by David Carter
Vino stopped with his hands in the air. He said, “We don’t have a choice, Blaze. You should know better than this.”
Sanchez took action. “Put it away, boy. No one fires a shot on my docks unless I say so.”
“Fuck off, Sanchez. This is between me and that sack of shit over there. Stay out of it.”
Sanchez put his thumb and middle finger in his mouth and blew a loud whistle. From out of the darkness, ten armed men approached and circled the situation, their weapons drawn. “I said put it away. I won’t ask again.” His tone grew impatient.
Blaze just stood there, the pistol still outstretched in front of him.
“I’m waiting...” said Sanchez.
Blaze relented. He put the gun away and stormed over to the truck, slamming his door as he sat in the driver’s seat. Vino reluctantly got in the cab with him.
“You and I will never be square,” Blaze threatened him. “So just sit there and stay fucking quiet.”
“But there is something I must tell you,” Vino replied.
“I thought I told you to fuck up!”
This time Vino unleashed his frustration on Blaze. “Why don’t you just shut up and listen! It’s about Zoe, and why I kidnapped her! Trust me, you need to hear this!”
Blaze exhaled heavily. “Fine. What could be so fucking important that you felt you needed to double-cross me and kidnap my girl? Huh?”
“It’s simple,” Vino replied. “I think she’s an undercover agent.”
Chapter 14
Blaze sat silently, too stunned at Vino’s accusation to say anything until he finally exploded, “What a load of shit! I should punch your fucking teeth in for even thinking it!”
“Just hear me out,” Vino replied.
“Why should I listen to a fucking cripple? You don’t know shit about shit!”
“Trust me. You will want to hear this.”
Blaze gave in. “Fine. I’m listening,” he grunted; he squeezed the life out of the steering wheel.
“Do you promise not to kill me if I tell you a secret—something no one else knows about?”
“Depends on what it is.”
“It’s about you, actually.”
Blaze angrily changed down a gear and revved the small truck hard as he drove up a steep hill. “Well spit it out then.”
“Well, you remember how Mr Lombardi put a bounty on your head when that shipment of coke went missing from the warehouse I was guarding?”
Blaze offered no answer.
“I know it wasn’t your fault.”
“What the hell! You mean you knew all this time, and still you let Mr Lombardi try and kill me!”
“Come on, Blaze,” Vino levelled with him, “I’ve always hated you for giving me a permanent limp and kicking the shit outta’ me when we first met. And I lost everything because of you! It felt like sweet revenge at the time. You can’t say you wouldn’t drop me at the bottom of the ocean tied to boat anchor if you had the chance, would you not?”
“Damn fucking right I would.”
“So, you see the feeling is mutual, which is why I let it happen. But the truth is —” He held up something for Blaze to see. It was a ring identical to the one he wore on the thumb of his right hand: a plain silver band with the name: BLAZE engraved on it.
Blaze’s mind raced as he observed the object. “I gave Zoe that ring,” he finally said. “We got each other’s named engraved on them.”
Vino handed it to Blaze. “I found this lying on the ground next to me outside the warehouse when I regained consciousness. Someone snuck up behind me and clobbered me over the back of the head, before stealing the coke. And I believe it was Zoe. She must have accidentally dropped it.”
Blaze couldn’t believe it. “She told me she’d lost it,” he said, “right around the time the coke went missing, too.”
“See? I’m telling the truth. I wouldn’t make something like this up. That’s why I kidnapped her— to stop her filtering out information about you, your club, and Mr Lombardi’s organisation. And guess what happened?”
“What?”
“Like magic, the constant heat from the authorities seemed to die off. It’s like they felt guilty for losing an officer and left well-enough alone.”
Blaze’s stomach was in knots. Could she really be an undercover agent? Could she really go to the lengths of pretending to love me?—just to bring me down with the rest of the Lombardi family?”
Vino interrupted his thoughts. “I understand why you hate me, but I promise I’m telling the truth.”
“It doesn’t mean shit,” he retorted. “Someone could have taken it and framed her.”
“Yes, that’s a possibility, but you can’t rule anything out, especially if there is a rat among your crew.”
Blaze had to consider what he was saying, even though he couldn’t bring himself to believe it—no; he refused to believe it, which made him doubly wild. He swerved the truck over to the side of the road and reached for his pistol. He shoved Vino back against the passenger window and held it to his head as he yelled, “You could have fucking told me before you cut my fucking heart out, you worthless piece of shit! You have no idea what I’ve been through because of what you did! I thought she was dead! Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t blow your fucking head off right now!”
Vino looked him in the eye, and said, “I give you my word, I am sorry for what I did. At the time I was angry with you. And yes, I hurt you. But I did it for the family. Would you not do the same to protect your brothers in the MC?”
“No, Vino; the difference is you did it to earn your way back into the family. You did it for yourself! You’re fucking pathetic! And the only reason you’re still alive is because I’ve got no fucking choice in the matter! So, stay the fuck away from me. But I swear if we are ever alone like this again, I’ll fucking kill you!” Blaze dug the Glock deep into the side of Vino’s neck. “You hear me, Vino!” The rage in Blaze’s eyes frightened him.
Vino nodded profusely.
“And don’t even think about mentioning this to Mr Lombardi. All it will prove is that your apology wasn’t worth the steam off my piss.”
Blaze put the truck in gear and pulled back onto the road as Vino slowly slunk back into his seat. They said nothing to each other as they drove along the winding road towards the highway. Blaze couldn’t take his mind off Zoe. Who are you? he thought. Do I tell the boys in the MC? Should I confront her about it?
His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of sirens as he neared Brighton.
Highway patrol.
Trouble.
Blaze pulled over and waited for the officer to approach his window.
“Evening officer,” said Blaze in the politest tone he could muster. “What seems to be the problem?”
“You’ve got a tail light out, sir. I’m gonna have to write you a ticket. May I see your driver’s licence please?”
Blaze cursed under his breath as he fetched it from his wallet and handed it over. The officer returned to his patrol car.
He came back a moment later with a ticket and handed it to Blaze, along with his licence, then said, “What’s in the back of the truck? Seems a little early to be making deliveries, doesn’t it? Wanna pop it open for me so I can take a look?”
Blaze said nothing.
“Sir, can you please open the rear of the vehicle?”
Blaze had had enough. “You got a search warrant, pig?”
“There’s no need for that tone of voice, sir.” He patted the TASER on his waist belt. “Now, open up,” he said sternly.
“You’re gonna have to make me.” Blaze stared at him, as his hand slowly reached for the Glock on his waist belt.
Vino noticed Blaze’s hand and quickly said, “Please, officer, if I may, we are doing an overnight delivery which needs to stay at a constant temperature until we reach our destination. We can’t afford for the doors to be opened, as they are sealed shut anyway, and I know we aren’t paid enough to make thes
e kinds of decisions—risking bacteria getting into the food. That would cost us our jobs, sir.”
Blaze remembered the details Archer had given him. “Look, I’ve got my boss’s phone number; his name is Mervin. If you’ve got any issues, you can take them up with him.”
The officer finally backed off. “That won’t be necessary, gentlemen. It’s just there’s been a whole lot of drug trafficking going on in the area and we are on high-alert. But all appears to be in order here. Just be sure to get that tail light fixed, all right?” He returned to his patrol car.
Blaze wound up the window and pulled back onto the highway. “Fucking asshole,” he muttered under his breath.
Chapter 15
“Well done, Blaze,” said Archer as Blaze handed over the keys to the truck in his office at The Underground. “Not even a scratch on Vino, too,” he smirked. “You have passed your test.”
“Whoop-de-fucking-do,” replied Blaze as he rolled his eyes. “I’m off back to the clubhouse for some sleep. Got some shit to take care of tomorrow.” He turned around to leave.
“Not so fast, Blaze, our business hasn’t concluded just yet.”
What the fuck does he want now?
Archer stood up from his armchair and walked over to a large painting that hung on the wall, and removed it. Behind it was a grey, metal safe with a numeric keypad on the door. Blaze watched his finger punch in the combination:02091985.
Still using my fucking birthday as his code, Blaze thought. He still has a giant hard-on for me.
Archer pulled out two, crisp bundles of one-hundred-dollar bills. “For your services.” He smiled as he handed them over.
“Whoa, that’s a bit generous,” Blaze replied. There’s gotta be at least a hundred-grand there.”
“I did tell you your crew would be rewarded handsomely for your services. Now go get some rest; you’ve earned it.”
Blaze was about to leave, but said, “Just so you know, I’m headed to Summit Lake with the MC the day after tomorrow. Have you had a chance to run my idea by Mr Lombardi?”
“Actually, yes I have. And I’m pleased to say he was open to the idea.”
“So, you will both sit down with Gunner?”
“Yes. But we need certain guarantees from you first.”
“I’m all ears...”
“You and your crew are responsible for persuading Saul Gunnerman to meet with us. Should you fail to do so we will not be there to help you. You are effectively on your own where that’s concerned.”
“It won’t be a problem.”
“Good. Then there is the meeting place, which is yet to be determined. Both I and Mr Lombardi will bring a large portion of our combined forces, which is extremely risky on our part, but we feel the risk is worth the reward. We are in agreeance that should we be victorious, that any casualties suffered will be deemed acceptable losses. Are you and your men prepared to fight to the death?”
“You already know that answer to that.”
“Excellent. Then you have our blessing to avenge the death of Danny’s wife and daughter. We will do everything possible to wipe them out. And if we should succeed, Blaze, I will forever be in your debt. Saul Gunnerman has ruled the south for far too long, and negotiates with no one. He is a black mark in my book.”
“I got it covered.” Blaze turned and walked towards the door. “Let me know the meeting location,” he said without looking back, then headed outside to his Mustang which he’d earlier left in the alleyway so he could drive back to the clubhouse.
He arrived to find no one there except Danny asleep on one of the couches. All the members had their own homes, including Blaze, but it was quite the rare feat to find it so quiet.
“Glad to see you made it back in one piece,” said Danny as Blaze startled him awake.
“Vino just about didn’t,” he replied.
“What?”
“Never mind.”
Danny rubbed his sleepy eyes.
“We’ve got the all-clear from Archer for our trip south,” Blaze informed him.
“Really? You mean Archer and Mr Lombardi are going to send an army to wipe out Gunner’s?”
“You better fucking believe it, Danny boy.”
Danny smirked. “Jeez, you’re a devious bastard. It must be killing you having to play it so straight with him.”
“You have no idea...but it’ll all be worth it when that parasite gets what he deserves.”
Danny got up to get a drink of water from the bar. “So, what did you and Ryan talk about when he was here?” he asked cautiously.
Blaze wanted to tell him everything, but for the moment he could trust only himself. “We were just catching up,” he lied. “He wanted any information about Fish that might prove useful in his investigation.”
Danny yawned again. “Well, you can bore me with all that shit later. I’m going back to sleep.” He lay back down on the couch.
Blaze walked to his room and flopped down on his bed. He was so tired, yet at the same time, wide awake, deep in thought about Zoe. Is she an informant? She knows everything about Ryan and Danny. Have I been sleeping with the enemy?
After wresting with his emotions for over half an hour his eyelids finally gave in.
Chapter 16
Ryan waited for Blaze at one of the tables outside the Marble Lane Cafe on the sidewalk of a busy street in Brighton’s CBD. Blaze had figured the passing traffic and hustle bustle of the city made for plenty of background noise, so they could talk with relative privacy. Ryan agreed. Blaze walked up to him quietly, his hands nestled inside his black hoodie pockets. He pulled out a chair opposite Ryan and picked up a menu.
“I took the liberty of ordering for you,” said Ryan. “All day breakfast with coffee. And it’s just as well I did; you look like shit.”
“Barely fucking slept.”
“Night shift?”
“Something like that. And you know I don’t do mornings.”
Ryan grinned. “I find you highly amusing when you’re zombified.”
A waitress placed their coffees on the table in front of them. “Back in just a tick, boys,” she said. She returned a moment later with their breakfasts.
“So, what’s this plan of yours?” Ryan asked quietly.
“What? No friendly chit-chat?”
“Like I said, we’re all in deep shit. I’m not here to bloody socialise.”
They started eating as Blaze explained his plan.
“Are you out of your mind!” Ryan exclaimed. “You could all be killed!”
“I made a promise to Danny. Plus, if successful, it should get that commissioner who has you by the balls off your back. Who knows? Perhaps we can all earn some brownie points.”
“He won’t let you walk, Blaze. He wants to put you away for keeps. From what I can gather he’s obsessed with the idea.”
“Well I don’t give a shit. Either way, I’m going. So, either come along and help, or go back to finding out who murdered Fish.”
Ryan could almost feel his eyes being bored through from the angry stare Blaze gave him. “You know I can’t help. But I will find out who’s responsible for what happened to Fish.”
Ryan took a gulp of his coffee, then said. “Actually, there is something you can help me with...”
“Such as?”
“You can tell me what exactly you are doing for Archer.”
Blaze casually replied, “Same as usual. Moving shit here and there. Had to move a truck load of shit to his club in town last night.”
“What was in the truck, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Don’t know. Shit-pile of coke if I had to guess. I made some serious coin for one fucking delivery run, though.”
“And it came in through Smuggler’s Point?” he whispered.
Blaze didn’t answer. They ate in silence.
At last Blaze said, “So what’s with the nine dead girls you found with Fish? There ain’t no way he was involved with them. The only pussy he ever scored was th
e kind that you had to be so fucking wasted you literally didn’t know you were tapping it.” He snickered.
“Well, at this point we haven’t identified any of them. I’m hoping we get a hit in the database as to who it was that —” He stopped himself short.
“Abused them?” Blaze offered.
“Yeah, that.” He paused, then said, “Who would do such a thing, Blaze? It makes me sick to the stomach.”
Blaze sighed. “I dunno, man. But If you ever find out, be sure to give me a call. I’ll bring my ‘toolbox’ and we can do a little abusing of our own.”
“You know I’m almost inclined to take you up on that.”
“Well, you know where to find me.”
“Actually, I don’t. Well, not unless you’re at the clubhouse. You got a number I can reach you on?”
They swapped phone numbers. Ryan said, “I always have my cell on me; I never turn it off. So, if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”
They finished their breakfasts and got up to leave. “Make sure you come back from Summit Lake in one piece, you hear me?” said Ryan.
“Just find out what happened to Fish,” Blaze fired back, then made his way back down the street to his Harley Davidson. Just before he mounted it, his phone rang. He answered the call. It was Archer with the location for the sit down with Gunner. Blaze clicked off and immediately called Spider. When he picked up, Blaze said, “I just got the location. Get all your asses down to the clubhouse.”
Chapter 17
“It’s on for tomorrow night,” Agent Watson said to Commissioner Stuart over the phone.
“Are you absolutely sure?” he replied.
“Yes, sir. Blaze and the MC are leaving for Summit Lake early tomorrow morning.”
“Excellent. Do you know the location and what they are planning?”
“Yes. I have a recording from their meeting earlier today.”
“Send it to my inbox immediately.”
“Already done, sir.”