Redwood Nine: Season 02 Ch. 13

JT let it all sink in for a few minutes, before he took the podium at Wayne's request. He grinned broadly as he spoke out loud into the microphone.

"Are you ready to win some great prizes?"

The crowd of citizens cheered and held their tickets in anxious hands. Wayne turned the drum, mixing up the ticket stubs inside, then called on Chief Grant to pick the first ticket. He shouted out the number, then Wayne used the microphone to let everyone hear it. The chief looked a little embarrassed, but held the stub up and waited for the winner to come forth. A small, heavy set woman came forth through the crowd, cheering loudly at her win. The chief checked the numbers and declared her the winner of the free wash and set at Pretenza's Hair Salon.

One by one, the prizes were handed out and everyone was anxious to know who would win the beautiful 1957 Cadillac Eldorado, now painted bright metal-flake red, with pin striping and sporting chrome wire wheels, along with a new sound system. The engine was chromed out completely and given more horsepower, with a new intake and carb, as well as headers and a new exhaust. The upgrades were free, courtesy of Tom and Wally's midnight shopping at Stockton's finer automotive stores after hours. Otto's boss, Ihor Yestremski, gave all the paint and materials for free, as his contribution to the grand prize. It also got him a great amount of free advertizing for more business. Ihor's cousin, Ivan, did upholstery on the side and restitched the seats and panels in white, to match the top. Anyone who thought they could make more of their own money out of the event, got in on it.

Wayne spun the drum and Chief Grant pulled out the stub and held it up to make more of a suspenseful moment. As everyone waited with baited breath for the numbers, he moved to the microphone and called out the numbers slowly and clearly. Not a second after the last number was given, yells and hollering came from near the back of the crowd. As the crowd parted, a young man came through up to the front. The chief checked the numbers and confirmed a match and a winner. He shook the young man's hand and asked him his name.

"Kevin McNeil."

Wayne handed the keys to Kevin and followed him to the car to check it out. The club stood around the car and congratulated him on his luck of the draw. Kevin got in and started it up, turning on the stereo and played with all the power features, grinning like the college boy he was.

The festivities followed and a local band, the Timeless Minute, played covers of popular songs that everyone seemed to enjoy. Close to the end, the chief made an announcement that they had raised over three thousand dollars for Norman Unser's dialysis treatments. The crowd applauded and JT knew he had scored a victory in winning over the townsfolk. To his surprise, the chief called him up to the stand and announced to the people that JT was a fine, upstanding citizen and thanked him for his and his club's contribution to the community. Hearing the cheers, confirmed to all the members, that a favourable light shone upon them.

Before the crowd had a chance to disperse, the chief made one more announcement.

"It is my great pleasure to announce my decision, to make Patrolman Wayne Unser, my new deputy chief of police. Because of his diligence and hard work, even working on his own time, he solved the worst crime to happen in Charming. Patrolman Unser, please join me on the stage."

Wayne was trying hard not to grin too hard in his moment of triumph, as he walked to the stage. The guys patted his back and shook his hand as he passed, then walked on stage to the podium. The chief shook his hand and then removed his shield and took a silver shield out of a small case. He pinned it on his shirt and shook his hand proudly, turning so the photographers could get a good picture of them. The pride on Wayne's face, was all JT needed to know, that his plan to associate Unser with the club, in a friendly way, was paying off in spades. He knew it would be the hardest thing for him to do, if the club got in trouble and he opposed them. Whether Deputy Chief Unser knew it or not, he was an ally of an outlaw motorcycle club now.

Two days later, Wayne pulled into the compound and knocked on the clubhouse door. Lenny opened the door and happily greeted Wayne and let him in. Despite the thick layer of illicit smoke, he went up and greeted them all with a handshake, then stood facing them all.

"Guys, I gotta say thanks, but that doesn't seem to cut it, for all you've done for my dad and me. The new DC badge, I owe it all to you guys. They're still trying to put it together down there and I thought I'd share some news we received from Palm Springs. Seems there was an accident out their way and it involved Clive Brock's Corvette. They found two bodies in the car, but they weren't identifiable. Seems they lost their heads and the car exploded and burnt to the ground, before anyone could put out the fire. They identified one guy through some identification they found, but the other guy was a mystery. Seems your new friend, Jimmy Cacuzza, put a finish to the search, by stating the other guy had to be Brock. As far as everyone is concerned, the killer is dead and the case is closed."

The guys sat speechless, hearing that there would be no more investigation into the matter and they were clear of any chance of connection to it.

"So, whatever you did with the body, I just hope it doesn't show up and bite you guys in the ass."

JT laughed out loud, the others joining in. Wayne looked puzzled as to what was humorous.

"Wayne, the most anyone will ever find of Clive Brock, is hidden in coyote shit by now. Where we left him, no one goes there, except the local wildlife and they looked pretty happy to see the meal we left them. Whatever they don't eat, there's a line of scavengers just waiting to pick at what's left."

Wayne saw how at ease the club was in divulging the truth to a murder they committed, finding it a little unnerving that they had no real remorse to doing it.

"So, you're betting on nature to do the clean up for you?"

"Why not? It's done a damn good job so far hasn't it? If there's anything left of him after the animals are finished, the rest just rots away in no time. The bones will end up in some coyote's teeth to gnaw on and what's left?"

Wayne thought on it and realized the way they did it, almost assured them that very little, or nothing would ever turn up. If it did, it wouldn't matter, because they would have no way of identifying what they found. Nature's forces would wipe away any trace of evidence to show how his death was caused. The case was closed and to him, it was never coming back into question.

"To be sure, at least one of you should check and see what's left and take care of it properly. Just make sure, like I said, that it don't come back and bite you."

"Good advice, Wayne, we'll do that. Thanks for the heads up on Clive, that's good to know."

Wayne nodded, letting them know they were welcome for it, but suddenly realized his own part he was playing in it. He looked at them with a new pair of eyes, ones that knew the men he looked at, controlled the outcome of his future. One word from any of them and his shiny, new badge and position would be gone in a flash, as well as standing on the wrong side of a jail cell, once his uniform was switched to prison garb blue. Whether it was a trap or not, didn't matter at that point. He was caught in it and knew he was at the mercy of the outlaws before him to survive.

"So, how does it feel being deputy chief now, Wayne? I hope they gave you a decent raise too."

"Yeah, I do get a raise with it and it makes things a bit easier to deal with, too. Dad sends his thanks and hopes he can thank you personally some time. I said I'd see if a few of you guys would come by and see him."

"Love to, Wayne. You know, that fund raiser really went well, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did actually. That was a really good idea you had. The chief is thinking we should have more of them, so other folks and the community can benefit from them."

"Sure, always glad to help our town out."

Wayne tried to weigh the two sides of everything out. On the one hand, here was a group of guys who had committed murder and he could only guess at the other criminal activities they were involved in and on the other, the same group of guys, were the most influential at doing good things for the town and its people. The balance was far towards the good, but Wayne wondered when that balance might shift and how far the balance would swing to the bad. He realized there was another part to his new position that wasn't explained to him by the chief and knew the chief wouldn't understand it. He had to work with the outlaws and make sure his town remained safe and secure from trouble and make sure the club was spared any grief from the law.

"JT, seeings how we're all friends here and such, I need to talk to you about something that's eating at my craw."

"Sure, Wayne. What's on your mind?"

He looked at the beer drinking, pot smoking members and weighed his words carefully.

"I know where things are at between us. I know you guys just want to have a life and enjoy shit like the rest of us do, but I have a big worry on my mind and want to make sure we're clear on shit."

"Sounds serious, Wayne, what's up?"

Wayne took a deep breath and continued.

"I know you guys do bad shit, that it ain't all nice nice all the time. I just want to know from you, that bad shit doesn't end up in my town. I don't want to have to do nothing bad to you guys. Whether it was all a set up, or whatever, the fact is, I'm a cop and I have to do something if a crime is committed here in Charming."

"Wayne, Wayne, relax man. We're not going to do anything in Charming. We don't want to cause trouble, we told you that. All the shit that's happened, is because of someone causing it for us. We like our... no, we love our town just like everyone else and don't want people thinking we shouldn't belong here. You have my word and the word of my club, we'll never let anything we do, happen within the borders of Charming."

Wayne looked at JT, then to the others and got assurances that they would abide by their president's words. He felt a great relief, that he would be spared from doing something untoward to his only friends and hoped they never got caught on the outskirts either.

"Please see that it don't. I really like you guys. As much as I hate to admit it, you're the only friends I got. It tears at me to think I'd have to do something against you. I'll do what I can to smooth things over, if it ain't too bad, but the shit you just done, can't happen here."

"Understood, Wayne. Like I said, we just want to live our lives like everyone else. Trouble happens and we end up dealing with it, whether we want to, or not. We've never committed any crimes here and don't intend to. We might be bikers and all, but we're not criminals, or at least, we didn't want to be criminals."

Wayne nodded in agreement to what JT said, knowing he was speaking the truth and their desire to stay within the boundaries of the law. It seemed it was up to him, to make sure trouble didn't come their way, if he didn't want the club involved in it. They weren't looking for it, just like all the other law abiding citizens of Charming didn't want it, so it was his job to protect them the same way. How it played out, was yet to be seen, but the club was promising him their co-operation in keeping Charming safe and sound from trouble.

"I see you guys got some new badges on your vests. What's that all about?"

There was a unanimous calling out for it to be called a cut by everyone, making Wayne embarrassed about it. JT eased his mind he meant no offence in what he said and explained what they were for.

"The diamond is in honour of Jake and what he did for us. This wouldn't even be a club, if it wasn't for him, so we felt we needed to show a lasting tribute to him."

"That's a really nice gesture. So what's the Men of Mayhem all about?"

"Honestly Wayne, it's for killing Brock. In 'Nam, there was a lot of mayhem that happened, you know about that shit. Guys just shooting at anything to save their asses in the jungle. It's sort of the same here now. We're just showing that we've had to deal with the madness of it and commit mayhem to resolve it."

"It doesn't spell out anything nice to people, if they see it. Mayhem is mayhem in anyone's books and they know it ain't good."

"Wayne, we really don't give a shit what people think. If they can't see we're more, or less, just like them, then too fucking bad. We've never given anyone a reason to dislike us and don't intend to. We do what we want now, because they don't want us to be a part of their little group. They said we don't belong, so we make our own rules about doing things. We made our promise to you and we'll honour it always, but anyone fucks with us, they're going to have to pay the price for doing it. If that means some mayhem coming their way, so be it."

"Well, make sure that mayhem lands outside our borders. I only got so much power to do things and I don't want to be backed up against a wall on anything. I'll do what I can to save you guys and give you a heads up on any trouble you might be facing, but once you do something, I still gotta be a cop and look into the crime."

"Like I said, buddy, no shit is going to happen here because of us. If it happens, it was someone else who started it."

"I guess that's the best I'm going to get out of it."

Wayne looked at them all, his face showing a sign of acceptance to what things were and shrugged.

"You have our word, Wayne. That's the best I can give you."

"I'll take you on that word, JT, all of you for that matter."

"Thanks, Wayne. So, you never did tell us what you thought of the girls little treat they gave you the other night. You sure looked happy coming downstairs again."

Wayne's demeanour changed in a heartbeat to one of thankful gratitude.

"That, was something I'll never forget. They did some things to me that made me hit the ceiling. I never knew that some of the things they did, even existed."

"Like what?"

The guys were rapt in their attention, waiting to hear, while Wayne reddened.

"Like how they touched me."

"How did they touch you?"

"It was, what's their names again? The one with the long, white hair and the other one with hair the same length, but really blonde?"

"You must be talking about Azure and Golden."

"Yeah, those two."

"How did they touch you, that blew your mind?"

"They used their, you know, boobs on me."

"Oh yeah, that is so cool how they do that."

The guys started recalling their own experiences in enjoying it, as well as some others, making Wayne more at ease with what happened to him and sharing his experiences. Half an hour passed and the previous worries about the club, faded back into less priority of importance, as he joined in reliving the pleasures of the dozen women.

Spring couldn't come too soon for them, the cold wetness making the rides almost unbearable. The late April morning held a welcome warmth in the air, as they cruised out of Calaveras into Charming. As they came to the turn off, off of SR88 onto Euclid, they saw the flashing lights of the police and emergency vehicles. JT slowed as they passed, looking to see what had happened. Despite the car being upside down in the ditch, bent in half around a tree, JT knew what car it was. He immediately had everyone pull over and went back to see. The officer directing traffic recognized him and came to him.

"It's the Caddy, JT. The kid who won it, two of his friends, all dead. Not sure yet what happened here. No one saw anything happen, but one couple said the car passed them a mile or so back at a high rate of speed. The three inside were acting crazy, according their version of it. Can't smell any booze, or pot, so we'll have to wait for the autopsy to see if they were on anything."

"Shit, Mark. I'm hoping it was nothing mechanical. I couldn't live with myself, none of us could, if we found out it was something we screwed up on."

"Honestly, JT, I can't see that being the cause. I took the thing for a test drive myself and bought a ticket, because I thought it was a great car. You guys did an excellent job in making it what it was."

What it was. So much in his life was becoming what was and no longer what is. Hearing Mason's words made him take ease in knowing he wasn't the likely cause, but seeing one of the proud possessions of Jake, turned into a pile of wrecked metal, made him feel an ache in his heart, losing another piece of him to Fate.

"Let me know what you find out, Mark, okay?"

"Sure JT."

JT patted Mason's arm and shook his hand before the guys got back on the bikes and rode the rest of the way into town. The spectre of the motel stood as a dark reminder of what was, the walls receiving new colours by way of graffiti. JT knew a day was coming, when it would be razed by fire to the ground and assumed most people who drove past it, wished it the same end. The more JT tried to hold onto memories of the past, they were vanishing and leaving him with only a present and future to look at.

They sat in the clubhouse, trying to get over their part in the loss of the young man and his friends. To them, the car would always point back to them negatively, because of its involvement. Clay was feeling even worse, knowing one of his remembrances of Jake, given away in good cause, was now turning the darkest light on him.

The event mired down what they had come in for in the first place. It was the last week of Clay's freedom as a civilian, before he went in to enlist. This was supposed to be his last hurrah until he came back and the guys wanted to make sure he was properly sent off. It would be hard to remove the stain of this from him, but JT felt he owed it to him, to do his best to try to.

The P.A. speaker mounted on the roof, blared out the phone's ringing, something they had problems with before, dealing with missed calls. JT dashed to the office and opened it, reaching the phone and answering it. He listened to the soft, weepy voice of Clay's grandmother on the other end and knew this call was legitimately bad in nature. It didn't last long, before JT hung up and slowly walked back to the clubhouse. The guys watched him walk in and go to Clay, taking him aside to talk. No one heard the whispered conversation, but knew it had dire meaning, as Clay instantly broke down and let JT hold him.

The others quickly gathered around them and asked about the cause. JT quietly told them about the passing and sympathies poured out from them. So far, the last week wasn't starting out well for Clay, with two deaths to affect him. Once Clay was under control, JT and Wally drove him out to Stockton. The trip was silently spent in retrospect of the man who had clung to life for so long, now finding no more desire to go on.

As they pulled into the driveway, Clay's grandmother opened the door and waited for them to come in. She had them sit after greeting her and poured a cup of tea for each and had a plate of cookies and another of quartered sandwiches waiting for them. There was little to offer, other than thanks to God for taking him out of his misery and giving him peace. Clay went into his grandfather's room and closed the door, wanting to be alone with the last male connection to his life.

Grandma Hazel seemed more at peace now, knowing her Clarence was at rest and she had no more daily stress of, 'is today the day'? The guys knew it stopped the delays and interruptions to plans, as they worked around Clay's needs, making their lives easier to focus on. It seemed the only person sad to see Clarence die, was his namesake grandson. Everyone else was finding comfort from it.