Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Gemini
The girls stick around and hang out with us for a little bit longer before they call it a night and that’s when we get down to it and meet with Midas.
Rio goes to the back of the alley and pulls him out to the front.
Now that it’s basically abandoned since it’s well after midnight, we can openly talk and go over the books without worrying about someone overhearing club business.
After a round of introductions, I lean back on my chair, get comfortable then get the ball rolling by stating, “Midas, tell us how bad the club's finances are.”
“From an ‘oh shit the ship is sinking’ to an ‘we’re on solid ground’, I’d say grab your life preservers and get ready to swim with the sharks,” he tells me, his face drawn inward with a frown marring his face.
“But with the East and West Texas chapters behind us and giving us a loan, we should be able to turn things around and pay y’all back with interest in five to ten years. ”
“Fuck,” Mercury hisses, running his fingers through his hair until every strand is standing upright. “That’s a long ass time to be in debt.”
“We’re not going into this with blinders on, Mercury,” Riptide says. “We knew ahead of time it wasn’t going to be paid back in the next couple of years.”
Rio leans forward, placing his elbows on the table and meets each of our eyes before adding, “Once you start seeing some green, we’ll come up with a payment plan. As far as Rip and I are concerned, this is a good investment.”
“What are the figures on getting things up and running?” I ask. “We’re talking about the clubhouse, the property, and the businesses. I want to know the nitty-gritty of it all.”
Midas releases a huff before answering, “I did a deep dive into everything and it’ll take a cool million to get us up and running.”
Orion, who’s sitting beside me and had just taken a gulp of his beer, spews it all over the table as he begins to wheeze. “A mill? For fuck’s sake, you may as well chain a boulder onto us and drop us in the middle of the ocean. We’re fucked.”
“You’re not fucked,” Riptide argues. “With the Kings at your back, you’re going to succeed. We won’t be walking away from this once we drop the money, Orion. We will not let you fall.”
“Consider us your life jackets,” Rio tacks on. “We know y’all can do it or we wouldn’t have taken Big Daddy’s offer and come to help you get the club back to rights.”
“Right now, it feels like an impossible task,” Pisces drones, his tone dropping an octave as he looks up at the ceiling and mumbles something to himself that none of us catch. “Where do we start? There’s so much that needs to be done that it feels overwhelming.”
“We start where you lay your head,” Rio advises. “You need a safe place to come home to and conduct business at so you can start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”
“And who do we go to for that? Because I for one, would love to see that damn light,” Orion muses. “Midas, you know a man?”
“There are a few companies in and around town, but I have a guy I’ve been keeping my eye on. The townsfolk call him Hercules because he’s strong as fuck and built like a brick shithouse.”
“Why have you been eyeing him?” I ask. After being burned by his entire club, there has to be something about this Hercules guy that’s caught his attention.
“Because even though his company is struggling to make ends meet, he donates his time and material to help those struggling with home repairs. He not only has a good moral compass, but he’s also got a reputation for someone you don’t want to fuck with.”
“So he’s helpful to the community but won’t take anybody’s shit,” I corroborate.
“In a nutshell,” Midas concludes. “He’d give you the shirt off his back, but if you take advantage of his kindness, he’ll take it back while shoving his boot up your ass.”
“Sounds like my kind of person,” Orion jeers, some color coming back to his face. “Think he’d take on a job this big?”
“Without a doubt,” Midas states.
“And this is the guy you’d recommend?” Riptide asks for clarification.
“For not just the job but as a potential brother,” Midas inserts. “He came and hung around a few times but didn’t like the vibe of the club. Now that the infrastructure is changing for the better, I’m hoping his mind will too.”
“Can you set up a meeting with him? I’d like to get things going sooner rather than later,” I state. “For now, we’ll be setting up at the old pres’s house since it’s still on club property and we can keep our eye on things.”
“Plus, it’s the only place that’s still standing,” Orion states.
“The clubhouse is still standing, it just doesn’t have any guts,” I remind him.
“Or trustworthy electricity and running water. Our luck, God willing, the place will burn to the ground and we can collect the insurance payout and start all over,” Orion says, daydreaming.
“There’s no policy on the place,” Midas admits.
“And the hits keep coming,” Orion says, sighing.
“That needs to be done as soon as possible, can you get that done for us, Midas?” Rio asks.
“We’ll have to go outside of town to find somebody willing to insure us. We don’t have a glowing review when it comes to paying our bills,” Midas reminds us. “Doors aren’t open to us anymore like they used to be.”
“We need to go around town and introduce ourselves,” Pisces recommends. “That way doors aren’t locked and the open signs aren’t shut off when people see us coming.”
“This place seems to be doing well. Doesn’t look like you’ve lost too many people from wanting to come and bowl,” Pisces says.
“Most come now because I have a rule in place. You don’t bowl, you don’t get booze,” Midas chuckles. “It keeps the lights on and the music playing.”
“And the alcohol flowing,” Pisces inserts. “Sound business plan.”
“They know I won’t budge on it so they come and pay for two hours at a lane and leave with a mason jar of moonshine, after they pay for it. That shit’s not free. I won't compromise. There’s not one without the other for most.”
“If you were to take a guess, would us going around and letting everyone know that there’s a new leadership in the Kings help the town see us differently?” I probe, curious since he seems to have his hands in several pots and has roots in town.
“It could, but I can’t say for sure. When people see our colors on our cuts, they no longer respect us, they leer at us,” he conveys.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us, brothers,” I say. “Not only do we have a mountain of debt at our back, but we don’t have the community behind us, and we’re going to need that to prosper. Especially with some of the plans we have for our club with regard to making money.”
“What ideas?” Rio questions.
I shrug my shoulders and share my thoughts. “We’ve got enough land to start breeding bison and eventually we’ll be able to offer grass-fed meat for sale, either on a large scale basis, or to individuals looking for a healthier alternative.”
“Have you considered breeding bulls to be used on the rodeo circuit?” Rio asks.
“Because there’s definitely a market in those, and I know the Triple R is always looking to add a few to our stock for breeding purposes.
Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if my Issy doesn’t insist on coming up to help get it started.
But, only if you want her to, of course. ”
“We hadn’t thought about that, but it’s a good idea,” Mercury says. “We need to get as many money making options up and running as possible, since some have a longer payoff than others, like breeding bulls.”
“We’ve got a few we can lend you for stud purposes,” Rio states. “Plus, there’s a market for moonshine, and with our trailers that we use for transport, it would be easy to move it down to us.”
I sit back and think about what he’s suggesting.
Midas runs the moonshine out of the back of the bowling alley, but being able to sell it to West Texas would help put some fast cash in our pockets.
The debt that looms is a bit daunting, but I have a good feeling about moving to Montana, especially since we’ve got the Kings backing us.
“This is going to be one helluva an adventure,” I joke.
“Or one helluva nightmare,” Orion mumbles. “Either way, we’re doing it together.”
“In for a penny, in for a pound,” Pisces adds, tossing his fisted hand over the table. Reaching out, we all bump it with our own. We’ve always had each others’ backs, as cousins do, but this is going to test that relationship.
Orion is traditionally the jokester, until it’s time to get serious.
Pisces is usually the one who’s laid back, until blood needs to be shed.
Mercury has a tendency to shoot first and ask questions later. He lives up to his name because his temperament is rather mercurial.
Me? I’m somewhere in the middle. I can go with the flow or I can beat the holy hell out of you and walk away with a smile on my face.
“Then we’re in agreement. We meet with Hercules and start there, right?” I ask. Every man around the table nods his head. “Then let's call it a night. I'm damn exhausted and need to catch a few hours of sleep so my brain can comprehend everything I’ve learned and deal with what’s in store for us.”