Page 69 of Twisted Road

It was clear he was apprehensive about the demands Czar might make. Czar flicked his gaze to Absinthe.

“Before you make any decisions, Sid,” Absinthe said, “be very certain you want us to help you out. You get in bed with us, you play by our rules. There would never be a second chance if you betrayed us. We’d come for you, and no one would ever know it was us. If you think of what the Ghosts are capable of doing as being the worst, you are incorrect. They fear us for a good reason. Don’t make your decision lightly. Maybe it would be better to keep the status you have than to become allies with us.”

Sid, Warren and Knox exchanged a long look. All three shook their heads.

“You want privacy to discuss it,” Czar said. “We can give you a few minutes.”

Sid shook his head. “They killed Joe and Myra. We’ll take our chances with you. Give us terms.”

The fact that Sid put it like that, Keys knew he recognized that there would be no bargaining. If Headed for Hell wanted Torpedo Ink’s aid, it would be on Czar’s terms.

“We don’t need or want more territory. We don’t want any part of your operations. You will agree, under penalty of death, to stay away from human trafficking. You will keep silent about an agreement with our club and never discuss us with any other club. You won’t talk about us or speculate on anything you think we may have done to complete the job. We will expect your support if we ever call on you.”

There was silence while Sid and his men waited for more demands. When none came, it was Warren who asked, “That’s it? That’s your price for taking these fuckers down? The militia is armed to the teeth. They’re skilled veterans. You can’t discount them. We’re willing to go to war with you. Back you in any play you want to take them out.”

Czar took out his phone and scrolled through a long message even as he shook his head. “We work alone. It’s best if your people just go about their business as usual. That way, there won’t be any blowback on you. Be seen for the next few days. Be in front of cameras so you have alibis. Got interesting data in from my brother Code. How much do you know about a man named Cohen Marks? I understand he’s your VP.”

Sid sat up straight. Warren nearly came off his chair. Knox reacted by slamming both palms on the table.

“No way. Cohen has been in the club for ten years, before it was anything but a few guys riding together,” Warren supplied. “Are you seriously implying he had anything to do with Joe and Myra being targeted? Being murdered? He was good friends with Joe. He would never…” He trailed off, meeting Sid’s eyes. “He was so broken up.”

“Sending the information to your phones. You decide,” Czar said. “My man’s the best at collecting data, and he managed to find three cameras that caught your VP in meets with Varga and a couple of others. All three meets were held around three in the morning in town. There was no other member of Headed for Hell around.”

Keys poured more coffee for himself while the three members of the other club absorbed the fairly detailed information Code had dug up on their VP.

“Says here he’s using meth,” Warren said. “He likes coke, but we agreed to stay the hell away from meth.”

“You sell the shit,” Keys pointed out.

“We don’t make it or sell it,” Sid denied. “We allow those who do to run it through our pipeline for a price.”

“Seems like Marks got caught with his hand in the cookie jar,” Czar said. “You weren’t watching him because you trust him, but the minute product is short, someone starts tracking it. That led them straight to your VP.”

Sid erupted into curses. Warren went silent. Knox shook his head as he read the damning evidence several times.

“How did we miss this?” Knox finally asked. “We know him.”

“He’s been keeping to himself,” Warren said. “And he missed the last two meetings. Said he had the flu.”

“When you trust a brother, the last thing you think is that they’re betraying you,” Czar said.

“For drugs?” Sid asked. “He betrayed the brotherhood for drugs?”

“He was skimming the product, using and selling. Probably started with small amounts, and then when he made money, got greedy,” Keys said. “I’ve seen it a hundred times.”

“Are you going to be able to keep your hands off him long enough for us to get the job done?” Czar asked. “Because if you can’t, you’re going to have to find a way to keep it from your club and the rest of the world that you took care of him. The Ghosts keep a sharp eye on their informers. They like to keep them hooked and scared. It’s a lethal combination in the end, at least so far it has been. They’re used up until they die.”

“I’ve always been a patient man,” Sid said. “I play the long game, but I don’t know if I have the restraint to keep from slicing him open the first time I lay eyes on him.”

“Send him away,” Absinthe advised. “Manufacture some problem that he has to fix for the club. Get him out of the situation for at least two weeks. Sid, if you don’t want to talk to him, use his excuse: you’re sick with the flu. Someone else can give him the orders.”

Sid nodded. “Yeah, good idea. We can do that.”

“And carry on as usual,” Absinthe continued. “In the meantime, we need to know about every cave they’re using and if there’s a way in they wouldn’t know about. If you have maps, we’ll need them.”

“We’ll get as much information to you on the militia group as possible. They keep to themselves, and I’ve never gone up to the area where they make their homes. They aren’t a welcoming lot,” Sid said. “Although Sean Stark seemed to be a good man.”

“No worries.” Czar waved his hand dismissively. “We’ll handle it. Lay low, Sid. Make sure the three of you don’t talk about this, even to each other. If they were in your clubhouse, they put bugs there. If they were in your church, trust me, it’s bugged. Marks very well could have planted the devices himself.”