Read Online Average Joe and the Extraordinaires by Belart Wright - Free Book Online Page B

white
checkered tablecloths were spread across many of the tables, and the light was
low to the point of being dim.  Fake leafy vines hung across the walls along
with the pictures of old famous Miami.  It looked like someone was trying too
hard, in all honesty.
    Beauty
opted to keep her helmet on and pushed Joe further into the restaurant.  Joe
was hesitant, still wary of people seeing his face.  Beauty didn’t seem to
care.  Joe tried his best to keep his head down, but whenever he looked up eyes
were all over him.  It felt like Beauty was parading him around on purpose for
all to see.  Joe didn’t like it.  A few men’s stares had lingered way too long.
    Now
Beauty was pushing him westwards towards a bunch of noise.  Directly ahead of
him was a table around which were seated eight people.  The men in black suits
here were either drinking, smoking, laughing, or doing all three in intervals. 
A man in a brown suit and black tie with a yellow smiley on it did most of the
talking or joke telling from what Joe could tell.  The laughter stopped when
Beauty pushed Joe in front of their table.  He bumped it and tried to recover
himself.  At that point, everyone’s stares were on him.  He turned around to
find Beauty, but she was already gone.  He stood perfectly still, like a deer
caught in the headlights.
    He stared
at the men’s black suits and was reminded of the stadium.  He could swear that
he recognized a few of the men from before, when his life was in danger.  A lot
was similar to then, especially the knot in Joe’s stomach and the large amounts
of sweating he was doing.  A man that Joe definitely recognized from the
stadium sat directly across from where Joe stood.  His balding blonde hair and
thick red skin made him stand out easily enough, but it was the ruthlessness in
his voice and the way he barked orders that Joe remembered the most.
    Blonsky:
“Hey, hey, hey!  Watch the table, kid.  We’re having civilized adult time over
here.”
    He
eyeballed Joe and rubbed his mustache with his thumb.  He then offered Joe a
sly smile.
    Blonsky:
“You look familiar, kid.  Have we met before?”
    Joe could
feel more sweat beading on his forehead.  He didn’t back away from Blonsky’s
stare despite his own fear.  He couldn’t.  He just wasn’t taught that way.  His
mom, dad, granddad, and grand-mom had all taught him to never back away from a
stare.  A man is only as good as his handshake, if he can look another man in
the eye without flinching, his granddad had always said.  It was somewhat of a
family motto.
    Joe:
“No.  I don’t believe so.”
    Blonsky:
“Well I beg to differ, kiddo.  Cuz, you see, I’m good with faces, and your face
is kicking my memory into overdrive.”
    Beauty
was nowhere in sight, and Joe had no idea as to what he should say or do right
now.
    Joe:
“Sorry, but I’m not sure why.”
    Blonsky:
“Because I’ve seen you before, eggs-for-brains.  The question is where.”
    Joe
remembered his clear view of Blonsky through the locker slits, but there was no
way this man had seen him.  A woman spoke up.
    Woman:
“That’s because he’s a national celebrity, Steve.  His face is all over the
T.V.”
    Blonsky:
“Hehe, I know who this kid is.  I’m just bustin’ his chops a bit.  Ain’t that
right, kiddo?  Don’t answer that, it was a rhetorical question.  Of course it’s
right, cuz I said it.”
    He took a
swig of his drink.  It looked red and dark.  Most likely wine … or blood.
    Blonsky:
“Now Joe Remington Black, what brings you to my establishment?  Come to turn
yourself in?”
    Joe:
“You’re with the police?”
    Blonsky
let out a snort and laughed.
    Blonsky:
“Man, kid, you really crack me up.  Do I look like the police?”
    Joe
looked ready to respond, but Blonsky lifted a finger to stop him.
    Blonsky:
“Shh, shh, shh … again, that was rhetorical.”
    He
swirled the liquid in his glass around, tilted his head back, and drained