Close Out by Todd Strasser Page B

that Kai, at the age of fifteen, could be a bad influence on Bean, who was nineteen.
    â€œMaybe I am,” Kai said.
    â€œNo,” said Bean. “Just different. And good, if you want to know the truth. Only it’ll be a lot better once this night is over.”
    â€œI won’t argue with that,” Kai said.

Nine
    B ean pulled onto Seaside Drive and headed for Belle Harbor.
    â€œYou sure you remember the way?” he asked.
    â€œPretty much,” Kai said. “We pass 88s and make the first left after the train tracks. It’s the road with the sod farm on the left and the woods on the right.”
    â€œThat much I remember,” Bean said. “But then he made us put those bandannas over our eyes. It’s where we go after that that I’m asking about.”
    â€œI’ll let you know when we get there,” Kai said.
    Bean gnawed nervously on the side of histhumb. “Know what’s gonna happen if he catches us?”
    â€œFirst of all he’s not gonna catch us,” Kai said. “And second, even if he did, what would he do? Go to the police?”
    â€œI was thinking more along the lines of baseball bats,” Bean said.
    â€œHe doesn’t strike me as the type,” Kai said.
    Bean turned to him with a raised eyebrow. “How would you know? You have any experience with anyone who
would
strike you as the type?”
    Kai didn’t answer. There’d been some people along the way. “Associates” of his father’s, who were probably pretty handy with baseball bats and not in any way that involved a ball. Not to mention those guys with the bulges under their shirts, who hung around the warehouse in Brooklyn.
    â€œEver try to run and swing a bat at the same time?” Kai asked.
    â€œNo,” said Bean.
    â€œIt’s not easy.”
    â€œWhat if there’s no place to run?” Bean asked.
    â€œThen you duck.”
    They passed 88s. By this time of night theparking lot was almost full, and the dance club was brightly lit.
    Ahead, in the hearse’s headlights, they saw the yellow railroad crossing sign. A moment later the hearse bounced over the tracks. Bean turned left onto the narrow paved road between the sod farm and the woods. Kai closed his eyes and started to count.
    â€œWhat are you doing?” Bean asked.
    â€œShush.”
    Kai counted up to twenty-five. “There’s gonna be a right turn coming up.”
    â€œYeah, I see it,” Bean said.
    Kai opened his eyes just as Bean turned onto a dirt road that went into the woods.
    â€œWhat next?” Bean asked.
    â€œQuiet.” Kai closed his eyes and counted as they bounced down the dirt road. This time he counted to fifteen. “Left turn.”
    â€œYup, there it is,” said Bean.
    They turned left. Kai closed his eyes and counted to twenty “Okay, stop.” He opened his eyes. The dirt road was hardly wide enough for the hearse.
    â€œThis it?” Bean asked.
    â€œNot quite,” Kai said. “Where’s the flashlight?”
    â€œBehind you.”
    Kai reached behind the seat and came up with a heavy-duty flashlight—the kind that ran off a nine-volt battery. It was just what he’d hoped for. He rolled down the passengerside window and turned the flashlight on.
    â€œOkay, let’s go nice and slow.” Kai aimed the flashlight into the woods. Bean drove slowly. The dirt road was full of bumps and potholes and the hearse creaked and squeaked as it lumbered along.
    â€œYou can see why Goldilocks prefers a Jeep,” Bean said.
    A small pair of emerald green eyes glittered at them from the dark. A possum. Bean practically came to a stop to give the sluggish creature time to get out of the way.
    â€œYou’ve heard of guard dogs?” he asked. “There’s a guard possum.”
    Kai kept scanning the woods with the flashlight. “No offense, Bean, but was that supposed to be