Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
Johny B
“ F irst of all, I’d like to express once again our gratitude to Mammoth, and the rest of our Florida brothers for the help you have given us after the explosion,” Smoke addresses everyone from where he sits at the head of the table. He’d called church thirty minutes ago, knowing that all the brothers were on site, as Smoke had the club on a temporary lockdown.
“After speaking to their Prez a few days ago, he’d agreed to send a few of our Florida brothers up here to help out with the Irish situation. I’d not mentioned this before because, to be honest, they got here a damn sight quicker than I’d expected.” He lets out a huge sigh. “As it turned out, that was a blessing. Having a second doc on hand has made it easier for us to get everyone the treatment needed without having to visit the local hospital.”
He shifts uncomfortably in his seat. “Of course, we can’t forget the loss of our dear brother, Cub.” He lifts his gaze to Wolf. A deep sadness lingers in his eyes. “I promise you this Brother, we will avenge his death with a wrath that will compare to no other.” Every man in the room grunts out their agreement. Wolf returns it with an emotional nod of his head. No words, as I’m sure it would break him.
“Now, to our number one priority.” Smoke leans forward. His normally expressionless face is like thunder. “How we slaughter Dunne and the fucking Death Valley Irish.”
I push back in my chair; the wooden legs make a scraping sound across the floor. I don’t get fully up, but lean my upper torso across the table, arm stretched out until my fingers touch the outer edge of the Young Outlaws MC emblem that’s etched into the wood surface.
“You infiltrate them,” I say loud and clear.
“Just how the fuck do you think we will manage to do that?” Edge berates me.
“You send someone in under cover.” I drop back in my chair, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Don’t you think that he knows every single one of our faces by now?” Stone laughs. “Even Ghost’s, who might be able to work undetected but he’s not faceless to them.”
“Any of the new prospects are far too green to send in.” Mayhem offers up to the conversation. “And it would take months to get them into any kinda capability.”
“Time we don’t have,” Wolf growls. His need for vengeance is clear, which is understandable.
“They have no idea who I am.” I make eye contact with Smoke. He was already eyeballing me from the head of the table, but as to what he’s thinking, other than possible wanting my head mounted on a stick, I have no idea.
“What the hell, JB?” Mammoth pipes up. “What kind of crazy, half-cocked plan are you concocting?”
“What makes you think that they haven’t been watching us?” Smoke at last opens his mouth to speak. “I’m as sure as fuck they’d have had eyes on us watching the chaos as the bomb went off.”
“Probably jacking off to it, too. The sick fuckers.” Hurricane slams his fist on the table, adding credence to his anger.
“Which, if they were, they’d have seen us arrive.” Mammoth shakes his head. “Too risky, JB, and I’m damn sure that Cannon wouldn’t allow it.”
“So, do we have any other suggestions on how we take them down?” Smoke addresses his brothers. Three or four of the guys start talking over each other, most of it negative.
“Hold on a minute,” I hold my hand up, shouting loud enough so that everyone halts, and heads turn in my direction. “Hear me out.” Again, I place my attention directly on Smoke, commanding his full acknowledgement. “Just picture this. I get rid of the hair, the leather and play down the swagger.” I switch up my accent and go with a not too exaggerated Irish twang. “Now you might not be aware of this, but my ancestors came here from Ireland back in the 1920s, fleeing from the political unrest and famine. So, as you can see, it’s not like I can’t add a recognizable lilt to my voice to make it more believable, now is it?”
Now I have everyone’s attention. Even Mammoth’s jaw is hanging slack.
“I can do this,” I say with utter conviction.
“Well, he’s certainly got enough arrogance and cockiness to pull it off,” Mammoth sighs. “Personally, I think you must have some kinda death wish, and I certainly can’t agree to his, not without the Prez, and the rest of the clubs backing.”
The noise in the room escalates. Each and every one of the brothers having something to say, but as I continue to watch Smoke, his stoic expression gives nothing away.
“That won’t be necessary, Mammoth.” Smoke sits upright in his seat. “I’m not convinced. My contempt for you is no secret JB, and however much I’d take great pleasure in having your sorry ass obliterated off the face of this earth, you’re still a brother. A Young Outlaw, and I hold Cannon in great regard, and even if I thought that this charade would work, it would be too big of an ask.”
“Give me twenty-four hours,” I push at Smoke. “Twenty-four hours, that’s all I’m asking, and I’ll show you how serious I am about helping you and your chapter take down the Death Valley Irish.”
The whole room is silent while we all wait on Smoke.
“We’ll put it to a vote,” he barks. His eyes glide from one side of the table to the other, each of his members giving a ‘Yah or Nay’. Every one of them gives me the chance to prove myself. Mainly because not one of them has any alternative ideas other than to go in blasting, with a substantial risk of the club taking more casualties.
“You’ve got until 18:00 hours tomorrow, JB.” With that, the gavel comes down against the wood. “Church over, we meet again tomorrow, so get your thinking caps on, because when JB crashes and burns, we will need a realistic plan of action.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I mumble under my breath while filtering out with the rest of the brothers.
“JB,” Mammoth grabs me by the arm and marches me across the communal area and straight out the front door. He doesn’t stop until we’re off the porch and a few feet away from the clubhouse. He releases me with a shove. “What the fuck was that? Talk about blindsiding me.”
“You’re the one who told me I should do something to prove myself to Smoke.”
“Not something so fucking extreme.” He hisses between his teeth, doing his best not to attract anyone else’s attention. He flexes his hands, clenched fists to stretched fingers, a sure sign that he’s trying not to punch the fuck out of me. He lets out a huge sigh. “You should have spoken to me first.” He lets out a huge sigh. “How the hell would I have explained that to Prez, if Smoke had taken you up on your offer?”
“Oh, Smoke will agree,” I say with a grin. “So, you better start practicing your negotiation skills.”
I turn away, leaving Mammoth gobsmacked, gaining enough distance between us before he gets the chance to say another word.
I hop on my ride, power her up and head off of the compound. I’ve got shit to do and only twenty-four hours to get it done.