by L. Ann Marie
Dave turns the other way with half Security and half the Brothers following. "Fuckin Sunday drivers are turning and blocking roads. Stay with the fuckin suv. Clear them a path to the club."
I spin the fuck around and gun it around Dave hitting everything aiming at me. I switch guns at a long block and start again. Every fuckin cross road is firing at us. Again, where are the fuckin cops? We hit the hill up to the Club. I change to my last fuckin clip. I'm fuckin pissed. "I need more clips."
"Prospect will have them for you in the lot." Ben tells me. Coming to the gate Brothers and Prospects are waiting with rifles and guns at their sides. Dave flies through.
I slow, lift the front tire and spin back facing out. Jumping off I walk to the side of the gate and drop my dead clips. Prospects come running one to me another to Steve giving us more clips. Steve laughs and hands me two grenades. "Fuckin cops stay hidden today; we'll give them a glimpse of how it went down." I smile dropping them in my knee pocket I throw my leg over, slam the clip into my spare and put the rest of the clips in my side pockets. "Go Brother, I'm on your right. Run the balloon sequence. Use your speed to keep them guessing."
"Got it VP." I ride one wheel down the hill.
"Fuckin show off." He laughs.
When I touch my front wheel down and lean into the turn I swerve just missing a fuckin cop car. “Holy Fuck! Cops finally show, they're on the way to the Club Pres.”
“Brothers you have thirty minutes then come in to Security. PD is on lockdown. I have half the fuckin force here. Beau and crew are on their way. Guns are dropping at the Fire Stations. PD and Hammer are going to work out of them. Thirty minutes. I can’t stay on with you. I still got fuckin Brothers trying to transport old ladies and kids. I’m out.” Pres says.
“Holy Fuck! Martial Law. Digs, get Bob to partner up with LaPonte. I’m heading to the backyard. LaPonte make a loop from the west side then to Security.”
“Bob’s switching out helmets, he’s there in seven. They're trying to block anyone getting in or out of Security.” Digs tells us. Fuck.
“My stop, good luck Brother.” I say as I turn to the west. The cross roads are fuckin blocked. Some cars and trucks are empty. I hit whatever I see aiming for me. I’m almost to the Fire Station Pres beat the fuck out of the one percenter when a tractor trailer pulls across the road. I head straight at it, lift up the front to turn sideways and pull a grenade. I slow almost to idle I move parallel to the trailer and drop the grenade on the deck at the fifth wheel. Slamming the gas I give it too much and pull the wheel off the ground. Steadying and relaxing into it I get control and get the fuck away from the truck. It sounds like a fuckin bomb went off; a mushroom cloud goes up around it. Holy Fuck I almost wiped out.
“Nice LaPonte. You got company coming from the right. I spin around and head back to the truck. The whole fuckin cab is engulfed in flames. Going around I see firemen out watching. I pull to the outside of their lot pointing them to go inside. I park my bike and yell to them I’m MC pulling both guns, I flip my lens and aim for the front of the truck. They were gunning for me, fuckin guns at the ready as they're coming around. I pick them off on rapid fire.
“How many Digs?”
“You got them. Bob is coming up he’s on with you.” He tells me.
I run to Alan pulling my helmet off. I change clips as I’m talking. “Martial Law, PD is locked down. Pull the bikes into a bay, keep the doors down and locked. Brothers from MC will be here from the north and PD will be using the Stations. Be ready. Our cut or PD. The Club will be dropping guns soon.” I run back to my bike hearing Bob coming up on us.
“We can defend the stations, can we use the guns?” I turn around and stop.
“Fuckin martial law. Do what you have to. Pick up the guns you find too. Don’t let them go back to the outlaws.” I see him nod and take off putting my helmet on. I follow Bob down Main. It’s a fuckin war zone. We pick off what we see. “Seems too easy.” I say.
“Yeah.” He says.
“LaPonte, get toward the Security Building they’ve got all roads in blocked. Clear the fuckin blockades from the outside. Cleanup will work from the inside out.” Casper says.
“On it Casper.” We race picking off here and there then see the fuckin blockades he was talking about. “What the fuck? How many fuckin clubs are here?”
“Too fuckin many.” Bob says. We shoot until were almost empty I turn in an alley. Pull the grenade, switch my clips and wait for Bob. “Ready Brother? Casper have cleanup work the roads after we hit them.” We go back around catching them by surprise. I lob the grenade under a truck as we pass by then lay it out. Holy fuck, the next intersection is blocked too. We repeat going back two blocks to make sure the first one is clear. Bob hits the stragglers. There’s fuckin bodies every fuckin where. There’s less gunfire from the second. We hit them again and race down the alley. We repeat going the three blocks.
“Casper I’m running low on clips. I have one more go round. Two intersections are clear.” I tell him.
“Make the round and come in. You got our way open and clear Brothers. Nice fuckin work. Brothers are waiting for you; they’ll top the bikes off and move them out of sight. Clean up is clearing the roads you opened now.” We make our way to Security. Brothers cheer when we walk through the doors. I look at Bob pulling my helmet off. No one ever cheered in the middle of a war for me before. It’s fuckin weird. A prospect has a table up; he calls us over taking our guns. He puts them and the empty clips in a bin with our name telling us he’ll take care of them while we meet. Fuckin nice. He takes our helmets too.
I look at Bob, he looks surprised. “Fuckin sweet.” I nod walking into the meeting room.
Fuckin cops, Brothers and Security are buzzing around. Surveillance is flipping through a slideshow on the big screen. Fuckin hell, it is a war zone. I notice the PD doesn’t show. Pres calls us to him. “Fuckin nice work Brothers. We need to coordinate these fuckin people. VP is due in ten. There’s drinks and food in the next room. Get it now. It’s going be a long fuckin night.” We nod and make our way to food.
Kate
The kids are having fun playing pool and watching movies. Tiny and Patches are going to the houses to get clothes, diapers and bottles for us. Police are here making the Brothers nervous. They're being kept in the common room and meeting room. I heard they're waiting on instructions. Sam and Jess are cooking. Mary is helping get the old ladies settled. Nancy is helping me with the kids. Len took care of the shelter houses making sure everyone had food and stayed in. Luckily they aren’t on main roads. I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it, we are at war with God only knows who. I am so proud of Danny and Steve. It was like watching a movie; I saw something I’ve never seen in Danny today. Besides the Ducati and shooting every friggin thing he aimed at. He was relentless in protecting us. He didn’t quit even when it looked like impossible odds. Another reason to love my man.
“I need to get Elizabeth changed. Do you want me to send someone in?” Nancy asks.
I smile at her she’s so sweet. “No I’m fine, thanks.” Darren is signing to Alex. He is so good at keeping everyone calm. Little Ben is cheering for Ally. She hit a ball in. I laugh. Lily and the other Little Brothers are so good with the kids. In the middle of this chaos I’m smiling. It feels weird to be happy when people are dying outside the gates.
Jess comes in pushing a cart. “I have snacks for Little Brothers.” The kids move toward her no one pushing or shoving. I laugh. It's unreal how they act. “Funny bunch of kids we have here.”
“I was just thinking that. Nancy took Elizabeth to change her.” Answering her question when I see her looking around.
The teenagers come in. Dave's daughter Christine comes to me, "We'll watch the little guys and keep them busy. Doc needs help and asked for you." I look at Jess. I don't know what to do here; I've never had kids before and certainly not in a lockdown.
"Go if Doc's asking for help he needs it. We've got this. I'll keep che
cking on them." I nod and make my way through the common room to Doc's rooms.
He's got Brothers lining one wall. A Prospect is getting him supplies while he's working on a guy on the table. "Kate can you get the wounds clean for me. We need to move like an assembly line. There mostly cleaning and bandaging. Some will need stitches." I nod. The Prospect gives me gloves and pushes a cart to the first Brother. I don't know all their names. I've taken a fair amount of first aid so I'm familiar with cleaning wounds, when I'm on the fourth, Petey comes in and gets supplies to start stitching guys up. I'm proud of him but no one is talking so I just keep working. As the guys clear out more show up. I tell the Prospect I need more supplies. He refills my cart in between helping Doc.
Danny
"Listen up Brothers, PD, Baxter's and Brothers from the north." He waits for silence. "I need EMT's up at the Club and here in Security. If you have EMT's in town we will escort them where they need to be. See Casper after the meeting." Casper raises his hand. "Martial Law is in effect, the PD Chief is cooperating with the MC to get the outlaws out of town. We found an effective way to make that happen please watch the screen; this was done in a span of ten minutes." The screen shows me and Bob working to clear the blockades. The cleanup crew works right behind us. We didn't see that. It's funny seeing us moving on the screen. "Working methodically and in tandem with cleanup we can clear our roads before this starts hitting civilians. We'll section off areas and work in teams. As you can see we need people that can ride and shoot. We need people to distribute ammo to the teams and we need armed cleanup crews. Hammer has wreckers twenty minutes out. They will be towing the vehicles. Bikes are being stored wherever we find a locked door. Arms were distributed to the Fire Stations so you're never far from a reload. PD has officers making their way to the Fire Stations. Everyone needs a flag so we know who the fuck the friendlies are. The Prospects will distribute arm bands as you leave. If you don't take a band your life is in danger. I can guarantee you everyone doesn't have the training the guys on the screen had. Are there any questions?"
The Chief stands, "Where are the bodies going, we can't handle all this and who's going to clean up this mess, they're using grenades!"
VP steps up. "Any questions about the teams?" No one answers. "See me for strike teams in my office three doors down on the left. You need to be High or Military Security to be on a strike team. See Casper for cleanup and EMT's in the surveillance room across the hall. See Rob for supply distribution teams in the room next door on the right. All other questions see Pres and Beau."
Me and Bob make our way to VP's office. "I thought that was you Danny." I turn around surprised to see Jake and Zack. "It's a slow day at Baxter's." Jake laughs.
"Good to see you Jake, Zack. This is my Brother Bob. He's my other half today."
Bob laughs. "I feel like half. He didn't miss one fuckin shot. I'm getting a fuckin complex."
I punch his arm. "Fuck you Bob, we're a good team."
"You are, you cleared thirty fuckin guys in ten minutes. Please tell me they're giving out grenades to the teams?" Zack says smiling.
I laugh, “I hope so. If not we're running to the club for more. Prospect gave them as a joke. My last reload."
VP makes it through the people waiting to see him. He spreads the map in his hand on the desk. "Need to split you two up. You’re the best shots we have and we're running out of daylight." Fuck.
"VP, I need to be with someone that knows I can't see the right. That's the only way we work so effectively, everyone I'm teamed with knows that." I tell him.
He looks at me; I can see he's thinking. Jake steps up. "I'll work with Danny. I can keep his right clear. He does the fuckin rest anyway."
VP looks at him. "He's my fuckin Brother Jake."
"I got that Knight."
VP looks at his map and circles our area. Fuckin hell. I'm with a new partner and we have the biggest inroads. I take a breath. "Jake is trained; he'll have your back. You need to get the eye thing out of your fuckin head. If my ego would allow it, I’d tell you you’re the best fuckin shot we got. My ego says ‘no’ so you ain’t getting that from me." Every fuckin Brother laughs. I hold my fuckin face trying to breathe.
When I look up he’s smiling, he throws me chin. I give it back. "Got it VP."
"We go out together, hit them all at once. You're supply truck will be here." He circles behind a building in the middle of our area. "You got Digs for your eyes. Do just what you did before. Good luck Brother."
"Thanks VP." I turn and make my way out with Jake following. I go to the table to get my guns and new clips. The Prospect yells in the room behind him for my bin and asks for Jakes name. Our bins are brought out. "You cleaned my fuckin guns. Sweet! I need grenades." I tell him putting the arm band on and stuffing clips in my thigh pockets. He yells back and a box of grenades comes out. "Like a fuckin McDonalds. Can you make sure our supply truck has these?" Jake laughs. The Prospect nods. I stuff them into my lower pockets.
"You need anything else Brother?" The Prospect asks.
"No, I think we're good." I check my gun and holster it walking out the door. "Do you need a bike?"
"I'm on a Security bike." He tells me. A brother sees us coming and yells for our bikes. "This is like a well-oiled machine. I didn't expect it to be so organized."
"They're always full of fuckin surprises. Pres sees the whole picture, he gets the behind the scenes shit done and VP plans all the ops. They're an unbelievable team." He nods at me. I know I got to say something before we head out. "Inside I meant no offense. My brothers have been with me since I was shot. They always keep my right. It's second nature for them to pick up that slack for me."
"I took no offense; you really are the best fuckin shot I've seen since Knight. I'll stay on your right. Who's Digs?"
Thank fuck were off my weakness. "He's surveillance; he'll let us know what's happening through the Bluetooth." He looks at me funny. "Your helmet has Bluetooth; we can talk to each other and Digs. It works better than radios. He'll hook us up to other people and give directions to us when we need it. Mostly he leaves me alone; all he's done is given me a heads up when someone's closing on my six or the right."
"Fuckin Sweet! You have the best fuckin equipment."
I laugh, "Wait til you see your bike." Like magic the side door opens and our bikes are brought out.
Jake laughs, "A fuckin MC with spare fuckin Ducati's and Bluetooth helmets." He gets on the bike and makes a round of the lot getting a feel for it. I watch as he pulls his gun then his spare. I'm feeling better about this.
I put my helmet on and throw my leg over. I think about my Beautiful K and the kids. I know the Clubhouse is covered. I clear my mind going over the roads we need to clear and where the supply truck will be.
"I'm plugged in LaPonte and Jake. Casper's running the room, that's a heads up that he may jump in. If he does, I'm still on. VP says he'll kill me in my sleep if I leave my desk while you’re out." We crack up. "Not fuckin funny, I think he was serious this time. I got a piss bottle just in case." Jake stops the bike, he's bent over laughing. I pull the helmet off to hold my fuckin face. Fuckin Digs. The lot is filling up with the strike teams. VP comes out, his eyes find me.
I pull my hand down and nod, putting my helmet back on. "You make me laugh again I'll fuckin kill you in your sleep." I tell Digs.
"You two can't keep threatening me; I'm a nervous fuckin wreck here." He does sound nervous.
"I'm kidding Digs, but don't make me laugh. My eye is still messed up from the last fuckin shootout." I tell him smiling.
"Sorry Brother." He says calmer. Jake pulls to my side. "VP says keep both wheels on the ground." He tells me.
"That last time I was trying to get the fuck away from the grenade. It wasn’t intentional." I tell him.
"You're out in five." He says, he doesn't care.
I check my gun, adjust my pockets, zip my coat and pull my lens down. "They even cleaned my lens. Love the fuckin Brotherhood."
Jake laughs, "me too." I put my fist out, he hits mine with a bump. I roll to the exit. Pulling on the side of VP, Jake on my right.
"Last bikes rolling out now." Casper says. Two minutes go by. "You're a go VP." We roll out together.
Kate
There is a lull in the injured. "Kate, check the kids and get something to eat. The Brothers just rolled to clear the blockades around the Security building. We'll be getting more. Once a path is clear we'll get EMT help for the night."
I nod and go find my kids. I need to feed Devan. Nancy has him and Elizabeth. "Thank you Nancy. I have a break for a few minutes. I'll feed him and pump for another bottle. Doc is expecting another wave of injured, who knows how long I'll be."
"He's a good boy. I gave him some cereal about an hour and a half ago. It kept him happy." She hands him to me. I go to the new rooms upstairs. Ben gave us two rooms with a bathroom in the middle. I sit in the chair and feed my little man. It feels good to do something normal. I'm glad I can help but I missed my kids. I need to see them before I go back to Doc's. While I burp my boy I set the pump and fill a bottle. I'm getting pretty good at this. I chuckle to myself. I wonder how Danny is doing. He would find this funny. Doc says it's hard for them to call in because of what's happening. They can't get distracted by little things when they're fighting for the big ones. I lay Devan on the bed while I clean everything up and cover the bottle. I change him into pj's and take him back to Nancy. I hug my kids giving Ally an extra squeeze and bring the bottle to the kitchen. Jess writes his name on it bags it and puts it in the fridge. She hugs me thanking me for helping with the injured. After telling me she'll be with the kids after dinner she pushes me out the door with a sandwich in my hand. Standing against the wall I scarf down the sandwich and get back to work, the injured are trickling in.
