Page 61 of The Sentinels

Callahan nodded as if he were satisfied with that information. He took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. "Don't suppose we'll find anything in the swamp if we had to do a search." His gaze swung to me.

I snorted. "Sure you will. That place has been a dumping ground for years. Gram's had me drag an old washing machine down there one summer." I shrugged, unconcerned. "Probably find a couple old vehicles in there." There was no way in hell they'd find any bodies. Before we sank the van we'd pulled the bodies out, removed their cuts and IDs, and then tossed them in to the alligators. "You'll sure as fuck find a few fat alligators." Some of my brothers laughed.

For some reason Callahan was testing us. I wondered what was up, if one of the Hellraisers had been stupid enough to talk. MC's usually dealt with shit on their own. Going to the law was at the top of the list of whatnotto do, especially the one percenters. But then, the Hellraisers did a lot of shit that didn't make sense.

"What's the problem?" Tanner asked, settling back in his chair and crossing one leg over the other. He was as cool and calm as a fucking cucumber. "You asked us to step in, we did. Seems the disappearance of Maniac has them spooked into leaving, which is what we all wanted. I'm sure having some of them in your jail on serious charges hasn't hurt. We know about the trouble you've been dealing with--the fighting, the break ins, the assaults all over fucking Daytona."

"Yeah, heard just the other night they set a convenience store on fire because the owner refused to go on their payroll," Sully added.

They'd been shaking down business owners for monthly contributions to ensure that their MC didn’t fuck with them.

Callahan spread his arms out and sank back in his chair. "Hey, I appreciate the help. Hell, the whole department does, although they'll never admit it. I don't know what happened, don't really care, just delivering the good news. I went out to the campground this morning and found them packing up."

"You didn't come all the way out here just to deliver good news," Tanner remarked in a hard tone. "You've got something to say."

Callahan nodded. "Yep. I'm retiring. Been doing this for almost thirty years." Congratulations moved around the room, the atmosphere noticeably less tense than it had been just seconds before. "I wanted you to hear it from me. We've had a good working relationship over the years. Not sure what that's going to mean for you once my replacement takes over."

"Won't change a fucking thing," Tanner retorted.

"We'll still protect our town," I grunted.

"I'm glad to hear that," Callahan remarked. "I'll be sure to let my replacement know how, ah, supportive you've been." He grinned.

"Do you have any idea who that will be?" Mike asked, receiving a head shake in response. "Hope it's not some new, know-it-all asshole."

A snort escaped Rod. "What will happen to the task force the department just put together?"

Callahan didn't hesitate. "Nothing. After how quickly we ran the Hellraisers out of town, they'd be a fool not to go forward with it."

A few of us laughed at his statement, including Callahan. While they'd been busy cleaning up the Hellraisers' messes, we'd done all the dirty work that had persuaded the other MC to leave. No one had to say it, though. That's what made it work. I wondered what his replacement would be like, and how much work we'd have to do to get him onboard. We knew what had to be done to keep our town safe, and nothing was going to change that.

The truth was that we would have liked nothing better than to wipe out the whole fucking Hellraisers MC, but that would have been too fucking obvious. They were moving on to become someone else's problem. We didn't like that either, but there was only so much we could do. MCs out there knew that we were mostly good guys, and they respected us for that.

In time, so would Callahan's replacement.

"Well--" Callahan got to his feet. "That's all I have for now." He looked at Tanner. "I see you have workers at your bar. When will you be open again?"

"Another week. Don't be a stranger." He got to his feet and held out his hand. "It's been good working with you, Walter."

They shook hands. Callahan's nod encompassed everyone in the room. "Be seeing you boys around."

Tanner walked him to the door.

"Wasn't expecting that," Sully remarked. "He's a good man."

"It's all good," Heath said with confidence. "The man's getting up there in age. This shit's gotta take a toll."

"Why the fuck you looking at me, brother?" I snarled. I didn't like the amusement in his eyes or my brother's insinuating laughter. "I'm nowhere near ready to retire."

Tanner walked back into the room and took his seat. "Sully, William--" He made eye contact with them. "--I want you brothers out at the campgrounds until we know for sure that the Hellraisers are leaving, and that they’re not just trying to pull some bullshit."

"Pretty sure they know Maniac and Boomer are fucking dead," Gabe smirked around an unlit cigarette.

"Yeah, waking up to their bikes, cuts, and IDs is a clear indication that they aren't coming back, but let's not forget they can't be trusted. We might have made them a weak MC without their cutthroat leaders, but they could be pissed off enough to want retribution."

We all agreed with Tanner on that. "Better to play it safe than sorry. You want me with them?"

"No, brother. You're still on the mend. Besides--” There was a knowing grin on his face. "--you have a new woman to break in. You need your strength for that."

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