the burn don't work and the buzz don't help;

Lanny’s piece of shit car groaned and creaked as he opened the door to get out. Javi curled his lip and followed suit, grimly hanging onto the bronco’s frame as the car shifted alarmingly. He lost the expression fast, though, stood on his own two feet with the ocean wind tugging at his dark, damp hair. It turned out, the sea had a smell: salty and fresh, as if the air around it had opened up fully. Javi inhaled deeply, tasting the unfamiliar flavours of an unpolluted atmosphere.

Thirty minutes out here might not be so bad, especially since the rain was easing off. Just as long a she could come up with a plan off the fly in case the feds showed up.

The gravity in Lanny’s voice might have made Javi shuffle an hour ago, but now he wrinkled his nose and rolled his eyes in a classic expression of teenage whatever, old man. How much of an idiot would he have to be to run now when he hadn’t been paid yet, was miles out of town, and his home address was known to an evil Russian? And what kind of idiot hired someone who would be enough of an idiot to do that?

Lanny headed up to the main building after collecting his briefcase, and Javier pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time. 8.09pm. He just had to hold the fort until 8.39. The digital display also told him that he had 38% battery, which should be more than enough. He wiped the screen dry from rain patter, slipped it back into his pocket and started mooching his way over to the road, keeping his eyes peeled for anything that might serve as a useful distraction. There were a couple of rickety older buildings in addition to the newer one Lanny had gone into, slightly further down the road by an older, clearly abandoned pier. The newer pier was behind him, near the parking lot. A half-baked idea started to form. Javi seized on it before he could chicken out and stopped at the side of the road, making sure he was clearly visible.

8.17pm. At least it had finally stopped raining altogether. Twin beams of light heralded the arrival of a car trundling through the darkness. Javi shielded his eyes against the glare of the headlamps and squinted, waiting until he could make out the panda stripes before he stepped up to the kerb, waving pointedly. It rolled to a stop in front of him and the uniformed driver wound down a window.

“Oh my god, finally,” Javi groaned, shrugging his shoulders and rolling his eyes. “I’ve been here like forever. You see how wet I am? You feel how cold it is? Why can you guys not get here quicker? My mama’s always like, ‘you got a problem, you don’t mess around honey, you call 911.’ Well I call 911, and I could fly around the damn world before you guys show up.” He tugged at his wet hoody and made a point of shivering. “Bruh, how long would it take if I file a complaint? I got time for a quick trip to the moon?”