Page 138 of Devil's Dilemma

“Yeah, I gave it to Karl to stow on the bike.” He won’t get patched in if he’s fucked this up, so I’ve got every confidence he’ll have followed my instructions with the utmost care.

“Best get moving then. Got a long ride ahead of us, Brother.” He slaps me on the back, and I follow him out front.

The prospect is waiting by the bikes, his mouth open wide in a yawn. “Want me to come along?”

“Nah.” This is one trip we don’t want to draw attention to ourselves. Mace and I have already left our cuts behind. I’m a mechanic, unless we’re unlucky enough to get a puncture, there’s not much I can’t fix by the side of the road. I can’t carry much else in my own saddlebags, but Mace has got the toolkit I wanted to bring in his.

The bikes start with a roar, but if we’ve woken anyone up, the brothers will understand. What we’re heading out to do has been carefully planned in church.

It ends today.

After three hours of riding we stop to top off our tanks, then waste no time getting back on the road. It takes two more tank fills before we reach our destination, a shady bar on the edge of town.

A man comes out as he hears the Harleys.

“Archer?” I approach him, holding out my hand.

“Yeah. Pyro?”

“That’s me. This here is Mace.”

Archer kicks out at a stone on the ground. “Fuck this,” he growls, wiping his hand over his face. “You fuckin’ sure?”

I can understand how he’s feeling. “No doubt.”

“I’ve kept it quiet, only my VP knows. And of course Huff, who picked it up on the dark web.”

“It’s the best way,” I tell him. “Fucker will be on his guard the whole time, anyone looking at him sideways will make him run and go to ground.” Not only that, if they don’t know, they can be completely truthful when the inevitable questions are asked.

He’s shaking his head, then looks up over toward the distant hills, but I don’t believe he’s taking in the view. “We’ve got a shipment coming in next week. If,” he slams his fist into his hand, “if Huff hadn’t found the info your crew’s been posting around, we’d have all gone down.” His eyes come back to me. “Owe you, brother.”

“Nah. Got personal reasons for doing this. You don’t owe me fuck all. It’s my thanks you’ll get when the job’s done.”

“You gonna stay? Meet the club?”

“No,” Mace puts in fast. “Trust you, trust your men. But the fewer people who see our faces around, the better.”

“Gotcha there.” He looks from me to Mace. “Which one of you is the explosives expert?”

“That will be me, and I’ve got it prepared.” I walk back to my bike. The small amount of C4 and remote-controlled detonator is well disguised. “Put it under the seat, it’s magnetic.” I show him where I mean by demonstrating on my bike.

“Collateral damage?”

“Explosion won’t be big enough, as long as no one’s riding up close. I’ll be watching, and I’ll pick my time.”

“Got an errand he can run. I’ll send him out on his own. My VP will make sure he doesn’t get a chance to check his bike before he leaves.” He waits a moment, weighing the equipment of death in his hand. Then jerks his head to the building behind him. “Doesn’t look like much, but the food’s more than edible. You wait here, and I’ll tell you when it’s in place. Shouldn’t be more than an hour or so.”

We take his advice. He’s right, the food’s good. But we eat more to pass the time than to satisfy any appetite. My current hunger is not for food.

At last I get a call with instructions. I follow them. Archer has picked a good spot, somewhere for us to hide, with good visibility of anyone coming along the road. It’s an isolated and dangerous spot, the road twisting and mountainous with steep drop-offs.

“He’s coming,” says Mace into my ear.

I heard the engine too. The bike comes into sight. Using the binoculars I brought along, I check it is indeed my target, then I choose my moment and press the innocuous looking button on the remote I’m holding.

The bike bursts into a ball of flame.

Archer really has chosen well. In his final split second the rider’s veered to the right, and the bike’s flown over the guardrail and disappeared below.

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