thought.
“Don’t get any ideas.” I said. “We have a job to do. Can’t have too much fun.”
“Right.” she simply said. “We have a job to do.”
We both glanced over at Ralphie and I let out a large sigh. “I’ll call someone to pick him up.” I grabbed my phone and called our clean-up guy, some old waste management worker. I didn’t really know the guy, but he did good work. “Yeah. It’s me. Come to the club. You know the code to get in? Good. It’ll be there.” I hung up the phone.
“He’s on his way.” I said, setting my drink down and walking toward the back door. “Come on, let’s get to working.”
“You got a plan?” she asked me, as we walked through the back hallway.
“I always got a plan. Question is, is it a good plan?” I responded, pushing the back room door open. We sat down on the leather couch and I went to explaining.
“Here’s what I know. We are at war. It may not look like it yet, but things are heating up. Both sides are gearing up to launch attacks. The best thing we can do is to attack first, but we do it with stealth.” I said.
“So what do you propose?” she asked, still sipping on her drink.
“Well there are a few things we can do, but I’m thinkin’ we do something crazy. Here’s my plan: we get married.” It was a crazy plan. Completely insane. But that’s how I operated. And if it worked, it could save us all.
“Uh, what?” she said, shaking her head. “What are you talking about, Rust. Marriage? Just because we fucked a few times doesn’t mean I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Jesus.”
I laughed. “You think I want to be with you either? But now we’re in this mess and we need something big that’s going to mend our two crews.”
“I don’t know, Rust. It doesn’t sound like such a hot plan. What would Bruce say if you told him?”
I thumbed at a cigarette, though I didn’t light it. I was thinking. “I think he’d go for it.” I finally said, after some time. “As tough as he is, he’s a real softy inside. He loves marriage and shit.”
“Bruce? Are you kidding me? The guy seems to be perpetually single.” She was laughing uncontrollably now and I couldn’t help but chuckle with her.
“Yeah, well. Maybe he’s holdin’ out for the right person.” I shrugged. “Look, what are the two things that our crews want?”
“I don’t know, autonomy? Money?”
“You’re close. Power and Freedom.” I said. “Your side wants to be taken seriously. They want their territory to remain theirs. I get that. But Bruce, he ain’t as understanding as I am. I hate to admit this, but he wants the territory to himself. Power . Once you have it, you want more.”
She put her palms against her forehead, thinking hard about what I had just said. “So the Hell’s Wheels want a voice. And Courage wants more. Sounds like you finally get what I’ve been saying all along.”
“Your father was a good man. He never let a member of his crew starve or be shut out. That’s the mark of a good leader. His legacy deserves respect. But your boys, they want a regime change. That’s never a good sign. So my proposal is we bring the two together. We expand your territory and push out the Darkhorse MC. Together.” Maybe what I said last night wasn’t such a crazy thing after all. If we were going to stomp out the threat of fear and tyranny, we had to try working together. We had no other choice.
“ Together …” she repeated, almost in a dreamlike trance. “You’re insane, you know that right?”
I shrugged. “That’s what they’ve told me. I’m just rollin’ with the punches, babe.” I finally lit up my cigarette and smiled, putting my feet up.
“Alright, Rust. I’m with you. Let’s get married. Shit.” She said, smiling big. “But you better get me the biggest ring you can find. I want diamonds, Rust. Platinum and diamonds.”
“Shit, if this plan works, I’ll go down into the mines myself and get you your
“Don’t get any ideas.” I said. “We have a job to do. Can’t have too much fun.”
“Right.” she simply said. “We have a job to do.”
We both glanced over at Ralphie and I let out a large sigh. “I’ll call someone to pick him up.” I grabbed my phone and called our clean-up guy, some old waste management worker. I didn’t really know the guy, but he did good work. “Yeah. It’s me. Come to the club. You know the code to get in? Good. It’ll be there.” I hung up the phone.
“He’s on his way.” I said, setting my drink down and walking toward the back door. “Come on, let’s get to working.”
“You got a plan?” she asked me, as we walked through the back hallway.
“I always got a plan. Question is, is it a good plan?” I responded, pushing the back room door open. We sat down on the leather couch and I went to explaining.
“Here’s what I know. We are at war. It may not look like it yet, but things are heating up. Both sides are gearing up to launch attacks. The best thing we can do is to attack first, but we do it with stealth.” I said.
“So what do you propose?” she asked, still sipping on her drink.
“Well there are a few things we can do, but I’m thinkin’ we do something crazy. Here’s my plan: we get married.” It was a crazy plan. Completely insane. But that’s how I operated. And if it worked, it could save us all.
“Uh, what?” she said, shaking her head. “What are you talking about, Rust. Marriage? Just because we fucked a few times doesn’t mean I want to be with you for the rest of my life. Jesus.”
I laughed. “You think I want to be with you either? But now we’re in this mess and we need something big that’s going to mend our two crews.”
“I don’t know, Rust. It doesn’t sound like such a hot plan. What would Bruce say if you told him?”
I thumbed at a cigarette, though I didn’t light it. I was thinking. “I think he’d go for it.” I finally said, after some time. “As tough as he is, he’s a real softy inside. He loves marriage and shit.”
“Bruce? Are you kidding me? The guy seems to be perpetually single.” She was laughing uncontrollably now and I couldn’t help but chuckle with her.
“Yeah, well. Maybe he’s holdin’ out for the right person.” I shrugged. “Look, what are the two things that our crews want?”
“I don’t know, autonomy? Money?”
“You’re close. Power and Freedom.” I said. “Your side wants to be taken seriously. They want their territory to remain theirs. I get that. But Bruce, he ain’t as understanding as I am. I hate to admit this, but he wants the territory to himself. Power . Once you have it, you want more.”
She put her palms against her forehead, thinking hard about what I had just said. “So the Hell’s Wheels want a voice. And Courage wants more. Sounds like you finally get what I’ve been saying all along.”
“Your father was a good man. He never let a member of his crew starve or be shut out. That’s the mark of a good leader. His legacy deserves respect. But your boys, they want a regime change. That’s never a good sign. So my proposal is we bring the two together. We expand your territory and push out the Darkhorse MC. Together.” Maybe what I said last night wasn’t such a crazy thing after all. If we were going to stomp out the threat of fear and tyranny, we had to try working together. We had no other choice.
“ Together …” she repeated, almost in a dreamlike trance. “You’re insane, you know that right?”
I shrugged. “That’s what they’ve told me. I’m just rollin’ with the punches, babe.” I finally lit up my cigarette and smiled, putting my feet up.
“Alright, Rust. I’m with you. Let’s get married. Shit.” She said, smiling big. “But you better get me the biggest ring you can find. I want diamonds, Rust. Platinum and diamonds.”
“Shit, if this plan works, I’ll go down into the mines myself and get you your
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