Terrible Friend

Chapter 18

Albert swung the pipe up over his shoulder and took a few steps toward the vehicles. When the back doors and then the front doors opened, he changed his grip on the pipe. He was about to be facing off with at least 4 individuals. He chose a batter's stance, with the pipe at the ready.

He didn't recognize any of the people that stepped out of the vehicle. None of them were bald or wearing black cloaks. In fact, one of them was a woman. He only had a second to think about whether or not he could actually hit her. When it crossed his mind that if it came down to him or her, he would be the one walking away. He closed his eyes and waited for them to approach.

"What the hell man?! Why did you just stop in the middle of the road like that? You could have killed somebody." The driver of the vehicle yelled as he approached Albert.

Albert opened his eyes, confused by the question. He expected them to come out swinging, not questioning. He dropped the batter's stance but held on to the pipe tightly. Ready to swing at a second's notice. They didn't seem threatening at the moment, but after the day he's had, he wasn't going to take a chance.

Jax is going crazy and freaking out through all of this, adding fuel to the panic fire.

"Why were you following me? What do you want?" Albert growled.

"Following you?" The passenger in the front seat spoke. We missed our turn and only saw it because you took it. We live at that complex down there."

They were not at all what Albert was expecting. Something wasn't right. They were college kids, much younger than the man he had tied up and assaulted earlier and they looked more scared than he was. He wasn't about to drop the pipe until he was sure he was not in danger, though.

He looked at the car and then back at the kids. None of them seemed to be hurt. He had to be sure though. "Are any of you hurt? Is there anyone else in the car?"

The young woman piped up this time. "No, just us. I think we are all okay. Are you okay?" She started walking toward him. The guys all filed in around her. None of them appeared to be holding weapons, but something about them made him very uneasy. Jax isn't helping quell the situation.

He had been so determined to get answers out of them when he stopped but now he was so unsure. He had never been so unsure of things in his life. This was not how he wanted to spend the rest of his life. He looked at the group of young people approaching him. He had no idea what to expect, but he closed his eyes and sucked in a breath.

The world seemed to shake around him. Suddenly, he saw the young woman take off at a sprint, straight at him. She leapt into the air and nailed him in the face with her knee. Knocking him backward. He quickly righted himself and caught her in the air. He slammed her down on the ground, hard. He looked up again and the driver was quickly approaching him. He lifted the pipe and swung it at the young man's head. He caught him solidly in the jaw. The young man flew back and landed on the ground with a solid thud.

The third and fourth passengers approached him more slowly from each side. He waited for them to charge and then grabbed each of them by their shirts and stepped backward. The momentum of their movement slammed them into each other. The crunching sound of their faces colliding let Albert know that his move had done some damage. He let go of both of them and watched them both fall to the ground in a heap.

He opened his eyes and the world shook again. Just in time to see the young woman sprinting toward him He ducked to the right as she leapt into the air, her knee aimed right for him. He caught her in the air and slammed her to the ground. He heard her breath escape her. He stared at her for a long moment, waiting for her to get up. She sucked in a long breath and rolled to her side, coughing.

Albert stood up. He didn't want to kill any of them. He hadn't had enough of a glimpse to see how he got out of this yet, but if it meant that he had to, then he guessed he would. The sake of the whole world was riding on it. He didn't have much time to think before the driver was on the attack. Albert readied the pipe and swung it at his knee. The young man's legs knocked cleanly out from under him mid stride. He fell to the ground. Grasping his leg with both hands he fell on his back with his leg in the air. He screamed in agony.

As the last two passengers approached him, he waited. Instead of grabbing their shirts he waited for them to make contact. He grabbed their heads and pulled them into him. When they were tucked neatly under his arms, he fell to the ground. He knew if he didn't really disable them he would be here fighting longer than he had any desire to.

He let go of the two young men and stood up. He watched for them to get up. When they didn't, he walked over to the woman that was slowly trying to get to her feet. He grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head backward so she was looking up at him. "Who sent you and why?"

She spit in his face. He was not prepared for that. He wiped the saliva from his face as he shoved her forward and scraped her face in the gravel. He brought her face back up to meet his. "I'll ask again. Who sent you?" He was no longer afraid.

She opened her mouth to speak but her eyes were drawn to movement behind Albert. He turned and planted a solid punch in the middle of the driver. He flew backward and landed with a double thud as his ass and then his head hit the gravel and slid. Albert was done playing around.

He turned his attention back to the young woman. "Where were we? Oh, right. Who sent you?" Albert's nostrils flared and he could feel heat in his face. Fear took over the young woman's face and the name slipped past her lips in a whisper. "Kovach."

"Kovach?" Albert gently slid his fingers out of the young woman's hair and her hands flew up to her face. He stood up and reached over to pick up the pipe. He swung it back over his shoulder. He looked around at the four injured people on the ground. "Kovach?" He looked at each of their faces waiting for a response.

Each one nodded in turn. Albert shook his head. He stepped over the two passengers and checked their injuries. Both of their noses were bloody and one of them had a split lip, the other had a bruise building on his cheek. Nothing looked serious. He went to the driver and checked his knee. It might need surgery, but he would live. Albert stood up, shook his head, and walked the rest of the way to his truck. He got in, closed the door, and slammed it into reverse. He backed up slightly until the bumper of the black car lifted off his bumper. He pulled forward and waited for the car to drop to the ground. Albert threw the truck into drive and stuck his head out the window. "See if you can get Kovach's insurance to cover the damages. I will talk to him about my claim personally."

He sped off.