The brothers and Cobra’s men left the farmhouse to head to the compound tunnels. Silas, Bear and Bullet stayed behind to guard the women.
Silas had shown the women into a safe room he’d installed after he’d taken his beating before Snake came around to burn the barn down.
Silas went inside the safe room with all the women while Bear and Bullet patrolled the outside.
Time seemed to drag as they all waited for the results of the take back.
Lola turned to Annie. “Can I ask you something?”
Annie paused in her search of the web and waited for her to ask her question.
Lola motioned toward her computer. “How did the police get involved in the Steele brothers and Liam Stroughten’s take downs? I couldn’t believe it when I saw them all under arrest like that.”
Annie smiled. “Well, that flash drive you provided of the deal between Liam and Ginger might have found its way into the hands of the Texas Rangers. Anonymously…of course. Oh, and you were right, Hector turned out to be Manny Gola, or at least that’s how he introduced himself when the Rangers asked for his name.” Annie’s smile grew as she informed her, “He’s in on a plane back to Mexico as we speak. Apparently, the Ranger’s asked him to leave.”
Lola smiled as she thought about what had happened. “Thank you for that.”
Annie shrugged. “It may only be temporary you understand but once the Rangers go through everything, I think those boys and Ginger will find themselves behind bars for a very long time.”
Lola nodded. “There’s still the little matter of the wanted poster to deal with. There’s no telling how many people saw that.”
Annie looked over at Silas and saw him shake his head, so she couldn’t answer her, but Annie was doing her best to neutralize that situation as well.
~*~
It was after midnight before the men moved into the tunnel, one by one. Each man had a flashlight in his hand which they didn’t turn on until they entered the darkness.
Tate went first then Creed, Cobra, Daniel, Harry, Jack then the rest of the brothers followed them.
When the men all gathered in a large underground room, Tate held up his hand for them to all be quiet for a moment. “This is it people, this is where we’ll take our stand to get back what Bandit took from us. Remember, we are not killers, we’re bikers. We’ll fight when we have to but we aren’t killers. “
“So how are we supposed to take back the club with no killing?” Cobra asked.
“We go in quickly, quietly and neutralize them. Knock them out and tie them up then move on to the next one,” Tate instructed.
“Damn, and here we thought we’d be doing a little bloodletting tonight,” Thor almost whined.
“Oh, I don’t doubt we’ll all throw a few punches tonight.” Tate grinned. “But I want most of them hog tied before the real fight starts. Oh and I want Bandit and Snake still alive when this is over. I have a special little treat in mind for those two. We might have two allies in there, Reno and Kid, at least that’s what Bullet thinks. I’m also told some of those guys are not part of Bandit’s group of misfits. He hired extra help to guard his back.”
“Oh, I hope he did…I really hope he did, the fucking coward.” Cobra shook his head. Looking at his own boys, he grinned. “Let’s show them all how we love to rock and roll.”
Thor grinned as he smacked his hands together in anticipation.
Tate walked over to a hidden door and using a special key, he unlocked it. Opening the portal, he disappeared beyond it.
One by one, the men followed him.
Cobra and his men dispersed in the darkened clubhouse to take down the extra men in the club.
As planned, Tate and Creed along with Jack, Harry and Daniel made their way to the bedrooms set aside for Bandit as the President and Snake as the VP.
Jack, Daniel and Harry went to Snake’s bedroom and pushed the door open silently.
Tate and Creed opened the door to Bandit’s room.
Tate walked over to one side while Creed took the other side. They both stared down at the snoring man with a glint of hardness in their eyes.
This was the man who had stolen from them, locked them up, beaten Silas almost to death, and tried to make Kimber a club whore.
Tate leaned down and covered the Biker Bunny’s mouth that Bandit had in his bed.
She opened her eyes but didn’t startle as she peered up into Tate’s eyes. He motioned her to leave and she nodded. Getting up, they could see she was naked but that wasn’t anything either man hadn’t seen before.
She left silently, not disturbing Bandit a bit.
Then Creed reached down to cover Bandit’s mouth and nose.
It took a moment for Bandit to realize he couldn’t breathe and when he began to fight back, he opened his eyes and found Creed glaring down at him. Bandit’s eyes went wide and he began to struggle in earnest.
Creed bore down and held him tight until Bandit got the message and stilled. Then Creed brought out his weapon and pointed it at the side of his head.
Sweat popped out on Bandit’s forehead as he stared for a moment at the barrel of the gun.
Creed leaned closer and whispered in his ear, “You know what I’m here to do, don’t you fucker?”
Bandit nodded. “You’ll never get away with it, you know that don’t you?” he whispered back. “I got a house full of members willing to protect my back.”
Creed smiled evilly. “That may be true but you’ll be dead before they get here.”
Tate leaned closer and came into view.
Bandit’s eyes widened when he saw the other man standing there.
“You’re lucky we have other plans for you, you miserable bastard.” Tate growled.
“How the fuck did you get free?” Bandit exclaimed.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Tate scoffed. “On your feet, fucker.”
Bandit pushed the covers off and sat up.
Creed shoved the gun to his head. “You call out and that will be the very last thing you do, understand?”
Bandit nodded and reached for his pants.
Creed shoved the gun harder into his temple. “Just the boxers. You haven’t got anything we haven’t seen before,” he ordered in Bandit’s ear.
Bandit gritted his teeth and reached for his underwear. Pulling them on, he got to his feet. His arms were wrenched behind his back and he felt a piece of rope bite into his skin as Tate secured his hands.
Creed pushed him toward the door and Bandit stumbled through the opening.
When he reached the hall, he looked toward Snake’s bedroom and saw Snake emerging from his room as well. He looked worse for wear and had blood dripping down his face. His nose looked broken but he was in the same boat Bandit was.
Both men were led down the back stairs to the basement where they had built in a couple of cells much like a jail cell unit.
Tate went forward and unlocked one of the doors and when he opened it, both men were escorted inside.
The pair turned to face the bars as Tate slammed the door shut and locked it again.
Bandit watched with narrowed eyes as he saw the other man slip the key into his pocket. “So now what? You gonna untie us or what?” he asked his captor.
Snake stood beside him and sneered at them. “The five of you can’t expect to just waltz in here and take the club back. Our men won’t stand for that.”
“You’re a fucking idiot if you think we came alone.” Harry scoffed.
Sounds of fighting and screams of pain filtered down the steps leading to the basement.
Tate nodded. “That’s right fools, we came with our own army. The Sinners are going down.” He glared at Bandit and then smiled but his smile had no mirth to it. “Oh, by the way, you have some very pissed off Russians watching you, did you know that? Problem you got is the Russians you’ve been working for and stealing from aren’t Bratva, they are Vory V Zakone. Otherwise known as Thieves in Law. Those men make the Bratva look like boy scouts. They don’t take no shit from anybody and the fact that they know you are stealing from them doesn’t sound good for you now does it?”
Bandit stared at him through narrowed eyes. “If they’re out there watching us, how did you get past them?” He looked around the room. “How did you get inside here anyway?”
“We took out seven of the Thieves to get them out of our way before we came in. We didn’t want them caught up in the crossfire and how we got in isn’t your dammed business is it?” Creed stated.
“It could be when this is over.” Bandit growled back.
“When this is over…” Tate laughed. “…is right now.” He grinned at Bandit and Snake. “But I’m going to give you a choice. You can either stand before a tribunal and accept that they will judge you according to MC laws or you can go in front of a civilian judge and spend the rest of your miserable life behind bars.”
“Fuck you man!” Bandit screamed at the man. “I’m not going to stand a tribunal or in front of a judge. I won’t be here very long. My men will come for me and I’ll watch you all hang.”
Boots could be heard coming down the steps and Bandit began to smile. But the smile slid off his face when his own men came down the steps with their hands behind their heads in a finger hooked position. They looked pretty well defeated too, as they were bruised and bloody.
Tate opened the second cell and the men were pushed inside. The second cell filled up quickly by the time Cobra brought the last man down. It was one of the mercenaries Bandit had hired to watch his back. The man was almost unconscious, he was beaten so badly.
Cobra threw him in the second cell and Tate slammed the door shut.
Bandit looked over at the men in the second cell. He didn’t know how the Youngs had done it but they’d just walked in and caught him with his pants down. This had not turned out like he’d planned. He was supposed to keep what he’d taken by lies and cheating the only rules, they all lived by. “So now?” Bandit asked. “What are you going to do with us now?”
“Give you and your men a choice, same as I gave you before, go in front of a tribunal or a judge,” Tate replied impatiently.
“How about we give them another choice?” Cobra asked.
Tate swung his gaze over to stare at him. “And just what would that be?”
Cobra rubbed his jawline and looked over at his VP, Thor. “Down south where we live, we give the men a choice. If they are found guilty, we can feed them to the pigs or we can hang them. It may be old school but that’s what we do. Dying at the end of a rope or being eaten alive by wild swine gives some men a reason not to lie and cheat the MC.”
Creed shook his head. “Every single one of them is gonna hang then, aren’t they? Some of them betrayed the club my Grandfather and Father started by aligning themselves with Bandit.”
“You aren’t gonna hang us or feed us to wild pigs.” Bandit sneered. “That’s not the way a tribunal handles traitors and you fucking know it!”
“This is a whole new club my friend. New club, new rules,” Tate stated with a raised brow. “What better way is there for an alliance to strengthen a bond between clubs than to accept their rules?”
Bandit began to sweat now. “Who are these jokers anyway?”
“We’re the Soldiers of Hades, you damn fool.” Cobra growled.
“We aren’t the fools! You are the ones busting in here and taking men hostage!” Bandit yelled back.
“Ha!” Thor looked around. “You all are the fools. Following a man named Bandit then acting like you didn’t know any better when he got caught stealing an entire fucking MC!” He laughed hardily and swiped tears from his eyes.
A few men groaned from the cells.
Cobra paused at this and raised a brow as a hint of a smile showed on his lips.
“How the hell did you guys get way up here?” one of Bandit’s men asked. “I’ve heard of you guys. You’re from San Antonio right?”
“If you know of us, then you know how we roll against traitors and thieves.” Thor crossed his arms over his chest, as his smile did not slip.
The men in the second cell began grumbling among themselves.
Bandit turned his head and glared at them.
“We do however, give the men we judge a fair trial.” Cobra nodded at Tate. “We need proof to show that they did what they did. Now this group, they already got the proof they need to win their case.” Cobra glanced at Tate and Creed. “But every group has secrets they don’t want anyone else to know. “ He turned to the men in the second cell. “You guys are going to be judged for Snake’s and Bandit’s crimes. That’s on you and you will pay a price for banding with these losers, but maybe the sentence doesn’t have to be a lethal one.”
“What does that mean?” Boomer asked.
Tate joined Cobra and faced the men. “We have enough evidence to send Bandit and Snake to jail for the rest of their miserable lives, but we have no clue what other shit might come back to bite us in the ass in the future. We do know one such threat is coming from the Russians but we need to know if that’s the only threat, we have coming. At least if we know what’s coming, we can prepare for it. I’ll let you discuss this between yourselves for a while before we start the tribunal at dawn.” Tate hesitated, then added, “We could always decide to just turn you over to the Vory V Zakone. Those are the Russians Bandit has been cheating for the last three years or so. He’s been skimming money and drugs off the top of their shipments. Do any of you know what could happen if we turn you over to them?” He shook his head. “I hear the Russians are brutal and vicious to those who make fools out of them.” He left that hanging there and said nothing else.
He headed toward the stairs, as he wanted to let them all think about what they could face.
~*~
The group of men who’d just imprisoned them went back up the steps leaving the members of Bandit’s group alone.
The men in the second cell began mumbling to each other as they stared at the two men in the opposite cell.
Bandit stood there and glared back at his men. “You all need to shut the fuck up! You knew what we were doing. That it was dangerous but you all loved all the green we made after every run, didn’t you? Don’t you even think about saving your own life now by spilling club secrets! You think he’s going to let any of you live after the tribunal? He’ll hang you one at a time and make the rest of us watch as you kick and scream then eventually choke as the rope tightens around your skinny ass necks. Or maybe you will all be lucky and your neck will snap when he kicks the chair out from underneath you. It won’t matter as either way, you’ll still be dead.”
“Maybe we thought you weren’t cheating the people we did the runs for man.” Boomer walked toward the wall of bars that stood between the two cells. “You never told us that part did you, you bastard.”
“Yeah, you never did.” Boulder stepped forward. “You made certain promises to us six years ago when you took the club away from Tate, Silas and his boys. You said you could make it bigger and better.”
“I told you we could take the club places Silas and Tate Young along with his fuckin brat’s would never take it and I did that! We got runs going between the Mexican Cartel and the Russians. We got drug and gun runs and the green just came to us. There was plenty for everyone. Wasn’t there? We all lived like kings, we own this town and everyone in it. We got no trouble with the law here, they protect us.”
“Only cuz you pay them to do that,” another man grumbled.
“Yeah, I paid them, but they kept everyone out of our business, didn’t they?” Bandit growled.
“Yeah, well it sounds to me like the last six years are coming back to bite us all in the ass, don’t it?” Boomer yelled back
Bandit glared at his men and shook his head. “Tate Young isn’t going to hang anyone. He’s too much of a pussy to do that. He’ll turn us over to the law and let the fucking lawyers fight it out in court. He ain’t got shit on us and he knows it. You whining bastards better keep your mouths shut about what we’ve been doing. He can’t prove anything and he never will.”
One of his men narrowed his eyes and stared at Bandit for a long moment. “Tell us something Bandit… how is it possible that Tate Young is still alive? You told us six years ago you came across him after a wreck and that he died in your arms. You told us you buried the man yourself. How is it he’s still alive six years later?”
Snake snorted then began to laugh. “Well Bandit, you want to tell them or should I?”
Bandit whirled around glaring at his VP. “You keep your mouth shut fucker!”
Snake shook his head. “I don’t think so fool. I think after what you did to him and his family this could very well be our last free moments on this earth and the men need to know the truth.”
“What truth?” Boomer demanded.
Snake turned to them. “Creed never hurt the girl. It was Bandit’s idea to rufie him and it was Bandit’s idea to stage the accident. He set Creed up to get him out of the way.”
“Who did kill her then?” Boulder asked.
Snake shrugged. “That was an accident. She pissed me off and I snapped. When it was over and my head cleared, she was dead. We had to hide it so Bandit came up with the idea of setting Creed up to take the fall. It worked but he only got seven years.” He walked around the cell while he talked about the past.
“And what happened with Tate?” Boomer questioned.
Snake snorted. “Bandit asked him again about the drug and gun runs after he’d already set the first run up but when Tate said no, Bandit lost it. He wanted the green you see. He had me, Smoky, Opie and Hanger beat the living shit out of Tate. Then he dumped the other man in a cave he set up as a jail cell. He was hoping the beating would eventually kill him but he kept breathing. He’s had Tate a prisoner in that stinking cave for six years.” Snake shrugged. “Don’t have a fucking clue how he escaped but he did.”
One by one, his men turned to glower at the man. They all had thought they knew the truth but now realized they had no clue what evil lurked in his soul. They were beginning to understand now.
Bandit began to sweat a bit. He could feel the waves of hate wash over him as his men stared at him. He knew after Snake told his story they would never trust him again, they might even go as far as to betray him for some kind of deal with Tate to save their own lives. His throat began to swell and he could almost feel the rope tighten around his neck, cutting off his air supply. “You know they’re gonna kill us all anyway you fucking slice it. Don’t ya?” Bandit walked over to the wall and put his back against it. “He won’t let any of us live for what we did to him and his family. All of us will be found guilty, not just me and Snake, but all of us. And once we’re gone what do you think he’ll do to our families? Will your wives and kids be safe?”
“I think they’ll be safer with Tate than they ever would have been with you around,” Boomer told him with disgust in every word. “I remember what happened to Smoky’s woman after he was killed on that run to Mexico. Also, Opie’s wife and daughter.” Then Boomer seemed to realize what he was saying as his eyes widened in retrospect. “You lying, cheating, murdering bastard!” He growled. “You had them all murdered didn’t you? You knew after they beat the hell out of Tate, you couldn’t leave them alive to spread the word that Tate was still alive and he didn’t die in a bike wreck. You set them up and you killed them to keep what you did a secret. What really happened to Hanger? You told us he just never came back from that run. That he’d called and said he couldn’t do it anymore and he found himself another woman and ran off with her.”
Snake rolled his eyes. “He buried Hanger out in the desert. Only he forgot to shove dirt over his grave. He left his bones to the coyotes and other nighttime animals. Told me the man deserved a bullet in the back and nothing more. You see old Bandit here was afraid Hanger would go to the cops or release Tate from the cave he was in. Cuz Hanger was the one that doctored Tate after the beating. Hanger told him it wasn’t right what they had done.” He shrugged. “So Bandit shot him in the back and left him to die alone. We just rode away.”
“Hangar left his behind woman and she was pregnant with his kid!” Boomer shouted.
Bandit shrugged, as he looked entirely remorseless. “It didn’t matter then or now, don’t you see that? I did what I did was to protect the club. We were just starting over back then and we needed to be strong, we needed to be practical. Any one of those men could have brought us down by saying the wrong thing to the wrong person back then.”
“You were protecting your own ass and you fucking know it!” someone from the back of the group shouted out. “Now you’ve condemned us all to death, you mother fucker.”
Bandit snorted. “I told you before Tate Young isn’t going to hang anybody. He hasn’t got the balls.”
“You keep changing your mind about that though, right Bandit?” Snake laughed. “First, you’re saying he don’t have the balls and we will be turned over to the courts. Then you are telling them he will hang them no matter what they do.” Snake shook his head. “You’re always fucking lying and I’m sick as fuck of it all. I think the men deserve to get their fair piece of you.” He brought his loosened hands out front behind his back and grabbed the other man by the shoulders and pushed him away from the wall.
Bandit stumbled and fell to the floor. His hands weren’t loose and he couldn’t stop what was going to happen.
Snake grabbed him by the throat and hauled him closer to the bars that separated the two cells. When Bandit was within reaching distance, he looked up at the men on the other side. “I know whatever happens I’m a dead man walking. But I’m no fucking coward. I know you guys will give Tate what he wants and you should. Bandit has been lying and cheating you for the last six years and I hate the man with everything I’ve got in me to hate him with.” He picked Bandit up from the floor and backed him up against the bars.
Hands from the other side grabbed him and held him against the bars. Fingers of the men he’d cheated and lied to bit down deep into his skin.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Bandit panicked as he struggled against the tight grip his men had on him. “They’re gonna kill me!”
“You said it yourself fucker, we’re all gonna die anyway, right?” Snake got right up in Bandit’s face. “They might as well get some satisfaction of getting a piece of you before they die.”
“You crazy bastard!” Bandit shouted at him.
One of the men on the other side threw a leather belt through the bars then hands reached out from the other side and grabbed it.
Bandit felt the leather go around his neck and tighten as they crisscrossed the other ends of it. When the leather tightened on his throat, he struggled to breathe as his panic swelled his throat even more. He could hear shouting but his brain couldn’t recognize the words as anything but chaos. He was struggling to breathe while his lungs were fighting to get air.
His body was in full panic node now and his other senses were breaking down. He was gasping to bring air in through his mouth but he couldn’t. As the leather tightened even more, his eyes were blurring and there were black spots blinding him. He was slipping into unconsciousness and began to slide down to the floor. There was only darkness waiting for him now. Bandit couldn’t fight it anymore and he didn’t even try.
~*~
The Young brothers and a few other men rushed into the room and opened the cell door pushing their way to the man everyone called Boomer.
Herding the men back away from Boomer, Creed charged toward him.
Boomer didn’t see or hear anything around him as he tightened the belt around Bandit’s neck. All he could think about was killing the other man and when the blow from Creed came, pain exploded inside his head and his hands let the belt slip away as he dropped to the floor.
Creed looked around at the men. “What the ever lovin’ fuck are you doing?”
“Getting a piece of the man who is going to end up costing us our lives,” one of the men yelled back.
Creed shook his head, then turned to glare at Snake.
The man smiled and took a couple steps back holding his hands out in surrender.
Creed turned his head and looked at the captured men in the cage with him. “You’re being played for fools. If Bandit ended up dead, then Snake would have made you all murderers. You’d be no better than him, then and the only one who would be satisfied would be Snake. Bandit wouldn’t have gotten what he deserved and his revenge would have been sealed.”
Snake began to laugh on the other side of the bars. “You should have let them kill him. He deserves it.”
“Maybe, but they don’t need to meet their Maker with his death hanging over them.” Creed shook his head. “They may be guilty of a lot of things but murder isn’t one of them.”
“What difference does that make?” Boulder called out. “If you’re trying to save our souls, you’re a little too late for that.”
Creed shook his head. “You made your own beds. You chose to follow a man you knew was no good. There were other Lost Sinners that left the club when Bandit took over. You all coulda done that back then, but you didn’t. Greed and deceit is like that but you have one chance to stand up as real men for the last time. At least give yourselves that much pride. Stand up and take the punishment like the men you were at one time.”
Creed turned and motioned for the men with him to leave the cell. He backed out and locked the door again behind him. Then he went over to the other cell and motioned to Cobra’s man, Jett. “Jett, take out your weapon and point it at Snake, if he so much as sneezes, shoot him, but don’t kill him. He needs to face the tribunal.”
When Creed heard Jett cocking his weapon, he opened the door and went inside. He backed Snake up and tied his hands to the metal bars high on the wall.
Snake was almost standing on his tiptoes when Creed pulled the ropes tight. He hissed at the sting of the ropes on his wrists but he didn’t say a word. When Creed looped the rope repeatedly, Snake knew he wouldn’t be able to get himself free. He couldn’t move.
“I want you alive and well when dawn comes,” Creed whispered in the other man’s ear. “I’d hate not to be able to sentence you to death, MC style. But we got work to do before then so this should keep you alive and well until it’s time.” Creed turned and walked over to where Bandit was lying. He turned the other man over and loosened the leather strap from around his neck. From watching his chest rise and fall, Creed could see he was still alive. He dragged him a few feet away and let him lay there. No one could touch him for the moment and that’s all Creed cared about.
He then moved out of the cell and locked the door again.
As he walked toward the stairs, Boomer called out, “How long till dawn breaks?”
Creed called back, “About four hours.” He kept going up the steps leaving them to their own thoughts.
The Sinners all knew they had four hours with a lot of misery and fear to think about.
