Ten
Later that same night…
Brick roared around another curve,inertia pulling hard. The other bike disappeared briefly as he rounded, then reappeared as they played chicken along the route. Driving at these speeds on the Tail was hard enough in the daytime. At night, with only the bike’s headlight to see by, it was lethal. Brick knew this would end in one of two ways. Either he or Deuce would be dead. Maybe both.
Taz had followed him to Deuce’s place just in time to watch the asshole take off on his bike. The tops of the saddlebags barely contained the load in them, and several bulging backpacks were tied haphazardly to the backrest. Deuce spotted Brick and Taz as he revved his engine. He roared off, lifting a middle finger as he left. Brick followed. Now both bikes were running on the Tail, Deuce trying to get away and Brick determined he wouldn’t.
They crossed over the state line, heading west. Parts of the road were named. Brick ticked them off as they chased. On Cooper’s Straight he saw Deuce’s bike weaving close as the man fought to keep it under control. Brick guessed the saddlebags and backpacks were full of money, and the extra weight was throwing off the bike’s balance. Deuce reached The Wall and skidded on the hard curve, leaving behind a smear of black on the asphalt. The sound of a laboring engine came through Brick's helmet as his bike protested the force of this hairpin turn as he took The Wall himself. He was gaining ground, Deuce’s red taillight getting closer. Brick heard a hard rev, and Deuce lurched forward, whipping through the series of back-and-forth twists at the Gravity Cavity. Brick followed, the wind lashing his face with sharp needles. Parson’s Curve came up, and Brick saw Deuce almost lose it again, nearly scraping his knee as he put it to the ground to fight the nearly one-eighty-degree bend. Brick laid his Harley into the turn and did the same move.
The pull was dizzying, and Brick’s head throbbed with the rapid changes in pressure. He’d been riding this road all his life and had even ridden it at night. He knew it like the back of his hand, but this ride was different. The road was different. It was alive. She was alive. The twists became the hard ridges of her back, and the green of the trees illuminated by the headlight became her scales. The crags and rocks of the cliffs were her teeth. She was mad. Mad and hungry. Brick could feel it radiating from her mountain bones, and his vision turned red. The scream of the bikes were her cries of outrage as she demanded to be fed.
They were coming up to the part of the Dragon called The Horns. More than one biker had paid the Dragon’s price here. Deuce took the first horn, laying out almost horizontal to take the potent curve. His back tire smoked as it spun out, but he made it through.
It was the second Horn that finished him. The tire couldn’t take another screaming curve and gave way, the road shredding it into ribbons. The bike lay down and rolled; inertia took over and, with brute force, fired it over the side and into the arms of the waiting trees. Deuce went with it. Brick watched the man’s arms fly up and whip around as the laws of physics took control. The impact of the crash sent a sonic wave through his head, and he slowed to a stop.
Pieces of machine and man lay scattered along the road. One saddlebag had burst open, revealing stacks of cash, and two of the torn-apart backpacks showed white plastic-wrapped blocks of cocaine. What was left of Deuce looked like it had been chewed up and spit out. Brick sensed the road calming, and the red in his eyes faded to the dark black night.
The silence of the wooded area fell around Brick when he shut off his bike and removed his helmet. No crickets, cicadas, or any other night insects made any noise. Church quiet. The Dragon was content.
A distant buzz hit Brick’s ears. The sound became louder as Taz drove up at a much slower speed than Deuce or Brick. The man dismounted and took off his full helmet.
“Shit, man.” No other words were needed. “What do we do now?”
Brick took a deep breath. Smells of green woods, burnt rubber, and blood hit his nostrils. “Load the money for the cartel on my bike. We’ll call this in when we get back to town. Leave the drugs for the cops to find. I got a delivery to make, and then I gotta see my girl. I’ve put her off too long already, and she needs me.”
“That Molly kid said she’d take her home. She’s pretty banged up, but you know, Brick, she’s a strong one. She’ll pull through just fine.”
Brick turned to his task. “I’m counting on it.”