Chapter 6 #3
“I know plenty,” she added in the same mocking tone.
As much as Wilden admired her standing up, particularly now that she had a target for all her rage, he really didn’t want her getting into any more trouble than they already had.
The stranger snorted. “Another Goody Two-Shoes.”
“No,” she snapped. “I gave that role up after Hookman made my life hell. Nobody around here will call me that again.”
“Maybe you’re the one who shot him,” the stranger suggested. “You certainly had motive.”
“I did have motive,” she admitted, “absolutely.” Then she laughed and added, “And I do own a gun, but there was no reason for me to wait this long. I could have shot that asshole a long time ago if I were of that mind. I probably should have too and saved us all a lot of trouble.”
“Would have saved me a lot of trouble,” the stranger confirmed, his face flushed. “Because if Hookman had money, now I’ll need to go find it.”
She smiled. “You won’t find it because the cops already went through his house. All that time it was safely in the bank, so good luck with that.”
He swore at that. “Hookman never would have put it in the bank.”
Wilden shook his head. “Everybody’s already been through the house, and nothing is left. All the money is in the bank now,” Wilden confirmed. “Seems Hookman took money from his partners too, right down the line. But you knew him so well, and what do you think?”
“Son of a bitch, it sounds just like him. He would tell us how the banks were shit, but he would use them his damn self. He told us how we should never get a job, but then he had a job way back when,” he stated, with a sneer.
“So, what are you still doing in town then?”
“None of your business,” he said, his tone turning flat. He glanced down at Sarge, and his eyes narrowed. “It really is Jackson’s dog, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
“Supposed to be some hotshot War Dog,” he snapped, “and that’s just bullshit too, if you ask me.”
“Oh, he’s a War Dog all right,” Wilden stated. “He’s also an old dog.”
“And is that supposed to make any difference?”
“You left a disabled old man out in the open to die out here,” he began. “That’s something old Sarge here won’t forget easily.”
“What else was I supposed to do when he wouldn’t sign the damn papers?” He looked over at the other dogs and shook his head. “Christ, that other dog looks the same as him.”
“That’s because they’re the same breed,” Wilden pointed out. “Both of them can handle themselves if they get into trouble.”
“Yeah, well, I’ve got a fucking gun,” he announced, pulling it from his pocket and waving it around. “I’ll just pop them the first chance I get. I’m not stupid.”
“You are stupid,” she argued, speaking loudly from behind Wilden.
“You’re the one who came back to the crime scene.
You already kidnapped that old man, dumped him out here to die.
And for what? Because Hookman didn’t give you any money?
Christ, you should have known better. John Hookman wouldn’t give anybody anything.
That wasn’t who he was, and you know it. ”
“We shared jobs before,” he snapped. “There was never a problem.”
“Yeah, until you got into some bigger stuff. And then what? Weren’t there always excuses about what wasn’t working, how something was not going right?
” He flushed and stared, and she nodded.
“That’s what they do. They get you all strung out, get you hooked up into the same level of nightmares that they’re into.
However, then they turn around and start messing up your life.
And still you’re thinking that you got on easy street with this new con.
Only John can’t get the money. Most of the time there wasn’t any money, or there wasn’t very much money, and the rest of the time?
” she asked. “John was pocketing it for himself. Any idiot like John would have done the same.”
“He never cheated us before,” the stranger declared defiantly.
“No, maybe not before, but this time he did. And this time you can’t do shit about it because he’s dead, unless of course you are the one who popped him.”
“I would have if I’d seen him,” he declared. “I didn’t have money to get out of town.” Then he looked at them.
Wilden could see the thought that crossed his face. He knew what was coming, and it wasn’t good.
“But you guys could give me some money to get out of town.”
There it was.
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Vivian countered, with a snort. “I already had to spend enough money on the damn lawyers and whatnot to get that asshole John off my back and out of my world. I don’t have any money left.”
“That wouldn’t have cost you much. You probably have a job and work.”
“Yeah, I do work. I work my ass off,” she declared. “Maybe that’s something you should try every once in a while.”
“No, not gonna bother,” he replied.
“That’s for losers, right?” she quipped. “I forgot.”
He stiffened and glared at her.
“Yeah, whatever,” she muttered. “I’m so tired of you assholes coming around, ruining my life, deciding who and what people get to have and don’t have just because you think you’re somebody special. But you’re not. You’re just losers, all of you.”
He continued to glare at her, his face now a deep shade of red. “I’m getting really tired of you talking to me that way.”
“And what are you gonna do?” she prodded. “Teach me a lesson?”
“Yeah, I think I will,” he grumbled. “Maybe it won’t be today, but you can bet I’ll be showing up on your doorstep one day.”
At that, Wilden dropped the leash on Sarge, who leaped forward, silent, serious, deadly, and hit him hard in the chest, going for his wrist and pulling him to the ground with a smart yet small move, but one that packed a powerful punch.
The gun that the stranger had been holding flew off harmlessly, but he was down and screaming at them to get the dog off him. Wilden walked over and delivered a sucker punch to the jaw, knocking him out cold. Then he called off Sarge and worked to quickly calm him down.
Sarge let go of the asshole, and Wilden went through the gunman’s pockets to see what he could come up with.
Meanwhile Vivian was calling the police.
He nodded approvingly. “See how long it’ll take them to get here.
” He found a wallet and the gunman’s ID.
Harley Cooper was his name, which was no surprise.
Just like his father had been, some local guys remained the town bullies. So Wilden had guessed as much.
“You would think that they could be here fast,” she grumbled. “Supposedly this is one of the men they’ve been looking for.”
“We also have to remember that somebody in the police station has some level of sympathy for him—or is not against taking a bribe,” Wilden reminded her, still checking Harley’s pockets and carefully patting him down.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be a cop though,” she pointed out. “It could just as easily be the woman at the counter.”
He turned to her in surprise and then chuckled. “And, chances are, that’s exactly what it was. You know, that poor guy was hard done by, taken advantage of, and nobody understood him.”
She nodded.
“That’s exactly the story she’ll give when she’s caught too, but, in the meantime,” he added, “I’m not taking any chances with this guy.”
She glared down at their gunman, still unconscious. “Could you teach me to punch like that?”
He looked at her, openly grinning. “I probably could. Maybe that’s what I should do. Giving self-defense courses for people around here could be a massive hit. I’m a trained mechanic, but teaching how to defend oneself could be one hell of a side gig.”
She looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
“What?” he asked, frowning at her. “Are you thinking about my prosthetic?”
“No, just about whether you need any certifications or credentials or anything.”
He shrugged. “I have a bunch anyway, but I have never really thought about it as an income stream. Might be something worth checking into, depending on where and what I end up doing. Yet it’s not exactly at the top of my list. On the other hand, if you want to learn a few tricks, it might stop some confrontations like this.
However, my first tip for you would be to not engage. ”
She groaned. “I was thinking that the whole time. I was mentally telling myself, Knock it off. Just stop. You’ll just wind up in trouble, but it just—”
“Got out of hand?” he asked, cutting her off.
She nodded. “I know, not a smart thing to do.”
“But at least you had a target for that pent-up anger. You didn’t get a chance to yell at my dad or to get some emotional closure.
So, when you run into this guy, who’s of the same ilk and even one of John’s partners, and he’s right here in front of you, it’s hard not to let go of all that rage in this very situation. ”
“Yeah,” she agreed, “but kinda stupid, wasn’t it?”
He nodded slowly. “It would have been if you were alone, yeah.”
In the distance, the sirens could be heard, so, soon the police would be here. Vivian and Wilden had nothing to do but to stay alert and to wait.