by Johnny Asa
“That I don’t know.” I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “There might not be anything on that laptop.”
“You have to have faith, Billy,” she said, and as the silence settled around us like a thick blanket, she continued. “’Sides, if I know Bob Ryder, I’d be willing to bet he’s waiting for you somewhere. Hell, he’s probably got ‘em right where he wants ‘em.” She gave me a tough smile as she ran a hand through her hair, brushing it behind her ear. “But you didn’t really answer my question.”
“How’s that?” I asked, glancing over my shoulder to look for tails. So far, I hadn’t seen anyone, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any. Part of me wanted to ditch the Tahoe. It was likely the Scorpions knew what it looked like, but that’d leave me with even fewer options. Right now, I needed to stay mobile.
“I asked if your friend can really help you,” she said, looking over at me. “The one you were waiting for. What’s he do exactly?”
I sighed. “He’s a guy I met way back in the Corps. Real nice guy, and a whiz with computers. Went to college after he got out and was hired on for some weird security company.” I took a deep breath. “The long and short of it is, if there’s anything on that computer, he’ll get it out.”
“And what’s the plan then?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “You go take on all the Scorpions?”
“Pretty much,” I said, gritting my teeth as I turned left, causing pain to stab through my ribs. The adrenaline had mostly faded, and now my good friends, pain and stiffness, had taken their places.
“That’s a silly plan,” she said, squeezing my fingers. “But it does sound like a Billy Ryder plan.” She looked at me pointedly. “You can’t do that alone.”
“It’s my dad. I can’t ask anyone to come help.” I gritted my teeth. He was my responsibility, and I couldn’t ask others to take on that burden, that risk, for me. “You know why I hate a lot of movies?”
“Because they’re terribly made or rehashed remakes?” she asked, peering quizzically at me.
“Well, there is that.” I shook my head. “It’s ‘cause you always see the movies where the guy gets his friends, and they go take on the bad guys to save one guy. Like, you know, Private Ryan. Then everyone gets killed trying to save the one guy. It’s just a horrible trade when you consider all lives are special.” I sighed. “I won’t let my friends trade their lives for my dad.”
“But those people chose to do that, to make that trade,” she said, biting her lip again. “I think your friends probably would too.”
“That’s the problem. I could call Max and Vicky. They would come charge inside with me, and maybe get themselves killed. They’d do it of their own free will, sure thing, but I can’t let them. I won’t trade them for my dad.” I turned right, angling onto a street that had a Superstore on its right about two blocks up. “Not when I can get him out on my own. Assuming he’s still alive.”
“You have to assume he’s still alive or this is a waste,” she said, lifting her hand to touch my face. “But I understand where you’re coming from. It’s damned crazy, but I get it.”
“Good, I’m glad,” I said, turning to look at her and finding her staring right at me, her eyes piercing all the way to my soul, and the weird thing was, they seemed okay with what it found there.
“So, let’s go to my place.” She nodded emphatically. “Face it, you can’t just drive around all day, and you can’t go to your dad’s.” She gestured toward the car as if to make a point. “And they don’t know who I am. It’s the safest place to go and wait.”
“Unless your boyfriend is a Scorpion—”
My statement was cut off by a derisive snort from Mary Ann. “Chuck might be a lot of things, but he’s hardly a Scorpion.”
“Still, I don’t like the idea of putting you in danger,” I said as I pulled into the parking lot of the Supercenter and parked in the middle. It was mostly empty, which concerned me because it made my Tahoe easier to find.
“I’m already in danger, or did you miss the part where I shot a guy,” she said as I unfastened my seatbelt. That was an excellent point, and one I couldn’t argue with. “Do you need something here?” she added, glancing around and scrunching up her nose.
“Just a parking space,” I said, getting out of the car and coming around to her side. I had the door open as she was unfastening her seat belt. “I’m worried they can follow the Tahoe.”
“Does that mean we’re walking?” she asked, casting quick, furtive glances around the parking lot as she got out.
“That depends,” I said, taking her hand and leading her toward the bus stop. “How far do you live from here?”
“Far enough that I’ll call an Uber,” she said, pulling out her phone. She stared at it a minute before pulling her other hand out of mine.
“Okay,” I said, nodding to her as I glanced around. “Do it from the donut shop across the street.” I pointed. “Just to be safe.”
16
About twenty minutes later, we pulled up in front of one of those crummy apartment buildings in the even crummier side of town. Graffiti littered the dilapidated walls, and litter overflowed out of the dumpster just hidden in the alley to the left of the building. The building looked like it might have been nice a decade before, but years of neglect and disuse had made it well, less so.
As I exited the car and moved to open Mary Ann’s door, I noticed a shiny black BMW Roadster sitting out front. It seemed a little odd, and I must have stopped to look at it for longer than I’d thought because the next thing I knew Mary Ann was outside the car and standing next to me.
“What is it?” she asked, her gaze following mine to rest on the car, and as her eyes settled on it, she went absolutely ballistic. “Why that no good…” She stomped forward, hands clenched into fists.
As she moved forward, the BMW’s driver’s side door opened to reveal the cowboy from earlier. He wasn’t wearing his stupid hat, but the rest of him was mostly the same. He began moving forward, an armful of roses held out in front of himself like a shield.
“Go away!” Mary Ann snapped, glaring at him as she came up short. “I don’t want your flowers.”
“Look, babe, you know I get mad sometimes…” he said, holding the flowers out toward her. “But, you know I care for you.”
“No, you don’t. You just like having someone you can kick around,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him hard enough to make me want to flinch even though her anger wasn’t even directed at me.
Behind me, the driver of the black CRV took off, no doubt headed to his next pick up. I watched him go for a second before turning back to watch the scene unfold. A sense of protectiveness flashed through me at the sight of Chuck. Part of me wanted to step in and beat the guy into the pavement on principle, but from the way Mary Ann was looking at him, I was pretty sure she didn’t need nor want my help.
“That’s not true, babe.” He moved closer, and as he reached out to her with his free hand, Mary Ann pushed his hand away.
“Don’t touch me.” She shook her head. “Go away, Chuck.”
“I won’t,” he replied, malice settling across his features as his gaze flitted to me. “What, you think ‘cause this guy saved you in a bar, he’s going to put up with you? Newsflash, he won’t. He’ll be gone the second he realizes what a screw-up you are!” Part of me couldn’t believe he’d actually said that to her, but most of me knew why he had. He was a scum bag who made himself feel better by beating up women.
“Maybe,” Mary Ann said, her voice edged with hurt. “But I don’t need him or you.” She took a step toward him and shoved him, causing the roses to fall to the ground. They hit with a thwap before spraying outward in an explosion of petals and leaves. “I don’t need any man to make me feel special, and I can handle my own crap.” Her eyes sparkled with rage. “I know that now.”
“Well, it’s nice to see you’ve got a backbone. Too bad it’s holding up a bunch of crap.” Chuck’s hand
s tensed, and for a second, I thought I’d have to step in. Then he glanced over at me and shook his head sadly. “Partner, I hope you know what you’ve gotten yourself into.” Then he turned on his heel and strode back toward his car. Without another word, he got inside and took off with a squeal of rubber that was rivaled only by the explosion of bass coming from within the vehicle.
“You okay?” I asked, coming toward her as she watched him go. She nodded, not looking at me. Then she shook her entire body. It was a little weird because when she was done, she strode forward, chin held high even though I could see tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
“Yeah, come on.” She looked back at me, and her face was a stony mask. “Let’s get inside before people see you. While the place might not be much, I would like my security deposit back some day.”
“I can hear that,” I said, following her toward the building. She pressed a code into the keypad beside the door. The light next to the door turned from red to green, and the sound of a magnetic lock opening filled my ears. She pulled the door open, holding it long enough for me to grab it before stepping inside.
“Damn.” She tossed a frown at the elevator. “Guess we’re walking.”
“Has the elevator been broken for a while?” I asked, noting the faded, tattered edges of the “out of order” sign duct-taped to the doors. “’Cause that sign seems pretty old.”
“Pretty much the whole time I’ve lived here, and yet I still hope…” she trailed off as she headed toward the stairs. “I’m only on the third floor though, so it isn’t so bad.”
I nodded, following her into the stairwell. As we reached her floor, I knew two things. My body had been too beat to hell to tolerate stairs, and I’d gotten a bit too soft since my time in the Corps.
As she unlocked the door to Apartment 3B, she shot me a nervous smile. “It’s a mess, sorry.”
“I’m sure it’s just perfect,” I said as she pushed open the door. “Anywhere with you is.”
“Billy Ryder, you keep saying things like that to me, and I might just think you’re flirting,” she said, before laughing. “And I know Billy Ryder doesn’t flirt.”
“True,” I said as she stepped inside and gestured for me to follow. The room beyond the threshold was clean in that lived in way, which was to say there weren’t dishes on the small table by the couch table, and the floor was relatively clutter free. Just beyond, I could see the kitchen counter was piled with dirty dishes and stacks of old mail that had slowly accumulated.
“It’s not much, but it’s home,” she said, gesturing nervously around the room.
“I love the green couches,” I said, moving forward and touching one with my index finger. It was surprisingly soft and looked to be made of real leather despite being lime green.
“I got those at a garage sale for fifty bucks.” She bit her lip. “Most of my stuff is from a thrift store or garage sales, actually.” She pointed to the table. “That’s from Craigslist.” She smirked. “I call it Craig.”
“Well, Craig has lots of character,” I said, glancing at the scarred cherry-wood table. Like the building, it’d probably been nice when it was new, but not so much now.
“That’s an interesting way of putting that,” she said, moving into the kitchen. “I know you’re in a hurry, but it seems to me, we’ve got a couple hours to kill right? You want something to eat?”
“Sure,” I said, nodding at her as I sat down on the couch. “I’m sure my friend will call soon enough.”
“Okay, I’ll make some sandwiches,” she said, opening the fridge and looking around. It sort of made me glad because I was beginning to worry that if we stopped to talk about everything that’d happened, it’d just wind up stretching into an awkward silence I wouldn’t be able to deal with. Sandwiches though? That, I could handle.
“Do you need help?” I asked, and as I started to get up, she chided me.
“I’m a big girl. I can make two PB & Js without your help. Just sit there, and try not to bleed on my stuff.” A moment later, she set a cold Corona and a paper plate with a sandwich on it down in front of me. “Eat up. I’m going to go shower and change.” She nodded to me once, and I saw the edge of her mask slip just a bit, and I instantly knew she just wanted alone time. That was fine though.
“Sure thing,” I replied, picking up the beer and taking a sip. “I’ll just be out here trying not to bleed.”
“Good,” she said, and with that, she disappeared into the bedroom.
17
“Billy, wake up,” Mary Ann whispered, shaking me out of a dream I couldn’t quite remember. As my eyes fluttered open to see her smiling face hovering over me, I yawned. Loudly.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, sitting back and wiping my eyes with the back of one hand. “Must have fallen asleep.”
“I noticed,” she said, grinning at me as she sat down on the couch beside me. “Your friend called a few minutes ago. I answered, hope that’s okay.” She shot me a sheepish smile, and I shrugged. It didn’t really bother me that she’d answered my phone, but I was annoyed I’d missed it because I’d been asleep. I had a mission and wasting time asleep wouldn’t help me find my dad.
“It’s fine,” I grumbled, stifling another yawn. “What’d he say?”
“He’ll meet us at the Corner Bistro in fifteen minutes.” She handed me my phone. “It’s about ten minutes from here on Olive.”
I rubbed my eyes again, trying to get the fog out of my brain. It didn’t work.
“Okay. We’d better get a move on then,” I said, getting to my feet while trying to ignore how my body ached like I’d just gone ten rounds with Mohammed Ali.
“There’s coffee in the kitchen. Want some?” Mary Ann asked, getting to her feet and smoothing her black skirt over her knees. She was wearing black yoga pants beneath it and a baby blue t-shirt that made me think she’d been poured into it.
“If it’s quick,” I said, glancing at my watch. “I don’t want to be late.” It was almost four. I’d been out a while. A sharp pang of worry shot through me. Hopefully, I hadn’t missed my chance to save dad because I’d been napping.
“It’s already done,” she said as I tore my gaze from the watch. “Here.” Mary Ann shoved a travel mug full of black coffee into my hands. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent and smiled. “Best part of waking up, eh Billy?” She winked at me before she headed toward the door. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
“You’re not coming,” I said so suddenly I nearly spat out the coffee in my mouth. I took a deep breath and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand as she gave me a strange, confused look. “I mean, you can’t—”
“Billy Ryder, are you trying to tell,” she touched her chest with one slender finger, “a grown ass woman, what she can and cannot do?” She cocked an angry eyebrow at me.
“No, ma’am,” I said and sipped my coffee instead of arguing with her. I’d learned long ago that no good ever came from arguing with women, and Mary Ann had never struck me as an exception in that regard. Besides, I didn’t have time for it. If she wanted to come, she could come.
“Good because I’d hate to think you’d gone dense during the last few years.” She smiled at me, and for a second, I thought someone had turned on the sun. “Well, denser. You did leave me, after all.” It was weird because her eyes sparkled with sadness as she said the last part.
And, even though I knew I needed to focus on finding my dad, my throat choked up a bit as I remembered all the things we’d done together. As I stood there in her crummy apartment looking at her, I couldn’t help but think that in my haste to escape this town, I’d left a good chunk of myself behind. Worse, I hadn’t even known it was missing until now.
“I’m sorry,” I said before I could stop myself. “I shouldn’t have left.”
“I agree,” she said, opening the door. “And while I’m not quite tired of hearing you apologize for it, we need to get a move on.” She stepped through the threshold. “Come on.”
> “Yes, ma’am,” I replied, taking a swig of coffee as I followed her out.
A few moments later, we were sitting inside her old Toyota Camry. In addition to being clean and smelling like blueberries and cream, it would get us where we needed to go quick enough. That was what mattered.
“You’re awfully quiet,” she said as we pulled onto the street and made out way toward the Corner Bistro where my buddy Ren waited for us.
“Just thinking,” I said, patting the laptop in my lap. It had to get me to my dad, had to unlock the key of where the Scorpions had him. “This might all be for nothing. If the info isn’t on this thing…”
“It will be,” she said, and her enthusiasm was practically contagious.
For a minute, I almost believed her. Unfortunately, even if she was right, I didn’t know exactly what the Scorpions were up to, but chances were good they’d kill to protect it.
“I hope you’re right,” I replied as she switched on the radio, filling the tiny car with Jimmy Buffett. “’Cause if not, I’m going to have to try to find Mr. Elliott and make him talk. Something tells me that isn’t going to go well for any of us.”
“Hopefully, it won’t come to that,” she said as the silence stretched around us. “I’m sure that computer will hold the key to finding your dad, Billy.”
I didn’t reply. I didn’t need to keep up this conversation. Instead, I stared out the window and tried not to think my dad was already dead. I didn’t know what he’d been up to, but assuming he hadn’t been killed in the opening salvo, I was willing to bet he had something they wanted. After all, why else would his boat have been ransacked?
I just hoped it was enough to keep him alive until I found him.
That thought stuck in my brain until we pulled into the strip mall that housed the Corner Bistro. The building was bright yellow with eves done in neon pink, and there was a line halfway down the block.