By Alex Ironrod

This is a special adaptation of the opening chapters of “The Trainer” by Alex Ironrod for MetalbondNYC,com, posted here by special permission.

PART ONE – BASIC TRAINING

I owe my life to one man. my life – and much more. He saved me. He trained me. He educated me. He loved me and had to let me go. Shit, how much I regret never having told him I loved him – until it was too late.

My name is Dave Coyle. My real life started only a year ago, when I met Mike Harrow. I was a mess. I had been doing drugs, when I could find the money. When we met, I was homeless, living on the streets. One summer morning, I was desperate enough to try to hold up this convenience store. You know the kind. They sell everything from liquor to washing powder. Anyway, I stuck this thick stick under my grubby tee shirt, and picked a quiet mid-morning time, after the breakfast rush.

I was lucky, the place seemed empty. So, I marched up to the counter and growled at the clerk, “OK, this is a stick-up. Hand over your cash right now or I’ll blow you to….”

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