Marking Time ‘Til We Die

The group piled into Shanky’s Continental, Lightnin’s Camaro, and Cabbage Head’s Kenworth and headed to a nondescript warehouse downtown. They met Pappy’s crew and loaded up the “scrap metal” (cases of M-16s and M-1 carbines) into the Cabbage Head’s trailer. When they were done loading the boxes and getting paid, Shanky tried unsuccessfully to snag some AK-47s from Pappy at a friend price, but Milton stepped in and got a hefty discount by offering Pappy some tickets and backstage passes to James Brown’s next Vegas show.

All loaded up, the convoy headed to Birmingham, dropped off the hardware, and got the other half of their money around 2:30 in the morning. They were heading back to their vehicles to leave when two marked cop cars and one unmarked car screeched into the parking lot to block them in. The cops drew down on Shanky’s crew and Pappy’s fellows, ordering them to hit the ground.

Lightnin’ shouted “Alabama Bureau of Investigation! We’ve got the situation under control!,” but the cops didn’t seem to go for it. About that time, a shot rang out from Pappy’s lookout on the roof of the warehouse. Then things went crazy.

Shanky opened up on one cop car with his AK, while Jonny Huong took out a couple of cops with a pair of throwing stars. One of the other cops hit Lightnin’ with a grazing shot to the forehead, but Lightnin’ managed to shake it off and whip the Camaro around to run the guy over. Milton and Cabbage Head fled the scene in the Kenworth, followed closely by the lone conscious cop.

Cabbage Head switched his CB radio to the police frequency just in time to catch the end of the cop’s report: “… 5 officers down. I’m in pursuit heading north.” Cabbage Head relayed that message to his compatriots and slammed on the brakes when the cop got too close to the rig. He ignored the sickening crunch and crash behind him and radioed a rendezvous location: a package store over on Highway 280 southeast of town.

Lightnin’ and Shanky drove casual, managed to avoid being seen leaving the scene of the crime, and got to the package store without incident. Regina tended to Lightnin’s head wound while Milton tried to calm himself down. The group decided that heading north was out of the question, so Lightnin’ called his bootlegger buddy in Athens to let him know that things were too hot to make his scheduled delivery. After stocking up on Tab, Cheese Curls, and other quick sustenance, the convoy sped toward Montgomery.

They got to town just before dawn and stashed Cabbage Head’s trailer at Shanky’s cousin’s place for a quick paint job to replace the current distinctive Eskimo design. Milton called the record company to inform them that he had a lead on getting Susan back, but that he’d need some kind of passage to Panama. His company contact said he’d see what he could do. Shanky also called some of his connections in Mobile to see about getting a boat or a plane to Central America.