#GoodbyeBreakingBad
I’ve never seen an episode of Breaking Bad… I watched the #GoodbyeBreakingBad tag on Twitter to piece together what I think the last episode was about.
Br Ba
The desert stretched on far, nobody on the road but Walt and two trailing vehicles in the distance. Just because their lights weren’t visible didn’t mean Walt didn’t recognize them as cops.
The sound of an explosion is heard in the distance, barely audible over the sound of the car’s thrumming bass beats.
Walt is alone. He hummed the tuneless song to himself and finally headed towards his destination.
He closed the car door with force, a cloud of dust erupting from the side of the vehicle and catching on the gun in his hand. Without even thinking, Walt walked through the front door, catching Elliot at the table, mid-bite in his pizza. The spatter of blood and tomato sauce were nearly indecipherable from one another. He reconsiders his actions for a moment as the headless body slumps off the chair to the floor. Leave evidence? Clean what he can?
He thinks of chemicals and bathtubs, and a lot of hard work. Not unlike he’s used to, but cleanliness is a factor.
“You’re gonna need a bigger knife.”
A single red laser light came in through the window, Walt sighed at it. He arrived too early and the men arrived too late. No matter, what’s done was done. These fellows were not the clean up crew he imagined, but hitmen were useful in their own right. They took orders and they took money. Walt had those things. There was bleach, and then there was no longer a body. It didn’t take so long after all. Their cleeves were ruined despite their best efforts, but think of how many fine shirts $200k can buy. “Cheer up, beautiful people.”
Lydia was smart as she was sophisticated, when dealing with a meth crew. She knew things were downhill and she had clients to attend. When things fall to pieces, nobody gets fucked worse than the middleman. The cafe was warm leading into night, as she sweetened her black coffee with packets of artificial sugar and looked into the enamored eyes across from her.
He was her ticket, he was the knowledge and the talent, and the future for her. It was time to move up into big business, and Lydia knew when someone would follow.
She stirred her coffee, letting one eye wink lazily at Todd across the table. He waited on her every breath. The conversation was drawing to a close.
“So, shall we… become partners?”
Walt arrived at the cafe just in time to see the paramedics surround a car, locked from the inside. Todd was nowhere in sight… good boy. He’ll get picked up when he calls. The kid’s dick was bigger than his brain, but turns out his balls were bigger than all of them. He cut out a long time ago, but he did what he was told.
It was night, and the house was dark. A shame, too, Walt had expected something bigger, an epic shootout, something that made him feel powerful and worth it. He considered leaving the car running… maybe it would help him leave.
The lighter made her face and cigarette glow, as Skylar inhaled deeply. Another night alone. Not surprising. Maybe he was dead after all. It had her on edge but she pretended the cigarettes helped… but there’s that familiar figure in the doorway. Skylar hoped he didn’t see her jump.
“You look terrible.”
“Yeah, but I feel good.”
Walt strode to the table and put a bag on it. Skylar didn’t move for fear of what could be inside… anything was possible anymore. She could no longer trust him. He unzipped it quickly to show nothing but money… dollar bills of all varieties, well-worn bits of currency that had passed from desperate hands. She said nothing.
“I’m no longer your husband,” he said, walking out as quietly as he came. The relief and tears came as one. As she tipped her head down, a teardrop slid off the bridge of her nose and landed, with a sizzle, on the tip of her cigarette.
Now they’d be waiting for him. Now news will have spread, phones would be going off. Someone would be ready. It was time to visit the shop. Walt drove a comfortable 15 above the speed limit to the middle of nowhere, the best place for a lab to be. It would be quiet in there right then, the night was darkening around him and he’d cleaned up everything he could, as well as he was able. Now it was time to move on.
The lab was lit like a fucking downtown strip joint. Not much for subtlety, but they probably wanted to see him coming. It was time to pay up… Jack, Jesse, Todd, whoever the fuck else was left. Walt pulled in and packed up. Stealth was not an option here. He just wanted his fair share.
“Pay up,” he said, entering the door. Guns pointed at him from as many hands as there were in the room.
“You abandoned us,” Jack said.
“I gave you everything but skill. I own this, all of this. I want my share.”
“Who said—” but he couldn’t speak without a jaw. Jack’s face had ceased to be one at all, and Walt aimed his gun at every instrument he could, shooting racks, tubs, freezers… shooting his own work down. Jesse watched him, passive. Walt handed him a gun.
“Do it… you want this.”
Neither of them moved. The gun was heavy in Jesse’s hand, weighed down with conscience. Fires had sprung up, already warping the metallic walls with their heat. It was done, and time to go.
The car was running, the air conditioner cranked up high to combat the heat of the building. It had only been a few minutes of waiting… the passenger door opened.
Jesse laid the gun on the dash, and crawled in. He did not look at Walt.
“Then I guess that’s all.”
The car became a speck of dust on a road that never really existed.
#GoodbyeBreakingBad
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Thanks so much for reading! I have more writing projects on NikaHarper.tumblr.com and tell me if this made any sense on Twitter: @NikaHarper!
