Authors: Carly White
Chapter 3
“Andre, can you tell us why you are here? Why all of this is happening in such a small town?”
“This is where I grew up.”
“That tells us why here, but why are you protesting the Sheriff election. What do you have against David Thompson?”
The woman had a way of asking one question after another, never giving him time in between. She was not someone Andre would have chosen to talk to. He was also distracted by the young girl holding up a phone, recording it all. She was tall and slender, much nicer to look at then Civ. “Andre?”
Trying not to get frustrated with the situation or the reporter, Andre tried to make as much sense as he could. He still wasn’t sure about it all, but he did as he was told, as he had done so many times before. “David is a crook and used to run with the Black Angels years ago. He has been pretending to be something that he isn’t and we are here to make sure that he is seen for the man he really is.”
“Can you be more specific on what it is that you think he has done?”
Andre wished that he could and for a moment, the smile on his face slipped. He had to remind himself that it was not the time. “I think you should do some of your own work and find out. The people didn’t vote him in, so there has to be more there. All I know is we are taking a stand against him and we want the world to see him for it.”
Civ was speechless, not really sure what to say. As she looked at the small camera pointed towards her, she had to imagine that there would be some editing. The man’s blue eyes looked over at her and it was hard to think. He wasn’t dressed as a biker at that moment, only in jeans and a white T shirt. But he was still a little scary looking. His arms were huge and the man towered over them both. She wasn’t that close, but she could feel the tension coming out of him. He had the presence of a caged rhino and Civ didn’t want to poke him.
“Is that all you need, because I have things to do?” Andre looked back over at the young woman and asked her name.
“Her name is of no concern.”
Andre chuckled. It was clear that the woman didn’t want to think of her daughter with a man like him. Andre almost couldn’t blame her. He knew he was bad news and since he had seen her a few minutes before, all he could think about was what she would sound like screaming out his name. He hoped that Namadi was one of those girls that just looked sweet and innocent, but were really a wild cat in bed. That is what he hoped as he met her dark eyes for a moment. She looked away almost as if she was shy and Andre really hoped that it was an act she was putting on for him.
“Well I figured since you are getting what you want, you could at least be civil.”
She blanched a little, realizing that she didn’t want to be kicked out. They could let her leave and send for someone else to get the exclusive. Civ knew that she had to smooth things over. “You’re right. Sorry about that. It is just a tense environment that has me on edge.”
“We are not being violent and just want to be heard. This is not the first time that the information has been pushed to the side and now they can’t. It will be answered for, all the things he did in this town and ones like it all over Texas. We demand justice.”
“Is there anything else, any more details that you can give us?”
Andre shook his head. “Not at this time. Only that we are peacefully protesting and as long as the police stay where they are, there will be no escalation.”
Civ just nodded at her daughter that she was done. There was nothing else she was going to get out of him and she wanted a panned shot of the rough looking men outside as she wrapped up the feed. Civ had gotten her exclusive, but it had not been what she had thought. A corrupt cop and election with a hint that there were more involved but him, had not even been on her radar. Now he had her wondering what was going to be pulled up. It would seem that the gang wanted justice and giving the public the task of figuring it out was smart.
In Civ’s mind, it also meant that she was going to be there a little longer. She was smiling as she left the small shotgun house that was as out of place as the well-speaking man covered in tattoos and muscles. If this wasn’t enough to get her name and face out there for all time, she didn’t know what was. Civ was already imagining the awards she would win, maybe even a key to a city when they took down the bad guy. Civ just wasn’t sure which person would be the bad guy in the end.
“My name is Namadi.”
Andre turned around and smiled back at the young woman. Her voice was soft and lithe to his ear and he could help but think that it had to all be an act. There was no way that someone that looked like her was that innocent. It wasn’t possible, but the validity of it didn’t matter. She was driving him crazy by her act, making him want to pull out the true debauchery he knew she was capable of.
***
“What were you thinking?”
Civ was still angry that her daughter had gone against her wishes. It was not something that she had to say out loud. That was the type of man that she had warned her about. Civ seen knew him for what he was, no matter if he didn’t have a leather jacket on. Andre was a man that just took what he wanted and the last thing she wanted him to set his sights on was her daughter. She wouldn’t let her fall down the wrong path. Civ had also noticed the interest and as she looked at her now, it was still there, the wonder and the pull of a bad boy.
“Mom, I just told him my name. You are acting like I started to strip for him or something. You are really blowing it this all out of proportion.”
Civ couldn’t believe that her mind had even gone there. Her look was sharp to Namadi, but in true form of this new woman she had created, her daughter did not give in an inch.
“The very fact that you would even say that to me makes me wonder.”
“Wonder all you want mom. It was just a name. We have been here for almost four days and I am bored. He didn’t seem like such a bad guy. I think everyone is going to be surprised how it all turns out.”
Namadi had a feeling that what she said was true. There was a reason that it was all happening and she had a feeling that it was going to be bigger than everyone thought. In a way she wished that her mom didn’t get the opportunity. It would mean a new job for her soon and then it would mean another move. Now that she was eighteen and fresh out of high school, Namadi decided then that she wouldn’t move again. They had moved at least ten times in her childhood. Never having any roots, she wanted to make some and no matter what happened from all of the craziness that they had been thrust into Namadi was not going to get caught up in her mother’s whirlwind.
“Not a bad guy? Are we talking about the same one? I know that you have read the reports that are coming out, the ones we were watching the other night. He has been bad news for a long time and I don’t want you anywhere near a guy like that. There is something about him that I don’t like Namadi and you need to stay away from him.”
“So you don’t mind if I talk to some of the other bikers?”
She was being difficult, she knew that, but it seemed only fair after what she had been dragged into. There was something to be said with having the slight upper hand.
“You know what I mean. I don’t know why we are even talking about this. He is not even your type.”
“I didn’t want to talk about this. All I did was tell him my name and you have been going on ever since. If you want me to leave and get out of this whole mess, I am sure they will let us out. The police are just stopping more people from coming in, not the other way around. It is what we should have done to begin with.”
Civ didn’t like the tone of her daughter’s voice, but she liked even less the idea of giving up her small moment of fame. She became a news reporter instead of a writer, not because of the stories, but she wanted the fame that came with it. She had always imagined herself the person everyone would want to talk to and now she was it. It was not quite the way that her imagination had made it happen, but she didn’t want to lose her minute in the light.
“We don’t have to leave Namadi, just stay away from those men. They will do nothing but cause you more trouble. Trust me on this, I know.”
She spoke as if she had experience with the bad boys, but she didn’t want to say anything one way or another. There was something in her eyes, the faraway look that made her daughter wonder what it was.
“I have to do something. I can’t just sit in this room anymore. While you are having your moment or whatever, I am stuck in this tiny room. I am going out. The whole time they have been here, they have been preaching non-violence. There hasn’t been any and I really want to get out. I’m going tonight to get out and if that is a problem, I will leave. I can’t stay here any longer. I am going to go crazy.”
Civ looked at the stance and the rebellious look in her dark brown eyes. She wasn’t budging, that much was clear and Civ didn’t know if she should push her or give in. Civ was still trying to get the differences of her being an adult. She didn’t have to listen anymore and as she took in the squared jaw and the arms crossed over her chest, Civ decided that it wasn’t the moment to put her foot down.
“If that is what you have to do Namadi, but please be careful. There is no sense looking for trouble.”
“Where do you think I get it from? Whenever there is a problem anywhere, you are traipsing off to see what is going on there. I get it from you and if you want real information mom, you can’t just keep hiding in this hotel room. I will go out and see if I can get some information.”
Namadi smiled back at her mom, knowing she wasn’t sure if she should believe her. It was just thrown in there to make her think. Namadi had no intentions on asking anybody about some bald-headed Sheriff. She just wanted to get out and knew that her mother couldn’t refuse the idea of some hint how to crack the case.
Civ was sitting at the small wooden table in front of her laptop, trying to patch together her next clip. The man had not made it very easy and he was so vague. Someone was going to figure it out and if it was her, she could quickly sky-rocket her way to investigative reporting. That was where the real fame and awards came from.
“I don’t like the idea of you going out there. It should be me.”
“No one likes a pushy reporter mom. And no offense, but you are in true form the last couple of days. You are too hungry for it. I look like I could care less. More people are prone to talk when they don’t think you want to know.”
There was no science behind it. Namadi was just throwing it out there, anything to get her out of the small box that she was supposed to live in. There was no way that she could stay there another day. It didn’t matter what got her out. Namadi just wanted to get out of there any way she could.
“I don’t know Namadi. I don’t like the idea of you around those men. There are so many of them and if something happened, I don’t know what I would do.”
Namadia paused, rethinking her plans. It was clear that her mom meant it and she knew that she loved her. “Nothing is going to happen, mom. The whole world is watching what is happening here. They are waiting for your clip. You get that ready to send out and I will see what kind of information that I can get.”
Civ was torn between the story and her family. While she would like to have said that nothing mattered more than her daughter, it didn’t, but the idea of learning the truth and getting exclusive was too much of a temptation for her to pass up. All she wanted to do was make a name for herself and if her daughter could help her, what made it any different than when she came with to video it all? She couldn’t think of an answer and against her better judgement, Civ agreed to let her daughter go.
“Just promise me that you will be careful. If you get a bad feeling, just leave.”
Namadi shook her head that she would and gave her a quick hug before she left. “I will be back in a little bit. You get that next clip out and hopefully we will have information about what is going on later. That means another clip for later, so you might want to start on an introduction. You want to be the first with any new information.”
Civ nodded, her daughter playing into her ego. “Just be careful Namadi. You never know what will happen with those types.”
Chapter 4
The party that sprung out at Andre’s house just kind of happened. There had been too many days of nothing going on, the guys were starting to get a little stir crazy. Everyone that had agreed to help his father make a stand was used to freedom and running around, riding their bikes, but it was not happening in the small town. The police made it so that if any of them left, they would not be able to get back. This was not a good idea if they wanted to protect Maxwell and the rest of them. Their only power was in large numbers.
So those large numbers had decided that a little drinking and drug therapy were in order, if for no other reason than to battle the sheer boredom that they were all facing equally. Andre at first didn’t like the idea, but as things started to get more to his kind of normal, he started to relax. Andre figured if Maxwell could relax at a time like that, then he should be able to as well.
The man looked around his old home and it was filled with party goers. Several women were trying to catch his eye, but he wasn’t looking for any of them. Andre was still thinking about the dark-haired beauty from before. She had gone against her mother’s wishes to give him a name and just the name was enough to get his attention. When he saw her in the distance getting a beer from a cooler, he walked up to her.
“I bet you are not supposed to be here Namadi.”
She turned around and smiled at him. Andre found it hard to breathe with his throat closing up like it was. Why would she affect him in such a way?
“I can’t believe you remembered my name.”
“How could I not remember the name of the most beautiful girl that I had ever met?”
She looked down and blushed. “Well thank you for that Andre, but I think you are playing with me.”
He wasn’t. There was something about her and maybe it was the act of innocence that drove him crazy, but there was something about her. “So what are you doing here? Did you sneak out?”
She shook her head. “I am an adult. I don’t have to sneak out.”
Andre liked the information. At least he could think of her in the same way as he had been. She was young, that much he could tell, but she wasn’t too young that he couldn’t notice her. “She didn’t seem so happy about you being around us before.”
Namadi agreed, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her. She had never let Civ stop her from what she really wanted to do. “Well here I am. So what is there to do in this small town besides have a party?”
He shrugged. “I haven’t been here for a long time. I used to go down to the ridgeline up top and watch the city lights. There was usually a girl with me and we would get to know each other better.”
Namadi liked the sound of that, but she was still nervous around him and being alone with him seemed a scary idea. Did she really want to be alone with him? Her body told her that she did, but Namadi wasn’t so sure. “I was thinking we would stay around here.”
“So you are afraid to go with me?”
He said it as if it was typical and it upset her. She wasn’t afraid of him. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t go. I had just figured that we would stay around here. I came looking for you, so that hardly counts as frightened. I was just hoping that you would show me around.”
Andre bought it and she smiled at her in such a way that made her heart beat a little faster in her chest. What was the pull of the bad boy? Why did knowing that his masculinity was so high that it would overwhelm her as he talked her into things she would never imagine before, sound so good? Namadi wasn’t even sure what she was missing out on, but she wanted him from some gut recess inside of her.
“That’s okay too. I will be more than happy to give you the tour. Do you want to start on the top or on the bottom?”
She looked up the staircase and didn’t like the darkness that afforded her u there. It would be just the two of them and though she had gotten out of going away with him by staying, it didn’t seem like it was going to be any safer. “Um, I guess the bottom. Does this place have a basement?”
He nodded and took her hand, leading her away from all of the people around them. The noise started to lower as they went into one of the back rooms facing away from the road. The house was small from the front, though Namadi was starting to realize that some of it was hidden. When she could barely hear the loud noise behind her, she started to get a little chill. “How is this even possible, to be this far back?”
Andre chuckled at her. You wouldn’t guess that we are underground right now, would you?”
She shook her head and looked around her. There was no natural light, the only real instance that would have told her where she really was. The lighting was done well thought and only after he said something, did she even noticed. The change of light source had been gradual and she was a bit amazed. “No I wouldn’t. I was wondering how this place could be so big when it is so small.”
“It used to be part of a tunnel system that they used to bring in whatever they wanted from Mexico. Most of it is inoperable now, cave-ins and such, but we have always kept a section of it taken care of. Have to or the house would start to sink as the walls fell in.”
His words made her more aware of the dangers of it happening while they were in it and Namadi felt uneasy. Andre noticed the shift and took her hand. “That is not the best part. Come on.”
She paused, but felt that she had no choice. Namadi did not want him to think that she was afraid to. It didn’t serve her, but never knowing she was claustrophobic, the last thing she wanted to do was go any deeper, not knowing what was in front of them. “I think I have seen enough of this place, why don’t we go back?”
***
“I am telling you, that is all there is. I have checked all of the local channels and they just keep playing this one clip over and over again. It is heavily edited but I have been told he wasn’t being the easiest interviewer. He wants the public to figure out what you have done. I don’t know if he is smart or just incredibly stupid.”
David shook his head, replaying the new clip coming out of Waterton for the fifth time. He watched Andre’s face and he realized that the man did not know what he was there for. It was Maxwell that was orchestrating it all. He knew the man well and years ago, he had requested the whole family be wiped out, now the reason was in front of him. Everyone would know what he had done so long ago. He had paid well to keep it a secret, but like all things it couldn’t be swept under the rug forever. David would never know how much of it would trickle out or how Maxwell had found out.
“Maxwell never was stupid, so he has a plan.”
“What do you want me to do Sir? It is almost impossible to get close to him right now. The town is surrounded and as long as they stay peaceful, there is to be no aggression from the police force.”
“Well we need to make sure they don’t stay peaceful then, don’t we?”
Buzz smiled and he already knew what had to be done. There were many people in the town that worked for David and though he was not in Waterton to talk directly, the conversations between them were enough. He could see the way the man’s small eyes narrowed to nothing on his face. It was to be Buzz’s job to take care of things while he was away and unable. There were too many eyes on him now and David knew that he would have to play his cards right. He had to get them out of there and he didn’t care if they were locked up or killed, but someone had to stop the public from looking and the truth from coming out.
“Make sure you get them riled up enough that the police have to come in and then you find Maxwell and his father. You have to get them arrested, so make sure that they are in the middle of it.”
“What about the reporter?”
David wasn’t sure about her. She had been the problem from the beginning. Of course there had to be a reporter there. Cursing himself and the woman that was in the middle of all of this. One moment of pleasure had turned into the worst decision of his life. Now, he had to deal with the aftermath and it was just as bad as he had envisioned it to be so long ago.
“We can’t do anything to the reporter. That is why Maxwell has the place under the public eye. He knows that it will be pushed back to me. That is why you have to make sure that you get them going good, but don’t get caught stirring the pot. I don’t know how we are going to do this, but if I can get those two locked up, the people will quickly forget. There is always something else to focus on.”
Buzz nodded, but waited. “Are you sure you don’t want to silence the reporter?”
David shook his head. “I would love to more than anything, but not yet, maybe when everything dies down. You just make sure that you do what I say and to the rest, they need to get rid of any evidence that we have any dealings together. If they do get wind of it, I want to make sure that it is all just conjectures and rumors. I don’t want any proof.”
“You got it boss.”
He sighed. “Don’t call me that. Just let me know when it is done. I have more important things to worry about than Maxwell Grindle and the ghosts from the past.”
David hung up and still there was a sinking feeling in his gut. There was no doubt that he deserved what Maxwell had in mind for him, but David would do anything to prolong the inevitable. He had faith that something would happen to change it all. It was not going to be the end for him. He refused for it to happen.
He pushed play on the video one last time, taking in the man’s features. They were so similar to the ones that he seen every day in the mirror. What was he going to do and why didn’t he ever see it before. The man who wanted to see him locked up for the crimes he didn’t even know about, was his own son and he didn’t even know it. David never wanted him to know, because then there would be so many more questions that were going to be impossible to answer. Maxwell had been unable to give the boy up when he had lost his mother, keeping the secret.