Ruby grimaced in their general direction and proceeded to drag out a black satchel and stuff it with towels, sheets, and body oils. Ignoring them, she placed it on the floor near a medium-size black and silver boom box, folded up the table and leaned it against the wall.
“I also have a very nice wig, my glasses, a lovely white uniform, a pair of some really hideous shoes, and a van the size of a pontoon boat.”
“There ya go,” Clete said. “A secret agent is no better that his tools. Just ask Ian Flemming.”
Ruby’s voice became very soft. “You enjoy making fun of me, Clete?” she asked.
He looked at her for a moment. “No, M’am,” he said, “I don’t. But teasin’ ya used to be kinda nice.”
“Yeah, well maybe that shit’s over.”
“Oh. Okay. If you got a burr under your saddle, Ms. LaCost, let’s drag it out and look at it.”
They stared at each other and Crockett jumped in.
“Alright,” he said. “I’m hungry. We got a lot to plan. Why don’t the two of you both settle down, let’s get something to eat, figure out how all this is gonna go together, and accomplish something positive. Fucking hormones get any thicker in here, I’m gonna need a gas mask. Put your dicks away and lighten up!”
“I will if she will,” Clete said.
Dinner had all the warmth of ice fishing in Minnesota. Crockett found himself in the unusual position of trying to keep Ruby from doing a one-and-a-half off the low board, and attempting to stop Clete from pushing her. He spent the first hour simply trying to get enough wine down the two of them so no blood would be spilled.
Eventually, plans were made, a scenario was agreed upon, and Ruby’s course of action was established. They drifted back upstairs and Cletus, promising to meet them before noon the next day, went to his room. Ruby flopped on the couch and stared at the wall. Crockett sat across from her. She wouldn’t look at him.
“What’s up, Doc?” he asked.
“Leave me alone, Buggs.”
“I don’t think so. You never leave me alone when I get all bent outa shape.”
“Think I’ll just go to bed.”
“Seems a shame to go to bed angry when you can stay up and fight all night. Wanna fight, LaCost?”
“Bite me, Crockett!” she snarled.
“No thanks. At this point in time, I’d probably chip a tooth. Want a massage? We got all the supplies.”
“No, I don’t want a fucking massage! And you’re not getting one, and neither is Clete! Jesus!”
Crockett gazed at her and shook his head.
“Is that what this is about? Is your view of men so twisted that you automatically assign sweaty palms and grasping intentions to all of us simply because of a folding table and some oil?”
She looked at him, her dark eyes snapping.
“It’s Clete, goddammit!” Crockett said. “Clete! Clete’s your friend, Ruby. He’s my friend. He’s our friend! I don’t know the whole story of what happened to you when you were a kid, and I probably don’t want to know all of it, but I can damn sure tell you one thing. We weren’t there. Not me, not Cletus. We were not there and it is wrong of you to treat either of us as if we were! Right now your twisted neuroses don’t mean shit! We got a job to do and none of us can allow anything to interfere with that.”
Ruby got to her feet. “Aren’t you just the insightful sonofabitch?” she said.
“Let me lay another insight on your ass, Princess,” Crockett growled. “The Amazing Disappearing Woman ain’t here either.”
“Lucky for you, Crockett. Wouldn’t want her getting in the way between you and her grandkid, huh?”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
Crockett smiled at her. “Well, isn’t it nice that you’ll have the first shot at Marilee? Perhaps when you’re oiling her up, you’ll be able to convince her what nasty bastards we all are. Then the two of you can run off and get a job as team truck drivers or revive the fucking Roller Derby!”
Tears leapt to Ruby’s eyes and she stormed into the bedroom and slammed the door. Crockett was on her heels. Standing beside the bed, Ruby whirled on him.
“That wasn’t fair, Crockett,” she said.
“No, it wasn’t. How’d you like it?”
“What?”
“How’d you like it? How’d you like somebody you love being brutally unfair to you? No fun? Well, I don’t like it either, Ruby. Neither does Clete. And none of us, you included, deserve it. We all have patterns that need to be broken, Sweetheart. You’re included in that number, too.”
“I don’t have to take this shit from you.”
“Yes, you do,” Crockett replied softly, taking her face in his hands and looking into her eyes. “For the next few days, you do. People’s lives may depend on it. You’re in this. You commit, or you get the hell out of it. What you absolutely do not do is act like some high school Prima Donna with a bug up her butt. When all this is over, you can decide exactly where you are, where we are, what you’re prepared to take and what you’re prepared to give. But for right now, if you’re not gonna cry all the way home, you get your shit together. You get your shit together and you keep your shit together. Cut the crap and suck it up.”
Ruby backhanded tears from her face.
“Get away from me,” she said.
Crockett released her. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll be in the other room. When we finish with this, you can decide if you want to get away from me.”
For the next half hour, Crockett could hear her crying through the door.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Inga infiltrated
Crockett didn’t bother with a bedroom that evening, but crashed on the couch instead. Just before he woke up the next morning, he smelled Ruby’s hair. He opened his eyes to find her dressed in sweats and sitting on the floor next to where he lay, leaning her head on his neck and shoulder. An errant hair or two tickled his nose. He draped an arm around her back and kissed her mane.
“Dammit, Marge,” Crockett whispered, “we have got to get a bed. Sleeping like this is too hard on your posture. People at church are beginning to talk.”
“It’s hard on my ass, too,” Ruby murmured. “Let ‘em talk about that if they wanna gossip.”
She turned her head and kissed him back, just below the left eye.
“You been out here all night?” Crockett said.
“What are you, new? I’m sorry about being such a bitch, but I’m not that sorry. I’ve been here for about twenty minutes.”
“Small penance.”
“I already said fifty Hail Crocketts,” Ruby said.
She pushed Crockett over and stretched out beside him, leaning into him full-length and placing his right hand on the small of her back.
“So you think that you can just say you’re sorry and snuggle me on the couch, and all is forgiven?”
“I’m not just saying I’m sorry, Crockett. I’m saying I was wrong. That I treated you and Cletus like shit, and that I wish it had never happened.”
“Could you repeat that wrong part again?” Crocket said.
Ruby smiled. “Don’t get greedy,” she said.
“Just hearing that word drip from your pouting lips gets me all emotionally, ah, erect,” he said, rubbing her bottom.
“This more of my penance?”
“Sure. You know me, always ready to take advantage. Typical male.”
She pulled back and looked at him closely enough that Crockett could feel his eyes cross.
“No, you’re not,” Ruby said. “You most definitely are not a typical male. You are not a typical anything. That’s just one of the reasons I feel so embarrassed and stupid this morning. I was an absolute bitch last night. First to Clete and then to you. I’m really screwed up right now, Crockett.”
Crockett patted her back. “Realization is the first step toward cure, Honey,” he said. “Go with that. Own it. Share with the others in the group how it makes you feel.”
&nbs
p; Ruby got up, moved to a chair, and stared at him.
“You’re not gonna accept my apology, are you?” she said.
“Ruby, I love you. I’ve loved you for years. I’m also in love with you. You are the best person I have ever known, and I treasure you beyond measure. In no way do I reject you. I accept that you are sorry for the way you treated me and Clete. I accept that it embarrasses you and makes you feel terrible. I accept that you wish it had never happened. But, you’re right. I don’t accept your apology.”
Ruby’s voice was low and collected.
“Why not?”
“Because you don’t understand the reason behind your need to apologize. You are, I believe, genuinely sorry for the effect of your behavior. I don’t doubt that for a moment. But, you are not aware of the cause of your behavior. Your apology is a re-action, not an action. Your re-action is your problem. You need to be apologizing to yourself. If I felt you had wronged me, I’d forgive you in a heartbeat, but that’s not the case. You’ve wronged yourself, Ruby. Until you understand the how and why of that, you’ll continue to treat me badly and Clete badly and anybody else that will let you get away with it, every time you feel threatened.”
Ruby remained calm. “What’s my problem?”
Crockett shook his head. “Oh, no,” he said. “I’m not going there. I know when I’m outclassed. You’d peel me like a grape. We get past all this mess out here, get the Marilee business settled and tidied up, then you’ll figure it out. Right now you don’t have time. You have too much else to think about.”
Ruby crossed her legs and bobbed her foot.
“What would you recommend?” she said.
“I’d recommend that you make an effort not to overreact to situations of emotional stress, that you stop taking yourself and your own patterns so seriously, and remember that a cigar is sometimes just a fucking cigar. I’d also recommend that you go take a nice shower before you get any angrier at me than you already are, and that you show Clete some courtesy and respect when he arrives.”
Ruby bristled. “Oh, yeah?”
Crockett met and held her eyes. “Yeah,” he said. “Ruby, on more than one occasion, the thought of spanking your lovely bottom has bounced trippingly through my mind. It has, however, never been my desire to paddle your ass. Just understand that I will absolutely do it, if you leave me no choice. I told you once about the eleventh commandment. Do you remember what it is?”
“What?”
“Thou shalt not push thy luck. Now go take a shower.”
Cletus knocked a little before noon. When Crockett opened the door, Clete scanned the surroundings.
“Is it safe?” he said.
“Marginally.”
Clete eased into the room. “Where’s our girl?” he said.
“Getting ready.”
“What the hell is going on with her?”
“Ruby is really screwed up right now, Clete. Although she doesn’t realize it, she’s feeling extremely insecure and unsettled. Ruby doesn’t like that. When she’s upset, she lashes out at anybody she knows can handle it. That would be us.”
“Christ, Crockett, I don’t envy you. I can walk away from her. You can’t.”
“Yes, I can,” Crockett said. “I don’t want to and I don’t think I’ll have to, but I can.”
Clete’s brow furrowed. “Would you?” he said.
“If it got too rough on Ruby, yeah.”
“Jesus. Saint Crockett. What if it got too rough on you?”
“Have to be awful rough,” Crockett said. “The potential rewards are huge.”
“Lotta good men in unmarked graves on the prairie thought that way, Son.”
“We’ll see what happens. Everything goin’ okay with you?”
“Yeah. I picked up some supplies from my guy this morning. Bunch of timers, some C-4, a launcher and three or four flash grenades, a thousand milligrams of Valium for Stitch.”
Crockett grinned. “Think that’ll be enough?” he said.
Clete shook his head and laughed. “I don’t know. That ol’ boy is a mess! ‘Bout half a him is still in Saigon. Reckon he’ll be okay?”
“I think the only time he is okay is when he’s on a mission.”
“You’re probably right. I’ve known a couple a fellas like that. We sure don’t need a loose horse on the track. If things go alright with Ruby, sorry, Inga, this afternoon, I’ll call him.”
“You gonna wire Ruby?” Crockett said.
“Thought about it, decided not to. Never know what these assholes might do. There’s the off chance one of ‘em might decide to shake her down just ‘cause he can, or to have a little fun coppin’ a quick feel. If they found a wire, her life wouldn’t be worth two cents. She knows what the plan is. I don’t think it would do Ruby any good for us to be eavesdroppin’ on her anyway. Too much like we don’t trust her, or think she can’t do the job.”
“You’re probably right,” Crockett said. “This is no time to add anymore stress.”
“Is Ruby okay to do this?”
Crockett nodded. “Ruby has a history of rising to the occasion. Unless I miss my guess, she’ll transfer all the energy she’s been blasting at you and me to the job at hand. If that happens, look out.”
Ruby walked out of the bedroom. “Look out for what?” she said.
Clete grinned at Ruby’s appearance. “Look out for you,” he said.
Before them stood a blond woman with rimless glasses and a pale complexion, dressed in a white, short-sleeved tailored smock, matching slacks, and white cork-soled shoes. Compared to the usual buxom, raven-haired, beautifully made-up, artfully constructed, high-heeled Ruby LaCost, this woman was not a pale imitation, she was a different person entirely. Blue eyes regarded them from beneath pale brows and a slight smiled graced pale pink lips.
“Well?” she said.
Crockett laughed. “Perfect,” he said. “Absolutely perfect. Marilee might not recognize you. Hell, your figure is even different!”
“There’s a full control body stocking and a spandex tube top three sizes too small under all this rayon,” Ruby said. “I feel like a mannequin. If anything gives way, I could affect the fault line!”
Clete looked her over. “By God, you make a fine svelte Swede, Ruby,” he said.
Ruby placed a hand on each side of his face.
“And you make a fine friend, Cletus,” she said. “I regret I abused that friendship. Please understand how sorry I am.”
Clete kissed her cheek. “Don’t give it another thought,” he said. “Just a rock on the trail.”
“Let’s load the van, Gentlemen,” Ruby said. “Then the two of you can eat lunch while I have coffee and we can get this show on the road. I’ve got a two o’clock appointment for a massage.”
At a quarter ‘til two, Clete and Crockett approached the Castaneda residence on Canyon Road. Ruby was in the white van a hundred yards to their rear. Crockett called her cell phone.
“Swedes need love too,” she said.
“You got all of mine, Swedeheart,” Crockett said. “This be the place on your left. The Texican and I’ll wait for you about half-a-mile west. When you get done, come back to Canyon road and turn right. We’ll intercept you.”
“Roger Wilcox,” Ruby said. “Wish me luck.”
“You won’t need it. If anything crops up while you’re with Marilee that we need to know about, try to use your cell phone if you can. Give ‘em hell, Ruby.”
“I love you, Crockett. See you soon.”
She hung up. In the rearview mirror Crockett watched her van pull into the drive and stop at the gate.
Clete and Crockett perched on the top of a low hill where they could watch the house through binoculars. Crockett began to fidget after about three minutes. Clete grinned at him.
“You are gonna wear them pants out from the inside,” he said.
“I hate this shit, Texican.”
“Yep. You’re a man of action, alright.”
“Kiss my
ass.”
“Probably a lot a that kinda thing goes on out thisaway after dark. Relax.”
Crockett tried, but it didn’t help.
Ruby had been in the place about thirty minutes when his phone rang.
“Ruby?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Can you hear me okay?”
Crockett rolled up his window and plugged his free ear. “Sure,” he said.
“I’m in the john and I can’t talk too loudly. We have a problem.”
“What?”
“Little Ricky gets back tomorrow. Marilee says four more bad guys’ll be with him, and security is always tighter when he’s here.”
“Shit.”
Clete looked at Crockett and raised an eyebrow.
“What do you want to do?” Ruby said.
“We go tonight.”
“Tonight. I’ll pass the word. Gotta go.”
“Be careful,” Crockett said. The phone went dead.
Clete looked at Crockett. “Tonight?”
“Ricky and company get back tomorrow.”
“Oh, shit.”
“No choice, Texican.”
“Tonight it is,” Cletus said. “When Ruby gets out of there, you go back to the hotel with her and I’ll head out to have a little talk with Stitch. ‘Bout dusk I’ll come back here and make the necessary preparations, then meet you back at your room. Try to get a nap. We’ll leave at around midnight.”
Crockett spent a week on that hill during the next thirty minutes, then they saw Ruby exit the house, one of the bad guys pressed into service carrying her massage table. She came down the drive and turned right. About a mile down Canyon road she pulled over on the shoulder and Crockett got in her van. Excitement dripped from the ceiling. Ruby yanked off her wig, fluffed her hair, and laid a mega-watt grin on him.
“How’d it go?” he said.
“Great!” she beamed. “Just great! An incursion behind enemy lines and they never even knew I was there. Hoo-rah!”
She leaned over and kissed Crockett on the mouth, then clambered into the back of the van.
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