Neither Black Nor White (Iron Dogz MC, #6)

by René Van Dalen

  The clubhouse itself was in a huge sprawling building set in the centre of a large property with several other smaller buildings. It was surrounded by high walls with guard towers and with electric fencing on top of the walls. Solid steel gates prohibited anyone from seeing what went on behind them. Kid knew that all the lower windows had been bricked up and that the upper windows were barred and had specialised film applied making them almost completely bulletproof. Their Cape Town chapter had been fighting against rival clubs, gangs and the Syndicate trying to take over their territory for a long time. That’s why their clubhouse was more of a fortress than the Joburg clubhouse.

  The gates were opened for them as they rode up and he greeted the armed men as he rode through. As he led his group towards the long line of glittering bikes he realised what all those bikes meant. All the brothers must be at the club. Leaving their helmets on the seats of their rides the men followed him as he walked towards the entrance of the clubhouse. They were about to walk up the small ramp to the front door when Orca and his VP, Hook came walking out, wide smiles on their faces.

  Hook was smiling but the man looked deathly ill. Since his last visit to Joburg he had lost an enormous amount of weight and he’d aged a hell of a lot. He knew by Spider’s whispered curse he was equally as shocked but they kept it off their faces. Why the fuck hadn’t they reached out to his prez? Or had they and his prez had kept it at need to know? Fuck, he should have been warned before he walked in here.

  “Brothers! Welcome to Cape Town!” Orca shouted jovially as he strode towards them. Hook followed with a wide smile on his face. They exchanged hugs and back slaps and Kid waited until the greetings were done before he introduced Rock and Wheels.

  “Prez, this is my brother, Rock and his club brother, Wheels.”

  “Welcome brothers. Any family of Kids’ is family of ours.” He smiled as he shook hands with both men. But he wasn’t done apparently.

  “Except that crazy half-sister of yours brother, she’s no one’s fucking family. Hawk called with the good news that the traitor isn’t your blood. Fucking happy for you Kid, you deserve better than having that fuckwad tied to you.”

  Hook stepped up to him and tapped the patch with his name on his chest with a bony finger. He shook his head with a shit eating smile on his face as he looked at his Prez. “This is not fucking happening, Prez. Those names, fuck!” He spluttered out. “Kid Rock.” And burst out laughing and Orca and the others joined in the laughter.

  Spider laughed so hard he was bent over and had his hands on his knees shaking his head as he tried to breathe and laugh at the same time. Eventually they all calmed and Hook wiped the tears of laughter from under his eyes.

  “Ah, man, that was good. Haven’t laughed like that in a long time.” He said. “You should have been here last night brothers. Had some strippers in and...and...fuck me...they danced to fucking Kid Rock.”

  And that set them off again.

  “All this shit about my fucking name. This shit is fucking impossible.” Kid growled.

  Rock pointed a finger at him as he laughed. “Told you, brother. What did I say? No pussy while we go around being Kid Rock. It has to fucking change.”

  “Not fucking happening. I am who I am. Deal with it. I’m not hunting for pussy anyway.” Kid ground out.

  Kid caught the weird look Orca threw him before he invited them all inside. “Come on in, brothers. I have some things I need to discuss with Kid first but the rest of you make yourselves at home. My home is your home.”

  The minute they walked through the doors Kid felt the eyes focussing on him. Why? Shaking it off he left his brothers at the bar and followed Orca and Hook out of the common room. The eyes were on him as he left with them. Closing the office door behind him he sat down in one of the big leather easy chairs in front of the desk.

  Orca didn’t beat around the bush once they had settled in.

  “I had a long talk with Hawk this morning. As you can see Hook isn’t well and he needs to step back to fight this fucking disease. Fucking cancer. Luckily they caught it early enough. It’s going to take some time before he’ll be well enough to once again take a seat at the table. But, he’s decided when he does it won’t be in his capacity as my VP, he’ll be taking the vacant Chaplain’s spot.”

  “Prez...” Kid tried to interrupt but Orca continued, not allowing him to say anything.

  “This chapter needs strong young blood at the table and I’ve been very careful with selecting the right candidates as the seats become vacant. There are only a few of us older men left. Tarentaal (Guinea fowl); Kriek (Cricket) Hook and I, that’s it, we’re the last of the men who came on board with Bounty and Bulldog and we’re all tired as fuck and would like to retire. We of course will be available in an advisory capacity and help guide the club through the change of leadership, as Bulldog and his brothers did with Joburg.”

  He looked right at Kid when he continued.

  “When I spoke to Hawk I let him know that Blaze would temporarily step up into the VP’s position but he isn’t happy about taking his dad’s seat at the table. Hook’s cancer is fucking with his head but he’ll be okay, he’s a strong man. But, and here’s where I need you to listen to me and not interrupt because I know you’re going to want to interrupt. We need you.”

  Kid had no idea what the man was on about so he frowned and waited.

  “We, the club, and Hook and I, are offering you the position as our VP. There isn’t going to be a club vote for the position because there aren’t any other candidates. For you it will be a straight transfer from Joburg to Cape Town. We know you are happy in your position as Hawk’s SAA. But you’ve gone as far as you can, brother. The hierarchy at the Joburg chapter means there will always be a Walker in the two top spots. We would like you to seriously consider our offer, especially now that you have family here in Cape Town. And brother, just a heads up, the man I need in the VP’s seat has to be strong enough to step up into mine when the time comes for me to step down. I say again brother, we need you.”

  Holy fuck.

  Kid was speechless as his eyes bounced between the two men watching him intently.

  “Fuck, Prez, I don’t know what to say. You honour me more than you will ever know by offering me the VP’s spot at your table. But, let’s be logical here, most of your men don’t know me and those who do most likely don’t like me much. I’m not a very likable person, not that I give a fuck. I do my job and fuck the rest.”

  He drew in a deep breath before he continued.

  “We’re right in the middle of shit with the Syndicate and Hawk can’t afford to lose me right now. I’m not being all big headed or anything, Prez; it’s just the way it is. We’ve got club business going down that’s going to cause some serious waves across the country once it hits.”

  Orca gave that shark smile of his as he nodded slowly.

  “Hawk filled me in on what’s going down with the Syndicate and the Murchison fuck. So, I’m aware of the business you’ll be taking care of for the club. It actually suits our timeline since Hook isn’t leaving right this minute. And we have Blaze who’ll be picking up the slack for him. I’m aware you have about a three week timeline. I want you to take those three weeks and consider our offer seriously.”

  Hook reached over and patted his forearm where it rested on the arm of his chair. “And while you’re considering our offer and coming to the realisation that Cape Town is your true home we’ll take the time to get to know your new family.” He grinned. “But fuck bro, this Kid Rock thing is going to give us even more grey hairs than we have right now. The other fucking chapters will pull the piss every time we attend a rally or a sitdown with the fucking Sinners.” He finished with a grin and a wink.

  All Kid could do is shake his head, he was still stunned silent.

  “We can see this has hit you out of left field but we asked Hawk not to give you any idea of what we want to talk to you about.” Orca smiled and shrugged. “The two of us needed
to be face to face with you when we made the offer. We love this club, grew up in it, patched in and rose through the ranks. Our business is not as clean as Joburg’s but it’s not as dirty as you might think. When you accept the job we’ll sit down and open the books, show you how the club is run.”

  He suddenly shook a finger in the air as if he had just remembered something.

  “I almost forgot. There are some nice perks that comes with the job. As VP you’ll get one of the bigger duplexes behind the clubhouse, it’s partly furnished and fully serviced. No need for you to clean, do washing, or any of that shit. We have a contract with a group of local ladies who come in and clean once a week. It means none of the units or rooms turn into pigsties.”

  A cleaning service? Wasn’t that looking for shit bringing strangers into the compound?

  “Isn’t that a bit dicey, Prez? What about security?”

  Orca and Hook looked at each other and smiled.

  “That right there is why we want you. And to ease your mind, the ladies are family to some of the brothers. Plus we do constant background checks and the cameras are on them all the time they are here. We’ve had them for the last three years and haven’t had a problem but we’re not getting complacent about it. We keep eyes on them. Always.”

  This was so different from Joburg.

  “You’ve given me a lot to think about, Prez, Hook. I can’t say I’m not interested because I am but at the same time I’m conflicted because Hawk needs me to look out for him. He’s been a friend since we were in nappies together.” Kid didn’t know how to explain it any better. “I will consider your offer and give it some serious thought.”

  Both of the men nodded and Orca stood and held out his hand. Kid immediately stood and gripped it in his. They shook and Orca brought his free hand up and clasped it over the top of their joined hands then let go. Hook was up and holding a hand out when he turned. They shook and then Kid left. He had to get a drink, a stiff one at that.

  He had come to Cape Town to meet his father and his family. That was the only reason he was in the city. And now, now he wasn’t so sure that fate hadn’t had a hand in the curve ball life had thrown him over the last couple of weeks.

  Leave Joburg and move to Cape Town? Could he do it? Could he leave everything and everyone he knew behind and move here?

  All he had in Joburg was fucked up memories. But he also had Hawk, Ice and their families.

  He didn’t consider Esther Warne his family anymore. The sooner she disappeared from his life the better.

  But leave Joburg?

  The minute he walked into the common room all the eyes were back on him and now he knew why. The men knew the reason why Orca and Hook had a meet with him and they were curious to see how he reacted to their offer.

  Keeping his face the emotionless mask he had perfected in his youth he joined his brothers at the bar. A prospect immediately appeared in front of him.

  “What can I get you, sir?” He asked nervously.

  Fuck.

  “Give me a shot of your best whisky, prospect.” The boy, because he couldn’t be more than fucking eighteen or nineteen, poured and set the shot down in front of him.

  Picking it up he held it in the air in front of him for a second or two then slammed it.

  He closed his eyes as it burned all the way down to his belly.

  Opening his eyes he sighed, pushed the shot glass towards the waiting prospect and gave a short nod.

  Before anyone could start asking questions they were joined by Orca and Hook and the rest of the afternoon was spent getting to know the men at the Cape Town chapter. He knew Spider, Scar, Buzz and Dizzy were curious but now wasn’t the time to let them know what was going on.

  He would as soon as they got back to the Sinners compound.

  Fuck. Did he want this?

  He didn’t know.

  But it was definitely something he had to consider.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Kid

  It was late afternoon by the time they arrived back at the Sinners compound. Kid immediately made his excuses and called his men up to his room. There was a black gloom lying over all of them because they thought he was about to tell them Hook was dying. Without treatment he will die, but he was getting the treatment so there was hope.

  “What did they say to you? What’s wrong with Hook?” Spider asked the minute the door was closed and locked.

  “It’s cancer.” Kid explained the rest quickly. “They caught it early and he’s in treatment so there’s hope for a recovery. It’s going to be a long battle but he’s positive and his brothers have his back.”

  Rubbing a hand over his rough cheeks he had a fleeting thought that he needed a shave.

  “That’s not all. Hook is stepping down as VP, not immediately but he will be gone in about three to four weeks. Blaze has agreed to step up temporarily but he doesn’t want the job. The club offered it to me. They want me as their VP.”

  Dizzy pointed a finger at Scar. “I told you they were treating him like he was important or something. The brothers want him as their VP and were showing him the respect due to him.” He turned back to Kid and tipped his head slightly to the side as he looked at him. “You’re not sure if you should even consider it. I don’t know how the others feel, brother, but I’m telling you to take the fucking job. You were born to lead, it’s in your blood.”

  “Wow, Boss, that must have come out of left field for you.” Scar said quietly. “You know I’ve had an almost similar experience. I had no one I felt close enough to in Durban and it was a fairly simple decision for me to make. That’s not the same for you. You have deep roots at the Joburg club with friendships that go back almost to the day you were born. It’s one hell of a decision you’re going to have to make.”

  “I’m voting yes, take the job.” Spider was sitting on the end of the bed and he leant forward to look Kid right in the eyes as he laid it out for him and the men around him. “You and I both know that the lifespan of a SAA isn’t very long. It’s a young man’s job. Where do you move once your time as SAA is done? I know Hawk and Ice are going to try and talk you into staying but this is your life, your future, we’re talking about here, brother. What is there in Joburg for you except fucked up memories of the corpse and those two bitches. Take the job, move down here and start a new life. Imagine, a new life, without any fucking bad memories haunting your ass daily. A bonus is your brother waiting for you downstairs, he’s a good man and already has your back. And War could have blown you off and carried on with his life. He didn’t. He brought you in, introduced you to his family and his club as his son. You now have roots here, Kid. Move to Cape Town and build on the foundations left by Hook and Orca and make this chapter your own. The same way you helped Hawk to make Joburg his. We all know he didn’t do it alone, bro. I believe in you, and just saying, if Ice and Hawk piss me off I’m transferring my ass to your chapter. Fair warning, brother.” He smirked and winked.

  “I transferred to Joburg because shit at home got out of control.” Buzz suddenly said. “And brother, it was the best thing I ever did. Maybe it might be the same for you.”

  Kid opened his mouth but Dizzy got there before him.

  “If you take the job I’m coming with you, Boss. I’ll transfer in as your lieutenant so you have a man you know and trust at your back.”

  “What?”

  “What the fuck, Dizzy?”

  “Jesus, Dizz, what about Chris? You okay with leaving her behind? You know how tight she is with you.” Scar sounded pissed.

  “Scar, I love Chris, you know I owe her the fucking world. But...I’m struggling brothers. I can’t get over the shit that happened. I’ve tried everything, even going to therapy. But every time I walk into the clubhouse the memories are right there. Hawk knows, I’ve told him I’m thinking of transferring. He’s been thinking of sending me to Durban but if Kid takes the job here I’ll be coming with him. No question about that.”

  Scar rubbed his hand
s over his face and shook his head. “I’m not telling my girl about this shit, you will. Are we clear?”

  Dizzy raised his eyebrows at him and smirked. “Don’t have to, she already knows. Discussed it with her ages ago. She actually told me to speak to you before I transfer to Durban.”

  The men all started talking at once and Kid raised his voice to shut them up.

  “Enough. We’re not discussing this now. I just wanted you to know what’s going on. We need to focus on the business with Murchison and not get side tracked. And just because I know you fuckers won’t stop obsessing about this until I give you an answer, here it is. Yes, I’m thinking of taking the job but I need to discuss it with Hawk first. So, let’s leave it there for now and concentrate on getting home in one piece. I don’t trust Murchison not to try some shit with us on our way home.”

  “Are we escorting the trucks back up to Joburg?” Spider asked with a frown.

  “Yes and no. Hawk has come up with a plan. It will seem like we’re escorting them but as soon as it’s dark we’ll be getting off the highway. The trucks will continue on with their usual escort. There will be vans and closed bike trailers waiting for us. The Sinners will do the same. Hawk wants us back in Joburg as soon as possible and escorting the trucks will take too long. This way we’ll be home in the early hours of Tuesday morning.”

  “I love riding, make no mistake about that, but I wasn’t looking forward to spending the next two days on the road following a slow as shit truck.” Buzz said.

  “None of us were.” Scar grinned. “This way I get back to my old lady sooner than I thought. I like it.”

  “We’ll pull out of here tomorrow at ten to meet the trucks at the yard. I need you to keep your eyes open and to be aware of every single thing going on around you. The Sinners will take the front and we’ll bring up the rear. I don’t want them taking bullets for us. We’ll take it nice and easy and wait for Ziggy’s signal to get off the road. I suspect it will come around eight or nine o’clock tomorrow night. After that it’s hopefully clear sailing all the way home.”