Edge of Chaos (22 page)

A white delivery
van pulls up in front of a non- descript house and parks blocking the driveway.
With the engine running, the side door to the van opens and a man in dark pants
and a power company shirt hops out. In his hands he holds some type of box
about the size of two packs of cigarettes joined together. The man walks over
to the driver’s side of the car, stops by the front door and looks around.
Apparently satisfied that no one is watching he drops down on his stomach on
the hot cement. He rolls over on his back and reaches up with the box. He
touches the metal undercarriage of the vehicle and with a metallic click it
fastens itself to the underside of the car. The man reaches up and pushes an
unseen button with his index finger and immediately a flashing green light
comes on. Satisfied, the man gets up and casually walks back to the delivery
truck and climbs in. Even as the door is closing the truck is pulls away from
the house.

Forty-five
minutes later…

A lone biker sits
astride his tricked out Harley Davidson Electra Glide. His mouth is hanging
open in shock as he stares at the smoking, burning remains of a car in the
driveway in front of him. He starts to get off the bike to inspect the mess but
a siren in the distance convinces him he should be elsewhere. He fires up his
bike and peels out of there before anyone can mistakenly connect him to the
explosion that just took place minutes ago. Fifteen minutes later he pulls off the
road, turns off his bike and fishes out his cell phone. This is not a call
wants to make, not in a million years. This is going to ruin a man’s life and
maybe a motorcycle club in the process. His hands are shaking so badly that he
drops the phone as he punches in the numbers. He picks up the phone and gets it
right on the second try.

“What news Seth?”
Luke asks as he answers his phone.

“We’ve got a
problem Luke, a real big problem.”

“So what’s new?
Talk to me bro.”

“I went by the
hospital like you suggested and Kayla wasn’t there. Apparently there was an
incident and she went home before her shift was finished. I decided to check by
her house to make sure she’s fine and there was a problem…” Seth trails off,
unsure of how to proceed.

Suddenly he can’t get any air and his heart is thudding in his chest. Why
did it have to be him to deliver this news he thinks to himself?

“What’s the
problem Seth? Spit it out man!”

“It’s Kayla.
Someone set off a car bomb Luke and—"

The screaming is
so loud he has to take the phone away from his ear. This is even worse than he
had imagined, far worse. Seth waits patiently, allowing Luke to have his
reaction. He can barely make out anything Luke is ranting for the next several
minutes until he finally runs out of steam. With the initial reaction over the
Luke that comes back on the phone is not the grieving boyfriend anymore. The Luke
that starts speaking next is Luke the US Governments top assassin and war hero;
the terror of Afghanistan.

Luke speaks in a
quiet, deathly voice that sends chills up Seth’s spine.

“What kind of
explosion was it? Could it have been a Molotov Cocktail that someone just
chucked through the window?” He asks.

      “No,” Seth begins. “I’ve seen enough car bombs to know when I’m
looking at another one. Judging by the blast radius as well as the collateral
damage, it was a pressure sensitive IED placed right under the driver’s seat.
The car along with the front of the garage is demolished. Windows in the houses
on either side and across the street are all blown out.”

“So in your
experience, is there any way she could have walked away from such a blast?”

Seth has never
wanted to lie so badly. He just about does just to take the heat off him, but
he knows that the truth will out, and a lie now will be discovered and
remembered. The truth is the only recourse.

“Yeah...there’s no
way anyone could have lived through that blast. I’m sorry dude, I really am.”

“Seth, I want you
to arm yourself and return to the club immediately. We’re going to war with my
father and his goons and we’re not stopping till the last one is dangling by
his toes and skinned alive. Do you copy?”

“Sir yes Sir.”

Sitting
around a long wooden table are Luke and the officers of the newly formed Sons
of Chaos. Today they are bringing the chaos to his father and anyone else who’s
foolish enough to align themselves with the man. Gunnar Madsen has him
outgunned, outmanned, and always seems to be a step ahead of Luke; not anymore.

Luke looks
around the room studying his brother’s expressions. They are all resigned to
the fact that they are going to war. The men seated to his right and to his left
are the Suicide Kings that were loyal to him and members of his platoon in
Afghanistan. They are above suspicion and can be trusted with his life; at
least that is what Luke believes.

He could not
have been more wrong…