I shoulda known as soon as I walked in the joint. Tommy on the bar handed me a drink and said it was from the fella at the other end of the bar. I took it. I shouldn’t’a took it.

He walked over. Classy, too, you could tell with a look he was full frequency. 88.1 to 107.9, that was him. Told me his name was Phillps. Philips Digital FM Transmitter. I laughed at that and he asked me why. I said “Pal, I don’t care who you are, I don’t need a fake name.” He laughed but didn’t sit down. I pretended I didn’t see his wedding ring.

Before long I had a little stack of glasses in front of me and Phillips was leaning in close. I ran my fingers over his three preset buttons in the dark. He said he had a car nearby. I said “Sure, why not?”

It was different when we got in. You always hear about those guys that are “instant on, auto off”, and you laugh because you’ve never met one in person. But I wasn’t laughing then. He told me he could override the car’s stereo tuner for instant plug and play. I said “Hey, wait a minute!” but he was charged. I guess it was the cigarette adapter that did it.

I pulled open the door and spilled out onto the cement sidewalk. Mr. Philips Digital FM Transmitter was right behind me. I barely got a finger in my purse when it went off. The .38 that used to belong to my dad.

Phillips looked down at his chest like he couldn’t believe it. I knew his 90 day manufacturer’s warranty wouldn’t cover something like this. He fell back into the car and I just sat there, catching my breath, feeling like nothing was real.

The cops said I did the right thing and that nobody was gettin’ charged with nothin’. But I still get the shakes sometimes. The Philips Digital FM Transmitter worked with iPods, Zunes, CD Players, heck, anything that used a 3.5mm stereo mini jack. What if one of them… wanted revenge?

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