Chapter 1 #2
Right before I drop him onto the dusty ground, I check him for weapons.
This stupid fucker has a goddamn arsenal stored on his body.
Even though his weapons are old and shitty, he’s got a lot of them.
In the end, I pull three guns, a hunting knife, a set of five throwing knives, a pair of brass knuckles, and a goddamn throwing star off him.
Holding it up to his face, I ask, “What are you, twelve?”
Rigs snorts a laugh, as do several other club brothers. Unfortunately, apparently Siege is not amused by anything to do with this situation.
I can see over a dozen club brothers have shown up. Several are milling around inspecting their setup.
From what I can tell, their setup is a total cluster fuck. Tank and Dutch pull back a long metal part of the shed wall so Siege can see what they’ve been up to without breathing in any of the toxic shit they’re cooking.
I’ve helped destroy several meth labs, and this one is dangerously sloppy. Containers open and mislabeled. The burner turned too high, causing a sick burnt smell. They spilled chemicals everywhere. One spark in the wrong place and the whole thing would have gone up, burning untold acres with it.
Siege and Rider move to give the place a walkthrough, looking as grim as I feel.
“Get their goddamn phones.”
“Phones,” Rider barks. The brothers have to pull them off the bound men.
They all have cheap, cracked burner phones.
Rider tosses them all into a bag Dutch holds open, all while the owners of those phones shut the fuck up and pay attention.
They’re beginning to understand the gravity of their situation now.
With any luck, they regret picking Las Salinas as their final destination about now.
Siege jerks his chin at Tank. “Disable the vehicles.” Tank steps over to the van and slashes the van’s tires in clean, efficient motions with his long hunting knife. He also pulls up the hood and pulls something from each vehicle and crams it in his pocket.
“I see you’re not from around here,” Siege tells them.
One of them shakes his head. “No. We were just trying to find a place to set up shop.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Siege tells him. “You’re ignorant for thinking you can come into our territory and set up a fuckin’ meth operation without us retaliating.”
“Look, we didn’t know this was Savage Legion territory. We know how to pay tribute. We can make a deal.”
Siege makes a slashing motion with one hand to shut him up. “No deals. Only choices. I’m in a generous mood today. So, I’m gonna let you choose your own fate. The thing is, you’ve only got two options. I can either drop you where you stand or I can leave you for the cops. Your choice.”
The one who seemed to be speaking for them grumbled, “That’s not much of a fucking choice.”
Another one speaks up. “I’ll take my chances with the cops.”
Several others chime in with their agreement. Finally, their leader agrees as well.
I can hear Rigs on the phone, talking to our police contact.
His voice low and professional, giving coordinates and making it clear this would be a bust for seven men looking to set up a meth lab on the outskirts of town.
Harvey will come collect what’s left and file it however it needs to be filed in order to keep these men off the streets of Las Salinas.
Siege turns to Rider. “Destroy any drugs they’ve managed to make. I doubt it would be safe for human consumption anyway. But leave what they’re cooking now as evidence for Harvey.”
“You got it, Prez.” Rider seems happy to be tracking down drugs and destroying them.
I step back, finally able to relax. Rick stands off to the side, hands shoved into his pockets, gaze fixed on the ground. I know he’s embarrassed, but I can’t help but think there is a lesson to be learned in all this.
Siege approaches me, stops close enough that I can hear him without anyone else needing to. “Good job sussing out this setup,” he says. “How did you know it was here?”
“Saw the smoke and decided to investigate. Once I caught a whiff of it, I knew exactly what we were dealing with and called it in.”
“You did good work.” Sparing a glance at Rick, then back at me, he adds, “Get him outta here. This is why we don’t bring prospects on missions.”
I accept the order with a slight nod. “Yes, Prez.”
Truth be told, I feel good about what we did here. We kept our town clean today. That’s our job. We take off on our bikes and pass Harvey’s cruiser as it pulls off the road. I feel good about what we did here today. We’ve done our share of keeping Las Salinas safe from a meth epidemic.
Rick is quieter now, keeping his distance and matching my speed without crowding me. I have the uneasy sense that the real storm in Rick’s life hasn’t began but I can feel it coming. When it does, no amount of protocol is gonna keep him safe.
***
When we pull into the clubhouse, he doesn’t get off his bike right away. I know my best friend well enough to know when he wants to talk. He finally says it. “I fucked up back there.”
“You did,” I say. We agreed long ago not to lie to each other to spare feelings. He’d be upset if I lied to him.
There’s a pause before he says, “I didn’t mean to. I just have a hard time staying still for long periods of time. I have this restless energy that needs to get out.”
“I know,” I tell him. “The thing is, if you don’t learn to contain it, you’re gonna wind up dead.”
A short silence spins out between us. “If I could, I would. You have to know that.”
“I know that you’re a smart man. If you set your mind to something, there’s nothing you can’t do.”
“Maybe,” he replies dejectedly.
“Look, you have to decide how much you want to be a member of the Savage Legion. If you want that patch and the belonging and the brotherhood that comes along with it,” I say sternly.
“Then you have to stop acting like everything is fun and games, get focused, and discipline your mind so you can discipline your body. If you don’t want the patch enough to do all that, then step back. ”
“You’re right,” he says quickly. “I just wanted to be useful.”
When we finally walk inside, the smell of coffee and breakfast is waiting for us. A few prospects are scattered around, tasked with watching the clubhouse while the brothers were out saving the world.
Larry, another prospect, walks over. I can tell by the look on his face that he knows about my friend’s fuck up and is dying to bring it up. Before he can open his mouth, I give him my breakfast order and tell him to make it for two.
Rick glances up at me. “Thanks for that. I wasn’t really in the mood to deal with Larry this morning, you know, on top of everything else.”
“Don’t worry, bro. I’ll always have your back.”
That puts him in a slightly better mood.
About the time we get our food and coffee, the brothers begin pouring back in.
Ghost is the first one to approach us. He stops in front of our table and gives a short nod. “You did good work out there today,” he says.
“Thank you,” I murmur. “We lucked out by noticing them.” Truth be told, compliments still feel awkward as hell, even when I know I’ve earned them.
Rick sits quietly, not eating or looking up. Ghost turns to him. “You got lucky out there, prospect.”
He nods. “Yeah. I have Bear to thank for savin’ my ass.”
“The thing about luck is that it eventually runs out,” Ghost responds. “And someone ain’t always gonna be there to save to pick up the slack when you drop the ball.”
Rick swallows hard and nods again. “Yeah. I get that.”
Crow passes by our table with a mug in hand and pauses just long enough to glance at me. “I’m proud to have you as a brother, Bear,” he says. “Think of all the people who won’t end up addicted to meth because of you.”
I shrug it off, more reflex than dismissal. “It was more a coincidence than intentional.”
Crow’s mouth twitches into a smile. “I hear modesty is a virtue.”
“Fuck off,” I mutter.
When Crow moves on, we dig into our breakfast in earnest. About the time we’re finished, a couple of brothers stop by the table. Haze claps Rick on the shoulder a little harder than necessary, and tells him to keep his head on straight.
His twin, Vapor, tells me I should’ve been patched in sooner and jokes that I’m wasting my time babysitting Rick. I let it roll past without comment, mostly because Rick would be embarrassed if I spoke up on his behalf. He’d see that as me fighting his battles for him.
Truth be told, Rick’s more like a brother than a friend to me. We were both shuffled from one foster placement to another before landing in one together. And since then we’ve been inseparable.