Shane stepped away when the three bikers parked close by. “All yours,” he said and went to sit back in the open van.
When Lion took off his helmet, his face was as serious as ever. He seemed to have gained a few wrinkles too. “Here we are, Hammer, and I don’t like this any more than you do.”
This? This was the first thing he chose to say after imprisoning him based on an accusation?
A laugh tore out of Hammer’s mouth as he took in the prez’s serious features. Behind him, Buzzer removed his helmet too, revealing the shadow of bright blue hair covering his head. The VP’s bright eyes held no humor on the best of days, but today, they were ice. Wasp approached as well, his handlebar mustache making him more reminiscent of a bulldog than any insect.
Not that it mattered in the face of possible torture and death.
“Pretty sure I like this much less than you, everything considered,” Hammer said, still shivering from the cold. He’d barely slept, and his body was covered in numerous bruises, if the pains in his flesh were anything to go by.
Buzzer leaned against his green motorcycle. “Maybe you shouldn’t have planned your prez’s violent death.”
Not this again. Hammer hit the back of his head against the metal pillar in frustration.
“How the fuck did you come to that conclusion? I tried to tell you from the start, and instead of listening, you guys cuffed me and shipped me off to these losers,” he said, nodding toward Shane and Jag.
The self-appointed junkyard tender bared his teeth at Hammer, but Shane didn’t even bother looking up from his phone.
Lion stepped closer with a deep sigh, and his broad shoulders dropped. “You know we were dealing with a late shipment. You should have stayed put. Now everyone thinks you had a reason to run, so tell me, what’s your excuse? Why did you write about my death?” He showed Hammer the notebook in a dramatic gesture.
Oh, brother.
Hammer shut his eyes, knowing that dumb comments would be flying his way forever, but if he was to survive this, he needed to tell the truth. “Those are my private notes for that little thing I do in my free time called writing. It has nothing to do with what I want to do, all right? After a decade together, I assumed you’d have more faith in me,” he said, spearing Lion with his gaze and squeezing his hands into fists until the pressure of the cuffs became unbearable and forced him to loosen up.
Wasp scowled at him, spreading his arms. “What writing? That’s the whole point! It’s been over ten years, and it feels like we hardly know you! Do you have a murder basement somewhere or do you go to see ballet on your days off?Iwouldn’t know.”
Hammer gritted his teeth until his jaw hurt. “I always did my due. It should warrant more trust than I was given.”
Lion shook his head. “I’m running out of patience. Why did my brother accuse you? There’s something more here that you’re not telling us.”
Here came the hard part, and even in this precarious situation, Hammer was reluctant to throw it in Lion’s face, so he started slow. “I’m writing stories, okay? Horror stories. I have a website and publish them there. And I write down inspiration and full sentences if they come to my mind. Sometimes it’s about real people, but it doesn’t mean anything. That’s what you read in that damn notebook. Ryker just used it against me, knowing he had to strike first and get rid of me, even though I wanted to give him a chance to redeem himself!”
“Redeem himself from what?” Lion insisted, but something was off. There had to be a reason behind Ryker’s absence and the fact that none of the bikers laughed in his face or called him anauteur.
Jag stepped closer, revealing that he’s been eavesdropping. “All this over some real person fanfiction?”
Shane looked up. “What? What’s that?”
“My mate told me all about it. It’s when instead of writing made up stories about Captain America, you write them about Chris Evans, the actor who plays him in the movies,” Jag said with a seriousness this topic didn’t deserve.
Buzzer wasn’t having it. He turned to them with a scowl. “Will you two piss off? You’ve done enough damage letting him escape!”
Hammer's mouth dried as his prez's bright eyes drilled deep into him yet remained unable to see the truth without being pointed to it. It was such an impossible situation to be in. But with his life at stake, Hammer sliced straight into Lion's heart. "Ryker's a child molester, and I saw his... stuff."
Lion’s whole body stiffened, and he leaned back as if struck. “You take that back.”
Hammer flinched. Of course he wouldn’t believe that his beloved baby brother could have done something so unforgivable. Lion might be a criminal, but he was also a family man and would have killed anyone who might pose a danger to his kids.
“I know this is damn hard to take in—” he said, stalling when a car roared nearby. Were more of his brothers coming? Frank? Not that it mattered at this point. He didn’t have the photos on him, and therefore any chance for safety lay in his wits. “But I saw it. Walked in on him rubbing one off to kiddie porn.”
Wasp and Buzzer stayed silent like two graves but Lion spoke, gritting his teeth. “That’s just low, Hammer. You’re the one caught, and you want to take my brother down with you. You know what these accusations mean.” He turned to Shane as the unknown vehicle approached at top speed. “Tell Frank to fuck off!”
But the green car with flaming sharks painted on the sides charged into the space between shipping containers, braking with such force the wheels splashed mud on everyone. A great addition to Hammer’s death sentence—mud in the face.
But Frank was not the unexpected intruder.
Dex poured out of the driver’s seat on wobbly legs. “Stop whatever’s going on!” he yelled, stomping into the mud. He was covered in dirt, had no T-shirt on, and the sleeve of his new jacket was torn to shreds. He held one arm awkwardly close to his body, but that didn’t stop him from rushing to stand between Hammer and the other bikers like Disney’s Pocahontas at the movie finale.