He made his way over to the first of the four motorcycles, a matte-black Harley Davidson complete with custom fenders. A real nice piece of work.
‘How much did this cost you?’ King said as he ripped the lid off the canister.
‘My life savings, man,’ Jed whimpered. ‘Please…’
‘Even better.’
King upended the can over the Harley, making sure to empty its last dregs before throwing it aside. The bike gleamed in the sunlight. It had a new coat.
‘Anyone here got a light?’ he said.
Sheer perplexion crossed Jed’s face. Either shock, denial or stupidity kept him from putting two and two together. Skinny seemed to be aware of what the question meant.
‘Nah, man,’ Jed said.
‘If either of you have one, and I find it,’ King said, ‘I’ll beat you to within an inch of your life.’
‘I’ve got one,’ Skinny said.
‘That’s what I like to hear.’
The man fished around in his pocket before producing a compact silver Zippo. King snatched it out of his fingers. Flicked the top off. Slid his thumb over the spark wheel. A small flame leapt up.
Jed realised what was happening.
‘No!’ he yelled. ‘You prick. Fuck off!’
He took a step forward in a hopeless attempt to scare King away from the bike. King lashed out hard, twisting at his waist, putting all his bodyweight into a right hook that cracked across Jed’s jaw and sent him tumbling back onto the dirt. He’d put more power into it than he usually would. That shot had sent a message.
Don’t ever try that again.
‘Please don’t hit me,’ Skinny helplessly spluttered.
King spun on his heel and threw the open lighter into the garage. It landed squarely in the thin puddle of petrol spread across the concrete underneath the Harley. The entire floor lit up like an inferno. Flames enveloped the bike, licking away the matte paint, eating away at its frame. A whimper sounded from the ground behind King. He turned to see Jed watching the blaze unfolding. There were tears in his eyes.
Skinny began to shake as the fire spread to the rest of the garage. The tin shed spurred the blaze on until all four bikes were swallowed. The heat was astonishing. King took a few steps back to ease the burning sensation against his skin. He found himself between Skinny and Jed.
‘That’s a shame, isn’t it?’ he said.
Jed was in too much pain to move, but Skinny took a step away. King sensed he was about to run for it. He couldn’t have that.
Two handfuls of the shirt and a vicious knee to the gut put the gaunt biker on the gravel alongside his buddy. The placement of the blow had taken every ounce of wind out of him. King was sure that neither of the pair would have the energy or the motivation to move for the next half hour.
He left them on the ground and re-entered the clubhouse. He took a moment to survey the scene. Half the furniture in the place had been either overturned or destroyed in the carnage. The two bikers left in the room were in the process of recovering from concussions. They swayed on the floor, attempting to get to their feet.
King wasn’t the type to kill needlessly, so he left them both where they were and crossed to the room where he had last seen the girl.
She was still there, sitting in the corner of a single bed, her knees tucked up to her chin. She trembled as King entered the doorframe.
‘Are you okay?’ he asked.
‘Who are you? What’s going on?’
‘I’m just a passerby. I did what I could to help.’
‘They’re the scariest guys I’ve ever met and y-you just beat the shit out of all of them,’ the girl said, stumbling over her words. ‘Please don’t hurt me, please…’
‘I’m not going to hurt you. I’m going to take you home. Where do you live?’
‘Back up in Jameson.’
‘I’ve got a car.’
The girl said nothing. She stared at the floor, still shivering.
King walked over to the bed and crouched down by its side. The girl shrank back.
‘Look, you’ve got nothing to be afraid of,’ he said. Comforting wasn’t his forte, but he gave it a shot. ‘I’m not going to hurt you. Those guys out there wanted to hurt you, and look what I did to them. That’s what I think of people like that. I’m really sorry about what happened to you but you need to trust me.’
‘Okay,’ she said in a voice barely above a whisper. ‘What did you do to them?’
‘What did they do to you?’
‘They touched me. Took my clothes off and they all started to touch me. I think it was going to get worse but you showed up.’
‘Was there anyone in particular who did more?’ King asked.
‘The big guy. The really fat one. He started it all, and everyone else kinda… followed.’
‘Stay here.’
A thin mental barrier kept King from exploding with rage as he headed back out into the main area of the clubhouse. Conveniently, the beefy guy had just come out of his stupor. He sat bolt-upright, staring around the room with a look of utter confusion spread across his features. He had no idea what had happened. Then he turned and saw King’s giant frame striding at him.
‘Who the f—’
King came within range and stomped down hard on the man’s hand. He felt multiple bones crush under his heel. A horrendous scream echoed through the room.
‘Do you have money here?’ King said slowly and clearly.
‘W-what?’
‘You guys definitely have cash. You extort every shopkeeper in Jameson. Where’s your money?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘If you don’t tell me I’ll break every single bone in your other hand.’
‘Um… kitchen cupboard. Top left. Fuck…’
King nodded his approval. Then he crouched down so that his face was inches from Beefy’s.
‘I was in the Special Forces,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure if you realise what that means. It means that you four may think you’re the toughest, scariest men to walk the planet… but you know why you think that? Because you come from the middle of nowhere. You’re fucking hillbillies. You have no idea what the rest of the world is like. You know how to bully local shopkeepers, and that’s about it. Now, I’m going to take this girl back to her parents. If I hear a fucking whisper that any of you four have shown your face in town, I’ll come back here and I’ll tie you all up and kill every single one of you. Nod if you understand.’
Beefy nodded.
‘Look into my eyes,’ King said. ‘Look right into them. Now listen. If you ever try anything like this again, I will slaughter you. Do you think I’m bluffing? Does it look like I’m making this up?’
‘No.’
‘Do you doubt me?’
‘No.’
‘Will you do everything I say without a hint of protest?’
‘Yes.’
‘When your buddies wake up, you tell them everything I just told you. And you get the fuck out of this place. I’m coming back tonight to check whether you’re still here. Got it?’
A nod.
King knew he had Beefy exactly where he wanted him. The man gave off clear signs of a mentally broken individual. The shivering. The wide eyes. The inability to make eye contact. The unmistakeable smell of piss. His previous aura of macho invincibility had just been torn to shreds.
King would not be returning that night. There was no need. The four of them would be in another state by then.
He called for the girl and she tentatively emerged from the room. Her eyes boggled at the sight of the destroyed clubhouse. He ushered her through the mess and out onto the front deck. On his way out, he threw open the top left kitchen cupboard and seized an enormous wad of hundred-dollar bills from the top shelf. He went outside and placed a reassuring hand on the young girl’s shoulder.