L. Ann Marie (10 page)

“Love the fuckin chopper!”  Danny yells.  “Get us on with Jake, get a status on Ben.”

Digs goes to hit his keyboard but stops and looks at Rich.  He hits keys and we hear VP.

VP: “VP on.  Patch me to MC Ops, LP1 or 2.”

Digs: “VP you’re on with LP2, Digs at control, LP1 is in the room.”

VP: “He’s out but breathin.  We’re stoppin at the hospital, four minutes out.  MD says he can make it home but I’m stoppin.  Blackhawk needs fuel and a fuckin minute.”

Rich: “Roger, VP.  Call with an update at the hospital.  Baxter Security is with you the whole way or do you need Hammer to cover the hospital?”

VP: “Negative.  Baxter is on Pres Security.”  We all take a breath.

Rich: “Roger, VP.  We’ll wait for your call.”

VP: “VP out.”

Beau: “Woody to LP2 MC Ops.”

Rich: “LP2 on Woody.”

Beau: “One relays you have six BS with Pres now.  Blackhawk will stand ready for transport.  He’s refueling, reloading, then standing ready with two BS.  Eagle Feather is on his way to the Club.”

Rich: “Roger, Woody.  Is your compound secure?”

Beau: “Roger, LP2.  HS is headed home.  One gave compliments to Knight but asked me to repeat for you.  ‘Professional and fuckin good’, were his exact words.”  We all smile like pussies.

Rich: “Roger, Woody.  Appreciate it.”

Beau: “Woody out.”

Digs keys something then looks up with a nod.  “Fuckin nice, coming from Baxter’s.”

Rich smiles, “Yeah.  Get me on with LB.”

Danny takes a call, I know it’s VP.  He walks out to the hall.  I stand at the back and wait.  Fuckin Pres was carried out over VP’s shoulder.  He’s fuckin six four and solid.  He had to be out; I hope he’s fuckin alright.  VP will go ballistic on the fuckin one percenters.

“Fuckin kids!”  Rich says excited.  I move over and watch the boards.  “Good job, Brantley!”  We’re watching the hospital feed.  VP is pacing outside a room with two BS, talking on his phone.

I go out and get Danny, waving at him to come in.  He looks, then walks in and watches the board as he talks.  We can see a doctor working on Pres through the glass.  “Get Cloud to land on the street.  I’ll have Doc waiting.  The kids are at my house already.”  He listens.  “You listen!  You get him patched up and get him to the fuckin house with the kids!  You can fuck around all you want after that!  Fuck, I’ll even help you but get him the fuck home first!  You and Cloud are the best fuckin Security we can have for him!”  He listens again.  We watch VP’s hands moving.  “You are not leaving our fuckin President in the hands of BS; he deserves Brothers at his back!  He’d do it for you and you fuckin know it!  Get him the fuck home then you can go after whoever the fuck is left!”  He stops.  We watch VP stop and watch through the glass, his head goes down.  “Thanks, Brother.  We have fuckin Congressman Brad here.  He was picked up sitting on Main after the explosion at the front gate.  A Prospect brought us lunch but gave him a funny look.  The Prospect picked up the food from a truck close to the PD.  It was poisoned.  Congressman seemed to know something about that too.  We could use your help here, VP.”  We watch VP’s shoulders slump, he nods and puts his phone in his pocket.  “Fuckin psychotic Brothers.”  Danny swipes his phone and pockets it.

“Thanks.”  Rich says.  Danny throws him chin.

I call Doc and ask him to come to Surveillance.  It takes him two minutes, he stands and watches with us.  “What do you know?”

“Bleeding from his head and around his eye.  Shot to the upper arm.  Jake stopped the bleeding and was pushing to get him home.  VP wanted to dump him on BS and take Cloud to find the rest of the one percenters.”  Danny tells him.

“Jake was pushing to get him home because of Steve or because Pres is stable?”  He asks.  Danny pulls his phone and walks out the door again.  Fuck.

“He’s moving!”  Digs yells.  Steve walks in the room with him.  The doctor says something to him and he pulls his gun out.  “Oh Fuck!”

“Who the fuck is in the hospital with him?  I need to get him the fuck out of there!”  Rich is yelling.  The doctor puts his hands up and VP puts his gun away.  He goes to Pres and talks to him.  “Thank fuck!”  Jake runs to the room, BS moves aside for him.  He talks to Pres and VP.  He says something to the doctor then helps Pres stand up.  I turn to get Danny and see he’s behind me watching with a smile.

They each get a shoulder and walk him to the elevator.  BS is standing behind them looking the opposite way; they are trained well.

Cloud: “Blackhawk to MC Ops.”

Rich: “LP2 on Ops, Blackhawk.”

Cloud: “Blackhawk standing ready to transport back to the yard.”

Rich: “Affirmative, Blackhawk.  Follow command to transport to the yard.”

Cloud: “Roger, LP2.  That’s what I was looking for.”  We all laugh.

Danny shakes his head.  “He knows Steve well.”

My leg is starting to bother me so I look around and take a seat at the back table.  Doc comes over.  “You rode for Ops?”  I nod.  “Need something now?”

“I don’t know what’s next here.  I can’t until I know I’m not needed.”  He looks over at Rich.  Thank fuck he’s talking to someone and watching the boards.  “I got this, Doc.  I just needed to sit for a few.  If it gets bad, I’ll let you know.”

He shakes his head.  “No you won’t.  Stubborn fuckers, all of you.”  Digging in his bag he pulls some pills and hands them to me.  “Advil.”  I throw chin and swallow them.

Tiny comes in with Eagle Feather and Danny tells them what’s going on.  Once he’s done, Tiny looks at Doc.  “Need you to look at something for me.”  Doc brings him to the table.  He takes his cut and shirt off; he was hit in the side.  “Just a graze but it burns like fuck.”

Doc stands up.  “Fuckin Brothers!  It’s three fuckin inches deep!  I need my bag; sit the fuck down and don’t move!”  He walks out the door, pissed.

“Why’s he pissed at a fuckin cut?”  Tiny asks me.

Danny laughs.  “I think it is an accumulative pissed.  You’re just his latest patient.”

“Accumulative?”  Tiny looks at him like he’s fuckin nuts.

“Been building with each patient.”  He says.  I laugh at Tiny’s face.

“Never use to say shit like that before.”  Tiny says, disgust written all over his face.

That reminds me.  “What the fuck was up with you and the fuckin wedding this morning?”

He laughs.  Fuckin Danny, always laughing.  “Old lady test.  If they want a big wedding they ain’t for us.”  What the fuck?

Tiny watches him.  “What does she want big?”

“Flowers.  She likes big flowers.”

“Knew she was one of us.”  Tiny says looking at me.  “Don’t take fuckin forever again.”

“Fuck, Brother, she just agreed to move in.  Danny’s the one bringing up the fuckin wedding.  I haven’t even thought of wedding.”

“Now you can think about it and don’t take for fuckin ever.”

Fuckin Brothers.  I need a new fuckin seat.  I get up and look for an empty fuckin desk.

Amanda

Once my picture is done, I look for the kids.  No one is around.  I find Kate in the office.  She’s running the Center from here today.  “Hey Kate.  Where are the kids?”

She looks up with a smile.  “In the Club.  Joey took Brenna down with them.  I love it!”  They brought the kids to the Club and she’s happy?  She laughs.  “The Club Kid’s Club is under the Clubhouse, actually in the bluff.  The kids train and do stuff for the MC down there.”

I’m not any closer to clear so I say, “Ok.”  I go back to my computer and check my email.  What the hell?  My ex emails me after two years?  I open it.  He asks me how I’m doing.  I tell him to leave me the fuck alone and die a painful death.  Moron.  He was fuckin a club whore without a fuckin condom.  I spent six months scared as fuck that I had a disease from him.

The rest of my mail is normal.  I pay my bills and clear my mail up.  Pulling the schedule for the shop, I’m not paying attention to the bike sounds I hear.  I do notice the helicopter.  When I go to the window, the kids come running in.  Holy crap, there are a lot of them in one little area.  I lift Brenna up so she can see out the window.  Kate, Nancy, CJ and Jess come in and laugh at the group of us trying to see out the little kitchen window.  Steve and Jake are helping Ben out of the helicopter, he’s got blood all over him.  I turn Brenna around.  Fuck, she probably doesn’t need to see that.

Little Ben goes to the door and tells Darren to get the kids upstairs.  Everyone goes out but Jessie.  They don’t even question it; these kids are something else.  CJ, Jess and Nancy go with them.  Jake and Steve get Ben to a chair and Doc comes in behind them.  Jake and Steve leave without saying a word.  They are a strange group of guys, even for an MC.

I walk over to help then stop.  Doc is here; he looks at me.  “Amanda, can you give me a hand?”  I walk to him and help get Ben’s shirt off while he does blood pressure and listens to his heart.  Kate sits and watches, her face is pale but she’s not saying anything.  Jessie just sits on the side of her.  Little Ben clears the shirt and takes the cut to the sink.  I pull cases out of his bag and open them to find the one for stitches.  I look around and find paper towels and a regular towel.  Little Ben rips it in half for me; I’m pretty sure no one will get mad if it gets used.  Bringing the supplies and a big bowl of water back to the table, Doc throws chin to me.  I clean Ben's face and neck then get more water and a bowl for Doc.  Cleaning around his eye and the cut on his head, he moans.  Doc is stitching up his arm.  When he’s done, I clean it and put the stuff Doc put out for it on him then bandage him up while Doc is stitching his head.

I start cleaning up the mess and Ben finally talks.  “My leg.”  I look down and see blood on the floor.  Little Ben clears the bandage mess while I get scissors and cut up his pant leg until I find where the blood is coming from.  I cut the pants up a little higher and then all the way around.  Using the pants, I wipe the blood on the floor, not getting much but it's better than a pool.  I take his boot and sock off and put his foot on the cut pant leg.  I clean his leg up and hold gauze on it from the top and bottom.  Little Ben cleans the floor around me.  He takes the shoe and sock away.

“Straight through Doc.”  I tell him he nods.

Bob and Danny come in, Danny throws chin to Ben and sits with Kate.  Bob empties the water and gets me a clean bowl and towel.  He puts gloves on and holds the gauze tight on Ben’s leg.  I move and clean where Doc just stitched on his head and eye.  I bandage the eye and watch Doc deal with the leg; he’s thorough.

Sally comes in with some meds.  She puts them on the table, kisses Doc’s cheek and goes right back out.  I finish cleaning his head and sit.  Little Ben cleared everything away so there's nothing left for me to do.  I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be here but Bob isn't leaving so I've got nowhere to be.

"Amanda, can you bandage him up?"  Doc asks.

He goes to the sink while I put the cream and bandage on Ben.  Little Ben cuts tape for me.  "You're good at this Little Ben."  I smile at him and move to the back of Ben's leg.  I do the same thing then wrap gauze around the whole thing to hold both sides.  I ask Little Ben for a ziplock bag to put Doc's things in; I get everything he used into it so he can have it sanitized.  I repack his cases and pack it all in his bag.  No one is talking; I look around, they're all watching me.  "What?"

Danny smiles.  "How do you know to do all that you just did?"

"Seriously?"  He nods.  "I was an EMT and did ink on the side.  It was the quickest certificate I could get and gave me the time off to ink.  I might be small but I still like to eat."

They all laugh.  I look around, Little Ben shrugs at me.  He doesn't know why it's funny either.  Danny looks at Doc, "You knew?"

He nods.  "Sally told me she knows too much and dressed her leg herself."

I look at Bob, he's smiling but shrugs at me.  "Anyone here want to talk about, oh I don't know, fuckin Ben?"  I ask, making Bob and Doc laugh.  Jessie goes to his dad.  Thank Christ!  Kate gets up thanking me and goes to Ben.  I walk to Bob at the counter and lean against him.  "Holy shit, Bob; that was weird."

He squeezes me.  "You told me you were EMT; I didn't remember until you just said it."

I look up at him.  His brows are drawn and he has that wrinkle.  "I told you the day of the accident.  I think other things may have clouded your memory."

He smiles.  Steve comes in again.  Jess comes down the stairs with Elizabeth; Little Ben takes her from his mom.  "You ran HS2, did a good job.  Proud of you, son."  Steve hugs Little Ben.  I look at Bob, wondering if ran means what I think it does.  I know HS2 is the second team for High Security.  He shakes his head and signs not now.

"Thanks, dad, but it was all of us.  Jessie ran the second team; Brantley and Taylor were on control and Darren kept our feeds straight.  Christian and Victor helped too."  He smiles proud.  I want to kiss his cheek.  The kids around here are amazing.  Now I know what they were doing all day.

Steve smiles, "Still proud."  Little Ben throws chin, making me laugh.

Doc is talking to Kate, telling her about Ben's bandages.  Ben looks at Steve.  "You deal with Brad?"  Steve looks at Jessie and Little Ben.