6

The next morning Jenny awoke to a loud knock on the door frame. "Of all rooms, why did you pick this one to sleep in?" Hayden said leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed in front of her. "It's the dirtiest. It even has its own smell."

Jenny opened one eye and looked over the fluff of the blankets that she was lying, face down, on top of. "Doesn't bother me." She grumbled as she pushed herself onto her knees and clumsily sat on top of the bed. "And have you felt how soft this is?"

"You're a freak." Hayden said simply.

Annoyed, Jenny stared at her for a few seconds. "Why'd you wake me up?"

"One: because it's almost noon, and two: we're going to go get Rob now, so get ready."

"Kay." Jenny said with a yawn. After Hayden left, she stood up, stripped off McQueen's baggy shirt and put on her normal clothes.

Hayden, of course, had everything ready earlier. She didn't have much to pack up in the first place and was careful not to disturb any of their things. Unlike her sister, being in their house and their space without their permission made her uncomfortable. It was an invasion of privacy that she was sure, at the least, Brick would not be okay with.

She grabbed her things and waited for Jenny at the car. She was eager to see that Rob was okay, but she couldn't help wondering what exactly happened. She almost wished she were there when it happened, just to be sure and certain that Carlos was taken care of. She didn't doubt the Oodie brothers' ability to take people out. And they said that they had Rob. But Carlos is smart. Not even she and her sister could kill him, and she was fully confident in their own abilities. How could she put all her trust into these three men? Three men they didn't know, who seemed moronic at times, but knew how to fuck someone's shit up, to be frank. But Hayden and Jenny needed more than just that. They couldn't risk Carlos or any of his men coming back to bite them in the ass and take Rob back.

A few minutes later, Jenny came practically bouncing out of the house. Apparently, she had had enough time to wake up and get back to her normal self. "So," Hayden said as she started the car and Jenny shut the door behind her, "you going to give McQueen a second date?" She chuckled at her own joke.

"What?" She said, clueless.

"Because of the phone date? Yesterday?"

She stared blankly at her.

"Forget it."

Jenny smiled to herself about getting a tiny, little revenge on her sister for calling her a freak this morning.

Brick turned off the car and looked over the place. It was a shack of a bar with not much to it. "Lucky's" was painted in red on the front panels above the door. The building was made from a light brown wood and held up by thin pillars. It almost looked like a set from an old western movie; just with less character. He probably could have picked a better spot to meet up at than this, but he was in a rush.

The girls should be there any minutes if they left when he assumed they did.

Brick and McQueen got out of the car and went into the bar while Lincoln stayed back to get Rob situated. Inside was musty and unappealing, decorated sparingly with the basic, stereotypical bar things: beer sponsored streamers, a jukebox in the corner, and a lounge area in back with a television. The first thing they noticed was an old 80's style porn on in the background. Brick and McQueen stopped in their track and looked at each other in amusement. They took a few steps closer, still in surprise that a public place was trashy enough to be playing a porn when business could walk in at any moment. "Pretty classy joint you got here." Brick said sarcastically, turning to the guy behind the bar.

"Thanks. Nice shirt." He responded, clearly catching on.

Brick and McQueen, both unprepared to take shit back, looked down to their Hawaiian punch and confederate flag shirts, then in sync with one another, looked back to the man behind the counter. Brick continued to turn and face him with his thumbs in his pockets, threatening him with his stare. "You Lucky?" He said after a second or so.

"That's right." He said, attempting to give off the same aggressive confidence.

"We'll see 'bout that." He muttered to his brother.

McQueen giggled and sat down at the table in front of him and continued to watch the screen in amusement.

"Hey man why 'on't you turn that shit off for me." Brick said casually as he walked up to the bar.

"That's Mac." Lucky said pointing to the old man in the chair directly in front of the TV. "He's ninety-eight years old. I think he's earned the right to watch a little TNA if he wants." He said, slowly building back his authority.

"Why?" Brick asked as he popped some peanuts into his mouth and looked over to Mac. "He ain't jerkin' nothin'."

He paused for a moment to think of his response. "Yeah, well he's been watching that stuff since I opened the joint, so I'm 'onna keep it that way, alright?"

"Well how 'bout this," Brick suggested, "If I go back 'ere, I'm 'onna bust up Mac and your TV." He carelessly popped another peanut into his mouth. "How 'bout that?" He added with a wink.

He paused again, struggling to think and assert his dominance. "Yeah, is that a fact?"

Just as Brick turned back to look at him, Lincoln wheeled Rob through the door, followed shortly by Hayden and Jenny.

"What the fuck?" Lucky said under his breath.

"See I got a minor with me. I'd appreciate if he wouldn't have to listen to that." Brick said and waited for him to say something. With no response, he nodded smugly at him, showing that that was his clue to go turn it off.

After a few seconds of hesitation, Lucky picked up the remote and switched the off the porno. "Hey Mac, I'm 'onna give it a rest for a few, alright?"

He went over to the big chair to check on Mac but still got no response. "Looks like Mac's had enough." Brick joked as he walked over and handed a beer to McQueen. He now finally noticed that the girls had arrived as he turned around to go back to the bar. Hayden followed to talk to him about the rest of their deal while Jenny went to keep an eye on Rob.

McQueen stood up and stared, smirking at Jenny as she crouched down beside Rob. He was happy to see her. "There's that smile." She giggled, touching his cheek. She loved the joy Rob often had on his face when he was around his sisters.

Suddenly she became aware of McQueen behind her. She looked up at him and stared back, then stood to meet him. He took a few steps closer and grazed the back of his finger along her stomach. "You going to do this every time you see me?"

"Well," He thought, "I 'on't hear no complainin'."

She turned her head to hide her slowly flushing cheeks and scoffed in amazement at his brashness. He took that opportunity to nuzzle into her neck and surprisingly gently drag his lips up and down her neck into kisses. Tenderness wasn't exactly a trait she would have expected from a guy like him, but he was alarmingly skilled at it, despite his abrasive approach. "Hey." She warned pushing him away and looking quickly back to Rob. "You can't do that in front of him."

"Ain't nothin' wrong th'it." He laughed, continuing to nuzzle.

Once again, she gently pushed him back, awkwardly ducking away from him and guiding his hands away. "Even still." She winked and pulled a chair next to Rob.

McQueen groaned and sat down next to her. He tipped back in his chair a few times, now getting bored.

Rob adjusted himself to see the TV better. Now instead of porn playing in the background it was Terminator.

McQueen watched curiously as Rob's attention focused solely on the screen. "You know this movie?" He asked.

Lincoln began typing and looked up at Rob, waiting for his attention. "I'll. Be. Back."

Rob smiled widely and swayed in his chair.

Quickly, Lincoln tapped the table for McQueen's sunglasses. He put them on and pressed the button again. "I'll. Be. Back."

Rob's smile grew even wider and he bounced a little in excitement.

"Well ain't you full of surprises." McQueen said to himself with a look of wonder on his face.

Jenny sat back in her chair, watching their interactions with Rob. For the first time, she saw them in a different light. Instead of just dangerous, idiotic, rednecks; they were sweet. She figured they would kill her if she ever used the word "cute" to describe them. But that's what they were. She could tell that already Rob meant something to them whether they knew it or not, and that meant a lot to her. She glanced at McQueen and the amazement in his eyes, and smiled to herself, proud of their choice in mercenaries.

Meanwhile, Hayden pulled out the bar stool next to Brick and sat down. She waited while he asked Lucky for something Rob could eat.

"So." Brick said when he could bring his attention to her.

She stared at him for a second or so, deciding whether or not to say something. "You know what I read recently?" She decided as she took a sip of her beer. Brick waited. "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

"Okay." He said after a few seconds, wondering why she was saying this.

She waited for more of a reaction. "Have you read it?"

"No." He said casually, taking a sip of his beer.

"You haven't read it?" She clarified.

"No." He restated. "Now 'bout this little issue of payment." He went on.

"Are you sure you haven't read it?" She continued.

He looked at her in confusion. "Why you talkin' 'bout this God damn book? Huh?" He suddenly exclaimed.

"It's a good book." She defended. "It's about the south. You'll probably like it."

He stared for a second. "That's racist."

"Oh, I'm racist?" She said for a comparison.

He glanced over to her with a smirk in response to her attitude. He liked her feistiness. Most women responded differently to the Oodies. Generally, conceded scoffs or slaps were common reactions. The content of the situations never seem to matter much. "So," he began again, glancing down to the beer in his hand, "bout that money you promised?"

"Yeah, yeah. But first, how do I know you got the job done?"

"You wanna go 'ere and check?" He said, slightly offended. "Ain't no way anybody survived that shit."

"You're confident." She observed tauntingly. "What did you do?"

Brick looked at her for a second or two before spilling. "Drove through the living room."

"You drove through the living room." She reiterated in disbelief.

"McQueen did." He said, seeming almost disappointed. They both momentarily looked back to the table where they were all sitting. Jenny leaned over to fix Rob's shirt, which had moved sideways. Lincoln observed their behaviors while McQueen aimlessly tossed a crumpled paper in the air a few times.

Hayden shook her head and wiped her hand across her face with a sigh. It was an odd group they chose to do their bidding, and the boys sure had their own way of doing things. She could easily assume that with that big of an entrance they continued to cause more insane amounts of damage afterwards. She could picture it vividly enough to get a good sense of what most likely happened. But still, she didn't want a most likely scenario. She wanted definite answers. Unfortunately, Brick was right. There was no logical or reasonable way to check without risking anymore. They have Rob. And that was enough proof. If Carlos was alive there would be no way that he'd be sitting just at that table. Carlos was quick. He would have made an attempt by now if he weren't dead.

As if cued by the end of her thought process, five women walked through the door and caught everyone's attention.