praying for her. She didn’t die a happy death, hun. I was just praying that she’d find some peace. You know, on the other side. That’s all.”

Genesis nodded slowly. She looked at the bag on the bed, and tried to force the ugly thoughts out of her head. Now that they were away from the drug store, and away from Reno, Lupita seemed more like her old self again. And there were all the drugs to consider…

Lupita stood, and as if reading Genesis’s mind asked, “You wanna check out the haul?”

Genesis’s face brightened. “Damn straight.”

They counted the stash – both of them kneeling on the floor, with the haul spread out on the bed. It added up to almost eight hundred dollars and a literal pile of controlled substances. Chunky white Vicodin, chalky to the touch. Perfectly round Oxycontin, in a variety of enticing colours: white, pale pink, yellow and best of all the 80mg in lime green. At least ninety 8mg Dilaudid that were triangular with rounded corners. Blister packs of perfectly formed little Ritalin pills. And the Adderall: two hundred or so two-toned capsules full of tiny orange balls that tasted sickly-sweet in the back of your throat when crushed and snorted. Not to two mention dozen morphine ampoules and a couple of boxes of Fentanyl patches.

“Oh my God,” Genesis said as they went through it all, separating out the drugs and counting the money, “all of these pills are making me horny. I never seen so many in one place before. I just – I just wish we didn’t have to… you know. Kill those people.”

Lupita playfully grabbed Genesis’s hair, and nuzzled her neck.

“It’s a dog eat dog world out there, hun. You need to stop worrying about other people and start worrying about covering your own ass. You think that either of those motherfuckers would give a shit if the cops blew us away, or tossed our asses in jail? Honestly?”

“No,” Genesis conceded.

“Fucking right. It’s okay to feel bad, Genesis hun. Only human. But you just gotta pray on it for a while, and then move the fuck on. Otherwise that shit’ll eat away at you, either send you crazy or make you fuck up so bad you end up in jail or the morgue. Baby, you did good today. You made me proud. You were cool as a fucking cucumber, and you didn’t take any shit. It kinda turned me on.”

“Thanks, baby,” Genesis said, smiling a little. “Still, you gotta make me a promise. I know you didn’t have a choice today, but you gotta swear to me – swear to me Lupita – no more killing. I just couldn’t bear to have another thing like that on my conscience.”

“If it makes you feel any better, it ain’t on your conscience. It’s on mine. You had no part of what went on in there after we took the drugs. None. I had to make an… executive decision is all.”

“I understand that, Lupe. But I still need you to promise me. No more killing, okay? I mean it.”

“Okay, hun. I promise. I’ll do my fuckin’ best, okay? If that’s what makes you happy.”

Genesis nodded eagerly. “It is. That’ll make me real happy. Okay, enough of that shit. We got more drugs than I ever seen in one place in my whole life before.”

“Beautiful, ain’t it?”

“Sure is. So what do you wanna do first? You ever shot Ritalin and Dilaudid together? It’s pretty wild.”

“Oh yeah? Sounds good to me. You got something you gotta do for me first, though.”

Lupita stood up and unbuttoned her skinny black jeans. She tugged them down, and stepped out of them. She wasn’t wearing any underwear. She picked up the SIG-Saer P-225 from the bed, and pointed it at her black, curly pubic patch. Genesis looked up at her, laughed softly and said, “Oh God, baby! What do you got in mind?”

“Time for your lesson,” Lupita said. “You’re a natural at robbin’ drugstores, girl, but your technique down here still needs a little work. It’s time for schooling, and I gotta tell you… I’m as hot as hell right now.”

“You mind if I get a little high first?” Genesis said, fake pouting.

“Okay by me, Genesis hun, just do it quickly ’cause I’m about liable to explode right now. And remember, this ain’t no porno flick. Don’t eat me like you’re trying to impress a guy.” She tapped the barrel of the gun against her crotch lightly. “You got to make me happy. No acting. You gotta really show the pussy some affection. Show it who the boss is.”

“Yes m’am,” Genesis said, kissing her belly lightly, and rubbing her face against Lupita’s pubic hair like a cat. She could feel the animal heat rising from her lover’s cunt in waves. She turned her attention back to the bed and started hungrily separating out pills.