Chapter 17: TIME FOR A REUNION

In the morning, I buttered myself some toast with the little condiments that the Motel had provided. 

Fortunately, Mav had held up his side of the bargain by leaving me to get my shut-eye, but that may have been largely due to the fellow Hotel guests that he had started bartering with.

As it turned out, Mav had been selling handful after handful after handful of weed to different Hotel Tenants. But they weren't just any tenants, and this was no ordinary Hotel.

It was a Motel, in fact, and the fellow tenants were the emergency housing folks. The ones that'd be dumped on work and income under whatever sob story they had flocked to different Motels all over the country. 

I had no idea how much weed Maverick had sold, but random tenants would wake up throughout the night and buy off Maverick, another would tell another and before he knew it they were all eating out of the palm of his hand. 

I watched from the kitchen window sill, eating my toast as a flock formed around him as he fended them off with handfuls of high-grade Marijuana.

I then moved inside the white bathroom, slid off my clothing, and had a hot shower. The first of which is d had since I had embarked on this mish.

The sad aftermath was that I had to slide back Into my old clothing, but this time I chose to throw my jocks in the bin and go commando, along with my holey socks.

I stepped outside into the madness of begging addicts and other homeless heathens. They palmed and clawed for Maverick's supply, and barely noticed I was there. I was pretty stoked about that part to be honest. 

As I stretched and yawned and admired the morning rays, I turned and a shimmer of a familiarity caught my eye.

My jaw dropped at its sight, it was enough for me to drag Maverick away from his customers.

Parked across the road from the Motel was the very car that had shaped this entire journey, my 2005 Mitsubishi Galant. 

Two goons sitting inside it, each enjoying a pineapple fritter. Watching us carefully, behind shaded eyes. The driver presented the full ring of his pineapple fritter, took a bite out of it and presented it to me.

 He then tossed it to the road between us and sat there in the parked car without a word.

One had a scorpion tattoo resting on his left cheek until the edge of his buzz cut. 

The other had a gold tooth resting upon a mangled nest of broken and rotted-out shards for teeth.

I began to back up towards Maverick, never breaking eye contact with the two unknown suspects. I tapped Maverick's shoulder and brought his attention from the flock of fiends. 

"Hey, that's your car isn't it, Hunter?" asked Maverick.

"It is." I agreed, staring at the suspects blankly.

"Oh yeah, safe." Said Maverick, as he began to walk towards my car.

I followed after him as we crossed the road, my hands in my pockets.

The suspects kicked their doors open, planted a foot onto the tar seal, but remained in their seats. Cheeky smiles grew across their scab-ridden lips.

"Long time no see Mav, look like you've seen a ghost." said the suspect closest to us.

"You two are in my brothers' car, might wanna get out," warned Maverick, his voice hoarse, chest sounding full and sick.

"This car belongs to us now, you two better take a seat in the back." replied the other suspect, branding a firearm on his lap.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, as I watched the firearm tormentor place his finger on the trigger on his lap. But Maverick just laughed.

"That's a cute little thing you've got there mate. What makes you think you'd need it?" Maverick asked.

"We didn't know what you had with you. Better safe than sorry." replied the suspect closest to us, chewing gum in his mouth.

"That's not very nice is it, I thought we were mates Yardy. Looks like you two have gone back on all that." Maverick tutted.

"All we did was Take the car off those Northern Hillbillies you tried palming it off to. We already got two bodies in the boot, don't make us make it four." the gun-toting suspect warned, swiping his glasses off to reveal some smashed glass eyes.

But Maverick just laughed even more, "You know you can't shoot that thing round here, aye? TGA is more cammed up than Aucks CBD. You'll get chased off the road by the pigs before you make it to H Town." 

"Well, we don't wanna have to use this. We'd prefer it if you just hopped in the car and came back with us. Would be much easier." the gum-chewing suspect stated, placing his elbow on the window gap.

"We've got the two vehicles here. How do you two suppose to get them both back as well as this car?" Maverick asked, spitting on the ground, "I say you two hand my brother's car over and take the Supra and the Navara."

"We can't do that, Maverick, the boss needs to see you. I'm sorry, but you knew what you were getting yourself into the moment you decided to undercut him. You need to come with us." the gum-chewing suspect stated, tapping his fingers on the window edge.

"You can't say all that. I know all about your little tricks Max." Maverick stated, directing his attention towards the gun toter. 

"What that?" he replied, his mouth growing thin.

"You've been fucking around with the boss's girl," replied Maverick, raising his eyebrows with a punchable smirk.

"What are you on about?" the guntoter spat, shuffling about in his chair.

"You know exactly what I'm on about." Maverick insisted, his smirk growing to showcase his yellow teeth.

"What's he on about, Max?" asks the Gum chewer.

"He's all shit." replied the gun toter, eyes still locked on Maverick.

"It doesn't matter if I'm all shit, Max. That'll be the last thing the boss hears from me." Maverick promised, itching at his neck and looking down the road at an approaching patrol car. "You know what the boss is like, Max. You know once he gets that seed of doubt it'll eat away at him until he gets Rocky to put a few holes in you." Maverick grinned, as the Patrol car pulled up into the Motel across the street.

The two suspects watched that patrol car carefully. And Max eased his finger off his trigger.

"C'mon boys. I like you. Just take the Supra and the Navara. Say you found them abandoned at the beach. The boss is so cooked nowadays he'll probably believe you." replied Maverick, scratching his neck, his eyes growing wide in a gleam.

I looked back and noticed that the officer had entered the Motel building, and for a moment I felt a sneaking suspicion that perhaps we were going to get caught. That Supra, a sitting duck. But at the same time, I knew that we were safe, so long as that cop was on the premises.

 I turned back around and looked over at Maverick, who was dangling the keys to the Supra. "They're all yours man, just hop out and take 'em." 

The gum-chewing suspect a.k.a Yardy, snorted and spat a lump of flem onto the roadside. "How long do you expect to be able to run for?" he asked Maverick.

"I don't know. I guess we'll see," replied Maverick, with a modest smile this time.

Yardy undid his seatbelt and hopped out of my car, Max followed suit. I noticed that he left the keys in the ignition.

Yardy looked Maverick deep in his eyes and said, "You're very, very stupid Mav. But for old times' sake, I'll go grab a coffee over at that Café, I expect you to wait here." 

Maverick smiled, "Yeah, alright." as he passed Yardy the Supra keys. 

I then passed over the Navara keys, "It's parked down by the docks."

"You got a criminal record, Kid?" Yardy asked, pocketing both sets.

"Nah," I replied.

"Get the fuck outta the country," he advised, as they made their way towards the Café, putting their shades back on.

The cop from the Motel moved back over to his Squad car and headed off. 

We then moved quickly inside our Motel room to scavenge together the weed left in the room. Hopped back into my car for the first time in what felt like yonks. And hit the road once again.