Page 20 of Property of Doc

“It’s just a little something to take the edge off since I know you wanna be involved. I’ll talk to Rio to let him know while you grab a shower,” I reply.

“As long as it’s not anything too strong,” he says. “Otherwise, I’ll pass.”

I nod as I clean an area on his arm then quickly inject him with something that should help the aches and pains that’ll get worse as the hours pass. Checking the IV bag, I see it’s nearly empty now, so I remove it, then clamp off the IV and put a clear covering on it so he can safely shower. I’ll hook another bag of antibiotics up later, once we’re done with the two fuckers who almost got my woman again.

“Just a little to take the edge off. You’re gonna feel worse over the next few days, but you should be okay with Tylenol. This is more to help you get through your shower,” I reply. “You’re good to go, you can take the covering off once you’re finished. I’ll hook up another bag of antibiotics later once we’re finished.”

“Appreciate it, Doc,” he says as he gingerly gets off the bed and heads to the door.

Once I’m done cleaning up the infirmary, I head upstairs in search of my brothers. Spying Rio at the bar with a beer, I move in that direction and nod to the prospect to give me one as well. After I pop the top and take a long pull, I look over at my president and say, “Think he earned that rocker today, brother.”

“Fucking right he did,” Rio replies. “We’ve got Jbone and Gash cooling out in the barn right now, wondering about their fate. Knew that Mongrel would probably want to get a few licks in since they trashed his bike and nearly took him out.”

“Yeah, he does. Just sent him up to shower,” I tell him. “Fuck, my life flashed before my eyes,” I admit. “We put every precaution in place for her, and they found a weak link in our armor and almost succeeded in getting her in their clutches again. Not sure she would’ve recovered from them getting her hooked again.”

“She’s a strong woman, Doc,” Rio says.

“I know, but the problem is, while she had no problem staying clean for sixteen years, it was mostly due to the fact that what she got hooked on was prescription medication. So, if she hada medical procedure, she could alert her doctor and they could prescribe something else that was a non-narcotic, if she had to have something for pain. When those fuckers abducted her, they gave her a cocktail of drugs, most of them illegal as fuck, so the monkey, as she calls it, is now always at the back of her mind, lurking and trying to strike again. Every day is a battle for her, and it likely always will be, for the rest of her life.”

“Another reason to bury those fuckers,” Rio growls. “Never have had much use for drugs, outside the occasional joint, but even those lost their luster a long fucking time ago, so I don’t completely understand addiction.”

“It’s a disease, at the end of the day, and some people are more predisposed to fall down that tunnel than others. Not that recreational drug use is a good thing by any means, but there are people out there who can indulge from time to time and carry on with their lives. Then, there are others who fall down the rabbit hole and are lost forever to the drugs. I know there are people who will say that the addict chose to take that first hit, puff, pill, and that’s true, of course, but it’s almost like Russian roulette. You can have siblings from the same family, and one will become an addict while the others never have the desire to even try.”

“Definitely makes what they were doing even more untenable,” Rio retorts.

“Ah, you’re using the calendar that Issy got you, eh, pres?” Abyss asks, walking up to us. “And you used it correctly, as well.” Rio rolls his eyes at our VP’s shenanigans, but he stays silent. “BamBam and Gopher are ready for us to head out to the barn and hear what the two fuckers have to say,” he adds.

I nod and looking at the two of them, I say, “I’ll go let Mongrel know.”

I head up to see Pokey and find him somewhat lucid. “You doing okay, brother?”

“I’m dying, Doc, not much else going on here. Not really hungry these days so I know it won’t be much longer,” he replies as I check his vitals.

“You sure you don’t want the brothers knowing?” I ask as I make quick work of looking at his catheter bag, which has minimal output, letting me know he’s correct in what he said. “It’s gonna piss them the fuck off when they find out you kept it from them.”

He makes a raspberry sound as I use the wipes I got to ‘bathe’ him to freshen him up and then I put him in a clean T-shirt and a pair of lounge pants. “I’ll be dead, so it won’t matter, Doc. Besides, most of the brothers who I’ve got any history with are long gone. Expect they’re waiting for me to get wherever I’m going. We’re long overdue a ride, according to what Paps said when he stopped by last night.”

My heart nearly stops beating in my chest at that proclamation. He’s transitioning if he’s seeing Paps, who’s been gone a long ass time now. “I suppose you’re right,” I reply. “You need anything else while I’m here?”

“Naw, think I’ll take a nap and dream of the women he said are waiting,” Pokey replies. “Go handle whatever it is that has the pinched look on your face.”

I sigh; he may be at death’s door, knocking and ready to enter, but he’s still observant as fuck. “Yeah, gotta deal with two fuckers who thought they could take on the Kings.”

His laugh quickly turns into a deep, wrenching cough as I lightly hit his back to break up the phlegm that’s slowly building in his lungs. “You good now?” I ask when he finishes coughing and flops back, his face pale.

“I’ll be fine. Go on now, Doc.”

“I’ll check on you later, Pokey.”

“You do that, but if I’m sleeping, leave me be. You could be interrupting a good dream, ya know?” he asks, winking at me.

I leave his room, shaking my head. Even at the end, he’s still thinking of the women.

On my way out to the barn, I stop by the bunkhouse and catch Mongrel coming out of the communal bathroom, already dressed. “We’re heading out now, you ready?” I ask.

“Just gotta toss this on my bunk then I’m good to go.”

“Have you ever heard the phrase, ‘nobody fucks with the Kings’?” Rio asks the two men who are now strung up from the beams.