Marc – Day twenty-two

It had been a week, and I had no leads on where the missing girls were, or where MS-13’s members were hiding. It wasn’t uncommon for the gang to use teenage girls in trade on drug deals, or as an enticement to encourage a major cocaine or heroin purchase when a potential buyer was indecisive.

If all else failed, they used them as prostitutes. Regardless of what they were choosing to do, my hope was that I could somehow find them before it was too late. Knowing time was of the essence, and that my options for gathering information were few and far between, I became desperate to gather it.

It’s common knowledge that desperate men take desperate measures, me included.

I parked my car alongside the road behind the old warehouse that I intended to deface. The facility was a 100’x100’ metal building that was commonly built for storage in the city’s industrial district in the 1970’s.

Purchased by FF, LLC in 2002, the building was used as a clubhouse for a local motorcycle club. According to an informant in another MC, the club in question was going to be gone for the night.

Saturday night activities for the members of Filthy Fuckers MC were anyone’s guess. All-night parties at their clubhouse weren’t uncommon, neither was spending the entire night at the bar they claimed as their turf. Oftentimes, they also had parties at the homes of their patched members.

On this particular night, all that mattered was that they were gone. My plan was to try out my ability to paint with a ten-foot extension pole I’d purchased online. Within a day or so, I hoped my luck in obtaining useful information about the girls would change.

I got dressed in the same gear I used when raiding the homes of gang members. After getting my spray paint, Reach N’ Spray, and gloves, I ducked into the darkness and crept to the side of the MC’s clubhouse.

Under the cover of darkness, and doing my best to duplicate the MS-13’s typical Old English font used to tag their turf, I sprayed a six-foot M, an S, and the number 13. Then, I went to the front of the building.

I painted the same sized symbols on the garage door, and then on the building’s exterior beside the door. After admiring my artwork, I removed my gloves and placed them in my rear pocket.

Ten minutes later, I was halfway home.

* * *

I opened the door as soon as the doorbell rang.

She was wearing shorts, sneakers, and a designer tee shirt. I had yet to see her dressed in such casual clothes, and it was a nice change. She looked great regardless of what she chose to wear, and in the twenty-two days we’d been seeing each other, I had yet to see her wear the same thing twice.

I stepped aside and motioned toward the living room. “Come in.”

She walked past me. “How was your day?”

“Uneventful.” I looked her up one side and down the other. “You look cute.”

“Thanks.” She giggled and lifted her right foot high in the air. “I wore this to work.”

I was surprised at her flexibility, and gawked at the display. “You always dress up for work.”

“I felt like wearing shorts. So, ponytail, tee shirt, cut-offs, and Chucks.”

I looked her over one more time and then grinned. “I like it.”

“Thank you.”

“How was your day?” I asked.

“Not bad. Good tips today, so that was good.”

I laughed at the thought of painting the MC’s building with gang graffiti. “I got a good tip, too.”

“Your tips and my tips are different.” She sat on the end of the loveseat. “Do you just have to work Saturdays when you’ve got some case that requires it?”

“I’ve got to be available seven days a week.” I took the spot across from her on the sectional. “I only work nights and weekends as I’m required to. Now that you’ve asked, I’ve got a question for you.”

“Okay.”

“You’re off tomorrow, right?”

“Yep.”

“I’ve got to run to interview a potential witness tomorrow, and I’m expecting a delivery that’ll need to be signed for. Are you interested in house sitting for me and accepting it? It’s an important package.”

“Sure.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out.”

“No. I can do it. Anything I can do to help. It’s not going to explode or anything, is it?”

“It shouldn’t. As long as you don’t shake it or drop it.”

Her eyes thinned. “Seriously?”

“I’m kidding. It’s safe. And, it shouldn’t be too heavy. Just be sure to wipe it off before you set it down anywhere,” I deadpanned.

“I will.” She adjusted her ponytail and then met my gaze. “I still can’t get over how clean everything is. There’s never any dust or anything. Do you clean it yourself?”

I preferred when her hair was pulled away from her face. When she wore it in an updo or a bun, it revealed all the features of her beautiful face. Seeing it in a ponytail was a nice change. After a few seconds of admiration, I decided her choice of attire was adorable. So much so that denying my attraction to her was difficult.

I’d spent the last twenty-two days doing my best to hide my sexual attraction to her, but continuing to do so was becoming more difficult. I found her attractive on the day I met her. Now seeing her as sexually attractive simply complicated matters when it came to concealing them completely.

I was a master at interrogation, most of which required me to remain stoic. I clenched my jaw and pursed my lips as I admired her, all the while hoping she didn’t notice the excitement brewing between my legs.

“I do,” I said dryly.

“The lawn?”

I crossed my legs. “Same.”

“Shrubs? Landscaping?”

My gaze fell to her bare legs. Her ponytail enticed me. Her legs all but pushed me over the brink. I uncrossed my legs, and then immediately crossed them again. “All me.”

“The pool?”

My eyes shot to her full lips. “Clean it, too.”

“Wow.” She reached for her ponytail again. “When do you do it?”

I had to look away. “Mornings. It’s too tough to get it done in the evenings. I like using them to relax when I can.”

“When I wasn’t around, what did you do to relax?”

I stared at the wall. “I’ve got a few things to do that I find relaxing.”

“Like what?”

I looked for imperfections in the paint as I waited for the swelling between my legs to subside. “Different things.”

“You don’t want to tell me?”

After finding three places that could use touched up, my level of arousal was manageable. I turned toward her, smiled, and stood. “Follow me?”

She stood and then tugged against the hem of her shorts. “Sure.”

I led her to the garage. Standing together in the doorway, I flipped on the light. Inside, my ten-year-old car, my fifteen-year-old truck, and my Harley sat.

She peered over my shoulder. “Oh wow. You ride a motorcycle?”

“Every chance I get.”

“My dad always wanted to have one. Every year, he’d say this is the year, Theresa. But, he never got one.” She stared at it with wide eyes. “What is it?”

“Harley Heritage Softail.”

“He wanted a Harley, too. So, that’s what you do for fun?”

“That and the car. Depends on my mood.”

She lifted her chin. “What’s the car?”

“BMW M5. The last real one. I only drive it about 500 miles a year. It’s naturally aspirated.”

She looked at me. “I don’t know what that means.”

“The new ones are turbocharged. Naturally aspirated means that it has no external engine enhancements feeding it air. No turbocharger or supercharger. Just a V-10 engine.”

She shot me a confused look. “Is that good?”

“Five hundred horsepower. It’ll go 200 miles an hour.”

“Holy crap. Yeah, I’d say that’s good enough.”

“It relieves tension.” I motioned toward the Harley. “So does the Harley. The truck is just a truck.”

“One of these days, can we go out on the bike?”

I had an unwritten rule that I never allowed women on my motorcycle unless they were my significant other. A quick glance revealed her eyes were filled with hope and the corners of her mouth were fighting not to curl into a grin.

“Let’s go now,” I said. “I could use a little stress relief.”

Her eyes shot wide. “Really?”

I looked her over, then reached for the button to open the garage door. She may not have officially been my significant other, but describing her as insignificant would be a complete lie.

The thirty days weren’t up, but I knew that much for sure.

I pressed the button to open the garage door. “Yeah,” I said with a smile. “Really.”