was already decided on in the pre-meet, that’s why there wasn’t too much discussion. So yeah, it’s been accepted.”
The gavel bangs, and silence descends. “Who’s your secretary?” Drummer enquires.
“That’s me. I’m treasurer and double as notetaker.” Rascal waves his hand.
“I’ve just been reminded that while Utah cannot put Pip back in the prez’s seat, you do need to vote on the man to replace him. Put that top of the agenda for your next church, and note Snatcher is the strong suggestion of the mother chapter prez.”
“Can we get that out of the way now?” Thor asks.
“I vote Snatcher prez and Thor VP,” Preacher suggests. “All those in favour?”
There’s a chorus of ayes.
“We need an enforcer.” Surprisingly it’s Grinch who points that out.
“I vote Swift,” comes from Bolt.
The eyes of the woman at my side open wide. “Fuck yeah,” I hear her say under her breath, making me grin wide.
Drummer has gone still as a statue, then suddenly he barks an incredulous laugh. “Just when I didn’t think things could get fuckin’ worse.” His head moves from side to side, and he bangs the gavel. “I’ll ratify Snatcher as prez and Thor as VP for now, but you can discuss how this flows down later. That’s Utah business.”
Blade’s eyeing Swift carefully, his head tilted slightly to the side. Suddenly he grins wide, points his knife toward her, and raises his chin.
“You want that job?” I ask Swift quietly out of the side of my mouth, seeing she’s got a mark of respect from the Tucson enforcer.
“Yes,” she replies, just as softly, with no hesitation at all.
I have no problem envisaging her as a female equivalent to Blade. A smile plays at my lips. Like him, she’d take no prisoners, or if she did, she’d have no hesitation in making them hurt, and they’d think as a woman she’d be squeamish. That she’s not makes me so fucking proud of her.
“Moving on. Now we come to Stormy.” Drummer’s eyes narrow as he glares down the table at the man he’s just named. “You made two hits that weren’t yours. Two men died clean deaths which they didn’t deserve. You robbed Demon and Lost of the chance to question Major and Alder, respectively. In Lost’s case, there are answers he and his old lady needed, not in the least to know for certain that business is ended.”
“It is,” Stormy speaks, sounding unrepentant. “We checked, there are no trails, no contacts waiting to take on unfinished shit. Both chapters are closed.”
Demon and Lost both sit forward, their faces carrying identical expressions of rage. It’s Lost, the normally mild-mannered prez who speaks first. “Your excuse, as I understand it, is that you didn’t fuckin’ trust us to interrogate our captives. You fuckin’ thought both Demon and I would see the lure of lucrative deals instead. What the hell do you fuckin’ take us for?”
Stormy just can’t help himself. His hand crashes down onto the table. “I don’t know you,” he yells. “Yeah, it was unlikely, but Major and Alder were experts at twisting things to suit themselves. If enough money was on the table, you might have been tempted. I had the shots, so I took them. Problem solved.”
“You took the shots because it was a fuckin’ challenge.” Drummer’s correction thunders down the table. “I don’t buy your suspicions for a fuckin’ moment. You were showing off. What the fuck is your problem, Stormy?”
“I ain’t got a problem.”
“From where I’m sitting, you have,” Drummer snarls.
“I’ll get the answers out of him, Prez.” Blade looks gleeful as he offers his assistance. Knowing my brother, it’s Stormy I feel sorry for, especially when Blade adds, pointing at the woman beside me, “And she can help. Could be useful for her to pick up some pointers.”
Drummer looks like he’s seriously considering it for a second, then shakes his head. “No, he deserves to have his patch taken and sent out in bad standing.”
I watch as the blood drains from Stormy’s face. “You… you’re sending me out bad?”
I don’t know the man’s issues, other than he has them, but now it’s been put into words, it’s plain stripping him of his patch is the worst thing that could happen to him. His mouth opens and shuts, but he doesn’t say another word. His Adam’s apple bulges as he swallows hard.
Snatcher raises his hand. “I’ll rein him in, Drummer. He’s already been called back from being nomad. I’ll keep him close so he can’t cause more trouble.”
“You think you