Secrets

Chapter 3: 1792

The gas station was a small ‘mom and pop’ store with a two pump island and a walk-in closet sized interior. The bay doors to the one stall mechanics garage stood open. A mid 80’s Buick up on the lifts inside.

A young man, probably in his late teens, with dark hair and dressed in dark blue, grease stained coveralls worked underneath. His arms raised up, digging at the under belly of the engine compartment on the old car.

A beat up Chevy Impala pulled up to the far gas pump in a cloud of smoke. The engine rattled to a fender shaking stop as the female driver turned it off. From the shadows a second man watched her intently.

The car door opened with a creak, and a thin, bare leg ending in black heels stepped out. The other leg followed. The young woman stood up, stretching her back as if she had been driving for quite some time. She looked around at the station in the dwindling twilight.

The man from the shadows approached her, wearing the same dirty blue coveralls as the younger mechanic in the garage. He wiped his one good hand on an oily rag. His other hand, pale, gray, and wrapped in bandages, held on to the rag as best as it could.

He stepped up to the young woman, flashing her an admiring smile, checking her out. She smiled back, watching him as he pushed his stained baseball cap further up on his head, showing wild strands of bleached blonde hair, obviously not his natural color.

“What can I do for you ma’am?” His thick southern accent stuck out of place here in the middle of Utah, flirting with her.

“Fill ‘er up.” She turned and walked away, glancing back over her shoulder, she was working him and he knew it. “Please.” Her own southern accent hid much easier

She flashed him her best, adjusting her shoulders slightly, allowing one of the skinny straps of her tank top to slip off her shoulder. She watched the man closely as his eyes took in her bare shoulder, moving slowly down her torso. His tongue licked his suddenly dry lips.

The skinny man at the pump took the nozzle out of the station, flipping the lever to the on position and clunking it home into her tank. The gallons clicked off as he watched her, wantingly through the dirty windows of the tiny store. She wandered around inside for a few minutes before standing at the counter, waiting patiently.

She twirled a stray strand of her strawberry blonde locks, watching the stranger pump her gas. She didn’t notice the younger man come up behind her, and when he brushed against her accidentally, to move around the counter, she startled slightly.

“Sorry lady.” The young kid from under the car, paused to take in her petite figure. “What can I do ya for?”

She nodded to the car out in front. “Just a fill up please.”

“You know how much?”

“The other guy is filling it up for me.”

The youngster looked out the window with a confused look on his face. “What co worker? I’m the only one here.”

He rounded the counter and was out the door before she could say a word. Her eyes wide, afraid he was going to mess things up for her latest admirer. She quickly followed him out.

As the gas attendant came around the car though, the only thing there was the nozzle still in the tank, the timer having shut the gas flow off.

No one was around.

He scratched his head and replaced the pump nozzle. Replacing the gas cap and cranking it down until it clicked a few times.

The second he turned his back; the woman cranked the engine and took off, leaving a trail of black rubber behind her on the pavement. The little car fish tailing with it’s pathetic effort to keep up with her racecar driving.

He took off after her on foot, screaming at her to stop. Never once did he think to catch her plates as she turned the corner a hundred yards away and pulled out of sight.

He ripped his hat from his head and threw it to the ground.

His boss was going to kill him for letting go of another drive off. Let alone the pain his pocket was going to take when the lost money was taken out of his paycheck.

She glanced in her rearview mirror watching as the attendant gave up on his weak attempts at a foot pursuit. She had hoped that he wouldn’t have come out of the garage so soon, giving her a chance to work her charm on her intended target.

Her luck just wasn’t working for her today, and she had fucked up.

“Dammit.” She whispered under her breath. “He’s gonna fucking kill me if I mess this up.”

She screamed out loud, slamming her hands against the worn steering wheel, yanking on it as if she could break it loose. The only thing her efforts gave her was a wiggle of the car as it took off down the road at a fast clip.

But her luck was about to change.

The car responded back at her with a loud clank. It backfired, belching out black smoke as it slowly rolled to a grinding stop along the side of a dark, neighborhood road.

“Fuck!” She slammed her hands against the steering wheel, once again with no effect.

Flinging open the car door she stepped out, nearly giving it a kick before she remembered she had on open toed heels. Instead she slammed her fist into the hood of her car as it gave her one last belch of smoke out the tail pipe. The loud hissing from underneath the hood told her that the engine was more than likely toast.

“Now I’m really screwed.” She ran a hand through her long hair, glancing around at her surroundings. “Bastard could have at least given me a decent car.”

Movement caught her attention and she glanced down the road she had come at a large dark vehicle moving up on her fast. She stepped out into the road, waving her arms as the big SUV pulled in behind her dead car and came to a screeching stop. The angle of the setting sun in front of her made it hard for her to see the vehicle and it’s driver clearly.

She raised a hand to her forehead, shielding her eyes from the glare. “Hey can you give me some help?”

She heard a car door open and shut. A tall lanky figure strode towards her and her heart stopped for just a second.

“Turn around and place your hands on your head.” A familiar voice ordered her.

She glared as the man walked his well-known swagger towards her, but she obeyed and turned around with her hands on top of her head.

Mahone reached out, grabbing her wrists and yanked her hands down. He effortlessly twisted her arms behind her a little too roughly, slapping on the handcuffs once more.

“You gonna frisk me too?” She teasingly asked.

He replied by grabbing her by the crook of her elbow. He pulled her around and led her back to his waiting vehicle.

“So what is it this time?” She tried to hide the fear of him wanting to rise inside of her, knowing she had let their intended target slip past her.

“Theft.” He opened the back driver’s side door.

She pulled against him as if to fight.

“Don’t fight me.” Mahone words came out as a hissed whisper in her ear as he pushed her against the car doorframe, leaning into her with the length of his taller body. Her heart rate quickened as she felt the heat come off him against her back.

“You can’t get away.” His hot breath against her ear sent shivers down her neck. She pushed back against him, silently letting him know he’d won. For now.

The sexual tension was thick in the air for a few brief seconds before the moment passed, and he stepped away from her. He gently helped her inside the vehicle by placing a large hand on her head to make sure she didn’t bang it on the door frame with her hands behind her back, which was still held by his other free hand.

He himself climbed into the driver’s seat, and put the vehicle in reverse. Without looking at her, he turned around, one arm stretched across the back of the front seats as he reversed a short distance. She watched him intently curious as to his plans. Once the nose of the big SUV had cleared the backside of the little car, he put it into drive and turned the truck around.

“I think you just wanted me in hand cuffs again.” Her green eyes caught his steel blue ones watching her in the rear view mirror, remembering their romps a few days prior.

Yet he remained silent as he drove back the way she had come. “Miss me so soon?” She continued to flirtingly taunt him, egging him on for conversation.

As he pulled into the little gas station again, she couldn’t help but wonder what he really was up to this time.

Still with out a word, he parked the car, climbed out and hollered for the attendant to step out.

As he waited, slightly impatiently with his hands on his hips, he made sure his right hand pulled his suit coat tail clear from around his weapon.

The youngster from before wander out, his baseball cap wringing nervously between his hands as he caught site of the Glock in its holster on the tall man’s hip. “Can I help you sir?”

Mahone showed him his badge. “Agent Mahone, FBI. You call in a drive off?”

The attendant started, he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Yes Sir, but how…?”

Mahone reached behind him and opened the back passenger door, lighting up her face in the shadows of the vehicle with the interior light.

“This the culprit?”

The younger man nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“How much?” Mahone pulled out his wallet, rummaging through the bills enclosed.

“Uh…” The kid hesitated not sure what he was talking about.

Mahone nodded towards the gas pumps. “How much did she take?” He asked again.

“Oh! Twenty bucks Sir.” Mahone silently pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and handed it over.

With out another word, he slammed the passenger door, climbed in and took off with a squeal of tires. Leaving the poor attendant standing dumb founded with the money in hand watching their fading taillights.