by Carmen Faye
"Again, wow," Brian said with a little more wonder in his voice. "I've heard about it, too, but listening to how you use it puts chills in my spine knowing I was so close to going up against it."
Cole checked his watch, "It's time. We can talk about my brain after we take care of this little chore."
"No we won't," Nicole told him, "You're going to avoid the subject like a plague." She smiled teasingly while she rose from her chair and shrugged into her jacket, "aren't you?"
Cole grimaced at her.
"I don't know what impresses me more, your memory or how well she knows you," Brian laughed. "You two have quite a connection with each other."
Cole looked at him, "Buddy, you have no idea."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The only thing Cole didn't like about this plan was that Nicole would be riding behind him. But, there was no way not to tip their hand if she didn't get back on the bike. He noticed a tremble in her hand as she strapped on her helmet. He wanted to say it was going to be fine, but that felt kind of silly coming from the man who was about to ride her into battle. Then he noticed the expression in her eyes. They were alight with the fierceness of a small Valkyrie whose wrath was barely contained by her glowing blue irises. "Ready?" he asked.
"Ready ten minutes ago," she told him with a smile. "Let's get them."
That was probably the moment, the moment he fell in love with her. He wasn't sure now, though, if he hadn't fallen in love with her before this and just now realized the depth of his feelings for her. It felt like he had always loved her and was just now catching up. If it wasn't the moment, it should have been, he decided and got on his bike.
He started the engine up and came off the kickstand just as he saw a flash of red movement in the reflection of the diner's window. In that brief flash of reflection, he recalled with pure clarity the Charger coming up behind them and a large gun in the passenger's hands as he was making his way out of the window to sit down on the opening, preparing fire across the top of the car. They were going to strafe them, right here, right now.
"Down! Gun!" he shouted, and came off his bike, pulling Nicole with him.
His bike fell as its center of gravity was pushed the other way during his hurried dismount. There was no time to look to Brain and he hoped his brother heard him as he rushed Nicole, nearly carrying her, behind a parked car a few feet away. Brian showed up at the back of the car a breath later, his twin guns out and ready. Then Hell hit the other side of the car with a fury of lead and tearing explosions.
There was nothing Cole could do except wrap Nicole up in his arms, and cover her with his body, which he did. He expected her to be screaming, but she wasn't. Cole guessed they were about half way down the side of the car, turning it to junk with the automatic weapon when Brian suddenly stood leveling both guns at their attackers with a smooth, graceful motion that made Cole think of a ballet dancer and pulled the triggers of his hand canons -- once.
In fact, it sounded like only one shot and the effect was as if Brian just turned Hell back off, like he might turn off a radio. The gunfire was gone and he heard nothing on the other side of the car. Then Brian holstered his nickel-plated guns and looked to Cole, "I think there was a small hole in my plan."
Much too curious to lay there any more, both he and Nicole got up, and peered over the hood of their shield. The Cougar was against a parked car across the street, coming to rest there, because the driver was dead and so was the gunman. Both were shot in the head, from what Cole could tell.
Cole was too experienced with violence to be in shock for very long. He left Nicole's side and ran across the street to the car, yanking the dead driver back from his dead-weight slouch against the wheel. A quick search rendered him a new 9mm, a cellphone, and the driver's wallet from the inside pocket of his suit jacket, which felt very expensive.
Brian finished with the gunman, taking a large automatic pistol, which Cole thought might be an Uzi, and said, "Let's go, we'll round up your men on the way."
"I'm behind you. Lead," Cole told him and they ran back to Nicole. Cole yanked his idling bike up, and a got on in one smooth motion. A breath later, Nicole was on the seat behind him. Instead of backing the bike out to the street, he gunned it up over the sidewalk curb, ran around the bullet-riddled car, then back down onto the street with Brian behind him. Just as he was giving his bike fuel, Brian's bike roared past into lead position, heading for the men waiting for them.
Nearly halfway back to the club, the four riders pulled over at Cole's signal and Cole got on his cellphone, dialing Jim's by memory. As soon as Jim answered, he ran down the ambush details without preamble and told him they were on their way to the club. "I think they’re going to hit the club, Jim. It's burning in my gut."
"Got it and I'm on it," Jim told him and the connection was broken.
"Jim's on it; let's ride," he said to the others and they rode through the streets as fast as they could with the traffic, weaving in and out of cars and sharing lanes between them.
When they arrived at the club, there were chains across the parking lot entryways and a large sign that said the club was closed due to remodeling; please come back soon. As they approached, two men dropped the chains and let them into the lot.
Once inside Jim's office, Jim asked, "All right, tell me what happened" with as demanding and threatening a voice Cole could ever remember hearing, including what was used during all of the action movies he's seen.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Cole was about to begin his report when Nicole said, "Well, we had breakfast and then Brian came up with this amazing plan that was simple, easy to execute… just brilliant, really, but then he decided to just kill them so we could get back here."
Cole and Brain tried really hard not to laugh, and failed miserably. A second later, Jim joined them and in a release-of-stress moment, he took her in to a bear hug that lifted her up and had her legs kicking about a foot off the ground. After he set her back down, he tousled her hair and said, "You're all right, kid. I'm really starting to like you."
"You're all right, too, big guy," she smiled.
"Now, once again," Jim chuckled, "but with a little more detail.”
Fifteen minutes later, Logic, a wiry man standing five-ten and weighing little more than Nicole, was on his laptop, hacking into the CPD database to look up the names of the two men in the Cougar. Cole recited the license plate for him.
Bear, the club's Sergeant at Arms came in right after him – a large, burly looking man with a full and wild beard that had several colored memento beads braided through the whiskers. He received a recap of the drive-by from Brian and was then on the phone lining up rosters and summoning men.
George, the List Master, who ran the security and outrider details, came in right behind Bear. George looked like a CPO who rode on the weekends. His hair was perfect, fingernails perfectly trimmed on manicured hands, and white pearl teeth, which generally smiled often. He wasn't smiling right now and his face became more serious as Brian recapped the story.
"What makes you think they'll hit the club?" Jim asked Cole.
"The driver's suit," Cole said, "it was too expensive. A suit like that might have cost him close to five grand, maybe more. No one on Gabriel's crew brings down enough to wear a suit like that on a drive by. These guys were skilled, patient, and professional. Gabriel has brought in mercs, probably from the docks. Mercs aren't going to fuck around with strip clubs and liquor stores. They'll hit us where it hurts. They'll hit us here and at our homes. They'll buy lists of current members from CPD contacts and start hitting where there will be no security, and no protection."
Everyone in the room was silent and had only eyes for Cole. Then Logic spoke, "He's right about the two guys, Jim; they are both heavy hitters for Lou."
"Fuck," Jim hissed and rested his forearms on the desk, staring at the wood grain.
"Lou?" Nicole asked.
"Louis Donadio," Brain clarified. "He runs the smuggling at the dock yar
d. Nothing moves in or out that hasn't been taxed by Lou. He's honest-to-god, real-as-it-gets mafia and very unhealthy to get tangled up with." Brain explained to her, making her eyes go wide.
"How the fuck could Gabriel bring in Lou on a skirmish like ours? How could he afford to bring in Lou?" Bear asked.
"He's insane, he really is, medically insane," Jim said, his voice low and filled with awe. "He's got to know this will cost him his business."
"No," Cole told him, "Gabriel doesn't. He's obviously delusional enough to think he'll find a way out of that eventually."
George came out of the corner, where he went to make a call, snapping his cellphone shut, "Just got off the phone with one of the guys scouting out Gabriel's house. There are at least fifty suits walking around with auto rifles and subs in the open, dogs, large armored trucks, the whole works. The place is locked down. If we attempt to charge that, a lot of men are going to go down trying."
Nobody spoke for a long time and Cole really didn't think he had anything to say either. Then Jim picked up his cellphone and speed-dialed a number.
"Lou? This is Jim Hawker," Jim said into the phone and then listened. Everyone in the room froze and it felt like they weren’t even breathing.
"Sally is good, just finished high-school; how are Tony and Beth doing? Tony should be out of law school by now, eh? That's great. I wish him the best and maybe we'll throw some business his way. I don't want to waste your time Lou, so I'll get right to the point.
"It seems that fate or really bad decisions have put us and some of your men at odds, and I would like to ask about rules of engagement. One of my crew believes that personal homes, wives, and children are on the hunting list. Of course, I told him that would never be the case, but I wanted to clarify it with you before someone does something seriously stupid." Big Jim held his face still as stone as he listened to the man on the other side of the connection. "Thanks Lou. I'm glad to hear that. Your wife's birthday is in a couple of weeks, isn't it? Any ideas? Really, I know just the place for those. Have a good day Lou." Jim set down his phone, and scanned the faces in front of him, "No homes, women, or children. I don't know why I don't feel better right now."
"Because we're still up against Lou and they were on the list before you called," Brain suggested.
"Yeah," Jim nodded, looking grim, "that's exactly why."
"What if Lou was lying?" Nicole asked, her eyes still wide.
Jim shook his head, "No, Lou wouldn't bother lying about a thing like that; he doesn't have to. What could we do if he simply said, 'yeah, your man is right; that's the way things are'? No, he took them off the list because I called him and he was feeling generous. We're good business for him."
Jim leaned back a little, straightening his shoulders, "I'm thinking he sided in with Gabriel, believing we would back down as soon as we found out, which would be the logical move, granted. But his real goal is to take over Gabriel's operation. That's long term, steady cash coming in there. A takeover is much cleaner and more profitable in a shorter amount of time than trying to build up his own.
"And like it or not, Nicole, I'll let you know that, by reputation, Gabriel's call girls are known all the way down the East coast and through most of the mid-west, and you are the star of those recommendations. I did some checking and made some calls after talking with you last night," he told her as way of explanation. "So, Lou knows what he's getting into is a good investment of his time and resources. He'll make returns of a hundred-fold in two years after he takes over."
"So, really, Lou is after Gabriel, not us," Bear clarified.
"That didn't stop him this morning," Brian pointed out.
"No, no it didn't and it won't," Jim agreed and rose up from his chair, "and it doesn't mean shit until this is over. We have some time before the pow-wow. So, I'm going to get some air; then we'll all get back here and sort out how we're going to work this."
"But…" Nicole whimpered.
"There's no buts here, Nicole. None at all," Jim told her and then looked at Cole, "Glad you read that thing right this morning, so we know what we're up against. Do you have a safe house for Nicole yet?"
"I'm running her to Rat's place as soon as I'm free to leave," Cole confirmed.
"You're free to leave then and take some of the boys with you," Jim told him.
"I'm with you, bro," Brian said, clapping him on the shoulder and then heading for the door."
Cole took Nicole's hand and said, "We're right behind you."
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
It was near twelve-thirty and the meeting was well underway, though things were already sounding bad, when Cole's phone rang. Since phones had been ringing from the start and well before, he checked the display and saw it was Nicole calling. He answered, walking to the corner they were using for this, so as not to interrupt the discussion.
Cole was actually a little surprised he was here at all since he wasn't an officer, or even an outrider any longer.
"Yeah, what's up?"
"Hey, Cole, look, I tried. I really tried," Nicole began.
"What are you -- "
"Just listen, all right? I have to get ready, so I don't have a lot of time for this. But I thought you deserved to hear it from me. Since we have hooked up, you've almost been killed how many times? Two, three? And now there's a war and men are already dying. I don't know if they were good men or not, but you could be next and might be as soon as Gabe puts this together. Now we know Lou is in the game and, baby, that's not the life I was looking for when I left here. I know exactly who Lou is, just needed to know we were talking about the same Lou. See, he's a client, Cole. I know what he's like. I know him a whole lot better than anyone else and he couldn’t care less how many of your men are blood splatters. He really, very truly, doesn't care. Lou's already been paid, up front, by Gabriel for the month.
“So, anyway, honestly, the bottom line is I miss it. I know I told you I wouldn't and I really believed that was true when I said it. I really did. But I do. So, I'm back and hopefully we can all get back to business. You can check with Angie and verify that I got into a cab all on my own, and had it drive me back here.
"Goodbye, Cole. It was more than I've ever experienced before, but I got to go. Oh, and always remember what I told you. Bye."
The connection broke.
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CHAPTER ONE
When Nicole left Big Jim's office, earlier that day, with Cole and Brian, the sunlight hurt her eyes as they stepped out into the perfect blue day. The emotional wars inside of her created patches of shivers in unpredictable places, and she couldn't slow her churning thoughts down. Cole apparently noticed that she was distraught, but he didn't understand why, and she couldn't tell him, or he would stop her -- and now, it had to be today. She definitely had to act today.
Learning that Louis "Lou" Donadio, was now invested in this gang war between the Chrome Horseman and Gabriel's organization, meant that there was going to be a great deal of blood spilled today, and even more tomorrow, if she didn't do something. Big Jim understood what he was up against, and was still planning on finishing this war. That simply wasn't acceptable to Nicole. She couldn't live with this afterward, knowing that if she had acted, she could have saved many of the Horseman from deaths they didn't deserve.
She knew who Lou was, of course. He was a client of hers. One of her first, and a first regular as well. Max and Lou were the only regulars she had who never missed their scheduled days. Others would sometimes miss. Of course they always paid her rate for the night to Gabriel, and would always send her a gift of apology, just to insure that they remained on her list, but never Max or Lou.
Unlike Max, Lou frightened her, and until his bubble popped, she would be so nervous around him that she was sure that she would not be able to perform well enough to get inside. She always managed to do so, though she often wondered how. From the time he
came in, until the moment she burst through, her fear of him was close to paralyzing. Until she discovered his deep affinity for boats, sailing, and the waterways of the Great Lakes, she felt terror before each visit -- this time, this time she wouldn't get through.
After this discovery, she thought of Lou as her lost seaman, and took to calling him Captain, when his bubble burst, and Lou would finally be in bed with her.
Then she discovered his ultimate pinprick -- a needle that burst his bubble almost instantly.
Near the beginning of last year, she was attempting to put together a model ship, to help learn the names of things, and how the riggings worked with the sails, and all the other details sailboats are full of.