Backtracker (9 page)

"
Tree bark,
"
Billy said decisively.
"
More like tree bark.
"

"
You guys
'
re nuts,
"
laughed Larry.
"
Your steaks were the best I
'
ve had in a
long
time, Billy.
"

"
Hey, how do
you
know how they tasted
?
"
Dave shot with feigned suspicion.
"
You weren
'
t eating company food on company time, were you?
"

"
I sure was,
"
Larry nodded proudly.
"
The place was so dead tonight, Billy got bored, so he put his time to good use by practicing his cooking. He whipped up some great steaks, and he couldn
'
t just throw them away, could he?
"

"
I
couldn
'
t
waste all that meat,
"
beamed Billy.

"
I figured I
'
d do Billy a favor, so I ate whatever he brought back to the dishroom. It took some doing, but I managed to eat every single steak he practiced on.
"

"
Well, gee,
"
said Dave.
"
That was mighty decent of you , Larry. Not everybody would
'
ve helped Billy out like that, y
'
know.
"

"
I believe in going that extra mile,
"
smiled Larry.
"
If one of my co
-
workers needs a helping hand, I
'
ll always be the first to volunteer.
"

"
If it hadn
'
t been for Larry,
"
continued Billy,
"
I don
'
t know what I
'
d
'
ve done. He really came through for me, man.
"

"
It was my pleasure,
"
sighed Larry, running a hand over his
crew
-
cut
.
"
That porterhouse was perfect.
It just
melted
in my mouth.
"

"
There, ya
'
see
?
"
smirked Billy.
"
All that practice was worth it! It helped me perfect my technique, so I can cook even better for the customers!
"

"
Too bad the managers don
'
t see it that way,
"
Dave said wistfully.
"
If they
'
d just get with the program, we wouldn
'
t have to sneak around behind their backs whenever we want to practice on some steaks.
"

"
Y
'
know,
"
said Larry,
"
restaurants are the same all over. Every place I
'
ve worked, people would take food when the bosses weren
'
t looking.
"

"
Why not, right
?
"
grinned Billy.
"
I mean, considering what they
pay
us, we might as well chow down once in a while. It
'
s a fringe benefit, man.
"

"
Sometimes you just have to,
"
added Dave.
"
If you
'
re working a real busy night and you don
'
t get a break, you need something to keep you going.
"

"
Just so the managers don
'
t catch you, right
?
"
said Larry.

"
Yeah, but they
'
re pushovers,
"
declared Billy.
"
If you know their routines, and you keep an eye on them, you can get away with almost anything.
"

"
You
'
ve never been caught, huh
?
"
Larry asked Billy.

"
Nope, never,
"
Billy replied nonchalantly.

"
What about you
?
"
asked Larry, turning his gaze to Dave.
"
Did you ever get caught?
"

For a moment, Dave hesitated. Though Larry seemed like a nice guy, Dave wondered if it would be wise to tell him any more about swiping food at the steakhouse. For one thing, it seemed dangerous to reveal damaging information to someone closer in age to a manager than an employee. For another thing, Larry had said that
he'd
known Tom Martin for years; it was possible that Larry and Martin were better friends than Larry had claimed, and whatever Larry heard might eventually get back to Martin.

After a brief deliberation, Dave finally brushed aside his suspicions. Chiding himself for worrying too much, he answered Larry
'
s question with a shake of his head.

"
You
'
ve never been caught either, huh
?
"
said Larry.

"
Not yet,
"
affirmed Dave.

"
So what do you guys like most then
?
"
quizzed Larry, leaning back in his chair.
"
What
'
s the best thing for a snack at Wild West?
"

"
Sirloin tips,
"
announced Billy.
"
They
'
re easiest to sneak. You throw a bunch on the broiler with the regular orders, and the managers can
'
t tell you
'
re cooking anything you shouldn
'
t be. You can even pop
'
em in your mouth right there at the broiler when nobody
'
s looking.
"

"
Chicken fingers are good,
"
contributed Dave, pulling over a chair and dropping onto it.
"
Shrimp, too. Anything small is good, because it
'
s easier to hide and you can eat it quicker.
"

"
The shrimp we get is excellent,
"
nodded Billy.
"
A couple pieces of shrimp, some chocolate milk, and you
'
ve got yourself some good eatin
'
.
"

"
Chocolate milk, huh
?
"
said Larry.

"
Yeah,
"
grinned Dave.
"
There
'
s nothing like ice
-
cold chocolate milk when you
'
ve been sweating in front of a hot broiler for six hours.
"

"
They keep that back in the walk
-
in cooler, right
?
"
asked Larry.

"
Yup,
"
said Billy.
"
It
'
s perfect,
'
cause that
'
s the best place to go for a snack. You just grab one of those half
-
pint cartons off the rack and chug it right down.
"

"
Black gold,
"
chuckled Dave.
"
That
'
s what we call it at the Double
-
Doubleyoo.
"

"
Double
-
Doubleyoo
?
"
frowned Larry.

"
Wild West,
"
explained Billy.
"
You know, like there
'
s two W
'
s in
'
Wild West,
'
right? So it
'
s
'
W
-
W
'
-
Double Doubleyoo.
"

"
Brother,
"
smirked Larry.
"
You guys have nicknames for everything.
"

"
It
'
s our secret code,
"
Billy whispered loudly.
"
Don
'
t tell the managers!
"

"
Don
'
t worry,
"
grinned Larry.
"
They
'
ll have to kill me first, and that
'
d take some doing.
"

"
Black gold
!
"
Billy said in a clownish stage whisper.
"
The password is
'
Black gold
'
!
"

"
This
'
black gold
'
-
do we get it free like soda
?
"
asked Larry.

"
Nope,
"
Billy replied after swallowing some beer.
"
Soda, coffee, and iced tea are the only drinks we
'
re supposed to get free. Milk
'
s off limits, but we drink it anyway.
Everybody
drinks it.
"

"
Well, not everybody,
"
qualified Dave.
"
Just a lot of us. We
'
ve gotta
'
watch, y
'
know? We can
'
t take it
too
often, or the managers might catch on when they do inventory.
"

"
Right,
"
agreed Billy.
"
If there
'
s a lot of cartons back there, help yourself, but if there aren
'
t many, don
'
t take any. It
'
s easier for the managers to keep track if stock
'
s low, so it
'
s more likely they
'
ll notice if some disappears.
"

"
Sounds like you guys have it all figured out,
"
observed Larry.

"
Yeah, we
'
ve got a system,
"
smirked Billy.
"
We
'
ve been at it so long, we
oughtta
'
have it figured out.
"

"
So does everybody cover for everybody else
?
"
asked Larry.
"
I mean, aside from the managers, is there anybody to watch out for?
"

"
Nah,
"
negated Billy, sweeping a hand through the air.
"
It
'
s like, everybody grabs a snack sometime or other, so we
'
re all in it together. No one
'
s gonna
'
rat on you,
'
cause they know they
'
d only be ruining things for themselves.
"