Tony and Susan Read Online Free

exchange?’
    ‘Names, addresses, insurance companies.’ He felt a sharp nudge from Laura, who thought giving these thugs their name was a bad idea, but protocol is protocol, he knew no other way.
    ‘Insurance companies, hey?’ The man laughed.
    ‘You have no insurance?’
    ‘Haha.’
    ‘I’m going to report this to the police,’ Tony said. He heard the weakness in his voice.
    ‘Right, we report this to the cops, right,’ the man said.
    ‘So, we’ll go to the cops. Let’s do that,’ Tony said.
    ‘Great idea, man. What do we do, go together? What’s to keep you from running away? It was your fuckin fault, right?’
    ‘We’ll see about that!’ Laura said.
    ‘Hey Ray,’ one of the men in front said. ‘This guy’s got a flat tire.’
    ‘Aw come on,’ Tony said.
    Ray went around to see. The men started to laugh. ‘Well what do you know?’ ‘Well sure thing.’ Someone kicked the tire, they could feel the jolt in the car.
    ‘Don’t believe it,’ Helen said from behind.
    The three men came back to the driver’s window. One of them had a black beard and looked like a movie bandit. The other had a round face and wore silver rimmed glasses.
    ‘Yes sir,’ Ray said. ‘Your right front tire is flat, sure is.’
    ‘Flat as a pancake,’ the man with the movie beard said.
    ‘It sure is flat,’ Ray said. ‘You must have busted it when you was shoving us off the road.’ Someone cackled.
    ‘It wasn’t I, it was you who –’
    ‘Hush up,’ Laura said.
    ‘Don’t believe them Daddy, don’t believe them, it’s a lie, it’s a trick.’
    ‘What’s that?’ Ray said, sharper than before. ‘You don’t believe me? You think I’m a liar? Shit, man.’
    He waved the other guys back. ‘You don’t got a flat, go on and drive. Start the engine and drive. Drive on it, damn you, drive away. Nobody’s stopping you.’
    Tony hesitated. He realized what the vibration had meant and the jiggling of the steering wheel when he was forced to stop after the second collision. He leaned back in his seat and murmured, ‘God damn!’
    ‘Tell you what,’ Ray said. ‘We’ll fix it for you.’ He looked around. ‘Won’t we, guys?’
    ‘Ya, sure,’ one said.
    ‘To show you we’re okay, we’ll fix it for you, you won’thave to do a thing. Then we can go to the cops together, you and me, report our accident.’
    In a low voice Helen said, ‘Don’t believe them.’
    ‘You got tire tools, mister?’ the man with the beard said.
    ‘Don’t get out of the car,’ Laura said.
    ‘No need,’ Ray said. ‘Use ours. Come on, let’s get moving.’
    The three men went to the trunk of their car while Tony and his wife and daughter watched with their doors locked, watched while the men brought out their tools, the jack, the tire iron.
    ‘You got a spare tire?’ the man with the glasses said. The men started to laugh, except Ray. ‘You can’t change a tire without a spare.’ Ray was not laughing. He was not grinning. He looked in the window and didn’t say anything. Then he said, ‘You wanna give me the keys to the trunk?’
    ‘Don’t do it!’ Helen said.
    The man looked at her a long time, staring.
    ‘Who the fuck do you think you are?’ he said.
    Tony Hastings sighed and opened the door. ‘I’ll open it for you,’ he said. He heard Helen moan in the back, ‘Daddy.’
    And Laura saying softly, ‘It’s all right, just be calm.’
    He got out and opened the trunk and lifted out the suitcases and boxes in the light of the flashlight held by the man with the beard, until they could get at the spare tire. He watched the two men get it out while Ray stood by. They put the jack under the front wheel, and the man with the beard said, ‘Get them women outa the car.’
    ‘Come on,’ Ray said. ‘Get them out.’
    ‘It isn’t necessary, is it?’ Tony Hastings said.
    ‘Get em out. We’re fixin your tire so get em out.’
    Tony looked in at his wife and daughter. ‘It’s all right,’ he said.