| abstract
| - — Repeated line (with variations.) Lloyd Henreid is a petty criminal of rather limited intelligence; he admits to having quit school in sixth grade. His age is not specified (the single passing reference to it does describe him as "young".) On the eve of the superflu outbreak, he is doing time for attempted rape at a Nevada work-farm, where he falls in with fellow inmate Andrew "Poke" Freeman. Upon their release, Lloyd follows Poke's lead about a "big score" involving Gorgeous George, a Mafia delivery-boy who runs guns and drugs. The plan is to collude with George when a "fairly good haul" of his illegal merchandise is due; Poke and Henreid will bind George and rough him up for appearance's sake, and steal the goods after giving George a cut of the proceeds for his cooperation. The plan goes sideways when, after George is bound and his mouth taped, Poke impulsively decides they should simply steal all of the goods, and "pokerize" George to guarantee his silence. He and Lloyd tape George's nose shut, leaving him no way to breathe; together they casually watch his death-throes as he suffocates. Fuelled by stolen drugs and guns, Lloyd and Poke spend several days driving aimlessly across Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. They commit multiple crimes, including robbery, auto theft, and several more murders. Finally, re-entering Arizona, they reach the town of Burrack in need of petty cash. They storm the Burrack gas station and general store intent on robbery. This time however, the cashier and a second customer are armed, and the robbery goes badly: Poke is killed and Lloyd is apprehended by the state police. Detained in the maximum security wing of the Phoenix municipal jail, Lloyd is informed by his court-appointed lawyer that a new Arizona law will likely expedite him to the electric chair. Once Lloyd is properly terrified, the lawyer quickly begins coaching him in the false story they will tell the jury, which shifts the blame onto Poke and portrays Lloyd as more of a hostage than an accomplice.
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