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“So, you thought it was a good idea to fuck with our sergeant at arms?” He inspected the cuts and purple bruises quickly forming.
The prospect shrugged. “A patch told me to.”
Doc lifted his gaze to Snoopy, then Brewer. Either one could’ve prompted the newbie to start a fight he definitely wouldn’t win. It was part of club life. The members often got their rocks off watching prospects earn their patches. He’d watched a time or two but would never pit anyone as scrawny as this prospect against the sheer mass of Rubble.
“How long you been with us?” he asked, threading a needle through the man’s left brow. The gash wasn’t too deep but would scar if left unattended.
“Three months.”
Nodding, he finished the stitch and moved to the next cut on the man’s shoulder blade. Typically, the prospects were given six to twelve months to patch. If they didn’t, Prez could throw them out for failing to succeed or give them another year. Thankfully, Doc hadn’t needed more than six months.Then again, the years I passed intel count for something.
He carefully slapped bandages on the stitched areas and patted the prospect’s back. “Good luck out there.”
The prospect shrugged on his shirt and nodded his thanks. Snoopy and Brewer stayed behind and watched the younger man leave.
“Think he’ll survive initiation?” Brewer asked, giving Doc a side-eye.
Doc washed his hands and patted them dry. “Dunno, maybe. How many blows did he get in before Rubble leveled him?”
Snoopy smirked. “Three. Once he drew blood, Rubble was done. You know how he gets. Doesn’t like prospects showing him up.”
“Let’s hope none ever do.”
They heard the prospect down the hallway, chatting it up with the other men in his group. There’d be an initiation at the end of summer. Macha hosted them twice a year, so if a prospect didn’t pass, he had a second chance later that year.
Snoopy pulled out a cigarette and lit it. “We weren’t sure you’d make it, you know. Ten-to-one odds.”
Laughing, Brewer nodded. “Good thing I bet on you, unlike this guy.”
Snoopy scowled. “Shut it, Brewer.”
Thinking back to his initiation, Doc had to admit he wasn’t sure either. The trials were easy, or so said every patch member. Walking barefoot over a bed of hot coals hadn’t been fun, but he’d prevailed. Letting patch members punch the ever-loving shit out of him wasn’t pleasant either.
The mountain climb, though, that’d been the bitch. No oxygen tanks and limited food. Macha abandoned the prospects, him included, at separate summits of nearby mountains via helicopter with no provisions. He was completely alone. Just him, the wilderness, and the spirit of Macha to get him to the bottom. For the next three days, he’d foraged for food and warmth while snow fell around him. Despite freezing his ass off, he made it to the base of the mountain before any other prospect.
A month later, the mandatory Macha tattoo didn’t seem so bad. He’d passed the trials and was patched right before Isa arrived.
Doc finished cleaning up his small work area. The clinic hadn’t been too busy; with the Twelve Brothers dilemma, Rubble made sure the men didn’t harm themselves in juvenile fistfights.
“Any word from Phantom?”
Brewer shook his head. “It’s all quiet in Ireland. I’ve a mind to tell Reaper to send one of our men over there to keep tabs on Phantom and his crew.”
“Wouldn’t do any good,” Snoopy said, flicking ash on the table Doc recently sterilized. He narrowed his gaze but didn’t bring attention to it. “Phantom would send the asshole back within a week. He’s had a snake in the grass before. Wouldn’t let another one in.”
“When was that?” Doc asked, suddenly interested in Macha’s previous traitor.
Snoopy cleared his throat and closed the door. “We don’t speak of traitors once they defile Macha’s name.” His eyes narrowed. “The man was lucky to be able to walk away from the club with his balls intact. If it were up to me, they’d be smashed.”
“Snoop, where you at?” a voice called from the hallway.
“Uh-oh, somebody’s old lady is looking for him,” Brewer teased, nudging Snoopy’s arm.
“Fuck off.” He straightened his cut. “At least I have an old lady.”
Brewer rolled his eyes. “And a fuck nymph.”
Snoopy took a step closer to Brewer and waved his cigarette in the other man’s face. “Don’t be jealous I can satisfy two women.” He nodded to Doc. “He knows how to do it too.”
