CJ
"Okay well this is home for
the next couple of weeks," I said aloud as I kicked the door shut.
Strolling into the room, I glanced around my surrounding and placed my bags on the
dresser. It didn't have much in the way of mod cons but the room would serve
its purpose and give me a place to crash.
I moved my cuff to look at my watch knowing that I didn't have long before I had
to meet with Damian. Woods and Recon had tirelessly read the information that
Locke had put together during his undercover operation. This had given us an
understanding of the mindset of all the club members. Knowledge on their
strengths, weaknesses, family life and connections were paramount in order for
this operation to run smoothly and because of this extensive investigation, we
were able to identify a possible weak spot at the club and his name was Damian.
He was a new prospect but a couple of weeks before Locke's death he'd built up
a friendship with him. There was also a long standing hang around named Wes and
one of the patched members called Poet that looked hopeful but they were
proving harder to infiltrate.
"You need to chill," I
stood in the empty warehouse and glanced in the same direction as Damian was
before he returned his attention back to me. "If you did what you normally
did there'd be no way that the club would've followed you." He was always
nervous when we met but today he was worse than normal, he seemed agitated and
a little freaked out about something.
"I'm sure I haven't been followed but I have so much to lose." I
rolled my eyes at his words, he wasn't the only one that had a lot riding on
this. Damian placed his hand inside his jacket and I immediately pulled out my blade.
"Whoa, what the fuck you doing man?" he screamed placing his hands
where they could be seen.
"Slowly, you know the fucking drill." Damian sighed heavily and
slowly reached into the inside pocket of his jacket as I kept a watchful eye.
His eyes never left mine but I noticed them widen when he reached his goal
before he quickly regained his composure and brought his hand from his jacket
holding a photograph.
Damian held it out towards me, "Who's this?" I asked taking the photo
from him.
"That's Lynx, he's the big boss man. You'll probably see him at the drugs
deal as he's expressed an interest in being there."
"That's great thanks for this. We've only previously had grainy photos so this
will come in handy." I placed it into a concealed pocket inside my jacket
as I didn't want it falling into the wrong hands. "Have you got anything
else for me?" I asked glancing at my watch conscious of time.
"No, the meeting is still going ahead as planned as per the information I
gave your club last week."
"Okay and what about the information on Locke? Is it still in the office?"
I asked knowing that if it remained in there we'd struggle to get it out
without causing a fuss.
"Yeah it's still in there but like I say, I never have access to that
office on my own so I can't get it for you."
"That's fine, we'll sort something out but do you know if they have
security cameras in the corridor or office?"
Damian shook his head, "They have camera's all over the joint but to my
knowledge they don't work."
"And what about the Costello family? Are you sure that they're completely
out of the picture?" I knew that the Satan's had bought and distributed
some drugs for them in the past and I just wanted to make sure that we wouldn't
be messing with them also.
"No that deal ran cold after a while but Onyx still talks to them to keep
his hand in should he need to call upon them."
"Okay well this has been useful." I folded my arms across my chest
and assessed the young lad.
"Okay are you done with me?" he asked still looking uneasy as his
eyes swept the warehouse.
"Yeah, fuck off you're doing my head in." I saw the relief on his
face as I dismissed him and he scurried away into the shadows pleased to get
out of here and away.
The photograph he'd given me wasn't too important but it would give us a head's
up to who was who at the meet that was due to take place next week. It wasn't
the Rogue's I was after but it would give us some advantage because they
wouldn't be expecting us to join the party.
I gave Damian a head start and took a slow walk through the warehouse as I
reached the main door I made sure that there was no one around before strolling
down the alley towards the industrial estate. My phone startled me by vibrating
in my pocket indicating that I'd received a message, I removed it from my jeans
and saw that I had another message from Keira.
I need to speak to you, Keira
Well if she needed to fucking speak to me, why wasn't she calling rather than sending messages. I rolled my eyes, I always preferred the more direct approach and most certainly didn't do drama. I pressed the phone icon beside her name knowing that she'd pester me until I'd actually spoken to her.
"You ready to talk then?"
I asked in a monotone voice.
"Erm...a simple hello Keira would've sufficed." I heard the
frustration in her voice at being spoken to like that but I wasn't cutting her
any slack.
"Well can you understand why I'm a little annoyed with the whole situation?"
She let out a sigh, "Yes but I had my reasons."
"So why now Keira? Why has it taken you nearly five months to get in
touch? Are you ready to explain your reasons?" I asked throwing her words
back at her.
"I am but I'd like to meet you face to face, as it will be easier to
explain."
"Easier to explain? You fucking bowed out, it's as simple as that! What
more can you say that will stop me from hating you?" The words I shouted
weren't true but they were making me feel a little better as I'd waited so long
to talk to her. I was just word vomiting and I hoped they'd have the desired
affect and hurt her like she had me. The other end of the line went quiet and I
thought that she'd hung up until I heard a faint noise, "You still
there?"
"Yes," she whispered.
"I thought you of all people would've understood what I was going through and
you left without a care in the world." I sensed that she was upset but I
just kept going, "You should've spoken to me."
"That's not true CJ, you gotta believe me I did care and I still do."
"I don't have to believe any shit that comes from your mouth." I was
on a roll, months of hurt and things I had wanted to say to her were just
pouring from my mouth. "I was worried that something had happened to you
Keira, did you ever stop to think that?"
"You were worried?"
"Slip of the tongue, the club was worried." I had in fact been concerned
and brought it to the attention of the club. Despite her short relationship
with Locke, he loved her so she needed to be under our protection to make sure
no harm came to her. I also knew she cared, I was just venting my frustrations
and it was easy to take things out on her because she was so vulnerable.
I visited Locke's grave when I could and there were always freshly laid
creative bouquets that I knew had come from her despite a card not being left.
If she didn't care she wouldn't go to that trouble considering she was now
living in Brighton or so my contacts had informed me.
"I can understand that you're upset with me for what you think was running
away but you couldn't be much further from the truth. CJ there's something
important I need to tell you."
I crossed the road at the end of the alley and glanced around my surroundings
making sure everything was in order, "So why can't you do this over the
phone?"
"I can but I'd rather do it face to face, I think I owe that much to you."
I sighed heavily, I had a lot going on at the moment and rubbed my forehead as
I contemplated what I should do for the best. I couldn't be seen with her by
any member of Satan's Wrath because they'd know what I was up to, I also
couldn't put Keira in harm's way so didn't want to meet locally.
"Are you still there?"
"Yeah I'm thinking." I stopped in my tracks trying to think of a
solution, "Can't Stoney meet with you?"
"No I need to see you," she stated firmly.
"Okay okay, chill for fuck's sake woman. It'll have to be next week,
that's the earliest I can do."
"That's great it doesn't matter when it is, I just need to see you to
explain a few things." She almost seemed relieved at the prospect of
meeting up with me.
"Call me again in a couple of days and we'll arrange the
particulars." I couldn't be dealing with this shit now, for one I didn't
have time and two she was fucking with my head.
"CJ!"
The use of my club name surprised me somewhat, although that's what she'd been
told to call me in the past, "What?"
"Thank you."
Thank you? Thank you for what exactly? I ended the call and returned the
phone back to my pocket. Keira managed to get under my skin, I needed time to
process what she'd just said or I'd end up combusting from frustration. I
couldn't understand why she'd prefer to meet up, surely we could discuss what
was on her mind over the phone and then everything would be sorted but
obviously not. I needed a drink, that was the only way that I'd be able to cope
as my head felt like it was about to explode.
I strolled into the club run by
the Satan's Wrath as if I didn't have a care in the world. I wasn't scared of
these blokes, they were flesh and bones just like me but they played dirty and
I sniggered at the thought because I could also do dirty if I needed to. In
fact dirty was what I did best, it had just been a long time as Duke preferred
a cleaner existence.
I made my way to a seating area just to the right of the stage to get a closer
look at the pussy available this evening, as I may need some female attention
later on. I rubbed my chin thoughtfully as I eyed some of the fresh meat
parading around the club but was immediately concerned about their ages. I
liked my girls young as they were firm and fresh but the variety on offer this
evening didn't look legal to me.
"What can I get you honey?"
I glanced in the direction of the voice to see a young girl in only her panties
holding a pad and pen ready to take my drinks order. "Good evening sweet,
I'll have a bottle of beer it doesn't matter what it is I'm just fucking
thirsty."
"Long day at work?" she asked trying to sound cheery although her
eyes were telling me a completely different story.
"Yeah something like that babe, why don't you get me a drink then you can
sit and keep me company." I winked trying to make the young girl a little
more comfortable in my presence as she seemed a little nervous despite standing
in front of me practically in the nude. I thought she may be easy to extract
information from if I plied her with alcohol and smiled at her warmly trying to
get her on board.
"Sandy off you go like a good little girl." Sandy's eyes widened
before she quickly turned her attention to the floor and scarpered off in the
direction of the bar without giving me a second glance.
"And who may you be?" the tall bearded bloke asked folding his arms
across his chest.
"Simon," I stated firmly. I held out my hand towards him, "Nice
to meet you."
He glared at my hand and didn't move to shake it so I simply retracted it and
placed it on my lap with a snigger. "Are you always this friendly to your
punters?" I asked finding it difficult to be polite because all I wanted
to do was wipe the smile from his fucking face. I knew who he was, Hustler was now
the VP after moving up the ranks to be Onyx's right hand man. The corners of my
mouth turned slightly at the thought of what I was going to do to him and his President
but as I grinned I noticed his scowl get heavier.
"You find something funny?" he stepped closer and folded his arms across
his chest.
I shrugged, "I can't say that I've ever had such a welcome in an
establishment like this before so I suppose I'm flattered." Hustler glared
as if I were crazed but I didn't give a shit, there was no way that I was
letting him talk to me like a prick. I knew that if I were sitting here with
Locke that he'd be smiling at me now because of my audacity but this thought
only made me braver.
"Do you know whose club you're sitting in?"
I shook my head, "Oh I'm sorry, should I?"
Hustler surged forward, "Enough!" I turned my head and looked up to
see Onyx puffing on a cigar as he glanced between the two of us. "What the
fuck is going on?" he asked turning his attention to me fully.
I raised my hands, "I've only come in here for a drink and to check out
your talent." I moved my hand indicating towards the girls parading around
the club.
Onyx removed his cigar and assessed me closely, "We had a bit of trouble a
couple of months back, a bloke pretended to be someone he wasn't. Caused us a
lot of aggravation so we're a little suspicious of new faces, can you
understand that?"
I nodded my head but my filter hadn't quite kicked in yet, "But ain't that
difficult? I mean running an establishment like this you're bound to run into
new faces every day?"
Onyx's face lifted into what looked like a smirk, "I'm yet to work out if
you're brave or stupid."
I sniggered, "I'm still trying to figure that out myself although my
ex-wife would probably say stupid." Onyx chuckled and stepped aside
allowing the waitress to place my drink on the table.
"Well let's hope it's neither, we don't want any newbies hanging around
for longer than what is acceptable."
"And what is acceptable?" I asked clasping my bottle of beer.
"A week, possibly two but then it's time to move on." Onyx took
another puff on his cigar and blew the smoke in my direction.
I looked at him confused, "Surely it's good to have a bit of fresh meat
around?"
Hustler surged forward but this time making contact and knocked me from my
chair. I fell backwards and grunted as my back made contact with the floor.
"We're obviously not making ourselves very clear," Hustler rammed his
knee into my neck and pinned my arms as he growled at me. "I don't want
you sniffing around our club longer than two weeks." I continued to
eyeball him and kept my calm during the whole pissing match because that's what
it was. He could do and say anything to me but it wouldn't rile me or make me
lose focus because he was mine and I was looking forward to seeing him crack
long before I did.
"Right that's enough Hustler, you've had your fun." He loosened his
grip and removed his knee giving me the space needed to shove him off. I sat up
and rubbed my neck before I glanced at the hand being offered to me.
"Have I missed the party?" Recon grinned as he helped me to my feet.
I rolled my eyes as I bent down to brush my jeans, "Nah these fine
gentlemen were just letting me know their club rules." I glanced in their
direction as Onyx, Hustler and a portly bloke that had recently joined them
assessed our interaction.
Recon smiled and extended his hand, "Hi I'm Daz." All three members
of the Satan's Wrath looked at him bemused by his introduction.
"Okay!" Recon flexed his fingers and retracted his arm as it wasn't
well received.
"Two weeks tops," Onyx snarled.
I gave him a casual salute, "Two weeks it is boss." Recon glanced in
my direction and smiled at my gesture as Hustler drew his brow.
"Fucking twat," he said under his breath as he shook his head. All
three blokes chatted among themselves before they turned and headed in the
direction of the bar.
"What the fuck was all that
about? You're supposed to be keeping a low profile CJ." Recon let out a
frustrated sigh as he bent to pick up the chair and place it near the table before
sitting.
I sniggered, "That's boring, this is way more fun." I rubbed my chin
assessing the guys as they settled at the bar as I joined Recon at the table.
"Yeah but that type of excitement could get you killed." Recon moved
his arm as the young girl from earlier placed two bottles of beer onto the
table.
"Courtesy of Onyx," she smiled briefly and scurried back in the
direction she came from.
I narrowed my eyes and assessed Recon, "What's up with you?" he asked
extending his arms to his side.
"What? Don't tell me you haven't noticed." I glanced around the club
looking at the array of girls that were on offer.
Recon nodded as the penny slowly dropped, "I get you, they're all
very...fresh."
"Exactly and that's what annoyed Locke also." I took a swig of my
beer and sat back in the chair noting that two unfamiliar blokes were staring
in our direction. I shook my head slightly, feeling a little paranoid about the
whole situation before taking another swig of my beer.
Recon immediately followed my eye line, "You know them?"
"No, their faces aren't familiar from the photos I've seen either."
"Well they seem interested in us for some reason."
The lights suddenly dimmed and the
music became progressively louder as the curtain at the back of the stage was
moved to one side and a stream of young girls strutted onto the stage. It was
then that I noticed a count down on a board to the left of the stage. It stated
that something would be happening for charity, my natural curiosity kicked in
and I beckoned the nearest waitress over.
"What charity are they raising money for?" I asked intrigued. The
young girl drew her brows with a confused expression making me roll my eyes,
exasperated by her reaction considering she worked here and pointed to the
countdown on the board. "What charity?" I asked slowly to the
sniggers of Recon finding our interaction amusing.
She looked towards the sign and I saw her facial expression change when she
realised what I was referring to. She glanced around the club briefly making
sure no one was in earshot and leaned closer, "No the countdown is for
Charity." Now it was my turn to look confused, "Charity is being
auctioned...well her virginity is."
"What the fuck you mean by that?" Recon smashed his bottle down onto
the table, it startled the young girl and she stepped back scared by his
reaction.
"Is there a problem?" I looked up at the guy that had just joined us
and recognised him from the research, his name was Slick. He was responsible
for working his charm on these young girls and bringing them to the club.
"Nah, man chill your boots this lovely young lady was just informing us
about the up and coming auction." I sat casually in my chair trying to
conceal the rage that was mounting inside me as I spoke to him. We'd all been
warned that this was going on but it still hadn't prepared me for the reality
of it all.
His face lit brightly, "Okay gentlemen do you think you may be
interested?"
"We maybe," I nodded my head faking interest as I glanced at Recon
smiling. He caught on quickly and did the same. "We're in town for two
weeks labouring on a local building site, we may need to use your services
during this time and a tight little pussy may be just what we both need."
My words sickened me to my core but I could see his excitement at my interest.
"That's good man, we've got plenty of young pussy around here." He
extended his arm encouraging me to look, "See anything you like?"
I glanced around the club trying to think of how I was going to pull myself
from this situation, "You ain't getting any pussy tonight man. We've got
an early start and I'm not wiping your arse tomorrow coz you were up all night
shagging." Recon was one step ahead of me already.
"Easy tiger, what about the times I've covered your arse?" I turned
my attention to Recon and pretended that I was now offended that he was cock
blocking me.
"That's different now drink up we need to make a move."
I rolled my eyes, "Sorry mate we've gotta go. Grumpy here won't let me
play tonight." I sniggered as I stood and downed the rest of my beer.
"That's okay gentlemen, you're welcome here especially on the night in
question." Slick shoved his hand into his pocket and removed a flyer.
"Here take this," he extended his arm and I took the flimsy piece of
paper and opened it out to read. "It states the time and date of the
auction so you don't miss it and for the record my name is Slick." He
stated obviously very proud of himself, he was probably the mastermind of this
sick act.
"Thank you Slick," I folded the flyer and placed it into my pocket.
"Has there been much interest so far?" I tried to show my interest
regarding the sick event.
He nodded excitedly, "Yeah from far and wide. It's not the norm to have
such an opportunity like this so it's created a lot of interest."
"You're right there but how do you know for sure that she's still a
virgin?" Recon folded his arms across his chest and frowning.
He sniggered, "She's been with us for a while now and Onyx hasn't let
anyone touch her."
I nodded taking in everything he'd said, "So didn't he want to be the one
to break her in?"
"I suppose not because she's worth a few quid to the club," he
stepped aside letting us know that this conversation was over by giving us the
room needed so we could make our way towards the reception.
I pushed the doors open and was
grateful of the cool night air as I hadn't realised just how tense I'd become.
I was like a coiled spring and needed to relieve some of the frustration I was
encountering.
"You feeling it too?" Recon paced the car park and I could see that
he was holding himself together albeit barely.
"It's wrong on so many levels, I mean we've done some crazy shit over the
years but they're exploiting kids." I fully understood what he was getting
at and felt the same but there was nothing that I was prepared to do until I'd
dealt with Onyx, however wrong it was his death was my priority.
"We will deal with that I promise, I knew it was happening from Locke's
diaries but we have bigger fish to fry beforehand Recon and you need to be with
me 100%."
Recon nodded he knew we needed to remain focussed on the task at hand. At that
point, the heavens opened and the rain lashed down. "As much as I want to
stand around talking to you mate, I'm getting fucking wet. I'll catch up with
you tomorrow as I'm shattered." I stepped closer and hugged Recon slapping
him on the back, "Stay safe."
"And you," Recon nodded before casually strolling over to his car.
I played with my keys as I made my way to my vehicle. I'd hired it especially
for the journey and I was grateful that Eli's mate Simon had put the car in his
name should it be traced and they looked for a name and possible address. We
were also one step ahead as we'd used a fake address as we couldn't run the
risk of them coming after anyone else.
As I opened the door, I felt an uneasy feeling that someone was watching me. I
turned and glanced in the direction of the club to see Hustler glaring in my
direction as he stood with Damian smoking a fag. I knew he'd been nervous
during our earlier meeting, I was just praying that he wasn't selling his sole
to the devil by ratting me out to the club. After all we'd...I had been
through, I needed this to run as smoothly as possible and couldn't have some
prick jeopardising it. I'd have to arrange to see him again soon and possibly threaten
him myself to remind him of the consequences of double crossing me.
Damian nodded his head and I returned the polite gesture before entering my
car. I still had a lot to sort out regarding the scheduled meeting next week
and how we were going to ambush them but we now knew a time and a place making
the whole process easier. I wanted more time at the club to fully understand
the pecking order and planned on returning. It was inevitable that I was going
to finish Onyx and Hustler for murdering Locke but this information was crucial
so I could take down the Satan's Wrath once and for all. When I was totally
finished they'd be no club left to hurt anyone ever again.