by Adair Rymer
“How'd you swing that?” I kept as much skepticism from my tone as possible. What I really wanted to know was whose bed we were in now and how much did they want to fuck us?
“I told them about our other cargo.” Tex cocked his head toward Maya.
It made sense that Tex would throw the Maya card. It was his only real play. Maya's club, the Hangers, was the Iron Legion's chief rival. It looked good that we could hurt the Hangers by escorting their president's daughter away from their club to turn evidence against them. I just didn't think a protection run would have enough weight to offset the loss of a small fortune in drugs.
That had to be what Skids was worried about, but why? Hangers didn't have the reach to retaliate all the way out to Topeka. It had to be something else. There was a pit in my stomach as I waited for the other shoe to drop.
“I had to make another call to verify it, but it turns out the girl isn't who we thought she was. Turns out she's Maya Merritt, daughter of Bruce “Slick” Merritt, the president of the Blue Angels MC.”
Oh shit. Dammit, Maya why didn't you tell me! The Blue Angels was one of the biggest MC's in the country. They dwarfed both the Iron Legion and Hangers combined. They were One Percenters, some serious bad news.
A lot of things started falling into place like how she and Skids could actually be related. That's why Maya was so guarded about her family. I could only imagine how rough she and her sister had it growing up. No wonder she came to Skids... she thought only family would be willing to help her.
“What did you do, Tex?” I pulled out my pistol but held it down by my thigh. I didn't like where this was headed. He had to have made a deal with the Angels to get the Legion to back off. I was not about to let that fucking weasel touch Maya.
“I saved our lives is what I did. Put the gun away, Hendrix.” Tex raised his empty hands slowly.
I glanced back at Skids and Maya. Maya looked very nervous. Skids stood in front of her, his military background apparent in his posture and fixed, defiant gaze. Skids was steadfast, he wasn't going to let anything happen to his niece.
“What does that mean for us, Tex?” I thumbed off the safety of the pistol in my hand.
“It means that if we just bring her back to Slick, her father, not only do we get protection against Iron Legion blowback but we also get a full patch over. Apparently, he is really interested in getting his daughter back.”
“That's not going to happen. Slick'll kill her.” Skids stated flatly. It was as matter-of-fact as claiming that the sky was blue or that water was wet. I could tell that nothing Tex said would make Skids' resolve waver. As long as Skids was with Maya, she wasn't going anywhere near her father. It was admirable.
I imagined having someone you care about relying on you like that could make a man even stronger. Give him a sense of purpose. Something larger than just himself to fight for. I wondered if I'd ever have something like that. That was never a thought I'd have had before meeting Maya.
“He told me explicitly that nothing would happen to her. He just wants to talk to her. He's her father for fuck's sake. Let's everyone calm down.” Tex interrupted. “We'll put it to a vote. All in favor of taking the deal? Aye.”
The vote wasn't even close, this time even Miles caved. Only Skids and I were Nay votes. I didn't trust a slimy word out of Tex's mouth and I sure as hell didn't want to be indebted to yet another club. Our record for buddying up with bigger clubs has been pretty shitty so far, and I wasn't eager to try it again.
Behind all that, if I was being honest, my hesitance with the vote was all about Maya. I couldn't deny that I'd grown to actually like the girl. I had to hope that her father didn't know why she was with us. Even among criminals he had a cruel reputation. Could he really kill his own daughter though? It was hard for me to wrap my head around.
It didn't matter now, we were outvoted. There was nothing I could do for her. I had to put my gun away. Maya was going home after all. At least for now.
I started walking over to Skids. I'd somehow have to convince him to let Maya go or else things would get messy. I'd tell him that it was a long ride back to St. Louis and that between the two of us I'm sure we could figure out a way for her to get lost in transit. It was going to be a tough sell but he listened to me for the most part.
“There was one other condition that was a deal breaker otherwise...” Tex let the words hang. He shook his head, then looked at his guys for support.
Tex pulled out his gun and shot Skids in the chest three times.
Maya screamed. My gun was out and on Tex by the third round, everyone else followed suit. Tex immediately dropped his gun and put his hands up.
“Skids! Say something,” I cried out for him to answer, briskly jogging to him while keeping my gun trained on Tex.
“Skids' real last name was Merritt. He was Slick's brother. If we didn't kill Skids and deliver Maya, Slick told me that the Blue Angels would erase us. Our clubhouse, our businesses, our families... everything. It was him or us. I had no choice. I'm sorry.”
“Shut your fucking mouth, Tex!” When I got to Skids, his plaid, button-up shirt bloomed in deep crimson. He lay there, eyes wide open, awake and alert but was struggling to breathe. Seeing that the other guys had Tex, I dropped my gun and ripped open Skids' shirt.
One of the bullets pierced his lung. He was dying.
Maya was obviously rattled but was able to push past that and began putting pressure on his wounds. “Robbie! Uncle Robbie, stay with me. We're going to get you to a hospital.”
“Hendrix, we have to help him.” She looked at me with watery, pleading eyes.
I grimaced because I knew a hospital wasn't going to happen. Skids couldn't ride and with the van gone we had no way of moving him. I ripped long shreds off Skids' shirt and helped Maya stem the blood flow.
If we called for an ambulance, there was no way one was showing up to an abandoned train station in response to a gunshot victim without a police escort. With the wake of destruction we left at the Wild Boys clubhouse and a highway full of coke from the wrecked van, the police were the last thing the rest of the guys would go for. We needed an off-the-books doctor.
“Hold on, brother.” My bloodied hands riffled through my phone urgently looking for any contacts that might be able to help. The first few numbers I tried were disconnected. Five years removed from a culture of people who used primarily disposable phones. It might as well have been an eternity. I was probably the only motherfucker that had the same goddamn number!
Skids breathing went from labored wheezing to ragged coughing. He was choking on his own blood. Frustrated at running out of time to help my friend, I crushed the phone in my hand then whipped worthless marvel of technology into a steel beam, shattering it.
“What the fuck are you all standing around for, call someone!” I screamed at them.
“This has to happen, Junk. Let him go.” Tex calmly explained, his hands still in the air.
I was stunned to see the other members had lowered the guns they had pointed at Tex. What the fuck happened to this club, that something like this was allowed to stand? Tex shot a member in front of everyone! My heart boiled over with betrayal and hate.
I couldn't think straight. It all came crashing down, the pact, the brotherhood, everything I had started this club for. We were supposed to be family! Now my closest friend was bleeding out. I didn't have anyone else outside of the club.
“No one gets to kill us! Not the Wild Boys, not the Angels, and not you, Tex.” Venomous rage dripped from each of my syllables.
Skids grabbed my arm and stared at me intently, occasionally flicking his gaze over to Maya. There was no fear in his eyes just the grim determination of a dying man trying to relay one last message. He could no longer speak but his look said everything.
Keep her safe.
Then Skids used the last of his strength to push us away. One of the bullets shredded an artery. There was too much blood to even slow the bleeding, let alone stop it.
Not even an ambulance would get here in time. He knew it was the end and he decided to face it the only way he knew how. On his terms.
“No... Don't do this. We can help, we can...” Maya struggled with him, not allowing him to deny her help.
One eye closed, the other struggling to stay open, Skids looked back at me. I put my head down and exhaled. I grabbed Maya and pulled her away. She thrashed against me, trying to get back to him but there was nothing she could do. Nothing either of us could.
No one else moved or spoke, aside from just lowering their heads as well. When Maya finally stopped protesting, she hugged me and softly cried into my shoulder. Skids slipped into unconsciousness, his hacked, coughing gasps came sporadically, each time weakening until they didn't come at all.
The only sounds left were that of birds chirping and the wind swaying clusters of branches along tree tops.
My friend, Skids... my friend Robert was dead.
Maya slipped free of my loosening grip and held Robbie's hand. I stood and a wave of numbness rolled over me. My vision tunneled down into the immediate. I was a man inside my own head watching my body move almost automatically. I walked directly to Tex at a slow gait that picked up gradually as I got closer. My gun was abandoned somewhere behind me. My fists trembled.
“Hendrix... I know it's hard, but you have to listen to me. It was the only way! You have to think about the bigger picture here!” Tex said more than that but only one in a few sentences pierced my haze.
As Tex spoke, he hurriedly went for his gun. His guys grabbed at me, trying to stop what they knew came next. So singular was my focus that I barely noticed them at first. People were saying things to me but I didn't hear them. The whole thing was blurry. There was grabbing and then blows landed.
Each man that got in my way crumbled to the ground seconds later. My world narrowed to that of only Tex and me. And there was one too many men alive in it.
“Hendrix, listen! Listen dammit! I—” The blur of motion ended with my hand around Tex's throat, choking his words off. A gunshot rang out somewhere close.
Tex struggled get his gun around to shoot me but I slapped it away. His hands clawed at me, dragging long lines down my face, searching for my eyes. One of his fingers slid into my mouth as he desperately lashed at me. I sunk my teeth into the fleshy digit and tore it from his hand, then spat it in his face.
The veins in my arms raised with the exertion. My hands now shook violently. I could feel his pulse weaken beneath my grip. I leaned closer, letting the weight of my body add to my strength as I strangled Tex. The cartilage in his neck clicked rapidly and cracked, his larynx and trachea popped, then collapsed. I watched his eyes bulge and the color drain from his skin.
His eyes brimmed with tears, disbelief and terror. I watched the flickering electricity fade from his pupils. I rode his writhing as it slowed to a stop. Then the spasms stopped too.
He'd killed my last friend. I couldn't live in any world that he was alive.
Bloody drool droplets fell from me and splashed color onto his ashen, light blue face. Tex's bowels loosed and his pants darkened with urine. The corpse's head lulled and bobbed as I squeezed even tighter. My corded arms threatened to tear it off completely.
“Let him go, Junk. It's done.” I looked up. Miles had his gun drawn and kept the other guys at bay but it wasn't really necessary anymore. They had only tried to stop me because of their allegiance to Tex. Had they wanted to, they could have overpowered Miles and shot me but on some level they all had to know that it needed to happen.
It didn't matter the reason behind it. When a member kills another member without a vote there was always retaliation, often immediately. Tex lost sight of that. He thought that it didn't apply to him because he was the club. Looking around at the rest of the members made me feel like Tex was right. If I hadn't done what I did, they might have let him walk because of his reasoning.
I would never let something like that slide, Robbie wouldn't have either. No, not even the president was above that law. It was the very foundation of the Coffin Eaters. The old Coffin Eaters...
I rose to my feet as the haze had started to lift. My arms pulsed, vibrating with residual energy. My mouth was reddened from the bloody finger and I was covered in sweat. My eye twitched as I matched glances with each man in turn. Their discomfort at my brutality was written on their face. Most had their guns out in case I turned on them next.
It was Maya's terrified gaze that woke me fully. It brought me back from the primal brink. I couldn't meet her eyes for long. I looked away and exhaled. She had a knack at seeing me at my worst.
I felt exposed, rightfully so, I guess. I'd just killed a man.
It wasn't the killing that bothered me. Tex deserved it. What frightened me was how easy and quickly I had lost control. I could've just shot him and been done with it, but every step toward him made my heart race and sank me deeper into the depths of unyielding rage.
Miles stepped up and took control, he called out orders. “Everyone, mount up, we gotta go. Lump, take Maya.”
What did he say? Take Maya? Where?
“What is this?” I wasn't just going to let someone else take Maya after what happened to Robbie.
“I didn't know what Tex was going to do. Skids... I'm going to miss him.” Miles picked up my gun.“Tex was a worthless piece of shit but we're going to finish that deal with the Angels.”
“Miles, you can't, man. You know Slick's rep, what he might do. Maya is Robbie's niece. He's not even cold and you're talking about delivering her to a monster like Slick?”
“Jesus, brother, look at yourself. We're all fucking monsters.”
I looked over at Maya. The trouble she had at meeting my gaze stung me worse than a gunshot. I turned back to Miles. “She's not.”
“We don't have a choice!” It was a long time since I'd seen Miles get riled up. “The Blue Angels weren't bluffing. It's either her or us. It's what's best for the club. I'm sorry.” Miles' tone was loaded with resignation.
He frowned and pulled his gun then shot the front tire of my bike.
“Don't do this, Miles.” Of all of us I couldn't believe Miles would be the one to finish Tex's work. I guess it was a long five years for everyone.
Miles shook his head. “By the time you get it towed back to the clubhouse, all this will be over. I'll get you everything that's owed to you. As acting president, I'll make sure you're voted out in good standing with both the Coffin Eaters and the Blue Angels.
“You get your full freedom, brother. Everything you wanted.” He slid out and pocketed the clip, then racked the slide, which popped the last chambered round from the gun, completely emptying it.
Finally he tossed the harmless weapon back to me. “All you gotta do now is nothing.”
“Hendrix! Hendrix, please don't let them do this— Get your fucking hands off of me! Hendrix. Hendrix!” Maya struggled and pleaded but I just stood there and watched them drag her off. If I made a move toward them, Miles would've shot one of my legs. That was if one of the other guys didn't outright kill me.
All I could do was watch.
The bikes started up and they all sped off. The sound of Maya screaming my name was quickly drowned out by the engines and the distance. Miles tossed my clip to the ground when they were far enough away that I wouldn't be able to get to it before they were gone. Soon after that, they were gone from sight.
Maya was out of my life.
I sat in the dirt between the bodies of my best friend and worst enemy. I sat there thinking.
In the end which of them had I become? I got what I wanted but at what cost?
Complete freedom, protection by a much larger club and enough money to start again in any life that I chose. It was everything I'd wanted since getting out and it was laid at my feet. All I had to do was nothing.
I'd even got my revenge against the man who killed my friend. What else was left for me to want? Beneath the tremendous amount of grief for my friend, I should h
ave felt at least a little bit of closure and relief at how it was all over now. I could go my own way and never look over my shoulder again.
My new life started right now.
Beneath the grief was just a sense of loss. I felt like I was in prison trying to imagine what the stars looked like. Trying to feel connected to something but just floating alone through space. There was a pit inside of me that I knew couldn't be filled by pussy, money, or freedom.
The rustling trees swayed indifferently. For hours, I swore I could still hear Maya call my name on the wind. I saw her face when I closed my eyes. I could lie to myself all I wanted, but if the Blue Angels were willing to risk us killing each other by ordering Robbie shot, then there was no way they were going to let Maya live.
I crawled over to Robbie. “She wanted to leave, go home, and I talked her into staying the course. I didn't know it was the Angels she was running from but, shit, I can't pawn it off on that. This is on me. I'm sorry, brother.” It was a worthless apology. The damage was already done.
I looked over at him. Robbie's top half was ringed in a darker brown from the dirt drinking up most of his blood. A little past him, I saw a glint of light off of something metallic. It was his pocket watch. It must have slipped out when he was shot. I wiped it off and opened it.
The clock had stopped. The knob that set the time was broken off. It looked like it had been stopped for awhile. Why would he have a pocket watch that didn't work? Robbie was a problem solver. He's the kind of guy that filled his down time with straightening things out and fixing things up. There was no way he'd be carrying around something without a function.
Then I saw the picture under the cover on the opposite face. It was of a woman and a baby. The resemblance was uncanny. It had to be Maya's mother. The baby in the picture wasn't Maya though. It must've been her sister, Anna.
The one physical possession that Robbie valued was a broken watch with a picture of his estranged brother's family in it? Nothing about that added up. The one possibility I could think of didn't make any sense at all. I closed the watch and pocketed it.
