Broken Highway: A Thomas Highway Story Read online

  My memories of the previous night were jumbled. I remember hanging with Willis, having a couple of pitchers and wings at Shooter’s, then going off to someone’s downtown loft—the name Amber came to mind—having some more beers, then some shots of Jack, then—

  I ignored the pain and sat up again and looked around. My clothes were lying in a heap at the side of the bed. An empty condom package was on the ground next to them. On the nightstand to my right was the alarm clock read 8:45. Next to it was another empty condom package.

  Damn, I must have been pretty good last night, I thought with a weary smile. Too bad I don’t remember anything about it.

  I took a deep breath and swung my legs over the side of the bed and got to my feet. I shuffled into to the bathroom and relieved my bladder. As I was standing there I spotted yet another empty condom package lying on the floor, near the bathtub. I laughed and shook my head. Crazy stuff.

  I finished up in the bathroom, put on my clothes, and headed towards the kitchen to see if anyone else was around.

  The loft was empty but there was a sticky note on the fridge.

  Thanks for last night. I had a great time.

  Help yourself to anything you want.

  --Amber

  I grabbed a cup from the cupboard, opened up the fridge and poured myself some orange juice. It took the edge of my headache but made my stomach grumble. I was no stranger to pain, in fact, I actually enjoyed it to a certain extent, but a hangover was a different animal altogether. It was an oozy, sloppy feeling, more akin to frustration than real pain. I despised it. Yet I continually put myself in a position to wake up with one. I wondered what this said about my psyche but decided not to ruminate on it, lest I actually came up with an answer. Sometimes ignorance truly was bliss.

  I rinsed the glass and set it in the sink. The phone rang. I let the machine get it. Willis’s voice came over the speaker.

  “Highway, you still there?”

  I picked up the phone. “Yeah. What’s up.”

  “Not much,” Willis said. I could hear him smiling. “How are you doing, my man?”

  “Not bad, not bad.”

  “After a night with Amber, I should hope not.”

  “Yeah, well I’m sure it was fun. Too bad I don’t remember anything about it.”

  “No problem there,” Willis said. “I got the whole thing recorded on my phone. You can relive it whenever you want.”

  “Bullshit,” I said, knowing there was a very real possibility that Willis was telling the truth but hoping desperately that he was just messing with me.

  Willis laughed. “Nah, not the whole thing. Just a little bit of the night. Before things got too crazy.”

  I was careful not to let Willis hear my relieved exhale. “Is that the only reason you called? To give me shit about last night.”

  “Nah, man. I called because I got a bead on our guy.”

  “Already?”

  “Yeah. He’s at The Body Shop, over on Sports Arena.”

  “Isn’t nine o’clock kind of early to be at a strip club?”

  “Depends on how you define early,” Willis said. “From what I can gather, it’s late for these guys. They were there all night.”

  “So they shouldn’t pose too much of a problem.”

  “That’s the hope,” Willis said. “But I wouldn’t count on it. Now get your ass over here before we miss them.”

  “All right, all right, don’t get your panties in a bunch. I’m coming.”

  5

  It was just after 9AM when I pulled into the parking lot outside the Body Shop Gentlemen’s Club. I spotted Willis’s Black Chevy Blazer in the northwest corner of the lot and parked next to it. I shut off my engine and climbed out of my car and into his.

  “Took you long enough,” Willis said.

  “Traffic was a bitch,” I said. “So what’s the situation?”

  “We’re looking for this guy,” Willis said, handing me a file folder. Inside was a printout of a California Driver’s License and a mug shot. The dude’s full name was Vincent Pedroza. He had brown, unkempt hair, thin lips, cold eyes hiding behind narrow slits and a broad, misshapen nose that had been broken and re-set multiple times.

  “He looks like a real fighter,” I said.

  “That’s what they say.”

  I looked at the stats on his driver’s license. 6’3” 225 pounds. “Pretty big dude, too.”

  “That depends on how you define big.”

  “Nobody’s big compared to you,” I said. “Except maybe some NFL lineman. But compared to me he’s big.”

  “Does that worry you?” Willis said.

  I just glared at him.

  He smiled, clapped me on the shoulder. “I’m just fucking with you, Highway. Lighten up, bro.”

  “I’ll lighten up when this thing is over.”

  “Which it will be soon.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I’ve got a source inside the club,” Willis said. “A chick I know named Savannah.”

  I raised my brow in mock surprise. “You know a stripper? Imagine that.”

  “Yeah, hard to believe, isn’t it? Anyway, she says he and his boys have pretty much hit the wall. He should be coming out any minute.”

  “He’s got some friends with him?”

  “Did I forget to mention that?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Sorry ‘bout that,” Willis said in a tone that suggested he was anything but. He was obviously enjoying himself.

  “How many?” I said.

  “Just two.”

  “Just?”

  “Hey, it could be worse.”

  “It could be better.”

  “It could always be better,” Willis said. “But unfortunately for you, this time it isn’t.”

  I looked at him with a sideways glance. “I’m starting to wonder if this back injury of yours is real,” I said. “Or just some ploy to get me to do all the dirty work.”

  “You know I wish I could handle this myself,” Willis said.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m just messing with you,” I said. “So how should we play it? You want me to take him while he’s still in the club?”

  “I’d rather not do it with a crowd watching; especially the one that’s bound to be in there. Too many unknown variables to account for. Not to mention the bouncers.”

  “That makes sense,” I said. “What did you have in mind?”

  “I figure you can go in and pick a fight with them, and then when the whole lot of you get thrown out, I can step in and offer a hand amidst the confusion.”

  “I thought your back was hurting too bad to mix it up?”

  “I never said it was hurting. I said the doctor told me not to stress it too much. But I’m sure I can offer a little assistance if necessary.”

  I was about to say it sounded like a decent enough plan to me when Willis’s cell rang out in a short burst of music, something with a country twang to it. He picked up the phone and looked at the readout.

  “That’s Savannah. I wonder what she wants.”

  “Well answer it already and find out,” I said. “I can’t stand any more of that crap you call music.”

  Willis smiled and pressed a button and brought the phone up to his ear. “What’s up, baby?” A pause. “No shit? All right. Thanks. I’ll settle up with you tomorrow.” He cut off the connection and dropped the phone into the center console.

  “Settle up?” I said, my brows raised.

  “You’re damn right,” Willis replied. “I’ll settle her up and nice and good.”

  I laughed and shook my head. Typical Willis. “So what did she have to say?”

  “That Pedroza is on his way out the front door.”

  “Right now?”

  “As we speak.”

  My adrenalin spiked. “Should we make a move now? Or follow him and see where he goes.”

  “I say we take him right here,” Willis said. “Who knows where he’ll end up.” Willis looked around.
The parking lot was empty. “And we’re clear, so we should be able to get it done without any interference.”

  “Then let’s do it,” I said. “You got your cuffs on you?”

  “I got zipties in my pocket, ready to go.” Willis said. “But we have to come up with a plan quickly. Here they come.”

  I turned my attention to the club, where the three men were stumbling out. They walked in a line; Pedroza in the middle and his two buddies flanking him. They were all about the same size, which made them about 2 inches taller and 20 pounds heavier than me. All were moving erratically and talking loudly. It was obvious they were wasted. Which went a long way towards evening the odds.

  “We’ll keep it simple,” I said. “I’ll keep them distracted while you sneak around behind them for the endgame.”

  “You don’t want to approach them together?”

  “Hell no,” I said. “If these guys see two men coming—especially if one is you—chances are they’ll just make a run for it. And I don’t feel like chasing anyone down.”

  “But if you go by yourself—”

  “I should be able to get up on them before they know what hit them,” I said. “And even if not, it’s not like they’re going to see me as a threat. They’ll probably be chomping at the bit to kick my ass.”

  “You can justify it however you want,” Willis said. “But I know you, Highway. You want to have all the fun to yourself.”

  With a straight face, I said, “Well, we wouldn’t want to place any undue stress on your back, would we?”

  Willis laughed, shook his head. “All right,” he said. “Have it your way. But don’t get too cocky. Even wasted, those three are some formidable foes.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” I said. “I’m a SEAL, remember? I eat guys like this for lunch, or breakfast in this case.” And with that, I stepped out of the car and started walking directly towards them.

  Pedroza and his crew saw me heading in their direction and immediately stopped their chatter and turned their eyes towards me as though they could sense the danger I represented. So it appeared that sneaking up on them wasn’t going to be an option. Oh well, I guess I was going to have to do things the hard way. Fine by me.

  We continued moving steadily but unhurriedly towards each other, my mouth affixed in an subconscious smile, my mind planning out the first couple moves in advance.

  I was thirty feet away and closing when Pedroza whispered something to his friends, who both nodded. All three men stopped. Pedroza was standing half a step back from his friends.

  “And who the fuck are you supposed to be?” Pedroza said.

  I didn’t answer. Nor did I slow down. I just kept on moving towards the three of them like an unstoppable engine of destruction. I was within fifteen feet of them now.

  “Oh, so it’s gonna be like that,” Pedroza said.

  I nodded, my smile growing wider. I’d forgotten how much I enjoyed stuff like this. My body was singing in anticipation, begging for action, longing for the dance to begin. The hundreds upon hundreds of hours spent training for battle had conditioned me to feel no fear, consider no doubt. I was completely focused on the task at hand. I was in the zone.

  “Fucking come and try it,” the blonde-haired guy on Pedroza’s right said. He clenched his fists and stepped forward to meet me, his arm already in motion.

  Without breaking stride, I slid gently to my left, easily avoiding Blondie’s wild swing. Before he could regain his balance I cracked him with an overhand left to the jaw followed immediately by a right elbow to the back of his head. As Blondie’s upper body leaned forward from the blows I grabbed the back of his neck in a Muy Thai clench and pulled his head down with both my hands and blasted my knee up into his face, breaking his nose and sending him to the ground in a heap, unconscious.

  I was turning back towards the other two before Blondie had even hit the ground. Pedroza’s other friend—a tattooed bald dude—was nearly upon me and moving quickly, his arms spread as though he was going to tackle me to the ground, leaving his chest wide open. Stupid.

  I finished my turn, and using my back shoulder as a counterweight, took one step forward and hit him with an open-palm strike to the center of his chest.

  The blow cracked Baldie’s sternum and stopped him dead in his tracks. I kicked him on the outside of the knee, buckling him, sending him down to one knee, then onto the ground. Both hands were over his chest and he was wheezing like a deflated bagpipe.

  I could sense Pedroza nearby, and turned just as he was throwing a right-hand at my face. I shifted my weight to better absorb the blow and turned my head. Instead of connecting solidly, Pedroza’s blow glanced off the side of my head. Juiced on adrenalin, I barely even felt the blow at all.

  Pedroza followed his first punch with an overhand left, but I was ready for it. I stepped in towards him, and turned my body into the blow, rendering it essentially harmless.

  Pedroza backed off quickly, perhaps sensing he was outmatched. For a moment, I thought he was going to run. Then his eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared and it was obvious he wasn’t going anywhere. He spread his feet out to shoulder length and raised his hands in a classical boxer’s stance.

  “You should have followed your first instinct and started running,” I said.

  “Run from a douchebag like you?” he said. “Not a chance. I’m gonna fuck you up, bro.”

  “You think so, huh?”

  “Better believe it, bitch.”

  “Then let’s see what you got,” I said, squaring up with him, mimicking his stance, making him think this was going to be a boxing match. A fair fight.

  He quickly learned there was no such thing, not in the real world.

  Shortly after we squared up I took a half-step to my right, as though I was going to start circling, a classic boxing strategy. As Pedroza shifted his lead foot to stay with me, I lashed out with my trailing foot, striking him squarely in the groin. Pedroza let out a tortured groan and fell to his knees. He started rocking back and forth, his hands covering his crotch, his face red from exertion, his eyes bugging.

  He was just about to fall face-first to the cement when Willis grabbed him from behind. Willis yanked Pedroza to his feet and started marching him towards the Blazer. Pedroza was in too much pain to fight back. He just shuffled along, moaning the whole time.

  “Thanks for leaving me something to do,” Willis said as we made our way back to the Blazer.

  “What can I say? Things got a little out of hand.”

  “Are you sure you didn’t have it planned that way the whole time?”

  “Well, you did say you couldn’t put any stress on your back, so I figured I’d just take care of it myself.”

  Willis laughed. “You’re a piece of work, my friend. A real piece of work.” He stuffed Pedroza into the back seat and closed the door.

  “So,” I said. “Until next time?”

  “Is there going to be a next time? I thought you didn’t want my charity.”

  “Yeah, well maybe I was being a little too rash. This was kinda fun.”

  “I thought you’d like it,” Willis said. “It’ll be good to have you on board. The way we’re growing, I could definitely use the help.”

  “Then count me in,” I said.

  “Cool,” Willis said.

  “So that’s it?”

  “Almost,” Willis said. “Just one more thing and then we’re done.”

  “What now?” I asked, pretending to be annoyed.

  “Come with me to drop him off.”

  “What for?”

  “So you can meet the lawyer. She’ll want to see the man that brought the mighty Pedroza in for her.”

  I waved him off. “Nah, man. You can take the credit. Maybe she’ll be so grateful you can get a little action out of it.”

  “I told you before,” Willis said. “It wasn’t about that. She’s not my kind of girl. But you, on the other hand, you could use a girl like her.”

  Something about
the way he said it was strange. And then I saw how he was looking at me. Grinning like the Cheshire Cat and with mischief in his eyes. And then I got it.

  I scoffed and shook my head. “That’s what this was all about? This whole thing was just a ploy to set me up with the lawyer?”

  Willis shrugged. “I had to try something. I couldn’t just stand by and let you rot in that basement forever. You needed to get your life back, bro.”

  “So I take it your back isn’t even bothering you?”

  “Not a bit.”

  I laughed. Un-freaking-believable. But I still didn’t understand one thing. “If you were trying to set me up with the lawyer, then what was last night about?”

  “That was just for fun,” Willis said. “A one night thing to break your funk, get you back in the saddle.”

  “And Amber?”

  “She knew the score going in,” Willis said. “She’s cool with it. She knows you couldn’t handle a girl like her for long. It’s not your style. But this lawyer, she’s right down your alley. I got a good feeling about this one, Highway. I think you two will hit it off.”

  I thought about it for a moment. Willis always did have a sixth sense when it came to women. Maybe it was time to see if it worked for others too. “You said she was hot, right?”

  “Smokin.”

  “What the hell,” I said, feeling optimistic for the first time in as long as I could remember. “Why not give it a shot? What’s the worst that could happen?”

  “You could fall in love and get married.”

  “Only in your world is that a bad thing, Willis.”

  “Yeah, I am kind of strange like that,” Willis said, clapping me on the back. He went around the front of the car to the driver’s side.

  “So what’s this lawyer’s name?” I asked over the hood as we climbed into the car.

  “Josephine,” Willis said. “But she told me to call her Josie.”

  ###

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Brian Springer has been writing for ten years, most of which were spent managing a large brick and mortar chain bookstore in between stints as a financial planner and playing in the Spanish Professional Baseball League. He holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of San Diego and currently lives in Temecula, California with his wife Kimberley and their two children.