The Continuing Saga of:
”ICICLE BILL and Tommy Two-Head”

Chapter Thirteen: Showdown At G Lu's

     They grabbed a seat at a corner table, ordered a pitcher and reconned the surroundings. It was a welcome respite from the hell on earth they’d been subjected to for the past days. ”How we gonna know her Chief?” Tom thirstily guzzled down a frosty beer and poured another. They scoped the bar, eyeing the enticing variety of near naked ladies for any sign that might signal who Gloria Lupino might be.

     ”Gangster G said she’s his twin sister, he was kinda skinny and lanky, bald-headed with tattoos, not much of a lead. I guess we could ask somebody.” Distinct in Bill’s memory, the vision of G’s life leaving his body, was vivid in his consciousness. As he scanned the faces of the bargirls, he searched their eyes for anything recognizable. Through the veils of make-up and smiles and forced laughter, he couldn’t help but detect a commonality among the faces. Once you got past the sexual allure of the bared skin and flirtatious affectations, he could detect a palpable sadness and edgy hardness behind the eyes. It was the same look that Gangster G had had, a forlorn resignation...the quiet resolution that life was hard and I’m doing what I gotta do, like it or lump it, what’s it to ya?

     His eyes fell on the striking beauty dancing on stage. Slender, casually elegant even in tacky fishnets, stilettos and a beauty queen sash. Tom had zoned in as well. ”Hey Chief, didn’t you say she was a former beauty pageant girl?” Bill didn’t answer. He was lost in his own thoughts, mesmerized by the movements of the girl on stage . Large dark eyes, deeply-tanned skin, long auburn hair draping her nakedness. There was a heavy attraction about her that drew him in and held his attention to the point of blocking out everything else. A beauty among beauties, a woman among girls. As the waitress passed, Bill asked her the name of the girl dancing. ”G Lu, that’s G Lu.” His heart sank as he contemplated what he was going to say and how he was going to say it. How in the world to reveal to this lovely creature that her brother was dead. Unfortunately, he knew it had to be done, and quickly.

     Across the room, Blinky Mo and Heavy Griz sat watching intently as well ”That’s her Griz. The one dancing, that’s G Lu.” Griz locked on her. ”Yeah, she looks better than I remembered, but that’s definitely her alright. So what’s the plan Blinks?” ”Well, we gonna lay low’s all. If G’s in Vegas, she gonna lead us to him. If not, I bet she knows where he is.” Griz nodded. It was good to be out of L.A. for awhile, and cold drinks and naked girls too...it’s all good. Blinky and Griz eyed G Lu attentively as she finished her dance and slowly scooped up her tips. As she made her way amongst the customers, they hunched down like predatory hunters stalking prey at a watering hole. She settled at a table across the way and sat talking with a couple of dusty, tore up looking dudes. One had a sickly pale complexion and a faraway stare, the other looked like he’d recently been on the wrong end of a major ass whooping.

     G Lu hadn’t been at the table too long when Blinky noticed her suddenly spring to her feet and storm out of the bar. The two tore up dudes, while trying not to draw attention, hastily paid their bill and followed her out. ”Come on Griz, we gotta go!” When they got outside they were just in time to see a trail of dust being blown up from G Lu’s silver-grey BMW as it sped from the parking lot; they rushed to the Chevy to follow. They were too Intent on G Lu to notice the aging white Lincoln tear out of the lot a few seconds ahead of them.

     G Lu hadn’t taken the news of her brother’s death well at all. She didn’t care or want to hear about the possibility of her own danger either, she’d simply darted from the bar in emotional panic. As Bill followed at a safe distance, Tom asked, ”What now Chief?” Again, he didn’t have an answer. G Lu sped across the Las Vegas Strip, through a series of turns and pulled onto a street lined with middle-class houses with well tended lawns. She parked in front of a small one-story with a pink awning over the doorstep and a little dog jumping excitedly up and down in the front window. Bill’s heart sank as he realized that he’d just kamikazied this poor girl’s life...what had he expected? Bill and Tom parked halfway up the block, out of sight in a line of cars, as G Lu slumped over the steering wheel, clearly sobbing. As they sat, not knowing what to do, a Dodger blue Chevy low-rider with two young Hispanics inside edged by ominously. Bill noticed the California plates.
     ”Tom, get G’s gun out, we got trouble.”
     The Chevy stopped a couple of houses down from G Lu, but the presence of a pimped-out low-rider in a suburban neighborhood didn’t go unnoticed. Even in her grief, G Lu was alert, her head raised from the steering wheel attentively. She started up the Beemer, pulled a U-turn and exited the neighborhood as she carefully watched the Chevy in the rearview mirror. Like a shark following a baby seal, the Chevy followed. Bill threw the Lincoln in gear and the chase was on.

     It began casually enough, every turn the BMW made, the others mimicked. When G Lu hit Fremont Street she maneuvered the powerful German car through traffic and began to pull away. The souped-up Chevy was no slouch though, she wasn’t losing them. Bill’s over-sized Lincoln was seriously overmatched and he was losing ground fast. On straight-aways he floored it to catch up, but turns were a problem for both the older cars. G Lu pulled off the main streets and began weaving through side streets. Lefts, rights, lefts, backtracking onto Fremont. She thought she had a chance at eluding her pursuers as she was managing the turns quickly and efficiently, while the others were squealing tires and fighting the curves. Twenty minutes into the chase, fate intervened. In one decisive right hand turn, G Lu ran head-on into a Cul-de-Sac. A dead end with brick walls between the houses to fence out the outside world. She however, was fenced in and cornered. The Chevy was bearing down behind her. She was corralled like a wild mustang in a box canyon and she knew her trackers meant serious business.

     The Chevy came to a skidding halt and its grill seemed to be leering at her like a bull ready for a final charge. Blinky and Griz jumped out, guns drawn, but quickly froze as G Lu exited the driver’s side with her own nine millimeter drawn, cocked and ready. The late arriving Lincoln lurched to a grinding stop and Bill emerged brandishing G’s .45. It looked like something out of a Sergio Leone movie as the three vehicles formed a three point circle with the occupants all pointing guns at one another in a deadlocked stand-off. They all looked at each other as if to say, ”Who’s gonna make the first mistake?”

     Blinky spoke first. ”Where’s G?” He was addressing G Lu. She stood lock-armed with a dazed look on her face. Everything had happened so fast but Bill was beginning to reason that once the shooting started, it wasn’t going to end well for anyone. He figured that negotiation was the only option. ”Look, I know what you’re after.” To Tom, ”Get that bag of dope.” ”It’s all there, just take it and go.” He tossed the big baggie of crank to Griz. ”We want G.” They were determined. In the background, Bill heard sirens in the distance. He knew nobody needed the cops involved. ”Look man, G’s dead. He died en-route, of a gunshot wound. You know he wouldn’t have let this dope go if he was alive.” The Mexicans heard the siren also, ”There’s still a debt to be paid. G sold us out, we’re taking the girl.” The sirens were closer. Bill knew there must be more to this story, but time was short. ”Look, I got near one-hundred thousand dollars here, Tom, get it. Will that clear the debt?” The Mexicans conferred, Griz spoke. ”Look Blink, just take it, we gotta go!” Blinky knew that Griz was right and dead or not, they didn’t have time to be standing around here waiting for the police. ”O.K. Vato. It’s a deal with one exception, stay out of L.A. And if G shows up, anywhere, we come back to finish the job.” Bill tossed him the bank bag and the Chevy sped around the corner just as the cop cars came into sight. The Mexicans and the money were gone, it was too late for the rest of them though.

     Bill looked around desperately. A four-foot brick wall separated the subdivision from a fruit orchard that might be a getaway for a nimble driver with a quick car, the Lincoln was neither. He dove into the car and spun it around then threw it into reverse and floored it. The massive iron dinosaur rammed the brick wall with an exploding crash. Bill pulled forward and yelled at G Lu. ”Go!” G Lu was already behind the wheel of the BMW and immediately recognized the escape route, she didn’t know why she needed to be running, but understood that she had enough problems without trying to explain the whole bizzare tale to the police. Before she pulled away, she had one question. ”Is my brother really dead?” Bill looked at her intently, there wasn’t time for this, he wanted to get her out of here, she was safe now. Another time, another place, this was the kind of girl you just wanted to hold in your arms and make everything alright. This was as close as he was ever going to get. ”He’s gone Gloria, but you still got a shot at a life, go and live well.” She hesitated. ”Just GO!!!” With tears in her eyes G Lu maneuvered the Beemer over the bricks and into the orchard. One look and she was gone. Bill wanted to buy her a few more minutes to get away.

     The police cars were barreling down the street now. Bill turned to Tom to tell him to get gone. He already was. In the confusion, Tom apparently had made a getaway. Bill thought, good for him. He knew what he had to do and he was glad he was alone to do it. He slammed the accelerator down and sped directly toward the oncoming police cruiser. Right before impact he pulled a hard left into a long skid that propelled the Lincoln into the side of the front corner of the cop car. The impact threw him across the seat. In one of those surreal moments when time seems to stand still, he recalled what the old Indian man had told him. ”If you take each step in life with noble intent, you’re on the right path.” He hoped that the last few steps at least, had been noble. As his head hit into the glass, glass into skull, all was finally quiet and peaceful. He didn’t feel a thing.

* * * * *

     G Lu threaded the BMW through the orchard as twilight fell from the sky in an eerie blue-black blanket of fog. She pulled into a darkened side street and tried to catch her breath between tears. She cleaned her face in the rearview mirror and thought about what had just occurred. The understanding that her brother was gone turned the beautiful tear-streaked face into a mask of cold hatred.

     After they’d pulled Bill’s limp body from the wreckage and took crime scene photos, they towed the car to police impound. Near sunrise the next morning, Tommy Two-Head slid out of the cubby hole between the backseat and the trunk. He grabbed the last soda from the cooler and raised a toast to the only real friend he’d ever known. “Here’s to Icicle Bill.”