SEAN

 

The Grindhouse was packed with enough people to create the rowdy scene that everybody inside craved. If you didn’t like the atmosphere in a place like the Grindhouse, you were better off going to one of those other dickless clubhouses.

This was the place where I became the man I was. This was the place where I made bonds that would never be broken. This was the place where, no matter what happened, I would always belong.

While the patrons in the bar enjoyed the beginning of the weekend, Garnet had us all gathered inside of the chapel, ready to take care of our business.

“Two teams,” he said. “Ghost, you’ll take Brash and Needle for one shipment. I’ll head up with Brawn and Petey. We ride 30 minutes apart, that way the cops don’t get suspicious about us heading up by ourselves.”

Garnet looked at Ghost.

“Product will be loaded on your bike. Brash will take the lead. If any pigs get to sniffing, make sure they don’t get to Ghost.”

“They won’t touch him,” I said.

“I’ll take the other half of the product. I’ll head up with Brawn and Petey and 30 minutes from now, you head out of Ivory. We can’t keep ’em waiting for too long. Once we’re up north, we make the drop and head back home. Simple transport. Just like we’ve done before. The only difference is the product.”

Garnet looked around the table, eyeballing us one by one.

“Any questions, Reapers?”

Nobody said anything.

“All right then. Petey, Brawn. You’re with me. Let’s go!”

We all left the chapel and headed back into the clubhouse. Garnet left with the other two patches who were accompanying him on the journey.

I took a seat at the bar and had myself a beer.

“You nervous?” Ghost said, taking a seat next to me.

“Nervous?” I said. “Why the fuck would I be nervous?”

“It’s your first job since you got out. It’s been a long time.”

“It’s been a long time. But you don’t forget shit like this. It’s like riding your bike. It never changes. You just do it. And you enjoy it.”

I took a sip of beer.

“You know, you shouldn’t be drinking before we head out,” he said.

“What are you, my mother?”

“I’m just saying. You want a clear head for this. Garnet says it’s just another deal. You do, too. But this is different. The Chinese don’t fuck around. This has to go smoothly.”

“…Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

I sighed as I pushed the bottle of beer away from me. I could have used some alcohol with how I was feeling. I wasn’t nervous. Nah, I never got nervous. I was just fucking distracted.

“You doing all right?” Ghost said.

“Now’s not the time for this.”

“Yes, it is. Garnet said we gotta be heading up north in 30 minutes. You gotta clear your fucking head.”

“My head’s clear.”

I stared at him. I’d known Ghost for so long that he always knew when I was lying. I tried to get this past him but I couldn’t.

“Just give her the space she needs,” he said. “Let her figure things out for herself. You can never force a girl to do something she doesn’t want to. That’s not the kind of woman fit to be an old lady.”

“I got you. Preaching to the choir, brother…”

I stared at the nearly-full bottle of beer. My mouth was watering, wanting to use the alcohol as a distraction.

It was pathetic. Here I was down in the dumps because some fucking girl left me. Shit like this never happened to me.

“How about you?” I said. “How’d you do it? How’d you get over her?”

“You wanna know my secret?”

“That’s why I’m asking. Shit, you and Anna… I thought for sure she was gonna be an old lady.”

“You and me both.”

Ghost leaned back slightly in his seat and sighed. He was always the wisest motherfucker in the building. Always introspective and pontificating like some sage or something. There was never a time when I didn’t want to hear what he had to say.

“I never did,” he said.

“You never did what?”

“I never did get over her. You ever see me with any women since then?”

“I’ve seen you tag a few broads here and there.”

“But it was never anything serious. That was just me looking for some company for the night.”

“You are the man always telling me not to fall in love with the pussy.”

“That’s all they were. None of them were like Anna.”

I thought about it for a second. Then I started laughing. All I could do was fucking laugh.

“Look at us,” I said. “A couple of grown ass men in the middle of a sea of women, and we’re talking about two broads that got away.”

“That just means they were special, that’s all.”

“There’s no need to talk about it any longer. You’re right. We gotta stay focused. We get through this tonight and then we’ll deal with whatever shit we have to deal with.”

“We might have to swim through a river of shit but we’ll always come out clean on the other side.”

“Amen, brother.”

Ghost patted me on the back and left me alone with my thoughts.

I sat at the bar, my elbows up on the counter. I was surrounded by the usual Grindhouse patrons. They were hooting and hollering. The bastards weren’t even drunk yet and they were already making a scene.

But I couldn’t hear any of them. I only paid attention to what I had to do tonight. If we pulled this job off, it would mean a hell of a whole lot for the club.

Time went by quickly. Before I knew it, Ghost was tapping me on the arm.

“It’s time,” he said.

I gave him a nod and hopped off of my seat.

“Do you think they’re doing all right?” I asked.

“Garnet and the others should be doing just fine. He’s been riding all his life. Dealing with cops for decades. If they stopped him before the Ivory city limits, we would have heard from Petey or Brawn by now.”

“Maybe they got pinched, too.”

Ghost stopped in his tracks and looked at me.

“Always an optimist,” he said with a smirk on his face. “You having second thoughts?”

“Not a fucking chance. Let’s do this.”

We headed outside where Needle was waiting for us on his bike.

“Nice of you ladies to join me,” he said, cocky as always.

“Ladies first, motherfucker,” I responded.

He laughed at me then tossed his cigarette butt to the side.

I hopped on my chopper and revved the engine. Needle got on his bike and Ghost did the same.

“Once we get out of the city, it’s a straight shot to the big city,” he said. “It’s an easy ride, gentlemen.”

Just as we started to move out of the Grindhouse parking lot, a police cruiser slowly pulled up, lights flashing.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I muttered.

The cruiser pulled up right in front of us, blocking us from leaving.

“Shit,” Needle said.

We all looked at one another. We hadn’t even left the fucking parking lot and the cops were already on us.

I stayed calm even though this wasn’t the best sign in the world. I watched as the cop hopped out of the driver’s seat.

He wasn’t anybody I recognized immediately. He was young. Real young. He looked like a fucking choirboy with the way his hair was combed.

There was something strange about him though. He looked like he was fucking panicking. His forehead was sweaty and his skin was pale like he’d seen a ghost or some shit.

He rushed up to us and I was just waiting for him to tell us we were under arrest.

“You,” he said as he looked at me. “Brash. Sean.”

“What do you want?”

“It’s Lydia! Someone took here.”

“What?”

“I was hanging out at Amy’s, you know, the bakery—”

“I know where fucking Amy’s is.”

“Right. I was in the bathroom. Next thing I know she was screaming. I got out but the guy already had his hands on her. He dragged her out. I tried to shoot him but I couldn’t get a clear shot.”

I jumped off my bike and grabbed the geek by the collar.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I said.

“The guy took her.”

“What guy? Who the fuck are you talking about?’

“That guy. Poison.”

“Poison?”

My eyes widened as the realization hit me.

“I’ve been studying all of you guys,” he said. “I know about all the clubs in this town. I know what everybody looks like. Even a guy like Poison, who lost his patch.”

“Are you lying to me?”

“No! I swear!”

“Hey, take it easy, Brash!”

Ghost stood next to me and put a hand on my shoulder. When I turned to him, I realized how worked up I’d gotten. My heart was thumping mad inside of my chest. My teeth were grinding into dust.

“Let him go,” Needle said on the other side of me. “It’s probably not a good idea to threaten an officer.”

I freed my sweating hands from the cop and nearly pushed him to the ground before I thought better of it.

“You have to help,” he said.

“Why the fuck are you coming here?” Ghost said. “Why aren’t you calling the cavalry?”

“Because I know Lydia is a friend of Brash’s here. The cops don’t know where to find this guy. You do.”

“Shit…” I muttered. “Gimme a second.”

“We can’t waste any time—”

“I said gimme a second!”

The sheepish cop took his place back near the driver side door of his cruiser. Needle and Ghost stood next to me, whispering to me.

“Do you believe this guy?” Ghost said.

“This sounds fishy,” Needle said.

“Yeah, no shit,” I said.

“The guy is telling you that your lady got kidnapped. Right when we’re supposed to be heading up north with the shipment. What are the fucking chances?”

Needle had a point.

“Talk about fucking inconvenient,” Needle continued.

“What do I do?” I said, looking at Ghost.

“What can you do?” he said. “We take this shipment up north. It has to move. It’s not just Garnet that’s gonna be pissed. We don’t wanna get the Chinese on our bad side.”

I looked down at the ground and shook my head. My eyes closed, I knew there was no other choice.

“I have to go,” I said. “I have to go after her.”

“He might be lying,” Ghost said. “This could all be a sting just to trap all of us.”

“I can’t take that chance. I can’t leave her.”

“For all you know, Poison might have killed her by now.”

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “Poison doesn’t care about her. He wants me. He’s just using her as bait. I still have some time.”

A sudden hand on my shoulder surprised me. I looked up and saw Needle smiling at me.

“Go,” Needle said. “You have to do this.”

“Are you serious?” Ghost said to him.

“I only met her for a second but I know she’s special. I know she’s the one. This is more important than anything. I’ll watch Ghost’s back and we’ll take the shipment. You do what you have to do, brother.”

Needle gave me the confirmation I needed. It was enough to convince Ghost that it was the right thing to do.

“Are you sure you can handle it by yourself?” Ghost said to me.

“This is my business,” I said. “I’ll settle it.”

Ghost wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me tight. Needle gave me a handshake. The two of them got on their bikes and sped off down the street.

I walked up to the cop as he stood there and waited.

“What’s your name?” I said to him.

“Ben. What’s going on? Where are they going?”

“Forget about them. I need you to do me a favor.”

“A favor? What kind of a favor—”

“Look, do you want to save Lydia or not?”

“Yeah. She’s my friend. Of course I wanna save her—”

“Good. Then you’re gonna have to do exactly what I tell you to do.”