Richard Stephenson - Collapse

Chad had his chest stuck out and was staring Richard down, ready to take him on if he had to. However, his bravado was quickly squashed when he saw Tank.

“Fuck you want?”

“Well, Chad, we need to have a little talk.”

“How the fuck you know my name?”

“Well, we have a lot in common, you see. You’re dating my ex-wife.”

“No shit, you’re Bryan?”

“No, I’m her first husband.”

“Bullshit! That guy’s dead.”

“I look dead to you?”

“No, you look like a lying sack of shit to me.”

“Listen here, sport, I couldn’t care less if you believe me or not. What’s important for you to know is I’m here to take my kids.”

“Is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“Fuck off, man. They ain’t your kids. I don’t know what kind of bullshit scam you’re trying to pull, but it’s not going to work. I’ve made a lot of friends here, and they ain’t gonna let you do a fucking thing.”

“Monique ever tell you about her first husband?”

“Yeah, she told me everything.”

“Well, most of it’s probably untrue, given the fact that she told you I was dead. I’m curious — where is Monique? You bring her along?”

“I’m getting tired of listening to you, man. Fuck off.” Chad started to walk away, but Richard stopped him dead in his tracks.

“She’s at home strung out on heroin.” Richard watched as Chad stopped walking and turned around with a look of shock on his face. “There ya go, sport! Knew that would grab your attention. You made up some tale about her being Florence Nightingale staying behind to care for sick patients. Complete garbage, but I will give it to you, not a bad cover story.”

Richard paused to let in sink in. Chad was frantically searching for something to say and finally spoke to his father in a weak voice, “Dad, he’s lying, you know that.”

Richard saw confusion on the older man’s face. He obviously knew the kind of man his son was and doubted his story. “Chad, please tell me you didn’t do what I think you did. I thought the Good Lord had changed you. Your mother and I have prayed for your soul, and we thought you had truly found Jesus.”

“Don’t start with that shit! I’m not getting into this with you again!”

“I have had just about enough of your foul tongue. The Bible says…”

“Shut up! Go back to the RV, and let me handle this!”

“Tell this man the truth!”

“Go back to the RV, now!”

“I will, son. Your mother and I will be praying for your soul. It will break her heart when she hears about this.” The old man wiped tears from his cheeks as he looked at Richard and nodded.

“Start talking, sport. What’s the truth you need to tell me? You Monique’s dealer? Why didn’t you bring her? She cheating on you? Found a better score?”

“Fuck that bitch! I was gonna bring her along so I could sell her pussy. She’s a fucking freak in the sack, but you already know that, don’t you?”

Richard’s blood began to boil. He was ready to break this little punk’s jaw but managed to keep his cool for his children’s sake. “Listen here, sport, I’m not in the slightest bit concerned about my junkie ex-wife. The only thing that matters to me is getting my kids the hell away from you. This is what’s gonna happen. You’re gonna go back to the RV and explain to your parents that those kids are mine, and they are coming with me. No one needs to get hurt.”

“Well, that’s gonna be a problem. You can have your son. I’m tired of that little shit anyway. Only reason he’s here is he keeps my parents busy and off my back. Your daughter? Well, sorry to tell you she ain’t here.”

“You wanna run that by me again, sport? What do you mean she ain’t here? Where is she? You leave her with her mother? Because if you did, that’s a problem. She wasn’t in the house.”

“Well, two RV-Towns back we were completely out of gas. This nice couple really, really liked her. They had a little toddler that needed a big sister. So, I traded a full tank of gas for little Chrissy.”

Richard leapt forward and pinned Chad against the RV behind him. He punched him in the stomach and rammed his knee into his balls. Once he was doubled over in pain, Richard propped him back up against he RV, pinning his shoulders down. “You’re lying! Your parents…”

“My parents think the family is gonna catch up with us, thinks Chrissy is playing big sister with the little rugrat. I seriously doubt they’re even close. The dad really liked Chrissy. I mean, like really liked her a lot.”

Richard fought as hard as he could to maintain control of himself. Ever fiber of his being, every single muscle in his body was crying out to introduce this man to Oswald Jefferson deep down in the lowest bowels of hell. You need him to find Chrissy. You need him to find Chrissy. You need him to find Chrissy. He kept repeating the phrase over and over in his mind.

Richard’s self control slipped farther away as the man began to laugh at him. “You can’t kill me and you know it. Look around you, asshole. Every person here has a gun, and somebody will shoot you dead if I so much as scream. A few people have already seen us and are running to get help, so you better let me go.” Chad looked past Richard at Tank. “And keep your dog on a leash. He might be the biggest mother fucker I’ve ever see in my life, but someone empties a clip into him he’ll go down just the same.”

Richard knew the dead man walking was right. He needed to think fast or things would get out of hand in a hurry. Richard decided fear and intimidation were his only course.

“This is what I’m gonna do, sport. You ready? Here we go.”

Richard rammed his knee into Chad’s balls again and when he doubled over, Richard wrapped his arm around his neck. Richard placed the crook of his arm directly on top of the man’s voice box and flexed his bicep and forearm, cutting off the blood supply to his internal and external jugular veins. In less than ten seconds, Chad was unconscious.

“Billy, get him out of this area quick before anyone comes back. Do. Not. Kill. Him. I need him alive!” Tank picked up Chad like a rag doll and ran around the side of the RV and behind another one.

Richard needed answers and had no intention of trying to get them from Chad. He walked back to his parents’ RV and knocked on the door. The door opened and standing in front of Richard was his firstborn child. He was so focused and determined to find out what happened to his daughter that he had forgotten about his son. Richard was speechless and couldn’t take his eyes off the boy. He was thirteen years old and looked just like his father had at that age. Richard’s eyes filled with tears as he searched for some glimmer of recognition in his son’s eyes.

“Hello, Timothy.”

“Do you know me?”

“I do, yes.”

“Who are you?”

A tear spilled down Richard’s cheek, and he searched for what to say. Would his son be immediately brought back to the nursery seeing his father brutally take a man’s life in front of his very eyes? Would he scream at him in fear? Would Timothy even remember him? Had his mind built a psychological barrier around the horrible memory, protecting him from insanity? Richard had been through hell and back to get to this moment. He had no choice but to take the leap.

“Timothy, this might be hard for…”

“Where’s my boy? Where’s Chad?” The old man stepped from the back of the RV with a look of terror on his face. “Is he okay?”

“Your son is fine, sir. We need to talk. May I please come in?”

“Yes, yes, yes. Come on inside and sit down. Timmy, go in the back with Grammy so I can talk with his man. Go on now. Turn on a movie and keep her company, hurry up.”