Chapter 24: a deal with the devils
S everal hours after he’d been in the dark cell, Tak heard keys unlocking the outer door. It opened and someone walked in the hallway just behind his cell door, dragging a metal chair with them. That outer door never shut closed and a moment later the bulb over his head turned on, suddenly flooding his cell in a bright pale light. As Tak squinted he heard the chair come to a stop and someone sat in it, outside of his cell door. The food slot on the door was unlatched and open. Tak still sat cross-legged on the floor and he squinted through it. Buck sat there lighting a cigarette; just out of arms reach. Tak sat calmly and didn’t speak. He noticed the big black revolver across the man’s chest, as well as some military tattoos on his forearms and the Airborne patch on his vest. Several long moments went by as Buck seemed to size up his prisoner through the food slot. He took a drag from his cigarette and exhaled it through his nose. He continued to look at Tak without speaking, and Tak did the same as his eyes adjusted. Half a minute went by without a word. Buck took another drag and flicked the ash off his smoke. He pulled out a pack of Marlboro Reds and motioned to offer Tak one. “No thanks.” Buck nodded his head sideways in nonchalant acceptance and put the pack back in his leather vest. He looked down at his brown military t-shirt and then at Tak’s. “I see we shop at the same shirt store. What branch?” Tak replied, “Marines. I see you’re Army. What happened, you missed the adrenaline? Got into the kidnapping business after you got out?” Buck grinned as he took another drag. “Ya, I guess it’s somethin’ like that. You went the other direction huh? Became a cop. Went back to being a productive member of society, huh?” Tak didn’t flinch as he continued to calmly meet Buck’s gaze, “Ya. Somethin’ like that.” Buck chuckled. “A normal man would be panickin’ at this point… trying to make sense of this whole thing. But you ain’t a normal man are ya? You’re one of Uncle Sam’s Misguided Children. How’s that turnin’ out for ya?” Tak remained motionless as he replied. “Well, begging wouldn’t do me any good. I’ve been on the other side of our situation time or two myself. You’ll tell me whatever you want me to know.” Buck chucked again and thought about his reply as he took another drag. “Ya, I guess you’re right.” Then he shifted forward in his seat. “Look man… this ain’t personal. Apparently you’ve pissed off some bad hombres. There’s a big bounty on your head.” Tak moved for the first time in the conversation as he nodded with understanding. “Ahh, I see. It looks like this is my reward for mercy.” Buck lifted his cigarette towards him in a toasting motion. “Hell ya man. Didn’t you learn that in the Corps? You can’t let your enemies live… of course they’re gonna come hunting for you when they get the chance. You just happened to piss one off with some connections.” “Tak nodded, “I see you’re right. Is there anyway I can buy myself out of this situation?” Buck shook his head left and right, “No can do man. Charro already has word that you are here. If it’s any consolation your friends are just fine… for now anyway.” Tak nodded and spoke sincerely, “Ok… thanks for that.” Just then Buck’s phone beeped. He pulled it out of an inner vest pocket and spoke as he looked at it. “Well… speak of the devil and he shall appear.”
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THIS IS CHARRO. IM RECOVERING- GIVE ME ABOUT A WEEK AND ILL BE THERE. KEEP THEM ALL INTACT FOR ME. AS FAR AS YOUR MONEY, I’VE GOT THE CASH ON ME. I’LL SEND A PIC OF WHAT THAT BASTARD DID TO MY HAND. I’LL THROW IN AN EXTRA GIFT TO SHOW MY APPRECIATION FOR YOUR TROUBLE, JUST HOLD THAT MOTHERFUCKER FOR ME!
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Buck chuckled when he finished reading the text. He looked at the pic that came next; a pic of Charro holding a bandaged bloody stump with several stacks of hundred dollar bills in a black duffel bag. Next to the cash in the bag was a large clear plastic bag of what appeared to be weed.
He spoke more to himself than to Tak, “A deal with the Devils huh? Well it’s about time.” Then he typed out his reply to Charro’s text and sent it:
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You got a deal man. See you soon.
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He looked up at Tak. “Things are looking up for me, Marine. Not so much for you though. An old friend of yours is coming to visit soon.” With that he stood, turned the lights back off and left, closing and locking the outer door behind him.
Chapter 25: all or none
N athan, Amy and Ringo heard part of Tak and Buck’s conversation from their cell. When they had been led into their cell they had observed everything they could while trying not to be obvious about it. They noted names on brass plates on the different doors in this back hallway that led to various room. “PRESIDENT- BUCK” was on the first door on the left, “SERGEANT OF ARMS- BULL” was on the first door to the right, “ROAD CAPTAIN- DOUG” was on the second door on the left and “LIEUTENANT- GRIFFIN” was on the second door to the right. As they had been led on farther down the hallway they passed a few more sets of doors with lieutenant labels and names on them until they came to the last two rooms before the room at the end of the hallway. The room they had brought into was labeled “HOLDING 1” and the one across from it was labeled “HEAD”, while the one at the end of the hallway was labeled “HOLDING 2”.
Upon hearing their voices they figured that Tak must be in HOLDING 2. After they heard Buck leave and walk back into the main clubhouse Amy yelled as loudly as she dared, “Tak, were in a room over here close to you!” Her voice came through muffled through the two sets of doors, but Tak heard her. He came up close to his inner door and lay on the floor to project his voice underneath it. “I hear you Amy. Are you all OK?” Nathan and Amy likewise lay in front of the door to their room as Nathan yelled back, “Were OK bud. The room service here sucks though. Man I ordered pizza over an hour ago… this is ridiculous.” Tak smiled at his old buddy. “If we get out of here I’ll get you all the pizza you can eat!” Naff and Amy smiled at each other as he yelled back, “You got a deal!” Amy yelled to him in a serious tone then, “Tak, are you OK?” Tak nodded even though she couldn’t see him. “I’m just fine. I’ll be working on getting us out of here. If you all get any chance to go then GO, even if it’s without me. Promise me that!” Amy and Nathan looked at each other doubtfully as she rolled her eyes a bit. They knew they were in agreement without speaking a word. Nathan answered back for both of them. “Sorry buddy; no can do. Were all gettin’ out of here or none of us are at all. No use arguing it.”
CHAPTER 26: MANIPULATION
S arah went with Griffin back to his quarters. It was a small 15 by 15 foot room with a bed up against the far wall, an old brown couch against the other and a tall standing metal wardrobe locker against another wall. He quickly picked some clothes up off the floor and the couch and threw them in the standing locker. She sat her guitar down and spoke before he could make any suggestions, “So where’s this hot shower you told me about?” Griffin, seeming excited, quickly reached into the locker and grabbed a clean towel and a washcloth before turning and handing them to her. “Here, follow me.” He led her out of his room and down the hallway towards the door labeled “HEAD”. As they were approaching the door a heavily couple tattooed biker chicks walked out, wearing towels around their torsos and hair. Gene walked out behind them as they all left the bathroom area. The girls looked Sarah up and down hungrily and turned to see her from behind as they passed. One give out a shrill whistle, “Looks like you scored tonight, huh Griff.” They both giggled and Gene patted the big man on the back as they passed.
Sarah walked in the bathroom, followed closely by Griffin. This was a large bathroom designed to accommodate several people at the same time. A row of toilets in stalls lined one side and individual showers lined the other, each separated by privacy walls. Several sinks were in front of one mirrored wall. Sarah walked to one of the shower stalls and turned to face Griffin as she stood just inside. “Let’s get cleaned up and I’ll meet you back in the room hon.” Griffin, growing with excitement and anticipation quickly agreed, “Um yea, ok sounds good.” He could h
ardly believe his good fortune. He was gonna lick this girl from head to toe. He showered in the stall right next to hers and looked at her pretty little feet from underneath. Sarah enjoyed the first hot shower she’d had in a week as she shampooed, conditioned and scrubbed herself thoroughly. “Now Griff honey, make sure you get yourself squeaky clean. I’ll give you a massage later so you should be inspection ready.” Griff swallowed hard and could hardly speak. He felt like a fool after he quickly spoke his reply, “Umm yes mam.” He cleaned himself better than he had in months… he didn’t want to disappoint her.
Half an hour later he was waiting on his bed, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts as he fidgeted nervously. Had he read her intentions correctly? This one actually seemed interested in him. He had almost forgotten the excitement that led up to intimacy with someone he wasn’t paying to do the deed, and he felt like a teenager again. But would she ask him for money for what he wanted? “She’d better not, cause she’ll be getting it one way or the other”, he mumbled to himself. Finally Sarah entered his room, a towel around her torso and another around her hair. “Sorry I took so long baby. That hot shower was so nice.” He held a pillow over his lap to hide his excitement, “Oh no problem. Just let me know if you need anything else.” She sat down on the bed beside him and looked at him coyly, “Now let me thank you properly for treating me so nice Griff. I’ll start with a massage. Lay down on your stomach honey.” Griff was happy to follow her lead as he flipped over and lay on the bed. “One of the girls in the bathroom let me use some of her things. I borrowed some lotion; I think you’ll like it.” Sarah sat on Griff’s butt, straddling him. He sensed that her towel was gone as he couldn’t feel it touching his legs. He heard the lotion bottle squirt and Sarah rub it in her hands. She began rubbing it onto his thickly haired back. The smell of pleasant vanilla lotion filled the air and he was feeling great, enjoying that feeling right before he knew he was about to have some great sex. So she wanted to take it slow with a massage first, no problem; but he’d be getting his one way or the other very shortly, he was sure of that. Even his good beer buzz wouldn’t stop that. As she began rubbing his back he thought of the future… this one might be “the one” for him. Finally an old lady he could call his own… one who he didn’t have to pay to sleep with him. Sarah’s sweet voice sounded like a melody to him. “So tell me about yourself Griff… and the Death keepers. You must be pretty important around here to have your own room.” He spoke freely, exaggerating his roles and accomplishments. She worked from his back and arms down to his toes and back up, often accidently rubbing him with her supple breasts. He’d never been so excited or spoken so freely. Within 20 minutes she knew far more than she needed to. She knew that the Death Keepers ran guns primarily, providing them for gangs, militias and anyone else willing to buy them. She knew the location of the armory within their clubhouse, which was down a hallway on the far end of the building, down in a basement. She found out about President Buck’s military background and three of his buddies who helped him start this motorcycle club; who were Griffin himself, Bull and Doug. They had built up their MC to 15 loyal and vetted members over the last six years since they had gotten out of the Army. They had another four prospects and dozens of hang-arounds. She also found out what little Griffin knew about their new prisoners; the part-Asian cop and his friends apparently had a bounty on their head and someone from another outlaw motorcycle club was coming to pay it and kill them. She found out that only he and the other three founding members had keys to everything in the clubhouse; including the armory and the room where they kept prisoners on occasion. Lastly she found out that Griffin most likely wouldn’t be disturbed till at least 9AM, which was a bit over six hours from now.
Griff started to roll over; he’d had enough talking and was ready to take this to the next level. Sarah clamped down on him with her legs and blocked his arm at the elbow to stop him from turning over. He twisted his neck around to peer up at her with frustration… he could force himself over and take what he wanted, but he’d prefer it didn’t go down like that. He saw her gorgeous nude body as she whispered in his ear, “Just a second honey, I’m almost done with you. He mumbled even as he hesitantly rolled back to his stomach, “I’ve had enough of you rubbin' on my back and askin’ questions darling’. It’s time for us to get busy.” She spoke in a seductive whisper, “Oh don’t worry baby, I’m gonna fuck you so good. I promise.” The dirty talk made him grin and he relaxed on his stomach, allowing her to keep control. She gently directed both of his arms down by his sides and put her legs down on each side of them, essentially pinning them to his body. He could feel so much of her body touching his and could hardly wait for the pleasure that was about to come. He felt her reach over towards where the lotion bottle lay on the bed, although he didn’t hear the lid get popped open again. In the back of his mind he had a growing feeling that perhaps she was manipulating him… why the hell was she asking so many damn questions? This seemed too good to be true; but he didn’t want to believe that. After all, she was nude right on top of him right now and he was just about to get what he wanted; she’d just confirmed that. He closed his eyes and waited. He felt her left hand gently rub through the back of his hair. Then he heard an alarming sound that caused his eyes to pop open; it was metal quickly moving against metal. Suddenly she grabbed a fistful of his thick mane and pulled upwards, exposing his throat as she reached around with the straight razor in her right hand, slicing a deep smile across his neck from ear to ear. He bucked hard and tried to instinctively reach up to his throat, but she squeezed her legs together tightly and held on. It didn’t take five seconds for enough his life blood to pour out that he was no longer able to thrash with any power. She whispered in his ear one more time. “See baby? Now you’re fucked.” As darkness overcame him his last thought occurred… “Shit! I’m not getting laid.”
CHAPTER 27: be my slave
2AM, day five of the new world
S arah cleaned the blood off of her hands and got dressed as she hummed a new tune she was working on. She went through Griff’s clothes and took his keys from his pants pocket. She listened in the hallway but didn’t hear any noise; most everyone should be asleep at this early morning hour. She cracked the door and upon seeing the hallway was empty, walked out, closed and locked it. She then made her way down the hallway to the outer cell door marked “HOLDING ROOM 2”. She unlocked it, went in, locked it behind her and flipped the light switch up that was just outside of Tak’s cell. She unlatched the food slot door and peered in. The man she was looking for was sitting in the middle of the room with his legs crossed. He reached up and shielded sudden bright light from his eyes. He could see Sarah in the small outer hallway just outside of his cell. She got down on her knees and peered into the slot at him. “OK here’s the deal man; if they find out I’m doing this they’ll kill me. I’ve been thinking of how to play this with you but honestly, I’m at a loss, so I’m just going to be straight forward. We don’t have much time so we have to make this quick. Now, don’t lie to me… I know what I saw. I was a couple cars behind your RV as a gas station just north of Nashville Tennessee yesterday when I saw you kill several bikers. I saw you move man… hell I don’t know what to say… I saw you move impossibly fast. You were a fucking blur. I saw you so don’t bullshit me or I’ll let you rot in this cell. If you play your cards right I will bust you and your friends out of here right now and we’ll all take off together.”
As she spoke Tak listened, slowly stood up and began to stretch. He walked towards the door to kneel down by the food slot and Sarah instinctively backed away out of arm’s distance. He looked her in the eyes and considered his words. “Well, this is something I’m supposed to keep hidden. It’s a bit of a secret. I’m no position to make demands, but would you promise to keep what I’m about to tell you a secret? It’s something I really need to keep hidden.” Sarah wasn’t pretending to be something she wasn’t in this interaction, or running her usual game of manipulation. Somethin
g about Tak told her that he wouldn’t fall for her games anyway. “You’re right mister; you are in no position to ask anything of me. I don’t owe you anything and I’m not making promises until I know the whole story. But if it makes you feel any better I’m basically a drifter and I don’t keep in touch with anyone anyway. Now, you’re waistin’ time that neither of us have. Get to explaining or I’m leaving, and I hear there will be a man here soon to kill you and your friends. What’s it gonna be?” Tak put up his palms defensively, “All right, all right, I’ll tell you the truth.”
ROAD TRIP THROUGH THE APOCALYPSE Page 12
