DOUBLE CROSSED by Lidstone Barry

Author:Lidstone, Barry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Barry Lidstone
Published: 2023-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 30

It was late afternoon, the day after the fire, and I was sitting in Julie’s living room thinking about my contact Tony when my phone vibrated. A lengthy coded message came through requesting a meeting. Thinking of how I was going to get away from Julie for a few hours, I decided to tell her I had to go down to the insurance company to sign papers—and would she mind looking after Chance as I would not be back till after supper?

“Not at all,” she replied. “Will you be sleeping here tonight?”

“Yes, thank you,” I replied, “And I shouldn’t be too late.”

I patted Chance goodbye and headed out the door. The cab I caught let me out in a downtown parking garage where I made a quick exit through the back door, and caught another cab to another parking garage, where I did the same. My destination was a dirty, sleazy restaurant, and upon entering I wasn’t disappointed. Worn countertops, threadbare curtains, dirty windows and floor and seats that had not weathered the test of time too well.

In the far corner sat Tony, wiping his cutlery on a not-too-clean napkin. Before approaching, I looked at all the scruffy-looking patrons and figured if they didn’t have diarrhea before they arrived home, they would be very lucky. The food not only looked like it had been scraped off the floor but smelled like it too.

I sat down without acknowledging Tony, as the waiter shuffled over in his oversized garb, with a filthy apron being held tight by his oversized midriff. I ordered a Coke in a can, unopened, and Tony did the same. Neither of us felt like eating. Neither of us felt like looking around at the decrepit state of the restaurant. Neither of us wished we were here.

“Okay, Rider, here’s the deal,” Tony said. “We have purchased a new home for you about three blocks away from your old home. I think it will fit our and your needs better than the last house and we have possession in two days. See, the government can work fast if it wants to. Shortly, we will have a team in there placing cameras and painting. I placed enough money in your account to buy yourself two more motorcycles, replenish all your tools, and furnish the house. Go easy on the bikes and you should be okay. In a few days, a member of the biker gang should approach you as before. Get yourself set up and ready to roll. Here is a key to the house, and you’d better let neighbors see you looking at it before your move-in date.”

I left by the back door with the key in hand and caught the first cab I saw. I went to the local Kawasaki dealer where I bought a low-mileage 2006 Kawasaki 900 touring bike. Red with gold pinstriping, chrome spoked wheels, new tires and a full tank of gas. A beautiful-looking bike. Night and day compared to my beater.

It didn’t make as much noise as my burnt Harley, but enough noise to make a guy feel good.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.