The Mechanic Ch. 02

By the time Drake and his buddies got to me, I was sitting quietly, my arms at my sides and my back pressed against the bar. My mind was empty, the fire that fueled my actions was blue-white with its heat. I waited, watching only Drake. He stopped just out of reach and laughed in my face.

"Well, well, well! If it isn't the pussy that ran away with his tail between his legs letting me have his wife for the night. She was one fine piece, Jesse, my man. You probably know that it wasn't even the first time for her too, don't you? I'm sure you remember the first time? But since you ran away, it says you didn't even care. I wouldn't have let anyone have her if it was me, but you weren't here to stop me were you?"

I said nothing, watching him and the others. The flame burned a little hotter but I maintained my control. It would happen, just give it time! In my subconscious, I knew that only one of the men with him was someone I needed to be aware of. The rest were just background and would come in only when things were in control and they were sure of not being hurt or having to fight. Besides Drake, that man was my only concern and I never let him or Drake out of my sight.

My silence seemed to bother Drake as I anticipated and he started again. "Why don't you run back to whatever hole you hid in for so long? We've gotten along without you for a good long time now and Heather seems to be content with me. We're a thing now and you can't do anything about it."

I listened to his words and my own mind wondered at the truth of it. I had the sinking feeling he was telling me the truth. This was his territory and here, he was king. No need to lie and no need to worry about me. As I heard his words and the truth began to make itself known, my inner fire blazed almost out of control. With an iron will, I damped it down. Now it was time to push the buttons and end this farce. I wanted my revenge, and while my Sensei would not approve, I had to do this. I had been dreaming of it for years and now I was going to make it happen. There was no way I was walking away this time. Now, I would finish what Drake started two years ago. First, push the button and then wait for the reaction. I decided to push it hard and get this over. I put a sneer into my voice as I spoke.

"I doubt Heather is with you, Drake. She wanted a lot more than I could give her but she always had taste. You're a nothing and she knew that. You were always a loser and she felt bad for you. She didn't like you, but she did pity you. So did I. Just a poor loser who couldn't get a date without his daddy's money. Only able to keep a woman if he had four or five guys to help him. Do you let them in bed with you to keep your women happy? Do they have to hold them down while you do them?"

I watched the anger flare up in his eyes and I waited for the response. I had pushed, now he reacted. Drake stepped closer and reached out with both hand to take me by the collar and pull me toward him. I let him, and when he pulled, I pushed away from the bar and took Drake backward. Two steps and then he lost his balance and fell to the floor as I raised my arms inside his, breaking his hold. He hit the floor hard, hitting the back of his head as I stopped and waited. None of his buddies had yet moved, the action happened so fast. Now they were undecided, looking from Drake to me and, again, I watched them and waited.

Two of his guys pulled Drake to his feet. His face was blood red and his breathing was fast, indicating his fury. He was already out of control and I knew with a thrill of satisfaction, that this fight was already over. Just a few more moves and he would be done, but I didn't want it to end too quickly. I would take him out fast and then turn my attention to his boys. I felt as much anger for them as for Drake. They were his surrogates and they would pay the price I needed to exact. I let my body relax and waited for his next move.

Drake ran toward me with rage on his face, his arms out in front trying to grab me. As he came within reach, I turned slightly sideways, grabbed one of his arms and pulled him with all my strength, jerking him off balance. He stumbled and ran face-first into the edge of the bar, my arm assisting his flight. His nose hit first, followed by the rest of his face, and the solid 'thunk' indicated the end of Mr. Cunningham's desire to fight. He crumpled in a pool of blood and slid to the floor, one of the bar stools tipping over as his body fell against it. I could see his broken nose and a few of his teeth that had fallen out.

Except for a brief glance, I hadn't turned to watch Drake's flight, instead watching the others. I was rewarded by the one I had anticipated as the one to watch turning toward me even before Drake's demise. With a loud curse, he stepped toward me and pulled back his arm to throw a punch. He was a big mother and as I waited for him to swing, I remembered this man as the one who stood at my car and told me that he would do more to me if I stayed. He told me that Heather was Drake's for the night and laughed at me. I was going to do more than just disable this one.

He threw the punch and I twisted to one side, then back as his swing hit thin air. I watched and sure enough, he turned cat-quick and tried to strike again. This time I let the punch get almost to my face before grabbing his arm and twisting, letting my legs go limp putting all of my weight on his twisted arm. As his arm hit the edge of the stool, I heard the snap clearly followed by his scream of pain. The arm had broken just below the elbow, my weight and the angle putting an ungodly strain on the bone. As he backed away, I let just a touch of my anger out as I struck him with one blow to the chest, right in the middle and just above the bottom of the chest bone. I finished it with a kick to the groin and he collapsed unconscious to the floor. My Sensei would have been proud. I wanted to kill him, but I didn't! Two down, two to go.

The other two were now more cautious and tried to take me in a pincers move, one to each side. They were scared but saw no way past me. I smiled at them, then stood motionless, my eyes closed and my senses heightened, once again waiting for the aggressor to make the move. I would simply respond: self defense! I said a silent thanks to my Sensei as they went for me. I did as he would direct: I grabbed each behind their heads and used their momentum to ram their heads together, watching the lights go out of their eyes as they fell unconscious to the floor. Four started and four ended up on the floor. I walked over and just for spite, kicked Drake between the legs. He was out and didn't react but it felt good, just the same.

I returned to the bar, picked up my glass and drank a sweet draught of draft beer. It had never tasted so sweet. I wasn't even breathing hard as the fight had taken nothing out of me. As I sat the glass back down, Jim looked at me like I had just grown a second head.

"My God, Jesse! I've never seen anything like that in my life. How did you learn to do that? Jesus, man! They never had a chance!"

I felt a surge of anger come over me that had nothing to do with Drake and his crowd. This fucking town! This fucking place that stood by and watched! I turned to Jim, the same bartender that watched that night and gave vent to my anger.

"Just like me, here in this bar, right Jim? I never had a fucking chance and not one God-Damned person lent me a hand! That includes you, Jim! No one even raised a voice to try to stop it: not you, not my wife and none of those that said they were my friends! I told myself that night that I would never let it happen again, and it never will! You can pass the word if you want. Come near me without my permission and it may be the last thing you do! Now, I'm leaving! Just tell the cops what happened and try to have the guts to tell it truthfully. It's best you do, Jim, cause if you don't, I will be back and you won't be happy!"

"Where you going, Jesse? What do I tell them if they want to get in touch with you?"

"I'll be at the Motel Six just down the street. I'm alone but I'm leaving tomorrow at dawn, so if they want to talk to me, tell them to make it quick. And remember what I said: tell them the fucking truth or you'll find I can be very hard on those that try to screw me."

I walked out of the bar and drove back to my motel. I should have felt elated over my victory; my revenge on Drake and his cohorts. But in truth, I felt nothing. The words of both Drake and his buddy about my actions that night two years ago and Drake's assertion that Heather was now his did get to me. I thought I was over that; that the time I spent away from her was enough to erase the pain of her betrayal. But I was wrong. It still hurt and his words brought it all crashing back down on me. My victory tonight was a hollow one.

I had gone over that night in my mind a thousand times. Why had I chosen to run away? I knew the reasons I gave myself as I drove away from the scene of my humiliation, but did I ever believe them? I had questioned why I gave up so easily and never found a reason that justified it in my own mind. The big one was that Heather chose to betray me with the man she knew I hated. I think I knew that night that my marriage was over. Even if I had stayed, it was done.

Another was that I was outnumbered by Drake and his gang. But why didn't I stay and confront her the next morning when she came home? I did stay all night and I was still there when the sun came up but when she hadn't come home, why had I just given up? For the same reason I went away: I believed my marriage was over when she went with Drake and there was no way I could ever forgive that. That was the truth but it didn't stop the hurt and the pain of giving my daughter up. That was the hardest thing I ever did.

As I was sitting there, going over and over that terrible night in my mind, someone knocked on the door. I assumed it had to be the police and waked slowly over to open it, but instead of a cop, I recognized Jake Cummings. He waited until I nodded and stepped back to let him in. I remembered he was the one that told me what was going on that night before I went inside to see for myself. He and Janie must have disappeared when the trouble started, but I didn't blame him. At least he was one that tried to do something.

"Hello Jake, long time, no see. How you been? Janie OK?" Why not be cordial? Hell, I was leaving in the morning so I wouldn't have to see him or Janie afterwards.

"Jesus, Jesse! I heard what you did down at Towner's! Jim called me and told me what happened. He said you were staying here. Have you been home? Have you seen or called Heather? She's been crazy, not knowing where you were or where you went. We all went crazy looking for you. She even hired a PI but he couldn't find any record of you anywhere. No one knew what happened to you."

I just stared at him. "Why the hell would I have wanted anyone to know where I was? If I drove three days to get away and made sure no one knew where I was, why would you think I would tell you now?"

I just shook my head and smiled at his stupidity. I guess I had to try to explain it to him so he would understand at least a little of what I was feeling.

"What did you think, Jake? That I would stay here after what she did to me with that son of a bitch Drake? After he and his boys beat the living shit out of me while everyone else stood around and watched? And Heather just sat there and watched like the rest! I saw the smile on her face when Drake stood up and pushed me back. She was having a great time watching me get beaten up.

"No, thanks! I was given the message that night that she and Drake were going to spend the night together and he would return her in the morning. I made my decision right then and there. Fuck her and fuck this town! No one gave a shit and just let it happen, so let this town and my cheating wife have it all. I left and I never regretted it once! I just came back to do a job and I did it. Now, I'm going back to where I'm respected and have decent friends who care about me."

Jake listened and then shook his head in denial. Why, I had no idea but I didn't really care. But, I owed him for what he did and I told him that.

"Jake, you at least tried to warn me that night but you were the only person to do anything. So, I listened to what you had to say and now I'll ask you to leave me alone. Thanks for what you did, but goodnight!"

Jake stood in front of me and refused to move. I was becoming angry and I didn't want to hurt him, but I was done with this. I started to put my hand out to point toward the door when he sat down and said, "No! You'll hear me out first. I have something to say and I'm going to say it. If you have to, you'll have to forcefully remove me."

"I'm not going to do that, Jake. I have nothing against you. Just say what you have to say and then go."

"Fine. That night when Drake and his boys started in on you, Janie and I tried to get Heather to come with us, to get her away from Drake. I had the car ready to take her home but she wouldn't come. She told Janie she was going to find you and make Drake let you go. She went back inside and that was the last we saw of her.

"We drove over to your place the next day and we found the trailer empty. You must have already gone but Heather wasn't anywhere around. We called her cell but couldn't get an answer. We tried most of that afternoon but without any success. It was later that night when we went back to the trailer and found her there.

"It all went to hell the following day when Heather couldn't find you. She called everyone in town and they all looked for you but you were gone. Heather was in a state! She was almost hysterical and we couldn't get her calmed down for days. We finally took her in to the hospital and they kept her a few days for exhaustion and depression."

I was surprised at that but not enough to change my mind about what happened. I could believe Heather never expected me to run away but then she never knew me well enough if she expected anything else! And, at the same time, she was the one that went out without me, the one that made it clear she was going to do whatever she wanted and with whoever she wanted to be with. She was the one that chose to be with Drake Cunningham that night! That brought me back to reality in a hurry and reminded me that she was not the innocent that Jake thought she was.

"When Heather was finally discharged from the hospital, she went in and quit her job at the construction company. She told us she filed a complaint against Drake and he offered her a lump sum payment to drop the charges and not leave. He had to keep it all from his old man, you see. She decided to take the settlement but only if he promised to let her alone. That's when she took a job at the hospital. But during it all, she never stopped trying to find you. We all did our part to help since we all felt guilty for not doing more that night.

"Heather knows you're back since I called her after Jim talked to me. She was excited and ready to come to see you but she's afraid to talk to you. She knows she screwed up bad that night and she knows she's responsible for making you leave as well as the beating you took trying to get her to come home.

"I know how you saw it and you have to understand that you were only partly correct. She did go out without you and she did end up in that bar with Drake, but most of that was just bravado. She said she had no intention of staying with him and when you showed up, she was ready to make you grovel, but Drake took it out of her control. When the fight started, all Hell broke lose and you were gone before she could do anything.

Now he looked a little uncomfortable as he finished his tale. He couldn't meet my eyes as he ended with, "She never explained to us where she went that night and she never admitted to doing anything, but we decided to believe her, Jesse. We think you should too."

Now Jake stood up and walked toward the door. "I don't know what to tell you, Jesse. I know Heather loves you and misses you and so does Polly. I guess it's all up to you. I wish you luck my friend."

I walked him to the door. "I hear what you're saying Jake and I appreciate your intent, but she made a choice that night that caused this to happen. She knew what would happen if I showed up but she did it anyway. What she did caused all of this and I refuse to take the blame for it. I was working for a goal we both decided was important. She knew my feelings about Drake and those people she worked with and she knew I wanted no part of them. That wasn't acceptable to her but rather than try to work it out, she defied me, my wishes, and chose to do something no married woman should do. She went to a bar with another man and she had too much to drink. She knew what might happen and she did it anyway. Please don't try to make me the bad guy here and the only one that can make it right."

Jake looked at me sadly for a second and then finished. "Whatever you decide, Jesse, I'll be with you. You know her better than any of us, and she made a big mistake that night. Maybe you're right and she did betray you. I kinda agree with you but Janie couldn't see any bad in Heather. You're the one that has to make the right choice here. So, just be careful you make the right decision for you."

Jake looked at me for another second before opening the door and walking out. The click of the door closing sounded loud in the sudden silence. I sat down on the bed and lowered my head into my hands. He was right in what he said and I knew it, but my anger hadn't disappeared just from what I had done. I was still furious with her and what she cost me. I wasn't sure I could ever get past that, at least in this town. I had no desire to return here where Drake and his family ruled. If I did return, trouble would result and someone would get badly hurt. It might even be me.

I looked at the clock by the bed to find it was almost midnight. I was still jazzed by the fight I had and I wanted nothing more than to be doing something. I stood, thought for a second and then decided to take a drive by the old Cayman Estates where we had planned on buying a house for the three of us and for any more children that might come along. I smiled to myself as I remembered our silly plans. We would buy the house, decorate it to our tastes, fix up a room for Polly and one for another baby. Heather had the materials all picked out and I had my eyes on a mower and some other tools that every homeowner had to have. Ah, the dreams we had. All gone now. All gone just because she had to go out that night with her friends. All gone because she chose to be with him. All gone because Drake Cunningham was a total ass and a bully and Heather chose that over me.

As I drove to the neighborhood where we would have bought our first real home, the tears started to flow. The adrenalin had burned itself out of my system and I felt the hurt again, just as I did that night I drove away. I had to pull over for a few minutes until the tears stopped before continuing. I had to do this if for no other reason than for closure: they always said you had to have closure to get past the bad times. When I felt more controlled, I continued and drove into the development through the gates that looked like big, rolling waves. "All the comforts of the Islands." That was still on the gates as I drove into the almost completed development.

It was full of houses now, lights on and beckoning weary workers home to their own castles. I drove slowly down the streets, imagining the men out in the yards, the women gossiping over the fences, the kids running and playing before their parents made them come in for the night. Just as we pictured it before it all collapsed. Now it would never happen, at least not for us and not in this neighborhood. Maybe for someone else.