Watcher

by Andrew Weis

  “Sorry, but I don’t. Follow your instincts, Jessa. You’ll find him.”

  Easier said than done was the phrase that pays at this point since my instincts so far didn’t do squat for me, other than finding paint powder on a cement truck.

  “It isn’t easy,” I said.

  “The promotion jobs never are. Based on my experience, you’re on the right track. Keep going.”

  “Thanks, that helps,” I said, then paused.

  “Jessa?”

  “Mom’s dead. Have you seen her?”

  “I haven’t seen her yet, but she’s not in Hali. She’s in the other part of Heaven. You’ll see her in time.”

  That comforted me, but I hoped to see her soon.

  “Okay, good. That makes me feel better,” I said.

  “You best get going. We don’t want to chance anyone seeing us together just yet,” Dad said.

  “Thanks, Dad. See you later?”

  “Count on it. Good luck.”

  Dad inrepped, then dashed into the sky. Knowing I could see Mom in Heaven once my ARV was over was something I looked forward to.

  The noxious stench of burning rubber filled the air around Xtremes as the boys showed off their cars’ nitrous-induced horsepower by doing burnouts. The high-pitched engines couldn’t hold a candle to the roar of a V-8 Commando or a Super Cobra Jet engine. I was never a fan of possessing information on things I didn’t care about, but I surprised myself that I knew the difference in the sounds of those engines. Clouds of smoke rolled down the street which caught the eye of a passing police car.

  The officer slowed and pointed at a boy sitting behind the wheel of his black 1987 Buick GNX between rubber burnouts. With a nice smile, the boy nodded in return as the cop continued down the road.

  Once a month during the summer the road in front of Xtremes became the Englewood Rails drag strip but without any real racing, and the police knew that. They were cool with the burnouts as long as things stayed under control.

  There wasn’t much reason to restrict motorheads since that was as successful as controlling the drug trade. It was easier to keep things under a watchful eye rather than trying to suppress people’s desires. People had lives to live.

  Watching the Englewood Rails party crowd line up to enter Xtremes grew boring. My breaths grew deeper as I pined more for Daniel. He must still be alive because, if he weren’t, Arlen would’ve called me back. Nemo and Nero adjusted their coats as they came out of the club.

  “Ready, Abbey? Nero asked.

  “Yeah,” I said.

  Chapter 15

  UNDER THE GLOW of orange-tinged streetlights, Nemo, Nero and I cruised along Western Avenue. Since I was a curious little girl, I wanted to know them better. I never liked hurting people, but sometimes being an angel sent me on minor power trips that impeded my better judgment.

  “Hey guys, I’m sorry for coming on so strong yesterday. It’s just that I can’t waste time trying to find Daniel.”

  “He’s your boyfriend so enough said. That makes your moves justified,” Nero said.

  At one point, he was the important thing that mattered in my life before I led him to believe I turned on him. Now I had to save him, despite him letting me get killed. So, to get my promotion, what would that make him to me other than a job?

  “We dated in high school, but,” I said, trailing off.

  “But what?” Nero asked.

  “I guess I wasn’t very nice to him.”

  “You dumped him?” Nemo asked.

  The warm night breeze blew through the rear window of the rumbling Galaxie. I hated confessions but knew I’d have to deal straight with these guys.

  “I guess you can say that,” I said.

  “He was a good guy,” Nemo said. “He locked horns with Coz a few months after graduation. Things went south fast after that.”

  “Graduation? When was that?”

  “About a year ago.”

  “Time flies when you’re in the world,” Nero said.

  That was amazing and something I never thought about until now. I found it hard to believe I’ve been dead for a little over two years.

  “Sometimes good boys go bad,” I said as a lump grew in my throat.

  “I think it was because his old man wasn’t home. A boy needs his father,” Nero said.

  “No, man, it was because of his mom dying,” Nemo said.

  “That was a long time ago. Cancer got her,” I said. “We were in fifth grade when she died.”

  “That cancer’s bad,” Nero said.

  “Yeah, but we’re tight on that,” Nemo said as they both nodded.

  I wasn’t going to argue with that. It seemed everyone in Englewood Rails had a friend or family member who had it or died from it. Most of them worked at Stamper’s Row, so we assumed they got sick from those places or living near them. Perhaps I would’ve died from it too with all the mini steel mills belching foul pollution out their towering smokestacks. On stagnant days, the smell was unbearable.

  “Got that right,” Nero said and fist-bumped Nemo.

  “Details, please?” I asked.

  “We got it straight. If one of us gets the cancer and going to die, the other will end him fast. Can’t live when you’re dying,” Nero said.

  “The cops might have a problem with that,” I said.

  “We ain’t worried. We got greenlighted.”

  I wasn’t sure what they meant by greenlighted, but they made it sound like they got permission from someone to execute their plan should it be necessary. Nemo and Nero grinned as we continued down the calm street devoid of most traffic.

  “Did you guys grow up around here?” I asked.

  Nemo and Nero gave each other strange looks, like hoping the other would answer.

  “Uh yeah, we were always here,” Nero said.

  “We were born in Selma, Alabama,” Nemo said. “We moved up here when we were little kids.”

  “Why did you move here?” I asked.

  “It was rough in Selma. Pop needed money to raise us, so he moved the family up here to Chicago.”

  “Where’d your father work?”

  “Stamper’s Row. He pressed sheet metal at the Ford plant. Mom watched us at home,” Nemo said.

  The residents of Englewood Rails were overwhelmingly blue-collar workers and worked in either the car plants or the rail yards. Even my dad worked at the Pontiac plant after he graduated high school. I had friends whose fathers worked at the Cadillac and Chrysler plants too.

  “That’s how we got into the cars business,” Nero added.

  “Sounds like a good move for you guys.”

  “So, where you from, Abbey?” Nero asked.

  “Born and raised right here. My father died when I was eleven, then my mom married a hot head.”

  Ken was a bittersweet man. He was hard on me more than most kids I knew. Until my last day, he never hit me. Him crying his eyes out after my mom died filled my heart with newfound compassion and a fresh sense of forgiveness.

  “He giving you trouble?” Nero asked.

  “Not anymore.”

  “One favor deserves another. We got your back, girl. Anyone looks at you wrong, we’ll school them.”

  “Good to know. So, are we almost there?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Nemo said.

  Nemo pulled into the parking lot of an automotive body shop that looked familiar. Located a few blocks from the Metra railroad yard, it didn’t look much different from the last time I was here. In the dim lighting, I read the sign painted on the door, Double N Performance.

  “Double N? Everyone brings their muscles here. These guys do great work. Did they work on your Galaxie?”

  Nemo and Nero sighed. They looked at me as if I was a first-class moron.

  “Are you for real, girl?” Nemo asked.

  I looked at the sign again.

  “Hey, Double N. Nemo and Nero. This is your place?”

  “It’s ours,” Nemo said as he headed for the front door
.

  “It used to be anyway,” Nero said.

  “What happened?” I asked.

  “Sorry, Abbey. Like we said before, we don’t dump our problems on others.”

  I never met anyone at Double N before I dropped off my GTO the night I died, so my slow brain didn’t connect the shop to Nemo and Nero. Since I didn’t need my car or any other material possession anymore, the thought of getting it back slipped by the wayside.

  I tailed Nemo and Nero inside the workshop. The building, originally a onetime Pierce Arrow car dealership, was what I’d now call stylishly worn out. The yellow brick art deco building had several rows of interesting angular rooftop windows which let in daylight and fresh air when cranked opened.

  A dozen car lifts lined one wall. On the opposite wall, several works-in-progress stood in various states of restoration. A large industrial oven near the back wall contained a masked-off Firebird with a shiny metallic gold paint job.

  Years ago, someone had torn down a wall that closed off the showroom from the repair shop. The original terrazzo showroom floor hosted an impressive Pierce Arrow mascot of an archer pulling back on his bow. A foggy glaze covered the surviving showroom features and crumbling column decorations, which hinted at a once glamorous past.

  “Smell that, Abbey?” Nemo asked.

  I took a whiff, and the smell punched me in the face.

  “That’s the smell of that paint powder I found on the cement truck,” I said.

  “Whoever took Reggie was here before they moved on him.”

  I scanned the shop and looked at the second floor offices.

  “Based on all the cars here, you must still work on them,” I said.

  “Yeah, maybe once a week,” Nemo said.

  “Okay, so why are you working for Tyrone?”

  Nero shook his head while Nemo shrugged.

  “She’ll only keep asking,” Nero said.

  “Go ahead,” Nemo said.

  Ah, my gift for annoyance finally paid off.

  “When we wanted to open this place years ago, we needed money. No banks would help, so Tyrone floated us enough green to get things going. We were a couple months away from paying him off when he called in our loan. Since we didn’t have the money, he took the business.”

  “Does he restore cars too?

  “He doesn't care about the cars. He drafted us to work for him.”

  “Bouncing at his bar?”

  “Yeah. We come here on occasion to make sure nobody messes with the rides. We had a guard dog once, but he didn’t work out so we gave him away.”

  A painful memory of a monster dog clamping on my leg popped from my memory.

  “Was it a big mastiff?” I asked.

  “Yeah. Have you seen him?” Nero asked.

  “Yeah, he might still be picking out parts of my leg out of his teeth.”

  “Oh, girl. I’m sorry about that, Abbey. He was a good dog but took off a lot. I gave him to one of Tyrone’s soldiers, Rico, a long time ago.”

  I checked out the large shop while the smell of petroleum and paint wafted through the air.

  “It looks like you got a nice little business here. Do you only restore cars or do you do custom work too?”

  A ruckus echoed from one of the second floor offices. Nemo and Nero jerked their heads to determine where the sounds originated. I saw three offices upstairs. Two of the doors led to offices that had windows for viewing the main floor. The third might be a closet or bathroom, I couldn’t tell for certain.

  “Ain’t nobody supposed to be here,” Nero said, removing a large chromed forty-five caliber revolver.

  “Not now, man,” Nemo said.

  Nero frowned, then put away his gun.

  “Let me lead,” I said. “You guys are huge. Whoever’s up there can spot you easy.”

  “You want to lead? Then go ahead,” Nemo said.

  I started up the black-painted steel stairs. When I reached the top, I shuffled along the wall and paused at a glass door. My heart beat a thousand times per minute when I saw him. There, tied to a chair with a gag over his mouth, sat my Daniel.

  “Daniel’s in there,” I whispered.

  “What do you mean, girl?” Nemo asked.

  I put my index finger to my lips.

  “Even worse, why’d they leave him here alone?” Nemo asked.

  “I’m not sure. Okay, guys, look. If anything happens, meet back at Daniel’s house. Come on,” I said, opening the door.

  As the door swung open, I noticed a small black box mounted on the baseboard with a light that changed from green to red. Crap.

  “Daniel,” I said, rushing to him. I removed his gag and worked on untying his hands.

  “Who are you?” he asked. The sound of his voice rang sweet, then my mind recalled nicer memories of when we spoke kinder to each other. My heart raced as I worked his bindings loose. I still recognized his scent, a musky manliness that comforted my heart but conflicted with my intense guilt of betraying him.

  I almost had Daniel untied and ready to finish my ARV when something struck my head, and my mind went dark and silent. Shit!

  Chapter 16

  TWO MEN SPOKE while I sat with my chin glued to my chest and dealt with a pounding headache. One man’s voice sounded like Tyrone’s, but I didn’t recognize the other more commanding voice.

  “Tyrone, you can’t let anyone get close to you like this,” the man in charge said. “She could’ve ruined all the plans we made for the Fed,” the voice said.

  Whoever knocked me out did a good job. A hand grabbed my hair and pulled my head back. I blinked and fought the blinding fluorescent lights, but I managed to catch a glimpse of Tyrone standing in front of me.

  The hand that lifted my head let my head down, rested on my shoulder, and held me on the chair.

  “I never saw her before,” Tyrone said, looking at me. “Nemo, why’s this yellow-headed mutt sniffing my ass?”

  Nemo took an angered look at me. My head spun and my chin dropped to my chest.

  “She didn’t, T. She said she was looking for the boy,” Nemo said.

  “So, you brought her here? Not too smart,” Tyrone said.

  “Focus, Tyrone,” the unknown man said from behind me.

  “Take Daniel to the other office and lock him down,” Tyrone said.

  Daniel cursed Nemo and Nero as they dragged his protesting butt out of the room. It appeared to me neither Daniel nor his father had anyone in their corner, except me, but neither of them knew it. I reasoned that that was why Daniel only looked at me during my last moments. I didn’t realize it at the time, but he dealt with more drama than I knew.

  “Is she one of yours?” Tyrone asked.

  “Not sure,” the boss said from behind me. “Have Coz search the house for the formula again. It was bad enough that Akio caused Reggie to roll his truck. Despite using his son as leverage, he’s still stalling. He’s got to be hiding something.”

  “Can’t you lean on him?”

  Between distracting head throbs, I still struggled to place the mystery man’s voice.

  “No. Our time got squeezed, thanks to Coz’s stupidity,” the mystery man said. “The authorities are working your trail right now. If they catch you, you’re done.”

  “We can’t rush the man either,” Tyrone said. “If he jacks the formula, he could nuke us all.”

  “As long as he knows we have his boy, he has no choice but to cooperate. Now, about our little hero here.”

  Whoever pulled Tyrone’s strings must’ve referred to me. The more he spoke, the more unfamiliar he sounded. I was so confused.

  “Let’s cap her. It’s better to have no witnesses. Besides, it’s like you said, time’s short,” Tyrone said.

  “You have one dead federal employee, a ground up former crew member riding a conveyer to a steel mill, and now you want to turn up the heat with a third body? Think, Tyrone. I’m paying you a lot of money, so don’t disappoint me. We were supposed to be done with this operati
on already!”

  I moaned as I raised my head and opened my eyes. I wasn’t sure who the mystery man was but he was gone. There was no doubt he was the leader of that pack of wolves. My eyes focused, and I saw Tyrone, his muscular arms folded and an impatient scowl plastered on his face.

  “Well, well, so Juliet came for Romeo,” Tyrone said.

  “Where am I?” I asked, not knowing if I was somewhere other than Double N.

  “Why are you dogging my haunts, girl?”

  “Who are you?”

  “Tyrone. Who are you?” Tyrone asked, slapping my face. As much as I wished to slap him back, it wouldn’t help me save Daniel.

  “Abbey,” I said.

  “What do you want, Abbey?” Tyrone asked in a patronizing way that made me cringe. Why didn’t anyone like my fake name? Maybe I didn’t look anything like an Abbey. Next time I’d have to think harder for a name that matched my look.

  Tyrone scowled as he gripped my face and squeezed my cheeks into a fish mouth.

  “Unless you tell me what you’re doing here, I’ll put a nice little hole in your sexy little head right about there,” he said, tapping the center of my forehead with the cold steel barrel of his handgun.

  “Nemo and Nero brought me here. They wanted to show me the work they do on the cars.”

  “In the middle of the damn night?” he yelled.

  “We came after their shift at Xtremes. They brought me here since we had a little time. We weren’t expecting anyone here.”

  “So, what next?”

  “Forget I saw you? Mister Tyrone, I’m sorry I bothered you guys, okay?”

  Tyrone smiled.

  “Now there’s a smart girl,” Tyrone said, cocking the gun’s hammer. His smile dropped as his face relaxed. He was about to blast my head off when Nemo charged into the office.

  “He’s gone, T,” Nemo said, catching his breath.

  Unbelievable. Daniel must’ve been coated in axle grease to slip away like that. There wasn’t any way Daniel out-muscled or out-smarted Nemo or Nero.

  “Weren’t you watching him?” Tyrone demanded.

  “We had him in the room. Then he had to take a leak. He must’ve gone down the fire escape.”

  Nemo glanced at me, then looked back at Tyrone. After Tyrone tucked his gun behind his belt, he and Nemo left the room. Tyrone locked the door behind him. I inrepped, then materialized a glowing dagger and cut myself free.