Pope
It’s like an old record being played over and over. Lost Souls sit around the kitchen back at the cabin and everything that’s been said before, is being said again, and again.
Danny’s call has spooked my brothers and no one knows where to go from here. Slade is on is computer searching for Melissa, again. Everything is again. Nothing happening is new and if we have to do this all over again tomorrow, I’m going to go crazy.
“I think we should wait for him to come to us, whatever he said on the phone doesn’t matter, he will come,” Noah offers his piece.
“Or he’ll send his men to do his dirty work for him, like usual,” Sparky argues, “Always at square fuckin’ one with him,” he adds, yelling.
“What I want to know is, when can we go home?” Ricky asks, “Cause as much as I love you guys, I’ve had enough of living with you,” Ricky smirks.
“Concentrate on Danny,” Cas orders, “The club will still be there when we get him, I want to make sure we all are too.”
Ricky shuts his mouth and Slade growls in frustration. I take it as a sign he still isn’t finding anything on Melissa and I get up.
I can’t sit around any longer, I poke my head in the living area and Sally and Kyla are flipping through bridal magazines on the couch. They’re so happy it makes me feel happy. A pure happiness I rarely get to experience. It should be a good thing, to see my woman and my daughter excited about the future, but at the moment the future doesn’t extend past today for me. I leave them in their joy and walk back to the kitchen, this time I don’t sit, I lean against the door frame and in ten seconds I conclude they’re still talking about Danny and how we haven’t found him yet. I was hoping they would have reached a decision to vote on and we’d have some form of plan to work from. So much talking, it’s driving me insane.
“Where’s the prospect?” Cas asks, looking around.
No one’s seen him and come to think of it, I haven’t seen him since yesterday. I pull my cell out of my pocket and pull up Dex’s number.
I listen to it ring, until it goes to voicemail. I wait for the beep and bite my tongue.
“Get back here now,” I growl and hang up.
“Right, so we all know what we’re doing now, we’ll take out Cayden tonight. Pope, you’ll bury him so deep in your cemetery he’ll never be found, and Danny will wait till tomorrow.”
“What about Kyle?” Sparky asks.
Cas inhales deeply and reaches for his smokes.
“He isn’t a Devils Bastard, he doesn’t even understand what they are. He isn’t to be hurt by us, but we will keep a hold of him until Danny is ours. He shouldn’t have to see his brother die either, whenever the fuckin’ prospect decides to show his face, he and Ricky will take him to the club.”
Everyone agrees and Cas stands.
“I’m giving you all two hours, get some rest and be ready to leave at six.”
I’m the last one left in the kitchen and I picture Oak sitting up the table, pouring himself a large measure of whisky and biding his time before we leave. If he were still here, I’d sit at the other end of the table. We wouldn’t talk much, but we wouldn’t need to. We’d ready ourselves for the oncoming fight in our own way. Now, there is no one left and I’m alone.
I never liked change much, and with change happening every day in the club, I don’t know if I can keep up.
Ricky is with Kyla and she’s showing him every page in her magazine that she’s marked off. He’s more patient than I would be with wedding stuff. He also knows to keep the violence away from Kyla. She’s strong and can be stubborn most of the time, but she’s not strong enough to handle the club day in and day out. I’m proud to be able to call him my son-in-law.
My phone vibrates in my pocket and it better be Dex calling. Instead, it’s a number I don’t recognise.
I answer.
“Yeah?”
“Pope, I need to talk to Cas right now, all I get is his voicemail.”
It’s Dex and he’s whispering.
“Where are you and why are you whispering?”
“Take me to Cas now, Pope.”
The urgency in his voice has me drifting to the dining room where I can hear Cas talking to Sparky.
I put the phone on the table and put it on speakerphone.
“It’s Dex,” I tell him.
Cas stands on leans on the table.
“Where the fuck are you, prospect?” he booms.
He’s pissed and I don’t blame him.
“I know where Danny is,” he whispers again, gaining every brother’s attention in the room.
“Oh yeah, and how do you know that?” Sparky asks, also standing and leaning on the table.
It’s like the closer to the phone they are, the closer they are to Dex.
“There isn’t time to talk about that now, I’ll explain everything later. Melissa has a cash rental and I’m sending you the address now. Hurry.”
He hangs up and for a fraction of time, no one moves or says a word, not until my phone pings and Cas reads out the address.
“Finally, a real fuckin’ lead,” Sparky hollers.
“Dress down and let’s go,” Cas orders and the room becomes a flurry of movement.
I rush upstairs and shrug out of my cut, replacing it with a plain, black hoodie. I’m back downstairs in no time and I waste no time making my way over to the first van.
Cas, Sparky, Slade and Ricky are already waiting and I slide the door shut.
“Let’s go.”
We pull away from the cabin and rain begins to hit the window screen.
“What’s Dex up to?” Cas wonders out loud.
“He’s never let us down whilst prospecting for us, whatever he’s up to, he’s done good,” Sparky offers.
“Or it could be a trap,” Slade hedges.
“How do you figure that out?” Ricky asks.
“Danny could’ve got to him and forced him to make the call, or Dex could’ve switched clubs. He spent time with the sister while we had her, we all know how powerful a woman’s influence can be. Anything is possible.”
I keep quiet, I believe this is the real deal and not a trap. I like to think I’m a good judge of character and I reckon Dex is genuine. If I’m wrong, I’ll make him pay for it.
It feels like an eternity and no time at all when we turn on the street Dex sent us.
Cas looks through to the front and says, “There’s a bike on the drive, someone’s definitely here.”
“How do you want to do this?” I ask.
We all look to Cas and wait for his answer.
“Slade and I will go to the front, Sparky and Pope will go around the back, everyone else will spread out and keep watch.”
“What about me?” Ricky asks.
“You’re gonna disable his bike on the off chance he gets away from us.”
He seems satisfied with his role and he shuts up.
I open the door and we file out and head for our posts. Sparky and I slip through the back gate and stay close to the bushes as not to be seen.
We make it to the back door and stand either side. A window opens above us and Dex’s face appears.
“He’s in the den at the front of the house, he’s here alone with Melissa,” he half whispers, half shouts.
We both nod and he disappears.
In a matter of seconds, we can hear banging from the front and we step out and block the back exit.
We pull out our guns ready and my heart goes from pounding steadily to rapidly thumping in my chest.
The next thing we hear is a crash come from around front and it sounds like a door being kicked in.
Sparky inches forward and tries the door knob, it’s open and we slowly step inside. Everything then happens fast. We’re confronted with a retreating Danny and it feels euphoric to smash my fist into his face as he runs for the back door.
"Are you happy to see us, cunt?" I grunt, smirking.
In the distance I can hear his sister shouting. My brothers filter into the kitchen and Danny knows he’s trapped, yet, he still tries to make an escape.
My boots, Sparky’s boots, heavy kicks keep him on the ground and the euphoria grows.
“Stop.”
Cas steps between Danny and I, and Slade pulls Sparky back. Danny groans like a mutt on the floor and it’s music to my ears.
“Are you ready for some fun?” Cas laughs, flicking ash from his cigarette on him.
“Fuck you.”
Cas raises his boot and smashes it in his face. His head lolls to the side and he’s out for the count.
“Where the fuck is my prospect?” he shouts.
Dex appears from the hall and looks sheepish.
“First off, why are you in Melissa’s house?”
Dex looks across the room to the woman in question being held by Noah and something passes between them.
“I’ve been seeing Melissa since you let her go,” he admits, “But it isn’t what you think. I used her hoping she would lead us to him and she did.”
“You used me?” she shrieks and Cas regrets asking in front of her.
“I don’t know if I want to patch you in or kill you, but we’ll keep it for later. For now, I want this cunt back at the club. It’s time Oak had his revenge.”
I don’t need to be asked, along with Slade, we carry Danny out to the van and throw him in the back. As quick as we arrived, we leave even faster.
With Cas, Sparky, Slade and Rick, we all pile in around Danny and the van is driving away.
No one says anything for a while. I look at my brothers and Cas is cold as he stares at our enemy. Sparky is trembling with anger as he looks at him. Slade is relieved and Rick rests his head against the side door and closes his eyes.
A sense of satisfaction flows from each of us, I can feel every emotion, anger mixed with joy, and outlining them both is the impending violence.
There have been a few times over the years where I’ve tried to fade out the violent tendencies I possess. Each time, it’s proved to me that violence is needed, especially in times like these.
“When we get back to the club, he will be taken down to the basement. No one is to touch him until we’ve all come to a decision,” Cas says, his voice low and calculated.
“We’re all gonna decide the same, Cas. He’s gonna die.”
“That’s not what I meant, Sparks and you know it. He has to die spectacularly, I don’t want us rushing in, we need to savour this.”
Sparky doesn’t argue back and everyone agrees with Cas. It doesn’t stop me from wanting to cut him up like a jigsaw puzzle.
“Tie him up, make it extra tight,” Cas smirks, throwing the rope across to me.
I catch it and set to work.