The Purple Haze Read Free Page B

van and walked across to the café
    He entered the café and looked around. It was quite busy due to the fact that schools had just finished, and he could pick out the divorced fathers from a mile off who had gone there with their children straight from school just to keep some kind of sense of self-worth to their children, letting them stand on seats and cause a general nuisance to the other patrons inside. He hated people like that. He always felt it wrong that everyone else’s day should be ruined by 'daddy cool' and his 'spawn of Satan'. His day had gone very wrong, and he could do without this. Still, he was hungry, and this was as good a place as any to lay low for a while. It was full of families, so if the police did find him he was in a crowded place. He checked his pocket. The .38 was still there. One shot in the air and there would be panic. He could easily slip away then.
    He spotted an empty table in the middle of the seating area and headed for it. He sat down and picked up the menu and looked at the snack selection. Chips sounded good, with lots of ketchup. He signalled a waitress who came over. “What can I get for you?” she asked.
    “ I'll just have a plate of chips please,” he said.
    “ Can I get you anything to drink?”
    “ I’ll just have a tap water, please.” The waitress took his menu and walked away from the table. Pete couldn't help but check her out as she left. His thoughts were that she may be a bit young for him, but his outlook on pulling women was “as long as there is grass on the pitch...” He sat and pondered what would be happening to his mates now. He knew the police wouldn't rush the building if they had hostages, but also they couldn't get out with the police there anyway, so obviously it would be a standoff. Although it pained him to think it, he kind of hoped they didn't get out. If they did, they would come for him, and when they caught him they would kill him. “Shit, maybe I deserve it,” he thought.
    He jolted upright at the sight of the door opening. He slouched again when he saw it was just a couple and their son coming into the café. He looked calm, but he was now panicking slightly. He got into the job in the first place for the same reasons that Martin did. He didn't want to work for anyone, and he particularly didn't want to work for his whole life. He had worked for a car manufacturer before he joined Martin's crew, but as his company merged with a bigger one, his department was cut and he lost his job. Martin gave him a life line really. Yes, it was a life of crime, and yes, he faced serious consequences if caught, but he felt that at least he was part of something. It was special. He began asking himself what he had done. He had left the one man who gave him a chance to make more money than he needed in the worst possible situation he could think of. Maybe he did deserve to die?
    “ No”, he thought to reassure himself, “there is nothing that can be done. They are stuck there, they can't get away. Even if they did, what good could I do against all the police that will be there?” Of course he didn't know how many police would be there, but it was better to overestimate. Therefore he knew he was better out of it.
    A voice roused him up again. “Here is your order.” The waitress had returned with his chips and water. He leant back so she could place them in front of him.
    “ Thank you,” he said.
    “ Enjoy your food” the waitress said with a smile and then turned to walk away. Pete picked up the bottle of ketchup from the middle of the table and poured a large pool of it onto the side of his plate. As he ate them he thought up a plan. He would go home, collect some clothes and money, ditch the van and just disappear for a while. He knew full well that if Martin and the others were caught they would give his name, so getting out of the area to somewhere nobody knew who he was, that was the priority. He quickly ate his chips and washed them down