Redwood Nine: Season 04 Ch. 03

Otto was in search of a new tank for another bike he was building and told the guys he was headed over to see Gus and see what he had. He tossed the unrepairable tank in the bin and got on his bike. He waved and took off, heading to 99 south and cruised down to north-east Stockton. Pulling into Gus' place, he stopped by the area he had set aside just for bikes and parts. With motorcycle riding becoming popular, it also brought about many mishaps and accidents that made for a steady supply of newer parts.

Gus waved at Otto and let him go about picking what he needed. Otto looked at every tank available and couldn't see what he wanted. He went over and asked Gus if he knew of any Harley tanks from big cruisers and Gus didn't know of any off hand at his usual haunts, but said he knew a guy down in Merced that he ran into had lots of them. Otto got the directions and rode south along 99 again, until he hit Merced and began following the directions. It wasn't a very nice part of town and somewhat remote. Land was cheap and this was as cheap as it got, as far as Otto was concerned. The fenced in yard wasn't put up very well and security didn't look too high on the list of things to take care of.

The sign above the entrance didn't do much to help raise any thoughts of intelligence. Otto looked at the wording and saw spelling mistakes, the name Bubba boldly written in and smirked to himself. He pulled up to the old trailer that was used as an office and shut his bike off. He went into the office and a young woman was sitting twirling her hair, her feet up on the desk. She saw Otto come in and immediately sat up and smiled far too prettily for the occasion. Otto looked her over and saw her massive breasts bulging out and the prominent cleavage showing.

"Hi, I was told you had some motorcycles tanks here."

"Yea, they're out back. What kind you looking for?"

"A Harley, one of the big cruiser tanks."

"I think we have one, or two. Go check with Bubba, he knows where everything's at."

"Thanks, I'll head back there."

Otto saw the overtly flirtatious behaviour and smiled, then headed back outside and around into the yard. He wandered down a row of stripped down bikes, some worth taking note of for Big Willy. He was looking over one, when a booming voice rang out.

"I help you, boy?"

Otto turned and saw a mountain of a man and knew Bubba had been an aptly chosen name for him.

"Yeah, girl inside said you had some Harley tanks and to see you. I take it you're Bubba?"

"Yep, this is my place and I got tanks."

"Can I have a look at them?"

"Yep, down a piece at the back. Got a shed with shelves and they's in there."

Otto thanked him and had to give him a once over to take in his size, then walked down to the end. Bikes of all kinds were more or less lined up in make. Lots of Harleys and Indians were spotted, but most looked like write offs, the rider probably dying in the accident from the look of them. He found the shed and began picking through the tanks stacked three deep on some shelves. He came across the exact tank he was looking for and very carefully pulled it out of the pile, the shelves rocking slightly. He looked it over and dusted it off, checking the state it was in.

Bubba came over and asked him if that was what he was looking for. Otto smiled and said it was, then asked how much it was. Bubba looked him over and said it was fifty dollars. Otto looked at him like he was crazy and looked at the tank.

"You want fifty for the tank?"

"You heard me boy, I said fifty. That long hair making you deaf?"

Otto wasn't happy with the slight and let it go, hoping he could talk him down to twenty, which he knew it was worth.

"Twenty? I ain't giving the things away. Fifty, take it or leave it."

Otto tried to negotiate, but Bubba was steadfast and showing a dislike for Otto's appearance. Otto saw the crew cut hair and the greasy bib overalls and knew a prejudice existed between them.

"Come on Bubba, the tank is worth twenty tops, no matter what yard I go to."

"They got the tank you want?"

"No, that's why I'm here looking."

"In this yard, that tank goes for fifty dollars, boy. You find it in those yards, you can buy it for twenty."

"Fuck that shit. Keep your fucking tank, it isn't worth the money."

"What you say to me boy?"

"I said keep it, you fat fuck."

Otto tossed the tank back on the pile and made it all come falling off the shelves. Bubba was fuming and Otto smirked at him.

"Oops."

"I kick your ass for you boy."

"Yeah, sure. Have a good day, fat fuck, I'm out of here."

Otto turned to go and then felt his head get yanked back hard. Bubba had grabbed a hold of his hair and spun him around. Before Otto could react, Bubba's fist smashed his face and stunned him. He just got some clarity and focus back, when he was punched again. In a moment, Otto's mindset changed and he was in action. He drove his fist into Bubba's underarm and weakened the arm, them grabbed his wrist and bent it back hard, making him let go of his hair. Otto ducked and spun, twisting the huge arm around to its limit. He brought his elbow down hard on Bubba's elbow and heard the crack and then the scream of pain.

Otto stood back and looked at his opponent and waited to see if he would retaliate anymore. Bubba reached into his pocket and took out a knife and flicked it open, then looked at Otto with only one thought in mind, payback. He swung the blade wildly back and forth, trying to slash Otto, but he was too fast and avoided the blade's razor edge. Otto danced around to keep the huge man off balance and found an opening. He kicked out with his heel and squarely hit the inside knee joint and the howls of pain soon followed. Bubba hobbled on one leg and nursed his broken elbow, but his rage wasn't going to let up, not until he had his revenge.

Otto kept out of reach of the knife and looked to just leave at that point, that enough damage had been caused already. Bubba lunged forward, trying to stab him, but Otto sidestepped him and punched him fast several times, hoping to break some ribs, but the massive fat took the force and it felt no more than hitting a bag of flour. Bubba knocked Otto backwards with his elbow and weight, then slashed at him.

"I'm gonna fuckin' kill you, boy. Fuckin' long haired freak."

Bubba hobbled at him and slashed back and forth. Otto ducked down to a squat and kicked out at the other knee, hearing the sharp crack and another howl of pain. Otto knew how to use Bubba's size against him, his training in basic, as well as special combat training coming back to him clearly. Bubba tried to walk, but the first step he took, his knee snapped loudly and he went down hard. Otto used that opportunity to jump on his back and put his arm around the thick neck. He grabbed Bubba's head and brought it around quickly, snapping the spinal cord and felt the massive weight he held, knowing it was now deadweight. He let him go and Bubba's head slammed off the dirt. Otto looked for any signs of breath in the dust, but not even a tiny puff of it appeared.

Otto stood up and looked around. He knew he was alone back there and no one had seen him do it. The only other person who knew he was there was the plump brunette at the desk and he suspected she was related. He walked away from the scene and then stopped. He went back and grabbed the tank he wanted and walked back to the office. He acted as calm as he could and went inside the trailer. The brunette had done some prepping and he noticed the additional make up and lip stick, her hair put up in and attempt to look prettier. Otto played it to his advantage and played up to her.

"Hey darlin' your brother got me the tank I was looking for. Had to dig through a pile of them to get to it, so he's putting all the tanks back on the shelves. Sure is a scary looking pile he has, those things could come down anytime. Anyway, he said the tank was twenty bucks, so here you go, sweetness."

Otto took out his roll of money and peeled off a twenty and put the roll back in his pocket. The brunette was impressed with the size of the roll and adjusted herself so her breasts stood out more and looked up at him.

"Thank you so much, handsome man. Anything else you'd like?"

Otto heard the come on and almost choked back a laugh.

"No darlin', but I know where to come back to if I do."

"I'll be waiting for you. Hope to see you soon."

"You too. Gotta get back, so I'll see you later."

"Bye."

Otto heard the disappointment in the word, as he headed out to his bike and strapped the tank on. He started up and turned around, looking at the window and saw her looking at him. He knew she was remembering him and now his bike and how that would play out once the body was found. No matter what had happened, he knew it was trouble and trouble was high on the priority list of things not to do.

Otto rode back, feeling the tank behind him to see if it was secure, but the touch held more of a sense of foreboding to him, something dire in consequence was with it. Trouble was coming to Charming with him in a tin can. He rode into the lot and stopped by the door. He shut it down and rushed inside, finding some of the guys there.

"Where's JT? I gotta talk to him fast."

"What's up, Otto? What's going on, brother?"

"Some bad shit went down Wally, at a scrap yard just now and I need to tell JT and figure out what to do."

"He's in town, talking to some of the store owners about loans. Tell me and maybe I can help, or any of us."

Otto came over and sat with the guys and told them what had gone down. He told them about the girl in the trailer and what she would know about him. The guys sat back and knew it didn't look good for Otto. Self defence or not, a death had occurred and he was accountable to it. Not only had he killed the man, he left with the tank and paid what he wanted to pay. It was looking worse and worse for Otto the more he related.

The sound of bikes coming in, had them jumping up and heading outside. JT was backing in with Lenny, Piney and Bobby, when the guys were ready to tell them. The instant that quiet hit the air, Otto began telling them the news of what happened. By the time he was finished, JT was looking at him with a mix of agreement and disgust. It was a situation none of them needed to be in at this point. The event itself couldn't be blamed on him, but the witness was something they had to consider. It hadn't been that long since it happened, so time might be on their side to do something before it ran out.

It was a hard call to make, but a dead witness, was better than a live one causing more trouble for them. JT had everyone go back in to the clubhouse and voted on it. It was agreed that it was better, but killing a woman didn't sit well with them. Tigs saw the displeasure and casually said he'd do it. They looked at him and wondered where his moral line was, but Clay was all in agreement and offered to do it with him. JT looked at them both and knew it was an approved hit, but the agreement to do it sounded too much like something they had no problem with, almost looking forward to it.

Otto said he'd show them where the place was and hoped the cops weren't already there. If they weren't, it was an out of the way place and no one would see them. JT slapped his hand down and looked at the three of them.

"Make it fast and make it clean. Don't leave anything to point a finger at us. Leave the cuts just to be safe."

They took their cuts off and handed them to JT and received hugs and handshakes from the others.

"It'll get done right, JT."

Tigs agreed like Clay, to make sure it was done properly and Otto looked like he was walking to the gallows, as they headed to the bikes. The guys watched them go and hoped for everyone's sake that Fate hadn't yet played another card. The ride was made as fast as they could get to Merced and slowed down considerably, as they hit the secondary road to the yard. The closer they got, they could see there was no signs of police any where and sighed in relief. They pulled into the lot and before they stopped the engines, the brunette was standing at the window, smiling as she looked at them.

Bigger sighs of relief came, knowing she hadn't bothered to check up on Bubba. Otto went in and greeted her with familiarity and relied on her attraction to him. He asked if his friends could look for some parts and she was eager to say yes and it was more than she could ask for, when Otto asked if she'd like to walk with him and he could get to know her better. She was bubbling with enthusiasm at the idea and told Otto to give her a minute to freshen up. He smiled broadly and said sure, then went back out to Tigs and Clay on the bikes.

"All set guys. Head down to the very back and hang a right. Fat boy should be a little ways down. I'll play up to the chubby one in there and bring her down to you. Let me get away and do what you have to, but I can't watch that happen. She's an innocent and all she wants is some attention."

"She's paid too much attention, brother. You want to stay out of trouble and not see what jail time is like, we gotta do this."

"Yeah, I know. Fucking, stupid asshole. All because he didn't like me. What the fuck, man?"

"People do stupid shit, Otto. So you fucked this guy up with just your bare hands?"

"Yeah. Fucking guy is huge, too. I remembered the shit from training and it just kicked in."

"I gotta see this guy. Really big, eh?"

"Yeah, three hundred easy."

"Holy shit, guy could have just fallen on you and you'd be squished to death."

"Yeah, well, he didn't, anyway go on back, I hear her coming."

Clay and Tigs walked to the back of the yard, as the girl came out.

"That your friends?"

"Yeah, I told them to go back and see Bubba and see if he knows if he has what they want. I thought we could hang around here for a minute and get to know one another. I'm Otto."

The brunette blushed and giggled, then she became playful with him.

"Hi Otto, my name is Bernice, but you can call me Bernie if you like."

"Hi Bernie, nice to meet you. So Bubba is your...?"

"Brother, my big brother."

"Yeah, he's a pretty big boy. So is it just you two here?"

"Yeah, we live together here in the trailer."

"Cool, don't have far to go to get to work."

Bernie giggled and sidled up to Otto, glancing her breasts off his arm. Otto took her arm and held on to it with his, letting his fingers play with the sides of her breasts. Bernie giggled even more at the attention, then Otto led her into the yard. Bernie laid her head on his shoulder and Otto gave her hand a squeeze, making her giggle again. They reached the back and rounded the corner and she stopped.

She looked at Clay and Tigs standing in front of her brother's body and didn't know how to react. She looked at Otto and then to the guys, wondering if they played a part.

"I told you those shelves were rickety. He must have fallen down and got hit on the head, or something."

Bernie looked back at Otto, remembering he had just mentioned it before. She went over and bent down to Bubba and checked to see if he was breathing. She never heard the guns coming from behind their backs, as Tigs and Clay took aim at her head. Otto walked back out of sight of the scene and made his way to the front. He had only taken a few steps, when the first bullets were fired. His heart lurched on hearing the first ones, but his soul was sickened to hear repeated shots from them. He kept walking, steeling himself from the feelings he had for Bernice, knowing she had died to keep him safe, nothing more.

Lives were used as collateral, to be used for payment, or settle a deal. The value of a life as sacred was no longer in play. If you had to die to protect the club, or a member, you were expendable. The pair were putting their guns away as they ran and caught up to him. They saw his face and neither said anything about it. The ride back was made in silence, no one paying any recognition to the act. How hearts were feeling and the thoughts that haunted their minds, was up to each man to feel his own way about it. Where one might feel damned, another might feel accomplishment, while another a sense of enjoyment.

Pulling into the lot, the guys were all out waiting for them. Nothing was said outside, but faces expressed the job done. Once inside, Clay relayed the news on what occurred and how it was handled. Nothing tied the club to the scene in any way, other than one person, Gus. There was no question that Gus would stay quiet about it, if he found out about the death. Knowing it was the club that did it, he might be more so inclined to stay quiet. He could be implicated way too easily as a part of it, doing the introduction and all, past history and similar businesses, that might have a conflict going on. No, Gus would never say a word, no matter what. With the matter resolved to satisfaction, it was closed, until further news about it was heard.

No one wanted to talk about the hit and how they did away with her, so Tigs and Clay grabbed a beer and headed out to the picnic table. They sat on the top and openly discussed how easy it was to pull the trigger on her. Clay was still having an issue with Tigs feeling her tits after and getting off on it. When he said he'd fuck her if they had the time, he was totally grossed out. Tigs tried to explain a piece of ass, was a piece of ass, but Clay wouldn't hear any of it and that's when Otto came out. They stopped all talk of it immediately as he walked over.

"Why did you have to shoot her so many times? One from each gun was enough."

Clay spoke for them and answered plainly.

"Brother, we put five each in her and five each in Bubba. They'll figure it was some kind of payback and be looking for some angry business partners, or a jealous boyfriend, or something. Has to look like that, or they know someone killed him and then killed her to shut her up, which leads things back to you again."

Otto tried to buy the explanation, but it couldn't sit well with him, no matter how he spun it to his head. He walked back and left the two on the bench, wondering how things sat between them now.

The FBI was put off by the loss of their informant, but by no means had the Cacuzza's and now the club fallen off their radar. Four agents were working almost around the clock, compiling and sifting through everything they had on them both. Branches were contacted and anything they had on either was put into a central file for both in Los Angeles. Deaths played a big part in intelligence gathering and several unexplained ones were mulled over for connections. The car crash killing Clive Brock and Vinnie DeAngelo wasn't adding up properly, with another missing and apparently dead mobster. A fire out in Bakersfield still had a taint of club suspicion because of Chico and Marietta. Vague threads started sewing together a quilt of activity and the mass biker killing in Stockton that the Sons of Anarchy was involved in, as well as the massacre out in Calaveras, was making them see a picture of a club that was transforming to a gang with charters and that put more attention on them.

The nightly news was watched for any reports of the murders and nearer the middle of the broadcast, they were announced. The reporter on scene said the bodies were discovered by a person who came by to see the owner and knew both victims. A Goober Ditchfield had known the victims for years and said the couple were happily married. Otto looked at the guys and shook his head, knowing what he had heard Bernie say. The police had nothing to go on and were trying to find any clues as to why it was done. So far, Otto and the club were off the hook. They had no connection to them and the chance meetings were unseen.

Everyone breathed easier after turning off the TV and relaxed. The whole event was just confusing to everyone from every angle they looked at it. All of that mayhem over an ignorant hillbilly who didn't like the way Otto looked. Then it was the confusion over the girl being called Bubba's wife, after she told Otto she was his younger sister. Incest was bantered about as the answer and settled on that issue.