Page 70 of Salute, To Bravery
The bar was fifteen minutes from the campsite and in a decent area. It was close to Ellsworth Air Force Base, and we’d decided to offer a ten per cent discount on food and drinks to members. All they had to do was produce their Military ID. It was our way of honouring our serving brothers and sisters.
Lance
Intrigued, I walked into the bar, and a unique smell hit my nose. Marijuana. Bat and I exchanged glances and then tooka table in the corner. Outside, we’d discussed not identifying ourselves as owners when we’d seen the bar. Other Harleys were parked nearby, and we wanted to understand the situation before announcing ourselves.
We wore our colours and were on guard. All five of us were armed to the teeth, but you couldn’t see the weapons. Raddock ordered the beers, and I was disgusted at the swill that was served. No self-respecting armed forces personnel would be seen here. Even if we were the only bar near the airbase.
“That guy is openly snorting coke,” Raddock said, sitting down.
“No shit,” Bat exclaimed.
“Who’s dealing? Somebody behind the bar has to be,” I demanded.
“No idea yet. But I know the waitress is in the toilets giving someone a blowjob,” Raddock replied.
“Tell me you’re joking,” Bat shot back.
“Fuckin’ wish I was. The barman told me she charges ten bucks a blow,” Raddock stated with a shudder.
“Jesus Christ, what the fuck did we buy?” Owl asked.
“Fuck knows, but this place needs closing, a lot of repairs and remarketing, or we’re going to get the same assholes returning,” Bat said.
We watched as a bleached blonde came from a hallway with a guy behind her. Fake tits were pushed up high, with her top barely covering her nipples. Her skirt left little to the imagination, and she grabbed a tray of drinks as she licked her lips and tottered over to a table. She smiled widely at the men there, who gazed at her impassively, and she moved away pretty quickly.
I noted their colours. Rage MC. That was one of the main MCs in Pennington County. They were based out of Rapid City. If drugs were being peddled at our bar, they would be shocked when we closed it down. This was going to be a drug-free zone,come hell or high water. Bat and I swapped glances. Rage was considerably bigger than us, but we had an edge they didn’t. Twelve years in special ops. Raddock had been a ranger, and Owl and Worm had been Marines.
Giving off a casual air, I watched the six men wearing Rage cuts carefully and noted something. They all seemed to be paying attention to the barman except for one man, whose glittering green eyes stayed locked on me. If Rage wanted to fight, they’d find we’d easily outmatch them, amputees or not.
Raddock hissed beside me, and I glanced across.
“What did you see?”
“Waitress just slipped the girl on the end a bag of white powder.”
“Any money exchange?”
“Yeah, how ingenious. The barman took her a cola, and then she gave him a fifty,” Raddock said.
“Very expensive drink that. And this beer tastes like crap. This doesn’t deserve the name beer,” I commented.
“Yet I’ve gone through the accounts. We’re paying for premium beers and ales,” Owl stated.
“So, the manager’s scamming us as well. Seems he’s got a huge problem,” I mused as I continued looking at Rage MC. Another man was now watching us, and a glance at his patch showed him to be the President of Rage MC.
Interesting. Were they here to protect their money? This was our bar, and I wanted it clean. I didn’t give a shit what Rage MC had to say on the matter.
The door opened, and a guy wandered in, and my trouble antenna went alert. He gazed around the bar, lingering on Rage MC and then us, before sauntering over to the barman. They exchanged words, and the barman whistled for someone. I spotted a man stand up from a table where he had been sitting with somebody else and walk over.
“Hey, you new here? Welcome to Henry’s.”
“We’ve got drinks,” Raddock replied as the waitress checked us over.
“Anyone need a refill?” she inquired, and Bat snorted. We’d not even taken two mouthfuls of that swill.
“Who’s the dude in the Metallica tee?” I asked.
She looked over her shoulder and twirled her hair. “That’s Jay; he’s the manager here. So, does anybody want a refill?”
