“Let her go!  Please!” the bear mother pleaded running over to her daughter.

“I wasn’t goin’ to hurt the little rascal, Ms…?”

“Beth,” she said, holding out her arms to try to grab at her daughter hovering over her head.

“And, who might you be?” the biker asked holding the girl close to his face. 

She reached out with her tiny hands and played with his beard.  The biker laughed loudly and tickled at the child’s cheek.

“Greta,” Beth said, “her name is Greta.”

“I’m Crunch,” the biker said into Greta’s tiny face.

“Crunch, may I please have my daughter back?” Beth asked, exasperatedly. 

Crunch looked down at the woman with a smile that covered his entire face while lowering Greta into Beth’s welcoming arms. 

“Still, who the hell let bears into my camp, no matter how cute they are,” Crunch asked, straightening his clothes as he stood to his full height.  He was a whole head taller than Connor, and probably weighed twice as much.

“I did,” Connor said, stepping forward.

“And who the hell are you?” Crunch asked.

“He’s my boyfriend,” Tess said.

“Can someone relevant tell me who these people are?” Crunch was getting frustrated.

“That’s my sister, Tess.  This moron is Connor,” Alex said, pointing at Connor, “He’s the leader of my old pack.”

“Why did you bring ‘em here?” Crunch wondered.

“They were on the run from the hunter,” Alex said, “I couldn’t just let them get shot on the road.”

Crunch sighed and motioned to the silver haired man to his right.

“Scab, get a fire goin’.  It’ll be cold soon and with children around we should probably get something cooking.  There’s a lot I need to hear.”

Scab hopped to it and before long the fire raged in the middle of the clearing and the smell of fresh barbecue wafted about the camp, causing everyone’s mouths to water.  Connor and Alex joined Crunch by the fire to chat.  The large biker settled himself into his favorite place on his tree stump while Alex sat to his left on a fallen log.  Connor stood with his arms crossed on the other side of the roaring fire.

“So you’re seriously thinking about going into the bear den to talk to their alpha?  What do you think that’ll accomplish except for your early death?”  Crunch scratched his head as he spoke, trying to make sense of it all.

“What else am I supposed to do?  There are people fighting and dying and the least I could do is try to talk some sense into the one person who could end it,” Connor urged.

“See what I mean?” Alex said, breathing a heavy sigh.

“Listen, Connor.  This guy was willing to rally every bear on the mountain to his cause so he could wipe out all the wolves.  Anyone capable of doing something as crazy as that isn’t interested in talking,” Crunch continued.

“But, he talked to me and Alex after the last fight ended,” Connor said.

“For what?  To gloat about his win?  Why did he start the fight if all he came to do was talk?” Alex shouted.

“Alex is right, though.  If you had your head on straight you’d know that,” Crunch added, holding up his giant hand to quiet Alex. 

Connor let out a frustrated shout.  All was silent save for the crackling of the fire in the fire pit and the hissing of meat roasting on a nearby barbecue.  Twilight set in and the center of the grounds basked in the final light of the day before the shadow of darkness filled the void.

“When are you going to stop complaining about what my plan is and start suggesting something that might actually help?” he said, turning back to the two men.  Connor wasn’t hearing options, only complaints.

 

Crunch and Alex looked to each other, and Alex shrugged.

“What if you take the time to find out who actually killed his wife before meeting him?  At least if you have that piece of information he won’t kill you right away,” Crunch suggested.  Crunch rubbed the wax from his ears and flicked what came out to the ground before taking a swig of the beer he’d had sitting on his knee.

“How the hell am I going to find that out?” Connor asked snidely.

“You’ve already talked to every den for two hundred miles.  There are only so many wolves that would have been near bear territory at the time,” Alex replied.

“The closest den to the bear territory is the old Moon Runner den.  Are you suggesting that someone from my own pack killed the bear alpha and is hiding among us?” Connor asked.

“That’s not what I’m suggesting at all,” Alex said.

“Then what are you suggesting,” Connor asked in frustration.

“Crunch, do you know where she might have been killed?” Alex asked.  Crunch scratched at his beard, thinking hard before answering.

“From what I’ve heard around the area, she was found out on the other side of the mountain,” he said.

“There aren’t any packs that live on the other side of the mountain.  That land is mostly wilderness and trees and nobody can make a living off that,” Connor said, waving his hand at the notion.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” Crunch said.  Alex and Connor perked up.  “You see, during the winter time my old motorcycle gang used to make a home on the far side of the mountain.  Since nobody goes around that area when the snow hits, it makes for some easy living.”

“So you think that someone from your old motorcycle gang killed her?” he asked.

“As much as I like to think they wouldn’t, I don’t know what’s gotten into their head these days. If I were to guess, I’d think Torque and a select few of his die hard groopies might be behind all this. He’s always pushed for leadership of the gang and he finally managed to edge me out,” Crunch said.

“So Torque is the new leader?  How many of them are there?” Connor wondered.

“Maybe around thirty,” Crunch thought, “but who knows.  A lot of the boys up and left the gang when I was pushed out.  Might be around twenty or so now.”  Connor nodded but Crunch didn’t look too happy about the idea that was brewing in their heads.  “Not all of them are bad,” he said, “There’s no guarantee it was Torque, but if you do manage to find the one that’s causing trouble then would you at least leave the rest of them alone?”

“I make no guarantees,” Connor said.

“Where the hell are we even supposed to find them?” Alex asked.

“Are you kidding?” Crunch asked, “I led the damn gang for years.  Hell, I even found that spot.  Are you going to stand around listening or are you going to find me a map so I can show you?”

“Now you’re talking.  Let’s do this,” Connor said.  He grabbed the map from the glove compartment of the truck and held it out to Crunch who started drawing on it with a marker.  Map in hand, he turned and looked at Alex.

“Wait, you want to go right now?  The food is almost done,” Alex said.

Connor was flustered, but the smell of fresh barbecue filled the air and he salivated, fresh meat was dripping from the bone waiting to be devoured. 

“Maybe in a few minutes.”