Doc

by Harley McRide

  Shady grinned and shook her head. “Delusional.”

  “Right?” Harmony snorted and looked at Fork and Creed.

  “Ours is a he too,” Fork snapped, and Harmony shook her head.

  Sunshine giggled and said, “No worries, it lightened the moment, besides, when I was pregnant, all I wanted was the Arby’s Meat Mountain.”

  Harmony leaned forward. “Never heard of that.”

  “Yeah, it is one of those secret menu things, you know how fast foods all have them. Anyway, it has every meat on the menu in one sandwich with swiss cheese and their BBQ and Horsey sauce. It was life changing,” Sunshine said, staring dreamily into space.

  Fling shook his head. “Freaked me out when she would devour the whole thing.”

  Sunshine slapped him in the back of the head and said, “It was necessary.”

  “Moving on,” Fling said, rubbing his head. “So, this apparently is a record of the jobs this person has done, all the clients, the jobs, and the payments. There is a hit list in here he has not completed, either jobs he couldn’t accomplish or ones he hasn’t done yet. I gotta say, I was surprised about the way the list was written, some of the jobs, even though they were done seemed to add people. It was like with every kill, the one who hired this fucker for the job, kept adding more people. When one job was done, they were given a new name or two and so on. Each centered around the Ops and the Lady Riders.”

  “WHAT?” Creed roared and grabbed the stack of paper. He flipped through them until he reached almost three pages. He started at the beginning and began to read out loud. “Candy (marked killed), Monk (marked killed), Reyes (he is crossed out), Raph (with a star), The General (star), Dani (with a ?), Fish (star), Freedom (star), Harmony (star), Shady (two stars), Jas (an @). There are a shit ton more, all with the location of where the people are at and their current schedules, fuck, he even has your 7-11 runs listed.”

  The room was silent, and Doc leaned forward. “How the fuck could this all be connected, it doesn’t make sense.”

  Shady held out her hand for the papers, and Creed handed them over. The woman looked at every page, and grabbed a pen off Fling’s desk and began to draw lines through the papers and making notes. They all sat and watched, and no one interrupted even though Doc had wanted to on many occasions, Fish pressed her hand on her thigh several times to stop her, but she was getting impatient. Fuck, they were the new ones to the club, and they had no idea what the fuck they were getting into.

  Honestly, the Sisters had enough fucking enemies, they didn’t need any more. They had been watching their sixes ever since they got out. They may have been a secret unit, but the jobs they did were not all secret. Some of them were public, and a lot of people hated the Sisters, even if they didn’t know it was them they were supposed to hate.

  Finally, after what seemed like hours, Shady looked up. Doc saw the look in the other woman’s eyes, and she focused on Harmony, and they almost seemed to be communicating. Both women, who moments before had a loving look in their eyes when they were talking about their babies, now looked like deadly killers, which was a little unnerving really.

  Shady looked at Fling and then slid the papers back and said with a dead voice, “It is my mother, she has been a client for a long time. So, if I would have to guess, I would say a lot of the people I marked we have a connection to. Which makes it kinda convenient don’t you think, especially since it looks like they have our newest movements when were on lockdown.”

  Everyone leaned up and looked at the marks on the papers. Doc frowned and saw SS at the bottom of one of the pages, no one singularly, they were listed as a whole group. She turned her head a little and then whispered, “Some of this was before we moved.”

  Fish leaned close and said, “Yeah?”

  “No, you don’t get it, before we left our old building, we literally didn’t go outside. How in the fuck did they have some of mine and Mav’s meeting times? There were like four, one a week before we left, we made sure all our stuff was square, but none of the others knew about them. Shadow’s name is bolded and has an exclamation point on it, same with Boony’s, they know who can find them. They are trying to erase the competition.”

  “That may be, but we also have some other shit going on here. It’s not just Shady’s mother. When Merlin was in Canada, someone was using government assets to cause the Furies problems, I don’t see how one can be connected with another,” Fling said slowly.

  “Then we have more than one problem on our hands, and since the clubs are united, it means we will deal with all of it together,” Creed said, and Fork nodded.

  “Bottom line, my mother is part of this,” Shady said, and she looked at Doc straight in the eye. “And we are going to need all the help we can get, she has already proven difficult to deal with.”

  Doc nodded. “The Sisters are in.”

  “You don’t want to talk to them first?” Harmony asked, and Doc looked at her.

  “Nope,” Doc said. “They trust me.”

  Shady stared at her and then nodded. “This is going to get messy, you all know my mother apparently has a lot of money at her disposal.”

  Fling shrugged. “So do we.”

  “So how do we focus on everything? Letting any of this shit be put on the back burner is not an option. Which means we will be spread thin. It’s not something that is wise. None of these people are going to just let it lay, they will come back at us with guns a barreling. We need to be prepared, there is no other option, ‘cause if any of us get caught with our pants down, it’s not going to be good. Now, we need to figure this shit out, who is doing what?” Creed said.

  “Break it down,” Fling said and then continued. “You have been dealing with Shay’s mom for a while now, and not trying to be a dick, but it has gotten you guys nowhere. And neither have we. Every turn we hit a brick wall. Ironside is getting pissed about have to be politically correct.”

  Creed nodded and then Shady said, “Those are not the only problems, it’s the people they are hiring as well. They are using distractions to get what they want. While last night was intense and fucked up, if they really wanted us dead they would have sent someone a little better. They have already tried the route from the ocean side, it didn’t work the last time, and seriously, if you think these assholes didn’t know that, then you are on crack. Then,” she continued and motioned with her head to Fling, “the Furies also have their little side job going on.”

  Fling said quickly, “We have delayed any missions.”

  “So, innocents can be killed while we sort our shit?” Shady fired back and frowned. “And what if one of the people you are supposed to be protecting is the one who could blow this shit wide open? They are focusing on these people for a reason, now it may not have shit to do with our situation, but honest to God, I am a cold bitch, but not when it comes to people who are casualties in my war.”

  Fling sat back, “Fuck.”

  Shady nodded. “Yeah, fuck.”

  Doc leaned forward, “I know we are new to this whole thing you all have going on here, but honestly, I am sick of getting fucking shot at, and shit, these fucking assholes need to be buried. Now, currently, we don’t have as many people wanting to kill us, but that doesn’t mean the Sisters are going to sit back and let you all deal with something that needs all our help. At this fucking table, we have more connections in the military than active units. So how about this, the Sisters deal with the cunt-a-mom because most of us have mommy issues and will kill the bitch if we even get one clear shot. Ops, you deal with the government-whores, ‘cause I know for a fact, you may be on their radar as a tiny blip with your crazy asses, but the Sisters and Furies are lighting up their screen bigger than shit. Fling and Shady, deal with all the mercenary for hire assholes who seem to be after us. I mean shit, everyone and their brother want a piece of us it seems, so we deal and go with it. All of us get the weapons experts together to check our arsenals to make sure we have enough to start World War III. And eac
h of us picks the sneaky bastards in our clubs, and they can be the ones who figure out a place we can take this fight, and not draw too much attention, which could be a third-world country, but hey, ruin theirs not ours.”

  Everyone was silent as they stared at Doc and then she looked at Fish, “Too much?”

  He grinned and said, “Nah, they just know you are right, and they are pissed they didn’t think of it.”

  Doc lifted her head and shrugged, “Oh cool, so are we on the same page here?”

  They all nodded, but before they could talk, there was a knock on the door. Fling grabbed the papers and turned them over. “Come in.”

  Marbles stuck her head and in said, “Dani is awake.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The leaders as a group got up and walked quickly out the room. They saw all the clubs looking at them expectantly. There was no sign of the Sisters, Slick or Jack-Jack. Fuck, Doc thought, this could turn out very, very badly. She walked quicker, and Fish felt her mood change from excited to almost desperate to get to where she was going. As they walked into the clubhouse of the Ops, she knew why the yelling was loud. She could hear both the Sisters, Jack-Jack and Slick, shit, there could be bloodshed.

  Doc pulled away from Fish, who refused to let her totally go, he just grabbed her hand and met her stride as they moved. When they entered the crowded room, Doc took in the situation quickly.

  Dani had been sat up in bed, she noticed that the head was raised. Boo was in the corner, looking at the reading on the machines, as well as attempting to change a bag of fluids while the two men were pushing in, and Gypsy and Tiny were standing guard. The men were not dealing well. Fish saw the same thing, and then he yelled.

  “Goddammit, can you all fucking get out of here until they get her stable and comfortable. You guys yelling is hurting Dani, you are fucking idiots.”

  “I am just fucking trying to get her to understand Jack-Jack and I have rights to be here as well,” Slick snapped.

  “No, you fucking don’t, the minute you and your idiot friend just left Dani…” Gypsy yelled, and Slick pointed a finger at her.

  “Listen, you do not know dick…”

  “And I don’t fucking want to know anything about your dick you man-whore,” Gypsy snapped, and Fish just raised his hand and whistled loudly.

  “Did you hear what the fuck I said? Clear out!”

  Everyone stopped and looked at Dani, who not only looked very confused but also had tears in her eyes as she watched the drama unfold. Doc moved behind Gypsy and looked at Dani.

  “Hey, honey,” Doc said softly. “Can you look at me?”

  Dani didn’t turn at first, not until Doc looked over her shoulder and saw Fish pulling out the guys, and then whispering to the girls softly and urging them to leave for a few minutes. When Fish closed the door, it was only Boo, Fish, Doc, and Dani in the room, and it felt less heavy. Dani turned her head and stared at Doc.

  “W-W-What is…” she tried to say, but then burst into tears and put her hands on her face.

  Doc looked up at Boo who was frowning, she pulled out her phone and hit the speed dial. Doc knew she was calling the doctor. She gently took Dani’s hands and pulled them down. “Come on, honey, it’s good, stop all the crying. Hell, we just got you awake for the first time in a while, I don’t want you to decide to go back to sleep.”

  Dani lifted her eyes and she opened her mouth. “W-W-What is w-w-wrong?”

  Doc kept her face from changing, she wasn’t going to show Dani how worried she was right now. Damn it all to fucking hell, why Dani? Doc thought and then smiled through her worry. The stuttering could mean she had a little bit of fluid still putting pressure on parts of her brain. Doc didn’t want to think about that right now, she was just happy Dani was actually sitting up and awake.

  “Well, you have a head injury, and sometimes it just takes a while for it to reboot. How about for right now, you let me and Boo look you over,” Doc asked, and Dani looked at Fish and frowned.

  “W-W-Why is F-F-Fish h-h-here?” Dani asked, and Doc looked over her shoulder.

  “Well, seems me and the old man over there were meant to be,” Doc said, and Dani’s eyes went wide.

  “R-R-Really?” she asked, and Doc grinned.

  “Yep,” she said, and Fish smiled.

  “I will step out and make sure everyone is behaving okay,” Fish said and looked at Doc and Dani, then to Boo who was hanging up the phone.

  “Doctor is on his way,” Boo announced quietly and then looked at Dani. “You will like him, he is the one who really saved your life.”

  Dani frowned as Fish began to walk away, and Doc said, “Babe, hang on.”

  Fish turned and frowned and then walked back to the bottom of the bed and said, “You need something, Dani?”

  The young woman had tears in her eyes and she took a deep breath. “H-H-How is e-e-everyone h-h-here?”

  Doc shook her head. “Dani?”

  Dani shook her head frustrated and then pointed to the pen and paper on the small desk. Boo grabbed it and gave it to Dani. The young woman was writing furiously. Finally, she stopped and handed the paper to Doc who scanned it, and Fish could see the frown beginning to form. His woman looked up at him with pain in her eyes and then she turned to Dani.

  “Do you know where you are?” Doc asked slowly, and Dani looked at her confused and she nodded and pointed to the paper. Doc stood and walked to Fish and handed him the paper and then ran a hand over her face and motioned for Boo to come as well and read what Dani wrote.

  She was going to need to deal with this, fuck, how the hell was she going to deal with this shit with everything going on? If they had been presented with this in the field, they would have sent the patient immediately home to deal with these issues, which meant, Doc had never really dealt with this. Gypsy was going to be pissed the fuck off.

  Fish frowned as he read the message Dani had written.

  How did everyone get to Germany? And why is everyone here? They will be transporting me stateside, right? I don’t understand, it was a concussion blast, I am fine, just shaken, the doctor said it was a precaution they were sending me home.

  Doc was back sitting next to Dani, and she said, “Oh, Dani, I need to know where the blast happened?”

  Dani took the clean pad that Doc had and wrote something down. Fish and Boo moved to see what she said. Doc tilted the page as she nodded to Dani.

  Kabul

  Doc sighed and then said, “Honey, you are in San Diego.”

  Dani leaned back with a frown and she shook her head and grabbed the paper.

  No, the doctor I spoke to was in Germany, Ramstein, you know this, you were assigned close to us. Dani looked at Fish confused. I know you, but I didn’t know you then.

  Fish rubbed the back of his neck, well shit. Doc nodded. “You know Fish?”

  Dani nodded and then wrote something.

  He has a daughter, Harmony, she is a PI who called me a few times to ask some questions about some of the missions the Ops had. She was making sure their asses were covered.

  Fish closed his eyes, he knew Harmony looked into that when she started being a PI. She hadn’t told the guys, though, and Fish had not known she went to Dani. He had met the woman a few times right when the guys all returned from their service, he had really thought that Slick and Jack-Jack were going to claim her right off the bat. But the guys had fucked shit up because of their PTSD. Those two had the worst of it in the clubs, hell, even Maxi wasn’t as bad as them, and that was saying a fuck of a lot. The day Dani left, Fish had been the one to take her to the airport because the club was all busy trying to handle Jack-Jack and Slick since they went on a rampage.

  Doc nodded. “Okay, Dani, why don’t you rest while Boo and I talk to the others, and we figure this out.”

  Dani narrowed her eyes, but you could see the exhaustion on her face. Fuck, she had been asleep a month and was tired again. The shit this little woman has had to go through. Dani finally nodde
d, but she didn’t look happy. After looking at her chart and whispering to Boo, the trio finally left Dani who had fallen asleep before they made it to the door.

  Fish opened the door and held up a hand to everyone in the hallway. It was packed, and Fish said quietly, “In the main room, she is sleeping.”

  Doc saw Slick and Jack-Jack both pause, they didn’t want to leave Dani, and she glared at the duo. She didn’t give a shit if they were here now, they hadn’t been there when Dani was such a mess that she could barely get up in the mornings. Doc and the other Sisters were there, and it was bad. She remembered the long nights of Dani crying, she had suffered a lot, but most of it was because of her issues as well, which the idiots had never talked to her about. They hadn’t made the time to get to know Dani. Instead, they had fucked her and cut her loose.

  When they entered the large club room, Gypsy said quickly, “Tell us.”

  Doc took a deep breath. “Okay listen, Boo and I are calling in another doctor, a specialist. We knew when Dani woke up we would need to see if there were any issues due to her head injuries, and there is.”

  Gypsy nodded and said, “And?”

  “She is having problems talking, she has a stutter, which I am sure they will be able to help improve. She also is having an issue with memory. Now, we are going to get the best doctor in the country for her, you gotta know that. At the current time, she thinks she is in Germany after the blast that took out the com center in Kabul,” Doc said, and everyone went silent.

  “But,” Gypsy said slowly, “that was like what, six years ago?”

  Doc nodded. “So right now, she needs rest and meds, we will deal with shit as we go, but seriously, you guys screaming and yelling in her room, so not good for her. She is confused, and she knows there is something wrong. Until we speak to a doctor, everyone and I mean everyone who goes in that room, does not talk about shit that will upset her.”