[DeppAngel]

Ch 9 - Balance


Criss kept driving, while Liliana took a short nap. Then Liliana began to slowly open her eyes. “Good morning sunshine! Or should I say, ‘Good night?’” he said with a mocking tone. Liliana rubbed her eyes and then said, “I’m hungry.” Criss said, “Oh really? Well, it’s OK; I had to buy gas anyway.” Criss drove some more until they reached a gas station. Luckily, there was a small restaurant next to it. “You can go ahead. Order something while I put gas in the van,” he said. Criss gave her some money and she walked towards the restaurant. Criss then put the hose in the car’s nozzle as he reflected on all the things both Liliana had he had gone through today. But his thoughts came to a violent halt as he heard a gunshot. He immediately turned around. The noise had doubtlessly come from inside the restaurant. He ran as fast as he could and entered the place. Liliana was standing there, facing the counter. Everyone had their eyes on her. Criss ran to her, and asked, “What happened, I thought I heard a –,” He couldn’t finished his sentence after what he had seen. Liliana was pointing a gun at the cashier. Criss put his hand over Liliana’s right arm, and calmly he said, “OK, calm down, Liliana. Now, put the gun down, please.” Liliana’s arms were as stiff as metal bars.

The sound of dragging chairs made Criss turn around. A couple of men had gotten up from their tables, and were now walking towards Criss and Liliana. One of them was holding a knife while the other one had grabbed a chair and was carrying it over his head. An “Oh-oh” escaped Criss’s mouth. He put his own hands around Liliana’s, which were still holding the gun as tight as if they were glued to the gun, and made her point at the man with the chair. He gave pushed her index finger, therefore pulling the trigger. People screamed, and the chair blew into many pieces falling on the man’s head. Liliana got scared, and her body let go of some of its stiffness. Criss grabbed her hand and took off running with her, saying, “C’mon, let’s go!” as they escaped out of the restaurant.

Criss got on the van and turned it on, while Liliana only opened the door but froze as she saw the men coming towards them. This time there were more than just a couple. Criss yelled, “C’mon, get in!” but she wouldn’t. Then she pointed the gun at the men, and Criss screamed, “What are you doing! Let’s get out of here!” Liliana’s hands were shaking. The men were getting closer and closer, until she suddenly pointed to the ground, where all the oil from the hose had splattered. She shot. The collision between the bullet and the floor ignited the oil. The flames began to travel along the gas and towards the gas station pump. Criss shouted, “Hurry up and get in the car! This place it’s gonna explode!” Liliana snapped out of it and jumped into the car. Criss stepped on the accelerator at full speed. The wheels screeched as they tried to escape.

The men stopped right next to the gas pump, and stood there, watching as the van got lost in the distance. Then one of them sniffed something and said, “Hey guys, you smell something?” One of the men replied, “yeah, you're right, it's like something's burning.” The men all turned to their rights, and so how the flames were beginning to consumer the gas pump. The men screamed their lungs out, and then there was a deafening sound, which made Liliana curl in her seat and cover her ears. They kept driving for a while at a high speed, and when they thought things couldn’t get any worse, they heard a police car siren from behind.

Criss checked the mirror, and saw the cop car signaling him to to stop. Criss exclaimed, “!+%%!” and pulled over on the side of the road. The police car stopped behind them, and the officer got off his car and walked towards Criss’s window. Liliana whispered, “What are you doing? Let’s get away!” Criss shushed her and said, “What! Are you crazy? We would get caught more easily that way. We gotta pretend like nothing’s wrong!” Criss suddenly stopped talking to Liliana and looked out the window, where the police officer was standing. The cop said, "is everything alright?”Criss said nervously, “Oui, oui!”4 Liliana leaned over so she could see the cop more clearly. She smiled at him very innocently and said, “Eveything is ok, don't worry!”5 The cop bent down to get a closer look at Liliana, and said, “Hey, you look familiar! Arent you that girl that came out on T.V who had an arrest warrant for attempted murder?”

Liliana’s pupils dilated. The officer stepped away from the van and said, “I'm going to have to ask both of you to come out of the car”. Criss immediately obeyed and proceded to step out of the van. He was about to open the door when he was surprised to see Liliana’s hand holding the gun right in front of his face. The officer hadn’t seen the gun yet, but had noticed that Criss was taking too long to come out of the van. He came closer again and bent down. When he saw Liliana pointing the gun at him his eyes opened widely and immediately tried to get his gun out. But before he could do so, Liliana pulled the trigger, leaving the cop lying on the floor. Criss yelled, “What the **!* are you doing!?” Liliana said, “Well, we were gonna get caught; I just had to do something about it.” Criss looked at her, surprised, and said, “Yeah, but,-,” Liliana interrupted him by saying, “You wanna help those kids, right?” Criss nodded affirmatively.

“Well then,” Liliana said, “get us out of here.” Criss closed the door, turned the van back on, and began to drive. They remained quiet for about five minutes, until something suddenly struck Criss. “Wait, what ever happened at that restaurant? I sent you to order something and a couple of minutes after I hear a gunshot. And when did you even took my gun from me?!” he exclaimed in an upset voice. Liliana look somewhat ashamed. Then she began to talk. “Well you see…”

Liliana had walked into the restaurant. Everything seemed normal. There were only people eating, and the waiters walking by, typical of any restaurant, until she got to the counter to make her order. She turned to look at the T.V. that was there. It was set on the news. The host was talking about a huge crime in Paris. Liliana began to fear that they could be referring to the robbery of the bank. But to her surprise, it was something different, but equally bad.

The French news reporter began to say,
“We’re here at this apartment building, where it is presumed that the famous movie star, Johnny Depp has been found unconscious. Apparently, he was hit on the back on the head with a flower vase. The police hasn't been able to find where the anonymous tip came from. We've been reported that Johnny Depp was taken to a hospital. The doctors said fell in a comma and remains in a critical state at the moment. The police suspect this to be a crime of passion, based on some photographs that were found inside the apartment. Rumors tell of the actor having a relationship with two women at the same time, thus causing one of them to take revenge on him. We'll try to find more information as this case develops. Here are a couple of photographs of the women. She has a slender body, blond hair. The other woman has a small complexion, black long hair down to her shoulders, and light skin. If you have seen any of these two women, please contact your local police station.

When the news reporter finished talking, Liliana noticed that everyone was looking at her. She realized that she was in big trouble. The manager kept looking back and forth at Liliana’s face and then to the T.V. screen where they were still showing the photograph. Liliana held still, waiting to see what happened. The manager slowly walked toward the telephone, and then…

“You shot the damn telephone?! You’re insane!” shouted Criss. “Well, what did you want me to do? He was gonna call the cops on us; is that what you wanted?” Liliana asked ironically. Criss replied, “No, they were going to call the police on you, not me. I’m not the one who almost killed a man with a flower vase.” Liliana stunned. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She said, “Well, I’m not the one who blew up and entire bank and killed dozens of people.” Criss’s expression became somber. He didn’t talk back and remained silent for a moment. Then he said, “I have a cause, you know.” Liliana responded, “Yes, I know. But my case was an accident. I didn’t mean for that !@%+*#@ to end up at the hospital.” Both of them seemed to calm down.

Then Criss said, “So, I take it that he’s your so –called ex-boyfriend?” Liliana nodded and said, “Aha.” Criss paused, and then he said, “So… why did you try to kill him?” Liliana went off on Criss. “I told you, I didn’t want to kill him! Get it?!” Criss, holding his laughter deep inside, said, “Alright, alright, I get it. I was just joking. Besides, now we have another thing in common: we’re both running from the police.” Liliana whined, “But I don’t wanna be running away for the rest of my life!” Criss looked at her and smiled, but didn’t say anything. “What? What’s so funny about that?!” Liliana uttered. Criss mockingly said, “You already in this mess before you even knew it, and there’s not way out of it, honey.”

Liliana crossed her arms and looked irritated. Then Criss asked, “So, why did you guys break up then?” Liliana looked out the window and muttered, “I don’t want to talk about it.” Criss responded, “Oh, c’mon! I told you my sad story, now’s your turn.” Liliana took a deep breath, and said, “Alright then, if you insist. Johnny-.” “Johnny Depp, right?” he interrupted. “Yes,” she stated, annoyed, “he was my boyfriend, and-.” Criss interrupted her again, “Who would have thought it, an alleged bank robber and a super star’s ex-girlfriend in the same car. The world sure is small.” Liliana lost her temper and said, “Is everything a $!$++!+ joke to you?” Criss kept smiling mockingly and said, “You know, now that you’re a fugitive as well, the last thing you should do is lose your cool, you know. You gotta keep a cold mind, and most of all, you should make good use of your sense of humor, because if you keep up with that anger you’re bound to make a mistake that could get us both in jail.” Liliana hated to admit it, but he was damn right.

She decided to veer the conversation, “Where are we going anyway?” Criss seemed happy to hear that question. “This time we’re going to my place.” He said confidently. “Oh, so you do have a place after all,” said Liliana in a burlesque tone. Criss nodded. “And may I ask where is it?” she said. “Oh, don’t worry, it’s not too far from where we are now, and I’m pretty sure you’ll like it,” he said very pleased. “Oh, really?” she asked doubtfully. “Oh, yeah,” he replied, as he looked right into the darkness of the road ahead.