Michael Balkind: Sudden Death

Reid chuckled. “Lead poisoning, that’s good. I can’t believe you have me laughing about the possibility of getting shot. I guess at this point, I’ll take whatever protection I can get. Actually, if I thought I could swing a club with it on, I’d wear a suit of armor,” Reid said as he put on the vest.

He swung his arms around with exaggerated movement, testing the flexibility of the vest. Grabbing a four-iron that happened to be in the corner of the room, he took his stance and swung.

Crash . The club shattered a lamp. Jay couldn’t help from bursting out in laughter. Simultaneously, Stu flew through the door with his gun drawn in a firing stance. Reid, bug-eyed, dove to the floor screaming, “It’s all right, I just broke the lamp.” After a quick assessment of the situation, Stu lowered his gun.

It took a moment for everyone to calm down, especially Jay, who had found the entire scene hilarious. Reid waited for his nerves to settle, then, after making sure he had enough room, he took a few practice swings. “This really isn’t so terrible; I can actually swing without much restriction. Now Jay, if you can get a grip, I’d like to get out of here.”

Jay took a deep breath to help stop his laughter. It worked briefly, but his face reddened with pressure until he burst out again. Slowly, he regained control of himself and the eruptions ceased. “Sorry, I just keep picturing the whole situation. I don’t know what was funnier, you breaking the lamp, or your response to Stu pointing his gun at you.”

“That’s some reaction to have over a client in terror. Glad I could make you laugh. Now get over it already,” Reid said with a grin. “I really need to get to the golf course and try this thing out.”

By 10:30, Reid was hitting balls at the range. Before leaving the hotel, he had tried on a bunch of shirts, picking the only one in the closet that hid the bulky vest. The shirt was a baggy, button-down golf shirt with a brown argyle print. It was totally out of character for Reid, and as far as he was concerned, really ugly. He didn’t even know where it had come from until Jay saw him wearing it and said, “Good, I’m glad you like the shirt. I thought you might need something nice that could hide the vest, so I bought it and had it hung in your closet yesterday. Looks pretty good. What do you think?”

Reid wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. “It’s nice, Jay, real nice. Does it hide the vest well enough? It feels pretty awkward.”

“No, you look great. It hides the vest perfectly. As they say, you’re stylin’, dude.” “Who says that?” Reid asked, frowning. “I don’t know, heard it someplace. Sounded cool when I heard it, no ?” “Can we go now?” At the club, Reid was caught up in thought as he changed into his golf shoes. The day he had been dreading was here. Totally uptight, he had to go through his regular game day regimen and try to loosen up if he wanted to win. Then he thought, Do I want to win? Is it worth the risk? Is someone really going to try to kill me if I win? Am I going to die today? Tomorrow? Reid was so caught up in thought, he didn’t notice that Buddy had walked up next to him. “You all right?” Buddy asked. “You don’t look so good.”

Reid was startled. Buddy had snapped him out of his reverie. “What did you say?” he barked.

“Take it easy, man, I only asked how you’re doing, but it’s kind of obvi ous. You want to take a walk or something?”

“No, thanks. I need to stretch and hit some balls. I’m so damn tense. I’ve got to loosen up.” He paused for a moment, then chuckled. “What are you laughing about now?” “It’s kind of funny if you think about it. I need to loosen up to win. But, if my fear keeps me from loosening up, I’ll probably lose. If I lose, I have nothing to worry about. Hell of a conundrum, huh?” Reid chuckled again.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s a little strange, but right.” Buddy gave Reid a questioning look. “So what’s it gonna be, boss? Win or lose?” “You know the answer. Let’s go kick some ass.” The vest was cumbersome but only evident if one looked very closely, and today, no one would be allowed that close. The security team was staying as tight as possible around Reid. He had to hit a few extra balls to loosen up. After his second bad shot, Stu kidded, “If you want me to go kick someone’s butt, I’d be more then happy to. That is, if you think it will help.”

Reid chuckled. “Thanks Stu, I appreciate the offer. If I can’t get it together in a minute or two, I might accept.” “Just say when…and who. If you care.” “Believe me, I could pick a few out here.” Reid nodded his head in the direction of the other players. He proceeded to hit more balls, getting better with each one.

“Aww,” Stu said as he watched. “Guess I won’t get my chance. Oh well.” “Sorry, Stu, I just needed to loosen up a little. I hate to disappoint you.” After a few more balls, Reid said, “Let’s go grab a bite. I skipped break fast, and my stomach is starting to growl.” After lunch, they headed for the practice green. “Oh great, look who’s here,” Reid said. Bobby Lee looked over at Reid and tilted his microphone toward him with a look of hope. Reid gave him an evil stare. “Wow,” Buddy mumbled, “If looks could kill…” “I’m not in the mood for him right now,” Reid growled. He dropped some balls on the green and started to putt. He missed the first two, then sunk the next four from about 10 feet. He continued to putt well from different positions all over the green.

Howard walked over to him. “Now how the heck am I supposed to beat you while you’re putting like that? You’re on fire, man.”

“You never know. There’s a big difference between the practice green and the real thing.”

“Yeah, you got that right, but I was kind of hoping that maybe, due to your circumstances, you’d be a little nervous today. You know, if I win, it would be like I was saving your life. What do you think?”

“What do I think? I think you should play golf and let them keep me alive,” he said, nodding at his protection team. “That’s what I think. C’mon, let’s go.”

Reid and Howard were playing right behind Jim Turner and Kerry Lawrence, who were third and fourth on the leader board. Turner was just teeing off when Reid and Howard walked up to the first tee. They watched him hit a short shot into the gallery lining the fairway. The crowd scattered to dodge his ball. Turner stepped away, visibly frustrated. Lawrence then hit his ball nicely, right down the center. Turner took a quick look around and locked eyes with Reid for moment. Reid winked and watched Turner grimace with rage. As Lawrence and Turner walked from the tee box, Reid said to Howard, “Maybe I should tee off now. I could put Turner out of his misery.” “No Reid, you have enough problems already. Let me do it!” After Lawrence hit his second shot, Howard was announced. Reid said, “Let’s see something good. It’s just you and me, pal.” Howard turned and held out his fist at arm’s length and Reid gave him a knuckle tap.

Howard hit a good shot and Reid followed, hitting his ball close to Howard’s. The crowd loved it. Both men tipped their hats as they walked off the tee box.

The protection team was much bigger today. Reid hadn’t noticed the additional guards until now. There was enough room inside the human ring of security for Reid, Howard and both caddies.

On the way to Reid’s ball, Buddy quietly asked, “What’s with the funky shirt?”

Reid sneered back, “Just shut up about the shirt. Another word about it and you’re fired.” Then he quietly whispered, “Here, take a look.” He unfastened a couple of buttons and opened the shirt just enough for Buddy to see the vest.