Page 83 of Goose

Goose

My mind had been reeling since the botched job in Bakersfield. I knew Baker would be aggravated, but I had no idea how deep his frustration ran. As soon as our Wednesday meeting began, I found out.

“As if finding an empty fucking safe wasn’t enough,” Baker said, pacing in front of where we were seated. “We damned near got nabbed by a local cop.”

He paused and looked at each of us. “But that’s not all, folks. Not even close. While trying to escape the grip of said cop, our getaway driver came within inches of smashing into a fucking tree.”

“It was my cat-like reflexes that saved us, Bake,” Cash said.

Baker glared. “Cat-like?”

Cash nodded. “I didn’t almost crash. I saved us from crashing. There’s a difference.”

“If it hadn’t been for Goose screaming ‘Left! Left! Turn fucking left!’ You would have hit that fucking tree, Cash. God bless Ghost’s soul, but we’re in a goddamned mess right now. I’m tempted to say until further notice we’re done doing any job that requires driving.”

Cash stood. “Whoa. Wait a minute. I need that income. My new house and starting that nursery sucked up all my cash. I’m running on empty.”

“I don’t see how that’s possible,” I said. “We all make the exact same amount on each job. Other than Reno—who gambles away a quarter of a million a couple of time a year—you’re the only one that’s broke. Why is that, Cash?”

He gave me the once-over. “Says the guy that inherited Ghost’s fortune.”

I jumped from my seat. “Don’t you fucking dare bring Ghost, his income, or my inheritance into this. I save my money. I’ve got half the income from that job in Phoenix we did in 2010, and everything I’ve made since. Every fucking dime. That’s a hell of a lot better than I can say for you, you broke-as-a-joke motherfucker.”

“Fuck you,” he spat.

I puffed my chest. “Fuck you. When you were trying to run from that cop, I was thinking getting caught wouldn’t be all bad. At least if we got caught, I’d be alive. That’s what I was thinking. God, let me live through this. You goddamned near killed us, you stupid prick.”

“The only reason you’re not dead is because I drove our asses out of there like a boss.” He looked at Baker, and then at me. “I lured that cop into that tree on purpose. I was getting ready to say something about that.”

I folded my arms over my chest and laughed out loud. “Oh, so now you planned that little butt-puckering maneuver, huh? Did you plan on screaming like a bitch, too? Do you believe the lies you tell us? Do you really?”

“Enough!” Baker barked. “Enough. This isn’t a fuckin’ pissing match, it’s a club meeting. A club meeting that I’m in charge of. Sit the fuck down. Both of you.”

I sat. After expressing some reluctance, Cash followed.

There was dissention in the ranks, no doubt. Tension was high, spirits were low, and we needed to restructure our way of doing things. Nearly getting nabbed while slow-rolling away from a job because Cash didn’t have enough common sense to see the cop that stood in wait clipped my last nerve.

“I’m with Baker,” I said. “We need to little smash and grabs and shit. Shit we can do on the Ducatis.”

Cash glared. “We’re fuckin’ biker bandits, now?”

“That’s what started this,” I argued.

“We did that for years,” Reno said. “Back to the basics. Works for the Filthy Fuckers.”

“The Filthy Fuckers make their money robbing drug dealers and pimps,” Cash complained. “Not doing smash and grabs.”

“Maybe we look at doing that. Drug dealers and shit.” I shrugged and then looked at Baker. “Bake?”

“The Filthy Fuckers have a former Navy SEAL running the show,” he said. “He’s trained those guys on how to do such tasks. We’re not.”

“Well,” I gestured to Reno. “We’ve got a former Army Ranger who fought along that Navy SEAL’s side. Crip even said he was impressed with Reno’s ability.”

Baker looked at Reno and raised his brows. “Reno?”

“We can give it a try,” Reno said with a little hesitation in his voice.

“Do you see problems with it?” Baker asked.