The second I make it to the morgue I see Chris in his uniform, waiting for me. I get off my bike and approach him, taking in how he’s changed over the past few years. He still looks like a kid, and I wonder how that’s even possible. Before I get too caught up in the past, I ask the question I’ve been dreading the ride over. I couldn’t find out in a text but nowI need the answer. “Is she dead?”

“She?” Chris asks, confused as all hell.

“You called me here ‘cause Angel OD’d again, didn’t you?”

Chris laughs grimly, shaking his head. “No, probably sounds fucked up but I wish it was that easy. Angel is fine, saw her this morning. We’ve got a bigger issue on our hands and I think you should whip out that phone of yours and call your Prez”

“Show me what we’ve got first” I tell him. If Reed needs to be here I’ll make sure he’s here, but if it’s some dumb shit there’s no way I’m gonna call him up and have him come here when he needs to be with his brother.

“Alright then, follow me” Chris says, walking in the direction of the morgue, he opens the front door and we go down a small set of stairs before I’m led into a freezing cold hallway. This is where the dead are kept after all, it’s bound to be an ice box in here. I continue following Chris until he opens a door to the right and a body is out on display, a simple white sheet covers the man while a bright light illuminates him.

“Fuck” I mutter, bringing my hand over my lips. Poor bastard has been cut to bits. The only people around who do this kind of shit would be...hah. Now I know why I’m here. “You think we did this, don’t you?”

Chris shifts his stance, “Can’t blame me. Everyone knows your club is fucking brutal, and the force won’t even try to go near you. Last time the feds got mixed in and it didn’t go too well for us. Our Sergeant reamed our asses”

“If we had done this we wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave a body.”

“I had a feeling you were gonna say that. Not that it makes me feel any better. We’ve heard about the cartel reappearing recently and I’m not sure if this is them. It wouldn’t make sense if it is”

Chris knows a fuck of a lot more then he’s letting on. “What do you mean by that?” I ask.

“He’s our vic here has been spotted around with known cartel members. Why would they kill him when he’s one of them?”

“If anyone fucks up bad enough, they die. There’s no tolerance for mistakes” I tell him, only knowing what I do because of Maria. She’s been our insider to how the cartel runs their business. I don’t even think Reed knows that she has a shit ton of knowledge. I bet that’s why Rafael wants her back. She knows too much. I pull my phone free and call Reed, telling him to meet me at the morgue. He needs to know. everything Chris has said to me, and I’m betting and I need his input.

Chris and I wait for Reed to arrive. When we hear the bikes I expect it to be Reed and a brother. Who I don’t expect to see walking through the door is Darius, the head honcho of Purgatory.

“Heard we got a filet a la Mexicano” Darius jokes. Reed doesn’t even react, instead walking over to the body and surveys the damage.

Reed raises his eyebrows and looks to Darius, “Your guys didn’t do this?”

“Hell no. There’s nothing that I don’t know about. I’m going to naturally assume your guys didn’t either. Makes me wonder who did...”

“You and me both” Chris pipes up, looking at the group of us.

“I heard rumors the Jackals were coming further North. Did the examiner mention any brands?” Reed asks Chris, who shakes his head back and forth.

“No, he didn’t mention any but doesn’t mean there isn’t one” Chris goes over to the cabinet where a box filled with gloves sets and yanks out a pair, putting them on. Oh hell no. He isn’t about to do what I think he is.

I watch as he lifts up the various limbs of the deceases, looking over his skin for any markings. He starts at his legs and then goes up to his shoulders, at a point he lifts his back and a small “Ah ha” spills from his lips.

“Got something right here. Anyone wanna tell me what that is?”

Reed walks around the table and takes a look, nodding. “Looks like someone tried to burn off a Jackal”

“Is it wrong of me to assume that the Jackals and the cartel are not amongst friends?” Chris asks.  I think we already know the answer to that.

“No, they’re not. Bloody fuckers hate each other. Rumor has it that the Jackal’s are supporters of the Lopez’s. Lopez used to be the biggest competitor with the Ramirez’s a couple decades ago. Would make sense why the cartel boys would fuck up a Jackal if they were sniffing around” Darius tells us all. “Problem is, they’re sniffing in our territory which needs to stop. We have enough problems with the cartel...don’t need any more with these damn dogs”

“Don’t think they give a fuck. Looks like we don’t just have the cartel on our hands anymore. We’ve got an even bigger problem”

Darius smirks, “Aw, Reed. Lucky for you I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Remember the enemy of my enemy is my friend? I think we may be able to use this to our advantage.”

“If you want to try to set up a meet go right ahead, make sure to let me know if anything comes from it”

“You got my word,” Darius promises.

“Let’s head out. Good work, Pain” Reed says as he walks out the door and into the hallway. For the first time in years I actually feel like I’ve done something right. I could get used to this.