Page 63 of Wrench
I had to clarify. ¡°I never murdered anyone with it, but¡¡± I took a deep breath, cornered
into the moment of truth. ¡°Tank, he¡¯s uh¡ he¡¯s the guy who owns this place, the Tavern. I
showed up here ten years ago, broke as fuck, flat tire on my bike, with just Buddy by me
and well, I ended up here. Tank, he felt bad for me, and took me under his wing, let me
live here for free, but¡¡± I swallowed. ¡°Samantha, I¡¯m in a club. A motorcycle club, the
Blazing Rebels. I¡¯m the Vice President, actually.¡±
Although she wasn¡¯t running to the door, I noticed her body had tensed. She was
picking at her nails with her jaw clenched together, but her eyes listened with intent.
¡°Anyway, I was still new at that point. Wasn¡¯t part of the club because I was too much
of a wildcard back then, always getting into trouble. But there¡¯s always been a rivalry with
the west Mascid club, the Freeway Kings¡ªbut don¡¯t ever call them kings around here,¡± I
added, and she nodded. ¡°Tank used to be involved with them a lot, it¡¯s a long story. But
one night I was sleeping upstairs here while Tank was fixing the kegs after-hours
downstairs. I didn¡¯t even know he was here, but all of a sudden, I woke up to Tank and
another guy arguing. So, I jumped out of bed but knew as soon as I reached the stairs, I¡¯d
be noticed, so I¡¯d need to act fast.¡± I noticed Samantha¡¯s demeanor change from nervous
to fully engaged in my story. ¡°All I had near me was a wrench, so I grabbed it and
unlatched the stairs and¡ª¡± I took a sip of beer. ¡°And the President of the Freeways is
standing in front of Tank with a fuckin¡¯ pistol! And Tank was tied to a chair, all banged
up.¡±
¡°Oh my god!¡± Samantha gasped and covered her mouth. ¡°What¡¯d you do?¡±
¡°I realized I had even less time than I thought, so¡¡± I used my arms to mime the
action, ¡°I swing the wrench, knowing I¡¯ve only got one shot, and it knocks him straight in
the head!¡±
¡°Yes!¡± Samantha cheered.
¡°So, he falls to the ground, dazed, and the gun drops from his hand, but he¡¯s still
crawling pretty quick and about to grab it,¡± I said, ¡°and I dove for the wrench that was by
his feet, jumped to my feet, and just¡ªbam!¡± This time, I mimed like a baseball batter.
¡°Right in the back of the head, knocked unconscious.¡±
¡°Oh my god! That¡¯s amazing!¡± Samantha was brimming with enthusiasm until she
