Owned (13 page)

“Nope, ain’t seen him since earlier,” Easter made another awful face as he choked down a drink.

“I don’t know why you drink that shit,” I chuckled.

“All they got, Doc.”

“This ain’t bad bar-b-
que at all. But damn, I hate the taste of this beer,” he finished his cup of beer and threw the cup toward the trash can.

“Better than last year, huh Bunny?” I responded as I finished my brisket.

“Where’s the girls?” he asked, looking from the table out into the parking lot.

“They’re out at the dunk tank, trying to sink Crash. Neither of them can throw worth a shit. They’ve been out there for almost an hour,” I chuckled as I looked at my watch.

“Doc, we need to talk,”
Shakey startled me as he bellowed from behind me.

“Son-of-a-bitch.
Sit down, Shake. There’s plenty of room, it’s just the two of us,” I said over my shoulder.

“Doc,
it’s uhhmm. Well, it’s that damned…Oh, shit. He’s over there with the Great Plains bunch. Cock sucker,” he stammered as he spoke.

“What in the absolute fuck are you talking about Shake?” I wiped my hands on my napkin and stood.

“Bunny, toss that shit in the trash, would ya?”

“Sure Doc,” Easter replied.

I walked away from the table with my arm around Shakey and stopped by the trash can, which was fifteen feet or so from the table where I had been seated.

“Now what the fuck,
Shakey? Jesus.” I straightened my jeans and stretched my legs.

“Doc, it’s that fucking Slick.
He’s here
. He’s riding with that Great Plains bunch. They’re over by the beer kegs. And fucking Train saw him. Train’s eye-fucking him…trying to get him to do something. I’d have…well…I couldn’t find The Bone. You know I’d have talked to him first, but nobody knows…”

“Well, fuck. Settle down. Shit, this probably isn’t the last time we’ll see him. I imagine he’s out on bail. We voted, Shake. You were there. We’re going to let the law settle this. Even King agreed that he’s going to let the court decide his fate. We don’t need the attention of trying to handle this, even if it’s an ass whipping. Understood?” frustrated, I responded sternly.

“Well. Yeah, it’s a respect thing. But A-Train.
Holy shit, Doc
, you know how he gets about right and wrong…” Shakey said.

“Alright, let me go get the fucking Train away from him, and you go sit the fuck down.
Jesus fucking fuck. Sit down with Bunny and if you tell him, tell him what
I
said. And stay here, I don’t want to hunt you two down,” I said as I wiped my sweaty hands on my jeans.

I looked toward the beer kegs. I recognized the Great Plains colors, and saw Slick drinking a beer beside them. A-Train stood about twenty feet away and was posted up against the wall with his arms crossed.

The building we used for the after ride party was a large building owned by the city. It was often leased for weddings and other celebrations, and was a large open building with a band playing on stage at one end. There were approximately a hundred picnic style tables set up, the stage at one side, and the beer at the other. Food was a serve-yourself affair that was set up by the beer kegs. I slowly walked toward the end where the food and beer was served.

One, two, three, four.
  And Slick. All wearing boots, all have on their cuts. Oldest one is probably forty. Big one in the middle has the President patch. Perfect.

I walked into A-Train’s line of sight, steeping between him and Slick.

“Train, walk with me a minute, brother,” I said as I approached.

He raised his eyebrows and shook his head slowly side to side.

“God damn it, Train, we don’t need a mess here, let’s walk,” I pleaded, motioning toward the door with my head.

“Erik, I’m staying here,” he said, staring straight ahead chewing on a cigarette.

“
Erik
, huh? Well, I hate to pull rank, but we voted. And you’re a member. The club made a decision. You
know
what that decision was. This is in the club’s best interest. Let’s walk,” I slowly rolled my shoulders popped my neck.

“You gonna whip me, Erik?” he asked, now focused on me.

“You know better than that, brother…”

“Don’t
brother
me, Erik. On this earth we have two things, right and wrong. He stole Nacho’s bike. He broke into Shake’s house. He had keys to damn near all of our houses. And
you all
voted.
Fine.
But the piece of shit came to our run.
Ours.
He’s rubbing it in our faces. And that,
Doc
, is wrong,” he looked down at the floor.

“I agree, it’s wrong. You’re right, Train,” as I spoke, he shifted his focus from the floor to my eyes.

“It’s wrong. But, I am reminding you as a dues paying long-standing member of this club, to abide by the minutes of the meeting we just had. Now, walk with me. Do
not
jeopardize the club,” I whispered sharply.

“You know, Erik…you
know
,” he rubbed his head, “if a man burns a building down in the city, commits arson…of say a million dollar building, and you catch him in the act – you
can’t
kill him. You just call the cops. Turn him in. If a man steals billions, say electronically, from people…you know like them big money guys do…” he paused and looked up.

“Hell, later the people that are stolen from end up committing suicide because of the losses. He can steal their entire retirement - but, if you catch him in the act, you just call the Fed’s. You
can’t
do nothing else. There’s one crime, just
one
, that if someone’s committing it and you catch ‘em, you can
kill
‘em,
no questions asked
. That’s robbing a man’s house. If a man’s robbing your house, and you wake up and shoot him, there’s no questions asked. Know why, Erik? You know
why
?” he asked.

I shook my head slowly, thinking about what he said.

“Because a man’s home is
sacred
, and it should be.
It’s what we’re allowed to do to protect the one’s we love.
He robbed Shake’s house. He broke in. He’s just. He’s a piece of shit, Doc. And
I
didn’t vote.” He spit his cigarette on the floor and rubbed his head.

“That he is,” I responded as I turned and started walking to the door. Over my shoulder I saw him step on his cigarette and slowly start walking behind me.

As we got close to the table where Easter and Shake were sitting, I noticed The Bone outside talking to Jake.

“Bunny,
Shakey, c’mon,” I motioned to the door.

“Fella’s,” Bone said as we walked up beside him.

“Bone, we have a situation inside,” I sighed.

“Slick?” he asked as he took a drag off of his cigarette.

“Yeah,” I laughed, not really surprised that he already knew.

“Leave it alone, fella’s. We voted. It’s final, he’ll get his. Make no mistake about it
, he’ll get his
. I’ve already talked to the prosecutor. I’ve talked to the detective on the case. I talked to the fucking cops that raided his house. He’ll get his,” he said as he tossed his cigarette on the ground and stepped on it with the toe of his boot.

“Well, it’s settled,” I said as I glanced at Easter,
Shakey and A-Train.

“It was
settled
a week ago,” The Bone reminded us.

“I’m sunburnt as fourteen motherfuckers,” Teddy said as he walked up to the group.

“Holy shit, Crash,” I laughed.

The portions of his face that weren’t covered in beard were bright red. His cheeks looked almost swollen, and his lips were chafed terribly.

“Well, fuck. I was in that damned dunk tank for an hour. It was hot as absolute fuck, so I kept splashing water on my face. Sun beat down on me the whole time. I’m ready to get the fuck out of here, who’s got clean-up?” Teddy asked, his cheeks glowing red.

“Prospects and the girls from the bar,” Bone responded.

“Then I ain’t gonna be nothin’ but a memory. I ain’t huggin’ none of ya either. I’m burnt the fuck up. Great turn out, boss,” Teddy said as he turned toward the dunk tank and started walking.

Heather and Kelli were both throwing baseballs at the target, attempting unsuccessfully to dunk a fireman.

“Excuse me, fella’s. You alright Train?” I said as I turned my head toward the dunk tank.

I looked at A-Train and waited for a response.

“You straight?” I raised my eyebrows and tilted my chin down.

“Train?”
The Bone asked in an elevated tone.

“As a fucking string,” he responded as he spit on the ground.

“Fellas,” I nodded my head and turned toward the dunk tank.

“Baby girl, you have got to be exhausted,” I said as I walked up to Kelli and Heather.

“I’m fine, I’m having fun. Is it time to go?” she asked as she picked up baseballs from the net that was set up behind the target.

“Well, Crash and Heather are heading out. We need to go in just a bit,” I replied.

“Yes sir,” she sighed.

“Take your time, Kelli. Dunk that prick. Make me proud of you,” I laughed.

I turned to Heather and opened my arms for a hug. “Take care of that face of his, Heather,” I said as she squeezed me.

“You know I will, Erik. Is it
okay to call you
Erik
now?” she laughed.

I smiled and nodded as she broke my hug and walked away.

“Bye, Kelli,” she waved as Kelli continued to throw baseballs at the target. The fireman heckled Kelli before each toss.

Across the lot, I saw the group separating. Bone and A-Train remained talking as the others walked away. Train was tough to argue with. In his world, there wasn’t any shade of Grey. There was black and there was white. I didn’t disagree with what he said; Slick
was
a piece of shit - and he
was
wrong for having showed up to our poker run. But our club had procedures. And, being a member meant that you followed the procedures, rules, and decisions of the club.

As Heather and Teddy pulled away, I heard a
crack
and a loud splash. I turned and looked at the dunk tank. The group gathered around the tank was cheering. The fireman was throwing a fit, jokingly. I squinted and looked into the tank as he stood. Six foot six and covered in tattoos. One of Fifty-Four’s finest.

Fucking Otis.

Kelli tossed the baseballs into the net and walked my direction. I looked at the tank and laughed. It couldn’t have happened to a better man. Otis was big and could
be
mean, but was naturally as nice of a human being as one could ever ask to encounter. As he climbed onto the seat and chuckled, he waved.

Kelli walked up to me
and she smiled.

“As instructed,” she placed her hands on her hips and continued, “
you proud of me?”

“As a peacock,” I said as I picked her up into my arms.

As a peacock.

TEDDY.
“Well, it fuckin’ stinks, don’t it? Like a big fuckin’ turd,” I said as I stuck my fork in the bowl as I got another scoop of noodles.

“I really don’t like this at all, but we’ll never know. We’ll think, we’ll wonder, but we won’t
know
,” Doc said as he poked his chop sticks in his mouth.

“I don’t know how the fuck you use those things.
Pickin’ up food with two sticks is just plain dumb. The gooks do it because they ain’t got steel mills in them little villages. No steel mills means there’s no steel utensils. No utensils means you gotta make do.
You
ain’t gotta make do, Doc,” I said as I fished around in the bowl for another piece of meat.

“So, what should we do?” Doc reached down with his chop sticks and picked up a piece of onion about the size of a pea.

He held the onion in front of his face with the chopsticks, and started again.

“We can tell the club, not tell the club…it’s not necessarily a club issue. I don’t know, the more I think, it
is
a club issue. Shit, Let me think,” he said as he poked the onion in his mouth.

“It is what it is, Doc. Shit, the purse is gone. Slick was at the run. Slick’s a thief. It’s
pretty simple math
, as you say,” I picked up my bowl and started to drink the broth.

“What the fu
ck are you doing?” Doc hollered.