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This is the first story I've invested much time at all in. I am both new to Steemit and trying to improve my writing, any comments or constructive criciticm is very much welcome! Hello Steemit! and Thanks!
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A Simple Favor by Matt Crowl
The light was on and the neon sign read “Open”, but there was no one around. From the outside, the placed appeared old and unkempt, but not quite abandoned. There were weeds growing out of the cracks in the cement. The billboard marquee across the top of the doorway looked beaten and probably hadn’t been cleaned in a decade. It still read “Gas, Food, Beer!” though. All of the gas pumps had cardboard “out of order” signs duct taped on them. The place was open, but it didn’t seem like the kind of place anyone should visit.
Frank made his way through the seemingly empty gas station. There was no one in sight. After standing around for a few minutes, he heard someone in the back room. The air filled with smoke as he pressed through the door, and there was Tim, the clerk, smoking in the back room.. Frank was mildly surprised that Tim still had the long hair of his youth. His hair, pulled back in a ponytail, was greasy and frayed. The tattoos on his hands and collarbone, peaking out from his shirt, were new. Frank couldn’t tell what they were of.
Tim looked downtrodden and as if he hadn’t slept or showered in days. He wore a 90’s styled button up shirt with an old stained white t-shirt underneath. Frank noticed that it was the same sort of thing that he would have worn back in their high school days.
Tim swayed, sitting on a wooden stool, at a makeshift table constructed from cinder blocks and a piece of plywood. The ashtray next to his open beer can was an overflowing mound of cigarette butts. This wasn’t a nice place, but the back room was made out like drug den. There were piles of trash across the room, mostly by the back exit. It looked like Tim had a sleeping bag and a pile of clothes in the corner. Frank wondered if Tim was
living back here, or if the owner had even been around in months.
“Where the hell have you been?” barked Tim, with both alcohol and frustration loud in his voice. A decade hadn’t worn away his bravado. Tim had always been more confident and more of an asshole than his thin and lanky build gave him credit to be.
“You know damn well. I’ve been stuck at the circus, putting up equipment. We’re already prepping for next weekend. It’s rough.” Frank offered, holding back his annoyance.
“Well I’ve been waiting and now I’m damn near wasted.”
Frank laughed. “Ok?”
“Aahh,” Tim said, leaning unstably backward on his stool. “Sit and drink with me.It’s been too long man, what’s up?”
That initial confrontational tone was completely gone from his voice. “You down for some adventure tonight Frank? Sandy and
Charlie are gonna be here soon.”
Frank sighed and then took a deep breath. “ Yeah, sure, whatever man” He grabbed a beer and sat on the stool across from his old friend and asked, “So does anyone even watch the store? This place is a disaster, and you don’t look too good
yourself.” He waved his arm.
Tim laughed and brushed him off. “This gas station gig is sweet man. I’ll tell you about it later. How long are you in town?”.
Frank explained that the circus would be in town for the rest of the month, so he would be around for a couple of weeks. After a few minutes they were laughing and talking as if Frank never moved away from the city. It felt good to catch up, even though they both had changed in the last decade. Frank enjoyed just relaxing and drinking with an old friend. Life on the road was often lonely.
Tim was drinking the station’s beer from a half empty case that had come from the cooler in the front room. It wasn’t long before that case of beer was empty. Frank started to mention that he should probably get back to his hotel room before it gets late, but Tim interrupted “R-relax, chill out man. That case don’t mean nothin’. Just grab another case from the cooler in the front”. As Frank sat back down from grabbing the beer Tim set in “The other night Sandy was in here. You know her right? From back in the day? Same Sandy, I need you to give us a ride to the north side if that’s cool. You can crash there if you want.”
Frank hesitated. That was pretty far.
Tim continued. “She has this client, he’s fucking loaded, and he’s gonna be outta town for a few weeks. Sandy knows how we can get in, we’re gonna crash there until he gets back. It’s gonna be high living. She says his digs are massive. It’s gotta be better than whatever shit hole they have you canned up in. And if he happens to leave anything we can sell around, maybe we’ll get paid.” He added with a smirk.
Frustrated, Frank let out a small laugh, “You need to lay off the drugs. I’ll give you the ride, for old time’s sake. I don’t have anywhere to be until Wednesday, but I don’t want nothin’ to do with no robbery.”
“We can see what it’s like when we get there. Maybe you should stay until you have to go back to work in a few days. We can enjoy the pool. I know I’m going to enjoy the shower. This shithole doesn’t have one. I don’t know if you could tell, but it’s been a while. It’s not easy washing my balls in the sink.”
Wanting to stop him before he explained any further, Frank interrupted “You know this is a gas station right?”
“Look, Sandy is picking up Charles. They should be back here any minute, and then we’re going… Seriously man, this guy is loaded. Sandy knows how to get in she says,” Tim repeated.
“I seriously don’t even know what you’re on about. So what he has money? What are you going to pawn the furniture? Good luck.” Frank was starting to lose patience.
Sure, working as a grunt for the circus was certainly any one’s dream job, but he had no plans to rob anyone. Or any plan. He didn’t mind giving them a ride, and it would be good to see Charles again. Sandy was cool enough, but after he dropped them off he would head back to his motel.
Tim replied “Relax Frank! Considering how late you were. They should have already been back. Just relax and have another beer. You don't have to do anything but give us a ride. That's fine, man. That's fine."
“Alright, Alright, shut up about it already”. Frank took a large swig of his beer. He didn’t like this, but it was good to see his old friends, and he didn’t have to work tomorrow, he reminded himself.
It was nearly 3:00 am when Sandy and Charlie parted the door to the back room. Frank was drunk and Tim hadn’t stopped smoking nor drinking, probably for a couple of days. Finally, Frank thought to himself, time to drop off these assholes off and be on my way.
Upon recognizing her, and seeing how she was dressed it was obvious, Frank remembered that Sandy was the prostitute that was friends with Tim. He had gotten to know her during the period after he dropped out of college, and before he decided to join the traveling circus. She had always been smoking Tim’s drugs and squatting where he was squatting. You could say they’d had a mutual understanding. Though she appeared to be doing better for herself than whatever it was that Tim was getting into these days.
It was good to see Charles, and he seemed sober, and more sane than Tim, who maybe was too gone at this point in his bender. Conversation with Charles was enjoyable, and Frank was glad he had stayed to offer them the ride. Charles seemed to be doing well for himself, but he couldn’t be doing too well if he’s hanging around these two degenerates, Frank mused.
Tim locked up the station, grabbing a couple more 18 packs of beer from the cooler “just in case”. As they were getting into the car, Frank noticed that both Charlie and Tim had pistols tucked into the back of their pants. He hadn’t been able to see Tim’s backside while they were in the back room. Uncomfortably, Frank figured that it was too late to do anything, and on this side of town it was probably best that they were armed.
The client's house was roughly an hour away, but it would be another hour before they made it far. They had to stop by Sandy’s apartment so she could change out of her scant clothing and knee high leather heels. Tim had to piss, so they both went up.
A good amount of time after they went up to her apartment Frank jokingly asked, “You think they’re trying to sneak in a quickie?”
Charlie didn’t hesitate for a second. “Sure isn’t very quick, but I don’t doubt it. I don’t rule out anything with those two. Probably smoking something too”.
They both laughed, the slight tension that had been hanging in the air dissolving. The two men relaxed and started talking easily, just shooting the shit. Charlie informed Frank that big shot drug runners owned the gas station, and that Tim was in badly with them. They had gotten the best of him with a combination of drug and gambling debts. He kept just enough money coming in, between his friends and petty crime, to stay alive. He was supposed to be working the gas station to pay them back. He was living there, and they used him to do dirty jobs from time to time. It seemed to Frank like they were giving him just enough rope to hang himself.
Eventually, Tim and Sandy showed up with a large duffel bag which they put in the trunk. They looked frantic and gleeful. They were soaring. They couldn’t stop laughing and talking about how they were “going to their side mansion for a little weekend get away”.
It didn’t take very long after they got on the freeway and out of the industrial part of town that lights flashed in the rear view mirror. Frank tried to remember and count how many beers he had drunk, but knew it was too many. As he started to slow down and veer onto the shoulder, Tim shouted “You gotta lose him man! Floor it!” Tim was frantic “Fucking GO!” he yelled repeatedly.
Frank was able to shout him down as he continued to slow down. “It is going to be okay.” he pleaded. “Everybody calm down!” Charlie and Sandy didn’t say a word.
“Don’t make me kill a copper today, Frankie!” Tim barked menacingly with a dark laugh. Frank was startled at how serious Tim’s tone was. It was then that he remembered the guns and started to worry.
They couldn’t see anything. The light from the officer’s spotlight shining on them was blinding. As the officer sidled up to the car, Tim suddenly pulled out his pistol, and seemingly teleported the upper half of his body out his open window and opened fire. The officer fell back immediately, and then fell to the ground almost instantly. It seemed Tim had hit him at least a couple of times. Tim angrily shouted, “I told you not to stop, now hit the fucking gas unless you want to join him?” Frank floored it.
Utter horror hadn’t quite overtaken Frank’s initial confusion, and he didn’t think to look around and see everyone else’s reaction. Not yet at least. His ears were still ringing, and he just kept driving. Everyone in the car remained silent. Frank was aghast and in complete disbelief. How could his friend be so savage? Charlie, sitting next to him in the front seat, seemed maybe a little unnerved, but not enough by Frank’s measure. Surely things hadn’t gotten this bad in the city? It set in for Frank that he had been gone for a long time. Home had changed, and he had to get away again as soon as possible… But his car, the dash cam... What had just happened? What was he going to do?! No one else was around, and it would be a few minutes if the officer managed to use his radio. They had no way of knowing. His mind was racing.
Tim could see he was panicking, and weakly tried to console his friend. He offered him a Xanax and told him he would call a guy, they’d fix him up with a new car. “Just get us to this guy’s house. No one will even think to look there. We’ll sort this.” He said with some finality. The car hung in silence for the rest of the way.
They still hadn’t seen any signs of danger as they were pulling into the gated community. Everyone but Frank seemed calmer. Tim attempted to offer his sincerest apologies for threatening to kill him, which was pretty weak. Frank didn’t say anything.
Sandy had the code to the gate, and a key to the guest house out back. The driveway wrapped around the house conveniently, and so they were able to park the car in the back yard. The guest house was nice and had a few rooms. It was hard to see at night but backyard was picturesque, with perfectly trimmed hedges, and a large pool with slide.
Tim promised that first thing tomorrow a guy he knew would come and take care of everything. “Relax. It’s fine” he kept repeating. He opened the duffel bag and it was full of drugs. He told Frank that he was welcome to help himself, and morning would come soon enough. Relax. He knew a guy.