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All fingers were starting to point at Zaiden. It was looking like he’d taken them out for a ride, keeping them distracted while some other guy used Chains’ truck to make off with the bike. But who was the other guy?
“Bishop,” Blackheart said. “This whole thing reeks of Nathan Bishop. He’s got the right connections, and we all know he’s been involved with selling stolen classic bikes before. We need to find him, now!”
Cruz was waiting at the apartment where Paco had been killed, waiting for Gator to show up. They needed to do a more thorough once-over of the place and deal with Paco’s body. The last thing they wanted was the cops poking their noses in. The Jokers had their own way of handling stuff – most of the time, anyway.
Chains, Gabriel, River, and Maddox were on their way to Bishop’s last-known place. They were hoping to find him with the stolen bike, or at least get some info on its whereabouts. Once they had the bike and nailed down where Zaiden was hiding, it was going to be feeding time for the alligators.
16
Zaiden rolled up at Nathan’s without saying a word about the drama that had just unfolded. He had the box – which he still hadn’t got around to opening – and they had the bike. For now, that was all that mattered. Nathan didn’t exactly look thrilled to see Zaiden.
“What took you so long?” Nathan asked.
Zaiden ignored him. “Check out this ride,” he said, eyeing the bike. “When can you get the cash for it?”
“Gonna need a couple weeks,” Nathan told him.
“A couple weeks? Bro, I don’t have a couple weeks. I just moved out of where I was staying.”
“When?”
“Today,” Zaiden said over his shoulder as he walked around checking the bike out.
“What took you so long?” Nathan asked again.
“What?” Zaiden played dumb, needing a moment to cook up a believable story.
“Why’d you take so long getting here?” Nathan was getting pissed that he wasn’t getting an answer. “We were expecting you hours ago.”
“Yeah, well...I got tied up with the people where I was staying,” he lied. After he realized Paco was dead, his first move was to ride his bike to the local mall and steal a car. His game plan was to swing back, toss Paco in the trunk, and dump him in the river. But as he was closing in on his apartment, he spotted a Joker hanging around. Not eager to tangle with another biker – and possibly end up the worse for wear this time, or even wind up in cuffs for another murder – he drove back to the mall, ditched the car, and jumped back on his bike, and headed for Nathan’s.
Nathan seemed satisfied with his answer for now, so Zaiden brought the conversation back to the bike.
Nathan told him he had already organized for a U-Haul guy to collect it and take it to Alabama where he could get it sold. According to Nathan the guy he had chosen was someone who could be easily manipulated. Nathan knew he needed someone who wouldn’t ask too many questions to help him move the stolen bike, and he didn’t want anyone to connect himself with the transfer.
The sound of an approaching engine caught Zaiden’s attention, and he saw the U-Haul truck pull up in front of him. The driver, a tall, lanky man with a nervous expression, stepped out of the vehicle and approached Zaiden.
“Hey, you must be Zaiden, right?” the U-Haul guy asked, extending his hand for a handshake.
Zaiden shook his hand, and smiled but he was pissed off that Nathan had told him his name.Fuck. Why did he do that?“Yeah, that’s me. Thanks for coming.”
“No problem, man,” the U-Haul guy replied, looking around anxiously. “So, uh, where’s this bike we’re moving?”
Zaiden motioned to Nathan, who led him to the bike.
“There she is. The buyer wants it in a hurry, and I’m willing to pay you extra for your help. This bike doesn’t run, so we’ll have to move it together,” Nathan said.
The U-Haul guy’s eyes widened at the sight of the impressive bike. He hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Sure thing, man. I could use the extra cash.”
Nathan nodded towards Zaiden and said, “He’ll help you load it.”
Zaiden gave Nathan a filthy look. He wasn’t anyone’s lackey…but he did need to get the bike loaded so he decided not to say anything. At least not in front of the U-Haul guy.
Together, they carefully loaded the bike into the back of the truck. Nathan provided the delivery location and time, emphasizing the urgency of the transaction. The U-Haul guy agreed, still unaware of the true nature of the task he had just undertaken.
As they finished securing the bike, Zaiden patted him on the back. “Remember, the faster you get this done, the more you’ll get paid.”
The man smiled nervously, his innocence evident. “You got it, Zaiden. I won’t let you down.”
