Ambling over, Butcher, the Birmingham Chapter President, greeted Mack with a hand clasp, pulling him in for a chest-bump and back-slap. His VP, Shades joined them as well.
The men of Chapters from opposite sides of the country greeted each other with back-pounding hugs and great enthusiasm, truly happy to see each other. The times they were able to meet-up being few and far between.
“How was the trip?” Mack asked.
“Long. Fourteen hundred goddamn miles.”
Cole grinned. “Same for us, Brother. It’s fourteen hundred miles from San Jose, as well.”
“So you feel my pain?” Butcher grinned at him.
“Damn straight,” Cole agreed.
“You ready for a beer?” Mack asked.
“Hell, yeah,” both Butcher and Shades replied at once.
The men all chuckled.
Cole let out an earsplitting whistle. “Hey, Prospect, bring a couple bottles of beer.”
Wolf twisted to look as one of their prospects, Jake, ran to obey.
Butcher eyed the prospect’s retreating back as the man moved to do his VP’s bidding. “So, how many prospects are you patching in this trip?”
Mack’s eyes followed Butcher’s. “Two. Jake and Shane. And you?”
“One. 12gauge.” Butcher lifted his chin toward a prospect over near their bikes.
Mack nodded.
“Maybe next year we’ll have more. Right, Shades?” Butcher asked, turning to his VP.
Shades nodded. “Gulf Coast is prospecting three. Everything goes well, they should be patching in by the next Sturgis meet.”
Mack nodded again. “Good to know. Heard about your trouble down there.”
“We handled it.” Shades met his eyes.”
Mack grinned. “I heard that, too.”
“Made for a good story. Ax, and all,” Cole elaborated, folding his arms and grinning.
Shades grinned back with a shrug. “Hey, nothing better than threatening to chop a man up to put the fear of God in him. A man gets real cooperative when you start discussing how to dispose of his body parts.”
Crash gave Shades a sly look. “Yeah, how’d that go again? ‘They won’t fit in the trunk.’ ‘Not like this they won’t.’ Then you pull an ax from behind your back. I bet they shit their pants.”
“I have expert motivational skills. What can I say?” Shades replied with splayed hands.
“That you do,” Butcher agreed as the men all chuckled. Then he added in a more serious tone, looking at Mack, “Heard you’ve had some trouble in Cali.”
Mack nodded. “That we have.”
“You know who it is?”
“Got several possibilities. We’re still looking into it.”
Butcher nodded. “You need any help, you let me know.”