Page 4 of Wire
Once I’m back in my room, I close and lock the door. I switch my music on loud and grab a bottle of Jack. Fuck them!
CHAPTERTWO
Joker
I watch Wire slam his way out of church. That is not my brother. My anger is bubbling away under the surface. I know I need to keep a lid on it and show my brothers I can be a good leader. Just didn’t think my first test would be this soon. But I did have an idea it might be Wire that caused the issue. He’s changed so much that I don’t even recognize the person he is now. Has he always been this angry, and we’ve just missed it, or has he been hiding his true self?
“Keep a level head,” Tank whispers to me.
Nodding, I turn and take my new seat. It feels wrong to be sitting in the Prez’s chair, but at the same time, it also feels right. This is what I have been working toward all my life.
“We need to discuss Wire. His behavior and anger are getting worse. It’s to a point now that I’m uneasy about him being around Carrie and Beau.”
“Joker, I think that’s going too far. I’m not dismissing your feelings, but this is Wire we are talking about. He thinks of Carrie as a sister, and he loves Beau. No way is he a danger to either of them. Yes, I agree his outbursts have me worried but more worried about the cause,” Cass says.
A few of the others nod their agreement with Cass.
“Earlier today, I caught Wire screaming at Carrie. He was so close to her, and his hands were fisted. That tells me he wanted to hit her. She’s heavily pregnant and should feel safe here,” I tell them what I saw in his room.
“Just because his hands were fisted doesn’t mean he wanted to hit her. Something happened to him while he was in that warehouse. It’s as if he has PTSD or something. He needs our support and help,” Angel says.
“If he has PTSD, then that makes him more of a liability around the women and children. If he needs help, then he should be asking for it,” I growl.
“Yeah, because asking for help as a man is easy. I agree with Angel. Wire is showing all the signs of PTSD. Maybe we can find him someone to talk to who he would feel more comfortable with. I’ve seen this with some of my team and also myself. I was lucky while serving that I didn’t really suffer from PTSD, but a lot did,” Sarg says.
“We can only help him if he wants help. Can’t force the man,” Tank adds.
“I have an idea. Being around the compound doesn’t seem to be helping him any at all. I say if he doesn’t agree to get help, then he goes Nomad.”
The table is silent while everyone thinks over my idea. I hope they go for it. I don’t want my first act as Prez to strip a brother of his patch, but I will if it keeps my family and the family of my brothers safe.
“I can’t help but feel like we are abandoning him. That in his time of need, we should be supporting him, not throwing him out because I have to say, this is us throwing him out,” Trader says
“We are not throwing him out. We are giving him the option of getting professional help or going Nomad. The open road will clear his head, and then maybe old Wire will come back,” I try to explain my thinking.
“If he comes back at all,” Marvel mutters.
“If he doesn’t come back, then that is his choice.”
“Let’s vote, ayes, for my idea?”
We go around the room, and even though a few are not liking the idea as much as others, everyone votes yes.
Smacking the gavel down, I call the vote.
“Let’s end church for now. BJ and Pip are leaving tomorrow for a well-deserved holiday to Greece, so we will all be in the compound to wish them off. After that, we will have church and inform Wire of his choices. Sarg, can you get me the name of a couple of therapists that specialize in this kind of behavior?”
Sarg nods his head, and I end church.
I head home to our house on the compound. We have created a mini town on the land to the right of the compound. Each brother has built their own house, and we now have several streets formed and are thinking of building a park for the kids too.
I love pulling up to our home and seeing the flowers Carrie has planted out front and the porch with a swing. It’s my favorite part of the day. Once Beau has gone to bed, Carrie and I sit on the swing, discussing our day and whatever else is on our minds, arms wrapped around each other, watching the day end and the sky grow dark.
“Hey honey, how was church?” Carrie asks as I find her in the kitchen.
“Good, BJ made the announcements, so I now need to sew my new patch on,” I tell her with a big smile on my face.
With a squeal, she leaps into my arms, wrapping them around my neck as much as she can with her baby bump between us.
