Noir and a Nap

Noir and a Nap

Dust particles hang softly in the glow of the dying light as afternoon becomes evening. I’m sitting in my bean bag chair, a glass of apple juice gripped lightly in my hand. Taking a small sip, I look across my desk at the rosy cheeked brunette in front of me. She’s wearing a red dotted dress and a matching bow in her hair. Typical. She begins to speak and I lean forward.

“I need your help, Drake.” She was curling one of her brown strands with a finger. Normally, I’d say it was cute what she was doing, but I wasn’t in the mood for cute.

“Again? This is the third time this week. If trouble is your business, it must be booming.” I took another sip of the sauce. It slid down easy.

The brunette’s name is Suzy. She lived down the street but it seemed like she lived at my place she came here so much. An enigma this one was. Sometimes she would come in and ask for help and sometimes she would come in to bug me. I was indifferent towards the dame; yes, she was beautiful but there was something invisible on her that made me keep my distance when she was around.

The hazel eyes were watering as I took another sip of the juice. Her upper lip shook as she spoke. “Please, Drake, you need to help me. They’ve taken her. They’ve taken Stacy and they won’t give her back.” On the brink of tears, she took out a small, pink hanky and blotted her eyes with it.

I leaned back in the chair, aiming for comfort but finding none. The beans in the bag had stiffened from years of abuse. “Have they given any demands, anything they want?”

“Of course not Drake. It’s Billy and his boys. They get a kick out of taking Stacy and torturing her.” The tears came flooding this time, overwhelming the hanky.

I shook my head slowly. Billy and his boys were always up to no good but I never thought they’d stoop to a low like this. Usually they’d hang around the corner drugstore, pestering people going about their daily routine. Lately they’d upped their game to extortion and kidnapping. I hated to see the neighborhood go to hell like this but it was the way of the world, the way it was always going to be. Stacy wasn’t the sort of broad that Suzy was. She was just a plastic plaything, only a material possession in my eyes but a little sister in Suzy’s.

“Payment will have to be up front this time. I don’t like what I’m hearing from you, and judging by what Billy has been doing this past couple of weeks, I can smell only trouble.” The perspiration on my cup was slowly trickling down and making a pool on my desk.

Suzy reached into her tiny purse and pulled out four crisp, orange $500 bills. She placed them on my desk and leaned back into her chair, paying attention to her dripping eyes. I calmly picked up the bills and held them against the light. The shadowy image of Mr. Moneybags appeared in the center of the zero. They were real alright. I pocketed them quickly, then stood.

“Where are you going?” Suzy whimpered, standing herself, smoothing out her dress as she did.

I threw on my trench coat and fedora. “I’m going to see what exactly Billy wants. You should stay here. Everything will be alright.”

I made a move to go past her when she grabbed on my arm. “Please be careful Drake. You know how Billy gets when you’re around.”

I looked down at her hand clutched onto my sleeve. She removed it slowly and placed it at her side. “Like I said, everything will be alright. Stay here.”

I left her standing in my office and pushed out into the daylight. It was cloudy but bright and I shielded my eyes until they adjusted.

Billy lived in a trailer at the dead end towards the back of my neighborhood. Fifteen minutes later I was leaning against the dead end sign, toothpick swishing back and forth between my teeth. There was no movement in front of me but I could feel eyes watching me from everywhere. I moved down the gravel driveway toward the trailer, keeping my eyes level on the door, hands out of my pockets.

“That’s far enough, Drake.” A voice from behind me. “Stay still. Got any weapons on ya?”

I didn’t move. “None.”

“Big mistake. Ya shoulda brought somethin’.” Footsteps crunched over the rocks.

“I just want to talk, that’s all. See if we can sort this out peacefully.” Footsteps grew louder as a shadow was cast over me.

“Ya know ya can’t just come in here ta talk. Whatta ya want?”

“Just the doll back. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“She pay ya ta come and fetch it fer her?” The shadow was right on top of me. I could smell his breath. Macaroni and cheese, store brand.

“She did and I’m willing to pay you to get her back.”

The shadow chuckled. “No can do, ya know that Drake.”

“Then it seems we have a problem.”

I could feel the shadow’s smile from behind me. “It’d seem that way.”

I took a step forward and wheeled around, water pistols pulled from the shoulder holsters under my jacket. I pointed them directly in Billy’s face. He was tall for his age, head and shoulders above me, but I wasn’t scared. “Don’t make this any worse than it has to be, Billy.”

The only thing Billy did was laugh. He had a deep laugh, one that resonates through the air, but hangs heavy like a fog. “Boys.”

Out from who knows where stepped the rest of Billy’s crew. I was stupid enough to fall for two of Billy’s traps. Footsteps on to my back led to strong hands on my arms, pinning them to my sides.

Billy was striding forward in long, loping strides. “Don’tcha squeal and don’tcha squirm, or it’ll only get worse.” The smile again, like a deranged clown with missing teeth.

I knew it was pointless to struggle; the pain would go away eventually. I stood defiantly in front of him, chin out, head up, waiting. I braced for what was next.

The first punch came in low, straight to the gut. When it hit I let out a sound like a deflating basketball sped up. The second punch landed in the same spot, coerced the same sound. Billy was being careful, surgical almost, with his punches, staying away from areas where it’d be noticed. I was no rat but Billy didn’t want to take his chances.

The third punch caught me a bit higher than the previous ones and I felt light-headed. Blotches of black obscured my vision. Darkness took me and I was gone.

The sting of cold water splashing across my face brought me back from the dark. I sputtered and tried to sit up, but a lightning bolt of pain made me stay put. I was lying on the couch in my living room. The Venetian blinds had been pulled down and the only light came slicing through the gap of the slats. I turned my head and found Suzy seated next to me, bottle of water in one hand, towel in the other.

“They dropped you off about twenty minutes ago. I never thought you’d wake up,” she said as she handed me the towel.

I groaned and dried my face. “They did a number on me. Just as I suspected.”

She put a tiny hand to her mouth. “If you knew it was going to happen then why would you go?”

“They think I won’t be back. They think I’ll call it off, tell you that Stacy is gone and you should move on.”

“But she’s not right?” Waterworks began again. “You’re going to get her back, right Drake?”

I handed her back the towel. “Of course. You paid me and I never quit on a job.” I sat up with difficulty and swung my legs onto the floor. “We now have the element of surprise.”

“No, you’re in no condition to go back there, Drake. You can barely stand. You wouldn’t last longer than you did the first time you went there.”

I rubbed my face. “They took my guns?” A nod. Two weeks allowance down the drain. “Just another thing I need to get back.”

She was pleading now, tears sprinting for the edge of her chin. “Please don’t go back, Drake. Billy can have Stacy. I don’t want her back anymore anyway.”

I stood slowly and looked into her big, brown, watery eyes. “You don’t mean that.”

She looked away. “I…I can always find a new doll.” Her head whipped back to look at me. “She’s not worth throwing your life away to get back.”

I chuckled softly. “I’m not throwing my life away. Like I said, they think I won’t be back. I’ll sneak over there tonight and get her back for you, piece of cake.”

The waterworks were slowing down as she blotted her eyes with the pink hanky. “You’re really getting her back, Drake?”

I sat back down, body aching, and looked up at her. “I always get the job done.”

She smiled. “I’m glad to hear that, Drake. I’ll let you rest. Please tell me if you’re going to get her back tonight.”

I nodded and closed my eyes. I heard her small steps to the door and she was gone. A few seconds later, I was too.

I awoke with a start in darkness that matched the inside of my eyelids. The moon was shining creepily through the slats of the Venetian blinds, creating a prison-cell-at-night feel. I sat up slowly and my body responded angrily. I stumbled across the room and flicked on the light switch. Golden fire spilled from a faraway lamp and cast away the ghosts of the moon.

I walked into my bathroom, stepped on the stool and looked at myself in the mirror. My white shirt had small, red stains on it and needed ironing. My face needed more than that. Apparently they had worked me over before bringing me back or had done a careless job about it. I drenched a hand towel and dotted the red spots on my shirt and face with it. The towel turned into a knife as every touch brought a stab of pain.

After a few minutes and a fruitless attempt at getting the blood out of my shirt, I left the bathroom. I turned on the lamp in my room and strode over to my dresser. I picked out an identical white shirt and replaced the bloody one with it. In the closet I found another red tie, as the one I had been wearing was gone.

A second later, freshly dressed but still feeling the effects of the beating, I threw on the trench coat and fedora they had thankfully left with me and went out, leaving the lamp and moon to battle alone.

Outside the air was cool, much cooler than it should have been at this time of the year. The sky was cloudless and every star was visible. I reached into my coat pocket and pulled out a slim packet of Big League Chew. I stuck a piece in my mouth and chomped thoughtfully. I knew the layout of Billy’s place. There was little room for error inside the trailer but I had an idea for drawing Billy out of it. It was too late in the night to worry about his boys; they’d all be off in dreamland, wrapped tightly under the covers of their race car beds.

I walked briskly down the dimly lit street of the neighborhood. Street lamps battled the darkness for supremacy and the darkness was winning. All the houses along the street were dark, including the lights inside the trailer at the dead end. I stopped at the dead end sign I had leaned up against hours before, working the gum around in my mouth, trying to decide how I could sneak into the trailer unnoticed and get out the same way. It was risky sure, but it was definitely worth the two thousand bills from Suzy. The dame got money quickly and spent it even faster.

Something was nagging me, however, as I stood against the sign, the noises of the night my only company. If she had this much money to throw around, why would she not get another Stacy? Was it for sentimental value? I didn’t see sentimental value in anything really; it must’ve been a female thing.

My thoughts were interrupted by a sound coming from the trailer. Billy marched out the front door, slamming it as he went.

A thick woman followed him out, yelling at the top of her lungs. “William Donovan Casey you get back in this house right now!”

Billy spun quickly and spat, “It ain’t a house, ma! Itsa trailer!” He turned back just as fast and stomped towards me.

I ducked behind a nearby bush and watched Billy go past, muttering heatedly under his breath words I only heard in R-rated movies. I waited for him to disappear down the street before emerging from behind the bush.

The thick woman had disappeared back into the trailer and all was quiet. I didn’t know how long I’d have to wait for her to fall back asleep but the level of difficulty had just been turned up a notch. She might be sleeping with one eye open, hoping that Billy would return and go to bed. Or this could be a common occurrence, which was my hunch, and Billy would not be back, or expected to be back, for quite some time. A perfect opening to get Stacy back.

I moved swiftly across the gravel, taking care of the steps I took, and stopped in front of the trailer, holding my breath.

The first step creaked under my weight and I froze. No sounds from inside.

The second step was silent.

The third step took me to the door. My hand gripped the steel handle, cool in my sweaty palms. My heart was doing a marathon and droplets of sweat were mimicking drag races to my chin.

I turned the handle slowly, anticipating any sort of noise.

Nothing.

I pulled the door open and was hit with a wave of warmth and the smell of oatmeal cookies. It was a difference that caught me off-guard I was left momentarily stunned, salivating at the thought of fresh cookies right out of the oven.

I took a step into the trailer and was met by soft carpeting. I crouched slightly and shut the door with the utmost care.

The inside of Billy’s trailer was barren. And brown. Everything was brown, from the carpet under my feet, to the walls, to the kitchen counters and cabinets. It wasn’t uniformly brown. Different variations of the color made it seem less that way, but the brown motif was strong. I felt like I’d fallen into a chocolate dream. The carpet was a plus; it muffled my foot steps as I crept softly toward what I assumed was Billy’s room. The assumption proved true as the motif continued but in a different way. Adorning every inch of Billy’s small room was Cleveland Browns memorabilia.

On a small night stand next to the bed sat Stacy, strangely illuminated by a Browns lamp. I got a strange feeling I was Indiana Jones, going after the gold statuette in Raiders of the Lost Ark. I crossed the room and half expected a weighted panel to drop and a giant ball to come rumbling through the trailer as I picked up Stacy.

Again, nothing.

I turned and slowly and scanned the room. Sitting on top of a dresser in the corner, gleaming emerald in the low light, were the water pistols and wrist holsters they had taken off me earlier. I snatched them up and shoved them into my pockets. I retraced my steps back out of the trailer and into the cool night air. The smell of oatmeal cookies was the only thing I missed.

I strode confidently down the gravel driveway, Stacy’s hand clutched in mine, when the sound of clapping stopped me. Several more hands joined in as the clapping grew louder and dark figures appeared in front of me.

In the darkness a gap-toothed smile emerged. “Bravo, Drake. I knew you’d be back fer the doll.”

I nodded. “I didn’t think you were that intelligent.”

“Maybe I ain’t. Maybe a little birdie sang me a song.” The booming laugh.

“What did you do to her?”

“Feelin’ heroic, eh Drake? Don’tcha worry. She’s right here wit us.” Billy pulled Suzy in front of him by the wrist, her small silhouette dwarfed by his. She whimpered softly.

I felt a pang in my chest. “Let her go, Billy.”

“Or what? Whatcha gonna do to me? Ya want a repeat of earlier?”

I tightened my fists. I hated repeating myself and told him.

“Oh, now ya got some balls, Drake. This is how it’s gonna go down: Me an’ you, mano-e-mano, no weapons, no outside interference; first to three knockdowns walks away.”

Suzy spoke up, “Don’t do it, Drake. Stacy’s not worth it.”

Billy laughed. “Here that, Drake? Yer lady wants ya to give up! What’ll it be?”

I took off my hat, threw off my trench coat and undid my tie. Rolling up my sleeves, I put my fists up.

Billy smiled and pushed Suzy aside. “That’s the Drake that I know,” he boomed.

A fist fight at dark.

Blow by blow we danced.

A right to my face, a left to his.

Circling, blood dripped from each of our faces; Suzy stood there, terrified, squeezing Stacy a little too tightly.

Jab, straight, one-two. Each connected with a deadening thud.

He lashed back; hook, uppercut, three-four. Thud, thud.

His punches were harder than mine. I staggered back.

He lunged forward; a sweeping right.

I ducked under, loaded up the six; right on the chin, lights out.

Billy fell like gravity increased and landed with a puff of dust.

I dropped to my knees, hands bruised and bloodied, face worse off than before. Suzy ran over, barely managing to see through the tears streaming down her face. I teetered backward and she caught me, cradled me in her pencil arms.

“Drake, Drake! Are you all right?”

I looked up with a crooked smile, blood in my eyes, but I can see her. The moon sits behind her head, the brown locks ringed like a halo. “All this for two dames, eh? I say it was worth it.”

I staggered to my feet and wiped the blood from my eyes. Another shirt down the drain. Suzy picked up my belongings and put them over her arm. She put Suzy into her arm and pressed her tiny hand into mine. We walked slowly out of the dead end and toward home.

“Guess I’ll be missing school tomorrow.”