Chapter 38

David had a surprise when he got back from his morning run. Greg and Cassidy were waiting for him, looking nervous, with Paddy O’Malley, the fixer David had hired to help Cassidy get revenge on Knackers. Lexi had made the arrangements to hire Paddy.

“Well ... fuck!” David hissed as he froze.

He quickly looked around and noticed Alex was missing in action.

“Where’s Alex?” David asked.

“When I walked in, he ran into his room and locked the door,” Paddy said.

Greg and Cassidy both nodded. David could see he was going to have to do all the talking.

“What can I do for you?” he asked as he set aside his bō staff.

“We’re going to talk until we come to an understanding.”

“About?”

“What am I supposed to do with this Oliver Shaw? I received some vague instructions that he was supposed to cry and mean it. How am I supposed to know if he means it?”

He had a good point, so David turned to Cassidy.

“This is your rodeo. Explain what you want.”

“I was drunk at a party, and Oliver offered to drive me home. I pointed out that he was also drunk and shouldn’t be driving. He said that Australian men have a higher tolerance for alcohol, so he could still drive,” Cassidy said.

Paddy looked at her, held up his thumb and index fingers, and moved them closer together to indicate she needed to shorten the story.

“Get to the point,” Greg said in a panicked whisper.

“I ... uh ... well ... We wrecked, and I was taken to the hospital with multiple injuries that I’m still recovering from. His drunk ass,” Cassidy said, heating up, “walked away and fled the country. I want him to pay.”

“Money?” Paddy asked.

Cassidy looked at David hopefully. One thing his little ninja was into was making an extra buck.

“He’s a college student on the lam,” David said.

“That doesn’t mean his family doesn’t have cash. After all, he is staying at his uncle’s place in the Kuta district of Bali, one of the hottest vacation spots for Australians. I could grab him and send them body parts until they pay up,” Paddy suggested.

David could see that Paddy would actually do that. Before Cassidy got any ideas, David said, “She wants to meet him face-to-face and have a chance to explain how the accident has affected her life. Cassidy wants a genuine apology. If you need to break his arm to get it, that’s as far as the violence should go with Knackers.”

“Why not just hire some Aussie muscle and have them do it?” Paddy asked.

“Because you’re a professional and know how far to take it. I also don’t want this to come back to bite me in the ass,” David said.

“Fair enough. I’ll make sure he isn’t a problem. I only have one other condition. This one has to come too and handle the money,” Paddy said, pointing to Greg. “I don’t completely trust that one,” he said, pointing to Cassidy.

It looked like Greg was getting a trip out of this. Paddy was probably right; Cassidy shouldn’t be left alone with that much cash. Not that she would take it ... unless she could somehow justify it was hers.

“Fine,” David agreed.

“Then book the flights. We’ll leave tonight,” Paddy said and walked out of the room.

The tension level dropped about fifty notches. Paddy had a way of making your lizard brain start to scream ‘Danger!’ and your fight, flight, or freeze instincts kick in.

Greg was the first to complain.

“How am I going to explain going to Bali?”

“Tell Joey that David’s sending you there to arrange a trip for your parents. She’ll tell your mom, and there won’t be any questions asked,” Cassidy suggested, showing what an evil genius she was.

“Why would Cassidy go?” Greg asked, getting a nasty look from her in return.

“Because she’s been a pain lately, and I want her out of town in the hope she’ll come back more relaxed,” David said.

“You’re both about to feel some pain,” Cassidy threatened.

“I rest my case. Now I have to shower and get to class, so get out of my dorm room,” David said to shoo them out.

After they left, Alex stuck his head out of his door.

“Who was that?”

“Someone you never, ever want to meet,” David said as he went into his room to shower.

David wasn’t surprised to see Fritz, his head of security, waiting for him when he was ready to leave for class.

“Walk with me,” David said so he wouldn’t be late.

“What the hell was Paddy O’Malley doing in your room?”

David’s first thought was that Lexi was supposed to have talked to Fritz and explained everything. Since that apparently hadn’t happened, David told him the whole story. He made a mental note to talk to Lexi about following instructions.

“I would rather you had Ruth go with them. I’d feel much better if you did that rather than unleash Paddy,” Fritz said.

“Why Ruth?” David asked.

“Let me give you a little background on Ruth. She was born in the middle of nowhere in Arkansas, the only girl in a family of six children, so she grew up a tomboy. Her parents were God-fearing farmers who raised their kids with a sense of duty and discipline.

“By the time Ruth turned eighteen, she realized her future in the middle of nowhere was rather bleak. So, when she graduated high school, she promptly enlisted in the military.

“In the Army, she was in the infantry, where she excelled at unarmed combat. She joined the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), where she was assigned to various foreign theaters, working in unconventional warfare, counterinsurgency, and special reconnaissance.

“Much of what she did is classified. Being a woman in that kind of environment means she’s tough and reliable. If I were ever in a fight, I would want her at my back,” Fritz said, which was high praise.

“How did you happen to hire her?” David asked, more out of curiosity than anything else.

“After a couple of tours, she became disenchanted with the politics that drove the operations of her unit. She elected to leave the military and look for work in a related field. Ruth turned down several opportunities to work for private military companies. One of my buddies thought she’d be a good fit and recommended her.”

“I’ve never had any complaints,” David admitted. “Can she handle something like what Cassidy wants?”

“She’s more than capable,” Fritz said.

“I’ll cancel Paddy, but you have to tell Cassidy.”

“Pussy.”

David let it go because Fritz was right. He liked his throwing arm attached to his shoulder. He also liked that he wouldn’t have to tell his mom he was hiring Paddy. But it did mean that David would have to pay Paddy his cancellation fee. He’d have to go to the bank.

There are certain teams that you just own. Cal was that for USC, the Trojans having won 14 straight against the Golden Bears going into the day’s game. Even though USC had the best winning percentage in the conference, their average record in conference play over the last nine years was 6–3. But 14 straight was absurd when every other member of the Pac-12 had at least two wins against the Trojans over that same period, with two exceptions. Those two were Colorado, who’d only joined the league eight years before, and Cal.

It wasn’t as though Cal was terrible, either. They’d won an average of just under four of the nine conference games they’d played each season over the last nine years. Their total conference wins during that period were only two less than Oregon State. Their conference win total tied Arizona and Washington and was twelve better than Washington State. It just seemed that every time they played USC, none of the breaks or calls went their way.

By game time, the Trojans were a confident bunch.

David joined his teammates on the sideline to start the game. Everyone was joking around and loose. This was the win that would make them bowl-eligible.

The first quarter went back and forth as the two teams felt each other out. At the start of the second quarter, USC had driven the ball down to the three-yard line. Matt was under center when Bill went into motion. The ball was snapped as Bill cleared the linemen, and it was a simple pitch and catch as he walked into the end zone to take the lead.

Ten minutes later, USC was driving the ball. This time, it was first and ten from the twenty-three. Matt was in the shotgun, and Bill was lined up wide left of the formation. Bill turned his hips like he was going up the sideline, and the defensive back bit on his fake. Bill took an inside route straight up the field with the defensive back behind him. This provided Matt with a clear target to throw to, which he did easily. Bill outran his defender to give USC a 14–0 lead.

At halftime, the mood in the locker room was sky-high. David was glad they looked to be on their way to an easy victory.

The Trojans came out in the second half and were driving for another touchdown. The crowd was rocking, and you could see the game going out of the Bears.

Matt lined them up at the Cal twelve-yard line and handed the ball off to Marcus for a run up the middle that would make it first and goal inside the five. The ball popped loose, and a Cal player was given a gift, stopping the Trojans from scoring.

Cal had to punt on the next drive, which gave USC the ball at their own twenty-five. Matt checked the defense on the first play and pointed to Bill to show him they were in man coverage. Willy snapped the ball before Matt looked back. If it had been a typical snap, Matt would have been hit by the ball and could have fallen on it. Instead, it went over his head and rolled into the end zone. Matt tried to pick it up but was knocked away. The ball bounced off the defender toward the field of play. Marcus scooped it up and was immediately tackled for a safety, making the score 14–2.

After the safety, USC had to make a free kick from their twenty-yard line. Cal ended up with good field position and managed to put together a few plays. They were at USC’s twenty-nine-yard line when the Trojans blew their coverage over the deep middle. A Cal receiver caught it, and suddenly, it was 14–9.

Even with Cal rallying, David felt USC had the game in hand.

Six minutes later, Cal had the ball again and drove down to the USC five-yard line. The Bears’ quarterback handed the ball off, and they ran up the middle. The running back wasn’t even touched as he scored. Cal went for two and failed, making the score 15–14 in Cal’s favor.

That was when everything changed. Cal was suddenly energized, and USC began to doubt itself. It was highlighted on two plays where USC had to call a time-out because they couldn’t decide on a play and another time when they dithered over whether to go on fourth down or not.

With four minutes left in the game, Cal lined up for a punt. Mario Robinson, USC’s All-Conference safety and defensive backfield leader, heard something from the Cal bench and responded in kind. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct with a fifteen-yard penalty and an automatic first down.

With only one time-out remaining, USC was all but helpless to stop Cal from running out the clock. When the final horn sounded, David and his teammates were gutted. They were now 5–5 with two games left, both against huge rivals. They had one at UCLA and then the big one: Notre Dame. USC needed to win one of those to reach the magic six-win mark to play in a bowl game. If the Trojans played like they did in the second half of this one, they would lose both games.

David returned from the game to find that the party set-up had begun. Since they were going to have food trucks in the parking lot, he drove his Demon to his townhouse. He knew Cassidy and Greg were already traveling, so he stopped to see Tracy and Pam.

“Honey, I’m home!” he called as he walked in the back door.

“David?!” Pam called from upstairs.

It sounded like when he and Greg were children as they pounded down the stairs—which was always followed by his mom yelling, ‘No running!’

Pam almost knocked him down as she pulled him into a bear hug.

“Someone misses me,” David chuckled.

“Cassidy always tells us how busy you are, so I don’t want to disturb you,” Pam said.

“Princess, you can talk to me anytime. You know you’re my favorite,” David half-teased.

She buried her head into his shoulder and hugged him even tighter.

“What’s wrong?” David asked as he stroked her hair.

“It’s just ... just that the guy I was dating also likes guys, and that was why he never...” Pam sobbed into his shoulder.

“Why didn’t you say something?” David asked.

“I couldn’t tell Tracy or Cassidy because they would tease me and, worse, tell you.”

She looked up into his eyes. Pam had always suffered from self-confidence issues. David worried that if she met the wrong guy, he might take advantage of her. She seemed to be doing much better here in LA, but now he wondered.

“When did this happen?” David asked.

“Last weekend. He told me he was done living a lie and wanted to date others ... specifically men. I guess I was his beard. I just wish he’d told me that instead of leading me on for so long; that just made it worse. I liked him enough that I would have been his friend. I just feel he was dishonest with me,” Pam said.

He could hear the pain in her voice, and it broke his heart.

“I really wish you would’ve come to me sooner. I hate that you had to carry this burden all on your own. How about you come to tonight’s party as my date?” David asked.

Pam had a little grin for the first time since he walked in.