Part 18. Contact

Not an hour later, Billy lit a cigarette and turned from his fax machine, smiling at the pages in his hands as he sat down on the leather couch in his office, facing Jake who had been waiting for him.

"Turner called in yet?" was his first question.

Jake shook his head. "No, but apparently he was stopped by some cops not long ago. His boys heard it over the radio and left the bar to go get him."

"Stopped for what?"

Jake shrugged. " I don't know, they were running a check on him when we picked up the scan."

Billy frowned. "Was he alone?"

Again Jake shrugged. "He shouldn't have been. You'll have to ask him when he gets back. So what do you want to do about Vlahov when tonight's over?"

"I'm not waiting until tonight's over. That slimy prick should know who it is that's ending his pathetic life."

Jake nodded. "Done. I've got some boys picking him up before he bolts anyway. So... Eddie..." he prompted.

Billy got up, stretching his back as he headed for his bar fridge. "Damn, that bitch nearly broke my back last night. Who the hell does she belong to anyway?"

Used to Billy's tangents, Jake didn't blink. "She came with Dermott." He smiled then, "Caught her blowin' him in Chook's office just the other day."

Billy scowled at that, truly worried for a moment. "Fuck, I'll probably catch somethin' if that idiot's been bangin' 'er."

He poured a drink and took a hefty gulp, needing to recharge after the night before. He walked to the door and made sure it was locked before suddenly turning, his face deadly serious as he went back to his desk and laid the pages he was still carrying on the desk for Jake to see.

Jake studied the images a long moment before whistling, his eyebrows hiked in surprise. He had to admit he was impressed. "Where'd these come from?"

Billy shrugged a shoulder, "One of our girls at the federal building. I asked her to look into him." He picked up one of the black and white prints, not the best quality but it clearly showed Turner in a marine's uniform, sniper rifle casually resting on one shoulder like it belonged there as he squinted through the sun back at the camera. "This is how we're going to deal with Eddie. He's supposed to have been the best they had."

"What makes you think he'll side with us? And how come he kept this from the club?"

"Who says he did? I'll bet Sugar knows. Or maybe the kids got some demons. I don't think he enjoyed his time servin' or he wouldn't be so low-key about it. He probably wants to forget about it, but he'll get on board with us."

"Why are you so sure of that?"

Now Billy's face showed the true depth of the cruelty he was capable of. "Because we're going to leave him with no other option."

Jake waited, but when Billy didn't elaborate he prompted him. "And how are going to do that?"

"We'll start by taking away every reason for him to return back to Texas and then we'll give him enough incentive to stay."

Jake's frown deepened. "You want to take out Sugar?"

Billy swore at the name like it was a dirty word. "Eventually. But I thought we'd start with those he trusts most, without his boys surrounding him he'll be more vulnerable."

Jake thought about that. "They're with him tonight, his closest brothers."

"Then we'll start with them. Get word to Bale."

Jake took this new development in. He was used to Billy moving quickly once he had a plan set in his mind and he was used to seeing those plans carried out. He had to admit, this recruitment plan was interesting. "I like it." And he also had to admit, knowing that Turner was a trained killer did something for his respect for the man.

"I thought you might," Billy smiled in return. He was pleased that his instincts about Turner had been right. He had seen something in him from the onset and now he was positive he was the key to taking down not only Sugar, but Eddie too.

"They're going to take out that Larabee Agent tonight."

"They can do what they want so long as they're dead by morning." Billy was as happy as Billy could actually get. It seemed that things were truly going his way. "Now's the time," he told Jake. "I've known you most of my life, you've helped me put all this together," he opened his arms to encompass the room, the house, everything. "We've always said we don't need Eddie… I say we take him out now. Most of his boys are here already, we could take him out before he gets anywhere near the city. When things finally calm down, we'll run the Presidency from here, just like we talked about before."

Again Jake didn't blink. "We do this, we're gonna throw everyone into a panic. The whole club is headin' out here in the next day, can you imagine what'll happen when they realise Eddies been taken out?"

Billy took a long drag on his cigarette and another drink, letting the smoke out through his nose in a rush as he spoke. "We wont tell `em anything. Everyone'll just think he's been delayed and didn't make it."

Jake frowned. "They're gonna wonder when he doesn't show up, when none of them answer their phones."

"How many's he ridin' with?"

"Ten apparently."

"Is Matthers with him?"

He was thinking it would be good to hit the vice president at the same time.

"Yeah, they only left a few men behind. The rest are already here."

Billy nodded. "Then we take them all out."

He said this with absolutely no emotion. The fact that Jake was not affected in the slightest showed just how close, and just how cold, they both were. Jake put out his own cigarette and made his own drink, both thinking it through in the silence before Jake again moved to stand before Billy. In answer he held up his glass.

"To the new President of the Devil's Jokers."

Billy smiled a cunning, cruel smile, raising his own glass. "And to the new Vice President."

As the men celebrated their victory to come, delicate bare feet padded away down the hallway outside the heavy door. It paid to know what was going on around you, that was one thing Suzy had learned long ago.

..

Vin tilted his head to hear what direction the bikes were coming in from and straightened up, his worry confirmed when he saw it was Bruce and Rizzo riding towards him and watched as both men parked in the loading zone right next to his own bike and got off to join him.

"Can't leave you alone for a minute," Bruce said, shaking his head as he took in his appearance. "Ivan just told us you were headin' to the hospital, now I see why."

"How'd you know where I was?" Vin said, knowing it wasn't a coincidence they'd found him there.

"We were sittin' in the bar when the old radio guy came down and said one of our boys had been picked up. He said they'd called in for a check on your license. We were about to head out and help Ivan finish off anyway."

"You were," Rizzo said with a scowl. "I was happy with my beer an' my warm bar." He moved closer to Vin, who looked like he was ready to fall over. "Ivan said you forgot some pills or somethin'?"

"Yeah, in Sugar's car."

"You don't look like you'll make it far."

Vin looked at his bike and then up at the infernally dark sky. "Reckon yer right."

"Jake called the bar lookin' for you, wants to talk to you before you head out tonight." Bruce informed him.

Vin frowned. "What about?"

"Fucked if I know. Whadaya doin' stopped here anyway?"

Vin reached down and picked up the pieces of his phone. "I felt it ring in my pocket but it went flat before I had a chance to answer it so I got pissed at the thing and threw it," he admitted, not having to lie at the last part.

Bruce raised an eyebrow, amusement showing on his face. "Is it broken?"

Vin shrugged, putting the pieces in his pocket. "It's flat anyway, won't know 'til I charge it."

"Well I'll follow ya in," Bruce told him. "Make sure you make it back without fallin' on your ass. You should call Jake first, see what he wants. We won't be back at the bar any time soon." He handed Vin a number scribbled on a beer coaster, a little worse for wear.

"Here, let me," Rizzo said, walking up to the booth. He simply opened the door and tapped the occupant's shoulder. The man turned around, shocked to see a biker staring him down. "Find another phone, buddy."

He man didn't have time to be angry, his fear won out and he just stepped out of the booth, simply handing Rizzo the phone, who immediately turned back and grinned at his friends.

"He high?" Vin asked as they stood watching, knowing Rizzo could hear him.

Bruce just smirked. "Probably... but he gets the job done."

Vin shook his head as he stepped forward and took the phone. The man had just done what he should have done. He needed to start taking advantage of his biker status.

"I'll meet you back at the bar," Rizzo told Bruce, heading for his bike.

"That'd be right, let me freeze my balls off."

Listening as he dialled, Vin tried to get Bruce to leave. "Head back too, I'll join up with ya."

"Nah, I'll stick around. I actually believe in the not riding alone thing in this city. It makes sense."

He was going to try to convince him again when he heard Billy himself pick up on the other end of the line in time with the sound of Rizzo's bike heading off.

"It's Turner," he said, annoyed at the way his heart sped up at the sound of his father's voice.

"Where the hell've you been?"

"At the shop helpin' Ivan fix his ride."

"We called there, he said he took off. What did you get stopped for?"

"Parkin' in a loadin' zone."

"Why are you ridin' alone?"

"Had no choice... the boys are with me now," he tried to move the conversation forward. "They told me you were lookin' fer me."

Billy was quiet a moment, obviously debating whether to take further issue with Vin's disobeying the no riding alone policy and Vin was relieved when he let it drop.

"There's been a change of plans tonight."

Vin frowned, waiting.

"I still need you to speak to Bale, but I need you to hang around with your boys a bit longer."

There was a pause so Vin obligingly asked why.

"We've got a traitor working for us. He tipped the cops off about one of our trucks tonight. They're planning to seize it when it comes in."

"Who tipped them off?"

"That's not your concern. I need you to make sure they don't get in the building, I want them all taken out."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" Christ an operation like that would be huge. "How many are we talking here?"

"Don't worry, there's enough security at the warehouse to start a war, I just want you to make sure everything goes to plan."

"And that plan is?" Vin was starting to get a bad feeling. They had warning, why not just move the truck before the cops had time to move in.

"We've rigged the truck to blow once they reach the ceiling compartment."

That would do it... He tried to think ahead, but it wasn't easy, his brain just wasn't moving at the right speed to keep up with everything going on. "And the real haul?"

"We already moved it 'cross town."

"You need me to check on that while I'm out here?" He was pushing it, but he had to try.

"We've got that covered. Just worry about tonight. I need you to make sure Bale is going to move the rest of the stuff we agreed upon."

No problem there, he was more than worried. "I thought you said you just wanted me to have a chat with Bale. I never signed up for a fucking war with the cops."

Billy swore. "You won't be anywhere near the fallout. There's a tower across the complex you can watch from if you're worried about saving your own ass. Just make sure it gets done. I don't want those bastards to get inside. When you get there you'll see why."

Vin thought about that, it was a good chance to check the place out.

"I'll call you when it's done," he informed him abruptly and hung up. He turned to Bruce, anxious to speak to Larabee. He had to tell him everything he knew. That bomb was set to do serious damage tonight and on top of that, they had to find the real shipment before it was distributed.

"Change of plans?" Bruce asked, having listened in.

"You could say that. I'll explain later, why don't you head back to the bar and I'll fill you all in when I get there? If you guys want to pull out I'll handle it alone."

Bruce frowned as they reached their bikes. "Like hell you will. You can tell me while we're waiting, it'll be busy as hell tonight."

Vin was frustrated but knew there was nothing he could do to get rid of Bruce. He'd have to lose him for a while at the hospital and get to a phone. Warning Larabee was his first priority and so he hopped on his bike with no further protest.

It was a good hour later that he found himself staring longingly at the pay phone in the waiting room of the busy hospital and knew he would have to wait until he was alone to try and contact Larabee. He'd filled Bruce in on the change of plans and was surprised by his reaction. He was actually excited at the prospect of blowing up a stack of cops in one hit and said he wouldn't miss it for the world. He'd also mentioned that he thought the real shipment would be across town at the major truck repair workshop he remembered passing on the way in. How he knew that, Vin didn't know, but it was a start.

Getting anxious with the passing time he glanced at the stern, hard looking nurse who seemed determined to want to scowl him out of her ward and tried to will her with his eyes to hurry up and get to him. She had the frame of a wrestler and the obvious disposition of a seasoned war veteran. And she didn't like him. Funny how long hair and clothing could give someone such a bad impression. His rough look sure wasn't working for him now.

He almost found himself smiling at that, for every now and then, there was a slightly older, yet definitely more feminine, doctor who would come into the ward and smile at him every time she caught his eye... and funny how completely different women could be from each other.

Bruce nudged him, sitting next to him in the waiting room. "She's got a thing fer leather," he said knowingly, nodding toward the pretty doctor. In his vast experience, it didn't matter where the woman was from, how old she was or what she looked like, sometimes they just couldn't resist the allure of a man in leather riding gear.

Vin eyed the pay phone near the coke machine and tried again to think of a reason why Bruce shouldn't wait for him, but came up empty. Again. He tried to make his time useful none the less.

"Reckon I'll keep up tonight?"

Bruce looked at him sideways. "Keep up with what?"

Vin just raised his eyebrows.

"Damn that Scottish bastard, what did he tell you?"

Vin grinned then gave up the bluff. "Relax, he didn't tell me nothin', but I was kinda hopin' to see what I'm in for, seeings how I'm feelin' like shit an' all…"

Bruce looked at him again and thought maybe he had a reason for asking. He really did look like hell. "Fuck, don't tell any of the boys I told ya, just play along like you don't know."

Vin nodded, keeping his expression neutral and Bruce lowered his voice. He needn't have bothered, nobody had chosen to sit within earshot of them anyway and anyone who was already there had moved away to find another seat.

"We told Jake we wanted to take some action of our own for Keg, and for you, but he already had somethin' set up and said we could get in on it if we wanted, since we were headin' inta the city anyway. He's takin' out the guy that runs the nightclub you boys got shot up at, I think he's Russian or somethin'."

"What'd he do?"

"He must be the one that told the cops about the supply."

Vin thought about that. "Why? Were the cops onto him?"

Bruce shrugged. "I don't know the whole story. I just know he went to some Larabee guy."

"Larabee?"

Bruce grinned now. "Your Larabee."

"My what?"

"The guy in charge the night Keg got taken out. He was probably the guy that clipped you."

Vin let surprise fill his face. "No kiddin'."

"He's in charge of a new team. Billy found out they've been put together to take his chapter out of Denver. He wants him taken out anyway. He's already taken out his boss."

Now Vin's brow did rise of it's own accord. Benning. They had to have set him up. "How the hell did he find all this out?"

"That cop that arrested you, beat you up?"

Vin nodded. Levitz, the sick son of a bitch.

"Billy's got him on the take."

He frowned now. "If he's on the take then why the hell did he come down on me like that?"

"That's what Ivan asked him, but Jake just said Levitz's time was up anyway, so not to worry about him."

Vin thought about that. There was more to it. He'd been set up that night in that room, he knew it beyond doubt. Someone had wanted to frame him over that girl and that someone had to have been Jake.

"So we're gonna take out this nightclub guy? Wouldn't Billy have mentioned that to me just now?"

"Nah. Fucked if we're gonna get involved in that shit. He wanted us to bring him back out to the compound for him, he's sent someone else ta do it. We just want to take out Larabee and wanted to pass it by him in case he had his own plans. He reckons Larabee's on his list anyway so told us to go ahead and do our worst."

"And where we gonna find Larabee?"

"Got his address. Figured we'd rig a bomb to his car, that way we can have some fun watching him go to work in the mornin'. Doesn't seem so original now, but we didn't know about the truck," Bruce said with dark humour.

"That's gonna create a lot of heat from the cops."

Bruce shrugged. "Jake ok'd it, it's his problem. This ain't our home. We'll be long gone before anything happens. Besides, we've been hearin' a bit since you headed up here. I think Eddie's gettin' a bit pissed at everything Billy's been gettin' up to. I don't think he's happy with losin' control of the territory like this. Plus..." he looked over his shoulder as he went on, "… we all know Billy's one crazy son of a bitch. I sure as hell wouldn't wanna live with him makin' my decisions for me."

Vin's eyes were hard. 'Crazy son of a bitch' was just the start of the man's problems.

"Eddie should be up here any day, then things'll really get interestin'."

"Yeah, Sugar mentioned it a few days back."

"He'd been plannin' to pay Billy a little surprise visit even before everything went down with you guys. I told you, he's pissed at Billy big time. I sure as hell wouldn't want Eddie pissed at me, he might have mellowed lately, but you can't be President for twenty years without being one hard son of a bitch. You've seen what

he can do. That's why you should worry about why he's bringin' you into his work like this."

If Eddie really was suspicious of Billy's motives, then Billy was in serious trouble. He sat back, thinking. He had to get to a phone, now.

"Mr Turner!"

He looked up to the sound of Bruce's snort of laughter and saw the fierce-looking nurse standing across the room looking right at him.

"God no," he muttered, standing up like a condemned man and turning to Bruce. "I might be a while, you may as well head back."

Bruce settled in to wait. "Nah. It's still rainin' hard out there. I might as well be warm in here til yer done."

Vin looked back to the windows outside as he followed the old nurse, the rain really was coming down now. She led him into a small cubicle and pulled the curtain across, directing him to hop up on the bed.

"Are you trying to make yourself sicker than you obviously are? It's cold as hell out there and your soaked through to the skin."

She shoved a towel at him and he used it to try and get some of the water out of his hair. That's what she was angry at him for?

"Why would you be running around in the rain when you've got a temperature... that's right, I don't need to look to know you're running a fever, you're whiter than the sheets you're sitting on. Like we don't have enough to do around here without idiots like you making yourselves sick. Why don't men ever grow up?"

Vin quickly reached his limit and stood up before she could stop him. "Look, lady, I just came in ta get some medication, I don't need your -"

She eyed his unsteady stance and determined eyes and set her own frame for battle, cutting him off. "You think this is a drug store? Taking pills won't stop you catching pneumonia by running around in the rain you know. We treat people with legitimate problems here."

Vin's jaw was clenched tight. Enough was enough. He took a step toward her, his hands gripping the towel as if it were her throat. "I just spent twenty minutes fillin' in a form out there, which you obviously haven't read. Don't they pass that stuff on or is it just so we got somethin' ta do ta fill in the time? Maybe you should give out colourin' books or somethin' useful instead."

She took an equal step towards him. "I'm going to ask you again to sit down before I call for security. If you take that tone with me again I'll have you in restraints."

Vin didn't move an inch, just cocked his head slightly and narrowed his piercing gaze. "What the hells your problem?"

She didn't hesitate. "Men like you."

"Like me?"

She narrowed her own eyes in return. "Your kind... You don't give a damn about anyone else, you just run over anyone that gets in your way. You have no respect for women."

Under normal circumstances Vin might have taken a moment to contemplate the motivation behind her words. The woman had obviously been burned by a man in some way, but right then he was feeling so bad he could have handled just an inch of compassion. He didn't need her bringing her personal baggage out on him. So he smiled at her in his cocky way and what he said next was something he had never dreamt he would say to a woman, but it had been a long day… and the woman was a pain in the ass.

Outside in the waiting room Bruce looked up in surprise when the manly looking war-nurse that had taken Vin came fleeing out into the waiting area almost at a gallop, amidst cheers from patients who had obviously witnessed whatever had happened to her and been the victims themselves of her bedside manner. Were those tears on her cheeks?

..

As the woman went fleeing out of the cubicle, Vin had a moments regret, contemplating the bad karma he'd just given himself, but then he heard the cheering and knew that he wasn't the only recipient of her mean ministrations. He used the towel to dry his face and neck as he moved to the curtain, peering out into the hallway to see who was around. This could be his last chance and he knew more than he had the last time he'd tried to call Larabee.

Moving down the hall he reached the glass window that looked out to the waiting room, saw that Bruce was watching the pint-sized television on the wall and moved on without hesitation. Suddenly the doctor who had smiled at him earlier rounded a corner and came up before him, this time wearing a slight frown.

"I don't know what you said to Nurse Childs, but I've never seen her so upset..." she admonished.

Vin actually blushed, suddenly feeling bad that he had lashed out at the woman, but then he realised the doctor before him was smiling and his eyes narrowed.

"…Or quite so put in her place." Sue Childs was famous throughout the entire hospital for her sour demeanour. It was considered an unlucky break to find yourself working on her shift.

Vin smiled in return, happy to be off the hook. "Well, she kind'a provoked me in there Doctor…" he tilted his head at her name badge which was on an angle, "Line."

Her smile held. "I'll bet," she told him before her face sobered. "I was going to look you over, but apparently you already have a doctor here who is familiar with your history and wants to see you. He's just finishing a shift upstairs and will be heading down shortly if you can wait a bit longer."

Vin frowned. It must be the doctor he had seen before. He must be an affiliate of the hospital. How had he known? He'd rather the doctor he was with now 'look him over' considering the last time he'd ended up in a hotel room with no idea how he'd gotten there, but it was a good excuse to find a phone. When he didn't reply for a second she put a hand to his arm.

"I read the report from your stay here, you really should make sure that everything is alright before you head off again. You've don't look well at all."

Vin studied her face a moment and realised that he had a chance to get someone on his side, if the empathy in her face was any indication.

"Thing is," Vin said, looking back toward the waiting room, "I really need ta make a phone call." He knew he wasn't at the top of his game, but if Vin Tanner knew one thing in his line of work, it was how to use his charm to get what he needed.

She shook her head, not understanding as she followed his gaze. She spotted Bruce not far from the phone on the wall. "There's a pay phone over there near your friend."

He did his best not to show his urgency, giving her half a smile. "I know, it's just... this is kind of private."

Doctor Mariah Line was old enough to have been divorced twice and jaded by the male race in general. She'd put up with enough to realise that finding a man was no longer a priority to her, for sometimes you were just better off without them, but the romantic heart in her could not resist the pull of a dark, mysterious, beat up stranger that she suspected would clean up really, really well underneath all of the wet hair and bruises. Not to mention the rough texture of his voice as he spoke to her in his soft drawl as if he were sharing a dark secret just with her...

"Come with me."

Vin's eyes spoke his thanks to her and it was then that she had a clear look at his face and realised that they were blue. He made her feel as if she'd saved his life, given the intensity of the look he was giving her, and it made her all the more glad she had chosen to help him, however small she thought the favour to be.

..

Chris Larabee had his team gathered in the boardroom, long delayed by a lengthy discussion with Murphy over the news he had received from Tanner. One thing was clear from the conversation, his life was in danger. But they still needed to go over their plan for seizing the truck at the warehouse. Whether it was a set up or not, it needed to be investigated.

Buck had demanded to know what information Tanner had given and Chris had told them what he knew, which was practically nothing.

"I knew it. First Benning, now you. They're trying to take out the team," he said angrily.

JD's eyes grew wide at that and Chris was quick to stop the rumour.

"We don't know that. They might have found out Vlahov was going to speak to me, they might have discovered I was in charge at the club the other night and be blaming me for the loss of their men. We just don't know."

"Not until Tanner manages to do his job and call in."

Chris frowned at that. "Buck." There was a warning in his tone. "Something's going on, at least he's gotten this much information through, or I could have walked into something bad tonight."

Buck wasn't convinced.

"Mr Larabee, there's a call for you on line two."

They exchanged a look as Chris reached over to the phone and pressed the return intercom button.

"Thanks, Becky. Do you know who it is?"

"I'm sorry, he wouldn't say. Do you want me to take a message?"

This time Chris shared a glance with Murphy as he grabbed the phone. "No, put it through please." He picked it up as it rang. "Larabee."

"It's me."

Chris was relieved to hear the familiar voice. "Where are you?"

Vin looked out the door to the empty waiting room beyond and smiled. His nurse had found him the most vacated wing in the entire hospital. "At the hospital."

"What the hell happened now?"

"Nothin', just came in fer some antibiotics. Left mine out at the complex."

"You need to charge your phone more regularly, by the way."

Vin grinned at that. "M'bike doesn't come with an outlet. 'Side's, I don't own a phone no more."

Chris lip quirked, he could only imagine what had happened to the phone when it had gone flat. "So what do you have for me, can you come in?"

"No, but there's a lot ta tell ya so I'm gonna get on with it, never know when someone'll come back in."

"I'm in the boardroom with the team and Douglas Murphy from the DEA is here too, can I put you on speaker?"

Vin was a bit uncomfortable with speaker phones, but told him to go ahead anyway.

"It's Tanner," Chris told the room before pressing the button. "He's at the hospital getting some antibiotics." He pressed the loudspeaker button. "OK, go ahead," he called to Vin as they all stared at the phone as if they could see through the plastic speaker.

"You haven't been taking the antibiotics?" Nathan said before anyone could say a word.

Vin ignored who he knew was Nathan. "Alright I got a load ta say so let me get on with it. First off, the club's after ya Larabee. They know 'bout the team an' they reckon they've already taken Benning outta the game. I don't know much about that, but I saw the news this mornin' an' can only guess that they set him up."

Buck looked at Chris, his expression saying I told you so.

"Can you get something to prove that?" Murphy asked.

They heard Vin sigh down the line. "I don't know, it'll have ta wait 'til I get back out to the complex."

"Do you know what they're planning for Chris?" Murphy asked.

"A helluva lot more than forged photographs. It's definitely a car bomb, I'm supposed to be with them, so I'll be putting a stop to it one way or another, just wanted you on board as well."

"Thoughtful of you," Buck said with a touch of sarcasm.

Vin ignored the tone, he didn't have time for it. "There's more. Tonight's a set up. They know Vlahov spoke with ya. I don't know how they found that out, but Billy's got eyes everywhere in this damn town. They're sending some boys to pick him up."

Chris looked at Ezra sharply. "Get a unit to pick him up, but you don't leave this building."

Ezra raced from the room, anxious to get to Vlahov before they did. Chris had been right, the club had found out, and much faster than he ever would have predicted.

"So when -"

"Wait." Vin cut Chris off with his urgent whisper. He'd heard a noise outside the door and paused for a second.

"Vin? You there?"

Vin spoke softly into the phone. "Hold on." He got up and went slowly to the door, stepping back with relief as the nurse came through it.

"Are you alright in here?" she asked him, looking and seeing that the phone was still off the hook.

"Yeah, just need a bit more time."

"Alright, I'll get you when the doctor comes down."

He nodded and reached out for her arm as she turned. "Nurse Line?"

She stopped, caught again in the intensity of his eyes.

"Thank you."

She nodded. "You're welcome." She paused again as she left, not facing him as she said, "And it's Mariah," before leaving.

He smiled to himself as the door closed and went back to the phone.

"OK, where was I…"

Buck was grinning himself. "Crossin' some ` lines' with the staff there sounds like."

Vin ignored him, wanting to make sure that he covered everything. "Tonight's a dummy shipment. The real

shipment's already waitin' ta be distributed from across town. I don't know where they're holding it for sure, but you might want to check out that big truck repair workshop, that real big one that sits on the south entrance inta the city."

"Eastline?" Josiah said, frowning in thought.

"I don't know what it's called, I just remember seeing a big place on the way into the city and I heard that could be the place they use. I'm not positive but it's all I got. It looks like they want ya ta think Vlahov double crossed ya."

"We'll bring him in," Chris told him.

"And the dummy shipment? What can we expect there?" Murphy prodded.

"They've rigged the roof to blow once you get inside, so stay the hell away from it."

"Sons of bitches," Buck cursed and no-one disputed the fact.

"There's meant to be enough guards down there to take out anyone who tries to get inside, so you've gotta be careful, whatever they're protectin' in there is big. Bigger than one shipment."

"What do you think is there?"

"I have no idea. It must be where they store everything, I won't know til I get there. I'm meant to speak to the guy that runs it and convince him to move the real shipment, apparently he's getting nervous with everything that's been on the news. One more thing. Levitz. He's dirty."

Murphy looked at Chris sharply. "You know that for a fact?"

Vin laughed. "Ya mean aside from personal experience?" He didn't wait for an answer, his voice again serious. "He tipped the club off about the new team."

Vin's words drew Chris forward in his chair. "If that's true why did he lay into you like that when he arrested

you? Why did he hound you at the hospital if he's an associate of the club?"

"Maybe he's trying to cover his hide, throw everyone off his trail," Josiah added.

Vin considered that. "I wouldn't say he's an associate, just an informant."

"Meaning he has his own agenda aside from the clubs," Murphy speculated.

Vin wasn't ready to tell them that he suspected Jake had set him up that night. He wasn't going to give them any reason to consider pulling him off the case.

"OK we'll start looking for that shipment. What else?"

"Eddie, the club President from Texas... he's definitely comin' inta the state. I suspected before but now I'm sure of it."

"He's not allowed to travel the country without notifying the authorities!" JD said, surprised when they all looked at him.

"I don't think he's got much of a track record for obeyin' the law, JD," Buck told him.

"There's gonna be trouble," Vin warned.

"Like what?" Chris asked.

Although they couldn't see him, Vin shook his head. "It's just talk, rumours mostly, but I think maybe the clubs headin' fer a power play `tween him and Billy. Things ain't sittin' right. The boys are startin'a get restless. There's a lotta division between the boys from Texas and here."

"The pack fights for lead position," Josiah said almost to himself as he shook his head. He raised his voice so that Vin could hear him. "I'm glad I'm not you, son, living amongst those dogs."

Vin rubbed his neck again, feeling suddenly very weary. It was something about talking with these men, these normal people, sitting around and looking at the biker world from another place so far removed, so objectively, that made him feel tired all of a sudden.

"Vin?"

"Yeah, I'm here."

Chris looked at Murphy, concerned. "You ok?" He asked.

He responded to the sound of the honesty and concern in the question. When Bruce and Rizzo had come to get him off the street, it was more from a sense of duty than from any feeling of concern about him, he knew.

"Yeah, just…" he cut himself off, throwing Larabee off by getting back to business. "They're set ta kill ya tonight Larabee. They're plannin' on coming after ya in person 'til they're sure yer dead an' if they don't, the Denver boys want to take care of you."

Chris's brow puckered. That wasn't what Vin had been about to say, he was sure of it.

"And you'll be with them," Nathan prodded, hearing the tiredness creeping into Tanner's voice and wondering just how much the man had left in him.

"Yeah… it's meant ta be a kind of surprise fer me, so that I can get revenge fer the other night, an' fer Keg too."

"Who's Keg?" JD finally asked.

"He was the one with the orange hair," Vin told them, realising they wouldn't know his nickname from his

identification. For a moment he thought about the man, having not really had time to reflect on his death since it had happened.

Chris suddenly sat back in his chair, a grin on his face. "Well boys, looks like my times up… I'm going to have to give them what they want."

The confusion in the room was almost audible but down the line Vin found he knew exactly what Larabee was getting at and grinned.

"Guess it just depends on which fireball ya want ta take ya out."

"What the hell are you two going on about?" Buck asked.

But Chris smiled. "There's only one way to get these bastards off my back… I'm going to have to die tonight, one way or another."

Buck was the first to smile. "Ah, the ol' Lethal Weapon through a glass window manoeuvre..."

"I let out the information you wanted. The history is correct, just preserved your name. The information was faxed with some photographs not long ago. Now you wanna tell me why you wanted to let them in on that?"

Vin paused and Chris spoke sharply. "The truth."

"I want to get to Billy, the president here. It all lies with him. I've already made a good start and tonight he wants me to make sure no-one gets inside the warehouse. He reckons you have no chance of getting past all the guards anyway but he wants me to report back to him. Whatever they've got going on there is important enough for him to want to keep hidden. The fact that he's got me on it and not one of his own boys is a good thing, he's testing me out. If he really wants to take Eddie down I've got the skill to help him do it and if I'm right it's gonna get me closer to him real fast."

"And if you're wrong it's going to get you nothing but trouble, son. Skills like that aren't something men like him will take lightly, I'm guessin' you know that though, since you kept it from them for so long. You can bet he'll want to use them, just having them in his pocket won't be enough."

"I kept it so's I'd have an ace up m'sleeve if I needed it. I wanted to use it when the time was right."

Chris knew time was important now. "Ok, let's talk about what we're going to need and who we need to get on board."