They were setting up around a circle, taking their places on long logs and various camp chairs. In the center was a pile of ash from a long cold campfire that would probably be lit by the time the sun went down. They had two cases of beer, various guns and weapons lying at their feet, packets of chips and pretzels, and a large bough of a tree shadowing the wholescene.
There was nowhere else to go out here, so I stepped over the log and sat down. It was bordering on blistering, but there wasn’t much that could be done about that right now. Hopefully, this place was only going to be forced on us for a few days. Then we could reclaim the compound, and Sloane would petition Gasket to get the air conditioning fixed. It seemed like something she woulddo.
“You and Sloane, huh?” Ratchet asked, handing me abeer.
“Where’d you get this from?” I asked, looking at thelabel.
“Bones brought it,” he replied. “But you didn’t answer my question, asshole. When did thathappen?”
I shrugged. “Who knows? One second you’re whatever, thenext…”
Hopper laughed and popped the top off his beer. “Was the same with Shondra. Bitch just walked up and grabbed myballs.”
“Good for you,” Ratchet said, punching me in the arm. “Never thought you had aheart.”
“Only a tough bitch could take him,” Watts said, taking a bottle from the case and sitting on the end of thelog.
I grunted and opened my beer, immediately neckingit.
“It was you, wasn’t it? Who got Sam out of the compound. You andSloane.”
I scowled, not liking how big Watts’s mouth was getting. He talked too much about the wrongthings.
“Rocketwould’ve—”
“Shut your mouth,” Ratchet said with a growl. “We know what Rocket would’ve done. She’s gone. Good for her. She didn’t deservethat.”
“And Harley did?” Wattsasked.
“Marini shot him for his own gain. It had nothing to do with Sloane. He was just looking for an excuse to have us all running scared,” Hopper declared. “We all saw what Harley was doing to Sam, and none of us didanything.”
“What’s going on with Marini?” Rhodes asked, changing the subject before fists came out. “Anynews?”
“Don’t know,” I replied. “Gasket’s still workinghim.”
“But you went in there with him,” Watts argued. “Are you lieutenant now orsomething?”
“No,” I snapped. “I’m there on Sloane’s behalf. Besides, someone else deserves to be Gasket’ssecond.”
“Like who?” Hopper asked, scratching hisbeard.
“We’ve got bigger fish to fuck up the ass,” Ratchet replied. “That shit will come later. Anyone who wants that will have to prove themselves in allthis.”
“Ol’ Rat Shit here is right,” Spike said, joining us. “A lot of stuff has to go down before we can get Fortitude back up. I’m just glad we got Marini out. I didn’t like where he was taking the club. A little blood now versus an ocean of it later. I know which was mypick.”
“Me, too,” Watts said, taking another sip of hisbeer.
“On that, we agree,” Ratchetreplied.
“What do you think,Chaser?”
What I thought didn’t matter. When this was over, I was entirely sure I was going leave the club and never look back if that was what Sloane and I agreed on. Ultimately, it depended on what happenednext.
If her father lived or died. If Gasket, her ‘adopted’ father figure, wanted her to stay. If we couldn’t get a handle on the HollowMen.
“It doesn’t matter what I think,” I said, voicing my thoughts. “I trust Gasket. I’ll follow his lead.”Fornow.
“Shit, if Chaser, of all people, trusts Gasket, we should all be in one hundred percent,” Spikedeclared.
“That’s why we’re here,” Ratchet said, smacking him on the back of the head. “No one plays his part in a hostile takeover without allthat.”
Lifting my beer to my lips, I thought about Sloane. All in, one hundred percent. I couldn’t leave hernow.