Chapter 29
Slick
“I’ve been in touch with the club lawyer. Got fifty witnesses to say the order wasn’t properly served,” Drum informs us, looking around the table.
Yeah, it’s another day, another meeting. Fuck knows when this will all die down and I’ll be able to get back to doing a full day’s work at the shop. Getting so I miss that darn place. Give me a car with a problem to solve any day rather than dealing with all this shit.
“And Crystal’s mom, Ms Clyde, wouldn’t be counted as a reliable witness in his opinion.”
“Are we certain we’d get rejected if we petition for temporary custody?” Wraith seems to wonder aloud.
“Unlikely we’d have any success now that Archer’s stepped up and put our members’ rap sheets in front of the court. It’s obvious to anyone that woman’s not capable of lookin’ after herself, let alone a kid. But it’s only our word that Heart and Crystal entrusted her to us.” Drum taps the table. “Have to remind you, boys, Sam and I wouldn’t be seen as model parent material. If we prove Susie Clyde isn’t suitable, the likelihood is she’ll be taken into care. My thinkin’ is, we need to keep this far, far away from any fuckin’ judge.”
“We kill the woman,” Beef says, clenching his jaw, offering a permanent solution. “And that strange fucker who’s hangin’ around with her.”
“Yeah, but we’ll be the first in the line of fuckin’ suspects,” Dart counters.
“Drug overdose? Get her some bad shit?” From what I’ve seen of her, she could even do that herself, a woman as desperate for her next fix as she is.
“At this point I’m not ready to leave anythin’ off the fuckin’ table. But we’ll see how things develop before I sanction that.” Drum’s looking serious.
“What we need is for Heart to fuckin’ wake up.” Joker voices the thought that’s foremost in all our minds.
Drum jerks his chin in agreement and asks, “Bullet, you and Rock were at the hospital last night. Anything suspicious?”
“No, Prez. But as I told Tongue and Viper when they took over, we should be prepared for anythin’. Makes their case stronger if the father ain’t around.”
I voice the unthinkable, but as time goes on I think we all must be considering it. “What happens if he doesn’t make it?”
“Amy stays with Sam and me. We’ll adopt her. Don’t know if we can do it legally, but that’s what’s going to happen. Ain’t no question about that.”
Unlike other times when the subject’s been raised, today there are no protestations that Heart’s going to wake up. It’s been too long, and it seems I’m not the only one whose hope is slowly slipping away. Instead, there’s just a period of silence in which we mourn the absence of our missing brother. Heart’s chair sits empty, even the visiting officers preferring to stand rather than purloining his rightful space.
Feeling awkward that I was the one to pose the question, I pull my smokes out and offer them around. Blade’s first to waggle his fingers and I roll him one across. Fuck, I’d forgotten how many visitors we have. When the pack’s returned I look at it ruefully, noticing I’ve only one left. Dart winks at me, obviously relieved he hadn’t got his out. I flick my lighter and inhale.
Drum narrows his eyes at me as smoke from numerous cigarettes drifts his way. I shrug.
“Now you’re all lit up,” he starts, and I remember he’s probably missing smoking himself. He gave up, what, it must be a couple of years ago? He’s got some willpower to be able to resist amongst all the temptation. “Let’s move on. I got a call from Herrera earlier today. He wants a meet.”
“When, where, and who?” Peg gets straight to the point.
“Me and Slick, as he’s met us before, and in the circumstances, you, Peg.”
“What circumstances?” The sergeant-at-arms growls suspiciously.
The prez heaves a sigh. “We’re meetin’ him and what I assume are his lieutenants.”
“Fuck! Prez. We walkin’ into a trap?” Wraith slams his hand onto the table.
“That’s why you’re not gonna be there, Wraith. As VP you stay clear.”
“I’m not lettin’ you go in alone.”
Wraith’s words are echoed around the table. Fuck, I’m going to literally be putting my head in the lion’s den. It’s quite possible none of us will be getting out alive.
Drum shrugs. “He’s given me assurances.” He glances at me. “Slick, I wouldn’t be takin’ you with me if I wasn’t confident he just wants to talk.”
“Where?” Peg’s not looking happy.
The prez names an abandoned industrial estate, the exact location an old abandoned warehouse.
“I don’t fuckin’ like it, Prez.”
“You don’t need to like it, Peg. Just have my back.”
Mouse is looking at his laptop. Glancing over I can see he’s calling up Google Maps. “It’s quite exposed, Drum. You want us to stake it out?”
“I want Tongue there.” That’s our sniper. Heart was another, but obviously he’s out of action. “I’ll tell him when he gets back.”
“We’re still down a sniper.” Bullet echoes my thoughts.
“I can do it.” A man, Hooper, puts up his hand. He hails from San Diego. Their sergeant-at-arms if I remember right. “Have you got spotters?”
Dollar and Rock put up their hands.
Blade spins the knife in front of him. “I want in on this too, Drum.”
“No. He’s expectin’ three men. I want you and Wraith to be waitin’ close by in case of an ambush, but I promised him we wouldn’t go in heavy.”
“What would be the point of takin’ us out?”
“Slick, for fuck’s sake. We killed two of his grandsons.”
Yeah, okay. We might not have come straight out and admitted it, but a man like Herrera doesn’t keep his position if he can’t add a couple of twos together and make five. Maybe that was stupid of me.
Drum brushes back his hair. “Look, I don’t know how it’s gonna go down. Slick, Peg, I can’t guarantee what we’re walkin’ into, but I don’t get the feelin’ they want a war. With that show of force the other day, they know we can call on the numbers. If they pull any tricks they know what they’ll start. And somehow we need to make contact, start gettin’ to know what’s going on. He made the approach, we take precautions, but for now I’ll take it that it was made in good faith.”
When I met Herrera I didn’t take to him much, but he was definitely old school. Which leads me to lean toward the thought he’d be straight. Honour among thieves and all that.
Peg pinches the bridge of his nose then looks at Drum. “When?”
“Tonight. Ten pm.”
We toss around the logistics, who’s going and who’ll be staying in case it’s a ruse to get us out of the compound. No one’s forgetting that tenuous link between Amy and the Herreras. After an hour everyone knows what they’re doing and where they need to be to do it. Then we adjourn, and I spend the rest of the day with my girls.
When evening comes Tongue and Hooper leave early with Dollar and Rock. The rest of us are going get ready at eight. We ride into Tucson and directly to the now vacant industrial area, Drum pausing to brief Wraith once more before he, Peg, and I continue on to the warehouse. We’re the first to arrive and have plenty of time to scope things out.
At ten precisely we hear the sound of engines. Drum’s eyes narrow as he looks at me and Peg. We give serious nods back. Game on.
Two men walk in and, as expected, they pat us down for weapons. We’re not carrying, having left everything with our bikes. Once they give the okay, Leonardo Herrera enters, another five men following him inside. They stand across from us, their stance unfortunately reminiscent of a firing squad. I notice the first pair have disappeared out the door. Foot soldiers apparently, not privy to the inner circle.
Drum jerks his chin. Peg steps forward and they obligingly stretch out their arms. After taking his time, and nodding at the prez, Peg confirms they’re unarmed. Don’t mean their men outside aren’t carrying, but then, ours are too.
The patriarch steps forward. “Thank you for coming.” He’s all politeness, but doesn’t offer to shake Drum’s hand.
Drum jerks his chin in acknowledgement, refraining from replying.
With no time for niceties, Herrera gets straight down to business. “We,” he points to himself and then nods over his shoulder at the men standing just behind him, “we are the heads of our family.” I notice he doesn’t introduce them by name, but their similar Hispanic features suggest they are all related in some way, even if he hadn’t introduced them. Three are obviously in his age group, and two from a younger generation.
Leaning on his stick, Herrera clears his throat. “We have an arrangement with Los Zetas. We do not step on their toes, nor they on ours.”
The three of us stare back impassively. The information he’s given us that they have links with the Mexican cartel was something we already knew. Hell, everyone in Tucson probably does.
He continues, “The skin trade is something in which we do not intervene. And,” he pauses, “the grooming of young children for the enjoyment of men with that particular taste is abhorrent to us.”
He sounds sincere. I’m still wondering where he is going with this.
“We wish to have both a clean house and clean hands.”
My eyes go to Drum. What exactly does he mean? Well, Prez is prez for a reason, he’s cottoned on fast.
“You wish us to take out the men involved for you,” he states, his face still giving nothing away.
“We have come tonight to assure you, if these—men,” he spits out the word, “disappear, there will be no blowback on your club.”
One man, who in looks and age appears to be Leonardo’s brother, perhaps a year or so younger, adds, “We can have no part in this, we can’t be directly involved.”
Drum looks dubious. “You’re agreein’ to factions of the Herreras bein’ taken out. You’re a big fuckin’ family. How can you guarantee there won’t be retaliation?”
Herrera gives a chuckle, but it doesn’t sound like it’s in mirth. “It’s simple,” he tells us, “we point to the cartel. Your men do it clean and quick, no witnesses.” He shrugs. “Their contacts will know they’ve been dabbling in the wrong concerns. We’ll make it a warning.”
“And the cartel?” Peg can’t resist. He’ll be considering what danger it could bring to the club if Los Zetas think we’re setting them up.
“I’m sure you are clever men. You’ll have to do it without anyone knowing.”
“I don’t understand why you don’t want to tidy your own fuckin’ house?” Drum’s brow creases, his steely gaze never wavering.
“We can’t be seen disposing of family.”
Another of the men behind him coughs. As Herrera turns around they have a silent conversation, which clearly ends up with the man being given permission to speak. “What these factions are doing is profitable. We, the heads of the family, have no desire to continue this trade. But some of our relations might be tempted to turn a blind eye as to the origin of the income. We wish to avoid argument. As Leonardo has said, all of us here are offended by the material you shared.” He actually gives a shudder. “And sickened. It’s not something the Herreras want or need to be associated with.”
Spurred by his companion, another speaks. “We cannot take the risk that it would be openly debated. At the moment what’s happening is under the radar, but if the cartel knew we’d broken our agreement…”
They’d be in deep shit. I finish his sentence in my head.
“The money,” Herrera decides to take over again, “may be sufficient that some elements of the family would want to take the risk and continue. We wish to give them no choice.”
“So the Satan’s Devils take out your dirty washin’, and are first in line for any possible comeback.”
“I have faith in you, Drummer. I’m sure it won’t come to that. You’ll have what you want, an end to this despicable business, and we won’t be attracting the wrath of the cartel. A win all around, I’d say.”
“This puts a big fuckin’ risk on my members. I’ll have to take it to the table for a vote.” Unlike the Herreras, who’re obviously playing their cards close to their chests.
“Of course, Drummer. And to speed things along…” He nods behind him and one of the men very carefully pulls something out of his jacket pocket. Stepping forward he hands it to the prez. It’s easy to see it’s a USB key. As Drum takes it, holding it between finger and thumb with all the enthusiasm of picking up a poisonous snake, Herrera nods toward it. “The names are there. And their addresses.”
For the first time something which resembles a flicker of regret crosses his face, and as he walks past me, heavily leaning on his cane, he seemed to have aged in the last few minutes. Well, he has just signed a death warrant on members of his family.
The rest of his lieutenants follow him out.
Peg and I gather around Drum, all of us rendered speechless. Eventually Drum pockets the small device he’s still holding.
“Well, fuck me,” he says. “I did not expect that.”
I doubt any of us did.
“Seems like we’ve become assassins for the Herreras,” Peg observes. “And unpaid ones, too.”
“We do get our reward,” Drum comments sagely with a raised chin toward me. “Your girl’s sister will be safe.”
“And our streets will be cleaner.”
“That too, Slick. That too.”
“I still don’t fuckin’ like it,” Peg grumbles.