Part 17 (1/2)

”My mistake man, here, maybe I have a ten on me,” Sleepy searched himself and came up with the cash fast. He offered it to the Stick.

Badger stepped in closer. ”You, walk on now, and forget this. If you give us a reason to, you'll spoil our night and by f.u.c.k, I'll make G.o.dd.a.m.n sure you'll never do something like this again. Get the f.u.c.k away from me now, and don't try this s.h.i.+t again.”

There were no bouncers in sight, and Sleepy Eyes looked alone and scared. He looked caught. He backed away from the pair of men, and the crowds swallowed him whole.

Badger shook his head and yelled in Stick's ear. ”Pretty f.u.c.kin' good scam if you ask me. f.u.c.k knows how often he pulled that s.h.i.+t in the past. Mistake my a.s.s. Should've slapped the p.r.i.c.k's b.a.l.l.s for that. I was watchin' him the whole time. He pulled that fiver outta his pocket. He figured you were too wasted to notice.”

Stickman remembered he was.

”But I saw him. You can count on old Badge, son. I got yer back. I got it,” and he grinned then and pulled Stick close by the scruff of his neck until they tapped foreheads together. ”Never worry about that, young man!”

Stick never did.

”Now, that reminds me, hold on,” and with that Badger disappeared, leaving the Stick to mull over his Moosehead.

Badger came back five minutes later, dragging the G.o.ddess with him.

Her name was Beverly.

Stickman remembered that night, dreamed about it in the back of his car while a winter gale howled around him. He saw the shadowy form of Badger in his head. Body broken. Machines beeping. Sadness welled up. He did not have Badger's back. He could only do the next best thing.

”Always count on ye, Badge me son,” the Stickman mumbled in his sleep, coming very close to waking.

”Always.”

Chapter 24.

Danny and Crew rose at seven a.m. the next morning. They had stayed at a Comfort Inn Motel near the border of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Danny paid for the rooms out of Gary's emergency fund, and both men were grateful to get off the road. They ate breakfast in silence, not looking forward to the hours that lay ahead, perhaps hoping that somehow luck would give them a break and they would find their quarry soon enough. They finished their meal, collected their bags and stepped out into the maw of March's winter. The sun was bright but cold. There was no wind, and the roads were dry.

They checked the parking lot the night before, but they checked it again in the morning. Crew met Danny back at the Celica.

”You see anything?” Crew asked squinting in the sun's light.

Danny shook his head.

”Can't be many blue Mustangs around here,” Crew commented. Danny noted how dark the man's eyes looked, a hunter's eyes.

”Just thank G.o.d for the TCH man,” Danny said.

”The yellow asphalt road?” Crew looked in the direction of the nearby highway. ”Goes from ocean to ocean?”

”Coast to coast,” Danny affirmed with a sigh. ”If Tony's going to BC, he'll take this. And the Stickman will, too.”

”Why do they call him the Stickman anyway?”

”Because he's built like a brick s.h.i.+thouse.”

”Oh.” Crew said. He could appreciate the contradiction.

The morning traffic streaked by, and the noise of the pa.s.sing cars sounded liked low flying rockets. Crew watched it for a moment, and then snarled at the sun. ”Alright let's get going then. Starting to freeze here.”

Danny's expression hardened. ”Ain't cold at all. When you can feel your nipples, that's cold.”

”Yeah, well, my nipples could cut gla.s.s right now.”

They got into the car, and Danny fired up the engine. He allowed a little smile when Crew jacked up the heat as far as it could go. He let the motor warm up before pulling out into traffic. ”You get used to it,” he said to his pa.s.senger.

”Jesus, and I thought New York was cold,” Crew muttered. The car wasn't heating up fast enough for him.

”You from New York?” Danny asked casually.

Crew did not answer, and the sudden tension in the air made Danny feel as if he had done something wrong.

Crew clarified his feelings right away. ”Listen, don't ask me about where I'm from. No personal questions at all. Nothing. Okay? The less you know, the better for both of us. That cool?”

Danny never took his eyes off the road. ”Cool. Gonna be a pretty boring drive then, if you don't want to talk.”

”You can talk. I'll listen.”

That made Danny chuckle. ”See, I'm usually the one that listens. Never was one for talking. Even with the ladies. Maybe that's why they like me.”

”Got a woman do you?” Crew asked. He was scouring the sides of the road and traffic for an old blue Mustang.

”Yeah. A good girl, too.” Danny shrugged. ”Least, I think she's mine. We're just starting out. I got a good feeling about her. She's studying to be a chiropractor. That's a good job. Things work out, I'll never have to worry about my back again.”

Crew gazed out at the wintery road ahead. The sun was strong and Crew wished he had some sungla.s.ses. It hit Danny as well, and he popped open the compartment at his elbow between the seats and fished out a pair of wire frame sungla.s.ses. They looked like goggles to Crew. They also made Danny look incredibly monstrous. And ruthless.

”She a stripper?” Crew asked.

Danny nodded ”She had a couple of shows. 'S how we met. But she only worked for her tuition. She's a waitress now. Makes good tips all round. I tell her I'll drop by in my leather sometimes. Freak her out. Wouldn't though. The thought of her getting mad at me scares the s.h.i.+t outta me.”

”Chiropractic.” Crew was impressed. ”Good area to get into.”

”Mmhmmm,” Danny agreed. ”Nice to have someone with goals like that.”

They drove by some snowy-looking houses and one or two people shovelling out their driveways.

”Got a question for you.”

”What did I say about asking questions?” Crew said in a neutral sounding voice.

”Nothing about you,” Danny a.s.sured him.

”Alright, then. What is it?”

”How you going to do it?”