Page 83 of Baiting Kong

“Exactly,” Creature said.

“I’m good with that,” Axel said.

“Same,” Scout added.

“Okay, then I’ll text you when it’s okay to come down,” Creature said.

“See ya in a little while,” Axel said.

Creature nodded and headed Kong’s way, his expression morphing from pleased to grim determination. There were several reasons for this Chapel, including all they’d learned about the porn company Scout had been working for. A bit of digging had revealed that pieces of Lucky’s old film were woven through several digital compilation packages, and Mark was positively livid.

They roared through the compound gate with six minutes to spare and had their asses in their chairs, drinks in hand, four minutes before Chapel was scheduled to start. And it would start on time. Any absent members would be noted with the understanding that they’d better have a damn good excuse or show up at some point, skidding up to the gate with their asses on fire.

There were nothing but grim faces around the table as they waited for the meeting to start, and with good reason. The incident with Duggan and Rainy had opened a whole other can of worms, one in which the wife of the guy who’d sideswiped them was trying to claim that Critter, the club brother who had been fooling around with his wife, had coerced her into dancing topless on tables at the bar and then threatened to post the photos on social media if she wouldn’t sleep with him.

Links to her social media had been passed around and as far as Kong knew, no one had ever seen her in Joker’s Wild before, let alone dancing half naked on top of a table. The problem was going to be proving it. There were no cameras inside the clubhouse, bar, or dungeon, for good reason, but they did have surveillance on the exterior. Hours of footage were currently being searched through to see if there was any sign of her being there. They were all certain there wouldn’t be. If there was one thing bikers had a memory for, it was a grubby-cute little hang around with a whole lot of attitude. That’s the vibe Kong got off the photos on her social media feed. If she’d been there, she wouldn’t have been missed, and if she’d shown any sign at all of being in duress, Critter would have gotten curb stomped.

The door closed behind Mark with an audible clack, then he threw the lock and crossed to where the gavel rested at the head of the table. He banged it as he sat, calling the meeting to order.

“Alright, fuckers, we’ve got a few things to get through today, and all of them are pissing me off, so keep the smart-ass comments to yourselves and focus on resolution, not fueling the flames,” he cautioned.

“In short, we won’t be entertaining suggestions that involve arson, dismemberment, unmarked graves, or human trafficking, as amusing as it would be to stuff that porn director in the back of an eighteen-wheeler and send him somewhere south of here to learn a real lesson in what it means to be used and abused,” Saint, the club vice president, amended. “Everything else is pretty much fair game.”

There were a few good-natured grumbles, but for the most part club members had learned to sate their appetites and bloodlust in the dungeon rather than on the streets, since it would be hard to play with their pets and subs from behind bars.

“I talked to Ben Radcliff,” Mark explained. “He’s a private investigator looking into the legitimacy of the studios licensesand the contracts they offered to Scout and several other clients.”

“Who brought him in?” Danger asked.

“The family of one of the other performers,” Mark explained. “He couldn’t give me much detail, but from what I gathered, the guy broke the contract after they tried to pressure him into going off script. According to Radcliff, Duchamp sent a few guys after the performer, to collect the signing bonus he’d been given, and when the guy didn’t have it, they hurt him pretty bad.”

“Do we need to be worried about that with Scout?” Night asked.

“No, he finished all of his scenes the night he went looking for Sawyer,” Creature explained. “He knew he was supposed to start work at the garage on Monday and didn’t want anything to get in the way of that.”

“So, what’s this Radcliff planning?”

“Right now, he’s just gathering information, looking into legal ways to get the place shut down,” Mark explained. “Radcliff has already spoken to three other performers about the lack of regard for the question and answer sheet, as well as their practice of introducing gags and other bondage implements in order to make it difficult, if not impossible, for a member of the cast to call a halt to a scene. I’ve already spoken to Scout, and he’ll be making himself available to Radcliff on Thursday afternoon so he can go on record with his story.”

“Then what?” Dupris asked.

“Then Radcliff intends to confront the managing director with the evidence and threaten him with a lawsuit if he doesn’t close down the studio and turn over all copies of the tapes to be destroyed,” Mark explained. “He’s certain he can get Duchamp to cave, considering he’s already managed to tie him to several streaming services that contain content that would result in serious jail time. There’s nothing that can be done aboutdownloads and the like, but he also intends to anonymously submit some of his discoveries to the finance company holding the lien on that building to see if they can get them to cut ties and call in the marker. If it does work out that the old factory goes back up on the market, I’d like to propose the club purchase it in order to expand the custom bike shop, garage, metal fabrication, and powder coating businesses while consolidating them in the same space.”

“What about the two store fronts?” Danger asked. “I thought you wanted to avoid renting them out to non-club-affiliated business owners?”

“I still do,” Mark said. “Which is why we’d be developing additional enterprises to fill those spots. Before Teddy lost his position, he was developing a questionnaire to send out into the community to gather thoughts on what the folks in the area felt the town was lacking. I’d like you to finish putting it together and see about getting it distributed. We need to gather as much feedback as we can before we proceed. If anyone already has some ideas in mind, put together a business proposal and be prepared to submit it at the next Chapel. Doesn’t have to be fancy, but some in-depth research into startup costs, overhead, and any marketing plans you have in mind would be helpful. If you get stuck, see Danger and let him help you organize that shit into something understandable.”

“I might have something in mind,” Duggan said. “You know Shale and Damon have been honing their craft at the forge, and they’ve been making more than weapons. Between their creations, the combined efforts of the metal fabrication and powder coat shops, and the pewter, silver, and gemstone sculptures Geo and Brin have been crafting, I think we’d have a hell of an artisan shop.”

“Write it up,” Mark said. “That would help keep sales and fabrication areas separate and allow for fewer interruptions. Anyone else got anything?”

A few people appeared deep in thought, but none had anything to offer to the conversation, so Mark moved on.

“I’ve got thirty-five entry forms here,” he said as he slapped them on the table. “They go to three different classic bike shows. I want the best bike to fill each category, and I don’t want us to double up if we can help it. The point is to push the restoration garage and the work that’s been going on there, so make sure you pass out cards, talk about the work you’ve had done, and take the time to discuss any special features and vintage parts, especially replacement ones.”

“We don’t wanna hear about any bullshit either,” Saint added at the end of Mark’s statement. “You need to be out there representing the club in the best light possible so we’ll be invited to return. This is how we stay legit, folks. We’ve already done the hard part in getting the businesses off the ground and turning enough of a profit that they are keeping us in the black. We need to stay that way, so we don’t wind up back on anyone’s radar. That also means not getting into shit that winds up spilling out onto a public road where anyone can come along and get caught in the crossfire. That’s not the kind of publicity we need right now.”

“In that case, Critter better learn to keep it in his pants,” Rainy snarled across the table at a red-faced Critter, who, upon closer inspection, looked to be sporting a few bruises that hadn’t been there when Kong had run into him on Wednesday night.

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