“I...well...there’s this—”
“Willy is my and Junebug’s boy.”
“Oh. Well. That’s...” Cherry thought back to all the little clues he’d witnessed in the past six months.A poly relationship.“That actually makes sense. So, congrats. Five years late. Y’all all together?” He shook his head. “Ignore me, that’s not my business, but—”
“And we’ll keep it not your business,” Busk found his voice. “But I’ll tell you that Po’Boy and Wrench don’t have a lock on kinky.”
“Jesus, Busk. Thanks, Cherry. Let’s get back on track,” Ruger pointed towards the door to the back room. “I want a plan ironed out before we scatter.”
“You and me both, brother.” Cherry noticed Busk’s gaze was fixed on Ruger, who appeared to be staring back. “So I’ll just go back in. Y’all take your time.”
None of my business what they do, long as it doesn’t harm the club.
In the back room, Cherry regained his seat and looked around. Wildman had stayed in the room, so was in the lead position at the table. Cherry narrowed his eyes. “We have to hit them.”
“I know.”
“If you know, then why are you blocking us?” Cherry was overwhelmed with anger. “If you know, let us do what’s best for our chapter. I know that anything an individual chapter does can rebound back up to national, but this bullshit cannot stand.”
“I know.”
“Then what the actual fuck are we doing here? It feels like we’re arguing about pennies when the Benjamins are slipping out the door. What do you need from us to move past whatever the blockage is?”
Wildman leaned closer, then shouted, “We’re waiting on the right time.”
“You fucker,” Cherry jerked back from where he’d been leaning into Wildman. “What does Mother believe is the right time?”
“You know Myron, the Rebel Wayfarers’ lead IT guy?” Wildman caught Cherry’s gaze with his own. “I’m waiting to hear from him. He believed he had a way to make this easier. I trust Myron, he wouldn’t have asked for time if he didn’t have a good solution.”
“Jesus, Wildman. All you had to do was say that. Everyone here holds the Rebels in high regard. But you’re IMC, man, shouldn’t you have talked to our lead IT guy before handing the keys over to a different club?”
“I would have, but Pony was already on the call with Myron. They’re working on it together. That good enough for you?” Wildman lifted one eyebrow, then broke the serious moment with a grin.
“I’m just gonna sit here and wait, then.” Cherry slouched as he glared at Wildman. “Wanna run a plan through on how we deal with LaBlanc? A mind exercise.”
“Sure. Are we certain he’s playing all sides of the dice? Rookie cop, Prospect in ASMC, corrupt as hell and pulling arrests based on informant info?”
“That last has stopped now, because he doesn’t have an informant anymore.” Busk pulled out a chair and plopped down.
“Right, but he’s still a cop and a prospect in an outlaw club. Those two things shouldn’t exist.” Ruger slipped into the seat between Cherry and Busk, as if they were facing Wildman down.
“Y’all are intimidating as hell.” Wildman laughed and pointed a finger at each of them in turn. “But I am not intimidated. I’m impressed, which is different.”
The phone on the table in front of Wildman buzzed and he answered it immediately. After a moment, he switched gears and put the device on the table between them, turning on the speaker.
“Say all that again, Myron.”
“We found the link. It’s LaBlanc. He’s got a lotta money in an offshore, looks like he’s been skimming from a few places, one of them the club he’s trying to patch into. It looks like ASMC head honchos are starting to get nervous, and he’s the one they’re investigating—”
“You have all the documentation, right? You can send that here?” Cherry broke in with his question.
“Hell yeah we’ve got the docs.” That was Pony. “Shut up and listen, Cherry.”
“As ordered.” Cherry sat back in his chair.
“We’ve got two different paths we can take. One would be an anonymous tip to the cops, and let their IA folks deal with him. Odds that he’d lose his job are high. Odds that he’d pay for his bullshit, low to medium.”
“And the second route?” Wildman leaned closer to the phone. “I’m not liking the outcome of the first option.”
