"Yo, where are we headed?" Mikey asked as Jack zoomed down the expressway.
Jack smirked, "You got in my car without knowing where I'm going?"
Mikey shrugged, "All you said was that you had an opportunity for me. Who am I to question your generosity?"
Jack chuckled, knowing how suspicious he sounded.
But he couldn't be too careless about such matters.
He grabbed his phone and opened his messages.
He was texting a girl from his college.
He then handed his phone to Mikey.
Mikey grabbed the phone and began to read—a mischievous smirk crept onto his face.
"You set up a two-man job, nice!" He exclaimed.
Jack nodded with a grin. "I couldn't have all the fun myself," he laughed.
Mikey's smile slowly faded as a notification popped up.
"Hey, it's your sister. She's asking about you. Should I text her?"
Jack sighed as he switched lanes.
He felt his sister was too clingy; a man needs his space.
"Tell her I'm heading to a friend's house for a few hours. That should hold her over until I get off the road."
Jack then shifted his gaze towards the radio.
"Do you want to listen to some music?" he asked, reaching for the controls.
Mikey nodded, "Put something on that has a lot of bass; I'm trying to bob my head off!"
Jack grinned, "Hell yeah!"
The rest of the ride was full of anticipation and excitement.
He was meeting with two girls from his finance class, twins…
He's been eyeing the older sister—who was 22 years old.
She had blonde hair, long legs, and big breasts.
Everything that a man his age dreams of…
"Hey, you're getting a phone call. Do you want me to put it on speaker?"
Mikey gestured toward the radio.
Jack nodded.
"Hello? Jack? We're still on for our double date?"
It was Fantasia, the girl Jack was driving to see.
"Yeah, I'm on my way with Mikey now, what's up?"
"Good. Can you stop and get some wine before you get here? It'll help set the mood for tonight."
Wine huh?
That's possible.
"Sure, anything else while I'm at it, or just the wine is fine?"
Fantasia paused before answering.
"Some snacks would be fine too; I'd like some chocolate-covered walnuts or almonds."
Jack sighed.
"Alright–alright, get off my phone before you think of something else you want."
Fantasia giggled as she hung up the call.
Mikey placed Jack's phone in the cup holder, "Dude, are you going to buy that stuff?"
Jack chuckled, "Unfortunately, we must do this to get a little something, if you catch my drift."
Mikey sighed—glancing out the window.
"This is too much; why can't they just let us smash?"
Jack grinned as he turned off the expressway.
"Patience, my friend, he who waits for the tail shall receive the head instead."
Mikey chuckled, "I like your funny words, magic man."
Eventually, Jack pulled up to a random grocery store—grabbing his wallet and getting out of the car.
"Don't drive off without me, loser," Jack teased with a point.
Mikey chuckled, "Whatever, just hurry up, bro!"
"Patience, my child."
Mikey rolled his eyes as Jack closed the door.
As Jack headed towards the store he noticed two nuns sitting behind a table.
They held a cash jar and a sign that read, 'Support the Lord by helping children in need.'
I hope someone helps those kids, but that's not what I'm here for.
Jack cracked a smile as he thought about his future 'plans'.
As he walked past the nuns the older one spoke.
"You seem to be in a good mood, sir. Would you like to spread that happiness to children in need?"
Jack's smile faded, replaced by a heavy sigh.
I don't give a damn about those kids.
"Nah," Jack said as he waved the nun off.
The older nun sighed as she nodded her head in acceptance.
But her sister in Christ perked up.
"Sir, it'll only take a dollar!" she exclaimed, smiling as she pointed at the sign.
Ughhh.
"What the hell is one dollar going to do, buy a kid a sandwich?"
Jack said sarcastically—carelessly throwing a hand into the air.
The younger nun shook her head.
"No, it'll go to a larger fund. Once it reaches a certain amount, it'll be donated!"
This woman.
He couldn't help but smile at her as he reached into his wallet.
"Fine, but I still don't care about those kids; I'm only donating because you're forcing me to."
Jack pulled out a crisp fifty-dollar bill and handed it to the nun.
The nun giggled as she accepted the money.
"Then I'll be sure to force you to be a better person as well."
She smiled as she stuffed the fifty-dollar bill in the jar.
Jack chuckled as he headed into the store.
He began looking around for the wine and the snacks that the girls wanted.
Ultimately, he decided to get whatever he could find.
He reasoned that the snacks wouldn't matter much anyway.
Once he had all the items, he made his way to the cashier.
The cashier was an older man with gray hair and wrinkled skin.
He slowly began scanning Jack's items.
Jack grew frustrated as each second passed.
This dude is going comically slow.
"Come on, Gramps. I have stuff I need to do before the year three thousand."
The old man began moving slightly faster.
The man behind Jack tapped his shoulder, whispering angrily.
"Do you speak to your mother with that mouth? That man is at least in his 80s, and you are sitting here making jokes."
Jack sighed.
"Well, maybe if he weren't moving like a damn sloth, I wouldn't have been here long enough to make that joke."
The man held back a laugh.
"Kids these days." He mused.
Jack rolled his eyes as the old man finally finished ringing him up.
"That'll total to $29.67. Will you be paying with cash or a card?"
Jack reached into his wallet and pulled out a ten and a twenty; he then handed them to the old man as he gathered his items.
The old man opened the register and placed the money inside.
Before he could start counting Jack's change, he was already leaving the store.
"Keep the change!" Jack yelled as he reached the exit.
As he exited the building, he noticed that the nuns from earlier times were arguing with a shady man dressed in black with a ski mask.
Well, that can't be good.
"Look, just hand over the jar, you stupid bitch!"
The man pointed a pistol at the nun holding the jar, the same nun Jack had been talking to earlier.
Shit, this guy is serious.
Jack threw his items aside and rushed towards the man.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the man's neck and placed him in a headlock.
He then slammed the man to the ground and wrestled his gun out of his hand.
As they wrestled Jack shouted towards the nuns.
"Get out of here, now!"
The nuns nodded and quickly ran into the store with the jar.
The man and Jack continued to struggle for the gun leading the man firing wildly.
Jack lost control of the gun and the man quickly turned it on him.
He then emptied the rest of the magazine.
7 shots in total.
Three of those bullets hit Jack in the chest.
Jack's trembling hands rose to his chest as he hesitantly looked down.
This isn't good.
"Shit!" The gunman hissed as he ran off.
Jack dropped to his knees as the blood began to pour from his chest and mouth.
His vision blurred and his ears popped.
He tried to stand up but his body refused to listen.
The pain was excruciating.
Yet he couldn't scream.
Jack's heartbeat grew slower and quieter as his body grew colder.
His vision blurred further; things visible a mere minute ago were now nothing but random shapes and colors.
Is this how I die?
He began to hear voices and see vague shapes of people surrounding him—applying pressure to his wounds.
But it was useless.
He could feel his consciousness slipping by the second.
The voices surrounding him became a jumble of sound and noise.
This was the end.
As he took his final breath, an image of his sister popped into his head.
Her smiling face and warm embrace, the overbearing love that he always ran from.
It was the one thing he missed—his heart finally stopped as his world faded to black.