Chapter 17: Practice Makes Perfect

“One moment,” Ursula sighed into the phone. Quietly she walked the hall towards the billiard room and knocked once.

“Come in dear,” Freddy urged with a smile in his voice. “You know you don’t have to knock like that Sweetheart.” He pulled away from the table and quickly pecked her cheek.

“I know I just I didn’t want to disturb you. I know Mike doesn’t really get up here very often and I’d hate to think I was bothering you during your ‘guy time’.” She watched Michael take his shot and backed away as he circled around near her.

“Who was that on the phone Baby?” Freddy took a sip of his Cognac and placed the glass back on the end table.

“Patrick Dunnigan.” The moment she said the name, Michael scratched his shot and the two turned to look at her as if they’d seen a ghost.

“Say that again?” Michael asked and swirled his pool stick in his hands for a moment. “Did you say Pat Dunnigan?”

“Yes, he would like to speak with you Freddy. I could transfer it to your office phone if you’d like to speak with him in private.”

“Yes, I’ll do that thank you.” Ursula exited the room with Freddy and Michael right behind her. 

Entering his office he waited to see the red light blink on before lifting the receiver to his ear. “Pat?” Michael motioned for the speakerphone and Freddy quickly obliged. “Long time no talk to! How’ve you been?”

“Eh you know up and down but that’s the life of a car dealer though.”

“You make it sound as if you’re small time! Last I heard you owned five top end new & used car lots on the east coast! You should be sitting pretty!”

“Life has been good, Brother, I cannot deny that. I have a beautiful wife, two wonderful kids, a three-story home overlooking the water and enough money to drown in but that’s a tale for another day. Listen the reason I called was I got a message from Bobby and I didn’t know if you heard or not but they found Tommy dead in his bathtub; electrocution.”

“What? Are you serious? What happened?” Mike dropped into the chair behind him hearing the news and Freddy rubbed a hand over his mouth thinking over what he’d just heard.

“Apparently he took a radio with him to the bathroom. They found a bunch of empty beer and alcohol bottles near his body and cluttering his room. The police believe he was pretty drunk and kicked the radio sometime during his bath. It fell in and it wasn’t long before he was gone. About 50 milliamps of current swept across his heart before he knew it was lights out.”

“Damn that’s harsh. Sorry to hear that. I heard his daughter was killed in a freak accident out there also. Man. They find Skip yet?”

“No and I’ve actually heard chatter about him being involved in this. I don’t know why they’d think that but Bobby said the cops don’t believe his disappearance was a matter of foul play. His account had been wiped clean a few days before he hopped into his car and several pieces of his luggage set were missing as well as his clothes. They seem pretty confident that he up and ran off.”

“But why would they think he’d be involved in this?”

“Well he was making a lot of noise about getting back at the school for his kid and sent death threats and such to administrators at Cyprus-Gray. You know he also had an issue with um…you know. Bobby and I never believed he was one of us really but he always went along with the gang.”

“Skip was never really that outspoken. And I doubt he’d be involved in this thing with Tommy. It is strange both of them losing their kids like that and then on top of it going missing or dying. I hope they find him alright.”

“Yeah me too, fucker still owes me a pretty penny from the last home game we played. Moron bet that our CG Wolves wouldn’t be able to beat those pansy Devils from Talbert U; $1500! The Wolf Pack were down 14-7 by halftime and then we went on to take 42 points in the second half winning with a final score of 14-49. Man I tell ya I could hear his heart break. But that’s what he gets for betting against the old Alma Mater! Hey did you know my boy is quarterback out here now.”

“I heard! My daughter just started out there as well. She wants to be a doctor like her old man.”

“I guess kids really do walk in their parent’s footsteps. I’m sure you’re as proud of her as I am of my kid. It makes me smile like a Cheshire every time he does one of my old plays. Anyway I’m not gonna keep ya much longer. Are you planning to come out for the Alumni celebration this year?”

“Well yeah actually. Since Chrissy’s there I decided I’d give the old haunts a visit. Maybe we can grab a beer or something and catch up on old times. Mike will be there too.”

“Sounds like a plan! I’ll let Bobby know and talk at you later. You take care Freddy!”

“And you do the same. Goodnight Pat.”

“Man…Ta-Ta-Tommy the Terror, I can’t believe that,” Michael sighed and leaned forward in his seat. “I used to think that man was invincible. You know he could down an entire keg by himself and still be up and dancing with every Kappa hottie that walked in the door. I envied him for the longest time.”

“Yeah but that’s mostly because you couldn’t hold your liquor; you’re such a lightweight it’s not even funny Mike. The Alphas made it a game trying to put you in new places every time you passed out. Though shoving you through the hen door at Old Man Johnson’s farm was a bitch. Was funny watching you pull yourself out though covered in chicken shit and feathers,” he laughed heartily and ended with a sigh. “Good times.”

Amber stretched against the balance beam at the back wall of the gym as Jordan and Christina did yoga nearby. Though Paige decided in order to loosen herself for dancing she’d do a bit of running and took to jogging the small track within the auditorium. Rachael stated clearly she wanted everyone to arrive on time at 8:00am sharp and at this point the clock pointed to just fifteen minutes past and she was still a no-show. “Maybe she finally fell off a cliff,” Amber giggled to herself as she took a seat beside Jordan and started in on the same pose.

“It’s nice to see you all made it on time.” Rachael scoffed walking through the door. She was carrying a small box with her and dropped it to the floor beside the door with a loud bang before moving towards the group. “I figured since we’re getting a chance at opening for the next football game in place of the cheer sluts we should at least appear in sync in dress if not in dance.” She frowned in Paige’s direction recounting the atrocious ripped and otherwise altered clothing the biker wore. “Hopefully this will keep everyone on the same page.”

Motioning towards the box she sneered looking at them in their matching stretch pants and tops. “I designed us some outfits for the game, be sure and grab one before you leave. They’re one size fits all so hopefully you can squeeze your fat asses into them. For now we have lots of dances I want to try so I hope you came ready to work!”

The girls followed Rachael to the other side of the room and she turned on the radio leaning against the wall. Flipping through the stations she growled and reached into her bag to remove a CD she’d brought with her. “I figured we should try a small routine first and see how well coordinated we can get it before moving on to something else. Now the game is Saturday so that only gives us a few hours of practices over the next three days. I want everyone to do your best, no excuses. If you’re incapable of handling a move then you will very well be replaced. This isn’t a playground, we’re here to work. Now,” she smiled stepping in front of the mirror. “Follow my lead.”

Over the course of the next four hours the girls tried several different dance combinations and moves finally perfecting a routine they could ‘impress with’ as Rachael put it. Still it didn’t stop her from criticizing every step they made. “Yep, just as much fun as rolling your bike down a hill,” Paige sighed confirming her first assessment of Rachael leading the team.

“One…two…three, lift your hips more Amber get that ass in the air! Four…five…six, this isn’t air aerobics Jordan connect those kicks so your leg pops! Come on ladies this is pathetic!”

The CD stopped again and the girls all collapsed to the floor as Rachael went to tend to it. Noticing the time, Christina pulled herself up and started for her bags. “Where are you going?”

She pointed towards the clock before replying with a frustrated sigh. “Class; practice has already gone an hour longer than it was supposed to and I am not missing class for it.”

The others pulled up behind her and Rachael crossed her arms into her chest. “Fine. Tomorrow we start earlier; we have to be 100% on target before the game. I will NOT have any of you embarrassing me.” She watched Christina and Jordan starting for the door and noticed Ezra just outside. Scooping up her bag she hurried off towards the locker room motioning for him to join her.

Ezra poked his head into the door before pushing inside and stopping just against the wall. “Did you get it?” She asked dropping onto the bench to untie her shoe.

“I did but I still don’t know what exactly you’re going to do with it. Like I said before if you don’t know what you’re doing you can seriously hurt someone. Who is this for anyway?”

“Don’t you worry about that; you’re getting paid right? Hand it over!”

“No! I asked a question and you don’t get this package until I get an answer! I don’t want this traced back to me Rachael, I’m serious this time. This is big time! You could permanently injure someone if you’re not careful.”

“Oh Ezzie, why are you asking questions? You know how this works!” Rachael moved closer and pressed herself against Ezra, smiling sweetly as she felt him nervously reach out to touch her. “What exactly are you going to do with that information? Will it help you sleep better at night?”

“N-n-no but I can’t b-b-be held responsible for this. It was bad enough you had me sneak into Professor Steward’s office during class! I c-c-could have been caught!”

“So you’d have preferred he grew a conscience and sent those pictures to the Dean? Someone is fucking with me Ezra and I have a faint suspicion about who that is. I won’t let  her or her little swimmer keep the upperhand on me.”

“But your face wasn’t in any of those shots!”

“It doesn’t matter! Just the idea of their existence was bad enough! And do you have any idea what I had to do to keep Randall from turning them in to the Dean long enough for you to snag them? UGH! But that doesn’t matter now. They want to play dirty they’ll see just how dirty I can get! Now hand over the stuff!”

“Not until...”

“Fine,” she sighed and rolled her eyes at his insistence. “It’s for Remington. I only want to slow him down for his next competition so it’s not like you have to worry about ‘permanent injury’ it’s only to knock him down a peg or two. He thinks he’s so tough and can treat people how he wants well he’s about to get a lesson in humility, now hand over the bag perv!”

“Remington is working on becoming an Olympic swimmer Rachael I don’t think this is such a great idea. If he’s found with drugs in his system he could be disqualified from every match as well as lose the titles he’s already won.”

“And?”

“And these are people’s lives you’re playing with. You can’t really expect everyone to kiss your ass and bow to you! This constant revenge thing because you don’t get your way is sickening and I’ve had enough of it. If you want to do this, I won’t be a part of it.” He swallowed hard feeling a surge of strength, tossed a wad of cash at her feet and started for the door.

Rachael quickly jumped up behind him and slammed his back against the wall preventing him from getting away. “Listen you little shit we made a deal! I’ve made sure no one found out about your little secret and for that you supply me with what I need! On top of that I pay you and don’t treat you like the complete scum of the earth that you are by letting you perv on me and even tugged on that grimy dick of yours a few times. Now I’m not going to ask nicely anymore since you’ve obviously lost the little sac you had between your legs; hand over the bag or I swear everyone will hear about what you do at night!”

Ezra slowly eased the small pouch from his back pocket and Rachael quickly snatched it from his hand. “Now that wasn’t so hard was it?” she sneered and placed the satchel in her backpack with a smile. “Don’t forget to pick up your money before you leave.” She grabbed her bag from the floor and exited the locker room slamming the door behind her as she moved.

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