We get to the door and Ash tries the knob, as I’m now cradling my duffel bag, trying to make sure nothing falls out of it.
It’s locked.
“What do we do?” she asks. “Should we try the front?”
“I don’t think they’d go through all this trouble only to have the entrance facing the road,” I tell her.
“What should we do then?” she asks again.
I shrug. “I don’t know. I guess we could knock,” I tell her.
Ash tilts her head a little to one side, peering at me before turning back toward the door. She knocks.
The door opens a crack and a voice says, “What’s the password?”
Ash turns toward me, mouthing, “Password?”
“There is no password, dickhead,” I respond. “Are you going to let us in or what?”
Believe it or not, that’s the password.
The door opens the rest of the way and Big D comes into view.
“Oh hey, Ellis, glad you could make it,” he says.
“I didn’t know they tapped you for this,” I tell him. “Couldn’t find anyone better, huh?”
“That hasn’t stopped them from trying,” D says, extending a fist for a bump.
My hands are full, but Ash i
s kind enough to reciprocate the gesture for me. Big D just smiles and moves to one side.
“I’d watch that Furyk guy,” D says. “I’ve never seen him fight before, but I’ve heard the stories.”
“Is he here?” I ask as Ash and I make our way through the doorway and into the large, empty space that is the inside of the building.
“Yeah,” D says. “At least I think he was the one surrounded by people wearing shirts with his last name on the back of them.”
“How tacky,” Ash says.
D smiles big, saying, “Now I remember you. How’ve you been, girl?”
“Logan here yet?” I ask.
D’s not listening, though. He’s taken Ash’s hand and now he’s kissing the back of it like he’s James Bond or something.
“Flirt with someone else for a minute,” I tell him. “Where’s Logan?”
“He’s here somewhere,” D answers, not even acting like he’s going to look at me while he says it. “He’s pretty pissed at you, bro.”
“What?” I ask. “Why?”
“Ellis!” that booming voice comes, making my question redundant. “What the hell man? I haven’t seen you all week. I thought you weren’t going to show.”
Logan’s coming toward me. He’s not smiling.
“Seriously,” he says. “You think you can just come in here after sitting on your ass all week and take on someone like Furyk? Are you trying to throw this match?”