Chapter 34
*~* Fury *~*
Sitting in the clubhouse with Mateo, Pens and Bank, we’re going over ideas for the MC's new business.
Pens and Bank are leaning towards opening a club, whereas Mateo and I are thinking a bar, at least to start with.
If we want to get this enterprise on its feet and making money, we both think that as a bar it will be far easier to prevent the drug users, or pushers from getting their foot back in the door.
As a bar, it will not open as late and so won’t attract the wrong crowd.
We could also cater for early evening meals and snack food.
Although we would still have security on the doors, there wouldn’t be the expectation of as much trouble as we’d see at a club.
On top of this, both Mateo and I think that once we have the bar established with a good reputation, we could put pressure on the owner of the club that was holding out for a ridiculous price, to finally sell.
He would know that with another successful bar opened, his chances of selling to anyone else would be slipping away fast.
Explaining this to Pens and Bank, they look surprised that we’ve come up with this idea. Pens states, “You two might just surprise the hell out of Pres and make a go of this. You’ve obviously put some thought into it already.”
“I must remember to thank Pres for his vote of confidence. I didn’t realize everyone had such a low opinion of us and our abilities,” I reply.
“Yeah, that didn’t come out quite right,” Pens says, trying to backtrack quickly.
“Oh, I’m sure it did, especially after Fury here made a fool of the pair of us. You still owe me for that, Fury.” Mateo gives me a sour look, and I give him a sickly-sweet smile in return.
Finally agreeing on it being a bar business, we look over some ideas for the layout and even some brand ideas that Mateo threw together.
Most of these revolve around the MC or a motorcycle theme, which has Pens and Bank wrinkling their noses.
There’s no rush for that as we haven’t got an offer put in yet. Banks is looking at that today.
Just as we’re calling an end to the meeting, Pens shouts out, “Pres! You’re gonna want to see this!”
We all stare at him shocked and wondering what the fuck we’ve done. Pres comes rushing in, and Pens points to the TV on the wall that has been playing to itself in the background.
The news channel has a full-screen picture of Senator Haroldson’s face along with the headline that he was killed this morning in a road traffic accident. Pres voices all our thoughts in one sentence.
“That was no fucking accident, that was his son taking over the family business.” Pres waits to see if there are any more details, but none are forthcoming. “I’ll speak to the officers sometime today and decide if this is likely to affect us.” Muttering to himself, he returns to his office.
Without a word, we too break up and go our separate ways. I’m going to pick Jamie up as she wants to visit the gun range, so she arranged some time off through Molly, and Mateo has his turn on the gate shortly. I sometimes wonder if Molly isn’t the boss now at the practice.
Arriving at the gun range, which I’ve never been to before, Jamie hops out of the pickup and runs into the shop. Knowing how excited she’s been on the drive here, I don’t bother chasing her. I’m sure she’ll be dragging this Mr. Gardner she’s been talking about, out here soon enough.
Faster than I expected, the door bursts open, and a bewildered gentleman is dragged to the pickup.
Now I live with Jamie, but even I can’t understand what she’s saying, as she’s talking a mile-a-minute.
Stopping for breath, or because she’s run out of words, she opens the rear door and almost pushes poor old Mr. Gardner into the truck.
The silence hangs heavily for a couple of minutes, and then he reappears.
He glances at me with a tear in his eye and then pulls Jamie into a hug.
If he were a younger man, I’d have a problem with that, as it seems to last an eternity.
Watching them part, I see tears streaming down his face.
He takes a moment to compose himself and then speaks to Jamie.
“That is a wonderful thing you have done, young miss. I couldn’t imagine a more fitting tribute.
Even though my son never took to hunting, the fact that the rifle means so much to me and the way you’ve chosen to display it, well, that brings more than a lump to my throat.
Thank you, and if you ever need anything, you be sure to come see me.
” Turning to me, he offers his hand which I take.
“Mister, that is one hell of a woman you’ve got yourself. You take good care of her, d’ya hear?”
“I know it, and I hear you loud and clear, sir.” He has a strong firm grip and I like this man.
“Mr. Gardner, I need another gun from you. Let’s go back inside,” Jamie says, surprising me.
Holy hell. I didn’t know she was here to buy something else. I thought she’d have enough weapons by now, what with my father dead and all. Following them inside, I see an old-style but carefully maintained gun shop.
There are a wide range of weapons and accessories available, and I’m drawn to the bows. I recall Mateo saying something about bows and Spirit, or perhaps her father. I obviously wasn’t paying enough attention.
Forgetting about Jamie and her need for yet another weapon, I wander around and look at everything on display.
This could easily become my second favorite place to be, after the Harley Davidson showroom, of course.
Hearing a cough, I look around and see Jamie waiting for me with a wrapped parcel under one arm.
“What have you got there?” I ask, but she taps the side of her nose and heads for the door. I turn and see Mr. Gardner grinning at me, so I give him a chin lift then follow Jamie to the truck.
She is very tight-lipped about her parcel, and I can’t get her to divulge what’s in there. I try everything on the way home except ripping it open, but all to no avail. She is not giving anything away.
I drop her off at the practice as she has the rest of the afternoon to work, and I’ll pick her up later. I notice she grins as she takes the parcel with her.
At the clubhouse, there is a flurry of activity.
When I notice that it’s all the officers running around, I realize that Pres has called them all in to discuss Senator Haroldson’s death and any implications that may have on the town.
If indeed it is his son’s way of taking over, it could become a messy business.
We all know that he’s only interested in money and power, with no scruples as to how he gets them.
Not wanting to sit around like a nun at an orgy, I head out to the gate to chat with Mateo. Maybe I can get him to tell me about the bows he was talking about before, without giving away the fact that I wasn’t paying attention the first time.
As I walk towards the gatehouse, I see Mateo look up and smile when he sees me.
I’ve done that job as a punishment, and it has to be the most boring job in the world.
It is like watching paint dry, grass grow, or watching water evaporate.
I’m sure I could think of a million other things along the same lines.
There isn’t much to relieve boredom, either.
The nature of the job is to be aware of everything that’s going on and to spot any potential threat in time to preempt it.
Officers often perform checks on the prospect on the gate, though it is extremely rare that anyone gets caught out.
We have a damn fine set of prospects, and I don’t recall when we last had an issue with one of them.
“How’s things, Mateo? Anything happening?”
“What’s up, Fury? Got a message for me or something?” Mateo continues to scan the surrounding area.
“No. Are you expecting one?” I find that a strange question.
“No, but you know I can’t talk to anyone while I’m on gate duty unless it’s an emergency. Cannon or Breaker will bust my buns if I’m caught talking. You’d best get out of here.” He looks around and this time scans the area near the clubhouse.
Just then there is a roar of bike engines. Cannon and Breaker arrive at the gate. Cannon looks at me, then at Mateo.
“You’d have seen us coming if you’d been paying fucking attention. What if we were being chased and needed to get in fast? Well done, you just pulled double gate duty over the weekend.” Cannon slides through the gate and parks around the rear.
Breaker pulls up near me and shakes his head. “You should know fucking better, so you can keep him company,” then he follows Cannon.
“For fuck’s sake, Fury. What have I done to you? You’re like my worst enemy in the whole world. Now I got punished, and must spend the weekend with you, to boot! You need to stay away from me, man.” Mateo shuts the gatehouse door, sits at the counter, and puts his head in his hands.
Getting myself into trouble has always been easy, but getting Mateo into trouble isn’t fair. Heading into the clubhouse, I look for Cannon and Breaker. Finding them with Pres, I open my mouth but get nowhere.
“One word, Fury, and it will be two weekends. Any more than that and it will be a month. You know the score with gate duty, and you fucked up.” Breaker looks at me with no sympathy, and I turn and walk away.
Back in the rec room and I check my watch.
Still too early to fetch Jamie, so I need to find a way to pass an hour without getting myself, Mateo, or anyone else into some kind of shit.
I sit in a corner, away from the few brothers in here, lean my head back against the wall, eyes closed and take a deep breath.
The silence is shattered as Pattie comes rushing in from the stairs. Seeing me, she rushes over.
“Where’s Jamie? She said to meet her here.”
“She doesn’t finish work for another hour, Pattie, and then I’m picking her up.”
“But she just messaged me and said to meet her in the rec room. Why would she do that?” She gives me a questioning look, and before I get to answer, Jamie and Molly hustle through the front doors.
“Pattie! Come here, girl. I got a gift for you,” Jamie squeals.
I look on, mesmerized as Jamie passes the parcel from the truck to Pattie. Blissfully unaware of the panic about to be unleashed, I watch Pattie rip open the parcel, unable to see what the gift was.
Everyone’s attention is focused on Pattie by this time, and when she turns to the room gift in hand, it’s like a fox in a henhouse.
Brothers and officers alike dive for cover, exiting the room by the nearest safe exits.
Cussing and swearing ensues as they vacate the room, and I’m the only one that sits there, frozen until I see what she’s holding. A shotgun. A fucking shotgun.
She racks the pump action and, seeing me, she points it my way, shouting bang at the top of her lungs. I damn near poop my pants before I jump up and run toward her. Grabbing the shotgun from her, I stand there, barrel pointing at the ceiling, glaring at Molly, Jamie, and Pattie.
“What the fuck are you playing at? You don’t bring unauthorized weapons into the clubhouse, and you never point one at somebody, whether it’s empty or not.
” With this, I pull the trigger and blow a fucking great hole in the ceiling.
The three women hightail it out of the clubhouse and I’m left there with a smoking gun in hand.
“Fury! What the fuck?” Pres screams at me from the hallway.
How do I manage to get myself into such deep shit without trying?