Chapter Two

Minus

“ I s this coffee or motor oil, Phil?”

“I’m sorry, Clutch, I would have made a fresh pot if I knew you and Minus were… stopping by. Here let me make…”

Phil Blondino tried to stand, but the barrel of Clutch’s gun pointed at his head convinced him to remain seated. Phil’s grease-stained office chair seemed to groan in agony from underneath his bulky frame.

“You’re good right there, Phil. I’m just going to sit here and sip my delicious cup of Pennzoil while my good friend, Minus, looks for Cutter’s money.”

“Really, it’s no trouble, Clutch. I’m ha…happy to do it,” Phil stammered as heavy beads of sweat formed on his stubbled upper lip, which was frozen in a nervous grin.

I shot a cold stare back at Clutch, who was now in full-on ‘Sergeant at Arms Mode.’ There was no question he was the right man for the job. Clutch was always calmest when smack dab in the middle of a storm of violence and chaos. Drawing or losing blood didn’t seem to phase him in the least. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I’m some sort of saint. I’d never backed down from a fight and I’d even started my fair share, but Clutch looked forward to violence.

“You see, that’s always been your problem, Phil, you don’t listen very well. For instance, you didn’t listen when I told you not to bother with the coffee. We won’t be here long, and I highly doubt the next cup could possibly be any better than this swill.” Clutch dumped the remainder of his cup on Phil’s trash littered desk. “You also failed to hear me when I asked you where Cutter’s money is, and now my associate, Minus, is probably going to get his pretty cowboy boots dirty rooting around your filthy shop looking for it.”

I flipped Clutch off and began casually tossing Phil’s rat hole of an office. It wasn’t as if his place was some sort of secured facility. His shitty garage was on par with his persona, a low-level guy Cutter used only when needed.

“I doubt even Phil would be stupid enough to keep that much money here,” I said.

“Are you, Phil?” Clutch asked.

“What?” Phil asked.

“Are you that stupid?”

“What?”

“You keep saying ‘what.’ Are you having trouble with your hearing, Phil? Maybe I can help you with that.”

Clutch holstered his gun and pulled out a knife from his belt. He walked behind Phil and grabbed his head, pressing the blade to Phil’s ear. Phil tried to squirm, but Clutch held firm.

“Hold still, big man.”

“Please don’t cut me, Clutch,” Phil cried out.

Clutch smiled. “What could go wrong? This is a chop-shop isn’t it? A place where large things get cut up into small pieces. ”

Phil’s eyes widened.

“I’m going to ask you one more time to point us in the direction of Cutter’s three million dollars and if you fail to hear me this time, I’m going to be forced to improve your hearing by any means necessary.”

I chuckled. “Wouldn’t cutting his ear off make his hearing worse?”

“I’m not a doctor, Minus. I’m sure Phil here understands that I’m doing the best I can under the circumstances, don’t you, Phil?”

Phil’s bloodshot eyes bulged from their sockets, as he grunted out, “Sure, Clutch.”

“I simply need my good buddy Phil to hear my question as clearly as possible. So here it goes, one more time. Where is Cutter’s fucking money?”

“It’s not here…”

The first drops of blood appeared as the blade pressed into the soft flesh where his earlobe connected to his head.

“I’ll tell you where it is!” he screamed instantly. “I swear to God, I’ll tell you where it is.”

Clutch stopped, straightened, and looked at me, smiling. “See, it worked! He can hear just fine now.”

“I think you missed your calling, Doctor Clutch,” I said.

“You asshole, you almost cut my fucking ear off!” Phil snapped.

“ Come on , Philly Cheese Steak, I barely touched you. Now, where’s the money?” Clutch asked, once again leveling his pistol to Phil’s head.

“A dude named Viper hired my crew to steal a car. That’s it!” he squeaked. “I swear I didn’t know there was money in the trunk until the car got here and they opened it up.”

“But once you saw the money, you didn’t think to call Cutter?”

“How was I supposed to know the money was his?”

“Don’t make me shoot you for being stupid, Phil. The Burning Saints are your business partners. Three million in cash shouldn’t roll through your shop without raising an alarm. You should have called Cutter as soon as you saw the money.”

“You’re right, Clutch. You’re absolutely right.” Blood ran down the rolls of pink flesh that made up his neck as his hands applied pressure to the wound.

I cocked my head. “Now tell me, who the fuck is Viper and where can I find him?”

“He’s the new head of Los Psychos, the Mexican club. They hang out at the Nine Ball.”

“Leo’s old place?”

“That’s the place! I swear that’s all I know. It was supposed to be a simple job. Snatch the Caddy and bring it back here for the pickup. I didn’t know anything about Cutter’s money being in the trunk, or that you were involved Minus.” Phil’s attention turned to me. “Last I heard you moved to Texas or something.”

“I’m not involved, so leave me the fuck out of this,” I said.

I’d always hated Phil. He was a piece of shit and I couldn’t wait to get out of his garage. Besides being a car thief, a profession I detested, Phil was also a loan shark and a meth dealer. The exact sort of bottom feeder I’d tried to protect my club from years ago.

Phil continued, “I know Cutter and I have had our disagreements lately… and that mistakes have been made. Like I said, I didn’t know it was his money and I will personally apologize to Cutter myself.”

“Don’t worry, Phil, I’ll let him know how sorry you were.”

The sound of Clutch’s silenced .45 was still loud enough to startle me. Phil’s body, now two holes greater, lie on his office floor in a heap, a pool of blood rapidly forming underneath his lumpy frame.

Clutch simply holstered his gun and shrugged.

“What the fuck, man?” I shouted

“Cutter wanted him gone,” Clutch said flatly. “He’s got plans for this place, and Phil was getting sloppier and sloppier. ”

“You didn’t want to clue me in? What the fuck are we gonna do with the body?”

“You worry too much Minus, you always have. I’ve got a cleaning crew on standby. Cutter wants this all taken care of right away. We’ve got to get to the Sanctuary. Plus, now we’ve gotta find out who this Viper prick is.”

“No, you need to find out more about Viper,” I snapped back. “I’m here for a meeting with Cutter and that’s it. Twenty-four hours and then I’m headed back to Savannah. In fact, as far as anyone else is concerned. I’m not even here.”

“Yeah, well your plans may have just changed,” he said, bringing his phone to his ear.

“Yes, I called earlier about a bad stain in my carpet,” Clutch said. “That’s correct, the one located in my hallway. I’d like to have a crew come out right away please. Thank you.”

He hung up and we made our way out through the back entrance, to his Barracuda parked in the rear lot. As we got in, Clutch said, “Ya know, you still haven’t told me exactly why you’re back in town.”

“Yes, I did. Cutter called me and asked me to meet with him, so here I am.”

“I understand that, but why ?” he asked as we peeled off into the night. “Everyone here thought you were swallowed up by some swamp, as the late great Phil so astutely pointed out.”

“ Astutely ?” I choked out, surprised by his word choice.

“Hey, motherfucker, I read some of those books you sent me when I was in the joint. Anyways, don’t change the subject. Why the fuck are you here?”

“I told you I have no idea, and I wouldn’t lie to you. Now, slow down, will ya? The last thing we need is for your dumb ass to get pulled over for speeding while fleeing a murder scene.”

Clutch, ignoring my request, continued his interrogation, “Don’t get cute with me, bro. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems a little odd that you’re so casual about meeting with a guy you haven’t spoken to directly in eight years, who exiled you to Hicksville USA, and that… Oh yeah, once tried to kill you!”

“Look, you know Cutter as well as I do,” I said. “He never makes a move without good reason.”

“Still doesn’t make a damn bit of sense.”

“Look, Cutter has his reasons for asking me here, and I have my reasons for saying yes.”

“Is one of those reasons her ?” Clutch challenged.

“Who?” I asked, knowing damn well who he meant.

Clutch laughed. “So, she is one of the reasons.”

“Fuck you, Nicky.”

“That’s not a no.”

“You’re right, it’s a fuck you, Nicky. I haven’t seen or talked to her since I left, and she has no idea I’m in town,” I said, the irritation in my voice rising.

“Okay, okay. Don’t get all bent outta shape.”

“Look, I’m just as curious as you as to why Cutter’s sent for me, but I can guaran-fuckin’-tee it’s got nothing to do with her .”

“If you say so,” Clutch replied.

“You’re probably making a way bigger deal outta this whole thing. The old man probably has some business for me to take care of back in Savannah that he doesn’t want to discuss over the phone.”

“Maybe,” he replied.

“I’ll bet you five hundred dollars, Cutter’s gonna have me on the first flight out of town tomorrow.”

“After you help me with Viper,” Clutch said matter-of-factly.

“I told you you’re on your own with this bullshit. I don’t know anything about Cutter’s three million dollars, or who this Viper guy is, but this all sounds more like your problem, than my problem,” I said.

Clutch finally slowed the car down. He turned to me, his expression turning deadly serious. “It’s a club problem, Minus and last I checked, you still wear a Saints patch.”

I nodded but said nothing .

We drove on through the ever-present Portland drizzle until we reached the Sanctuary, the Burning Saints’ compound. The cluster of buildings used to belong to a paper company that went out of business years ago and were now owned outright by the club.

Clutch pulled out a remote control and punched in a code which opened a rolling security gate.

“Trust me, pal. As important as you may think you are to Cutter, the club’s three million in cash is more important,” Clutch said as he parked. “I’m gonna have to sniff around a little and see what we can find out about Viper and his crew. Los Psychos have been making a lot of noise around town, so if they really are involved it’s gonna complicate things. For all we know Phil was lying through his rotten teeth but Cutter’s gonna want me to make sure, and honestly, I could really use some trustworthy backup. So, are you gonna help me with this or not?”

I paused for a few moments then asked, “Who’s the pile of cash from?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. Cutter’s been cagey lately. Super secretive and shit. He’s been keeping everyone at arm’s length for a while now and I don’t really know what to think. Look man, I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t think it’s a coincidence that you’ve been summoned here, at the same time this payment was scheduled to be delivered.”

Clutch’s tone shifted. “I also don’t believe that you haven’t thought about what you might say if you see… her .”

“You can say her name, ya know. Regardless of what you may believe, Cutter is not omniscient,” I said.

“ I can say her name, but you can’t, my friend. According to Cutter you can’t even think about her.”

“Yeah, he made that pretty clear the night he hung me over the Burnside bridge, so why the fuck do you keep bringing her up?” I asked.

We got out of the car and made our way to the entrance of the Chapel, the Sanctuary’s main building, and our meeting hall.

“Just making sure you’ve got your head on straight should you run into her, that’s all,” Clutch replied.

“Being as she and Cutter don’t talk, she and I don’t talk, and Cutter and I don’t talk, I can’t imagine why or how I could possibly run into Cricket Wallace.”

As we approached the Sanctuary, I could hear what sounded like a raging party going on inside. Clutch opened the door and it took me a few moments to register what I was seeing.

Standing amongst a sea of leather, denim, beer bottles, and beards was a stunning blonde. She had long legs which supported the sexiest body ever created and a face so beautiful, it made me forget what any other woman looked like.

Cricket Wallace was standing in the middle of the Chapel, mere feet away from me.

“Hi, Jase, it’s good to see you again.”