by KJ Dahlen
Taking a seat at the table Slammer and Grinder were sitting at, Shotgun felt a weight on his shoulders. He looked over at Slammer and saw the scowl on the other man’s face like he felt worse than he even did, so he asked, “What are you thinking of that’s giving you a bad case of heartburn?”
Slammer reached for Lilly’s phone and brought up the last pictures she was sent by their snake man. He brought up the one that showed Darrin in the hospital and turned it to Shotgun and Grinder.
“Damn,” Shotgun swore.
Grinder grimaced.
“Look at the snake.” Slammer nodded. “I’ve seen this before I know I have, but where I can’t remember. It seems like such a long time ago, it might have been back when Banger and Odie were in charge but I remember that tattoo.”
Grinder was silent for a moment then nodded. “Now that you said that, it does seem familiar doesn’t it?”
“There was so much going on back then that it’s hard to remember it all.” Slammer rubbed a hand tiredly over his face. “And some things you just want to forget forever. That shit was the worst. Always watching our backs. Always fighting some gang or group. Angry and pissed. But damn, it’s the past and you can’t change it, only thing you can do is learn from it.”
Shotgun leaned back in his chair. “Yeah well, I wasn’t around here back in the day. I only heard bits and pieces. So what happened?”
Grinder grunted and leaned back in his own chair. “This all happened about three years before you came to us. Banger wasn’t much of a president as much as he was dictator. He once shot a brother for not getting him a beer fast enough. The man was fucked in the head. His word was law back then and if he said jump, you asked how high. He was just that way. Anyway, some of the brothers didn’t care much for that attitude so there was talk about breaking off and starting up a new MC. Banger didn’t like that much and he let the brothers know. If I remember right, one of the brothers rode out and just kept going. Just can’t remember his name though. He was just as loco as Banger was, but he had a detached personality that set him aside from all the other men we had back then. Banger tried time and time again to break him but nothing ever worked. So when he left, Banger took that as an act of treason against the club. We all had to take an oath back then, pretty much like now, only Banger really enforced it. Like you paid for any disloyalty in the worst of way.”
“Yeah, he did,” Slammer continued. “Banger tracked him down and dragged him back to stand a tribunal. He laid charges of treason against the brother and by rights, he then took on the chore of beating him almost to death. Banger was a street fighter back then and he was just plain mean. He enjoyed fighting and there weren’t too many people that wanted to fight him. He played dirty and didn’t really care who he was beating on. When he was done, Banger gave the order to leave him where he dropped for three days. Just before he walked away from the kid, Banger squatted down and whispered something to him. No one there heard what he said but the fallen brother got really pissed about it. Then Banger got to his feet as he looked around at us all and gave the order, no one was allowed to help him in any way for three full days. When the three days were up the man’s own brother picked him up out of the dirt and helped him recover. He fought his own brother and Copperhead never knew why.”
Grinder nodded. “When he was well enough, Banger told him to get out. But before he pushed him out of the club, he branded him a traitor so other clubs would know about him. The brother wanted his blood brother to come with him but Copperhead wouldn’t break with Banger. He told his brother he took an oath and he wasn’t going to break it.”
Slammer looked over at Grinder and asked, “What was Copperhead’s brother’s name again? I haven’t thought about him in years.”
“Damned if I know. I’ve slept since then brother.” Grinder snorted. “Why would I want to remember a traitor anyway? I mean his punishment went way too far, but we all stood by our oath. Sometimes your word is all you have.”
“Yeah.” Slammer nodded. “Then things went south with the Triad shortly after that. Club life was a clusterfuck for months.”
“But not before that traitor came back for one last hurrah.” Grinder shook his head. “Do you remember that night boss?” Grinder looked over at Slammer.
“Bad business, brother. Just bad,” Slammer said.
Grinder kept nodding his head. “It was just about sundown when three riders came racing through the gates. They were whooping, hollering and shooting off their guns. Banger and Odie were standing in the doorway of the clubhouse while the brothers caught outside at the time were running and ducking while trying to get out of their way. Then the man found Copperhead and rode right at him. He slammed into him and told him that’s what happened to traitors. He wrapped a rope around Copperhead’s throat and dragged him over to Banger’s feet and threw down the rope.” Grinder shook his head as he paused in his story. “The other man raised a gun and pointed it right at Banger’s head but Banger never moved a muscle. He didn’t seem worried at all. The rider pulled the trigger but at the last minute, he pointed the gun at the doorway next to Banger’s head. The bullet lodged in the doorway and a small piece of wood hit Banger’s face but it didn’t seem to concern the man. Banger was some kind of crazy. It was why we all followed him at the start. He had no fear of any god damn thing. It got to be spooky though, after you were around it for a long while. It bordered on insane. Then the guy turned his bike around and just drove off.”
“Damn, what was his name?” Slammer growled as he racked his brains trying to think.
“Did Copperhead die?” Shotgun had to ask.
“I was the closest to him when he went down. Copperhead looked at Banger and asked what his brother meant when he called him the traitor. Banger shrugged and admitted to everyone a fact no one knew before. That when that traitor took off in the first place that it was Copperhead who told him where to find him. That was what he’d whispered to him after he beat him near to death. He told him that it had been his own brother that had ratted him out. It was a lie but Banger liked to play head games that way. He was sick and twisted.” Slammer shook his head. “A lot of the brothers lost some of their respect for Banger when they heard that.”
“But that was Banger wasn’t it?” Grinder looked disgusted. “Hell, by that time half the club didn’t trust him anymore. What we first took for courage and brains...turned out to be insanity and bizarreness. But like they always say. His madness had a method. We all knew he had a hidden agenda we just didn’t know what it was. He was losing it big time back then. He was so mistrusting of his own men he had everyone tracked. He fucking put trackers on everyone’s bike so if they did leave he could track them down and kill them for being a traitor. That’s how he found the fucking bastard. He thought nothing could touch him around that time. That’s why a few weeks later, he took on the Triad. We lost that fight big time, lost most of the men and had to rebuild or MC almost from the ground up.”
“And your man Copperhead?” Shotgun asked.
Slammer turned to him and said, “He died in my arms. His own blood brother killed him and Banger didn’t even seem to care. In fact from what we know, Banger set the whole thing up.” Shaking his head, he said, “I lost all my respect for him when I laid Copperhead to rest a few days later. He deserved so much more than he got.”
“If I remember correctly, Banger and Odie didn’t even show up for the services,” Grinder stated.
Slammer shook his head. “No they didn’t.” He thought back to that time. “They didn’t stop it though either.”
Grinder grunted. “They never let us give the man a proper headstone though did they? If they had, they would have lost half their men.” He shifted in his seat. “Copperhead’s death didn’t have to be, but Banger lied about his involvement in the bastard’s capture for his own pleasure. The men weren’t too happy about that and he needed everyone he could get to go up against the Triad.”
“That was something I guess that got ov
erlooked between then and now,” Slammer admitted. “Something we need to see to once this is over with.”
“If we live through this you mean,” grumbled Grinder.
“Damn it, I wish I could remember that prick’s name.” Slammer growled.
Just then, their IT brother joined them. Texas looked almost grim. “I did some checking on those photos that came in on Ivy’s phone tonight.”
Slammer looked at him. “And what did you find?”
“The tat on the prick’s hand is an Anaconda’s head.”
Slammer sat up and hit the table with his huge fist so hard that the coffee cups jumped.
Everyone else in the room jumped as well.
“That’s it! That was the prick’s road name. They called him Anaconda.” Slammer clenched his large fists. “So, this is revenge and on a club that isn’t even the same one anymore. It was for something Banger did. Well, of course it is. But why now, after all these years? Where has this Sonofabitch been?”
“I don’t know that yet, but I went through Banger’s old files and I found him in an old file. The head isn’t all of the anaconda he has tatted on his body. The man has the rest of the snake going up his arm and coiled on his chest. That snake is massive.”
“See if you can find out his real name and start running a search. We need to find him before he can find a way inside our gates.”
Texas nodded. “There’s not much in the files. I mean that’s why I don’t know this man’s history.”
Slammer nodded. “There wouldn’t be would there? Banger couldn’t read and he didn’t want to leave evidence someone else could use against him if he was ever raided or arrested.”
Texas just stared at Slammer. “How could a grown man not read?”
Slammer shrugged. “Banger had a mind as sharp as a steel trap. He quit going to school when he was ten years old. His old man wasn’t around, he’d already gone to prison for beating his wife half to death and she just didn’t care anymore. His mom could barely take care of herself let alone a growing boy. He left home finally when he was sixteen. Just turned his back on his mom and left her behind like a bad dream.”
“Yeah,” Grinder agreed. “He would tell us stories of how he’d raised himself to be a killer. Was robbing stores before he even got hair on his lip. He used to say. A heart of fucking stone and a mind like a steel trap. Only that killed him in the end.”
“Well, good riddance I say.” Shotgun was disgusted by what he heard here today.
“Banger always had a tell though,” Slammer interjected. “He watched people and he knew how to read them. Whenever he did this, he would twirl that beard of his. He also demanded respect but never gave any back. He was a user and a poser. He always said he was born of violence and he would die of violence. That was just it way he was.”
Grinder sighed. “Yeah, too bad, he took so many other good men with him when he died.”
Slammer nodded. “He did. We lost some good men that day and we ourselves barely made it out. We had a lot of good brothers, despite the leadership. God rest their souls.”
“Well, I will try to track this Anaconda down, but I don’t have a real name. Just his road name and that will make it tough.”
“Keep trying Texas. We need that info,” Slammer urged.
Chapter Two
Shotgun looked over through the cracks in the boards to see the sky was lightening up. A new day was upon them. “Well boss, what do you want us to do today?”
“I know everyone is tired and it’s been a long night, but I want a four by four hour watch set up. I’m going to check on my woman and get a few hours of sleep, then I’ll take my turn at watch.”
Shotgun nodded. “I can take first watch. I want to search the woods around the compound to see if our unwanted visitors are still around, watching from the shadows.”
“Good, but make sure you have cover and some backup. We don’t want to bury anyone else, brother.”
“Before you guys get going, we have to consider something else here.” Grinder stopped them from leaving.
“What’s that Grinder?” Slammer asked.
“I just thought about something. I guess reliving Banger’s time this morning brought this memory to mind.” He rubbed his hand along his jaw.
“What are you remembering?” Shotgun asked. Grinder was one man that usually had very little to say, he was more of an observer.
“I was one of the men that helped Banger form this MC. I remember following him to a few different places to set things up. He wanted a place that could be secure and well protected if anyone came after us. Did any of you guys know this place has a history?”
Slammer, Shotgun and even Texas shook his head.
“Well, it does. San Francisco was an important port back it the day. Shipping to and from Europe, and even to the north, this place was a stop on many routes. But this spot along the coast also had its share of unwelcome visitors back in the day. In fact, this very spot used to be a pirate cove. I can’t remember his name but one pirate always came back to this port. It’s rumored still even all these years later that he hid his treasure somewhere along this stretch of coast. I don’t think anything even remotely resembling pirate’s treasure was ever found around here but that was why we settled in this particular spot. Banger was looking for fucking pirate’s treasure of all god dammed things.” Grinder shrugged. “I don’t know why I never thought about that before. Maybe cuz it was ridiculous but it came to mind just now for some odd reason.”
Slammer shook his head. “I never knew this, but you’d been with him from the start. Did he think he was gonna be rich if he found it? That’s just a fairy tale, hell, there’s been rumors like this for fucking ever. Rumors like that are never true, yet they entice the simple minded into thinking of gold and riches beyond compare. The only thing is they are never true and the story keeps changing every time it’s told. Didn’t he realize whatever the pirate had was so long gone that he’d never find it. It was probably gone back in the pirate’s day. Or maybe, it never existed in the first damn place.”
Shotgun just shrugged. “This Banger sounds like he was certifiable.”
“That’s being kind and that’s something Banger never was.” Grinder grunted. “That bastard was bat shit crazy, crazy and just plain mean.”
Shotgun got to his feet and walked over to where Audrey was napping on the table. He shook her awake. “Can you do me a favor?”
Audrey nodded.
“Can you go and curl up with Bess, so I know she’s safe? I don’t want her to wake up alone and be afraid. I’m going outside and searching the woods...I want someone she trusts with her.”
Audrey smiled and nodded. Getting to her feet, Shotgun laid a hand on her shoulder. “Thanks for what you been doing for her. I’m afraid to say I haven’t been much of a father to her since she showed up.”
Audrey smiled. “I guess she was more than a little shock huh? I guess she threw us all for a loop.”
Shotgun nodded. “She did at that but I made it worse when I didn’t claim her as mine. I let the others ridicule her and make her feel useless. I didn’t know anything about kids and then when she didn’t speak, I didn’t know how to handle that.”
“Well, we know now why she doesn’t talk.” She quickly glanced over to the other table where the women sat and then back to Shotgun. “I asked Ivy to help me learn how to talk to her. I just hope those three will leave her alone now.”
“They’d better or they’re gone.” Shotgun growled.
Audrey shook her head. “They don’t think you’ll do it. But I’ll watch out for Bess.”
“Thanks.” Shotgun patted her on the shoulder and then went to the back door.
Slammer motioned for Pacer and Jax to go out and watch his back.
On his way out, Shotgun strapped on his weapon of choice. Nothing could stand up to his gun. If he was going to run into any of the bad guys, he wanted to be prepared. Then he disappeared into the sunlight.
&nbs
p; River woke up when the sun came up over the eastern horizon. She could no longer hide in the shadows. Her camp was hidden for the most part but anyone looking for something that shouldn’t be there would find her.
She had finally reached this place and she needed to finish her quest with no one being the wiser. She couldn’t be found and certainly not by a certain someone, she’d feared all her life. As soon as she hit this town, she heard he was here but she couldn’t leave yet. She needed to know the truth about what happened here fifteen years ago and she wanted to hear that truth from someone who actually saw it happen.
She laid there for a moment and reached for the locket around her neck. Grasping the warm metal of the locket, she prayed they would forgive her for coming here. She left them a week ago, then four days later... she got a call from the police. A call from the police was never a good thing and this news changed her life forever.
Her parents died the night before in a fire that had been set on purpose. She was devastated and had to wonder if he had finally found them. She couldn’t believe he’d found them after all these years when he should have thought they were all dead already after that last bomb he shoved under their porch all those years ago.
After fifteen years of moving around and living like fugitives, her parents finally settled in one place for more than six months.
How he found them didn’t matter anymore. He found them and he’d burned them out. She would be dead if she hadn’t left when she did. But that didn’t help make her feel any better. Her parents were gone and she had no real family left. She was alone in the world and had no one now but she’d be damned if she’d let him find her. She knew he would kill her too. She felt safe for now, he thought she had burnt with their parents but she hadn’t. And she wasn’t going to give him any sign that she was still alive. It was for sure that he wouldn’t rest until she was gone too.
