Chapter 19

~Chapter 19~

~July 7th, 2014: 13 Days After Bombings
A week had past since Wraith had left. Nathan still hadn’t fixed his bike, and Scarlet kept finding reasons to stick around. Or maybe she just had a lack of reasons to leave.
Josh and Lexy grew closer as the week went by. They did something every night, either a movie out or at home, dinner out, and one night Josh even made an amazing stir fry.
Nathan was not as obnoxious as normal, and he didn’t seem to drink as much. And he didn’t fight with Scarlet as much or as violently. In fact, they seemed to be treating each other with a sort of fondness that made Josh and Lexy smile and trade knowing glances.
It was near the end of the week when Nathan finally figured out what was wrong with his bike. He came into the house dripping oil and grease from his hands and holding some part with a weird name Lexy could never remember. He said it needed replaced, and the bike would need to be taken to a shop because so the piece could be fitted and installed properly.
Josh looked over the part, pointing out stress points and places where the metal had started to come apart or corrode. When he was done, he looked up and Lexy and Scarlet, who had come in to hear the verdict on the bike.
“Yeah, it will need professional attention. I don’t have the tools to install it here, even if we could get a hold of the part. I think it’s cheaper to have the shop order it than order it ourselves.”
Nathan nodded and sat down across the kitchen table from Josh.
“So, when you want to take her in?”
Josh set the part on the table and sat back thoughtfully.
“Tomorrow morning.”
He glanced up at the three people gathered around him.
“Get washed up and wear something nice, we’re going out for dinner tonight.”
Lexy was ecstatic, she rushed upstairs with Scarlet and started looking through the dinner dresses she had accumulated since coming to stay with Josh. She eventually settled on a dark purple strapless dress with a red sash.
Scarlet wore the black dress with purple sash she had worn to dinner with Matt Gold and Lexy in Washington DC. She then brushed her hair so it flipped up at the bottom, and helped Lexy curl her brown hair so it seemed to float around her shoulders.
When they got downstairs, Lexy was pleasantly surprised by Josh. Dressed in a full tux with a blood-red vest, the former Marine looked strong and imposing.
Nathan, on the other hand, at least put on a clean white T-shirt and new jeans. He tried combing his ragged hair, but gave up, and donned a black blazer over an under-arm gun holster.
When he came down the steps Lexy had to hold back a smile and Scarlet stifled a giggle. Josh just looked him over and nodded, the ghost of a smile playing over his mouth.
“Very stylish.”
Nathan shrugged, “To Hell with stylish, its damn comfortable, is what it is.”

Josh selected a black Jaguar from his row of cars, and drove them to a fancy French restaurant the name of which Lexy couldn’t pronounce. The man who showed them to their seat was gracious and spoke with a faint French accent. But both Lexy and Scarlet could barely hold their laughter in when they saw the looks he kept shooting at Nathan.
Nathan spent about half a minute looking over the menu before handing it to Josh.
“You order, I don’t read French.”
Lexy handed her menu to Josh as well, “I bet you don’t even speak it.”
Scarlet laughed at the two of them, and Josh’s eyes sparkled with amusement.
Lexy and Nathan made a game out of trying to pronounce items on the menu, getting Josh, who actually spoke French, to judge their attempts. After a few minutes, the waiter came back to take their orders.
“Puis-je prendre votre commande?”
Josh looked up and smiled, “Oui. Qu’est-ce que la salade du jour?”
“Salade verte, monsieur.”
Josh nodded and consulted his menu.
“Ah, quatre salads vertes et de quatre steaks de votre maison particulière avec tout sur eux.”
The waiter jotted Josh’s order down on his notepad and nodded his head.
“Très bien, monsieur. Quelque chose à boire?”
“Chardonnay pour moi et pour la dame aux cheveux rouges, du cidre mousseux pour l’autre dame, et quelle que soit la bière que vous avez sous la main de l’homme mal habillè.”
The man bowed slightly, “Très bien, monsieur. Je serai de retour prochainement avec vos boissons.”
Josh bowed his head to the man, “Merci.”
As the man walked away, Nathan made a face.
“Tres bien, monsier. Merci. Wow, what the Hell did you say to him?”
Josh smiled, “Anyone care for steak?”
Lexy and Scarlet laughed and Nathan was annoyed.
Nathan sat back in his chair, “Couldn’t you order that in English?”
Josh shrugged, “I guess. Besides, Last time I remember you don’t speak any languages.”
Nathan grinned, “Betullkah, Encik Taske? Saya lupa. Peliknya, Adakah anda bertutur Bahasa Melayu?”
Lexy looked to Scarlet, “What was that?”
Scarlet eyed Nathan with surprise, “I actually don’t know. Nathan?”
Nathan cocked his head and grinned, “Malay. I picked it up on a mission a few years ago.”
Lexy grinned back at him, “Cool!”
Nathan winked at her before marveling at the beer placed in front of him by the waiter.
“Totally!”

The Next Morning Josh and Nathan loaded Nathan’s Harley into the back of Josh’s Silverado and took it off to a shop to get it fixed.
The shop was a little hole-in-the-wall place in Portland run by a big black man known to the Underworld as Anubis. And ex-Mafia hit man, Anubis was known for two things; getting rid of bodies and fixing vehicles.
After explaining to Anubis what they thought was wrong, they unloaded the bike into the back of the garage and left it next to a Honda street bike Anubis was turning into a flashy looking tricycle.
The big man then led them into the main office, where he got them each a beer and Nathan paid for the bike’s repair.
Anubis ran a big hand over his bald head as he jotted down some contact information for Nathan.
“It’ll be done in about a week if my supplier can get his hands on the part. If sooner, I’ll call you.”
Nathan sipped his beer and nodded.
“Hey, thanks a lot, man. Business doin’ good?”
Anubis grinned and laughed, “Ha! It’s been better, but I can’t really complain. I own the building, and I have enough favors owed me that I won’t run out of inventory for basic parts. But special jobs are rare these days.”
Josh looked up from a black binder full of car pictures.
“You still do custom jobs?”
Anubis looked at him levelly, “You thinking a soup-up, or a military job?”
Josh went back to looking at cars.
“Military job.”
The black man leaned against the counter and looked at Josh curiously.
“What you have in mind?”
Josh didn’t look up, “I have a Chevy Trailblazer I want armored and fortified.”
Anubis grinned, his eyes lighting up.
“A Trailblazer? It would be tough, but I think I can do it. You want the windows shatterproof?”
Josh closed the book and face him.
“Yes. And I want the fuel tank plated.”
Anubis cracked his knuckles with excitement.
“Bring it on, Sharktooth! I’ll have that baby ready to storm the Whitehouse!”
Nathan laughed, “WE just stopped a bunch of jackasses from storming the Whitehouse, and it wasn’t so we could come back later and do it ourselves.”
The ex-hit man handed Josh a small stack of papers.
“Fill these out with the specs you want and bring them back with the vehicle. What do you want it for anyways?”
Josh took the papers and him and Nathan started for the door.
“Just a precaution. See you later Anubis, thanks for the help.”
Anubis waved to them as they headed out, “Thanks for the business. Come back soon.”

Josh and Nathan arrived home sometime after twelve-thirty and entered the house through the front door. The first thing they noticed was the quiet. No TV, no talking, no sound of movement from upstairs.
“Lexy? Scarlet? We’re back!”
Josh and Nathan came through the dining room and turned the corner into the kitchen area.
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
Josh and Nathan both ducked as three shots rang out Two bullets zinged over their heads and embedded into the dining room wall behind them, the third blew out the window.
“Stand up.”
The two of them stood slowly, keeping their hands in plain view.
Then Josh looked up, and his own gray eyes stared back at him from a determined feminine face.