Chapter Twenty-One #2
They outnumbered the Kingsmen drastically. I also knew there had been a couple of other Chapters here from out of state for the funeral of the guy who died in the bomb blast. That had been another clusterfuck and none of us were surprised when Stiverson turned up dead in his own kitchen.
It was my job as VP to know this shit, even if I had been occupied elsewhere. Their numbers were bigger than normal. If they were as serious about this as I thought, there would be men everywhere in these woods.
They weren’t going to mess around either, as soon as Nytro and the others showed themselves, they would be taken out. This could be over before it even started.
There wouldn’t be much of an opportunity for me to get away. What Hustle didn’t know was my mind was made up about whether or not I was going to run, just not about what my decision would be about where things went from here. I was still thinking it all through.
The conversation I’d had with King Curtis before coming here was brief, but it was enough.
He’d come to the cabin to talk to me alone. He hadn’t wasted time, getting straight to the point.
“What would you do with the Kingsmen if you had control?”
“Meaning?”
“You became Prez.”
I held my tongue for a moment, thinking about the question. I didn’t know what his angle was and didn’t want to say anything without thinking it through. King leaned back in the chair and waited patiently for me to speak.
“I’d say it doesn’t work like that,” I told him.
“You’ve said it yourself, the majority of your men dislike what’s gone down in the club.” I arched a brow. “You think a vote wouldn’t go your way?”
I stared at him in silence for a moment. “What do you get out of this?”
“Allies.”
Blunt, that was good. But there was more to this offer he was making. “And?”
“You’re smart enough for me not to sugar coat anything,” he said after a moment.
“The Irish aren’t happy with your club. We don’t work with the cartels, but the Irish have had run-ins with them.
There is a tentative truce between them, but they don’t trust them, just like we don’t.
They’re operating in an area the Irish have owned for a long time and they want them gone.
For too many years the Kingsmen have been selling to the highest bidder, pissing people off.
You want the truth, it won’t be long before the cartel decide it’s not worth their while dealing with you and that causes shit for me, for the Irish, and for the Kingsmen.
But you can play this smarter than everyone. ”
His words stung but he wasn’t saying anything I didn’t already know. The air in the room was tense. “Allies?” I ground out between my teeth, knowing that wasn’t what he was suggesting here at all.
“With stipulations,” he shrugged. “Beyond tonight, I don’t have any interest in the Kingsmen’s situation, but I do think you need to consider the future. If you care about these men, the ones who don’t follow or trust your current officers, what would you do to ensure their safety?”
“Like I said, it wouldn’t be a guarantee I took over.”
“You and I both know it’s the likeliest outcome once Nytro and his followers are gone.”
He didn’t say anything about when Danica was out of the picture, but I knew that was a factor in these future plans of his.
“Are you telling me you haven’t cultivated relationships with those in the club who don’t like the way it’s run?
” he stared at me again, but I wasn’t intimidated.
“You don’t need to answer. You’re smart Mace.
Ranger was smart too. Him giving Ballistic your name said a lot to us about the way things need to go. ”
“Cut to the chase. Talking in circles is beneath both of us.”
He smiled a shark’s smile. “I’m not telling you what to do with your club, but I am going to make an offer. It’s entirely up to you if you take it, it’s no skin off my nose if you turn it down. I hold no sway either, so this depends on the men within your club.”
I held out a hand for him to go on.
“The Kingsmen go.”
My eyes narrowed.
“You become your own Chapter. Your own hierarchy just like any other.”
“But you take us over?”
“And offer you protection. Once today is done, the transition will be easier.”
“You’ve already discussed this with the Irish haven’t you?” I leaned back. “Promised them something?”
“I don’t promise anyone anything,” King said. “I make business decisions and choices that will benefit my club and the people associated with it.”
“We’d wear your patch?” I don’t manage to keep the snarl out of my voice. “That won’t sit well with a lot of people.”
“Then you cut them loose. Or you go on the way you are. Or you leave, let them fall either way. The Irish have no interest in getting in between a failing MC and the cartel. But if you became a part of us,” he held his hands out.
He was a cunning bastard. I’d be stupid not to listen to him, because in all honesty, we didn’t have anything to offer him.
At least, nothing that I could see right now.
I’d been concerned about the cartel for a long time.
They’d already attacked us years before when Tank ran us right onto their radar.
History was repeating itself. King was right, I’d had conversations with some of my brothers, people coming to me with concerns, people I could trust. Without even thinking about it, I could name the guys I knew would come with me if I brought this up.
The problem was relinquishing our patches and taking on theirs. Whether or not he said we’d keep our own hierarchy, be our own chapter, I didn’t know how many of my brothers could make that switch. Joining an MC wasn’t easy and yet he was willing to take us on. Which was where I got suspicious.
“Oversight?” I asked.
“Of course, there would need to be. There would need to be trust, an understanding, which at the moment, neither of us have. So yeah, for a while you wouldn’t have complete autonomy,” he shrugged.
“I’m not here to convince you, Mace. I’ve laid it out, it’s up to you.
Once this is over, you can go talk to the men we have locked up, we’ll let you all go and you can make your decision from there.
We won’t come after you, if I have your word we will have no trouble from you. ”
He wasn’t actually giving me a choice. We either signed up on this offer, or we ended up dismantled, or worse, dead.
There would be no way to deal with the cartel now, there were also other gangs I knew Nytro had pissed off, running protection and selling product for rivals for too many years had cultivated that hatred of us.
King was right, our name was destroyed. I just hadn’t seen it all until this whole mess. Danica strolling in and using us how she wanted, drove that home too. It wasn’t the club I’d pledged my life to.
He left after that and Ballistic came in with War and ran through what I had to do tonight. I had to focus on this to prevent myself getting killed. After that, I was on my own. A decision weighing heavily on my shoulders.
I’d entertained the idea of taking over the Kingsmen for a while, figuring out how I could bring things back and make it safe again, but after King’s offer, the more I could see that was an impossible outcome.
We had one other local chapter, but they’d distanced themselves a while ago and Nytro didn’t care enough to keep in touch with them. Reality was, the Kingsmen were fucked.
Ranger and Marla had agreed to be taken some place safe, I wasn’t sure how pissed he would be at me for that, but I knew what he would say about this offer from King.
He’d want us to keep an identity, but it couldn’t be the same as it had been.
With Nytro and Danica gone, the Walker’s would be wiped out.
Only Kristy would remain but given the things I’d heard how War felt about her, she wouldn’t be around for much longer either.
It was time for a new start. I just didn’t like the idea of being under the Devil’s Chaos patch.
“How much longer?” I asked. I didn’t have a watch, or my phone. The meeting was set for eleven. We’d got here just after eight after it was confirmed to be safe. Brick and Fisheye had arrived after us and were out of earshot from where we were waiting.
Hustle took his phone out and glanced at the lit up screen.
I hadn’t heard a sound, it must have vibrated in his pocket.
He read it, then looked up at me. “We have eight guys, all in ski masks and heavily armed, just pulled up off the main road. They’re making their way through the woods on foot.
Another two vans have pulled up a couple of miles down the road. ”
“Shit,” I muttered. “I have no idea where he could have got support like that.”
“I don’t think they’re with Nytro.”
My head came up. “Meaning?”
“Wait here.” He walked away from me.
I couldn’t hear what he was saying as he made a call.
Fuck, I glanced around. It was cold out here.
Ballistic loaned me a thick black hoody, he was big and broad like me, so it fit fine.
Still, the wind was picking up and it was blowing my hair about my forehead.
I started to get a really uneasy feeling.
I made sure to keep Hustle in my sights.
Who the fuck else was out here? And who where they after, Nytro or the Devil’s?
Hustle hung up and came back to me. “Let’s go.”
“What?” I stiffened as he started to move past me.
“Come or stay, I don’t give a shit, but we have a bigger problem than Nytro right now.”
“Who are they?”
“Cartel.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, shit. Seems your asshole boss has pissed them off one too many times.” Hustle walked into the trees. “I don’t know how they figured where they were gonna be, they must have followed them. They’re probably laughing their asses off at how easy Nytro has made this for them, coming out here.”
“What about your men?”