Treasure Ch. 61-65

"Clear," he said.

Aces ran around to the door, seeing Rori sitting on the bed as Chase held a Remington 870 combat shotgun in his hands. "Aces, thank God," she said.

"You all right?"

"Yeah, we're fine."

"You have to get out of here," Aces said. "Grab what you need and get on your motorcycle. I'll take care of this thing."

"I have to get it out the back." Chase tossed Aces the keys to the RV out of his jeans then ran back to the door, hitting the winch that would open up the toy hauler rear end. Rori was grabbing their phones and her backpack and anything else she might need. By the time the ramp hit the ground, he had his Harley unstrapped, his helmet on and had started it up.

Rori ran back, pulling the backpack on before she went through the door and got on behind Chase. Aces followed her out the back, running down the ramp as Chase drove down and turned right for the entrance. Bunny was running towards him, phone in her hand. "Get the RV started, I'm getting our bike," he said as he handed her the keys. He ran down the line of trucks, jumping onto his Harley and putting on his helmet while placing hers between his legs. He drove down the line and straight up the ramp, parking the bike and hitting the winch control as soon as it was shut down. By the time the back was up, he had his Harley secured. "DRIVE," he told his wife as soon as the back was secure.

She put it in gear and pulled forward as he was moving into the main part of the RV. He grabbed the shotgun, putting the safety on and setting in on the floor next to the passenger seat as he sat down. He double-checked his Smith and Wesson M&P9 to make sure it was safe in the holster sewn into his cut. He buckled himself in as they got up to freeway speed. "How long until the nearest exit," he asked her.

"Eight miles," she said.

"Shit," he said as he searched the freeway for anything suspicious. If the guy hadn't been lying, more people were on their way. He looked down at the speedometer, it was at sixty-eight. "Can this go any faster?"

"No," she said. "I'm already in fourth gear trying to get up the hill."

He spotted a police turnaround coming up. "Take that, we need to head back towards Salt Lake."

She slowed as they approached the spot, turning and crossing the median and waiting for traffic to let her enter the westbound lanes. They pulled across into the slow lane, and she accelerated as quickly as she could, glad for the downhill assist.

If they had arrived two minutes earlier, they would have made their escape, but the four black Expeditions closed at high speed and surrounded them. "Shit, we've been made," he said.

"No shit, sherlock." She looked out to her left, the passenger side window was down. A big guy with a crewcut, carrying a big pistol, was pointing at them to exit at the rest area. "I think they want us to pull over," she said.

"We need to give them time to get away," he said. He got up, going back to the bedroom area and sliding open a small window. "Don't stop for anything," he said. Sticking the end of the shotgun up to the screen, he took aim at the front passenger tire and fired.

"Shit!" Bunny swerved onto the shoulder as the SUV momentarily lost control, bumping the side of the RV. The impact knocked Aces onto the bed, and he scrambled back to the window. The Expedition swerved back, then as it slowed it the tire blew off and the rim caught on the road. It skidded to the right, barely missing the back of their RV before it hit the trail vehicle. Both went into the ditch.

He stood back up, getting ready to fire again when Bunny locked the brakes up. It wasn't fast enough to prevent the impact, as the SUV in front of them could stop far faster than the big RV. He fell forward, losing the shotgun as he tried not to roll all the way to the front. The SUV was braking hard, slowing their vehicle with it. The remaining Expedition was next to Bunny's door, keeping her from moving back into the road. "GAS," he told her as he scrambled up.

"I'm to the floor now," she told him.

"Stop, we'll hold them off for a bit," he said. She shifted to the brakes and put her hazard lights on, slowing to a stop by the side of the road. While she was stopping, Aces pulled out his cellphone, calling his Vice President. "Trike, we're in some trouble. Two SUV's, Wyoming plates. First is 285JJW, second is 552 WAR. If you don't hear from me in twenty minutes, let the Chapters know. Track the fuckers down and avenge us."

"You got it, boss."

"I'm going to leave this on so you can listen in." He looked up at Bunny. "Keep your hands on the wheel and keep calm," he said.

"They're coming." The second SUV had pulled behind them on the shoulder, and men were moving quickly towards them. All of them hand hands inside jackets, and there was no doubt what they were holding. He made sure the door was open, then sat on the bed with his hands on his knees. The door flew open, and four men surged in, guns ready. "We give up," Aces said.

Two men threw him to the ground, quickly cuffing his hands behind his back. His pistol was tossed onto the bed, and they pulled his identification out of his wallet. One went forward, holding a pistol on Bunny as he took the keys from the ignition. "CLEAR," the last man said as he finished checking the bathroom and the toy hauler areas.

"Where are they," the leader asked Aces after he kicked him in the ribs, the snapping of them echoing through the space.

"They left, just like you should," he said. "Do you have any idea who you are fucking with right now?"

"All I see is a biker punk," he said.

"And all I see is a couple guys who are going to be dead by the end of the week if you don't let us go. We're the Steel Brotherhood, and we know who you are. Ten thousand members and affiliated across the country, and you've just rolled up on a Chapter President. See that phone? My Vice President is listening in. You've got thirty seconds to get the FUCK out of here or the whole Brotherhood is going to be after you."

The guy from the back came up, standing in Aces's vision. "Her motorcycle is here, it's pretty distinctive. His is gone."

"Fuck." They were humans, and this was going bad quickly. "You took out a vehicle and hurt one of my men, we'll call it even. Have a nice fucking day." He removed the cuffs before he and his men walked out the door, slamming it closed behind them.

"Baby, are you all right?" Bunny had come back as soon as they got into their cars and sped off. By that time, he was sitting up and coughing, which hurt like a bitch. She helped him into the chair. He looked at his hand, spots of blood covered it.

"Drive, baby. Get me to a hospital." She buckled him in and put the RV back in gear, heading back towards town.

Ch. 63

Chase drove his motorcycle hard, well over a hundred miles an hour as they escaped from the rest area. He was lucky that traffic was light and the cops weren't out; soon they were in Wyoming. "Shouldn't we be getting off the road," Rori asked.

"It won't take long until they figure out we've escaped on a motorcycle," he said. "Right now, time is not our friend. We have to get as far away as we can from the RV before we stop."

She liked being by him, but being on his motorcycle was not as much fun as being on her own, which had been left behind in the RV. She understood why, it would have taken more time to get hers unhooked and ready than just jumping on his, but still- she wanted her own ride. She pulled herself closer to his back, wishing they had the time to pull on their leathers instead of just jeans, boots and shirts. The night air was starting to get them cold. "We can't ride forever, we're going to freeze if we keep doing this."

The Evanston exit was coming up, with it signs for some of the recreational areas. "Take this exit so we can check my phone," she said. He exited the freeway and turned south while she checked her navigation. "Any reason why we couldn't stop for a while and call for help?"

"I don't want to register at a hotel."

"We're wolves, all we need is a place off the road to curl up." She checked her phone, there was the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area to their southeast. Looking at the maps, the better part was that on the back side the road led to Denver. She entered the waypoint, and they drove another hour on the back roads until they entered the hills and left civilization behind. Along the way, Rori was busy with phone calls, glad that her helmet had a Bluetooth link to her phone. Her first call was to her parents, letting them know what had happened and that they were headed for the Denver chapter. Mom put her on speakerphone in the clubhouse of the Renton chapter; the men and women were furious and promised they would get them protection. Her second call was to Bunny. "How are you," she asked.

"We'll be fine. Those men found us a few minutes after we got onto the freeway and it went bad fast," she said. She related the events on the road to her, and Rori had the link open to Chase so he could listen in. "The RV has a few dents in it now, sorry about that."

"I'm just glad you're all right. Where are you now?"

"Park City Hospital." She paused and caught herself. "Before they left, the leader kicked Aces in the ribs pretty hard. He has three broken ribs and a punctured lung," she said. "I drove him down here, they got it reinflated and he's in recovery now."

"Oh my God, Bunny, I'm so sorry." She never wanted her friends hurt, then she thought about the reaction. "Does the Club know?"

"Oh yeah, Trike was listening in when it happened. We got license plate numbers, one of the Ladies ran them. They're all registered to a private company up near Casper. We've got members from five chapters converging on them now, they'll regret the day they fucked with the Brotherhood."

"We can't have them going after the Pack, Rori, that won't end well," Chase sent.

"Bunny, I need you to call Trike back. Keep the RV, take it back to Vegas since Aces won't be in shape to ride for a while. There's something more important right now."

"What is it, honey?"

"The men who attacked you are after me because I found out who my birth parents were, and there is a big estate involved. I need to head to northern Minnesota to meet with a lawyer and claim it. If I don't make it, those men stand to inherit everything. That's why they want me so bad, because it goes faster if I get it and turn it over to them. I'm never going to give them what is mine, though."

"They fucked with a Chapter President, Rori." Bunny's voice was low and serious, she wanted blood.

"Yeah, and I'm sure he fucked them up too," she said. The laugh on the other end told her she was right. "Getting me there safe is more important than getting this guy back. Trust me, there will be plenty of time for that on the ride home." She paused for a moment. "We had planned to sneak up there in the RV because we thought it wouldn't attract attention, and that didn't work. Maybe it's time we attracted some attention."

"Thunder run?"

"Damn right. You think you can find some people up for a long ride?"

"For you? Oh, hell yes, girl. I'll call every Steel Lady in the country if I have to."

"Tell everyone to meet us at the Denver chapter, we're going to the North Shore of Minnesota. Nice riding, but things may get a lot cooler than Vegas so plan accordingly."

"There's a lot of chapters between Denver and Duluth, so they can do parts of the ride. We'll tuck you in to the center of the formation and roll, nobody is going to fuck with the Brotherhood. We own the fucking road."

"Thanks Bunny. Tell Aces thank you and I'm sorry." She hung up the phone and put it away.

They found an empty campground and parked the motorcycle in the trailhead, undressing and leaving their clothes in the saddlebags. Shifting quickly, they sniffed and rubbed against each other before running into the woods. She was starving and wanted to hunt. Chase taught her how to find and catch rabbits, and after an hour she had eaten two and was happy. He found a sheltered spot, under some deadfall, and they curled up nose to tail and quickly fell asleep.

She woke up the next morning needing water and to go to the bathroom. Chase was still sleeping as she crawled out of their shelter; her breath was foggy in the cool morning air of the mountains. Finding a spot to relieve herself, she focused her senses and heard a stream. Trotting downhill through the pine needles and leaves, she found the water and took a long drink. She felt him approach before she saw him, and he took a drink of his own. "I don't like waking up alone now that I have you," he said.

"Sorry. We should get going."

"It's too bad we can't drive the Harley in wolf form, I could use this coat," he teased. They ran back to where they had left their motorcycle and shifted, pulling on their clothes from last night. He had a jacket he offered her, but she declined since she would be swimming in it. "We'll stop and buy more clothes where we can," he said.

The ride was cold but fun; they found a general store in a small town and bought sweatshirts, gloves and a jacket for her. It was the middle of the afternoon before they arrived at the Denver clubhouse, which looked to be on a war footing. The gate was closed and guarded, the lot was full of bikes, and she saw cuts from at least four chapters as they pulled up. "Who the fuck are you," the Prospect said, not seeing a cut on Chase.

"He's my fiance," Rori said as she got off and removed her helmet.

"RORI!" She recognized some of her friends from the Kansas City chapter. "Open the fucking gate, prospect, she's a Steel Lady." He did, and she was soon mobbed by a dozen bikers and their Old Ladies. "Everyone, this is Chase Nygaard, my soon-to-be old man. He's a doctor from Washington. Chase, this is Tank and his old lady Double D, he's the President of the Kansas City chapter."

Tank pulled him into a bro-hug before Double D gave him a big kiss. "Oh, our little Rori is growing up and found herself a doctor," she said with a grin.

"Actually, I found her," Chase said. "I'm the lucky one."

"Well, he rides which is good, but he doesn't have a fucking cut, so I'm not sure I approve," Tank said.

"He can get one. We've been a little busy."

Rori saw a man coming out of the clubhouse and waved at him. "Trike, what are you doing here," she asked. "Why aren't you in Salt Lake with Aces?"

"He's fine, I sent a couple patched members up there to escort him back to Vegas," he said. "They won't release him from the hospital until tomorrow. I figured you would want your bike, so we had the Prospect load it in the van. It's out back with your gear you left behind." He pulled something out from behind his back. "You should never leave this," he said as he handed over her Steel Ladies cut.

"Thanks Trike," she said as she hugged him before putting it on. "We were kind of in a hurry."

"Time for Church now that you're here," Panhead said.

"Chase, this is Panhead, he's President of the Denver chapter."

"Thank you for your help," Chase said as he shook the big man's hand.

"We'll see about that. Members inside, Old Ladies and Prospects stay here, except you two," he said as he turned his back on them.

"Come on," she said. Holding his hand, she led him into the Clubhouse, which she had visited once during her time in Kansas City. They were holding church in the main area due to the number of clubs, and the four Presidents were sitting at a table up front. They listened as Rori described what had happened and why, and Trike told everyone what had happened with the attack on Aces. He was going to be released in the morning and would return to Vegas to recover.

"What do we know about these guys," he said.

Trike stood up, his Club had a computer guy. "The vehicles are all registered to a private company, state documents show the company is run by a guy named Raymond Waterman. The board includes his father, Royce Waterman, and three other people. They own a couple thousand acres of land that backs up to the Bighorn National Forest. They are rich, the holding company owns a number of businesses in the region, and it looks like a few hundred live on the property. It's like a private town there, well back from the borders of their land. We sent a guy to the nearest town, they're pretty tight lipped about them. What we know from the attack is that they are well funded and trained."

"It's like a private security force," Rori said. "They are dangerous, and in the big picture of things they aren't important. They were after me, and if I am safe and inherit my parent's estate, they have nothing. The men who did this, they don't matter."

"Raymond Waterman does, if he gave the orders, he will pay for it," Panhead said. "We can't let someone attack a President and get away with it."

"Aces got hurt because of me, let me take care of him," Chase said as he stood up. "Trust me, I will make sure the lesson sticks."

"You aren't Brotherhood, Chase." Panhead looked at him, not liking anyone not in a cut like his.

"Not yet, but Rori is a Steel Lady and she will help. I will make sure of it. My first priority is to keep Rori safe and get her to Two Harbors where she can meet the lawyer. Everything else doesn't matter." He sat down next to her and pulled her tight.

"Why don't we just put them on a plane? They can be there in a few hours, Denver airport has a dozen flights a day to Minneapolis, then they can take a commuter plane up to Duluth," Tank said.

"Too many paper trails," Rori said. "The men we are up against have law enforcement in their pockets, they can put a flag on our names with the TSA. We can't afford to be caught and delayed, or we'd already be there. That's why we didn't fly from Portland."

"Bunny suggested a thunder run, and my President agrees," Trike said. "We keep to the freeways, but surround her with Club the whole way, stopping only for gas and at affilitated Clubs. We know we have the people to keep her safe this way."

"We can shuffle her between Clubs," Panhead agreed. "Denver and Vegas can escort her to Kansas City. They stay overnight, then KC takes them to St. Paul. Then the final day they are taken all the way to the North Shore. Simple, and it makes the rides a reasonable length."

"We're in," Tank said. "I'll talk to the boys back at the club, get the smokers fired up and the beer on ice. We haven't had Rori around in a while."

"She needs an engagement party," Double D said with a nod. "There are members across the country that are going to be crushed finding out she's off the market as soon as she made age."

The Church broke up, and they called the St. Paul chapter and arranged things there for the last night. Chase and Rori left their bags in the Prospect's van after getting their leathers, and they mounted their bikes with the others. Three dozen Harleys headed out of the gate, staying in formation as they reached the Interstate where they really opened things up.

Riding in formation was old hat to Rori, but for Chase it was a new thing. The Club members gave him a little extra room until he was comfortable with it, and an hour later everything was tight as normal. The Club made an imposing sight on the freeway, and everyone pulled over to the right and let them pass as they powered by. Even the police didn't mess with them as they blasted by at eighty miles an hour.

They stopped once at a truck stop, taking over six pumps as all the tanks were topped off while people used the bathrooms and grabbed snacks. Chase used one of his reloadable debit cards to pay for it all while the Ladies escorted Rori to the bathrooms, a few patches waiting outside. They roared back out fifteen minutes later, and made Kansas City about ten at night. The clubhouse was rocking as they pulled in, food was ready and the kegs were flowing. They partied with her friends until midnight, then collapsed on the bed in the guest room.