MARLBORO NIGHTS [JJ MAYBANK]

a doozy

AFTER UNSUCCESSFULLY-SUCCESSFULLY borrowing (okay, stealing) JJ's cousin Ricky's ambulance, Karolina sat fidgeting nervously with the EMT uniform JJ also borrowed (stole) for her.

JJ checked the time on his phone from the driver's seat; fourty minutes until 11pm. "Waiting on your call, John B..." he murmured. He noticed Karolina buttoning and unbuttoning the top button of her shirt over and over again, nervous.

JJ took her hand in his, and she relaxed a bit. "Are... are we sure we're going to do this? I mean..." she asked, eyes flitting up to meet his.

He ran his thumb over her knuckles. "We're gonna be fine, Lina. You trust me?"

She nodded, but before she could utter a word, a siren chirped behind them. A police car strolled up to the window, and Karolina swallowed hard.

JJ drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, certain that the officer was there to arrest them for impersonating EMTs (Could you be arrested for that? Probably.)

But the officer just sighed. "I hate when it's slow like this, you know?"

JJ avoided looking at him, afraid the officer might recognize them. He continued to squeeze Karolina's hand under the dashboard. "Tell me about it, man..."

"Hey, what happened to Ricky? He bang out?" the officer asked.

JJ kept his head bent at an awkward angle as he replied, "Somethin' like that..."

Just then, a call came in from dispatch. "One three Eddie. We got an unknown at KC Detention."

Karolina's eyes widened and she looked at the time. 10:22... John B was early.

JJ lifted the com to his mouth. "Uh, yeah... ten-four. I'll be right there, thank you so much... Over."

Karolina tried to smile at the deputy. "Duty calls."

"See you, Officer. Uh, you have a good night, though, okay?" JJ nodded at him, starting the engine.

"Hold up."

Karolina swallowed thickly. She and JJ slowly looked at the officer, who smiled politely. "I got nothing to do. I'll pace you."

With a flick of his wrist, the officer started his siren and lights. Karolina silently thanked God that they hadn't been caught— not yet.

JJ shifted gears and began following the officer. "Holy shit."

"Tell me about it..." Karolina murmured, dragging her hands down her face with a sigh. She checked the time again. "He's early, J. Forty minutes early."

"I know. But we gotta..." JJ shook his head. "We gotta do this, we can't lose him."

Karolina touched his hand again. "We won't. If this doesn't work, we'll... we'll figure something out. But we are not losing him again."

Turning his palm over, JJ squeezed her hand in return.

The prison guard manning the transfer bay let them in without issue, but Karolina made sure to pull her cap low over her face, as JJ did. He carefully (and surprisingly deftly) backed into the space, where a nurse in purple scrubs awaited them.

"All right, load 'em up!" JJ told her, smacking the side of the ambulance from the driver's seat still.

Karolina started to hiss at him. "Are you kidding me—"

"You gonna get your patient here, chief?" the nurse asked, raising an eyebrow.

Karolina poked JJ's leg, and started to get out of the car as he scrambled to cover for his mistake. "Yeah. Right on, I'm gonna get my patient." He cut the engine and followed Karolina, as she turned around the other side of the car to talk to the nurse.