Outlaw by Nicole James

thumbs up to Crash. Chucky was in front, and didn’t see
any of this.
    A few seconds later they were pulling off on an exit
ramp to the rest area. A sign indicated it was closed. There were a couple of
construction horses with flashing warning lights barricading the way, but they
were easy to go around. Cole saw that even a vehicle would be able to get
around them.
    They proceeded down the exit, and followed it around
a curve. Cole glanced around, and saw that they could not see the interstate
any longer. They came to an area that divided the flow of traffic with a sign
pointing cars to the left and trucks to the right. They followed Chuck to the
left. There were diagonal marked parking spots along a sidewalk that fronted along
an abandoned building that housed the restrooms and tourist information desk.
It was all boarded up. The grass was overgrown, and weeds grew up in the cracks
of the sidewalk. They were the only ones there.
    Chuck stopped his bike in the lane.
    Cole and Crash stopped behind him.
    They all dismounted.
    Chuck lit a cigarette. “So, patch over, man. Huh?”
    Cole nodded. “Yeah. You ready to wear the
angel-of-death on your back?”
    “Ready? Hell, lookin’ forward to it.”
    “Right.” Cole slid a look to Crash, who rolled his eyes. Chuck missed the exchange. Cole
continued with the small talk, wanting to distract Chuck from becoming
suspicious. “So, how many guys you think will stay on?”
    “Shit. Half those bastards will walk.”
    “Really? That many?”
    “Yeah. They think they’re tough. But when it comes
down to it-”
    The sound of an approaching vehicle had them all
turning to look back toward the road. A moment later a white cargo van was
heading toward them. It pulled up, and stopped.
    Cole could see there was no one in the passenger seat.
Good news. He glanced at Crash, as if to say ‘get ready’.
    The driver door opened, and the driver got out. He
came around the front of the van, and walked over to them. Cole sized him up.
He was young. Probably late twenties. Asian, most likely Chinese. Had an attitude. Had his chin in
the air.
    “Ling, this is Cole.” Chuck made the introductions.
“Cole, Ling.”
    “I understand you provide a ‘special product’,” Cole
stated.
    “Depends. What do you need?” Ling asked.
    “What can you get us?” Cole countered.
    Ling stared him down.
    Cole stared right back.
    “Caught me at a good time. Had a real good night’s
work last night. Got plenty of inventory.” Ling jerked his head back toward the
van.
    Cole glanced back at the van, and then over at
Crash. Fuck! He wasn’t counting on this. He’d assumed Ling would come alone.
    Ling walked over to the back of the van.
    The guys followed, knowing they were going to have
to play this up.
    Ling pulled the doors open. “Take your pick. You
want blonde, brunette, redhead . Hell, I got it all.”
    Cole and Crash looked inside the van. It was crowded
with young girls, all handcuffed and gagged. There were three on each side,
leaning against the walls of the van.
    Cole slid a stunned look back at Crash, and then
said to Ling, “Holy shit! You weren’t kiddin’.”
    Crash whistled. “You got some nice stuff.”
    “How much?” Cole asked.
    “Thousand a piece.”
    Cole whistled. “That’s kind of steep.”
    “This is primo stuff, man,” Ling insisted. “Young
and fresh.”
    Chuck piped in. “Oh, no doubt about that. He already
had a chance to sample your product.” Chuck glanced over at Angel, who was
standing back by the bikes.
    Ling looked over at her, and nodded. “Right. I
remember that one.”
    Cole gave Chuck a deadly look. “Keep your Goddamn
mouth shut, Chucky.”
    Chuck closed his mouth.
    Cole looked again at the girls. He bet some of them
couldn’t be more than fifteen or sixteen.
    “You interested or not? I got places to be,” Ling
pressured.
    Cole looked at Ling, and smiled. The
little weasel. He was going to take real pleasure in ending his life.
“Sure. I’m