Chapter Nine
You could almost hear the punch bag groan and shudder as Jarrod worked out. After sleeping away the morning, he had been in the garage lifting weights, skipping, working the bags and generally driving himself to the point of exhaustion for hours. He had the stereo pumping. Jarrod was determined to drown out any of the nagging voices that had haunted him since seeing Ava, meeting with Hammer and then almost losing Ellie. He was angry and he couldn't be. He knew that whenever he lost control, bad things happened.
He moved over to his Wing Chun Dummy and began moving instinctively through his strikes, holds, kicks and punches. He lost himself in the routines, in his training. It was strange to work out without others around him. In prison, he had always had his mates there helping, protecting. There wasn't a lot to do inside so working out and training was how he passed the days, the weeks, the months, the years. That and thinking.
Now he was alone. The sense of freedom was both exhilarating and lonely all in one. It was strange to long for prison, but he almost did, well at least for the friends he had made inside and the routine. He had always been part of a group. It was what had saved him as a kid. That support. That sense of being part of something bigger than himself. He missed it. He needed it.
Bang, bang, bang! Someone smashed the garage door.
Jarrod looked to the other side of the garage where Hammer's Limo was shrouded in a white cover. Could Jimmy have tracked the girls down? He snatched up a nearby fighting stick.
"Who the fuck is it!?"
There was a pause and then a reply.
"Stop spanking the monkey for a minute to music and you would have heard us earlier, you big poofta! It's Did's and Breaks!!"
Jarrod smiled and dropped the weapon. He found the door control, clicking the button to start the door to elevate.
Dids and Breaks stood there smiling by their bikes. Dids was a wiry, middle-aged bikie, with long brown hair and a beard. He lifted his sunnies and smiled revealing a missing tooth. Breaks was fat. There was no other way to say it. He had lost weight over the years because, at one point, he couldn't use his bike and that was motivation enough to drop a few kgs. Breaks had short-cropped hair and a beard.
Breaks rushed over to wrap Jarrod up in a hug.
"Good to have you back, you big pillow biter!" Breaks joked.
"Been missing my snuggles have you Fatboy?!" Jarrod smiled.
"Nah, but you kiss better than Dids!" he grinned, turning back to the old bikie.
"I'm too old for that shit, besides, look at the size of you two!? I'd be thinner than a slice of cheese after you were finished with me!" Did's chuckled as he approached Jarrod to share a greeting too.
Jarrod signalled his friends to come in and wandered over to the stereo to turn it down before fishing out a few beers from the fridge and throwing them over to his mates.
"Cheers to being out Boys!" Jarrod said, and they lifted their bottles in unison.
"So, I hear you fuckers have been lying to me all this time!"
Both Dids and Break's eyes widened and both began to talk at once.
"We were only...", "We knew you couldn't..", "Ellie could have been in..."
"Ok, shut the fuck up! I know why you did it. You're lucky I've had time to think it through and calm down because I was going to break a few limbs when I first found out but I get it now." Jarrod said taking another swig of his beer.
Did's and Break both look visibly relieved. Did's even sat down, looking suddenly exhausted.
"So, what is actually going on and no bullshit this time?! Jarrod demanded, staring down his mates.
Breaks, sat down too on a fold-out chair and wiped his brow. Crack! The chair collapsed from under him and he went sprawling. Jarrod and Dids couldn't help but share a laugh, instantly breaking the tension of the moment.
"Fuck Breaks! You still can go anywhere with destroying property, can you?" Jarrod laughed, helping the overweight biker back to his feet.
"I can't help it if the chair was old and flimsy!" Breaks groaned, wiping off the dust from the floor from his leathers.
"Sit on the bench-press mate. Now you were saying?"
Dids smile slipped from his face and was replaced by a grim look of resolve, "Things a pretty shit, Jarrod to be honest"
He looked to Dids and Jarrod followed his glance. Breaks nodded as he sat not holding his gaze.
"I've only been back 5 minutes and I've heard some troubling stories. What the fucks going on?" Jarrod asked.
Dids grimaced, "A few years after Hog died and you went to prison, Eddie arrived with his ex-Haka mates. It was long before he became Chapter President through fear mainly. He and his Maori mates brutally smashed any opposition and still do. We used to have over 400 members in our chapter when you were the Enforcer Jarrod but now we have close to 80 on last count. There are really two gangs now; those he trusts and those he don't."
"So where do you two fit in? Are you still Chaplin, Dids? You Sargent-At-Arms Breaks?"
Both nodded, "Yes I'm a glorified gun cleaner now but for some reason Eddie considers me a member of his crew. Dids is treated like a fucking mascot rather than given the respect he deserves" Breaks stated with a scowl.
"So Did's, you're not in the 'not trusted' camp I'm guessing," Jarrod asked throwing his empty in the bin before taking out another and wordlessly offering his mates a second. Did's nodded and he threw them a refill before continuing.
"I went and saw Hammer yesterday.."
"Fuck and you're still alive. We should have warned you but the Compounds been on lockdown since the event." Breaks apologised.
"So, what happened?"
Dids looked over at Breaks and then back at Jarrod, "We're not meant to be talking about it but here it goes -- We were sent out by Eddie to guard one of Hammers shipments as per usual but only half the gang was sent, the rest stayed behind. Nothing strange about that right?! Wrong. The half that stayed behind were the members loyal to Eddie while the ones he sent were the old members and ones he wasn't sure had his back completely."
Breaks shifted uncomfortably on his make-shift chair.
"So, we all rode out but no truck. No cars! No shipment at all. We called it in but Eddie said to wait. An hour went by and I'd had enough so I called Eddie again. He seemed pissed and said to stay where we were. I knew that was a mistake so I called up Jimmy. He told me we were at the completely wrong location and Hammer's nephew, Simon, had already left for the factory without up. We took off to try and intercept but all we found was Hammers men executed on the back road and his nephew in a ditch. He was alive so Breaks and I got him to a hospital. When we called up Eddie again he ordered us back to compound and we've been on lockdown ever since."
"Yer, and I've been busier than a Blue Arsed Fly trying to get guns and weapons ready. If it was an accident then Hammer would understand but Eddie is nervous. The garage is locked up tighter than Ava's legs too" Breaks added.
"Well some locks can be broken can't they." Jarrod smiled
"You dirty dog," Breaks laughed, "I knew you had when she went missing". "Eddie was so pissed. Where is she?"
"I don't know. I just sent her away to safety." Jarrod explained, "She doesn't deserve this shit."
Both men nodded.
Jarrod took another swig of his beer. "Who would have thought prison would be a safer place to be?" he smirked, "Too much fucking drama outside. I just want a beer, bike and bitch. Is that too much to ask?!"
"Seems so," Dids said solemnly.
After another lengthy pause Jarrod looked them both over.
"You didn't just come here to tell me the clubs about to be ripped apart did you. What are you holding back?"
Did's spoke up, "No we didn't. We want you to take over the Hell Riders. Stage a coup. Get rid of Eddie and save the club that I helped build."
"Oh, is that all?" Jarrod chuckled. When the others didn't join him he said, "You're serious aren't you!? I just got out of prison, and I don't intend on killing some crazy fucker just to be thrown back in. I have Ellie to look after and I'm not leaving her again." He growled.
"We're not asking you to kill him. It sounds like Hammer will organise that anyway. We just need to give him a hand and save the club in the meantime. Hammer will burn the place to the ground and our home with it unless we do something about it. Jarrod, you're the only one the gang will follow." Did's implored.
"No. I won't fuck up what I have with Ellie. I'm sorry but I've given up enough of my life in prison to the Hell Riders and I can't give up anymore."
Breaks and Dids looked at each other defeated.
"Well that wasn't the only reason we're here. Eddie wants to invite you to a welcome-back party at the clubhouse tomorrow night. We've pumped you up for years as a practical superhero and saviour of the club. Now Eddie wants to bring the Butcher back into the fold" Breaks explained.
Did's spoke solemnly, "Be careful though Jarrod. Eddie is worried you may rock the boat. He knows members think you would make a great leader and he hates competition. We've been telling him that you are keen to help him in any way but he's an insecure man. I've never known him to throw a party for anyone. Tread carefully is all I'm saying"
Breaks shook his head in disagreement, "He's just happy to have an excuse for a party I think after the mix-up. It'll all get sorted, you wait." Breaks slowly leveraged himself back on his feet and wandered over to place a hand on Jarrod's shoulder.
"Stop worrying and let's have a good time!"
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Ellie stood inside the empty room in front of the high-backed, cushioned chair. A large four posted bed lay to her left. The room was dimly lit by the soft red light of the elegant lamp that sat upon the bed-side table. A full length mirror sat to the side.
"I'm waiting."
