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“Hey Clarence, can I ask you a question?” Cooper Madison asked the owner of CW Security Solutions as he rode in the back seat of the Escalade next to Cara, who was grinning ear to ear.
“Of course,” Clarence responded.
“Who’s paying you for your services today?”
“That would be you, Mr. Madison.”
“But, you won’t tell me where we are going?”
“No, sir… Cara told me I’m not allowed to.”
“Is Cara paying you, Clarence?”
“No sir, you are,” Clarence deadpanned with a smile.
“Then why won’t you tell me where we are going?” Coop begged.
“Well, sir, you hired me to protect Miss Cara Knox at all costs… And she told me that she had a secret to protect, so I guess I am just following orders…”
Cara broke out in laughter in the seat next to Coop, who threw his hands up in surrender.
“This is ridiculous, y’all!” he sighed.
“Don’t worry, we will be there soon enough,” Cara reassured.
“Not even a hint?” Coop pleaded.
“Man, you really are a control freak, aren’t you?”
“Only on days that end in the letter ‘Y’...” Coop replied.
“Now I wish I would’ve picked somewhere further away. We’ve only been in the car for twenty minutes you big baby!”
“How much longer?” Coop asked.
“Just a few more minutes. Relax,” Cara said as she held his hand with her left hand and patted the top of his shoulder with her right.
Clarence exited the freeway and turned onto Route 17, which stretches just over twenty miles and runs east-west from North Olmsted to Bedford Heights. It’s such a long stretch of road that it actually goes by three different names depending which part of the route you are on. From east to west it takes on the names Libby Road, Granger Road, and then finally Brookpark Road, which is where Clarence’s Escalade was heading near the airport.
This particular stretch of Brookpark Road, which is home to numerous strip clubs and abandoned buildings, would best be described as seedy. Some of the motels near the strip clubs actually had hourly rates for prostitutes and their clients to use. Drugs were rampant and readily available up and down Brookpark Road, along with the violence that typically accompanies the sale of those drugs.
“Are you taking me to a strip club?” Coop jokingly asked Cara as they drove past one of the many “Gentlemen’s Clubs” on Route 17.
“Don’t you think it’s a little early for you to meet my coworkers?” Cara deadpanned without missing a beat.
“Well, that explains all the glitter…” Coop replied, not to be outdone.
Clarence just shook his head and laughed in the front seat as he listened to the young couple trading barbs.
The Escalade continued down Brookpark Road, and the further west it went, the nicer the scenery became. Aside from a few rundown and possibly vacant motels, most of the buildings they began to see belonged to industrial companies that boasted large steel warehouses.
Clarence turned into a parking lot just past one of those industrial buildings and a rundown motel. At the entrance to the parking lot was a large neon sign that read “Amazing Adventure Park - Indoor Go Karts, Laser Tag, and Arcade”.
“Indoor go karts? Sweet!” Coop declared.
At the end of the large parking lot stood a large steel building with a steeply pitched roof and another giant sign on the front. The sign was an exact replica of the one at the entrance to the parking lot, except below this sign was a white vinyl banner that read, “Going Out of Business - Last Day - September 15th” in huge red letters.
