Chapter 17: Tuesday March 8: Playing The Good Samaritan - Again

"What now?"

I listened to Anne as I turned into the main street of a nearby shopping centre, watched her eyes as they followed the rhythmic side to side movement of the windshield wipers brushing the heavy rain away. I hated the rain at any time, but more so on a hot autumn night when things got so steamy.

We were out partly because bowling had become tedious and I needed some action to liven up what had been a thoroughly dull and boring evening and partly because there was some 'family' business that had needed my special brand of expertise.

"You must be hungry." I pulled up at a late-night take-away joint. "Fancy a burger?"

Anne hadn't even realised I'd stopped until I spoke. "Yeah why not, and a diet Coke as well while you're at it." She smiled and turned to me just before we got out of the van. "I didn't realise how much of an appetite collecting money gives you, but not only for food."

As horny as ever she went for the front of my jeans. I slapped her hand away. "I know all about that and you'll get all the fucking you can handle at home. Right now though--" I opened the door "--it's first things first."

We placed our orders, pulled a couple of diet Cokes from the fridge and watched a late night news bulletin before sitting down on the bench where a late Tuesday edition of the Sun was laying. I flicked through the paper as I watched the middle-aged woman slap the round balls of mince onto the grill and flatten them out. Both the bulletin and the editorials were concentrating on a sudden increase in violence, and both were putting it down to the gang violence that had been so rampant over the last few years. Indeed so one-track were the minds of the police that they thought it totally unnecessary to pursue any other line of investigation. Naturally enough that suited me just fine.

"You guys are out late for a mid-week night, you been to a party or something?"

We both looked up, me from reading the paper and Anne from twiddling her thumbs. I spoke for both of us. "Yeah you could say that, although it was more like a get-together between old friends. Why?"

The woman came out from behind the counter armed with a box of soft drinks to put in the fridge. She was short with curly hair that was going grey at the sides and had a figure that was on the generous side. "No particular reason, except that nice people like yourselves never drop into a place like this at such a late hour." She turned to face us as she was halfway through stacking the drinks. "Usually we get the bad types in here, you know, the sort of teenagers who are so drunk and strung up on drugs that you just don't know what they are going to do next, and with all this killing that's going on you can't be too careful."

She finished stacking the fridge and went back behind the counter to flip the burgers. "It's strange now you come to think of it because you can almost set your clock by them even on a week night, it must be my lucky night huh."

After smiling she turned her back on us and added the finishing touches — lettuce, cheese and tomato — to our burgers.

As we opened the door to leave the shop the lady called out. "You take it easy, be careful driving home." She then grinned at us as we turned for one final look. "Oh and one last thing, don't do anything I wouldn't do."

I grinned back. "Bit late for that, I think we my have already done it!"

We couldn't help but laugh as we got back into the van.

I put my burger down, placed the Coke between my legs and drove closer to the town centre in the hope of some action. I drove slowly checking each side street, each laneway, every old building that looked as though it would offer a possibility. Surely, given that violent behaviour, muggings, bashings aggravated rape and murder had become a daily occurrence almost everywhere, something would be happening even on a night as dirty and dismal as this one. At least that's what I thought, but so far there was no sign of the sort of action we were looking for.

The local hotel was still open though it was relatively deserted except for some late night poker machine players. I parked out front of it while we finished our hamburgers and Cokes. "I'll give it ten minutes, if nothing has happened by then we're going home," I said between bites of my burger and sips of my Coke.

We both sat there in silence for most of the ten minutes until Anne jabbed me in the ribs and pointed up the hill opposite the hotel. "Looks like another Karen Marshall type situation to me though I reckon this might just be a little tougher." She turned to me looking slightly puzzled. "Tell me something Winston, why, when there are all sorts of warnings in the paper and on television and radio about girls going out alone, do they still do it?"

I took Anne's hand. "For the same reason girls still hitchhike, for the same reason people still drink and drive. Because it never happens to them and by the time they realise that it is happening, it's usually too late." I looked up the street and saw the pretty girl Anne had been referring to being harassed by a group of three youths who were attempting to get her into a Tarago van that was obviously stolen. "And as for being too tough, nothing is 'too' tough! Especially when it involves punks like those."

The girl was dressed in a dark skirt, boob tube and sports shoes. Her hair was long, thick and red, and her figure was stacked to perfection and was the obvious reason she had become a target of the teenage hoodlums.

"No!" I said finally. "I reckon this is just the sort of excitement we're looking for."

I was about to get out of the car, but it was too late, by the time I had the door open the girl had been forced inside and the Toyota was of with a screech of tyres. Instead I started the motor and turned to Anne as I pointed in the direction the Tarago had taken as it made its right turn into the main Street. "Well you wanted some action you've got it, that is if you're prepared to take them on?"

She pointed a finger in the same direction as me. "Are you kidding? Let's get 'em!"

'Absolutely little brother, nothing like a bit of the old G.B.H (grievous bodily harm) to stir the blood. Not to mention what might be on the menu for supper afterwards.'

'Good to know that you're around, I have a feeling I might need you before tonight's out.'

I was about to pull away from the kerb when their was a crash of a body against my door. Three boys had crossed the road on roller blades and one of them by losing his balance had crashed into the van. I threw the door open, lifted the boy to his feet with one hand and pretended to be angry. Raising my voice I said, "You could get hurt doing silly things like that son. Besides which you should be at home safely tucked up in your nice warm bed." I smiled and ruffled his hair. These aren't the times for young boys to be out alone, now off you go."

As soon as the boys were safely out of the way of the van I took off in the general direction of the van.

"I saw its taillights turn left at the second set of lights just near the far end of town," Anne offered as she snuggled up a little closer.

'She's absolutely right Winston, that was the car. And you don't have to worry if either of you lose it, I won't.'

For my part I concentrated on my driving as I accelerated through the first set of lights which were green before skidding into the left hand turn at the next which were amber when I arrived. "That's the bastards up ahead." I pointed to a set of four taillights in the distance that could only belong to the Tarago and, retaining my speed until I had caught them, overtook them at the first opportunity.

"I don't understand Winston, how come you overtook them? Surely you can't... ?"

I put a finger to her lips. "Surely you've gotten used to me by now. You'll just have to trust that I know what I'm doing." I looked into the rear-vision mirror and saw the car fade into the distance behind us.

'Good thinking little brother, that stopped any possibility of them thinking you may have been following them. You know, I thought I'd have to tell you what to do but I can see that I don't have to. Now when you get another hundred yards down the road turn around and head back, I'll tell you where to turn.'

I made a three point turn and followed my brother's instructions, including turning the headlights off after making the left turn. I slowed down and indicated behind me with my thumb. "Reach into the back of the van and you'll find an iron bar. That should help you with the third guy while I take on the other two."

I watched Anne as she lay on her stomach and reached between the two seats. As her hand located the iron bar my hand found her bottom and I couldn't resist the opportunity to pinch her cheeks through the thin panties she was wearing.

When Anne had regained her seat I pointed to a small laneway and a little clearing where the Tarago had stopped before I held an index finger to my lips. "Listen."

She did listen and we heard the sound of muffled screams. "Ready when you are Winston," said Anne with the excitement I was used to by now.

I felt that featherlike touch again as my brother invaded my body again. "Oh I'm ready, come on Anne let's go get 'em." I turned into the lane and drove to within five yards of the van before I stopped, turned on the headlights and then turned on the hi-beam before I jumped out of the van with Anne following. "Any second now."

We both had our eyes on the van as two of the youths jumped out an instant later. One was busy doing up his jeans while his mate hadn't bothered to put his back on and was dressed in just a sweatshirt and light blue jocks.

"Well look what we have here," said the first one as he grabbed a switchblade from the back of his jeans. "What's say we give Mr and Mrs nosey-fucking-parker a lesson in good manners," he pointed in our direction before concentrating on Anne as the second one picked up a close handy piece of wood, "before we give the cunt a little of what the slut's getting in the van."

"What's the matter," I said, "can't you get a girl by any other means? Or is it just that you only know how to beat up on girls?"

I got the predictable response from the first one.

"Fuck off bonehead, that is unless you want me to put a dent in it."

I turned to Anne. "You know apart from a long bath and some clean clothes I reckon what these little twerps need is an education, what do you say?"

Anne started to respond in a positive fashion when the second of the thugs tried to grab her. She was a little too quick for him though and kicked him fair in the testicles which made him bend just enough for me to grab his head and pull it into the path of the kick that thug number one aimed in my direction. This along with Anne's iron bar to the back of the head had the effect of dropping him like a block of concrete. Then Anne made the mistake of attempting to wrap the iron bar around the head of the first one on the way back. She missed and that gave him the opportunity to lunge at me with his knife.

In the split-second before I could even think to react my brother was interrupting. 'Let him do it Winston, should be kind of fun to see the look on his face don't you think.'

So I did, I turned just in time to see the knife go into my chest, just in time to see the expression on his face, see the shock momentarily stun him and stop him in his tracks. Not one to miss an opportunity I hit him with a quick upper-cut and a right cross before watching as Anne wrapped the iron bar around his chest with as much force as she could muster. Those three blows were more than enough to send him to the ground along with his friend.