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out on his own at this hour, never mind hanging around a bar. Nick
shook his head, mouthed, No, and the boy-man melted back into
the crowd near the dance floor.
Over the next half-hour and two more drinks, Nick was
accosted by several men of varying ages and a middle-aged woman
so drunk she could barely stand. Deciding it was time for him to
go, Nick quickly finished his drink and was about to vacate his seat
when the young guy who d approached him earlier returned with a
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friend, apparently for round two.
So where s your friend? the first boy asked with a sneer. He
one of them invisible dudes like the little kids have? Or you got
something personal against me? He stuck out a hip. We got a
special going on tonight. You can have the two of us for the price
of one. Best deal you ll find, guaranteed.
The boy was clearly trolling for business and probably
panicking because he was having a bad night. As far as Nick was
concerned, he d get better results if he dropped the belligerent
attitude in favor of a smile and a little sweet talk, but he wasn t
about to tell him that. Boys in his line of work weren t likely to
take any type of advice kindly and, since Nick knew many of them
carried knives for protection, he decided to keep his mouth shut
and just leave.
As he went to push his way past, the first boy grabbed a
handful of Nick s shirt and held on tight. Didn t your mom teach
you it s rude not to answer when someone asks you a question,
the boy demanded. Up close this like, Nick could see into the boy s
eyes and realized the kid was also a druggie and obviously
desperate for his next fix.
Hey, you tell him, Slick, another young voice encouraged
from somewhere behind Nick. Teach the old fucker some
manners, why don t you?
Just let me go, okay? As Nick tried to disentangle the first
boy s hand from his shirt, he kneed Nick in the crotch, creating a
wave of excruciating pain that momentarily paralyzed his body. As
the pain receded a little and he tried to straighten, someone else
kicked him hard in the ass, shouting, Drunken fucker tried
holding out on us. Won t pay us our money.
In seconds, Nick was down on the floor being punched and
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INDEPENDENCE DAY 2
kicked by what felt like everyone in the immediate area. All he
could do was wrap his arms around his head to try and limit the
damage, and wonder what in hell was keeping the bouncers from
intervening.
How long it went on, he didn t know. His body was being
hammered like a drum, and Nick could hardly believe he was still
alive and conscious. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the brutal
assault was over. The last thing Nick remembered was someone
picking him up bodily, flying through the air and landing on
something cold and exceedingly hard. After that nothing.
* * *
Trip hadn t been asleep for more than a few minutes when the
phone awakened him. He considered letting it go to voice mail, but
very few people had his number and none of them were likely to
call him at this hour without a good reason, so he picked up.
What s the problem?
Hi, Trip, it s Jim. Sorry to be calling you this late. Hope I
didn t wake you up.
It s okay. I m assuming this is important.
I just had a call from Lenny DeSantos.
Lenny in payroll?
Yeah. He and some friends are over by the Fruit Loop.
Apparently, they were walking past one of the bars, when the door
flew open and the bouncers threw a guy out into the street. At first,
they figured it was just a drunk causing trouble. Then Lenny
thought there was something familiar about the guy, and when he
didn t move, he went over and checked. He says it s Nick
Gregorio. Seems he s been badly beaten up and his wallet s been
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stolen.
Lenny s quite sure it s Nick?
He said he recognized him right away. Anyway, I asked if
he d called the cops or an ambulance, but he said not. Before he
had a chance to do that, Nick started to come around. Told Lenny
he didn t want him calling the cops or taking him to the hospital.
He just wanted Lenny to find him a taxi so he could go home.
Lenny didn t think that was a good idea because he says Nick s
taken quite a kicking and he s still pretty woozy. That s why he
called me. He doesn t want to go against Nick s wishes, but he
says Nick is in no condition to be on his own. I told him to sit tight
while I called you to see what you thought.
Trip felt a tiny clutch of fear that he refused to explore. He
already knew having feelings for a fellow employee could be
tricky, but it was a lot too late for him to start worrying about that.
Whether Nick realized it or not, Trip was very much involved.
Where are they now?
Waiting in Lenny s car, somewhere in the area of the Fruit
Loop from what he said. You want his cell number?
Please. Trip wrote down the number Jim gave him and said,
Thanks, Jim. You get back to whatever you were doing. I ll take
it from here.
The moment Jim disconnected Trip tapped in Lenny s number.
Lenny answered immediately with a brief, Yo.
Lenny? This is Trip Browning. Jim tells me that Nick has got
himself into a little trouble. Where are you, exactly?
I m parked over on Paradise, just before the intersection with
East Harmon. Nick doesn t seem to think anything s broken, but
his face is a real mess and he s definitely hurting. He was also
unconscious when I first found him. He says he s fine and that he
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doesn t need to go to the hospital. Even so, I don t think it s a good
idea for me just to drop him off at his place. He says he lives alone.
What do you figure I should do?
After a moment s indecision, Trip decided to take charge. If
Nick didn t like him interfering that was too bad. If Lenny read
something more into his offer than Trip wanted him to, that was
also too bad. Leaving Nick alone with a possible concussion
wasn t an option as far as Trip was concerned. He cared too much
for Nick to do anything that irresponsible.
Tell you what. I live only a couple of blocks from where you
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