Chapter 11

Ven

W e get to the ridgeline after dark. I wish I had my drone with the infrared camera right now, I hope it’s still safe beside the tree. As it’s a clear moonlit night and visibility is good, I send up one of my other drones instead, but we don’t see anything unusual.

“This is fucking infuriating,” Siege says irritably.

“No joke,” I respond. “I tracked that fucking van for over two hours across several hundred acres and the damn thing just disappeared into the thin air.”

“Nothing ever disappears,” Rigs says while looking through his binoculars. “Zen said he couldn’t find anything in the county records about old roads, towns, or businesses in this area. Since it’s highly improbable that there would be old dirt roads that lead to nowhere, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say someone wiped the county records.”

Several heads turn to look at him simultaneously.

I stammer, “Are you saying whatever’s going on with the vans, goes all the way up to county or even state government?” If that’s what he’s insinuating, it boggles my mind. It smacks of conspiracy, and that seems highly unlikely to me.

Rigs glances over at me, lowering his binoculars. “Never attribute to high level coordination what can be achieved by low level government employees when someone greases their palms generously.”

Now that made a lot more sense. “So what’s the plan?”

“We head down, breach the property, start where the road branches off and end where the van disappeared. This is clearly going to take the better part of the night, but it has to be done. This might solve the mystery of where these vans with the out-of-state plates are coming from, and what they’re doing in our neck of the woods.”

“I’m here to find Amy’s mother. To my mind everything else is secondary.”

Siege says, “Agreed. Human lives always come before solving mysteries and appeasing our curiosity. Let’s get moving.”

Rigs announces, “I’ve sent a message with the coordinates to both target sites. Remember, you’ve got to make the first rendezvous in order to be on the correct secondary road to reach the site where the van disappeared.”

We all murmur our agreement, mount our bikes and head for dirt road through the old man’s property. Our first rendezvous is the smaller one-lane road that branches off the main dirt road. Riding through the darkness with my club brothers on a mission to find Amy’s mom is the best feeling in the world. One way or another, I’m going to find Amy’s mother and bring her home safely.

We ride for miles under the cover of moonlight, we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves, so our headlights are off. As this is private land there should be no other traffic, and we’ll hear anyone approaching.

We all get to the first rendezvous point without incident, even the scouts we sent out in several directions reported nothing suspicious, and I managed to collect my drone, which was exactly where I landed it beside the oak tree. The only thing left to do is ride down the one-lane road into the area where the van went missing.

Rigs and Siege are in the lead position, they slow down, and we all stop at the coordinates and get off our bikes.

“Look,” Siege says. “Vehicles don’t just disappear. This van that Ven lost track of earlier had to go somewhere. We just need to find it.”

We all break apart on foot, cutting through the trees and literally walking a grid formation. While it doesn’t have to be as precise as cops looking for evidence, we want to make sure we don’t miss anything. Rage and I are walking together, but there’s no banter like we normally have, because we need to be alert to anything.

Being quiet pays off when we hear people laughing and a glass breaking in the distance. I use hand gestures to orient Rage in the direction I think the sound is coming from. Reaching for my cell phone, I send a message to my club brothers alerting them that we’ve found something and sending a location pin.

As we draw closer, we see dim lights. Dropping down onto our bellies, we crawl forward. There’s a cave ahead with a camouflage mesh covering the opening. I realize that’s how it escaped my drone. From the height it was flying it would have blended in, and I hadn’t wanted to risk a low-level swoop in case I got spotted. I might have picked it up if I’d been using the thermal imaging function, but as it was daylight the heat signatures aren’t always so good.

“I’ll be damned,” Rage whispers.

I glance over at his astonished expression. “Finally found them.”

Before long, my club brothers join us from every direction.

Rigs points out what we’re all thinking. “It smells like they’re cooking meth.”

We all recognize the cat piss stench. We can also see the outline of the van parked inside the cave. I assume it’s deep, because the van barely fits into the mouth, and we can hear multiple people laughing and the noise of metal clanking echoing off the walls.

Rigs comes to his feet and nods his head towards the cave, indicating that he’s going to do recon.

“Let me do it,” I hiss.

He shrugs and steps back.

I get all the way without being noticed and pry back the netting to peer inside. I can see several men moving about. I quietly move to the other side and look in, trying to see if Amy’s mother is in there. But it’s just a bunch of men shifting boxes around as far as I can see.

I go back to my club brothers and make a report. “The van I saw earlier is parked there, along with at least a half a dozen men. Looks like they’re stacking boxes, I suspect Rigs was right about them cooking meth. The stench was almost unbearable.”

“Good job,” Siege whispers. “Now, here’s the plan. Rigs will lead one team, and I’ll lead the other. Tank, you, Ven, and Rage are on my team. We’ll squeeze past the right side of the van. Rigs, you, Dutch, and Talon enter on the left side, we’ll strike at the same time and take them by surprise. The rest of you wait here and grab anyone who makes a run for it. I’d rather have them alive than dead, if at all possible, but if it comes down to you or them, do what you have to do.”

Everyone nods their agreement and pulls out their weapons of choice. We take our places on each side of the van at the cave entrance. Siege and Rigs quietly cut through the mesh, and we surge forward just like Siege planned. Each of us tackles the first person we get to, and even though they fight back hard, we manage to overwhelm them.

When they’re all sitting on the ground with their hands and feet secured by cable ties, Rigs and Tank pull open the van to find it half-packed with meth. We’re busy talking about what do about the situation when one man speaks up.

“Alright, this doesn’t have to go sideways for your club.”

Siege frowns at the stranger. “What the hell are you talking about? I think you mean this is going sideways for you and your idiot friends.”

“Look, it’s pretty clear you don’t know who I am, but rest assured, this is my operation and I’m the one you need to talk to if you want to cut a deal.”

Siege walks over to him and gestures at him and all of his cronies. “In case you didn’t notice, we fought a little battle here and you lost. Exactly what reason would I have to cut any kind of deal with you, when I can set this shithole on fire and give each one of you a dirt nap?”

“Kind of extreme, don’t ya think? This is a good money-making business, really well organized. Why throw away easy money? You’re a biker. Bikers like to earn, right?”

Siege turns his head to the side slightly as if trying to figure this man out. “We’re not a one percent club, dickhead.”

“Oh, I’d be willing to offer more than one percent for your protection. Some locals have been spying on us with drones and they’ve spooked my drivers. I need them eliminated, and I’m willing to pay handsomely if you and your boys want to take on the job.”

Siege moves forward and squats down in front of the guy. “What’s your name?”

“Edmund Grayson. My father owns this land,” the man says.

I come closer taking a look at the elusive fourth brother and ask, “Where are the three stooges? I’ve met your other brothers.”

Edmund’s expression turns smug. “I’m the smart one, they’re just hired muscle.”

“I suppose that makes you his favorite, right?”

“Yeah, he said I had promise. Trust me, the others are useful idiots.”

Squatting down beside Siege, I look him straight in the eye. “Is that so? Does your daddy know you’ve got a meth lab on his property?”

“What the fuck do you think? Even with a spread like this, he can’t make anywhere near what my operation does. Anyway, he’s not long for this world, and once the problem with the inheritance is sorted then I’ll make a killing here.” Looking from me to Siege and back again, he asks, “So are you in? If you take care of my problem with the locals and protect my shipments, I’ll cut you in for ten percent.”

Siege glances at me and nods for me to break the bad news to him. I snort a laugh and take great pleasure in telling him, “I don’t think that very generous offer is gonna work for us. We couldn’t very well spend the money if we eliminated ourselves.”

It takes him a few seconds to work out what I’m telling him, and then his expression turns furious. “What the fuck business does a biker gang have sticking their noses in my business?” Before I can answer, he begins cursing under his breath and then shouts, “You stupid fuckers are not gonna take over my business. I’ll see every single one of you six feet under first.”

Not caring for his threat, I push him back onto the ground and climb on top of him. I punch him in the face a couple of times to make the point that he’s got no power in this situation. None at all. I poke him roughly in the middle of his forehead, “We are not an outlaw biker club. Get that through your thick skull. We don’t want to fucking work for you and running our own little drug empire is not on our bucket list either.”

“Fine,” he says before spitting a mouthful of blood off to the side. “Why the hell have you bastards been stalking my drivers?”

I get up, then drag him to a standing position, his feet are tied, so I give him a second to stabilize himself before letting go.

Siege informs him, “I know you probably thought your operation was flying under the radar. Maybe it was for local law enforcement? But the Legion keeps a close eye on everything that goes on in our county. When dozens of vans, all with license plates from the states that border California drive through town on the regular, we knew something shitty was happening. We looked around and found you with not a lot of effort.”

Looking more uncertain than before, he responds, “That’s why we’d make such good partners.”

Siege laughs, “Just a second ago, you wanted to make us your lackeys. Now, you’re offering us a partnership. If we keep talking, pretty soon you’ll be trying to get us to take this shitshow off your hands.”

Struggling to work the cable ties off his wrists, he huffs out, “I’ll be straight with you for just a second. What I really want is for the lot of you get the fuck off our property. You’re trespassing. And now you know where our set up is, I’m gonna have to find another location. That pisses me off because hideouts like this are hard to find.”

Rigs finally steps in because it’s becoming increasingly obvious that poor Edmund just doesn’t get it. We’re talking, but he’s in a world of his own, where he calls the shots and apparently nobody tells him what to do.

Rigs rattles him by delivering a swift gut punch and catching him by the shoulder to keep him from falling when he doubles over. “Now, I need you to shut your mouth and open your ears. Because if you don’t, I’m going to personally send you to meet your maker. You got that?”

Rigs might be a man of God but with his black hair, black clothing, and that weird, oversized cross he wears, he looks a bit like a vampire if I’m being honest. Or at least, he’s rocking the dark prince vibe pretty hard. Whatever it is about Rigs, his harsh treatment finally gets through to Edmund because he snaps his mouth shut and just nods.

Rigs lays it all out for him, saying the same kind of shit that Siege and I did. Somehow this time, Edmund is in the mood to listen.

“We’re not an outlaw motorcycle club. That means we don’t earn our way in life by engaging in illegal activities, and we sure as hell aren’t going to get involved in the manufacture and transportation of meth across state lines.”

“Yeah, I’m getting that.”

“Sir,” Rigs prompts him.”

“I understand, sir,” Edmund responds weakly. I can tell by the look on his face he’s getting scared, but some small part of him still resents having to show respect to people he considers inferior.

Rigs continues, giving him a little shake to drive this important point home. “The Savage Legion MC got its rep from way we deal with assholes who think they can operate in our territory. There is not one single chance in hell we’re going to sanction a meth lab in Las Salinas or allow you to push drugs in our territory. So you might as well give up on the idea of continuing your little operation within fifty miles of the county line.”

“Yes, sir. We’ll pack it up and move on, it’s gonna be hard to find another place like this, it’s not like I’ve got a bunch of senile fucked up relatives I can call on,” he mutters. Something crosses my mind briefly, that’s the second time he’s mentioned something about his father. He said he wasn’t long for this world, is the old man dying? Or were Edmund and his brothers up to something else?

Rigs gives him a disgusted look. I don’t think any of us actually believe he’s going to leave without a fight, but that isn’t my main concern.

“Rigs,” I say his name in a low deadly tone.

Without looking in my direction, he tells Edmund. “You think we’re just going to take you at your word and let you go? Hell no. You have to pay a price for operating in our territory without permission.”

“Fine, what do you want?” he says angrily. The poor fool takes a minute to wipe the blood dripping down his cheek onto the shoulder of his shirt. It’s all he can manage with his hands tied.

Rigs just gives him the evil eye. Edmund groans before rephrasing his question. “What do you want from me, sir.”

Appeased, Rigs tells him, “We’re looking for Carol, your father’s only daughter. She’s missing and I think you know where she is.”

I move closer to hear what he has to say. I want to see every expression that jumps onto his face, to tell if he’s lying or not.

Edmund staggers back, clearly wary of me getting within striking distance again. He frowns. “That stupid bitch? Why in the hell is everyone so obsessed with her?”

I punch him right in the mouth. Before I can say anything, Rigs pulls me back.

Suddenly Siege is on the other side of me. “If you want him to talk, don’t break his fucking jaw.”

Rigs just shakes his head and turns back to our mouthy prisoner. “Answer the damn question.”

A stubborn expression settles onto his face. “I don’t know nothing about that woman except that she’s apparently my half-sister. She older than me and sickly. Stupid senile fool has her down to inherit his farm, but the bitch won’t outlive him for long,” he stops like he’s said something he didn’t mean to. Wiping his bloody nose again, he says, “You can beat on me all night and it won’t matter. I can’t give you information I don’t have.”

“He’s lying,” I shout, trying to lunge for him again. Some small part of my mind knows that I’m out of line, but my temper is getting the better of me. I don’t know what this fucker is playing at, but I think I’m getting an idea. If land and money are involved, then maybe Edmund and his band of merry men are working some confidence trick? I wonder if they’re even the old man’s actual sons?

A short silence spins out in the cave, with Edmund daring us to beat the information out of him, his men afraid to say anything, and my club brothers standing around, ready for anything.

Siege breaks the silence with a bit of wisdom that I was too agitated to think of on my own. “So, you reckon you’re the old man’s favorite?”

Edmund wipes his cheek on the shoulder of his shirt again before jerking his chin up arrogantly. “I am. That means you had better let me go before he comes looking for you with hired guns. It won’t take him long to realize I’m missing.”

Siege smiles. It’s smug and self-satisfied. He walks up to Edmund and pokes him in the chest with one finger. “I’m counting on it. We need to get his attention and let him know who has you.”

Pivoting around he looks at our club brothers. “Make this place go boom. The bigger the explosion, the better.”

“What about his minions?” Rigs asks.

“They’re clearly not fighters, so they don’t matter.” Turning to the handful of bound men sitting in a short row, he gestures towards the van. “Unload the van and then get the hell out of here. This is a one-time only gift from our club to your bosses.”

They’re all staring at Siege in disbelief until he adds, “I know Eddie-Boy here isn’t the shot caller, so tell whoever it is, that the Savage Legion MC has shut down this entire operation in Las Salinas. Anyone who tracks back here will be going home in a body bag. Got it?”

Although Edmund is complaining loudly in the background, the men all start nodding.

I’ve got to admit that I’m confused as hell. “I don’t get where you’re going with this, Prez.”

Siege gives me a lopsided smile, extremely pleased with himself for some reason.

But it’s Rigs who answers as he pulls the first minion to his feet, cuts the cable ties off his wrists and ankles and gives him a shove in the direction of the van. “Our club president has decided to trade the old man’s favorite son for Carol Grayson.”

I have to tell Rigs and Siege my theory, so I gesture for them to step out of Edmund’s earshot, and hiss, “I don’t think they’re his sons. I think they’re pulling some kind of scam on the old man. Did you hear him say inheritance? What if the old man is senile and forgetting what he did to his daughter, or maybe he’s now repentant and wants her to inherit? These goons turn up not long after his second wife dies to try and stake a claim.”

Siege nods, “The thought crossed my mind too. If Amy’s mom is set to inherit the farm, then it stands to reason that they’d want to keep her close. At least until they’ve gotten the old man to change his will.”

“Money is the root of all evil,” Rigs adds darkly.

“Though what if it isn’t that?” I start second guessing myself.

My club president shrugs, “I think we can safely say that Rufus Grayson either has Carol, or Edmund and his brothers know where she is. But if what Edmund says is true and he’s daddy’s favorite, then taking him might get the old man to show his cards.”

“What if he doesn’t want to trade?” I ask worriedly.

Rigs’ eyebrows shoot up. “I hope to hell he does. Because if he doesn’t, that means we’re gonna drop him and bury him deep.”

Catching the drift of my club president’s plan, my anxiety clicks all the way down.

We all step back so we’re standing beside Edmund, I give the man a smile, “I call dibs on taking him apart piece by piece.”

Siege chimes in, “Granted. We’ll start with Rufus Grayson’s most favored son and work our way down to the least favored.”

By this time Edmund has stopped talking and is all ears. Understanding the gravity of his situation, he starts negotiating in earnest. “Look, I know I was being a dick before, but we can work this out. “Let me go, and I can fetch the woman, she’s nothing but trouble anyway, especially when her kid started snooping around.”

Siege stops smiling and his expression turns cold. “That woman is your sister and her kid, your niece. Why did the asshole take her in the first place?”

Edmund looks shifty. “Nothing nefarious.”

“So tell me,” Siege shoots back. I’m all ears.”

“Cut me loose and I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

Siege jerks his chin at Rigs. “Cut him loose. If he tries to run, kill him.”

Edmund grumbles, “Jesus Christ. You guys are the jumpiest bunch of fuckers I’ve ever seen in my entire life.”

The minute Rigs cuts him loose, he takes a gigantic step back, rubbing his wrists. “You don’t have to turn every fucking thing into a capital offense. You do know that, right?”

“I’m tired of hearing the sound of your voice. Tell us why he took Carol Grayson, or so help me you will regret it. Make it quick and concise.”

Shooting Siege a dirty look, he says, “Fine. My old man has a few fucking screws loose.”

“Like dementia or something like that?” I ask.

“Yeah, probably. I’m not a damned doctor but something is sure as fuck wrong with him. He didn’t want us around when his wife was alive, guess he was ashamed of us or something.”

“Or didn’t want her to know about his cheating?” Rigs mutters.

“Yeah, something like that. After his wife got sick, we started dropping around and paying the old man a visit. He kept going on about his daughter, how he regretted what he’d done and saying he wanted to make it up to her. Turns out the stupid fucker changed his will and left everything to her.”

I jump in, “So you’re planning on holding her captive until he dies, then killing her too?”

Edmund’s eyebrows almost disappear into his hair at that, “Wait? What? No! Well, okay maybe Big Joe said something like that. But the thing is, the old man’s mind keeps going back and forth all the time. He didn’t remember changing his will, as far as he’s concerned his bitch of a daughter upped and ran off thirty years ago. We decided if we moved in, then maybe we’d get him on a lucid day and get him to change the will. Problem is the old man is batshit crazy half the time, so there’s no way any attorney would notarize it.”

“Okay, this sounds like a fucked-up telenovela, you wanna tell me where Amy’s mom fits in to all this?” I’m trying to get my head around what he’s saying, but it sounds so messed up I’m not sure I’m following.

“The old man is sick, not just in the head, and if he dies and the will isn’t sorted then everything goes to our sister. We wanted to keep her in our sights, that way, if he goes before this mess is sorted, then maybe we can persuade her to sign the farm and land over to us,” Edmund pauses and catches our eyes, “Look I don’t mean we were gonna torture her, just offer to set her free if she gives us what is ours. But then…”

“Then what?” I demand.

“It got kind of fucked up,” Edmund says.

“Kind of? Like this isn’t the craziest redneck shit I’ve ever heard,” I spit out.

“Hey, I resent that. I’m not a fucking redneck. Anyway, I managed to get her to come to the house, I have a friend who works in the hospital pharmacy, and he managed to get the delivery address for her meds changed. Problem is, when the old man opened the door and saw her, he thought she was his dead wife.”

“Fuck!” Siege exclaims. Rigs looks concerned.

Me, I’m confused as fuck, “Which one?”

“The first one, Amy Beth’s mom,” he answers.

“Don’t tell me, he’s keeping his own daughter as a wife,” Rigs’ tone is menacing.

Edmund shakes his head, “It’s nothing like that, I don’t think the old man would be capable of sex even if he wanted to. No, he’s got some fantasy about having his family all together. He’s got poor Carol cooking and cleaning like a good mom. We sit around the dinner table every night, say grace, and make polite conversation. He’s happy as a clam, thinks he’s finally getting the family he deserves.”

“What about his other three sons. Aren’t they invited to dinner?”

“Hell no. Big Joe and Hal are fucking animals, and Dan isn’t good at pretending to enjoy the happy family life he’s providing. They take their meals in the barn and sleep there too.”

While everyone is trying to wrap their head around his story, I’m furious. “In other words, he’s slaving her out. He has to be. Carol is way too sick to be cooking and cleaning for five men every day. I know you said you weren’t gonna physically hurt her, but this is absolute bullshit.”

“Of course she isn’t doing all that singlehandedly. Dan does most of the work for her, and the other two deal with the farm, leaving me plenty of time to…” he trails off.

Yeah, leaving him plenty of time to run his meth operation. While a lot of what Edmund has said rings true. I don’t think he’s telling the entire truth. My mom was right, this one is the sneaky one. “So, let me get this straight, the lot of you are just running Amy in circles, thinking her poor mom is lying dead in a ditch somewhere, while you’re all playing happy families with her mom? That’s fucked up.”

“Yeah, it is,” Edmund replies sarcastically. “Want to know what’s even more fucked up? The fact that the only fucking thing the old man was ever good at was buying up property, sleeping with every woman who crossed his path, and spawning bastards like me and my brothers. I can’t be everywhere at once and earn enough money to keep the farm afloat. If the four of us are ever going to inherit the old man’s seven thousand fucking acres, I’ve got to keep all the balls in the air. My brothers might not be all that smart but they’re the only family I fucking have.”