Heart of a Rebel: Rebel Aces MC Part 1

by K. D. Latronico

  It's what needs to happen. If Hernandez hasn't started singing, he will be tonight. That promise I make silently to myself.

  CHAPTER 49

  WARD

  I DIDN’T PARTICULARLY LIKE torture. It took a special kind of person to truly enjoy it - and I use the word special pretty loosely. There were different levels of it, but you couldn't really be that right in the head to like what you were doing. In the case of the three men who had spent the night down in The Box, they had seen the kind of horrors that some could only dream of, at an age that was far too young to even fathom what they were seeing. That changes a person, especially a kid that is only still coming of age, still with their innocence intact.

  For me, it was a means to an end. It was a necessary evil, depending on the person, and it always had a purpose in the scheme of things. I didn't torture people if it wasn't needed in order to get answers, or as a form of retribution. It was a skill I had learned from my father. Use your power only when needed. As an enforcer, I had honed the art, right alongside my best friend, but as I had taken over the presidency, I found that I was more suited to this role than the former.

  Luckily, for the club, we had three people that were virtuosic in various forms of torment.

  After leaving the apartment, I headed downstairs to the basement. When the Aces had first purchased the old warehouse, the basement had been a regular part of the layout. Anyone that had seen the blueprints knew that the basement still existed, but our founders had the forethought to make sure it would be difficult to find the entrance. Hidden behind a wall-mounted sculpture of a 1957 XL Sportster, which was set in front of a hidden door panel that blended into the wall. It used to swing outward, but about a decade ago some of the guys had figured out a way to fit a track that would slide the barrier out of the way with the push of a button - a button hidden in the frame of the bike itself.

  It was very secret lair, and though most of the guys wouldn't admit it, they found it pretty fucking cool.

  Hiding the basement had been essential to our operations since the start. Down there was where we held almost all of our secrets. A large room fitted with every type of weapon we could get our hands on, including explosives. Inventory was strictly kept by the enforcers and overseen by the vice president. Currently, another large room was being used as a makeshift holding area for any and all shipments coming in and out, just until we got the warehouse situation under control.

  Behind a third door, there was our "control room". That was where any and all surveillance was being monitored, for the clubhouse as well as our various properties. It was filled with computers, screens lined one of the walls, and there were shelves filled with all kinds of devices and equipment to be used in and out of the clubhouse. It always seemed like Jekyll and Hyde were getting something new in, too. This was their haven, their sweet spot, where they truly made the magic happen.

  Various small, almost closet-sized rooms were used as "holding cells" for the enemies were brought down here. No windows, hardly any light, nothing inside but four concrete walls. It was to isolate, to drive the person to almost insanity for the hours we left them there when they weren't in the box.

  Eventually, they would put Hernandez in one, but I knew he was still in the pit when I came across Teddy, one of the prospects, standing guard outside of the door.

  "Teddy," I greeted with a nod.

  He stood up a little straighter, fully to his tall frame. "Pres," he returned with a nod. One of the prospects that were closing in on the possibility of him patching in. Theo was his birth name, but given the fact that he was close to three hundred pounds but a bit of a gentle giant, we had quickly gotten around to calling him after what he reminded us of - a teddy bear.

  "Who's in there?" I asked, nodding to the door.

  "Hyde. Been in there for a few hours. Jekyll is in the control room. Joker went up to shower, he was at it all night."

  "Alright. Thanks. I'll go see Jekyll." I didn't need to tell him to remain watching over The Box because I trusted him to not move from the spot he was assigned.

  Heading down the hall, I rapped twice on the door and paused, waiting for the response. It came a moment later with Jekyll calling a simple, "come in." Even as the President, I didn't just walk into the room in case he was in the middle of something. Just a simple interruption could cause him to miss something he may have been watching or listening for, and it was just easier to get the go-ahead. There was also a light on the outside that indicated if someone was inside or not, the green giving away that the room was occupied.

  Opening the door, I stepped inside before shutting it behind me. Jekyll looked up from his perch on a stool where he was hunched over in front of a dual monitor PC. "Sup, Pres? Ain't it a good morning to torture Mexi-goons?" His grin was wild, identical to his brothers, who I always considered the fairly crazier one.

  I shot a look at him that had him holding his hands up and muttering, "just trying to lighten the mood". Shaking my head, I walked up alongside him. "What've we got so far?"

  "Joker got the fucker to break after about three hours, which tells me that guy's got way more balls than we thought. Still hasn't given us too much, but confessed that he was behind the threats at Darling, the attack at Velvet, as well as how he hacked into the security system. What we're trying to get out of him now," he said as he motioned to the right computer screen, which showed The Box where Hernandez still hung by his arms, Hyde working his magic on him, "is how he did it. He gave us some of the basics, but not enough to make me believe he did it on his own. Plus," he added as he swung around on his stool, "I need it all so I know exactly how to avoid this fuck up in the future."

  Rubbing the back of my neck, I take everything he said in. "So you think he wasn't working alone?"

  Jekyll shrugged. "Personally, I don't think so. But I think he's the only one locally. He admitted he knows the dicks that got out of prison are hidden, but claims he doesn't know where. Pretty sure he's in contact with someone, which means he may have someone on the outskirts helping him out."

  "Are we close to finding out if he knows where they're hidden?"

  Jekyll motioned over his shoulder. "Also working on it. But, get this." He spun around again, grabbing an iPad and handing it over to me. An article is open on it. "One of the jabronis that were at the house the night of the Martinez murder had the last name Hernandez. Something tells me our boy here is related, and a little pissy that Daddy went to prison for a little thing called murder..." He wiggled his fingers and made a face as he said it.

  My eyes were scanning over the article from twelve years ago about the arrest of two of the henchmen that had been found at the scene - one of the two that I had shot in the leg to prevent from leaving. His picture was there, staring right at me, next to the other one, and I felt that familiar sense of rage start to fill me again. If the theory were true, the guy we currently held prisoner came directly from one of the men responsible for the worst tragedy to happen to Leah, Lana, and Silver. And now he'd been back in my territory, fucking with the people I loved.

  I handed Jekyll back the device before I tried crushing it in my bare hands. Flexing my fists, I started to pace. "So, this mother fucker decides to fuck with us for revenge, but he waits for the guys to get out of prison, but he's alone in town. And in the scheme of things, he really hasn't even done that much. Why the slow start?"

  There were two hard knocks at the door, indicating that someone was on the other side. Jekyll looked up at the monitor to the hallway before calling out for them to come in.

  Joker slipped in through the opening door. "Hey, brother," he greeted, pounding me on the back once he walked to us. His messy blonde hair was wet, obviously from the shower, and his clothes were clean now. I can imagine that he's now the contrast of what he looked like early this morning.

  "Brother. Get any sleep?"

  He shook his head. "Nah, just showered, got some coffee, stole some bacon from your woman and headed back down."


  I shouldn't have been surprised that Joker hadn't slept yet. The guy rarely did to begin with. He had insomnia - almost always did - but could miraculously function on a few hours of sleep. Every now and then his body would give in and he'd pass out for hours during the day - luckily not without warning.

  "Jekyll was just filling me in on your findings."

  Joker nodded his head, walking to face the monitor that fed into The Box. "Motherfucker is holding out. I don't know how, but he is. From what I learned, though, I don't think he's gonna be the type to sing for the promise of release. There's something in his eyes like he's ready to go down." He shook his head, grumbling something about stupid, stubborn fucks. "What I think is we're gonna have to play the long game. Break him, mentally. Maybe use someone as leverage?" He looked back at me then.

  Using someone as leverage. Meaning a family member, someone close to him. We weren't in the habit of kidnapping innocents or taking hostages. I kept the Aces on the same path my father had, as the Presidents before him had as well. I opened my mouth to protest, but Joker held his hand up.

  "He doesn't have to know we won't do shit. He already thinks we're monsters and murderers. He's been brought up thinking all kinds of things about us, so it won't be hard for him to believe that we'd bring his mama to torture her right in front of him."

  My best friend had a point, that didn't mean I liked it, though. "Alright. What do we know about him?"

  Jekyll spoke up then after rolling his stool over to another computer to check something. "Miguel Angel Hernandez. Twenty-five years old, last known address was in Seattle with his mother, Lita Gomez. She's still alive. Forty-six, works as a cook at the IKEA in Renton. He was last employed there until four months ago. Neither is married or linked to anyone; Lita has two younger children. Marissa, 18, and Lena, 15. Both still in high school, still in Seattle." He stopped then to look at us. "My sources came through."

  Blowing out a breath, I rubbed my hands together as my mind raced. "Alright. We mentally break him. Wear him out, wear him down. If it doesn't seem to be working, we make him think we're using his mom and sisters for leverage." I looked to Jekyll. "Do what you can to get photos of them in real time, to make him think we've got eyes on them."

  Jekyll saluted. "Aye aye, captain."

  I turned to Joker. "Gotta get church together later to fill the others in. And we gotta talk about this lockdown." Letting out a heavy breath, I shook my head as I rubbed my hand down my face. "They're getting restless, and I know we gotta let them get back, but without a lot of answers..."

  Shaking his head, Joker reached into his pocket to grab a pack of cigarettes, plucking one from the carton once the top was flipped up. "My gut feeling is that he's been working alone. I think as a distraction. To fuck with us slowly, until they pull the big guns. But if you look at it this way, the guys that have been released so far? Not any of the big fish in the Chingado pond."

  The realization dawned on me once he said it. This is why I kept him around. "They could be waiting for orders. Hernandez can just be a reminder that they're still around, and haven't forgotten."

  "E-fucking-xactly."

  CHAPTER 50

  WARD

  WE FOUND OURSELVES AROUND the church table again for what seemed like the twentieth time this week, and I was finished explaining to my officers all of the information we had collected on and from Hernandez. Hawk was hunched over his notebook, scribbling away in his freakishly neat all-capital print. Hyde had his laptop open in front of him and his brother, still monitoring the room where we had left Hernandez.

  Our objective now was to figure out the next best step to take, and how we can use him to get to the rest of his gang.

  "I think the best way of getting him to talk is to use his sisters and mother as leverage," Tank spoke up. We can easily get a guy out there to get pictures of them at work, leaving work, going to school, wherever. Just make it strictly no touch, no contact, but he won't know that. A few creative shots could do the trick."

  "To really drive it home, you gotta get personal info on them," Bear brought up from his spot at the table. "Tap into their conversations, find out how they talk, what their nicknames are."

  "Fucking on it," Jekyll blurted excitedly, pulling his own laptop out of seemingly thin air and opening it on the table in front of him. "I'll have enough info to get that motherfucker to think I've been bangin' his baby sister for months."

  Five pairs of eyes glared at him from around the table, so when he looked up, his eyes widened for a second before a sheepish look crossed his face. "Sorry. Hypothetically getting to know his sister."

  Kang murmurs something that sounds like, "sick fuck".

  "Who says he's gonna give a shit about his family, though?" Bear brings up a good point.

  "Exactly," Tank agrees. "The guy could tell us to go fuck ourselves and do what we want with them."

  I shake my head. "These people are all about family. Shit he said down there shows me that he believes we're murderers and monsters and that he's doing this for his family. Something tells me he's not gonna let this blow back on them."

  The guys murmur in agreement, nodding their heads.

  "Got all of their social media accounts," Jekyll piped up then. "Both young chicks got all of their info right out there. And their fucking cellphone numbers." He laughs, shaking his head as he types away. "Too fucking easy. I'm gonna have a gold mine in no time."

  There was still a nagging feeling in the back of my mind, though. This seemed easy. Too easy, but right now, we had to take what we could get.

  We just had to be vigilant, and extra careful, at all times.

  "Boss, another thing," Hawkeye brought up, almost cautiously, sitting up in his seat to look at me. "Now that we've got Hernandez and a plan moving forward, where are we on the lockdown?"

  "I was going to bring that up," I started. "I know everyone is getting restless. I'd rather we keep everyone where we can watch out for them while we're still planning on what to do with Los Chingados next, but I know that isn't possible."

  "We've got our one suspect for the shit going on around here locked in the basement, though, so it may be safe to send everyone off," Joker added in.

  Nodding my head, I picked up my gavel, leaning against the side of my chair. "Fair enough. All in favor of ending the lockdown today?" I was met with a full chorus of aye's. "Those opposed?" Silence. I banged the gavel on the table. "Perfect. We'll start sending them home today. I want everyone personally escorted back to their homes in case anything is waiting for them, and we'll be upping security rounds, but I think it's safe for everything to go back to normal." For now, I add to myself.

  "What about businesses?" Joker asked. "Velvet, Darling, are we reopening them?"

  I mulled over the idea while Hyde starts to explain the new security measures they've added to both buildings, how they've changed passwords and codes to make it nearly impossible for anyone to get in, physically or digitally. I agree that reopening makes sense - and I can't deny that financially, it will help us.

  We take another quick vote and it passes unanimously. With another heavy thud of the gavel, I dismiss church and the guys get up to leave and give their loved ones the good news.

  "What time we got on douchebag in isolation?" Joker asks the twins, who are still seated at the table, bent over their laptops.

  "Only four hours. We've got awhile if we have any hope of getting more out of him."

  Nodding, Joker ran his hand over his blonde hair, messing up the long strands even more than they already were. "Guess I can't pay him a visit then."

  Taking in his appearance, I see that the night had taken its toll on Joker. He looked a little twitchy, which was never a good sign. "You alright, brother?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow to indicate that I wanted a serious answer.

  His narrow shoulders shrugged. "Yeah. Just had a lot of caffeine. I need a fucking drink." He glanced out the half-opened door. "Or some fuckin' pussy."

  "Well, they
're both at your disposal right here."

  Joker's blue eyes shot back to mine, and his mouth formed a line.

  Shaking my head, I held my hands up. "I know, that's not what you meant. I know. But she's out there, too."

  Laughing harshly, Joker thrust his hand in his hair again. "I got a better chance of mountin' a fuckin' velociraptor and riding it around town. Pretty sure she woke up pissed at me today. What the fuck else is new." He shrugged, then looked back at me. "I'll catch you later." And then he left.

  As it always was, it seemed that Joker and Lana were taking steps backwards rather than forwards. I never knew what the hell was going on with them - no one did. But I knew my best friend, and I knew it bothered him a lot.

  Leaving the meeting room, the scene that greets me makes me grin. It seems that word has gotten out that lockdown is over and quite a lot of people are happy about it. I can see the relief on the parents' faces. Life will go back to normal for them, which I'm grateful that I can give them. That doesn't stop the uneasy feeling, though.

  "Baby!" The sound of that endearment coming from that beautiful voice gets to me in a way that little can. I'm smiling before I even catch a glimpse of Leah as she hurries on over to me. "I thought you said a few days, I didn't realize we'd be able to leave now!"

  Reaching out to her, I wrap an arm around her and pull her close to my body. "Things worked out. We're still gonna be looking out for everyone, but it seems safe enough to let everyone go back to their lives."

  Her smile is wide as she looks up at me. "That's great. Everyone seems really happy."

  "Are you?"

  "Well, yeah. We can get started on our event." She pauses then, raising her eyebrows at me. "We are reopening, right?"

  I nod, giving her a reassuring smile. "Yes, babe. The Wonder Twins updated the security, changed the locks and codes, and your big night is gonna be fully monitored. There's nothing to worry about now."