Dream On

"What the fuck are you doing? You trying to turn that good leg of yours into a crippled one too?!"

As the car slammed to an emergency stop, a fresh round of cursing came from inside.

Then a younger voice rang out from the car, roaring back with plenty of force.

"Shut your mouth, asshole! I already told you to stop the car!"

With that response, the two voices in the car immediately launched into a fierce argument.

"Yeah, fuck, you told me to stop, and I pretended not to hear you, but does that mean you get to stomp on my brakes?!"

"We were doing 120 miles an hour! You trying to die?!"

"So what? Didn't you see someone getting robbed on the roadside? I'm a cop!"

"An intern cop counts as a cop? Besides, what the fuck does you being a cop have to do with me?"

"Half an hour ago, I was burglarizing houses. I even hit an entire film crew just now. So what if you're a cop? I don't even fear death anymore!"

"A crippled cop wants to drag a murderer along to catch some fucking robbers. Which one of us is crazy, you or me? Fuck you, William!"

"Shut up! Back the car up, back it the fuck up!"

"Fuck off! Why don't you go die? Having a neighbor like you is fucking cursed! Don't grab my steering wheel!"

"Listen to me, back the car up, or I'll blow your head apart!"

"You're fucking insane, fuck!"

Screech!

The car in the distance suddenly made a U-turn and charged toward the gas station.

Watching the Ford draw closer through the shadows, Madison snorted heavily and smoothly clicked off the shotgun's safety.

Gavin slipped his revolver back into the holster at his waist, resting his right hand casually on its grip. He took two steps forward into the gas station's light, making his face easier to see.

At the same time, he quietly said to Madison, "Old Mac, keep your eye on the driver."

"I get it. A thief and a cop, and the thief's the one driving. Interesting combination. I'll keep an eye on him!"

Madison answered, then stood fiercely at Gavin's side.

As the two waited, the Old Ford barreled into the gas station, spun in a circle, and stopped around twelve meters from Gavin, with its passenger-side door facing the two of them.

Then the figure in the driver's seat vanished at once, apparently curling down to hide.

The Ford's passenger-side window slowly rolled down, and the young cop's voice came from within.

"DPD, Dallas Police Department! Stop what you're doing immediately! Hands up and get on the ground! Drop your guns! Put the guns down, now!"

As he shouted, half a head slowly rose from the passenger window, followed by the muzzle of a pistol aimed at Gavin.

"Don't make me shoot! I'll count to three, drop the gun and put your hands behi... Gavin? Holy shit, Gavin? Oh shit?!!"

The cop cut himself off halfway through his shout, and an utterly shocked cry followed.

Still exclaiming, he quickly shoved open the car door, unbuckled his seat belt, and leaned his upper body out, staring at Gavin with utter disbelief.

Gavin glanced at the young cop's blond hair and blue eyes. He did indeed look like the typical young man from Dallas.

While Gavin observed him, the young cop unfastened his seat belt, planted his left foot on the ground, and hopped awkwardly toward Gavin with his right leg curled up.

"God, how could I run into the famous King of Cowboys on the roadside at four in the morning?!"

"Gavin! Is it really you, Gavin? Are you filming a TV show?"

"And Madison Cornasek, wow, you... you're really tall..."

As the young cop drew closer, his single remaining leg hopped more and more slowly. By the time he stopped with his right leg bent, he could not help but tilt his head back to look up at them.

Of course, most of that looking up was directed at the two-meter-seven Madison.

While the young cop was hopping around, the guy in the driver's seat cautiously poked his head out and warily looked Gavin and Madison over.

After one glance, he let out a surprised "fuck," then hurriedly looked around.

When he realized there were no cameras anywhere, he suspiciously climbed out with a revolver in hand.

As he got out, Madison's muzzle slowly shifted, openly tracking him.

Seeing Madison remain on guard, the young cop froze for a moment before hurriedly waving both hands at Gavin and Madison.

"Don't do that, he's with me. We're neighbors, and we've been friends since we were kids."

"I watched you grow up, William!"

The driver added, then went around the car with his revolver raised and came to Gavin and Madison's side, examining the convenience store from a distance.

After seeing there were no corpses in the store, he craned his neck to look into the bed of the Tyrannosaurus pickup.

Once he found no bodies there either, he visibly relaxed and carelessly tucked the revolver into his belt.

At the same time, the young cop quickly put away his gun and excitedly said to Gavin, "I never thought I'd see you here! You're huge stars, the hottest stars in Texas!"

"Especially you, Gavin. You're the pride of Texas. I grew up watching you play. The Cowboys have always been my team, and I'll be loyal until death!"

"God, how can there be a quarterback as perfect as you? Five straight championships! We won five straight championships!"

"I even went to the Cowboys' championship parade the day before yesterday! God, I'm so lucky! We have to shake hands! Can we shake hands?"

As he spoke, the young cop nervously held out his hand to Gavin.

Gavin expressionlessly took the young cop's sweaty hand.

The instant their hands met, the young cop immediately extended his other hand and clasped Gavin's palm with both hands, shaking it excitedly up and down.

As he shook it, he stumbled over his introduction. "I'm William, William Heimward. I'm twenty-four this year. I've been watching you play since college. Oh, right, I'm with the Dallas Police Department. Actually, I wanted to play football too..."

"Shut up, intern cop. Nobody wants to hear that!"

His neighbor viciously cut him off.

With his neighbor repeatedly stressing his intern status, William could not keep his face straight. He awkwardly shouted at him, "Shut up!"

After silencing his neighbor, William looked back at Gavin and continued excitedly, "He's Eugene Lampard, my neighbor, and sort of my cousin. We've known each other for twenty years."

"Oh my God, we're so lucky, Eugene!"

"That's Gavin! The Cowboys' savior! Texas's miracle! The fucking god of football!"

"Can you give me an autograph? Please give me an autograph, Gavin!"

As he spoke, William hastily pulled his hands back, grabbed his police uniform, and flipped open the chest of his uniform shirt toward Gavin.

Clutching his shirt tightly, William looked like a rabbit that had spotted a carrot, his eyes full of urgency and pleading.

Not far away, Eugene suspiciously glanced at Madison's gun, which was still aimed at him, then walked over to William.

Looking at William's pleading gaze, Eugene fell silent for a moment, then rolled his eyes and spoke in a carefree tone, reeking of alcohol.

"Big star, running into each other at a roadside store in the middle of the night, isn't that fucking fate?"

"I say just sign it for the kid. An autograph won't kill you. It can't be more work than fucking those Brazilian chicks, right?"

The moment Eugene finished speaking, Madison behind Gavin immediately cursed at him.

"Watch your fucking mouth, you son of a bitch!"

"Fuck you, bitch. I thought all you could do was jerk yourself off with that big gun, but turns out you can fart too!"

Eugene immediately flipped Madison off and cursed back at him with an irritated expression.

"If this were the old me, trash like you pointing a gun at me would get your balls blown off with one shot!"

"Did you hear what I said before? Heard that I hit people? You think a black pig like you can take my head for the reward money?"

"Fuck off! Even if I killed a whole bunch of people with my car, there isn't even a bounty notice out on me yet. Dream on, Sam Off!"

By the end, Eugene was getting angrier and angrier. He simply yanked out his revolver and pointed it at Madison.

But the moment he raised his gun, Gavin seized his hand in an iron grip.

At the same time, Gavin's right hand instantly drew his gun and shoved the barrel directly into William's wide-open, stunned mouth.