by Dale Cadeau
“Sure,” Angel, Clay, and Grant replied.
“What about you two?” James looked at Gabe and Tony.
“We wouldn’t want to intrude, this is very personal to Brad.”
“Guys, remember that I said when you signed up with us that we are a team. Well, that goes beyond just our jobs, we are there for each other even in our off time. We have a tight team, and anything that bothers one of us affects all of us. It might also mean the difference between life and death when working a job together. We all have to be at one-hundred-percent efficiency, which we can’t be if something is bothering one of us. So are you in or out?”
“We’re in. We’ll bring the beer. Is that okay?”
“So that’s it for now, we’ll all meet at Brad’s house tomorrow,” James said, got up, and walked to the door.
“What about the rest of the meeting?” Clay asked as he rose from his chair.
“Until he have Brad straightened out, we’re not taking on any more pressing jobs. If the Sahara can wait for Brad to dig it, the rest of the jobs can too, there is nothing urgent. See you all tomorrow night at Brad’s.” James hurried out the door.
Clay came to Brad’s side. “He means well.”
“Yes, I know, but I don’t want to use trickery or lies to fix this.”
“You mean like you all did with me?”
“That was different.” Brad couldn’t help smiling as he remembered the con that had pulled off on Clay.
“I agree with Brad,” Angel said as he came around the table to both of them. “You were dense. We had to step in. Now Brad knows he needs help, so it is different.”
“Sure, sure, you only say that now because it turned out well and I forgave all of you. Just remember that if and when it comes back to bite you that I would be only working with your best interest in mind also.” Clay rubbed his hands together as he made his way out.
“Well we’ll all see tomorrow night. I can’t wait for a big, juicy steak.”
All the guys agreed as they all made way down to the parking garage and took off, going their separate ways.
Chapter Thirteen
When Brad arrived home, he naturally looked toward Raven’s home. It had become a habit for him before he went into his house. The curtains were tightly pulled and all he could see was a light burning in the kitchen, nothing else. The house looked lonely, just like Raven, even the flower beds were becoming unkempt, because that was one thing she didn’t let her gardener take care off. She loved getting down in the dirt and pulling the weeds and picking flowers for the house. Brad wanted to go over and see that she was okay and just take her in his arms and hold her tight. But he knew she had been trying to keep more distance between them.
With the barbecue the guys had planned for tomorrow night, he knew he shouldn’t push his luck. Throwing his keys on the hall table, he made his way into the kitchen and looked in the fridge for something for dinner. Seeing some dried up vegetables and only milk and beer, he grabbed a beer and the picked up the menu from the pizza place. Brad sat back in the living room, taking the chair that looked out the window and gave him a clear view of Raven’s house. A few couples walked by as he sipped his beer, which just made him feel lonelier. Calling the pizza place, he placed his order, then called Raven. She took so long in answering that Brad was just about to hang up and go over when he heard her pick up.
“Hello.” Raven answered the phone with a weary tone.
“Raven, this is Brad. How are you?” Brad was getting tired of having to choose his words carefully every time they talked. They had been seeing each other for months now and it was like they were still back at the first week of just getting to know each other.
“I’m fine, Brad. Is there something you want? I just made dinner and I don’t want it to get cold.” Raven seemed to reply in a monotone voice now she knew who she was speaking to.
“That’s great, honey. Are we still going to the gym together tomorrow?”
“Sure, but only if you’re not busy. I can easily call the wheel trans.”
“No, nothing like that. I just wanted to tell you that the guys are coming over tomorrow night for a barbecue. I want you to come and meet them all.”
“I don’t think so, Brad, maybe another time,” Raven told him, trying to beg off.
“Are you uncomfortable because of it being at my house? I can easily change it to your house. Everyone is bringing something, so it would be no work and we would just be in the backyard. You might be more comfortable at you house, being on your own turf when meeting the gang. They all can’t wait to meet you. Please say yes. I would like my friends to meet you and I would also like you to get to know them.” Brad ignored her reply and put as much enthusiasm into his voice that he could.
“Well, if you put it that way, how can I refuse? Yes, let’s have it over here. When are they coming tomorrow?”
“They should be here shortly after we get back from the gym. Just enough time to shower and get ready. We can stop on our way home and pick up a few things if you want.”
“That would be fine. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Raven agreed, but didn’t sound excited about meeting his friends either.
“Okay, baby, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Brad hung up the phone. He wanted to shake her and bring back the Raven that he had become so intrigued with. He was also annoyed at her for not being excited to meet his friends. A month ago she couldn’t wait. He hoped that was just part of her new mood and not something that was foretelling the doom of their future together. Hopefully the gang would help.
Brad forwent his usual jog in the morning when he looked out and saw that Raven wasn’t in her driveway waiting for him. She had told him that if she wanted to go with him she would be ready and waiting. If she wasn’t, he was to go by himself, as she was too tired or busy. That was starting to become more and more often. Brad still liked to jog, but having Raven as company had made it a special part of his day, when they both relaxed and just enjoyed nature. He knew she enjoyed it as much as he did, he just couldn’t understand why she was depriving herself of it and anything else she was starting to enjoy with him.
Walking back into his kitchen, he poured himself another cup of coffee and sat at the table. Her moods were starting to affect him and he didn’t like the depression rubbing off on him. He was a go-get-’em type of guy, nothing usually stopped him. But now he was second guessing himself and watching every word that came out of his mouth. Something had to give. He just hoped tonight they might have a breakthrough, because, god he didn’t want to give her up, but he might have no choice in the matter. With his job as a sniper, he didn’t have the luxury of second guessing, he had to work on instinct and believe in himself. His job was everything to him, but now Raven was taking its place. He knew he was in deep with Raven, when the thoughts of quitting his job came to mind. It wouldn’t be a choice he would want to make, and Raven came first. But he hoped like hell that it didn’t get to that stage.
On the way to the gym that afternoon, Brad and Raven kept the conversation between them polite, but any warmth between them seemed to have evaporated. Raven gave him sly looks every once in a while, like she wanted to tell him something. But whenever he turned his gaze away from the road and on her, she just turned her head and looked out the passenger window.
Shit, this is bullshit, he told himself, but he didn’t let his feeling show on his face. He knew if tonight, with everyone around, if she didn’t thaw that he would have to walk away. He had decided late last night, tossing and turning in his bed, that he couldn’t give in and accept only part of her. He wanted all of her. It wasn’t fair to either of them to keep going the way they were. He would hate giving up his house and the neighborhood. He had come to like the area and the feeling of small town living, but with the conveniences of having the city close by.
The routine was the same as every time when they arrived at the gym, with Jim moving her from one chair to the other. Brad didn’t even argue about him moving her, he knew t
hat she would not welcome his interference. On the way home they stopped and grabbed some steaks and chops at the market, but Raven refused to go in with him and stayed in the truck. Hoping to get more that a two-word response, he stared talking about the barbecue and his friend, she seem to be responding when he turned on their street. There were cars and truck parked on each side of the road, making the street narrow and hard trying to maneuver around them.
“Are these your friends’ vehicles? I didn’t expect so many. We will have to go back to the market,” Raven told Brad as she looked at all the cars lining the street.
“No, I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe someone is having a party or something.” Brad slowed down even more and moved his truck slowly around a cable news truck parked just before Raven’s driveway. Stopping in front of the house, they could see news people surrounding Raven’s brother, standing in her driveway.
“What the hell is going on?” Brad asked Raven.
“Don’t have a clue, but we better find out and quickly before this gets out of hand. Already half of the neighbourhood are on their lawns watching us.” Raven looked at all her neighbor’s standing around, interested in what was going on.
Brad looked over at his driveway and saw the guys with their wives, standing around also, taking in the proceedings happening in Raven’s driveway. Brad put his truck in park and got out to grab the wheelchair and help Raven out of the truck. As he walked around to her side of the truck, he saw her brother heading his way, with some of the news people dodging his steps. He put the chair down and opened the door to help Raven, ignoring the people crowding around him. He had just leaned in the truck and put his hand behind Raven’s back, with his other poised to scoop under her to pick her up, when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He ignored it for a minute, ready to tell who ever it was to back off, when the grip got tighter and harder, digging into his shoulder and stopping him from moving forward. Pissed off now, Brad turned and looked behind him.
Standing there holding him was a police officer, a big bruiser of a guy that was none too happy. Brad didn’t know what to do. He turned and looked at Raven, who just shook her head, telling him she hadn’t a clue either. Suddenly her brother was there, pushing him out of the way with the help of the cop, until he was pushed back, beside the back bed of his truck. Before Brad could make a move, the trooper flipped Brad’s front facing the truck and cuffed his hands behind his back. The noise was deafening around him, he could hear everyone talking at once.
“What is going on here, Les? Why are they arresting Brad?” Raven asked her brother in a loud, desperate-sounding voice.
“Calm down, Raven, everything is okay. I’ll explain it all later.” Les told her, as he lifted her out of the truck and into her chair.
The only voice of reason seemed to be James, and even his voice betrayed his anger. “What the hell do you think you are doing with Brad?”
* * * *
When the trooper turned him back around, he saw James in a rage with Clay and Angel holding him back. The trooper asked Brad his name and after Brad responded, he read him his rights. Clay and Angel let James go as he calmed down, but James’s questions about what was going on were ignored by the officer anyway. Brad was lead to a cop car, parked blocking his truck as the cameras went off in his face. Brad was desperate to find Raven, he had lost track of her when the cop had pushed him up against his truck. Not finding her in the crowd around him, he looked for Clay. He caught Clay’s eye and nodded toward the passenger side of his truck. Clay nodded back and raised one of his hands with a thumb up. He knew Clay got his message and would look after Raven for him. Brad was flung into the back of the car and the door closed on him. Looking through the back window, he saw James grab the front of the officer by his shirt and yell into his face. Angel, who stood behind James, reached out and grabbed James by his shoulders, pulling him away from the officer. It was a good thing Angel was a big guy, as James wouldn’t stop struggling to get back at the officer and make him talk. The officer look down his nose at James, then straighten his shirt and calmly walked around and got in the front seat of the police cruiser. He took a quick looked back at Brad in the back seat through the rear view mirror and took off down the street.
Clay found Raven parked beside her brother, who was being interviewed by the media. Another cop was standing beside him, with an empty wheelchair. Clay squatted down in front of Raven’s chair and startled her, as she had her head down and was quietly sobbing.
“Raven, I’m Clay, a friend of Brad’s. Do you need anything or want some help? I really don’t know what’s going on, but you can depend on any of us to help you any way we can.”
Raven looked at the large man on his knees in front of her. He looked like a hardened biker dude, but had a concerned look on his face. “Thank you, but my brother wants me to sit here and wait. I don’t know what’s happening either, but…”
She stopped as her brother spoke into a microphone and the crowd quieted down. Clay got up to listen also. “As you know, I am running for council in this great city. Along with the mayor, we have made pledges to rid this city of any drugs that are being used to corrupt our kids. Well, with the help of the city police, we are pleased to announce the take down of one of the major distributors. We are doing this today, in this way, to show how easy it is to move drugs around and take advantage of the disabled.”
Les paused for effect, making sure that the cameras got his look of sympathy he sent Raven’s way. “My sister is disabled and has to use a wheelchair. I have always been concerned about her safety and who her friends are. Well, in doing my duty, as any brother would, I became suspicious of her new friend that moved into the neighborhood. Within the last three weeks, I have been working closely with the police and we are now about to show you how underhanded and sneaky drug runners are.”
He stepped back and went over to Raven, with the cop following him with the empty wheelchair. When he reached her side, he scooped her up and placed her in the chair the cop was holding. After he saw she was safely seated, he took her chair and walked it in front of the microphone. Bending down, he unlatched two clamps and the seat of the wheelchair sprung open. Underneath the cushion was a thin metal box that the cushion fit into, but Les grabbed another hidden latch and popped it open. Inside were small white plastic packs, lined up six across, a total of twelve filling the space. There was a gasp as he stood back and let everyone look at what he had uncovered.
“This is what I found in my sister’s wheelchair, when doing a minor repair. As soon as I saw what it was, I notified the police. We have been waiting for the right moment and today was it. I just wanted to assure all of you that this is just the start of my campaign to take all the trash off the streets. I also would like you to all be aware of the heartless part of this crime.”
Les put a hand on Raven’s shoulder and continued. “My sister is an invalid, susceptible to these kind of things. We should all be aware, that it can happen to any of us, but these scumbags prey on the weakest of us all. Thank you.” Les stepped back and the cop took Raven’s chair and wheeled it out to a waiting van while the cameras flashed every second. Clay stood beside Raven with a stunned look on his face. Raven had started to cry again and he bent down to see if she was okay, then he heard her whisper, “How could he do this to me?”
Clay reared up. She thought Brad was guilty. Looking around, he spotted James and Angel standing on the sidewalk with scowls on their face. Across the street he could make out Grant with Gabe and Anthony, holding the girls back from coming across the street. What the fuck? Clay said to himself. He gave Les and Raven a look that would make most men run and hide. Les did take a step back, then straighten his tie and smiled toward the newsmen. He knew Clay couldn’t do anything with all the media standing around. Parting the news hounds, trying to get close to Raven, Clay made his way over to James and Angel. James was standing with his arms across his chest and cursing. Angel had his hands clenched into fists and his eyes were as black
as coal and were glowing with his rage. Clay joined them. He looked back at the circus on Raven’s driveway.
“What about Raven? We can’t leave her with that asshole,” James said as he stopped swearing at anyone he could think of. Angel started to move toward Raven, who was talking to her brother as he was helping her chair up the ramp and into her house.
Clay grabbed Angel’s shoulder, and told him in a pissed voice, “Wait a minute. She thinks Brad is in on this. I overheard her ask why he did this. No, I think we’ll leave her to the tender care of her brother. We need to get our ass in gear and start thinking about Brad. He’s the one that needs our help now, not her.”
Angel stopped and gave Clay a puzzled look.
“I’ll explain later. Let’s get back to the girls.”
Angel, Clay, and James made their way back across to Brad’s house, sidestepping the cars leaving the street in a rush to get the story out.
Avery shook off Grant’s hold and rushed to James as he stepped onto Brad’s driveway. Grabbing onto his arm, she tried to turn him back toward Raven’s house.
“You can’t leave her. Brad would never forgive us if anything happened to her.” James put his arm around Avery’s waist and swung her back toward the others now standing beside the house.
“Let it go, Avery, you don’t know what went on over there.”
“I think I know enough. I was here when it all happened,” Avery said as she dug her heels in, trying to stop James from moving her.
“No, you don’t.” James tightened his grip on her shoulder, tight enough that she knew it was in her best interest to follow him.
“Well fill us in.”
“Yes, doll, that’s what we are going to do. Let’s just take it inside, so we can talk without an audience.” Some of the newsmen had not moved on and were watching them closely from across the street.
“Can someone grab Brad’s truck and move it in the driveway? We don’t want a ticket for illegal parking.”