Page 83 of All That Glitters
Tony was all bittersweet smiles. “It’s been a hell of a ride,” he said, clapping Craig on the shoulder. “Thanks for taking a chance on my script.”
“Thanks for lettin’ us,” Craig said, giving Tony’s shoulder an affectionate squeeze. He took a deep breath. “Ain’t gonna be thesame wakin’ up tomorrow and not coming out here and seein’ you all.”
Tony nodded. He was feeling the postpartum blues kicking in himself. “We need to get another one going soon.”
“Hell, yeah, we do.”
Todd wandered over with the stake still sticking out of his chest. “Someone wanna give me a hand with this here,” he said, staring down at the stake.
Craig looked at the stake lodged firmly in Todd’s sternum. “Hey, Carl,” he called over calmly, as if this was an everyday occurrence; which, knowing these guys, it probably was. “Need you to give me a hand with somethin’.”
Carl walked over and joined them. He paused when he saw the stake; but instead of looking horrified, he just shook his head.
“Holy jeez, Todd,” Carl said. “Yer wife’s gonna kill ya when she sees what ya done to yer shirt.”
“I know,” Todd said in a panic. “Just help me get this thing out and I’ll come up with somethin’.”
Craig nodded to Carl. “Grab him from behind and hold him. We’ll see if we can do it without needin’ the winch this time.”
Carl grabbed and held Todd, while Craig wrapped his hands around the stake and tugged. With a sharp yelp from Todd, the stake came out, leaving a hole the diameter of a golf ball in his chest.
Todd stared down at the hole in his chest. “Well, I’ll be damned.” He looked back at the others. “Anyone got a spare shirt I can borrow so the wife don’t find out?”
Just then, Roy’s voice called over from across the lawn — “Craig! Better take a look at this. Yer dog’s chewin’ on somethin’.”
“What is it now?” Craig grumbled as he walked over. He found Roy leaning over the hole Elvis had dug, peering intothe darkness. Elvis was tugging at a thick, black cable he’d unearthed, gnawing on it like a prized bone.
“Not quite sure,” Roy said, his voice puzzled. “Looks like a power cable of some sorts.”
The view was a sweeping panorama of Los Angeles at night, a vast, glittering carpet of millions of lights under a moonless sky. Then, in the distance, a section of the grid went dark. Another followed. And another. A creeping, silent void was spreading across the city, extinguishing the glitter block by block. The City of Angels was going dark.
Chapter thirty-one
Car Washes and Apologies
Tony and the Rif-Raf gang stared out the steel jail cell bars. It was starting to feel like they should just set up a production office in there. The charge this time was ‘catastrophic damage to municipal infrastructure,’ which did sound a lot more impressive than running amok at Universal Studios.
“Damn mutt,” Craig grumbled, shaking his head.
The metallic clang of a heavy door opening echoed down the corridor. A moment later, a weary-looking guard appeared, leading their beleaguered attorney, Bob, down the concrete hallway toward their cell. Bob looked like a man who was seriously reconsidering his life choices.
Tony leaned against the bars, a wave of relief washing over him. “Thanks, Bob,” he said as the lawyer approached. “I owe ya. Again.”
As if on cue, all the other inmates crowded the bars next to Tony.
“Yeah. Thanks, Bob,” Roy added. “You’re a real pal.”
“We all owes ya,” Jethro chimed in.
“You handle divorces?” Carl asked, his expression completely serious. “Hypothetically.”
Bob, unfazed, simply nodded and slid a business card through the bars.
“I’ll take one of them too,” Todd said, reaching for his own. “My old lady’s gonna be real pissed about this blackout thing and me ruinin’ my shirt with the blood and all. Best to be prepared.”
Tony’s eyes scanned the empty corridor behind Bob, expecting to see Debbie.
“Did Debbie come?” he asked, when no one else appeared.
