Raw Deal Read online

  "I'm sorry you lost your students," said Ajai.

  "I'm sorry you got shot," said Mr. Dao. "Now, rest. I'll give you the last exam three weeks from today. Goodbye." He hung up.

  Henry came over to her bed. "Sleep," he said, gently taking the little table with the tablet off her stomach and turning it on its side. He stood. "And don't ever scare me like that again." He leaned down, then kissed her forehead.

  "I'll try not to," she said. Her cocoa was cold. "More cocoa?"

  "With the little marshmallows?" asked Henry.

  "Is there any other way?" asked Ajai. He smiled, and went to make her some more. By the time he got back with a filled thermos, she was asleep.

  Five days later, her chest moved from black and blue, to yellow and orange, with traces of purple. Her neck wound itched. Her mama Rota added a Kevlar collar to the neck of her bulletproof motorcycle jacket, and on the vest, itself. Ajai patented it --she had taken the class, after all, and suggested her mother sell the patent back to the manufacturer for a lot of money.

  Willow, Ruby, Alicia, and Gwen from the Wolfpack all came over with cards, streaming movies and TV shows, sodas, popcorn, and molds. They poured the parts for the miniature bikes Ajai was supposed to make in huge batches. They watched a movie together, ate sodas and popcorn, popped out the parts, put them in the bins Ajai had under her pouring and assembly table, poured some more, and then ran through a season of Game of Thrones together. Willow and Ajai showed the other two how to assemble them, and then they opened the window and wore masks as Ajai and Willow showed them how to paint them. They were set out to dry, and if Ajai was silent or slept, no one said anything. Willow and Ruby got them caught up, and showed the other two how to carefully pack the miniatures, print out the shipping labels, and put them by the front door on a shipping table. Ready and waiting out there to be picked up by a package service.

  In one of her more lucid moments after a good nap, Ajai told them her plan to move. Willow and Ruby cried. "I want to be on the ground floor of helping Herja and her crew with the new bikes, and I'm going to learn as they do. It's too damn crowded with Ghost and Killa. Besides, I can pour, assemble, and paint anywhere. Herja's found me this really cool house, a two-bedroom on some property. Some guy did a drug deal and got killed there, so they can't sell it. They've had it cleaned up after the violence, but they need someone to watch it, keep it up, maybe make some improvements."

  "I'm going," said Willow. "I can switch to all-online, too. Like you, I've got only one offline class, the math one. You're a math whiz. Please, please let me come with you."

  Ruby stared out the window at nothing for a long time, then said, "I'm staying. I love Helaku. He's a friend, and he's strong and smart, and funny. Oh, and we're super busy with work and school. We might date, we might not, but we're building a life together."

  Willow hugged her close, then Ajai hugged her very carefully, trying not to re-injure herself. "That's the most beautiful thing I ever heard," said Willow.

  "It's wonderful," said Ajai. "He's worthy."

  "He really is," said Ruby. "We've gotten closer since we were beaten up by those guys a couple of months ago. He let me heal in my own way, you know? He uses his brain and his heart. And, he is kind, and funny, and works like a horse, with a big heart."

  They all thought a bit, and wiped away a few tears. "Let's finish this, and then get back to the Stark family," said Ajai. They finished the packaging, and ordered a huge pizza with everything.

  Two days later, Ghost came by with boxes, and sat them on Ajai's clean work table. "This is all you'll need fo' da pours an' da painting fo' 'bout six months," she said. "I unnerstan' we real-crowded at the shop. I be busy wif da top-secret project, da new line, makin' da miniatures. Can you an' dem girls do all the rest o' dem?"

  "Yes, but I want a bigger cut of the profits. In fact, I want to be your partner," said Ajai. "Not fifty-fifty. You are far more talented than I am. But at least twenty-five percent. I have money saved up; I can buy that much equity from you. I've talked to Lily, and it can be done. I'm going to business school and Lily's doing the books. I'll do the easy stuff, the stuff with less intricate work. The stuff that takes your hand, you do that. I'll look into new product lines very, very slowly. I need to recover and you're training the ex-military people."

  Ghost grabbed a chair and sat down. "I been thinkin' on dat. I love what I do, both the miniatures an' da puttin' together bikes, but both gotta be da best, you know? This be savin' us both a world of mess. Do it, baby. Partners." She held out her hand.

  "Partners," said Ajai, and she shook Ghost's hand. "Now, Ghost, unload one of each of those damn boxes. I've got a chest that feels like a horse kicked me."

  "Yes, Ma'am, partner-girl." They both laughed.

  Two and a half weeks later, Henry and David came over with the truck, and loaded up the sorting table, the shipping table, all the stock, all of Ajai's things, and all of Willow's things (except her sleeping pack), her school bag, and a duffel of her clothes. Rota rode Ajai's bike, and Skuld rode hers. They flowed down the highway, blasting Running Down a Dream into their ears.

  The house was on a sad sand lot. It was small, of white stucco, and looked to be run-down. They unloaded the truck, then made a punch list of things they needed. They spent two days fixing up the house. They tiled and re-grouted the small bathroom and replaced the toilet, the sink and the mirror. They refinished the wood floors, and scraped and repainted inside and out; white on the outside, yellow in the kitchen, blue in the living room, and a paler blue in each bedroom. Skuld used Callie's plans and made sleeping pods in each bedroom with desks underneath, and they bought a couch, two recliners, a kitchen table and four chairs, and bean bags for the bedrooms. They got the Internet working, and by the time they finished, Ajai felt at home.

  They took her out for barbecue, and Ajai wasn't surprised to find Sheriffs Xenia and Bob there, along with Herja and her crew. They did the Valkyrie thing carefully with Ajai, touching foreheads. They all ordered drinks and ribs.

  "How did Herja steal you away from your mothers?" asked Bob.

  "I got shot, then I thought, why am I here? In Vegas, I mean. I can do my homework online, and Pahrump is close enough so we can all visit. I love being with Mother and Mama, but we need... I need to be my own woman."

  Rota and Skuld both nodded. "It's true," said Rota. "She is so strong and intelligent. She must make her own decisions now." She kissed the ends of Ajai's braids, and Ajai teared up.

  "I also was really tired of going to class. I can get the entire rest of my degree online. I also wanted to work on bikes now, rather than wait until I hit Colorado to get my Harley mechanic certification. They're going to be super-crowded at the Nighthawks shop, even with three shifts, with all the ex-soldiers. Herja's garage is huge, because they got a deal on the space. I can also work night shift; I love being awake in the dark, even in winter with the wind hammering against the side of the house. I can take my time, purchase dead bikes and bring them back to life, build them from kits, build them from parts, whatever excites me. I want to learn it all, not just trikes. That's Ghost and Killa's specialty. It's awesome, but how will I know if I like something better? Or what if I want to do a different kind of project each week or month? And making miniatures is one of the more portable professions. My income from one, will allow me to have the seed money to buy dead bikes, parts, or kits, and sell completed bikes when done. Plus, I get to work with the soldiers. I got shot, many of them got shot. We can kind of hang together, you know?" Ajai stopped talking, and sipped her peach tea.

  Xenia and Bob sat open-mouthed. Henry, Rota and Skuld smiled with pride. Herja smiled with the pleasure of acquisition, and her crew members took turns punching Herja on the arm in congratulations for taking on Ajai.

  Xenia narrowed her eyes, and said, "Run for mayor in ten years, woman. We could use someone with your brains running this town."

  Ajai sat back and smiled. "I'll think about it."

  "D
o not set the guilty free, or you have given them permission to prey on others once again."

  2

  Sheaths

  "Pay it forward, or you will end up losing what you have been given."

  Bonnie played the show for Ghost and Killa, the day after they got back from vacation. They stared at it, stunned. "You mean dat da soldiers wit da PTSD thing, wif da nightmares an' stuff, need a shop to learn how ta do what we do?"

  "We need to do more than that," said Bonnie. "We need to feed and house them, too. Get them on their feet, learn a new skill.

  Killa nodded. "I kin have me a new baby. Already talkin' to a couple, one I wanted to do da first time. Da other ones already got dem a surrogate. Pay to keep 'em fed."

  "We gotta buy an 'partment house," said Ghost. "Ain't got da money fo' dat. Even wif da money from da new secret project, tiny Harleys. Gotta pay dem girls, they pour da molds all trew da day. Metal, plastic, dey good workers. My buildin' an' paintin' takin' less time, but... dis be a big project." She took a sip of cola. "An' I ain't havin' no other babies fo' one year. Docta said."

  Bonnie whipped out her cell. "I'll text Tito and Nico."

  Nico rode down, watched a snippet of the video. "So, you want to duplicate the Texas thing here," he said. "We can add a second story here, if you need more storage space, or just do a build-a-shed thing."

  "Naw, not what we was askin,'" said Killa. "We need us a 'partment complex ta put dem in."

  "Auction," said Nico. "A place near here." He typed on his cell, then one popped up. "Auction's tomorrow. Let's go look at the property."

  They got on their Harleys and rode out. They got off, and fanned out to peer through the chain-link fence. "Doable," he said. The ugly salmon stucco was falling off, and had obvious cracks. The door was skewed. "No problems with water or power." He walked around some more. "I can get an inspector here." He used a flashlight with a strong beam to peer into broken windows. "Six units, two bedrooms, two apartments on each floor, two floors. I can get the plans from the city pronto."

  He sent a text to someone. Two of the balconies had holes, most had broken railings. There was an ugly orange tile roof with tiles missing. There were outside stairs leading to the apartments. The concrete stairs looked to be intact, but with some broken railings.

  "Ugly fucker," said Ghost.

  "Be alright when we done cleaned up da place," said Killa. "Get some of dem Wolfpack up heah. Be done real fast."

  "Seems to be cosmetic, not structural," said Nico. "There wasn't a fire or anything like that. Just left to rot. Probably vermin and the remains of squatters there." He looked around some more. "These things normally go for two hundred and fifty to three hundred thou. I can get it for fifty," he said. "Earn the money back when the soldiers get on their feet, start paying rent." He walked around the entire thing, slowly. "Okay, I'll put in a bid. We'll go up to seventy-six thou, that's how much we have to put in an escrow account. Be lucky if we can get it," he said to the women. "Ugly as it is, it's a steal at an auction price. Have to resurface the parking lot. Need space for bikes and trucks. I'd paint out the little spaces for the Harleys there," he pointed. "With handicapped spaces in the middle for vans. Some of 'em will have mechanical body parts."

  "Didn't think of that," said Bonnie. "Gotta see what can be done to make the shop accessible. Blade legs are fine. Some stuff we can do one-handed."

  "Blade legs?" asked Ghost.

  "Runners use 'em," said Bonnie. "Instead of feet, they use springy metal."

  "Cool," said Ghost.

  "They've got mechanical hands, you know," said Nico. "Not just sticks and metal anymore. They 3D print the things now."

  "A machine shop is one hell of a way of learning how to use 'em," said Bonnie.

  "But a good one," said Nico. "Okay, we'll do it for our brothers and sisters."

  "Sistas," said Killa. "De first group be de women. Dey get overlooked. Den da guys next round.”

  "I wonder if we can 3d print stuff here?" asked Bonnie.

  "Don't see why not," said Nico. "College kids are doing it."

  "Gotta transport them," said Killa. "Hmm. Da transport service. We got da bikes. Our people be puttin' together kits, restorin' old bikes like us. We kin transport da stuff. Da people to da medical stuff, da stuff to da people. Like dat."

  "Da 3D stuff be good fo' my bidness," said Ghost. "Print da whole bikes. We need da programmers.

  Nico laughed. "Required for the Wolfpack," he said. "Plus, real-world experience that looks good on their resumes? I think you'll have a waiting list of Wolfpack members ready to program their little hearts out."

  "3D print stuff fo da big bikes," said Killa. She stopped, stared into the distance. "An' da boxes fo da dogs. An' parts fo da military people to make dem lives easier."

  Ghost stared at her wife. "Whoa. Dat jus' blew my mind."

  "Tycoons, every damn one of you Nighthawks," said Nico. "First a bike-building program like the one in Texas, to apartment houses, to a courier service for vets, and 3D printing business. Good-god, people."

  Bonnie laughed. "This takes green, lots of it," she said. "If we can turn a profit, why the hell not?"

  "You had me at 'benefits ex-military,'" said Nico. "Now, don't count on us acquiring this property. There will be other bidders, maybe a lot of them. And putting this thing to rights will be a bitch and a half, but doable."

  Killa stretched. "I gotta wait ‘till Tuesday to get knocked up 'gain," she said. "Den we see 'bout dat."

  Nico went off to put in a bid, and they went to put together two trike kits, a blue and a crimson one, and a gold one with flame details. They set to work. At home, Ghost assembled and painted her miniature Harleys, and Ghost researched 3D printers. She decided on a professional model, but bought a consumer model so Ghost could practice making her Harley models and parts.

  Ghost finished her painting, and took a shower. Killa stepped in with her, sliding her hands over Ghost's breasts. "We're both bigga den befo,'" said Ghost, holding her wife's breasts in her hands.

  "Better," said Killa.

  "I got extra skin now," said Ghost, pinching her belly. She laughed. "Gotta have me anudder o' dem babies to afford da lipo to get my stomach and behind back!"

  "You tink I care 'bout dat?" asked Killa, stroking her wife's belly. "You is beautiful, no matta what." She stroked higher.

  "You is scary-smart," said Ghost. "Mebbe we should sent ya to school, get ya an engineerin' degree. Have you design dem bikes. 3D print dem." She kissed her wife's cheeks, her eyes, her nose, her mouth. She stroked her hair, kissed her neck. "I be workin' hard, and I give ya whatevah ya need, baby, ya hear?"

  Killa groaned in reply, and stroked her wife's belly, then her breasts. They stroked each other's chests and kissed wildly. Killa came first, and Ghost second, their waves of ecstasy crashing into one another with the force of waves pounding a beach. They kissed, touched, stroked, held hands. Killa put her thumb on Ghost's button, and slid two fingers inside. She vibrated her thumb while drawing her fingers in and out. Ghost came, screaming. Killa washed her wife, then herself, and Ghost put her fingers inside Killa, and made her come. Killa washed herself once again.

  The water ran cold, and they turned off the shower. They got out, laughing, and grasping for towels and soft chenille bathrobes. They rubbed lotion all over each other, then they went into the bedroom and dressed in yoga pants and soft sweatshirts. Killa went to the kitchen and brought back two little thermoses filled with sweet tea. Killa put on some soft music, and sat on a low beanbag chair pushed up against the bed. She did it while Ghost laid out the box of beads, combs, and picks she used to do Killa's hair. She drank some tea, and started brushing and picking the hair, then separated it out. She braided Killa's hair with deft fingers.

  They talked about bikes, 3D printers, and military women needing help. They laughed until they cried. Then, it was Ghost's turn. Then, exhausted, Ghost washed out the thermoses and put them on the drying rack. They brushed their teet
h, and fell asleep, Ghost holding Killa in her arms.

  Ghost and Killa were busy on both bikes when Bonnie got Nico's call. "We've got the apartment house!" she said excitedly.

  Killa tapped Ghost. Ghost finished her weld, then opened her welding helmet. "We gotta apartment house!" said Killa. Killa did a happy dance, making Ghost and Bonnie laugh. "When da cleanup?" asked Ghost.

  "Title transfer takes up to ten days," said Bonnie. "In the meantime, I'll send a letter to the guy in Texas. Heard his waiting list is one hundred and fifty soldiers long." She stopped, thought a minute. "We'll need a video, show who we are and what we do."

  Killa shrugged. "Call da Wolfpack. Dey be here real soon."

  Bonnie sent a text, and Ajai and Willow showed up to shoot video. Ajai wrote a script and did the camera work, and Willow interviewed Bonnie, Ghost and Killa about the shop. They showed the unpacking station, the "horses" with the bikes, Ghost doing a weld, and Killa opening up a box with a freshly painted gas tank and fenders; gold with flames licking down the sides. Bonnie talked about the Texas program, and how they wanted to participate. She didn't mention the apartment complex, as it hadn't had its title transferred yet.

  Ajai put away the used iPhone she'd purchased from a classmate, with money from her numerous jobs, and said, "We'll have a rough edit by tonight, a completed one within twenty-four hours." Bonnie paid them in cash, and they were on their way.

  The video was short, but amazing. The Texas outlet received their email, and Bonnie got a call within an hour. Three women were selected, because Bonnie could put one on her couch at her one-bedroom apartment. Killa and Ghost could put one on the couch in their apartment, and one on an air mattress in the other bedroom. All three had been waiting more than six months to be chosen.

  Private First-Class Denise "Dee" Molina showed up in an ancient truck, just hours after she excitedly emailed Bonnie that she was coming; she lived in Bakersville, not far over the Nevada border in California. She was a tiny woman, with hair tightly pulled back exposing her heart-shaped face. She had slim fingers, tiny restless feet, and a huge smile. She arrived just as they were thinking about closing. Bonnie came out, and they were introduced to each other.