Read Online Binder - 02 by David Vinjamuri - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: David Vinjamuri
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the bridge of his nose, breaking it. Then I knocked the inside of his elbow with mine and managed to pry his hand off of my throat.
The guy was insanely strong, but not terribly quick. I stepped behind him and tripped him as he turned to confront me. When he stumbled, I grabbed him by the elbow and the back of his collar and slammed him into the window of a Chrysler 300. It shattered and he howled madly, then bulled himself straight backwards, trying to knock me over. I got an arm around his neck and locked it in. I ducked my head down between his shoulder blades to keep him from butting me with the back of his skull.
I rode the big guy like a bronco as he yelled, struggling and staggering around the parking lot. He backed me into a car, whipped me around, even knocked me into a lamp pole, but I kept hanging on. After an eternity that probably lasted no more than ten seconds, the man went limp as he passed out. I lowered him to the ground and, seeing that the other men were still immobile, slid down against the black 20-inch rims of the Chrysler to catch my breath.
* * *
“You’ve had quite a day,” Sheriff Casto said as I held a chemical ice pack to my neck. The first police cruiser rolled into the motel lot less than two minutes after I finally got the big guy down, while I was tightening a tuff-tie I’d slid from my forearm down around his wrists. The quick response wasn’t surprising—we were within walking distance of the county courthouse, after all. The ambulance arrived a moment later and quickly sped off with the two men who’d suffered head trauma.
“Yes, sir, I have,” I replied. One of Casto’s Deputies, Mark Collins, was standing with us. He had the bearing of a professional lawman and wore a Stetson hat with his uniform.
“You took down four guys single-handed?” Collins asked.
“They were a little clumsy. Most of the damage came from them running into each other.”
“Bullshit. I’ve seen guys like you before. Which branch?”
I eyed him again. He had the look, so I didn’t dodge the question. “Army,” I admitted.
“I was Navy. Shore patrol,” he said. “What unit?”
“Fifth Special Forces.”
“Yeah, that’ll do. That’s why the couple in Room 8 back there said it looked like someone was filming a Chuck Norris movie in the parking lot.” Collins smiled.
“I can promise you that it was nothing like that. Just a little self-defense.”
“I hope we don’t see a lot of self-defense around here, then,” Casto muttered.
Me either . “Someone really doesn’t want me around, that’s for sure. What’s the deal with that one?” I looked over at the big guy, who’d just regained consciousness. Four deputies were struggling to subdue him. Even flexi-cuffed, he was shaking them off. One of the deputies pulled out a Taser.
“My money’s on Bath Salts,” Collins says.
“Bath salts?” Sheriff Casto asked.
“New drug,” Collins explained. “It has synthetic cathinones, and it’s supposed to give a high like cocaine or methamphetamine but with different side effects. Started showing up last year. It was originally imported from Asia but now they’re manufacturing it in meth labs in the hollers. Until this summer they sold it in packets labeled ‘not for human consumption,’ and it wasn’t even illegal here. But now it’s against federal law. They’re calling it the ‘Zombie drug’ because an addict chewed off some guy’s face in Miami.”
We watched a deputy Tase the giant a second time.
“He tried taking a bite out of me,” I observed while I checked my ribcage. I would have some bruises but nothing was broken.
“I don’t know whether this is happening everywhere, but the local blend is driving people crazy. We’ve seen a big spike in violence over the last few months. It’s started to hit the rave scene, so we’re finding high school kids amped up on it. When they get really worked up on Bath Salts, they don’t feel pain.” Collins nodded
The guy was insanely strong, but not terribly quick. I stepped behind him and tripped him as he turned to confront me. When he stumbled, I grabbed him by the elbow and the back of his collar and slammed him into the window of a Chrysler 300. It shattered and he howled madly, then bulled himself straight backwards, trying to knock me over. I got an arm around his neck and locked it in. I ducked my head down between his shoulder blades to keep him from butting me with the back of his skull.
I rode the big guy like a bronco as he yelled, struggling and staggering around the parking lot. He backed me into a car, whipped me around, even knocked me into a lamp pole, but I kept hanging on. After an eternity that probably lasted no more than ten seconds, the man went limp as he passed out. I lowered him to the ground and, seeing that the other men were still immobile, slid down against the black 20-inch rims of the Chrysler to catch my breath.
* * *
“You’ve had quite a day,” Sheriff Casto said as I held a chemical ice pack to my neck. The first police cruiser rolled into the motel lot less than two minutes after I finally got the big guy down, while I was tightening a tuff-tie I’d slid from my forearm down around his wrists. The quick response wasn’t surprising—we were within walking distance of the county courthouse, after all. The ambulance arrived a moment later and quickly sped off with the two men who’d suffered head trauma.
“Yes, sir, I have,” I replied. One of Casto’s Deputies, Mark Collins, was standing with us. He had the bearing of a professional lawman and wore a Stetson hat with his uniform.
“You took down four guys single-handed?” Collins asked.
“They were a little clumsy. Most of the damage came from them running into each other.”
“Bullshit. I’ve seen guys like you before. Which branch?”
I eyed him again. He had the look, so I didn’t dodge the question. “Army,” I admitted.
“I was Navy. Shore patrol,” he said. “What unit?”
“Fifth Special Forces.”
“Yeah, that’ll do. That’s why the couple in Room 8 back there said it looked like someone was filming a Chuck Norris movie in the parking lot.” Collins smiled.
“I can promise you that it was nothing like that. Just a little self-defense.”
“I hope we don’t see a lot of self-defense around here, then,” Casto muttered.
Me either . “Someone really doesn’t want me around, that’s for sure. What’s the deal with that one?” I looked over at the big guy, who’d just regained consciousness. Four deputies were struggling to subdue him. Even flexi-cuffed, he was shaking them off. One of the deputies pulled out a Taser.
“My money’s on Bath Salts,” Collins says.
“Bath salts?” Sheriff Casto asked.
“New drug,” Collins explained. “It has synthetic cathinones, and it’s supposed to give a high like cocaine or methamphetamine but with different side effects. Started showing up last year. It was originally imported from Asia but now they’re manufacturing it in meth labs in the hollers. Until this summer they sold it in packets labeled ‘not for human consumption,’ and it wasn’t even illegal here. But now it’s against federal law. They’re calling it the ‘Zombie drug’ because an addict chewed off some guy’s face in Miami.”
We watched a deputy Tase the giant a second time.
“He tried taking a bite out of me,” I observed while I checked my ribcage. I would have some bruises but nothing was broken.
“I don’t know whether this is happening everywhere, but the local blend is driving people crazy. We’ve seen a big spike in violence over the last few months. It’s started to hit the rave scene, so we’re finding high school kids amped up on it. When they get really worked up on Bath Salts, they don’t feel pain.” Collins nodded
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