Page 144 of Wrench
bottom of the stairs, I envisioned Buddy and Samantha, and told myself I¡¯d see them
soon. After, I turned to the guys, motioning for them to stay hidden.
One last gulp and I turned the corner of the room. ¡°Evening, gentleman.¡±
Five men sat in the filthy basement. Every inch looked corrosive or on the verge of
exploding, with bottles of chemicals lying around, tipped over or left without a cap.
Standing in the hazardous room scared me more than any of them. Only three were
standing and cooking, the two others were passed out on the sofa, each with a pipe on
their laps.
¡°Ah, Wrench,¡± Ray, the President of the Freeways said through his yellowed teeth and
bushy beard. ¡°Good to see you again. Looking for some work? Could use another cook
like you.¡±
My nostrils flared at the offer. It had been years since I had seen him, let alone cooked
for him. He knew where my loyalties stood, and the offer was nothing but a taunt to gain
a reaction. ¡°Not today, Ray,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m here to discuss the problem of you doing crimes
in our colors ¡¯round our parts. Shouldn¡¯t even be here in the first place. Why the fuck are
you wearing our shit?¡±
The scrawny guy, Slink, laughed like a hyena. ¡°All that meth fuck up your head that
bad you need to ask?¡± The inside of my cheeks was going to bleed by the end of this. ¡°We
do the crime. You get caught.¡±
¡°For Blazing Rebels,¡± the third cook, Cash, said, ¡°they¡¯re sure slow.¡±
Vibrating with rage, I breathed, trying to remain level-headed with these tools.
¡°We¡¯ve been civil for almost a year and now men have died,¡± I argued. ¡°Keep cooking
your drugs, I don¡¯t fucking care. But take off our colors. Let¡¯s end this now.¡±
¡°Correction,¡± Ray said. ¡°Your man has died. Mine are well and alive¡ªdespite how they
may look.¡± He pointed to the men passed out on the sofa. ¡°So, you can go back to your
Tank-engine and tell him he can try and try all he wants, but all that¡¯ll happen is more of
your men will be dead. Just like California or whatever his name was¡¡±
¡°His name was Hollywood!¡±
Crow¡¯s voice penetrated the room. Before I could stop him, he was already running
past me with his 44. magnum revolvers in both his hands.
