Page 91 of Lockout

Warrant choked on a laugh as Toxic showed the picture to him, then Butcher.

“Hushisold,” Butcher muttered, rearranging his extra magazines to his liking.

“Fuck you,” Hush barked. “I’m not that fuckin’ old.”

“But this is like…a blueprint for you,” Toxic insisted. “What you’ll look like in your late sixties.”

Hush leaned over and scowled at the phone. “You’re a dick. I won’t look likethat. Fucker looks like he fell asleep under a broiler after doin’ ten lines of coke.”

Toxic studied the photo, then shrugged. “Yeah, he does look pretty rough.”

“Head’s up,” I said, as I spotted the plume of dirt rising into the air. I glanced over my shoulder again, but the three I’d sent up top were no longer in sight. “Butcher,” I warned.

“I got it,” he said, tying off the end of a strand of barbed wire that was now taut across the trail leading into the mountains. It was going to hit neck-high on someone riding on a motorcycle.

We waited, and sure enough, two fuckers came around the bend at break neck speed, trying to catch up with us. The wire embedded so deep into their throats that they hung in mid-air for a few seconds before their bodies crashed to the ground. Their bikes continued on before wrecking a few feet away.

Sixteen left. I let Toxic and Butcher go finish those two off. Motioning to Static to take the wire down, I settled my rifle on the rock in front of me. Static had driven one of the cage rides out here so we could easily bring all the firepower we needed. While we’d been in town, getting the LoS’s attention, he’d come out here and stashed the van after setting all our weapons up.

He quickly coiled up the wire and tossed it to the side. It was bright with blood and too easily visible to use again. And I didn’t want to forget about the fucking thing and leave it out here for some poor bastard to find later.

As soon as the next biker came around the corner, I squeezed the trigger. More gunfire split the air as he toppled from his motorcycle, and I knew it was Priest, up top, taking out riders who were further away.

The next riders came as a group. Gunshots echoed through the mountains as they abandoned their bikes and dove for cover behind boulders. We’d gotten the drop on them and there were only twelve left.

I knew Hell, Smoke, and Ricochet would take care of the additional five in town. We’d meet up with them outside of Lordsburg once we cleaned up here. My eyes narrowed as a boot slipped out from behind a rock. Taking aim, I shot a hole in the fucker’s foot.

Yelping, he made a stupid mistake and shot up from behind his cover. Four rounds met his chest when he did. I wasn’t even sure who all had shot him, but it didn’t matter. Eleven left.

Motioning for my crew to hold their fire, I crept around some of the huge rocks, then bolted across the trail until I was on the side the LoS was hiding on. I made my way up, as quietly as I could, until I was above them.

I looked over and caught Hush’s gaze. He nodded, indicating that they were ready for what was about to happen. Grinning, I started shooting into the nest of shitbags below me. Bellowing and gunfire filled the air once more.

They evacuated their hiding area, but there was nowhere for them to go. Between me, Priest, Pyre, and Idaho up top on the other side, and my crew waiting for them, they ran directly into bullets.

By the time everything calmed down, there was only one man left alive, though he was bleeding from various places. He was kneeling on the dirt road, hands behind his head, scowling at us. It was the same man who’d glared at me at the gas station.

“What’s your name?” I asked as I walked up to him.

“Ford,” he said, then spat on my boot.

I stared down at it, then glanced back up at him. “This your crew, Ford? You one of Hangman’s officers?” I asked.

“Some of ‘em,” he replied. “The rest were from Colorado Springs.” He didn’t respond to my question about his status. Didn’t need to. He was in charge of these men in Hangman’s stead.

Nodding, I crossed my arms over my chest. My leg was starting to throb. I needed to get this done with. “You know why this is happening? Why you’re about to die?”

“You’re the fucker who attacked our Phoenix Chapter,” he answered.

“I am,” I told him. “Because your president decided to come after my old lady.”

He made a face. “Don’t know nothing about that.”

“I’m sure you don’t,” I continued. “But that’s really only the first reason. We don’t like people who sell other people, do we Butcher?”

“Naw. Fucked up,” Butcher replied.

I arched a brow at Ford. “And ifhethinks it’s fucked up, trust me, it is.”

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