Torn

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Johnnie’s near-death experience, along with Sean’s ordeal had upset him so much that he could not find peace. Rushed with adrenaline, he stayed up almost all night, as the events replayed in his mind. More than that, Johnnie had to make some very important decisions that would affect the course of his life. Should he leave the motorcycle club, he would have to face unemployment, at least for a short while. He and Sean were the best mechanics in Cornwall, but they would have to get a loan in order to open their own business, whether it was in Cornwall or not. If they chose to stay in that small town, they would compete against Warrick and that was something that neither of them wanted to do. Last, but certainly not least, Susan had intrigued him. Her suggestion had not sounded appealing. The only interesting thing about it was that he would see her again.

He had hardly slept, when his phone rang, the next morning. It was Brad and he sounded furious. He had to see both him and Sean and would wait for them at their clubhouse, a large compound that housed his workshop.

Johnnie and Sean met outside on that cold day, as they parked their Harleys. His friend’s quick pace, as he practically sprinted across the huge parking lot was not a good sign. Johnnie had to run after him. He grabbed his friend by the left forearm, just before he entered the clubhouse.

“Let me go, man!” Sean exclaimed, flipping around to face him.

“Not yet, brother.” Johnnie advised. “We need to talk about this.”

“There’s nothing to talk about.” Sean disagreed. “I’ve made my decision.”

“Come here.” Johnnie spoke in a low tone, as he pulled him aside. Unwilling to be seen or heard by anyone else, he threw a few furtive glances around him. “We need to plan our next move. Don’t say anything yet.”

“We?” Sean squinted at him.

“That’s right. ‘We’. Last night was pretty intense. It got me thinking.” Johnnie added.

“That’s great!” Sean exclaimed.

“Keep your voice down.” Johnnie urged. “Now’s not the time to bring it up. We need to find who planted the bomb first. Are you with me?”

“Yeah, alright.” Sean said, putting a smile on his friend’s face, as more club members passed them by. They entered their clubhouse and went to the spacious conference room. Brad had already been waiting for them, sitting at the head of the massive table with their logo carved into it.

“Good morning, boys.” He spoke in his hoarse voice, striking the gavel in his right hand against the sound block, as the two friends sat across from each other. “As you know, our warehouse was hit last night. Shane?” He said, turning his head to the left to face Shane Rhee, his vice president.

“We lost twenty two AK’s, thirty four Glocks, one hundred and five magazines and about twenty grenades.” Shane stated. “But, the worst part is that two of our brothers almost got killed. We can always order a few more guns. We can even sell some from our emergency stash, if we need the money. Brothers are irreplaceable.”

“What the hell happened out there, Johnnie?” Brad inquired, pointing at the bandage around Sean’s neck.

“What do you want me to say, Brad?” Johnnie shrugged his shoulders. “The thing just blew to smithereens. I’m just glad we didn’t get killed.”

“Anything suspicious?” Brad posed one more question.

“No, nothing.” Johnnie replied.

“We all know who was behind this.” Brad said with a sigh. “We have no choice, but to retaliate. The ‘Los Lobos’ targeted two of our brothers. This can’t go unpunished. I say we hit those bastards.”

Almost all of the ten members seemed to agree with their president. Johnnie and Sean glanced at each other. Sean ran his hand through his short, blond hair, but Johnnie was too upset to keep his mouth shut.

“Brad, are we sure it was them?” He asked. “Do we have any evidence? Don’t get me wrong, I want to find that motherfucker as much as you do, but, we’re risking open war here.”

“The war’s already on, Johnnie.” Shane spoke in a firm tone. “I agree with our president. The ‘Los Lobos’ have to be eliminated.”

“Do you even listen to yourself?!” Johnnie cried, jumping from his seat, his stentorian voice bouncing off the walls of the conference room. “Don’t you get it? If we go to war with the Latinos, no one will be spared and I don’t mean just us. The whole town is going to suffer. Pretty soon, the people will turn on us. Aren’t we supposed to protect them? Isn’t that why the sheriff’s been turning a blind eye on everything we do?”

Johnnie’s short, passionate rant grabbed everybody’s attention. It served as a wakeup call to his fellow members. They all remained silent and kept glancing at each other, too troubled to verbalize. Even Brad and Shane stared at him, somewhat surprised by his outburst.

“I get you, Johnnie.” Shane was the first to speak. “But if we don’t defend our business, the ‘Los Lobos’ will take it by force. Do you have any better suggestions?”

“You should talk to them.” Johnnie suggested, in a much calmer tone, turning his gaze to Brad. “You should sit down with Rivera.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Pike Morrison, one of the oldest members interjected. “We can’t afford to go to war with them, Brad. They got the numbers. Plus, war is bad for business.”

“That’s true.” Brad agreed. “All in favor of my idea, raise your hands.”

Much to Johnnie’s liking, the only two members who supported Brad’s idea were himself and Shane.

“Ok.” He spoke softly. “All in favor of Johnnie’s?”

This time, ten out of the twelve members supported Johnnie’s idea; only Brad and Shane did not.

“Ten to two. It passes.” Brad went on, once again striking the gavel against the sound block. “Shane, call Rivera. Let’s hope you’re right, Johnnie boy.”