by Evelyn Glass
“We’re on the wrong side of town, but we’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
“I’ll call and let him know you’re on your way.”
Dix hung up the phone and glanced at Daisy. “This may be our big break.”
She swallowed hard, trying not to get her hopes up. “Maybe.”
He returned the nozzle to the pump, capped the tank, and mounted up, thumbing the bike to life as she sat down behind him. The moment she was settled he pulled out of the station, and as soon as he squared up, he gave the Harley a kick in the ass, the big bike surging away.
***
“Dix,” the man said as he stepped into the gleaming showroom full of glittering chrome, aluminum and carbon fiber. He was perhaps fifty, going soft and gray, and walked with a noticeable limp. He extended his hand and Dix shook it warmly. “Who’s this?”
“Randy Wells, Daisy Watson. She’s here to look at the tape with me.”
Randy looked at her a moment longer, then nodded. “This way.”
He led them into the back, past the waiting room with large windows overlooking the mechanic bays and an office full of men and women in cubicles talking quietly on headsets before entering a cavernous building with people pushing carts. She was surprised at the size of the operation.
“What’s going on here?” she asked Dix quietly as they followed Randy.
“Randy runs one of the biggest aftermarket suppliers on the west coast. If you want something for your Japanese sport bike, Randy has it. He ships all over the country, maybe the world, out of this building, and if you can get here, he can even install it for you.”
Randy turned into another small office area full of busy people, then into another room with a rack of computers. “Parshanth, can you call up the security feed from about an hour ago?”
“Yes, of course,” Parshanth said, rising from his desk and walking into the server room. “We’ll do it in here so it will be easy to see.” He spoke perfect English, but still had the slight sing-songy cadence and dark hair and eyes from his native India. He sat down in front of a large monitor and type furiously for a few seconds before a picture of the waiting area appeared on the monitor. “What room?”
“The show room, from about an hour ago,” Randy said.
The image changed to the showroom, then blurred as people began to walk backwards at ten times normal speed then began moving normally again. Randy watched a moment then shook his head. “Back a little more.” It took several minutes before Parshanth and Randy found the spot they were looking for. “That’s it! Back it up to where they come in.” The four men quickly walked backwards out the door, then walked back in at normal speed.
“May I sit down?” Daisy asked, leaning in for a better look.
Parshanth rose without a word and she took his place. As she watched, the men walked up to the counter, then wandered around the room a moment looking at the parts on display. “That’s Leo,” she said, touching the screen. “That looks like, yes, that’s Henry Gauge, but he goes by Cage. This guy here goes by Blade. I don’t know his real name. I don’t know this other guy.”
“You know these guys?” Randy asked, his tone cool.
“Leo is my ex-husband. Cage and Blade run with him,” she said as Randy looked over her shoulder. She continued to watch as Randy appeared on the screen and shook hands with Leo.
“What’d they want?” Dix asked.
“Thank you, Parshanth. Will you excuse us a moment please?” Randy asked.
“Certainly. You can just leave that playing when you’re done.”
Randy waited until Parshanth closed his door before he began to speak. “They started out asking questions about the Cutthroats. I pretended I didn’t know what they were talking about. Then they started making threats, how the Cutthroats were on the way out and a new player was coming in to take over…does she know?” he asked with a glance at Daisy.
“No, but go ahead.”
Randy nodded. “Take over the races. I pretended like I didn’t know what he was talking about, of course, but he knew. Anyway, that Leo guy said there were going to be some changes and he was giving me a chance to get in on the ground floor. He mentioned how he didn’t want what happened to Kevin to happen to me.” His eyes went hard. “That’s when I ordered his ass out. They left, but as they were leaving he asked me if my insurance was paid up.”
She watched as Dix’s jaw muscles worked. “Anything else?” he rumbled.
Randy shook his head. “No, not really. Cale said you had a tip the Firechrome may be looking to move into the area. Is that them?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
“Shit. That’s the last thing we need. That’s going to bring heat we don’t need. I’ll be alright but I get a nice little bump four times a year.”
Dix nodded. “Let Cale know if Leo comes back. Try to keep him here if you can. We’d like to have a word with him.”
“Yeah, I wish I had known that before.”
“We weren’t sure before and we didn’t want to be Chicken Little, but now we know. We’ll spread the word. Can you help us with that?”
“Yeah. I’ll give Steve and Greg a call as soon as we’re done here and let them know. We have a good thing going here and we don’t need a bunch of thugs coming into town and screwing it all up.”
Dix extended his hand. “I’m sorry about this, but we’ll handle it. Don’t worry.”
Randy smiled and took the hand. “Thanks, Dix. I know you will. When are you going to bring that rocket ship of yours by again? I have a new guy who wants to see it.”
“I don’t know. Maybe someday.”
Sensing the meeting was over, Daisy rose. “Excuse me, Randy, did you happen to see a little boy, about five years old, with Leo?”
“No, sorry. Why?”
She looked at her feet. “It’s my son. Our son. Leo took him. That’s why I’m here, trying to find him and get him back.”
Randy softened immediately. “I’m truly sorry to hear that. I hope you can find him and get him back soon.”
She struggled not to cry. “Thank you.”
“Thanks for giving us the heads up, Randy,” Dix said as he put his arm around her waist and began to steer her out of the room. “We’ll keep you and the others in the loop.”
Randy nodded. “If there’s anything we can do, I’m sure Greg and Steve will be on board, too.”
“Cale will let you know.” He escorted her outside, going through the shop because it was quicker, raising a hand in acknowledgment as several of the mechanics called his name. The moment he was outside, he pulled out his cell.
“Cale? It’s confirmed.”
“Shit. Okay. Meeting at Dunes at six. Bring Daisy and let’s see what else she can tell us.”
“We’ll be there.”
CHAPTER NINE
While they waited for the meeting, Dix and Daisy took care of a few errands. They returned to the motel where she picked up her few dirty items, adding them to her wet clothes, then they dropped them at the laundry he used. After making sure she would have fresh clothes, they went back to the motel so she could freshen up a bit after being drenched earlier.
She had been quiet since leaving West Coast Performance. “How are you holding up?” he called as she fussed in the bathroom.
“Okay. I don’t know if I’m relieved Riley wasn’t with him or upset. Relieved Leo wasn’t riding him on the motorcycle, but it would be just like Leo to leave him alone in a motel room.”
“Don’t worry, Daisy, we’ll find him.”
She stepped out. “I hope so. I believe you’ll try. I just feel like…I don’t know…no matter what I do, nothing ever works out.”
He smiled at her, trying to buoy her spirits. “But now you have the Cutthroats helping. You don’t have to do it all on your own anymore.”
She gave him a ghost of a smile. “Thank you. I’m not sure how that even works. I’ve been having to do it all on my own since I moved out and got married.”
“Is that what you do?”
He smiled. “I guess. The Cutthroats and Old James are my family, and when I need something, they are there.”
“Old James? Is he in the club?”
He snorted out a laugh. “No. He owns the scrapyard where I work.”
“Ah, okay. We’ll be a little early, but do you want to go or wait here?”
Dix rolled his arm over and checked the watch hanging on the underside of his wrist. “I guess we can go. Maybe we’ll grab that beer you didn’t get last night while we wait.”
She took a deep breath. “A beer, or something stronger, sounds pretty good right now.”
He nodded at the door. “May I buy the lady a drink?”
***
The Cutthroats didn’t have a dedicated clubhouse, preferring to use the overflow room at Dunes. It was available for their exclusive use on demand except for the occasional Friday or Saturday night. Today was Saturday, but they should be done with the room before CJ, the owner, needed the room for customers. The arrangement worked for everyone. The Cutthroats had a place to meet and do business with food and drink available, plus they didn’t have to clean up or maintain the place, and CJ got a steady customer base that worked as informal security for his business.
Dix and Daisy were in the “clubhouse” sipping a beer when Cale arrived, beer and gavel in hand. “Good, you’re here. The entire crew will be here tonight. Everyone gets a voice on this.”
Over the next fifteen minutes the rest of the brothers arrived and settled into their traditional spots. With twenty tables, there were plenty of places for everyone to sit.
“Let’s get started,” Cale said and gave the gavel a light rap on the block. “As you know, Daisy,” he nodded at her and she meekly raised her hand in greeting, “brought to our attention that the Firechrome might be moving into Douglas. Dix and Daisy spent the day cruising the town looking for signs. It’s been confirmed. Four members of the Firechrome paid a visit to West Coast Performance today and more or less confirmed they intend to muscle us out.”
“Good luck with that,” one of the men said.
“Don’t underestimate them,” Cale warned. “They’re a lot bigger of an operation than we are. I’m sure they’re able to bring a lot of pressure to bear.”
“So what are we going to do about it?” another man asked.
“That’s what we’re here to decide.”
“Should she be here for this?”
Daisy recognized the last man who spoke as one of the men at the table yesterday, but she either didn’t know his name or couldn’t remember it. “I can wait outside if you need me to,” she offered.
“No,” Cale said. “You need to hear this. I know you said you weren’t that involved in the club, but you know a lot more about them than we do. You recognized the four men at WCP?”
“Three of them. Leo, Cage and Blade. Those three run together a lot. I didn’t know the fourth guy.”
“What can you tell us about them?”
“I can tell you that you can’t trust them. Leo makes promises he can’t keep. He’ll also knife you in the back if he thinks it will get him ahead. Cage and Blade, they’re the same way. All three, but Leo especially, talk a big game but usually can’t back it up. But there’s still something I don’t understand. Why are they interested in you?”
The room was quiet. “She already knows a little. She was there when Randy and I were talking,” Dix said.
Cale looked at her. “If you want our help in getting your son back, what I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this room. Understand?” She nodded. “We run an illegal street race.”
“That’s it? Street racing?”
Cale smiled. “That’s it. But not just any street race. We hold four events a year. The first one is coming up in a few weeks. We hold it in the Siuslaw National Forest and racers come in from all over the country to participate.”
“I guess I still don’t understand. People have been racing cars and motorcycles on the street forever. Why is yours such a big deal?”
“Because it’s the biggest event of its kind in the country. We will have between two and four hundred people race each year. We race in early May and June, then again in late August and September. We skip the heavy tourist season because it’s too hard then, and winter for obvious reasons.”
“Four hundred racers? That seems like a lot.”
“It is. It’s spread out over four races, but it’s still a big event. We hold the races in one night. You race against the clock over one lap of what we call the Green Hell. We take ten percent of the purse and the winners get the other ninety percent.”
“What’s the purse?”
“It depends on how many riders enter. It’s ten thousand to enter. So if we have a hundred entrants, we make a hundred thousand, the first three places share the other ninety. Seventy-five percent goes to the winner, twenty percent to second, and five percent to third.”
She did some quick math. “That’s something like a half million dollars! Now I see why the Firechrome are interested. That’s right up their alley.”
“It’s a big enough deal the local economy gets a lift,” Dix added. “You remember Randy saying how he gets a bump four times a year? That’s us. Not to mention the motels and restaurants.”
She began to nod. “I can see it. Leo liked to brag how the Firechrome would move into an area and start taking over businesses they were interested in, or setting up a competing business then use dirty tricks to drive their competitors under. That was probably what the visit to West Coast Performance was all about. Snooping around to see who might be interested in selling or getting into bed with them.”
“What else can you tell us?” Cale asked.
She made a face. “Not a lot. After the first couple of years, I wasn’t part of the scene much. It’s hard to know how much is truth and how much is Leo making shit up. I know the President of the Eugene chapter likes him, or at least Leo said he does. I wouldn’t surprise me if Leo were trying to run this operation. He was always looking for the big score, and this may be his chance. If it is, he’ll do anything to make it work and won’t care who, or what, gets ruined along the way. He is one of those types that if he can’t have something, he’ll destroy it so nobody else can have it either.”
“Your ex sounds like a real asshole.”
“You have no idea,” she said, causing a chuckle to roll through the room.
Cale drummed his fingers on the table a moment. “Okay. Here’s what I want to do. Dix, take Miss Daisy here around to WCP, Terrill’s and OMP on Monday. Have a sit down with them and explain what’s going on and why they need to back our play. If the Chromes get a toehold they’re going to be hell to push back. Make sure they know we’ve got their backs.” He turned to look at another man. “Thad, take a couple brothers and start making the rounds. Motels, restaurants, the works. Let’s try to freeze them out. No point in being hospitable while they’re trying to fuck us in the ass.” He paused again. “Anyone else have any ideas?”
“What about Kevin?” a man Daisy had never seen before asked quietly. “We owe them for that.”
After the murmur of agreement fell quiet, Cale nodded. “Agreed, but first thing’s first. We don’t know where they’re staying, so let’s try to push them out into the open and put them on the defensive. Then we can deal with the Chromes in the only way they understand. Anyone else?”
“I have something,” Daisy said. “You remember our bargain? I’ve made good on my part, and I’ll help you as much as I can, but you have to promise me you’ll help me get Riley back.”
Cale looked at her then smiled. “I remember. It can’t be our first priority. My first priority is to this club then this town, but if the opportunity presents itself, we’ll get Riley back to you. Is that good enough?”
She licked her lips, thinking, but decided that was pro
bably the best she was going to get. She was certain it was a hell of a lot more than the Firechrome would do for her. “Yes, thank you.”
“Anything else?” When no one spoke, Cale banged the gavel. “Adjourned. Dix, Daisy, wait a minute. Thad, you, too.”
After the rest of the brother filed out, Cale looked at those still in the room. “First, Daisy, thank you for bringing this to our attention and helping us.” He then turned his attention to Dix and Thad. “I didn’t want to commit the club, but Dix, you and Thad try to work out how to get her son back, unofficially and off the record. The club will support you as much as we can, but if it goes south and the cops get involved, I’ll have to let you burn rather than pull the club down.”