Page 7 of The Silence of Hell
“Hey, have you seen the activity at the old Ravenberry estate?” Chance asked, approaching Chatter as he replaced his brake pads.
“No? I haven’t ridden that way,” Chatter replied.
“The gates have been restored—and that crumbling wall. Banshee reported tree trimming this morning, too.”
“Is that so? Are you going to reach out and inquire if they’re selling?” Chatter asked.
“Yeah. I’ve contacted the realtor we use, and we’ll see if she can arrive at a deal,” Chance replied. “What’s wrong with the brakes?”
“I noticed a squeak on them, and they didn’t seem to be as sharp yesterday. It does not hurt to replace them.”
There was a crash from inside the clubhouse, and someone yelled Jinx’s name.
“That bloody candidate!” Chance growled.
“Yep. But he is damn keen and doesn’t flinch at hard work,” Chatter replied.
“He’s going to cost me a fortune,” Chance complained.
“Yup, but apart from his curse, he’ll be an ideal prospect. Unlike some of the others,” Chatter pointed out. “Why are you speaking to me?”
Chance threw back his head and laughed. “You’re one surly bastard; I did think you were talking a lot but kept quiet.”
“Asshole.”
“I’m that, brother. I’ll let you be,” Chance said, clapping Chatter on the shoulder and walking off.
Chatter stared after him and wiped his brow. It was a hot August. But Chance was slightly off balance. He had been since the battle. It had affected them all. They’d all seen things they’d never recover from.
Four months. So much had changed. Straight after the war, literally two weeks later, Chance promoted all prospects apart from Fanatic. Because of Fanatic having time out, Chance delayed him gaining full colours. Fanatic hadn’t seemed that bothered by it. A design consumed the kid’s attention, and he ignored everyone.
But Chatter had seen a faraway look in Fanatic’s eyes, and he kept a sharp watch on him. Fanatic was missing her. Everyone had guessed but not mentioned Fanatic was in love with her, but she’d loved another. And Fanatic stuck to his own moral code and hadn’t told her how he felt. Instead, he’d become good friends with them, shoving his personal feelings aside. It had gained Fanatic a lot of respect.
Chance had gone through all apps with a fine-tooth comb and recruited nine. Chatter wasn’t too sure about some. Harlequin, Jinx, Dollar, Rascal, and Sailor all seemed to have their heads screwed on right. Runner, Farm Boy, Clark, and Vampire caused concerns. Especially Vampire, that lazy fuck. That was not his problem. Chance made Sunny responsible, who, in turn, appointed Fanatic. He had been appalled.
In addition to the candidates, all the old ladies apart from Clio were pregnant. His brothers had been determined to leave a legacy. Homes were being built on the land they’d set aside for it. BlackRock construction was making a fortune off Hellfire, Chatter thought as he saw Apache in a hard hat talking to someone with a truckload of wood.
Apache raised his hand, and Chatter offered the same gesture.
Everyone felt a bit lost. They had lived under Fury’s threat for so long nobody had any idea what to do now he was gone. Chance had organised several rides, and they did a monthly run with all the allied clubs. Unwanted Bastards remained absent from their group, however.
Those bonds forged before the war remained unbreakable. They’d suffered too much together.
But we were still struggling. Court cases were happening, and people were being wrongly indicted. Major General Winslow had been taken into custody with a court martial threatening. And his second-in-command, Captain Fisher, had also been summarily charged. That blew Phoe’s mind, and she was on a mission. If Winslow hadn’t brought in the National Guard, we’d have lost. Fury’s forces had greatly outnumbered our expectations.
Colonel Jefferson, the commander of Ellsworth Air Force Base, had been arrested and would face a court martial. Then, Chief of Police Andrew Howser had been relieved of duty and charged. All this occurred in the first week when we were still reeling and praying for family, friends, and allies to survive. Clean-up was happening while we were trying to recover from a war that had been fought in our own state.
Phoe went berserk. She stood live on TV and performed interviews, telling everyone exactly what had happened. Public opinion, believing the war to be a biker fight, was soon overturned. The truth came out with messages, memo documents, communications to the White House requesting help countless times. It was all there, and Phoe blew the President and his version of events apart.
By her side stood the congressman and senator, both going after presidential blood. People within hours were marching in the streets, protesting. Hundreds of thousands of citizens had camped outside the White House. The news kept playing the footage showing civilians defending the city and dying. A death list ran on new channels and was updated daily. Those who’d been present were inundated with interview requests.
The entire country was aghast that a war had been fought on American soil, which had Americans fighting Americans. Everyone was of the opinion the Venomous Fangs should have been taken out a lot sooner than they were. Public anger was so hot that Howser was reinstated two weeks after his suspension. Nobody in Rapid City, including the RCPD, would heed the idiot, Gates, who’d been brought in to replace him.
The surviving cops ignored all requests and orders from the temporary chief of police and from IA and did as they wanted. They basically put Ramirez in place and would only listen to him. Gates, in retaliation, sacked everyone and requested help from surrounding towns and had been denied. Instead, Ramirez, Ben, and those still functional turned up daily. Ramirez handed out assignments, and the officers did their jobs.
Even that hit the headlines. Suspended cops still doing their duty. Rapid City was in the news for all the right and wrong reasons. Gates, the president’s patsy, was removed and Howser reinstated. Immediately, order returned to Rapid City. There had been further deaths. Some died in hospital after operations or failing to make it to life-saving surgeries.
Rage MC’s brother, Wild’s wife, Lynda, had been present and Wild said she had taken some decisions very hard. As a doctor, Lynda would have wished to save everyone but couldn’t. Still, Lynda had performed two critical saves. Chill from Unwanted Bastards and Calamity. She’d literally walked out of Calamity’s surgery and into Chill’s. Chill’s had been unexpected as he’d been stable on arrival at the hospital.
