Flight: A Novel

Zits wakes up in “a small and cheap and filthy motel room” (39). He still remembers the bank shooting. He can hear the bystanders’ screams and smell the gunsmoke.

A man speaks to Zits, but he doesn’t recognize the voice. He sits up and sees a sturdy-looking man with the body of a professional wrestler. He wears a holster in his belt and has a pistol. Zits concludes that he’s a cop. He figures that he’s being arrested again. He asks the cop where he is. The cop tells him that they fell asleep and have to hurry so as not to miss a meeting. He calls Zits “Hank.” Zits tells the cop to stop calling him Hank—that’s not his name. He laughs, helps Zits off the bed, and hands him a pistol. Zits figures that the gun is a .357 Magnum, which he’s seen on television. He looks in the mirror and sees a handsome white guy looking back at him. Zits acknowledges aloud that he likes his “new face” (42). The other agent worries about him, but Zits—as Hank—insists that he’s just fine and can perform whatever job they’re setting out to do.