Chapter 16
No Man Left Behind
Motown
The next morning, I drive Tessa to the shop and find Ruth waiting for us. Ruth should still be in bed, seeing as she left the club and headed over to her bar for closing. She couldn’t have had more than four hours of sleep. What’s more, she’s brought her shotgun with her.
“What the hell, Ruth?” I say.
“Good morning to you too,” Ruth replies sarcastically. “Tessa needs protection.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
“Not for long.” Ruth hands me a note. “You gotta get Hawk and the others and meet this guy.” I open her note as she continues.
“Guy named Demon came in last night and said to make sure you got it first thing. He has eyes on some guy named Logan. I was going to tell him that I’m not his carrier pigeon, but when he mentioned Hawk, I knew he was on the up-and-up. ”
Tessa’s been quiet till now, but she asks, “What’s going on?”
“Give me a second, babe.” I read the note again.
They came for Logan in the middle of the night. I was going to step in, but he gave me the sign to hold back. I followed them. Meet me at Barney’s All-Nite Diner. Bring Hawk and Guard.
I turn to Tessa. “I have to call Hawk. I’ll see if I can get a man over to watch out for you. Things are moving faster than we thought. That could be a good thing,” I add when I see her face drop.
“I can take care of Tessa. You go,” Ruth insists.
“Ruth—”
“I got a gun. Keep the alarm in the back set. We’ll be fine,” Ruth insists.
I kiss Tessa and head out the front. I stop at my bike and make my calls, including one to Roar, asking him to get to the shop but to stay hidden unless he sees shit go south.
He does me one better and says he’ll bring Tacitus along with him.
Meanwhile, Guard and Hawk are en route to Barney’s. War and Drifter are coming as well.
As I get closer to Barney’s, I see War parked off the side of the road and pull up next to him. “What’s going on?” I ask.
“We’re walking the rest of the way.” War points to the old barn. “Park the bike, leave your jacket.” He hands me a lumberjack shirt, a baseball cap, and glasses. “We’re not taking the chance of having any of Bronson’s men recognizing us.”
I do as he says, and we walk the rest of the way, taking care not to draw attention to ourselves.
A club brother never leaves his jacket behind unless we’re in enemy territory, and then it’s only for our own protection.
This tells me something big is going down.
When we get to the diner, Guard and Hawk are waiting for us.
Demon is sitting with them, and they are huddled together, heads close, talking.
War and I shuffle into the tight booth.
“Let’s catch them up quick,” Guard says without a hello to start. His expression is as serious as I’ve ever seen.
“Logan is in the run-down hotel across the street,” Demon says.
“He’s been there since they came for him at three thirty this morning.
I was watching and was going to get him the hell out when he looked over and shook his head.
He doesn’t have his phone. They must have told him to leave it behind.
I’ve alerted Orion, and he’s built the profile for Logan as well as created a record for him in the police database.
His cover should be solid. I’ve got no eyes on the inside, though, and no way of making sure he’s okay. ”
“Orion is going to play the part of the supplier. He’s got all numbers routed to run through to his phone,” Hawk adds.
“Reno is coming down with his brother Dante and his men,” Guard says.
“Risk is going to meet them. We’ve got two issues.
The first is getting eyes and ears on what’s happening inside the hotel and making sure that Logan is safe.
Right now, he’s hanging in the wind, and that doesn’t sit right with Hawk or me.
Second, we’re not sure how far Bronson’s operation reaches, and we need to get to the feds to shut him down completely. ”
“What do you need me to do?” I ask.
“You and War are going to find a way into the hotel without being noticed. Orion says that four rooms are occupied. Two on the third floor, one on the second floor, and one on the first floor. The place is so old that their computer system is archaic at best. The rooms are designated to Jones, Smith, Clark, and Robinson. I figure they’re going to have Logan on the third floor, but that’s just my guess,” Hawk says.
“Makes sense. It’ll be harder for Logan to escape if he makes a break for it,” I respond. “Do we have room numbers? If it’s around the back, it faces an alley, and I can scale the building and get a look inside.”
“Scale the building? Who are you, Spider-Man?” War jokes, nudging my shoulder.
“You’d be surprised at how much Motown knows how to do.
” Hawk grins. He’s remembering the time when we were up against rebel forces, and they were perched on top of a building, ready to pick us off one by one.
There was only one way out of town to where we were headed.
We knew where the enemy was, but disarming them would mean climbing up through the back of the building and catching them off guard.
While the rest of the team did their best to keep the rebel soldiers busy, I climbed to the top and opened fire, taking them all out. I had Lady Luck on my side that day.
“We can’t leave Logan alone in there. He came to us, and we promised to have his back,” I say.
“Sundown,” Guard says.
“That’s too late. He could be dead by then.”
“It’s dangerous and stupid to do it in broad daylight.” Hawk stares me down. “We’re going to get one shot, and moving in too fast could result in multiple deaths.”
I know he’s right, but my gut clenches at the thought of what they may be doing to Logan.
It could be really good or really fucking bad.
Bronson might see the value of Logan’s connections and decide to pull him into the fold.
Or he could decide to get rid of the middleman, meaning Logan, and work directly with his supplier.
Logan is only safe as long as he keeps his supplier’s name secret.
“The good news is that Bronson hasn’t shown up yet,” Demon says.
“How’s that good news?” I ask.
“If a guy comes and offers a way for you to make a shitload of money, you’re going to check him out. I think it proves that Orion’s got Logan covered,” Hawk says.
“Which means we’ve got time to put our plan in motion, but not much,” War says quietly.
“Risk is going to take over for you,” Guard says to Demon, who is not happy about it.
Before Demon can add his two cents, Guard continues, “You’ve done an all-nighter.
When this goes down, I need you fresh. Go back to the club, get some sleep.
You need it.” His tone indicates there’s no room for compromise, so Demon backs down.
“I want to see if I can scope out the back of the hotel. I’ll lie low and stay out of sight. Logan is a soldier. He’ll know how to give us a sign if he can,” I tell Hawk. I can see he’s mulling it over, not convinced. “C’mon, brother. I’ll be discreet.”
“Not alone,” Hawk orders.
“I’ll go with him.” Demon offers. Guard grumbles, but Demon says, “Then I’ll get back to the compound.”
“Don’t fuck around. I want you back in an hour,” Guard warns.
“I’ll hang back at the barn until Risk arrives, get him set up, and meet you all back at the compound after,” War says. We take turns exiting to not cause suspicion, and head off to do what needs to be done.
Demon and I find an alley that takes us close to the back of the hotel. Demon scans the windows through his binoculars.
“Do you always walk around with binoculars?” I ask.
“Nope. But when I saw them come out with Logan, I grabbed the pair I had in the trunk. Didn’t think I’d need them this soon, but I’ve learned to expect the unexpected,” he answers. I make a mental note to get a pair and have them tucked away.
The Redemption Riders have come up against some nasty characters and situations, but Satan’s Pride has a long history of being thrown into turmoil, and in every instance, they’ve come out on top.
I know enough to listen and learn. I’ll suck in all the knowledge I can from Demon, knowing he’s been through hell and back and is still standing.
“See anything?” I ask.
Demon hands me the binoculars and points up to the third floor. “Check out the fourth window from the left.” I see that the blinds are partially closed, and someone is standing near the window. The man is turned away from the glass, but the body composition is very much like Logan’s.
“Looks like him, can’t be sure though,” I mutter, wishing that the man in the window would move to the right just a little more so I can get a better look.
“It’s him. Before he went in, we made up a signal to let me know he was okay or if he needed help. He’s given me the sign he was okay, but he’s also giving me other signs, and I don’t know what he’s trying to tell me. Watch his hand,” Demon says. I can hear the frustration in his voice.
I peer through the lens once again. “It’s sign language,” I tell him.
“When I was in juvie, there was a guy who was deaf and signed. I learned from him, but that was a while ago.” I try to make out the letters he’s signing.
“Write these down.” I call out letters one by one. I notice when the letters start over.
Demon and I look at what we’ve got written down and decipher the message.
“Fuck! I’ve got it,” I say with a satisfied grin. “Meeting tomorrow night with supplier. Getting one call to make it happen tonight.”
“Shit, we need to get back to the club,” Demon says. “We need Orion to intercept the call and Reno to be on standby to act like the supplier.”
“First, we need to give him a number to call,” I say, pointing out the biggest issue. “Do you have anything shiny?” I check my pockets, but don’t have anything on me. Demon does the same and finds an old-fashioned cigarette lighter. He hands it to me. “I didn’t think you smoked.”
“I don’t. It belonged to a good friend of mine. He’s dead, and I keep it with me to remind me of him.”
We move a little close, and I catch the sun with the metal lighter. I angle it so that the light beams back into the room where Logan is situated.
“What are you doing?” Demon asks.
“Morse code,” I say. “Logan’s a soldier. He’ll know the basics. I’m giving him my number to call. Then Orion can redirect as needed.” I pause, then repeat to make sure he’s got the message. Demon is watching through the binoculars.
“Fuck, yeah! He just gave me the ‘all good’ sign.”
I give a sigh of relief. “We need to get the hell out of here,” I whisper loudly as I hear footsteps coming our way.
Demon and I retreat the same way we came. We pick up our bikes and rush back to the club.
We hurry through the common area and straight into Hawk’s office. We tell Hawk and Guard what we know. Orion is with them and hurrying to set up a way to intercept the call and reroute it to Reno.
“Reno’s on his way to the club,” Guard announces. “We’re getting close to the end, brothers.”
“We need the next step to go as planned, or Logan is a dead man,” Hawk says. “This guy means something to Decker. I don’t want to have to tell him we’ve fucked up.”
“We all know what we have to do,” Guard says.
“We’re not leaving a man behind,” I state firmly.
The others nod in agreement. We’re nearly at the end of this mess.
Bronson’s been a thorn in our side from the start.
I understand why Hawk’s so frustrated. The club had an understanding with Bronson, but while we’ve been busting our humps to create a thriving business and stability for the club, he’s been building his army to take over.
This doesn’t sit well with Hawk, and there will be consequences. The feds will get the list of all the major players Bronson is connected to, including the dirty cops in the precinct. What happens to Bronson is up to Hawk, and I don’t think he’ll be lucky enough to get a jail sentence.