Redwood Nine Ch. 04

"Hurry."

Jake winked and smiled, heading out the front and started his bike. He rode back, smiling happily, knowing many smiles were going to be made. Pulling through the gate and down the lane, the faint aroma of pot could be smelled. He stopped right beside them and shut off his bike. All eyes were upon him and the news he had for them. As patient as they were for him to do his thing, it was now just after eleven and bodies were needing rest.

"Ready for a good night's sleep you guys? Get your asses down to the motel and pick up the keys behind the counter. You've got rooms for the week and maybe jobs, we'll see tomorrow about that, but for now, you have your beds to sleep in again, so get down there, pronto. I have to get this place closed and back there myself."

There was as much confusion, as there was happiness. For all that they had a place to sleep, it was what Jake had done, that had them wondering.

"So, Jake. What gives? How did you get our rooms back.?"

"JT, just remember this. Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies."

Jake followed saying that, with a wink to him. The office was closed, the bay doors down and locked on the garage. The doors on the building were closed and everyone except JT was in the car.

"I'll see you there then, Jake."

"Yes, on you go, I'm good here. See you and Piney in the morning. Go, go."

Jake urged him to go, as he sat on his bike and started it. He followed the car to the road and then locked the gate as quickly as he could. It wasn't a race to get there, but Jake ended up passing Wally and pulled in first. The door to the backroom was closing, as JT came in to the office to get the keys, briefly catching sight of red hair and head to toe skin. He smiled at the door, thinking of Jake on the other side. He was almost laughing, when he reached the car and handed Wally his key. No matter how much they pestered him, he wouldn't say what he knew about Jake's après work activities. Just the joy of a hot shower and lying between the sheets, was enough to bring bodies together and sleep to come over them fast.

Jake broke the silence of the still, morning air, the twin pipes thrumming their notes in perfect harmony. Curtains were pulled aside, tired faces looking at the source of the noise and closing them again. Jake put it in gear and slowly made his way down to unit eleven, then sat for a moment, wondering if he should check and make sure the guys were up. Thinking back on yesterday, he decided they could sleep a little longer, if they had to, but he'd call Marlene by nine, if they weren't at work yet. He pulled out and twisted the throttle, instantly feeling the fresh air swirl around and then begin rushing into his face, as he shifted up through the gears. As good as it felt, it was short-lived, as he approached the gate and slowed.

He unlocked the gate and pushed it open, then went back to his bike. He went to ride up to the office and saw the bay doors open and JT and Piney busy working on their first car, making him sit and wonder. He slowly rode up and parked beside the office and shut the bike off, brushing his hair back with his fingers. He looked at JT bent over one fender and Piney bent over the other, and watched as they seemed to be racing to see who could change their spark plugs and wires first. JT was finishing his third and Piney was just starting to gap his third one. Jake decided on not interrupting and just watched them.

JT pulled the last boot from the plug and went to work loosening the plug with a speed handle. Piney was using a ratchet and socket with an extension, tightening up his third and snapping the boot over the end. He pulled his last boot off and went as fast as he could to get the plug out and catch up to JT, who was gapping the electrode. Piney tossed the old plug and took the new one and slid his gap tester in. JT was tightening his side, when Piney slid his plug in the hole and started the threads going and twisted his big wrist as fast as he could. JT pulled off his plug wire and put the cap end in, then Piney started doing the same. JT pushed the boot cap on and stood back, just a few seconds before Piney.

"Good come back try, Piney. Nice speed JT. Mind telling me how you got things started up without a key?"

JT and Piney laughed, knowing Jake would be asking that question.

"You really must have been in a hurry to get back to the motel. The side door over there was wide open, wasn't even closed. We jumped the fence, because we were tired of waiting. We've been here for an hour already."

"Speaking of the motel, let's hear it. Who is she?"

Jake could see the guys weren't guilty of anything more than hopping the fence, thinking back and realizing he very well could have forgot the door in his haste. He lost little time thinking about it, as the day was starting off far better than he expected. The morning wake up was something he truly missed with Marlene, as she felt the first thing he should feel is pleasure and her soft lips knew how to awaken and arouse that in him easily. He looked at the guys, knowing there was no skirting this and passing it off lightly.

"Marlene Brock, an old friend. We go back a long ways to when we were young and foolish and fell in love. We lasted as long as we did on how good we were in bed, but out of there, that proved hard in making work. She has rich tastes and you guys can see, just looking around, I ain't that guy. We both knew it, so she went in search of Mr. Money. She met Clive Brock and married him. She's happy enough with what money can buy, but she has no real desire to be with him in bed. That's sort of where I fit in. Whenever she makes it into Charming, we always scratch that itch, until the next time. So, going back to last night and me saying to Keith, you might not owe me, depending on how it turns out, I may just end up owing you guys. If you only knew how she likes to wake me up and I ain't telling."

That had the guys laughing and well informed enough, to know who their boss was, outside of work. They all lit up a cigarette and looked at the car they had just finished. Jake got in and turned the key, starting it up and revving it a bit. The engine ran smooth and quiet, all eight cylinders firing properly. Jake shut it off and got out, then looked at them, nodding approvingly.

"Very nice guys. So how long did it take?"

JT smiled and said it was under five minutes to remove and replace the wires and plugs. Jake looked at them, quite proud of themselves for their efforts. He patted them both on the shoulder and walked in to get his overalls on. Piney closed the hood and put the car over on the finished side, then walked over to the next car, a '62 Oldsmobile Starfire. The starter whined loudly, when Piney turned the key, so he got out and waved JT over. JT and Jake went over and the three of them pushed the heavy car into the bay. Piney had the hoist set up and went to work raising it, while JT went to the rack and took the next order. He grabbed the keys for the '59 Monarch and brought the lumbering beast up to the front of the bay and stopped. Jake watched them and could see they were giving this their best efforts. Before JT got started working on the Mercury, Jake called him into the office. Piney was busy with the broken starter, already getting the old one off and the new one out of the box to put on, as JT passed him and patted his shoulder.

Jake was sitting behind his desk and had JT close the door to the shop.

"I wanted to talk to you about running the office here. I know it doesn't look like much, but if you don't keep up, it can be a miserable pain in the ass to do. The reason I want to show you, is this. I'm getting on in years, fifty eight this November and I'd like to think I'll get to do more than just fix cars and ride my bike around town. I'd like to take a vacation or two, before I stop riding. I been at this since 1949, when I took over from Carl Ingstrom and he got too old to run it anymore. I haven't had a day off, except weekends and the odd sick day here and there, since then. Twenty years, guys. That's a long time to just spend working and doing not much else. Last night made me do some thinking."

JT smirked at him, thinking of what he imagined happened.

"I bet it made you do some thinking."

Jake saw the humour in it and laughed too, but focused on where he wanted his thoughts to go.

"Yeah, and a lot of other things than thinking, but really, I did do some thinking on where I'm at and where I'm going. Like I said, I'm getting on and it made me realize I'm working for nothing. I stop here and what do I have waiting? Nothing. Sure I can ride, but I have only so much life that riding fills. Lying there beside Marlene, made me realize how much I enjoy having someone to go to sleep with and wake up to in the morning. Even if it's not her, I realized how much I want that to be my life. Maybe I'll get lucky and meet a woman who likes riding, maybe know how to ride herself, now wouldn't that be just a little slice of heaven, right there."

JT could understand Jake's thoughts completely, seeing how they could end up being his own thoughts one day.

"The guy I have now, Clay, he's good at running the shop, but he's no good with the books and keeping up with the office duties. I went away last year for three days, just three days and I came back to four days worth of work to sort it all out. I wasn't happy. Took the shine off the apple in a hurry, that's for sure."

JT knew Jake was grooming him, but for what position, he had no idea. All he was hoping to get out of this, was a job and getting dirty all day working on cars, was okay with him. JT could sense Jake was looking for more than that out of him and focused on what he was saying.

"Here's what I'm hoping can happen. I'd like to show you all that happens here, so if I do get an urge, to just run off and go riding, I know things will be in order, when I get back. I'd like to make you the manager, JT. You've got a good head for fixing and you have a sharp mind for thinking. It ain't rocket science we're talking about, but the time has to be put in, to get it done. Clay isn't that guy. So, listen up and I'll go through it all quickly, just so you get an idea of what it all is you need to do and then we'll go over each thing at a time in detail, so you know how to do it."

"So, this Clay guy isn't all that smart, or not that interested in it?"

"Not interested. He's the kind of guy that always needs assuring he's doing good and doesn't know himself, if he is, or not. Always trying to impress everyone. Don't get me wrong, he's a nice enough guy and gets along well, even funny at times. He's a damn good mechanic, so I keep him on. But when it comes to me, I'm stuck. I either go and come back to tons of paperwork and shit, or stay and keep everything running smoothly. I'd like to make you into a manager of sorts, run this end of things and keep the parts and bills in order and let Clay run the shop and maybe I'll be able to get out and live a bit more, see some of the new highways they've built. A lot has gone on, on the other side of those mountains, that I haven't even seen yet and I'd like to."

JT could hear the desperate pleadings hidden in Jake's words, as he talked about the office, but it translated to riding the open road more. The whole idea stunned him, originally, more than happy to just find a bike and make some money to ride it. Now, he was being asked to take on more responsibility and actually run the business, while Jake took time off. With the idea in his head, that the clubhouse was his new place of residence, it didn't seem all that difficult a task to do. The Army provided him with more than a gun and a parachute, during his two tours. Besides motor pool duty, he'd done a stint in supplies, but the immense amount of inventory to be in control of, was too daunting.

Managing an inventory a mere fraction of what he had before, would be easy enough to do. Oils were bought in bulk for the shop and cases of cans for the customers. Most everything else was an order item, that of course, needed to be ordered the day before, to use the next day. Invoicing and billing were things that almost made him go brain dead, but he could do them in small doses and get by.

"Manager, huh? Must have impressed the hell out of you already, Jake, or she's put some ideas in your head you can't shake off."

"Bit of both, I'd say. What do you say? Want to give it a shot and see if you're up to it? Means more money too, just so you know. Not going to make you work harder than the others and pay you the same."

JT considered that part and what it meant to have more money. More money, meant building his bike better, making it a more reliable rider. More money, meant materials and furnishings for the clubhouse. More money seemed to be something he was going to be looking for at every turn. Legal was much more appealing to do, but JT knew he was not opposed to something of an illegal nature, if the benefits outweighed the risk of being caught.

"I think I can do that for you, Jake. Paperwork isn't all that much. Three different coloured sheets that go to the customer, to your files and the account files. The black book is the order book for Oakland petroleum, I know that's for the oil and lube that you get in bulk. The brown book is for East Bay Automotive, that's where you get the cases of oil and filters, plus most other parts. The green book is for everyone else, I'm guessing, like Stockton Welding and Gas and stuff like that. Pretty close?"

Jake smiled in awe, seeing JT knew most things without being told and just through observation.

"That's pretty well just what it is, JT. The small one in the drawer is for services you might need, like sewage clean out and plumbers and electricians. I'm thinking this is going to be much easier explaining to you, than Clay. Just do me a favour, don't say anything about the manager thing to him. He could get all bent out of shape over it, if he didn't understand what it was about. I'll let him know the job is about all the things he hates doing and he'll be happy he never has to worry about it."

"Makes sense. So, do you want to go over anything else, or should we get out there and get to work?"

Jake smiled at him, knowing he was well aware of what was required and it would take very little to bring him up to speed, if he wanted to go anywhere.

"Let's get the tires on that Merc changed and get that out of the way. Once Piney is done with the starter, there's only two more jobs that actually need to be done today. Wally and Lenny are coming by any time now, so I'll cut the old pipes and when Dennis gets here from East Bay with the pipes and muffler, I can put those on and Lenny should be done doing an oil and filter and if he didn't get spark plugs, get him to clean and gap the ones he has, at least that will help. I could smell it the moment he pulled up yesterday. The smell of the exhaust was rich with unburnt gas. You smell it after he does it and you'll see the difference. Cup your hands behind the pipes and gather it, you can smell how rich, or lean it is. Check his air filter too. I know I replaced it the last time, but if he is having the problems I know he's having, I'm sure it's just black."

JT stood in front of Jake, the person he was looking at, taking on so many forms at once. From stranger to friend, boss to co-worker, father to son. Jake seemed to know just what he needed at the right time, to move forward. He realized how ordered his life had returned to, since meeting Jake, Piney sensing it too. They needed the orderliness of the army life, but not the same politics. Jake represented that order, able to command, but stand easy with his men and enjoy them as equals. JT took note of that, knowing his role as president would need to be run the same way. All thinking by both of them stopped, when Piney knocked and came in, saying the starter was done on the Olds and wanted to know if he should start on the tires on the Merc.

JT and Jake said they'd finish up talking later and JT went out with Piney and got the Merc started and backed out, so Piney could put the Starfire on the finished side. JT moved the Monarch into the bay and put it up halfway, so he could get to the tires easily. The impact gun, spun the five nuts off quickly and JT bounced the tire to Piney as he came in and he transferred the movement towards the tire changer. As Piney mounted the wheel, JT had the other tire off and went to the rack to get the required tires that were listed on the order. He grabbed the two and rolled them over to Piney, as he finished removing the first tire and was cleaning the rim. JT went over and checked the brake drums, to see if they were set right. He took the flat blade screwdriver out of his back pocket and slid it in the adjustment hole in the back, clicking the wheel, until the right amount of drag was on the drum. After both were set, Piney rolled the first tire over from the wheel balance machine, to JT and then spun the second to test it for balance. Hammering on a wheel weight in the right spot, Piney took the wheel off and rolled it to JT, who lined the holes up with the studs and shortly had the gun spinning the nuts on tight. After a quick second check, he hammered the hub caps on with the heel of his palm and wiped them off. He dropped the car to the ground and when the wheels touched the floor, Jake called out the time he had been keeping.

"Sixteen minutes and forty eight seconds."

JT and Piney stopped and looked at him, wondering what he was talking about.

"That's how long it took for you two to take them off, balance them, adjust the brakes and put them back on, caps and all, in that time. You guys aren't pit stop fast, by any means, but working together as fast as you do, you could make a lot of money with steady business. Most of the work I get is small stuff, like oil changes, tires, exhaust and such. That's where the fast money is at."

They could see Jake had something of note and worth he wanted to share with them and they tuned in to him

"Sure, doing a big overhaul like the Studebaker is worth lots of money, but it takes lots of time to do. You end up making shit sometimes, if it goes wrong. Small jobs, that's good, fast, steady work. That's what you want here, what I wish I could have here, actually. Two teams. The work is always being done by one, so there's no stopping, till the job is done, or the parts run out, which they shouldn't, as we were talking about earlier. The less time spent doing the job, the more you make per hour. If you can do that every fifteen minutes, you look at how many cars in an hour, minus your in and out time and breaks. Three each team, times two, is six cars per hour easy. Times the average cost per job and now you see how much money can be made. Just have to be ambitious and want to work that hard every day to do it, but the money is going to pile up pretty fast."

JT looked at Jake, nodding like he agreed, but actually, he was trying to fathom how Jake uncannily seemed to know what their plight was and came up with an idea to solve it. His thoughts were wiped clean by the sound of Lenny's bike coming in, followed by Wally in his car, both reverberating their cacophonous sound off the walls. True to their words, they were here at nine to work. Before they could shut the engines off, another motorcycle came into the lot and roared up quickly. The guys knew instantly who it was, but Jake was leery about the speed he was approaching at. Chico skidded on the back tire and fishtailed slightly, as he stopped in front of the bay. He killed the engine and shot his big, toothy smile at JT and Piney, as he put the stand down.

They hugged and shook hands, then JT introduced Chico to Jake.

"Yeah man, I was riding through Stockton, see this guy sitting there with the trunk open, talking to a couple of dudes. He tells me we have a new clubhouse. Says I'm going to like this place."