Page 44 of Papa's Beloved
“Oh please. They love you. Boomer practically beams every time he talks about something new you’ve accomplished.”
“Really?”
“Really. He’s telling me about your many skills but he’s really proud of your chef skills. Speaking of. How’s the institute going?”
“Between school and Maddie, I’m learning so much. Thanks to cooking for Boomer, I’m ahead of the rest of the class.”
“That’s great. I’m glad you’re settling in.”
We continue to chat on the way to the apartment. Tully waits until I get inside before he leaves. I take a quick shower and head to bed.
Papa
YEAH, BY THE TIME HE’Sdone, the ceremony is a moot point. Good thing Chief vouched for Hollywood already. Still, the ceremony is sacred and something we do when they get there. When we do, it depends on the candidate. Not everyone needs a final test to prove their worthiness of a patch.
“Before our next vote, let me introduce everyone. Papa, my VP, is sitting in between Chief and Trinity. Blue, our secretary, is on Trinity’s other side. Going around the table Decker, our road Captain and one third of Jackson and Sons Construction. His brothers Saber and Wrath, in order. After them is Dakota, our treasurer and financial savant. If you have money to invest, he’s your guy. Every brother gets a share of the profits from our businesses. We have several. I’ll go over with you later.
“Continuing around the table. Doc, our resident physician. If his name didn’t give it away.”
Several of us chuckle, including Hollywood.
“Wizard, the magic man and tech genius. Brick came to us from Baton Rouge. He and Red came down to help with the kids. Outlaw, the man you want with you if you go anywhere near a swamp or bayou. Our newer but no less important brothers Angel, Demon, Cobra, Everest and Saint. On Saint’s left is our Enforcer, Smoke. Sergeant at Arms, Nitro, and Boomer our Brewmaster.
“As most of you know, we’ve talked about opening up a clinic or small hospital to deal with our own wounded and those of our allies. Earlier in the week, I reached out to our newest friend’s inthe Merciless Few. Freak, their VP, introduced me to Stone, the club’s president. They’re on board.
“The idea is the clubs share costs equally. All fully patched members are treated without question and for free. We choose our allies carefully. In the case of our prospects, non-emergency cases will need a patched member or permission from brass for free treatment.
“Our ol’ ladies and dolls are covered as well. Free healthcare. Costs fully covered by the clubs.”
“How many clubs do we have?” Hollywood asks.
“Good question. Seven in total. Six local or close by and one from Georgia who visit a lot. I think they’re all in love with Smoke’s grandma and she’s not leaving Sabian’s side anytime soon,” Gambit responds.
“She hasn’t left Sabian's side since they found out she’s carrying triplets. Good thing the brothers finished your house early,” I add.
“We put two crews on it for Mémé,” Saber says.
“You’ll meet her soon, Hollywood,” Smoke adds.
“All in favor of going forward with the clinic?”
Our third unanimous vote of the day.
“For now, we can use the small clinic we have here. I vote we hire Doc and Nay full time, plus a nurse and an aide.”
Once again, the motion carries. Gambit moves on to the information we learned. All the names, places, and dates.
“Wizard, do you have a location on the Dawgs’ clubhouse and the places they’re using to holding people?”
“Yes. There are seven places in all. We’ll need a lot of help and coordination to make sure things go off with as little injury to our teams as possible. Papa, Wizard, and I are coordinating a meeting with the brass from our allies.
“We have two weeks before the next shipment of human bodies. They’re going to miss Pablo soon, so we need to triplecheck and make sure he can’t be led back to us. In fact, Wizard, I’d like you to get with Bug and plant a false trail. Send Pablo on a trip to Texas or South of the border if he has roots there. We had his wallet. I kept a few things for us to use. We can destroy them later.”
“That’s all the business we have at the moment. Questions?”
“I have one,” Hollywood says.
“Shoot.”