In the Company of Strangers

The baby is bleeding. Her mother was dead. Her father was dead. The baby is bleeding. The baby. The baby is bleeding!

And that's how they found him, surrounded by death; holding the child in his bloody shirt. In the pouring rain. That's how they found Randy Altrox.

Crying.

* * *

"Hey, Ted." Randy said, reading, "Listen to this. Some state cop named O'Dell rescued the daughter of a wealthy family from a kidnapper. His cruiser literally ran the bad guy's car into the ground. Small town, Beltons Landing, hey that's hear here. Didn't you grow up around here?"

Randy wasn't listening for an answer and Ted didn't give him one. That they were near his home town meant nothing. His family was worthless. Seeing a State Police car only made the memory of the night his sister was kidnaped more vivid. Ted hated O'Dell for returning his sister.

"O'Dell's mechanic is a guy named Joe G, G, G."

"Joe G, then alphabet soup ending in 'o,' " Ted said.

"Yeah. How did you know?" Randy asked.

"O'Dell's cruiser" Ted said, "big tires, big brakes, heavy duty suspension, beefed up transmission. Joe did it all. Nothing on God's Green Earth outrun that cruiser." Ted said with undisguised pride in his voice, remembering his run-in with O'Dell. He was just 18 at the time, and he wanted to humble O'Dell. Wanted a car O'Dell couldn't catch, and got his hands on one; or thought he did. It was O'Dell who pulled him from the wreck, took him to the hospital, and drove him home. The last words O'Dell said were, "I'll be here at 8 A.M. to pick you up. Don't make me come looking for you, boy." It was the look in his eye that did it. Ted did not want this man looking for him.

He was ready at eight.

By 8:15 Ted had a cup of coffee, and a job at Joe G's garage. For two weeks O'Dell drove him to work every morning. Home every night.

With Ted's first pay check came a savings account with twenty-five dollars in it from Joe and O'Dell. It was the first money he had ever earned and the first true gift he'd ever received. Ted never forgot what O'Dell and Joe did for him. He wanted to thank them, but they just said to pass the favor along. Ted never forgot those words; and never forgot the debt.

"There aren't many mechanics like Joe, you should hear him talk about engines. Jim talks like that," Ted changed the subject before any other questions were asked, pointing with his thumb toward the back seat where their mechanic, Jim Tanner, slept.

"What?" Randy said.

"Look, lots of guys adjust engines to specs, but have no real understanding of the underlying theory, the thermodynamics, that make it go. Joe knows theory. So does Jim. That's why I choose him. And for similar reasons, why I chose you."

"Thank you. I appreciate that, quite lovely really, but how do you know? It's not in here." Randy said, holding up the magazine.

"Just a lucky guess. I guess." Ted was all attention.

"On the left!" Randy yelled.

A windmilling car tore into the left side of their truck and was gone. Ted brought their truck to a stop in front what had become a tangle of wrecked cars and trucks.

"You okay, Ted?"

"Fine. How's Jim."

"Jimmy. You okay?"

"What? Yeah, yeah, what happened?"

"Pass me the trauma kit." Randy said.

"What?"