Stepping out of the car she sighed, her boots hit the ground with a dull thud that was drowned out by the music coming from building to her right. That building also happened to be her destination. She hadn't called ahead or written to let the man who owned the establishment know she was coming, and she doubted he was expecting company this late. Alex checked her watch it said it was fifteen minutes after nine. Now is as good a time as any she thought to herself as she stepped onto the sidewalk. The door was wide open which wasn't unusual seeing as how Tool had a weird habit of driving his bike right in the front door.
As she stood in the doorway she smirked when she noticed there were a few more bikes than usual in the shop. There were also a few too many bodies inside for her liking, their laughter was ringing in her ears. She had wanted to have this reunion in private, but she supposed that was what happened when one didn't call ahead. Oh well she shook her head at least he is still here. She hadn't been in town or even in the states for almost two years and was glad to find him still in residence. The few phone calls and letters they had exchanged were brief and for all she knew he could have moved the shop somewhere else.
After standing there for a few moments surveying the interior looking for any changes that might have been made the British man she recognized as Lee Christmas finally noticed her and cleared his throat, alerting the other guys to her presence. They all looked her way and a few smiled. There was Hail Caesar leaning against a counter to her right, Toll Road standing next to him, Gunnar Jensen sitting on his bike to her left with a beer in his hand eyeing her with uncertainty. He probably hadn't gotten over that little incident that occurred during her last visit. Yin Yang was standing near her by the door and nodded at her in recognition when her eyes looked him over. Then of course there was Tool the man she was here for. The man she had come to see as an uncle.
His eyes lit up when they landed on her and she grinned he definitely looked surprised.
"Well I'll be damned there is a face I haven't seen in awhile. When did you get into town little girl?" He asked excitedly while pulling her into a hug that was just a tad to tight.
Alex smiled widely and answered "This afternoon, I would've been here sooner but I went through hell at the rent a car place. They stuck me with that piece of crap you see out there." She pointed to the black sedan parked outside of the tattoo parlor.
Tool laughed slightly "Barney definitely rubbed off you. Speaking of the old man we were just about to head out and meet him at the bar. You up for it?" He asked.
"Don't worry you can ride with me mama….I wont let you suffer the embarrassment of showing up in that." He added nodding in the direction of her rental.
Tool put his arm around her shoulder and turned her towards the other guys. "Don't just stand there like assholes get the hell over here and say hello." He said laughing.
All of the guys but Gunnar surrounded her peppering her with questions about her stay in Brazil. She had an acquaintance with them all due to her numerous visits over the last decade. She didn't even mind that Gunnar barely spoke a word to her frankly she didn't really like the man. Even though she had heard he was clean now she doubted it had helped his personality any. Also she had enough experience with addicts to know they almost always relapsed.
Tool must have seen that she was beginning to feel overwhelmed by all the attention because after a few minutes he spoke up saying they should head out. Apparently Barney had a truck he was working on that had been giving him quite a bit of trouble and had worked late deciding to just meet them later at the bar.
Alex threw her leg over the back of Tools bike and rested one arm loosely around his waist before he pulled out of the building. Yang was the last one out and therefore had the honor of shutting the door. Tool rarely bothered with locking it everyone knew who this place belonged to and knew better than to mess with it. Plus he was friendly with most of his neighbors and they had his number in case anyone was dumb enough to try him.
She threw her head back with her eyes closed just enjoying the feeling of the night wind flowing through her long dirty blonde hair. She laughed at Lee's antics he was definitely showing off but she didn't read to much into it. More than likely he was just enjoying having a fresh audience. He had ridden towards the front of the group and actually picked the front end of his bike up and ridden like that for almost a full minute. Her laughter rang through the night and the light from the surrounding buildings danced in her eyes making their normal blue green seem brighter.
The bar they were headed to wasn't too from Tool's shop and within no time they were there pulling their bikes up side by side along the sidewalk. The music blared from inside the bar. Alex looked but she didn't see Barneys bike among the group that was already parked outside when they pulled up. She hoped he wasn't much longer she really had missed him. Where Tool had been the fun uncle growing up Barney had been more of a father figure. Sometimes he had made her made but she knew he was just looking out for her like her father had asked him to.
Alex followed the guys into the smoky interior of the bar. Tool brought up the rear and couldn't help but notice the way she attracted the attention of the men inside. One looked like he might approach but Tool gave a look that clearly said back off and he went back to his drink, obviously not wanting to test his luck. Alex of course didn't seem to notice she was like that. At five foot eight inches tall she stood out from most women for that reason alone. It didn't help that she had the kind of eyes you could get lost in, and a nice athletic figure that came with the job. The problem with all that was she didn't want the attention and she had a nasty temper when provoked. Alex had learned at an early age that most people in the world want to take advantage of pretty young girls. As a result she put up walls and few people were lucky enough to get past them to know the real person.
They all settled in at a corner table in the back and Tool waved over a waitress to get their drink orders. While they were waiting on the drinks Tool wondered to himself what had brought Alex back so unexpectedly. Normally when she would come for a visit she would call both him and Barney weeks in advance to make sure they would both be in town. He knew her contract in Brazil had run out last month, so maybe she was planning on staying here till she started her next job.
By the time the waitress got back with their drinks Gunnar and Yang were involved in their customary pissing match. He had a feeling that Yang purposefully pushed gunnar's buttons only god knows why, he sure wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of gunnar's temper.
Meanwhile Alex was starting to get annoyed with the way Gunnar kept looking at her. Seriously it was like he thought she was some kind of she devil and it was written all over his face. She decided she had had enough.
"What's your deal Frankenstein?" She finally asked?
"Frankenstein?" He questioned angrily.
"You cant still be mad at me can you? It been years."
"Lady I'm not mad why would I be it was just a lucky shot." He almost growled.
"Oh come on it was not and you know it, beside you deserved it." She shot back haughtily.
"Hey I was only trying to say Hi." He defended but a little smirk flitted across his face. "And you busted my damn nose." He added accusingly.
"Oh really do you feel up everyone you greet or am I just that special?" She joked.
All the guys busted out laughing at that "I only wish I had been there to see Frankenstein get his ass whooped by a girl" road added.
Gunnar flushed. "Hey she didn't whoop my ass she hit me once that's it and I being a gentleman chose not to retaliate." He said heatedly.
"I doubt there is a woman alive that would ever refer to you as being a gentleman." Lee cracked.
"And if I remember correctly when I hit you fell backwards onto the floor and passed out. So I'm pretty sure retaliation was out of the question." Alex said laughing, at this point her earlier anger dissipated.
"That was the alcohol and you know it." Gunnar fought back trying to redeem himself in their eyes.
Alex knew that he was right at least partially it wasn't just the alcohol that had caused him to pass out so quickly. Frankly she had been surprised he was even standing when she got there that night. She had lived with her mom until she was seven and recognized when someone was using and Gunnar was definitely using that night. When she looked in his eyes he wasn't there. If she hadn't noticed that she might not have reacted so badly. But she would be damned if she would ever let a junkie take advantage of her. She also knew that Gunnar sober was very formidable and she would have to be very lucky to best him.
Lynard Skynard came on the jukebox and Alex decided to have some fun and pulled Lee up to dance with her. Lee was spinning her around the makeshift dance floor when Barney walked in followed by Lacey, Lee's fiancée.
Alex didn't notice Lacey's reaction because all she saw was Barney. The song ended and Lee excused himself to chase after his girl who had promptly turned around and left the bar. Without saying a word Alex ran up to Barney and he caught her in hug spinning her around. They were both laughing when he sat her down.
"Hey kid, what are you doing here with these losers?" He asked while tussling her hair.
"Well I wanted it to be a surprise but I'm planning on staying a while. I'm going out tomorrow to look at apartments." She said smiling up at him.
"That's great it will be nice to spend some more time with you. What has changed your mind though god knows I've been trying for years to get you to move back permanently." He questioned.
They joined the others back at the table and everyone jumped in on the conversation. The guys all seemed thrilled she would be hanging around for awhile. She wondered if they would be so enthusiastic after they learned her intentions of joining the team though. Having a girl to drink with was a little different than working with one. In her experience men weren't always so accepting of women in her line of work.
Before long Tool ordered a round of shots for everyone to celebrate the good news and this opened the way for a drinking contest between Gunnar and Yang. Alex got up once more not being able to sit down with the alcohol in her blood making her want to dance. She put a few dollars in the jukebox and dragged another victim on to the dance floor this time it was Tool and he was only too happy to oblige. But before long he found another partner to dance with and she found herself back at the table stealing the shot meant for Yang.
What Gunnar was already to drunk at the start of the contest to realize was Caesar had told the waitress to put water in Yang's glass. This was something Alex realized immediately though.
After downing it she yelled in frustration. "Hey what gives this is water!" She wandered off again mumbling about getting a real drink unaware of what she had just done.
As drunk as he was Gunnar was still able to put two and two together.
Alex was sitting at the bar waiting on the bartender when she heard the guys start yelling. Caesar was laughing his ass off at the chaos he had created. She smiled broadly as the scene continued to unfold before her, still unaware of her part in it.
They were all a little unusual in her opinion but she had the feeling she was going to like working with them. For the first time in her life she felt the need to slow down. Ever since she had turned 18 she had been wandering from one place to another and honestly she was exhausted. All she wanted now was a place to call home.