“Hello?”
“Shey, I’m sending you a GPS tag. Go there.” I hung up the phone before she could reply. I sent her a text with the GPS tag and deleted the sent message. I reached the phone back to Johnson. “Thanks.”
“Thank me by not getting yourself killed.”
After exiting the vehicle, Johnson pulled away. I pulled the smokes from my pocket and lit one. Sitting on the bench at the station’s front, my thoughts dwelled on what was to come. There was no going back after this. I’d have to see it through.
An hour or so later, Shey and Sara pulled in. I got in the back of the vehicle, waiting for either of them to say something.
“Well?” asked Shey. “How’d it go?”
“He’s helping.”
“Okay, what do we do now?” asked Sara.
“We wait for him here. He’ll be here around six.”
“What are we supposed to do until then?” asked Shey.
“I don’t know. Wait?”
“You’re no fun, Uncle Tommy.” Shey sifted around in her console before grabbing a box. “Here, I got this for you.”
She tossed me the box. I looked at it and opened it. It was a digital watch. “So I don’t have to ask what time it is anymore?”
“I told you it was time to get a watch.”
April 4th, 2026
I didn’t know how or when I’d get my equipment from Johnson. I just knew that he’d make it happen. It was early, just after six. Shey’s sleepy eyes focused on the road the best they could. We were descending the winding mountain road into Hurley, Virginia. I needed to see Jay. I needed a car. He was the best suited and I knew he’d keep his mouth shut.
“Why are we going to—” A yawn interrupted Shey for a moment. “To see Jay?”
“I need his help.”
“What kind of help could that grease monkey offer?”
“The only kind of help a grease monkey can.”
Shey rolled her eyes while she navigated the curves. She hated being up this early but I didn’t have a choice. “Why didn’t you make Sara come?”
“She was sleeping so well. I didn’t want to wake her.”
“But you wake me?” Shey grunted, shaking her head. “Thanks, Uncle Tommy. Why are we going so early?”
“Gotta be before he opens the shop.”
“Ugh, I hate all this sneaking around.”
“Me too. It’s almost over.”
Shey shook her head once more. “Yeah, almost time for me and Sara to leave.”
“It’s not forever.”
“You don’t know that. You may not even live through this.”
“I’ll make it.” I didn’t know if I would or not, but I wouldn’t let her think otherwise. She needed all the reassurance I could give.
We came to the shop at the base of the mountain. Jay’s Trans Am was parked off to the side. “Good, he’s here.”
Shey pulled in next to it. “What do you want me to do?”
“Wait here.”
I got out of the vehicle and walked up to the garage. Its siding was metal. The garage was one of those prefabs you could have set up in a day or two. Nothing fancy but it got the job done. I banged on the door to the side of the bay doors. “We ain’t open yet!” Shouted Jay. I banged again. “Hang on, I’m coming.” Jay opened the door a few moments later. Even with the beard and hair, he recognized me. His face turned white as he stumbled back.
“Hey, Jay.”
“Holy… Shit…” he stuttered.
“Yeah, I’m not a ghost. I need your help.”
“Tommy… Holy shit! Tommy!” Jay motioned for me to come in. “What the fuck, man?”
“Long story.”
“No kidding. You were dead. I was at your fucking funeral!”
“They tried to kill me, Jay.”
Jay’s eyes squinted a bit as he thought about what I said. “I knew you didn’t lose control of that car. I knew it. And I bet that’s why—”
“Why what?”
“Well, I hadn’t said nothing about it, but I tried to get a permit to fish your car out of Flannigan.”
“What? Why?”
Jay shook his head a bit while he walked towards the old desk in the corner of the garage. He sat down, looking towards me. “Come on, sit down.”
After taking a seat, I looked at Jay with a bit of a smile. “Now why would you want to fish my car out of Flannigan?”
“Well, you know. There ain’t many of those cars out there anymore. I don’t know how bad it was tore up, but I was gonna try and fix it up. Maybe give it to Shey.”
“Man, I appreciate it, but it’s a lost cause. T-boned and dumped over a dam.”
“That bad, huh?” Jay rested his face on his hand, slouched over his desk. “You’re alive, man. That’s something. What happened?”
“ASA tried to shut me up.”
“This got to do with Angel?”
“Yeah. It’s deeper though. I know they killed her then tried to kill me for making too much noise. I got to find out why.”
“Well, man, I’ll help.” Jay perked up a bit, then leaning back in his chair. “What do you need?”
“A car.”
“Take my Trans Am.”
I shook my head towards Jay. “Nah, can’t. Can’t have any connection to anybody. I’m still dead if you know what I’m saying.”
Jay nodded. “And a bunch of other assholes are about to wind up dead too, aren’t they?”
I nodded. “I need you to buy a GTO. 05 or 06, I don’t care what year. Once you do, burn the title and don’t register it. Remove the vin and anything that identifies the vehicle.”
“Jesus, Tommy. How am I supposed to get something like that back here? And paying for it? I’m doing alright but I ain’t got that money laying around.”
“Don’t worry about the money, I brought it. I also have Virginia marked tags. They’re government. Looks just like a Virginia license plate but if anybody runs them, you won’t be stopped.”
Jay nodded. “All right, I think I can do that. What kind of build was you thinking?”
I smiled. Just the thought of talking shop made me happy. “Pull the engine. Big cubes and the transmission has to be able to handle it.”
“Big cubes, huh?” Jay thought for a moment. “What about a 427? It’ll make great torque down low, but with the right camshaft profile we can make awesome high-end horsepower.”
“A 427 sounds great.” I always loved the sound of bigger cubed engines. Always thought about replacing the factory block in my car with something bigger when it let go, but it never did.
“Alright, what about the rear and suspension? We both know those are weak in those cars from factory.”
“One piece driveline, get rid of those shitty rubber bushings.” I thought for a moment. “Go a full nine-inch independent rear suspension.”
“Shit, we’re talking some serious cash now.” Jay chuckled, he was going to have fun with this. “What about the rear gear?”
“A 3.73 ratio should work fine. That’ll give me a good compromise of top end and take off.”
Jay smiled, agreeing. “What about exhaust? I know you’ll want long tube headers and none of them catalytic converters.”
“Keep everything else stock. Hell, make it a bit quieter if you can.”
“You know that’s going to hurt your horsepower?”
I laughed a bit. “Just wire up some electric cutouts.”
“I can do it, but the car may feel sluggish without the cutouts open.”
“That’s fine. If I need to get gone, I won’t be worried about noise.”
Jay nodded his head, standing up. “Any preference on color? I know you loved that red.”
“I’m thinking black this time around.”
“Alright. Good deal.”
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. “Here, take this number and give it to no one. Only call when everything is done.”
Jay took the paper. “Will do.�
��
“Now come outside.”
Jay followed me out. Shey had her head down on the steering wheel. I smacked my hand against the window to make her jump. I was an ass like that sometimes. She quickly rolled the window down. “Jesus! You’re an asshole!”
“Watch the language, Squirt.”
“Shut up.” Shey wiped her eyes and stretched. “What do you want?” Her eyes looked at Jay who was standing next to me. “Hey, Jay.”
“Hey, Shey,” he replied.
“Some crazy shit about Tommy being alive, huh?”
“Can hardly believe it, really.”
“Shey, stop cussing,” I said.
“You cuss all the time. I get it from you.”
I shook my head. This was payback for waking her up on both occasions, I was sure. “Give me the bag.” Shey reached around in the backseat and finally reached be a black backpack. I unzipped it to see a hundred grand. Shey had been withdrawing a bit every couple of days since November. Nobody really questioned it. A dumb kid going through their inheritance maybe. I reached the bag to Jay. “There’s plenty and keep whatever is left over.”
“Shit, Tommy. I knew you had money, but damn.”
“Don’t mention it. Literally.”
Jay nodded. “Right, I won’t. I guess this is it then?”
“It is.”
“Take care, man. Don’t get yourself killed again.” Jay wrapped his arm around me, giving me a hug. “It’s good to see you alive.”
“You too, man.”
We returned home. I had one more thing to do that day. See Ronnie. I had Shey call him and ask him to stop by. She came up with something about giving him some of my things if he wanted them. Ronnie couldn’t say no to that. Sara, Shey and I sat in the living room, waiting. “When’s he coming?” I asked.
“He said around five,” answered Shey.
“It’s already after five,” Sara pointed out.
“He’ll be here,” I said. Sure enough, we heard his cruiser pull in a few moments later.
“He’s here,” said Shey.
I stood up and walked towards the hallway. “Invite him in and shut the door.”
Shey nodded as I took my leave. I stepped into the hallway just out of view. A few moments later I heard Ronnie knocking. Shey opened the door. “Hey, glad you came.”
“Couldn’t say no, now could I?” Ronnie must’ve seen Sara sitting on the couch. “Still hangin’ around, are you? Figured you would’ve headed on back to Pittsburgh.”
“I thought I’d stay with Shey,” replied Sara. “We’ve become pretty close.”
“Well, I reckon. Shey is one of them likeable people.”
“Come, sit down,” insisted Shey. “And I’ll go get that box of Tommy’s things for you to look through.”
“Well alright,” said Ronnie, walking across the living room and taking a seat.
Shey shut the door and locked it. She then walked through the hall towards me. “Go on,” she whispered.
I walked through the hall and emerged into the living room to Ronnie and Sara chatting. “Ronnie.”
Ronnie looked up, knowing my voice immediately. He squirmed back against the couch, white-faced just as Jay was. “Holy shit… Tommy… Oh, shit!”
“Yeah, I’m not dead.”
“I was there at the funeral. I saw the reports. You were dead, Tommy.”
“Yeah, I imagine Ratliff, Wilson, and Robins think so too.”
“What are you saying?” asked Ronnie.
“They tried to kill me, Ronnie. Ratliff and Wilson dumped me and my car over the dam. After tying me up… After ramming my car with a truck… In the agency garage.”
Ronnie’s mouth dropped before he slowly started shaking his head. He looked to Sara, then to Shey who emerged next to me. “Ain’t no way. No way. They ain’t no way that they tried to kill you. They’re members of the ASA.”
“Corrupt members,” scoffed Shey. “Those bastards killed my mother. And when Uncle Tommy got close, they tried to kill him too.”
“She’s right,” I said.
“Then why the hell you been hiding?” asked Ronnie. “Why the hell ain’t you come forward yet? Let’s go now, we’ll bust them assholes.”
“It isn’t that easy, Ronnie.”
“The hell it ain’t!” he shouted, standing up. “Come on, we’re going now!”
“Sit down, Ronnie, and listen to me!” I demanded. “If we go down there now and I’m with you, they’ll kill me and you. Then probably come after Shey, Sara, your wife, and kids. This goes much deeper than Grundy. You know that every agency is monitored. Every file, every action documented. The botched investigations and incomplete reports should have been flagged, but they weren’t. The entire ASA is in on this or at least the top level brass.”
Ronnie sat down, shaking his head. “Fuck, Tommy. I ain’t known nothin’ about that, I swear. I just go to work, write as few tickets as I can and go home to my wife and youngins. That’s all I’ve ever done.”
I nodded. “I know. That’s why you’re the only one in the ASA I can trust… And that’s why I have to put you in this situation.”
“What situation? What are you dragging me into?” he asked with a frantic tone.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the EYE. After approaching Ronnie, I reached it to him. “I need you to use this.”
“What’s that?” he asked. “A jump-drive?”
“It’s a piece of military hardware. Straight up espionage stuff. I need you to get this into Robins’ computer. It’ll take a couple minutes to work.”
Ronnie pushed my hand away. “You want me to sneak into Robins’ office and hack his damn computer? Are you out of your damn mind? I can’t do that. I won’t.”
“Dammit, Ronnie!” I shouted. “Do you not understand what’s at stake? They murdered my sister. Hell, by all accounts they murdered me! How many more are going to have to die for them? For whatever it is they’re doing? What if it’s your family next?”
Ronnie stared in silence. He closed his eyes then wiped his hands over his face. “Fuck, Tommy. Alright. I’ll do it. No idea how long it’ll take, though. I’m on days and sneakin’ around ain’t exactly easy.”
“I know you’ll get it done,” I said. Shey reached me a black bag. I tossed it to him. “Your yearly salary for doing this. Once it’s done, resign and get your family out of here.”
Jay unzipped the bag, looking at the money inside. “Tommy, what’re you plannin’ on doin’?”
“Bringing those dirtbags to justice.”
May 22nd, 2026
Sara and I had been up most of the night. It wasn’t long until dawn. We had been enjoying each other’s company as much as possible since I had put everything in motion. The realization that each moment could be our last together was heavy for us both. She tried many times to convince me to let this go. Maybe try to get a new identity or just leave the country. I couldn’t do it, though. This had become my obsession; a need, not a want. I had to see this through.
The past few days was spent preparing an area to store my new baby. Jay had called a week prior to let me know she was ready. I couldn’t keep it at the house. That would arouse too much suspicion, and I didn’t know when things would be ready to go. There still hadn’t been word from Ronnie or Johnson. Even if Ronnie had been able to get the intel I needed, it would be futile without the gear from Johnson.
Sara yawned, nestling her head into my shoulder. She wrapped her arm around my chest just before she kissed my shoulder. “Ready for bed yet?”
“Tired already?” I asked, a slight smile on my face.
“You’ve kept me up all night.”
“I believe it was you who wanted to stay up.”
“Well,” she replied, giving me a mischievous smile. “You didn’t have to kiss me back.”
“I don’t know why you’d want to kiss my scarred up face anyways.”
She grinned while she raised up in bed. “Now, now, Mr. Logan. Your fac
e might be damaged goods, but you have other assets I adore.”
“And what might those be?”
Sara crawled on top and straddled me. She ran her fingers down the scars of my face and pointed at my chest. “Your heart, for starters.”
I laughed. My heart felt as cold as ice at times. Almost a year had passed since Angel’s murder and all I could think of was killing those responsible. Sometimes not even just killing them. I wanted to make them suffer. These were the vilest of people in my eyes and nothing could convince me otherwise. Sara… Well, she had a way of making me feel not so cold. That’s why I miss her. “What could you like about my heart?” I asked.
“Well, you care. You care a lot more than you’ll let anyone know.” Sara laid herself on top of me, kissing my forehead before she laid her head next to mine. “The fire that fills your heart. You want to do the right thing and you won’t let anything keep you from it. I admire that and love that about you.” She paused for a few moments before letting out a sigh. “I do hate it at times.”
“Why do you hate it?”
“Because,” Sara mumbled. “There is an easier path. A path where we all get to leave and be together… And I wish and pray to God with everything in me that you’d take it.” Sara sniffed, fighting back tears. “But I know you won’t. I know you can’t. That fire inside you won’t let this go. And once you’ve done what you have to do; I’ll be waiting.”
I knew she’d be waiting. She had become very dear to me and close to my heart. No other woman had ever got so close to me. There was nothing to say to her at that point. All I could do was show her. I rolled her over, holding her arms down against the bed while I kissed her passionately. She let out a shock filled moan while we kissed… A kiss that was interrupted by the vibrating phone on my dresser.
That phone had rung once since Johnson gave it to me. That was when Jay called. Now it was ringing again. Hesitantly, I pulled myself from Sara and retrieved the phone. I answered the phone but remained silent.
“Tommy? Tommy, that you?” asked Ronnie.
“It’s me. Do you have it.”
“Yeah, yeah. I got it.”
“Don’t bring it here. We’ll come to you.”
A Tommy Logan Story Page 15