Caught Stealing - Charlie Huston [73]
The train will make three stops before it reaches the end of the line at Eighth Avenue. I’m trying to figure how long it will take Roman and Bolo to work their way back through the whole train to us. The trains are eight cars long. Every other car has a locked door; they’ll have to jump cars at each station to get around the locked doors. I’m thinking about the layout of the stations between here and the end of the line, thinking about where to make our break. We pull into the Third Avenue station.
Ding-dong! The doors open and a few people get on and off. I’ve got Russ parked in a seat. I go to the door and stick my head out. At the far end of the train, in the second car, Bolo is doing the same thing. He sees me. I duck back into the car. Ding-dong! And we’re off again. Next stop: Union Square. When the train pulls in we’ll be near the stairs at the back of the platform. We can make a run for it, hope they don’t see us get off, and catch another train or hit the street.
I grab Russ’s arm and start to lift him off the seat, but he’s just deadweight. I look around the car. No one is paying the slightest attention to us. New Yorkers: God forbid you should look up, you might see something. I sit next to him and feel his wrist. There’s a pulse. Hopefully he’s just blacked out and not in a coma. We’re hitting Union Square.
—Russ, come on, man. Time to go. Let’s go.
No response. The train is stopping. I can leave him here. There is no reason not to leave him here. Except, of course, that Roman and Bolo will kill him if they find him.
—Russ.
I slap his cheek lightly. Nothing. In his lap, the bag shifts slightly as Bud moves around. Ding-dong! People are pouring off the train, on the train. I step to the door and look out. Bolo is there, still in the second car. He waves. I wave back and step off the train. He says something to someone inside the train and he and Roman both step off. I step back on. They step on. I step back off. Roman stays on the train. Bolo jumps onto the platform and starts heading toward me. Ding-dong! I dive back on as the doors slide shut. The doors stop and slide back open. Ding-dong! They close all the way. He made it back on. But it was worth it to watch him dance. Next stop: Sixth Avenue.
Russ won’t come around. We pull into the Sixth Avenue station. Ding-dong! I look out the door again. Bolo and Roman duck out of the second car and into the first door of the third car. They’re gone from view for a moment. I pray for the doors to close before they can get any closer. No luck. They pop out the doors at the near end of the fourth car and jump into the fifth car. Ding-dong! They’ll hit another locked door between the six and seven cars. That’s as close as they can get until we pull into Eighth Avenue. The end of the line. I sit on the seat next to Russ and take his hand as we start to move.
—Wow.
I look at Russ.
—Wow, man, I just, like, went out there.
He shakes his head and looks around.
—So yeah, man, let’s, like, get that money.
We pull in at Eighth Avenue, standing in front of the door, waiting for it to open. It takes forever. Ding-dong! The stairs are right in front of us. Russ holds on to me and we rush ahead of the other passengers and up the stairs into the station proper. Two cars behind us, Roman and Bolo get pinned in the thick of the crowd trying to cram up the one stairway.
We hit the top of the ramp that leads into the heart of the station and I pause to look back. Roman and Bolo are at the bottom of the ramp. They’re moving quickly through the crowd, Bolo cutting a path for them. I look at the turnstiles, but Russ is just moving too slow for us to make a break for it on the street. I turn right, deeper into the station, heading for the A train platform.
We pass two down staircases, both closed for repairs. Russ has his left arm draped over my shoulder and is doing a little hop-skip to keep up.