MC: Callahan (14 page)

‘Is that why you didn’t enter anything?’ Danny signs.

Little Ben nods, signing back, ‘I don’t agree with it, they voted, it was a majority. Jeremy didn’t see it as a problem.’ Danny nods and slaps his shoulder, walking them back to the front of the building. I follow with my hand on Ricky’s shoulder. I’m fuckin’ proud of him and don’t want to let that go just yet. Brothers are walking back with us telling the boys, ‘good job and they’re the shit.’ Every one of them throw chin but don’t say a word. Fuck, it’s like when Pres is pissed. They won’t be happy until they talk it out and little Ben says his piece to them. I know that will happen behind closed doors.

Finally, VP and Pres come walking out with Security behind them. We’re all leaning on the bikes, waiting to get out of here. VP is watching little Ben. I know he’s doing the freakin’ mind shit. He signs to him to ‘let it go’. Little Ben throws chin and swings his leg over his bike.

The ride back to the hotel is slow but not long enough. We don’t detour with the Brothers that peel off because of the boys. The Officers surround them. None of them ride at night so this is a treat for them but a pain in the ass for us. I wouldn’t mind taking the back roads and coming in from behind the hotel but there’s not many street lights that way.

We ride up in the elevator and watch as they all follow little Ben into his room. Every one of them look like they’re facing a firing squad, shoulders slumped and heads forward. As soon as the door closes Danny laughs. “He’s fuckin’ pissed. He must have said something before we got here.”

VP looks at him. “Yeah, not to show off.”

“Fuck, I’m glad I’m not them. I wonder what he’s going to do,” Pres says.

VP laughs. “Pissed at you too. Didn’t need to oust them. Thinks you put a target on them. Was you that said to keep ‘em hidden.”

“You did say that, keep them out of the spotlight and all that shit. Guess you changed your mind tonight,” Danny says with a smile.

Pres wipes his hand through his hair. “Fuck! With Darren answering questions, Jessie and Ricky in the bike, and Jessie and Darren in shootout they’re already out. Little Ben putting the Outlaw down isn’t going to be forgotten either.”

Danny smiles, looking at him. “You probably could have left out all the details of them and the little ones’ abilities, though. I think it’s the details that he’s pissed about.”

“I was fuckin’ pissed! Who the fuck is a member, not even an Officer, to question my fuckin’ ability?”

VP snorts. “Got a little Badass President that’s got questions for you, soon as he’s done with his Brothers. Got a problem answerin’ him?”

Pres looks miserable. He blows out a breath. “No, he’s fuckin’ earned an explanation.” He pushes his door hard, slamming it against the wall and walks into his room.

Little Ben comes out of his room, wringing his hand out. I hold my laugh. He fuckin’ hit them. Danny looks at me and VP. “Getting beer and sitting on the balcony; you game?” We both follow him into his room, ignoring little Ben knocking on Pres’ door. He calls room service and walks onto the balcony. “I’d love to be a fly on the wall in there.” Danny laughs.

VP grunts. “Damn good President, doesn’t need to prove it. No one else could’ve done it. Wanted to hit
Hands
my fuckin’ self.”

“Once he got started, it would have been worse disrespecting him to interrupt,” Danny says.

“Fuckin’ A.” Nothing good would have come out of that. Pres would be expected to deal with that fallout.

We watch the bikes crawl the main road at a snail’s pace. I’m fuckin’ glad we got in when we did. Being jammed on the road, shots being fired, music and women yelling just doesn’t hold any appeal to me. I must be getting fuckin’ old.

Rich and Bob come in with more beer and sit. “Miss the fuckin’ patio,” Rich says, making me smile. He’s getting old too.

We ride to the shoot out early. Danny, VP, Bob, Jessie, and Darren are entered. We even have a Prospect entered in the Prospect’s game. The boys are excited. They had no problem showing their black eyes this morning. I fuckin’ laughed when I saw them. They just shrugged it off. Good Brothers taking responsibility.

Bob takes them around. They won’t be in the ride and shoot, but they’re in everything else. Darren watches intently the first round, then Jessie signs what the announcer says for him. He watches the next round then he’s up. The crowd starts talking shit until he hits his first shot. He runs through then Jessie goes. He’s smaller than the rest, but the kid has got a dead eye. The crowd doesn’t know what to make of the kids. Clearly they’re kids, but they are on the leader board. Bob follows, dropping Jessie off the board. Rich goes next, taking number one. Danny takes number two, and VP is under Bob. Fuckin’ Darren is fifth. All but Jessie is on the board for us. He fixes that with the pop ups he pulls in front of Darren and gets man hugged from everyone. Rich stays in the lead, then Danny, Bob, VP, Jessie, and Darren. A group of military drop Darren down. Hammer’s Brothers drop Jessie, but they’re still in the top fifteen. They run moving targets and pull back up to nine and ten. The crowd is rooting for them now. Ricky and little Ben are cheering loudest for them.

Once the last round ends the crowd starts chanting for the Little Brothers. The announcer tells everyone they had three under eighteen enter and were prepared for them. The boys get a patch. The crowd cheers, making all of us cheer along and whistle. Fuckin’ Little Badasses. The other kid, who I thought was an adult, placed before Jessie at eight. The boys shake his hand with smiles. Good Brothers. Little Ben man hugs them, making a show of respect, then takes them to Pres; VP throws him chin.

Ride and shoot has Danny, Rich, VP, and Bob taking first through fourth. No one comes close, but the announcer asks if we have a wonder boy that could ride and shoot. VP looks at little Ben, who shrugs. Pres tells them, “Yeah.” Little Ben goes to the kid that placed earlier. He nods and they go to the track. Working on both sides, they run the course, hitting everything. They’re not as fast as our Officers, but they’re faster than eleven and fourteen. I had no idea little Ben could ride and shoot. He took eleven. The announcer and crowd love it! Our MC and other Brothers are surrounding the boys, making me nervous. VP must be thinking the same thing because he moves to the boys, then moves them out of the crowd and onto the bleachers with our Brothers around them. Jessie is having trouble controlling himself. I see Ricky keep putting his hand on Jessie’s shoulder, pulling him down. He makes me laugh out loud, drawing attention. Our Prospect places a decent sixth and we all show him respect. He’s only been with us a couple of months. VP tells him he’ll keep an eye on him for HS if he keeps improving. I swear the guy grows an inch taller with a smile that won’t quit.

When we get back to the hotel, everyone is keyed up so we take an uneventful stroll through the thoroughfare where Pres is stopped every five minutes with someone wanting to talk to him. Cloud flies into the field behind the main drag, dropping Amanda and Jess.

VP and Bob take off and we head back to the hotel for dinner and an early night. Tomorrow Rich, Jessie, Bob, and Ricky have a competition. Me, Pres, Rich, and Danny sit on the balcony. Little Ben and Darren come sit for a while, then Jessie and Ricky come a little while later. I’m wondering why they’re taking shifts but figure it’s a politic thing, so I leave it alone.

Before he leaves, Rich says we might want to check on the boys before we turn in. He does it with a fuckin’ smile. Fuck! I’m thinking they got someone to buy them beer until I get close to the door and hear a woman’s laugh. Danny laughs. “Ain’t no fuckin’ way I’m checking them right now. Now I get the visiting in shifts, though.”

I nod and look at my watch. “I’ll check the boys at twelve,” I say loud enough that they can hear me. They have an hour and a half to get the woman out. Danny smiles, holding his door open for me. Might as well have another beer.

We’re in the restaurant when the boys show, not one of them embarrassed, so we play it cool, talking about the competition. Fuckin’ Rich asks if they got a good night’s rest and are ready for the ride with the biggest fuckin’ smile. I want to hit him; they all nod but don’t say a word and don’t give anything away with their expressions. Makes me wonder if this wasn’t the first time for them. I shake my head. I don’t want to know that shit.

Rich and Bob take the boys up to change. They bought them leathers with Kevlar and padding with matching helmets. Everything has our logo on it and looks sharp. Danny asks me to help him get the bikes ready. We pull to the trailer at the track and I’m already nervous. “You sure Ricky can do this?” This is fuckin’ professional. Nancy will kill me if he gets hurt out here.

He goes to the back and unlocks it, opening the door. “He’s better than you think. He was with Evelyn before. She’s all about the MC. Ricky’s been riding since he first got to us. He’s fuckin’ good Brother. Don’t worry.” I nod. Rich and Bob wouldn’t let him ride if they didn’t think so.

We set the bikes and I’m wondering whose is who. The only one I know is Bob’s because it has the web pedal on one side. We guard the bikes until they show with Pres and VP. They put their bikes in the trailer with ours and we lock them up, walking to the bleachers by the finish line. We can see most of the track from here and it looks fuckin’ hard. Was it this hard the year before last? I can’t remember. Rich won that year, but I can’t remember what it looked like.

The first riders run through the track and my heart is in my throat. I’ve seen two falls. I can’t remember when Ricky got to the first house and how much riding he’s done. My imagination is going wild. What the fuck is up with this? Bob runs through without a problem. The announcer calls him Bionic Spider-Man because of his leg, making people laugh. I don’t know why. You can’t see it with the pants he’s wearing. He moves into first place. A few more go through, then Rich. He moves into first, bumping Bob. Jessie runs through, hitting eighth and the Brothers show him respect.

The waiting is going to kill me. When I hear his name I stand. People start yelling at me to sit, so I yell back, “My fuckin’ kid is next. Shut the fuck up!” Danny’s laughing, but I don’t give a shit. I’m ready to have a heart attack here. I see him come around the bend up on a ramp. He jumps to the next ramp and lifts his wheel to turn, rolling down another ramp. I don’t see him again until he goes up the last ramp and jumps across. I swear to God he flies through the air at slow speed, making my heart pound so loud in my head I don’t hear the people around me. He lands and races around the last ramps, hitting the finish line to a cheer. I sit down fuckin’ glad he made it. My heart stops pounding in my ears and I hear the crowd and announcer again, but another rider is starting and I don’t see Ricky. Danny slaps my arm and points to the board. Ricky is fourth. Holy shit! He can ride. No wonder they were okay on the road when I took them out. Fuckin’ kids are going to kill me. If I wasn’t pissed at him, I’d go see Doc for a checkup.

Little Ben looks at me. “He’s good, Uncle Tiny, he wouldn’t be out there if he wasn’t.” I nod. “Our strong changed us.” I nod again. He’s right. They’re still strong but it’s different now. They were fuckin’ creepy kids at times. Now they’re almost men with different ways of showing their ‘strong’.

I’m drawn back to the track. People are running to a kid that fell off a high ramp. I thank God it isn’t Ricky and clap when the kid stands up. It dawns on me that I love the little Badass more than I realized. When the fuck did this happen? He’s been with us and I loved him but something changed. If he got hurt I think I would hurt. I look around for him and see him practicing on ramps at the side field with Rich and Bob. My boy can ride. I watch him, not paying attention to the competition. Not only can he ride, he’s fuckin’ good. Jessie sits by me. I pull him in for a hug, telling him he did good.

He smiles up at me. “This is not my thing.” He points at the board. He’s at twenty-one. “I only rode so Ricky would. He needed to see his strong.” All I can do is laugh. Fuckin’ kids. I hug him again, telling him he’s a good kid. He smiles like he knows. Ricky stays at fourth, but they move right into to the next event of freestyle stunts. Our team is going third and I wonder what they’re going to do this year.

The first two teams have the crowd cheering and loud. My heart is racing again and they haven’t even started, but the first two teams were crazy, jumping and flipping sky high. They look younger too. Shit, I’m not sure I even want to watch. If I turn away now all the fuckin’ Brothers will be throwing tampons at me for the next three years.

I take deep breaths while we wait for the music. When Van Halen starts I laugh. Fuckin’ Rich flies over a ramp, doing a full circle in the air, turning when he lands, then he’s off to the next ramp. Ricky comes next, doing the same circle, going to the other side. Once he’s out of the way Bob flies over and Rich comes from the other side. They run perfect circles, one right after the other flying and landing to the music. I’m thinking this isn’t so bad when Rich rides a circle in center and Bob jumps him, then they both run the circle and Ricky jumps and lands in the middle. My heart jumps to my throat and I gasp. Jessie puts his hand on my arm and squeezes it, letting me know he’s feeling it too. Thank Fuck. I watch the rest wincing and holding my breath, hoping for the next trick to be the last. They finally all meet in the center, stopping on a dime. Rich and Bob lift their front wheels, spinning to make a straight line so they’re all facing the crowd. The crowd cheers, screaming like crazy while I’m trying to catch my breath.

I am never watching this fuckin’ competition again. I look down at Jessie. He’s smiling but looks like I feel; relieved it’s over. Three more teams run through, but I can’t tell you what they did. Some were twisting or spinning but none were my kid. It takes all the time for them to be finished before my heart falls back to my chest. Never again.

Danny stands when they say they’ll start the awards in ten minutes. The teams didn’t get judged as they were riding. The Little Brothers follow him down the stairs and over to the trailer. Bob and Rich already have the bikes inside. Ricky has a huge smile on his face, taking slaps on the back from his Brothers. When I get through I hug him. “I’m never watching that again. I almost had a fuckin’ heart attack.” He laughs. I’m not kidding, but I let him have his. “You were fantastic out there. I’m proud of you, Ricky.” He squeezes me, then turns to answer little Ben. I stand back with Danny and watch him take it all in. “He scared the shit out of me.”

Danny laughs. “The first time I saw Rich jump I felt the same way. Second jump he broke his arm. Kid went right back to the bike with the cast on and jumped again and again, figuring out what he did wrong. It was crazy, but I stopped holding my breath that day. Now I enjoy watching him. Some of the shit he does is fuckin’ crazy, but he rides smart.” I nod, but I’m not so sure I’m up for watching that again.

The announcer calls the riders in. We watch from the side. All but Jessie get patches for the run, then Rich, Bob, and Ricky get second place for the freestyle. The crowd is yelling, but the kids are smiling and slapping backs, happy with where they placed. Bob looks relieved and it dawns on me this was his first competition with the new leg. Putting it into perspective, they did a good fuckin’ job. I smile easy.

The ride home is calm. Thinking about the time we had, I’m smiling. It was a good run. No one fucked with us and no one got hurt. With the exception of the boys’ black eyes, I think with a smile. With close to thirty of us riding in formation it’s an easy ride, getting us in the yard sooner than expected. Security follows us to the compound. Baxter’s Security is at the gate. We ride single file so he can see each one of us. The Prospect is giving him our names as we go through. Pres pulled in Baxter’s since both him, VP and just about all of the Officers were away.

The tent is up for tomorrow’s potluck. Everyone peels to their houses, showing respect. It feels good to be home. Ricky parks on the side of me. The kids are swarming us before we even swing off the bikes.

“Whoa.” He grabs the seat. “My legs feel like jello.”

“It was the workout this morning then the long ride,” I tell him, lifting the boys one at a time for a hug. Diego waits away from everyone else. I see him smile while watching everyone hug me. When I put Sandy down I kneel down and just look at him. He smiles bigger, so I put my arms out. The little bugger runs to me, hugging me tight. I hug him tight back and hear him laugh. I look at Nancy in the doorway. “He laughed.”

“I heard.” She walks over to us, smiling. I stand up with him still in my arms. He hasn’t stopped hugging me and I don’t want to put him down if this is where he needs to be. I bend and kiss my girl while holding him tight. He laughs again, making all of us laugh. “I’m glad you’re back. We missed you.” She turns to Ricky. “How did you do at the competition?” He pulls his two patches, showing them to her. The little boys cheer, jumping around, slapping his back.

“Let’s get them away from the bikes before they get burnt,” I tell Nancy. She corrals them toward the door like she’s driving cattle. Ricky laughs on the side of me. Diego finally loosens his hold and looks at me. “Were you good for Nancy?”

He signs, ‘Yes.’

“Good job! You’re learning sign language?”

He signs, ‘Jeremy and Sandy.’ Spelling out each name.

“Good job, Diego. Jeremy and Sandy are doing a good job.” He nods with a big fuckin’ smile. “Every day you come see me and we’ll work on it too.”

He signs, ‘Okay.’

I put him down and grab my bags off the bike. He tries to carry one in but ends up dragging it. He’s a cute kid. Nancy helps him at the door, but he doesn’t let go. She drops the bag inside the threshold and lets him drag it through the kitchen.

She shrugs at me. “He wants to help.”

Making it up to her, I bend and kiss her again. I missed the hell out of her. “I see that. He’s doing good? No problems?” Smiling up at me, she shakes her head no. “Good.”

“Little Ben sent video of the shootout and the competition. The kids wanted to watch it on the big screen tonight. They’ve been excited all day.”

I’m not sure I want to watch that again. It was hard enough the first time. I nod at her so she gets something from me. I hold her hand, walking into the kitchen. “Tiny Dancer, I missed the hell out of you. Let’s find a place to sit down so I can hold you for a while.” She lets my hand go and gets beer from the fridge, then pulls me out to the back deck. I sit on the big lounge chair and she sits between my legs, leaning back on me. The kids hit the door running and are all over the place in less than a minute. “It feels good to be home, babe.” We hear a thumping from the house. I push Nancy up and run in. Diego is at the bottom of the stairs with my bag on top of him. He’s got tears but no sound. “You should have left it at the bottom, little man.” I kneel down and lift the bag off, then pick him up, holding him to my chest. He tries to take the bag again, making me chuckle. I grab the strap and bring it up to my room, dropping it at the door. “Let’s go find Nancy, huh. I missed holding her while I was away.”

He signs, ‘Ok.’ Carrying him out to the back, I tell Nancy what happened.

She checks his back, arms, and head. “You got a knot on your head Diego that had to hurt. I’m going to get something cold to put on it.” He nods, holding his head.

I hear her on the phone as she’s walking out the door. “Thanks.” She hangs up and shows Diego the corn. “We’re going to put this on your head to make it feel better, okay?” He nods, looking scared.

I feel his head and hold the corn over the bump. “Who was that on the phone?”

“CJ. She’s coming over to show me how to do an incident report and take pictures. She’ll ask Diego questions about his fall. It’s just a paperwork thing.”

She doesn’t look nervous, but fuck. Taking pictures and shit is so we don’t get blamed for beating the kid up. “Is that helping, little man?”

He signs, ‘Yes.’

Sandy comes over and climbs on the chair. When she’s close enough she kisses Diego on his head, making him smile. He puts his hand on her cheek. He doesn’t move it for a few seconds. She nods and climbs down, running away.

CJ comes through the back gate and up the stairs. Sheila, Ally, and Joey follow. They fawn all over Diego, but he holds my arm, just above my cast, tight as if he’s afraid they’ll take him away. “Can you take his pictures right here?” I ask CJ. I don’t want him upset.

She smiles. “Sure. If you could turn him so I can get his back, that would work.”

He turns and lies on my chest. He’s such a sweet kid. I kiss the top of his head. “Good boy.”

She lifts his shirt and winces. Shit. After she gets her pictures she asks him to turn so she can see him. He does. I hold the corn to his head so he can sign for her. “How did you get hurt, Diego?”

He signs, ‘Bag, stairs, hard.’ She nods and looks around the yard. She pulls her phone and calls, asking for Jeremy and Jacob to come over. “It might be a little easier if we have some help.”

Diego signs, ‘Friends.’

CJ smiles at him. “Yes, your friends can help us.”

Jacob and Jeremy come running through the yard and up to the deck. Jeremy climbs up and sits on my other leg. I move Diego so they both can fit. Jacob stands on the side of the chair with his hand on Diego’s arm. They look at CJ. “Diego, how did you get hurt?”