Chapter 21
Levi
We pull up to the shop, and I immediately know something is wrong.
The Clover Racing mechanic shop is on the outskirts of town. After a couple years of working on my bikes in my garage, along with Ron’s and Dale’s, we decided that building a shop would be more constructive for all of us. It’s a shop made completely of drill stem pipe and sheet metal. All us guys had a hand in building it. That includes Ron, Dale, Zant, and Chance. It’s a special place to me. Though my office is in town, this is my place. This is where Clover Racing is.
The front of the shop is a huge sliding door. It’s big enough to get a full-size truck into it.
When we pull up, I see the huge dent in the door right away. It appears someone rammed into the door with a vehicle.
We get out of the Demon and since it’s dark, I pull a flashlight out. I touch my pistol on my hip. I can feel it there without touching it, but I need the extra reassurance that I wasn’t stepping out on my own.
Zant and Chance walk up beside me with flashlights as well.
None of us speak at first. We have no idea what kind of damage is waiting for us on the inside. Ron and Dale are here, but I haven’t talked to either of them for about an hour.
“Do you think we need to check the sides on the outside as well?” Chance asks.
I nod, so he and Zant go to the right while I go to the left. We agree to meet up around back.
Once I get to the side and out of the sight of the other two, I hear something. I turn my light to the sound, but I see nothing. I slowly keep walking to the back of the shop.
About half way there, I hear something again – this time it’s behind me. I quickly turn around and my flashlight lights up Russell Glint. He has a sinister smirk on his face. That isn’t what keeps my attention though. It’s the baseball bat he has in his right hand.
“I’ve been waiting on you, boy.” He doesn’t make any move towards me, and I don’t make a move either way. I’m quickly thinking if I can outrun this guy and even if I do outrun him, who’s in the dark waiting for me? I doubt he is here alone. He has too big of an ego for that.
“Why?” I ask. Once Zant and Chance get to the back and notice I’m not there, they will come on around to see where I’m at.
That is, if they don’t get held up on the other side. My insides run cold.
“Well,” Russell says, as he swings the bat in front of himself. “I need something you took from me.”
“I didn’t take your money. I won it. It was a fair race.” Playing dumb is going to keep us here longer.
“I’m not talking about the money, kid.” I grind my teeth together when he calls me a kid. I’m not no damn kid. And I plan on showing him.
“What are you talking about then.”
“You know very well what I’m talking about.” He takes two steps towards me, but I don’t move. He can’t intimidate me. I’m way past the point of being intimidated by anyone.
“Enlighten me.” I’m going to make him tell me. There are a lot of things missing in this story and he’s going to fill them in for me.
“You see. There may be a few things you don’t know. So yes, I will enlighten you. You’ll be dead and can’t repeat it anyway.” He hits the palm of his hand with the bat as he talks. If he thinks hitting me with a bat is going to do anything, he doesn’t know Fred well. “Someone owes me a good sum of money. That girl was going to be my payment.”
“Why her?” I don’t really care who owes him money. It could be Fred. It could be Wilson. Neither one of them are my concern.
“She’s sexy. She’s fresh. She would go for a very pretty penny. I can guarantee it.”
I grind my teeth together again at how he describes Kathleen. If I wasn’t waiting on information, I would just take care of him now. It wouldn’t take much to get that bat out of his hand and beat his skull in with it.
“But you see, you stepped in and messed up my little plan.”
Before he can say anything else, we hear police sirens and headlights light up the night sky around us. I throw my hand up to shield my eyes. I’m also thinking to protect myself. Russell could do some damage with that bat while I’m blinded. I turn around, so I can open my eyes. I squint to see around me, but I see Russell nowhere.
Zant and Chance quickly come up beside me. We ask each other if we are hurt. They didn’t see anyone on their side. Once they saw I wasn’t alone, they called the police.
“I only confirmed that he was wanting her to sell her. I didn’t get to find out who he is working with.”
Zant nods his head, and we make our way to the police cars that pulled up.