Diego

by Hope Stone

  “Morning. You ready?” he asked.

  “As I’ll ever be. Who you got with you?” The two big boys were flanking both sides of Rick with their hands clasped in front of them.

  He pointed to the left. “This here is Roberto, former kickboxer and army pro.” He pointed to his left. “This here is Alexander the Great, ex-army sergeant. We got the baddest in the game right here.” I shook both their hands, but they were both silent. Jimmy and Blaze wouldn’t stand a chance against either of these guys, let alone with Moves and Vlad in the mix.

  “Damn straight. Let’s go inside, fellas.” I retrieved my keys from my pocket and punched in the alarm code. The dusty warehouse still held the two bikes I hadn’t had a chance to look at since I was defending my motherfucking life. “Take a seat. Ryder and the boys will be here any minute, so no point repeating yourself.” The familiar sound of the bike engines came in as soon as I mentioned Ryder. A formidable force: Yoda, Moves, Vlad, and Ryder. Four of the baddest dudes in the Outlaw club. My warehouse windows were still boarded up so I peeped out the front. Yep, all four on their two-wheeled machines. Ryder, leading the pack, came in and sat down with the three others. He gave them a hard once-over. He recognized Rick and leaned in to shake his hand. Vlad, Moves and Yoda followed. Everybody sat down.

  “Hey, fellas. I’m Rick, for any of you that don’t know me. I want to let you know you’re in good hands. We got this. My two here are Roberto and Alexander the Great. Let’s crush some heads.” Rick flashed a criminal smile to the table. Ryder and Yoda nodded.

  Moves and Vlad shook hands and grunted. Must be enforcer code.

  “All right, look.” Rick rolled out a map of Fahrens park. “Where are they asking you to drop off the money?”

  I pointed to the spot on the map. “Right here.”

  “Okay, so if they have you make the drop here, we are going to wait in the shadows right here and here. Ryder, Vlad and Moves, I need you guys to stay rooted in these areas. I got a sniper gun, a silencer and a few other bad boys that will light them up nice, in case they don’t come out ‘til morning light to do the pick-up. We’ll wait there and stake the joint out. They have to come pick it up. It’s a popular park. My thinking is they will attempt to pick up a few hours later. They won’t leave it. I know about these guys. They are dumb. Amateurs at this. But let’s take it seriously. We don’t know what they got going and who is backing them up. They can’t be operating solo like this.”

  Ryder lit up and the smoke floated up in the air. “Doesn’t make sense, them riding solo. You know what I mean? They mighty confident for a couple of thugs trying to start a pro’ ring. Which is why I think they do have Las Balas behind them. They got a death wish otherwise.”

  “Could be their way of calling our bluff. We could be falling in a trap,” I countered. My ears were thundering with my heartbeat.

  Ryder sneered at me. “You gone soft up here in Merced, Diego. My directive is we send a warning flare to Las Balas. They're gonna know we got ‘em by the balls. These fuckheads can’t be solo.”

  I ignored his insult. “Could be they been planning and they have a crew together, already separated from Las Balas. Remember Jimmy Santos was in juvie a long time, prolly got a lot of friends in that time.”

  Ryder raised a brow at me. “You still seeing her, huh? You trying to protect your girl right now. I can see it in your eyes.” I wanted to slap Ryder, but all eyes were on me.

  “What about it? This ain’t got nothing to do with Misty.”

  He gave me a wry smile.

  “Uh-huh, now I know. Then you better let your girl know now, I’m sending a warning shot to Las Balas. We riding out, Diego. Handle it. Too late to back down now. Every one of you is strapped and locked. We following Rick's instructions. That’s it.” Ryder’s finger hit the table in finality.

  “Okay.”

  Ryder continued and butted out his cigarette. “This is a brotherhood. We are the Outlaw Souls and we need to defend our brothers and our territory. End of story. Ride or die.”

  Every one of us put our hands in the air and said in unison, “Ride or die!”

  Twenty-Two

  Misty

  The campus looked as vacant as I felt. The trees were swaying in the breeze and the perfectly manicured lawn with the usual college suspects was bare. I met Shauna and Celine in the cafeteria before class. Shauna had her usual bouncy glow and fresh lip gloss on.

  “Hey, girl.” She gave me the side-eye. “You’ve been looking kind of stressed out lately! What you got going on?”

  “I have a lot going on. Life is crazy. Maybe I’m destined to be mixed up with bad boys for life.”

  She waved me off as we entered the glass doors of the cafeteria. Celine with her vibrant smile raced over to give me a hug.

  “My God, I don’t even know you anymore. You missed Biomed. I was crying without you!” Her enthusiasm made me laugh a little, easing the burden I felt.

  “Hey, sit down and I’ll grab the coffee. Celine, what do you want?” Shauna asked.

  “I’ll have a mocha,” Celine replied, smiling brightly.

  Okay. Misty, I already know what you want,” Shauna said. I saluted her and we found a spot away from the collective noise of everyone else.

  “So, are you okay these days? “Celine asked, studying my face.

  “Well, other than the fact the man I love might lose his life tonight and start a gang war with my brother, yeah, I’m okay.”

  Celine clapped her hand over her mouth, gasping. “That’s ludicrous! Tell me everything. What the hell is going on?”

  I sighed and twisted my hair. “Let’s wait ‘til Shauna gets back so I don’t have to repeat myself.”

  “You sure you need to be mixed up with this guy?” Her nose wrinkled up, waiting for my reaction.

  “I ain’t got no choice. I’m in love with the guy. It’s too late now. I gotta wait it out.”

  Shauna came back with three coffees on a tray. “Don’t say nothing else, I wanna hear this. You haven’t been to class all week, so I know this gotta be good.”

  “Diego’s chapter might be starting a gang war with Las Balas. I can’t get into why but if he does, I’m scared Diego might get caught in the crossfire. Remember those two guys at The Partition, Shauna?”

  Shauna was locked in and listening hard. “Yep, those creepy toads at the bar. I remember. What about them?”

  “Well, they are running game and are the ones responsible and now two rival gangs might go to war because of it. They were trying to start a pro’ ring – like a pimp situation.”

  Shauna shook her head in disappointment. “Hunk of burning love ain’t got nothing to with it, does he?”

  “No. But I’m worried. I don’t know how Palo is going to react. Funny thing is, both the clubs are trying to go straight.”

  Celine and Shauna sipped their coffees and I just stared at my cup. It was eleven-fifteen a.m. and I still hadn’t heard from Diego. My stomach was turning over like it was churning butter.

  “Why doesn’t one of them just call the other and they sit down like men?”

  I nodded my head up and down at Shauna. “Same thing I said. No need to go to war when they both want these guys off the streets. They are aiming their guns in the wrong direction.”

  My phone started buzzing. I immediately looked past my friends to the nearest exit. Shauna pointed to the back door. I mouthed “thank you” to her. Celine flashed me a pained look which annoyed me.

  I stepped out into the cool breeze. “Talk to me, papi.”

  “Warn your brother. A shot is being fired to Las Balas. Let him know it has nothing to do with me. Tell him quickly.” My throat constricted with fright. I coughed to open up my airways.

  “Okay. Lemme get off the phone to call him. Shit. You okay?”

  “Yep. I’m good. Don’t go home if it’s too hot. Please. Promise me. I don’t know what’s about to go down, but I know I love you. Hit me back once you call your bro’.” My hands wer
e about to fall off from shaking. Celine and Shauna were both watching me and frowning hard.

  “Okay. I love you too. Please be careful and keep calling me with updates.”

  “No doubt. Hang in there, this will all be over soon.”

  I fumbled with my phone, nearly dropping it. I managed to not let it fall. I rang Palo and it went to voicemail.

  Ayy, you’ve called Palo I’m not available right now but leave your name and number clearly and I’ll hit you back.

  Twenty-Three

  Diego

  The warehouse was a hive of activity. Guns were being locked and loaded. Click. Click. I squinted as I checked the ammo rounds in my Smith and Wesson. Showtime. Ryder had a silencer on the table, and he was twisting on the extension with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. His dark eyes held no fear, only rock-hard resolve. Smoke hung over the table like the fog of death. Moves threw me a bulletproof vest. I put it on over the top of my black T-shirt. Vlad was already strapped and cracking his neck back and forth. Yoda had the garbage bag on the table with stacks of fake paper that he was concentrating on putting in. Stack by stack. Rick was testing out the walkie-talkies.

  Testing, one, two, three, four… He handed one to Ryder to test. Rick walked to the other end of the warehouse. Ryder put down his silencer and spoke to him by pressing the side of the radio.

  “Can you hear me?”

  “Yup, loud and clear.” Ryder’s voice came through the other end of the radio.

  Vlad found the on button for the radio and turned it on. Bon Jovi streamed through the warehouse and Ryder and Yoda bobbed their heads to the beat. This was where the blood in my veins turned to ice. When I went to war, my mentality changed to numb out the situation I was facing.

  “Listen up. Here’s what’s going to happen,” Ryder said as he stroked his lion’s beard. “I’m heading over to Merced now. Vlad and Moves are going to flank me. It’s do or die.”

  I held my hand up. “Ryder, man, don’t do this! You can’t just roll up to their chapter talking crazy. I’m telling you. Misty told me the truth. Palo doesn’t have nothing to do with this. You gotta trust me. She wouldn’t put her brother in danger like that.”

  Ryder balked. “Fucking prove it!” He slammed his wiry hand flat on the table, making it shake.

  Yoda, who had been silent most of the time, spoke up. “He’s got a point, Ryder. Why don’t you let me go in there? I'm more unassuming. Chill out. You can wait.”

  “If you think for one minute I’m just going to let you walk up in there unassisted, you’re kidding yourself.” Ryder eyeballed Yoda.

  Yoda laughed at him. “Ah, Padre would be proud of you. Don’t let your pride get in the way. If Palo isn’t involved, he might be a useful ally. So let’s put this to vote here among men. All those in favor of me walking in, put your hand up.” Ryder glared at everyone in the warehouse, but all hands went flying up. Nobody wanted to die.

  Ryder blew out cigarette smoke from his nose. “Okay, okay. Dammit.”

  “No time to waste. We need to know the truth. Let’s ride out.” Yoda signaled, and the chairs scraped as the crew got up from the table, ready for whatever. Ryder came over to me and stood close enough to my ear. “Your girl better be telling the truth.”

  “Ryder, back up from me. What I told you, I told you. She’s legit,” I lashed out at him. I felt my fists bunch up involuntarily and my jaw lock into place.

  “Ooooh, okay then. You really like this one. I see.” Ryder smoothed his beard out and nodded. He looked me in the eye. “You better check where your loyalties lie.”

  He dropped his cigarette to the ground and stamped it out with his scruffy black biker boots. He spat to the side. Heat flashed through my body and Ryder’s eyes dared me to act on the emotional impulse running through me. I moved past him out to the open. All the others were on their bikes, mounted and ready to ride out. Yoda signaled to follow him as the collective engine noise of the Outlaws revved, sounding like a small circus. We weaved in a single file right into the war zone. Misty’s cat eyes flashed in my mind’s eye. I love you. I let the Cali air singe my lungs. Today wasn’t the day to die. We arrived, rolling eight deep, our engines idling outside the chapter house. A flag representing Las Balas swung in the wind. The chapter house was a small cry from our warehouse. A small, rinky-dink timber shed was more like it. Two beefy guys with full sleeves of tattoos and bald heads guarded the entry point. Both of them were packing heat. My stomach was tight. I wanted this shit to end. Yoda took his helmet off and looked at the boys.

  “Stay right here. Don’t move. Let me deal with them.”

  I flinched. Yoda was about to walk into the trap of death and I had the urge to run in with him. But instead, we waited.

  Yoda got smaller and smaller as he approached the chapter house. Las Balas versus Outlaw Souls.

  Twenty-Four

  Misty

  I ran out of the cafeteria like the wind. I heard Celine and Shauna calling me, but I kept moving to my car. It felt like I was being drawn to Diego like a magnet. I had to get in touch with Palo. If I couldn’t reach him by phone, I would go to the chapter house myself. I reached the car, my lungs burning from running so hard. My phone buzzed.

  “Palo. Palo!” The urgency in my voice nearly stopped me from getting the words out.

  “What the hell is going on? Talk to me!” He reacted from my voice.

  “Outlaw Souls are coming. You need to tell them you have nothing to do with Jimmy and Blaze. There’s a letter. Please.” I struggled to get the words out of my mouth.

  “Hold up. Wait. Wait. What the hell are you saying? Slow down and tell me what’s going on!” Palo growled.

  “Okay. Let me calm down.” I sucked in a deep breath as I sat in the car. Tears were welling in my eyes as I spoke. A bad image of Diego being shot ran through my head. I stuffed it down. “Okay. There’s a ransom on Diego’s head. On the note, they used the name of Las Balas. Now Outlaw Souls think you’re responsible. They are trying to extort money.”

  “So Jimmy and Blaze did this?” I could feel his anger through the phone screen.

  “Yes. Outlaw Souls are coming to talk to you now. You need to do something. Don’t start a war, Palo. I want you and Diego to live. He told me to tell you. They are coming now! Where the hell are you?” I said hysterically.

  “I’m at the clubhouse. Everything’s going to be all right. I got it covered. They’re here already.”

  I banged the steering wheel. “Are you serious! Oh my God. Please. Palo, I’m praying for you. Please hold your fire! Please.”

  “Shhhh! I got it handled. Didn’t I tell you that? Shut up. I gotta go. It’s happening.” The phone clicked dead and this was the most helpless I had ever felt in my life. I let the tears slide down my face as I put my hands together in prayer. I cranked the engine and let the tears drip. I rode off toward home. I would have to wait to hear. My phone was ringing. I glanced at it through the fog of my tears. Shauna. I couldn’t talk to her right now. I breathed deep and knew somehow, someway, everything would work out as it should. I’d never wanted my family to be involved in Las Balas in the first place. Maybe Palo, if he made it out alive, would understand why. I arrived home a half-hour later. The tears had dried up, but not the hurt. I walked to the kitchen to grab a drink of water when my phone rang again. I wanted to throw the thing at the closest wall.

  “Hey, baby.”

  “Diego!”

  “We're good here.”

  “What the fuck do you mean ‘we’re good’?”

  “I mean we met. You got the message to him, I see.” I slid down the wall in the kitchen, relief sinking me to the floor. I pulled my knees up to my chest and listened.

  “Yes, I got it to him. What’s the next bet?”

  “Next bet is we teaming up. I’m coming in with the fake ransom, but we are rolling thirty-deep to take these thugs down. There will be no ransom given.”

  “Papi Chulo! You’re not out of the woods yet. I mean, w
hat if they shoot you? You don’t know where Jimmy and Blaze will be. They could be anywhere.”

  “Shh. We got it now. Good news, you and I are out in the open now. Your bro’ is cool peoples. I love you. You’re a real one. You’re my little gangsta’. A doctor, but you’re a real one. Thanks for backing me. I love you. When I get out of this…it’s going to be about you and me.”

  “I love you,” I cooed. “I don’t want anything happening to you.”

  “Hang in there, mamacita. Go to my place. In the potted plant on the left is a key. Right under the leaf. You gotta dig a little. I want you in my bed when I get home. Come stay with me. Start packing your shit. Come live with me. Think about it at least.”

  “Baby. I’ll be there, just be careful and make it home to me tonight.”

  “Love you. Gotta go kick some ass. Bye.”

  Twenty-Five

  Diego

  Yoda stepped carefully to the clubhouse with his hands up. One of the beefy dudes stepped out in front of him. Ryder dismounted from the bike and moved toward him with his hands up as well. My nerves were tingling. Felt like walking into suicide if you asked me. A short bald-headed guy swung open the screen door to the chapter house and left it open. He gave the beefy dudes the head nod and they stepped back. To my surprise, the short guy raised his arm and waved to everyone to come in. He kept waving until we moved. Vlad, Moves and Rick looked at me and I looked at them. We idled our bikes into the space. The whole Outlaw crew was now on Las Balas turf, an unprecedented move in history.

  We all dismounted from our bikes in succession and headed to the chapter house. Ryder stepped in first.

  “Welcome. Let’s have a friendly chat. It’s all love here,” the bald man said. Inside were the flags and the mottos of the chapter on the wall, like ours. Pictures hung in frames around the place, displaying the history of the club. Four big tables sat in the middle of the hall with chairs around them. “Hi, my name's Palo. I’m the new president here at Las Balas. As we all know, El Diablo is dead. We all know how he died, so let’s cut to the chase, so we can defuse the tension here.” His voice was clear-cut and professional. His face didn’t resemble a killer. One tatt on the inside of his arm. I assumed it was the chapter branding. All the Outlaw boys took up space. Las Balas boys were at the other end of the table we sat at. Nasty-looking bunch, mostly of Spanish descent with dirty looks on their faces. Palo stood right in the middle of us. Vlad touched his back as he heard one of the dudes speaking in Spanish.