Revenge (6 page)

Out of the shower, he began to plan breakfast.
 
Years ago, there’d been a little breakfast place on the south side of town that was run by a large, very sweet lady named Norma.
 
Mercer hopped on his bike and made his way over there, but was disheartened to find it was gone and a McDonald's had taken its place.
 

He decided to search out a different restaurant, wanting something locally owned, but could only find Starbucks and Bob Evans.
 
Just when he thought everything had been taken over by corporations, he saw a little diner, and stopped in for what turned out to be a disappointing breakfast of greasy eggs and cold biscuits.

After the overpriced bill was paid with what he thought was a more than generous tip, he stood outside smoking, wondering where to go from there.
 
Every day had been the same—get up and go—and now he wasn’t sure what to do.
 
He decided there was one place worth seeing in town, even if it was the last place he wanted to go.

Out on Highway 31, on the edge of sharp turn, there was a grove of trees set about 20 feet back.
 
The field that ran alongside the highway was otherwise empty, and the trees were often used as a landmark when giving directions.
 
The people who lived out here would say something like, “Go down two miles and we’re on the left, but if you see the trees you’ve gone too far.”

The highway’s sharp turn had been used by thrill-seeking teenagers for years.
 
They would go as fast as they could along Highway 31 and skid around the corner.
 
Most people ended up in the grass, but some pulled it off and became legends.
 
One unfortunate soul skidded too far into the field and cracked his head on the trees.

It could have happened to anyone of the countless kids who tried it every year, but it only happened to one.
 
Donald “Specs” Tibbs hit a slick spot on the road and flew too far into the field.
 
His head smacked the tree and he went into a coma for three days.
 
He never woke up.

Mercer didn’t attend the funeral or even visit him in the hospital.
 
Specs’ family wouldn’t have welcomed him, they always thought Mercer was a bad influence on Specs, but Mercer wouldn’t have gone anyway.
 
He didn’t think that body in the hospital bed, and later, in the coffin, was his friend.
 
It kind of looked like him, but Mercer knew his friend was gone, and standing around crying and fretting wasn’t going to do anyone any good.

Mercer had never been to the graveyard where Specs was buried.
 
There was no point looking at a grave.
 
This spot was where he last saw his friend, so it was only right this was the place he visited.
 
He pulled his bike to the side of the road and got off.
 
He walked right to the point Specs had started to slide and followed the path he took as he slid through the field and to the tree.
 
Mercer placed his hand on the tree and ran it up the rough bark.
 
He didn’t blame himself any more than he blamed the tree.
 
Specs was capable of making his own choices. No one forced him onto the bike.

Specs was the unusual combination of incredible smarts and fantastic athleticism.
 
His perfect grades and ability to score more in football than anyone in the history of Calumet High School made him the golden child of the town.
 
Everyone thought he could do no wrong.
 
So when someone needed to be blamed for his death, Mercer was the obvious choice, even though there was no truth to it.
 
Mercer may have introduced Specs to motorcycles, but it was Specs that always pushed the boundaries.
 
When common sense told Mercer to hold back, it was Specs that had pushed them even further.
 

It was the same with Danni.
 
Mercer had been in love with Danni for a year before she and Specs started dating.
 
He had pined for her, and even though she was a year younger than Mercer, he always found himself getting tongue-tied around her.
 
It wasn’t until later that he found out Specs was also interested, so Mercer told his friend to go for it.
 
It almost killed him to do it, but Mercer knew that Specs got whatever he wanted and there was no sense pretending otherwise, so he stepped aside and watched his best friend and girl of his dreams get together.
 
He told himself it was for the best.
 
Specs had the best grades, the most wins, and the brightest future.
 
Danni deserved someone like Specs.
 

When Specs died, it was like part of the town died.
 
Suddenly the best and brightest was gone and everyone’s life got a little more meaningless, like taking all the color out of photograph and leaving black, white, and gray.
 
Mercer knew it was best to leave and never look back, so that’s exactly what he did.
 

Mercer ran his hand over the tree just one more time and said a silent prayer for his friend. He was walking back to his bike when the phone rang.
 
He saw it was Doc and answered it.

“Kid, are you somewhere safe?”

“About as safe as I can be.
 
Why?”

“Because Tanks sent Glass after you, but this morning Tank gets a call and takes off with two other guys, new guys who joined up just before you left, named Bingo and Charlie.
 
Anyway, it’s like they got a bead on you, so wherever you are, the best thing to do is split.”

Mercer cursed.
 
He’d finally come back to this fucking town after ten years.
 
He was finally seeing Danni again, and now he had to take off.

“OK, Doc, thanks.
 
When did Tank leave?”

“Just about an hour ago.”

“OK, thanks for the heads up.
 
I’m out of here.”

He hung up the phone.
 
Tank rode fast, so Mercer figured he’d get to town in about four hours.
 
He checked his watch.
 
It was just after 11.
 
There was nothing back in his hotel room.
 
He would take the time to stop by and see Danni.
 
He couldn’t leave again without saying goodbye.
 

As he sped down the street he wondered how the hell Tank had tracked him down.
 
He was hundreds of miles away from the MC, in a place where he thought no one would ever look for him, and now he was on the run again.

D
anni was getting ready for the lunch rush when she heard the sound of a motorcycle pull up out front.
 
He heart began to beat faster and her hands got a little shaky.
 
She told herself not to act some lovesick teenager, but the truth was, she loved that someone could bring that out in her and she loved that it was Mercer.
 
Boyfriends had come and gone, but none of them had made her feel the way Mercer did.
 
Not back in high school and not now.

Not even Specs could do it.
 
When he died it was tragic.
 
The entire town and treated her like she was Juliet and had just lost her Romeo, but truthfully, she was more broken up at Mercer leaving without telling her.
 
She felt bad about feeling that way, but eventually as she grew, she forgave herself for feeling the way she did.
 

The door opened and she watched him walk into the place.
 
His shoulder length hair always pushed back from the wind, his damn stubble that was always there, no matter how many times he shaved.
 
He strode confidently up to her, but she could see there was something wrong in his eyes.

“What is it?” she asked.
 
She didn’t beat around the bush. They had wasted enough time and she wanted to get right to it.

“I have to go,” he said.

She thought maybe he was going to crack a smile and tell her it was some stupid joke, but the look in his eye told her he wasn’t playing around.

“Fuck it.
 
Go.”
 
She turned away and busied herself by rolling silverware in napkins.

He put a hand on her shoulder.
 
“Danni, don’t do that.
 
I can’t help it.
 
Some people, I don’t know how, but they know where I am and I have to go.
 
I’ll come back when I can. I promise.”

She turned back to him.
 
“Look, you were barely in town.
 
You came here for half an hour last night.
 
It won’t be that hard to forget about it.
 
I’ll just pretend you were never here.
 
If anyone comes asking about you, I’ll say I haven’t seen you in years.
 
It won’t be that much of a lie anyway.”

He took his hand from her shoulder.
 
She was right and he knew it.
 
He should have anticipated this.
 
Tank and his crew and been on him and he should’ve known they’d track him here as well.
 
It would have been better for everyone if he had just kept riding.
 

He looked at the clock.
 
It was twenty past eleven.
 
That gave him about three and a half hours to be gone.
 
He really shouldn’t stick around any longer, but he needed to smooth things out with Danni before he left.
 
If he didn’t, he knew there wouldn’t be another chance.

“Before I leave, let me take you someplace.”

“What the hell is this?” she said.
 
“I have to work and you have to leave town.
 
Who are these people looking for you, anyway?
 
What did you do?”

“I’ll explain everything.
 
It won’t take long.
 
I’ll still be gone long before they get here.
 
Get someone to cover for you.”

She hesitated, but called to Jeannie, “I’m going out for a bit.
 
I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Jeannie looked at her, wide-eyed.
 
“The lunch rush is about to start, Danni.”

“I know.
 
Most won’t be here until twelve thirty. I’ll be back by then.”

Mercer and Danni left before Jeannie had a chance to say anything else.
 
They got on his bike and Danni felt the engine roar to life as she slid her arms around Mercer’s thin waist.
 
Until he took off down the street, Danni hadn’t realized how much she missed this.
 
The feel of the engine, the smell of leather, the way she held him close as he sped down the street.
 
It felt good and it felt right, in a way that it never did with anyone else, not even Specs.

Mercer went fast through town.
 
The feel of the streets was coming back to him, like he’d never left.
 
He knew how to take the turns and how to anticipate the green lights.
 
In his mind he was suddenly eighteen again, but this time he had the girl on his bike instead of riding alone.
 

He didn’t know how he was going to leave her again, but he put that thought out of his mind for the time being.
 
He concentrated on the road, the feel of the wind in his hair, and Danni’s hands, which slid down his stomach towards his belt with every bump in the road.

He took a left at a four-way stop without bothering to slow down.
 
The road took them up a hill and into the woods.
 
After about five minutes, he slowed the bike and came to a stop right on the ridge that overlooked the town.
 
Neither of them had been up there in ten years, but nothing had changed.
 
It was the one thing in town that had remained absolutely the same.
 
They got off the bike and sat down in the exact spot that had so many years ago.

“Remember the last time we were up here?” said Mercer.

Danni nodded.
 
It was the closest they had ever come to being together, even though nothing had actually happened.
 
Specs was out of town for a football game and they had come up here with a six-pack.
 
They laid out under the stars and drank beer while they talked.
 
It was that night Danni knew no one would understand her like Mercer.
 
Of course she lied to herself and said it was just the beer and the night making Mercer seem better, but deep inside she knew he was the one she should be with.

The day was clouding over. They sat on rocks and stared down at the town, watching life unfold below them.
 
They said nothing for a few minutes, both trying to hold on to the time together before it was gone again.