Page 33 of B-ry
Not that it was anything out of the normal. I knew all of us in this room were right now. Myself, having two strapped on me. Wouldn’t doubt Fitz and Knight were the same way. Probably Lake too. So yeah, we were always prepared.
Iron asked what Cable had found and the guy hung his head when he had to tell Iron nothing. Iron didn’t look like he was pissed, I mean, it wasn’t like the guy had a lot of time to do anything. And from the sounds of it, there wasn’t much to find on this Keften Jugovac fucker.
“For now, I want Lake working with you on watching the docks,” Iron said looking at Knight.
I wasn’t all that surprised that Knight didn’t look pissed at this. Lake was a good choice not only because he knew the docks well but the guy was up at all hours of the night. So that meant that when Knight was at home with his woman he would be able to relax a little.
“I don’t know if this guy is here, but if he is, I don’t want to be taken by surprise. I want to know about it. I want to be able to take him out before he gets a chance to realize that we are even on him.”
That pretty much went without saying. But I got that he felt the need to voice it and all.
Now that I’d had a chance to calm down and tuck my anger away, I was pissed for another reason. I was pissed for my brother. I was pissed for the club. I really thought about what it would have been like had it been one of the brothers I was close to. One of my own crew here. It shouldn’t have made any difference, we all wore the same colors. But it did. Because I knew these guys. I saw them every day. I talked and joked and drank with them regularly. So had it happened to one of them, I definitely would have taken it hard. I would have been hurting, just like the club. And I put myself in Bocca and Axe’s shoes right then. I got it, I really did.
I never said I couldn’t be a fucking blockhead sometimes. Thick as a damn brick and maybe even quick to anger at times. It was never a good combination. But living with that as long as I had, I also realized that there were always more sides to everything than just the one I saw. And once I thought about that, the picture always became much more clear.
“Ky,” Iron said looking at him. “I’m gonna need your eyes and ears around here for the next few weeks.”
Iron didn’t elaborate and I wondered what kind of play he was setting up for. I was sure I’d find out soon enough.
“Got it, Prez,” Ky answered automatically.
“Alright, Lake and Ky, you’re dismissed.”
And just like that, they were gone.
“Mase, I’m gonna ask you to step out too,” Iron said then clenched his jaw like he hated to ask him to do so.
I had a feeling he already thought of Mason at VP. Maybe not to the point that he shared everything with him and relied on him, but more like he was really hoping we all saw Mason as good enough to fill the seat.
I had an opinion on the matter but I’d kept it to myself. When the time came, I would vote the way I saw fit and no one else would sway me in any way. It was all about what was best for the club, and that would never change.
“I’ve got some things I want to bring to the table. There will be votes soon, so take the time to really think it over. Need to patch some people in. I want to grow this chapter but I want to do it right. Want you to think about who should make the cut, who needs more time, and who we should cut free. I don’t have time for bullshit right now, so you got any reservations, lay it all out there when the time comes. It will be soon, so I’m warning you now.”
There was a pause as he took each and every one of us in.
“I want to bring Ky and Lake to the table. They have been part of this club for a long time and they know the ins and outs. Lake being from the mother chapter, I feel would be a good asset to helping maintain and uphold the standards of what being a Paragon is about. Ky, well, this club is in his soul. This is his home and he doesn’t hide that fact. He’s been through enough shit that I think he deserves to be here as much as each and every single one of you fuckers.”
There was a low round of chuckling from all of us.
“If anyone has any objections, voice them now.”
There was a short pause. Of course no one spoke up because those two were as solid as they came.
“Alright, we’ll vote on it next meeting. I hate to say keep all this quiet for now, but I’m sayin’ it. Mouths locked on what we found out today. I want to bring it to the whole club but only once I’m ready.”
With that, he dismissed us. I had a feeling there was going to be a long, drawn-out meeting in the near future. Iron needed more time to gather information and sort through shit. In a way, this one had been bullshit, but it was also needed. After the bomb that had been dropped on us earlier, it was best not to let it linger too long without something from the Prez.
I’d had enough of people for one day. There was a lot for me to process and I just wanted to do it alone. I stuck around for a half hour, had a beer, then headed up to my room. I was damn tired and I had no idea how I’d made it through that long ass day. I didn’t even feel bad that I crashed right away.
