An Unexpected Visitor
Luke shivered as he bent close to the bike he was giving a winter overhaul to. The garage held the cold of the extra cold December day.
In the next bay Saks cursed, and the hollow thud of metal hitting concrete slammed Luke’s ears.
“Fuck,” cursed Saks. He stood and went into the bathroom and the water ran. Saks came out and held his hand in a paper towel.
“Did you do lasting damage?” asked Luke.
“My hands are stiff. I’m rethinking the whole Florida thing.”
“You can’t go until after the Christmas party. I need you tending bar.”
“What about Crash?”
Luke shrugged. “He said he had other plans.”
“And where is he today, eh? I thought you wanted the last five bikes readied to put into storage.”
“I do. But it's obvious things aren’t working out with George. He was looking for an in with the club when he hired on. And you know the guys. They’re very skittish now about letting new people in.”
“So, he’s not getting what he wants and is moving on?”
“I guess.”
“Fuck,” said Saks. “Then my timing is shitty.”
“Timing?” said Luke.
“Look, Luke. I’m getting pressure from my family.”
Luke stopped what he was doing and stood to look Saks in the eye. “What kind of pressure?”
“To drop my affiliation with the Spawn.”
“Wait, what? I thought they were good with you being in the club.”
“They don’t have anything against the club specifically, but they don’t want me in a club that’s been investigated by the DEA.”
“Well, that’s the pot calling the kettle black.”
“Yeah,” said Saks, scratching his head. “They’re afraid that the government spooks, their words, not mine, will keep an extra eye on me because of me being in this club. It’s gotten to the point that I have to choose between family dinners and hanging out with the Spawn.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, neither the DEA nor the FBI are watching us anymore.”
“Can you be sure of that, Luke? This guy George shows up, and within a month of getting a job looks to hang out with the club.”
Luke stood there, stunned. He couldn’t believe what Saks was saying to him.
“Just like Pepper,” added Saks quietly.
“And what does your cousin say?”
“The cop? I’m not allowed to talk to him.”
“What?”
“He’s on the outs big-time. Wasn’t even invited for Thanksgiving.”
“That sucks.”
“Which is why I hope you understand that I have to give my notice.”
“What!” Luke stood shell-shocked as his trusted friend and employee delivered a bomb that came out of nowhere. “You’re quitting?”
“Yeah, I have to. I’m going to Florida. I have a friend with a shop there who’s looking for help. The more distance I can put between me and my family, the better.”
Luke didn’t know what to say. If Saks felt it was necessary to move to Florida from Connecticut, whatever was going on was a bigger deal than Saks made it seem. But it was a shock and a bad one.
“You understand, with your family an’ all.”
“Does my uncle have something to do with this? Did he do something to piss off your family?” Luke barely knew his uncle, a Mexican crime boss whose stock in trade was drug-running. But chaos followed the man like a lightning after thunder, and his last visit to Connecticut stirred up a bunch of trouble between the wise guys and the Rojos, a one-percenter bike club, and the Hombres, the street gang affiliated with the Rojos.
“Look. It’s not a thing,” Saks said cryptically. “I’m sure you’ll find some good people. You usually manage to.”
“Yeah. But who’re we going to get to lend your brand of style and class to the shop?”
Saks spread his hands. “Hey, what can I say? I’m irreplaceable like that.” He wiped his hands. “We done for the day? I have some things to do.”
“Sure,” said Luke.
He slapped Luke on the shoulder as he walked past him to the time clock. “See you tomorrow, then?”
“Sure,” said Luke. “Two weeks’ notice, right?”
“Something like that.” Saks walked from the shop as casually as he announced that he was getting lunch, and the back door buzzed with the security alarm as he left.
Damn. This was something that Luke hadn’t expected, and he was in shock. Part of him wanted to sympathize with Saks. But anger stirred in him as well. He turned and stared at the bike he was winterizing. He was halfway through the oil change, and he hadn’t added the stabilizer to the gasoline yet, but he thought about taking off himself. He hadn’t been to the Red Bull, the Spawn’s old hangout, for quite some time. Maybe he should just get a few cold ones and put aside his troubles. But leaving the bike in a cold garage half-finished was not a good idea. He went and turned on the heater which would blast warm air into the space, thinking that maybe he, Emily, and Robbie should go to Florida, just like Saks.
Except he couldn’t do that. It wasn’t in Luke’s nature to be irresponsible, and he’d just have to tough out these latest developments. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t faced more difficult situations. It’s just that after the drama of the past nearly two years, he thought he was due for a break.
The front door bell shouted a loud buzzing through the shop, startling Luke. He stood and wiped his hand reflexively on a shop rag, but before he could walk to the office a hulking frame of man stood in the doorway.
“Hello, Luke.”
Luke stared, shocked for the second time that day. For a second he thought it was Gibs. But that couldn’t be. His old friend and employee was long dead in the ground. He shook his head. The man was Gibs’ older brother, Rob Gibson, who also was Emily’s biological father. Even though he was a couple years older than Gibs, he could have been the guy’s twin.
“Hello, Rob,” he said coolly, still using the rag to clean his hands. Rob hadn’t impressed him very much when he showed up while Emily was still pregnant with Robbie. Luke still harbored a bit of grudge that Rob had allowed Emily to come to danger when he waited too long to make the arrest of the man who made Luke’s life hell, a Witsec agent who killed his parents to get at the money they carried.
“How’s everyone?” said Rob. “I haven’t been able to get a hold of Emily.”
“She’s Christmas shopping,” said Luke.
“Oh,” said Rob. “I was hoping to see little Robbie.”
Luke threw the rag in the trashcan they used to collect shop rags. “You’ll have to come to the house sometime,” said Luke noncommittally.
“Yeah, I hope to,” said Rob. He cleared his throat, as if he was going to say something he didn’t want to. “Actually, I hope to be doing a lot of that. I’ve retired from the FBI.”
“Congratulations,” said Luke in a flat voice.
“And I’m looking to settle back home.”
“Here? In Westfield?”
“Yeah. I know it’ll be tough reconnecting with some folks I used to know, but at least Emily and Robbie are here.”
Luke opened his mouth, but didn’t know what to say. There was no way Sam Dougherty was going to want this guy around. Emily might not go for it either.
“Look,” said Rob, “I know how I left things, well, it was shitty. I just stopped writing, and that’s on me. But I was deep into this assignment—” He stopped himself and then shook his head. “I’ve used that excuse enough in my life. And I’ve given up enough for my country. I’m just hoping for a little piece of what I left behind. But I won’t push myself on anyone.”
“I’m sure you won’t,” said Luke.
“Say, what’re doing with that bike?” said Rob.
“Just winterizing it. I do storage for people’s bikes over the winter. We had such a warm November people are just bringing in their bikes now.”
“Ah, changing the oil and stabilizing the gas.”
“Yeah,” said Luke.
“Giving them a good waxing, too, I suppose.”
“Of course.”
“What do you do with the tires?”
“I have bike lifts for each of the bikes. We take off the tires.”
“That’s impressive. Not every shop does that.”
“My business revolves around serving repeat customers. I try to keep them happy.”
“Yes, I get that about you. Not sloppy.”
“The Navy will do that to you.”
“Navy, eh? I took you for an Army guy.”
“No. Not me. I wanted to see the world.”
“Did you?”
Luke laughed. “Yes, from inside the engine room of whatever boat I was on.”
Rob chuckled. “Yeah, government work will do that to you. So, how about we go for a beer?”
“Can’t. I’ve got five more of these babies to do before I knock off.”
“Five? Bet I can get three done to your two.”
“You?”
“Who do you think taught Frank how to fix bikes?”
“It’s nice of you to offer, but you aren’t an employee.”
“I could be.”
“What?”
“You’re looking understaffed right now.”
“It’s like that during winter.”
“Yeah, but I don’t need anything full-time, just something to keep me busy.”
“I don’t know,” said Luke.
“What? It’d be weird having Frank’s brother here?”
“Something like that,” said Luke.
“Okay, I understand. Tell Emily I’ll give her a call.”
Rob walked to the door with an unhappy look on his face. Then he turned toward Luke again. “Look, I know I screwed up. I just hope Emily can forgive me.”
“It’s not up to me, Rob.” Luke wasn’t going to lie to him.
“Yeah, I know.”
The buzzer for the door rang again, and Rob, filling the frame of the door between the garage and the office, smiled and held out his hand to the newcomer.
“Long time,” said Rob. “Long time.”
“Yeah,” said a familiar gravelly voice.
Luke nearly groaned. What the hell was Oakie doing here? He listened to the two men exchange pleasantries as if they were old friends. In truth, they met less than two years ago.
“I just came to ask Luke how the planning for the Christmas party was going. Hey, why don’t you come? Stop by at the clubhouse for the party. It’s next Friday night.”
“That’s sounds great. I will. Bye, Luke.” The door buzzed and then fell silent as Rob left the shop.
Okie walked into the garage, and Luke was too annoyed to remind the Hades Spawn president not to step into the shop. Insurance regs didn’t allow non-employees on the shop floor, something Luke had told Oakie several times before. But Oakie didn’t seem to remember any of Luke’s admonitions.
“What’s up, Luke?” smiled Oakie.
“Did you have to invite him?” gritted Luke as he tightened the oil pan of the bike he was working on.
“Why? What’s wrong with inviting him?”
“Do you know that Saks just gave me his notice because his family doesn’t trust the club with all our involvement with the FBI and the DEA?”
“What? I’ll have a talk with the wise guys.”
“No, you won’t,” said Luke as he poured stabilizer into the gas tank. “They don’t like you anymore than the DEA or the FBI.”
“Why? I haven’t done a thing to them.”
“Except play a hand in exposing their operation and the people in it. At least that’s how they see it.”
“Well, fuck it then,” said Oakie.
Luke shook his head. “No, Oakie. Not fuck it. These are dangerous people whether they’re your friends or enemies. They’ve been keeping things quiet for a long time, looking to stay under the radar so they can conduct their business. And what happened with the Spawn, the Rojos, and the Hombres brought them to the attention of law enforcement. And believe me, doing shit like inviting Rob Gibson to our functions isn’t going to make them feel any easier about us. Rob Gibson is not on their Christmas card list. And he shouldn’t be on ours.”