Chapter Thirty-Nine

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Three days later, Cocktail rented a room at the Best Western in Richmond and waited as Satans Wrath prospects eventually delivered Balvinder, Fateh, Quang, and Rashard to his room.

“Gentlemen,” said Cocktail. “I have some good news. As you all know, Satans Wrath are upset that the war is dragging out.”

“Who needs them,” said Fateh. “You’re the guy with the chemicals. Deal straight to us.”

“That isn’t going to happen. What you are suggesting is that I become their competition. I think we all know what happens to their competition … or were you hoping to take out a life insurance policy on me?”

A few in the room chuckled. Cocktail smiled and thought, Sounds better than saying you four are a bunch of uneducated yahoos. I need Satans Wrath to protect me from degenerates like yourselves.

“So what is the good news?” asked Rashard.

“The good news, especially for you,” replied Cocktail, “is that Satans Wrath believe that the four of you should be the only ones in charge of The Brotherhood and they are willing to help. Which is where I come in.”

“They’re going to help us?” said Fateh. “Does this mean they’re gonna give Big Bertha back to me? Or do they plan on killin’ the fuckers for us?”

“There is one small test that the four of you have to complete. For you, I am sure it is not a big deal.”

“And that is?” asked Balvinder.

“I will arrange for Sy, Mongo, and Munch to go to a place that I choose. None of them will be armed or have any contact with anyone. In fact, we might even blindfold them. When they arrive, they will be tied up and interviewed in regard to their personal assets, such as where they hide their money. The four of you are then to ensure that they are never found again.”

“How will you get them to go along with this?” asked Quang.

“I will tell them that Satans Wrath is brokering a truce. That everyone will be taken to a secret location to start the negotiations. I will say that everyone will be searched and that guns and cellphones will not be allowed to ensure everyone’s safety. I’ll tell them that Satans Wrath will be doing extensive counter-surveillance to make sure nobody decides to try and follow.”

“The bikers will do that for us?” asked Balvinder.

“No. As I said, this is a test of leadership for the four of you. The bikers want to see how you handle it. It should be relatively easy because Sy and his associates will believe the bikers are protecting them.”

“They could still be there,” said Balvinder. “It would be good to have them around for security in case someone tries to escape or somethin’.”

“Quite frankly I believe it is because you have not proven yourself to them yet that they won’t be there,” replied Cocktail. “They don’t trust you enough. This task will not only change that, but it will result in a lot more profit for you in the future.”

“How do we know that we can trust the bikers … or you,” said Quang. “Maybe you’re telling the same bullshit to Sy and the rest of ’em.”

Cocktail sighed and slowly shook his head like an adult about to admonish a child. “To start with, you will all be armed,” said Cocktail. “As far as the location goes, I was thinking that the farm out in Mt. Lehman would be good. Your brother still has the lab there, does he not?”

Quang nodded and said, “It’s my farm, too. I’m looking after the lab while my brother is away.”

“It is only an hour drive out of the city,” continued Cocktail, “yet isolated enough that we won’t be bothered by anyone when we find out where they hide their money. As I recall, you have the equipment there to dig a deep hole.”

“I have a backhoe.”

“Good. I would suggest you get busy digging a pit. Today is Friday. I would like to be cracking the champagne open this Sunday night over their grave.”

“Who gets their money?” asked Balvinder. “Us or the bikers?”

“The five of us get it. Consider it a reward for what we must do.”

“Sounds perfect,” said Quang. “Cut off the heads of the snakes and the rest of the bodies will wither and disappear.”

* * *

The following day, Cocktail had a meeting with Sy, Mongo, and Munch. They were told that Satans Wrath wanted to broker a truce and that a meeting was being arranged for the next night.

“Only I will know the location,” said Cocktail. “I’ll give you a place to meet me first. After that, no guns and no phones. You’ll be driven to a safe location to talk. Same thing for the guys on the other side. They’ll be met, searched, and driven, as well. Everyone will be blindfolded. We don’t expect the first meeting to resolve everything, but the negotiations will be conducted in a proper and civilized fashion. Anyone even thinking of causing violence will have to deal with Satans Wrath.”

“The other side might not go for it,” said Sy. “I heard Rashard has joined up with them. They may think they can get everything and us nothin’.”

“The bikers won’t put up with any more bullshit,” said Cocktail. “They want the territory divided fairly. They’re not going to sit back any longer and watch things shuffle back and forth as the bullets fly.”

“But there are four of them and only three of us,” said Mongo. “They’ll still demand more of the action than they should get.”

“I’ve got someone who could help all of us in that regard,” said Sy. “My friend Jay.”

“We don’t need no more bosses to be making our share even smaller,” said Mongo.

“You’ve met him,” replied Sy. “Remember what he said in your office that night when I brought him and his girlfriend to your pizza place? He doesn’t want to be a boss. The guy wants to be independent.”

“If that is the case, why would he come to the negotiations?” asked Munch.

“Because he’s in a business where the more contacts you have, the better. He could help us by strengthening what we say is our territory and we could help him unload some merchandise sometime.”

Cocktail thought about it. Four killers and four victims. Everyone will get a chance to prove themselves. He smiled at Sy and said, “I don’t see a problem. Bring him along. I look forward to meeting him.”