Chapter 20
TRACKER
Aknock on the office door has me shouting, “Come in,” and seeing Cilla, I lean back in my seat and wait for her to tell me what’s going on.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, but Tank is pestering me to tell you that there is someone selling drugs in town.
I don’t know why he’s telling me that now when we have ZeBach coming soon, but he said to tell you, and now I have.
” Cilla heads toward the door, shaking her head, not at me, but presumably at Tank.
“Cilla, ask Tank if it’s someone here or someone with ZeBach selling the drugs.”
I watch as Cilla does the going quiet while she talks to the invisible man. I cannot stop the smirk that forms at the invisible man thought.
“Okay, he said nobody here but someone you employed to work the vehicle rescue is involved.”
“Thank you, Cilla,” I give her a half smile and get a bright one back in return. I haven’t thought of Cilla as The Seer for quite some time, but I’m sure it will pop out now and again.
Once Cilla has left the office, I know I’ll have to speak to Bull about who is new and to catch the fucker in the act.
The roadside recovery is doing well, and we’ve had to buy a third flatbed.
The brothers are busy and it’s bringing in the dough.
The roll-off containers are doing the same, and between these two businesses we are bringing in enough to keep everyone with a decent income.
It would be nice to find something that rakes the dough in, but it would mean going illegal, and none of us want that.
The door opens and Cap struts into the office. “Everyone is in position, Pres. We have Joker, Ghost, and Whistle on the roof with sniper rifles. They’ll enjoy picking off the vermin.”
“What about the women?”
“Anna, Yvonne, Jo and Bessy have all left for their own homes. The club women are in Books' office,” chuckling Cap continues, “Books is not happy about that, but we had to put them somewhere.”
“We could have put them on the top floor, but if they blow the place they’d never escape,” I rub the back of my neck before I stand. “Let’s get ready to rumble, Cap. I thought our days of fighting for our lives was over, but here we go again.”
“Come on, you’d be bored if we didn’t have some trouble brewing,” Cap laughs as he speaks, and I know he’s probably right. It is one of the reasons we go to help others when we are approached.
Walking through to the common room, the calm around the building is noticeable. The brothers are armed and ready. Winger is bantering with Judge as it appears they are having a bet on who can kill the most bad guys. I shake my head at them both but have to admit it is some funny shit.
Cilla, I notice is sitting calmly at the bar drinking a mug of something. But I don’t smell coffee, and my curiosity gets the better of me. Walking over, I sit next to Cilla who looks at me with a blank face. “Are you okay, Cilla?”
“I’m good. I have Tank, Pyro, and Bono here jabbering in my ear. Apparently, ZeBach has around forty men and will be here in about an hour.”
“Well, that’s handy to know.” I look at her closely, and you would never know she’s speaking with dead people, or that she can convey what they want. “You need to stay safe, Cilla. Finger is outside the clubhouse making sure not one of them gets inside.”
“I know, he ordered me around before he went out,” Cilla rolls her eyes comically, but I don’t react to that.
“I’m leaving the prospects inside as the last defense. They are fully armed and know what to do. You’ll be safe if you stay inside the clubhouse. The club women are with Books in his office. Do you want to go stay with Books too?”
“Not likely. I will stay here and if I have to relay a message from the Boys,” which she says with a hint of sarcasm. “I can easily let you, or whoever happens to be here, know.”
“Okay. I don’t want to see you get hurt, Cilla. You are our first and most precious old lady, and you know Finger wouldn’t survive without you. He’s all in, you are his one and only, so don’t go getting hurt or killed.”
“I’ll be fine, Tracker. Bono said I in my future I don’t get hurt, and I believe him. How he knows I’ve no idea and I’m not asking.” Cilla gives me another eye roll, and I can’t stop the chuckle that occurs. I give her a hug before walking over to Cap, Rides and Hot Rod who are going to be with me.
I pick up the weapons Cap has laid out for me, and I can’t help the feeling of going to war run over me.
It brings back memories I don’t need. PTSD is a common thing for prior servicemen and women.
We all suffer one way or another. All of us have had counseling and cope with things well because of it. Some of us may need more after tonight!
Placing my earpiece, I tap it to let Keys know I’m here, and he confirms he has me. “Okay, let’s get outside and get ready.”
Walking out and around the clubhouse, I acknowledge Bowie, Truck, Phoenix, Bull, and Tread out the back of the clubhouse, dug in and ready. We have dug outs we made covers for, so under normal day-to-day life you don’t know they are there and we walk over them on a daily basis.
Looking up, I note the snipers are in place and give them a wave to let them know I see them. Nothing worse than not being seen by the man in charge. It’s something I do my best not to mess up.
Finger gives me a nod from where he is standing behind the garden supplies shed.
It’s not just garden equipment but has hidden lock boxes filled with weapons.
They are backup weapons in case of something like this happening.
The unusual thing about that shed is that it has oblong flaps that we slide out and can shoot through.
We got the idea from the arrow slits that you see in castles.
Great idea and versatile. Brewer is in the shed and I’m sure chomping at the bit to get this show on the road.
Demon is somewhere around. Nobody can keep him tagged when war is afoot. He was the same when in the sandbox. He was always there at the right time, but you were not sure where he came from. He fights hard and is lethal. It is how he got his name because he really fights like a demon.
We have so few men now, but it was necessary to cull the club.
We wouldn’t continue funding for the brothers who had slid onto drugs, or those who were doing illegal shit.
Some we ended as they were stealing from the club or simply lost who they were.
Once we couldn’t save them, we cut them loose or cut them down.
“Tracker, can you hear me?”
My head shoots around and not seeing Cilla I realize she’s speaking through my earpiece. “Yeah, I hear you.”
“Keys gave me an ear thing so I can relay anything the boys need you to know. Is that okay?” Cilla asks me nervously.
“You can relay anything, Cilla. But stay safe inside.”
“I will,” Cilla replies, then I have to chuckle when she says confidently, “Over and out.”
I stand with Cap, Hot Rod, and Rides. In front of the clubhouse, we wait peacefully for chaos to erupt. The snipers are keeping a vigilant watch to the farthest extent of their vision, ready to alert us upon the first sign that the enemy are here.
“They are here, Pres,” Joker informs me from his position on the roof. I hear Whistle alerting Bowie. Then I hear Cap warn Scalpel to be ready, as we have incoming.
Shots are fired from the roof, and I look at Cap, “Let’s make sure we all stay alive.”
Cap nods while Hot Rod jogs over to the bike shed and positions himself. He has a shotgun in hand, and I know he can use it accurately. He’ll ditch it once they get near him and use his Ruger.
Rides stays on my left and Cap on my right. Rides is so calm it’s a little unnerving. “Are you not worried, Rides?” I ask flicking my eyes to him.
“No, I’m good, Pres. Cilla told me my woman is coming, but not yet. So, if she’s coming, I’m not dying, right?” Grinning like a fool at his own statement, I roll my eyes at him but stop instantly when I realize what I’m doing. Damn Cilla, she is going to get me a reputation.
Everything happens suddenly. Bullets start flying and I duck behind a wall we had built in front of the clubhouse. They run parallel to the downstairs windows. Leaving a path around to the back of the clubhouse, but behind the wall which is our place of safety for the moment.
A boom sounds, not too close, but you can feel the vibration under your feet.
“That’s gotta be Demon with his grenades. He loves those things,” Rides chuckles, and both myself and Cap nod our heads in agreement.
We shoot and duck, but this is getting ridiculous. I tap my earpiece, “Keys, do you know where ZeBach is?”
“Cilla here. ZeBach is with the large truck at the back of the other vehicles. I think he’s hiding, and Pyro is firing up his energy ready to throw some firebombs. Over!”
“Thanks, Seer,” I respond and imagine Cilla either laughing or being pissed at the name.
Keys laughs in my earpiece, “What she said, Pres.”
I hear Cap grunt and look over my shoulder to see if he’s okay. He is running just behind me and gives me a nod that he’s okay, so we carry on making our way out of the compound. Killing as we go.
I'm distracted, but then I see Finger with a sword, slashing at the three jerks before him.
They are so busy dodging the sword that they are not firing their guns at him.
With one stab, he pierces one of the guys so deeply that the blade nearly exits his back.
I can't stop myself from wincing. Finger bellows as he swings, slices the next one, and I see his guts fall out, but he’s scrambling to catch them.
Finger dodges the third lunge, executes a swift 180-degree turn, and severs the attacker's neck.
When his head rolls my way, I don't like it, so I kick it back like a football.
“Give that to me. I want a go,” I shout to Finger who shrugs and hands it over.
I swing it around, get the feel of its weight before lunging at a fucker shooting at Hot Rod. I slash his arm, making him drop his weapon. Then spin and slash. Oh, this is fun. I spin and slash again, cutting his throat in the process. I turn to look at Finger, “This is fun, Finger.”
“Yeah, Pres. Behind you!” Finger responds.
“Cilla here. ZeBach has left the vehicle and is heading your way. Over.”
Cap chuckles as we can all hear what she is saying. Finger is not responding, which surprises me, but I can see the smirk on his face. In fact, most of the brothers I can see have a smirk on their faces.
We all have to get behind something for cover when a surge of new arrivals hits us. The snipers are firing into them and taking down as many as they can. I can hear fighting around the back of the clubhouse and hope Phoenix, Bowie, Bull and Tread can hold it.
Brewer is firing from the shed and doing a fine job of mowing through the newcomers. Demon has appeared and is hacking into them from the rear, but if ZeBach is on his way, that’s a dangerous position for him.
“Demon, incoming, move your ass.” I inform and can’t help but be thankful we can communicate with each other. I watch as Demon fights his way to the bike shed along with Hot Rod.
Judge I hear shout to Winger, “I have twelve!”
“Fuck off, Judge, I have thirteen.”
Cap chuckles, and when I look at him, he is bleeding heavily from his arm. “Go get that arm checked out. No arguments, Cap. Go.”
Rides grunts, “We are all the same, Pres. Not wanting to leave the battle. Now, how about we find the asshole and stop this shit!”
“Cilla here. You need to stop him as he has a bomb, Tracker. Pyro is going to fire his ass so you’ll see where he is. Over.”
We don’t get a moment to think about what she is telling us before flames are spotted in the distance.
“Come on, Pres. Last one there is a dick,” Rides states, and sprints forward, shooting at anyone that gets in front of him. How many bullets he has left I don’t know!
I swing the sword, fire my weapon, and feel like a Viking marauding a village. It’s great, I love it, and I’ve not felt this alive for a while. I’m not catching up to Rides yet, but he is one hell of a runner. He can sprint longer than any of us.
Six men are walking toward us, looking calm until they see us heading right for them. They fire their weapons, but we duck, roll, and dodge. I get a nick on the arm, Rides gets one on his thigh, but we are good.
Reaching them, I swing the sword, hitting three in a slicing motion. The sword swings along each of them, but when I think we are done for and as they raise their weapons shots are fired and they fall.
One is left standing, and this is going to be the end of ZeBach.
A flame lights up the asshole's pant leg and I step back because that lit up fast. Anyone would think he has gasoline on him with the speed this flame is traveling. ZeBach is screaming for us to help him as he throws himself onto the ground and rolls to put out the flames. I don’t want to waste my time so I shoot the fucker in the head and leave his carcass to burn out.
“Thanks, Pyro,” I say, not feeling like an idiot speaking to an empty space. Fuck anyone that sees me, I don’t care. Pyro helped us and I saw it happen, it was fuckin’ awesome.
Walking back to the clubhouse, Demon and Hot Rod who had appeared in the nick of time are now arguing over who shot the ginger-haired man. I’m thinking who cares?
Any that were not killed have disappeared, but we have a lot of bodies to get rid of. I think we may need a larger acid pit!
Stepping into the clubhouse, Cap walks over to me, patched up. I’ll get mine looked at in a while, but it is only a graze so I’m not worried about it.
“I’ll work with the brothers to clear the mess. If the sheriff comes around, I’ll tell him we were playing war games.”
Nodding I look around and see Cilla still sitting at the bar with her mug of whatever she has, and she gives me a tiny wave, which I return.
The door flies open, and Finger marches inside and heads directly for Cilla.
He grabs hold of her and kisses her senseless.
Yeah, I think I’m feeling jealousy for the first time, but I’m not telling anyone.
“What the fuck is all that screaming?” I ask Jethro who happens to be the prospect nearest to me.
“Pres, they have not stopped screaming since this all started. But we have had no trouble inside. It’s been boring to be honest.” Jethro looks towards Books office with disgust.
I march over to the office, throw open the door so hard it slams against the wall. “SHUT THE FUCK UP!”
Silence, deadly silence. The club women are looking at me with shocked faces. I give them the best scowl I can muster right before walking out of the office.
Okay, cleanup time I hope now this is done, and we can concentrate on getting the tattoo shop and finding who is selling drugs in town.