It was dark when we had finished and rested. We were lying in the bed. Jazz ran her hand from my right breast, down my body, across my stomach and up to my left breast. “It’s time I was leaving, Celia,” She whispered into my ear.
“Where are you going to,” I asked dreamily.
She sat up, “I’m going back to Luna, eventually.” She swung her legs off the bed and looked down at the floor. “I’ve done what I came to do.” She looked around at me. “And now I have to leave.”
I rolled over and stroked her back, “Yes. I had guessed that you would want to leave me now.” I knelt behind her and started to massage her shoulders.
“Hmm, that feels good,” she relaxed back into my strokes. “You know that I can’t take you with me now.”
“But I want to go with you, Jazz.” She tensed under my fingers. I ran my hands down her back to her kidneys, around to her stomach and up to cup her breasts. I squeezed gently, lent close and whispered, “Please may I come with you.”
“You can’t come with me, Celia,” she looked down at the floor. “You don’t know what you are asking. You don’t know what I have to do, or where I am going; or anything at all, really.”
“Yes,” I agreed hesitantly. “But we could have great fun as I found out.” I hugged harder pressing my body against her’s.
She broke free, stood and turned to face me. Bending down to look me in the eye, a hand on each of my shoulders, she said, “It wouldn’t work, Celia. I have too many narrow ways to walk, too many tenuous connections to make.” Shaking her head, “I just can’t take you with me.”
I looked down.
She knelt in front of me. “Listen,” she squeezed my shoulders. “No matter how dull and drab your life is, running away from it won’t solve anything. You must look to your own heart to make a better life for yourself.”
I took a deep breath, “It is not that so much as running away. I just feel I need a change of life style.”
“You’d be better off building on what you know, Celia,” she released the pressure on my shoulders. “Believe me, I’ve been there, I know what it’s like.”
I paused, then shrugged resignedly, “Yes, I suppose your right.”
She smiled at me and I smiled back.
“Just let me come and see you off,” I said.
Jazz stood and stepped away from me. “Well I can’t really do that either.”
“You know I will just follow you,” I straightened to my full height. “And then I really will get into trouble.”
She paused for a long moment, and then smiled yes.
“Good,” I walked towards her. “That means we still have some time to kill.”
“Again?” Jazz smiled in surprise.
“You have seen nothing yet, girl,” I replied. We fell onto the bed and into each other’s arms.
Just before the appointed time, we parked at the rear of an abandoned service station and walked into the run down industrial park at its rear. Jazz seemed to have no trouble finding her way in the dark. I followed behind, tripping and stumbling over everything that Jazz walked stepped over without even breaking her stride.
We turned a corner and came to a burned out warehouse. By its dilapidated state it had been burned down some time ago.
“This is it,” she said. “And there is my contact,” She pointed into a shadow.
A soft chuckle came out, followed by a scruffy old man. “Sharp eyes girl,” he hissed.
“Hello, Sammy,” replied Jazz coldly.
He did a double take of her. “H’jazz,” he said after a pause. “Well, well, well. This is a surprise. I though you were dead.”
“I’d kind’er hoped the same about you.”
“If yer be referring to Luther,” he seemed taken aback. “Well you know that,” he searched for a suitable phrase, “that,” and found it, “that was a mistake.”
Jazz dismissed him with a jerk of her head, “Have you arranged a copter?”
“Why yes,” he gestured upwards with his right hand. “Of course I have.”
“Good.” She turned to me, “Come on.”
We walked a little to one side.
“So this is it,” I said.
“This is always it, Celia,” she put her arms around me. We embraced, for one last time. “So intense, yet so short,” I mumbled into her neck. “Shush,” She whispered. “Who knows what the future will hold.” We held each other for a few moments; I wished it could have been an eternity.
Then Jazz tensed. “I don’t trust this guy,” She muttered. “If there is any trouble keep your head down and keep away from me.”
“What?” I said. “Why?”
Jazz stepped back, put her hands on my shoulders and looked into my eyes. “If there is any trouble of any kind, hit the deck and stay down. No matter what happens.”
Sammy smiled, a crooked smile, with no warmth and called over. “Will I have cleaned out your life savings again, h’Jazz?”
Jazz’s expression went cold. She turned to face him. “I have the price you asked for.” She stepped away from me. “What more I have is my own business.”
“Then let’s be having your fare then.” He smiled, again cold.
“When the ‘Copter gets here,” Jazz stopped moving and stood with her legs apart, her arms folded.
“’tis no sweat, lady,” he spread his hands, palms up, faking sincerity. “Everything’s cool,” and tried to smile again.
“Yeah,” replied Jazz. “Sure.”
“Yeah, that’s right.” He gestured over his shoulder, “The ‘Copter will be here soon.”
And there we stood, corners of a bizarre triangle, waiting. Listening above the hum of the motorway, for the buzz of the ‘Copter; looking through the glow of the city for the spark of its navigation lights.
Then it came; a low humming from the south.
“Oh, shit,” Jazz whispered to herself and started to walk toward the black bulk of a nearby warehouse.
I turned and tried to see the lights. It sounded so close. I realised it was flying without lights just as the night was filled with glaring light, and a voice boomed out, “Armed Police! Do not flee! Do not move!”