We got back late after the next shift with the third of three full loads. The last pass we made was such a haul that we had run out of manacles and had to stack the meat with heavy sedation. It seems that there was some kind of sports event going on and most of the fans left drunk off their assess. It’s probably better that we were there to pick them up instead of one of the city’s upcoming serial killers. Probably.
The new tires that Simpson had given us held up fine, but then we didn’t put them through any paces. All in all, the entire evening went quietly and I only saw two trucks the entire night. One was Dixon’s and a guy named Shanks ran the other. Neither one was real competition. Tonight we were loaded for trouble, but Macy’s crew didn’t show and the precautions weren’t needed.
We pulled to the gate and Domingo shook his head. He pulled his poncho’s hood up and came out to the driver side of the truck.
“Man!” he said to Chaz, “You guys raiding a hospital or somethin? This the third damn time I gotta come out in the rain to check you out.”
“We the best of the best, man” Chaz piped up, “but this was the last run of the night for us. We’ll take it easy on you next time.”
“He could use a bath anyway.” Maab said.
“What did that bitch say?” Dom asked Chaz. “You backtalk me bitch and I’ll cut you up.”
“You think you’re man enough for that?” she challenged. Dom can’t refuse a challenge and doesn’t tolerate any lip from anyone he considers his inferior. He came around the passenger side of the truck and was going to make a show of pulling on the door. By default, our cab is always locked and he knows it. But when he pulled on the handle this time, the door came wide open. It caught both him and me off guard.
“Now what?” Maab said and smiled at him.
He thought about it and realized that he didn’t have a choice. He reached into the cab and Maab let him grab her jacket, pulling her to the street. She racked his privates with a well-placed knee and left him coughing face down in a puddle.
“Better luck next time, asshole” she said and climbed back into the truck.
I looked at her and shook my head. Her behavior wasn’t suited to my survival, but I waited. The flagger held up cards with “0” and “3” on it so Chaz pulled the truck into dock 3 and took it out of gear. As we climbed out, I tossed the tally sheet to him across the cab.
“Chaz, take it to Jaeger to look over. I need to have a word with Maab.”
“Okay boss.”As he walked away I waited for her to climb out of the cab. I grabbed her by the jacket and slammed her backwards into the panel of the truck.
“Why in Hell do you have to challenge every person you meet? First you piss of Macy, now Domingo. Are you trying to get us killed?”
I shook her slightly with each sentence and she held my stare the entire time.“I saved your ass with Macy,” She said with a sweet smile.
“Don’t start and don’t every challenge me! Kicking the shit out of Domingo wasn’t called for.”
“You don’t have to worry about me. I take care of myself pretty well.”
“I’m not worried about you. I’m worried about you pissing some nutcase off enough to take a shot at us. Inside a week, you’ve ticked off two that I know of. If you are going to make it a habit of trying to draw fire, you’re off my crew. Got it?”
I didn’t wait for her answer and started to walk away. She caught me by the arm with both her hands.
“Wait,” she said while looking down. “I’m sorry about that. I like working with you and Chaz. Please don’t kick me off the crew. I don’t have anywhere else to go.”
I looked in her eyes and she seemed sincere. Of course I thought she was playing me.
“Ok. You can stay. Just watch who you pick fights with. I’m not going to take a bullet because you step out of line. Go get something to eat and I’ll see you back here in an hour.”
“Right, bossman.”I turned to walk away and saw truck # 17 pull through into the dock area out of the heavy rain. Something didn’t feel right and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Maab stopped next to me, sensing the tension.
It’s funny that some of the most defining actions in your life either seem to play by in slow motion or race by on adrenaline so quickly that you barely notice. I stared at the rain-beaded driver side window of the truck as it pulled past. It was Santiago’s rig, but I didn’t recognize the driver or see his runner Marko riding shotgun. Santiago’s eyes were wide and his face was taunt as the vehicle rumbled past. His eyes locked with mine for a moment with all the intensity of a drowning man. The driver was a muscular man in an armorjack who regarded me with disinterest as he pulled past.
“Oh shit,” I said and began to walk towards where I could find Jaeger. I picked up the pace as quickly as I could with my heart in my throat. The first person I ran into was Brion, Macy’s boy. He got in my way and didn’t move.
“Get your weapons now Brion! Tell the other crews we’ve got a problem!”
“I don’t fuckin take no fuckin orders from…”
I cut him off with one word and motioned to truck 17.
“SLOPS!”
He looked at me then nodded and took off. Already I could hear weapons being cocked and readied from the couple of crews that had overheard me. Jaeger met me halfway across the floor but didn’t seem too worried.“Jag. We got a team of Slops in Truck 17. The just rolled in and they’ve got Santiago in the cab. We need to…”
He cut me off.
“It’s under control, Mason. Carlo smelled them when he let them in the door. They’re taken care of.” He started to turn away and stopped before leaving.
“You’ve got good street sense Mason. I hope like Hell you don’t get iced. You’d make a damn fine controller.”
That’s when I noticed that Carlo, the kid with the dock assignment cards was putting away a “1” and an “8”. He grinned at me and gave me the thumbs up and a wink. The kid has good street sense too.
I turned to see the truck vanish behind the metal curtains that drop on each side of dock # 18. There was a short commotion and what sounded like a man yelling something about an arrest.
Silence. Thick enough to cut.
Hollow laughter and a response.
The air exploded and I flinched. The rattle of automatic weapons and heavy caliber booms reverberated from the walls. I could hear roaring, screams, and something hit the metal curtain hard enough to shift it. The panels rattled as bullets hit and then something lifted the lowest slats about six inches off the floor. Holes stitched the nearby wall and the split the metal slats above the black claws. Concrete shards spat from the wall and floor, forcing crews to dive for cover. Whatever had tried to pick up the gate shrieked in anger as it fell and died. A dark pool flowed beneath the gate towards the floor drain. The smell of cordite and blood wafted from the damaged curtain.
Silence again.
I gasped since I hadn’t been breathing and turned away from the gate. Maab’s face was horror stricken as she stared at the sea of blood. This was a war here, and it was always going to be “them” or “us”. The sooner she accepted that, the better her chances of surviving.
I left her there to let it sink in and so I could be alone. I needed something to calm my nerves and settle my stomach.
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