Desolation Road

by Feehan, Christine

  Before any of them could protest, Savage put the next slide up, the email that had gone out to all the managers with the step-by-step details of exactly what they were going to do to Diane Miller. Her picture was on the email. She was in her stripper costume.

  “Just so there’s no mistakes, I had the steps written in very large letters with bullet points,” Savage explained when he changed slides to show the step-by-step instructions in much larger print. “Destroyer wears those dark glasses of his and I don’t want to take chances that he might miss a step. Now, I know we’re only two here, not six of you, and I don’t like to brag, but your pussy floggers were shit. I brought the real thing and I’m damn good with a bullwhip. Destroyer claims he’s no slouch, so I want to see what he’s got. That might make up for the lack of manpower. I think we can pull it off, and we do have a pole waiting at the Gypsy Club to hang you off of later tonight,” he assured.

  Holler struggled in the ropes. “You’re crazy. Do you have any idea who we are?”

  Savage went forward several slides until he found the one of Diane Miller’s bloody body, hanging upside down on the pole of the stage at the Felix Club. “You’re the ones who did that to a single mother trying to make a living for her children.”

  He put the slide back up of the step-by-step instructions and glanced at Destroyer. “Which one you want to start with?”

  “Don’t much care. They all look like dead meat to me,” Destroyer said.

  “I think we should leave Wings for last. He seems to be the brains behind all this. Holler is the idiot who believes no one can touch him because he’s part of a pussy club challenging the Diamondbacks. Too stupid to live.” Savage shook his head. “Those running your club sent you here as sacrifices. They knew the Diamondbacks would eat you alive.”

  He slashed through the ropes binding Holler to the support beam and dragged him by his hair into the middle of the room, where he bent him over a sawhorse, anchoring his hands to the ground by a ring in the floor on one side and both ankles to rings they’d drilled into the flooring on the other, leaving his legs spread wide.

  Savage indicated the array of tools to Destroyer. Destroyer took his time. There were several types of wicked-looking whips, some with serrated edges on the leather. There were branding irons and piercing tools. Canes. Thin long strips of wood with holes drilled every few inches. Others with nails sticking out. A cattle prod hooked up to an electrical device was very prominent. The condoms the men had brought were scattered in plain view for them to see.

  “We’ve got plenty of time. The clubs don’t close down until two and then it’s at least another hour until the others will bring us the night managers so we can work on them. Take your choice. Let’s see what you got,” Savage encouraged.

  Destroyer looked over the various tools of the trade and chose a long, lethal-looking bullwhip. He tested the weight in his hand. “Nice.” He shook it out and then cracked it.

  Holler yelped, jumping, his skin jerking, and he hadn’t been hit. Wings snickered, a nervous giggle escaping.

  Savage chose a smaller, wicked whip, one that cut deep when wielded properly. He was a master at delivering a proper stroke. He indicated Destroyer start. “Warm up. He looks a little cold to me.”

  “We’re looking at a first-class setup, Czar,” Code said.

  “Cameras positioned every twenty to thirty feet, all trained on the entrances and exits to the clubs. There are new emails exchanged between Haley Joico and the president of the Sacramento chapter of the Diamondbacks. Assurances are made that her club will be torched, and she’ll sell to them once she collects the money. She allowed them to install cameras both outside and inside the club and she’s been feeding them information on what the Venomous club is doing as well as the whereabouts of their managers. Of course, she doesn’t know they were picked up and delivered to Savage and Destroyer. She’s been their source in spite of making money off the VC. She’s playing both sides.”

  “She’s going to end up dead,” Czar said. “Diamondbacks know she can’t be trusted.”

  “Look to your left. Pierce is there, up on the roof across the street. He’s not Sacramento chapter. Why would he be here?” Code asked, not looking at Alena.

  “Because he’s screwing me,” Alena said, before anyone could answer. “They think he’ll spot one of us before anyone else. They’re wrong.”

  Czar glanced at Absinthe. Absinthe fucking hated it when Czar gave him that subtle sign to check on one of their own, but he had no choice. He shifted closer to Alena and kept his eyes on her.

  “Has Pierce heard anyone refer to you as Torch?” Czar asked.

  “No one calls me that ever unless we’re together in the clubhouse as just our family. You don’t allow that anymore, Czar,” Alena pointed out. “As far as I know, no one’s ever broken that rule in front of him.”

  Absinthe waited until Czar again shifted his gaze just for that millionth of a second and he nodded. Alena wasn’t lying.

  “He’s just doing his job for his club,” Alena added. “The same as any of us would do, Czar. He’s not betraying me. He has no idea I’m here. They want proof of what we’re doing so they can run us. That’s all. We’d do the same thing.”

  “I didn’t say he was doing anything wrong, honey,” Czar said gently. “You don’t need to defend him. I’m asking to protect you, that’s all. Your protection comes before anything or anyone else. That’s the way it works in our club and that’s the way it always will. You know that. You’re getting too sensitive and I’m not sure why.”

  Alena ducked her head. “I’m not sure either,” she admitted. “I’m feeling very scattered, all over the place. I think, sometimes, I just need to go somewhere quiet and be really still.”

  Absinthe flashed her smile. “I go to the library. You need to find your place, babe. Go to the beach alone. Cooking used to help you, but you turned it into your business. It won’t work the same for you anymore. You need to find a new way to still your mind.”

  She nodded. “I know. I’ve known for a little while that I was starting to have trouble. I’ll work on it, Czar.”

  “You need help, honey, you come to me,” Czar said.

  Ice slung his arm around his sister’s shoulders. “I should have been paying more attention to you, Alena. I’ve been so wrapped up in Soleil lately, I haven’t looked outside us. I’m sorry.”

  Alena rubbed the back of her head against her brother’s shoulder. “Don’t think that way. I love that you have Soleil. I love her for you. I want Storm to find someone that’s equally that perfect for him.” She looked up at the roof across the street. “When I’m around Pierce, I think things are good, but he’s Diamondback and I’m Torpedo Ink. That’s never going to change. There he is on that side and I’m over here.”

  “He doesn’t have a clue what a fucking badass you are either,” Reaper said. “That’s the beauty of it. He sees us. He hasn’t convinced Plank or the others what we are, but he’s never, not one time, figured out that when he takes you to bed, you could end his life in a heartbeat.”

  “No, he doesn’t give me that kind of respect,” Alena admitted. “At first I thought it was a good thing. I’d always have the advantage. But now, there’s a part of me that’s a little bothered by the fact that he’s been seeing me for a while and he still hasn’t seen the real me. He hasn’t looked that deep.”

  “Have you seen him?” Absinthe asked. “Are you certain you see the real Pierce, or are you taking him on the surface as well because for some reason he makes you feel still in your mind for just a little while?”

  Alena sighed. “Hell if I know anymore, Absinthe. I think I’ll join a nunnery. Do they even have nunneries? Are they called that?” She turned her attention to the job at hand. “How many Diamondbacks are out there waiting for us? Are we running a gauntlet, Code?”

  “You’re staying right here, Alena,” Storm said. “You don’t need to go near that club. Reaper will go in and make certain no one’s
inside. That’s his forte, slipping past anyone unseen. We’ll make certain he’s safe. Once we know everyone’s out, you torch the place from here. Make certain the fire department can’t get it out until it’s all the way to the ground.”

  “I like to make certain myself no one is in the building,” Alena protested. “You know that. That way I know there isn’t a mistake.”

  “Reaper will give you that assurance,” Czar said in a tone that brooked no argument. “We don’t want any other buildings to go up,” he added.

  “Czar, really?” Alena asked. “I’m not that distracted.”

  He grinned at her. “Just checking. The nearest building is across the parking lot and Pierce is on the roof. I thought you might just jump a flame or two his way to knock him off and shake him up.”

  “Now that you say that …” She laughed, but it was a little forced.

  Ice ruffled the hair of her black wig. “Let’s do it. Reaper’s going in. Be a ghost, bro.”

  Reaper saluted and backed away from the heavy landscaping surrounding the mini-mall on the other side of the island that was the Felix Club. The mall was two stories high and had a small parking garage where they had stashed their vehicles.

  Ice and Storm took vantage points high in order to cover Reaper. Pierce was their first target. He was lying on the roof across the street from the Felix Club, with a pair of binoculars. Another member of the Diamondbacks had taken up watch on the opposite corner, also watching the club with binoculars. The club was surrounded. They weren’t alone on the parking garage either. They’d had to be careful, hiding almost in plain sight.

  Ice and Storm, bring in heat lightning, just enough to make it seem natural to disrupt cameras.

  No such thing, Czar.

  You know what the hell I mean.

  There was a little snicker, but at once in the dark overhead, lightning forked in every direction streaking across the sky, over and over.

  Mechanic, I want every camera down. Every last one. You got that? In the club and out. I don’t want Reaper accidentally caught on any camera, not even a shadow of him, Czar ordered.

  No problem, Mechanic said. His body radiated enough energy to disrupt electrical signals and he’d learned to actually direct that energy. It had taken years of practice to be able to do so but he was very good at it.

  He’s in, Absinthe reported grimly. He detested not being able to have his eyes on his brother. Normally, Savage would be with him. Reaper had made it clear he preferred to go in alone, that anyone else would be a liability.

  All they could do was wait. The Felix Club was large. Reaper had to search every room to make certain no one was inside, no janitor was working or sleeping in the basement. No homeless person had pried open a window and was using the basement as a place to rest. Fifteen minutes later, Absinthe spotted Reaper’s shadow. He gave the thumbs-up and was back in the brush, moving with the landscape toward the line of parked cars.

  Alena didn’t waste time. If the club was suddenly on fire, it was the perfect distraction to provide, no one would be looking for Reaper. Everyone would be concentrating on rushing to the club itself in order to find whoever had torched the place. The Diamondbacks would want to retrieve the outside cameras before the fire department and police got there. They hadn’t seen anyone enter the club or leave it. Alena didn’t need to get near it in order to burn it to the ground. She had the fire burning hot, the flames rolling wildly, windows blowing out, the air feeding the hungry inferno until the roof was engulfed as well.

  One by one the members of Torpedo Ink returned to their vehicles. They left before the place was overrun with police, fire and other emergency vehicles, and drove straight to the Devil’s Palace to once again find they ran into the same setup, the Diamondbacks waiting for them.

  They’d been set up by the club asking for help. Still, Czar ran their operation like clockwork. Once again, after determining that no one was inside, Devil’s Palace was burned to the ground. The Diamondbacks would find that none of the cameras had been recording, including in the parking garages.

  They were to meet Savage, Destroyer and Transporter with the six deceased members of the Venomous club at the Gypsy Club. This would be the most dangerous time for all of them. It wasn’t going to be easy to get all six bodies of the managers into the club without the Diamondback sentries seeing.

  Savage and Destroyer carefully transferred their equipment from their truck to Absinthe’s car. Transporter would be driving the Dodge Viper home. Bringing the tools of the trade, weapons and the patches of the Venomous club would fall to Transporter. The weapons and patches would be turned over to the Diamondbacks. There would be nothing incriminating in the truck that Absinthe would be driving.

  A few blocks from the Gypsy Club, the Torpedo Ink team parked their vehicles and slipped out, spreading out. Each had large oily blankets to create smoke. Czar went to the highest rooftop with Code and the night-vision high-powered binoculars.

  Two on roof of the restaurant across the street from the Gypsy Club. The wind is blowing away from them. Ice, Storm, you’ll have to deal with that. You’ve got two on the balcony of the two-story residence. I believe that is owned by Joico. All the windows are dark, but I caught a glimpse of movement on the lower story, front window. That might be a problem.

  No problem, Czar, Storm replied. Lightning flashes are blinding after staring into the dark. We’ll light up the night when Savage is going in.

  Let’s get it done fast then. Cameras need to come down, Mechanic.

  On it, Mechanic replied with confidence.

  Ice, Storm, start occasional lightning in the distance so the approaching weather front is believable. Savage, Destroyer, Transporter, be ready.

  Standing by.

  Torch, light the decoys. Ice and Storm, bring up the winds and lightning.

  Within minutes the air was filled with smoke, covering the rooftops where the sentries were stationed. Lightning flashed bright and hot in front of the residence, nearly crashing right into the windows and onto the roof, shaking the structure and throwing the Diamondbacks to the ground. Savage, Destroyer and Transporter carried the six dead bodies of the day and night managers into the Gypsy Club, where Reaper waited for them.

  They took the bodies straight to the stage and strung Wings upside down on the pole exactly as the managers had Diane, leaving the other bodies on the stage floor with the emails of the step-by-step instructions of what they were going to do to the stripper to ensure all the other girls would comply.

  We’re done here, Reaper reported. Bring us out.

  Czar gave the order and once more lightning flashed and the winds went wild. Smoke swirled around the buildings and rose into the air. Alena collected the oily blankets one by one, rolled them up to put out the smoldering ruins of material and placed them carefully in the disposable garbage bags she’d brought with her.

  Torpedo Ink slipped into the various vehicles and began the four-hour journey home.

  EIGHTEEN

  “We’ve divided you children into groups according to where we think you’ll be for weapons and self-defense training,” Absinthe announced. “The older children will go with Lana, Preacher, Reaper and Maestro. Lucia, Benito, Kenny, Darby, the four of you go with them now and they’ll take care of you. You’ll be receiving more advanced training. The program we’ve put together calls for training every other week, but that means practicing on your part daily. You have to be dedicated. All of you, not just the older ones.”

  He waited until the older ones got up from where they sat in the grass and followed the four Torpedo Ink members across the field to where they would be working. The other children nodded at him, acknowledging that they would practice.

  The little ones looked at him very wide-eyed and it took all he had not to smile. Little Emily was so cute it was heart-stopping. He decided he needed a little daughter just like Emily, with Scarlet’s bright red hair.

  “The middle group will go with Ice, Storm, and In
k. Siena and Zoe and Nicia, you’ll be with them. Again, whatever you work on, you’ll have to practice at home and when you come back to class in two weeks, we expect that you’ll have it down. Czar only gave us a week to practice and hone our skills before he gave us our next assignments, so you’re getting extra time.” He waved them toward Ice, Storm and Ink.

  They’d decided ahead of time that it would be good to have one-on-one help. So each child would have an instructor to watch over them. The older and middle-aged children were going to be using deadly weapons and they wanted to ensure they were safe. He waited until they had gone with their instructors to their designated area at the corner of the field almost out of sight of the younger children. Absinthe thought it best if the younger children weren’t so reliant on the older ones for comfort and aid. He wanted them to try to make their own decisions and work on their own during the time he had with them.

  “Emily, you and Jimmy are with Alena and me. We’ll be teaching you some very interesting techniques that will help you with all sorts of self-defense and weapons skills down the line. Give us a couple of minutes to set up.”

  He kept a watchful eye on Jimmy, Czar’s newest son. The boy wouldn’t meet his eyes and continually looked as if he might bolt at any moment. Emily, Czar’s youngest daughter, sat close to the boy and held his hand. Jimmy clung to her but looked at the motorcycles and the various bikers and the colors they wore with a mixture of apprehension and hope.

  “Where’s Savage?” Alena asked as she placed a set of colored rocks in front of each child. “Shouldn’t he be here? He said he’d come.”

  “Had a hard time lately,” Absinthe said. “Knows an underground club in the Bay and decided it was best to go there for a day or two and get it out of his system. Said he’d be back tonight.”