Part 14 (1/2)
Oh good! Tony thought. It was as easy as that. The beast rolled over and exposed its belly. He found himself shaking his head. It couldn't be that easy to bring Freddy down, could it? 'Course then again, Tony wasn't a hot Asian chick in the back seat. It made him shut up for the next few seconds.
”So, you're from Nova Scotia?” Lucy asked Tony, wanting to chat.
”Huh?”
”Nova Scotia? Your plates said that.”
”Uh, yeah. You?”
”Nah. Visited there lots though. Nice place. I especially liked Bridgewater. Beautiful town. Nice and quiet, y'know. I could raise a family there.”
”That so? Where you from then?” Tony slowed the Mustang's speed ever so slightly. He didn't want to rush while speaking with Lucy.
”Everywhere and nowhere. My Dad was a salesman, so we got to move around a bit. We lived in the States for a while, too. Know Appleton?”
”No,” Tony shrugged.
”Well, you'll check the map next time, won't you?” she smiled at him. ”You'll win a prize if you do.”
The rear-view mirror displayed the little ”oh really” jig Tony's eyebrows did.
”That's a nice town, too, but if I had a choice, I'd still go with Bridgewater, especially in late September. The nights there are soooooo comfortable. Summer's cooling off, but it's still warm enough to sleep outside. We had a boat there, too, when I was a little girl. Nothing fancy, just a big fat speed boat to scoot across the water on.”
”Anyone with a boat must be doing well for themselves. What did your Dad sell?” Tony asked.
”Industrial equipment. The big stuff they use in mines or whatever. He only needed to make a couple of sales a year, and he'd be set. It was pretty international, too. Got to travel a lot. Even went to Germany once. And j.a.pan. That was freaky.”
”Wow,” Tony muttered and meant it. Who would have guessed it from a hitchhiker on the side of the road. ”You speak any j.a.panese?”
”Yes, I can,” she said merrily.
”Let's hear some.”
”Nani o iimasu ka?”
”Whaaaa?” Tony said, impressed. ”What's that mean?”
”Essentially, I asked, 'What do you want me to say? Sorry. I'm not too creative at times, especially on nights like these. All the creative juices are frozen.”
That was his opening. ”So what happened out here? You break down or something?”
”Don't own a car, so I guess it's 'or something.' It's a little private, and I really don't feel right talking to you about it, seeing as we just met. Sorry. You okay with that?” she ended on an apologetic note that made Tony burn with self-hate for even asking such a question. He immediately forgot all of his other questions.
”Hey, no trouble,” he huffed out. ”Sorry for asking. Just a little strange to see something like you-someone like you on the shoulder of the road. But never mind. None of my business.”
Highway reflectors nailed into three foot high road posts flashed by marking a wall of snow.
”It's been a strange couple of days,” she said in a sad, reflective tone. Tony could understand that, especially when he had f.u.c.k-head Freddy as a co-pilot. And speaking of the man who was quickly becoming a legend of absolute f.u.c.ked-upped-ness in Tony's mind, Freddy turned around violently and fixed Lucy with the most serious of looks.
A moment pa.s.sed before Lucy asked, ”Did I say something?”
Freddy screwed up his mouth in annoyance as if another person's child was challenging him, and he was powerless to slap it.
”Did I?” Lucy asked again, and this time there was authority. Perhaps it was always there, but Tony was too charmed by her to notice.
Freddy's face slackened. ”No,” he said and turned back, slumping in his seat.
Two for two! Holy s.h.i.+t! Tony really liked this chick!
”I mean,” Lucy said quietly over the hum of the car, ”if there is a problem, I can get out. There'll be other cars coming along.”
”You're fine,” Tony jumped in. He'd f.u.c.king push Fred out the pa.s.senger window before he would let Lucy out. ”Just fine.”
”You're not fine to me,” Freddy said ominously.
”Yeah, well, f.u.c.k you Fred!” the words left Tony so fast they might have just have been pressurized. Ever since the morning at the apartment, the roadside Irving restaurant and in his own car, Fred had be scaring the s.h.i.+t out of him and paralyzing him with whatever black magic s.h.i.+t he possessed, and the words 'tired of it' did not encapsulate the river of emotion flowing through him at that precise moment. Being able to tell Freddy to f.u.c.k off and not feeling fear was like kicking free of the cement shoes dragging him to the extreme depths of Halifax Harbour and surfacing into sunlight. And that was what Freddy had-some sort of j.i.z.zed up power that induced fright. Perhaps it was a gas or something? Or he was a hypnotist? Whatever the h.e.l.l it was, it wasn't working for the t.w.a.t now, and it felt so good to unload those words on Fred, to sling them in his face for invoking whatever evil mojo he had working for him.
The effect was astounding. Fred appeared as if he had just been slapped. Hard. It reminded Tony of Tim back in the apartment and how he had a leash for Freddy-the same leash that Lucy was slipping around his neck right now. Around his b.a.l.l.s, too and truth be told, Tony hoped Lucy gave him one or two good yanks just to keep him in line.
”I'll talk to you later,” Freddy vowed in a spite filled voice like a brother talking down to a smaller sister that had just squealed on him.
”Like f.u.c.k you will,” Tony looked at him for as long as he dared while driving. He gave him ”la look” he used on people that truly p.i.s.sed him off.
”Sounds like a fight,” Lucy observed from the backseat darkness. The sound of her voice swept aside the whoop a.s.s intent swelling up inside Tony like a broom to dust. ”And I hope you don't. I hate fighting. Really.”
Outside the car, it began to snow. Great free floating flakes smacked into the winds.h.i.+eld and splayed themselves across as much surface s.p.a.ce as possible. Tony flicked on the wipers. They groaned on the first pa.s.s. He didn't want Lucy to be p.i.s.sed at him. ”You caught me at a bad time. This a.s.shole p.r.i.c.k has been riding me most of the day and night, and I haven't been able to... to... say s.h.i.+t to him!”
”Why is that?”
”Why don't you just stay out of this?” Fred snapped at her. ”Just sit in the dark and shut the f.u.c.k up!”
”You shut the f.u.c.k up!” Tony snarled at him. Then to Lucy, ”I'll say this much for you. f.u.c.king Giggles over there hasn't said that much all G.o.dd.a.m.n day. Like he's super p.i.s.sed at something and just f.u.c.king waiting to unload on the poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d that just looks at him the wrong way.”
”Oh, I don't like guys like that,” Lucy drew in air.
”I'm warning you,” Freddy spat out. ”Just shut the f.u.c.k up. You're in the car now, so just shut up and take the ride. If you can't-”
”Hey.”
Tony's right hand left the wheel and clamped down on Freddy's throat, fingers gouging into the flesh around his tender Adam's apple. Freddy's eyes bugged, and he pressed his chin down, his hands going for Tony's wrists. Tony slammed the brakes on, halting the car in a long shuddering skid that threw their frames against their seat belts. The sound of ice-slick highway and winter-rubber trying to ignite and failing filled Tony's ears. He twisted and pulled Freddy towards him. Eye to eye, a feeling of utter viciousness fell over the man, and he peered into Freddy's pain filled face.
”I've had enough of you,” Tony hissed into his pa.s.senger's face. There was no fear in him at all now, and the knowing of it filled him with a power that smashed up against his senses like a tsunami. There was a second explosion of rage, and Tony welcomed it as it scorched and melted whatever shackles Freddy had on him. He had the digit by the throat for gawd's sake! He felt the rage rising up as fiery black as nuclear smoke, and as he did, something inside him was putting the suffocating foam to it, trying to fight it back, contain it. And part of him welcomed that, too. Tony had felt that rage before. He was potentially murderous when he did. And it always frightened him just how easy it was to flow.
The car stopped moving.
”You got a choice,” Tony pulled a gagging Freddy in close. He stared the man straight in the eye and for the first time all day, did not flinch. ”Get the f.u.c.k out of my car. You get out, and I won't break your arms. Think about that. You'll need them if you want to flag down the next ride. Be pretty f.u.c.kin' silly if you have two snapped arms. And it's winter out there, but I don't give two s.h.i.+ts to Tuesday about breakin' anything of yours. So you get out all peaceful and s.h.i.+t, and you can keep your arms. Use them all you want. See if you can wave some poor b.a.s.t.a.r.d down. Bless them with your company.”