“No.He can’t --”
“He can.He already did.”I inhaled slowly, forcing myself to stay measured.“His strategy isolates people.Cuts off support until there’s nothing left.”
She swallowed hard, snatched the stack of mail, and ripped into the envelopes.A letter from the health department surfaced, and she extended the page in my direction.
“This came today.”
A notice of inspection.Scheduled for this afternoon.Letter dated three days earlier.“Surprise inspection.Timed perfectly.”
Marci’s voice shook.“He’s coordinating every move.Distributor first.Now the inspection.”
The front door opened before I could answer, which meant I’d been careless and forgotten to lock it.Footsteps crossed the main floor.A man in a suit jacket appeared in the hallway carrying a clipboard.
“I’m here from the health department,” he called.“Mr.Ardis?”
I stood, forced control over every movement, and stepped into the bar.Marci followed, keeping distance so she would not block me.
The inspector waited near the tables, a thin man in his fifties, eyes down, posture tense.He clutched the clipboard like armor.
“I need to examine the kitchen, storage, and bar operations.Standard procedure.”
Same phrase the officers used two days ago.Nothing about this resembled standard.
I escorted him through the bar.He checked temperatures in the walk-in cooler.Examined hand-washing stations.Reviewed storage.Every area met high standards.Years of spotless inspections proved the truth.
He wrote violations anyway.
A narrow gap between wall molding and the floor counted as possible pest access.A worn rubber seal called for replacement.A faint crack on a bottle counted as contamination risk.Each tiny issue went into the report.His hands shook.His pen scratched frantically across the page.He never made eye contact.
He finished nearly an hour later.The report landed in my hand.
“Official notice will arrive within three days.Violations require immediate correction.”
“These findings hold no truth.”I kept my tone steady.“You know that.”
He flinched.“The violations are documented according to health code regulations.You can appeal.”
“How much pressure did Mercer apply?What did he threaten you with?”
His face drained of color.“No idea what you’re talking about.Routine inspection.”
His voice trembled on the lie.He nearly ran out of the bar.
Silence swallowed the room.Marci stood near the center, still wearing my jacket.Her voice came out hoarse.
“He won’t stop.He wants to destroy everything.”
I walked to her, placed my hands on her shoulders.
“Then we give him something to fight.We start pushing back.”
She jerked away.Her body stiffened.Her new boots, a gift from the club, struck the floor as she paced.The Savage Raptors insignia on the jacket caught the weak afternoon light.
“Fighting back guarantees failure.You heard the inspector.You lost your distributor.Mercer is only warming up.”
“So the solution becomes surrender?”
“My solution saves you.Saves the club.Saves everyone you care about.”She spun toward me.“I brought this to you.I allowed protection from you.Now you’re paying for my choice.The bar, the brothers, you… everyone stands in his line of fire because of me.”
