Giddyup for STAR

I was beginning to worry about Honey. The job was in only a couple of days,and the hard eyed warrior was nowhere in sight. Instead, she was soft and sweet and everything a guy like me could want. She even baked brownies for me for crying out loud! I won’t lie, I loved the attention, especially after the lights went out, and occasionally before the lights went out, but I knew I needed the Amazon version of Honey if we were going to survive this job.

Yeah, I worried, but I didn’t let it spoil my fun too much.

It was Thursday, and the job was planned for Friday. It had to be on Friday or it would never work. And of course, Friday was the 13th. Now I’m not superstitious, but still, an omen is an omen, right? On the other hand, our plan was based on things going wrong, so we were covered right?

Yeah, right.

For the first time,and only time,all the members of the team, with the exception of the reclusive Owl, were meeting up at a steak joint 150 miles out of town. It wasn’t really a planning session; we were ready. It was more just a gathering to get a feel for one another. After all, when you’re going to risk your life for a man, you ought to have at least seen his face a time or two, eaten a meal with him. It makes him more human, more worthy of a full effort.

So we all drove out to Flanagan’s and met up at the bar. It was my team, I knew all of them by face, although most of them had never met any of the others, so I made sure that Honey and I got there a little bit early. It also gave me a chance to scout out the lay of the land as it were. I didn’t expect anything to happen, but the more you know, the less you don’t, and those are words to live by, my friend.

Uncle Boomboom was first to arrive, and nodded at me as he headed towards the bar. 6′2″ and wiry, he carried himself like a cowboy who broke one too many broncs. The actual cause of his odd gait was related to his profession, and he called the incident his “graduation.” I’m not exactly sure what he means by that, but I’ve never quite had the nerve to ask him about it.

The McCaughans showed next, and if you didn’t know what they did,you would never have guessed it. They looked like the typical suburban couple. You’d think they drove a minivan, had 5 kids, 4 dogs, 2 cats and a parakeet at home. And you’d be right. What you wouldn’t think was that the spare tire cavity of the minivan carried small quantities of C-4, Semtex, or whatever the explosive of the month was, along with safe cracking tools, lock picks, control panels for dozens of security systems,and in general all the tools of their trade. You’d never guess that soccer mom Dottie could spring a safe faster than her son could score a goal,or that Carl could break into a house with triple deadbolts and a security system easier than you could walk through an open door. They waved happily, and joined me and Uncle at the bar.

We all exchanged greetings then went to a table I had reserved earlier. We seated the ladies, then sat down and ordered a round of drinks before we got started talking about the job. I put my cell on speaker and left an open line for the Owl, in case she wanted to join in the conversation, or had something to offer. She might not be there in the flesh, in fact, I had no idea where her flesh was, but she could be anywhere in the world, as long as there was a connection.

I listened to my little band of criminals as they laughed and talked and got to know one another, and I felt good. The odds were still against us, I’ve faced longer odds and survived. I’d been up against Wallace before, and while I hadn’t won, I didn’t completely lose either. That was a sight better than most people managed, and this time, I wasn’t alone. I had a team with me. And win or lose tomorrow, tonight, we were winners.

I tapped the side of my glass with a spoon like some society chum and proposed a toast.

“Folks, I’m not much for speeches. There usually made by people who like the sound of their own voices more than they like the people they are talking to. I just want to tell you that no matter what happens tomorrow, I’m proud to have all of you on my team.”

“Bullshit!”

That was my sweet Hiney talking, if you hadn’t guessed.

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 28th, 2007 at 7:59 pm and is filed under Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.