Page 58 of Red's Peril: Part 1

“Tide went down on a felony charge, got twenty years. Bass and Townie weren’t carrying so they got away with misdemeanours and are inside for twelve months.”

“And you’re keeping their spaces around the table for when they get out?” If I sound disgusted, it’s because I am. Addiction is an illness, I know that. But the club can’t harbour men who don’t put the Devils first.

“We haven’t actually discussed it,” Rainman explains. “We’ve been dealing with the cop raids, having our guns confiscated, and having our businesses searched. They’ve been looking to pin something, hell, anything on us.”

“Which is why we’re cleaning our shit up, and why we no longer have a fuckin’ tattoo business. Bass ran it.”

“Be honest,” Keys suddenly states, leaning forward. “It was never the best. None of us would have our tats done by Bass.”

An incompetent tattoo artist and gambling addicts, men who felt they were entitled to rob and shoot just because they lost at the tables. They don’t sound like brothers I’d want at my back. My jaw tenses.

“Coming in as an outsider, for what damage they’ve done to the club, I’d have their patches.” My judgement is harsh, and I know it. I’m talking about their family. Well, if they give me a beatdown and send me packing, so be it. I’m not sure I want to be a member of this chapter if they put up with shit like that.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Indian slams his fists down. “Those three were problems before they fucked it up good and proper this time. We gonna ignore the fuckin’ obvious? Does it make us feel better keeping our heads in the sand?”

Keys mouths a word at me,drugs.

Fucking great.I glance around, wondering whether any others are meth heads or addicted to other hard shit. That wouldn’t fly under Drummer’s rule.

Brick’s having one of those prez/VP silent conversations that I’ve often witnessed between Lefty and Drum—slight movements of their eyebrows, nods of heads and shakes. Rainman wiggles his hand a couple of times, but in the end, they both raise their chins.

Brick bangs the gavel. “The club’s taken a hit since the three of them went down. We’re constantly walking on eggshells, waiting for the cops to arrive, and we all know we’ve come close, if not actually to the attention of the feds. It was pure luck they didn’t push to find club sanction for what went down. A RICO indictment is not what we fuckin’ want, yet our former brothers brought us too fuckin’ close for comfort. As it is, we’ve had to cut back on our trades, and get out of anything with a whiff of illegal. Relying on legitimate business ventures, when one of those has had to close, has meant we’ve all felt the result in our pockets. I know hearing Red’s views is uncomfortable, fuck, those are our brothers we’re talking about.” He pauses and wipes a hand over his brow, then takes out a pack and lights up a cigarette.

Others follow, me included. When both our lungs and the room is full of smoke, Brick continues again, “If Bass, Tide and Townie walked back in now, how would we greet them?”

“With a fuckin’ beatdown,” Crash growls.

Twister bangs his fist on the table. “We don’t know what the feds are planning. We could still be facing a RICO charge and won’t get out of the eyes of the cops for some time. For that, I’d take their patches.”

“Hey,” Titch objects. “I visited Tide last week. He’s having trouble inside. We take his patch, we remove his protection.”

“He show remorse?” Rainman asks.

“Like fuck,” Hammer says. “Or not when I saw him. The only remorse he showed was about not getting his money back.”

I decide to state the obvious. “Declare him out bad, and he’s likely not to get out alive.” That’s the truth, albeit a harsh sentence.

“What’s the alternative?” Keys asks. “He was a liability, let’s admit it. How many times has he let us down on a ride as he was too high to take part? As a road captain, he sucked.”

So why hadn’t Brick done anything about it earlier?

“Abandon our brothers? Might as well take my patch while you’re at it,” Titch growls.

“So don’t abandon him.” I shrug. “Let him keep the protection while he’s inside. Fuck knows, twenty years is a long time. He might have overcome his addiction by then.” And someone else is likely to be sitting in Brick’s spot.

“We keep his account topped up?” Fox asks me directly.

“Could be the minimum, just to get by. But he doesn’t get the full amount owing to him. That’s split between us. Only fair compensation for the mess he left us to clean up.”

Brick raises the gavel and bangs it. “Tide retains our protection, for now. Once he’s out, we’ll vote on taking his patch. That’s the vote in front of you. Who’s for?”

The ayes are unanimous, and I’m not surprised. Always easier to put off a decision until later, and by that time, there could well be a different set of brothers around the table. I’m happy with that. It could also be useful having a brother inside, as long as he can get off the drugs while he’s in there.

“What about Bass and Townie? They’re likely to be around in less than a year’s time. Titch, you want to speak up for them?”

Titch looks down at his hands. Having been put on the spot, it seems like he’s struggling. “Ah fuck, Prez. If they were solid brothers, then I’d say wait, and have them back once they’ve done their time. But they’re not inside for doing something on behalf of the club. I’ve gotta ask if I can now trust them.”

“And can you?” Cobra asks. “’Cause I’m fuckin’ sure I can’t.”

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