Chapter 21
LEGION
W e park the bikes in the lot of a drive-through BBQ joint across the street from the scrapyard.
“According to Stan, they deal from the seventeen-hundredth block of Staunton Street. Side gate.”
Keegan removes his helmet and dismounts. “Stan?” he asks, hanging the dome on the handlebar.
“ The man in the van .” I light up a smoke, then gesture to the couple of picnic tables on either side of the walk-up window. “I say we take up some inconspicuous real estate and see what comes and goes… My treat if you’re hungry.”
“I’m not,” Keegan mutters, though as we walk toward the establishment, I note his slight grin before he informs me, “ My wife always has dinner waiting for me.”
I don’t bother concealing my own when I retort, “ I am very much looking forward to my seat at her table.”
While Keegan claims a bench, I order a tray with two smoked brisket sandwiches and two Cokes in case he changes his mind. He’s glaring down the side street, holding his cellphone casually against the top of his leg, when I take a seat across from him and place the tray between us.
“At least pretend you’re eating,” I say, unwrapping the sandwiches before sliding one nearer to him. “I hope you’re not giving Vanna any more grief.” I nod at his cell.
“I was confirming my shift was covered.” He tucks the cell in the chest pocket of his leather jacket. “And what I do with my wife is none of your fucking business.”
I nod, pulling a final drag from my cigarette before reaching across the table and extinguishing it in his sandwich. He scowls but says nothing.
“I would like to ask you something, without you getting all bent out of shape about it,” I say, lifting the bun of my sandwich to inspect the meat, an ingrained practice since my early days digging food from trash cans outside of joints like this.
“What?”
“This… mission of yours . The safehouses. What do you get out of all of it? What are you really hoping to achieve?”
He glares at me skeptically. “You care?”
“ Care might be too strong a word… Curious , though… For the moment, anyway.” While he rambles on, I take a few bites.
“It might seem like nothing to you, but round-the-clock security isn’t cheap.
What we offer helps the organizations funnel more funds into helping as many victims as possible.
” Keegan drags a hand through his hair and glances toward the scrapyard before meeting my gaze once more.
“These women and kids haven’t felt any measure of safety in a long time.
Escorting them to testify and confront their abusers in court, or working to assist with extracting them from dangerous situations, even sitting outside their safe houses, offers the victims a sliver of peace…
But I don’t expect an agent of chaos to understand anything we do. ”
I grab a Coke and take a gulp before asking, “You must have higher aspirations than glorified guard dogs , no?”
Keegan considers the question while I finish off the last bites of my meal, perhaps attempting to decipher my intentions. “Expansion,” he finally replies. “Our own compounds. Though you pushed that goal post quite a few yards back on your mission to destroy us.”
I nod and wipe my hands on a napkin before tossing it onto the tray. “I saw you in action one night… Your Swan Song … It’s funny, how one can loathe a person entirely while simultaneously admiring them.”
Keegan shoots me a sardonic grin. “ Admire is a stretch, though I’ll buy envy .”
“Touché.” I cock my chin at his sandwich. “Are you going to eat that?”
He arches a brow. “After you used it as an ashtray ? ”
I take it back and toss the top bun aside. “I’ve eaten worse to survive… Willful waste makes woeful want .” I sigh, avoiding his scrutinizing stare while taking a bite.
When he clears his throat and speaks again, there’s less hostility in his tone, though only by a fraction. “Why didn’t you turn me in?”
“At the time, I had bigger plans for you.”
“ Always scheming … But that does bring something to mind. Something you never gave me a straight answer about.”
“Which is?”
“Preacher.”
I swallow the last morsel, then wipe my mouth before meeting his inquisitive stare once again.
“ Do you really want a bite of this apple ? Shall I assuage your dark imaginings?” I grin.
His only response is a stern, impatient scowl.
“Very well… I had the dethroned old fool meet me behind the church on East Grove. His usefulness had long expired, and he knew too much.”
“A church? He died in his home…”
I raise my hand, silencing his interruption.
“Like the old fool he was, Preacher kept me waiting. I’d left my bike parked in the vacant lot of the…
Our Lady of Perpetual Hypocrisy, or whatever the name is of that particular house of worship.
Meeting at a church wasn’t the point. It was more so the location of the church. ”
Keegan rests his arms on the table, threading his fingers as curiosity mingles with the agitated expression he’s wearing. I decide not to keep him in suspense and relay what happened that day.
I remember sitting in wait for their former President, smoking between the sandaled feet of a large marble carving depicting Mother Mary. The sound of children’s laughter and playful shouts rang throughout the area from the field of the elementary school across the street.
“I suppose you’ve already heard I was voted out of the MC.” Preacher barely managed to look me in the eyes when he arrived, posture slouched in what I imagine could have been shame.
“Indeed.” I blew my smoke in his direction.
“I’m not quite sure what to?—”
“There’s nothing left to say , Preacher. Talk is cheap. Though perhaps it will ease your mind to know I realized this was inevitable. In fact, I’m surprised it took this long.”
The tension around his eyes slackened. Hope replaced the dread in his expression. I couldn’t help but chuckle. “You… wanted Keegan at the gavel?”
“ Oh, come now, Preacher ,” I admonished. “You must admit, it’s far more satisfying to witness a man’s fall from the top of a mountain than it is to simply trip him in the valley! Is it not?”
“I suppose…” he agreed, though with reluctance, seeped in suspicion.
I stepped closer to him as a cruel smile twisted my lips. “ How did that feel , by the way? Keegan not only dethroning you , but taking that cut you’ve worn for what? Thirty-five years?” I expelled an airy whistle, shaking my head in faux dismay. “That had to hurt. Nonetheless, well done .”
Preacher’s head jerked back in surprise. “This was your plan all along?”
I merely pulled another drag, flicked my ash at him, and allowed the smoke to escape my lips through a devious grin.
“ Lord have mercy…”
“It’s a little late for that now… I, however, require one last task of you.”
He glared at me, insisting, “ Oh, I’m finished being your lackey!”
I chucked the cigarette at his boots. “I couldn’t agree more.”
The flash of anger in his expression morphed back to unease.
“Despite being an insufferable, hypocritical, greed-driven sack of sanctimonious shit, Preacher …you have done your part in assisting me to the next phase of my mission. You see, I needed you to wreck your MC. To tarnish its image in this little community. I needed you to give him something dear to his heart to rebuild. I want him to work toward a goal. To revive a sense of pride in his mission. I want him to feel the redemption he seeks is within reach once again… Before I destroy it all . Before I burn this fucking little town to the ground. Before I twist him into everything he hates, then force him to lay his own demolished soul to waste… You two have more in common than either of you could ever fathom .”
Preacher only stared at me, looking a shade or two paler than he had when he arrived.
“Having said this, I urge you to listen carefully to the words I’m about to say next and take them to the very depths of your soul.”
After slipping on a leather glove, I reached into my cut and removed the black zippered pouch that contained the means to his end. “You won’t feel a thing. You’ll simply lose consciousness, slipping away on the wings of a dragon …” I assured him and shoved the kit into his trembling hands.
Semblances of words toppled from his mouth, though they had been unintelligible through his horrified shock.
“ Shh…shh…shhhh… I realize this is a lot to absorb. A rather gargantuan ask .” I took another step closer to him, forcing him to meet my gaze.
“You need to know, however, that if you force my hand, Preacher… it will not be a gentle hand . And I will not stop with you .” I warned with a gesture toward the elementary school across the street.
I daresay his complexion went even paler. The church parking lot faced the back of the elementary school that his grandchildren attended.
“That’s right… I offer you one last devil’s bargain . Your life solidifies and ensures the safety and continuance of your grandchildren’s lives… You have twenty-four hours. You, and everyone you care about, will be watched closely… I trust you understand the gravity of the situation?”
I t’s difficult not to laugh at the expression of horror in Keegan’s eyes, now.
“You know how his story ends.” I smile at the memory of Preacher’s last-ditch effort to expose me, leaving the syringe inside his bible at that specific passage, naming me . I have to suppress another chuckle. I’d made Preacher’s final act work to my advantage as well.
Keegan nods slowly. “And the funeral…”
“Suspicion of my involvement would have elevated had I not attended his funeral.” I don’t bother fighting the sneer this time when I tell him, “However, I was also hoping for another glimpse at your little witch.”
I recall eagerly scanning the crowd for her presence, and the disappointment that washed over me when I realized Preacher’s widow was the only woman at Keegan’s side that day. Had he been keeping her from me, I’d wondered, then found myself hoping perhaps they’d broken up.