L. Ann Marie

by Tailley (MC 6)

  Digs: “VP you’re on with LP2, Digs at control, LP1 is in the room.”

  VP: “He’s out but breathin. We’re stoppin at the hospital, four minutes out. MD says he can make it home but I’m stoppin. Blackhawk needs fuel and a fuckin minute.”

  Rich: “Roger, VP. Call with an update at the hospital. Baxter Security is with you the whole way or do you need Hammer to cover the hospital?”

  VP: “Negative. Baxter is on Pres Security.” We all take a breath.

  Rich: “Roger, VP. We’ll wait for your call.”

  VP: “VP out.”

  Beau: “Woody to LP2 MC Ops.”

  Rich: “LP2 on Woody.”

  Beau: “One relays you have six BS with Pres now. Blackhawk will stand ready for transport. He’s refueling, reloading, then standing ready with two BS. Eagle Feather is on his way to the Club.”

  Rich: “Roger, Woody. Is your compound secure?”

  Beau: “Roger, LP2. HS is headed home. One gave compliments to Knight but asked me to repeat for you. ‘Professional and fuckin good’, were his exact words.” We all smile like pussies.

  Rich: “Roger, Woody. Appreciate it.”

  Beau: “Woody out.”

  Digs keys something then looks up with a nod. “Fuckin nice, coming from Baxter’s.”

  Rich smiles, “Yeah. Get me on with LB.”

  Danny takes a call, I know it’s VP. He walks out to the hall. I stand at the back and wait. Fuckin Pres was carried out over VP’s shoulder. He’s fuckin six four and solid. He had to be out; I hope he’s fuckin alright. VP will go ballistic on the fuckin one percenters.

  “Fuckin kids!” Rich says excited. I move over and watch the boards. “Good job, Brantley!” We’re watching the hospital feed. VP is pacing outside a room with two BS, talking on his phone.

  I go out and get Danny, waving at him to come in. He looks, then walks in and watches the board as he talks. We can see a doctor working on Pres through the glass. “Get Cloud to land on the street. I’ll have Doc waiting. The kids are at my house already.” He listens. “You listen! You get him patched up and get him to the fuckin house with the kids! You can fuck around all you want after that! Fuck, I’ll even help you but get him the fuck home first! You and Cloud are the best fuckin Security we can have for him!” He listens again. We watch VP’s hands moving. “You are not leaving our fuckin President in the hands of BS; he deserves Brothers at his back! He’d do it for you and you fuckin know it! Get him the fuck home then you can go after whoever the fuck is left!” He stops. We watch VP stop and watch through the glass, his head goes down. “Thanks, Brother. We have fuckin Congressman Brad here. He was picked up sitting on Main after the explosion at the front gate. A Prospect brought us lunch but gave him a funny look. The Prospect picked up the food from a truck close to the PD. It was poisoned. Congressman seemed to know something about that too. We could use your help here, VP.” We watch VP’s shoulders slump, he nods and puts his phone in his pocket. “Fuckin psychotic Brothers.” Danny swipes his phone and pockets it.

  “Thanks.” Rich says. Danny throws him chin.

  I call Doc and ask him to come to Surveillance. It takes him two minutes, he stands and watches with us. “What do you know?”

  “Bleeding from his head and around his eye. Shot to the upper arm. Jake stopped the bleeding and was pushing to get him home. VP wanted to dump him on BS and take Cloud to find the rest of the one percenters.” Danny tells him.

  “Jake was pushing to get him home because of Steve or because Pres is stable?” He asks. Danny pulls his phone and walks out the door again. Fuck.

  “He’s moving!” Digs yells. Steve walks in the room with him. The doctor says something to him and he pulls his gun out. “Oh Fuck!”

  “Who the fuck is in the hospital with him? I need to get him the fuck out of there!” Rich is yelling. The doctor puts his hands up and VP puts his gun away. He goes to Pres and talks to him. “Thank fuck!” Jake runs to the room, BS moves aside for him. He talks to Pres and VP. He says something to the doctor then helps Pres stand up. I turn to get Danny and see he’s behind me watching with a smile.

  They each get a shoulder and walk him to the elevator. BS is standing behind them looking the opposite way; they are trained well.

  Cloud: “Blackhawk to MC Ops.”

  Rich: “LP2 on Ops, Blackhawk.”

  Cloud: “Blackhawk standing ready to transport back to the yard.”

  Rich: “Affirmative, Blackhawk. Follow command to transport to the yard.”

  Cloud: “Roger, LP2. That’s what I was looking for.” We all laugh.

  Danny shakes his head. “He knows Steve well.”

  My leg is starting to bother me so I look around and take a seat at the back table. Doc comes over. “You rode for Ops?” I nod. “Need something now?”

  “I don’t know what’s next here. I can’t until I know I’m not needed.” He looks over at Rich. Thank fuck he’s talking to someone and watching the boards. “I got this, Doc. I just needed to sit for a few. If it gets bad, I’ll let you know.”

  He shakes his head. “No you won’t. Stubborn fuckers, all of you.” Digging in his bag he pulls some pills and hands them to me. “Advil.” I throw chin and swallow them.

  Tiny comes in with Eagle Feather and Danny tells them what’s going on. Once he’s done, Tiny looks at Doc. “Need you to look at something for me.” Doc brings him to the table. He takes his cut and shirt off; he was hit in the side. “Just a graze but it burns like fuck.”

  Doc stands up. “Fuckin Brothers! It’s three fuckin inches deep! I need my bag; sit the fuck down and don’t move!” He walks out the door, pissed.

  “Why’s he pissed at a fuckin cut?” Tiny asks me.

  Danny laughs. “I think it is an accumulative pissed. You’re just his latest patient.”

  “Accumulative?” Tiny looks at him like he’s fuckin nuts.

  “Been building with each patient.” He says. I laugh at Tiny’s face.

  “Never use to say shit like that before.” Tiny says, disgust written all over his face.

  That reminds me. “What the fuck was up with you and the fuckin wedding this morning?”

  He laughs. Fuckin Danny, always laughing. “Old lady test. If they want a big wedding they ain’t for us.” What the fuck?

  Tiny watches him. “What does she want big?”

  “Flowers. She likes big flowers.”

  “Knew she was one of us.” Tiny says looking at me. “Don’t take fuckin forever again.”

  “Fuck, Brother, she just agreed to move in. Danny’s the one bringing up the fuckin wedding. I haven’t even thought of wedding.”

  “Now you can think about it and don’t take for fuckin ever.”

  Fuckin Brothers. I need a new fuckin seat. I get up and look for an empty fuckin desk.

  Amanda

  Once my picture is done, I look for the kids. No one is around. I find Kate in the office. She’s running the Center from here today. “Hey Kate. Where are the kids?”

  She looks up with a smile. “In the Club. Joey took Brenna down with them. I love it!” They brought the kids to the Club and she’s happy? She laughs. “The Club Kid’s Club is under the Clubhouse, actually in the bluff. The kids train and do stuff for the MC down there.”

  I’m not any closer to clear so I say, “Ok.” I go back to my computer and check my email. What the hell? My ex emails me after two years? I open it. He asks me how I’m doing. I tell him to leave me the fuck alone and die a painful death. Moron. He was fuckin a club whore without a fuckin condom. I spent six months scared as fuck that I had a disease from him.

  The rest of my mail is normal. I pay my bills and clear my mail up. Pulling the schedule for the shop, I’m not paying attention to the bike sounds I hear. I do notice the helicopter. When I go to the window, the kids come running in. Holy crap, there are a lot of them in one little area. I lift Brenna up so she can see out the window. Kate, Nancy, CJ and Jess come in and laugh at the group of
us trying to see out the little kitchen window. Steve and Jake are helping Ben out of the helicopter, he’s got blood all over him. I turn Brenna around. Fuck, she probably doesn’t need to see that.

  Little Ben goes to the door and tells Darren to get the kids upstairs. Everyone goes out but Jessie. They don’t even question it; these kids are something else. CJ, Jess and Nancy go with them. Jake and Steve get Ben to a chair and Doc comes in behind them. Jake and Steve leave without saying a word. They are a strange group of guys, even for an MC.

  I walk over to help then stop. Doc is here; he looks at me. “Amanda, can you give me a hand?” I walk to him and help get Ben’s shirt off while he does blood pressure and listens to his heart. Kate sits and watches, her face is pale but she’s not saying anything. Jessie just sits on the side of her. Little Ben clears the shirt and takes the cut to the sink. I pull cases out of his bag and open them to find the one for stitches. I look around and find paper towels and a regular towel. Little Ben rips it in half for me; I’m pretty sure no one will get mad if it gets used. Bringing the supplies and a big bowl of water back to the table, Doc throws chin to me. I clean Ben's face and neck then get more water and a bowl for Doc. Cleaning around his eye and the cut on his head, he moans. Doc is stitching up his arm. When he’s done, I clean it and put the stuff Doc put out for it on him then bandage him up while Doc is stitching his head.

  I start cleaning up the mess and Ben finally talks. “My leg.” I look down and see blood on the floor. Little Ben clears the bandage mess while I get scissors and cut up his pant leg until I find where the blood is coming from. I cut the pants up a little higher and then all the way around. Using the pants, I wipe the blood on the floor, not getting much but it's better than a pool. I take his boot and sock off and put his foot on the cut pant leg. I clean his leg up and hold gauze on it from the top and bottom. Little Ben cleans the floor around me. He takes the shoe and sock away.

  “Straight through Doc.” I tell him he nods.

  Bob and Danny come in, Danny throws chin to Ben and sits with Kate. Bob empties the water and gets me a clean bowl and towel. He puts gloves on and holds the gauze tight on Ben’s leg. I move and clean where Doc just stitched on his head and eye. I bandage the eye and watch Doc deal with the leg; he’s thorough.

  Sally comes in with some meds. She puts them on the table, kisses Doc’s cheek and goes right back out. I finish cleaning his head and sit. Little Ben cleared everything away so there's nothing left for me to do. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be here but Bob isn't leaving so I've got nowhere to be.

  "Amanda, can you bandage him up?" Doc asks.

  He goes to the sink while I put the cream and bandage on Ben. Little Ben cuts tape for me. "You're good at this Little Ben." I smile at him and move to the back of Ben's leg. I do the same thing then wrap gauze around the whole thing to hold both sides. I ask Little Ben for a ziplock bag to put Doc's things in; I get everything he used into it so he can have it sanitized. I repack his cases and pack it all in his bag. No one is talking; I look around, they're all watching me. "What?"

  Danny smiles. "How do you know to do all that you just did?"

  "Seriously?" He nods. "I was an EMT and did ink on the side. It was the quickest certificate I could get and gave me the time off to ink. I might be small but I still like to eat."

  They all laugh. I look around, Little Ben shrugs at me. He doesn't know why it's funny either. Danny looks at Doc, "You knew?"

  He nods. "Sally told me she knows too much and dressed her leg herself."

  I look at Bob, he's smiling but shrugs at me. "Anyone here want to talk about, oh I don't know, fuckin Ben?" I ask, making Bob and Doc laugh. Jessie goes to his dad. Thank Christ! Kate gets up thanking me and goes to Ben. I walk to Bob at the counter and lean against him. "Holy shit, Bob; that was weird."

  He squeezes me. "You told me you were EMT; I didn't remember until you just said it."

  I look up at him. His brows are drawn and he has that wrinkle. "I told you the day of the accident. I think other things may have clouded your memory."

  He smiles. Steve comes in again. Jess comes down the stairs with Elizabeth; Little Ben takes her from his mom. "You ran HS2, did a good job. Proud of you, son." Steve hugs Little Ben. I look at Bob, wondering if ran means what I think it does. I know HS2 is the second team for High Security. He shakes his head and signs not now.

  "Thanks, dad, but it was all of us. Jessie ran the second team; Brantley and Taylor were on control and Darren kept our feeds straight. Christian and Victor helped too." He smiles proud. I want to kiss his cheek. The kids around here are amazing. Now I know what they were doing all day.

  Steve smiles, "Still proud." Little Ben throws chin, making me laugh.

  Doc is talking to Kate, telling her about Ben's bandages. Ben looks at Steve. "You deal with Brad?" Steve looks at Jessie and Little Ben.

  "We'll take Elizabeth upstairs." Jessie says, walking out the door.

  Steve looks at Jess and me. "Don't want to make him move." Danny gets everyone a beer and tells Jess the water looks nice this time of night. I laugh and walk to the patio.

  Bob

  I watch her walk away with a smile. She fits right in. When I look back Danny pushes a chair out. I gladly sit, my leg is bothering me. I take the pill out of my pocket and swallow it with some beer. Doc shakes his head and sits. One beer won't kill me.

  When Kate walks, out VP starts. "Brad got with the one percenters, got help from a Boss. Started a campaign for US senate, didn't want loose ends. Had pictures of Taylor, thought he was his. Cloud works for Baxter, they oppose a backer. Thought he could get rid of both with one Op. Takin out FS for both was to throw us off. Gave Jamie the backer. Got Brad samplin from the last gang take. Prospect's in holdin. Waitin for you on him."

  Pres goes to put his hand in his hair and Danny stops him. "Fuckin stitches."

  "Maybe he'll stop now." VP says smiling.

  "All this was to get rid of Jessie? Fuckin Bob lost his leg, Amanda was in a fuckin coma for days, Max was shot, all because he wants to campaign?"

  VP shakes his head, "And the backers for Baxter."

  Pres isn't finished. "They had fuckin C4 strapped to trucks to blow up however many people they thought they could. Find me the Boss, I'll meet with Providence. Get Brad strung and do it hard, drop him in a crack house with plenty of cash on him. Baxter's can get a reporter to deal with his fuckin campaign going to hell. Fuckin politicians." He goes to put his hand in his hair again. Danny stops him, again. "Fuck, Brother." He looks at me. "I don't even know what to say, Bob. Fuckin shit comes back to haunt me and you got hit in the crossfire."

  I look at him. "Brotherhood isn't just the good days, Pres. We take care of our own every day. Shit happens. We're all alive; not much else to say." Danny told me once that Pres feels it when one of his gets hurt because people bring shit to our door. I see that in his face right now.

  He throws chin. "Fuckin Badass Brotherhood." I throw it back. What can I say? I pledged to protect the women and kids just like they did.

  "You got anything else?" Pres asks VP.

  "Prospect. Took five grand to lose calls and pick up food."

  He lifts his hand then puts it down. I smile; he didn't try for his hair. "Hold him until tomorrow. Keep all Prospects out of Security. We need to find out who else was approached. Fuckin one percenters knew too fuckin much. I hope you wiped them out. Who knows what the fuck kind of blowback we'll get from this now. Keep Security high for a couple more days. Let's see how this plays. We need to meet tomorrow. My fuckin head feels like it's going to explode."

  Steve stands up. "The kids can help." He laughs. I turn and see what he's looking at. Jeremy, Jacob and Brenna are standing at the door. Steve nods to them. They go to Pres, Danny puts Brenna on Pres' lap. Jeremy and Jacob stand at his sides, holding his hands. Jeremy talks soft, Jacob and Brenna answer him. Pres closes his eyes. I know he's feeling the heat. It's fuckin crazy what they can do. We all sit and watch until J
eremy opens his eyes. VP picks him up putting his head on his shoulder. Danny takes Brenna, I pull Jacob to me. He sees my leg and falls to the floor, lifting up my pants. I laugh. Fuckin kids, I love every one of them.

  VP looks at Pres. "Feelin better?"

  Pres smiles moving his head around. "Yeah, Brother. Thanks, Little Brothers."

  "This is cool, Bob." Jacob says.

  I look down smiling. "Yeah. It's just for now; when I get the real one it will be all web, even the knee."

  "Cool!" I pull him up to my lap. He watches everyone. "We done now?"

  Danny and Doc laugh. "Yeah. Thanks, Jacob." Brenna wiggles off Danny and runs out the door with Jacob.

  "Christian." Jeremy says.

  "It's too much." VP says. Jeremy puts his head back down.

  Cloud comes in from the patio. "They done for today?"

  "Did good. Brantley and Taylor on control." VP tells him.

  Cloud smiles. "Beau said they handled like pros. Little Ninja help you out, Ben?"

  Pres smiles, "Yeah, he did."

  Cloud takes Jeremy from VP. "You hit everythin today. Thanks for havin my back, cuz."

  Cloud throws him chin. "We take care of our own." The kids run into the room and Cloud takes them home through the Club's hallway.

  "We should have told him he could take them out." Doc says.

  "Not yet." VP says.

  "I'm out." I say standing. I take a second to get my balance then find Mandy and our house. I stop and kiss her once we get in the door. "I need a shower then bed." She looks up at me with a question in her eyes. "I have a promise to keep, I'll meet you in bed."

  She smiles. "I'll be ready." I wrap her hair and pull raising her face to so I can get to her mouth again. She moans, making my dick swell. "I'm ready." She says when I lift my mouth from hers. I laugh and let her go. She walks toward the office and I go to the closet.

  I get the brace off and sigh. It feels good; I think I did too much today. I take the sock and bandage off and use the crutches to get to the shower. It's been a fuckin day right from the beginning. I'm standing in the shower, smiling like a pussy. I rode my bike, even jumped with it. My foot came off the peg but I did it. I'll have to ask Dave about something to hold my foot better. After a while I didn't even notice the clicking of the brace. For a first real work day with a new foot, I did fuckin good. I nod and start washing up. What a pussy.