Page 4 of Wrench
He was the closest thing I¡¯d had to a father and it was the biggest honor of my life to
be named Vice President.
¡°We¡¯ve got those slimy ¡®Freeway Cockheads¡¯ on our territory, wearing our colors,¡±
Tank said, ¡°and the only one we managed to catch, Ripper here knocked him unconscious
before we got any information from him.¡±
I watched Ripper sink in his chair, realizing his prior accomplishment was actually an
error. The Freeway ¡°Cockheads¡±, or other crude variations, were our rivals, the Freeway
Kings. We really hated referring to them as kings, so their proper name only came up
when we were really angry. Which only caused us to grow ever angrier.
¡°I don¡¯t trust it.¡± He clasped his hands together behind his back and turned on his
heel. ¡°They¡¯ve been quiet lately. Too quiet. They haven¡¯t done anything to try to catch us
by surprise in a while. They¡¯re planning something.¡±
¡°What do you think it is, boss?¡± asked Rooster from the other side of the table.
¡°I¡¯m not sure. It¡¯s too early to tell.¡± Though his back was still facing us, I could tell he
seemed concerned. His words were distant, like they were only a few out of thousands of
thoughts. Then in a flash, he pivoted back to face us, and like a drill sergeant, he
commanded, ¡°Rooster, I need you to look in that book you found of theirs, with that
calendar a while back. See if there¡¯s anything useful. Ripper, you make sure all of our
cash, guns, anything else that¡¯s incriminating or valuable, are locked up in the safe.
Security needs to be higher than ever. Archer, I need you and the gang on the roads
keeping a lookout for any of them. I want you on the clock. I know it¡¯s boring, but we
need to get them before we get us. I¡¯ve got a bad feeling.¡± Tank took a deep breath before
finishing his last order.
¡°And you, Wrench. I need you to be on call twenty-four-seven, ready for action no
matter what. That goes for all of you, really, but Wrench, as VP, you need to make sure
this doesn¡¯t blow up.¡±
I nodded my head in obedience, knowing how much weight that order had. Only six
months had passed since I was named Vice President, and with the Freeways being quiet
lately, this was my first opportunity to show Tank he made the right call. ¡°Yes, sir.¡±
¡°Yes, sir,¡± the rest of the club said.
