Purgatory Blues (2013), page 7
The were walking casually so as not to arouse suspicion, but one of them had already managed to make it through the exit before Andy stepped in between them, catching the bigger of the two as he was about to leave.
“The show’s just started, you’re not leaving are you?” he asked as politely as he could.
“We don like it. We are going now”, he replied, somewhat frustrated by the stranger accosting him.
Andy smiled at him as diplomatically as he could, deducing that his accent came from Nigeria. “I see, and have you settled your tab sir?”
“Yes, di waitruss as bin paid, please move”. The big man tried to side step Andy but he moved with him and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
“There’s just one thing, you see, I’m the manager here and I’m sure that you haven’t settled your bill because your waitress just told me so”.
“Do you know oo I am? Do you know what my name is? I will fock you up man! Move from di way”, he said with his jerky enunciation.
Andy could tell that it was going to end in a fight. He looked over his shoulder and spotted the other guy at least twenty feet away, waiting for his friend. He turned back and sized up the one in front of him. Andy didn’t say a word. He just smiled.
“I am only tellin you one more time, move out of di way”, the big Nigerian said after a brief pause.
“Cough up the money and I’ll be glad to”, Andy said for one last attempt at peace.
“Fock you!” He said and pushed passed Andy.
He took two steps out the exit before Andy grabbed his left shoulder with his right hand. As predicted, the big Nigerian turned left and swung with his right. Andy blocked with his left, took hold of the big man’s wrist, ducked under his arm and pushed him into a hammerlock. Andy pulled him back in to the Firk and forced him face first on to one of the tables.
“Me-lissss-sa”, Andy called out playfully.
“Got him”, Melissa shouted back before smashing a beer bottle on the head of the second guy who was coming up at Andy from behind.
“Thank you”, Andy said loudly.
“Pleasure”, Melissa called back.
Andy leaned close to the big guy’s ear, “don’t you just love the jovial banter that comes with a nice bar tussle. You know, I don’t know your name, but I think I’m going to call you Susan”.
“Fock you”, was all the struggling big man could come up with.
By now the music had stopped and there was a small group around Andy and Melissa. Lily pushed through the crowd looking suitably shocked and panicky.
“Hi Lily”, Andy said with a smile, “why don’t you go ahead and take his wallet”.
Lily hesitated for a moment before taking action. She felt around the man’s pockets and gingerly removed his wallet.
“What’s he got in there?” Andy asked.
“Two thousand in cash, no credit cards or ID”.
“Take one thousand, four hundred for the inconvenience”. Andy turned back to the big man and spoke close to his ear, “this is what you get when you aren’t nice to people Susan. Now, on the of count of three I’m going to let you up, there’re five more guys behind me who want to kick your ass so don’t try anything. Get your friend and leave, got it?”
Andy took the man’s huffing breathing noises as an acknowledgement. He skipped one and two…preferring to get to the point, “three”.
Andy let go of the man and he slunk straight to his friend, he helped him up and then turned back to Andy, “I’m comin back ere for you!” He said the words trying his best to sound threatening and keep whatever he thought was left of his dignity, but there wasn’t any.
“Sure you are Susan”, Andy replied with a wink.
As the two men left, the area erupted in cheers and applause. Melissa seemed to be enjoying all the attention so she curtseyed and bowed to the crowd. She looked around for Andy but couldn’t see him, suddenly he was gone…the excitement bled out from her instantly.
Inside the men’s room Andy had finally succumbed to the physical strain he’d put his body through in the last two days. He was back in the same stall as before vomiting out the day’s alcohol. He’d simply moved too fast and fought too hard for his current disposition.
The heaving sent all the blood rushing to his head, which certainly wasn’t a good thing considering what was in his blood at that moment. The more he vomited, the more his head swam and caused more vomiting.
Finally, when there was nothing left and all he could do was gag, he slumped to the floor feeling every injury as if they were brand new. His body was wracked with pain and he felt that he couldn’t possibly lift himself up.
He lay there disorientated and incapable of motion. It felt like his veins were filled with distilled poison, as though pure vitriol coursed through his body. People came in and out but he paid them no heed. They couldn’t see him and that was the only thing that he had going for him.
Minutes went by but they seemed only seconds to him. Every time he tried to move he felt the recesses of his mind being assailed again and again.
He realized that he was taking too long and that sooner or later Melissa would send someone in to find him, if she didn’t come in herself. He had to pull himself together soon. He couldn’t let her find him in that condition.
Finally he found the strength to put some weight on his legs, he stumbled out of the stall and almost fell headfirst into the washbasin. He cleaned himself as best he could and then began drinking as much water as he could safely hold.
He heard the door to the men’s room begin to open but found the temerity to kick it shut and shout, “Come back later!”
Someone mumbled “what the hell”, and he heard footsteps retreating.
Now there was just one thing that he needed to put him back in gear. He made his way into the cleaner of the two stalls and inspected what was left of his last eight-ball. There was a little more than a third, he decided he would take it all and go for broke, reasoning that he’d either walk back out there like nothing had happened or they’d find a body…in which case it probably didn’t matter.
He cleaned the top of the toilet paper dispenser, put down a credit card and used his driver’s license to cut the line on the credit card. For some reason the methodical, robotic action of chopping cocaine made him feel like he was in control again.
He licked the edge of his license card clean and tasted the familiar numbness in his mouth…numbness and bile.
For a brief moment, staring down at the white powder that had come to control his life, he wondered who and what he had become…the pause made him feel nauseous. The battle with his conscience was broken when the men’s room door was thrown open, “Andy, you in here?” The voice belonged to Dennis.
“Yeah buddy, I’ll be out in a second, I think I got some Nigerian on me, just cleaning up”, he replied with as much confidence as he could muster, making every effort to control his slurring.
“Cool brother”, Dennis said with a small laugh, “we’ll be at the table outside”.
“Cool”, Andy replied.
As the door to the men’s room closed Andy banished all other thoughts, he had to get back outside and look alright. He flushed the toilet and snorted the huge line in one practiced go. He felt the massive jolt hit him behind the eyes and he held his head in response to the sharp pain. The line was so big that some of it went down his throat…he thought that was good though, knowing it would numb his stomach so he’d be able to drink more.
His heart rate increased and he started to sweat, his skin felt like hundreds of spiders were crawling all over him. He held the sides of the stall and focussed on his breathing. He had to get his shallow quick breaths down to slow deep ones.
“It’s alright”, he told himself. He knew that if he was going to overdose his heart would’ve stopped and he’d have been on the floor already. He knew he just had to calm down and he’d be okay. “Just breathe”, he told himself.
In a minute the overwhelming sensations retreated and he was steady once more. As he left the men’s room, heads turned in his direction. He wondered if they were asking themselves whether he was the guy in the fight or the guy who’d kicked the door closed or both. He pretended to be neither of them and just walked.
“Time for round two”, he thought to himself.
“Not as fresh as a daisy, not potpourri mix, not a week old arrangement of leftover junk at the florist either”. He decided that he felt like a two day old bouquet. “That’s it exactly”, he thought, “a two day old bouquet”, though he had no idea why the analogy came to mind. Suddenly he was reliving the experience of being thrown off the Ninja from the day before. He shook his head and said, “fuck”, under his breath.
Andy navigated his way back to the table and the first person to come up to him was Lily, she held the back of his neck and pulled him down to her so she could give him a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you so, so much! I’m going to bring you something special on me as a thank you and you have to have it!”
“That’s sounds good”, Andy said, managing a fake smile, “how about another round as well? And get Dennis whatever he wants too”.
“Already taken care of babe, I’m gonna get your stuff but I want you to have my drink first!”
“I will”, Andy said, faking another smile, all the while wishing Lily would stop being so happy and chatty. “Just get the damn drinks and leave me alone!”
Dennis was the next to greet him. It was the arm wrestle handshake with a shoulder bump and a tap on the back, commonly referred to as a “brug” or a “bro hug”. Dennis wasn’t quite as big as Jack, but he was pretty near to it and just a smidgeon taller. His short red hair combined with his light blue eyes and soft features didn’t made him look dangerous in an immediate sort of way, but he could give just as good as he got in any fight.
“Hey brother”, Dennis said with a big smile.
“Hey”, was all Andy said in reply.
“What’s going on?” Dennis asked as they made their way back to Melissa and their table.
“Just a Sunday afternoon man”, Andy said casually.
“I heard about the scuffle”.
“Nothing major, they asked for it. Thanks for coming down here by the way”, Andy said, remembering his phone.
“No problem, I was heading down here anyway”, he said as he handed the cell phone to Andy. “Jack sent these along too, said you could probably use em after rolling your ass all over the road yesterday”. He handed Andy a box of heavy-duty painkillers with a big smile on his face.
“Thanks motherfucker, you don’t have to look so happy about it”, Andy said with a slight scowl.
Dennis just laughed and sat down next to Melissa. As soon as Andy moved in opposite them he immediately cracked open the box of painkillers, popped three into his mouth and forced them down with some beer.
“Really?” Melissa asked in annoyance, “you’re doing that after all the alcohol you’ve just had and on an empty stomach?”
“What’re you? His Nurse?” Dennis asked, surprised at her edge in her tone, it was her relationship voice. He’d been wondering why they were together at the Firk in the first place. Melissa’s outburst pushed his suspicions into overdrive. Andy made the situation even more conspicuous by offering no retort. Dennis stared at Melissa while she stared at Andy, seething with anger. Andy pretended not to notice either of them and watched the musician at work.
“Well, thanks for breakfast”, Melissa said, standing up, “I’ve got to go watch another poisoning across town. There’s also a martyr in the valley who wants to give a speech and then jump off a cliff”. She gave Dennis a tap on the back in a “see you later” kind of way and then made her way to the exit.
For a moment it seemed like she wasn’t even going to say goodbye to Andy, she paused briefly, looking at the exit, but then turned back and leaned down to his ear from behind him to whisper, “by the way, fuck you too”.
Andy had neither the energy nor the inclination to offer any response. He merely provided a curt nod without so much as eye contact. It was all he could think to do at the time. He knew it wouldn’t do to have Dennis be party to any verbal altercation and right then was definitely not time or the place.
It didn’t matter though because Melissa didn’t bother to wait for a response, she hopped on her bike and left without ceremony. As the familiar rumble of her Harley faded into the distance, Dennis finally broke the silence. “I’ll be specific”, he said, “just so there’s no misunderstandings. What the fuck is going on with you and Melissa?”
“It’s nothing”, Andy said dismissively, “you know how chicks get, she’s just concerned. I’ve been pushing myself a little hard the last few days so she’s got it in her head that I’m gonna die or something. I’m immortal man, you know that”.
“Well, she’s not the type to mother someone unnecessarily. So, if I was you, the first thing I’d do is maybe take her advice, albeit with a pinch of salt. The second thing I’d do is stay the fuck away from Melissa. Immortal or not, Allen is likely to go all highlander on your ass if he catches you with his lady”.
“Nothing happened”, Andy lied, wearing as serious an expression as he could pull together.
“I didn’t say anything did, but he might have a hard time believing that considering all the history between you two. He’s…” Dennis paused as Lily arrived and set her tray on the table.
“I’m not interrupting anything am I?” She asked with an inquisitive smile.
“Not at all sweetie”, Andy said and held her around the waist, expecting the flirtation to expunge any ideas that Dennis might have about him and Melissa spending the night together…or at least, he hoped it would. Lily playfully fondled him return and began setting out their drinks.
“This one is for you”, she said, placing a large colorful drink in front of Andy, “it’s something I invented, I don’t have a name for it yet. It’s quite strong so small sips at first. Let me know what you think babe”. She retreated with her tray in hand.
“Thanks doll”, Andy called after her.
“Look”, Dennis continued, “Allen is not the same guy that he used to be. He’s Sergeant at arms now and even though you didn’t hold any rank back when you were with the club, you were always Jack’s favorite. He confided in you, he trusted you, you were higher than vice as far as everyone else was concerned. A lot of shit went down when you left…”
Andy cut Dennis off, “I didn’t leave”. The steel in his eyes conveyed the meaning of those words to Dennis.
“Okay, you didn’t leave, but you know what I meant”, he said apologetically.
“The only person who knows the circumstances of my…let’s call it a little hiatus…is Jack. He’s totally fine with it and it’s his say so that counts. When there’s someone else holding the gavel then I’ll give a fuck what you all think”.
“I didn’t mean anything by it man”, Dennis said softly.
“Yeah, well…you were saying?” Andy asked, regaining control of his temper.
“All I’m saying is that you shouldn’t be taking a shit on Al’s lawn”.
“Thanks for the warning, but I think I can take care of myself when it comes to Allen”.
“He’s changed Andy, he’s changed a lot. I remember that day when things went sour between you guys. Till this day no one even knows what the hell happened because no one ever talks about it. All we know is that you had some sort of beef with Al. You came into the club after a north run with Jack and kicked the living shit out of him. A couple days later you’re off the radar. Jack says Allen isn’t allowed to touch you and that the matter is settled. You even left Melissa behind. Don’t you think that makes you look like the bad guy in all this?”
“No I don’t”, Andy said decisively, “and if that stupid bastard had any balls he wouldn’t have listened to Jack. Anytime he feels like getting another ass kicking, you can give him my number”.
“Don’t think for a second that he wouldn’t relish the opportunity”, Dennis said with a raised brow, “I think Allen thought he had something to prove after that whole thing. Maybe he wanted to prove that he was better than you, I don’t know, maybe he’s thinking that M will always be comparing the two of you. Whatever it is…he is not someone that you wanna fuck with right now”. Dennis appeared genuinely afraid for Andy.
“You let me worry about Allen”, Andy said confidently, “how about we talk about something else. I came here to drink, not to get lectured by you or M. What’s going on with you?” He was desperate to change the subject.
“Quite a lot actually”.
“Yeah?”
“Well, from what M told me about those two guys you kicked out of here, you might’ve met the club’s newest problem. Seems that there’s a new operator in town. They’re peddling something that they’re calling brown sugar and they’re expanding aggressively. This stuff is super addictive. A little heroin, a lot of coke, some kind of amphetamine and it’s cut with god knows how many other kinds of stuff. It’s been about four months and they’re really starting to sink their teeth in to Stockton. They’re getting kids hooked on this stuff man”.
“Sounds serious”, Andy said, suddenly piqued with interest.
“Yup, it’s starting to get there. You know the arrangement…we get our territory from the law as long as we’re the baddest dudes in the neighborhood. We keep the peace and everyone’s happy. Right now it’s not looking good that we can’t even control what’s happening in our own back yard. Sergeant Lee came over to the club the other day to talk to Jack and it really didn’t sound good. No one knows who these guys are and we haven’t been able to grab one of em to find out. Maybe if you had been showing up more than once every year to a club meeting you’d have known and held on to that fucker”.
“Take it easy, it’s only been four months. Now that I know, I’ll call you if I see anything going down. Everyone who’s anyone knows to stay away from our turf. We’ll get our hands on him soon”, Andy said as he lit up another cigarette.
“Something’s not sitting right with me about all this though”. Dennis started feeling around for a pack of cigarettes in his jacket and appeared lost in thought, not paying attention to anything in particular.
