Tarot

 

 

 

“Then who in the hell is it? Your long, lost twin?” asked Len, scowling at me.

“Are you serious right now? That’s not me, and if I were to rob this place, I wouldn’t be stupid enough look right into the fucking camera,” I replied angrily.

“Relax,” said Brass, rewinding the video again. “Of course, it’s not Dom. But, someone is sure going to extreme lengths to frame you, brother.”

“It’s the Blood Angels,” I said flatly. Without a doubt, I knew they were behind it.

“I was thinking that might be the case myself,” said Phoenix. “They’re trying to stir up some shit again and break us apart.”

Relieved that they were on my side, I sighed. “I’m sending Tank a message,” I said, pulling out my cell phone.

“Good,” said Phoenix. “I spoke to him earlier and he wants us to keep him updated.”

I typed out a message, letting Tank know that we were trying to set up a meeting with the guy impersonating me and that I believed him to be associated with the Blood Angels.

“Let’s see if dick-pic-Tarot has gotten back to us yet,” said Brass with a smirk as he logged back into the Facebook account. He looked up from the lap top. “Nothing yet.”

My cell phone chirped and I read the response from Tank. “If it’s the Blood Angels behind this, we need to be careful. Don’t make any moves until I get back to you,” I read out loud. “I’m going to get Bastard’s opinion on this.”

“Who’s Bastard?” asked Len.

“He’s the president of the Mother Chapter,” I replied. The guy was older than dirt, but still as sharp as a tack.

“He’s one of the founding members of the Gold Vipers and highly respected in the MC community,” added Phoenix.

“I hope they give us the ‘go-ahead’,” said Brass, stretching his legs out. “They need to be taken down. Once and for all. I don’t like that they’re fucking with Devon again.” He looked over at Phoenix. “In fact, you might want to warn Lily that these guys are causing trouble. They might go after her, next.”

Phoenix let out a ragged sigh. “Fuck.” He smiled humorlessly. “She’s going to be pissed.”

“Better she’s pissed than an easy target,” said Brass.

Phoenix pulled out his phone. “Wish me luck, I’m going in.”

I knew that he’d promised Lily to not only stay out of trouble, but keep her safe. She’d just recently moved back from Chicago, and in with him, and wasn’t going to like the news.

“If this bozo answers us back, should we still set up a meeting with him?” Brass asked, looking from me to Phoenix.

“Let’s just wait and hear back from Tank,” he replied. “Before we go any further with this.”

 

***

 

 

An hour later, Tank called back and we put him on speakerphone.

“Bastard gave the okay to deal with this,” he said. “As long as you don’t implicate the Gold Vipers in any way.”

“Understandable,” said Phoenix. He’d just had a heated discussion with Lily and looked like he needed a drink.

“Have you come up with a plan yet?” Tank asked.

I cleared my throat. “We figured we’d meet up with this guy pretending to be me.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

Phoenix explained how we’d sent him a response, after the dick-pic, from Devon.

He chuckled. “Catfishing him, huh? You really think this guy is horny enough to meet with her?”

“I think the question should be—is he really that fucking stupid?” replied Brass. “What do you think, Tarot?”

“This guy’s intention all along is to fuck with us. And he isn’t gullible. He’s going to know what we’re up to,” I replied. “So, if we set up a meeting, someone is going to try and ambush us. I’m pretty sure it’s the Blood Angels.”

“We just have to make sure we ambush them first,” said Len, smiling.

“An all-out brawl isn’t in our best interests,” said Phoenix.  “Look at what happened at the brewery. It was a waste of time.”

“We got Devon and Lily back, though,” said Brass.

“And Charlie died,” added Len. “The dumb fucker.”

Charlie used to belong to the Steel Bandits, until they found out he’d been beating the hell out of his wife. He disappeared and joined the Blood Angels, apparently.

“I know. What I’m trying to say is that we need to do more than just kick the shit out of these guys,” replied Phoenix.

We all knew what he meant. He was talking about a final solution. One that would end their rivalry forever.  

“Are you sure you want to go that route?” asked Tank.

“I don’t think we have a choice, unless we want to keep playing these fucking games with them,” Phoenix replied, looking at me.

“There’s always another choice,” Tank replied. “But, clearly it’s a permanent solution you’re aiming for.”

“It is,” said Phoenix. “Besides, they have it coming.”

“What if we just took care of the president and V.P.?” I suggested.

“That won’t stop them,” said Len. “They’re all rotten, degenerate bastards. Remember what they did to Stan?”

Stan, AKA Chachi, was one of ours. He’d had a bad run-in with the Blood Angels. They’d beat him badly and then carved out a message on his chest with a knife reading, “you’re next.”   

“We take them down and the world will be a better place,” said Phoenix.

“I hear you,” said Tank. “I just want to make sure you all understand that if you go this route, you could be opening up new cans of worms.”

“He’s right,” I said. “We’d have the feds breathing down our necks, too.”

“And someone might try and avenge them,” said Tank.

“I doubt it,” said Len. “The Blood Angels have a lot of enemies. We’d be doing the world a favor by snuffing them out.”

“Yeah, they’re definitely scum,” said Tank. “I just want you to understand the enormity of this type of decision.”

“We do,” said Phoenix.

Tank sighed. “Alright then. As long as the Gold Vipers aren’t implicated, I’ll let you decide what to do. But I’m serious, you have to cover your asses on this.”

“Maybe we should hire the Judge?” said Len.

“Unfortunately, he’s retired,” replied Tank.

“That’s too bad. He was good at what he did. At least that’s what I heard,” Len said through a cloud of smoke.

The Judge wasn’t a member of any club. He was a discreet, killer-for-hire who fixed problems that just wouldn’t go away. If you wanted anyone gone, even someone deemed ‘untouchable’, he’d find a way to make it happen. Rumor had it Tank’s old man used to have the Judge on speed-dial.

“He helped us get some addresses a few months back,” said Phoenix.

“He won’t get involved with something like this, though. Not anymore at least,” replied Tank.

“What about advice?” Phoenix asked. “Would he be willing to share some?”

Tank sighed. “It’s possible. I’ll talk to him. Anyway, whatever you do, keep me in the loop. I gotta go. My Old Lady is going to come looking for me if I don’t get home for dinner. She makes the Judge look like a pussy.”

I laughed. He wasn’t kidding. She was a small spitfire who kept Tank in line. They’d had a turbulent beginning, but fortunately, things had worked out. “Tell Raina I said ‘hello’.”

“Will do,” he replied.

“Thanks, brother,” I said. “For everything.”

“No problem. Let me know how things pan out in California, too,” he said.

After Tank hung up, Phoenix called a meeting for three o’clock tomorrow afternoon, and then reminded us about the barbecue the Old Ladies were putting on.

“We’d planned on having fish,” he said. “But, obviously we weren’t at the lake long enough to catch enough to feed everyone. Another reason I’d like to get my hands on those assholes.”

“No shit,” said Len, coughing. “I was actually starting to enjoy myself up there, too.”

“That’s because while the rest of us were catching fish, you were catching a buzz,” said Brass. “You need to lay off the weed or quit smoking. You sound like you’re dying.”

“I cough more when I’m not smoking,” said Len, stubbing out his cigarette butt.

Brass grunted.

I stood up. “I need to get going. By the way, I found a house.”

“You did? Where?” asked Phoenix.

I told him about it.

“East Bethel, huh? I’ve never been out there. How’s the roof?” he asked. Phoenix was a roofer and was always looking for side jobs.

“It’s new,” I replied.

“Damn,” he said, smiling.

“Getting tired of apartment living, huh?” said Len, pulling out another cigarette.

“Yeah, but it’s more than that.” I told them about Ruby.

“You sure that’s your kid?” asked Phoenix.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I feel like it could be, though,” I said.

“Make sure you have a paternity test done,” said Len.

“I’m going to,” I replied.

“When you going out there?” Phoenix asked.

“Monday,” I replied.

“You driving or flying?” he asked.

“Flying,” I replied. I wanted to get out to San Francisco and back quickly. Not only did I have to work Wednesday, but with the shit going down, I didn’t feel comfortable being away from the club for too long. And then there was the new house.

“California, huh? You need anyone to fly out there with you?” asked Phoenix.

“No, but thanks, brother. I’m hoping it’s going to be a quick trip out there and back.”

“You bringing Ruby back with you if you think she’s yours?” asked Brass.

“I don’t know. I’m going to play it by ear,” I replied.

“Damn. You’ve got a lot of shit going on right now. You need anything from us, we’ve got your back,” said Phoenix.

“I appreciate it,” I replied.

There was a knock on the door.

“Come on in,” called Phoenix.

Devon peeked her head into the church. When she saw me, she gave me a weak smile. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“No. We were just about ready to take off,” said Brass, standing up. “Come on in.”

She stepped inside and walked over to me. “Dom, I just want to tell you how truly sorry I am. Brass sent me a message, explaining everything, and I feel just awful. I should have never suspected you of that shit.”

“Hey, considering the evidence pointing toward me, which is what these guys were shooting for, I’d have probably felt the same way,” I told her.

“I just can’t believe the lengths these douchebags are going through to fuck with the club,” she said. “To even go as far as finding someone who looks like you. They’re insane.”

“Definitely, which is why I’m having you, Lily, and the other Old Ladies shadowed by prospects until we take care of this shit,” said Phoenix. “I’m not risking any more kidnappings.”

Devon patted her purse. “I’m carrying now, Phoenix. Anyone tries shit with me and I’ll splatter their brains all over the fucking place.”

“Armed or not, we’re not taking any chances. These guys are unpredictable,” said Brass. “You’re getting shadowed when I’m not around.”

“Fine,” she huffed.

“Oh, and one other thing,” Brass said, opening up her laptop. “We’re using your Facebook account to try and draw out the guy who sent you the dick-pic.”

She watched as he went into her messages.

“Who’s that supposed to be? Me?” she said, staring at the naked photo he’d sent.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“Any moron can see that it’s not me. That chick has no tats,” she said. “You, of all people, know that I’ve got them all over.”

“Shit,” groaned Brass. “I didn’t even think about that.”

“Apparently not,” she replied.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “This guy knows what we’re up to. We could have sent a photo of the real Devon and it wouldn’t have made a difference.”

“So, what are you going to do next?” Devon asked.

“We wait for a response,” said Brass.

I stood up. “While you’re waiting for a response, I’ve got a dinner date. I’m taking off.”

“With the same woman from last night?” asked Devon.

I nodded.

“Where’d you meet her?” Phoenix asked.

“She showed me the house I’m about to purchase,” I replied.

“You close on that deal yet?” Len asked, smiling.

“The house?” I said.

“No. The chick,” Len replied, smirking. “I suppose not if you’re feeding her two nights in a row.”

“You don’t get many dates, do you?” I said dryly.

“Dates? No time for that. I hook up through Tinder. That way I get what I want and there’s no opening up my wallet. Unless it’s for a rubber,” he said, winking.

Devon rolled her eyes and then looked at me. “Anyway, you should invite her to the barbecue tomorrow.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Club get-togethers could sometimes be a little overwhelming for outsiders. I decided that I’d see how dinner went and go from there.