Crime Fiction by Jack Smiles
The primary time Rex heard the tune he was within the automobile alone. He flipped out. He wished to drag over, rip the rattling radio out of the sprint and beat it to loss of life with a hammer. The second time he and his girlfriend, Angie, had been hanging out on a blanket on the state park lake seaside. He received up yelled, “Fuck You Rugbeaters” and threw his transistor radio into Seneca Lake .
Angie thought he was mad. He was. And it was the Rugbeaters who drove him. He was their roadie as soon as. Arrange the equipment, tuned the guitars, sound-checked the mics. It was a great gig. The Rugbeaters had been the most well liked cowl band within the Finger Lakes and even as much as Niagara. They averaged 4 gigs every week taking part in bars, wineries and personal events. They’d a loyal fan base. The Wells brothers, Jam and Yancey, fronted the band, taking part in bass and lead and singing. Positive they had been actual execs in comparison with Rex, however all they did was cowl songs. Rex, although all might do was strum just a few chords, was a dreamer. The chords and melody got here to him one evening sitting alone in his condo after a pair hits on a bong. He jotted down some lyrics and a title, “I’m for You, If You’re for Me.”
He performed it for Jam and Yancey one evening after a bar gig. They laughed and Yancey stated, “Rex you’re a daily Willie Nelson?” Rex didn’t say something, however quietly he seethed. They didn’t just like the tune, okay, however why the snarky remark?
Rex received an actual day job working building and informed Jam and Yancey he couldn’t deal with the late nights anymore. They didn’t appear sad to let him go, with out a lot as a thanks. A month later he and Angie went to listen to the Rugbeaters at Arnie’s Roadhouse. Yancey stepped to the mic and stated, “Hey, we received one thing unique we’ve been engaged on, we name it ‘If Not for You, There’d Be no Me.’ ”
Rex solely wanted to listen to a verse. He didn’t know what to do. He grabbed Angie’s hand. “Rattling it, that’s my tune. We gotta get out of right here now.”
Properly, it seems, Scepter, a brand new label out of the New York Metropolis, was on the lookout for new bands. They despatched a scout to Hammondsport to listen to the Rugbeaters and he really helpful giving them a contract. They recorded the tune in an actual studio within the Metropolis and Scepter launched it. The Syracuse College radio station picked it up and the subsequent factor anybody knew, everyone’s favourite bar cowl band had a regional Upstate hit. A Binghamton DJ informed Rex the band most likely made 40, 50 grand on the tune — his tune.
Rex tried to confront Jam and Yancey. Known as them, numbers modified. Went to their previous half double on Rand Road. Moved. Drove out to the household farm a pair occasions. By no means anyone round. Went to a couple gigs, tried to get backstage. Stopped by bikers.
***
“They pay ‘em money. Small payments, soiled cash,” Rex stated.
Angie’s brother Butch didn’t get it. “Whatya imply soiled?”
“No permits, no promoting, no checks, no tickets, no paper, man, aside from the cash, singles, 5, tens, 20s possibly even some 50s, all collected on the door day-of. No advance gross sales.”
“How do they get away with it? Butch requested.
“Ever been to the Wells’ household farm? It truly is the center of nowhere. 15 miles again a dust street off 29. No neighbors for 5 miles. They minimize a grove again there and left a buffer of woods throughout. Parking within the cow fields for lots of of vehicles. Been operating this factor for 5 years. Nothing however phrase of mouth. There’s a buzz. Native cops gotta know, however they don’t give a shit.”
“How the hell are you aware all this?”
“Didn’t your sister let you know? I used to be a roadie for the Rugbeaters for eight years. I do know what occurs at their events. It’s a daily Woodstock lite.”
“How a lot you work?”
“Final yr they bought 4,000 tickets, $10 a chunk. That’s 40 grand proper there. They usually promote beer and weed.”
“So what? You make it sound like there’s like 40 grand laying in a pile ripe for pickin’.”
“Just about, there may be”
“No safety?”
“Yeah, bikers. They pay em ‘em beer and weed.”
“How can we get round that?”
“Don’t fear, man, I received a plan.”
“What’s the plan.”
“Born to be Wild.”
***
Within the competition workplace, actually a trailer residence backed as much as the stage, the Rugbeaters gofer, Jerry, sat at a folding desk separating money it into piles by denomination. Josh, the roadie boss, sat subsequent to him counting and banding it.
Roadie and doorman, Dan, ran the dough again from the entrance gate each half hour between 7 and 9 after they closed the gate.“We’re making a killing man,” Jerry stated after Dan had dumped the final of the gate from his shoulder bag. “Closing in on 50 grand,” Jerry stated. “and we nonetheless have two joint sellers on the market and we’re nonetheless promoting tons of beer.
“We’re shutting down the music at 11:15,” Dan stated.
“Don’t pull the plug, they’ll be a fucking riot,” Jerry stated.
As Dan turned and walked down the corridor to the door he stated, “Not pulling the plug. The Rugbeaters are going to shut with an enormous jam with the opposite bands and the natives are going to go wild and, hopefully, the natives will likely be worn out and go residence.”
***
Getting in was simple. Rex and Butch simply paid on the gate like everyone else.
“10 freaking bucks, what a rip off,” Butch stated
Rex simply checked out him shook his head and laughed.
They snaked their manner via the gang, stepping over muddy sleeping baggage and round pow wows, testing women in minimize offs and halters and stopping to take tokes on joints passing by. As they received nearer to the stage they may hear the Rugbeaters taking part in “Begin me Up,” however had been walled off by a 20-deep mob of stoned, drunken, screaming dancers.
When the tune ended Yancey talked stated some “hey how y’all doing” shit over the mic. Gave Rex and Butch simply sufficient time to jostle their method to the entrance row stage left. To their proper three large, soiled, mean-looking, drunken bikers stood with their arms folded and their backs in opposition to the stage. Yancey yammered on and at last yelled the magic phrases. “This one’s going out for our favourite bikers, the Vulcans.”
Rex stated “oh yeah” to himself, because the Beaters broke into “Born To Be Wild.” The bikers turned towards the stage elevating their beers and banging their heads whereas the dancers went wild, spinning, leaping, air guitaring.
Rex reached down pulled up the tarp hiding the stage below pinnings, pulled Butch by the wrist and so they went in. Shit, a freaking maze of of two x 4 cross part helps, far more than Rex anticipated. The bass and drum thundered down on them as they picked their manner via the stage infrastructure. Rex, lithe and 160 kilos, moved simply. He seemed again and noticed Butch. He wasn’t shifting. He was caught in a cross part.
“You fats fuck, I by no means ought to have introduced you.”
“Shut up and get me the hell out.” They needed to scream over the music.
Time was operating out on “Born to be Wild” and Rex’s plan to get wealthy.
Rex received behind him, put his shoulder to his ass and pushed. Didn’t budge him.
“I don’t have time, you’re by yourself.”
“Wait you possibly can’t go away me right here. I’ll squeal like a caught pig.”
You’re a caught pig, Rex thought to himself, however stated to Butch. “Preserve your mouth shut and I’ll get some cash to you.”
Rex crawled out the again of the stage, as “Born to Be Wild” pale out. Just one extra tune and 20 musicians had been going to go to the trailer for his or her dough. Rex had 5 minutes, give or take, whereas all of the bands jammed on “The Breeze.” Rex ran alongside the trailer, up the entrance steps, pulled down his ski masks and burst within the door.
“Hey, Dan, that you just,” got here a voice from behind a curtain within the kitchen down the top of the corridor.
Rex ran, ripped down the curtain and jumped on the desk the place Jerry and Geoff sat. Three minutes. Simply as he’d hoped, the banded cash was piled on Josh’s facet of the desk. Geoff was hitting on a joint. Rex kicked Josh within the chest he fell again to the ground within the chair, whacked his head stayed down.
Geoff stood up. “Hey what the hell?” However he didn’t do something. He froze.
Rex shoved the cash in his backpack jumped off the desk and turned towards the hallway. A door flew open. An enormous scary biker stepped out of the bathroom trying down, hitching his belt, blocking the corridor. He seemed up in time to swing his forearm to knock away the folding metallic chair Rex threw at him. He growled and ran towards Rex, however received his ft snarled within the chair and went down. Rex grabbed one other chair, turned and threw it via the bay window behind the desk and jumped via the opening simply as Josh, groggy from whacking his head, stood up and made a futile swipe for Rex’s legs. Rex landed on some shards, however he received up, scrambled below the snow fence and sprinted for the tree line and into the woods.
It will need to have been fairly sight if anybody might see it. A lone determine sporting a backpack sprinting into the darkish woods from a moonlit pasture, 20 musicians, some wielding mic stands, and a half dozen sloppy bikers operating after him.
It was darkish among the many timber, however Rex knew the path. His tac mild would give away his place, however the Rugbeaters knew the path, too. He switched the sunshine on. He couldn’t afford to fall. He figured he was in higher form. Working building and coaching for the Lakes Half Marathon was paying off. And he was sober — hopefully not for lengthy. In a pair minutes he was a mile forward. He heard a distant roar engines. The bikers will need to have broke off the chase and went again to the principle gate for his or her hogs.
The path dumped him out on 29, the automobile was there the place they’d left it. However Butch had the GD key. He crossed 29 picked up the path once more on the opposite facet of the street. He heard bikes developing 29. He ducked into the woods 20 ft off the path, crawled to the sting of the street, hid within the timber and peeked via the comb. Three bikes slowed as they approached the automobile. They stopped. Holy crap, it was Butch! He climbed off one of many bikes and waved like he was saying thanks. Two of the bikes rode away slowly, shining flashlights into the woods. The third turned onto the path.
As Butch opened the automobile door Rex got here up behind him. “Open the opposite facet.”
“Jeez, you about gave me a coronary heart assault.”
Rex received in shotgun and put the backpack between his legs.
“How a lot we get?”
“We? I did all of the soiled work.”
“Hey, I couldn’t assist it. I wished to go. I used to be caught. And I’m serving to you now ain’t I.”
“Will 10 grand hold you quiet?”
“Deal,” Butch stated as he pulled on to 29. Rex opened the backpack and counted a stack of banded cash. A grand. He put 10 stacks in a plastic bag and put it on the ground behind the motive force’s seat.
“So what occurred?”
“I broke a two-by and received out from below the stage. Went again out the entrance and fell in with the gang strolling out. Received to the principle gate. Some bikers got here operating and gunning yelling about killing some asshole thief. I knew one among them from the Cat and Canary pool league. Informed him I used to be out of fuel on 29. He informed me to hop on.”
“Out of fuel?”
“How was I supposed to elucidate the automobile out right here. Informed him my buddies had been on their manner with a fuel can.”
“He purchased it?”
“He’s a biker, duh. So the place we going?”
“We ain’t going nowhere. Drop me off on the bus depot.”
***
Jam counted the left behind cash. A pair grand out of fifty.
“It was Rex, wasn’t it?”
“Properly, he had a masks, however yeah, Jerry is 95 % it was Rex,” Yancey stated.
“Humorous, I by no means thought he had the balls for one thing like this,” Jam stated.
“From what I hear he’s on the warpath over the tune. Telling everyone we ripped it off.”
“Did we? That’s being beneficiant. Yeah, he had and thought, a melody, some chords. We completed the rattling factor.”
“So what can we do?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?” Jam stated.
“We will’t name the cops,” Yancey stated.
“We might search for him.”
“The place the hell we going to look, he’s not going to go residence. He’s most likely heading out to California as we converse. Him and his girlfriend.”
“The Vulcans aren’t gonna hand over.”
“They’ll’t discover their very own asses.”
***
There’s part of North Central Pennsylvania nicknamed “The Wilds.” Countless mountains rolling with state recreation lands, nationwide forests, and parks. There’s even an elk herd, one of many few this facet of the Rockies, and elk tourism is a factor round one of many little cities. An honest restaurant, vineyard, brewpub, a B and B.
Good place to purchase a little bit enterprise together with your girlfriend and name it the Antler Inn, sit on the patio and watch elk, possibly write a pair songs.
Bio: Jack Smiles is a former group newspaper function author, writing quick fiction as a passion in retirement. In one other life he was a roadie for a highly regarded native band in Pennsylvania. He’s 76 married to spouse, Diane for 42 years. One daughter, Sadie, an digital archivist for Guerilla Video games in Amsterdam, Neterlands.
Jack is the writer of three baseball biographies revealed by McFarland.
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