Suddenly a bunch of new guys surged into the mix, forcing the two men apart. I recognized their cuts as the ones hosting the event. The same man Viper argued with about having an auction stepped forward.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
“Sorry Slim. This asshole thought he could take me in a fair fight, stupid fucker that he is,” Vulture stated proudly.
Viper pointed his switchblade at Vulture, saying, “That’s a fucking lie, if ever there was one. Vulture came here, complaining that I didn’t sell my property to his club.”
Slim glanced at Vulture. “Is that true?”
“Hell yes, it’s true. I’ve got a right to speak my mind. This asshole is the one that chose to make it a damn knife fight.”
Slim frowned, “Neither of you are supposed to have weapons.”
Vulture was quick to point out, “I left my weapons at home, just like the rules said. When this fucker pulled a switchblade, someone tossed me this. I think it’s fucking fair to accept a blade when someone pulls one on you.”
Slim eyed Viper. “I don’t know exactly what your deal is, Viper, but I think you’ve stirred up enough trouble for one event.”
Viper slapped his patch with his free hand, “I’m the fucking victim here. I didn’t start this shit.”
“Where you go, trouble seems to follow though. I normally don’t mind a little chaos, but you don’t bring the fun kind. Pack up your shit and get out. I want every single member of your club out within the hour.”
The guy who bought me and his club brothers showed up at some point during the fight. Their cut said Dark Slayers MC. His club president stepped up. “We’ll help if you need it. It’ll give us a minute to get our business taken care of.”
Viper complained loudly, “This ain’t fuckin’ fair. I didn’t start this mess.”
“I don’t care,” Slim ground out. “I don’t want any more trouble with you and your club. You’re too new to mix with experienced bikers.”
Viper froze for a second before turning on Slim. “The fuck did you say to me?”
Slim stood his ground. “I don’t like repeating myself. You’ve got an hour to pack up and haul your sorry ass out of here. Don’t make me circle back around and kick you out myself.”
Even I understood how humiliating this was for Viper to be named and shamed in front of all the other clubs. There was something about how calm Viper got that scared me. I’d seen him go still like that before. Then he’d get a dead-eyed stare that was a harbinger of things to come.
The Dark Slayers reluctantly fell into step with Viper and his men. We headed straight for his tent, which was set up in a prime spot on the landing strip with all the others. The way all the other bikers stared at us made me feel like we were taking the walk of shame. Getting thrown out of a rally frequented by a bunch of bikers who have seen and done things most people can’t imagine, was a new low for Viper.
Viper snapped his switchblade closed as he stalked forward, with two men from the Dark Slayers keeping pace with him. After a few rounds with Vulture, he was beginning to look like me, with a busted lip and bruises forming on his face. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy, I thought as I followed meekly in their wake. To be honest, I got cold satisfaction from seeing him dealt the same kind of violence he gave me. I couldn’t find an ounce of empathy for the heartless bastard.
I stayed close enough to our group to avoid being grabbed when the man holding me finally let go and gave me a little shove. I didn’t trust any of these men, but I trusted Vulture and his ilk a lot less. I just needed to play along until I could find a way to escape.
His crew continued to look a bit shaken, as though they couldn’t believe they were getting thrown out of the event. Upuntil now they looked up to Viper and acted like he walked on water.
Dark Slayers’ Prez tried to make polite conversation with Viper, or what passed as polite conversation in their world. “Slim’s got a reputation to protect,” he said. “Host clubs don’t like to look like they’re losing control of their own rally.”
“Yeah, I get that, Storm,” Viper responded without looking up.
Storm just kept right on talking, trying to smooth things over. “It’s too bad that things got out of hand. Ain’t nobody here that wanted to see things go sideways.”
Viper’s head snapped around to look at Storm. “That’s a fuckin’ strange thing to say,” he said in a rough voice. “From where I’m standin’ it looks to me like I was the entertainment of the fuckin’ day.”
The man who made the bid on me stated soothingly, “I know it feels that way because fights always draw crowds. But that’s just the way these functions are. Everyone comes here hoping to see something interesting and for a few minutes that was you and Vulture fightin’.”
The way he was talking didn’t bode well for my future. I’d hoped that maybe I’d end up being passed to someone decent. Someone who realized it was wrong to buy and sell humans. The other Slayer had a kind face, but the way he and his Prez were sucking up to Viper made me realize they were just the same.
They sounded like a bunch of men too worried about losing face in front of each other for me to give a damn about their pride. They sure weren’t thinking about my pride today. They all stood around smiling and laughing while I was sold off like chattel.
I walked beside them and listened, hating every one of them equally. It didn’t matter that they weren’t treating me badly right now, they were all part of the same world. They stoodin that crowd and watched while I was sold like I didn’t matter. Not one of them bothered to ask what I wanted. They could all kick rocks for all I cared.
When we got back to the tent with a huge V painted on the side for Viper, he pushed open the flap, and we all poured through the doorway. I automatically grabbed a cushion to sit on and went to the far corner, hoping to make myself as inconspicuous as possible.
