Chapter 7
“Excuse me?” Petra asked after several minutes of silence. “Are you turning in your badge? Don’t you work for both the DEA and the ATF?”
“Yes on working for both agencies, no to turning in my badge. The guys I mentioned earlier?”
“Yes, what about them?”
“They also hold a badge with either the DEA or ATF. You yourself are ATF. What I proposed to them was that the six of us men, still fully badged members of those government agencies, form our own motorcycle club. We will do what other clubs do, you know, have pig roasts, dice runs, parties, poker runs, to earn money, and we will be inviting the local one percenters. However, once we get established, eventually, we will be setting up the one percenters.”
“How?”
“I know a man, I don’t know if he’s retired completely or not, but he also carries a badge.
Again, I’m not sure of which agency, or if he’s local to where he lives.
He owns a bar, and he is willing to receive the shipment of drugs, or guns, or whatever the one percenters want, except for women and children, we will not be trafficking them, but then after they pick up the goods, I just have to make a phone call and let the rest happen. ”
“Ah, let me see if I have this right. You and the guys you mentioned are starting a motorcycle club, and you’re going to take out the one percenters. Well, not really take them out, physically, but set them up so that when you call Kessler or Flynn, then they can do a raid on their place.”
“Correct. We’ll still have our badges, and we’ll only use them when it is absolutely necessary.
We will live our lives like everyone else, run the motorcycle club, and just live our best lives.
I’m not saying we’ll clean up the biker world overnight, it will be a marathon, not a sprint, and we’re not going to want to make too many arrests close together. ”
“Avoid suspicion?”
“Correct.”
“Okay, what will you call yourself?”
“Tainted Shield MC.”
“Ooh, I like that. Because of the badge slash shield you carry, and it’s tainted around the edges. I know mine is because when I was with Devil’s Scorpions, I smoked pot. I never did the hard stuff, but I did indulge in a few joints every once in a while.”
“Me too, and then when I beat the shit out of Slim for hitting you, my shield became a little bit more tainted. Hell, I’ve been a cop for over twenty years and I’ve seen a lot of shit go down.
I’m disillusioned by what Kessler and Flynn thing we should do while undercover.
They’re not there, they don’t know the shit we have to go through.
Upper brass pisses me off when they try to tell me and others how to act while undercover with these hardened one percenters.
They don’t give a fuck if they are arrested, they run the streets like they don’t have a care in the world, and no one can stop them.
I’m here to stop them. But like I said, it’s not a sprint, it will be a marathon. ”
“Where do I come into this scenario?”
“I would like you to go with me and help me set up the club. I would like to go with the understanding that we will eventually be a couple. I was able to purchase a plot of land in Iowa. I know, there’s like nothing out there, but the area is roughly fifty miles from several motorcycle clubs already established in the area.
I’ve gone to them and requested permission to start our club, and they agreed to allow us to ride in their area.
There is a house and a barn. While we will live in the house, there is room for us to have separate bedrooms until the time comes if we want to share.
The barn I would like to convert to a clubhouse.
In the next few months the other guys will be joining us. ”
“Will I have to go to Kessler and request permission to go with you?”
“No, you will have to tell him that you’re going.
Oh, and you’ll have to get with HR so you can still receive your paycheck.
Same as when you were undercover with Devil’s Scorpions.
This is an undercover gig for as long as it takes.
We’ll just be living our lives like we normally do and take out the one percenters as we go along. Again, marathon, not sprint.”
“Who will the officer’s be?”
“We’ve tentatively worked that out. I’m the President, Snake is the Vice-President, Bulldog and Wheels will be the road captains, Vulture is the Sargeant at Arms, and Hillbilly is the enforcer.
Once others come to us, because we have feelers out, but don’t expect them to arrive right away, we’ll come up with more officers.
I believe the only two we’re missing right now are the secretary and treasurer. ” He waved his hand dismissively.
“I’m not putting any pressure on you, but maybe you could fill those positions until we’re established.
I’m not going to run club meetings without all undercover agents involved.
If you’re there as an undercover, then you need to know all the information.
It’s going to be slow going. I think once everyone starts arriving in the area, then we can have a vote.
The most important thing right now is to get the clubhouse and house we’ll be living in up and running. ”
“Will the others be living with us?”
“Not right away, but they can stay with us until they get settled. There are plenty of houses in and around town for sale.”
“Why?”
“A factory closed its doors a couple of years ago, and people up and left when the work ran out. The only thing I’m grateful for the one percenters for is that whenever someone from a big company came sniffing around to buy up all the houses to tear down for a strip mall, or to put up solar panels, they ran the business people out of town. ”
“Did they run the factory that shut down out of town?”
“Not that I’m aware of. I believe from the research Flynn has done it was piss poor management on their part and they went bankrupt.”
“Ah, were the one percenters open to the idea of our guys purchasing a house in the area?”
“Yes. That’s another reason why they are pushing the conglomerates out, they want what they consider real people living in those homes.
While you and I are getting the house and clubhouse set up, and when the others join us, we can ride around to let everyone know we’re in the area.
Attend their functions, act like a normal biker couple. ”
“Do you have colors yet?”
“Yes, well sort of.”
“How do you sort of have colors?”
“They’re at the place that make them. I’ll be picking them up on my way to the new place.” He finished his coffee, then looked her directly in the eye. “Petra, would you like to go to Iowa with me and start up the Tainted Shield motorcycle club as my old lady?”
“Yes, yes I would.”
“Thank god,” he said as he rose to his feet, went over to her and pulled her to her feet. “I’ve been wanting to do this for a long, long time.” He took her face in his hands and bent his head to hers. It didn’t take long for the gentle kiss to turn hot and heavy as they both deepened it.
They broke apart, and he put his forehead on hers. “Thank you. I’m not going to rush you. I’m leaving on Monday to head to the new place. I’m sure you’re going to have to talk to Agent Kessler, and then HR. Do you need any help packing up your house?”
“No, it’s a rental, and the appliances will stay. I can get a small U-Haul for my furniture, and a car dolly to pull my vehicle behind me. I can run to town tomorrow and on my way home from work to pick up some boxes, and pack after work.”
“Well, I still have a week before I leave. I’m leaving next Monday, not tomorrow. If you trust me to bring boxes to you, I can go into town while you’re at work, and then start packing for you. You’ll just have to tell me what to pack. Oh, and will you be breaking any type of lease?”
“No,” she said with a grin. “This house is actually rented by the agency. They house agents that come and go on undercover assignments. I’ve only been here since getting back from Tucson. What about where you live?”
“Just a rented house on the other side of town. I’m on a month-to-month lease and when I moved in, I told them I wouldn’t be staying long. The landlord cut me a sweet deal.”
“What was that?”
“He told me that if I could do the repairs that needed to be done around the place then he would overlook the fact that I rode a motorcycle, and then take the price of materials off the rent. After I fixed the first thing, he even took the price of labor off.” He settled his hands on her hips.
“I ended up paying only a couple of hundred dollars in rent, as well as utilities. When I move out he’ll be able to triple his money. ”
“What did you do?”
“New floors, I’m talking ripping them up, replacing the subfloor, and even laying new floor boards, and carpet in some rooms. I took everything down to the joists.
New kitchen cabinets installed. I went to a home improvement store and purchased the ones that you can stain yourself.
Then I painted all the walls and ceilings.
” He chuckled as he shook his head. “A past tenant painted one room all black, ceiling and floor, and the trim was in neon green.”
“Eew.”
“Yeah, I went out and bought a five gallon bucket of Kiltz to cover it up before I repainted. Anyway, the house is move-in ready for him to rent it out, or to sell it. Oh, in case I hadn’t mentioned it earlier, the guy is in his upper seventies.”
“Ah. I know it’s none of my business but what about your life? Do you need to clean up any loose ends?”