Chapter Text
Jesse sat in the back seat with the kid.
If Lalo minded, he didn’t show it. In fact, he seemed cheerful. He had the radio tuned to some Spanish station; occasionally, he sang along. Their cheery chauffeur to hell. And why shouldn’t he be in a good mood? Jesse thought with a scowl. He’d gotten everything he wanted. Prick.
Jesse crossed his arms and slumped in his seat. Up until this point, his thoughts had been running around in panicked circles in his head. But now after an hour, he’d finally worn himself out, and he was bored. Lalo had said they’d stop for lunch, but apparently he didn’t mean in Albuquerque—he’d seemed anxious to get on the road. Made sense—the further they got from Albuquerque, the more difficult it would be for Jesse to escape. Despite his smug self-satisfaction, was he worried Jesse might try to run?
No—Lalo knew him too well. Making a break for it was next-to-impossible if it were just him, but escape with the kid in tow was for-real-impossible. Jesse glanced at the pint-sized hostage, who was busy playing his video games. Zeke met his gaze. His eyes were more gray than blue—the washed-out color of a sky with too many clouds. Jesse gave him a smile that he hoped was reassuring. His little mouth pressed into a line, and he turned back to his console to switch out the cartridges. Lalo had hooked him up; he had a lot of games.
Jesse sighed and leaned his forehead against the window. He lifted his head a little and hit it back on the window. Again. And again.
Something nudged his arm—Zeke. He’d undone his seat belt and was now sitting right beside him, and he was holding out the Nintendo DS. Looked like he was playing Pokémon. His little brother liked Pokémon, too.
“Oh, that’s okay, buddy,” he said. “That’s for you. I don’t really know how to play that game, anyway.”
Zeke pressed his lips together again in an even thinner line, then he took Jesse’s hand and put the console in it. He pointed to the screen. “What’s it say?” he asked. His voice was high and scratchy.
Jesse started. So he could talk. But he couldn’t read. How old was he, exactly? “Hey, how old are you, kiddo?”
The kiddo shrugged. He didn’t know.
Jesse’s eyes stung. He rubbed them quickly and sniffed, then looked at the screen. Two pixeled characters stood in the woods. The text on the screen was dialogue.
“Uh, so that character is Dawn,” Jesse said. “Or maybe it’s that one.” He pointed at the text. “That’s her name right there. That’s how you can tell she’s the one talking.”
Zeke nodded gravely, then tilted his head in question. Back to not talking. That was okay. Jesse still understood him.
He continued. “She says, ‘I beg your pardon… We’ll be on our way.’”
Zeke reached over and pressed a button. One of the figures disappeared into the trees. Another appeared.
“Okay, so this guy is called Tyson, it looks like,” Jesse went on. “And he’s saying, ‘What was that about?’”
Zeke snuggled in beside him, resting his head on Jesse’s arm, and something in Jesse melted away. If he had to guess, it was the part of him that gave a fuck about what happened to himself—he’d had so many “second chances” that they were actually closer to “thirty-third chances” at this point, and he’d squandered them all. Now the only thing that mattered was keeping this kid safe. And he would. He would.
His eyes stung again. He had to look away for a moment or else he was going to lose it, and his gaze fell on the rear view mirror. Lalo’s dark eyes reflected back at him, observing. Yeah, that motherfucker knew him real well.
Jesse took a deep breath and turned his attention back where it belonged. He put the console down and reached around the kid for the middle seat belt. “Let’s put this on real quick.” Once he got him fastened, Jesse picked up the Nintendo again. “Okay, where were we…”
***
They didn’t stop playing until the car slowed down. Jesse looked up with a start. Lalo was getting off the freeway. The large green highway sign proclaimed TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES.
Jesse blinked. Was he hallucinating?
“Lunch time!” Lalo said brightly.
A small downtown area came into view. There were a few storefronts down the main street, but not much else. A brightly colored mural on one of the buildings caught his eye: a bearded man in a brimmed hat and blue jeans strummed a guitar while riding a large black horse across a canyon. Behind him stumbled a donkey, its bridle tied to the horse. Some sort of dog, or maybe a coyote, trotted beside them. The sky and the river that flowed in the background were painted the same bright blue.
Lalo parked behind one of the buildings. As they got out of the car, Jesse started to hand the Nintendo to Zeke, but then he changed his mind. His mom had always given him limits with video games. “Let’s leave this in the car for now. We can play more later.”
They took a short walk to a diner on the corner. The door rang as they walked in. A few truckers sat at the counter, but the booths were mostly empty. Zeke looked around, wide-eyed. He slipped his hand into Jesse’s.
A middle-aged waitress sporting a blonde updo approached them—a classic MILF. She wore blue eye shadow and frosted pink lipstick. Her nametag read Kathy. “Why, hello there, fellas! Can I show you to a booth?”
She could. They sat, and she passed two menus to Lalo and Jesse, and a colorable paper kid’s menu to Zeke with a pack of crayons.
“Your little town has quite the name,” Lalo commented to Kathy. “You know the story behind it?”
“Funny, isn’t it? It’s named after a radio show from the ’50s. They held a contest that any town that changed its name would get to host the 10th anniversary show.”
Lalo laughed. “What were you called before?”
“Hot Springs. It was a step up as far as I’m concerned—really put us on the map. Let me guess—you were passing through and saw the sign, and you just had to come check us out. Am I right?”
Lalo pointed a finger gun at her. “Bullseye! So what would you pick? Truth, or consequences?”
She giggled. “Oh, I’m a consequences gal. Truth’s so boring, don’t you think?”
“A woman after my own heart.”
Jesse scowled. Did he always flirt with the waitstaff? Lalo caught him scowling, and winked. Wait, was he trying to make him jealous? He rolled his eyes—she could have him. She definitely wouldn’t be a “consequences gal” if she knew what a manipulative piece of shit he was.
After taking their drink orders (cokes for Jesse and Zeke, coffee for Lalo), Kathy left them to make their choices. Zeke showed little interest in the crayons. Instead, he craned his head to look around more. Something occurred to Jesse—there was a good chance Zeke had never been to a restaurant, which made him sad again. To distract himself, Jesse opened the crayons and started coloring the cheerful hamburger character. He always thought it was weird when places made the food into characters—as a kid, it made him feel guilty to eat it. He handed the red crayon to Zeke, then pointed at the milkshake wearing a hat with a cherry on top. “Why don’t you color the cherry red?”
Zeke dutifully accepted the crayon and did as Jesse asked. Jesse had to correct his grip; he held it in a fist, like he’d never done this before.
“Pork chops look good,” Lalo said as he browsed the menu. “What are you getting?”
Jesse ignored him. He pointed out the kids’ menu items to Zeke. “This says ‘cheeseburger,’ and this says ‘chicken nuggets.’ Do you like cheeseburgers or nuggets more?”
Zeke just shrugged. Jesse remembered the sandwich he made him when he found him in that filthy home. The cupboards had been almost bare. “I’ve always been a cheeseburger guy,” Jesse continued, overly bright. “But my little brother Jake likes chicken nuggets.”
Kathy returned. “Y’all decide what you want?”
Lalo ordered the pork chops. Jesse got the cheeseburger. “And what do you want, sweetheart?” Kathy asked Zeke, who didn’t respond. He looked to Jesse instead.
“You can get whatever you want,” Jesse encouraged.
Zeke looked over Jesse’s shoulder, and his eyes got big. He pointed. Another waitress was caring an enormous cheeseburger on a plate overflowing with fries to the other occupied booth.
That was a stomachache waiting to happen for such a little guy. “I think that might be a little too much,” Jesse said, looking back to the kids' menu. “Why don’t we order something from here?”
“Nonsense!” Lalo scoffed. “He can get whatever he likes, especially on his birthday!”
Jesse jerked his head up. Birthday? What was he talking about?
Kathy gasped in delight. “Why didn’t y’all say something before? Happy birthday, honey! How old are you?” When Zeke didn’t reply, she just smiled. “You’re a little shy, huh? That’s okay, my grandson’s shy too. One Double Cheesy Extreme, coming up.” She departed.
Jesse stared at Lalo. Was he just bullshitting? On the other hand, he probably had access to Zeke’s file when he tracked him down… Who was he kidding. It was Lalo. Of course it was bullshit. “What, are you trying to scam them out of a cupcake?” he asked.
“I’m serious,” he said, although his expression was anything but. That smug look was back—he’d wanted Jesse’s attention, and now he had it. One of these days, Jesse would figure out his tricks before he fell for them. “Today, we celebrate the birth of Ezequiel Salamanca!”
“Who the fu—” Jesse glanced over at Zeke. “—heck is Ezequiel Salamanca?” Oh my god—did he really just say heck?
The corners of Lalo’s mouth twitched at the “heck,” but he didn’t remark on it. “Why, you’re looking at him!” He gestured to Zeke. “Or perhaps Zeke Pinkman.” He drew out the eee sounds in both names and wrinkled his nose a little. “Personally, I think Ezequiel Salamanca sounds better.” He winked at Zeke.
“How about Zeke His-Real-Last-Name?” Jesse snapped.
Lalo rubbed his chin. “I don’t remember it. Do you?”
More bullshit. Jesse scowled.
“Tell you what,” Lalo said. “We’ll leave it up to him.” He turned to Zeke. “Well, papito? What do you choose?”
Zeke looked back and forth between the two of them. Then he grabbed his menu and crayons and went under the booth.
Jesse’s fists clenched. He dropped his voice to a hiss. “Could you maybe—just maybe—stop fucking around and take this seriously? He’s a human kid, not a fucking dog we can rename!”
“I told you, I am serious,” Lalo responded, his voice low as well. “Here’s how serious I am—I have a nanny and a tutor waiting to welcome him at my home.” His tone became more tender. “Salamancas take care of family.” And then he had the nerve to reach across the table to try to take Jesse’s hand.
Jesse snatched it away before he could. “You are repulsive.”
Lalo held his hand up in a gesture of peace. “It’s okay. I expect it to take some time for you to trust me again. But you will be happy one day, Jesse. I promise.”
God, he wished he could duck under the table too—anything to get away from the self-satisfied smirk on that asshole’s face. “I have to take a piss,” he said instead and stormed off.
When he got back, Zeke was still under the table, and Lalo was browsing through some brochures he must have grabbed from the display case next to the cash register. “Hot springs look nice. Maybe we can come again someday.”
“Or maybe you can eat my entire ass,” he said sarcastically.
Lalo cocked an eyebrow. “I was hoping to do that again someday, too.”
Jesse blushed so hard he was surprised his face didn’t burst into flame. He’d walked right into that one.
Eventually, Kathy appeared with their food. Zeke popped up from under the table and eyed his Double Cheesy Extreme hungrily. Kathy placed a strawberry milkshake by his plate. “And here’s a birthday surprise from me. Strawberry’s my grandson’s favorite. Enjoy!”
Zeke attacked his meal with a ferocity that startled him. Jesse had never seen a kid eat that fast. He and Lalo exchanged looks—he could tell it was taking him aback too. Jesse ate his own regular-sized cheeseburger, which was still plenty big, as Lalo tucked into his pork chops.
Zeke finished first—the cheeseburger and the fries. He turned his attention to the milkshake—after giving it a sniff, he picked it up with both hands and chugged it.
“A big appetite for a little man!” Lalo said. “That’s good—you’ll grow up big and strong.” He smiled fondly at them both. “What a nice lunch out to celebrate the start of a new life.”
Zeke put down the milkshake. He blinked a couple times, and then he threw up spectacularly all over the table.
***
Jesse cleaned up Zeke in the bathroom while Lalo got a change of clothes for himself and Zeke from the car. Jesse had mostly been spared from the spray. Kathy was very understanding—apologetic, even. I shouldn’t have added the milkshake, I don’t know what I was thinking...
Lalo was quiet on the walk back to the car. Jesse carried Zeke, who wrapped his arms around him like a monkey. Jesse’s own stomach was in knots—was Lalo angry? It would be stupid to be angry—Zeke was just a little kid. But he had ruined their “nice lunch.” Maniacs weren’t known for their reasonableness. Jesse clutched Zeke closer. What would he do if Lalo lost his shit?
Lalo opened the back door for them. “You were right,” was all he said. “That was too much food for him. We’ll do something simpler for dinner.”
Jesse let out a shuddering sigh of relief as he buckled Zeke in. Zeke still looked a bit green around the gills. “Maybe we could get him a Sprite?” Jesse asked hesitantly. “To settle his stomach?”
“If you think that would help.”
They drove through a McDonald’s. Jesse helped Zeke sip from the cup—slowly this time. As they pulled back on the freeway, Lalo rolled down the window and waved. “Wave goodbye to America, Ezequiel. Next, stop, México!”
And once they were in Mexico, there really was no going back. Jesse thought he might throw up himself.