It's Wednesday morning at 3:00 am - the manager of a local convenience store is showing a new kid, Josh, the ropes. The manager, Steve, age 45, has been the store's manager for about 10 years. He's proven himself to be a loyal employee, a real go-to guy. His wife and son were killed in a horrible car accident several years ago. With nothing else in his life, he's devoted himself to this shop. Josh is 18 years old, a recent high school graduate having been awarded a 4-year martial arts scholarship for college. All expenses paid, including room and board, Josh has nothing but the best to look forward to. Steve looks upon him with admiration as Josh reminds him of the son he'd lost, and who would've been his age, had he lived.
Another customer comes and goes. Just then, a young man walks into the shop and starts looking around. Dressed all in black, he looks suspicious to Josh, who alerts Steve to watch out for him, but Steve doesn't pay much attention. BUT - after the customer leaves, the young man instantly heads for the doors, locking them from the inside and brandishes a semi-automatic pistol, shooting up some of the shelves and some of the refigerator doors.
"HOLY SHIT!" screams Josh as he and Steve hit the deck behind the counter. The robber proceeds to shoot out all the light fixtures, some shards of glass and electric sparks land on the tormented twosome. Both guys are wearing short-sleeve shirts and their arms are nicked with the shards and sparks as they put their arms over their heads in a defensive stance. When all the lights are out, the robber makes his next move.
"All right, guys - get up with your hands in the air!"
Steve hands the criminal every cent in the store. The robber, not satisfied with merely getting what he came in for, aims the gun at the two and sneers, "say cheese". With that, the captives go down screaming in a hail of bullets.
The convenience store robber flees the scene, or at least makes an attempt. Ace and Rick throw a smoke bomb at his feet in an attempt to subdue him, but he makes his escape with the tight-tee-shirted twosome hot on his heels.
"He's runnin' toward the alley! Let's get him!", yells Rick.
The duo speed down the alley after him.
"I don't believe it! He's running faster than I can drive!", grunts Ace in frustration.
The bad guy turns momentarily, brandishing a weapon, taking aim and shooting as Rick yells "Holy Saturday Night Special, ACE! Watch OUT!"
The bullets ricochet off the top of the car, one piece of shrapnel chipping off a piece of the left side mirror. Our heroes flinch with the sound of each shot, every "zip", every "ping". Ace ducks behind the steering wheel, Rick ducks behind the front seat, gritting his teeth and muttering, "god-DAMMIT!" One bullet flies right through the windshield, narrowly missing the two. Then they get a break as the shooter makes it outside the alley, only to be knocked over by a passing car. He hits the ground, the heroes taking action. The driver of the other car screeches to a halt, gets out and is visibly shaken.
"Oh, my God, I can't believe I hit somebody!", he cries! As the bad guy tries to get back on his feet, he's instantly knocked down as Rick leaps right toward him, tackling him.
Ace and Rick subdue the guy, cuffing him from behind as Rick yanks him up and drags him to the back of the cab. No mercy reserved for this one. With the felon in tow, Ace walks over to comfort the shaken motorist.
"You. Save your tears for someone more deserving."
"What are you talking about? He's a human being."
"No - he committed armed robbery with intent to kill, he's a gun-toting son of a bitch, he's a bad guy", Ace grunts each phrase in rapid succession.
"Isn't that a little...harsh? The man is in pain, he's been injured."
"I was shot by a wiseguy, my partner was shot and captured by his own boss, and strung up in such a way that aggravated his bullet wound only adding to his torment. This piece of crap wasn't worth the bottle of booze his parents got drunk on in the back seat - I can only guess they were too broke to get an abortion. I feel nothing for these animals, only the victims I've made it my life's passion to avenge and protect."
Rick comes around and sees the driver upset and dismisses it with "don't give him a second thought", he points his gloved finger at the traumatized teen, "you should be glad you helped us get that dirt-bag off the streets for good."
This is slowly sinking into to the motorist - "helped you?" - Then he takes a good look at Ace and spots the cab - and then it dawns on him, "Hey! You're that Ace guy, ain't ya!"
The duo look at each other and smirk as they each take a macho stance - Ace's hands on his hips as his tee shirt sleeves billow slightly in the warm breeze, Rick folding his arms over his chest and balancing himself on his spread legs - their bare arms grazing each other as they stand side-by-side. The motorist is starting to go ga-ga at this point.
Rick also adds, "there's no damage to your front end - thanks to you, this guy's gonna get more than his just desserts - you can take that to the bank!"
Ace grits his teeth and wrings his hands, "We're done here, Rick - let's drag that dope to the nearest cop shop. And you - enjoy the rest of your night."
The muscled mercenaries speed off as the disbelieving driver is still in shock. He waves, "uh..thanks... you, too". He can't stop staring at the trotting tee-shirted twosome make their way. He sighs, "damn, those guys are hot!" and breathes a heavy sigh.
Ace and Rick drive off with the bad guy in tow, trapped in the back seat. The shackled shooter demands to know where these two guys are taking him.
"Where the hell do you think! You're gonna get put away somewhere you'll never hurt anyone again!"
The prisoner gets agitated and starts mouthing off, "aw, MAN! I know what you're doin' now! Any excuse to lock a brother up just because he's black. You'd slap a white guy on the wrist and say "musn't steal" and send him on his way, but NOT with a BLACK MAN!"
Rick turns around and punches the guy right in the mouth and grabs him by the shirt collar, "you shut the fuck up! I'm sick to death of hearing about it! Does having dark skin give you the right to rob with intent to kill? I'd like to see that Constitutional Amendment!"
Ace mutters, "Rick - donut!" as Rick braces himself. Ace puts pedal to the metal as he spins the car around a few times, knocking the cuffed criminal all over the back seat, then slamming on the brakes, knocking the prisoner forward. They get to the nearest police station. Rick grabs the guy's hands with one hand and the back of his head with the other.
"All right - all right I'm reporting you to your cab company."
Rick kicks the guy in the ass, "we don't really work for a cab company, stupid!"
"Then you guys are undercovers - man, I'm gonna call the chief and complain!"
"And we're not cops, either!"
"Who the fuck are you, then?"
Rick snarls, "We're just sick to death of shitheads like you terrorizing innocent people!"
Ace adds, "Yeah - nice going, bringing a loaded weapon into a convenience store, then shooting at us - bullets really piss us off!"
"I ain't done nothin' - you guys ain't got no proof!"
"Check out the meter on the dash", says Rick, "it's called a Cab-Cam!" as he repeatedly slaps the back of his head.
Ace adds, "not to mention the security video back at the shop. You're goin' down, my friend, DOWN!"
Rick snickers, "But the question is - ON WHOM?"
Ace grins, "yeah - you better give that mouth of yours a rest, sweetheart - it's gonna get quite a work-out where you're goin'!"
The duo speed off to the police station with their prisoner in tow. However, Ace stops back at the scene of the crime.
"Rick, I gotta let you off here. Stay with the victims and get 'em some help. I'll come back and getcha when I take care of this piece of crap."
"Roger!"
Rick goes into the shop and looks for the shooting victims, who are lying behind the counter, moaning and sobbing. First one he sees is the manager, grimacing in pain as he tries to move. He becomes frightened at the sight of Rick, clad in tee-shirt and jeans with sunglasses, thinking it's a looting or another robbery. Rick senses this and assures him.
"Please don't worry - my partner and I got the guy that did this to you and he's on his way to jail. I'm gonna get you guys help. How badly were ya shot up?"
"He got me a couple of times. Point-blank. I got a vest on underneath."
Rick lifts the guy's shirt up and sees a bullet-proof vest - it stopped a couple of bullets from penetrating, but a couple of more bullets made it in - one was lodged in the guy's collar bone. Both arms were hit and his temple was grazed.
"When he started shooting, we were standing with our hands up. I held my arms up to protect my chest. Why did he do it? We did everything he told us."
"With these maniacs, who really knows - but he's getting locked up so the whole story's gonna come out."
"Better look at the kid. He's really got it bad."
"Sure thing. Don't try to move til help arrives. Ya don't wanna aggravate your wounds."
Rick moves over to see about Josh, who's beside himself in agony. Rick's heart breaks at the sight of his face, not because of his youth, not because his face is contorted in pain.
"Holy geez", he thinks to himself, "I know this kid".
Josh looks up at Rick and cries, "We're gonna die, aren't we?"
"No, Josh - you're not - not if I can help it"
Josh hears the sound of Rick's voice and looks at him - he thinks he recognizes him.
"Tim. You became a cop? What're ya doin' with shades on? It's the middle of the night."
Trying to avoid blowing his cover, Rick tries to avoid the question.
"Uh, no - no, my names' not Tim - it's Rick."
"How'd you know my name, then? You are Tim. You were on the Karate team back in high school."
Tim lets out a sigh of resignation, "look, don't tell my partner I did this".
He shuts off the electric charge holding his glasses on, and takes them off, revealing his true identity and his pain-stricken eyes.
"Don't talk - listen. You're shot up real bad, you need your strength. I know how much pain the both of you are in. Some bad guys shot me during a robbery, too. Wait - hold up a sec."
He dials 911 and calls for an ambulance.
"We got an armed robbery - convenience store on Rte 6 - just off the highway. Two guys shot, multiple wounds."
"Please don't cry Josh. You're gonna be okay. I'm stayin' with you guys til help arrives."
Tim reaches down and tenderly wipes the boy's tears from his eyes with his gloved fingers. The warm smooth leather glove is soothing to the boy, who is now smiling.
"Thank God you showed up", Josh whispers. Tim wipes away a couple of more tears as the boy smiles up at him, still panting to catch his breath - then his eyes grow cold as the smile fades from his face - the panting stops. His arms, clutching his wounds, grow limp and fall.
Tim begins to tremble and starts hyperventilating, whispering, "oh my God - my God." The manager asks what the problem is. Tim looks at him and swallows hard.
"Josh is dead."
The manager sits up and shouts, "WHAT? Where the FUCK ARE THE PARAMEDICS? OW!" then falls back as he feels a stinging pain which overcomes him.
"I told ya - stay still. The bullets are shifting."
Two Paramedics, as if on cue, show up at the store. Tim yells, "Over here!" Each of them looks after each of the victims. The manager gets angry.
"Go look after the kid. He's hit worse than me."
Tim gets out of the way and lets the paramedics do their job. Meanwhile, Ace returns and checks what is now a murder scene. He then sees Tim, standing off to the side, folding and unfolding his arms back and forth, rubbing his arms as if catching a sudden chill.
Ace sees the boy's bare face and snarls, "put your mask back on." He goes back for his glasses and puts them back on his face. Ace is clearly upset. "This is not good - I gotta talk to you about this."
"He knew me, Ace. The kid knew me."
The paramedics call in a code blue and put Josh and the store manager on stretchers and bring them out to the ambulance.
Ace stands proudly, surveying the scene. Tim puts his hand on Ace's shoulder, which Ace rebuffs. "I wouldn't do that now if I were you." He starts walking back to the cab. Tim just stands there. Ace turns around and calls out to him, "what the hell are ya standin' there for? Come on, let's move it."
During the drive back to their hideout, not a word is said between the two. Tim mostly looks out the window, occasionally looking at Ace, then back out the window. The guys make it back to their hideout. Tim has it in his mind that this is the end of the line for him. They get out of the cab and Tim starts walking away.
Ace calls out, "hey get back here - talk to me about why you revealed yourself!"
"The kid who got killed tonight - he recognized me - kept callin' me Tim - he thought I became a cop after I got outta school."
"You knew each other?"
"Yeah, I was a couple of years ahead of him - we were on a martial arts team. I guess he remembered what I looked and sounded like, and...he asked me why I was wearin' shades - 'cuz it was the middle of the night. I couldn't lie to the kid, Ace. He was my friend."
"Did you and the kid...?"
"Stole a couple of kisses, yeah. But I put a stop to it for his own good. I didn't wanna take a chance on him gettin' in trouble or anything. He had his parents to think about, not to mention the coach and the other guys. I was older and didn't wanna be responsible if anything went down."
"Did you love him?"
Tim nods. "Yeah - then. Back then - yeah. That's why I backed off. I was a senior and was about to graduate, but he was still gonna be there for a while. I was hopin' he'd forget about me."
Ace switches off the power on his belt buckle unlocking his sunglasses and he removes them. Rick follows suit. Ace approaches him and puts his arm around the boy's shoulders.
"Sounds like you did the right thing. Look, Im sorry I jumped on you like that. You didn't witness the mob hit - I did. They wouldn't know you from Adam, but I just got paranoid. Until that entire mob is brought down, they're gonna try to bring me down. There's still a hit on me - or at least, Rodney Campbell, anyway."
Tim fondles Ace's shoulder and whispers, "hey, it's okay. It's really okay. Hey, you know what? I'm glad you sent me back there. It felt really good coming to someone's rescue...or, at least trying to - I just wish the outcome was different. I - - "
Tim starts trembling and his shoulders are heaving. He raises a trembling hand up to his face, "I wanna kill this guy - I wanna KILL him!"
As Tim loses his composure and begins sobbing, Ace takes the boy into his arms to comfort him. Tim sobs into Ace's chest as he strokes the back of the boy's head while he punches Ace's chest, then the fist gives way to an open hand, with which he hangs on to his mentor.
"We'll get him. He doesn't stand a chance against you and me." Ace continues to console Rick when a thought occurs to him. He chuckles lightly.
"Ya know - seein' a kid all shot up and bloody like that - kinda reminds me of the night Mike found me."
Rick pops his head up and says, "the night you were almost killed".
"Yeah. I was pretty lucky then - seein' that kid makes me wonder why some guys get to walk away, but others don't."
Rick realized he never knew exactly what happened then. He says to Ace, "that's one thing I've always wondered about. You never did go into details with me about that -so I'd like to know. What happened, exactly?"
The cool satisfied assuring smile disappeared from Ace's lips as his eyes soften at the memory of it.
"That night - it wasn't a good one all around - business was slow - I couldn't wait to get off the clock. I was bored - I knew something better was waiting for me out there, but I didn't know what. I remember thinking "God, give me a sign that there's something else besides this, would ya". Then that guy gets in - I drop him off then he gets shot up, then I get shot up tryin' to protect him - it was only a few minutes til Mike came around, but between all that, I was hurtin' all over. I started cryin' as I was lyin' there - not from gettin' shot, but just thinking that I'm a young guy - a young gay guy, out of place - a real misfit. I didn't have any close friends aside from gettin' along pretty good with some of the guys at the garage - they were all right, but if they knew who I really was...Anyway, my eyes were getting heavier, I knew I was gonna die - and without a cent to my name, no family, friends, no one."
Ace starts swallowing hard, his voice slightly breaking - at the memory of it all. "...and having to...hide out like this - I hate this sometimes - I feel really cut off! This isn't fair to you - forcing you to live like I do! Sometimes I think you'd be better off just turning me in - there's still a reward out there."
"What - you mean trade you in for blood money - are you insane? Look, dammit - you're not forcing me to do anything. I'm here with you 'cuz I wanna be. This is the best my life's ever been - everything's great about it - the laughs, the sex, the crimefighting, people creaming themselves when they look at us - that kid with the car, he was goin' nuts for fuck's sake - and you're not cut off, ya got me, Mike and Eddie. And I'll tell ya something - to have all of this, all I gotta do is wear a pair of shades and go by another name, then so what! My life was boring, then it turned to real shit - I mean, shot by my own boss just 'cuz I was stoppin' a robbery - hello.I didn't fit in anywhere either. You know, I love men and all, but this stupid community of ours can make ya nuts - we either got these anorexic twinks or we got some pervoes with some real issues, let me tell you!"
Ace laughs and Rick sees this and smiles. "Good - that's how I like to see my guy. God, you're gorgeous when you smile. You're smart, you're funny, you got a real sense of right and wrong and you do something about it - and out of any guy out there, ya chose me to ride with you. I can't tell you what a gift that is."