Tyrant Chapter 8 #2
“They were new to the gun game, though we’d had other dealings with them. This was the first time we’d passed them on to someone else. Our interactions with them were fine, which is why I was shocked about what you told me.”
How he chose his words made it impossible to tell whether he was telling me the truth. They were ambiguous enough that, in general, it sounded sincere. I addressed his boys next. He treated all four like his sons.
“What about you guys? Did you ever get any weird vibes from them that weren’t enough to make you uneasy at the time?”
It was Jean-Baptiste who answered. That, too, was no surprise.
He tended to do the talking for his brother and cousins.
He shook his head and gave me an unhappy look.
“No, Tyrant, I had no indication that Arturo or his guys would turn on those they shouldn’t.
If I had, even if it were a tiny doubt, I would’ve told mon père, my father. ”
His words sounded sincere. But as I thought them over, I realized they could also be ambiguous.
The words would be valid if they saw them as friends and us as enemies or someone in their way.
Goddamn it! This was why I didn’t trust the majority of people.
They liked to stab you in the fucking back all the time.
I learned to distrust before the whole horror of my younger life.
That one only made me more cautious, but maybe not enough.
“Pascal, you?” I asked. I wasn’t settling for the other three to remain mute this time.
Pascal’s eyes flicked sideways to glance at his dad and brother.
“My brother didn’t either,” Jean-Baptiste hurried to answer.
I sat there, saying nothing as I stared at Pascal. Finally, he answered me, though I saw Hugo and the older son weren’t too happy about it.
“I always got along with Arturo, and he didn’t strike me as someone to betray us.”
“But what about betraying others outside your family?” Cobra asked unexpectedly.
“I, well, uhm, no, I wouldn’t think they’d do that either,” Pascal said, but he was flustered, and I heard an undertone of untruth. Was it just his nerves or more?
“Bastien, étienne, did you?” I asked.
Before they could answer, Hugo jumped in.
“Mon ami, I know you’re upset, and no one blames you.
We hate that this has happened and want to make things right.
What can we do? You’ll need a shipment soon.
We are here to guarantee you that the next one will go off without a hitch.
It will be between us only. We want to set that up before we leave, after allaying your fears. ”
Hugo was showing sympathy, but the way he said two words struck me.
The words next one. It was off. My brain said the next shipment would be perfect, but what about the one after that?
They’d be devious enough to lull us back into trusting them and try again, maybe this time with their men rather than expendable guys.
That was how I saw Arturo and his crew. If they failed, it was no big deal. They weren’t the Jacquots’ people.
As prearranged, my club brothers began asking them questions and getting them to engage in regular talk. I sat back and listened. I needed to concentrate on all their nonverbal cues and words. Since I was typically a man of few words, they didn’t pay much attention to me.
I noted that Hugo was trying to project a pleasant, friendly demeanor with a tinge of worry.
étienne and Bastien were more hesitant and anxious, but they were rarely allowed to say much.
Pascal was better than them, but it was Jean-Baptiste who was in control.
And while he was extremely good, I thought I saw signs of strain around his mouth and the rare flash of fury in his gaze.
He didn’t appreciate being questioned. However, if he thought this was an interrogation, he had no motherfucking clue what those were like, and he’d better hope he never would.
It went on for over an hour. We peppered in random talk that had nothing to do with the topic, trying not to make it too apparent that we didn’t trust them.
“Hugo, I hope you and your boys understand that we’re not accusing you of knowing about this ahead of time or being involved with what Arturo did.
Please don’t think that. We’re concerned for all of us.
You know how the Kings of Anarchy are. If we find an enemy, it’s not just one chapter that the enemy has to be worried about.
It’s our entire charter. I know that you feel the same way about your family.
What if there are others like Arturo’s group?
Those who want to move against both of us to take our businesses away.
They could be testing the waters with us, but plotting against both of us.
We don’t want anything to jeopardize our relationship with you.
It has been lucrative for both sides, hasn’t it? ” I finally added.
“It has been very lucrative, and we’ve appreciated all your business.
You’ve bought more guns than we’d ever sold before.
If someone is trying to do that, we also want them stopped.
I don’t want it to ruin our alliance. To be honest, we want to grow our gun business. And you’re key to that,” Hugo stated.
He was telling the truth about us being key, but I wasn’t sure whether he felt the alliance with us specifically was needed.
Were they trying to remove us as the middleman and go straight to the end distributor?
If so, they’d better think again. He’d never get that to happen.
Our connection wouldn’t work with anyone but Kings of Anarchy.
“That’s damn good to hear,” I said.
“Bien, bien, good, good, I’m glad to hear it. So, have we settled your concern enough that we can arrange the next shipment?” Hugo asked.
I pretended to think for a few moments, and then I nodded. “I believe we can. I’m thinking. We just did a recent shipment, and they had that manpower issue on the other end, so they had to slow themselves down for a short while. We’ll need a double shipment, but not for a month. Will that work?”
I knew they wouldn’t like the month part, but the prospect of a double order would make it too sweet to pass up. Hugo’s eyes gleamed with greed. “Yes, yes, that will be perfect. Will four weeks from today work?” he asked.
“That makes it the Fourth of July. Why not the seventh? It’s the Monday after the long weekend.
The cops will be tired from the three-day weekend and not expecting us to do something that soon after one or on a Monday,” Cobra suggested, as we had prearranged.
We’d run through the likely scenarios in sanctuary.
We’d decided how to respond and who would say what. It was all rehearsed.
There was barely a pause while Hugo and Jean-Baptiste exchanged a brief look before his son answered. “We can do that. We’ll arrange the time and place closer to the date to keep it secure. Just in case someone is trying to pull something over on us. This way, they won’t have time to set us up.”
“Agreed. Okay, I think business has been ironed out. Who would like another drink?” I asked.
They made up an excuse about how late it was and that they would have to regretfully decline.
It wasn’t long before we escorted them to their vehicles, and they were let out of the gate.
We breathed a sigh of relief as soon as it closed behind them.
I waited until we reentered the clubhouse before I addressed the guys. Crypto came out to join us.
“Are they lying, Pres?” Jury asked.
“I can’t say with absolute certainty they are, but they’re hiding something,” I answered.
“Did you note anything, Crypto?” Howler asked.
“No one came close enough to get a license plate, but there did seem to be more traffic than normal coming closer than anyone should be at this time of night. I believe they had backup close by. It might just be smart business practice, but if you feel they’re hiding something, Tyrant, it makes me even more wary of them.
We’ve got to find out the truth before July seventh. And if they are dirty?”
“Then we wipe them the fuck out. That date works as good as any,” I growled.
This threat caused them to cheer and pound on the bar.
It was late, but we all decided to have a beer or a shot before bed.
We stuck to non-alcoholic drinks during the meeting.
We pretended to drink, but the open bottles they saw us drinking beer from when they came were filled with water.
We’d never go into this kind of thing impaired.
As I sat there with my brothers, I prayed that this would end up in our favor. I didn’t want to die or lose anyone.