by Jenika Snow
“I’m good, man.” Lucien looked at Malcolm. “You got anything for us?”
Malcolm nodded. “Oh yeah, a lot of shit actually.”
“Good.” Lucien tipped his chin toward the meeting room. “Come on, boys, let’s get the ball rolling and take down these motherfuckers.”
Chapter Ten
“I was finally able to hack into the mainframe of the church’s website, but they had a screen over the site.”
“What the fuck is that?” Malice asked on a growl. He leaned forward and had a scowl on his face. This affected all of the men, but Malice’s old lady, Adrianna, had been right there, and therefore the brother was even hungrier for blood.
Malcolm breathed out, clearly exhausted, and glanced around the rectangular, scarred table. “It basically just means that they have someone that knows their computer shit. They had malware on the site, which basically was meant to crash anyone’s computer that was trying to break through their stronghold they had set up. I know my computer programs, and can get past the most fucked up firewalls. With a little bit of tweaking, I got past it, disabled it, and was able to put a tracker on their server location.”
“And? Can you get to the fucking point, Malcolm? All this technology bullshit talk is giving me a headache,” Kink said, not meaning to snap, but he wanted these bastards taken out already.
“Relax, Kink. Malcolm knows his shit. We’re all stressed out, but we need to keep our heads together right now,” Lucien said, and the President sounded a hell of a lot calmer than Kink was feeling.
He glanced at Lucien. The other man was leaning back in his seat with a cigarette in his mouth, his gaze right on Kink, and his expression patient. The thing with Lucien was he was a calculating biker. He was hard and dangerous when he needed to be, but was also a smart man. He waited, bided his time, and then struck like a fucking lightning bolt. They were all deadly and violent in their own right, but Lucien was something totally different. Kink knew that in order to run an MC, a man had to be a cold son-of-a-bitch, and Lucien was exactly that. He knew how to strike, and he knew how to take down their enemy.
Lucien exhaled, and a smoky cloud covered the space before him for a second before dissipating. “Malcolm, what did you find out?” Lucien said, and took one more hit before snubbing out the cigarette.
“Okay, so their IP address led back to their main base in Utah. It’s registered to the same address they have located on their site, but after moving things around, and getting into a program they had hidden, I figured out that they aren’t even operating from Utah.”
“Okay, so where are they operating from?” Lucien asked in a low, deadly voice.
“The address I found was right here in River Run.” The table grew cold and silent. “I tracked it down to a warehouse being rented out in the corner of town, right before the Willowcreek county line.”
Kink sat back in his seat. He was surprised to a point, but he knew the cult had been operating in River Run for the last few weeks, but he didn’t know they were running their operation right out of a building located in town. “You think they are trying to set up shop permanently?” Kink asked Lucien.
“I don’t know. They are in town, obviously, but if they are actually renting out the old warehouse. It’s been empty for the last year as no one is stupid enough to take on an investment like that,” Lucien said. “But apparently someone is now, or at least temporarily. I have a feeling the cult might be trying to branch out, maybe trying to recruit right here in River Run, or even Steel Corner.” Lucien took out his cell, looked at it, and set it on the table. “Malcolm, you get a name of the one leasing out the warehouse?”
Kink glanced at the kid.
“Yeah, hold up.” He typed something up on his laptop. “The name is Beatrice Herving, but I think it is pretty safe to say if anyone has this kind of firewall and software protection on what is just supposed to be a church website, that is probably a false name.”
Lucien nodded slowly. “Yeah, no doubt it is a smoke name.” Lucien stared off for a second, and Kink grew itchy as hell. He wanted to react, but he wasn’t going to go into this blind. They needed to get as much info as they could get on these fuckers.
“I need all the information on the warehouse, the occupants, dimensions, blueprints, and whatever the fuck you can gather through the computer. If you need resources, let us know, and we’ll make sure you get it,” Lucien said, and Malcolm nodded.
“It shouldn’t take me but an hour or so to find out.”
“Thanks, kid. Mind waiting outside?” Lucien said and tipped his chin toward the door. Malcolm nodded and gathered his things before leaving. Once the door was shut again Lucien looked around the table. “Rock, Ruin, did you find anything out surveying town?”
“Spoke to some of those junkies that hang around the titty bar,” Rock said.
“Wasn’t sure about how much they are legit in knowing their shit about what happens around here, but then they started talking about some church people hanging around the strip, and even some protesting that what was going on with the girls shaking their asses for money was wrong and immoral,” Ruin said after he exhaled.
“How do we know it is the same motherfuckers that bombed the cabin?” Tuck asked, and there was a deadly tone in his voice.
“We don’t, but I haven’t heard that there have been any protesters spouting off their bullshit since these fuckers came here,” Ruin answered, and the way he was drumming his fingers on the table had the two silver rings he wore clanking against the wood. “Let’s be real. This is a small town, and despite the fact that a few residents don’t care for the bars and strip clubs that have come up, everyone sticks to themselves. There hasn’t been any kind of protesting like what has been happening since before that church shit happened.”
There was a murmur of agreement.
“Other than a few of the old folks trying to close things down the legal way and behind a judge’s door, it’s pretty quiet. In fact I’m surprised this cult wouldn’t keep a low profile knowing they were going to do that to our place,” Ruin finished off.
“It doesn’t matter anyway because when we find them we’ll make them pray loud for mercy.”
There was a chorus of murmured agreements.
“You end up talking to Jagger? I know you went to Steel Corner last night, but weren’t gone too long, so I wasn’t sure what the hell was up with that,” Malice said, and he was furiously chewing on the end of a toothpick.
“They’re in when we need them. Jagger said when we know the details to hit him up and his boys will be up with guns blazing.”
Jagger was the President of The Grizzly MC, which was stationed in Steel Corner, the next town over. The clubs had helped each other over the last few months, and had gotten pretty tight with one another. Having them as back-up would be a lot of muscle.
“The Fairview chapter is also coming in, and should be here in the next few hours. I spoke with Marx, and he’s bringing several of his guys,” Lucien said and leaned back in his chair again. “With The Grizzlies, our boys from Utah, and us, I think we can take on these fuckers, but I want us to be smart about this.”
“I’m not sweet talking with them, man,” Rock said, and although the other man played it off like he was easygoing, the biker could be a cruel asshole.
“No one is talking about anything with them. Once we know if they are holed up in that warehouse, the layout of it all, and any other information we can get, we are going in to take them out, and worry about the consequences later.” Lucien picked up his cell, looked at it again, and set it back down.
“What the fuck’s going on with your phone?” Kink asked and pointed to the cell in question. “You’ve been eye-fucking that thing since you took it out of your cut.”
Lucien gave him a nasty glare, but it wasn’t threatening, just more annoyed. “I got a call early this morning.” He stayed silent for a second, and then ran his hand over his short dark hair. “Cain called me. He is getting ou
t tomorrow.”
“Well fuck.” It seemed everyone said that at the same time, and then they were clapping each other on the back. But the excitement that one of the Brothers was getting out of prison was short lived.
“This is, bad, bad timing for him to be getting out,” Kink said.
Lucien nodded. “Yeah, I’m thrilled he is getting released, but right now we need to keep our head in the game. We don’t need Cain getting into more shit when he just got out, and I know if he realizes what’s going on, he’ll want to join in with a gun in each hand.”
“The man is one crazy fucker, but this club is his life, even more so after…” Tuck stopped speaking, and Kink looked at him. There was a hushed, uncomfortable silence that filled the room.
Cain had been locked up for the last nine years for attempted murder after he caught the sick motherfucker trying to rape his sixteen-year-old daughter. The only reason the asshole was even still alive was because a neighbor had called the cops, and they had come before Cain could finish him off.
“Well, if Cain wants in on something, ain’t no one going to stop him,” Tuck said, and they all agreed. “You know he has to be itching for a little action since being locked up that long, so let’s hope we get this straightened out before he is released. I’d rather celebrate with him, than have Cain jumping in on this right away.”
Kink leaned back in his seat, rubbed his face with his hands, and didn’t think things could get even more complicated. Yeah, they needed all the manpower they could get, but they didn’t want Cain getting implicated on this, especially since he would just be released.
“Well, let’s deal with this one thing at a time, and take out these fuckers. Then we can focus on getting this club back to normal.” Lucien sounded tense, and exhausted, but hell, they all felt that way.
It was only a half hour later since Malcolm left the meeting room, but he was knocking the door.
“Yeah?” Lucien called out, and Malcolm pushed the door open. He stood in the entryway, holding his laptop to his chest.
“I got the info you needed, even dug up an old floor plan of the warehouse, and found out a piece of information you will be pretty interested to know.” Malcolm walked in when Lucien gestured him forward. He set the laptop down, and turned the screen so they could see it. “The lease was only on a monthly basis, so that shows that they aren’t serious about staying here, not in that location at least.” Malcolm then brought up all the information they needed. “And here is the floor plan. It’s pretty self-explanatory with the entrances and exits here,” Malcolm pointed to two areas on the floor plan. “But this is what I thought you guys would find really screwed up.” Malcolm brought up another document.
Kink scanned the items that were printed on the screen. “Those are fucking ingredients for a bomb.” Kink pulled the computer closer: C4, nitrogen fertilizer, and a whole slew of other harmless household items, but put systematically together could make a pretty big bomb.
Lucien pulled the computer back toward him, and Kink heard the sound of the computer edge cracking because Lucien held it so tight. He pushed it back toward Malcolm, and leaned back in the seat. He was clenching and unclenching his hand on the top of the table, and the sound of Lucien gritting his teeth came from him like a shot from a gun.
“And you can see from the date printed on these emails,” Malcolm pulled up several emails. “The only way for them to have access to these types of material, mainly the C4, is they have to have some kind of connection. This isn’t run of the mill stuff that they can pick up at their local garden supply store. But also they have the blueprints of the cabin on your club’s property that took the hit.”
Kink stared hard at Malcolm.
“And you were able to find all this out right now?” Rock asked.
Malcolm nodded. “Yeah, I mean I stayed up all night getting most of it, but the invoice of materials is what I was working on out there. It took time since they had buried it pretty hard, but there isn’t anything on the internet I can’t break through.”
“And that’s why we called on you, Malcolm,” Lucien said. “You know your stuff. Now, can you give us minute? Maybe head to one of the back rooms and crash for a bit if you want?”
“Yeah, you look like shit, man,” Malice said, but there was no amusement in the Sergeant at Arms’ voice.
Once Malcolm left the meeting room, the guys went over the rest of the information Malcolm had given to them. The room grew tense, and long, grueling minutes passed by, ones that were filled with anger, violence, and the need to exact revenge.
Lucien kept tapping his finger on the table, and everyone focused their attention on him. “The evidence is pretty self explanatory,” Lucien said through his teeth. “The dates on the receipts were only days before the bombing, and they even had a floor plan of the cabin on our property that got bombed.” The anger in the room increased. “Tonight we go in, infiltrate their fucking cult asses, and take every last one of them down,” Lucien said in a low, deadly and calculating voice. “Any objections?”
The room stayed silent.
“Good, now spend time with your loved ones, have something to drink to wind down, because as it is you all are about ready to bust. Come nightfall those bastards will find out what it means to mess with The Brothers of Menace.”
****
Nightfall was just in a few hours, and the guys were spending time with their families, and preparing for heading out to the warehouse as soon as night was upon them. Lucien sat on the couch pressed against the wall and stared at his mom and her husband, who spoke with Molly. Malice and Adrianna were playing trucks with Dakota, and Lucien could see the love the hardened biker had for his old lady and his son. To think that all of this crap kept happening to them, their families put in danger, and for what? Lucien loved the MC, but sometimes he did think about all of the people he cared about being put in harm’s way because of them.
Tuck was sitting on the other couch across the room with his son and daughter, and the other guys were relaxing and enjoying this moment of peace before all hell broke loose. Kink had gone to the back rooms with Cookie, and Lucien could only assume why the brother had wanted to have some alone time with his woman. Kink might not have outright claimed Cookie as his old lady to the club, but he’d have to be fucking blind—all the members in fact—not to see the man had it bad for the redhead. Even after he had the talk with him, one that seemed ages ago now, Kink had been acting different. It might only be a small, subtle change, but it was a change all the same. There was still this tightness to the other man, a dangerous anger that could very well tear the club in two. Hell, Kink had gotten into shit with two men, one of them Malice and the other Pierce, and all because he wasn’t dealing with what was going on in his life. But Lucien couldn’t really relate to what Kink was going through. He didn’t have any kids, didn’t have to deal with a crazy ex, and sure as hell didn’t have a woman that was tying him in knots.
On the heels of that thought he glanced at Callie, knowing that it was wrong to even be looking at her. But he was not able to forget about the traitorous shit he had done behind Kink’s back. He might not have touched her, wouldn’t even think about it given she wasn’t even eighteen yet, but he had thought about her in ways he shouldn’t have. He still felt like he had betrayed Kink because he hadn’t even told his VP about Callie being drunk, and Lucien taking her back to his house to sleep it off. Lucien might not have touched her, but fuck, any man would be livid knowing a grown ass man had kept something like that secret, and had a high school graduate sleeping in his spare bed.
Callie looked over at him, but he hoped she was still pissed from this morning. He had sat down, told her that it had been a big fucking mistake taking her to his house and keeping this from Kink. She may have nodded, maybe have said that eventually she’d tell her dad, but that she wanted to do it on her own terms, but he could tell she was uncomfortable. Hell, he was, too. He had to look into his VP’s face, knowing what he had d
one was wrong, but still not say anything. Lucien knew that he should be the one to tell Kink, but when Callie had all but pleaded that she be the one, he had backed down. Lucien never backed down, but with Callie he was finding out that he could be a totally different man, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Callie pushed away from the wall she was leaning against, said something to Tuck’s daughter, Lila, and made her way toward him.
“Fuck,” he gritted out softly and glanced around the room. Anyone that could see would be able to tell there was something up between them, especially since Callie seemed so different around him now. Lucien could really go for a beer right now, but he wanted to keep a level head for tonight, and whatever Callie was about to say to him. If he was smart he’d avoid her, but if that didn’t send up a bunch of red fucking flags to everyone, he didn’t know what would. Also, he didn’t want to avoid her, and that pissed him off even more. But he didn’t get up, and instead he leaned back on the couch. She stopped beside him, but didn’t say anything right away. Instead she glanced around, probably seeing if anyone else was watching this awkward exchange. Everyone was busy with other things, thank fuck, because he didn’t need a confrontation right now.
“Hi,” she said softly, and sat down on the edge of the couch.
He nodded and shifted so he could see her. He had known this young woman nearly her whole life, and had watched her grow up into the beautiful woman she was today, but that didn’t give him a right to even think about wanting something with her even if she was older. Even if Callie had been ten years older, she was the daughter of a Brother of Menace member, and that meant she was off limits to any of the other guys.