The exhaust sound vibrated Erik’s knees as Tom’s Skyline started and the engine revved. Being an American muscle fan himself, even he got a bit excited. But he had to put all that aside right now. He was there to protect Dryce and there was no way Erik wanted to be on Austin’s bad side, though a small part of him hoped for some action and excitement tonight. The last four years had been somewhat boring compared to what he’d done just before having to leave the

states and come watch over Dryce.

While driving to the gathering spot, Erik looked over at Dryce.

“Hey kiddo. Check this out. I’m not a fan of having to kill anyone anymore. You know, like Mr. Ngo did. So, tonight can you do me a solid? Stick to the rules… you know what they are. Just keep me in sight. So if you can see me, I can see you. Please.” Erik’s tone became the most serious Dryce had ever heard.

“No… you got it man. I promise. But, I’m still gonna mack on some honeys,” Dryce said playfully. “So don’t stay too close, unless you plan on joining in.” Dryce winked at Erik mischievously.

“And as you should, Your Highness,” Erik replied with a smile, bringing the mood back. “But I don’t particularly play well with others when it comes to sharing.”

Dryce, following Tom’s Skyline, pulled in at what appeared to be a multi-level parking garage at a shopping mall. On the ground level cars were lined up, blasting music. The trunks were open and each car’s trunk seemed to be completely lined with speakers from left to right. The rear view mirror on the Supra rattled and shook as Dryce drove down the line of cars. Women walked up and down line of cars in their mini skirts, energetically bouncing along with the bass of the techno music. Every one of the girls wore only a bikini top and there was a set of cleavage for every tire in the place.

Tom and Dryce crept on through to the upper levels. A few levels up was where the American cars were staged.

“Ahhh, ya see… home sweet home. This is my love right here.” Erik nudged Dryce with the back side of his wrist.

Dryce laughed and shook his head. “You do know, that due to the sheer weight and the difference in the cams… there is no amount of money that you could put into any of these cars that would make it compete with my ride,” he said.

“Don’t blame the car. Blame the driver, kiddo.” Erik continued to look around, watching for anything out of place and stealing glances at each of the cars as they passed.

As Erik gawked at the line of Ford mustangs, almost lined up in order by year, he noticed a guy standing off in the corner. The man did a triple take at the sight of Dryce and franticly dug around in his pocket for his phone. Dryce turned the corner heading up to the next level of the garage and Erik kept that guy in sight for as long as he could. The phone went to the strange man’s ear while he stared directly at Dryce. With one last look at him, Erik noted the man’s bizarre clothes. Fuckin’ skinny ass tool wearing a red and black plaid long sleeve shirt in the fuckin’ desert. That should be easy to spot.

Dryce tapped Erik in the chest with the back of his knuckles, “Hey hey… this is our level here. Every car up here is worth over a mil.”

“A million dollars?” Erik said, twitching his eyebrows.

“Yeah… and you remember what I was saying about cars being like women? Just wait until you see these chicks,” Dryce said as he cracked a devilish smile.

“Yeah, well remember what I said about sticking close to me,” Erik said.

Tom pulled ahead to the middle of the platform and angled the Skyline to the right. Dryce followed, pulling the Supra up next to him angling his car to the left. The front of the cars nearly touching. With the Skyline being a right hand drive, and the Supra a left, Tom and Dryce got out of the cars facing each other.

In no time at all, girls lined up and began to surround Dryce and Tom. Erik got out and walked to trunk of the Supra and leaned over, his eyes more observant than ever.

Dryce was quick to fill his arms with two girls on each side. “Ladies, ladies…” was all Erik could make out over the noise of the crowd.

Dryce leaned over to one of the girls milling around him in the bunch. She was a bit taller than he, and her huge tits were stuffed into what seemed like dental floss bikini top. Dryce’s eyes and head nodded towards Erik as she turned around and checked him out. Dryce slapped her ass and propelled her over to him.

Erik shook his head ‘no’ at him, while Dryce nodded his head back ‘yes’. The grin on Dryce’s face showed that this was him. He was in his element. The music, the cars, the half-to-mostly-naked girls. Every kid there was dressed like Dryce. The top two buttons on his fifty-thousand-dollar shirt were undone. The hundred thousand dollar suits, the ten pounds of gold wrapped around his body. This is where he was happy and Erik knew it.

“I was told to call you Tank,” she giggled as she stood there in front of Erik, flaunting her tits at him. “I’ve never rode a tank before…you think we can change that tonight… Tank?” she said licking her lips suggestively.

Almost flattered and yet embarrassed, Erik smiled. About to reply to her, he caught a glimpse of red and black flannel in his peripheral walking out of the stairwell. With his face toward hers, he focused in on the flannel with only his eyes. Oblivious to being ignored, the bimbo tried to cuddle up to Erik as he tried to walk around her. Moving her to the other side so he was now in between her and Dryce, Erik scanned the crowd of people again. The flannel shirt had vanished. A petite brown haired girl with pigtails walked out of the stairwell.

Erik looked around again then looked back at Dryce. He was still there surrounded by even more girls, smiling and trying to run through a conversation with Tom. Across the platform, Erik spotted the brunette again. She had high pigtails over her ears, wearing a white button down shirt tied in a knot just under her pushed up boobs. She was wearing by far the longest skirt at this gathering thus far. Erik watched her walking away towards another group. She turned and their eyes met over the sea of people. She winked at him before mixing in with the mass of bodies..

Is that? Erik was unsure if he said that out loud or in his own head. He blinked and looked over again. The pig tails were gone. Erik surveyed the platform, scanning group by group off in the distance.

Over the loud music, another girl stood in the doorway to the stairs and screamed. “Help. Oh my God!” she squealed over and over.

Tom and Dryce started to rush over but Erik extended his arm, holding Dryce back and keeping him guarded behind his arm. Tom poked his head into the stairwell and looked back, looking directly at Erik and Dryce. He waving his hand at Erik to come over.

“Tank… come look at this,” Tom shouted.

“Stay tight next to me,” Erik muttered over his shoulder at Dryce.

Slowly walking towards the commotion, pushing through the masses and scanning the area for anything suspicious, Erik shoved onlookers out of the way. Before poking his head in, he looked around again, searching for the pigtails. Planting his size seventeen shoe on the door to brace it open, Erik reached back and grabbed ahold of Dryce’s arm.

He peeked in. It was the flannel kid. His body lay face down on the landing while his head was face up in a completely unnatural way. His left hand, also face up, was still cupped like he had been holding a phone, but there wasn’t one.

Turning back around, still holding on to Dryce, Erik pulled him back to the Supra.

“Get in the car. I’m driving,” Erik ordered.

He opened the door for Dryce, and forced him in quickly. Erik jogged around the car to the driver’s side. Before getting in himself, he looked up and called out to Tom, “You need to get out of here. Now!”

Not trying to argue with a guy that damn big, Tom nodded his head up and down in agreement and jumped in the Skyline.