Shadow
We all gathered in the Hole. The place was set up with four cells along one wall and a large central open section.
In the middle of the open area was a stainless-steel table bolted to the floor so it wouldn’t move.
On each end of it were leather wrist and ankle restraints.
Along another wall were cabinets that held tools and various torture paraphernalia.
There was a small bathroom with a shower, and a room with a bed.
That was if someone had to remain here on guard duty.
The five thugs had spent their time in the cells or sitting in chairs while Ryder questioned them.
Our enforcer obtained whatever information the club needed to ensure its own safety and that of its family members, or at times, the safety of innocents.
He wasn’t squeamish about using whatever means necessary to do it.
Ryder had joined the club at the same time as Wrath did.
They were best friends. The two of them had been involved in a lot of the one-percenter shit the club had been into once upon a time, the same as I had been.
And anyone thinking that because Ryder was forty-one, that meant he was growing weak or ineffective soon found out how wrong they were. I pitied those who went up against him.
The guys looked worse for wear. The assumed leader looked worse than the others. Both his eyes were turning black and blue, and one was swollen completely shut. He had dried blood all over his face. I walked over to Ryder, who was staring them down through the bars of their cells.
“Seems like Joe got more of your personal lovin’ than the rest. Mind if I ask why?”
“He did. As I explained the dirt we had on each of them, he kept mouthing off, saying it was just a job. They deserved it. It was the last one that pissed me off. He was speaking of the women they’d been accused of raping.
They’re fucking pieces of trash. I finally persuaded them to tell me the truth.
Big man Joe kept resisting. The others saw the light and talked. ”
“Shadow, I’m gonna let you lead the show on this. Say whatever you want to these bastards, then we’ll do the deed. Are you alright with them not being beaten or tortured more than they already have been? Or do we need to give them a bigger lesson?” Wrath asked after he came up to us.
“Pres, honestly, I’d love to make them pay all night, but the truth is, as vile as they are, they’re not the main issue for us.
Erasing all ties to Cambria, making sure her new identity works, and the elimination of Garen Brooks take precedence.
I say we inform them of their fate, then take them to their final resting spot. ” I replied.
Wrath clapped his hand on my shoulder as he nodded. “I agree. Go ahead, you tell ‘em.”
When he let go, I walked up to the cell bars where the men were. They were slumped over, pitiful sights that I felt no sympathy for. They did raise their heads when they saw me. No surprise Joe was the one to speak.
“When the fuck are you gonna release us? Your buddy over there had his fun, showing us how tough he is. It’s easy to beat someone when they’re restrained. Why doesn’t he fight like a real man? In fact, why don’t all of you? You had no right to bring us here. We haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Let me clear up a few things for you. The stuff Ryder did to you was to gather intel for his club. The fact that you were restrained worked in your favor, not against you. You should be thankful.”
“Why the hell would I be thankful for that?” Joe asked, outraged.
“Because if you had been toe-to-toe with him, he would’ve let go more. Believe me, what he did to you isn’t even twenty-five percent of what he can do. This guy is a wrecking machine.” I flashed Ryder a thumbs-up. He smirked.
“I don’t believe it. Whatever. We’ve paid whatever price you think we should for taking the job for those two crazy bitches. It’s time to let us go,” Joe added.
“Joe, Joe, see, I can’t do that. You’ve been questioned regarding the Garen Brooks’ issue.
But you’ve been judged based on your pasts.
And man, do you boys have colorful ones.
You’ve spent your life getting what you want through any means necessary.
You don’t care who you hurt. And you’ve hurt a lot of innocent people.
You’ve raped women and think nothing of it,” I snapped.
“We were acquitted of raping anyone. And so what if we do other things to make a living? It doesn’t impact you, so why do you care?” Miles unexpectedly found his voice.
“I care. My club cares. We care because we make it our business to help innocent people out when they have assholes like you to deal with. Most of the time, you’re somehow connected to an old lady, but not always.
In your cases, we’re doing a public service,” Ryder snarled. He’d moved to stand next to me.
“It’s a public service to hold us hostage and beat us?” Miles asked.
“Yes, but that’s not the only service we’ll be providing. Brother, why don’t you tell them what they’ve won on the Crime is Right?” Ryder’s face now wore an evil grin.
“I think I will. You five are the lucky winners, by unanimous vote, of a trip to Davy’s Locker. All transportation and your accommodations are courtesy of the Pagan Souls,” I told them, pretending to be one of those game show hosts.
There was confusion on Miles, Jack, and Roy’s faces. Joe and Pete, though, knew what we meant. Their faces showed fear. The two of them shook their heads.
“No, no, you can’t do this to us. We haven’t hurt you or that woman, Journi, or whatever her name is,” Pete protested.
“Hey, you don’t need to do this. We’ll forget this whole incident ever happened. We’ll keep our mouths shut. You know we don’t trust or like cops. You’ll never be bothered by us again. We’ll steer clear of you and your people,” Joe offered.
“What does Davy’s Locker mean?” Miles asked Joe.
“You three are as dumb as rocks. How can you not know what it means? Christ, they mean to take us out and drown us. Usually it would be in the ocean, but since we have none of those around here, I assume it’ll be a lake or pond,” Joe explained impatiently.
Horror appeared on Miles, Roy, and Jack’s faces. They protested. We ignored them. I had to raise my voice to be heard over their caterwauling.
“You’re right, and since we’re so close to Lake Oconee, it’s the perfect place for you. Did you know that it gives us close to four hundred miles of shoreline and almost twenty thousand acres of water? It conceals many secrets, not just ours.” This information came from Wrath.
The five thugs paled and began pleading louder. I was over it.
“I’m ready to go,” I said softly to my brothers. They were all gathered around me.
“The vans are outside and ready to go. All we’ve got to do is get their asses in one and us in one or the other. Let’s go,” Nomad replied.
That was the cue for him, Chains, Chaos, Ryder, and Fury to unlock the cells and remove our captives. I had to give the thugs credit. Even in their current state, they tried to resist, although it did them no good. In no time, they were bound and thrown haphazardly into the back of a delivery van.
“Remove your colors,” Wrath reminds us.
We took off our cuts and hung them on hooks just inside the storage building’s door.
There would be no cuts or bikes tonight.
We wouldn’t risk anyone seeing us and recalling that Pagans were near the lake.
This precaution was in case the bodies were found.
In all the years we’d used the lake for disposal, none had been discovered.
However, it wasn’t our only disposal site, so we didn’t use it constantly.
And we were disposing of five, not a single person.
I rode in the van with the prisoners, along with Ryder and Rage.
In the other van were Wrath, Nomad, and Forge.
We’d spoken about it before entering the Hole that not everyone could go.
Some had to remain behind to watch over the ladies.
Except for mine and Wrath’s names, random brothers’ names were called out by Wrath to choose who would go with us.
The ones not chosen were disappointed, but they understood why they had to remain behind.
We weren’t far from Lake Oconee, but to drive clear around it would take time.
We hadn’t lied about how big it was. However, we’d scoped it out enough over the years, and we knew the most popular places to boat, fish, and even swim.
Additionally, we were aware of the spots that weren’t hospitable for those activities and were ideal for hiding bodies.
I did wish we had an alligator, like Gnawbert, down in Florida.
The Horsemen of Wrath had a wicked garbage disposal.
While we did occasionally have sightings of alligators in the Oconee River, which fed into the lake, it had been a long time since one had found its way into our lake.
Or at least had been sighted. Gnawbert had a dedicated home behind the Horsemen’s compound. Talk about convenience.
It was dark and winter, so there wasn’t anyone out fishing, swimming, or boating.
We found one of our favorite spots and brought the vans into the trees in case someone drove by.
We kept the men gagged. Sounds such as yelling could carry.
They were still trying to talk through the gags while jerking and kicking to get loose, to no avail.
We lined them up at the edge of the water. Their arms were already secured. Cement blocks were quickly tied to their ankles. There were several ways to end this. Tonight, I left it to Ryder to decide. And he was prepared.
“How do you want to do this, Ryder?” Rage asked.
“Simple,” our enforcer said as he held up a dead blow hammer.
I knew the type it was because Ryder had educated us a long time ago on different types. This hammer was one often used in automotive, metal, and carpentry work. The head of the hammer had iron shots in it. They helped absorb the shock and minimize the rebound from the blow.
Without delay, he slammed it into Roy. The guy dropped like a stone unconscious to the ground.
Forge and Nomad jumped in to lift the unconscious man and his blocks and toss him into the lake.
We watched him sink slowly from view. One by one, each man was treated to the same thing.
Was the water cold? Yes. Was it a terrible way to die?
Most likely, though, in their case, they were unconscious, so they most likely never regained consciousness to realize what was happening.
One of the things we’d been careful to avoid was leaving fingerprints.
We wore gloves the entire time we handled the guys, the rope, and the blocks.
The van and the Thieves’ Hole would be thoroughly sanitized to remove any DNA or fibers they may have left behind.
Again, there was no link to us that would bring the cops to our door, but we couldn’t be too careful.
The hammer would be wiped and then sanitized. No way was he going to throw that away.
We ensured the bodies weren’t visible before we got in the vans and drove off.
By tomorrow morning, the vans would be back at Sacred Scrap, where they would be crushed into a cube of metal.
It would be sold to be melted down and reused.
On the ride back to the compound, my mind wasn’t on the five men we’d killed.
It was on my woman and how the final steps would play out for us. I prayed there were no complications.