by KJ Dahlen
“Not a clue,” Dan replied. “Joe brought that package with him when he came here fifteen years ago and asked me to keep it safe. It was already sealed and he didn’t want that seal broken.”
Mountain nodded. “Well, this is only the tip of the iceberg I’m afraid. There has been a threat against both Joe and Kelly. This is only one in a series of attempts to rattle their cage. Not only that but Jack McGee is trying to buy my brother’s car and Byron doesn’t want to sell it. Joe thinks Jack is trying to set up a side bet to win the car along with a race in a few days.”
Dan nodded. “I know Ted McGee’s reputation in that world and it isn’t good.”
Mountain led the way back into Dan’s office and sat down just as the police officer took note of who all was present for his report.
Old Joe had planned this right, all those years ago, so he sat there wearing a grin on his face.
~*~
Bright and early the next morning, Joe, Kelly, Byron and his brothers and a few of his biker brothers showed up at the Commissioner’s meeting.
At one table, Ted, Jack and Candy sat with a man who introduced himself as Ted’s attorney, Lester Wendall.
At a second table sat three men, Keller Hayden, Marcus Newton, and Tom Blackwell. Three members of the racing commission.
When everyone sat down, Tom Blackwell cleared his throat. “As you all know, there is a dispute brought by Ted McGee that the Abalone Mach One and Two racing engines are mere copies of the engine Ted McGee bought from Joe and Dominick Abalone only weeks before Dominick died in a crash on the race track.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it Tom,” Joe swore.
“That may be Joe, but we have to do things by protocol. We need to do this right.” Tom nodded at him.
Joe just snorted but sat down and glared at Ted and his entourage.
“Shall we begin?” Marcus asked. “Now we have the original specs of Ted’s engine. We’ve looked it over carefully and when we got the drawings for the Mach one, we did find that they were closely followed. Almost too close for comfort.”
Joe got to his feet and carried something over to the commissioner’s table. “Well, then gentlemen, maybe you might want to study these plans a bit.” He set the sealed package down in front of the commissioners. He pointed out the unbroken seal of the patent office and the time stamp. “The day before we put the engine to the test, we filed for a patent and we took these plans to the patent office. We’d already lost the rights to one engine, so we weren’t going to lose another. These plans have not been modified or looked at for fifteen years. They were in fact in a safety deposit box until yesterday.”
Marcus double checked the stamp from the patent office and noted for the minutes of the meeting that it was indeed unbroken.
Keller reached over and broken the seal. Unfolding the rolled up papers, they laid them flat, then began examining the drawings and specs of the Mach One engine.
When they finished, all three men sat back int their chairs. One by one, they swung their gaze over at Ted’s table. It was Keller who told the other man, “Mr. McGee, this is a no brainer. I don’t know who you paid off to switch the plans but the engines are nowhere near close. It’s clear the Mach one engine is independent of the engine you patented. You brought us here under false pretenses and we don’t like this a bit. You will be hearing from our attorneys.” Keller turned to Joe and held out his hand. “I apologize for any trouble this has caused you and yours. I understand you are busy working again and I for one, think it’s great.”
“I think there’s something you boys missed on the patent that I want to make clear to you and everyone in this room.” Joe nodded. “Take another look at the name under the owner of the patent.”
Keller and the others looked down at the name the patent was in. It didn’t read Joseph or Dominick Abalone. It read Kelly Abalone. It also listed her father as next of kin and Joe as her second next of kin.”
“This patent isn’t mine or Dom’s. It belongs to Kelly as it was Kelly’s design from the get go. Not only did she design it but she did a lot of the work on it.”
“But that’s impossible!” Marcus exclaimed. “I remember her back then, she would have been a kid when this engine was built.”
“I was nine years old, but that’s my design and that’s my work,” Kelly finally spoke.
“And the Mach two?” Keller asked. “Is that your work as well?”
“Yes, it is.” Kelly nodded.
The three commissioners stared at the young woman for a long minute or two.
“This meeting is over.” Marcus adjourned the meeting with a smack of the gavel.
Kelly got up and walked over to where her mother was sitting with Ted and Jack McGee. “For your information Candy, you are not now or will you ever be listed as my next of kin. Byron is now my next of kin after Grandpa. You are so far down the list, you don’t even exist for me.”
Candy’s eyes grew flinty when she heard her daughter’s words. Her fingers twisted into claws and she could barely restraint herself. “Go to hell bitch! I should have drown you the day you were born.”
Kelly scoffed then shook her head and walked back to the table.
What she didn’t know was that Jack followed her over there. When she sat down, Byron looked up and found Jack standing there.
“I want to make a side bet.”
“You got nothing I want kid. Go away.” Byron snarled.
“But I might have something your girl wants.” Jack nodded. “We have the proof of who really murdered her father.”
Byron turned to look at Kelly.
She turned and coldly stared at Jack. “Go away. I know who murdered my father that day and one day karma will take a bite out of his ass. I know Henry Loker did the deed in the pits, but it was your father who paid for my dad’s death. I don’t need any more than that.”
Jack narrowed his eyes on Kelly, then turned to Byron. Then he turned around and went back to the table where his parents sat.
Kelly got up as Joe began gathering up his things. When they walked out of the room.... they walked out with their heads held high.
~*~
The next morning, there was chaos in the pits as everyone set to working on last minute things. Byron and his brothers were working madly to get the car ready to race. Joe and some of the others were getting things lined up in case Byron needed a pit stop and Kelly was there to feel the energy of being back in the racing circuit.
She breathed the scent of diesel fuel and grease, the smoke of burning fuel and car exhaust. She heard again the clanging of tools on the cement floor and the many foul words of knuckles being scraped and heads being bumped against the open hoods of the race cars.
She walked toward the opening of the pits and looked around the track.
Down the way from where she stood, was Ted McGee. He was standing there with a glowing cigar in his hand. He, like her, was looking around. Only he wasn’t looking at the other people in the pits, he wasn’t even looking at he crowds of people milling around the stands. No, Ted McGee was looking at the high corner of the balcony. Up in the nose bleed area.
Kelly followed his gaze and found herself looking at nothing. Keeping her eyes on the target, she saw something moving around. Then she saw the shadow of a high powered rifle being set into place.
Kelly felt stunned. What the hell was a high powered rifle doing at a racing event? Then she remembered the race that killed her father. She turned and ran back into the pits. Everyone was busy doing something even Joe, there was no one she could talk too. She ran out of the pits and immediately found herself running into Deke’s arms.
“Whoa there girl...” He caught her. “What the hell are you running from?”
Kelly looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “You don’t understand. I’m not running from anything.”
“Then where are you going in such a hurry?”
“There’s a man with a rifle up in the stands and Ted knows it,” she
explained in a whisper.
“What?” Deke stared at her for a moment. “Where is this guy and how do you know Ted McGee knows he’s there?”
“He nodded at the man not three minutes ago. The man ducked back out of sight and Ted went back into his son’s pits,” Kelly whispered. “I know he’s there and he’s going to shot out Byron’s tires during the race. He’s gonna kill him and I can’t stop him!”
“Maybe you can’t but I sure as hell can,” Deke swore. “Byron isn’t going to die today, not here not now.”
“What’s up Deke?” Mountain called out from behind her.
“Byron’s girl says we got a shooter in the stands.”
“Fucking hell.” Mountain swore and began to sweep the stands with his eyes.
“You take her back in the pits, me and the boys will search the stands.” Deke nudged her toward the bigger man.
Mountain grabbed Kelly by the shoulders and dragged her back out of the range of the stands. He led her back to the group of men standing around the car. “Now tell us exactly what you saw?” Mountain growled, catching everyone’s attention.
“I was standing at the front of the pits, just taking everything in when I noticed Ted standing there. He’s down three pits from us and he was looking into he stands, not just looking but searching for something. He kept staring at the southern corner, way up in the shadows of the light post. At first, there was nothing there but then someone moved into sight. It was a man and he was holding a high powered rifle. The guy ducked out of sight right away and when he did, Ted turned around and headed back into the pits.”
Byron sat down on the bumper of his vehicle with a thud. “That dirty rotten bastard. One shot from a rifle could take out my tire at a speed I couldn’t stop at. He could take out half the drivers and kill a lot of people for fucking nothing.”
“We need to stop this man before he kills someone else.” Sam growled.
Kelly knelt beside Byron. Taking his hands in hers, she asked him quietly, “Do you trust me? I mean really trust me? Trust me with your life?”
Byron nodded slowly, not knowing where she was going with this questioning. “Yes, I trust you with my life.”
“Then let me drive in this race. Gramps can call the signals for me and I can drive. If Ted tries anything you and your brothers need to stop him.”
“No,” Byron told her harshly as he got to his feet. “I’m not letting you risk your life to get this fucker!”
Kelly stood up then climbed to the bumper of his car. Wrapping her hands around either side of his face she looked deep into his eyes. “It’s you who doesn’t understand. I’m lighter than you are, quicker by a long shot and no one will touch me out there. With grandpa’s help, he’ll read the track for me and keep me out of danger. “
“How the hell is he going to read the track for you?” Byron asked.
“He goes high and can tell me exactly where Jack is and I can stay as far away from him as possible. It’s like a game of cat and mouse. Nothing can happen if I just stay out of his way. If he can’t catch me, he can hurt me. Plus, he won’t know I’m not you. It will confuse the hell out of him.”
“And if the shooter decides to take you out? Then what? I’m supposed to watch you crash and burn?” Byron snarled.
“No, my sweet biker man...” Kelly focused her eyes on his. “You have to depend on your brothers. They will take care of the shooter. Isn’t that what an MC does? Depend on the brothers having your back?”
Byron crushed her lips under his. He kissed her hard and long until her knees grew weak. When he broke the kiss, he gulped in a lung full of air. “Fucking hell woman. You unman me.”
Kelly shook her head.” I seriously doubt that.” She gazed at him with tears in her eyes. “Do you trust me?” she asked him again.
“Why does it have to be you behind the wheel?” Byron asked in frustration.
“Because grandpa and I have done this all my life. I know his signals and you don’t. I’ll be ok and we can catch Ted out in his own game.”
“If I allow this, you’d better come back to me in one fucking piece.” He warned her.
“I will.” Turning her head, she looked at his MC and his brothers. “You guys better get to the shooter before he gets a shot off. I don’t want to go out like that.”
Sam nodded. “Don’t you worry bout that little girl. You just drive like the wind and listen to your gramps.”
Then the announcer called out the last call. The race would be starting in thirty minutes. It was time for the drivers to get their rides ready.
Joe tapped Mountain on his huge arm, then led the bigger man away, disappearing into the stands and going to the very top of the bleachers.
Byron helped Kelly into his suit. It was fireproof and connected to the chief mechanic who was Dante for this race. Only this time, Joe’s voice broke over the mic. He would run the show from the stands.
Byron gave her one last kiss before he put his helmet on her head. This woman was that ball of fire he’d figured her to be. What other female would dare to try this? He planted his forehead against the clear plastic face guard and told her, “Come back to me. Whatever else happens, you make sure you come back to me.”
Kelly smiled. “That’s a no brainer there, biker boy. I’m not going anywhere.”
They got her into the car and rolled it out to the track.
Byron had to stay behind and he watched as she went through her prerace check list with the judges looking on.
Sam he shook his head. “Boy, you’d better hurry up and marry that girl. You ain’t gonna last much longer without putting a ring on her finger.”
Byron turned to look at him and nodded. Running his fingers through his long hair, he agreed with him. “I know Bones, I know. I may have to convince her grandfather first though. That old man is tough.”
“Don’t you know it kid.” Sam grinned.
They both moved over to stand in front of the big screen monitor so they could see the whole show. Sam had sent some of the brothers down to watch over Ted and his crew while Deke and a couple of the other brothers went to look out for the shooter. They had maybe half an hour to wait out the race.
The next thirty minutes would define their future or put an end to their plans. So much depended on this race. He almost missed the starting bell and then the drivers were off. The first moments of chaos were normal but soon, the cars found their places in the order of the pack.
The roaring of the engines echoed in the closed area of the pits but that was normal too. Most of the pit crew wore noise cancelling head phones. Byron watched his car slip in and out of the crowd. Whatever they were doing, Kelly was managing to stay away from Jack.
Jack on the other hand was taking more and more risks to get close to his car. He was getting reckless out there and that was never a good sign. Even the commenters were calling him on it. The camera man panned the pit area and Byron could see Ted standing there yelling at the pit master. The man with the microphone was relaying Ted’s orders to his son.
At the same time, Byron was quick to spot a couple of his MC brothers standing by, listening to everything.
Byron couldn’t move away from the monitor.
Sam stood there watching him and waiting in breathless anticipation of what would happen next.
Both men watched as Kelly ducked, slid and moved with a grace very rarely seen in this circumstance.
As hard as he tried, Jack couldn’t get close to Byron’s car. He tried again and again, but nothing worked. It was on the last lap when everything went to hell for Jack. He tried one last time to get close enough to Byron’s car. It would have worked if the car behind him hadn’t crept up to get in between them.
He bumped into Jack’s car and it was enough to cause Jack to spin out. Jack turned the wheel and went into the middle of the track where he flipped six times. When it finally stopped smoke and flames were coming out from under his car.
The officials slapped the caution flag u
p and the other drivers obeyed the signals as they began to slow down.
Then after a few minutes, the flags changed to green and the race resumed. Byron’s car was already ahead on the track and it had made two pits.
Pulling ahead, Byron’s car went over the finish line as the crowd roared and everyone leapt to their feet.
~*~
EMT’s and rescue people ran toward Jack’s car and so did Ted. The officials tried to stop him but he was a force no one could stop.
When he got to the car, they were pulling an unconscious Jack out of the vehicle. His helmet was off and there was blood everywhere. They got him far enough away from the burning vehicle just in time, as a few second later, the car exploded.
Ted fell to his knees as he looked at his son. He reached down and took Jack’s hand.
Jack opened his eyes and whispered, “Dad...” Then he passed out from the pain.
Ted got to his feet and glared at the men around his son. He backed away slowly. Then he turned and stalked away. He didn’t bother to note the end of the race. He didn’t see anything, feel anything— he just kept walking.
He was walking toward the pit area, but not his son’s pit area. It was Byron’s pit area he was heading too. Ted felt numb with rage and the fury inside him was growing with each step he took.
When he entered the pit area, he interrupted the celebration. No one paid any attention to the fact he was even there. He fixated on the one man there he wanted to see dead most of all. Ted reached inside his jacket and wrapped is hands around the weapon he had hidden there. “Byron!” he called out.
Everyone parted to watch as Ted pulled his hand out of his pocket. “You cost me my son today.”
“I didn’t do anything to Jack.” Byron pushed Kelly behind him. “What happened was his own fault. He pushed the other drivers and they ended up pushing him back. No one anticipated he would push into that spot. He should have known better.”
Ted raised his hand with the gun in it to firing range and cocked the weapon. “You took my son and now I’m gonna take your life. An eye for an eye!” he screamed out.
A shot echoed in the room but it wasn’t from Ted’s gun.
