Page 1 of Cannon

Chapter 1

*~* Cannon *~*

Walking into the mechanic's shop, I find Smoker in his office, which is unusual. He’s normally under a vehicle’s hood or has a vehicle on one of the hydraulic ramps, so he can get to something or other. Seeing he’s concentrating on his computer monitor, I quietly look over his shoulder. When he suddenly bursts out laughing, I jump a damn mile.

“Jesus Christ, Smoker. You nearly gave me a heart attack.” I hold a hand over my chest as emphasis.

“Serves you right for being nosy. You should have knocked,” Smoker chuckles.

“What’s got you all excited, anyway?” I ask him, still trying to see what he was laughing at.

“Well, I always thought those YouTube videos of dumbass customers with their vehicle repair requests were staged, but since opening the shop I know how dumb some people can actually be. I’ve had one in this morning because the car won’t start after they stopped for a coffee on the way to their work. We had to recover it from town. I just tried to start it and it has no fuel. The warning light is on and everything. There are no words sometimes.” Smoker shakes his head in amazement.

“I don’t think there’s anything in this world that can surprise me any more, brother. It’s not like when we were kids and everyone had at least some common sense.” I shake my head as I watch the next clip on his monitor. Someone has taken a vehicle into a tire shop because a tire has gone flat, but when the camera pans closer, literally half the alloy wheel rim is missing. “Anyway, what did you want me to take a look at? It’s not like you to want a second opinion on something.”

“A second opinion was just an excuse to get you here, but I wanted you to see something. I have a customer who has fallen on some hard times with his finances, and he’s got something that he asked if I was interested in. It’s out back. Come and cast your eyes over it.”

Walking through the workshop, I wonder what he thinks I could possibly be interested in seeing. Since I got my hog, I haven’t been remotely interested in any other vehicles. My bike is my everything. Going from the workshop into the sunshine makes me blink several times, and when my sight is back to normal, I can’t quite see what the excitement is all about.

“Well? What do you think?” Smoker looks at me as though I should be jumping up and down with excitement.

“It’s a pickup truck,” I say dumbly.

“No shit, Sherlock! But it’s not just any old pickup truck, is it?” He persists.

“No. It’s a black pickup truck. An old black pickup truck.” I emphasize the old because it sure doesn’t look like the newer types on the road these days.

“You can be such a dumbass at times, Cannon. It’s an F150, Harley Davidson Special Edition. She’s a beauty, too. The guy has had her from new and done all sorts of extra little touches to her. She was originally only rear-wheel drive, but he’s put a modern gearbox in so she can be two or four-wheel drive, and she has high and low ratios, too. Go and look at her properly. She has your name all over her.”

Having had my interest piqued by the mention of Harley Davidson, I give in and take a closer look. I can’t see a blemish anywhere on her paint job, and I see she has some nice pinstriping going on with some fancy little filigrees here and there. Nothing too gaudy, just nice little highlights. There’s a roll-top cover over the back so I can’t see what the truck bed is like. I raise my eyebrows at Smoker, and he responds with a huge grin.

“Under there is a ramp and clamp system to hold a bike in transport. You could go on a road trip for as long as you like and never get tired of riding your hog.” Smoker wiggles his eyebrows, as he knows I’ve not been on a road trip in years.

“You should have started a sales business rather than mechanics, you know that?”

“Ha. You’re just an easy target for a sale like this. Come on, man. It has your name all over it. I thought so when he used to bring it in for odd jobs, but when he said he was thinking of parting with it? I thought it has to go to you. I don’t see anyone else giving it the love it deserves.”

“Let me think about it,” I say while opening the driver's door and slipping into the seat.

“What is there to think about? If he puts it out there for sale, it will be gone in an instant. You don’t have time to think when something like this comes on the market. You either say now, or you lose the chance of a lifetime. I thought you’d snap his hand off for this beauty. If you don’t buy her, I will.” Smoker shakes his head at me and I can see the disbelief in his eyes.

“She is a beauty, Smoker, but…”

“Fuck you, Cannon. If there’s a but then I’ll have her myself. You total numbskull.” Smoker turns to walk back into the workshop.

“I’ll take her. Tell him I’ll take her. Wait. How much am I paying?”

“Leave that to me. I’ll do a deal that gets him out of his financial hole but doesn’t put you in one.”

Smoker damn near skips back to his office and I walk around my new toy a few more times. Each time I find something else I hadn’t noticed before, and I am definitely falling in love with this truck.

Back at the clubhouse, Whack calls me into his office as soon as I walk inside. I used to wonder how he knew when someone turned up until I overheard one of the prospects call him from the gate.

“Well?” he asks.

“Well what?” I respond as I take a seat.

“Don’t be an ass. Did you buy it?”