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“I’m so sorry. I over-corrected,” she said.
“Shut the fuck up! I don’t want to hear your whiney voice.” He examined the damage to his car, reacting with groans and expressions on his face, bouncing between outrage, anger, and disbelief. He was very animated in his gesturing.
“I’m sorry. I have insurance. Insurance will pay to fix it,” Briana said.
“Fix it? Are you fucking serious? How fucking stupid does someone have to be to come into my driveway and hit my car? You’ll do more than fix it, sweetheart,” he threatened. He raised his right arm, his hand in a fist.
“He’s getting physical,” Tessman transmitted. He bolted upright and ran at full speed across the street.
Briana was ready for it. As the fist was thrust through the air, she sidestepped it, grabbed his arm in flight, and propelled him towards the ground. She braced herself, using her legs to block his, causing him to trip, his upper body following his fist to the blacktopped driveway.
Tessman hit the property just as Hoch, dazed but still mad as hell, pulled himself to his feet. More curses flew from his mouth.
“Hey, man,” Tessman said as he came to a stop beside Hoch. “Are you okay?”
“You saw that,” Hoch yelled. “You saw that crazy bitch assault me!”
“No, I saw you throw a punch at her and I saw her deflect it. That was on you, man,” Tessman said.
Hoch’s hands were fisted by his side. “Look what she did to my car!”
“Damn, that was a beautiful car,” Tessman said, wincing at the damage. “I was working across the street and saw the whole thing.” He pointed to the work truck. “I called the police and reported the accident. They should be here soon.”
“Jacob,” Simone Hoch called as she came out of the house. “Is everything okay?”
“Okay? No it’s not okay!” He muttered, “another stupid bitch,” under his breath. “Get me my wallet. This fucking whore came into our driveway and crashed into my car! My car!”
Simone hurried back into the house and reappeared seconds later, carrying a black wallet. She rushed up to him and handed it over. Then she craned her neck to view the damage to the car. “Oh, that’s not good.”
“It can be fixed,” Briana said.
“Yes, yes it can,” Simone agreed.
“Shut the fuck up, both of you. Simone go back into the house. This is none of your fucking business.”
Tessman wanted to give this guy a good beat-down. Someone needed to teach him some manners. Hopefully, justice, in the form of jail, would be coming for him very soon. “You’re pissed. That’s understandable. Take it easy, dude.”
Jacob Hoch was about to answer, no doubt with an angry comment, but the approaching police car stopped him. The police cruiser, with no lights or sirens, pulled up to the curb. The lone male police officer got out of the vehicle as Simone rushed back to the house. She’d already let Jackson and Smith in before she’d brought the wallet out. Tessman had heard that through comms. She’d remain at the front door, watching for her husband’s approach as they completed their task.
Tessman eyed his watch, marking the time. They needed thirty minutes to adequately plant the cameras and mics. He jogged across the street and grabbed his phone from the top of the utility box. Then he jogged back with it in time to hear Jacob Hoch’s rant on how the stupid bitch hit his car and then assaulted him.
Tessman was glad to see the older cop was a no-nonsense guy who shut Hoch down pretty quickly, demanding IDs from both Hoch and Briana. He also radioed for a second officer to come to the scene.
“I have it all on video,” Tessman said, holding his phone up. “I was taking a video of an incorrectly wired switch when it kicked off over here. He handed his phone to the cop and hit play. As the cop watched it, Jacob Hoch radiated rage towards Tessman. Tessman found it odd he didn’t listen to himself on the recording and come to the same conclusion everyone else did regarding his temper.
“You were going to punch her in the face,” the cop said, dumbfounded after seeing it. He turned to Briana. “Do you want to press charges, miss?”
“Um, I don’t know. I mean, I did swerve because I lost control, and I hit his car. So, I know I’ll get a ticket. It was my fault, I admit that. He’ll get my name and address on the police report for the accident, won’t he?” she asked, acting fearful. “So, no. I don’t want to press charges.”
The cop turned back to Jacob Hoch. “Be glad you didn’t strike her, or the decision would be out of her hands with what I just saw.”
“I was wrong, I’m sorry. I was just so pissed. It’s a seventy-two Camaro! I just spent the last two years restoring her.”
“May I suggest you keep it in the garage where no harm can come to it?” the cop replied. “Okay, so Miss Mack will get a ticket for the accident. And I’m warning you, Mister Hoch, if youthreaten or harass her in any way, you will be arrested. You’re on my radar now.”
Just then, the second police cruiser pulled up. The two cops worked on taking statements from all three of them and they wrote the ID info down.
“You have my information. Am I free to go back to work?” Tessman asked the cop.