Pope
We have a plan that should work if everything goes according to plan, but first, I need to make a call. Raising my cell phone to my ear, I wait for the person on the other side to answer.
“Who the fuck is this?”
I remain silent for a moment, enjoying the upper hand before I answer.
“Pope.”
“Fucking hell. Where did you get this number?” Riot growls back at me.
“From your son.”
Silence reigns between us. Neither of us daring to be the first one to speak, both fearing the loss of the higher ground in this battle between us.
“So, let me get this straight. First, your Vice President kills my brother and now you think that it is a good idea to kidnap my only child, to do what? Do you want to make peace? Or are you simply trying to prove a point?” His tone is deathly calm.
“Neither. What I want to do is talk.”
“So talk. You have two minutes or I will get my guys together and burn your entire world to ashes.”
“I need this ended. Tonight. I will return your son to you unharmed, and Sparrow will give himself over to you on the condition that you will leave the rest of the Gypsy Bastards, their families, and friends alone. The debt will be paid.”
For a moment, we move back to the silence.
“Why should I trust you?”
“Because I have honor. Your son is alive and well, right beside me. You are on speakerphone, so you can talk to him.” I remove the phone from my ear and set it to speakerphone.
“Bishop?”
“Riot.” Bishop doesn’t say much. His face is stoic, giving away no emotion.
“Where are you? I’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Don’t be stupid. Walking in here will get me killed and at least one or two of the guys that come here with you, too. Just take the deal and let’s move on from this shit show.”
“I need to discuss it with King first. I will call you back.”
He ends the call abruptly, no niceties between father and son. Bishop stares straight ahead. He has nothing to say because we can all see it. He doesn’t care for the man who is his father and has no regrets helping us.
We wait in silence for what seems like forever but is actually closer to ten minutes before my cell phone rings. Slowly, I lift it from the table and answer.
“Drive south out of town until you reach the old factory side. Bishop will know where to go from there. You have two hours. If I do not have my son and Sparrow at that time, I will be coming for you and yours first.”
He doesn’t wait for me to agree, he simply ends the call. Turning toward Bishop, I wait for him to talk.
“I need a pen and paper. I know the old abandoned warehouse and surrounding buildings well, and I have the perfect plan.”
****
Bishop had split us into three groups before we made the initial call to Riot. He knows his father the best and assured us that the trade would take place at one of two places. We sent one group to the farm, one group to their warehouse location that Riot just chose as our meeting spot, and the third group is currently in the clubhouse around our table. Our group consists of myself, Sparrow, Wolf, Viking, and Bishop.
We will head to the warehouse with the van including myself, Sparrow and Bishop tied up in the back, with Wolf and Viking accompanying us on their bikes. The plan is very simple but it is better to keep it that way instead of trying to overcomplicate things.
Our team has already surrounded the warehouse and is hiding in wait. Mad Dog has gone ahead and scouted out the area for the best positions to set up as a sniper.
Everyone is strapped and everything is in place as we all head out to our bikes. On the way through the clubhouse, Wolf and Viking stop to say goodbye to Hadley, with Viking sneaking in a chance to cuddle little Ainsley, and Sparrow speaks to Gage. Storm is nowhere to be seen, but Brogan is waiting for me by the door.
“You are my father, and I’m grateful that I got to meet you. But Storm is all I have left of my mom and I don’t want to see her hurt. If you hurt her again, I will act my age and throw a tantrum so big that we will move back to Baton Rouge. You won’t see either of us again.” He says this without looking away from me.
At that moment, I have so much pride that I feel like I could burst. The fact that he loves her enough to stand up to me, even though I know it must be scary, fills me with more pride than I thought possible.
But I also realize that my son is a lot more mature than anyone gives him credit for and that he is smarter than people would think for his age. Knowing that he would most definitely be able to guilt Storm into moving back to Baton Rouge scares the shit out of me. I stare at him for a moment without saying a word before nodding. He nods in return and hugs me around my waist quickly, then walks away.
“Some kid you got there.” Bishop watches Brogan as he walks deeper into the clubhouse. “And you are a good father. My dad would have knocked my ass out for saying something like that to him.”
“I know that some would think he was being a disrespectful little shit, but knowing he loves her enough to come at me head-on fills me with pride. Besides, if he is like this at this age, I can’t wait to see what he’s like when he’s all grown up.”
Bishop chuckles as he moves past me toward the van. I retrieve some zip ties from the back and loosely tie his hands in front of him. He needs to be able to get loose and get to his gun if shit breaks out. I help him get into the back as Wolf, Viking, and Sparrow come outside to join us.
“I have a bad feeling about this, brother,” Wolf says to me. “No offense, Bishop, but I don’t know you for shit. Who says you aren’t leading us into a trap?”
“Believe what you will, but I know the truth,” Bishop replies. “Riot likes to believe he is smarter than everyone else, and that no one would ever go against him. The fact that I am the one person he believes will never do that is going to be his downfall.”
Viking nods his agreement. “I have seen it a million times. The people closest to you, the ones you least expect, are the people that often cause your downfall.”
There’s something in his voice, something that niggles at me, and I know there’s a story. And even though I want to ask him what’s going on, now isn’t the time nor the place for that.
“I don’t care if it’s a trap or not.” Sparrow scowls at all of us. “Let’s get this shit show on the road so that I can face the man who murdered my wife.”
No one says anything against him. He has lost so much and deserves the chance to get some peace. The only problem is that I don’t know if this is going to make it better or worse. We all think we want revenge and some even make it their life’s mission to get it, but what then? What is left after you end the person who caused you more pain than any other person in your entire life? My greatest fear is that we will lose Sparrow after all of this is over.
Without another word spoken, we all pile into the truck and head out.