"Hey, where's Vince?" Tommy piped up curiously, and my heart skipped a beat. Mick didn't move behind me or say anything, and I unconsciously looked to Nikki, who looked like he was ready to kill the first person who pushed him. Finally he dropped the hand covering the cut, which had now stopped bleeding but still looked bad, and said loudly, "He was taken away by you know who. Now shut up, I'm thinking."
I grimaced, and out of the corner of my eye saw Tommy shrink in his seat with a half indignant, half deflated expression on his face.
I tried not to think about what Vince being carted away meant for him, but the image of his dead eyes was emblazoned in my mind. Should I have tried something else to stop them? Right about then he was on his way to a hidden facility where no one would be able to hear his screams as he was electrocuted into submission.
I exhaled loudly and looked out the window, searching for another image to occupy my mind. Unnatural shapes of buildings and parked cars flashed in the background so quickly it all became a metallic blur.
The blur slowly became more distinguishable as we slowed to a stop in front of Chase Bank. "Alright, we're here. Who's coming?" Nikki asked, still a tangible edge to his voice. I unbuckled and stood from the car, suddenly a little self-conscious at the baggy men's clothes I had on, but then again this was the 80s.
Mick got out of the car stiffly behind me, as did Tommy, though with a disconcerted expression some could interpret as sulky.
When we entered the building, which wasn't especially busy, I felt instantly out of place. The inside was painstakingly and calculatingly manicured, with colors of gray, tan, and white painting the whole lobby, and standing plants set up strategically throughout the room.
When we got into line, waiting patiently as if we weren't on the run from the government, I stepped up so I was directly beside Nikki. "Are you okay?" I breathed, not wanting the others to hear, and Nikki somehow managed to glare at me out of the corner of his eye and through his dark hair. "Vince just got kidnapped to be taken to a mental institution. I was pistol whipped. How do you think I am?"
"Sorry for asking." I muttered back half-seriously. We really were in a predicament, and Nikki was honestly acting no worse than I'd have expected him to. For a split second I wondered why I would ever have been attracted to such a jerk. The voice of justification that I firmly believed resided in most of the female population told me that it was the little boy hidden behind that- there was also a certain masculine vulnerability even in the way he looked.
When it was our turn, the teller, a smartly dressed, young African American woman, nodded for Nikki and the rest of us to come forward with a hint of alarm behind her eyes. I could understand that, given the way that Nikki, Tommy, and Vince looked.
"How can I help you?" She asked, staring at Nikki a little more than one normally would.
"I'd like to withdraw and close my account here." Nikki had his arms on the counter so that he was almost touching her, and was meeting her gaze with that charming little smirk of his that showed everyone he knew exactly what effect he had on girls.
"Sure, I can do that for you. What's your name- er, the name that the account is under?" She blinked at him from under long lashes, flustered.
"Nikki Sixx. Two x's in Sixx."
"Okay, great. I'll be right back with your information." She stepped away from the counter and appeared to be leafing through a sizeable stack of files. I was watching rather impatiently with a foot tapping quietly but quickly on the ground until another teller sidled up to her casually and whispered something to her. I knew immediately something was off. I met Nikki's burning gaze, and there was the same flicker of uncertainty in his eyes I was sure was in mine. Finally the girl returned, noticeably downtrodden, and pursed her lips before saying in quiet defeat, "I'm sorry. We can't help you here."
"Why?" Nikki responded just as quietly, daring her to admit the reason we all deep down knew.
"Well . . . we just can't, so I'd appreciate it if you left without any disturbance." Her voice was soft, but she was looking around seemingly fearfully.
I could see in Nikki's posture that he was in no way done with this conversation, but I touched his arm and whispered, "We just need to get out of here without being any more noticed than we already are. Come on- she's just taking orders."
When I felt Nikki relax, I nodded for Mick and Tommy to turn around and leave. We began making our way through the building, with my cheeks burning in shameful defeat and my mind racing to come up with our next step. At the door Nikki grabbed my arm to stop me. I looked up at him questioningly and he whispered gravely, "You stay in the car with them, I've got one more thing to do here. I'll be back in a minute."
"Don't do anything stupid, Nikki. We're so close to getting out."
"Just . . . wait for me, okay?"
I knew there was no changing his mind, and nodded sadly. In the few seconds between being in the bank and climbing into the car, it was difficult for me to try and compose myself- to act as if all the chaos wasn't going on. As if I wasn't afraid for my life and my idols' lives.
When I shut the car door behind me, Tommy asked with wide eyes, "Where's Nikki?"
"Just getting that girl's number." I lied with a forced grin.
"I wish I had, that chick was hot."
"Of course you two would think about girls at a time like this." Mick rolled his eyes, unsurprisingly looking as if he would rather be anywhere else than here.
True to his word, Nikki came stalking out of the bank a minute later. He slammed the door and angrily stuck the keys into the ignition, muttering under his breath.
"What happened, man? Did she say no? That'd be a first." Tommy snickered, and Nikki just stomped on the gas, vowing vehemently, "We're just gonna get out of this God-forsaken place."
We all fell silent at the state Nikki was in, and I waited a few minutes before turning up the radio so that I could whisper to Nikki, "What did you find out?"
Without breaking his gaze from the road, Nikki practically snarled, "They blackballed us. The entire Goddamn city. They own it. They own everything."
A coldness washed over me at those words, and I shut my eyes as if in pain. No matter how much I knew in my head, it didn't truly impact me until I saw it lived out with my own eyes. This was no interpretation of something someone else said- this was real, and it was scary.
"Where are you taking us?" I finally managed.
"Out of town like you said this morning. We're heading up North."
YOU ARE READING
Saving Motley Crue
Fanfiction"Dude, she's gotta be yours." "I was with a blond last night I swear." "Whatever, Tommy, she's gotta go." Despite being puzzled and slightly disgusted at what they were saying, I knew who the voices belonged to instantly, and I couldn't understa...
