Jackal

by KJ Dahlen

  Noelle gasped and took a step back, away from the hatred pulsing from Dane. “You killed them didn’t you?” she whispered hoarsely. “You had my parents shot!”

  Dane leaned as much toward her as he could get. “You bet your sweet ass I did. Derek owed me for the living hell I grew up in. He left me with her and he went to live with you and your mom. I figured after they were dead, I would inherit from Derek but it wasn’t enough. Derek died thinking he was my father and I was the only one who knew different.”

  “Why did you leave me alive that day?” Noelle wanted to know.

  “That was my safety net. If he left you anything, I needed you alive to collect it. Venom only wounded you but I didn’t think it would take anyone a day and a half to find you.”

  “Why did you take me in if you hated me so much?”

  “I wanted control of your trust fund you stupid bitch.” Dane sneered at her. “I thought I could get my hands on the money and use it for myself but your dad set it up so it couldn’t be touched until you were of age. As you were only fourteen at the time that meant I had to keep you alive until you reached twenty one.”

  “How did you find Venom of all people?” Pappy wanted to know.

  Dane turned his head and glared at the older man. “Venom and Harvey are my brothers, my real blood. You see the biker my mom fell into bed with was Denver Norris himself. He was on a run to Shreveport. He saw her, he sweet talked her into a hotel room and the rest is history, so they say.”

  “Why did you send me down to Venom with cut up newspapers instead of cash?” Noelle asked. “Was it just to get Venom to finish what he started ten years ago?”

  Dane glowered at her. “Yeah, I needed you dead in order to get the insurance money. With that, I was going to disappear until they forgot about me or until they were dead.”

  “You really are a sick bastard aren’t you?” Jackal remarked.

  “My mother made me what you see today!” Dane screamed.

  Noelle got up from her chair and turned, walking down the hall. She disappeared into a bedroom and closed the door behind her quietly.

  “There is a special place in hell waiting for you,” Jackal told him.

  “You be sure and save me a place when you get there before I do.” Dane growled. “Venom and Harvey are coming for you.”

  “Let them come.” Pappy nodded. “We’re ready for them.”

  Dane chuckled at their boast. “You could never be ready for the hell they plan to bring down on your heads. They plan on burning this place to the ground with you and yours inside. They want to hear your screams as the fire takes you to hell.” He then noticed wood piled up at the end of the bar, he frowned when he saw the end of the bar was open. He glanced away again.

  His covering his expression wasn’t quite fast enough for Jackal and Pappy not to notice it. They looked at one another and knew Venom and Harvey knew about the tunnel.

  Beast walked over to the man as he reared his huge arm back and hit Dane hard on the cheek.

  Dane didn’t even have time to blink before he was knocked out for the count.

  Beast looked over at his president while rubbing his fist. “That motherfucker needed to be quiet for a while. The whiney little shithead.” He tore a strip of duct tape off the roll and slapped it over the man’s mouth.

  Jackal nodded at his V.P. his lips rising into a smile as he turned to look at Pappy. “So now what?”

  “Now, we get ready and wait for the finale we know is coming,” Pappy suggested.

  “But the waiting is bad for us and good for them,” Jackal reminded him.

  “Well, that’s true enough.”

  “Can I ask you something?” Jackal stared at him.

  “Sure, as long as you understand I may not answer if it’s too personal.” Pappy nodded as he grinned.

  “Not personal at all.” Jackal shook his head. “I have a feeling this mission has more of your interest than normal. Is there a reason for that?”

  Pappy sighed and looked down at the floor for a moment. Then he looked up at Jackal and squared his shoulders. “Yeah, this mission is more outstanding than it should be but there is a reason. You see, I know this man they call Venom and what I know of him isn’t good. I didn’t know who he was until Noelle described the tat on his hand.”

  “What do you know about his tattoo?” Jackal frowned.

  “I’ve run into one or two of the people he did business with before. He took them for everything they had then left them broken and bleeding. When this is over, I want to hunt his men down and tear them limb from limb.”

  “Let me know if you need any help with that,” Jackal said.

  Pappy nodded.

  Before he could say anything else, Beast came over and asked Jackal, “How you want to do this?”

  “I want a roving patrol around the perimeter and I want welcoming committee at the end of the tunnel. They want to come through there and burn us out? That ain’t gonna happen. We’re gonna catch them in the act and set their world a blaze. If anyone deserves to die, it’s those two. I don’t normally even think about taking another man’s life, and while this isn’t a government sanctioned war, it is a war and we can’t run away from it. We have to stop this from happening. We are defending our home and our families and the people we love.”

  “And Venom and Harvey? What do you want for them?” Beast asked.

  Jackal looked at his man with no emotion in his eyes at all. “Oh, I think they should burn, don’t you? Maybe they can join Dane in the fiery pits of hell.”

  Beast grinned and nodded. “You got it pres.” He turned and walked away.

  When Jackal looked over at Pappy, he noticed he was watching him carefully.

  “Is that how this is going down then?” Pappy asked quietly.

  Jackal shrugged. “Sometimes you have to do what you have to do. They intend to burn out right here in our own fucking club. Do I want this? Hell no. I was happy just minding my own fucking business. They brought this war to us, we didn’t seek them out. They aren’t going to back down and neither should we. We have to finish this. And I for one, refuse to back down and let those two fuckers walk all over me. Now, if you’ll excuse me I have a woman to console. I’m sure Dane’s announcement has shaken her world.”

  Pappy turned and watched as he walked down the hall and disappeared. He heard someone walk up to him and he turned to find his second in command behind him.

  “What do you think Pappy?” Dewey asked.

  “I’m glad we’re here. This is a righteous fight and one we were meant to fight. I know we don’t normally step in to something like this, but we need to see this through.”

  “And when it’s over?” Dewey wanted to know.

  “When it’s over, we’re going after Venom’s enterprises. We are going to tear his empire down to the ground and scatter the dust.” Pappy growled.

  “Because of Mario?” Dewey asked.

  “Because of Mario and his family.” Pappy nodded.

  “How did you find the man responsible?”

  “When Noelle described the tat on Venom’s hand, I knew it was the man from seven years ago. Mario told me to look for the snake, before he died. Then Trudy found a family connection and I knew in my heart, he is the man we’ve been looking for all this time.”

  “So even if Venom gets killed here, we’re going after his crew?”

  “Damn right we are.” Pappy nodded. “Although I’d rather let him watch us ripping his empire apart, we’ll do it after he’s gone, knowing we got justice for Mario and his family.”

  Jackal closed the door behind him and looked around the room for Noelle. At first, he didn’t see her and he began to wonder where she was. Then he spotted her sitting with her knees up under her chin in the corner of the room.

  Her eyes were glazed over and blank and as he got closer to her, he noticed she was shaking. Kneeling in front of her, he drew her into his arms. He sat down and pulled her onto his lap. Jackal grew alarmed when
he felt how cold she was. Reaching up to the bed, he grabbed a blanket off the bed the wrapped it around her. He then rubbed her arms to try and warm her.

  Noelle didn’t move or try to stop him at all. She just laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes.

  Jackal didn’t know what to say. He cleared his throat and started to say something but stopped... what could he say that would make a difference to her at this point?

  After a long time he finally asked, “Baby, you ok?”

  Noelle looked up at him with tears flooding her eyes. “I don’t think I’ll ever be all right again,” she whispered brokenly. “I mean I always knew Dane hated me but I never knew why. I knew his mother was batshit crazy but I never knew just how much.”

  “I am sorry little one.”

  Noelle was quiet for a long moment then she whispered, “He murdered my family. For no other reason than he needed money. He murdered my parents for paper. How could he do that?”

  Jackal shook his head. “He is true evil and evil exists in the world. It just hides in the shadows. He hides there so no one sees his true being. But sooner or later, he can’t hide behind the shadows anymore. And that time is now. He just fessed up to all of it. He knows he’s done, but he won’t admit it. He’s about to find out that death comes for us all, only he’s going to hell with his brothers. I hope they all enjoy the burn.”

  “Can I tell you a secret?” she whispered.

  Jackal frowned and looked down at her. “What kind of secret?”

  “When I was staying with Dane, he would lock me in a room for days at a time. I don’t think he ever knew this but the room was above his office and many times the only reason I kept my sanity was because I could hear him making deals, on the phone or in person. I overheard his wheeling and dealing and I soon learned just how corrupt he was. He was paying off officials that would get him a better deal.” She wet her lips and then lowered her voice. “I overheard him order a murder one night.”

  Jackal frowned. “What?”

  “He’d come home that day and he was very upset. I hated when he came home mad like that. He always found a way to blame me for his black mood. That night he unlocked my door then took the belt from his pants. I knew what he was going to do the moment I saw his eyes. They were filled with hate. He didn’t say a word to me but then he didn’t have to. He just started beating me. I didn’t think he was going to stop that night. But he did. When he left me laying there hurting worse than I ever hurt before, he went down to his office and made a phone call. He called Venom. At first, I didn’t know who he was talking to, because he said ‘hello brother, I need a favor. I need a man dead and you’re the only one I know that can get close enough to him to take him out.’” She shook her head. “Two days later the man they spoke of was killed in a hit and run accident. The police never knew who did it but I knew. Dane ordered the hit and Venom carried it out.”

  “Who was the man?” Jackal wanted to know.

  “Jackson Knox. His father was on the zoning board for one of Dane’s projects. After Jackson died, Dane talked to his father and threatened another family member. Dane got the zoning he wanted.”

  “How long ago was this?”

  “About three years ago.”

  Jackal sat there for a moment then shook his head. “If we had proof, we might be able to offer him a deal but it would be your word against his and he’s better at lying than you are. No one would believe you over him and I’m not willing to give him an offer that puts you at risk. Venom has men all around that would stop you from testifying about his business.”

  “What are you going to do about them?” she asked.

  “They were going to burn us alive. I think they should go the same way.”

  Noelle shivered as she saw the look in his eyes. Heaven help those men was all she could think.

  Chapter Fourteen

  As afternoon waned into early evening, Pappy got his men ready. He had three snipers up in the tree at the spot where the tunnel came out beyond the fence line surrounding the compound. After the 4 men found that the tunnel led off into two more tunnels, a few men along with Jackal and Pappy had walked the tunnel themselves. They had discovered the dark dank hollowed out burrow was only one of many treks through the underground. They also walked the two other branches of the tunnel leading off the main branch.

  Not knowing how many of Venom and Harvey’s men were left alive, they posted their men in the offshoots of the tunnel, so no one could escape. They had already moved the women and children to a safe place apart from the compound clubhouse. The women weren’t happy about being moved as they argued they too had a home to defend but they were outvoted by the men of the MC.

  The woods where the tunnel came out were full of men waiting for the final showdown between themselves and the Devil’s Own. Being ex-military men, they knew how to hide themselves well. Every man there knew the score and they knew this final battle would be to the death. They would give no quarter and expect none in return.

  Around ten p.m. they heard footsteps in the woods. More footsteps than they had hoped for but the men were ready.

  Eight men came into the clearing, two of those men were Harvey and his brother Venom.

  The other six men showed signs of not being in their best shape. They were bruised and sported bloody bandages from the earlier showdowns but they were there and spouting some crap. When they arrived at the opening of the tunnel, one of the men lit a couple of camping lanterns so they could see what they were doing. The soft light illuminated the group of men standing there.

  “I can’t fucking wait to watch these pricks burn.” One of them growled.

  “I want the clubhouse left in ashes.” Harvey sneered. “I don’t want the pigs to even find the bones left from their bodies. And make sure to shoot anyone running away like the fucking cowards they are.”

  One of his men snorted and shook his head.

  Harvey snapped around and glared at the man. “What? You got something to say to me you lousy bastard?”

  “You’re delusional if you think these men are cowards. We may not know who they are but they won’t run away. They already proved that earlier today when they stood with the Kings. You misjudged them badly.”

  Harvey’s hand went for his gun as the man stood there with a smirk on his face.

  Every man he had left stared him down. They reached very slowly for their own weapons.

  Venom reached out and grabbed his brother’s arm. “Don’t be a damn fool,” he grumbled. “I don’t plan on being shot in the back by my own people before we destroy this place.”

  “Fine, let’s do this,” Harvey muttered. “I want to get out of here.”

  One of the men had been carrying a small wooden crate. He knelt down and opened the crate. There were three wine bottles inside. He began handing them to three men and everyone watching could see the Molotov cocktails. The wine bottles were filled with what everyone thought was gas and each bottle had a rag stuck down into the opening.

  “You sure you want to burn them out?” Venom asked his brother. “There might be more secrets inside the clubhouse for us to discover. If we burn it to the ground, the secrets are forever gone.”

  “We can rebuild and once this is done, we’ll have the time to find all the secrets this land has to offer,” Harvey argued. “These bastards shot and killed George before and most of our men today. They have to pay for that.”

  Venom scoffed as he shook his head.

  Harvey turned on his brother and grabbed his jacket. “Listen to me, you little motherfucker. You want to move here and bring your business, you better pay attention to who’s in charge here. You need me a lot more than I need you.”

  Venom grabbed his brothers’ hand and tightened his grip until Harvey winced and let him go. “I don’t need you as much as you seem to think brother. You said George lived here for four years and couldn’t find anything worthwhile, he didn’t find the money that was reportedly buried here. In fact, he didn�
��t find anything at all. Maybe that’s because all the rumors were just that, rumors. Maybe there is nothing here to find.”

  “Bullshit!” Harvey swore. “Everyone knew old man Shay had money. We just haven’t found it yet.” He turned and before he could say anything, they all heard twigs snapping and heavy footsteps all around them.

  His men began searching the area for anyone coming closer. With the darkness of the woods, no one could see anything.

  Harvey reached for his weapon. Pulling it out, he waved it around. “Stop where you are!” he shouted.

  His men each drew their weapons, dropping the cocktails they were holding. One of two of the bottles broke and the air around them reeked with the scent of gasoline.

  “Who are you and what do you want here?” Harvey screamed out.

  Jackal and Pappy stepped closer.

  They had been surprised when the Kings had shown up at the door of the clubhouse a few minutes ago. They told Luca it wasn’t the best time but Luca shook his head as he informed them that they were here to stand with the Advocates.

  Plans changed and they decided to confront them head on before they got into the tunnels. They would give them one chance to back down and if they didn’t... they would die right where they stood.

  “I wouldn’t even breathe if I were you,” Pappy called out from the darkness.

  The men standing there startled.

  “There are over a hundred guns pointed at you right now and some of those guns have twitchy fingers on the triggers.” Jackal jeered. “But you have a decision to make right now. You have to decide if you want to live to see another dawn or do you want to die right here, right now. Each and every one of you have to make the decision for yourself.”