Thread: The Road To Fame (Sumi & Mr Quixotic)

The thought that Karmen could turn him in, or at least advise Ol' Bob, and his cronies, that they had a thief in their midst, and it was possible he'd be awakened to the sight and sounds of a lynch mob banging down the door of his lodgings, to be then strung from the nearest tree or thrown in the town lockup, had crossed Duane's mind. Albeit only momentarily. As much as he occasionally wished it to be true, the small-time thief didn't really believe his exploits in the East were of such infamy as to have his face and name plastered on wanted posters two-thousand miles away, or that there'd be an arrest warrant out for him in Nevada, and he'd left the drunk's wallet in the bar so there was no evidence to link Duane to any crime. Apart from the bundle of cash he'd stuffed under the mattress, which, with a white lie or three, could easily be explained away as his. Aside from that, he'd gathered the singer was keen to get away from the town of Reddell, and with he as her escape route, she'd do nothing to inhibit that opportunity. The cherry on top, to relieve any lingering doubts, was that the woman had appeared to enjoy his company as much as he'd enjoyed hers. No, there was nothing to worry about, Duane had decided as he'd slipped under the sheets, with Karmen on his mind. The only concessions he'd made to the slight chance that he'd misread her was the placement of a chair-back under the doorknob, and the opening of the window in case he was required to jump out during the dead of night. However, all remained peaceful, and rather than being aroused from his slumber by screaming, yelling, and accusations of thief and a robber, Duane was awoken only by the early morning rays of sunlight which streamed through the window, and hit him directly into his face. At 6am, there was plenty of time to gather his possessions, shower and shave, recount the takings from the night before, and be ready to collect Karmen. Duane had slipped out the front door, careful to not rouse the Landlady, with suitcases in hand, and loaded the trunk of the Thunderbird, before he took a walking tour of Reddell. The journey required all of five minutes, but Duke did manage to locate a little mom and pop caf and gas station, in the process of being opened for the day, and convinced the proprietors to serve him a mug of coffee to go. And one for Karmen. Beverages in hand, he sauntered back to his vehicle, did a U-Turn, and parked it outside the Reddell Motel, with nose pointed in the direction of Vegas. Morning, Karmen. The whistling stopped, and Duke's face lit up in a huge cheesy smile when the sound of her voice got his attention. His eyes rolled at her comment, and his attention was drawn to the baggage in her hand, then the outfit she wore, before he focused his attention on her face, and moved towards her. It was you I couldn't get out of my dreams, he replied with a shake of the head and a grin as he removed the luggage from her hand, and popped the Thunderbird's trunk. However, I managed to survive the night. As hard as it was, it could have been much harder. Duke wiggled a brow, placed the luggage in the trunk, then slammed it shut, and stepped around to collect his still half-full mug from where it sat on the bonnet, as well as the one he'd brought for Karmen. Didn't know if you'd be a morning person. He turned with the mug in hand, and whistled in appreciation. But now I see that you are. Even more glorious in the light of day. Duke proffered Karmen the cup of Joe, placed his own on the roof of the vehicle, and fished for the keys in his pocket, then allowed his gaze to drift down the woman's form. I was going request you drive, so as I could just sit back and admire the view, but you don't strike me as the type of woman who knows her way around a stick-shift. His smile had been replaced with a smirk when he pulled his eyes back to hers, and unlatched the passenger-side door. However, I'm always happy to be proven wrong. Go on, hop in. Duane used the last instruction as an excuse to plant a light tap on Karmen's butt, then made his way around to the driver's side, and spoke to her over the top of the car. I was figuring we could stop along the way, and have ourselves a lobster lunch. The man paused, then his tone and demeanour became serious, and he shrugged. Of course, that's if your morals allow it. Otherwise, it'd be best if I kept the stolen proceeds to spend on myself. Who would've thought that old drunk bastard had over five-hundred dollars? As his head disappeared from view, and he entered the Thunderbird to fire up the ignition, the serious expression departed, and Duke grinned to himself, wondering when the last time was Karmen had seen that amount of money.