Desperados - the Novel Page 4

  The sun was already beginning its descent in the west as they sped along, and Madison knew that by now she would have been ending her shift and heading back home if she'd stayed at her bartending job instead of quitting and leaving with Dax and Troy. Her parents were likely going to be wondering where she was, and she wasn’t sure what to tell them. They wouldn’t approve, of course, but they really didn’t have a choice. This was her life, and it was about time she took charge of it and stopped living up to their expectations.

  Taking the job at the biker bar was the first step towards that, and just getting them to go along with that had been a hard enough battle to win. At the end of the day, though, she was an adult and they couldn’t really stop her. She suspected, though, that they had only really stopped fighting about it because they thought she would probably give up after a week or two. That she’d realize that she was wrong and they were right, as usual, and that this whole “biker thing” was just a phase that she would grow out of.

  The truth was, she’d always had a thing for bikers, and it was actually her parents fault. One of her earliest memories were when her parents would take her to visit their friends, Don and Nancy Wallis. Madison had only been maybe nine or ten at the time, but the Wallis family had a girl of their own, Linda, who was the same age. Whenever they got together, they would shuffle the two girls off to play together while they did grown up things – mostly drink wine and play bridge.

  Linda and Madison would play for a while, but they never really hit it off as well as their parents would have liked. Part of it was Madison’s fault, as she was far more interested in Linda’s older brother Rick. Rick was a lot older, at almost 18, and whenever he was around Madison would find a reason to sneak away from Linda and over to his room to see what he was up to.

  She was totally crushing on him, and he really didn’t pay much attention at first. But whenever she was able to find a reason to get into his room, she would notice that his walls were covered in pictures of motorcycles, and his shelves filled with models and replicas of bikes.

  After a while, Madison started to take an interest in bikes as well. At first, it was just a ploy to find a common interest with Rick and get him to notice her. In that respect, it worked. Eventually she would start talking to him about bikes, and once he realized he finally had someone who wanted to actually hear him drone on about his passion, he was enthusiastic about talking to her. He even let her try on the leather jacket he had spent his first paycheque on. She still remembered the warm smell of the leather, spiked with just a hint of eau du Rick.

  But it never really went further than that. She was only ten, after all, and soon Rick had a girlfriend his own age and he was barely ever home anymore whenever her family came for a visit. Or if he was, he would be locked in his room with his girlfriend and Madison was no longer welcome.

  It was disappointing, but although nothing ever happened between herself and Rick, she often thought about him over the years, and he was one of the first boys she ever fantasized about. Whenever she did, she would think about him in his leather jacket, both of them wrapped around her naked body and then him taking her on the back of the bike that he actually did end up getting. She’d seen him riding around on it, years later.

  It was a fantasy that she had always kept to herself – hidden in the back of her mind. The high school she went to didn’t have anyone in it that rode a bike, and so consequently she never had an opportunity to ride one, much less date anyone that did. But once she started to watch shows like Sons of Anarchy, her old feelings had awoken within her again and she was finding it hard to push them back out of her head. And so she found herself a job where she was sure to cross paths with the men she so often daydreamed about, and she was finding it hard to believe that after only working there for a few days she was already riding around on the back of a bike with her arms wrapped around one of the hunky, tough members of the most renowned motorcycle club around.

  They rode for another 20 minutes before both bikes pulled off the freeway and into a seedy part of town. A lot of the houses and buildings that they passed were boarded up, although Madison noticed that some of the boards looked as if they had been pried off and she was sure she saw faces peeking out of at least one as they rode past. They finally pulled up to a large warehouse that seemed to be in a better state then most of the surrounding buildings. There were no broken windows, although the windows that were there were more than 10 feet off the ground so she couldn’t see anything on the inside.

  They pulled around to the back, and she was surprised to see a parking lot full of cars. And not just old beaters, either. She noted some BMW’s, Jaguars, and even couple of Porches. The big men pulled their bikes up alongside the back wall of the warehouse where there were already a few other Harleys parked. They got off and removed their helmets, so Madison followed suit.

  “Where are we?” she asked, probably louder than she needed to be but she could barely hear herself over the ringing in her ears. They were numb from the roar of the engine she had been riding over. She hoped that was something she’d eventually get use to, and wondered whether bikers typically wore earplugs.

  “At one of our clubs,” Dax said over his shoulder. He and Lurch started to walk without looking back, forcing Madison to quickly follow. “When we go in, I want you to stay at the bar. We have some business to take care of.” Dax hadn’t even looked to see if she was still keeping up with them.

  They made their way around to the front entrance and there were two large men in leather jackets with Desperado patches on their breasts. They nodded at Dax and Lurch as they approached.

  “Yamada is inside,” one of them said to Dax.

  “Thanks, Thunder,” he replied.

  “So is Magnum.”

  “Shit, he is? What’s he doing here?”

  “Girls,” Thunder said with a shrug. “What else? He doesn’t know about the situation. He just showed up an hour ago.”

  Dax shook his head. “Fuck sakes. This may get more complicated if he gets involved.” He shook an accusatory look at Madison, as if blaming her for coming along once again. “Remember what I said. You stay at the bar.”

  The other biker standing by the door grabbed it and pulled it open. Madison was immediately greeted with the sounds of music and voices from within. All three headed in and the door was shut behind them.

  The inside of the warehouse was brightly lit, and packed with people. To the right of them was a large bar that spanned most of the length of the interior, but most of the people were concentrated around the center, standing in groups around various tables that were sunken a few steps lower into the floor. Every few seconds Madison would see and hear them groan or roar, punctuating their exuberance with fits of clapping, laughing and the occasionally pounding of fists.

  “Are they gambling?” She’d never been to a casino before, but she’d seen enough of them on television and movies to recognize the dark wood and green felt, and the unmistakable clacking of chips as people threw them onto the tables or played with them in their hands. She even noticed the dark black domes dotting the ceiling which she knew held cameras that would watch the action closely for cheaters.

  “Smart girl,” Dax said. “Wait at the bar.”

  It was a casino, and she knew that gambling wasn’t legal in their state. This must be one of the ways the Desperado gang made their money.

  Dax and Lurch headed down into the pits, pushing their way through the crowds, so Madison shrugged and did as she was told, heading over to the bar. The girl behind the counter smiled at her as she mixed a cocktail for another couple that were at the other end.

  That was me a few hours ago, Madison thought. The girl even had a similarly low cut top that accentuated her large breasts, but she was wearing tight fitted jeans instead of cut offs.

  When the bartender approached, Madison just asked for some coke. The girl looked at her for a moment. “To drink?”

  It was a strange question, but Madison jus
t nodded and the girl turned to get a glass. Before she could give it much though, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

  “Well, well, hello there pretty lady,” a deep and raspy voice said from behind her.

  She turned to see an unfamiliar face smiling at her. The man wore a black skull cap despite being inside, and his beard was long but actually braided neatly into a thin rope beneath his chin. He wore the leather of a biker, with a Desperado patch that said VP on it.

  “Oh, um, hello,” she said with a shy smile. She looked quickly around for Dax but he was nowhere in sight.

  “Who brought such a dainty little flower into my dark little garden here, I wonder? Are you a player, or are you looking for something more ... exotic?”

  Madison had no idea what the man was talking about. She just shook her head. “No, I... don’t play. I don’t gamble. That is, I never have...” She trailed off as the bikers hand slid down her arm and was now holding her hand, squeezing it gently. She considered pulling it away, but she thought that since he was a Desperado she was likely safe. “I’m here with Dax,” she said, answering his first question.

  “Dax? Dax is here?” The man’s head whipped around, causing his thin beard to flop comically back and forth under his chin.

  “Yes, somewhere, I’m not sure. He and Lurch said they had some business to take care of but-“

  The man let go of her hand and spun around without another word, launching himself down into the pit and shoving people out of his way as he stormed through. Madison wondered whether she shouldn’t have mentioned Dax. She hoped she hadn’t gotten him into any trouble.

  “Here you go.”

  The bartender’s voice reminded her of her drink, and she turned back to take it. “Who was that?” she asked, tilting her head towards the pit as the biker continued to push his way through.

  “That’s Magnum,” the bartender said. “One of the owners I think. He’s here a lot.” She looked Madison up and down and then added. “I’d stay away from that one, honey.” She then left to go and serve another customer at the other end of the bar.

  Magnum? Seemed like everyone in this club had a nickname except Dax. Then again, she wasn’t even sure if Dax was his real name or a nickname as well. Although she couldn’t imagine what Dax would mean. Magnum, at least, was fairly obvious. That was probably his gun of choice or something.

  She sipped on her drink and watched the crowd. None of the bikers were visible anymore. There were still large amounts of people concentrated on certain tables, but the biggest and loudest centered around a long rounded rectangular one where they were throwing dice around. She knew that was the craps table. She also identified other crowded tables where there were cards games, and even a roulette wheel. They seemed to have it all.

  In the back corner were a bunch of tables set up where people were sitting and playing cards. She couldn’t tell for sure from this distance, but she guessed they were playing poker. Past the pit of people, there was a closed off area. One set of big double doors that said VIP Lounge above it, and then other single doors further down.

  As she was looking at the doors, one of them burst open and Magnum emerged, looking angry. Shortly after, Dax and Lurch came out as well. The three men stood outside the room and were talking to each other. Even though she couldn’t hear what they were saying, she could tell the conversation was heated. Suddenly, Magnum pushed Dax up against the wall, pinning him there with his forearm. Madison’s heart started pounding in her chest and she stood up, unsure what to do.

  Madison watched the two men arguing from where she stood at the bar, still paralyzed with indecision about how to help. Before she could decide, though, she was relieved to see Lurch step in, putting a hand on each man's chest and pushing them apart. More angry words were exchanged before Magnum stormed away, heading towards the big double doors to the VIP Lounge which he yanked open, disappearing inside.

  As soon as he was gone, another man emerged from the open door next to Dax. He was a much smaller Asian man in a suit. Dax turned to him and said something, and then the man went back into the room and Lurch followed, closing the door behind them. Dax then started to walk over to the bar.

  “Whiskey,” he said to the bartender as soon as he was close enough for her to hear. “Straight up and make it large.”

  He pulled up next to Madison and looked her in the eye for the first time since they’d left the clubhouse. “You alright?”

  “Yes, of course. Why?”

  “Mag said he’d met you. He can be... unpredictable.”

  “Oh. No, he was fine. I didn’t speak to him long. Once he heard you were here he left. What was that all about?”

  “Club business,” he said with a grunt. His drink arrived and he gulped the tall glass down in one swallow, slamming the glass back on the bar loudly. “Another.” The bartender hadn’t even had time to move away, so she just nodded and took his empty glass back to refill.

  “Your club owns this place?”

  “No. The Jap owns it, we just have a vested interest. We’re here to collect on that interest, which hasn’t been flowing as much as it should lately. Lurch is handling it.”

  “Oh.”

  His new drink arrived and he pounded that one back just as fast. He looked meaningfully at the bartender and she shrugged, taking his glass back to refill again.

  “You shouldn’t have come,” Dax said. “Things may get heated.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  Dax didn’t say anything. He just glowered at the big double doors behind which Magnum had disappeared.

  She decided to try a different angle of questions. “Is Magnum the vice president of your club?”

  Dax just nodded, but she could see his jaw tighten. His bald head was beaded with sweat, although she wasn’t sure if it was from the heat inside the club or something else.

  “What are you? I mean, what’s your role?” His patch had the letters SA on it, but she wasn’t sure what that meant.

  “Sergeant-at-Arms,” he said flatly.

  “What does that mean, exactly?”

  “I handle security issues. Things that require a bit of force. Including collections, like the one we’re on now, when we think there is the possibility of there being some resistance.”

  His new drink arrived, and Madison was glad to see he didn’t throw this one back immediately. He picked it up and just took a small swallow, then placed it back on the counter. The bartender had been hanging around to see if she’d need to get another but now she turned and went back to the other customers.

  “So Lurch came to help with that?”

  Dax nodded.

  “And Magnum as well?”

  This time he shook his head and gave a grunt. “He shouldn’t be here. Mag is unstable, at best. Just bad luck that he showed up.” The alcohol was loosening him up, so Madison decided to try to press for more details while she had the chance.

  “But he’s vice president, how would he get that if he’s unstable?”

  “Cuz our president isn’t much better,” he spat. “We have some leadership issues in this club.”

  Madison was silent for a moment, watching Dax. His teeth were still clenched, and his eyes still focused on the big double doors as if he was waiting for Magnum to emerge at any moment.

  “What’s back there?”

  “Entertainment,” he said simply.

  “What kind?”

  His focus broke away and he looked at her, deciding what to say. He finally seemed to come to a decision to tell her. “Girls. It’s a place where guys can go and spend some of the money they win in the pits. Keeps some of our gambling losses from walking out the front door.”

  It made sense, but she wasn’t completely clear. “By girls you mean...”

  “Dancers,” he said. “But for a little extra, the dance becomes a horizontal duet.”

  Dax was staring at her, watching for a reaction so Madison kept her face calm, intentionally squelching her natural inclination to m
ake a face. She wanted Dax to see that she was tough, and these things wouldn’t phase her. Even when they did. I’ll get use to this lifestyle. I wanted to get in with this crowd, and this is what they do. Stop being a baby, Madison! This is the way the world works.

  “Of course,” was all she said. His eyes studied her face, looking into her eyes. She stared back defiantly, unwilling to let him probe the truth out of her with just his gaze this time. He finally nodded and took another sip of his drink.

  The club was getting busier now as the afternoon was wearing on. Madison looked down across the bar at the people sitting there, drinking and chatting. The bartender was talking to one gaunt looking young man with dark circles under his eyes. She reached up and pressed something into his hand, and he handed her some bills. As she took her hand away, Madison caught a glimpse of something white before the man clenched his fist around his prize and turned away, hurrying off into the crowd.

  She suddenly understood the bartender’s strange question from earlier. “The bar sells more than drinks, I see. That another way the club turns gambling losses into wins?” She raised an eyebrow at Dax who scowled back at her.

  “That’s one of Mag’s... innovations,” he spat. “If it were up to me, the club would not be into drugs. Gambling and fucking are fair game in my opinion, but drugs take us down a notch. I’d rather not be part of that.”

  “So why don’t you change it? Can’t you, I don’t know, bring it up at a meeting or something?”

  The big man snorted at her. “If you ain’t the VP or the Prez, all you got is a vote, not a voice, at our table. And even those don’t always count for shit. The problem with this club is at the top – and things won’t change until the leadership changes first.”

  “Dax!”

  Lurch’s deep voice cut through the din of the crowd as he approached. Madison hadn’t noticed him come out of the back room.

  The men stepped away from the bar and put their heads together as they spoke, too low for Madison or anyone else to hear. Finally they stepped apart as Dax just nodded. He returned to the bar.