Page 56 of Micro
“We’re not forgiving anything, but killing him serves no purpose, and if we can put him being alive to use for us as a club, then we should consider it.”
“Use in what way?” Lissa piped up, clearly feeling protective of her only blood kin.
“Ally, we’ll talk after, because there’s something you need to know about what happened,” Reacher said gently, before he addressed the room again. “We’d like to absorb the Rogues, potentially patch them over in time, so we have a second Phoenix chapter. Micro’s job today is to go in, rescue his woman’s sister, and clean out the bad seeds. He achieves that, and we’re considering letting him stay there. Maybe run it.”
Tori suddenly laughed, a sharp sound that caught everyone’s attention.
“Let me get this straight. He attacks your loved ones, and kills people you care about, and your idea of retribution is to make him president of a second chapter? Is that the kind of behaviour that wins a shiny president patch? My father would find this hilarious. You’re rewarding your attacker for attacking you.” Wow she didn’t pull any punches, did she?
Tori
Iwasn’tkiddingwhenI said that, because the idea of the mafia just forgiving someone who attacked them was literally laughable. They’d be duty bound to decimate the person, and make sure everyone knew they did it. But Reacher was talking about setting Micro up with another chapter of his club?
“Well, it sounds insane when you put it like that,” Reacher said quietly, dropping heavily into his seat, and cradling his head in one hand. He looked exhausted in a way he hadn’t for so long lately. Micro comes back for five minutes, and Reacher looks like hell again.
“Not that my father would allow this in a million years, but will you at least send people in to monitor things, and keep an eye on him? What if he builds a club to rival this one, and they attack us in force?”
“Jesus,” Cammy whispered from beside me, and I was surprised nobody else had thought of it.
“We’re talking about being charitable to a man who attacked several of us, and killed others. I can’t believe you’re talking about giving him power. You’re out of your minds!” Elise blurted, standing up and backing away from all of us, like she felt trapped already by their bizarre decision making.
“Sweets-”
“No! I won’t agree to anything like this, and I’m not staying here to listen to you trying to justify this action. You’re making a bad fucking decision!”
Elise stormed out, the door slamming soundly behind her, and Stitch groaned.
“I swear Has is a bad influence on her.”
“I know you didn’t just diminish your sister’s thoughts and feelings on this, hubster,” Cammy snapped, following Elise out of the room with another door slam.
Stitch dropped into one of the recently vacated chairs, and slumped back against it.
“It made sense at the time. We’d be throwing him into an unwinnable situation, and he’d probably not fucking survive it, but if he did, we’d have a second chapter… Jesus, when will this end?”
Lissa patted his shoulder, and stood up.
“Okay, I’m on board with this idea, because I think it’s a win win. You’re right; if it works out, you strengthen the club, by having a second chapter, and people like Torch, who loved him like a brother, don’t have to live in a world where he died horribly, or they had to strike the killing blow. I know that he struggles with that, it’s fucking obvious when you see him. And look, I’m happy to offer remote services, so I can offer as much support as he needs, and…” she swallowed hard, “and if I think he’s playing you, I promise to at least warn you things need a closer eye, but that’s it. I won’t betray his confidence, and I won’t throw him in front of you people, and weapons.”
Grace stood up from the other side of me.
“Look, I know I’ve not been here as long as the other old ladies, and I know Micro came after me, and traumatised the hell out of me, but she’s right. This isn’t just about Micro, or the two of you, anymore. Torch lost his best friend and brother over all this, and if there’s a chance he can have some form of contact with him, I’m all for it. I know he’s a bad guy, but also, from what I’m hearing, he didn’t have the best chance of being anything else. I’m with Lissa. I don’t know if there’s a vote or something, but I vote yes to this crazy ass plan of yours.”
“You were doing well until then,” Reacher said with a snort.
“Ally? Tori?”
Ally glared at Stitch and Reacher in turn. “I vote no, I’m sorry, but he nearly killed me, and I refuse to offer him any kindness. I’m sorry if that makes me an asshole, but I don’t care.”
I sighed, shaking my head slowly, because while I thought it was a ridiculous idea, I could also kind of see their point.
“I’ll vote yes, but only if you listen tomycrazy idea next, which just might solidify your chances of this going your way.”
Sophie
Wewerealreadyonthe road, heading back to the Phoenix MC headquarters, and possibly Micro’s death, and I hated every mile of the journey.
He was sitting opposite us in the back of the van, his ass on the hard metal floor, and I couldn’t understand why he wasn’t taking the opportunity to be closer to me. Was it the sleeping teenager, with her head in my lap? Was he trying to give her a semblance of safety by staying back? Was he distancing himself from me, because he knew he might die? Had he changed his mind about me, after everything that had happened with the Rogues? He might have been the biggest problem that Phoenix had, but was I the biggest onehe’dever had?
