Tuck's Revenge

by Rory Flannigan

  The guy told Tuck, "Hey, that all sounds good. How soon do you want all the guys together?”

  Tuck looked at the motel manager and said, "Can you stand for me being around here a few more days?”

  The manager smiled and said, "Sure, man, you're welcome here as long as you need.”

  "How about meeting here in a week?”

  "That'll be great. We'll see you in a week.” They shook hands and headed for the door. And as they were leaving, Tuck said, "By the time you get back, lose the military shit and put on some real clothes, and come back on your bikes.”

  The guys smiled and said, "Sure will, and we'll see you in a week.”

  *****

  Tuck said, "Well we’ve got a lot of decisions to make, and I'm glad you're here to help. It seems a lot of the people like and trust you.”

  Boots said, "It's because some of these people within the organization I've known for years. Even before there was an organization, some of us were friends and working with each other.”

  "How attached are you to this motel? I mean, would you consider serving on the Council, sort of be my eyes, ears, and even my voice when I can't be there?”

  "It would be my privilege. We can put someone older here to run it, and I could go wherever we need to go.”

  "Fine then, it's settled. You'll be in the Council, and I won't have to worry so much about what's happening there.”

  After the week passed, Boots and Tuck had a Council picked out, and were waiting for members to show up for a meeting to see if they'd accept the positions. While they were sitting there, they heard a rumble coming from outside.

  Boots said, "Either your guys are here, or we're being invaded.”

  They both got up and walked outside. Between thirty and forty men on motorcycles pulled into the driveway. When Tuck saw them, he experienced his first real sense of accomplishment in months. As he welcomed them, and as they were parking their bikes, Tuck told them to come in and they would get them setup in some rooms. After they were settled and rested, they’d get together and talk. After an hour or so, they all gathered in the back office.

  Tuck welcomed them all and then explained they were coming as assassins for the organization but more as protectors of the group as a whole. "Were any of you in Vietnam?” About a dozen of them raised their hand.

  "I went to Vietnam, but to hear the government’s story I deserted, but I was still there nearly eight years. I stayed in the jungle until I got word the war was nearly over, and I turned myself in. While I was in the jungle, a lot of the other guys were telling stories about me, and they started calling me “The Lone Soldier’, and some called me ‘The Ghost’.”

  They looked at each other. A couple looked surprised. "Yeah, we heard of you when we were over there. Is it true you killed a few hundred Vietcong?”

  "I was out there a longtime, and I didn't keep count but it was a lot.”

  After they all had a long talk, and found out who Tuck was, they all gained the utmost respect for him.

  After many questions, Tuck said, "I had a guy make a statement the other day that gave me a good idea for a club name. How does ‘The Death Merchants’ sound for a Motorcycle Club?”

  Chapter Five

  Family: a group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation

  Tuck liked the area he was in right now because of the weather, which was favorable for a lot of good days to ride. He was looking to find a headquarters in that part of the country. Luckily, Tuck found an old warehouse just forty miles from the motel he'd been staying, and it was perfect for what he needed.

  He told Boots about the building and asked him what the best way to handle getting it would be. Boots said he would make some calls to the new council members, and see about getting the funds to buy it. They were asking seventy thousand for the old warehouse, but Tuck thought he’d be able to get it cheaper if they had cash to lay out in front of them. Boots thought he knew the building he was talking about, and if it was, it would be a good place.

  Tuck said it even had some office spaces where he thought it would be a good place for the Council to meet. It also had a large open area where they could open some kind of a business and make some income too.

  Boots said, "Well, if you want to go before the Council with the proposal for it, they'll listen and take it under consideration. If you want to convince them, just tell them your plans for it as a Council chambers and also a business to bring in some income for the organization, and they'll look harder at it that way.”

  “I’m planning on going up to the northwest to take care of some business and get it out of the way. I was hoping to get a place set up for the guys before we left, so it would be in stages of becoming a reality by the time we got back.”

  "How many more guys you going to need?”

  "As many good people as I can get, why?”

  "You remember those guys I told you I knew? Do you still want to meet with them?”

  "Sure, I'd like to talk to them. Are they already with the organization, or are they outside the group?”

  "A couple of them are with us, but most of them are riding solo but looking to get in a club."

  "When can we meet with them?”

  "I can set it up for a couple of days. I wanted to ask you before I invited them down.”

  "Hell yeah, call them and have them come down on Saturday, and we'll have a sit down.”

  “I’ll get it set up.”

  While Tuck was waiting for the guys Boots knew, they went to talk to the Council about the building. When he talked to them he told them what Boots said to bring up, and they agreed to purchase the building.

  Tuck set the paperwork in motion, and the title company was working on it and they should be ready for him to sign the papers in about a week. When Tuck heard that, he figured he would put off going up to the northwest trip until after he got the papers signed and talked to Boots' guys. It would give his guys more time to get ready anyway, and he still had to take them on a dry run to see how they performed before they got up there. If Boots' guys ended up coming in with them, he could check out their skills at the same time.

  When the day came he was to meet with the guys Boots knew, he had all his guys come in to have the sit down with him, so everything would be upfront for them to see. As the guys walked in, they were leery and unsure of what they getting themselves into, and Tuck knew where they were coming from. To ease their minds and make them feel more comfortable, Tuck thought it may be easier if he put his guys and the new guys in the same room together to start out with to let them get to know each other before Tuck talked to them.

  As they came in Tuck cracked a joke. "Would you feel better if you had a gun right now? I know I would.”

  It got a laugh out of a couple of the guys.

  "I think I'll let all you guys get acquainted for a bit before we get started. All of you talk and get to know each other until I get back.” He left and went to the office to talk to Boots for a few minutes. Tuck told Boots that the guys were nervous about the situation, and what he did to calm them down.

  Boots said, "They'll be alright in a bit. I've already told them a little about you and how you were.”

  Tuck replied, "Well hell, no wonder they're nervous.”

  After he gave them some time to settle down, he walked back in, sat at the table, and asked all of them to sit down. He explained the function of the group, and it's place within the organization. He told all of them what would be their particular function, and what would be expected, including all the pros and cons involved.

  Soon he realized some of his men had probably already explained to them who he was and how he’d been called ‘The Ghost’ in Vietnam and what he’d done while there. They probably also told them what they’d seen him do since they’d been around him, because they seemed impressed and honored to be asked to join him.

  Tuck didn't want them to ride with him because of what he’d done in the past, but more for who he was
as a man. Tuck mentioned he wanted them to be seen as a group, and as a functioning unit that worked together, and was there for each other. He also wanted to stress upon them, even though he was in charge, they were all seen and respected as individuals and not expected to blindly follow him into something they didn't want to be in.

  They weren't a military unit, but more of a brotherhood. "If you are married and have a family, and we’re going into something that will be dangerous or life threatening, I’d rather you stay back and out of the fray. But if you are, and still insist on going with us, I won't keep you from it. I just want you to know you have the option if you want it.”

  After their talk, all the guys wanted in without question. It was good because it meant another eighteen guys were added to Tuck’s group. He was looking at having close to a fifty-man club behind him, and he saw it as a good start. As he stood from the table, he said aloud, "Gentlemen, welcome to the Death Merchants, glad you're aboard with us.”

  There was a loud roar from all the guys, with cheering and clapping. It made Tuck proud to know he was finally part of something meaningful. He saw himself and his club growing and getting stronger. Becoming a real brotherhood like nothing he’d ever had in life, and certainly nothing he ever had while he was in Vietnam.

  Tuck hoped the brotherhood he’d build with these guys would turn out to be stronger and more dedicated than the relationship he believed he had with Steven. But how far he could trust anyone was yet to be seen. For the near term, he was just hoping for a full night’s sleep without worrying about a silent assassin taking him out in the night while he slept.

  Sometimes, Tuck seemed to keep himself going day after day by just thinking back on the rare occasions when he got a restful night of sleep. Those nights when he was in Vietnam, and he found that rare place where he could crawl into an abandoned animal’s den and sleep without worry. Or those days when he would come across a fresh indention made by a mortar shell, and he could pull the dirt in over his body to conceal himself from the Vietcong, if any happened by. Tuck often thought about that day he went for a walk on Bill’s ranch, and that little stream he laid by and took a good nap without a worry. He thought his problems were over then, only to be proven wrong soon afterward. A part of the reason why he was hesitant about letting his guard down again. Tuck wondered if he’d ever have any more days like that, but he went forward each day hoping for another, even if only in a dream. With people like Tuck and the life he lived, that's about the best he had to hope for.

  Tuck got the guys together and told them about the situation he’d been wanting to take care of up in the northwest, and he laid it all on the line for them. He told them he didn't know what to expect once he got there, or how deep the shit would get. The people up there in the northwest didn't know about the Death Merchants and who they were associated with. But after they got to working and their names got known, he didn't want to leave them in place to become a nuisance or a hazard. He explained they were the ones who tried to take Bill out if anything Bill ever told him was truth, and at the time he thought they were an enemy. But now, the way it turned out, he didn't know for sure, but he had to confront them to see where they stood and if they were a threat, and more than likely by the time they got around to going, they would know he was coming.

  Tuck explained he wanted them to surprise that group in the northwest, and not have them surprise them someday. The men listened intently during his presentation, and when he finished, they asked when they’d be leaving? Tuck then told them about the warehouse, and how it would serve as their Clubhouse, a Council Chamber for their Association, and also part of it was going to be used for a business to bring in some income. He was going to sign the papers in a few days. After the paperwork was signed, they’d take care of the problem in the northwest.

  Out of the fifty or so men Tuck had riding with him, four of them were married and had children or a family. The four agreed to stay behind since they didn’t know how dangerous it was going to be and would get things going at the Clubhouse for him. Tuck wanted to take precautions, he didn’t want any of his men hurt or killed if he could help it, and definitely didn’t want to leave any children fatherless.

  Things like that weighed on his mind, but he assured his guys before if anything happened to any of them, their families would be cared for, and that was a vow they made to each other on day one, and they stood by that vow as a brotherhood to each other.

  Tuck went to talk to Boots about how best to handle the paperwork on the warehouse. Boots told him they could discuss it with the Council since they would know more about the legal aspects of it, but he told Tuck the motel was under an LLC and had worked out well for him. That way if something happened to him, it would remain under control of the association and therefore remain in place for future generations.

  Tuck told Boots that sounded good to him; he just didn't want his name on it and have the government involved in his life. Boots told him he would make a call and find out for sure, then let him know. Then he told Boots about the trip he had to make and asked Boots if he could watch out for things while he was gone, and Boots said he'd be glad to do it.

  As Tuck was making preparations for the trip, the main thing on his mind was seeing if his men were up to the task at hand. He made arrangements with the guys and himself to go out for a day on what Tuck described as a training mission, just to see how they would react under pressure. Tuck knew of a place several miles out of town where they could train without being bothered or bother anyone else.

  One afternoon, they rode out to do an assessment on where they all stood. Once they reached their destination, Tuck told them that he wanted to see their level of shooting skills most of all, but he also wanted to see how they handled themselves man on man. He explained he thought it would be a good idea if they took time to regularly have training sessions not only to hone their skills, but to stay in good condition physically.

  As they were leaving that evening, Tuck was recounting what he seen while they were training, and he was pretty pleased with all his guys and their performance. But he noticed some were lacking a bit, but knew they had the ability come get up to speed in time. But his main concern was the ones that stood out above the others as far as their skills, because they were the ones Tuck wanted to move up in rank to take a position to help the others advance their skills as well.

  As time went along, Tuck moved three of his best men up to the positions of Captain (or Road Captain), Sergeant (Sergeant at Arms), and an Enforcer who would keep the guys in line and help them along in their training. He brought them all together and told them the day they’d make the trip to the northwest to see what they could find out about this group Bill’s old friend, Homeboy, was part of.

  Tuck was having second thoughts about everyone going up there at one time. He was unsure as to how expansive or how connected the group was, and he thought about the chances of mission failure if they were seen going up as a large group. He thought it would be better if himself and two or three others initially went up and checked things out to assess the situation, then call for the other guys to follow at a later date. He talked it over with Boots and the other guys, and they thought it was a good way to handle the situation.

  Boots said the Council was going to handle all the paperwork on the warehouse, and they were sending someone to sign the next day. That was good news because he’d been anticipating it for several days, and finally it was coming to fruition. The next day around noon, Boots got a call and he was told it was final, and the warehouse was theirs. When Boots told him the news, Tuck informed the rest of the guys and they couldn’t wait to check it out. Running for the door, they jumped on their bikes and raced all the way there.

  There were a couple of cars at the warehouse as they approached, but as they got lose, enough they saw the cars belonged to the Council Members. As Tuck got off his bike, one of the men and said, "Hello, Tuck," and then reached out to shake his hand and passed him the keys. Tuck looked
at the keys, then at the man. "Have you been inside yet?”

  The man said, "No not yet, we were waiting on the owner.”

  Tuck smiled and said, "Well let’s go in and take a look around.”

  After the tour of the place, the council members seemed satisfied they’d made a good investment, and suggested to Tuck he might want to get some work done to it and make it look more updated and not so rundown. He told them it was what he’d intended to do but he needed to make some money before he started on fixing the place. The Council members told him the building belonged to the organization and since that was the case, they would see what kind of money they could collect to do the remodeling.

  "Besides, we're going to be meeting here too so it's only right for us to put up the money.”

  "That would be great.”

  *****

  Glory watched the man who had become important to her father. She had done so over the last months in order to make sure he was what he said he was. Too many times men had come through, gotten her father’s hopes up, and then squashed them. They needed someone like Tuck, hell if she admitted it, she needed someone like Tuck too. He was gorgeous.

  “You getting everything ready?” she said to Tuck when he came back into the lobby. Tuck looked at her and nodded.

  She knew he hadn’t had a woman since he had been here. She had paid attention and watched, now she was thinking now may be the time to throw her hat in the ring so to speak.

  “Yep,” Tuck said and she looked at him again.

  “You gonna move there, I heard my dad say you were setting up house there too.” He stared at her but didn’t answer so she carried on. “You need help you let me know.”

  He nodded and then said, “Would like that.”