Penance

by K E Osborn

  Vibe and Lift both nod. “Yeah, heroin. Kline found a needle prick on her arm. With the bump the guy made on her, she didn’t feel the needle go in,” Vibe tells me, and I grit my teeth, my hands balling into fists.

  “We have to tell Ace,” I suggest, and they both look at me like they have no idea why I randomly picked Ace of all our brothers to tell. “He can lift the video footage… figure out who the guy was.”

  Lift pulls out his cell and starts to walk off to make the call as I turn to look into the room holding Ruby. I need to see her. So I steady myself and walk inside to where Foxy and Kline are quietly talking to each other.

  They both glance up and watch me enter with a smile as I grit my teeth taking in Ruby’s pale face and lightly blue-tinged lips. I wince and look at her as she soundly sleeps. “Is she… going to be okay?”

  Kline reaches out placing her hand on my arm in a calming gesture. “She’s going to be fine. One hell of a headache, but we caught it in time before the drug could do any damage to her organs. She’s really lucky to have you guys watching out for her.”

  I step up to the side of the bed and grab Ruby’s hand. She feels cold, and I hate she’s even in here right now. Probably because of us. Foxy steps in beside me and wraps her arm around my waist, surprising me in a show of support from my best friend’s girl. She lays her head on my shoulder as Kline smiles and steps out of the room leaving us together. I wrap my arm around her shoulder holding her to me taking in her comfort.

  “I know she means a lot to you, Sensei. And I know you’re blaming yourself somehow for this. But the thing is, as women of the club, we know what we’re getting ourselves into the moment we agree to be a part of your lives. We also know the danger that comes with being involved with you guys. But we also know it comes with the fact that when that danger comes, you will all do everything in your power to help pull us through and make it better. Like Ruby being in here… she’s in the best place, getting the best care. It all happened so damn quick. The brothers knew something was wrong, and they needed to act and take care of their own. Because that’s what you do, Sensei.”

  I exhale and nod as she cuddles into my side further. “So you’re saying the women know the danger, but it’s okay because we’ll help them out of it?”

  She looks up at me and smiles. “Exactly… Every. Damn. Time,” she says succinctly. “I have faith in that. Ruby does. Every woman in the club knows. Every woman coming into the club has information and will know they’re protected. When shit hits the fan, there’s no better place than with a family such as the club. There’s no need to be scared because our men will be there to fix shit up and protect us with everything they have in them.”

  I weakly smile and nod. “You have that much faith in us?”

  “I do. So does Kline. So does Ruby. We all do. You just have to believe it, too.”

  Smiling, I pull her to my side a little further. I wasn’t sure if Foxy was going to make it and be the Old Lady she needed to be when I first met her. But not only is she an Old Lady, she’s one of the best.

  “Well, shit! Never thought I’d have to take measures to break up my woman and best friend. Something I need to know?” Torque’s mocking voice booms from behind us as Foxy detaches from around me and basically runs to him. She loops her arms around his neck as she pushes to her toes and presses her lips to his, kissing him for all he’s worth.

  He pulls back and smiles. “Fuckin’ missed you, too, woman. How’s our girl?” he asks as he takes Foxy’s hand looping his fingers through hers, and she leads him further inside the room. Torque steps up beside me and slaps my shoulder. I nod to him.

  “She’s doing okay. We expect Ruby to wake up maybe in the morning once her body’s recovered enough. Kline administered a drug called Naloxone to reverse the opiate overdose. She said Ruby should make a full recovery, but she might have to spend some time here in hospital…” she pauses, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, “… because it’s possible to have some lasting effects from the drug. Depending on her body, she might have cravings for more heroin.” Foxy shakes her head. “We don’t want that, so we’ll keep her here until it’s completely out of her system.”

  Rubbing the back of my neck, I nod as Torque grunts out a scoff. “This is bullshit. Who’d do this?”

  Then it hits me. I tense all over and glance down the hall to see Lift is still there. “Lift,” I call out, and he pops his head around the doorway and then walks in as Torque looks at me questionably. “The man who did this, you see him?”

  Lift squints like he’s thinking and then nods. “Yeah, I think so.”

  Taking a deep breath, I glance at Torque and then back to Lift. “Was he Asian?”

  Torque’s face drops, and it’s like Lift has only now put the pieces of the puzzle together himself too. “Shit… yes. Fuck me. Why didn’t I put this together sooner?”

  Turning on my heels, I start pacing the room.

  “Sensei, you think this is a fuckin’ warning? Do we have something bigger coming?” Torque asks.

  With a shake of my head, I turn back to face him, dread filling my body. “If we don’t act soon, this is only a small nick in a very big wound.”

  “Fuck… is this Ishikawa’s way of saying our deadline’s up? Or just a polite reminder?” Torque asks, and I glance at the floor because I simply don’t know.

  I don’t know Aiko well enough to know how he plays. Other than if the Yakuza give their word on something, it’s gospel. It’s how they operate. It’s all about their strict code of conduct. But what I do know is he’s messing with our women, with our family. He’s fucking with the wrong people.

  I look back up taking a steadying breath. “I don’t know, but we need to find a way to take him the fuck out, and now, Torque. We need to end this,” I demand with vigor, and he nods.

  Foxy’s eyes widen. She looks from me to Torque and pulls him to her looking in his eyes. “I don’t know what’s going to happen tonight, but you do what you have to do. Okay? Make them pay for what they’ve done to Ruby.”

  I half-smile loving that Torque’s woman is so supportive of our family. He really did score well there. Torque nods and leans in kissing her briefly before pulling back and caressing her cheek in a softer side I’ve never seen from him before. I keep watching him, and I actually smile this time as he presses his forehead to hers.

  “Be safe,” she whispers, but I catch it as he presses his lips to hers once more.

  Swiveling on my heel, I turn and start walking out but hear his footsteps follow mine as we all step into the halls of the hospital to ride back to the club to figure out what the hell we’re going to do about the fucking Ishikawa Yakuza invasion.

  SENSEI

  The room is silent as we sit around the table in church trying to figure out our plan of action. We know the Yakuza are tired of waiting for our answer of whether we’ll ship our guns with them or not. Seeing as the two-week deadline is up, we need to come up with something. A strategy as this affects the club’s financial viability more than anything. Preferably, we’re after an approach that will send them packing rather than send our weapons packing to them.

  “So we know for certain, due to the security feed, the guy who hit Ruby was Yakuza—he was Asian, he had the telltale suit, he’s definitely one of Ishikawa’s men. Plus, we recognize him.”

  Thing is, what the hell do we do now?

  We need something on them. Something to send them on their merry fucking way.

  “My thoughts, we take one. Gain as much fuckin’ intel as we can, and see what we can come up with using that information?” Torque suggests.

  A slow smile creeps up on my face. I’ve been feeling a little itchy, and I need to scratch it. Torturing a Yakuza family member is the right way to go about it.

  “It’s about time you got on board with my way of thinking, brother,” Trax beams with excitement.

  Torque curtly nods. “It’s not how I wanted to play this shit, but sometimes when the
y push, you gotta shove right back. Sensei, Trax, go find us an Ishikawa to question.”

  We both stand and nod. “With pleasure,” I reply.

  Trax cracks his knuckles, and we head out of the chapel and straight for the armory. He slaps my back and grins. Trax likes a challenge more than most men, but I know he’s ready for this. “You going to take him easy, so he can still talk?” I quip, and he chuckles.

  “Naww… why’d you have to go and ruin my fun, brother?”

  As we walk into the armory, I smirk. Trax heads straight for the weapons while I make my way to the cage for my ninja stars and daggers. I do grab a Glock, though. I’m not stupid, when it comes to being sensible, bullets are best.

  We step out and make our way to the front door noticing our brothers are still in church. We can hear raised voices, but we continue to stride out, our mission foremost on our minds.

  “Trax…” I murmur gaining his attention. He looks at me and raises his brow.

  “If Aiko sees me… if this goes bad… if I get captured… tell Sass—”

  “Fuck off! This is a simple snatch and grab, brother. No one’s going down tonight except for a Yakuza underling. You got that? You and me, we fucking got this.” He slaps my shoulder trying to send me some sort of comfort, but for the first time, I feel what it’s like going into something but having someone worth dying for. Sure, I’ve had my family in the past who I would lose it all for them, but now I have something more, something special. Something I would kill for. And if it means killing Aiko tonight to get my way, I will do it without a moment’s hesitation.

  No indecision.

  No apathy.

  Blood or not.

  We march to the van with one thought in mind. But what I want more than anything right now is to jump on the back of my ride to feel the wind licking at my face, but I can’t. We need the van to carry the Yakuza underling back here to the club. And we need the quiet only a van can provide us. Bikes don’t tend to give off a hushed sound. So we slide into the van. Trax drives as Gatekeeper pulls open the gate, and we drive off out of the compound and onto the road.

  We know where we need to go—Whiskey Row. It’s where the Yakuza are based by the flea market. We have to figure out a way to find and capture one of the Yakuza underlings and bring him back with us.

  The drive doesn’t take long. We pull up and park at the flea market, but by the left-hand side, closer to the rail yard rather than in our usual spot. It’s pretty fucking dark and deserted seeing as it’s almost midnight. The parking lot’s practically empty making our van too damn conspicuous for my liking, but it’s in the shadows, so hopefully, it stays unnoticeable.

  We slide out and begin our walk down the edge of the rail yard, stealthily. Both of us draw our Glocks as we tread carefully trying not to make any sounds on the gravelly surface. The echoes of laughter filter through the night letting us know the men we seek are not too far ahead of us. The faint glow of lights glimmer up ahead from the rail yard.

  As we duck behind a carriage, I glance over to Trax and start taking our steps feather light as we step closer and closer to the frivolity we can hear filtering through the night air. We move behind the carriage, the light on the other side as we step up, the laughing continuing as my tension escalates, nerves flowing through me at getting caught in fucking Yakuza territory. There’s only two of us, and an entire Yakuza army here.

  If we’re caught—we’re dead.

  No questions asked.

  No going back.

  I glance through the break in the carriage to see Aiko—for all intents and purposes, my father—sipping on Saki and eating what looks like wasabi peas as he sits around a poker table with his men like he’s having a merry old time. My lip turns up, my stomach knotting in the pure hatred I harbor for this man. But I keep it contained—we have our mission. Guards are posted all around his men, but we’re behind the back side of the carriage of the train. The guards are all on the other side surrounding the Yakuza family.

  Scantily clad dressed women bring food as they play a round of cards while they stay oblivious to our presence. A shudder runs through me at how he can sit there like that, eating, drinking, laughing, while his men attack my friends, my family, and terrorize the streets of Chicago all while he sits back and does what? Parties. My fists clench into tight balls as I inch forward, but Trax’s hand on my chest stops me from moving any closer as he shakes his head and glares at me.

  “Keep focused, Sensei,” he murmurs as a cracking noise behind makes us both turn our heads to see a man stumbling slightly like he’s intoxicated. He steps up almost right beside us through a gap between the train carriages, unzipping his fly and pulls out his cock starting to take a piss.

  We both open our eyes wide as I look to Trax wondering what the fuck to do. Neither of us move an inch not wanting the guy to realize we’re only a few feet away from him in the shadows.

  All he has to do is call out, and we’ll be found.

  But then I realize, this is the break we need.

  So, I subtly grab my Glock from my waist and bring it up. Trax nods. I aim it, and we both step forward. I press it to the guy’s temple as he turns, piss running all over Trax’s boots. He groans, and the guy’s eyes light up as I turn up my nose. “Don’t say a damn word,” I threaten very quickly and quietly, but his mouth goes to open, and before I can do anything, Trax pulls his hand back and punches the guy straight in the middle of his nose, knocking the fucker out. Blood spurts from his nostrils as he falls back onto the gravel with a thud, his flaccid cock falling against his pants as he pisses all over himself.

  I groan as I look back toward the Yakuza. One of them glances over, pauses then subtly shrugs, and then goes back to their party.

  “Fucking jerk pissed on me,” Trax whispers as he shakes out his bloodied knuckles.

  I grin as I lean down and wrap my arm around the underling while Trax takes the other side, and we lift him up with his cock still hanging out of his fly. I know I’m sure as hell not putting that away. And I know Trax won’t touch it either. I guess it’s hanging out until we get back to the clubhouse.

  We drag him to the van as stealthily as possible and throw him into the back watching our six to ensure no one’s looking. I grab the cable ties and slide them around his wrists doing them up extra tight as Trax makes his way to the front of the van to start it while I close the back door and hop in. He looks at me as I jump up, and we’re on our way.

  Another successful capture.

  “How come you never get pissed on?” Trax groans.

  “You seem to be the lucky one, Trax.”

  He snorts backing the van out and heads toward the clubhouse back to where I can finally get some of this anger out I’ve been holding onto.

  As I open the rear door of the van, I’m thrown backward as the underling hurtles himself out of the back making a run for it. But Trax and I are both too fast for him as I grab hold of his shirt and yank him back while he cusses and mutters to himself.

  “Fucking, fuck, fuck,” he groans and splutters as he struggles against my hold

  “Just calm down, little man,” Trax goads grabbing his shoulders and pushing him to walk toward the clubhouse. I follow as we head inside, the entire clubhouse turns to look at us and collectively all burst out laughing.

  Torque strides up to us. “Why the hell is his cock out? You guys feeling frisky or something?”

  Trax groans as I smirk. “He took a piss on Trax.”

  “Yeah, and the fucker’s going to pay for that, too,” Trax replies as Torque raises his brow with a sly smile.

  “Right. Well, I’ll get Surge and meet you in the Chamber.”

  We nod as the Yakuza underling struggles and tries to dash off again, but Trax lays a punch into his ribcage forcing him to hunch over as we walk him down the hall to the armory staircase. We make him take the stairs to the Chamber, and I see him tense as he understands what’s happening.

  “Shit,” he murmurs as he looks
back to me and shakes his head almost pleading with his eyes, but I just smile and push him through the open doorway into the dank room. The lights flicker on, and Trax leads him over to the silver chair and begins to strap him in while I go about prepping the room.

  “I don’t care what you do to me… Yakuza forever!” the underling calls out.

  Trax chuckles. “Well now… that’s going to make this a hell of a lot more fun.”

  I lean down in front of the silver chair to the panel recessed in the floor and open it. I pull the dispenser out, the plastic wrap laying out along the floor with ease.

  He watches as I lay the clear plastic beneath him, and he begins to breathe a little heavier. “What the hell is that for?”

  I smile. “Blood,” I reply nonchalantly.

  His eyes open wide as Torque and Surge stroll into the Chamber and close the door behind them with a muted thud. I glance at Surge, he’s looking much stronger now since the shootout, his arm is still in the sling, but he appears much better as he and Torque come to stand in front of the Yakuza underling before us.

  Torque folds his arms over his chest as the Yakuza’s eyes dart between the four of us, and he shakes his head like he’s confused. “What the hell do you want?”

  Torque lets out a stifled laugh. “That’s a loaded question. I want a beer. Maybe some sweet loving. Possibly world fuckin’ peace… but more importantly, I want your Yakuza fuckin’ family gone from Chicago. Fuck! No, all of America… can you do that for me?”

  The underling lets out a laugh and shakes his head. “You think you’re fucking funny, biker scum?” He shakes his head. “No. Have your beer. Appreciate your sweet-ass pussy. Because soon, all of it will belong to the Yakuza. If you don’t fall in line, the Oyabun will simply… dispose of you.”

  I tilt my neck to the side as Trax cracks his knuckles and Torque stiffens his posture. “You think we’d fall in line and not fight back?”

  He snorts. “Fight back all you want, we have more manpower and pull than you. We have people in places you couldn’t even begin to imagine.”