Chapter Seven
Three miles away, Cassie sat at her kitchen table and sipped on a cup of green tea.
On the other side of the table, Peaches leaned against Iceman’s shoulder.
Deke and Iceman along with Sam and Gator all shared a beer. Despite it being early in the morning, they all wanted beer, not coffee on this day.
Peaches stared at Sam and whispered, “Thank you again, Bones.”
Sam took a swig from his beer and nodded at her.
Gator looked up and asked, “What did you do, Bones?”
Cassie set her cup down on the table and informed him, “Sam took a bead on Banger and shot him before he could shoot Peaches in the head.”
Deke and Iceman both nodded.
Sam shrugged. “Someone had to. But I wasn’t the only one holding a gun on that asshole. Everyone else had a gun in their hand too.”
Deke nodded and so did Iceman.
“I was the only one that had a bead on him from behind though and I took it.” He shrugged again. “It might not have killed him but it got his attention anyway.”
“Do you think this is finally over?” Peaches asked the room.
Cassie shook her head.
Deke got his words in ahead of her, “It had better be over, we told him if he comes around again he won’t leave here alive or words to that effect.”
“It won’t be over until he finds the gold Robbie stole from him,” Cassie voiced her opinion.
“But you told him where it was, didn’t you?” Iceman asked.
Cassie nodded. “Yeah, but like I said earlier, Robbie watched his mother hide her wealth in plain sight. But Banger might not know what to look for.” She shrugged. “I can’t help him there.”
Deke shook his head. “She was very helpful to him. Yes.” His voice dripped with sarcasm. He looked over at Iceman and said, “Ole Banger might come back and this time I don’t want our women taken.”
“You really think that loser will actually dare to come back here?” Iceman asked in disbelief.
Deke nodded. “I think the man has lost his fucking marbles and our beating probably scrambled what little he had left of a brain. So, yes it is possible. The gold may be in that old house but he won’t find it unless someone points out exactly where to look and Cassie is the only one that knows where. ”
Cassie looked around. “I agree with Dr. Deke here about his mental capacity. There was an odd glint in that man’s eyes. I’ve seen it a few times in my life.”
“Yeah, me too. He is insane,” Peaches stated firmly.
Cassie nodded. “We’d seen it in men’s eyes when we lived on the streets and the odd thing was they would say that they spoke to the dead.
Like the soldiers they served with or spouses that had died.
It was always sad as they usually would kill themselves.
Like step out in front of a bus or even the subway tracks. ”
Sam scoffed. “Well, this man won’t kill himself. He is too fucking arrogant and ornery for that. No, the only way that he will rest is one of two ways...When he is dead or he finds that gold.”
No one argued that point.
A few hours later....
Banger heard the sound of an engine coming toward the warehouse. He got up and hobbled to the door. He watched as the vehicle drove closer and Finn stopped the truck right at the door.
Banger hobbled over toward the passenger door and wrenched it open.
Finn turned his head and stared at him while looking stunned. “The fuck, Virgil? What the hell happened to you? You look like you went to war and lost.”
Banger grunted and hoisted himself up into the cab. “Yeah well, it feels like it too. They double crossed me. But I found out what I wanted to know. I found out where Robbie put the gold.”
Finn shook his head. “She just came out and told you? Why would she do that?”
Banger gritted his teeth. “Maybe because I was holding her sister with a gun to her head.”
Finn shook his head as if he could not believe Banger actually took a Vincinti then lived to tell him about it. He looked the other man over carefully. “What happened after that, you look pretty rough, man.”
Banger growled, “I didn’t know that the Cassie-bitch brought the whole MC with her, I told her to come alone.
Once she told me what I wanted to know I was gonna shoot them both then go find the god damn gold.
But some coward shot me in the back. Iceman and the bitch’s old man then beat the hell out of me.
They left me zip tied to a brace and it took a while to get free.
” He looked out the window and growled again, “As soon as I get the gold, I’ll settle with them. ”
Finn sighed heavily. “Man, you need to leave those rattlesnakes alone. You will get bit and die. We all got lucky that they let us go when they did.”
Grumbling to himself, Banger didn’t reply.
Finn drove back to Boston.
They didn’t have any discussion as Banger slept most of the way.
When they arrived on the freeway through Boston, Banger gave him the address.
Finn took the offramp to the west side and drove through the city silently. They finally reached the small house and pulled up into the driveway.
Banger studied the abandoned house with its peeling paint and dirty windows.
He couldn’t believe Robbie ever lived here and he was losing faith that the gold he thought about every day inside that cell was even here anymore.
His fingers clenched into fists as he stared at the small house.
“That fucking little bitch. She lied to me.”
Finn slowly turned his head and told him, “Well what did you expect? I saw what that girl did to Rodney. She isn’t your average woman. She’s a biker’s wife, man.”
“So?” Banger spat.
‘They aren’t Betty Crocker types, Virgil. They are fighters.”
“Yeah, yeah. Well, they are gonna be dead if I don’t find that gold.
” Banger kept staring at the abandoned hovel.
“Well only one way to find out, let’s go inside and see what there is to find.
” He shoved the door open and stepped down.
Wincing and groaning, his body was stiff and aching.
He also had a terrible limp as he moved along.
Finn joined him and they both went to the front door. The door didn’t even have a lock that worked. They pushed it open as the wood of the door had swollen due to the weather and it scraped across the floor inside.
Slowly, they walked through the rooms and they saw old take-out containers of food that had dried up.
Some of the edges had been chewed by rats and there were scampering sounds in another part of the house.
Beer bottles were scattered along the floor and tables in the small kitchen.
Several of them were laying on the floor broken and the glass crunched under their boots.
Banger and Finn looked around the small house and just shook their heads.
“This is ugly and ridiculous, who would live in this squalor?” Finn asked.
Banger barked out a laugh, “Finn, no one has lived here in years.”
Finn nodded. “Well, the last report was that Robbie died six years ago so that must be right then.” He ran his hand over the top of his head. “But sweet Jesus man, did he really bring the gold here? If he did where the fuck is it?”
Banger shook his head. “How the hell am I supposed to know? I was in prison.” He looked around the rooms carefully but didn’t see anything out of place.
Everything was covered in years of dust and rat droppings.
His fingers on his good hand clenched into a fist and he was feeling the last bit of hope at ever finding his family’s treasure die in his mind.
Banger’s eyes were growing cold and he looked at Finn and gritting his teeth he said, “I’m going back to Troy and I’m gonna wrap my hands around her neck and squeeze until she can’t breathe then I’m gonna slit her throat and put her head on a pole facing the compound.
I want them to see her face every day knowing she lied, then I’m gonna rain hell on that MC. ”
“Man these men are not weak fools. Are you insane?” Finn exclaimed.
Banger growled and turned to grab Finn up by his shirt collar. “Don’t you call me insane!” He raised him up from the floor.
Finn looked spooked by the look in Banger’s eyes. “Man, you won’t live long enough to even get close to her. They will kill you the minute they see you. I’ve heard rumors about that club. Despite letting us go... they protect their own. Especially their women.”
Banger growled and spat at him, “I don’t fucking care! I won’t leave her alive. My brothers won’t allow it. She lied and now they won’t rest until I do what it takes!”
Finn tried to cool him down. “Come on man, put me down.”
Banger slowly set him down onto his feet.
Finn let out a long breath of relief. “Let’s go get a beer. Try to forget about all this.”
“Forget?” Banger asked as he shook his head. “My family needs justice, Finn.”
“I understand that, but Robbie has been dead for over five years.”
Banger growled again. “I don’t give a fuck, you hear me? That bitch lied to me and now it’s her turn to face the consequences.”
Finn shook his head. “I can’t be in on this. Those men will track you and me down if I’m involved.” He stepped back. “I got you here so I’m gonna leave now.”
“After all that I did for you?” Banger growled low. “I got you into the Screaming Falcons in the first place. I then saved your ass when that fucker from that bar was after you.”
Finn backed up some more. “And that is why I came and got you. But you can’t expect me to help you in this crazy plan to go up against the Sin’s Bustards again, man. That is suicide.”
Banger felt fury, pain and dread as he stepped over and grabbed Finn again. He then did something implausible and nearly impossible. With his good hand, he tossed him over the table.
The old, rotted wood gave way as poor Finn crashed down through it and landed on the floor then through it too.
Whispers in the room told Banger to finish him.
Banger raised his head to listen, then he spun around even with the hobbling.
“You are just the same kind of monster I am,” a new voice spoke to him.
Banger felt a true cold shiver run up along his spine as he whispered into the dusty ether, “Robbie? Is that you?”