by MLJ Quigg
“Are the guns you guys used legal?” I inquired.
“No, they aren’t,” he said.
“Fuck! Mike,” I yelled.
Mike came running over from where he was helping the others. “What’s up, Tiny? Oh, fuck, no.”
“It’s all right, Mike. His pulse is strong, and his breathing is good.
The guys’ guns aren’t legal. Can you cover it, please,” I asked.
“On it, Tiny,” he said.
“Thanks.”
“Anytime,” he said.
“All right, guys, this has been a fucking nightmare so far, but no more. The fuckers are dead, and we have to sort this shit out. Mike, what do you need to cover us?” I asked, still kneeling on the floor and putting pressure on Derrick’s wounds.
“Already sorted out. You’re all covered,” he replied.
“Do you have a safe for hiding guns and drugs?” I asked Trigger.
“Yep. Got a huge safe in the basement,” he replied.
“Guys, I need everyone’s attention,” I yelled, and when I looked around and noticed they were paying attention, I continued, “All right, the cops are gonna be here soon. We’ll all need to give statements and all that shit. Make sure you’re all clear when the cops get here. Put all guns in the safe in the basement. I don’t want any they can find. Make sure you have no illegal drugs. I know you guys don’t use the heavy stuff, but some of you have dope. Get rid of it now. I want the cops out of here as soon as possible. We need to get to the hospital. I want one person to stay with each of the wounded.
The rest, get to it. Do not under any circumstances touch the dead bodies or their weapons. The cops will need it for the crime scene.” Everyone started running off, and I was only left with Mike, Dave, Dozer, and Trigger.
“Dave, when the kids get back, take them to the car, and wait for us, then follow the ambulance to the hospital. I don’t want them to see anything else. This is bad enough,” I said to him.
As Dave nodded, the kids ran back in with a bunch of towels, handing them to us. Dozer and I turned Derrick, placing towels at his back and using the rest to cover the front injuries.
“Come on, kids, get out to the car. We’ll follow the ambulance to the hospital,” Dave instructed the kids.
They nodded and kneeling down, they kissed Derrick on the forehead and wished him well, then followed Dave out.
I took a breath and turned my attention to Derrick again.
“Come on, honey, you have to wake up for me, Derrick. Please.
Let me know you’re okay,” I pleaded.
I could hear the sirens and took a deep breath. Derrick’s breaths started to become choppy, and then he convulsed.
“Fuck,” I screamed as I checked his pulse. It was slowing, and I yelled, “Come on, baby. Don’t do this to me.”
As we continued putting pressure on his wounds, he stopped breathing. I rechecked his pulse and nothing.
“No, you can’t leave me. Don’t do this, Derrick, please. Trigger, take over from me. Keep the pressure on this. Dozer, compress when I tell you to,” I ordered them before starting mouth-to-mouth on Derrick.
“Now,” I cried as I raised my head. “Come on, Derrick, you can’t leave me. Wake up, damn it.”
I started mouth-to-mouth again, and then when I pulled back, Dozer did compressions again. I checked his pulse and still nothing.
Come on.
We repeated our breathing and compressions, then I rechecked his pulse, and it was back.
“Oh, thank fuck. We have a pulse,” I cried out.
We once again put pressure on the wounds. A paramedic ran over and checked on us.
“Two gunshot wounds. One is high on the right shoulder. Looks like it may have missed the lungs, but I’m not sure. It has an exit wound in front. Right side hit around liver area. Still in there as far as I can see. Breathing became choppy. Lost pulse and did three sets of mouth-to-mouth and compressions. Finally got it back, but the pulse is still erratic, though,” I stated.
The other paramedic ran over with a stretcher. They loaded him on and headed to the ambulance. Everyone followed them out, and they asked if anyone was going with them.
“I’m going. Please, handle this shit, then get to the hospital,” I asked Dozer.
“Sure, honey. We’ll be there soon,” Dozer replied.
I climbed into the ambulance, and they took off, hooking Derrick up to wires and a drip in no time at all. An alarm sounded, and I looked at the paramedic.
“Fuck, we’re losing him.” He started compressions.
“Please, Derrick, don’t leave me, baby. You have to stay for the kids and me. You promised me forever, honey. Don’t leave. Come back,” I cried.
“He’s back,” said the paramedic, taking a deep breath.
When we were a minute from the hospital, Derrick went into cardiac arrest again. The paramedic started compressions again and ended up climbing on top of Derrick, straddling him while the other driver parked. The doors were flung open, and doctors and nurses wheeled him out and then ran into the hospital with him. I ran after them but was stopped by a nurse who told me it was a restricted zone and that I would have to go to the waiting room. She showed where to go, took me to a seat, and sat me down, asking if any of the blood was mine. I told her I had no idea what she was talking about. She then pointed to my clothes, and I looked down and shook my head. Then I burst into tears.
Dozer
How did this day turn to fucking shit so fast? I looked around at everyone, and I was just stunned. This was a fucking nightmare. Okay, time to regroup and sort this out.
I watched helplessly as Prez was wheeled away from us with Monique following. Fuck, how the heck did she not lose it? She was like a fucking machine. I knew she was hurting, you could see it plain as day, but she kept her cool the entire time. I thought for sure we’d lost Prez when he went into cardiac arrest, but we got him back. Thank fuck. I just hoped this was it and there were no more fucking surprises.
I followed them to the ambulance and watched as they entered the back of it. In the distance, I could hear sirens and knew the cops would be here soon.
As soon as the ambulance door closed and they raced away, I turned and looked at everyone who had followed us to the ambulance.
“Did we lose anyone?” I asked, looking at Trigger.
“Yeah, we did. Sophie, the club girl, was shot in the head, and three brothers were hit, but they are all fine. Wombat’s arm was grazed and is getting a few stitches from Medi. Danger has a through and through on his thigh, and Domino was shot in the shoulder, which has an exit wound, and the bleeding has slowed heaps. They are up in their rooms being stitched up. They should all be fine,” Trigger reported.
Shit, that was not good.
“All right, guys. Get inside and have a beer or something to calm yourselves. I’d say we have about two minutes before the cops turn up. Hopefully, they won’t be here long,” I ordered.
As everyone nodded and started walking inside, the sirens grew even louder, then three police cars pulled up, and the fucking cops jumped out and pointed their guns at us.
Then one of them said, “Mike, is that you?”
“Yeah, it is. Who’s asking?” he replied because, with the headlights on in the cars and them hiding behind the fucking doors, we couldn’t see them.
“It’s Cross. What happened here?” he asked.
“We were celebrating, and some fucking guys came in and shot up the fucking place. Five people in total were shot. They lost a woman. She died on impact. Three of their guys have wounds that will heal. The president was shot twice and is on his way to the hospital. He’s critical,” Mike said.
“Where are the shooters?” Cross asked.
“All dead. I shot one, Dozer and Trigger—these guys here—shot one each, too, and Tiny shot the other. She’s at the hospital with the president, so you’ll have to go there to get her statement,” Mike said.
“What are you doing here in the fi
rst place?” Cross asked.
“Not that it is any of your fucking business, but the president is the triplets’ father. Tiny and Prez found each other again after fifteen years apart, and he proposed to her tonight,” Mike explained.
“What the fuck? She’s engaged to a biker?” Cross asked.
“Do you wanna take that up with Tiny after what happened the last time you pissed her off?” Mike asked.
“Oh, hell no... Okay, point taken. She’s fucking scary,” Cross replied.
“Yeah, she is. You know her and what she’s like. Look, these guys are clean. I’ve done extensive background checks on all of them, and they are just a bunch of guys living life. They don’t get into trouble with the law,” Mike said.
“Okay, let’s get these statements,” Cross said.
After we gave our statements, they searched the clubhouse but didn’t find anything. They then called the coroners, who were gone in an hour, which was pretty quick if you asked me. The police told us that if they had any further questions, they would let us know even though it was pretty straightforward, so we surrendered the guns that Mike had given us, and then they left.
“Right, we are going to the hospital. Wombat, are you okay, brother?” I asked.
“Yep, all good. Got five stitches, but that’s all. Thank fuck they weren’t better shots,” he replied.
“True or it could have been a hell of a lot worse. Okay, I need you to look over the surveillance tapes and find anything you can. How they got in and if there are any fuckers left, then get to the hospital,” I ordered.
“You got it,” he said.
“All right, let’s go, brothers,” I yelled.
Hopping on our bikes, we made our way to the hospital.
By the time we walked into the waiting room, it had been a couple of hours since the shooting. When I found Monique, she was a mess. She was crying and looked like she had been for a while. The kids were at her feet with their heads on her lap, and Dave sat beside her with his arm wrapped around her shoulder. I moved to her other side and placed my arm around her on top of Dave’s arm.
Dave slid his arm out and walked over to Mike, who then enfolded him into his arms. I could clearly hear Dave’s sniffles, and he was shaking like a leaf. Mike whispered in his ear, then kissed his head.
I turned my attention back to Monique as Trigger took Dave’s place on the other side of her.
“How is he, honey?” I asked.
“I don’t know. They lost him twice in the ambulance, and they were doing CPR when they wheeled him away from me. I wasn’t allowed to follow, so I just don’t know. He has to make it, Dozer. He promised me, and I can’t lose him now that I just found him again.” She sniffled.
“He’s strong, honey. He will make it. He’ll be back with you and the kids before you know it,” I reassured her.
Nodding, we all got comfortable in the chairs to wait it out. About four hours later, a doctor came into the room, her scrubs covered in blood, and she looked up from her clipboard.
“Family of Derrick Adams,” she called.
Everyone stood up, and I put Monique and the kids in front of me.
“We’re his family. He’s my husband,” Monique said.
“Hello, Mrs Adams, I’m Dr Jeffreys. I just performed surgery on your husband, and Mr Adams is a very lucky man at the moment. The gunshot wound to the right shoulder went through the muscle but nicked the bone, so he is going to require rehabilitation on it. It should be fine, though. The other gunshot was the lucky one. No major organs were hit, but if it had been a millimetre, either way, it would have been a very different situation. It went between the liver and kidney on the right side, but he did nick an artery, which caused internal bleeding. That explains the cardiac arrest he went into multiple times, but soon as the bleeding was taken care of, he stabilised, and he should be fine from here on out. He is still in critical condition, though, as we have to be on the lookout for infection. The next twenty-four hours should give us an indication on what happens from here on out. He is in recovery right now and will be taken down to ICU soon. Only two at a time will be able to visit, so I will get someone to take you there as soon as he is settled,” she said.
“Oh, thank God. Thank you, doctor,” Monique said.
“You’re welcome, Mrs Adams,” the doc replied, and then walked out.
“Come here, kids. He is going to be fine,” Monique told them.
“I was so scared, Mum,” Madilyn said.
“So was I, baby. Never been so scared in my life,” Monique said.
“I’m going to the cafeteria to get coffee. Does anyone else want one?” Trigger asked and got a nod from most of the guys.
“I’ll go with you,” I said.
As soon as we walked out and were alone, Trigger said, “Are you okay, Marty? Please, tell me you weren’t fucking hurt.”
I grabbed him and brought him to me in a tight hug. Using his real name, I whispered in his ear, “Hey, I’m fine, Sam. You weren’t hurt were you?”
“No. I’m okay,” he whispered, shaking his head.
I nuzzled his neck and kissed him. It would kill me if I lost him.
“I love you, Marty. I’d fucking die if anything happened to you,” Trigger said.
“I’m not going anywhere, baby. I love you, and I’d be lost without you, too. You’re it for me, babe, for fucking life, yeah?” I replied.
“Yeah, for life,” he said
I pulled away slightly and lifted his chin so he was looking me in the eyes, and then I leaned down to kiss him on the lips.
Hearing a cough, we pulled apart, and I looked over to see Mike, who had a huge smile on his face.
“Shut up,” I said.
“Didn’t say a word.” He chuckled.
“What are doing, anyway?” I asked.
“Thought I’d help grab the coffees,” he answered.
I nodded, and said, “Fair enough.”
As we walked to the cafeteria, I knew Mike was dying to say something.
“Just say it, Mike.” I laughed.
“So, you’re gay?” he asked.
“Technically, we are bi. We’ve been together for years, but we love women, too. We wouldn’t be opposed to a woman full-time if the right one came along,” Trigger answered.
“Fair enough. I’m guessing not many people know?” he asked.
“No, and we’d like to keep it that way. We don’t think the brothers would understand very well,” I stated.
“Your secret is safe with me, but I think they’ll all surprise you,” Mike replied.
We walked up to the counter and ordered the coffees. When they were finished, and we had them in hand, we returned to the waiting room and handed them out.
When the nurse came in to say we could go see Prez, everyone walked to the ICU waiting room. Monique and the kids were the first ones to go in, and then we all took our turn.
When I walked in with Trigger, Prez was hooked up to machines and just looked like he was sleeping. We talked to him for a bit even though he wasn’t awake, then left so others could have their turn.
Wombat called us over to him when we walked back into the waiting room, so Trigger and I walked over to him, and before we knew it, the whole cabinet was there.
“So what’s up, Wombat?” I asked.
“I checked the surveillance, and we got all the shooters. They cut a hole in the fence and climbed through. There was a getaway car, and it looked like Katrina was in it, but as soon as the sirens got close, she drove off. I have no idea where she is, but I have a tracker on her, and we’ll find her and finish this once and for all,” he said.
“Good, keep us updated. Fuck, I’ll be glad when this is all over,” I stated, and everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
We joined the others and sat down. Dave and Mike left and ended up taking the kids home with them, so the rest of us sat vigil with Monique and waited to see Prez.
The cops turned up to take Monique’s statement, and
after an hour, they left happy. Not long after, most of the guys left for the night but would be back the next day.
Trigger and I decided to stay with Monique, so we settled in for the night.
The next day, Prez was transferred into a room and had stabilised. It looked like he would be fine. Thank fuck.
Derrick
I was dreaming and talking to Mum and Dad. They both looked at me lovingly.
“Hey, guys, what are you doing here?” I asked.
“Hey, son, look at you so handsome now,” Mum said.
“Hi, son,” Dad said, smiling.
“Hi, Derrick.” I turned and Richard and Mary, Monique’s parents, were standing there as well.
“Okay, this is weird. What are all you guys doing here... Oh, fuck no. No, no, no. I can’t be dead. Monique and the kids. I won’t leave them again. I promised her. No. I have to go back. Can I get back?” I asked.
“Yes, you can, and you will. We all wanted to say that we are so proud of you and Monique and those kids. We love you all, and we are watching over you. Give Monique and those beautiful children a hug and a kiss, and tell them we love them,” Richard said.
“I will, Richard.”
“We love you, son,” Dad said.
“I love you, too, Dad. I love you all,” I replied, looking at all of them.
“Go, Derrick, she needs you more than we do,” Mary said.
Nodding, I waved at them, and then all I could hear were beeps. As my senses came back to me, I could feel something covering my mouth. I tried to breathe, but I couldn’t, so I started to panic causing the machine to go off. I heard the voice of an angel telling me to calm down.
“Derrick, can you hear me?”
I didn’t know the voice, but I moaned.
“Can you open your eyes?”
I tried, but all I saw was a blinding light, so I slammed them shut and tried again, slower this time until I finally opened them all the way and saw Monique standing by my bedside. She had tears running down her cheeks, but she was smiling. I raised my hand to her cheek and wiped the tears.
Beyond Monique, there was a cute nurse. She did nothing for me, but Monique? Fuck, she was gorgeous.
