Page 45 of Cannon

The cavalcade of vehicles leaves the compound behind and also two very unhappy officers.

Approaching the gates to the ranch, we notice they are open. There’s a small hut near the gates, but it appears to be unoccupied. As we pass it, we see a pair of feet sticking out from behind the hut. Pres halts the convoy, and I hop out of the second SUV in line to take a cautious look. Peering around the corner, the man on the floor has a bullet hole in the center of his forehead. Telling this to Pres, we both agree that someone else may have paid Stephan a visit and beaten us to it.

As we trundle along the road to the main house, we see several sedans heading our way. The vehicle in the middle, however, is a large limousine. As they approach, we are all on alert. They close to a hundred yards and then they stop. The limousine passenger door opens, a man walks to the rear door and beckons us forward. Pres stays in the SUV and drives forward. When he is level with the man, the man speaks.

“Are you the president of the men?” He asks in a heavily accented German voice.

Taking a moment, Pres then replies, “Yes. That would be me. And you are?”

“I am of no importance. My employer wishes to speak with you, in private.”

Pres thinks this over, and he is obviously not going to get in the limo for any private chats, so he slips from the vehicle then steps twenty yards into the field on the side of the limo.

The door opens, and a man steps out. He is a tall, well-built man and by his movements, extremely fit. I couldn’t begin to guess his age, but I see touches of silver at his temples. He walks over to Pres, offers his hand, and they talk quietly for a few seconds. I see Pres stiffen up at something, and the man shakes his head. They nod to each other, and both walk back to their respective vehicles.

The sedans and the limo drive away, and then Pres’ SUV shoots forward as though it’s on fire. Arriving at the ranch house, we all note the lack of any guards or any movement whatsoever. Pres jumps out of the SUV before the dust settles and calls for all officers to follow him inside.

Charging through the front doors, he runs for another set of doors to the right. Without stopping, he barges through them and stops dead in his tracks. As we all catch up and join him, we see a terrible sight. There are dead bodies along one wall, where they had been executed. In the center of the room, on the floor, is Stephan Haroldson. His throat cut.

Behind him, bound in a chair, is the dead body of our brother, Bandit.

Chapter 28

*~* Cannon *~*

Sitting in the debrief back at the clubhouse, everyone is stunned, angry, and frustrated. None of us expected to find Bandit at the ranch, never mind dead. He had been tortured from the injuries we all saw, and that’s another thing we don’t understand. What could Bandit possibly tell Stephan that he didn’t already know about us? It’s not like we are some secret underground organization that flits around in the dark.

How did he get him out of the rehab center? It’s not like you can just walk in and escort people out at will. There are procedures and paper trails to follow. Why didn’t anyone at the center check with us or with Jamie? We’ve never lost a brother in this way, and it isn’t going to sit well with Pres. Bandit may have had his issues, but this is not how he should have died.

Pres is going to be an absolute nightmare to live with. He can’t even get revenge on the assholes who did it, as they were all dead by the time we got there. I suppose he’ll blame himself for that, too. Not taking action sooner, but who knew this was how it was going to turn out?

At least he never asked Grazer to collect the assholes from the shed. That should go some way towards easing his thirst for vengeance. I am so glad I am not one of them.

Bill and Tanner stayed behind and are calling in the massacre at the ranch. They are going to say they got a verbal report of shots fired and that’s what prompted their visit to the ranch. Bandit’s body had to remain there, which is something else that caused Pres to lose his shit.

Pres has said little about the people who did all this, perhaps because he doesn’t know much. The guy from the limo, the boss, didn’t say too much about who or what they were other than dissatisfied business associates of Stephan’s. Pres didn’t think they were a cartel or mafia, but they obviously weren’t low down on the criminal ladder. The guy did say that Bandit was already dead when they arrived and that they had nothing whatsoever to do with his death.

Pres wants to talk to Jamie and see how Stephan knew where to find Bandit, though I’m sure that conversation is not going to end well, with his present frame of mind. Fury will need to be in attendance for that, as will I. I think I may need to be Pres’ voice of reason, or his devil’s advocate. I think he might blame Jamie for something that she is not responsible for.

On a positive note, if there is one, I got my damn truck back. There was a fancy hog on the bed of the truck too, so I brought that along for Mateo. All shiny and polished chrome, it looks like the dog’s doodahs. Not to my taste, and I love my hog anyway. There was a lot of shiny metal in that building, and I’m surprised that none of it was taken as some form of reparation by those other guys. Maybe too traceable, or maybe they weren’t looking for financial repayment.

That’s the trouble with prostitution and trafficking, you never know who is related to who. Likewise, with drugs. You don’t know who you're selling to and potentially killing. This could have been for any number of reasons that we may never get to find out.

Pres calls an end to the debrief, asking Fury to bring Jamie to his office. Fury looks like he is going to say something, but I step in and tell him not to say a word. Following Pres to his office, I shut the door and take a seat without being told.

“This is all down to Stephan, Pres. It is not Jamie’s doing. You know that, right?” I ask him calmly and am not surprised by the vicious look I get in return. “She did what we asked her to do when she found him a good rehab center. She looked into everything thoroughly and even had Bull run checks before having Bandit admitted. Go gently on her.”

Before anything else can be said, there’s a knock at the door. I call come in, as Pres looks as though he’s going to burst a blood vessel, his face is so red.

Jamie steps in, with Fury in close attendance. I can see the tracks of tears on her cheeks, and her eyes are red and puffy. She and Bandit had been friends. She’d saved his life, and he’d been there for her on more than one occasion. This will have hit her hard. She sits in the chair directly in front of Pres’ desk.

“How did Stephan know where to get his hands on Bandit? Who else knew where he was?” Pres doesn’t stop for a breath. “How could Stephan’s men just walk in and take him from somewhere like that?” Jesus Christ. Talk about going on the offensive.

Before Fury or I can respond, Jamie leaps up and leans over the desk, slamming her hands on the hard wooden surface with the sound of a gunshot. Shoving her face into Pres’, she says coldly, “You think I had anything to do with my friend's death? You think I would sell out a brother? I’ve spent years patching you guys up, and even saving your lives. You think I’d do all that just to sell you out? What the fuck would I get from it? What possible reason would I have to tell Stephan anything? You want to know how Stephan tracked him down? You’re asking the wrong person. You should be asking Bull. That’s what he does for you guys, isn’t it? He’d know how Stephan could track someone’s whereabouts. If this is all the respect you have for me, you fucking prick, you can shove your MC so far up your ass that it will never see daylight again!” Jamie storms out of the office, almost taking the door off its hinges as she leaves. Fury gives Pres a dirty look and follows Jamie.

“I love it when I give you a pep talk and you take it on board. We’ll be lucky if she looks at a splinter for any of us for the next month.” I shake my head and he just glares at me. “Anyone else you need to alienate before the end of the day?” Walking out of the office, I close the door behind me, noticing it doesn’t close fully anymore.

Everyone stays at the clubhouse tonight, even Fury and Jamie surprisingly. We all drink and share stories, mainly about Bandit, of course. Jamie, Pattie and Anya join us, but I guess any stories they have about Bandit are best left unspoken. Pres comes out of his office for a spell, calls a toast to our fallen comrade and brother, then returns to his office. Fury looks daggers at him the whole time he’s in the rec room. I understand how he feels, but he isn’t helping the situation.