"Well, damn. He was the most self-respecting one amongst the group. I guess it's only fitting that they found a way to remove him from power," I quip.
Gater snickers. "Self-respecting? Asher was what was wrong with this club."
"What's wrong with this "club" is the sheer lack of intelligence between every member combined. There's a reason that we don't conduct business in these manners anymore. There's a reason that we all sit down and communicate to keep the state running in the way that it should be run. None of this going rogue bullshit. You work for your patch. You sit down and discuss shit and handle it like men. Not like little pussy bitches who are too scared to face the consequences of their actions," I grit out.
Gater refuses to look at me.
"How many of your new little buddies are out there still doing your bidding?" I ask.
"Three. The two that were with me on side of the interstate and one more that believes in our cause just as fiercely as I do," Gater remarks.
"That's it?" Scott asks in disbelief.
"That's it," Gater reaffirms.
I don't believe him. Scott doesn't believe him. And Reaper sure as hell doesn't believe him.
"I think you're a lying sack of shit that can't give me anything else that I require," I growl.
Reaper looks at me for the go ahead and I nod, giving him the permission he's been waiting for this whole time. The reason he hasn't move an inch from where he was standing. He knew all along what we all did. Gater is useless. He's a rat and a traitor and he can't be trusted. I had originally planned to take matters into my own hands. For Gater to die by my hand, literally. But, now that I've been shown the light, there's nothing more fitting than a rat eating a rat. And that's exactly the fate he will suffer.
"Wait! Wait!" Gater shouts, his voice raising a few octaves.
"There is no more waiting. You're as useless as you'll ever be and more useless than you've ever been. There is nothing more you can offer me, Gater."
With those last words, I turn my back and walk to the door. I know the second that the blow torch connects with the glass as I open the door because Gater's wretched screams echo in the soundproof room. I let the door slam behind me, knowing that he will die a painful death and that there is no one more deserving of that fate than he.
I make my way to the bathroom on the other side of the large shop and scrub the blood and grime from my hands. It takes three times over to get them clean. I towel my hands off and take a seat in the rocking chair that Reaper was seated so comfortably in when I walked through here earlier. The white wooden rocking chair is nice and I grab the remote to flip through the channels. Whatever movie was on earlier has ended and I browse through the channels one by one until I land on a John Wayne western.
How fitting. I watch it peacefully until the door to the room opens. Scott and Reaper both emerge and make a beeline forthe bathroom. Reaper comes out in a minute or so, closes the door behind him and takes a seat on the couch next to the rocking chair I'm seated in. I presume Scott needed a shower considering the circumstances.
"Thank you. I can never repay you for what you've done for me, my family, and my club," I tell him solemnly.
"No repayment necessary. We have been friends far longer than any other clubs aside from the Sinners. You have shown up for us and have never asked for anything. This was a gift, to be able to help you settle a score against someone who has tried to harm you, your club, and your family. And it was fuckingfun, too," Reaper beams.
"You're a twisted individual, Reaper. I am so glad that you're on my side," I say with a smile.
And that's the damn truth. I am so glad that his deranged mind is working on this side and not against us. Some of the fucked up shit he comes up with scares even me. I've heard the horror stories of ways that Reaper has tortured people, both men and women alike. If they've wronged the club or anyone in it, and it was a wrongdoing of the worst kind? Their retribution was taken in flesh by the pound.
What happened here today will be a whisper amongst the community and Reaper will be even more feared. And in our community? Fear is respect. Because no one wants to cross someone that will kill you for fun if they can help it and if they do, then they're either really fucking stupid or really fucking unlucky.
Scott emerges from the bathroom, dressed in a new solid black tee and a pair of shorts that look to be almost a size too small, but they fit. He plops down on the couch by Reaper, who rises and opens the refrigerator behind us. He hands us each a cold beer.
"Thank you," I say, popping the cap off and taking a long swig.
I needed that more than I knew. It's refreshing and goes down good. I'm exhausted, though. I haven't hardly slept. I miss my girl.
"I hate to torture and run, but I need to get going," I say, looking at Reaper.
"Yeah, sure. Go on and get out of here, brother. I've got a few guys heading over to take care of this mess anyway, and I'm going to head inside myself. Kendra is getting antsy with me being out so much with our wedding date creeping up closer," Reaper says.
"Oh, that's right. When's the big day again?" Scott asks.
"End of October," Reaper says. "Wait, before you leave, I'll hand you your invitations. Kendra will have my head if I don't."
Scott chuckles. "She seems like the type to ream you a new one if you don't do as you're told."
"Man, you don't even know the half of it. She's a pistol, that one," Reaper beams.
