Shadow Chapter 7 #3
I knew things had been busy at Punishers’ Lager.
I heard Reaper talking about it. So, with her tucked away at her place, I went to work.
I spent the bulk of the day working on everything I could to lighten everyone else's load. Even though I’d kept working on remote tasks, not everything could be done that way. I won’t lie, it felt good to be there.
In between tasks, I caught up with my coworkers. At the end of the day, Reaper had thanked me for coming in. He acknowledged it helped a lot. I promised him I’d spend more time there while Aubrielle was safely tucked at home. He thanked me.
I was uncomfortable with her being alone, plus I needed to be with her, now that we’d taken our relationship all the way. She spent the weekend at my house, but insisted she had to return to her apartment this morning to access her schoolwork and more clothes.
I talked her into coming to the compound with me tonight.
She agreed and packed a bag with more belongings, plus her laptop.
I wished it were everything, but I’d ease her into giving up her place.
I knew it symbolized her independence from her family.
It would be hard for her to give it up, so I didn’t push it.
On the nights she wouldn’t stay with me, I’d stay with her.
Aubrielle was in the common room with the old ladies and kids who were gathered there while their old men attended church.
It felt so right to see her with them and to have her things scattered in the bedroom and bathroom.
I had more than enough space for her to put her stuff in the closet and bathroom drawers. It helped to make it feel more real.
Church was called to order, and the familiar agenda began.
The month was almost over. Business issues or concerns were discussed.
After that was out of the way, it was time for updates.
This part was what interested me the most this time.
I waited to see what Reaper and Spawn would say.
It almost killed me not to ask Spawn every five minutes what he’d found on Aubrielle’s family.
“Alright, now that all business crises are out of the way, we’ll start the ongoing business.
Shadow, you’ve been patient long enough.
Spawn, fill us in on what you know so far about the Carter family,” Reaper’s voice said firmly.
He was leaning forward, his forearms resting on the table, his hands clasped.
Spawn cleared his throat before he began. As usual, he had a tablet with him. It allowed him to perform immediate searches when required or to display content on the room's ceiling-mounted projector. Yeah, it was the biker’s version of an executive conference room.
“I’m still digging, but I can tell you that what I’ve found so far is damning and not pretty.
I will say that Oliver Carter and his sons have been careful.
Oliver, Elle’s dad, has done a good job of keeping things hidden from the start.
And to be honest, I probably wouldn’t have what I do if it were only him involved.
“However, we’re lucky that his sons and brother aren’t as private as her dad is.
Let’s talk about Jock, his brother. That guy isn’t cut out to head up an operation of this scope.
He tends to talk out of turn, so Oliver keeps him on a short leash.
Jock likes to live the good life and to flaunt what he has.
He wants to be envied and the focus of attention.
He is nowhere near as intelligent or controlled as his older brother.
And Jock is jealous of his brother and resents him, even though he depends on him for his livelihood.
Jock wants to at least share control, but Oliver won’t allow it.
“There have been whispers, posts made on social media that hint at all this. His daughter, Whitney, the one some of us met when Elle auditioned at Eden, is just like her dad when it comes to greed, jealousy, and wanting to be seen. She posts more cryptic comments that show her and her daddy hate being under Oliver’s thumb.
I don’t know if they think he’s stupid and don't know they're doing it, but I found evidence that he's monitoring them.
“Then, there’s Jerome or Rome, as they call him, and Jace, Elle’s brothers.
Rome is the one who takes after their dad the most. Jace is better than Jock, but he’s a follower, not a leader.
Rome keeps things on the down low far better than Jace, though they’re both way better than their uncle.
Tiny leaks are out there on the internet if you know where to look.
Whispers about illegal dog fights and human fight rings.
They seem to center on the area around Big Stone Gap, though they don’t specifically name the Carter family as the ones behind it.
“I’m working not only to find locations, but also to find where the money is hidden.
Oliver isn’t stupid. He doesn’t just let it flow into their bank accounts, not even Jock’s.
All four are supposedly self-employed. When you try to find out what their work entails, it’s hazy, with only hints online.
Their tax returns show modestly comfortable incomes, with nothing to raise the IRS’s suspicion.
Those kinds of fights are lucrative, especially for how long they’ve been doing them.
The money is being funneled into offshore accounts, maybe LLCs, and more.
They have to be. I’m working that angle.
“All this is to say, they’re not going to be easy to corner, and they’re not all stupid.
Aubrielle doesn’t know the exact locations of the fights.
She was never permitted to go to them, even if she wanted to.
If we hope to stop this and uproot it all, we can’t just take out the Carters.
We have to know who else needs to go down with them or be sent to prison.
And those who bet need to face consequences as well.
If not, someone else will just step in to fill the void, and it’ll continue,” Spawn concluded.
Nothing he said surprised us, but it wasn’t as much as I hoped.
It was my anxiety to have everything resolved, not a knock against Spawn’s abilities.
He was top-notch. We were damn lucky to have him.
But as I stared at him, I saw his frustration.
He was harder on himself than anyone else ever would be.
“Spawn, thanks, man. I know you wanted to have more, but you’ll find it. You always do. It can’t all come to you like magic,” I teased to ease his self-disappointment.
He cracked a partial smile. Reaper jumped in.
“Shadow is right. You’re always too hard on yourself.
It sounds like Oliver is smart and takes charge, covering for the others.
But you already mentioned there are cracks and small leaks.
Someone will fuck up. Shadow, I know Elle wants nothing to do with her family.
However, if it came down to it, do you think she’d help us get one of her brothers or her cousin Whitney to give us a crack into their world?
I’m not saying we’ll do it, but if we have no other way, I’d like to know our options,” Reaper asked.
My immediate reaction was to tell him fuck no.
I wanted her as far away from her family as possible.
But my brain knew that sometimes we had to use the only resources we had.
It was never ideal to ask an old lady for help, but it happened.
Plus, I knew Aubrielle would want to assist if it meant the end of her family and their horrible businesses.
She’d told me how much she wished she could do something to stop them.
Going to the police wouldn’t get her anywhere without proof.
She told me her dad was too smart to let incriminating evidence lie around. It was her word against theirs.
“Yeah, if there’s no other way, then we’ll ask her. She wants them gone. She hates what they do and the pain they inflict. If she had proof, she said she would’ve gone to the cops herself. Oliver is too crafty to leave shit lying around,” I confessed.
“We’ll keep working on it, and hopefully it won’t come to that, but just in case, we have a backup plan. Thank you, brother,” Reaper stated.
I gave him a chin lift to acknowledge his thanks.
After that, the rest was just a drone of updates and the resolution of open items on the agenda.
I was relieved there was no new business this time, so we were released about ten minutes after Spawn’s report was finished.
I wasted no time hurrying to the common area to be with her.