“That’sterrible. That poor woman,” I sigh.
“Yeah, he’s theworse kind of evil, for sure.”
“He won’t stopuntil someone stops him, will he?”
Slinky shakeshis head.
“But if thatbook with all the names in it fell into the wrong hands, Fournierwould be destroyed? I mean, even if the cops got a hold of it…”
“Fournier wouldbe destroyed,” we say in unison.
“See, kid, wejust have to work together in this, and all of your problems willbe over.”
During ourintense conversation, I hadn’t noticed that most of the patrons hadleft the coffee house and other than a couple of stragglers at thefront, Slinky and I were the only ones still sitting at atable.
“So, how willthis work?”
“Just leave itto me. If you want a fool proof plan, it will take a bit of time.Darlene is going to stay in close contact with me. And when theopportune time arises, she’ll let me know.”
“But how can weget our hands on this book? Didn’t you say that Fournier locks itup in a safe?”
“Yes, I did.And the only other person he lets open it is Darlene after she doescash out at the end of the night.”
“Clever, Slink.Very clever.”
He winks.
I look up atthe time on the wall, “I guess we should get going, huh? I stillhave to visit my dad at the hospital.”
“Is he gettingbetter?”
“Yes, andquickly, too,” I say, smiling.
“I told you.That dad of yours is a strong man. When you see him, please givehim my best?”
I don’t havethe heart to tell him that I can’t mention his name to my dad. If Idid, I’d have a shit load of explaining to do. The day will comewhen I level with Dad; it’s just not going to be today.
While Slinkyputs on his coat and we stand to leave, I ask him what hismotivation for stopping Fournier is? What vendetta does he haveagainst him? He tells me that he has his own reasons, personalones. I ask if his ‘reasons’ have anything to do with what happenedto my mom? He just grins and then slides his chair in and walkstoward the exit.
Once outside,the icy wind hits hard, and I pull the edges of my jacket tightlyin front of me.
“Do up yourcoat properly, crazy girl. It’s a cold night.”
Slinky tells methat he’ll be in touch soon then turns to walk away. Then, itoccurs to me he doesn’t have a car. The least I can do is offer todrop him off back at his apartment. “Hey, Slink,” I yell, my voicefighting against the wind, “I’m parked out back. If you want, I’llgive you a ride home.”
It doesn’t takehim long standing in the cold to nod and then join me as we walkaround the building to the parking lot.
* * *
Walking side byside, we’re about fifteen or twenty feet away from the truck whenout of nowhere, a long dark car speeds in front of us and comes toan abrupt stop. I hear Slinky say, “Oh no. Run, Jules.” But by thetime I turn and look at him, the passenger door to the Lincolnopens and Tank climbs out. Before I can react, he’s got Slinky bythe jacket and me by the throat. I grab Tank’s wrist and to try andpry his hand off my neck, but it doesn’t budge.
Next, a guyalmost as big as Tank, gets out of the driver’s side, runs aroundto where we’re standing and opens the back door. Tank pushes Slinkytowards the open door and the driver shoves him the rest of the wayinto the back of the car. Then, Tank lifts up on my throat andguides me to the back and shoves me in with such force that I slideacross the seat and push into Slinky. I hear the handle flick asSlinky tries to open it, but nothing happens. We’re locked in.
Tank hops intothe front passenger seat and closes the door. The car speeds out ofthe parking lot so fast that the tires spin out on thepavement.
“Hey man, whatthe hell is going on? I thought I already dealt with Fournier?”Slinky says.
“Shut the fuckup,” growls Tank.
I look in themirror and see the two men’s eyes, crazed and focused, then Iglance over at Slinky who looks scared and unsure. I want toscream, but by the look on the creep’s faces, it will just pissthem off. My chest is rapidly moving in and out, as my heart thumpsand my breathing gets shallow and labored. The car turns up DenmanStreet and then left on Georgia toward Stanley Park. Everythingfeels so surreal, as I watch the heavy traffic disappear, and weturn onto a dark road inside the park.
The car travelspurposely down a few more paved lanes before it stops at a gate onthe side of the lane. The driver gets out and pushes the gate open,then drives through and closes it behind us. We continue on a bumpygravel road until we come to a dead end. The headlights illuminatethick trees and bushes on either side of us. The driver turns offthe engine. As the four of us sit in the darkness. I wonder ifSlinky is thinking of a plan to get us out of this?
Then, I hearhim move next to me. His breath blows past me as he leans forwardon the seat, “Guys, we need to talk. Whatever this is, whateveryou’re planning, you don’t need the girl. Let her go and we’ll dealwith this amongst ourselves. What do you say?”
Tank laughs,“Do you think I’m a fucking idiot, Slink?”
“No, of coursenot, Tank. I’m just trying to make your job easier. If you let hergo, you’ll only have one of us to deal with.”
“Well, thanksfor your concern, but I don’t think either one of you is gonna giveus much trouble.” The two men laugh in unison.
Slinky pausesfor a moment and then speaks again. “You know what? I think I knowwhat’s going on here.”
“What’s that?old man,” says the driver.
“I think youtwo pussies are all muscle and no strength. Don’t feel badly aboutit, a lot of steroid goons are. I think that the hardest part ofyour job is kissing Fournier’s ass and being his whippin’ boys.
