Page 11 of Vapor

“I need you back at the clubhouse as soon as you can get here.”

“What’s up?” he asks, his tone even more alert than earlier.

“We’ve got a situation. I’m calling Church, but just for us plus Ice, Fang, Bones, and Tank.”

“Not the full club?”

“Until we figure out what’s going down, I don’t want to involve anyone else.”

“I’ll be there in… let’s say ten to fifteen minutes. Cool?”

“See you soon.”

As I end the call, Ice returns with Bones, who is carrying a steaming platter of burgers.

“Figured we might as well grub while we meet.” Bones sets the platter on the table.“Ice’s bringing buns and sauce and shit.”

Ice and Fang walk in together, carrying plates, napkins, and fixings for the burgers, as well as the buns. They set everything up in the center of the table. Tank strolls in carrying a bucket filled with ice-cold beer.

Each man takes his place at the table, with me at the head. The others chat about the various women at the party while they assemble their dinner. I keep mine simple since I don’t feel much like eating, but I know I need to do it regardless.

I bite into the juicy burger, letting Bones’special barbecue sauce spill down onto the plate. An explosion of flavor dances across my tongue. The man can fucking grill, that’s for sure.

“Damn good shit,” Ice says, taking another huge bite.

Fang mumbles something while stuffing his face. He’s always got his head down in his laptop and forgets to eat. But when he gets around to it, he can pack it in. For a fucking nerd, he’s still ripped. He works out with us at the gym in our warehouse.

He’s wearing one of his ridiculous graphic t-shirts that reads“BeEr”. However, the nerd part is that the first two letters are one of those atomic chart boxes and it’s labeled“Beryllium 4” with its atomic weight below it, and the second two letters stand for Erbium 68, also with its atomic weight. I don’t know where the hell he gets this shit, maybe nerd-shit-dot-com, but he has a whole closet full of them.

Despite his cargo shorts and sneakers, the man gets just as much pussy as the rest of us. It’s a miracle, really.

Pushing his black-rimmed glasses up his nose, Fang fixes his bright green eyes on me.“This about Broussard?”

“Yeah.” I nod between bites.

“It’s about what’s on that napkin?” Fang jerks his chin toward the note in front of my plate.

“Blue gave it to me.”

“Is she as hot in person as in pics?” He stops chewing, intently waiting for my response.

“She’s okay,” I lie, glancing down at my food as if it’s far more interesting than the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met in my life.

“You’re so full of shit,” Fang laughs.

“What do you know about Black Snake Bayou?” I ask.

“Am I late to the party?” Diablo’s gruff tone comes from directly behind me.

“Grab a burger.” I pick up the gavel and slam it down, signaling the start of Church.“Eat while we talk. We’ve only got a couple hours before midnight.”

After explaining what happened at my meeting with Broussard, ending with the way Blue slipped me the napkin, I sit back and cross my hands over my stomach.“So, we’ve got a decision to make. We don’t know if it’s a trap or not, but we can’t ignore the message.”

“Who is‘them’?” Diablo asks.

“We don’t know,” I admit.

“But whoevertheyare,theyneed savin’,” Bones says.“And that’s whatwedo.”