Three Delivery: Reality Stinks X3
By CrystalQuirt
[[[[[[[[[[[[[TD]]]]]]]]
Two months later, Sid was mostly healed, at least his body was. He only stayed overnight in the hospital after he had been shot. The doctor's were baffled about how quickly he had begun to heal, and they couldn't find the bullet or an exit wound. The gunshot wound in Sid's back no longer looked like a gunshot wound to the doctors so they released him.
The police caught all three members of the gang and hauled them off to jail. Somehow, the bullet with Sid's blood on it, still made it into evidence and the crime investigators ran with it, making a strong case against all three members of the gang.
Sid, Tobey, Sue and Nana all had to appear in court when the case came up. Earring Boy, whose name turned out to be Kent, only got 7 years for shooting Sid. The other two got 5 years in prison.
Of course, if Sid had died of his injuries it would have been murder and they would have been sentenced for life perhaps, but because Sid was strong and had Nana's and Sue's help, he had an advantage their other victims wouldn't have had.
Saturday before daylight, Sid sat in a booth with his forehead resting on his hands, thinking. He was really bothered by what had happened in court. He felt like Earring Boy and his friends got off easy just because he didn't die. He could have died instantly when the bullet struck him and it was just because of a twist of fate that he lived through it.
All three of them tried to make sure he would die and even came back to make sure he was dead. And, when they found Sue and Tobey with him, they threatened to kill them too. If it wasn't for Nana showing up when she did, the three of them wouldn't still be here. Sid was also very aware of the part he played in how the situation unfolded. He thought the whole thing was his fault, because he had let his emotions and bruised ego put them all in that situation.
Walking, or borrowing Barney's bike to take deliveries was a pain. When the EMTs hauled him off to the hospital that night, nobody thought to look for his bike and when Tobey looked for it the next day, he couldn't find it. Sid shuddered to think of his bike being crushed under the earthmover's tires at the dump. He also worried that they would run into Kong Li before he was fully recovered and that might put their work with the cookbook and his families lives in danger again.
Exhausted, but unable to sleep Sid sat up straight and stretched. For weeks, it seemed every time he closed his eyes, he had a nightmare.
Barney was out in the garden meditating. Sid saw him go out, but Barney hadn't noticed him. Tobey and Sue had not even come downstairs, but he didn't expect to see them that early on a Saturday. The restaurant wouldn't be open for another six hours but Barney had a lot of prep work and cleaning to do. Sid planned on helping him as soon as he came inside.
Sid had a repetitive dream where Tobey and Sue were begging him not to leave them. Sid's dream self told them that he had no choice, that he had to leave. Tobey argued, "You always have a choice, Sid." Tobey and Sue reached to give him a hug. At this time in the dream, rather than hug his best friends and only family, Sid would pull out a gun and shoot them both. There was a lot of blood, even for a dream and their blood splashed back all over him.
Sid woke up screaming every time. Tonight he had woken Tobey, Sue and Nana at 2am. Tobey shook him awake and they all went back to bed, but Sid was afraid to go back to sleep so he just stayed up.
Sid decided to go meditate with Barney and went out back. He moved silently across the garden and picked a spot away from Barney so he wouldn't disturb him. Sid sat in full lotus position and began following his breath. He noticed his back still pinched and burned a little at the site of the wound and wondered briefly how long it would take for that feel normal again, but returned easily to his breath.
A ruckus in on the stairs was followed by Tobey and Sue shushing each other went on inside. There was noise – way too much noise for two people trying to sneak a gift downstairs. They had been hiding upstairs, waiting for Sid to leave, since he wasn't in bed like they thought he would be. They were both too excited to sleep anymore.
Tobey whispered, "It's okay Sue, he went out to the garden."
He and Sue rolled a brand new yellow bicycle to the top of the stairs from Nana's room. Nana followed behind them. Tobey got behind it and stood it up on its back tire. Sue stayed in front of it ready to catch it, not quite trusting Tobey to handle it alone. He bounced it down the stairs on its back tire without incident and placed it in the middle of the dining room.
Sue straightened the giant gold-colored bow that she had tied to center between the handlebars and turned it so that it would be the first part that Sid would see when he came back in. Tobey took the new helmet out of the box and sat it on the bike seat. The bike was just like the one he lost, but brand new.
When they were ready, Nana went to the back door and called for Sid. "Sid! Come in here quickly." She hollered. Barney opened one eye wide from his sitting place to see what was going on.
"Oh man, I thought I was safe from chores this early." Sid got up and yawned. The sun was just peeking over the horizon in the east. He couldn't see the sun itself for all the buildings in the way, but could see the daylight as the sun came up and burned off the fog.
"Come on! Sid, I need you in here!" Nana called again.
Sid went to the back door where Nana was waiting for him. She stepped aside and held the door open for him to come in.
"What do you need Nana?" He stopped in front of her and waited expectantly for instructions.
"I need you to go in the dining room."
"But, why?"
"Do not question your teacher, my son." She put her hand on his shoulder and guided him inside.
Sid led the way as they both went to the dining room. As he came out of the kitchen, he saw the new shiny yellow bike sitting in the center of the floor. Sue and Tobey stood behind it grinning. He gasped and looked to Nana. "Its beautiful!"
"Go ahead Sid."
Sid ran over to the bike. "We thought you might be tired of doing your deliveries on foot."
"But…I don't deserve…"
"Of course you deserve it!" Sue interrupted him.
"And no buts buddy - we all saved and sold some stuff to buy it for you."
"Thanks so much! I can hardly believe it – I don't know what to say. He went around the bike and grabbed Sue and Tobey by their necks to give them big hugs.
"And thank-you Nana."
"You kids go, I am sure Sid wants to try it out, but be back to help Calvin open up the restaurant on time."
Sid ran the bow up to his room and put on his out door, riding clothes while Sue and Tobey got out their bikes and heavy shirts. They all met on the sidewalk out in front of the restaurant. Sid strapped on the new helmet "Perfect fit!" and pedaled off with Tobey and Sue following right behind.
Nana watched them go, thinking how nice it was to see them all happy again. She knew how hard the last couple of months had been for all of them. She didn't know all the details of why Sid had been feeling so bad.
She knew he doubted himself sometimes, and often wished to be a "normal" teenager. She had been speaking to Sid alone regularly since that day, but he never told her much. She found out that he was upset that he had lost the fights with them and nearly got himself killed. Anyone would be upset.
Nana had explained to him that it was all fine. That he had made decisions each time, to try and protect others and that was good. It went along with his vow to protect Chinatown and save everyone. The evil didn't have to be confined only to Kong Li's schemes. Nana told Sid that he was even correct for not hurting the dog. No being, big or small should ever be hurt, and definitely not killed. There is always another way, and he just shouldn't have gone alone. She told him if he suspected he knew where to find them, he should have called the police and let them handle it.
Nana understood Sid's ego had been bruised and he thought he had to prove something. She explained how his negative self-centered thinking is what got him into trouble.
After weeks of discussion and meditation practice and the exercises Nana gave him, Sid seemed to be feeling much better mentally as well as physically. She thought so, but wondered about his first reaction just then, thinking he didn't deserve his new bike. "I guess we still have a little work to do, Sid." Nana said out loud as she sat down with her hot tea.
On Monday morning, Nana brought a suitcase down and sat it by the counter. Now kids, I will only be gone overnight. It has been very quiet here lately so I agreed to go, but I worry that maybe it has been too quiet. Keep alert for anything strange that might be of Kong Li's doing. If you have problems of any kind – even with Calvin, call me right away.
"Don't worry Nana, everything will be fine!" Sid replied.
"I really hate to leave you three. I don't even remember when I last spent the night away. Tobey, you remember to come back straight after school and help Barney prepare for the dinner crowd. Sue, Sid – you two go straight to the market after school and bring what Calvin has on this list – then help Tobey and Barney." She handed Sue the list and some money. Sue put it in her pants pocket. "No trouble Nana."
"Don't worry Nana, we will be fine. You go and have a good time." Sue encouraged again –echoing Sid.
"Sure, you deserve a break – go, and have a worry free visit with your cousin from China in Oakland." Tobey told her. "I still think she should have come here though."
"There are lots of relatives to visit near here and Oakland is kind of in the middle. Easier for everyone to get to than here."
"Okay Nana, just be careful." Tobey didn't like it that Nana was going to be gone. Sue hugged Nana and Sid and Tobey joined in for a four-way hug.
"Now I mean it, if you need anything – at any time, don't hesitate to call me!"
"Nana, you'll only be gone 'til tomorrow, you cluck over us like you are leaving us on our own for months." Sid teased. They walked her to her rental car, parked in front of Wu's Garden.
"Thank-you kids."
Sid, Sue and Tobey had checked all the fluids and tires on the car. Tobey installed new windshield wipers and together they washed it inside and out, doing a much better job than the rental agency had done. After she pulled away, they got on their bikes and headed for school.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[TD]]]]]]]]
After a long day at school, the three met at the side gate. Tobey whined that he couldn't keep up with Barney and Mr. Wu's demands by himself until they got back from the store. "Why does it take two of us just to go to the store? What if there is a delivery right in the middle of cutting up veggies? Nana won't be there to help out either you know."
Sue offered. "Tell you what Tobey, I will come with you now, Sid can go to the grocery store alone . . . you up for it Sid?"
"Sure thing Sue." Sid agreed and Sue handed him the list and the little wad of money. The kids rode together to the corner and spit up. When Sue and Tobey got close, they could hear Mr. Wu yelling at Barney from the street. "Oh man, I am not looking forward to this." Tobey pretended to shiver.
"Come on Tobey, he will be glad to see we both came to help out right from school." They hoped off their bikes, and parked them by the pole in front of the restaurant and bravely went in.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[TD]]]]]]]]
Sid stood up on the pedals and pushed hard to get up the hill. The market would have to be at the top, he thought. The strain of getting the bike up the hill caused him a little discomfort in his back, right over his ribs where the bullet had torn through muscle and bone, stopping in his lung.
Sue was very unhappy that he had gotten hurt and nagged him about going off alone like he did for days afterwards. He was a little surprised that she suggested he go alone now. At the same time, Sid could tell Sue was absolutely giddy about having performed Healing Magic with Nana. He understood how she felt and was sorry he missed out on a lesson. Even more, he wished he had not been the subject of the lesson.
While he rode alone, Sid remembered allowing what Eunice had said to him get him so upset. "She really knows how to hurt a guy." He remembered how when he came home from the hospital, he found the little box on his bed that she had brought him. It had a really expensive watch in it.
Having something so expensive was such a waste. He wanted to share it with everyone. Sid sold the watch and took, Tobey, Sue, Nana, Mr Wu and Barney to a fine French restaurant downtown. Tobey absolutely fell in love with escargot, and still loved it even after he found out it was snails. Their fine dining experience would give them memories that would last longer than that watch would have.
Sid felt sorry for Eunice and how she must have felt bad for saying those things to to him later, but an expensive gift was all she knew to do to try and fix it. He wondered if there was something he could do for her that would help her be happier too.
Neither Sue nor Tobey told him that she gave him the watch, not because she felt bad for what she said to him, but to try and bribe him into not reporting the dog bite. It didn't matter so they chose not to tell him.
Sid stopped in front of the entrance to the store and chained his bike to a pole. He took off his helmet and hung it on the handlebars. It was warm so the long sleeved yellow shirt came off too before he went into the store. Once the fog that rolled in from the ocean that morning burned off, it had warmed up nicely that day in Chinatown.
When Sid came back out with the bag of supplies for Mr. Wu he tied the bag to his handlebars with his shirt and strapped his helmet back on. He wore a only a lightweight black T-shirt and his black pants with the studded belt.
"Great, it's all downhill from here! Woo Hoo!" he exclaimed as he pushed off and rolled back down the hill the way he came. The cool air pockets from the ocean rushing past his bare arms and through his thin shirt gave him goose bumps.
Near the bottom of the hill he sat up straight and coasted with his hands over his head. It felt so good to be healed and able to ride like that again and his new bike fit him perfectly!
Sid had to start pedaling when he got to flat ground. He wasn't going very fast anymore either. He really didn't want his ride to end, especially to have it replaced by work and Mr. Wu yelling. Maybe as soon as he got back, there would be deliveries and he could get the others to let him do them. He grinned and pedaled a little faster heading under a green light at the intersection ahead.
The sound of screeching tires made his heart skip a beat, without even looking, he knew a car was sliding towards him! He was almost across, and stood up to force the pedals around faster.
Sliding almost sideways, the car clipped the edge of his back tire. Sid and his new bike flipped up onto the sidewalk. Sid slammed with his back against the wall by the front door of Mrs. Thompson's used book store. The car continued to squeal to a stop as a guy in the passenger side yelled out the window at Sid, "Hey ass-hole – watch where you're riding that thing."
Sid groaned when he moved his arms to straighten his helmet, "That hurt." he mumbled and looked at the car.
Inside there were three young guys shouting at him. "Hey loser, long time no see! We will run into you for real next time!" one of them shouted. Sid gasped when he saw the driver had blue hair. He gunned the engine and went around the corner.
Sid gasped, "Shit – it was them! What are they doing out of prison?"
Mei Lu Thompson, who owned the book store, came rushing out to see if he was okay. "Sid?"
"I'm okay." Sid got up cautiously hoping nothing was damage on him or his new bike. He moved slowly but his heart was racing. His heart was racing, he was afraid they were just going around the block to get behind him again. Sid watched for them all the way home, but he didn't see them again.
Sid came back to Wu's in a rush. He ran to the kitchen, pausing in the doorway to catch his breath. "Sue – Tobey!" He pulled them out to the garden.
"What's going on?" Sue asked, confused at his urgent behavior.
"I saw them!" he said fearfully.
Sue had not seen him this frightened in a while. "Sid, you're shaking - saw who?"
Tobey was already worried too, "Yeah buddy, calm down."
"Those three who shot me and tried to kill you guys! They are out of prison!"
"Oh no! Sid! But they can't be, they were supposed to be locked up for years!" Sue stated.
"Maybe they escaped. It could have been in a laundry truck. I saw it once on TV." Tobey said.
"Sid, you aren't going to do anything crazy are you?" Sue put her hand on his shoulder. "Nana will be home in the morning, we can talk to her then."
Tobey seemed to be having a conversation with himself. ". . . and why did they come back here? I was hoping they would move away. There are other cities with more people for them to annoy I am sure."
"I don't know if we should wait until Nana gets home – they saw me too! They hit me with their car and yelled that they would get me next time."
"Sid-Sue-Tobey!" Mr. Wu yelled from the kitchen. "Get in here, we have deliveries!"
"Sid – they hit you with their car? Are you alright?"
"I think so. They just clipped my back tire and flipped me."
"Awe Sid! Is you're bike okay!" Tobey sounded urgent now.
"Yeah Tob, my bike's okay. Thanks for you're concern."
Sue had a plan. "Tobey and I will do all the deliveries today. You just stay here and help Barney and Mr. Wu. That way you won't run into them again accidentally."
"Oh man, I really hate to do that . . . they know what you guys look like too."
"But we can avoid them. You're still recovering, Sid. And you don't look great now. Are you sure you weren't hurt?"
"Just sore. I think I'm okay."
Sue turned to Tobey next. "Tobey, are we clear on this? We are not going to argue about having to take Sid's share of the deliveries, right?"
"It's clear, and I'm offended that you would think I would argue about it!"
As they walked back inside, Sue pointed out, "You whine all the time about having to do extra deliveries or chores!"
Tobey maintained, "I do not! And this is different. There is good reason – we're protecting Sid." Tobey gestured to Sid for him to go inside after Sue so he wouldn't have to be so close to her while she was being mean. Tobey followed Sid indignantly, with his nose in the air.
Sue added quietly since they were back inside, "If we don't mention what we're doing, Mr. Wu and Barney probably won't even notice. So act cool guys." Sue didn't want Mr. Wu making a big deal of out of it, until they knew if it was a big deal. There was no need to cause him any more stress and yelling, than he caused himself and Sue especially didn't want him yelling at Sid, when he already felt bad.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[TD]]]]]]]]
Unfortunately, Sid didn't know, but those three had followed him and saw him go inside Wu's Garden. They knew where to find him now. "We won't have to have to look for him now."
"Who would have thought he delivered chinese food. WE'll teach him to play hero."
They three were in their car, parked a few doors down where they could see the front of Wu's Garden. While they watched. Tobey left to make the first deliveries.
"Hey Sid, I have never seen Tobey so eager to take the first delivery, what's going on?" Barney asked. Sid hesitated with an answer and Barney added. "It's just weird to not hear him whine about having to go out first. Is this customer a good tipper or something?"
Sue answered quickly, "Yes, that's it- good tipper."
"Here Sue, this one needs to go to Drumm Street." Barney called.
"Hey, great Barney -thanks." Sue answered him and picked the bag up off the counter.
"WHAT is going on? Now you are acting weird too, you are thanking me for sending you to Drumm Street? I thought you hated Drumm Street! Let Sid take it, and you can stay here and help me."
Any other time she would have jumped at the chance to stay and be there alone with Barney – but she just couldn't right now.
"Sid will stay and help you out. You know, we just want to be more helpful to you Barney, you are such a hard worker, and you need some sort of kindness from us, right?"
She saw Sid grinning at her while he stacked the bowls in the sterilizer. As she turned away from the counter she grinned back at him. She mouthed, Be Careful to him and went out the front door. After she picked up her bike, she called Tobey and told him to hurry back so he would be there for the next delivery to go out. "But make sure you aren't followed."
"You don't have to tell me – I am stealthy – there is no way anyone could sneak up on me."
Sid finished loading the sterilizer and pushed buttons to start it. He was really worried about them going out. He got his phone out of his pocket and watched their GPS signals for a minute before Mr. Wu yelled at him to start chopping the onions.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[TD]]]]]]]]
Still sitting in their car, Blue Hair guessed, "That skinny one with the white hair that left first should be back any minute. He'll be easy to take out."
"Yeah man, we'll go across the street and hide so we can ambush him when he comes back."
As his friends got out Big Boy told them, "When I see that you've got him, I'll bring the car over. You can throw him in before anyone sees us." Big Boy instructed.
The two thugs crossed the street to the alley. They found two boards from a wooden loading pallet, to use as weapons before getting into position. Blue Hair got down behind two parked cars, and Earring Boy hid behind a bush that was growing next to the steps going up to a residence's entrance, high off the street and three doors down from Wu's Garden.
Blue Hair saw Tobey approaching by looking through the car's windows, and signaled to Earring Boy to get ready. Tobey was riding on the sidewalk – on the wrong side of the street for the direction he was headed. Unfortunately for Tobey, it put his path right between the two ambushers. "Perfect" Blue Hair whispered.
Tobey glided down the sidewalk with his arms crossed behind his head, stretching and showing off for anyone who might see him. The street was dark and empty though, and no one saw him or what was about to happen to happen to him. Tobey continued on, singing to himself and running his fingers through his hair with the breeze. He was fantasizing about how all the girls loved him as a superhero instead of paying attention.
Blue Hair suddenly stood up from between the two cars and slammed Tobey across the chest with the board as he rode by. With his hands behind his head and not paying attention, he didn't see his attacker or have any way to defend himself. Tobey took the blow in the chest full force. He fell backwards off the bike and landed on his back gasping for air. His bike continued to roll a few feet and fell over against a bush. Tobey rolled over on his stomach to try to get up.
Earring Boy stepped out from beside the steps and brought his board down against the back of Tobey's helmet. He hit him so hard his helmet cracked. Then to finish him off, he hit him again across his shoulders. The second hit took Tobey down. He fell flat on his stomach dazed and trying to catch his breath. Tobey was lucky his helmet was there to protect him enough that his skull wasn't cracked the same way.
Big Boy skid the car to a stop in the street next to where they had Tobey on the sidewalk. Blue Hair reached down and yanked the broken helmet off of Tobey's head without undoing the strap. So as it came off, it took some of the skin off his jaw with it. "Hey you little jerk – Safety first!" Earring Boy laughed.
"Hey!" cough-cough, "NO fair – t-two against one." Tobey's hand went to his head and he looked up at his attackers. Blue Hair paused a moment, looking at the helmet. Tobey struggled to stand only to meet by one more crack against his temple with his own helmet. That time he fell flat and didn't move again.
"Finally, he is tougher than he looks." Blue Hair observed.
Blue Hair dropped the cracked helmet by Tobey's bike. Earring Boy gave it one more smashing blow with the board as he went by. It cracked into pieces. Blue Hair dragged Tobey to the car, dumped him roughly on the back seat and slid in behind him.
Big Boy drove back across the street and down a few doors, but still where they could see Wu's. They waited to see if anyone saw what they did. Everything remained very quiet. Blue Hair rolled Tobey face down across the seat and pulled his arms behind his back. After securing his wrists together with duct tape, he bent his knees and taped his ankles to his wrists too. Then he put strips of tape across his eyes and mouth and roughly shoved Tobey's face into the seat when he finished.
Earring Boy exclaimed, "One down-two more to go. Then we will take them all down to the dock and show them what happens to people who get in our way."
"Ya, before we make them all disappear permanently." Big Boy snorted when he laughed.
"You dumb-ass. That's what I meant."
The gang remained parked where they were and watched the activity as people came and went from Wu's Garden. After a while, when he was sure it was clear and the time felt right, Big Boy drove back across the street. He stopped directly in front of the restaurant's front door.
Before he got out, Blue Hair gave the tape binding Tobey's hands and feet one more squeeze. Then as a fond farewell, he gave Tobey's butt a squeeze. Tobey moaned but still didn't try to move. Blue Hair laughed at him. "See you later, cutie."
The three burst into the restaurant together. Barney started to ask them what he could get for them, but shut up immediately when Earring Boy waved his gun around and demanded everyone stay where they were.
Barney yelped in surprise and ran for the kitchen, but he was too late. Blue Hair tackled him and shoved him back behind the counter. Barney was strong, but wrestling with Blue Hair was like wrestling a wild animal. Barney stopped resisting when Blue Hair put a knife to his throat.
There were only two other people eating in the dining room at the time, both sitting in the same booth. Earring Boy nodded at Big Boy. Big Boy nodded back and sauntered over to the customer's table. It looked like he was daring them to try to get up.
"What is going on out there? That doesn't sound like working!" Mr. Wu hollered as Earring Boy disappeared into the kitchen. Mr. Wu yelled something else and a door could be heard slamming. Earring Boy locked Mr. Wu in the small broom closet and turned off all the lights in the dining room. A little light from the kitchen lit it enough to still see to move around. Earring Boy came back out, stopping by the end of the counter to watch Blue Hair 'take care' of the handsome restaurant worker.
Blue Hair forced Barney to roll onto his stomach. He tied Barney's hands behind his back with several wraps from a roll of shipping tape he found by the cash register.
Earring Boy teased him, "Tape again? What is it with you and tape?" Blue Hair laughed and warned Barney not to move. He stood over him while he opened the cash register and started stuffing money into his pockets. "Ain't much here."
"I'm not surprised, looks like there aren't many people who eat here. Our reason for coming wasn't the money anyway man."
[[[[[[[[[[[[[TD]]]]]]]]
Sue was on her way back to the restaurant riding on the right side of the street like she was supposed to, but she still spotted Tobey's bike lying on the sidewalk behind a parked car on the other side. She stood up and pedaled hard back across the street.
"Oh no!" she said quietly as she looked at his bike and noticed the pieces of Tobey's smashed helmet lying beside it. Sue looked around, fearful of finding his body lying somewhere nearby.
"Tobey?" She whispered and got tears in her eyes. Images of Sid's mortally wounded body in that alley flashed in her mind and then the image of finding Tobey the same way was almost overwhelming for her.
Sue pushed those images out of her head and tried to calm herself so she could think. Tobey's helmet being smashed like that was not a result of his simply crashing after one of his stunts. Sue unhooked her phone from her belt and called Tobey's number. There was no answer, but his GPS said he was nearby.
"SID!" she panicked, "Have they both been attacked?" she started to dial Sid's number, but decided not to. Perhaps he was in a situation where it would be better if his phone didn't ring. If the boys could get to their phones, one of them would have called her if there was trouble, and she was sure there was trouble. Sue decided she would investigate a little before trying to call Sid. The first thing she noticed was the lights in the dining room at Wu's Garden were off.
She quickly picked up the pieces of Tobey's helmet and his bike. She rolled his bike next to hers to get it back to Wu's, only three doors down.
She saw, but didn't recognize the car parked out in front of Wu's Garden so she ignored it. She was only thinking about finding Sid and Tobey and didn't pay as much attention to her surroundings as she should have. Sue stopped at the edge of the restaurant property and peeked around the corner through the window. The lights were all off and she couldn't see anyone moving around inside. "Mr. Wu wouldn't have closed early!"
They searched the place and even looked in the garden but couldn't find Sid. The customers had already been forced into the storeroom. Earring Boy locked them in with Barney's keys, warning them to keep quiet. Mr. Wu heard someone going by and demanded loudly to be let out.
Earring Boy said quietly through the door, "If you make another sound, my friend out here will do some nasty things to your handsome, black-haired employee and then I will put a bullet in his head."
Mr. Wu shuddered and then another voice said that he planned to do some nasty things to the kid either way. That statement was followed by laughter. Mr. Wu stayed quiet after that, praying that Barney would be okay. He knew it was Barney, because he thought the others were out on deliveries and would hopefully be safe.
Earring Boy hid behind the first booth, closest to the front door under the fake plant. Blue Hair stayed behind the counter with Barney. He pulled Barney up on his side and looked into his face. Blue Hair pushed the knife into his neck and warned him to be quiet. Barney winced when the knife drew a drop of blood.
Blue Hair scraped the drop of blood up on the tip of his knife and licked it off. "You know, maybe when this is all over, I will have a chance to just eat you up." A wave of nausea and aversion washed over Barney and he turned his face back to the floor.
Big Boy saw Sue coming back and got into his hiding place across from Earring Boy. He could still see Sue as she approached the door from where he was.
Sue still had terrible images parading through her mind. She pushed the image of the smashed helmet with Tobey's head still in it out of her mind as she leaned his and her bike against the wall, still one door down from Wu's. The business there had already closed.
After peeking through the window and seeing no one, she cautiously tried the door and found it unlocked so she went in.
"Hello?" She headed for the counter hoping to find Barney, Sid and Tobey hiding behind it, giggling. Barney said it had been a slow night- maybe slow enough for them to be bored and come up with a plan to scare her out of her wits. It wouldn't be the first time, but then, Tobey wouldn't have left his bike or smashed his own helmet, just to scare her.
With Sue all caught up in her thoughts as she looked around, Big Boy stepped between her and the door. Earring Boy jumped from behind the booth and landed in front of Sue. "W-What's going on? Where's Tobey and Sid – and the others?" she demanded as she glanced over her shoulder and saw she was surrounded.
"Just a little fun with you kids, and maybe some profit. Where's the rest of the money? The take in the cash register was pathetic." Blue Boy punched the side of the cash register making the bell ding.
Big Boy pulled down the blinds in the front windows.
"And where is the other one? That loser that we thought we got rid of before when we shot his sorry ass." Big Boy asked her.
A feeling of relief washed over Sue. Sid must have gotten away somehow! "How should I know? You know I just came back from a delivery – you were watching weren't you?" Sue took a step toward Big Boy.
"Where's Tobey!" Sue demanded.
Big Boy laughed in response, but didn't have time to say any more. Sid swung the door open, and charged Big Boy from the sidewalk. His palm made contact with Big Boy's cheek and before Big Boy could react, Sid followed his punch with a kick to his stomach. Big Boy went to his knees. Sue started to run towards Earring Boy as she readied herself to take him out.
Blue Hair shouted a warning from behind the counter. "Enough!" he threatened. Earring Boy saw Sue coming and leveled his gun at her head. Sue froze like a deer in headlights. Sid jumped between Sue and Earring Boy to shield her.
"Sid -No!" she said quietly, through clenched teeth. "Get out of the way."
Earring Boy waved his gun at them, motioning for them to go to the first booth. Big Boy was already standing behind the booth, he motioned to them to sit right in front of him so their backs would be to him and the restaurant entrance.
Not seeing that they had any other choice right then, the siblings cooperated. Sue slid in first, never taking her eyes off Big Boy. Not liking that he was standing behind them. Sid slid in close to Sue, sitting sideways, with his back to her so he could watch Big Boy.
Big Boy slowly moved to the end of the table and pulled out a small knife. He put his knee on the bench to lean in close to Sid. He waved the knife close to Sid's face. Sid pulled back closer to Sue and put his hands up to protect himself and Big Boy just leaned in closer.
"Freeze, or I will play with her instead."
Sid reluctantly put his hands down a little. He had Sue behind him, pressed against the wall. She whispered, "Don't do anything Sid, yet."
"Good advice little girl. Where's the money?"
Sid assured him, "What was in the cash register, is all there is."
With a flick of Big Boy's wrist, the knife left a gash across Sid's cheekbone. He cried out and put his left hand over his burning cheek. Sue screamed and hugged him from behind. Sid put his hands up again to try and protect himself. Big Boy backed up and laughed at him. "That will teach you to mess lie to me – the next time I ask – you better tell me."
Sid growled and started to lung at him, but Sue already had her arms around his ribs and pulled him back down. "No! Sid, please . . . there's a gun-n-n!" She whispered. Sue pointed to make Sid look at the guy with all the piercings, who still had his gun aimed at them. Earring Boy seemed to be enjoying his friend's antics.
Sue took Sid's right hand in hers to guide him to turn around so she could see him. Sid allowed her to guide him, but he didn't take his eyes off of their enemies. "We have to do something and find Tobey!" he spoke through his clenched teeth and glared at Big Boy. He relaxed a little in Sue's arms as she whispered, "We will wait for our chance, brother."
"Alright, get that one out here." Big Boy motioned to the counter. Blue Hair pulled Barney up off the floor by his hair. Barney yelped and struggled to stand. Blue Hair put the knife back to his throat and got behind him holding on to Barney's arms. "Come on Love," he said to Barney as he pushed him out from behind the counter and in front of it.
"Barney!" Sue and Sid said together.
"Sue!" was all Barney got out before Blue Hair poked him in the throat with the knife to shut him up again. "Don't make me have to shut you up permanently before we have had some playtime." He whispered in Barney's ear and then licked it. Barney tried to move away, but the feeling of the knife pressing in his neck was worse than the disgusting tongue in his ear.
Sue and Sid saw the exchange between Blue Hair and Barney. They couldn't hear what he said, but Sue clenched her fists and growled when the thug touched Barney like that.
Sid scooted out and stood up at the end of the bench. "We all know you are here for me - why don't you leave the others out of this. I'll fight all three of you right now!" Sid challenged.
"Sid!" Sue exclaimed and pulled him back down on the bench. She didn't want him to make them madder or give them any ideas they had not thought of.
"You're right of course; getting revenge on you is why we came, but there's no reason our visit can't be profitable too." confirmed Blue Hair.
Big Boy came back over, close to the table where the siblings were sitting. "Come on, where is the rest of the cash? The sooner you cough it up, the sooner we can get on with our business." Big Boy slammed his fist down on the table next to Sid.
"You've already got all there is from the cash register." Sue stated angrily. "And you never answered me! Did you do something to our f-friend? Where is he?"
"What friend" You will have to be a little more specific." We have done 'something' to a lot of people." Big Boy answered smugly pretending not to know who she meant.
"Tobey, the boy with the white streak in his hair!" Sue practically shouted at them.
Big Boy moved from Sid, to stand closer behind Sue. "Oh, the one who just left his bike down the sidewalk? He said I could have it, but it was too small for me."
Sid screamed at him this time. "He would NOT have said that! What happened to him?"
"That little shrimp didn't hold up well at all against a board that just kept hitting him over and over. You'll get his body back little girl, if you please me." Big Boy touched Sue's hair. She pulled away as far as she could and leaned on Sid.
"His body? No . . ." Tears welled up in Sue's eyes when Sid hugged her.
Blue Hair added, "Oh I don't think he's dead yet. At least he wasn't when I saw him last. I hope not. I wasn't finished playing with him yet."
"NO! You better not touch him!" she sobbed. Sid hugged Sue closer and looked at Big Boy with fire in his eyes. "Tobey . . ." Sue sobbed quietly, praying he was alright. Sid pulled her tighter to his side as he choked back his own tears.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[TD]]]]]]]]
Tobey's head had been bleeding since he had passed out. It had soaked his bangs and gotten under the tape that had covered his eyes. When Tobey groaned and lifted his head, there was also a large bloodstain on the seat. Feeling smothered with his face against the back of the seat he tried to roll over and found his arms and legs were stuck in a most uncomfortable position. Tobey panicked and started struggling weakly. His head was pounding and his chest and back hurt badly.
He vaguely remembered being hit by a board and knocked off his bike. Angry and scared, he tried to kick, but only yanked on his arms and it really hurt where the board had hit his shoulders. "Oww – aaaah!" he moaned into the tape covering his mouth. Rubbing his face back and forth on the seat, he hoped to rub the tape off his eyes and mouth. Frustrated, he soon gave up and lie still to rest; the short expense of effort exhausted him. Hurting all over, and panicked over what might be happening to Sue and Sid, he wished he would pass out again.
[[[[[[[[[[[[[TD]]]]]]]]
[Tobey Continued…]