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“They’re ours,” said Magnus.
“Fucking amazing bikes, dude. They’re the best.”
“We know,” nodded Dom. “A friend of ours owns the company.” That brought smiles and nods from the group.
“Fellas, this is Falcon, our club leader. We’re not a one-percenter or club that does anything illegal, so don’t get your panties ruffled.”
“I do not wear panties,” frowned Noah.
“He’s joking, brother,” smirked Noa. Noah nodded, looking directly at the other man, who gave him a smirk.
“We’re honestly just a bunch of retired oil rig workers. We all bought bikes when we were working on the rigs and would come back and ride together. We gather once in a while to meet, shoot the shit, and eat.
“A few years back, we found a woman with six kids begging for food outside a restaurant. We asked her what was going on. Turns out, her house was falling apart, no food in the refrigerator, so we fixed it up and did what we could.
“From then on, we’ve done something every year for a few single mothers. This year, we went all out. Bikes, televisions, a few new microwaves, everything we had in our tills. Stored it in the first metal building you walked past.
“We came back the following weekend to put some more shit inside, and it was all gone. Everything. Fella across the street, that runs the metal shop, said he thought he saw a motorcycle cop here. We called the police, but they said they never had anyone down here.”
“We’re trying to get it all back,” said Noa. “You boys are retired, right?”
“Yes, sir,” said Falcon.
“Feel like lending us a hand?” smirked the big Islander.
“Damn straight. That boy over there said he thought he heard a chopper late one night. He lives only about a half-mile from here.”
“We think this could be several police officers robbing these places and using a police chopper to haul things off. No one would be suspicious of that,” said Dom.
“I’ve never wanted to harm a man in uniform,” said Falcon, “but I’d be willing to change my mind in this.”
“We know what you mean,” nodded Noa. He looked at the barbecue pit and rubbed his stomach, licking his lips.
“You hungry, big fella?” smirked the old man.
“I’m always hungry, as you can tell. My wife is a nurse, so my pleasure foods get limited.”
“Take a seat. Billy’s got the chicken and ribs ready. Brisket will be ready in about twenty minutes.”
“We appreciate it,” smiled Magnus. “Can you tell us about the families you chose this year? What made you select them?”
“To be honest, we all came from rough backgrounds. This part of the country has an interesting love-hate relationship with oil riggers and unemployment,” he smiled. “A few of us are still married, but that life destroys a marriage. I suspect you boys know about that.”
“We’ve been very fortunate that our wives haven’t kicked our asses out,” said Dom. “But we know what you mean. We’re all former military.”
“Son, you’re not regular military. You walk different, you talk different, you look different. I can tell you this. Every man here appreciates your service. Several of us served four-year stints. Others have sons and daughters in the military.
“But you were asking about the families. Honestly, after the first one, we started looking for single moms struggling. Some of us came from that, and others, well, we were gone so much our wives probably felt like single mothers.”
“We understand that,” nodded Noa.
“I know you do. We usually ask around, see if anyone has seen a mother with kids asking for help, food, that sort of thing. Charlemagne owns a small little market on the other side of town. She’s a softie and always gives what she can. These women know that and will come in asking for bread or milk until their checks come.
“Throughout the year, she’ll let us know if anyone is really in trouble but keeps tabs on them. This year, there seemed to be more than usual. Last year, we did five mothers. Year before was four. We had seven this year. Seven mothers with a total of thirteen babies. Babies that won’t have nothin’,” he said, sniffing. Noa reached out, gripping the man’s shoulders.
“They will if we have anything to say about it.” All of them were quiet for a few minutes. Noah finally broke the silence.
“The ribs and chicken are excellent,” he smiled. “Some of the best I have ever had.”
