The Scavengers
an excerpt

When they got to the highway, Archie could see that the Corolla was parked over under the mesquite—in a different place than they’d left it—a good sign that it was probably finished. He rushed over to it and saw that the original tire was in place, ready to go. He rushed inside and before he did anything, asked for a pen and a piece of paper and jotted down the license plate number of the Hummer. He paid the bill, cheaper than he’d expected, and went out to the car. They jumped in and took off, but by the time they could see the pump islands across the highway, the Hummer was gone.

“Where do you think they went?” Marie said.

“Jesus Christ,” Archie replied in a whisper. “I have no idea. It’s likely that they took to the Interstate, but how could we possibly be sure?”

“We just have to go with it,” Marie said. “The longer we sit here, the further away they get.”

“But if we go the wrong way, we get even further away, right?”
They sat in awkward silence for a moment when Marie spoke. “Our best guess is that they’re trying to get that money and that they got the clue letter from Kevin. They’re going to San Antonio, Archie. That’s our best bet. Let’s get on the freeway and catch up to them.”

Archie didn’t respond. He put the Corolla into drive and took off with such fury that had the rear tires casting gravel back onto the grease stained concrete of the shop. Archie pulled out in front of one car, took a right turn on the shoulder around another and drove like a maniac once he was non the freeway.

“I don’t mean to make an issue,” Marie said, “but getting pull over by the cops right now would be the worst possible thing that could happen.”

Archie nodded and decreased his erratic maneuvering, though he maintained a speed of eighty-five miles per hour for nearly a half an hour. the roadways were no so choked as they had been earlier in the day, but there were times that slower vehicles got in the passing lane and held them up. Archie was all steam and blood during these moments, but managed to keep his distance and racing back up to eighty-five as soon as he got the chance.

At one point, they passed a cruiser, lights flashing sitting behind a fellow traveler. “I hate to say it, but if it weren’t for him, he’d have come after me.”
Marie nodded. “I don’t take joy in other’s suffering, but I have to say I feel fortunate. I hope we went the right way. I thought we’d have caught up to them by now.”

“Me, too. It makes me wonder if we went the wrong way. Damn…”

“Wait,” Marie said, lifting her arm and pointing forward. “Look.”

“Where?”

“Up there, about a dozen or so cars up. Isn’t that a Hummer?”

“It’s a big, black SUV anyway. It’s hard to tell from back here.”
Archie kept his foot against the accelerator pedal, the four cylinders in the Corolla making mild protest. As they drew nearer, Archie tried to get a look at the license plate, but it was too far away. “Can you see the plates?”

“Almost,” Marie said. “Yes. that’s it. RTG-789.”

“Good,” Archie said. “I’ll catch up to the bastards.”

“Wait,” Marie said, putting her hand on his arm. “Do you think they’ll recognize the car?”

“Shit. I forgot about that. Of course, they know this car well, even the license plates. They followed us out of Itasca. Damn it.” Archie eased the car over behind a minivan, the view of the Hummer cut off from sight. “For once, I’m happy for traffic, and to be behind one of these damn things.”

“I can’t believe we found it,” Marie said. “That is such a coincidence.”

“Well, we made a good guess at the direction.”

“No, I mean I can’t believe they pulled into that gas station while we were sitting there; that that flat tire actually ended up being a good thing. I just can’t believe. It’s funny how things happen like that, you know?”

Archie nodded, but didn’t really understand what she was saying.