(lxxxix.)

"So... what happened to your shoulder?"

Lorelei ran her other arm along the sling.

"Um... honestly?"
"Yeah."
"You remember Chet?"
"Um--"
"Okay, when you got arrested, the one that was in charge. And he was probably a total asshole."
"Oh, yeah, him. He hit me."
"Yeah. He shot me."
"Oh."

An uncomfortable silence filled the car.

"So, what happens now?" Midge asked.
"Well, where are we?"
"Um... right now?"
"Yeah."
"I don't actually know--"
"'Cause, if you want, we can circle back around to D.C. and meet up with Pierpont."
"Ooh! We'll get to meet the infamous Pierpont?"
"Yeah--"
"I thought you said he was in New York."

Lorelei sighed.

"Well, yeah, usually, but when I told him that Chet shot me, he said he was gonna come down and that he'd be here soon."

Midge nodded. "Okay, so--"
"But that was this morning. Like, early this morning. And he seemed pretty freaked out, like he was going to drive down immediately. But it doesn't take this long to drive from New York to D.C, so now I'm starting to get worried that maybe Chet was like--"

"Maybe Chet shot you to get to Pierpont," Frank suggested.
"Fuckin'--"
"Or maybe he, uh, y'know, got stuck in traffic," Midge added.

Lorelei slumped down in her seat, gingerly rubbing her bandaged shoulder. "Fuckin' A, man," she mumbled.