I gestured forward to the stairs.
She obliged me and walked ahead, her hips rhythmically swaying in time. “Do you normally allow people up here? Is this where you guys have your secret meetings?” she teased.
I smirked as I moved over to the coffee machine, filled it with water and put one of the coffee capsules in to get us started. “Yep, this is the top secret cave, where we have our meetings and we speak in low tones about this and that,” I teased back.
She smirked right back at me. “Hardy, har-har. I like it. Nice to get a seat at the table.” She walked around it skimming the top with fingers and checking out the photographed pictures of the bike club on the wall. We also had our club banner hanging proudly in the background.
“So you can see we have a lot of history here as a club, and we are very dedicated to the community. That picture that you have your eye on is a picture from the late 1980’s of Bones’ father riding. Pretty cool, huh?”
She nodded her head. “I can see the resemblance. Not bad at all for the small membership you have. You’ve kept it tightknit,” she observed thoughtfully.
I gave a nod, hoping this would be my in…to change her mind on what kind of club we were. “We’re like family, and we’re loyal to one another. I know you wrote a lot about the Red Stone Casino, but what you didn’t understand is that Ink – one of our members – oversees the bar there, and has raised profits by 30%. He also helped catch the card sharks that you mentioned in your little article. So us bikers do some good around here,” I pointed out as I dropped a cup under the coffee machine and let it run.
“I see. Look, I’ve had time to think about it. I talked to a few of the other guys, the locals, and one of them told me about the trouble you had with the Devils and them trying to pin an overdose on the club. Then you all fighting back. I think it’s an interesting enough angle for me, maybe to run a story on. It could work…”
The corners of my smile got a little wider. “Does that mean you’re in and you’ll run the story for us?” I asked as I placed the plain mug down in front of her.
“It’s a downgrade for me, story-wise. I can do this in my sleep, buuuuutt I’m willing to make a concession. Who knows where it might lead?” She eyed my reaction as she lifted her coffee to her lips. “It means I will have to be your shadow for a few weeks. How comfortable are you with that?”
“Ah, how closely do you wanna watch me? I have a seven-year-old daughter, so I’m pretty normal during the day, but at night, you’ve seen what I do here. Are you gonna be basing it on the club as a whole, or are you thinking something else?”
Angie tapped her chin as she seemed to take in this news.
I waited for the penny to drop.
“I think a little of both. I’m going to have to think about it a little more. What I like to do first is just feel out the situation. I want to be here when you’re playing and learn how you became such a pool shark. I need to learn how to beat you.” She threw down the gauntlet.
“Fair enough,” I nodded my head at her with a small smile. “I presume you’re coming down on Wednesday. Are you going to compete, or talk and interview?”
“I’m going to talk and interview. I have to be in the zone if I want to beat you. Save it for the next time.” She looked up at me. “I might stick around for a while. Let’s see what other things Holbeck has to offer.” She chuckled as she tapped her pen on the table.
“Holbeck has plenty to offer in a lot of ways. I have someone you might like to meet – her name’s Mia. She’s our club lawyer. She might have some tasty morsels of information to get your teeth into.”
I saw her eyes light up at the mention of a lawyer, and it almost seemed as if she was salivating over the possibilities of a new story line. Right then and there, I knew I’d dropped the right bait.
“Ooo goodie, I would like to meet her. I’m sure she has some dirt for me. What type of lawyer is she?” Her eagerness showed clearly.
“Thought so,” I quipped with a self-satisfied smirk. A mini win. I was inching closer to the mark with her. Maybe I could turn this whole thing around for the club. “I’ll make sure she’s here on Wednesday night and you can talk to her yourself.”
Wednesday night came quickly. I kissed Sarah goodbye after Teresa came to take over. I was relieved by the switch.
“Hey, sis. How’s your week going?” I leaned in for a hug. She looked a lot fresher than me, and there weren't enough lifetimes for me to repay her for all her help. But she did it without complaint and even seemed to enjoy it.
“It’s not going too bad, bro. How about you? Are you doing all right over here?” Teresa enquired, but my sullen face pretty much told her all she needed to know.
“Feels like groundhog day over here. Sarah is doing good though, she’s brushed her teeth and I’ve combed her hair. She’ll be coming out in a minute.”
“You sound over it. Go, get out of here and play pool. I got Sarah covered.”
“Bye Dad! See you when you get back!” Sarah called out from the back.
“Bye, make sure you’re good for Teresa. See you in the morning, I’m going to be back late.”
“Okay!” She responded.
I left out faster than I should have. I exhaled a guilt-ridden sigh from my lungs, even though I deserved the break. As I mounted my bike I let my domestic life fall back a little. Playing pool had always been a great stress reliever and some fun that was harmless.
Holbeck was a little cooler than most nights, so I zipped my jacket up high and took off. As soon as I rolled into the parking lot of Wheelz the buzz of the club livened up my worn down spirit. I dismounted to rock music, tinged with the sound of laughter and banter bouncing off the walls. I shook off my gloves, hoping that there were some sucker…competition inside. I moved to the bar and greeted Ink when I got there. “Hey Ink, how you doing tonight?” I asked absently. I pulled out the clipboard for the pool games.