Sinners & Scarecrows

by David Carter

  Blaze playfully punched him in the shoulder. “I missed you, too, you fucking moron.”

  Spider dragged him away, and led him inside with his arm lazily draped over his shoulders. Zoe and Danny followed them.

  “Can I talk to you in private for a minute?” Spider asked Blaze.

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  Spider led him into the chapel where they held all their private club meetings and closed the door behind them. He pulled a knife from his jeans pocket.

  “Whoa! What’s with the knife, man?” Blaze asked him with his hands up. “I’m not going to challenge you for the presidency, if that’s what you’re worried about?”

  Spider’s face hardened. “Damn-right you’re not gonna challenge me for it,” he said fiercely. Blaze relaxed as he saw him smile through his beard. “I’m giving you the presidency.” He unpicked the stitching of the ‘President’ patch on his black, leather vest and offered it to him. “Take it, brother, it’s yours.”

  “No. You’re doing the patch proud; you should stay in charge.”

  Spider ran his hands through his thick dreadlocks as he exhaled heavily. Then he said,

  “Blaze, you built this club and made it what it is through your never-say-die attitude and leadership. We’ve all enjoyed the financial rewards that come with the job we do— the job that you set us up with. And I’ll be honest with you, man: I hate dealing with the governor and Mr Lombardi, not to mention that freak-show, Tyrone Sanchez, down at the docks. I just wanna ride and follow your lead.” He paused for a moment, then continued. “Look around you, brother. The people out there tonight are your family. They love and respect you. And this family will be complete with you at its head where you belong.”

  Blaze was nearly moved with emotion. He stepped forward and put his arms around Spider. “How could I refuse you after listening to that, you sentimental soft cock? I accept— but only if the rest of the boys are in agreement.”

  “I already asked them awhile back, just in case by some bloody miracle your sorry ass showed up out of the blue.”

  “And what did they say?”

  “Why don’t you ask them for yourself?” He opened the door for Blaze to see all, bar one, of the members waiting outside.

  “Where the hell is Fish?” Blaze asked them with a smile.

  They all looked baffled. “I ain’t seen him since last night,” said Trigger. “Said he was going for a late-night ride.”

  “That’s strange,” said Blaze, puzzled, “it’s not like our resident alcoholic to miss a free piss-up!”

  “He’ll turn up sooner or later,” said Spider. “He probably found a bar and got so wasted that he hasn’t woken up yet.” He ushered everyone inside the medium-sized room where they all took their respective seats around the large, wooden table in the centre of the floor. He ordered Danny to come in and stand opposite where he sat at the head of the table. He cleared his throat, then said, “It is with great pride that I’m handing over the presidency to our founding member, Blaze. I know all of you support my decision, and I feel it’s best for the club. Blaze has accepted and will sit in this chair from now on after the conclusion of this meeting. And as my last official act as president of the SAS, I would like to break the rules and move that we make our new friend, Danny, a fully-patched member of our club. Blaze has shared their history with me, and I can confidently say that his loyalty and devotion to this MC will not be brought into question. If not for him, we may not have Blaze sitting back at our table with us where he belongs. Now, I will vote on behalf of Fish and say ‘yay’ for both him and myself. Ace?”

  “Yay,” he answered.

  “Trigger?’

  “Yay.”

  “Papa Bear?”

  “Yay.”

  “Ciggy?”

  “Yay.”

  “Blaze?”

  “Definite fucking yay.”

  “That just leaves you, Lemon. How about it?”

  Lemon stood up and walked over to Danny. He was pencil-thin, but for a man of such small stature, he had a wild, don’t-fuck-with-me look about him. He challenged Danny by asking him, “Can you even ride, blondie?”

  Danny put on his best poker-face as he replied, “Mate, I’m so fucking good— I ride your mumma and sister at the same time.”

  After a tense moment of silence, Lemon’s face exploded with laughter, as did everyone else’s. He put both of his skinny arms around Danny and pulled him in close as he said, “Welcome to the SAS, you funny fucker!”

  They all got up one by one and welcomed him in with a heartfelt embrace. Then Spider said, “Are you ready to earn your patch, Danny boy?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s time for your initiation!”

  Everyone cheered as they all stood up and filed out of the room.

  “Initiation!” Spider shouted above the volume of the music. The crowd of partygoers roared with excitement.

  Blaze found Zoe, scooped her up in his arms and carried her outside, kissing her as he walked. He stared at her nose ring; she looked fucking perfect. “I love you, baby,” he whispered in her ear.

  “I promise I won’t tell anyone you’re such a fucking pussy-cat,” she replied seductively. “It’ll be our little secret.”

  Blaze hoisted her up on his shoulders as everybody meandered down the driveway to the roadside to watch Danny’s nude run on Spider’s Harley.

  Danny grinned from ear to ear as he ripped off his shirt, showing of his six-pack and bulging biceps. All the ladies whistled and cheered as he confidently stripped off his jeans and underpants, showing off his muscular legs and backside.

  “Are you ready, Danny boy?” Spider asked him.

  “Hell yeah!”

  “Go!”

  Danny roared off down the street with the wind gushing over his fully-naked body. He felt free. He finally felt like he had a place he could call home. This was where he wanted to be in this very moment.

  People’s heads turned in their cars as he sped down the street. An old lady walking her dog yelled something after him. After a few minutes he turned the bike around and raced back towards the clubhouse and pulled into the driveway. Everybody cheered and laughed.

  When Danny had dressed and downed a decent shot of whisky, Blaze walked up to him with the rest of the members of the SAS, and said, “It’s truly an honour for me to present you with this.” He handed Danny a black leather cut with club’s name, emblem, and territory: BRIGHTON, emblazoned on the back.

  Spider nearly choked up as he presented Blaze with the cut he’d returned to the clubhouse when he’d been forced to leave Brighton by Mr Lombardi.

  A gorgeous, tall blonde with tanned legs that reached all the way up to her revealing green dress walked up to Danny, and said to him, “Hey there, handsome. How about we go top up your glass and go have some fun?”

  Danny looked at Blaze, unsure of what to say.

  “Don’t just stand there, you fucking idiot! Go and nail that piece of ass!” Blaze laughed, then went and found Zoe at the bar. They downed another round of whisky, before almost tripping over each other as they raced down the hallway to one of the bedrooms in the clubhouse to make up for lost time.

  Chapter 6

  Nobody stirred from their comatose states as the horn blared from the vehicle parked outside the clubhouse. Francois left the white limousine’s motor running as he got out of the car and opened the rear passenger door for Archer.

  They walked into the clubhouse to find half-naked, sleeping bodies scattered across the room in all kinds of awkward positions. Beer bottles littered the floor. Numerous puddles of vomit and urine caused Francois to dry-retch as he waded through the cess-pool of partygoers. “He’s not here, Governor,” he said after checking every last person.

  “Try the bedrooms out the back,” Archer replied.

  Francois tried the first door in the hallway. He saw three naked dancers intertwined with Ace and Trigger on the bed. He quickly closed the door and tried
the next one.

  He saw Spider sleeping soundly on his own, without his girlfriend, Charlotte, who had already left for work earlier this morning.

  In the next room he saw Danny and the beautiful blonde he’d met last night: Eleanor, or Ellie as she preferred to be called. It was clear that they had had a hell of a night together. Francois took a moment to perve at Ellie’s large, rounded breasts and firm, exposed buttocks. Her long hair was strewn all over her pillow, her makeup was slightly smudged, but she still looked incredible. Danny, you lucky bastard, he thought.

  He tried the next room.

  Jackpot.

  Blaze lay face-down on top of the mattress with an arm draped over Zoe. They, too, were naked. Francois picked up a sheet from the floor and respectfully covered Zoe’s privates with it. “Wake up, Blaze,” he said as he shook him.

  No response.

  He shook him harder.

  Still no response.

  He sighed in frustration, walked back to the bar and filled a large beer mug with water, before returning to Blaze’s room and emptying it over the back of his head.

  “What the fuck was that for?” Blaze asked groggily as he slowly rolled over and looked up at Francois.

  “You haven’t answered your phone all morning, and you’ve got a meeting with Mr Lombardi in thirty-five minutes,” he replied sternly.

  Blaze groaned. His head pounded, and he felt like he was going to be sick. “Fuck Mr Lombardi,” he said, and rolled back over. “Tell him I’ll swing by later when I can actually think straight.”

  Francois grabbed one of Blaze’s ankles and dragged him off the edge of the bed and onto the floor. Blaze cursed as his upper-body unexpectedly took the brunt of the impact. “You have five minutes to get dressed and haul your ass outside to the limo,” said Francois. “The governor’s waiting.” He left him to it and returned outside. “He’s on his way,” he said to Archer with a grin.

  Blaze emerged from the clubhouse wearing dirty, black jeans and his SAS leather cut over the top of a black T-shirt. He looked like death warmed up. Francois ushered him into the back seat of the limo with Archer, who said, “I trust you enjoyed yourself last night?”

  Blaze rubbed his weary, bloodshot eyes. “I had a blast. Fucking drank myself stupid.”

  “I’m pleased you enjoyed your homecoming. But now it’s time to get down to business. Coffee?”

  “Fuck yes,” he said gratefully.

  Archer handed him a takeaway coffee cup he had picked up on his way over to the clubhouse. “Flat white, no sugar. Just how you like it,” he said.

  “How the fuck did you know that?”

  “I learned many things about you from Mr Lombardi.”

  Blaze took a long swig, enjoying the rich, strong flavour as it awoke his senses. “What time is it?” he asked.

  “Just gone on ten a.m.”

  “Shit. So why does Mr Lombardi want to see me? I thought I was reporting directly to you.”

  Archer hesitated. “He wants to set a few things straight; clear the air so to speak. After all, he has wanted to put a bullet though that smart brain of yours for quite some time now. And even though I managed to convince him that you would be extremely useful to our organisation, he wasn’t overly keen on the idea of welcoming you back. But you have my assurance that no harm will come to you if you behave yourself.”

  “Is that why you and your guard dog are escorting me to his mansion?”

  “Until today’s meeting is over I believe it’s for the best, yes.”

  Blaze sat back against the luxurious leather seat. “Fine. Let’s just get this bullshit over with, then.”

  Danny finally awoke and rolled over to give Ellie a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for a great night,” he said. “That’s the most fun I’ve had in ages.”

  “Me, too,” she replied and pushed him on his back and mounted him. “How about one for the road?” she asked with a wry grin.

  “It would be rude to say no.”

  Five frantic minutes later they lay next to each other, panting hard and fast.

  “Wow,” said Danny. “Where the hell did you come from? I’ve never felt so good since my wife—” he stopped himself.

  “Your fucking what!” she exploded. “Just because I sleep with the odd stranger at a party, doesn’t mean I’m a marriage breaker, you fucking asshole! She shot out of the bed and quickly started dressing herself.

  “Wait,” said Danny calmly. “You’ve got it all wrong.”

  “Oh yeah? How so?” she asked angrily with a hand on her hip.

  Danny hesitated. “My wife and daughter are both long gone.”

  She calmed a little. “What do you mean, long gone?”

  Danny quietly said, “They both died awhile back...and you’re the first women I’ve even looked at since then.” He stared off into space.

  She felt terrible. “Oh, Danny, I’m so sorry.” She sat down on the bed next to him and gently placed the palm of her hand on top of his bare thigh. “I don’t know what to say. I guess I’m just used to most guys I meet being typical, cheating jerk-offs.”

  “So why did you come here, then?”

  “I work for the Governor; I dance at his club. He paid a whole bunch of us girls to come here as entertainment for the party. But I really did enjoy my night with you,” she added quickly, “I’d have tried my luck with you whether I was working or not.” She smiled.

  “Well, how about you leave me your number? Perhaps we could do it again sometime?”

  “You want to go out with a me? You do know that I don’t wear any clothes for a living, right?”

  “After what I’ve been through in the past year or so, I don’t give a shit what you do, and it’s not like you’re a hooker or anything...”

  She passionately kissed him on the lips. “Well in that case, Danny boy,” she said seductively, “I expect you to call me.” She reached for her purse on the floor and wrote her number down on a piece of tissue paper. She handed it to him, then finished getting dressed.

  Danny escorted her to the front door of the clubhouse. They said their goodbyes after Danny promised three times to call her.

  Lemon woke up from where he lay hunched over the bar on a stool just in time to see her perfect ass walking away. “Holy shit, man. How the hell did you pull that off?” he asked him.

  “I don’t know; she hit on me from what I remember. I guess she liked what she saw during my initiation.”

  Lemon laughed and pulled the stool out from the bar that was next to his. His features hardened as he said, “Come over here and have a drink with me.”

  Danny walked over to him. Lemon leaned over the bar and grabbed two bottles of unopened beer that had somehow survived the party.

  “Something on your mind?” Danny asked him.

  “I didn’t really get a chance to talk to you last night. Just wanted to get to know you a little better; after all, you did just get a free pass from the boys last night.”

  “You didn’t have to vote me in,” Danny said defensively.

  “Now don’t get your panties in a twist; I just want you to know how seriously we treat this club. It’s a brotherhood. All for one, one for all— that kind of shit.”

  “Look, I get it. I’ve seen first-hand how passionate Blaze is about this club. I’m truly honoured to be a part of it. I don’t have a family, and I’d still be falsely imprisoned if not for him. So believe me when I say that I owe him my life and that I won’t let any of you down, I swear it.”

  Lemon put his arm over Danny’s shoulders. “Look, I didn’t mean to go all macho on you. Spider told me what happened to your old lady and kid. That can’t be easy to live with.”

  Danny shuffled on his seat. “You’re right, it’s not.”

  “But I bet that blondie sure makes it easier.” He grinned.

  “It definitely helps.”

  “Look, the bottom line is that you have a family now. We all love Blaze and trust his judgement without question. That’s why
you were voted in without any of us even knowing you. That’s the kind of trust we have built together. Perhaps just give us a little time to adjust, though, all right?”

  “Sounds fair to me.”

  “Good!” He slapped him on the back. “Now, is there anything you want to know about me or the club?”

  Danny thought for a moment. “Actually, there is,” he said. “How did you all get your nicknames? I’m particularly curious about yours: Lemon?”

  He laughed. “Have you ever heard of the term: ‘tea-bagging’?”

  “You mean when a guy dunks his nut sac on someone’s face when they fall asleep at a party?”

  “Yes!” He laughed. “Well, when I’m wasted I sometimes take tea-bagging to a whole new level.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Let me give you some advice: don’t be the first person to fall asleep at a party, because after I rub my hairy little nuts all over your face, I’ll piss all over it and leave a fucking sour taste in your mouth if you do!”

  “Note taken,” Danny chuckled. “What about Trigger?”

  “He’s our master of arms. He is fucking obsessed with weaponry, a real expert on the subject, and he’s an even better marksman.”

  “Oh yeah? So he really likes guns and shit, eh?”

  “Piss him off enough and you’ll find out just how much.”

  “Okay. What about Ace?”

  “He’s our Mr fix it. He’s our builder, plumber, mechanic, and on top of that he’s a fucking stud. The ladies go nuts for him with that long, black hair and good looks; fucking bastard.” He chuckled.

  “Shit. He sounds like a genuine all-rounder. Is there anything he isn’t good at?”

  “Yeah: he’s shit in bed.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “He’s got a fucking small dick.”

  Danny laughed. “So I’m guessing that Ciggy is a chronic smoker, and Fish is a piss-head?”

  “Yep. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Ciggy without a fag hanging out of his mouth, which is dangerous considering he’s one of those crazy pyromaniacs: he loves blowing things up with homemade bombs and shit. Fish literally has no other goal in his day other than to be hammered by mid-morning, unless we have to work. But even so, it’s never stopped him going on a muling run completely chopped-off-his-face.”