by L.T. Ryan
***
He started off working as a mechanic for the old man. One thing that was different about this crime boss, he provided cars for his guys. And he always wanted his cars to be in top shape. He had a team of mechanics available 24 hours a day. Charles had never been involved in any criminal activity before this. He took the job for the pay. He had no idea who the old man was or what his business was, but he liked the idea of being a private mechanic. It sounded official.
He worked in the garage for two years. He was a good employee, kept his head down, and did his work. By this point he knew what was really going on and so did the other mechanics. Most of them knew before they took the job. Typically, the mechanics that worked for the old man were relatives of his more trusted employees. Only the mechanics didn’t have what it took to be a killer, at least the type of killers that could get away with murder. For some it was a mental thing, either they were careless or they were incapable of pulling the trigger or swinging a bat. For others it was physical, they’d be killed on their first assignment. But they all shared one common trait. They all thought they were bad asses.
Charles ignored the banter and bullshitting that went on every day at work. Some of the other mechanics were offended by this and made remarks off to the side that Charles was too good for them. Individually they would never think about confronting Charles. At six foot six and two hundred eighty pounds he was massive. If he hadn’t dropped out of school he would have gone to the University of Miami on a football scholarship.
One day four of the other mechanics decided they had enough of Charles and his my shit don’t stink attitude. They circled him with a plan to attack him, all of them armed with tools. It didn’t take long for Charles to realize what was going on. This wasn’t the first time he’d been jumped. It wouldn’t be the last.
Charles didn’t wait for the other mechanics to make their move. Those four dumbasses never stood a chance. He killed two of them and put the other two in the hospital. The injuries were so bad that the old man was able to blame it on a car lift collapsing. The police asked no questions. Of course, that was nothing new when the old man was involved.
The old man reviewed the footage of the fight. He liked what he saw and summoned Charles to his office. Charles was scared as he entered. He had twelve inches and one hundred twenty pounds on the old man. But he knew that men sometimes entered that office and didn’t leave under their own power. The old man was vicious and ruthless, which is exactly why he was one of the most powerful crime bosses on the east coast.
“Mr. Charles,” the old man said. He sat with the back of his chair facing the doorway. “Please come in and have a seat.”
Charles sank down in the chair, his heart racing. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
“What is this sir talk? Just call me Boss.”
“Yes sir, I mean, Boss.”
“I heard about the garage incident. You killed four of my mechanics.”
“Boss, I... I’m sorry about that. They left me no choice. They surrounded me. They were all armed with tools. I guess my, my instincts kicked in.”
The old man spun around in his chair and glanced to the corner of the room, giving the man standing there a nod.
Charles tightened up and shut his eyes. He expected to feel the cold barrel of a gun press against the top of his head any second now. He raised his shoulders and hunched over slightly when he heard the door shut.
The old man laughed. “Mr. Charles, if I wanted you dead you would already be gone. Why would I invite you into my office to kill you?”
Charles slowly rose up and looked at the old man. The smile looked genuine and he was still alive. He turned his head and saw that the room was empty. “You… You’re not gonna kill me?”
“Kill you? God no! I want to promote you, Mr. Charles.”
“Promote me? What?”
“Those four men you killed,” said the old man, “they were not just mechanics. They were a hit team. I used them for jobs that had to look amateur. The kind of hits that would be too easy to pin on me if done by a professional. Do you understand?”
Charles shook his head at the old man.
“I know you are not stupid, Mr. Charles, so I will get right to the point. You took out four trained killers and suffered barely a scratch. I want you to be my bodyguard. You will drive my limo and accompany me all day, every day. Do you understand?”
This time Charles nodded. “Yes, sir. I mean, yes Boss.” He didn’t have a choice. If he said no then the old man would kill him. Even though he liked working in the garage, this was a chance to be in the action.
