“Cool. I grew up near there.”
So young Cole would’ve been raised with military all around him, from low-level fast-jet training to the British Paras and Infantry Battle School. It’s no wonder he took the route he did. The parallels to my own trajectory are clear, save he turned left when I forked right. We’ve both ended up at the same place.
“What are you boys talking about?”Dario’s drawl breaks into our chat, and a moment later a Suzuki GSX-R rides up in my mirrors, in the classic blue-and-white.
“That’s not an easy bike to ride,” I say. “Why does… Kurt insist on two-wheel experience?”Shit. Almost said ‘Renner.’
“Because he fucking loves them,”Dario replies.
“Because bikes move faster than anything else on the road.”Cole gives a more considered explanation.“On a bike, you can filter through traffic, disappear into lanes cars can’t follow, change direction and be gone. One plate that can be switched in seconds, leave it anywhere, disappear into the back of a van, and you’re on your own.”
No argument with any of that.
“And LA is lousy with them,”Dario adds, tone more serious as he joins in.“In a city this size, you’re all butinvisible.”
We’ve been cruising until this point, but now we’ve reached the entrance to Tujunga Canyon Road, and Cole takes the lead, pushing hard. The canyon wall rises steeply on our left, raw cut earth and loose rock, sparse brush clinging to the slope. To our right, it opens out into a valley, hills rolling away in layers, the ground brown and dusty olive, the mountains beyond fading into the haze. There’s no guardrail on that side, and the drop is deep enough to make any mistake costly.
“I figured you’d say something about brotherhood or shared culture,” I say, trying to keep them talking.
“Sure, there’s some of that,”Dario replies.
“Not for Kurt,”Cole corrects.“He’s not a biker gang leader like your friend Briggs.”
Briggs isn’t my friend; the guy was nothing more than a means to an end, and an asshole to boot. “What’s Kurt’s take then?”
“Riding takes commitment, discipline, a cool head. All the things Kurt likes.”
Interesting. “Tell that to Pablo.”
“Don’t need to, do I?”Cole replies.“Kurt had him pegged from the start. Someone like him is just what we needed to distract during our escape.”
It’s the middle of the working week and the road is quiet. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden it, and the bends come hard and fast. I follow Cole into a hairpin, bike leaning steeply, and he has his knee down, sparks coming off his slider. More showy than I gave him credit for, but points for style.
“Does it bother you that Kurt got him killed?” I ask, as we straighten up. People sometimes talk more when they’re gently provoked.
“Fuck, no.”Dario is first to respond.“You hear what he said to Raven?”
“Man, that pissed me off,”Cole agrees.“The guy was a prick.”
My jaw’s clenched too tight to reply. The memory of Pablo talking to Genesis overlies with their first encounter in Franco’s. I didn’t intervene and I damn well should’ve. What if it hadn’t gone down the way it had? I’m glad that fucker’s dead.
“Kurt knew Pablo was a loose cannon,”Dario continues.“His intent was obvious as soon as he eyed that dirt bike, remember? Kurt could’ve stopped him, but he chose not to.”
“You rode with him,”Cole says, clearly speaking to me.“Does it bother you that he’s dead?”
“Fuck, no.” After the way he spoke to Genesis, he’d be dead now anyway if the cops hadn’t done it for me. I’m still bitter I didn’t get to kill him. “You know he started a fight with… Raven?”
Dario laughs over the mic.“Well, we saw the bruises. Welt on his cheek and an egg-sized lump on his temple. Not the first time, huh, Cole?”
“Chad?”Cole asks.“Before my time, remember?”
“Oh yeah,”Dario replies, then chuckles.“Still brings tears to my eyes.”
“Who the hell was Chad?” I growl out before I can stop myself.
“Her first beau. The guy was a dick, dunno what shesaw in him. But he got violent toward her, and she wore bruises for a few weeks. Then Chad disappears, right? Turns out he spent two days at Verdugo Hills Hospital. Facial fractures, bruised testicles, busted kneecap.”Dario laughs.“Raven walking around with a grim sense of satisfaction.”
A wave of visceral fury tightens my chest and I’m clenching the handlebars so hard the throttle twists. I have to slow my bike down, taking the next bend extra carefully while I get control of myself. “What happened when he got out?” Someone else I need to kill.
