by K. J. Dahlen
“You think he’s the only one that’s hurting because of Pony and Blue or getting kicked out?” Bull snarled. “I took two bullets and a year and a half to come back, but I did it. I had no clue you guys were working on this but when she found out, she helped and this is how he thanks her? That’s just wrong. She didn’t know who the hell he was until last night. She didn’t know he killed her mother. You all heard her nightmare, she didn’t remember that until last night. I’m sure if anyone had thought to ask her she would have told us about the MC but no one did, so don’t be blaming her for not saying anything until now. She isn’t hiding shit from you guys or him. Don’t forget she doesn’t owe us shit.”
“You’re right. She doesn’t owe us shit,” Hawk stated. Shrugging he continued, “She could have been upfront with us on everything she knew, but this might have escaped her notice. Unfortunately, this was one thing we would have found interesting.”
“Get your asses up here,” Judge shouted from the top floor. “There’s something going down right now.”
Five men scrambled to get to the monitors overseeing the town. When they got there, they saw several areas of trouble going down around the town. One places of interest was a diner on the outskirt of the town. Several bikes were parked but as they watched, a couple of loaded cars pulled up and began shooting at the bikes. More shots could be seen coming from inside the diner and then they watched as the cars took off. As they did, several bikers came outside shooting.
Another area of trouble was a drive by just outside the building that held Conrad Bane’s office. Several motorcycles roaring down the street then all of a sudden, they saw window shattering and people on the street and in front of the building diving behind anything that would give the shelter. Then some of the same people pointing weapons were shooting back at the bikers driving away.
A third area that concerned them was taking place in the supermarket parking lot. One biker was down, his bike a crumbled mess but his friends were hiding behind a couple of parked cars shooting back against three members of the Ratz. Several other people were down or hiding behind cars in the lot while several of the huge picture windows were shattered. Glass was everywhere and as they watched, two police cars pulled into the lot behind the bikers. Blue and red lights flashing lent a surreal quality to the scene.
“Holy hell,” Hawk whispered as they watched the monitors. “Shit’s about to hit the fan.”
“I think it already has,” Tank commented softly as they watched the scene unfold.
“Maybe they’ll just kill each other and save us the trouble of taking them out,” Judge suggested.
Hawk turned his head and glared at the other man, then he turned and glanced at Mustang who shook his head. They both turned back to the monitors as more police cars pulled into the supermarket parking lot. They were from a town near Mount Pleasant and they realized it wouldn’t take long for the police to step in and contain the River Ratz or the Minions.
“This could work to our advantage,” Wild Child commented.
“It could,” Tank agreed. “It could also blow up in our faces. If the Ratz pull back and decide to fight another day, we’ll have to track them down. That will take away our advantage and cost us time we don’t have.”
Judge turned to look at Bull. “You live in this town, where would the Ratz go to hide from the law?”
Bull shook his head. “I have no idea.”
“Charlie would know.” Tank pointed out.
“So go ask her.” Judge snarled.
Bull growled without voicing his thoughts. Then he turned and went to the steps.
While he was gone, Hawk leaned back in his chair and addressed the elephant in the room, “Judge you need to let it go. Or at least give her the benefit of the doubt until she actually betrays us.”
“Fuck that.” Judge swore. “She’s a Malik whether she knew it her whole life or not. She’s got his blood in her veins and the only one they are true to is themselves. You don’t think she’ll turn on us? Just watch her. Then again, you won’t have to by the time she’s done we’ll all be dead and Bane will be the one walking away.”
“You don’t know that,” Mustang argued.
“Are you willing to risk your life to find out? Because I’m not. Our aim to shut down this bastard and take down his empire, hopefully without dying in the process. That we do by being smart and not taking chances.” Judge glared at his men.
“Then why can’t you give her the benefit of the doubt? You heard her last night, you heard her call out for her mother to wake up. Are you really that heartless?” Wild Child asked.
“What I think or feel is nobody’s business.” Judge swore. “It’s not my job to give her approval or pat her on the head. It’s my job and yours to bust up this empire and bring justice for those who lost the war.”
“Yeah well, you don’t dial it back a bit we’ll lose Bull and Charlie’s help,” Hawk told him. “I want to bust up this little empire as badly as you do but we’ll lose more than we’ve gained, if we lose Bull over this shit.”
“Bull belongs to our brotherhood and he always will. He may have left us for a while but he’ll come back to us.” Judge assured them. “He isn’t about to let a woman he barely knows come between us.”
“You might just be wrong about that.” Mustang shrugged. “He trusts his gut and his gut is telling him to protect this woman, whether it’s against her enemies or us, he will do what he has to do to protect her. That’s just the type of man he is. You know him, you know what he’s capable of doing when he feels someone under his protection is in danger.”
“Yeah,” Judge ran his fingers through his hair. “I do know. But I’m not the one he needs to watch. Bane is the one he should be wary of. Bane is the one he has to stop.”
“All we’re saying is dial down the hostility toward Charlie,” Hawk interjected. “Your attitude is beginning to piss him off.”
“Can we all get over the kumbaya bullshit and deal with this situation now?” Judge asked.
No one said anything until they heard Bull’s footsteps coming back up the stairs. He was alone. He went over to where the town’s map was and showed them a rural area. “Charlie said there was an old barn out here somewhere but the Ratz are using it as a warehouse. She said it looks abandoned but it isn’t. The Ratz keep eyes on the place where they’re over here or know they’re going to be in the area.”
“What kind of warehouse is this and what do they use it for?” Hawk queried.
He shrugged. “She said it looks like an old barn, there is a farmhouse on the property, but it’s far enough away you can’t see the barn from the house. It doesn’t really mean anything, there’s no one living in the house for the last few years. She said the Ratz use the barn for storage between runs. They store their guns and drugs there and when they do there’s always someone there guarding the place. They have built it up to be a virtual vault inside. The boys usually stay there where they need to.”
“Well, let’s just see what we got here,” Tank stated as he began punching keys to get a satellite photo of the area. Moving the mouse around he scanned the area and after a few minutes, he finally located the farm house. Then he found the barn and noted the activity in and around the barn. “Got it.”
The others crowded around him and they could all access the situation. At the moment there were about a half a dozen men present. They were armed but not on alert. They were standing around smoking and laughing.
“Find us a way out there,” Judge ordered.
Tank zoomed out and found the quickest way to the location using GPS. Then he loaded the coordinates into his phone and shared the information with the others in the group.
“We can’t just walk in there. We have to have a plan,” Hawk suggested.
Judge nodded. “I’ve been in contact with FBI and ATF. All they need is the word and they’re ready to jump in.”
Bull snapped his head around and stared at Judge. “You already have set up the
FBI and ATF? And you didn’t say anything until now?”
“I’ve been in contact with FBI and ATF all along,” Judge responded. “The other guys know this.”
“But I didn’t,” Bull stated.
“Well, you do now.” Judge nodded. “And it shouldn’t make a difference one way or the other. We can’t just move in and take over like we could over in the sand box. That was a whole other time and place. The rest of us have had to become legal Bounty Hunters in order to do our security gigs because thanks to Ritcher we’re civilians now. If we want to bust this up, we have to work with the law not against it. That’s just the way things are now.”
“He’s got a point,” Hawk agreed.
“I know he’s got a point.” Bull argued. “I just wish I’d known this shit earlier. So okay, what’s the plan then?” Bull asked. “How do we get all the Ratz and Bane over to the warehouse and bring them and the FBI and ATF all together at the same time?”
“You use me as bait.” Charlie’s voice came from the top of the steps.
“What the fuck did you say?” Bull growled as he turned to glare at her.
“I think you heard what I said.” She looked from man to man. She refused to look at Judge, instead she turned to Bull last. “If the River Ratz caught me, they’ll take me to the warehouse. Paolo will want to ‘talk’ to me in private or if you prefer away from where the authorities can interfere. I can make it seem like I know something damning about them and he’ll need to find out what I know about him and his gang. For all his stuff and nonsense, he really doesn’t like having people know their business. If I tell him certain things, he’ll call in Bane and then it will be up to you guys to clean up the mess. They will be all together for you to take down.”
“No fucking way.” Bull growled loud enough to let everyone know how bad an idea her plan really was.
“What would you tell him in order to get Bane there?” Judge wanted to know.
Charlie didn’t answer him. Instead, she kept her eyes on Bull. There she began walking toward the man. When she got close enough to him, she reached out and cupped his cheek with her hand. Gazing into his eyes she whispered, “You know this is the only way. You need time to get into position and get ready to take them out. I can give you that time. This might be the only chance you have to take them all out or down or whatever you want to call it.” She paused then added, “Then the only ones you have to worry about are the Minions, and after the firefights, there shouldn’t be too many of them left anyway. They were no match against the Ratz, between them and the police they never stood a chance.”
“Have you forgotten just a few days ago they beat you? They slit your throat and left you to die?” Bull argued.
Charlie smiled faintly. “No I haven’t forgotten. I’m still wearing the bruises. But you know I’m right.”
“I could be the bait just as well as you.” Bull insisted. “Bane wants me as bad as the Ratz want you. I am the one who shot his brother Salim after all.”
Charlie shook her head. “No, Bane wants you dead, it won’t bring him where you want him, but I will. He’ll come if Paolo calls him.”
“I repeat what do you have that Bane wants so badly?” Judge asked again.
“That’s between me and Bane and you don’t need to know.” Charlie turned to glare at the man. She knew she had a card or two left in her hand to play, even if she wished she wouldn’t ever have to, she would play them. Turning back to Bull she said, “Just get into position and don’t forget to come and get me when it’s over. Please promise me you won’t forget me when it’s all said and done.”
“I’ll be there, don’t you worry about that,” he promised. “I just wish there was another way to do this.”
“Me too, but there isn’t.” Charlie leaned in closer and pressed her forehead against his.
“Are you sure you can do this?” Hawk asked.
Charlie closed her eyes briefly then turned her head without breaking contact with Bull. She nodded slightly when she met his eyes. “Can you guys do your part?”
Hawk nodded. “We can.”
“Do you promise to come after me when it’s over?”
Hawk nodded shortly again. “I promise.”
“Then let’s do this.” Charlie insisted. “How much time do you need to get set up and get the authorities in place?”
“A couple of hours is all we’ll need,” Judge assured her.
Charlie shuddered. “Just don’t leave me in there too long. I don’t think I could take it. Their company leave much to be desired.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t do this,” Bull said. “They could kill you before they get your message to Bane.”
“Don’t worry about me. I can handle Paolo, besides I have some information I think he’ll want to know.”
Judge snorted. “You’re your father’s daughter alright. Secrets and more secrets.”
Charlie turned to glare at him. “We all have our own secrets don’t we? I’m sure you have your fair share of them too. You may hate me for who my father is and you have that right but at least I’m not the asshole you are and have been since I met you. Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to judge someone you didn’t even know? You don’t even know me, yet you feel you have the right to judge what kind of person I am simply because of who my father is. Living up to that supposed name of yours. Well, I’ve got news for you, you bastard, I didn’t know who the man was that fathered me. Not his name or what he did. Hell, I didn’t even know what really happened to my mother until recently. I grew up alone and unwanted. I don’t say that to garner your sympathy. I don’t want it and can’t use it. Growing up the way I did, I learned very early to depend on no one but myself. I don’t need you, but at the moment, you need me to get this done. So let’s get this party started, so I can get the hell away from you!” With that, Charlie turned and went back down the steps to the second floor.
Not one of the six men standing there said a word for the longest time.
Then Bull left the room. He turned his head just before reaching the top of the stairway and glared at Judge. He turned and disappeared down the steps.
“Make your calls Judge. Let’s get this fucking party started,” Hawk told the other man. “I’m going to get a cup of coffee.” Then he too, disappeared down the steps.
* * * *
One by one, the others joined him, leaving Judge alone on the third floor.
Judge made his calls and when he hung up the phone, he realized something. He was losing control of his team. That had never happened before. Not in all the years he served in the military had he ever lost control of his unit. These men had followed him to hell and back. They’d been together for so long, they could finish each other’s sentences. Hawk, Mustang and Bull had been with him the longest. They were all together when the ambush happened, but Wild Child and Tank had served under his command as well. It had only been a few months and it had been before the others joined him. But now that had changed and he wasn’t quite sure he liked the change. In fact, he downright hated it.
He wasn’t wrong about how he felt about Conrad Bane as he called himself nowadays. This wasn’t his first go around with the man. In fact, this would be his third go around with Conrad Bane. The first one happened a year after they had been forced to retire from the military because of their supposed PTSD. That would have been four years ago now. He’d been living quietly under his real name of Kale Arndt. They had just set up the agency of Brava Victor Security in Shreveport and he’d decided to go to his cabin to get away from the stress for a while. He’d gone fishing for a week and on his last night there just as he was settling in for the night, when he was ambushed by two men busting down his door and coming in shooting. It had been dark in the cabin so they hadn’t exactly known where he was. That had been their disadvantage. His advantage was he knew every inch of the cabin and pinpointed their every move. Knowing he was ex Special Forces, they should have known he’d never be far away from a weapon.
&n
bsp; He shot back and wounded both of them. One died before he could get any information out of him but the other one didn’t. Even though he didn’t want to answer any questions, in the end he did. He admitted his role and who hired him. The man admitted Conrad Bane had hired them to track down the members of the Brava Victor Security Team and take them out. When Judge asked, the man had been adamant about that last thing. Bane wanted them all dead and he wouldn’t stop until his goal was accomplished. Then the man died choking on his own blood.
Judge decided not to leave it to fate. He hadn’t heard the name Conrad Bane before the ambush but the more he researched the more the name stood out. Conrad Bane, he learned was a man that quietly stayed in the background. He was powerful and had his thumb in a lot of pies. He also ran his own people with an iron will. Then Mustang had found a slight connection to the drug trade and the more they found the less they liked the man. They whole group began working toward getting the evidence they needed to bring Conrad Bane down. He had warned his men about the attempt on his life and they were all watching each other’s back but since Charlie’s arrival, he was losing the loyalty of his men.
So, for the sake of his team and his men, he had to make nice with Conrad Bane’s daughter. As much as the idea made him shudder, he knew what he had to do.
Chapter Twelve
Downstairs, Charlie was trying to tell the guys about the warehouse. It looked old on the outside but wasn’t on the inside. They had reinforced the walls, floors and ceilings with steel. They had also put bars on the windows to prevent anyone from breaking in.
“Damn,” Hawk swore as he threw his pen on the table. “That place is impenetrable. We’ll never get inside without coming through the front door.”
Charlie sat back in her chair and smiled. “Oh, there’s a way in that doesn’t include the front door.”