Chapter Two-Hundred and Fifty-Six

Chapter Two-Hundred and Fifty-Six
“We will take care of your dad,” Hawkins stated. “He will start flipping out soon but he will stay put. Then tomorrow, we’ll help Hondo with his little problem. After that, we stop Ronnie and all his bullshit.”

London closed her eyes and whispered, “Then heaven help us all. War is coming here and it could be a bad one.”

Boots stared at Hawkins and the others then he shook his head. “It might not come to that if we can stop it before they are aware that we know what’s going on.”

Titan nodded at him. “We are going to play it that way, Boots. You have seen us in action before. And Hondo is a very smart man. I would never place a bet against him either.” 

Kota agreed, “We do have an advantage. They don’t know about us. At least as far as we can tell. So now, we need some eyes on the other players. I want to know what they are doing.”

“Nash and I can check out the farm while JuJu gets the cameras set,” Brute suggested. 

“Ok, but be careful,” Kota stated. “We don’t know what’s going on out there and I don’t want any trouble.” 

“We will be careful.” Nash nodded his head. 

“You better believe we’ll be careful,” Brute said. “I plan on a long life and that doesn’t mean I’ll take a bullet. Even for you.” Brute reached over to cuff Nash’s head. 

Nash ducked Brute’s very large hand as he grinned. “Good thing you’re slow, ‘cause damn, that huge mitt could hurt somebody.”

Brute snorted as he shook his head at him.

“So anyway, I know of a back way into the Rucker farm and we won’t be seen,” Nash said. “We can get close enough and they won’t know we’re there. That used to be my stomping ground after Dad got us kicked out of the MC when I was a kid. I mean, it wasn’t like he cared where I went. I used to come back here and just stay out of everyone’s way.”

Hawkins turned to look at Nash. “I thought your dad moved away from Granite Falls?”

Nash shrugged. “Yeah, he did but he didn’t care what I was doing. So I hitchhiked back to the area and stayed for a few months. It wasn’t like he missed me or anything. He was too busy selling his dope and getting high.”

“So, you had a hard childhood too?” London asked.

Nash looked over at her. “You wouldn’t believe what some of us here have been through, girl. If you thought we didn’t get what it is like for you, then you would be wrong.”

London bit at her lip and nodded at him.

Nash then looked back over at Hawkins. “I watched the town and saw a hell of a lot of the secrets. Being homeless taught me a hell of a lot about people, I can tell you that.” He looked over at Brute, “So yeah, I can get us close enough to see what’s really going on out there and we won’t be seen.”

“Then let’s go and see what we can see,” Brute said as he got to his feet. “But if we get caught, I’m not gonna be happy.”

“I told ya, I ain’t gonna get us caught,” Nash grumbled as the two men walked out of the clubhouse. 

Hawkins shook his head. “If those two get into a scrape, Brute will hold the upper hand I’m afraid.”

Rosabel snorted and told her man, “Don’t you make that bet too soon. Nash may be an idiot at times but he can hold his own. He may not have the muscling bulk like Brute does but he has street smarts and he knows how to get the job done.”

“And just how do you know that, woman?” Hawkins asked.

Rosabel smiled faintly. “Cuz I used to watch him when he was a kid. My bar was close to the area where he hung out.” She gave him a nod. “He can hold his own.”

“She’s right,” Boots agreed. “Nash is smart. He’ll get them through it safely.”

Hawkins swung his gaze over to stare at Boots now.

“Remember how I worked at that clinic years back?” Boots reminded him.

Hawkins nodded.

“Well, it’s in that same part of town. The kid stayed out of trouble. I was relieved when you allowed him back into the fold.”

London looked back and forth at the men. “So, this Nash. His dad was a drug dealer?”

“Yeah,” Hawkins replied. “We kicked him out for it and Nash had to go with him.”

“The poor kid wanted to come back here and who could blame him?” Boots added.

London nodded at him. “Yeah, who could blame him.”

Out on the county road…
Nash, Brute and JuJu traveled over the backroads to where the Rucker farm was. 

JuJu dropped Nash and Brute off then drove on to find the best area to place the cameras. 

After looking around for a few minutes to get the lay of the land, Brute and Nash crept toward the old house. 

Nash squatted low to study the farmhouse for a moment then looked over at the barn and beyond.

Brute pointed to a shed in the far distance and whispered, “What’s that building over there?” 

“I’m not sure? It wasn’t there when I was here before,” Nash told him.

Brute studied the far building for a while and asked, “Do you think that’s their lab?”

“Maybe.” Nash growled. “But maybe not. They would probably need a lab closer to the water in case they have to leave in a hurry. They might be using that as a storage shed.”

“Do you know how to get to the water from here?” Brute asked quietly.

Nash nodded as he moved to his left and they went around the main house then through the trees to another section of the farm. They got as close as they could before they settled down and just observed the area in silence. 

There happened to be another shed out here and this one was big enough to hold everything they would need for their lab. They even had a boat parked out by the dock. The area had been cleared of any brush and the boating lane looked wide enough to turn the boat around and park it when it wasn’t being used.

Brute looked around then quietly stated, “Pretty sweet setup. No wonder they don’t want anyone out here.”

Nash nodded. “I expected something like this but not all of it and then some. You can tell they are making lots of mula with all of this, just by the setup they have.” He took out his phone and snapped pictures. Then he checked his watch and nudged Brute. “We gotta go. JuJu will be waiting for us.”

They moved out and made their way to where they were meeting JuJu. They hadn’t run into any trouble.

Only when they got in the truck did Brute say anything, “I’m surprised we didn’t run into anyone yet.”

“Don’t jinx us, brother,” JuJu warned as he pulled away.